“Pardon?”

“I’m telling you to be the Master of the Lotus Pavilion.”

“What does that…”

“Since the original Master is dead, the second-in-command should inherit the position.”

“A-Are you sparing me?”

“I’ll see how you do.”

At Cheon Mubaeck’s nonchalant words, Neung-heo guessed something.

“You’re going to put me in the Master’s position and track the tail of the Blood Demon Sect.”

“Wow, your head works better than you look, huh?”

Neung-heo felt a surge of heat for a moment, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.

If he acted on his temper, he would end up like the rolling head of the Master. Neung-heo asked as nonchalantly as possible.

“But, is the Blood Demon Sect really spreading the plague?”

“You put poison in the alcohol.”

“Actually, I only manage this place, I’ve never heard of putting poison in the alcohol.”

“Well, well, you’re already making excuses.”

“No. I thought the Blood Demon Sect was a new black-way faction, so I transferred from my original place.”

“Transferred? What a load of crap. Where were you originally?”

“I was a member of the Black Heart Gang.”

“…Escort Warrior Heo, where is the Black Heart Gang?”

“It’s a black-way faction based in Kaifeng, Henan.”

“Black-way? Sigh. What a load of crap. I thought it would be at least the level of the Great Dragon Gang since you said it was a black-way, but you transferred from a black-way faction you never even heard of to the Blood Demon Sect? You’re pathetic too.”

“…”

Neung-heo shut his mouth.

Wasn’t Kaifeng a historic city called one of the three ancient capitals, along with Xi’an and Luoyang?

The Black Heart Gang, which had a firm grip on such a Kaifeng, was not just some trashy black-way. Wasn’t it a place that even the surrounding orthodox sects and families did not dare to touch?

Even in such a Black Heart Gang, Neung-heo had a certain reputation.

It was absurd to look down on the Black Heart Gang as just a black-way, but the real thing was his mention of the Great Dragon Gang.

‘Shit. What? The level of the Great Dragon Gang?’

Wasn’t the Great Dragon Gang the best among the black-way?

If it was the demonic way, it was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, if it was the orthodox way, it was the Nine Sects One Alliance and the Five Great Families, and if it was the black-way, wasn’t it the Great Dragon Gang?

“Why did you transfer to the Blood Demon Sect?”

“Because it seemed to have a promising future.”

“…”

“No, to be blunt, there are over three hundred gisaeng houses in Shaanxi Province. They said they were now expanding into Henan Province, and they wanted a guy with a lot of experience in the black-way, and they were offering a lot of money, so of course I would transfer, wouldn’t I?”

“What? There are three hundred gisaeng houses in Shaanxi Province?”

“That’s what they said.”

“Escort Warrior Heo, didn’t you say the plague started in Shaanxi Province?”

“That’s right. It’s been a long time since the government office sealed off Shaanxi Province, but there are rumors that plague patients have appeared not only in Henan but also in Shanxi and Hubei Provinces.”

Although the Azure Star Escort Agency was an escort agency that operated mainly in Henan Province, due to the nature of the escort agency, its intelligence network was bound to be high.

Especially in the case of a plague, it was a variable that could lead to a blockade order from the government office, so they had to collect information very meticulously.

“The fact that the plague is still spreading to other provinces even though it’s been sealed off means that the route of transmission is different. No, it’s not even transmission. If they’re spreading it unilaterally from the gisaeng houses, how can they stop it?”

Cheon Mubaeck hadn’t seen a patient, but he could tell.

It was the poison of the Blood Demon Sect that he had experienced once 400 years ago.

It was just that over time, the poison of that time had changed to look like a plague.

But it was not contagious. It was not a plague, but undoubtedly symptoms of poisoning.

If there were 300 gisaeng houses in Shaanxi Province alone, and if those gisaeng houses were putting poison in the alcohol here at the Lotus Pavilion?

They were definitely bastards who would do that and more. So he had to track them down quickly.

At Cheon Mubaeck’s words, Heo Seong’s expression turned pale.

“What on earth is the Blood Demon Sect, and why are they poisoning people?”

