Chapter 33: Because He Wasn’t an Ordinary Guest
Murim Alliance, Hubei Headquarters.
The Military Division, led by the Chief Strategist, handled all kinds of intelligence across the entire Central Plains.
Sima Yeon, who had become a mid-level strategist at a young age, wore a satisfied expression as he read a letter sent from the White Sword Hall.
“That bastard Food Butcher is finally going to be caught!”
He was someone who, once appearing, committed horrific massacres. Since he roamed throughout the world, it had never been easy to track him down.
The Murim Alliance could not possibly station martial artists at every inn and tavern across the land.
But now, this bastard had revealed himself again. And this time, even his whereabouts were expected.
With the White Sword Hall Leader’s strength, there was no doubt he could succeed in tracking him down.
As Sima Yeon nodded, he suddenly froze.
“Wait a moment. Did it say Seong-un Inn?”
As if something suddenly came to mind, Sima Yeon hastily rummaged through already categorized documents.
From the tightly stacked pile, he pulled out one sheet of paper.
Tang So-yeon, the Young Mistress of the Tang Clan of Sichuan.
Baek Sang and Baek Seol, the second disciples of the Wudang Sect.
Seomun Ak, second son of the Seomun Clan.
Seok Tae-shin, second son of the House of Seok.
These were the recent prodigies who had visited the Murim Alliance.
They had been traveling the jianghu under the pretext of attending the Tang Clan Leader’s birthday banquet.
Because they were all prodigies from prestigious clans and sects, information about them occasionally flowed into the Murim Alliance.
Sima Yeon’s writing hand abruptly halted at one point.
“……The Seong-un Inn in Yichang.”
That was their last known whereabouts.
Sima Yeon leapt up from his seat.
It was entirely possible that the prodigies had already left Yichang for another region.
But one thing weighed heavily on his mind: Oh Jeong-san, who was the junior uncle of Baek Sang and Baek Seol, was staying in Yichang.
‘If they are still there…?’
The Food Butcher was not someone who chose his victims based on who they were. If he had been, he would never have become one of the Murim Alliance’s most wanted criminals.
Bursting out of his office, Sima Yeon sprinted down the long corridor.
“Ch-Chief Strategist, sir! Grandfather!”
Soon after, with the urgent cry of Sima Baek—the Murim Alliance’s second-in-command and Chief Strategist—the elite martial artists of the Tang Clan, Seomun Clan, and House of Seok shot forth from the Alliance’s main gates like beams of light.
The prodigies were struck dumb with shock at Jin Seong-un’s appearance. They had expected Baek Un-geom or Shin Mok to come, but instead, it was merely the inn’s waiter.
Even Baek Sang and Baek Seol, who knew that Jin Seong-un wasn’t just an ordinary waiter, were no different.
Their opponent was not just some random demonic cultivator, but the Food Butcher—the Murim Alliance’s most wanted criminal.
Only Seo Yu-gyeom’s expression remained calm.
He had once witnessed the Food Butcher clash with the Vice Leader of Deathshroud.
No matter how he thought about it, it was hard to believe that the Food Butcher was overwhelmingly stronger than the Vice Leader.
Which meant, since Jin Seong-un had joined them, that bastard Food Butcher was already as good as dead.
“That lunatic wrecked this whole place. If he knew why Seomun Ak became a slave of Seong-un Inn, he wouldn’t have dared do this.”
He tattled immediately.
Seomun Ak scowled.
Jin Seong-un calmly surveyed the inside of the inn. It had indeed been utterly destroyed.
Intact chairs or tables were hard to find. The floors and walls were no different. One wall even had a massive hole in it.
“……I’ve no face to show Elder.”
Since Shin Mok had helped repair the inn only recently, it pained him to see it in this state again.
After checking the damage, Jin Seong-un turned his gaze to the prodigies.
Seomun Ak was unscathed, having cowered far away out of fear.
The others, however, were in tatters.
Baek Sang and Baek Seol’s pale faces had gone stiff, Seok Tae-shin was bleeding heavily from a deep shoulder wound, Tang So-yeon’s hair was disheveled from rolling on the ground while her martial uniform was torn, and above all, Seo Yu-gyeom’s clothes were completely drenched in blood.
He had been the one fighting at the front.
Each time Seo Yu-gyeom was forced back a step, one of the prodigies suffered injuries.
Cut again and again by the crude chicken cleaver, his martial uniform was crusted with blood.
“Are you all right?”
The question was directed at everyone.
Seo Yu-gyeom nodded. He only needed to finish off the Food Butcher now—of course he was all right.
