Chapter 30. Twin Swords of the Wind and Clouds (5)

Chapter 30. Twin Swords of the Wind and Clouds (5)

Although Woo-Moon, like Woo-Gang, had little experience with the real world, he at least knew what cowardly and underhanded people were like from his experience working at the inn.

Although he had never experienced a situation like this himself, he was still able to grasp the opponent’s behavior accurately.

It was only then that Woo-Gang realized it as well.

If they were to abandon their weapons, it was a given that the lives of the people of the Leebi Merchant Guild would fall into even greater danger, not to mention that it would even put their grandfather, the Palm Martial Emperor, in danger as well.

“Haha! As expected, you’re smart, too! Still!”

Baek Sang-Woon’s voice suddenly rang, and at the same time, five beams of light flew from behind them and pierced the foreheads of the five warriors holding hostages simultaneously. Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

Thud! Thud!

“Kyaaa!!!”

One of the fake warriors of the Leebi Guild[1] that was held hostage screamed at the sight of blood.

Having dealt with the five warriors, Sang-Woon made his appearance.

“It seems you still don’t know the extent of your grandfather’s abilities. Whether they take hostages or not, these brats won’t be able to flee.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Sang-Woon erupted with a terrifying aura.

“If any of you had any idea who I am, none of you would have dared to do such a vicious thing like taking a hostage in front of me!” he said in a furious tone as he thrust a palm in the air toward the enemies.

WOOSH!

A terrifying sound exploded, so loud that all those who heard it wondered if this kind of sound was something that could be generated just by striking the air with the palm of one’s hand.

A formidable gale was created, breaking apart the ground and flipping it up into the sky as it rampaged forward.

“Agh!!!”

The remaining enemies were swept away by the formidable wind as blood splattered over the surroundings.

During the battle of the Emperors, the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor had been forced to run away. Woo-Moon had played a pivotal role in forcing the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor to flee in spite of the latter's skills being on the same level as the Palm Martial Emperor's.

As the two Emperors fought, the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s qi destabilized slightly as an aftereffect of Woo-Moon's attack, which he had initially brushed off.

Of course, although it had only caused the slightest of impacts on his qi circulation, even such subtle changes played a significant role in a bout between Absolute Masters.

The Palm Martial Emperor had caught onto that subtle change and pushed him persistently, widening the gap between them more and more. It was like a stone shifting ever so slightly at the top of a snowy mountain in the dead of winter—if a breeze sent it rolling down, it would gather more and more snow on the way until it turned into an avalanche.

As a result, the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor was forced to flee, and the Palm Martial Emperor was able to join the others before it was too late.

***

Woo-Moon and Woo-Gang gathered the bodies of their enemies in one place, then Sang-Woon personally lit his Samadhi True Flame and incinerated them. Meanwhile, the Leebi Guild hastily gathered their slain members onto the wagons and set off back on the road.

Although it was already well into the night, after what they had just gone through, there were no complaints as everyone just wanted to return to Unhan as fast as possible.

“Just who could they have been?” Woo-Moon asked Sang-Woon, who was on a horse.

“Hmm, who knows? I couldn’t tell, either. All of the bastards that I left alive took some poison pill and offed themselves. Still, considering how they’d go so far to keep their secret, they’re either from a group that’s afraid of my retaliation, or they’re from a secret organization that follows the Demonic Path, an organization that would likely become a public enemy if it were to be revealed.”

“If it’s the Demonic Path... then could it be the Heavenly Demon Cult?”

Sang-Woon smirked at Woo-Moon’s question.

“No, it could never be them.”

“Why is that?”

Sang-Woon suddenly raised his fist.

“Strength!”

“Strength?”

“Yes. Strength. What the Heavenly Demon Cult ultimately seeks is the epitome of strength. A path of domination that can break through anything! For those muscleheads to work in secret like this to get rid of me? That those idiots would even take poison pills in fear of being discovered? Nonsense.”

The Palm Martial Emperor turned his gaze into the distance as he continued.

“Although they are of the Demonic Path, in a way, they could be said to be the purest of those bastards. They wouldn’t do anything uncouth like taking hostages or do anything in secret, just like those bastards just now. If they wanted to come out, they would have done it confidently, even if it meant that they died for their principles. And even then, they would go down kicking and screaming. That is the way of the Demonic Path’s Heavenly Demon Cult, the way of the Heavenly Demon.”

