Chapter 61: A Price That Will Never Come Again
On nights when rain poured down as though the sky itself had split open, no one wished to go outside.
For that reason, the faces of the Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley and the Master of Twilight Pavilion were far from pleasant.
The Master of Hwa-un Trading Company had escaped. It was not a matter of great concern. How far could a woman who knew no martial arts possibly flee?
Even if she hid somewhere in Deyang, there was no place beyond the reach of Twilight Pavilion and Azure Wild Valley.
Her tracks had been quickly revealed, and Sa Ryeong-geuk had directly ordered the two to lead their men and capture her.
“Why bother running at all, tch.”
The Master of Twilight Pavilion clicked his tongue as he spoke.
To think she would choose to flee on such a day and cause them this annoyance. No matter how he thought about it, killing the Master of Hwa-un Trading Company would have been the wiser choice.
But that Vice Leader bastard had demanded she be brought back alive.
Senile fool.
Still, outwardly the Master of Twilight Pavilion kept his manners.
“It seems the Vice Leader has his eye on the Trading Company Master, doesn’t he?”
The Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley nodded. The Master of Hwa-un Trading Company was indeed a remarkable beauty. And old men of the Unorthodox Path like Sa Ryeong-geuk could never act their age, always chasing after young women.
To the Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley, who had erased such emotions in childhood as a trained assassin, it was truly a pathetic sight.
The two spoke ill of the Vice Leader while strolling at their leisure. They had already sent their subordinates to the Deyang Inn, so there was no need to hurry.
Heavy rain pelted unpleasantly against their broad-brimmed hats.
“What a fine day to die.”
The Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley exhaled smoke from his Mang-woo Pipe as he said that. The Master of Twilight Pavilion looked at him with an expression that said, “What kind of idiot nonsense is this now?”
After walking silently for a while, the Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley suddenly spoke.
“I never thought the Gang Leader of the Four Dragons River Gang and the Master of Dark Sun Sect would die like that. What are you planning to do now?”
“What do you mean, what am I planning?”
The Master of Twilight Pavilion stared at him. The rain fell so heavily that he could hardly make out his face even up close.
The Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley continued.
“You got lucky, didn’t you? The profits four men were meant to divide are now shared between us two. Unlike those two corpses, you are a true man of the Black Path, aren’t you?”
The expression of the Master of Twilight Pavilion turned strange.
This bastard from Azure Wild Valley…
He seemed to be lost in sentiment.
Was an assassin supposed to be like that? The thought flickered through his mind, but he had no wish to stir up conflict.
“It’s all the same. Beat down merchants, beat down the weak, beat down anyone who comes at us… In time, we’ll grow as large as the Heavenly Poison Alliance or the Southern Black Lotus.”
“Ah, romance.”
“……”
The Master of Twilight Pavilion thought, “I really don’t want to talk to this bastard anymore,” and kept walking.
But contrary to his wish, the Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley kept speaking in a voice intoxicated with something.
“I’ll aim for the Deathshroud.”
“You’ve gone mad.”
“Hahaha, I knew you’d say that. But a man must dream big. Do you think the assassins of the Deathshroud are something extraordinary? Assassins are all the same. The only difference is that the Deathshroud has money.”
The Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley truly believed that.
It cost astronomical amounts to raise even a single assassin.
The more money one poured in, the greater both the quality and quantity of assassins that could be nurtured.
The Deathshroud was the greatest assassin organization simply because they were rich. With enough wealth, he believed he could build a force to rival them, perhaps even surpass them.
That was why he thought he now stood at the greatest turning point of his life.
Thirty percent shares of the Hwa-un Trading Company. Even after paying massive tributes to the Heavenly Poison Alliance, what remained would be an enormous fortune.
“I once met the Ghost of Divine Slaughter. A terrifying man… but not so high above us as you might think.”
The Ghost of Divine Slaughter was the Vice Leader of the Deathshroud.
He was also called the second strongest assassin in the Central Plains.
“But can’t you shut up and just walk quietly?”
“……”
The Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley showed a faintly hurt expression. The trouble with people these days was they had no sense of romance.