But the other prodigies felt frustrated at this situation. Tang So-yeon spoke with an irritated expression.
“Hey, run away at once and bring Elder Baek Un-geom……”
But she could not finish her words.
For Jin Seong-un’s quiet gaze, fixed on the Food Butcher, suddenly sank low.
At the same time, the atmosphere inside the inn shifted.
It wasn’t that he released his inner arts. He merely stood there staring, yet a strange pressure bore down on the room.
Tang So-yeon recognized this feeling.
Her father, the Tang Clan Leader of Sichuan—the Poison King—showed such a presence on rare occasions.
Masters who had reached a certain realm could alter the air and atmosphere of their surroundings with their presence alone.
Tang So-yeon wasn’t the only one who noticed the change. The Food Butcher’s expression hardened as well.
“Indeed. This is no ordinary inn.”
The children of the Tang Clan and House of Seok came here as guests, while those of the Wudang Sect and Seomun Clan worked as waiter and cook.
‘And above all else…’
The Food Butcher’s gaze landed on Seo Yu-gyeom and Jin Seong-un.
Even he, who had visited countless inns across the world, had never encountered such an inn before.
To that, Jin Seong-un answered.
“Because you’re not an ordinary guest.”
Jin Seong-un and the Food Butcher’s gazes clashed.
The Food Butcher instinctively lunged. His martial instincts screamed with endless warnings of danger.
Swish—!
The distance closed in an instant.
Not only the prodigies but even Seo Yu-gyeom lost track of the Food Butcher’s movement for a moment.
Clang—!
In Jin Seong-un’s hand was the Black High Sword. Somehow, his hand never reached for the Taiji Sword given by Hyeon-un.
The clash of blades sent winds whipping, disheveling Jin Seong-un’s hair.
From within the sword winds, the Food Butcher looked into Jin Seong-un’s eyes. At this close distance, he felt an oddly unpleasant emotion.
It was strange. Normally, when people saw the Food Butcher, they felt unpleasantness. That was the nature of a demonic being.
But now, it was the Food Butcher himself who felt that way toward Jin Seong-un. He didn’t know why.
An impatience to kill him rose.
The Food Butcher’s blade relentlessly cut through the air.
Reverse Heaven Common Blade.
It was the Food Butcher’s unique saber art. The name, meaning “dreaming of defying heaven with an ordinary blade,” suited him perfectly.
The Food Butcher, whenever he practiced this saber art, imagined himself butchering the imperial family who had abandoned him.
Yet his blade had never once reached toward the Imperial Clan. His twisted rage had only been poured upon innocent cooks.
Because it was a short and crude chicken cleaver, it generated a speed several times faster than most skilled swordsmen.
Jin Seong-un’s Black High Sword moved to meet it. Dozens of intersecting trajectories filled the space between the two.
“W-we should help….”
Tang So-yeon, rarely, stuttered her words.
When the fight between Jin Seong-un and the Food Butcher first broke out, she had tried to join the battle.
But as soon as their real exchange began, she couldn’t. To be precise, she didn’t dare insert herself into that fight.
Tang So-yeon’s eyes shifted to the side.
Baek Sang, Baek Seol, Seok Tae-shin, and Seomun Ak were all wearing expressions similar to hers.
Especially Seomun Ak, who had worked at the inn alongside Jin Seong-un—his jaw had dropped wide in shock.
‘So even he didn’t know?’
Next to the prodigies, Seo Yu-gyeom was equally astonished.
Seo Yu-gyeom knew of Jin Seong-un’s martial prowess.
Or rather, he thought he did.
A formidable genius who could even exchange blows with the Vice Leader of Deathshroud. In truth, the word genius wasn’t enough, but Seo Yu-gyeom couldn’t think of a better one.
‘Was he not even using his full strength when he fought the Vice Leader?’
He had assumed that Jin Seong-un and the Food Butcher would be evenly matched. That was why he had intended to fight together.
But it wasn’t so. From where Seo Yu-gyeom stood, Jin Seong-un’s expression was calm, while the Food Butcher’s back radiated impatience.
In reality, the Food Butcher was pouring out saber qi relentlessly, yet not a single strand so much as grazed Jin Seong-un’s skin.
Of course, the one most dumbfounded was the Food Butcher himself.
He was using his inner arts to their limit, executing his fastest saber techniques. And yet, Jin Seong-un’s long sword was always waiting exactly where his chicken cleaver struck.
Could he be a rejuvenated master?
Like so many before him, the Food Butcher had the same suspicion.
If so, he had chosen the wrong opponent indeed. Though insane, the Food Butcher had a cold, calculating side.
‘I’ll flee.’
