HDCLSSRS Ch 178
by berryChapter 178 Encounter (2)
That tactic might have worked on anyone else.
Unfortunately…
His opponent was Seong Muyon—the person who knew Kang Ung from the days when he was still a fledgling.
Our little Daoist has grown up so much…
Instead of fear…
His nose stung with pride.
He hadn’t even been the one to raise Kang Ung.
And yet, for some reason, he couldn’t help feeling proud anyway.
Completely unaware of what was going through Seong Muyon’s mind, Kang Ung seemed satisfied that his warning had done its job.
Without another word, he walked past him.
Then he peered carefully through the trees toward the campsite.
“It’s almost over.”
“It should be safe enough to join them now.”
“Let’s go.”
When they entered the campsite alongside Kang Ung…
Baek Ryeoil stood alone in the center of a crimson pool of blood.
Droplets clinging to the hem of his martial robes fell one after another.
Ripples spread quietly across the blood-soaked ground.
The sight resembled a heavenly general descending from the heavens to eradicate evil spirits.
Baek Ryeoil’s dark eyes slowly rolled toward the newcomers.
The overwhelming pressure radiating from him had yet to fade.
He still carried the lingering aura of a life-and-death battle.
Standing fully exposed beneath that gaze…
Seong Muyon stopped in his tracks without realizing it.
Now that he was facing the real Baek Ryeoil…
He understood.
Compared to him…
Kang Ung had only been a wolf cub.
Even the Owl unconsciously slowed his steps, unable to approach Baek Ryeoil casually.
“Are these all of them?”
Only Kang Ung walked forward without hesitation, as though perfectly accustomed to it.
Instinctively…
Seong Muyon twitched his hand, wanting to stop him.
That tiny movement alone was enough.
Baek Ryeoil reacted immediately.
Those dangerously burning eyes fixed upon Seong Muyon.
Sweat dampened his palms.
Then…
The bloodlust simmering within Baek Ryeoil’s gaze gradually subsided.
“Any casualties?”
By the time he asked Kang Ung that question…
He had already returned completely to his usual composed self.
“None.”
“Oh, right.”
Kang Ung held up the letter.
“I found this on someone who was fleeing, but it’s written in code, so I haven’t been able to read it…”
“By the way, where’s Young Master Paeng?”
The flames vanished.
Deep darkness settled into Baek Ryeoil’s eyes instead.
“He went after the ones who escaped.”
Sheathing his sword, Baek Ryeoil nodded toward the forest.
“P-Please spare me!”
“I deserve death!”
Sure enough…
Paeng Dohwan soon appeared, dragging someone who struggled desperately behind him.
It was the very Demonic Cultist who had betrayed them.
After the battle turned against the Demonic Cult…
He had tried to flee into the forest.
Paeng Dohwan had simply dragged him back.
“Perfect!”
Kang Ung brightened.
“At least if we keep one of them alive, we can decipher the co—”
“I told you earlier.”
Paeng Dohwan’s icy voice rang out clearly.
“P-Please spare m—!”
Before anyone could stop him…
Paeng Dohwan’s greatsword flashed.
Thud.
“The last one…”
He finished coldly.
“Was always going to be you.”
“…de.”
The Demonic Cultist’s severed head rolled across the blood-soaked ground.
Kang Ung sighed softly and pressed a hand against his forehead.
“……”
At that moment…
Seong Muyon realized something.
Baek Ryeoil…
And Paeng Dohwan…
Neither of them was remotely normal.
Unfortunately…
Although the campsite clearly showed signs that hostages had once been kept there…
Neither Yakseon nor the villagers could be found anywhere.
“…What do we do now?”
Kang Ung murmured blankly.
“There are no bodies.”
“So they must have moved the hostages elsewhere.”
“But…”
“There isn’t anyone left to question.”
Every single Demonic Cultist in the camp lay dead.
Not one had survived.
Ironically…
The two people responsible for turning the entire camp into a slaughterhouse appeared perfectly unconcerned.
“A few escaped.”
Paeng Dohwan shrugged.
“But it’s too late to chase them now.”
Without saying anything…
Baek Ryeoil casually wiped the blood from his sword against his robes before returning it to his waist.
“Then tonight…”
Seeing Kang Ung glance around as though searching for a suitable place to spend the night…
Seong Muyon’s eyes widened in horror.
You’re planning to sleep surrounded by corpses?!
“Is there a village nearby…?”
Even the Owl, who practically lived in the wilderness, looked reluctant.
“Or perhaps we should return to Yaksu Village, rest, and think things through there.”
The three martial artists looked at one another.
Then…
They all nodded.
“There’s a fairly large village nearby.”
Paeng Dohwan stepped forward.
“I know the area well.”
“I’ve spent quite a while hunting Demonic Cultists around here.”
He naturally took the lead.
Before long…
While crossing the forest…
They came upon a gently flowing stream.
“We should wash the blood off before going.”
Paeng Dohwan made the suggestion.
Baek Ryeoil frowned.
“We can wash once we get there.”
“If we walk into the village looking like this…”
Paeng Dohwan pointed at him.