But as he did not yet have the confidence to defeat the Master of Twilight Pavilion, he fell silent.
Thus, the two settled on a hill overlooking the Deyang Inn.
Their subordinates had already surrounded it completely. It was a simple matter—kill everyone inside and drag out Hwa Yeon-seol.
Whether their leaders needed to personally be here was doubtful, but when someone like Sa Ryeong-geuk gave an order, one had no choice but to obey.
Just then—
The inn’s lit door opened, and someone stepped out.
The Master of Twilight Pavilion narrowed his eyes, focusing his sight. The weather made it impossible to clearly see the face.
“Looks like a young man…”
“He has a sword in hand.”
The Master of Twilight Pavilion glanced at the Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley with a face that asked if that was supposed to mean anything. The other chuckled.
“Assassins are creatures of the dark.”
“…Is that so.”
The Master of Twilight Pavilion wished dearly that the man would stop opening his mouth.
Their gazes turned back to the inn.
The man swung his sword. It was no threat at all—slow, ordinary, light.
But what followed made their faces grow grim.
Shhhhaaaak!
From the sword burst forth red Sword Qi, spreading wide across the rain. A vast crimson blaze surged forth, engulfing both the rain and the martial artists alike.
Their subordinates’ screams rose briefly, then were drowned beneath the storm. The distance and the downpour muffled it all.
And yet, through that rain, a dreadful tearing roar pierced their ears.
Kwoooooom!
The unearthly boom of that crimson Sword Qi rolled forth as though to swallow heaven and earth.
Even from this far, it struck like thunder. Up close, it would have torn their eardrums apart.
Moments passed.
The world, bright as day for an instant, was dark once more. Rain washed everything away.
The two exchanged glances.
“A… a monster…”
A monster was in the Deyang Inn.
The Master of Twilight Pavilion stared grimly at it.
He almost collapsed on the spot. The figure was staring directly at them. Even blurred by the rain, its presence was undeniable.
“W-we should… run…”
He turned to his side as he spoke.
But that crazy assassin bastard was gone.
The Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley was already sprinting back the way they had come.
The Master of Twilight Pavilion felt a flicker of admiration.
So this was an assassin’s judgment.
A man with dreams greater than anyone else—but quicker to flee than anyone as well.
The Master of Twilight Pavilion inwardly cursed the Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley as he began to run at full speed.
Fortunately, the distance was great enough that the monster would not be able to chase after him.
From behind came that strange tearing roar again, and the Master of Twilight Pavilion felt every hair on his body stand on end.
He had lived his entire life rolling in the Black Path. By instinct alone, his body spun sharply to the side.
Chwaak—!
A crimson, razor-sharp Sword Qi slashed through his left arm. Blood poured onto the ground, unable to soak in, streaming away in every direction.
“Uwaaaah!”
The Master of Twilight Pavilion screamed, but he hastily stemmed the bleeding. His legs never stopped. To stop even for a moment was to invite the monster upon him.
The bitter irony was that, more than Sa Ryeong-geuk who had sent him here, more than that monstrous bastard itself, he resented most of all the Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley, who had fled so swiftly on his own.
Even writhing in pain, the Master of Twilight Pavilion ran with all the strength he had left. He had no leisure to look back. Though missing an arm threw his balance off, he forced himself to keep running.
.
.
.
When the Master of Twilight Pavilion finally returned to the Hwa-un Trading Company—
The Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley was already kneeling before Sa Ryeong-geuk, head pressed to the floor.
Sa Ryeong-geuk clicked his tongue at the sight of Twilight Pavilion’s condition.
“Where did you leave your arm?”
“…There’s a monster at the Deyang Inn.”
“You pathetic fool.”
A heavy sense of humiliation washed over the Master of Twilight Pavilion.
But there was nothing else he could do.
Keeping his fierce expression hidden, he lowered his head deeply and knelt before Sa Ryeong-geuk.
“I apologize, Vice Leader.”
Sa Ryeong-geuk looked down at the two with an expression of utter disdain.