“That’s what I’m saying. They weren’t originally guys who played this big.”

Cheon Mubaeck’s brow narrowed.

These bastards. Are they really that Blood Demon Sect?

Looking at the poison, it was certain, and looking at the restriction of the Master or the medicinal herb merchant owner who reacted to the name Blood Demon Sect, it was certain.

The previous Blood Demon Sect was just a fanatical cult.

The problem was that the core figures of that cult were monstrous demons who had learned the Soul Sucking Demonic Art.

Not just ordinary people, but even martial artists.

They were bastards who absorbed the essence of living people as sacrifices. They were really just crazy bastards.

‘They were bastards who even caught the monks of Shaolin and sucked their essence.’

It was natural for them to be marked as a public enemy of the martial world, and at that time, a person of the Buddhist sect with whom Cheon Mubaeck had a connection was sacrificed, so Cheon Mubaeck had tracked the Blood Demon Sect to the end.

“I’m sure I completely annihilated them at that time.”

His mouth tasted bitter.

He was sure he had tracked them to the end and annihilated them.

They had survived like snakes and revealed themselves at this point, 400 years later.

The reason Cheon Mubaeck had reacted so sensitively to the fact that it was the poison of the Blood Demon Sect and had come this far was because of his past grudge.

‘To think that the desire for revenge doesn’t disappear even after transcending past lives. Is this why that egg bastard won’t even let me ascend to the celestial realm?’

He laughed self-deprecatingly.

They say that if you live a long life, you become wise and transcend life.

That’s not wrong.

But the grudges of the martial world are truly frightening, so they are not forgotten even after life ends.

Cheon Mubaeck felt self-deprecating about himself, but he soon brushed it off.

‘I never dreamed of ascending to the celestial realm anyway. How many sins have I committed while living through countless lives?’

In his previous life, he was revered as the Sword God and was a hero who had single-handedly blocked the Demonic Cult, but in fact, how much blood had he shed in the process?

It wasn’t just then.

He had also walked the path of the demonic way himself and had shed a lot of blood.

‘It would be a funny story if a guy like me became an immortal.’

He had one goal.

To reach the end of the sword.

And to surely break the cycle of reincarnation.

Cheon Mubaeck’s eyes flashed.

He had lived in various ways while living through countless past lives.

There were times when he had shaken the martial world while on a martial arts tour, and there were also lives where he had been cooped up in a deep mountain valley and had not left a single line in the history of the martial world.

‘In the end, the development of the sword happens in the midst of battle.’

Even if he cultivated the Way like that, the growth of the sword would not be achieved.

So Cheon Mubaeck had thrown himself into the martial world with a single sword every time.

There were many times when he had lived as a martial artist of the orthodox sects, and there were times when he had been unique as a figure of the demonic way, and there were many times when he had not stood on either side as a figure between the orthodox and unorthodox.

To him, orthodox and demonic, heretical and black-way had no meaning.

The reason why Cheon Mubaeck was revered as the Sword God in his previous life and was called the leader of the orthodox sects?

‘That’s because a huge number of guys from the Demonic Cult came out like crazy.’

So he fought them. He fought the Demonic Cult. As he did so, he naturally became the focal point of the orthodox sects. At that time, unlike the Demonic Cult, the orthodox sects were suffering from a talent drought.

As he fought endlessly with the Demonic Cult, Cheon Mubaeck was able to develop further in the way of the sword than in his previous life.

‘Come to think of it, I wonder if that Heavenly Demon bastard is still alive.’

That bastard was terrifying.

He was a guy so strong that he wondered if this bastard was also a reincarnator.

‘In any case, I have to fight with a single sword against all the storms that come my way to reach the Sword Kiuk. What’s the point of living quietly?’

Cheon Mubaeck decided to deal with the Blood Demon Sect matter first.

“Neung-heo.”

“Yes.”

“Take over the Lotus Pavilion. And within the Lotus Pavilion, win over the guys who were recruited from the outside like you, and deal with all the guys who were originally from the Blood Demon Sect.”

“…!”

