Chapter 196. I Imagined the Scholar in White.

The moonlight was pleasant and the night air was cool.

But the thought of a muscleman chasing after me with a hatchet wiped the smile off my face in an instant.

‘Should I torture him to find out the Scholar in White’s whereabouts? Or should I kill him cleanly?’

I found myself contemplating something improper. In a fight, this isn’t the kind of thought you should actually have. Obviously, if your opponent is a skilled expert, the answer is to give it your all and kill them.

I’ve always had a habit of taking small clues and imagining all sorts of things.

The Scholar in White probably captures experts from the unorthodox sects to torture or experiment on them, then takes them in as disciples and teaches them, doesn’t he?

I suppose the disciples are some kind of mental gift.

In reality, it was more correct to see them as a scholar and living test subjects.

The reason I was making these guesses was simple.

Because there was absolutely no common ground in the atmosphere or characteristics of the martial arts used by the fisherman, the butcher, the woodcutter, and the coachman.

Their ages, footwork, breathing, weapons, and even their auras were all too different.

For an instant, despite having no evidence, no reason, and no clear recognition of it, a person’s face suddenly flashed through my mind, sending a chill down my spine.

‘The Scholar in White……?’

A sudden thought occurred to me.

Could I have already met him?

Of course, for now, it was nothing more than a far-fetched guess.

* * *

In truth, even in my previous life, Akje, the Scholar in White, had always ranked higher than me, the Lecher, and the Ghost Demon among the Public Enemies of the Martial World.

He had never been bested by anyone.

Even when I was being chased through Manjangae, Akje must have been active somewhere.

For one thing, all of his disciples were exceptionally skilled.

The reason the coachman had been so pitifully defeated by the Lecher was because the Lecher was inherently strong and a pervert, preventing the coachman from demonstrating his true abilities.

And of course, my big mouth had probably played a part too.

On the other hand, the butcher, the woodcutter, and the fisherman were definitely skilled experts.

Suddenly, sensing a hatchet flying at the back of my head, I whirled around and blocked it with my butcher knife.

Clang!

At the same time, I launched an attack with the Mad Demon Blade Technique, but…….

Having apparently crossed blades with the butcher many times before, the woodcutter swung his hatchet with nearly identical movements and perfectly deflected my offensive.

I attacked with my butcher knife and asked the woodcutter,

“When did you fall into the Scholar in White’s hands?”

“…….”

There was no answer.

I deflected the hatchet and spotted several openings in the woodcutter’s movements, but I didn’t counterattack. Because an opening found too easily was never an opening to begin with.

Just as the butcher had been, the woodcutter I was fighting now was the same.

Possessing a body of outstanding external martial arts prowess, I felt an unease that if I landed an attack too hastily, I would get caught in the aftermath and have my whole body ripped to shreds.

Sometimes it felt like my vivid imagination was grabbing me by the ankles.

But there was a basis for it, so I remained cautious.

By now, I had somewhat grasped the woodcutter’s disposition.

If the butcher was the type to abandon defense and press forward half a beat faster,

the woodcutter was the type to seize the moment a blade or spear lodged in his own flesh to grab his opponent and rip them apart in one go.

Either way, it was a one-blow fight, so I couldn’t help but be careful. Suddenly, I heard the Lecher’s voice from nearby, where he was watching.

“Hey, bumpkin, be careful. He seems to have mastered a body protection technique. It’s a one-blow fight.”

As the Lecher gave his advice, the fisherman chimed in as well.

“Fourth Brother, the Haomun Leader has likely grasped your disposition. Remain calm.”

“Yes.”

A situation where the situational judgment of the Lecher, the fisherman, and myself was aligned.

Just as everyone had expected, as the woodcutter swung his hatchet, he would sometimes reach out with his left hand to grab me, and every time, a tingle shot down my spine.

‘If he catches me, I’m dead, right?’

He was big enough to crush an average man’s skull with one hand. His intent to seize me at the first opportunity was subtly revealed.

I swung my butcher knife and smirked. The woodcutter’s reaction followed immediately.

“Don’t laugh.”

“Acknowledged.”

I deliberately distanced myself bit by bit from the fisherman’s line of sight as he watched. Because I had a feeling that at any moment, he might throw away the morality of the martial world and cast his fishing line.

Having put enough distance between us…….

I prepared for a one-blow fight.

For some reason, I felt like if I used the Crescent Moon Finger Technique on the woodcutter’s bare hands, my fingers would be seized and crushed whole, so I refrained from using finger techniques as well. Unlike when I fought the butcher, I erased the techniques I could use one by one.

Finger techniques, palm techniques, Sun-Moon Radiance, Sword-Projection Form, Plum Blossom Form, Lotus Fragrance and White Flowers, sword qi and sword wind—all of them.

I forgot them all.

The powerful ones took time to execute.

And the ones that could be used quickly lacked power, so I excluded all sorts of techniques and maintained an iron-wall defense, just as the Ghost Demon did when he fought.

It had been a while since I’d fought for so long; on one hand, I felt satisfied.

“Good.”

The woodcutter was an excellent opponent.

Rather, because he was familiar with the blade techniques of the butcher, his martial brother, he was blocking my Mad Demon Blade Technique all too well.

Without hesitation, I threw the butcher knife at the woodcutter’s face.

Shwick!

The moment I drew the wooden sword at my waist, I executed the Sword-Projection Form imbued with Crescent Moon Ice Qi.

The woodcutter deflected the butcher knife flying at his face with his hatchet, and the cold qi sent via the Sword-Projection Form, he grasped in his left palm as if crushing it and extinguished it.

I spread a sword curtain infused with ice qi before me like a massive shield.

Then I quickly thrust the wooden sword toward the woodcutter, who would obviously appear by smashing through the sword curtain.

In that instant, with a thunderous roar, the woodcutter emerged from the shattered sword curtain, grabbed the blade of the wooden sword with his bare hand, and then brought down the hatchet in his right hand with the force to cleave me in two.

I closed the distance and seized the woodcutter’s descending wrist with my left hand.

Clack!

At that moment, as if unleashing some ultimate technique, the woodcutter took a deep breath and spread both arms wide, erupting with a wave of qi. The ground around where the woodcutter stood caved in, and even piles of stones were swept up and scattered by the qi wave.

Boom!

I had been infusing both the wooden sword and my left hand with ice qi, but the woodcutter unleashed a body protection ultimate technique and blew everything away in an instant.

It seemed he was using a form of heretical martial arts that explosively surged in a short time.

Since I had been pretending to be weak all this time, I let myself be pushed back by the qi wave, retreating in a staggering manner.

But even while flailing through the air, I didn’t let go of my sword. In that instant, anticipating that the woodcutter would abandon defense and charge,

I recalled the various sword debates I had shared with the Ghost Demon.

I took one of those tales and channeled it into the thin wooden sword gifted by our manly senior brother.

The assassin’s sword, Elder Heo’s expression, and the look on the Ghost Demon’s face as he earnestly explained the sword overlapped in my mind.

Time was terribly short.

And yet it felt as though an instant had stretched into eternity.

A single beast that had sent me flying with a wave of force was charging in ferociously, but it looked like some pitiful mountain animal wrapped in a storm. It was the sight of a beast born monstrously strong, only to be captured early by a hunter.

I took my eyes off the beast.

Like a man waiting for death.

I infused Moon Shadow Heartless Art into the edge of the wooden sword and looked at it.

The blade, dyed white, was quite pleasing to behold.

A laugh came of its own accord.

Since I could not kill the Woodcutter with this alone, my head and dantian both seemed to go mad as I also drew up the Golden Turtle Roaming Art.

In an instant, I wrapped the wooden sword in a perilous combination of yin and yang, as though I had combined Sun and Moon Radiant Heaven inside me.

Fortunately, the sword that had been deathly white turned reddish, and in that state I swung it lightly toward the Woodcutter.

The smiling expression of the Woodcutter as he caught the edge of the wooden sword with his huge hand was striking.

Then his hand was severed along the sword’s trajectory, his expression changed, and he thrust his intact right hand toward my face.

But when that enormous palm blocked my face, the Purple Haze Sword Gang (紫霞劍罡) was already erupting from the wooden sword.

Hearing a horrifying “Puaak!” I stepped back.

“……”

Because of the Woodcutter’s palm, I had not seen anything clearly, but my entire body was already drenched in his blood.

The Woodcutter’s corpse lay on the ground, sliced diagonally, but there was no blood where the sword’s trajectory had passed. In other words, as though he had been cut by a sword as thick as a fist, the parts of his body that had been in the path of the blade had vanished entirely.

Looking as if I had plunged into a waterfall of blood and come back out, I turned around and saw the Fisherman, the Red-Robed Horseman sitting cross-legged, the Lust Demon, the Ghost Demon, and the Third Young Master’s guard.

I wiped the blood from my eyes with my palm, then spoke as I walked.

“I won, didn’t I?”

As I laughed in delight, I became newly aware of the sticky blood running down my face.

I walked toward the front of the Thousand Li Inn and said,

“I beat the Woodcutter and came back. I’ve never seen a woodcutter this strong in my life. Isn’t that right?”

No one answered me. The Lust Demon and the Ghost Demon might have been able to ignore my words, but the Third Young Master’s guard could not.

“Guard, isn’t that right?”

“That is correct.”

I looked at the Lust Demon and the Ghost Demon. The reason I had stepped forward as the center force and killed the Woodcutter was because I did not have much of the jianghu’s code either. Now, if the Three Demons joined forces and slaughtered the Fisherman, my strategy would be complete.

I smiled at the Lust Demon and the Ghost Demon as I said,

“Let’s toss the jianghu’s code to some passing dog.”

At that moment, I turned my head and fixed my gaze on the Fisherman. He snatched the Red-Robed Horseman by the nape of the neck as he sat cross-legged, then fled using qinggong. By the time I took a few steps in bewilderment, the Fisherman’s figure had already been swallowed by the darkness.

“……”

Master Yukhap said,

“He must have anticipated a joint attack. A cunning bastard. He likely offered up that stubborn Woodcutter as a sacrifice, confirmed your martial strength, and then withdrew. Though I imagine he wasn’t confident in a three-on-one either.”

I nodded and said to Master Yukhap,

“In that case, did we win or lose?”

Master Yukhap answered simply.

“From the start, we could only call it a victory if we caught the White-Clad Scholar.”

Suddenly, the Lust Demon let out a sigh, stared into the darkness, and said,

“……I’ll go home like this, bring back some clothes and weapons, and return after informing Master as well.”

I asked the Lust Demon as he headed into the darkness.

“Why?”

The Lust Demon answered.

“Now that I think about it, the inn seems comfortable to me too.”

“Bullshit……”

I called out to the Lust Demon, who was buried in the darkness.

“Bring vegetable dumplings when you come.”

“Got it.”

In front of the Thousand Li Inn, I took off my upper garments, then used the clothes to wipe the blood from my face and hands.

Master Yukhap said to me,

“Sect Leader, if I had fought him, I would have struggled. You worked hard.”

“Not at all. Let’s go in.”

I let out a deep breath, then looked up at the signboard of the Thousand Li Inn.

“This inn has really become a place reeking of blood.”

The guard bastard answered.

“It certainly has.”

I took a coin pouch from my upper garment, then pulled out the remaining communal silver and handed it to the guard.

“Go buy some liquor.”

The guard asked me the same thing Cha Seongtae had.

“And the side dishes?”

I nodded and answered.

“Buy whatever you like for the side dishes. Plenty of it.”

“Understood.”

I entered the inn with Master Yukhap, sat down at a table, and rested for a while. Master Yukhap, seated across from me, kept sighing.

“Just who in the world is the White-Clad Scholar, to have disciples like that?”

I refrained from speaking about anything I had not found out for certain. After pondering something for a moment, Master Yukhap said,

“I will tidy up Baek Eungji’s lodging, gather my sworn brothers’ swords, and come here. You should just drink.”

“Why does everyone keep saying they’re coming here? Rest at your lodging.”

Master Yukhap stood and answered with a calm expression.

“I cannot do that. Rest.”

As Master Yukhap left the Thousand Li Inn once again, I was left alone in the inn.

Left alone in a place where the Butcher had died, the Woodcutter had died, the Third Young Master’s subordinates had died, and the pitiful people captured by the Butcher had died as well, I felt utterly exhilarated.

A warm atmosphere lingered inside the inn, as if vengeful spirits drawn by the smell of blood were floating through the air.

I tried hard to see those spirits with my eyes.

But I saw nothing.

In an empty seat at the inn table where nothing could be seen, I imagined the figure of one man.

His clothing, expression, speech, posture, martial arts, thoughts, even the deeds of his past life……

At that moment, the man created by my intuition and imagination was sitting at the table.

This bastard was none other than the White-Clad Scholar.

The man who, with only a few words of conversation, had driven the Poison Demon Murong Bai of my past life to the verge of qi deviation.

The man who had gifted me the Moon Shadow Heartless Art was looking at me and smiling.

Still drenched in blood, I laughed together with the man I had created through imagination.