The resolve came swiftly, and his actions were even swifter.
He deliberately unleashed a storm of noisy saber strikes, forcibly enlarging his saber qi while maintaining speed.
The taste of blood rose in his throat, but that was no concern now.
The prodigies’ faces grew uneasy. From their eyes, it seemed that the Food Butcher’s momentum had suddenly become more ferocious.
At that moment.
When Jin Seong-un’s Black High Sword stretched deep, the Food Butcher deliberately exposed his left shoulder.
Slash—!
His shoulder split open, spraying blood into the air. Bearing the searing pain, the Food Butcher closed in on Jin Seong-un by a step.
They were now close enough to feel each other’s breath.
The Food Butcher felt relieved.
His opponent wasn’t a rejuvenated master. If he were a seasoned swordsman, he would never have allowed this distance.
Suddenly, the Food Butcher released a concentrated shock force.
It was a situation that a swordsman wielding a long blade could never respond to.
Though not a rejuvenated master, Jin Seong-un was clearly stronger. Still, the Food Butcher planned to use this blow to buy time and escape.
That plan crumbled the moment Jin Seong-un extended his palm. The one mistake the Food Butcher made—Jin Seong-un was not merely a swordsman.
The Food Butcher’s eyes widened. From the palm that suddenly pressed against him, a reddish glow seeped out, and a dreadful pain erupted in his chest.
Craaaash—!
Blood Demon Palm.
It was a plain name. The Blood Demon never needed to boast his existence to the world.
The Food Butcher was flung away.
The prodigies cried out in shock and scattered to either side.
They couldn’t see the Blood Demon Palm clearly, hidden by the Food Butcher’s body. They only heard a bursting sound as he was hurled away.
His body smashed through one wall of the inn and crashed down. Black, sticky blood gushed endlessly from his mouth.
“Cough!”
The Food Butcher tried to rise through the pain. But the penetrating force had already destroyed all of his meridians and qi pathways.
He realized he would never be able to exact vengeance upon the cooks who betrayed him, nor upon the imperial family.
His eyes slowly closed. At the final moment, his lips moved faintly. Then his body slumped lifelessly.
Only one person—Seo Yu-gyeom—understood his last words. Assassins could communicate even in darkness by lip movements alone.
Seo Yu-gyeom approached the Food Butcher. Searching his robes briefly, he pulled out a small book tucked by his side.
It had no title.
Perhaps due to the final blow, one corner was torn away. Fortunately, the writing inside was still legible.
“What is it?”
Baek Seol asked.
Seo Yu-gyeom silently scanned the book before replying.
“A manual.”
“A saber art?”
“No.”
The book did not contain his unique Reverse Heaven Common Blade. Instead, it was filled with a lifetime of cooking.
“Seems he was a cook all his life.” Seo Yu-gyeom clicked his tongue.
Every martial artist wished to leave their enlightenment to the world before death. If he had been a true martial artist, this would have been the secret manual of the Reverse Heaven Common Blade.
Seo Yu-gyeom looked at Jin Seong-un and asked.
“Can I keep this?”
“Yes.”
Jin Seong-un nodded calmly. He had no need for it. On the contrary, if Seo Yu-gyeom, the cook of Seong-un Inn, had it, it would be even better for him.
As the two exchanged simple words, the tense air inside the inn dissipated instantly.
Only then did the prodigies truly realize—the fight was over, and the demonic cultivator known as the Food Butcher was dead.
And at that very moment—
“Seong-un!”
An urgent shout of an old man rang out.
Though the voice carried distance, the inn door soon burst open.
It was Baek Un-geom, Hyeon-un. He had run so hastily that his usually neat hair was disheveled.
Beside him descended a burly middle-aged man. Upon seeing him, Tang So-yeon exclaimed in surprise.
“Elder!”
It was Tang Tae-san, the Poison Army, one of the Tang Clan’s elders.
And not only him. Following behind were Seomun Jeok, Clan Leader of the Seomun Clan, and Seok Won-sang, Head of the House of Seok. Soon after, dozens of martial artists surrounded the inn.
They were martial artists of the clans, as well as members of the Murim Alliance’s White Sword Hall.
“Are you unharmed?”
Tang Tae-san asked his niece Tang So-yeon. Despite his massive frame, his voice was soft and gentle.
Tang So-yeon nodded. Relief spread across Tang Tae-san’s fierce features.
Then his gaze turned. Everyone’s eyes were already fixed on the same place.
The corpse of the Food Butcher, slumped against the collapsed wall.
“What happened here?”
Tang Tae-san asked.
And naturally, the prodigies’ eyes turned toward Jin Seong-un.