Cheon Mubaeck pondered for a moment.

‘An ambush when everyone is relaxed.’

Neung-heo was asleep, and Zhuge Seola’s guard, Muyong, was circulating his qi to manage the internal energy he had consumed. Zhuge Seola was also washing, just like himself.

In short, when all vigilance was down.

At the most dangerous moment, the opponent had launched a surprise attack.

Was this possible?

‘It means they’ve been following and watching us all this time.’

Cheon Mubaeck firmly denied it.

Not once had the enemy’s presence been caught in his senses.

‘Then it means someone is reporting our movements.’

They were moving so fast that if someone from the group left, it was impossible not to notice.

But there was just one person.

There was someone who was openly reporting Cheon Mubaeck’s movements.

‘Yusu.’

Cheon Mubaeck’s senses expanded once more.

The faint voice of Yusu, sitting in his seat and reading a Taoist scripture, was just calm and composed.

‘Yusu did send messages in the middle, saying we were going to Wudang.’

That was the only thing that had exposed Cheon Mubaeck’s movements.

‘Then does it mean he didn’t send it to Wudang, but to someone else?’

Cheon Mubaeck closed his eyes. As a result of operating the Ice White Divine Art, the hot water cooled down, and the inn servant came in and boiled the water again several times.

The steamy vapor was so thick that he couldn’t see an inch in front of him.

Beyond that.

The door opened very carefully.

“Finally, an assassin appears in this life too.”

Cheon Mubaeck’s voice was as calm and composed as someone experiencing a boring event.

The bodies of the three assassins who had suddenly entered flinched.

Soon, they saw Cheon Mubaeck, naked in the bathtub, and their eyes flashed.

He was defenseless.

Not to mention a weapon, he was naked, so he had no weapon to grab right away.

At best, a pumice stone used to wash the body.

At that fact, the assassins immediately rushed in like a thunderbolt.

Chaechaechaechaeng!

‘Sharp.’

The sword strikes of all three were sharp. It was proof that they had trained for a long time. But it wasn’t special. That was all.

It was not enough for Cheon Mubaeck’s instincts to warn him and feel a crisis.

Cheon Mubaeck stood up, naked.

At the same time, the water in the bathtub sloshed, and dozens, hundreds of drops splashed into the air.

The water droplets gently settled on the swords that the assassins were thrusting.

Woongwoongwoong!

Cheon Mubaeck opened his lower dantian, not his upper dantian. The supreme yin energy that had been suppressed until now raised its head and soared fiercely.

At the same time, it rushed through the eight extraordinary meridians and emitted a cold qi around Cheon Mubaeck.

Jjeojeojeojeok!

“……!”

When the terrible supreme yin energy touched them, the steamy vapors froze in an instant.

The supreme yin energy, in which the essence of the Ten Thousand Year Moon Pill was dissolved, brought an extreme cold qi, to the point where it could be considered an ice crystal from the North Sea Ice Palace.

All the moisture in the surroundings froze.

“Eeeek!”

The assassins’ pupils, revealed above their masks, widened in astonishment.

The moment they entered this place.

The steamy vapor had settled on the assassins’ entire bodies.

The weight of the ice was added to the swords they were thrusting, so the sword path became heavy and slow. Their thrusting postures all flinched as if they were frozen, so their attacks cut through the air powerlessly.

On the other hand, Cheon Mubaeck was free.

When everyone’s body was stiff with the ice that had settled on their skin, Cheon Mubaeck kicked up his right foot and struck the chin of the assassin in front.

Ppagak!

Then, he struck down the wrist of the flinching assassin from behind with the side of his hand.

At the same time, he stretched out his left hand and shot a finger flicking art from his fingertips.

In an instant, Cheon Mubaeck’s attacks struck their entire bodies.

“Keoheok!”

One of them lasted for quite a long time, but that was only for a moment.

The fist that Cheon Mubaeck extended next contained the mystery of the internal energy heavy hand art.

“……!”

The assassin’s eyes rapidly lost their vitality.

Beyond the skin, the supreme yin energy poured out and froze the internal organs and heart.

“Is this also an ice art?”

Cheon Mubaeck looked down at the assassins’ corpses, feeling a little awkward.

“It’s not bad.”

It was clean since they had frozen without shedding blood.

Cheon Mubaeck thought he should train a decent ice art in the future, and after roughly putting on his pants and throwing the green robe over them, he went out into the hallway.

Numerous movements were already caught in his expanded extrasensory perception.

“Neung-heo is fighting while spewing all sorts of curses, and the warrior named Muyong is also fighting… but this guy Yusu has no movement at all…”

Cheon Mubaeck’s senses soon stopped.

“Was the target Zhuge Seola?”

The bath where Zhuge Seola was.

A strong wave of qi erupted from there.

* * *

Zhuge Seola enjoyed a bath for the first time in a long time.

In fact, what was the reason she couldn’t speak properly or even raise her head in front of Cheon Mubaeck all this time?

‘In the Sword King Valley, I was so out of it, but how can I show my shabby appearance!’

At first, she tried to somehow maintain the appearance she had shown at the Azure Star Escort Agency and the Zhuge Clan.

But how could a journey through the martial world be so easy?

The Central Plains was wide, and since they covered dozens of li in a single breath a day, sleeping in the open was a natural thing.

Not to mention makeup, she couldn’t even wash properly, so she was messy, and she felt like her breath smelled, so she didn’t even talk to Cheon Mubaeck.

Fortunately, Cheon Mubaeck did not approach her or talk to her first.

During the short journey, Zhuge Seola thought she had hidden it well.

‘No, but it’s a bit much to have no interest at all.’

And after making such an unexpected confession in front of her father.

Zhuge Seola hid her flushing face under the hot water for a moment.

‘Really. This isn’t even a trip, what is this.’

Of course, she was the one who had kept her mouth shut so she couldn’t talk, but Zhuge Seola became sullen.

She, who had gone under the water and was rolling her eyes, which were the only things visible above the water’s surface, stopped for a moment.

Soon, her face hardened.

‘Presence…’

A presence felt from outside.

‘What is it?’

In an instant, her hair stood on end.

A strange silence felt from some point. She felt a faint killing intent transmitted through it. Zhuge Seola bit her lip. If she had a weapon on her, it would be a different story. But now she was defenseless.

‘For now, I have to hold on and buy time…’

If there was a commotion, the guard, Thousand Year Slender Blade, Muyong, would come running.

Because he was a master who had reached the top even among the peak for a long time.

Anyway, since she had no weapon in her hand, she couldn’t cut the assassin’s throat. The answer was to buy time and hold on.

In that respect, Zhuge Seola was competent. Being knowledgeable about formations and mechanisms meant that she could perfectly grasp the surrounding terrain, and among them, she was skilled in using objects.

Deolkeok.

The moment the door opened, she put her internal energy into the hairpin she had taken out and shot it.

“Keueok!”

A clear stream of blood gushed from the neck of the first assassin who had infiltrated.

Chwareureureuk!

Then, she tore off a plank from the bathtub and swung it in a surprise attack.

But one of the two assassins was not ordinary.

“……!”

A plank filled with internal energy. Its strength surpassed that of an ordinary sword. But even though he was hit squarely in the head with it, the opponent’s eyes did not show any sign of being hit.

Rather, he stretched out his large hand and tried to grab Zhuge Seola’s slender, white neck.

“Euht!”

Zhuge Seola barely managed to escape.

But her face hardened grimly.

If her neck had been caught, it would probably have been broken.

‘The gap is clear!’

An opponent she couldn’t judge she could win against even with all her weapons.

Moreover, now she had given up the advantage in weapons, atmosphere, and all situations.

‘Can I hold on until the Thousand Year Slender Blade comes?’

On second thought, there were two assassins who had attacked her.

Wouldn’t the assassins have gone to other people as well?

Of course, she didn’t think they would be defeated, but it would take time to deal with them.

In the end, Zhuge Seola had to overcome it on her own.

The moment she made up her mind, the assassin’s hand stretched out.

It was so fast that it looked as if his hand was stretching.

Zhuge Seola’s head spun.

Sensing that she couldn’t avoid it this time, she leaned her body forward.

An intention to rather break the outstretched hand.

