Chapter 244: Bloodshed Follows an Uninvited Guest (1)

Guangyuan City was situated at the entrance to Sichuan Province. Due to its position on the main road from Shaanxi Province, it was a key strategic crossroads.

A checkpoint stood at the entrance to Guangyuan, managed jointly by the Qingcheng Sect, the Emei Sect, and the Tang Clan. Each group had dispatched several dozen members to staff the checkpoint and inspect every traveler with the utmost severity.

Anyone whose identity was uncertain was denied passage. Even those who passed were quietly shadowed by watchers if anything about them aroused suspicion.

Complaints erupted here and there about it, but it was also because of it that Sichuan Province had stayed clear of the flames of war until now.

Along with its enclosed terrain and the three sects’ aggressive intervention, Sichuan enjoyed peace and prosperity. Consequently, they gave more aid to Heaven’s Summit than anywhere else.

Tang Jin-Wol, a middle-aged martial artist, was dispatched from the Tang Clan. As a direct descendant of the clan, he oversaw the Guangyuan checkpoint as its general manager.

He was meticulous and faithful to his principles by nature, so no shortcut or trick ever worked on him. Some derided him for being as stubborn as a mule, but this stubbornness resulted in the Guangyuan checkpoint maintaining an ironclad watch.

Today, Tang Jin-Wol was at the checkpoint again. A long procession of people hoping to enter Sichuan Province stretched out beyond it.

Among them were merchants and common folk, as well as the occasional martial artist carrying a weapon. The martial artists were inspected far more thoroughly than anyone else.

Dissatisfaction filled their faces, yet none of them dared to voice it. The martial artists guarding the checkpoint were just too menacing.

“Pass! Next,” Tang Jin-Wol shouted.

The merchants who had been waiting their turn at the back approached. They had more than twenty carts loaded with goods. Counting the merchants, guards, and escorts, there were well over a hundred people in the procession.

“State your affiliation.”

A man in his early thirties who appeared to be in charge stepped forward. “We are merchants belonging to the Great Peace Merchant Association. I am Jeong Hang-Mun, the head escort for this trip.”

“Jeong Hang-Mun?”

“Here are my identity documents. Check them for yourself. They were issued by Heaven’s Summit, so you can trust them.” Jeong Hang-Mun presented his identification plaque and certificate with assurance.

Tang Jin-Wol nodded and took them. Experience had taught him that those who came forward so boldly were usually harmless.

He studied Jeong Hang-Mun’s face carefully anyway. The man had ordinary features. Out of a hundred men on any street, twenty or thirty would have a face much like his.

One thing stood out, though, the shape of his eyes and the look in them. They curved like crescent moons, as though he were always smiling. Nothing in the world seemed capable of taking that smile off his face.

He looked back at the identity documents. The certificate bore the official seal of Heaven’s Summit. There was no question that it was genuine.

“It’s a Heaven’s Summit certificate, no doubt.”

Tang Jin-Wol and his men checked the identity documents of the other merchants just as carefully. None of them were suspicious.

Jeong Hang-Mun asked confidently, “Then, may we pass?”

“Where are you headed?”

“We’re going to Dujiangyan.”

“Dujiangyan, not Chengdu?”

“A great many merchant guilds are already established in Chengdu, so we’re thinking of trading in Dujiangyan this time. We’ll have to consult with the Qingcheng Sect first, of course.”

“Hmm!”

Dujiangyan was a town at the foot of Mount Qingcheng, where the Qingcheng Sect was based. Although the sect influenced the town’s development, Dujiangyan was still much smaller than Chengdu. Consequently, most merchant guilds established branches in Chengdu instead.

That said, the idea of opening in Dujiangyan was not entirely wrong. A place with no competitors would certainly be easier to do business in.

Tang Jin-Wol checked every detail, right down to the cargo on the carts. “Aren’t these furs?”

“That’s right. High-quality furs. Top-grade goods and hard to come by.”

“Hmm! Furs in the middle of summer?”

“It’s summer now, but winter will be arriving in three or four months. There’ll naturally be demand for them, don’t you think?”

The words seemed plausible at first. As Tang Jin-Wol listened to the explanation, however, his expression cooled considerably.

“Sichuan Province is one of the top producers of fur. Why are you bringing furs into Sichuan?”

“That’s...”

The smile vanished from Jeong Hang-Mun’s face completely.

“You’re spouting nonsense that wouldn’t make a dog laugh. What kind of merchant doesn’t know such a basic principle? Who are you bastards, really?”

The martial artists behind Tang Jin-Wol rushed forward, sensing a shift in the atmosphere.

Jeong Hang-Mun clicked his tongue. “Hmm... So, Sichuan Province is a major producer of fur?”

All traces of mirth disappeared from his face. Gone was the good-natured, smiling merchant from a moment before. What remained was a demeanor as dry as desert sand.

The change was drastic enough to make one doubt that they were the same person.

Tang Jin-Wol bellowed, “They’re suspicious! Subdue them all! If they resist, you may kill them!”

“Yes, sir!”

The martial artists advanced on the Great Peace Merchant Association, emitting a chilling aura.

They were the elite of the Qingcheng Sect, the Emei Sect, and the Tang Clan. Having handled situations like this countless times, none of them were the least bit alarmed.

Jeong Hang-Mun shook his head. “Tsk! I wanted to sneak in quietly, but I guess it can’t be helped. Clean this up, and then we’ll move on to Mount Qingcheng.”

“As you command!”

The men who had been posing as merchants and escorts revealed their true colors. They were unarmed, yet they showed no trace of fear.

“WAAAAH!”

Tang Jin-Wol’s martial artists charged at Jeong Hang-Mun’s subordinates. As elites chosen from three sects, their prowess was considerable. Weapon qi surged from all directions.

SHWIIIIK!

Sharp, air-slicing sounds rang out everywhere.

Despite this, not a single man was wounded or fell.

“What?”

The martial artists of the three sects were bewildered. Their opponents were like ghosts, elusive beyond belief, drifting like butterflies riding the wind.

Whenever they attacked, their opponents withdrew exactly as far as the attack reached. When they tired, their opponents came drifting back in.

The swords of the three sects cut only empty air.

“Damn it!” Tang Jin-Wol swore, feeling frustrated.

There were countless movement techniques in the world, but he had never heard of one like this. However, he did know of a place where such an absurd technique might exist.

“You’re from the Silent Night!”

“Hmph!” Jeong Hang-Mun let out a sneer instead of an answer.

Tang Jin-Wol roared, “How dare the Silent Night set its sights on Sichuan Province? What’s your goal?”

“Because I don’t like the look of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“The entire Central Plains is engulfed in the flames of war, yet Sichuan alone remains unscathed? That’s no good.”

“For a reason as trivial as that?”

“People die for lesser reasons than that, so you shouldn’t feel too wronged.”

“You bastard!”

Provoked by the mockery, Tang Jin-Wol lunged.

SWISH!

The hidden weapons concealed in his hem and sleeves whizzed through the air. Among them were more than a few of the forbidden weapons that the Tang Clan strictly restricted.

“Hmph!” Jeong Hang-Mun scoffed. He showed no interest in dodging.

A faint smile touched Tang Jin-Wol’s lips. “So you were all talk.”

The next moment, his eyes widened to the point of tearing. An instant before the hidden weapons struck, Jeong Hang-Mun’s body vanished like an illusion.

“Where are you?”

Sensing danger instinctively, Tang Jin-Wol threw hidden weapons in every direction, intending to cut off any approach at the source. This was a method he adapted from the Eight Directions Wind and Rain.

PWAK!

A searing pain tore through his back, and his mouth fell open. He tried to turn, but his head would not move. Instead, he looked down at his stomach.

A white hand had burst through his abdomen.

The whole thing felt like a dream. A terrible nightmare.

“Keuk!” Tang Jin-Wol coughed up a rush of blood, and mixed into it were finely shredded scraps of his own organs. “You, you’re...”

“My real name is Nam Cheon-Myeong.”

“Nam Cheon-Myeong?”

“You wouldn’t know me by that name, would you? What if I told you my alias?”

Jeong Hang-Mun—no, Nam Cheon-Myeong—brought his mouth close to Tang Jin-Wol’s ear and whispered something.

Tang Jin-Wol’s eyes went wide. Unbridled terror surfaced in his bloodshot eyes. “Y-You’re...”

“Huhu! Now that you know, you needn’t feel too wronged. Farewell.”

Nam Cheon-Myeong pushed Tang Jin-Wol’s head with one finger, causing the corpse to fall backward powerlessly.

He clasped his hands behind his back and surveyed the battlefield. The area was being cleaned up quickly. Almost everyone who fell belonged to the three sects, and his men had suffered no casualties. It was a terrifying display of martial prowess.

Within moments, the hundred or so martial artists at the checkpoint were dead. It happened so quickly that no one managed to fire the signal flare that would have warned the nearby branch of the danger.

“Kkeueueu! They’re demons.”

“How can they...”

The faces of the common folk waiting to pass through the checkpoint turned deathly pale. People were dying in front of them, and severed arms and legs rolled across the ground. Witnessing a massacre for the first time, they were too terrified to even think about running.

A few collapsed, vomiting everything in their stomachs, but the retching wouldn’t stop. Their insides turned over, and the world went yellow.

At that moment, several martial artists rushed at them, swinging their weapons.

“Aargh!”

“Help me!”

The common folk and merchants fled in every direction like startled grasshoppers. Nam Cheon-Myeong’s men did not let a single one escape. They ran down and killed every last person.

In the blink of an eye, everyone nearby was slaughtered. Not a single person escaped. Despite having no connection to the murim, many commoners lost their lives simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The warriors who had finished the massacre gathered around Nam Cheon-Myeong. They were no longer ordinary merchants and escorts. Everything about them had changed, from their eyes to their bearing. Their endlessly dark eyes and air colder than frost made one doubt that they were the same people.

The strongest-looking warrior stepped forward. “Shadow Demon, we’ve finished the job.”

“We’re heading for Mount Qingcheng as planned, so tell the others not to let their guard down.”

“Of course. We of the Hell Demon Squad don’t know the meaning of carelessness.”

“I mean it! I heard the youngsters of the Supreme Demon Squad were spouting the same nonsense right before they got their noses broken.”

“What? Surely not...”

Disbelief crossed the man’s face. Cheok Cheong-Yeong, the general of the Supreme Demon Squad, was a renowned powerhouse, even within the Silent Night. The fact that a squad led by such a man had been beaten back was hard to swallow.

Nam Cheon-Myeong narrowed his eyes. “Does it sound like a lie?”

“N-No, sir.” The man hastily shook his head. He might doubt anyone else’s word, but he believed Nam Cheon-Myeong.

“Then let’s get moving. If we’re going to party as hard as that fellow says we should, we’re short on time.”

“Understood.”

Nam Cheon-Myeong took the lead and set off, followed by the Hell Demon Squad and the other warriors.

Nam Cheon-Myeong tilted his head. “The Tang Clan’s after the Qingcheng Sect, right?”

“That is correct.”

“The Tang Clan... I wonder if their poisons will be effective?”

Nam Cheon-Myeong’s mysterious musings scattered to the wind.