Chapter 398: The Pursued Ones (1)
Upon seeing the scene, Jo Wonmook murmured,
“So, the little brother really is scary. Even in a situation like that, they’re forming an alliance.”
Well, even he would likely be frightened if Yong Hwarin were to show up in such a situation.
Yong Hwarin silently observed them, deep in thought.
He contemplated how best to handle them with ease.
‘It wouldn’t be wise to provoke them any further. If I kill the Great Young Master or Moonwoo, they’ll use it as a pretext to attack the main house with everything they’ve got. It’s better to watch for now. The Heavenly Demon Sect will be handled by the Demonic Master, and there’s no benefit in further agitating the Blood Demon Castle. But Zhao Qiansheng, you bastard… you won’t be leaving this place alive.’
Yong Hwarin had no intention of forgiving Zhao Qiansheng, the one who had attacked his father.
He also wanted to free Mo Baek by killing Zhao Qiansheng.
He believed that if Zhao Qiansheng—who mentally shackled Mo Baek—was killed, Mo Baek might be able to escape from the Blood Demon Castle on his own.
Eventually, the ones who had been frozen with fear at the thought of Yong Hwarin’s arrival realized an entire quarter-hour had passed without his appearance and began to leave the cave.
Once the two factions disappeared, Yong Hwarin spoke.
“Please wait at the inn. We’re going to stop by somewhere briefly. One quarter-hour will be enough.”
“Understood.”
Yong Hwarin and Mo Biyoung then went after the people of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
While pursuing them from over a hundred jang away, Mo Biyoung asked,
“Gaga, what do you plan to do?”
“I have someone to meet. Young Mae, start channeling Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art from now.”
The two drew upon the Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art and closed the distance.
As he got closer, Yong Hwarin sent a telepathic message to the Demonic Master.
—“Elder, may I see you for a moment?”
Upon receiving the transmission, the Demonic Master immediately spoke to the group.
“Let’s rest here for a bit.”
The group, completely drained of both energy and internal power due to the battle, agreed. However, there was no luxury of quietly cultivating their qi.
They couldn’t even consider doing so for fear that Yong Hwarin might launch an attack mid-practice.
The Heavenly Demon Sect members gathered in one place to catch their breath. The Demonic Master stood and said,
“I’ll scout the surroundings for a moment. If Yong Hwarin is tailing us, we could be in danger. If I whistle, flee without hesitation.”
Everyone flinched at his words.
Yong Hwarin hadn’t even appeared, yet his psychological hold on them was already firmly rooted.
“We’re grateful for your efforts, Master.”
Someone had to scout, so when the Demonic Master volunteered, everyone looked at him with gratitude.
The Demonic Master himself had sustained numerous injuries during the fierce battle.
He had suffered a major wound in his side while repeatedly saving Ok Girin.
Because of this, Ok Girin had come to trust the Demonic Master.
If he’d meant to eliminate him, that moment would have been perfect—but he hadn’t attacked.
“I’m pondering how we’ll get to the safehouse.”
When Han Domeong, the Head Elder, spoke, the Demonic Master replied,
“I’m sorry, but heading to the safehouse in our current state is suicide.”
“Then what do you propose?”
“We catch Yong Hwarin off guard. That bastard thinks we’ll flee far from this place, so he’ll pursue us. But if we instead remain somewhere not too far from the cave, we might be able to outwit him. He’ll never expect us to stay close to the cave.”
“Ah, you’re saying it’s like hiding right under the lamp.”
Agreeing with the Demonic Master’s logic, Ok Girin chimed in. Once trust had formed, everything the Demonic Master said sounded right.
“Exactly. The area under the lamp is the darkest.”
“Good. Rather than flee in this state, it might be better to catch him off guard and buy time to recover our qi.”
In truth, the Demonic Master had a different reason for staying close to the cave under the excuse of hiding in plain sight.
Inside the cave lay nearly a hundred corpses—all high-level warriors from the two factions.
He didn’t want to stray far from the cave, as he intended to absorb their Yama True Qi.
Fortunately, Ok Girin’s trust in him made the matter easy to resolve.
The Demonic Master moved more than a hundred jang away and then leapt up onto a tree.
Yong Hwarin was standing there.
Mo Biyoung, just in case, had distanced herself to maintain a perimeter.
She had intentionally moved away so the two could talk freely while keeping watch.
“Thanks to you, Elder, our ruse worked wonderfully. Thank you. Are your injuries alright?”
“I’m fine. If anything, not being injured would’ve drawn suspicion. But… why did you ask to meet?”
Yong Hwarin pulled a leather pouch from his robe—one the Greatest Sword Under Heaven had previously given him.
“With this, you should be able to poison the First Great Elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect.”
“What? Someone at that level? Poison wouldn’t work.”
“This poison is different. It’s the one that poisoned the Greatest Sword Under Heaven.”
“Seriously? A poison like that exists?”
“It’s called Dragon Bone Poison…”
Yong Hwarin then explained how Jo Wonmook had been poisoned with Dragon Bone Poison.
And how it had been cured.
After hearing the explanation, the Demonic Master let out a long exclamation.
“Hoo… hoohoohoo…”
He gave a weak, hearty laugh as he stared at the bone shard.
“So, you’re saying the energy of the dragon might reside in you now.”
“Yes. That’s why I insisted on meeting you, Elder. When you were residing in my upper dantian, did you feel anything like the dragon’s energy?”
“No. I didn’t sense anything like that. If what the Greatest Sword Under Heaven said is true, that kind of energy can’t be sensed unless you’re at the level of Fifth Jiazi. Only someone like him could detect it. I was around Third and a half Jiazi back then, so it makes sense I couldn’t feel it.”
Yong Hwarin nodded.
“I see.”
“And we’ll be hiding somewhere not far from the cave. I’m leading them there on purpose.”
The Demonic Master then explained to Yong Hwarin why he was guiding the group near the cave.
“I’ve never heard of Yama True Qi before.”
“If you want to learn the origins of my martial art, you’ll need to study for decades.”
When the Demonic Master said this proudly, Yong Hwarin responded with a gentle smile.
“Understood. Then I’ll leave the Heavenly Demon Sect alone until you’ve absorbed all of the Yama True Qi.”
“Good. Do that. If I manage to absorb all the Yama True Qi in the cave, I might reach the Fifth Jiazi. I might even surpass the power I had in my past life.”
“That would be something to celebrate.”
“If only this weren’t someone else’s body. If I linger too long, it’ll raise suspicions, so I’ll be going now.”
Just as the Demonic Master was about to turn away, he muttered as if recalling something.
“Ah, come to think of it… something does come to mind.”
“What do you mean?”
“In my past life, when I tried to transfer my soul into your body using the Soul-Separating Spirit Art, I felt a tremendous rebound. And then we ended up in the past. Now that I hear your words, I wonder if the force that sent us to the past might’ve been the dragon’s energy.”
“Now that you mention it, that makes sense.”
“Perhaps the dragon’s energy rejected the Soul-Separating Spirit Art in order to protect you and ended up sending us to the past.”
The Demonic Master had always wondered why they ended up in the past back then.
But if it was the dragon’s energy, then it wasn’t far-fetched to think it could send them to the past through some mysterious power.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Please be careful.”
“Don’t worry. Now that I have Dragon Bone Poison, the Heavenly Demon Sect is as good as mine.”
Just as he was about to descend the tree, the Demonic Master turned around.
“Oh, and the Black Silk Centipede is in Yang Gwak’s possession. I’ll work out a plan so that it ends up in your hands. I’ll let you know through the Azure Messenger Rat.”
“Elder.”
“What?”
The Demonic Master flinched, startled by Yong Hwarin’s warm tone.
“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have become this strong. Thanks to your guidance and cultivation, I am who I am today.”
The Demonic Master stared hard at Yong Hwarin and said,
“You little brat, you’ve mastered the art of flattery. So, what is it you really want to say?”
“I’m being sincere! Haha.”
When Yong Hwarin gave a sheepish laugh, the Demonic Master snorted.
“Do you think I haven’t lived in your head long enough to know better? Quit playing coy.”
Yong Hwarin grinned slyly at that.
“Well… could you teach me the mnemonic verses of the Yama True Qi?”
“Ha! Asking a maiden for her undergarments, are we?”
“There are people in my clan who practice demonic arts. I think it’d be useful for them.”
The Demonic Master chuckled. By now, Yong Hwarin was practically his disciple.
He had no reason to withhold anything from someone like him.
He wasn’t sure how he ended up so deeply entangled with this brat, but there was nothing he would regret giving him.
‘I’ve grown oddly fond of him without even realizing it.’
The Demonic Master said,
“Alright. This isn’t something to discuss here. I’ll organize the martial art and send it to you through the Azure Messenger Rat.”
“Thank you, Elder.”
“Until next time.”
Flashing a grin, the Demonic Master descended the tree and headed toward where Ok Girin was.
As soon as Yong Hwarin parted ways with the Demonic Master, he and Mo Biyoung resumed tracking the Blood Demon Castle’s group.
“What will you do with them?”
When Mo Biyoung asked, Yong Hwarin replied,
“I don’t care about the others. But I want to kill Zhao Qiansheng.”
Mo Biyoung understood what that meant and said nothing more.
“Thank you.”
Hearing that, Yong Hwarin picked up Mo Biyoung and used his movement arts.
“Hey, I’m not bad at movement arts either, you know.”
“Just stay still. I want to go like this.”
“Like a child.”
When Mo Biyoung commented, a mischievous smile formed on Yong Hwarin’s face.
“Exactly. I’m a child. And children want many things.”
While running, he kissed Mo Biyoung.
“You’ll crash into a tree like that.”
“You think I’m that clumsy?”
Even without looking ahead, Yong Hwarin had a sharp sense that let him distinguish objects over a hundred jang away. Laughing and joking with Mo Biyoung, he sprinted forward.
Anyone who saw them might’ve questioned their own eyes at the bizarre sight.
*
The Blood Demon Castle group moved with utmost caution.
Their expressions were filled with anxiety, dreading a surprise attack from Yong Hwarin.
They knew full well they couldn’t defeat him in their current state.
Among the Three Kings Guard, only Ilwi and Zhao Qiansheng were in condition to fight. Mo Baek had sustained a severe sword wound on his back and could barely move.
Moonwoo also had multiple sword wounds and had lost so much blood that his strength was rapidly dwindling.
“This disgrace… I’ll pay it back a thousandfold!”
Even while fleeing, the thought of what Yong Hwarin had done caused this shout to burst out.
“I’ll grind your bones and feed your flesh to the dogs!”
While resting briefly, Moonwoo muttered through clenched teeth.
“You think you can?”
At that moment, someone responded from atop a tree—and Moonwoo began trembling like a leaf in the wind.
Shwik!
Yong Hwarin dropped down from the tree, and Ilwi, Zhao Qiansheng, Mo Baek, and a surviving warrior of the Homa Cheondan stepped forward to block him from Moonwoo.
They believed Yong Hwarin would try to kill Moonwoo and guarded him fiercely.
Ilwi, seeing the composed youth standing so calmly, felt a wave of fear rise in his heart, making him question the worth of his long life.
He bore the proud title of Three Kings Guard, one of the elders of the Blood Demon Castle.
Yet just the appearance of this young man was enough to make his knees feel weak—it was shameful.
But the two-hour nightmare inside that pitch-black cave had been hellish beyond anything in his life.
A deadly struggle in absolute darkness, where an enemy could attack at any moment, had driven him to the brink of madness.
Ilwi had been through countless battlefields, but that experience was truly horrific.
So he could understand why Moonwoo was trembling like he might wet himself.