He was overwhelmed with emotion on the one hand, and on the other, he was filled with worry. Worry that his daughter would meet him with coldness... worry that he would be appearing in front of his daughter in vain, only causing her pain.

‘What the hell, you've already made up your mind! No, there’s no going back. Let’s go.’

In front of the Deungpyeong Inn stood Song Dae-Woong. He had received the news that the caravan had arrived in Unhan, so he was now outside, waiting for Song Woo-Moon.

“Oh? Son!!! Huh??!!! Woo-Gang, you're here as well!! How come you're here together?”

Dae-Woong ran forward and hugged Woo-Moon and Woo-Gang at the same time.

“Father!”

“Oh, you little brat. Did you have a safe trip? Have you been eating well?”

Dae-Woong's eldest son had caused him endless worry while he was living at home, but now that he had left for the outside world, Dae-Woong had discovered that this made him even more worried.

“I’m fine. What, am I a baby?”

Dae-Woong was proud to see Woo-Moon's confident smile.

“Good, good. Woo-Gang, have you been well? You’re not hurting anywhere, are you?”

“I'm fine, Father.”

It was only then that Dae-Woong noticed a man in white, roughly in his mid-thirties, who was observing him intently.

‘What the hell is with that fishy look? Hey, little brat, who do you think you're glaring at?’

Dae-Woong was in his early forties, and he did not suspect for a second that this man, who looked a decade younger, was his father-in-law.

Dae-Woong frowned.

“Tsk. And who is that brother over there? Is he someone you know?”

“Cough! Father, please, you can’t be like that. That’s mother’s—”

Sang-Woon interrupted Woo-Moon before he could finish.

"Woo-Moon, go and tell your mother to come out.”

"Understood!"

Woo-Moon immediately gave up trying to explain things and went inside to do what his grandfather had asked. Seeing that, Dae-Woong walked forward, eyes blazing.

“Excuse me, dear brother. Who the hell are you to go and order my wife around?!”

Dae-Woong didn’t like the look of Sang-Woon. Being stared at like that irritated him to begin with, and now his children seemed to be more obedient toward this man than toward their own father! Most importantly, this man seemed to be acquainted with Dae-Woong's fairy of a wife, which made Dae-Woong prick up like a hedgehog.

‘The hell is this bastard! What, is he someone Jin-Jin met when she was younger?’

Woo-Gang rushed to his father and grabbed his arm, quickly explaining, “Father! You have to watch your words. This is our maternal grandfather."

"What?"

Hearing this remark that came out of nowhere, Dae-Woong turned to look at Woo-Gang. Suddenly, he became teary and put his hand on Woo-Gang's forehead.

“So... something is strange. You don’t have a fever, either... No...no! Have you become a fool now that your older brother has become normal again? No, that can’t be!”

“No, of course not! I’m fine. I’m telling you, he is our maternal grandfather. He's your father in law, so please be polite to him.”

“You little punk, what do you mean you’re fine? How can this guy that’s younger than me be your mother’s father? There’s no helping it. Come with me to the clinic right now!”

Dae-Woong was already sensitive to this issue because of Woo-Moon.

‘We can’t have any more idiots in the family!’

The more Dae-Woong floundered, the more Woo-Gang became irritated.

‘Well, of course, he looks younger than you, Father. But that’s not his real age. This person is the famous Palm Martial Emperor. You know that Absolute Masters look as if they never age, right?”

“What a load of crap![2]How could someone like the Palm Martial Emperor come to a place like this? Come on, quickly, we have to go to the clinic!”

1. In chapter 7, the Leebi Guild hired a number of random people to dress up as warriors in order to boost the guild's image. ☜

2. An idiom about speaking nonsense, literally "forgetting the rice for the ghosts." In Eastern society, holding rites for your ancestors was a common ritual as a form of filial piety. One of the common beliefs of the rites is that without holding the rites, your ancestors will starve for eternity. These rites are still held once a year, and the idiom refers to how ridiculous it would be if you said, “I forgot the rice” at the ritual. ☜