CH 116

Unexpectedly, Ha Jin-Wol and Tang Gi-Mun got along very well. Shortly after meeting the scholar, Tang Gi-Mun went over to the ox cart and started talking to him. The topic started with medicine, but soon moved on to astronomy, geography, and more. In the end, even Jong-Ri Mu-Hwan joined the discussion.

Although everyone who listened to their conversation was quickly turned off by the frequent use of incomprehensible jargon, the arrival of Ha Jin-Wol livened up the atmosphere.

Unlike when they entered Yunnan, they didn’t stop in Kunming, where the Tyrant Fist Sect was located. They had already rescued Yoon Ja-Myeong, and the Tyrant Fist Sect was hardly the best place to go now. Since Jin Mu-Won had agreed to travel with the group until they left Yunnan, he decided to abandon his original plans and follow Gong Jin-Sung’s lead.

Before they knew it, the sun was already setting, and Gong Jin-Sung ordered the escorts to set up camp. Fortunately, there was a fairly large stream nearby, and a clearing in front of it that was large enough to comfortably accommodate them.

They built a circular barricade of wagons, started a fire, fetched water from the stream, and poured it into a large pot hung over the flames. The cook of the day threw various dried meat and vegetables into the pot, and soon a very randomly flavored mysterious gruel was ready.

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The gruel was distributed to the escorts, and Jin Mu-Won took a bowl as well. He knew from experience that even if it didn’t look appetizing, it usually tasted pretty decent. However, as he ate, a dark cloud hung over his face.

Hwang Cheol, who was sitting beside him, asked worriedly, “What’s wrong, Young Master? Does the food taste bad?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then?”

“I have a foreboding feeling.”

“What?”

“My chest feels tight, as if I’ve forgotten something important,” Jin Mu-Won said. Throughout the journey, he had felt increasingly anxious, as if an invisible hand was tugging at his ankles. It was so bad that he couldn’t meditate at all.

Hwang Cheol narrowed his eyes. The composure of a master like Jin Mu-Won was rock solid, never easily shaken or broken. If he felt out of sorts, it had to be something serious enough to affect his mental state.

Suddenly, an idea came into his mind.

“Perhaps…”

“Eh?”

“Could you be affected by that sword?”

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“You mean Snow Flower?”

“Yes, the homeland of the slaughtered tribe, where I got the black rock you used to make Snow Flower, is not far from here.”

“Where is it?”

“A dozen miles north of here is a mountain called Mount Darksword. The tribe’s ancestral home is on the north face of Mount Darksword.”

“I have to go there.” Jin Mu-Won put down his bowl and stood up.

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“Are you leaving right now?”

“Yes. I think it’s better if I resolve this sooner rather than later.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“The terrain around Mount Darksword is more complicated than it looks, and it’s not easy to find your way around. You’ll need a guide.” Hwang Cheol stood up, the determination in his eyes burning so brightly that Jin Mu-Won could not refuse him.

Jin Mu-Won told the group that he was going to visit Mount Darksword and that if he was not back by sunrise, they should leave without him and he would catch up with them later.

The two men then left the group’s campsite and headed for the mountain. Jin Mu-Won matched Hwang Cheol’s pace, and even though Hwang Cheol wasn’t very good at movement arts, they maintained a decent speed thanks to his increased internal chi.

Personally, Hwang Cheol was amazed at his own abilities. No matter how much he squandered his chi, he never seemed to run out of energy or feel tired. This was something he had never imagined could happen to him before.

Hwang Cheol glanced at Jin Mu-Won out of the corner of his eye. Jin Mu-Won’s face did not turn red, nor did his breathing become ragged, despite the fact that he was running at top speed.

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Young Master has already reached a level I dare not fathom. If my Lord were alive to see this, how happy would he be? At the thought of Jin Kwan-Ho, Hwang Cheol felt his tears well up. It had been ten years since Jin Kwan-Ho met his tragic end, but Hwang Cheol still felt heartbroken whenever he thought of him.

He forced back his tears and tried to smile, walking faster so that Jin Mu-Won would not notice his expression. He did not want his emotions to affect the young man. It would be one thing if it was him, but he didn’t want Jin Mu-Won to be reminded of the painful past.

ZOOOOM!

The scenery around him passed by at a rapid pace, and as he ran, a huge shadow loomed over him. In the dim moonlight, a huge mountain was barely visible. It was Mount Darksword.

“Whew!” Hwang Cheol let out a gasp as he came to a screeching halt.

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Jin Mu-Won also stopped running and looked at the mountain. From the tremors next to his waist, he could tell that Snow Flower was crying, as if she was happy to be back home.

Uncle Hwang was right. Snow Flower was the cause of my uneasiness. Jin Mu-Won gently stroked Snow Flower until her intense trembling gradually subsided.

“I hope the road to the village is still visible,” Hwang Cheol said a little worried.

Uninhabited villages quickly became ruins, and unused roads became overgrown with vegetation, making it difficult to find any trace of them. Since he was last here ten years ago, it was unlikely that the road was still there.

Hwang Cheol forged his way through the bushes, trying to remember the path he had taken a long time ago, while Jin Mu-Won silently followed behind him. The forest was so quiet that even the chirping of crickets was cut off by the sudden appearance of the two humans.