“People will faint from fright!”
“I’ve done it plenty of times.”
Baek Ryeoil answered flatly.
“No one’s ever fainted.”
“They probably fainted standing up because they were too terrified of you!”
…At least Paeng Dohwan has common sense.
Seong Muyon nodded vigorously in agreement.
Both Baek Ryeoil and Paeng Dohwan were drenched in dark red blood.
They looked like yakshas crawling straight out of hell.
“The water’s nice and cool, Master.”
Kang Ung was already standing ankle-deep in the stream, smiling brightly.
“So troublesome.”
In the end…
Unable to withstand everyone’s insistence…
Baek Ryeoil rinsed off the blood as well.
Not long afterward…
They reached the village.
Their first stop was the local inn.
“Innkeeper!”
Paeng Dohwan called cheerfully.
“Bring us whatever food can be prepared the fastest!”
Washing at the stream had been the right decision.
Otherwise…
They would have arrived starving…
Only to wait for bathwater before being allowed to eat.
“Hm?”
Paeng Dohwan looked toward the two masked attendants.
“Aren’t you two eating?”
The group had taken seats on the first floor.
But the Owl and Seong Muyon quietly slipped away.
“We’ll eat separately….”
The Owl replied.
“Please enjoy your meal.”
“Come along, Maknae….”
Ignoring the persistent gaze fixed upon him…
Seong Muyon followed the Owl into the room they had reserved beforehand.
The moment the door closed…
Seong Muyon tore off his mask and collapsed onto the bed.
Too much had happened today.
He was exhausted.
The Owl released the sealed acupoint that had stolen his voice.
Even so…
Seong Muyon lacked the strength to speak.
“I’ll have the food brought up.”
“What would you like to eat?”
“Anything…”
By the time he blinked…
A steaming bowl of thin noodles had appeared before him.
The aroma alone awakened his ravenous hunger.
He immediately devoured them.
“You really do eat well….”
The Owl sat nearby at the table, quietly watching him.
Being so small…
Yet acting like an older brother…
Made Seong Muyon smile without thinking.
“Would you like a bite too, Hyungnim?”
“…Even in this room…”
The Owl interrupted calmly.
“Don’t speak unless absolutely necessary.”
“And don’t remove your mask.”
“Martial artists’ senses are sharp.”
“They might notice you at any moment.”
“…Yes.”
After filling his stomach…
And finally washing away the day’s grime…
Seong Muyon sank into thought.
“I hope Lord Yakseon is safe….”
He looked toward the Owl.
“What do you think, Hyungnim?”
“Why do you think they took her?”
“Do you think she’ll be all right?”
“Hard to say….”
The Owl answered thoughtfully.
“She isn’t someone who’d be defeated easily.”
“So I wouldn’t worry too much.”
“But…”
“If she’s in a situation where she can’t escape by her own will…”
“The one truly in trouble isn’t her.”
“It’s you, Maknae.”
“I… suppose that’s true.”
Seong Muyon also couldn’t imagine someone like Dokgoe defeating Yakseon so easily.
The problem wasn’t Yakseon.
The problem was that Seong Muyon couldn’t simply wait forever for her return.
“The coded letter…”
The Owl suddenly asked,
“Could you decipher it?”
“Probably.”
Seong Muyon nodded.
“If this had been three years ago, I’d confidently say yes.”
“I knew every cipher the Demonic Cult used back then.”
“But that letter came from the New Demonic Cult under the Third Young Master’s command.”
“They may have changed their system.”
“I won’t know until I see it.”
“I see….”
The Owl nodded.
“Then get some proper rest tonight.”
Seong Muyon barely managed to keep his eyes open.
The moment his head touched the pillow…
He fell into a deep sleep.
The Owl extinguished the candle.
Then he moved a chair beside the bed.
In the silence…
He simply watched Seong Muyon sleeping.
Hour after hour.
Until the stars faded.
Until the moon sank low.
Like a stone statue…
He never moved.
Only when dawn began faintly brightening the sky…
Did he finally rise.
He gently placed the badger mask over Seong Muyon’s sleeping face.
Then left the room.
The inn remained silent.
Everyone was still asleep.
Crossing the quiet hallway…
The Owl descended to the first floor.
The cook was rubbing sleepy eyes while lighting the kitchen stove.
Borrowing a small brazier…
The Owl headed toward the backyard he had noticed the day before.
It was a small courtyard enclosed by high walls and fruit trees.
A perfect place to handle private matters.
He placed a medicine pot atop the brazier.
Then lit the fire.
This had become part of his daily routine.
His hands moved with practiced ease.
Like all medicines…
Seong Muyon’s prescription required especially careful temperature control and long hours of simmering before it became effective.
How much time passed as he carefully fanned the fire?
“What medicine is that?”
A voice suddenly came from above.
The Owl looked up.
Baek Ryeoil sat casually in the fork of a tree, looking down at him.
Footnotes
- Yaksha (야차) — A supernatural being from Buddhist and Hindu tradition. In Korean martial arts novels, the term is often used metaphorically for someone whose blood-soaked appearance is so terrifying they resemble a demon from hell.