Neung-heo’s pupils shook greatly.

Being smart and being cunning are different things. Neung-heo considered himself to be quite cunning. So he was also quick-witted.

He understood Cheon Mubaeck’s intention.

“Are you telling me to be a spy for the Blood Demon Sect?”

“Why? You don’t want to?”

Cheon Mubaeck wiped the blood-stained dagger. Neung-heo glanced at it and made a face as if he had eaten shit.

“No. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do at least once.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I grew up listening to the story of how the famous Dark Heaven Sword Emperor, who was active in the Demonic Cult, revealed that he was a spy for the Martial Arts Alliance at a crucial moment and eliminated the elders of the Demonic Cult. It’s something I’ve dreamed of.”

“You’re talking a lot, so you seem to have some complaints?”

“No. Complaints? I’m not the Dark Heaven Sword Emperor, but what’s the big deal about being a spy?”

“Right. I’m glad I seem to have fulfilled your dream.”

“Agh, shit.”

Neung-heo’s face turned bright red.

Cheon Mubaeck smirked and said to Heo Seong.

“Escort Warrior Heo.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Let’s just say that everything that happened today was done by Escort Warrior Heo.”

“Pardon?”

“I went to the medicinal herb merchant with you and found out that these bastards were doing vicious things, so I solved it, and as for the gisaeng house, let’s just say that we happened to come here for a drink and a fight broke out, so we solved it.”

“Why would you…”

“Would people believe me if I said I did it?”

“Ah!”

“Well, my skills and true self will eventually become known, but there’s no need for it to be known quickly.”

To be honest, it was burdensome for Cheon Mubaeck to fight the Blood Demon Sect right now.

He had just cut down the Master of the Lotus Pavilion in a single stroke, but if his opponent had not been careless and had fought with all his might, it would have been a headache.

In the end, in a fight between masters, nothing is as important as internal energy.

Isn’t the standard of a prestigious sect divided by whether there is an orthodox internal energy cultivation method?

‘I need some time.’

It would be tiring to get attention already.

Moreover, if it was a group like the Blood Demon Sect.

If it were just a vicious group, it would be one thing, but these bastards were a fanatical cult that disregarded even their own lives.

‘In a fight, it’s always difficult if you don’t know the identity of the enemy you’re facing.’

The Blood Demon Sect would send people to investigate the incident.

They would think that Heo Seong was the culprit, but the one they would actually have to face would be Cheon Mubaeck.

Cheon Mubaeck intended to strike down the Blood Demon Sect members who came this way and track their tail.

‘Anyway, their main stage seems to be Shaanxi, and they won’t be able to focus their attention here yet.’

In Shaanxi Province, there are Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan.

As long as those two sects were there, the Blood Demon Sect would be mobilizing almost all its forces in Shaanxi Province.

Then there was time.

‘I’ll put Heo Seong in front and prepare Heaven-Shaking Soul Art.’

He would accumulate internal energy faster than now.

Only then could he properly utilize not only the Samjae Sword but also the numerous martial arts that existed in Cheon Mubaeck’s head.

“Escort Warrior Heo.”

“Yes. My lord.”

“You’ll have to suffer for a while. There will probably be many Blood Demon Sect bastards who will come looking for you.”

Heo Seong’s face hardened.

To be honest, he was at a similar level to Neung-heo here.

In fact, he was slightly lower.

If it were just the Master of the Lotus Pavilion, Heo Seong could not guarantee it.

But he bit his lip.

“If it’s something that has to be done, I have to do it.”

With this, the preparations were complete for now.

No, there was still one thing left.

“Escort Warrior Heo, is there a blacksmith’s shop nearby?”

“If it’s a blacksmith’s shop, there’s a blacksmith’s shop that regularly supplies weapons to our escort warriors.”

“It seems to be late today, so let’s go together tomorrow morning.”

“If you’re going to the blacksmith’s shop, are you thinking of getting a weapon?”

“That’s right.”

Cheon Mubaeck’s eyes reached the empty air.

“I think it’s time to hold a sword now.”

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep