Light Novel: Volume 9 Episode 5Manhwa: N/A
The Wudang sect evening was quiet as if it hadn’t been so noisy just a few moments before.
Many of those who came and attended Chongjin’s birthday party already left. There were not that many who remained.
The big crowd that had once filled the banquet hall was nowhere to be found. Only the Wudang sect masters were left, as they were busy cleaning up the place.
Since it was a banquet that hosted so many people, the amount of trash that came out was staggering. And it was up to the Wudang sect taoists to clean it all up.
All of the disciples, from third to first-generation, were mobilized to tidy up the area. Since there was so much trash that needed to be cleaned, the work that started in the early evening continued until late at night.
Nonetheless, no one complained. They all cleaned up silently. The taoists thought this was also part of their training.
Pyo-wol had thought that the disciples of the Wudang sect were great as he watched them be passionate about cleaning without saying anything.
It was such a boring chore yet they considered it as part of their daily training and enjoyed it. However, it was unknown whether any of these disciples would grow up to be a gigantic tree that could make a great impact in Jianghu.
Some swept and collected trash, without caring as Pyo-wol passed by. Those people who were not bothered by his presence, rather bowed their heads slightly when they saw Pyo-wol. Their faces were as bright as if they had cut off worldly desires.
But not all of them were like that. There were also those who are sensitive to strangers like Woo-sung.
After passing through the grand banquet hall, Pyo-wol returned to the Qingliu Temple.
Since many people had already left the sect, the Qingliu Temple became quiet and desolate.
When Pyo-wol was just about to enter the Qingliu Temple,
“AHHH!”
A desperate scream suddenly broke the silence of the Wudang sect.
“Huh?”
“What’s going on?”
Pyo-wol could hear the people staying in Qingliu Temple running out in surprise.
He frowned slightly.
For some reason, he didn’t have a good feeling about this.
Pyo-wol walked towards the direction where the scream came from. By the time he had arrived at the source of the scream, many people had already gathered at the scene.
“It’s murder.”
“A person is dead.”
The people who were around the scene whispered to each other.
Pyo-wol walked forward and passed through the crowd.
When Pyo-wol finally arrived in front, Pyo-wol’s face hardened.
In the middle of a circle of people stood a little boy with blood on his face. And a man was lying face down in front of the boy.
Pyo-wol looked at the boy.
“Soma.”
Hearing his voice, the boy turned his head and looked at Pyo-wol.
“Brother!”
The boy who looked at Pyo-wol with a puzzled expression was Soma.
Pyo-wol approached Soma.
“What happened?”
“That’s—”
Soma couldn’t explain properly.
There was the sword, Gongbu, in his hands. And it was bloody. Given the circumstances, the blood seemed to be from the man lying on the floor.
Pyo-wol turned the man’s body over. Then a familiar face appeared.
It was a man with one eye.
Hong Mugwang.
Pyo-wol remembered him clearly because he took one of his eyes with his own hands.
Even without checking his pulse, Pyo-wol already knew he was dead. There were large and small wounds all over Hong Mugwang’s body.
Pyo-wol stared blankly at Hong Mugwang’s face.
There was also blood flowing from his eyes, nose and ears.
As if he couldn’t believe his own death, Hong Mugwang had his remaining eyes wide open.
Pyo-wol looked at Soma again.
Soma shook his head vigorously and said,
“We might have fought, but I didn’t kill him. I really swear!”
“Okay.”
After Pyo-wol nodded, he heard,
“How dare you commit murder in the Wudang sect?! For a little guy to have such strength.”
A cold voice suddenly came from among the people.
The people surrounding Soma and Pyo-wol parted ways and six men walked out. The men who radiated a cold atmosphere were Jang Muyeon and the warriors of the White Tiger Sword Corps.
Jang Muyeon looked at Soma with blade-like sharp eyes.
“How could you commit murder in a sacred Wudang sect.”
“I didn’t kill him.”
“Then what is the meaning of that?”
Jang Muyeon pointed at Hong Mugwang’s body.
“Well, that’s—”
Soma was at a loss for words.
Hong Mugwang came to him while he was resting on a tree. Hong Mugwang then tried to provoke him for no reason at all. In the end, Soma fell for his provocation, and they ended up exchanging blows several times.
But that was it.
This was also the reason why Soma was dumbfounded when Hong Mugwang, who he was fighting against, suddenly collapsed while spurting blood. It didn’t take long for Hong Mugwang to die soon after.
“What’s all this commotion?”
“Someone was murdered in the Qingliu Temple!”
To make matters worse, the Wudang sect’s taoists stormed into the Qingliu Temple. They alternately looked at Soma and Hong Mugwang’s dead body, then they became furious.
In their eyes, there was no doubt that it was Soma who had killed Hong Mugwang.
Woo-sung stepped forward among the taoists.
Even before all of this happened, he already had a bad feeling about Pyo-wol. So the anger he had been trying to suppress all this time started to show on his face.
Jang Muyeon said to Woo-sung,
“This young demon killed that poor man.”
“You dare—! Hurry up and catch that demon!”
Woo-sung ordered the disciples.
The said disciples then rushed over and surrounded Soma.
Cwaaang!
All of them pulled out their swords and aimed it at Soma.
“But I didn’t kill him!”
Soma protested, but to no avail.
“How do you explain that body then?!”
“What’s that blood on your sword?”
The Wudang sect disciples surrounding Soma all poured out their accusations.
Soma’s face stiffened at their words. Being simultaneously criticized by everyone like this made his heart ache. He found it difficult to breathe.
It was as if the whole world had become his enemy.
The moment his eyes turned white, Pyo-wol stood in front of him.
In an instant, the suffocating pressure disappeared, and Soma could finally breathe.
“Hah… hah!”
Soma breathed heavily and looked at Pyo-wol’s back.
Pyo-wol stood in front of Soma, while looking at the Wudang sect masters and Jang Muyeon.
Woo-sung glared at Pyo-wol and said,
“Get out of the way! We’re going to take away the criminal who dared to commit murder in the Wudang sect!”
“What are you going to do to him?”
“I will punish him according to the law of the Wudang sect!”
“Without investigating the truth of the matter?”
“There’s such clear evidence right in front of us. What is there to investigate? The dead body is enough proof. If you insist on protecting that demon to the end, I will not let it go.”
Woo-sung raised his qi.
He already considered Pyo-wol a thorn in his eye even back then. With Pyo-wol stepping out like this, he and the rest of the Wudang sect disciples have all the more reason to shift their anger towards Pyo-wol.
“What’s going on?”
“Someone was murdered in our sect?”
Upon hearing the news, the leaders of the Wudang sect appeared at Qingliu Temple.
Among them was Gong-jin.
Gong-jin looked at Pyo-wol and Soma alternately with calm eyes.
“How could a murder happen in the Wudang sect?”
As a Wudang sect elder, his voice had strong power.
The disciples and other warriors surrounding Soma flinched at his stern voice.
His presence is oftentimes hardly felt because he is overshadowed by Chongjin, who is the Wudang sect leader, or Sang-jin, who is the Number One Sword.
But everyone who knew him knew it.
That the Wudang sect’s course and direction are all decided by him.
Gong-jin may be the weakest among the elders, but he possessed excellent intelligence to support his lack of strength.
Gong-jin held out his hand to Soma,
“Did you kill that man with that sword? Give it to me.”
“No!”
Soma shook his head, holding Gongbu tightly in his arms.
At that, Gong-jin frowned, while the Wudang sect disciples became enraged.
“How dare you ignore the elder’s words!”
“Give him your sword!”
Their voices were like daggers that seemed to stab Soma.
Soma gritted his teeth as he tried to ignore their piercing words.
Killing intent could be found in Soma’s eyes.
Ever since he was saved by Pyo-wol, Soma had tried his best to hold back himself. He might have frequently said words such as, ‘I will kill you’, but he actually refrained from resorting to such cruel measures whenever possible.
Although it cannot be said that he has become a different person, it is true that he has at least somewhat controlled himself.
However, Soma’s self-control was shaking as he continued to receive such criticism like this.
Gong-jin took a step closer to Soma.
He still had his hand out in front of him.
Unspoken pressure pressed down on Soma.
In the end, the moment Soma’s unbearable anger was about to explode, Pyo-wol’s voice resounded in the Qingliu Temple.
“That’s enough.”
It was a plain voice, devoid of any emotion.
However, the moment they heard his voice, the disciples and warriors felt as if their flesh was being sliced with sharp razors.
It was the same with Gong-jin, who had his hand reached out.
The creepy feeling made him withdraw his hand.
Gong-jin glared at Pyo-wol.
“Are you going to interfere? It doesn’t matter if you’re recognized by sect leader Chongjin, if you dare intervene in the affairs of our sect, we will not let it pass.”
“Soma’s business is mine, so I have every right to intervene.”
“Such sophistry…”
“You’re better off without your eyes.”
“What?”
“Even though you have eyes, you cannot see the truth. No, maybe it’s because you are only forcing yourself to see only what you want to see? Then that’s even worse. For a fool who cannot even distinguish the truth to take a seat as an elder of a prestigious sect.”
“You–!”
Gong-jin, who couldn’t hold back his anger for a moment, roared out.
After his roar, the roof tiles of Qingliu Temple vibrated. The warriors then had distressed expressions. The roar that came out of Gong-jin pierced their eardrums and shook their brain.
However, Pyo-wol’s expression didn’t change even after receiving Gong-jin’s roar directly.
Instead, the scarf that covered his face flew away, revealing his face. The eyes of those who were seeing Pyo-wol’s face for the first time shook at his shocking appearance.
Pyo-wol approached Gong-jin, not paying attention to their gazes.
Gong-jin unknowingly grabbed the handle of his sword which was placed at his waist.
Pyo-wol did not pose any threat, but he reacted unconsciously.
The disciples and warriors around them looked at Gong-jin with puzzled expressions. To them, Gong-jin looked frightened and reacted too sensitively.
Gong-jin’s face became distorted. But he soon had a confused expression on his face.
Pyo-wol had narrowed the gap between them before he knew it.
He had to decide now.
If Pyo-wol is an enemy aiming for his life, then he has to eliminate him before he gets any closer. This is because his opportunity to counterattack would be lost if Pyo-wol got too close.
But, if Pyo-wol is not actually aiming for his life, and he attacks him for no reason then he would be humiliated.
Gong-jin is the one who is known for being the think tank of the Wudang sect, but at this moment, his mind was blank. He doesn’t know how to react.
It was a difference in experience.
He had never met anyone who stood in direct opposition to his authority.
If his authority doesn’t work against the other person, then he has to suppress them with martial arts, but his opponent doesn’t look easy. And it wasn’t his tendency to resort to fighting.
That’s why, after hesitating, he stopped putting the symbol within his own space.
Gong-jin’s eyes met with Pyo-wol, who was now a few inches away from him.
He had seen Pyo-wol’s eyes from afar, but this was the first time he saw them up close.
Pyo-wol’s eyes up close were more terrifying than he thought.
It wasn’t simply a matter of him not expressing his emotions.
There was something in Pyo-wol’s eyes that made the onlooker naturally afraid.
Gong-jin did now know what kind of life Pyo-wol had to experience for him to have such eyes at such a young age.
“S, step back.”
“Hong Mugwang didn’t die because of Soma.”
“What nonsense—”
“He may have been injured by Soma’s sword, but none of those wounds were deep enough for him to die.”
“Then why did he die?”
“His internal organs had burst from excessive pressure.”
“What?”
“Can you see the dried blood in his eyes, nose and ears?”
“……..”
“The sword wound was on his torso, so why did blood come out of his orifices? Have you thought about it? I don’t think so. You just assumed and decided that Soma was the culprit.”
“Th, that’s—”
“If you cut open his corpse, you’ll see that his intestines have bursted. I’ll cut open his stomach right now and show it to you.”
Sueuk!
Pyo-wol took out and held his phantom dagger.