There was no real sense of urgency in him. For decades he had lived as the second most powerful figure in Sichuan’s Unorthodox Path.
To him, men like the Master of Twilight Pavilion and the Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley were nothing but insects. That they had returned broken was no reason for him to be on guard.
“What kind of man was he?”
“He was young. A man with a sword…”
The two stammered as they described what they had seen.
No lengthy words were needed. The man had swung his sword once, and that was all.
Sa Ryeong-geuk slowly nodded.
“Then he must indeed be a strong one.”
Relief spread over the faces of the Master of Twilight Pavilion and the Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley. They had feared he would punish or berate them.
But contrary to his words, Sa Ryeong-geuk’s face was remarkably calm. He even looked faintly pleased.
Of course, the two with heads pressed to the floor could not see it.
“There’s no helping it. Such a powerful master is a variable that must be handled with care. We must send word to the Heavenly Poison Alliance.”
At that, the Master of Twilight Pavilion lifted his head.
That meant—they would summon the Heavenly Poison Alliance’s elites here to Deyang.
He cursed inwardly.
If those men came in droves, there was every chance they would seize full control of Deyang. They would not simply resolve matters and leave.
What’s more, he had lost an arm. Even if it was not the one that held his sword, adapting to the balance of a single arm would take much time.
From Sa Ryeong-geuk’s calm face, the Master of Twilight Pavilion realized. Their failure had given the man just the justification he needed.
It was clear he had always wanted to bring the Heavenly Poison Alliance fully into this affair.
“Damn it all…”
The Master of Twilight Pavilion sensed things were going wrong. Glancing at the Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley, he found the man’s face almost relieved, as though glad that stronger forces were coming to help.
Neither of them was of any use.
Still, there was nothing he could say. His crushing defeat was fact.
All he could do was swallow his deep humiliation and dread, lowering his head even further.
Jin Seong-un had deliberately allowed the fleeing Master of Twilight Pavilion and Valley Leader of Azure Wild Valley to escape.
There was no reason to chase them. For one, there were still guests inside the inn. But more fundamentally, they simply were not worth chasing.
If anything, he even looked forward to it a little.
Letting them return would surely bring more backers along.
Once the two had completely vanished from sight, Jin Seong-un swept the surroundings with his gaze, then stepped back into the inn.
Hwa Yeon-seol wore an expression like she was dreaming.
It was only natural. She had often heard tales of great masters of the martial world, but had always thought the descriptions a little exaggerated.
Leaping rivers and valleys in a single step, unleashing Sword Qi as vast as houses… such accounts had seemed too fantastical.
Yet just now, not only had she seen such a sight with her own eyes, but something even beyond it.
And the man who had wrought such a scene was brushing raindrops from his clothes as though it were nothing at all.
“What… what is this…”
She blinked in bewilderment, while Seo Yu-gyeom merely raised his thumb toward Jin Seong-un.
He had already seen something even greater back when they were trapped inside the formation of the Four Dragons River Gang.
Compared to that, this time looked as though Jin Seong-un had even held back, mindful of his surroundings.
Seo Yu-gyeom tapped Hwa Yeon-seol’s shoulder and spoke softly.
“Perhaps the true overlord of Hubei lies in this inn.”
He said it as if in jest, but half of it was genuine.
Of course, for now Hubei was crowded with many powers. The Wudang Sect, the Zhuge Clan, the Murim Alliance, the Southern Black Lotus…
But in ten, twenty years’ time—who among his generation could possibly stand beside Jin Seong-un?
Seok Tae-shin of the House of Seok, Seomun Ak of the Seomun Clan—none of them.
Baek Sang and Baek Seol of the Wudang Sect—likewise.
Even Tang So-yeon of the Tang Clan, compared to Jin Seong-un, was nothing but a child.
No, no matter which dragon or phoenix the world raised up, it would not be enough.
In that sense, Seo Yu-gyeom summed up his choice to remain at the Seong-un Inn in a single word.
And it was a word even more fitting for Hwa Yeon-seol, a merchant, than for himself.
“It’s a chance to buy low.”