Chapter 369: The Identity of Secret Lord Han Jin (2)

“Is this the Explosive Phosphorus Pellet?”

The assassin bit down on foaming blood and laughed like a madman.

“That’s right.”

At those words, the martial artists gathered in the Guest Hall’s main chamber began to stir.

The assassin had just proven the existence of the Explosive Phosphorus Pellet that Yong Hwarin mentioned.

The Lady of Mount Lu voiced the question Yong Hwarin had secretly transmitted through sound transmission.

“Was it with this that you killed Taoist Cheongmyeong?”

“That’s right.”

“For what reason?”

At that, the assassin shut his mouth.

Yong Hwarin slipped in another sound transmission. The Lady of Mount Lu repeated it word for word.

“If you answer all that I ask, I will not hand you over to Shaolin Temple but kill you here instead.”

The assassin’s eyes changed at those words.

“I was hired to throw the Heavenly Central Sect and Yong Hwarin into turmoil.”

Yong Hwarin smiled. Out of the assassin’s own mouth, the truth was revealed: everything so far had been a scheme.

This, if anything, would only strengthen the standing of the Heavenly Central Sect.

“Who was the one that hired you?”

“That I cannot say.”

The assassin refused to answer until the end, but Yong Hwarin already had a good guess who it would be.

‘Either the Blood Demon Castle or the Heavenly Demon Sect.’

“Was it you who also killed Domeng Dojang?”

“That’s right. I disguised myself as a Bulumokhani and entered to kill him.”

“Do you have subordinates here?”

“No. I infiltrated alone.”

“How many Explosive Phosphorus Pellets were there in total?”

The assassin fell silent for a moment at that question.

In truth, this was the most important question.

Eventually, the assassin seemed to give up and spoke.

“There were five in total.”

At that, the martial artists began to stir again.

The Lady of Mount Lu had drawn out one Explosive Phosphorus Pellet from the jade bottle.

Subtracting the one used to kill Taoist Cheongmyeong, that left three unaccounted for.

“To whom did you use the other three?”

“If I answer that, then kill me.”

The Lady of Mount Lu nodded. Just as the assassin was about to speak, Reverend Gongwoo, the Head of the Discipline Hall, shouted.

“Everyone, step back! From here on, this matter will be handled by our temple!”

At that, the assassin forcefully reversed his qi, broke through his sealed acupoints, and turned his body, rushing straight toward Go Jin, who stood five zhang away.

Go Jin had already been bristling with the desire to strike him dead after hearing he had killed Domeng Dojang.

Now that the assassin charged at him of his own accord, Go Jin didn’t hesitate—his sword thrust out and pierced straight through the assassin’s heart.

“Uugh!”

The assassin convulsed violently and collapsed to the ground.

Reverend Gongwoo, greatly shaken, approached the corpse. After examining it, he let out a long sigh, pressed his palms together, and chanted a Buddhist blessing.

“Amitabha.”

But his clasped hands trembled uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Yong Hwarin thought to himself.

‘So it’s as I suspected—the assassin was a Shaolin disciple.’

Reverend Gongwoo shouted.

“Take the assassin’s body back to the temple. I will conduct the investigation myself.”

Yong Hwarin lamented inwardly that Reverend Gongwoo had intervened so quickly; he had failed to uncover the whereabouts of the missing pellets.

Reverend Gongwoo amplified his voice with qi and declared.

“Everyone, return to your quarters!”

At that order, one martial artist cried out.

“Reverend, how can we sleep peacefully now? The assassin said there were five pellets, yet three are missing. That means someone here has already been dosed. How can anyone rest easy? How could an assassin infiltrate Shaolin and poison people at will!”

Reverend Gongwoo was left speechless.

“Our temple will do everything in its power to investigate this case. Please, return now.”

Seeing no further answers could be gained, the martial artists muttered their discontent and reluctantly returned to their quarters.

“This is terrible. Now we can’t even circulate our qi. What if we explode and die like Taoist Cheongmyeong while training?”

At those words, Reverend Gongwoo’s face hardened.

“You two, come with me.”

The Lady of Mount Lu and Yong Hwarin followed him.

At an inn near Mount Song, Moon Wu listened to the report with wine in hand, a pleasant smile on his lips.

“So that’s how it turned out. In the end, the assassin failed.”

One of his subordinates replied.

“He may have failed to assassinate the Lady of Mount Lu, but he did succeed in making her ingest the Explosive Phosphorus Pellet. Out of the five, only one remained.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. They say only one pellet was found on the assassin’s body, so it seems the mission succeeded.”

“Alright, then send word to the Little Valley Lord and the Young Cult Leader.”

“Yes, understood.”

On Moon Wu’s command, his subordinates sent carrier pigeons toward the residences of Soyonghwa, Little Valley Lord of Dark Echo Valley, and San Bi, Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Star Cult.

“Now this will get interesting.”

Moon Wu raised his wine cup and burst into hearty laughter.

Inside the Abbot’s chamber of Shaolin Temple, the Lady of Mount Lu and Yong Hwarin were facing Reverend Mang Wu.

“Is it certain the assassin administered the Explosive Phosphorus Pellet to others?”

Reverend Mang Wu wished to confirm the truth before meeting with the Nine Great Sects and the Twelve Great Clans.

“Yes, it is certain. Before dying, the assassin said there were five Explosive Phosphorus Pellets. But only one remained.”

“Can we trust the assassin’s words? He might have lied.”

Yong Hwarin hesitated briefly before answering.

“I told him that if he answered me, I would not hand him over to Shaolin but kill him myself. Since he was a disciple of Shaolin, I believe he wished to die by my hand and spoke the truth.”

It was a reasonable argument, and Reverend Mang Wu nodded.

“Do you know who consumed them?”

“No. Just as he was about to speak, the Head of the Discipline Hall arrived, and the assassin made an unexpected move that spoiled everything.”

Yong Hwarin spoke with a hint of resentment toward Reverend Gongwoo.

At that, Reverend Gongwoo bowed his head.

Reverend Mang Wu let out a deep sigh.

“In truth, that assassin was none other than Reverend Gongwoo’s disciple. Unable to face his master’s eyes, he chose to end his life.”

Neither the Lady of Mount Lu nor Yong Hwarin were shocked—they had already suspected as much.

For an assassin versed in Shaolin’s Seventy-Two Arts and marked with the seal, it would have been foolish not to guess.

“Long ago, the Head of the Discipline Hall expelled a disciple who had committed a grave mistake. It seems that disciple harbored resentment and committed this deed. Because of this, Reverend Gongwoo has declared he will enter ten years of meditation facing the wall, to cleanse his disciple’s sin with his own.”

Reverend Gongwoo opened his mouth.

“I was overly strict in training my disciples, and long ago, I cast out one who committed a transgression. The assassin who died today was that disciple.”

Yong Hwarin thought of how Reverend Gongwoo’s severity was suffocating even in ordinary times. In the end, it was his very harshness that had turned his disciple into an assassin.

That thought made anger stir within him.

What good was ten years of wall-gazing?

It was nothing but Reverend Gongwoo’s self-consolation.

“If you had not expelled him but guided him instead, he would not have become an assassin. If even a single mistake is not tolerated, then why learn the Buddha’s compassion at all?”

At last, Yong Hwarin spat out the words he had held back.

Reverend Gongwoo gazed at him and softly chanted a Buddhist blessing.

“It is because my Dharma virtue is weak. I will remember your words, Benefactor Yong. Amitabha.”

Reverend Mang Wu shifted the topic.

“For the time being, we must instruct all martial artists residing within Shaolin Temple not to circulate their qi.”

“That is best. Fortunately, the Explosive Phosphorus Pellet dissolves and passes from the body after about half a month. All we can do is wait until then.”

“Truly fortunate.”

But the next morning, noise arose within Shaolin Temple. Rising early, Yong Hwarin realized he could now guess who had consumed the pellets.

Striding boldly into Shaolin Temple were the heirs of the Three Demonic Heavens.

Aside from a few guards, they entered openly. Their audacity was worthy of recognition.

Though many orthodox martial artists were present, none attacked—the honor of the orthodox factions forbade striking down the heirs of the Three Demonic Heavens inside Shaolin.

Soon, Reverend Mang Wu emerged to face the three successors.

“What business brings you to our temple?”

Moon Wu of Blood Demon Castle stepped forward.

“I have long admired the Shaolin Abbot. I am Moon Wu, Little Valley Lord of Blood Demon Castle. I came because I hear there are many prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect gathered here. Hearing that, our competitive spirits were roused, and we wish to apply for a duel. Since we are three, we request a match against three of your prodigies.”

At that, Yong Hwarin glanced quickly toward Shaolin’s Jeong Hang and Wudang Sect’s Wun Mang.

‘Ah, now I see. The three remaining pellets must have been consumed by Shaolin’s Jeong Hang, Wudang Sect’s Wun Mang, and Mount Hua Sect’s Cheong Mong. If these three are to duel, then at least those three must step forward. That’s why they were targeted with the pellets.’

Moon Wu smirked as he looked around at the crowd.

“If you refuse, then the martial world will laugh at you, saying you were too afraid to accept our challenge.”

At those words, hot-tempered Go Jin shouted.

“Silence! What nonsense are you spewing! I’ll accept your challenge right now—!”

But an elder of the Zhongnan Sect beside him thundered.

“Enough! Go Jin, hold your tongue! Do not act rashly!”

Go Jin turned his head aside, seething with frustration.

“If we win, we will release all the martial artists Blood Demon Castle has taken hostage.”

“And if we lose, what will you demand?”

At Reverend Mang Wu’s words, Moon Wu grinned.

“Then all who are here must return immediately to their clans.”

It was a ploy to scatter the power of the Baekdo Alliance.

If the duel were refused, the orthodox side would suffer loss of face. They would be mocked as cowards, and momentum for founding the Baekdo Alliance would collapse.

Yet even if the duel were accepted, there was no guarantee of victory. Either way, the orthodox sects stood only to lose.

But to refuse now would drag down not only Shaolin’s honor but the honor of all the orthodox sects.

They had come to form the Baekdo Alliance to wage war against the Demonic Factions, but if they could not even accept the challenge of three heirs, then the talk of war was meaningless.

Moreover, the families of the hostages held by Blood Demon Castle would certainly rise in protest.

Taking all of this into account, Reverend Mang Wu nodded.

“Very well. We shall accept the duel.”

At that, Moon Wu, Soyonghwa, and San Bi smiled.

Meanwhile, Yong Hwarin sighed deeply.

“Ah, this is dire.”

The Lady of Mount Lu, hearing his sigh, asked.

“What troubles you?”

“The assassin must have dosed Jeong Hang, Wun Mang, and Cheong Mong with the Explosive Phosphorus Pellets. That is why they are so bold in demanding this duel.”

“Ah… now that you mention it, you are right. We accepted without realizing, and now it is grave indeed. Yet to refuse at this point would be an even greater humiliation.”

The Lady of Mount Lu’s expression hardened.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep