Swish!

Jin Sa-wol, who had jumped over the wall of the Martial Alliance in the rain, entered the forest. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"I'm hungry."

The faint voice of Son Ae-hwa, who was on his back, was heard mixed with the sound of the rain.

Her body was too light. A body soaked in rain should have been heavy, but it felt like he was holding cotton.

"They didn't even give you food?"

"No."

"What petty bastards."

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Son Ae-hwa smiled with her eyes closed.

As they left the forest, the masked Seo Mun-ryeon approached.

"You came out faster than I thought."

"What about your subordinates?"

"I sent them ahead."

Seo Mun-ryeon had sent all her subordinates away for their safety, leaving only herself.

As they crossed the field and entered the forest again, Jin Sa-wol said, "Find Woo Jeong-bong of the Wudang Sect."

"Wudang? Why an orthodox faction bastard?"

"Because Ae-hwa needs to be taken care of."

He needed Woo Jeong-bong to entrust Son Ae-hwa to. He could trust him.

Seo Mun-ryeon didn't like getting involved with the orthodox faction.

"I'll take good care of her. Trust me."

Son Ae-hwa had left the Hwahwaru without permission. If Seo Mun-ryeon found out, she wouldn't stand by.

"Find him."

Jin Sa-wol ignored Seo Mun-ryeon's smile and pushed forward.

Seo Mun-ryeon felt hurt that Jin Sa-wol didn't trust her even though she had helped him diligently.

"You annoying bastard."

Seo Mun-ryeon grumbled and raised her internal energy. But there was a limit to chasing after Jin Sa-wol, who had already disappeared far into the darkness.

"We'll scatter. Let's meet at the Man-gyeong Pavilion in two days."

Whoosh!

Seo Mun-ryeon, who had changed direction, headed for the Man-gyeong Pavilion. Her subordinates who had been following her also scattered in all directions to avoid the pursuit of the Martial Alliance.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The surrounding objects were passing by at a very fast speed. Son Ae-hwa, who was leaning on Jin Sa-wol's back, said in a dying voice with her eyes closed, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a burden... but I've become one."

Hearing her voice, Jin Sa-wol entered the forest and climbed a tree.

He looked back, but there was no one chasing him. The rain was still falling continuously.

"The Martial Alliance asked me various things about the innkeeper."

"What did you say?"

"I told Zhuge Qing that the innkeeper killed the Blood Killing Faction Leader. That's all."

"Zhuge Qing must have been happy."

"He was so excited that he gave me food."

At Son Ae-hwa's answer, Jin Sa-wol nodded and then used his lightness skill again.

***

"Hmph!"

Cheong-ryeon, who had opened her eyes wide, realized she was tied to something like a wooden board in a spread-eagle position and swallowed a groan.

A gag was in her mouth, and saliva was drooling. The area around her neck was damp, as if she had slept with her mouth open.

When she turned her head, she saw a naked middle-aged man sleeping in the same position as her. He was a chubby person with a protruding belly.

Although it was a side view, she knew well who he was.

She had definitely been sharing a drink with him before she lost her memory. If not that, had they slept together yesterday?

'Why am I with that pig from the Hao Faction?'

Cheong-ryeon wondered what was going on.

Why was she in the same predicament as the pig who was running a Do Faction and a loan shark business in Guguang?

Smelling the damp and earthy smell, she turned her head left and right. She saw a stone wall, and the ceiling also looked like a cave.

Light was coming in from under her feet, and it seemed to be the entrance.

Sreureuk!

At the sound of clothes dragging, Cheong-ryeon raised her head as much as she could.

She had forgotten her own situation for a moment because of her curiosity, but when she saw a woman standing with a kitchen knife, her eyes widened.

"Ugh!"

The woman, who had appeared from the darkness with her long black hair swaying, placed an oil lamp on a small hole in the wall.

Because of the oil lamp's light, she looked even more eerie.

Slap! Slap! Hearing the sound of the pig being woken up, Cheong-ryeon turned her head.

She saw the back of a woman with long, flowing black hair. She seemed to have seen her somewhere, but it was an unfamiliar face.

'Who is she? Why on earth are you doing this to us?'

"Aaargh! What a surprise! What? What kind of bitch are you?"

Slap! Slap! Slap!

"Kuek! Ack!"

Although the pig's screams echoed, no one came in from outside.

Cheong-ryeon realized that this place was a remote place far from the village.

"Where is Bong-sik?"

"Bong-sik? Who is that?"

Thwack!

"Kraaak! Fuck!"

At the loud scream, Cheong-ryeon trembled her shoulders. Although it was a back view, there was blood on the kitchen knife held in that woman's hand.

"You can't eat just because you're missing a little finger. Next is the wrist. Where is Bong-sik?"

"Ugh! Ugh!"

Since Cheong-ryeon knew Bong-sik, she shouted wildly, but because of the gag, her voice did not come out properly.

"The master of the Do Faction who was at the Gangnam Grand Inn. Shin Hong's subordinate. Bong-sik. And who were the masked people who remained until dawn when the Gangnam Grand Inn burned down? I heard the Hao Faction cooperated."

"I don't know. I really don't know! Hey! Fuck! I'm telling you, I don't know! We're also looking for who those bastards are, but no one knows. Really!"

Thwack!

"Why did you kill him?"

A man's voice was heard.

Cheong-ryeon trembled all over. The pig's voice was no longer heard. Now it was finally her turn.

But at the fact that there was a man, she rolled her eyes here and there, but she couldn't see his true form.

"Spit got on my face... I did it without realizing it. Fortunately, there's still one left."

The woman's voice was familiar. It was a voice she seemed to have heard somewhere.

Cheong-ryeon looked at the woman who was turning her head towards her. But it was a woman she had never seen before.

"Ugh! Ugh! (Who are you! What kind of bitch are you!)"

Although Cheong-ryeon struggled and shouted, Jo-rim, as if she were not interested, showed the blood-soaked kitchen knife with an indifferent face.

"You must have known that the guys from the Ghost Hand Pavilion and the Blood Killing Faction were coming to the inn. With the Hwahwaru's information network, you could have known that much, right? But why didn't you say anything?"

"Ugh! Ugh!"

Hearing the short breaths, Jo-rim took off Cheong-ryeon's gag. Cheong-ryeon shouted.

"How would we know when those bastards would come? I was surprised too! Who would have thought the inn would become like that overnight?"

Seeing Cheong-ryeon's rebellious gaze, Jo-rim, with a swish!, showed the blood-soaked kitchen knife.

"Wait!"

"No. I'll just cut off one breast first. You can talk after that."

Swish! Swish!

Jo-rim, who had untied Cheong-ryeon's clothes, raised the kitchen knife towards her chest. Cheong-ryeon, who had a look of 'don't tell me', shouted loudly.

"I'll talk! I'm telling you, I'll talk!"

"Don't speak informally. Before I gouge out your eyeballs."

"Yes."

Cheong-ryeon answered in a low voice and then asked Jo-rim, who had put down the kitchen knife.

"By the way, how do you know about the Hwahwaru?"

"You don't know me? Ah... I see."

Jo-rim touched her own face and then laughed lightly as if she had remembered something. Few in the martial world knew her original face.

"I'm the gisaeng house master. Have you already forgotten my voice?"

"It was you, Senior Jo."

Hearing the voice, she had wondered if it might be Jo-rim, and when she said it was, Cheong-ryeon's expression turned pale.

"If you let me live, I will tell you everything I know."

"I promise."

At Jo-rim's answer, Cheong-ryeon was relieved. Jo-rim did not lie.

"The person who blocked the information from entering the inn was not me, but the master."

"Dam-ji?"

"Yes. The reason was that since the inn was not loyal to the Hwahwaru anyway, there was no need to help. And she also said we needed to sort out our relationship."

'Sorting out the relationship' meant death.

At the interesting story, Jo-rim showed interest.

"In the meantime, the Ghost Hand Pavilion informed the cult that they would attack the inn. But since the cult was in a state of chaos, they weren't interested in the Ghost Hand Pavilion. The Ghost Hand Pavilion did not wait for the cult's orders and attacked the inn with the Blood Killing Faction. Of course, the fact that the information was blocked was an order from above, so I couldn't help it either. The Martial Alliance, who had obtained that information in advance, called in all the alliance members at the inn."

"Who are those masked people?"

"You're expecting it, aren't you? It's the Martial Alliance."

"Who in the Martial Alliance?"

"I don't know about that either. I only know that it's the Martial Alliance. The ones who actually moved with them were the elders of the Hao Faction. They probably know their identities in detail."

Could she be trusted?

Jo-rim looked at Cheong-ryeon with a face full of doubt.

Cheong-ryeon shed tears.

"Please cut my neck in one stroke. I don't want to die painfully like that pig."

"Go back and report on today's events. It's okay. And tell the Hwahwaru Master. That she will regret abandoning me. Tell her to wait because I will go to sort out our relationship."

"I will do that."

At Jo-rim's words, Cheong-ryeon nodded. Just then, Jo-rim grabbed Cheong-ryeon's neck.

"Forget my face. If not, I will cut your neck."

"I understand what you mean."

"Where is Bong-sik? You seem to know."

"He's hiding in my gisaeng house."

At Cheong-ryeon's answer, Jo-rim untied the rope that was wrapped around her arm and then went outside.

As she disappeared completely, Cheong-ryeon jumped up from her seat.

"Phew... It's not a dream, is it?"

After coming to her senses, she distinguished whether this was a dream or reality. Unfortunately, it was not a dream, but reality.

***

In the early morning, Zhuge Qing, who had entered the prison while listening to the sound of the rain, examined the seven corpses lying in the main hall.

Next to him, the prison master approached and reported with a hardened expression.

"Five have lost consciousness, and seven have died. The cause of death is four corpses with a small hole drilled in their Tiantu acupoint, and three have a dot marked on their glabella."

Zhuge Qing's eyes, examining the corpses, were sharp.

The prison's doctor, following the prison master, turned over one corpse and continued, "The front is a small hole, but if you look at the back, it's about the size of a finger. But..."

"But?"

"It's difficult to distinguish whether it was stabbed from the front or from the back. And the deceased were all with their eyes closed. If they had seen the enemy, they should have died with their eyes open, but they were all with their eyes closed. That means it was a comrade or..."

"Or killed after being put to sleep."

Zhuge Qing stroked his beard and looked around at the faces of the corpses with their eyes closed, then swallowed a groan. It was because they all looked as if they were sleeping soundly.

"Could it be an awl-like hidden weapon?"

"If it were a hidden weapon, the size of the death holes in the front and back would be the same."

"What if it was stabbed from behind and pierced the glabella or the Tiantu acupoint?"

As the prison master continued to ask, Zhuge Qing glared at his face.

An annoyed expression. He seemed to be angry at him for talking about useless things.

"Can the prison master accurately pierce the Tiantu acupoint by stabbing from behind? Or can you pierce the glabella by stabbing the back of the head? And that, consistently. This was stabbed from the front. It's not a finger art..."

If it were a finger art, the size of the hole would have to be larger.

If it were a sword ring, there was a possibility. If he had made a very small sword ring and stabbed, it would surely go further than a finger art, and it could sufficiently pierce a person's body.

But such masters were rare in the martial world, and there were none among the assassins.

Zhuge Qing frowned deeply. Just then, the prison master spoke again.

"The Demonic Cult bitch who was imprisoned in the underground stone prison has disappeared."

"What?"

Zhuge Qing's eyes widened as if he were dumbfounded.

"Why are you telling me that now! You should have reported it first!"

Seeing the voice-raising Zhuge Qing, the prison master was startled and bowed his waist.

Zhuge Qing's wide-open eyes trembled finely.

'Jin Sa-wol...'

(End of Chapter)