Episode 189. Haomunju's Hidden Words

“Your companion’s actions are truly absurd.”

Saekma replied to the Third Young Master.

“He is no friend of mine.”

The Third Young Master nodded.

“Well, be that as it may, escaping the Butcher will prove difficult.”

“So?”

“As the Sword Demon’s disciple, your martial prowess must be considerable. Even if you endure this place without perishing, you still will be unable to handle the Butcher. Be it your master or the madmen of Baek Eungji, should the headquarters intervene directly, they are all doomed all the same. Would it not be wiser to pledge yourself to the Cult in advance? Kneeling to beg for your life when cornered, and entering the Cult proudly through my invitation beforehand—these hold vastly different meanings. Your skills shall be treated with the respect they deserve.”

Saekma looked up at the Third Young Master.

“Is the succession struggle not proceeding in your favor? Know your place and withdraw early. From what I hear from my master, your only advantage over the other princes was your ruthlessness. Lacking in martial arts, lacking in wisdom. Even your maternal family’s influence is said to be weak. It would better suit your station to prostrate yourself at my master’s feet and serve as an attendant. Third Young Master.”

The Third Young Master spoke to his subordinates.

“Kill him. We need only make it appear the Butcher handled it.”

Saekma recalled the conversation he had shared with Haomunju.

‘With your strongest ice technique, how many can you strike down?’

Saekma answered exactly as he had that day.

“……Fifty or sixty.”

The Third Young Master narrowed his eyes and repeated himself.

“What? What do you mean?”

“Talking to myself.”

The inn was not spacious.

The Third Young Master’s subordinates numbered just over ten.

The subordinates, who had been slowly tightening the encirclement from this floor, the front, and the left, rushed in simultaneously.

Saekma lightly covered his nose and mouth with the back of his hand and muttered,

“Moonlight Flash.”

Instantly, white cold energy spread silently in all directions from Saekma’s entire body.

Crrrrrack!

The Third Young Master crossed his twin palms to block the Moonlight Flash’s cold energy on this floor, retreating to the rear of the inn. The Third Young Master’s subordinates who had thrust their swords toward Saekma were all frozen solid.

Saekma sighed, displeased with the cold energy of the Moonlight Flash he had unleashed for the first time in actual combat. White breath escaped his lips.

Saekma tore a liquor bottle free from the table and began smashing the frozen men’s heads one by one.

Thwack!

Without a single scream, monotonous impacts continued. Having beaten all the subordinates to death with the frozen bottle, Saekma spoke as he ascended to this floor of the inn.

“Cult Leader’s son, where did you go? Come at me.”

Saekma arrived on this floor and approached the Third Young Master’s subordinates, who possessed relatively profound internal energy. He could not easily gauge whether the Moonlight Flash’s power had weakened or the subordinates’ internal energy was simply profound. In any case, these men were struggling as though attempting to break through their sealed acupoints.

Saekma checked on those still unable to move and beat them to death one by one with the frozen liquor bottle.

Glancing around, he saw that this floor’s wall had been destroyed.

Saekma poked his head out to survey the outside; the surroundings were deathly silent.

“……Third Young Master, surely you haven’t fled? The Cult Leader’s son has no reason to fear the Sword Demon’s disciple.”

Saekma leapt down through the broken area and stared into the darkness. From not far off, the Third Young Master’s voice shattered the silence.

“Butcher! Over here!”

Saekma’s eyes went wide.

“……Hm.”

A brief silence passed.

Then a voice of utter shock escaped the Third Young Master’s lips.

“No……!”

As if sharply changing direction—thud, thud, thud, crash—sounds rang out, and then the sounds of two people performing lightness skills continued in the darkness. But before long, as if one had been caught up, the fierce clashing of weapons rang through the night sky.

Saekma crept closer like a thieving cat, eavesdropping on the sounds of battle.

‘This country bumpkin isn’t one to fall so easily.’

Saekma deliberately approached without making a sound, then observed the two fighting under the moonlight.

“…….”

Naturally, the Third Young Master was swinging his sword.

And in the hands of the abruptly appearing Haomunju was a blood-stained butcher knife.

Saekma watched the two fight with narrowed eyes.

The Demonic Cult’s Third Young Master versus the country bumpkin from Haomun.

It was impossible to tell whose internal energy was higher immediately, but their sword and knife techniques were evenly matched.

In truth, the sight of these two young men fighting with such ferocity was an absurd scene. Because one of them was none other than the son of the Demonic Cult Leader. The younger generation talents Saekma knew were incomparably weak compared to the Cult Leader’s son.

Thus, Haomunju’s exceptional strength now appeared as something of a twist.

At a glance, Haomunju’s knife technique did seem slightly faster.

However, because he wielded a short butcher knife, the two fought like evenly matched rivals, sparks flying in every direction. Both possessed excellent lightness skills, their positions instantly alternating between far and near, and they clashed in midair as well. The moment they touched the ground, they exchanged attacks and defenses in an instant.

Saekma smirked as he watched.

‘Well, well, watching a fight is quite entertaining. It’ll take another half a shichen for them to settle this, won’t it?’

Just then, an unpleasant laugh that seemed tinged with a metallic sound escaped Haomunju’s lips.

“Eheheheh…….”

Saekma looked at his forearm. The instant he thought Haomunju’s voice resembled that Butcher bastard’s, goosebumps rose on his arm.

Saekma looked at Haomunju, feeling both bewilderment and curiosity.

‘Doing an impression at a time like this?’

More importantly, why was the knife technique he performed with nothing but a butcher knife so smooth? It was a unique knife technique he had never witnessed on the righteous path. Because it was a reckless knife technique devoted entirely to offense, abandoning defense. Somehow, it was a technique that seemed to suit the butcher knife remarkably well.

Just as an unidentifiable suspicion began to rise in Saekma’s heart, Haomunju’s voice rang out.

“Third Young Master, your skills are quite good.”

“…….”

The Third Young Master appeared to have no spare energy to reply, swinging his long sword with all his might.

Instead, Haomunju continued speaking as he swung his butcher knife.

“Haomunju fights quite well.”

“…….”

“He flayed the skin from the face to wear a human skin mask. Stole the clothes, stole the sword too. You were fooled as well.”

Though the voice closely resembled that Butcher bastard’s, Saekma’s lips curled in a sneer.

‘Coming up with such an unconvincing lie…….’

But Saekma soon wiped the sneer from his face. Because the Third Young Master’s expression was deadly serious as he fought with his life on the line.

Haomunju suddenly roared.

“Only one thousand silver coins for me…… One thousand? One thousand!”

Each time he roared, the butcher knife fell straight down as if it held a thunderbolt.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Though the attack was simple, its speed was terrifyingly fast, forcing the Third Young Master to retreat again and again, focusing on defense.

As the Hao Sect Leader poured attacks onto the Third Young Master, he said,

“It’s because of bastards like you that I became a murderer. Every time, you paid money and had people killed. You sons of bitches, you’re no different from my master. You’re all the same. Bastards who pay to make others kill! The Demon Cult and the White-Clad Scholar are no different. I’ll kill you first. This is revenge.”

The Third Young Master wrapped his sword in sword qi and fiercely struck away the butcher knife, then retreated and spoke in an urgent tone.

“Truly, Senior Butcher……”

The Third Young Master broke off and hastily twisted his body, but the butcher knife that came flashing through the air struck his knee, and he spun twice in midair. With a spurt—blood shot out in a long streak.

The Lust Demon, who had been watching, covered his mouth with his hand.

‘Chills…… He actually got hit by that.’

The Hao Sect Leader closed the distance in an instant and kicked the Third Young Master, who had barely regained his balance, in the face, sending him flying.

Thud!

The Hao Sect Leader laughed with his shoulders shaking, then approached the Third Young Master sprawled on the ground.

“Third Young Master, it’s me.”

“Senior?”

“It’s me. It’s me, I tell you. That is me.”

The Hao Sect Leader giggled as he approached, then suddenly lunged and stomped down at the Third Young Master’s face.

Boom!

The Third Young Master barely avoided it by rolling to the side, and when he struck the ground with his right hand and sprang to his feet, the Hao Sect Leader had already closed in and landed a finger technique.

The Third Young Master stared at the Hao Sect Leader with an expression as though he might faint.

Having ended the fight through truly bizarre methods, the Hao Sect Leader gazed into the darkness and opened his mouth.

“Shitpants?”

Only then did the Lust Demon rise with a sigh of relief.

“Whew……. It’s me.”

Shitpants, yes.

The instant he confirmed the Hao Sect Leader’s secret code, which the Butcher could not have known, the Lust Demon’s tension drained away. Even the Lust Demon had been suspicious that the Butcher might have survived. The similar voice and the unfamiliar way he swung the blade, strange and deranged, had made even the Lust Demon inwardly mistaken.

The Lust Demon suddenly met the Hao Sect Leader’s eyes and flinched without realizing it.

“……You startled me. You crazy bastard. Don’t glare at me. I’ve never seen a madman like you. What happened to the Butcher?”

The Hao Sect Leader looked at the Third Young Master and spoke in an ordinary tone.

“What do you mean, what happened? He got butchered. I was a little late because I buried him.”

The Hao Sect Leader said to the Third Young Master in a serious voice.

“Third Young Master.”

“…….”

“I sent the Butcher to the Hungry Ghost Hell. Why the Hungry Ghost Hell, of all places? Since he killed pitiful people and ate human flesh, he’s probably waiting for a while at the entrance to the Hungry Ghost Hell and nowhere else. What do you think? I’m asking you seriously right now. That bastard went to the Hungry Ghost Hell, didn’t he?”

“…….”

“One, two, three.”

When the Third Young Master could not answer at all, the Hao Sect Leader’s hand shot out and struck the Third Young Master’s cheek fiercely. With a thud, three or four teeth spilled from the Third Young Master’s mouth.

The Lust Demon watched, then let out a sigh.

“Hey, Sect Leader. Have you forgotten what Master said? Whether we kill him or don’t kill him leads to very different outcomes. Let’s take him to Master first. It won’t be too late to kill him afterward. If the Cult Leader appears at Baekeungji while this is going on, something terrible will happen.”

The Hao Sect Leader nodded, then said to the Third Young Master,

“Killing you can wait, but if the Third Young Master doesn’t answer, I’ll kill you here. Those who eat human flesh fall into the Hungry Ghost Hell. What do you think? Answer me.”

The Third Young Master spat bloody saliva onto the ground, then answered.

“I agree. I think so as well.”

“You do?”

“…….”

“And you hired a bastard like that to kill me? Look at this dogshit bastard.”

The Lust Demon sighed and crossed his arms. Since there was no way to stop the half-mad Hao Sect Leader, he had no choice but to leave the Third Young Master to him like this.

The Hao Sect Leader grabbed the Third Young Master by the hair and asked,

“Did your great father teach you that this sort of thing is the Demonic Dao?”

As the Hao Sect Leader continued slapping the Third Young Master’s face, his head snapped from side to side with thud, thud sounds.

“Is paying a man who eats human flesh to commission a killing the Demonic Dao? My patience ends here. Answer carefully.”

After being beaten to a bloody mess for quite some time while held stiffly upright, the Third Young Master answered.

“I do not think that is the Demonic Dao. He would be ashamed of my actions.”

The Hao Sect Leader glared at the Third Young Master and said,

“Right? That is not the Demonic Dao. It won’t do for things that aren’t even human to slap the word Dao onto anything they please. Looks like that Cult Leader bastard was so busy he educated his child like an idiot.”

The Third Young Master asked with half-lidded eyes.

“Then what exactly is the Demonic Dao?”

The Hao Sect Leader smacked the Third Young Master’s head and said,

“How the hell would I know, you bastard. Am I the Grand Patriarch of the Demonic Dao? Why are you asking me? Ask someone who should be asked. Ask your Cult Leader. Though right now he’d probably tell you to piss off because he’s busy.”

The Lust Demon met the Hao Sect Leader’s eyes, then jerked his chin and said,

“Enough nonsense. Let’s go.”

“Confirmed.”

The Lust Demon nodded and patted the Hao Sect Leader’s shoulder.

“But how did you beat the Butcher? He looked strong.”

“It’s a long story. The heavens helped me. Not that a fool like you, who only stares at women’s asses, would understand.”

The Lust Demon nodded.

“Confirmed.”

The Lust Demon felt a little strange. It was as if one more secret code had been added that only he and the Hao Sect Leader could understand.

The secret codes were roughly these.

Lust Demon, Shitpants, Country Bumpkin, Confirmed.