noveltune Chapter 267:
Chapter 267:
Shaolin
Mu-jin was heading towards Songshan, traveling comfortably in a carriage.
Of course, it only appeared comfortable from a distance.
Life is said to be a comedy when viewed from afar and a tragedy when seen up close.
“Ugh.”
Every time the carriage jolted, intense pain surged through his entire body.
Covered in blue bruises, Mu-jin was heading to Shaolin with pain.
But now, that seemingly convenient journey had come to an end.
Having arrived at the entrance of Songshan, he had to get out of the carriage and walk up the mountain.
“Whew. It’s actually better to walk.”
Sighing, Mu-jin got off the carriage and started climbing Songshan with the Shaolin monks.
“...?”
But for some reason, despite it being only about twenty days since he last climbed Songshan, Mu-jin was overcome by a strange sensation.
“Was the terrain always like this...?”
The mountain path, familiar to those visiting Shaolin, seemed oddly different.
There were many deep marks on the ground, trees and bushes were trampled here and there.
“!!!”
Most disturbingly, there were dark bloodstains scattered along the path.
Although it was a mountain and the blood could belong to animals, Mu-jin instinctively felt that it was human blood.
His instincts were mainly influenced by the reactions of those around him.
For some reason, the previously gentle expressions of the Shaolin monks had turned grim.
Interestingly, the emotions reflected in their expressions were not surprise or confusion but a solemn resolve as if they had been expecting this.
Finally, as they crossed the gate into the Shaolin grounds,
“What on earth happened here?”
Mu-jin couldn’t help but ask such a question.
The stone pavements and some walls within Shaolin’s compound were damaged, and several buildings were partially collapsed.
Moreover, numerous bloodstains, yet to be completely cleaned, were scattered around the compound.
Welcoming the deeply troubled Mu-jin and the Shaolin disciples was Hye-dam, Mu-gung’s mentor and the leader of the One Hundred Eight Arhats.
“Disciple Hye-dam greets the head monk.”
But he, too, was not as he usually was.
With a robust physique and stern face as usual, Hye-dam was wrapped in bandages under his monk’s robe.
And with Hyun-cheon’s words acknowledging Hye-dam’s greeting, Mu-jin’s confusion deepened.
“So, it was Salmak that attacked.”
“Yes, head monk.”
Salmak.
One of the Seven Evils supporting the dark sect, known as the assassins’ group.
Only their existence and methods of contact were vaguely known; their headquarters were a mystery even to the martial world.
A sect often appearing in the second part of the novel “Saga of the Dark Emperor,” focusing on the dark sect.
They had attempted to assassinate Dao Yuetian, who had started to expand his influence in the dark sect upon the orders of the shadowy forces and Hyeok Jin-gang.
Whether they were minions of Hyeok Jin-gang or a sect created by him wasn’t clarified, but they were at least known to be allied with him.
Thus, Mu-jin always thought he might have to confront or deal with Salmak someday.
However,
‘Why did Salmak suddenly appear here?’
Mu-jin never expected them to show up at this time.
Let alone attack Shaolin.
* * *
About fifteen days ago, when Mu-jin was heading to the Martial Alliance to join the Four Divine Units, Mu-gyeong was traveling the Jianghu with Hye-gwan.
It was indeed a peculiar situation.
Despite Hye-gwan dragging Mu-gyeong out for some important task,
“Hahaha. Would you like a drink?”
He indulged in drinking and revelry as they roamed the Jianghu.
Initially tense, Mu-gyeong soon followed suit, enjoying the worldly pleasures with Hye-gwan.
He wasn’t wrong.
After leaving Shaolin with Mu-jin, then returning and enduring punishment in the repentance chamber, Mu-gyeong had spent a year and a half sparring with Hye-gwan, nearly to the death. His exceptional talent meant that Mu-gyeong’s skills had caught up with Hye-gwan’s.
In terms of the number and proficiency of techniques learned, Mu-gyeong was ahead, but in practical experience and internal energy depth gained from age and years, Hye-gwan still had the upper hand. Their sparring was nearly even.
“You insolent brat. Your manners are impeccable.”
“Hahaha. Didn’t I learn it all from you, master?”
Even though Hye-gwan clicked his tongue, he smiled, finding Mu-gyeong’s drunkenness endearing.
Maybe his twitching lips were an attempt to suppress his anger.
“If you’re drunk, just fall asleep.”
“Yes! I’ll go to sleep now!”
With that, Mu-gyeong slammed his head onto the table and fell unconscious.
“Koooo.”
Watching Mu-gyeong sleep as if he had passed out, Hye-gwan chuckled.
“Tsk tsk. Drinking recklessly like that.”
Hye-gwan had already forgotten that he had encouraged the drinking.
He looked at the unconscious Mu-gyeong with satisfaction for a moment before suddenly punching towards him.
Paht!
Even while asleep, Mu-gyeong instinctively raised his upper body and blocked Hye-gwan’s punch.
“I knew you would do that.”
Leaving those words like a will, Mu-gyeong collapsed again.
“Hahaha. Excellent.”
Seeing Mu-gyeong’s reaction to the surprise attack even in a drunken stupor, Hye-gwan laughed heartily, genuinely pleased.
This was the result of his relentless training over the years.
At Shaolin, under the guise of practical training, Hye-gwan had ambushed Mu-gyeong dozens, even hundreds of times while he slept.
* * *
For several more days, their journey through the Jianghu continued.
When they arrived at Yihuang County near Yuhua Mountain in Guangxi Province, Hye-gwan finally spoke.
“We have arrived.”
“Was this our destination?”
“Yes.”
“What are we supposed to do here?”
Despite traveling together for five days, Mu-gyeong was only now asking the crucial question.
“We’re here to catch a crazy murderer.”
“...Do they have a name or a moniker?”
“I don’t know the name. People call him the Shadowless Blood Ghost.”
“The Shadowless Blood Ghost?”
“Yes. His stealth and lightness skills are so excellent that his face and name are unknown. I’ve been chasing him for two years, but I still don’t know his face or name.”
“How do you catch someone whose face and name you don’t know?”
“Hahaha. I once pursued a masked man believed to be him. Although I didn’t catch him, I remember his subtle aura. Most importantly, he always leaves a trace.”
“What kind of trace?”
At Mu-gyeong’s question, Hye-gwan, who usually had a crooked smile, replied with an unusually stern face.
“Corpses. Corpses of women or children, mutilated as if tortured, drained of blood, and dried like leather.”
“!!!”
He moved so secretly that encountering him was difficult.
Hye-gwan had been tracking his movements through the horrific corpses he left behind.
Based on years of monitoring his movements and understanding the habits of many murderers he had dealt with, Hye-gwan concluded that the killer’s current hiding place was here in Yihuang County.
Soon, the killer would again kidnap a woman or child and commit another gruesome murder before leaving this place.
Hye-gwan aimed to capture him here before he repeated his crimes.
From his instincts honed through eliminating numerous villains, he knew the killer was a sadist.
The slow, torturous mutilation was to hear their screams.
That’s why Hye-gwan brought Mu-gyeong here.
To show him what happens when someone with a similar madness succumbs to their instincts.