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As Hwang Cheol had said, the terrain was very rough. Although it was nothing like the Ailao Mountains, they still had to cross dangerous valleys and steep cliffs.

Before they knew it, it was already dawn. Hwang Cheol pointed to a cliff in the shape of a roaring lion and said, “We’re almost there. The village is at the plain below that cliff.”

As it turned out, the plain where the village once was was covered in man-sized grass and dotted with wooden beams, probably the ruins of houses.

“This place…”

SCREEEEEECH!

Snow Flower, who had calmed down for a while, started to wail again, this time so loud that even Hwang Cheol could hear her.

“Ugh!” Hwang Cheol gasped. He felt like his chest was being squeezed. He hastily circulated his chi to counter Snow Flower’s cursed energy, and the pain gradually subsided.

“What kind of sword is this…” he muttered, glaring at Snow Flower angrily. Even though Jin Mu-Won had told him that it was a cursed sword, this was the first time he had experienced its energy.

Jin Mu-Won didn’t answer. No, he couldn’t answer. Snow Flower’s cursed energy affected him even more than Hwang Cheol, and he had his hands full just trying to calm her down.

His heart sank and he felt tears threatening to fall. However, these were not his own emotions. They were Snow Flower’s.

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To make matters worse, without realizing it, he had followed Snow Flower’s urging to a large cave at the back of the village. He peered into the cave and saw a shrine to the tribe’s ancestors, but it had been so thoroughly destroyed that only a few traces remained.

“This is where I found the rock.”

“Were there any survivors at all?”

“At least, I didn’t see anyone here when I came.” A shadow fell over Hwang Cheol’s face as the memory of that time came back to him. The last time he had come to this place, the devastation had been terrifying. The bodies of hundreds of tribesmen littered the ground, and even their livestock had been slaughtered and was rotting away. Most of the houses had been burned or destroyed, and the streets reeked of blood and decay.

“To this day, I don’t know what it was about this place that made the martial artists destroy it…”

The area was surrounded by mountains on all sides. There was nothing of interest nearby. It wasn’t exactly the kind of place that would appeal to martial artists, but for them to come in and wipe them out meant that there was something of value that he didn’t know about.

After looking around for a moment, Jin Mu-Won entered the cave. However, because of the debris from a cave-in, he couldn’t go very deep inside. He peered through the debris. Something behind it attracted him. As if to prove it, Snow Flower screamed even louder.

Jin Mu-Won started to move the stones. Seeing his young master at work, Hwang Cheol silently helped him, thinking that there must be a good reason for Jin Mu-Won’s actions.

Just like that, the two toiled for hours, removing the stones.

Finally, the cavern behind the rubble was revealed. Jin Mu-Won immediately bit his lip and Hwang Cheol froze in horror.

“What on earth?”

Right in front of them, countless bodies were piled like luggage around a large pit dug into the ground. Since the bodies had been in an enclosed space for the past ten years, they had mummified instead of decomposing.

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“T-There were more bodies than just the ones outside?” Hwang Cheol said, his voice shaking.

There were over a hundred mummies. A foul stench emanated from them, causing the two men to feel slightly disoriented. However, Jin Mu-Won braved the stench and approached the bodies to take a closer look.

“These are all women.”

“Does this mean that the killers gathered all the women separately?”

“It seems so.”

“Damn it!” Hwang Cheol’s face scrunched up in anger.

“One hundred bodies, all women…” Jin Mu-Won muttered. Something about this fact bothered him, but he couldn’t remember what it was.

Jin Mu-Won reached out to examine one of the mummies, but the dried flesh crumbled at the slightest touch. It was in a terrible condition, and he had to limit himself to observation.

He thus carefully searched for similarities among the mummies, and soon noticed that they all had crisscrossed cuts on their necks and wrists.

“All the blood in their bodies was drained through these wounds. That’s why they were mummified instead of decomposing.”

“What kind of lunatic would drain all the blood from a corpse? That’s insane.”

“Are you sure that this place was wiped out by the Tyrant Fist Sect?”

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“That’s what I heard. Why?”

“Whether it’s the bodies drained of all their blood or this giant pit, both are signs that a practitioner of demonic arts was here.”

“Demonic arts?”

“Can you think of a demonic art that uses women’s blood as a sacrifice?”

Hwang Cheol shook his head. In all his years of traveling around the country with the White Dragon Merchant Association, he had never heard of a demonic art that used a woman’s blood.

“Do you know anything about it, Young Master?”

“When I was a child, I heard a certain horror story from the warriors of the Northern Army.”

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“What story…?”

“There is a demonic art that uses blood drained from living women. It is said that the power of the demonic art increases exponentially as the practitioner absorbs more and more blood.”

“Are you saying that such a demonic art… actually exists?”

“It is called the Demonic Blood Cross (十字血魔功), and it was declared a forbidden martial art in the gangho long ago due to its cruelty and inhumanity.” Jin Mu-Won’s eyes turned icy. I wonder who the culprit was? The Demonic Blood Cross has a fatal side effect that causes one to develop a split personality…and yet they chose to learn it!

SCREEEEECH!

Snow Flower cried.