But at this time, the arm she had extended to break the wrist cut through the air in vain.

The target had disappeared.

Seogeok!

“……!”

Although she couldn’t see properly because of the steam, she knew the reason why bright red blood was gushing.

The assassin’s wrist was cut off and fell.

Then, ice spread through the steam, and the wrist from which blood was flowing froze solid.

“It’s so hard to clean up when there’s blood.”

It was Cheon Mubaeck.

Only after that voice reached her ears did Zhuge Seola feel warm, unlike the scene of the surroundings freezing.

* * *

The assassin who had come for Zhuge Seola was strong.

To the point where he thought that even if the three he had faced attacked at the same time, they would not be able to defeat this guy.

But in the first place, those three were at a level where they couldn’t even touch a hair on Cheon Mubaeck.

In other words, this guy was also not a big threat to Cheon Mubaeck.

Every time the cold qi contained in the sword was scattered, the assassin flinched.

For him now, this must be the worst environment.

The steam-filled bath.

The supreme yin energy that froze that steam in an instant.

From the moment he entered this place, steam had settled on his entire body, so no matter how much of a master he was, he couldn’t even make a move in an environment where his whole body was freezing.

‘The effect of the ice art is also great. I should train more.’

At that sight, Cheon Mubaeck’s resolve became even firmer.

To use the immortal energy more and use both energies at the same time.

That would surely lead Cheon Mubaeck to a new path.

“Eeeek!”

As his whole body froze, the assassin gritted his teeth with a red face.

At that terrible sight, Cheon Mubaeck tilted his head.

The tide of the battle was already over. Then, the normal behavior of an assassin would be to either flee or commit suicide to hide their identity.

But the assassin was gritting his teeth and trying to kill Cheon Mubaeck and Zhuge Seola somehow.

Cheon Mubaeck, who looked into those eyes, narrowed his brows.

“It’s a Bidara.”

Cheon Mubaeck cut his throat without hesitation.

Cheon Mubaeck turned his head.

He saw Zhuge Seola. Perhaps because of the supreme yin energy that Cheon Mubaeck was emitting, she was trembling from the cold with a pale face. Cheon Mubaeck, realizing his mistake, withdrew his energy.

“Are you alright?”

“What? Yes. Th-thank you. Young Master.”

Then, Zhuge Seola scanned Cheon Mubaeck’s appearance.

Although he was wearing the green robe, his bare feet and wet hair stuck to his shoulders and face.

“Did you… come while you were washing?”

“That’s right. I felt a dizzying wave of qi from this side and came running, but it seems I wasn’t too late.”

Zhuge Seola was greatly relieved by his calm voice. The fear she had felt for a moment was gone. Rather, she felt strangely good.

Because it felt as if he had come running right away, worried about her.

Then, her pupils suddenly widened.

Cheon Mubae-ck, who had just come from washing.

And she herself too…

“Hmm. It’s cold for now, so please wear this green robe.”

“Hiik…!”

At Cheon Mubaeck’s green robe covering her pure white naked body, Zhuge Seola instantly hid her flushing red face inside the robe.

“My lady! Are you alright!”

At that moment, Muyong arrived, albeit late.

Muyong appeared with a fierce aura, covered in blood.

But he soon stopped, flinching at the sight of the assassin’s corpse sprawled on the floor.

A somewhat cold voice from Cheon Mubaeck was directed at him.

“If you’re in charge of guarding, do it properly.”

“…I am sorry.”

“I fully understand that you were ordered to spy on me, but shouldn’t you do your main job properly? Don’t hide your martial arts by awkwardly hiding your aura.”

“…!”

Muyong’s pupils shook.

Not only Muyong but also Zhuge Seola was flustered by the unexpectedly strong rebuke.

But Cheon Mubaeck did not look at them.

Just then, Neung-heo came running with a face contorted like a demon.

“Lord!”

“You’re fine.”

“Fine, my ass. I thought I was going to die. And this bastard really died.”

“…”

What Neung-heo was carrying on his back was Yusu.

The corpse of Yusu, with a hole in his forehead.

Cheon Mubaeck’s eyes narrowed.

“Conspiracy is rampant.”

It was the martial world.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep