Nine Dragons Chronicle (54)
“They were from the Blood Demon Sect of Henan Province.”
“Why would the Blood Demon Sect of Henan target us?”
Hwa-rin, puzzled, questioned Yi Do-mun.
“It seems the Twin Evils of Yeongcheon Merchant Guild are involved.”
Hwa-rin narrowed his eyes upon hearing the names of the Twin Evils.
“It appears the Twin Evils learned who killed their son through Hao Gate. Hao Gate knew that the Twin Evils had commissioned us and, inferring from this, suggested the possibility that their lord might have killed their son. The Twin Evils seem to have acted on this conviction.”
“I know the Twin Evils are also friendly with the Eumsa Sect.”
“That’s correct. However, the Eumsa Sect hesitated to strike at our lord, likely considering the relationship between Jongnam and Hwasan.”
Hwa-rin had aimed for this, fostering a friendship with Elder Song Cheol of the Jongnam Sect.
“Sado-hyung’s [Older brother in the martial arts world] intuition seems sharp. To postpone avenging those who died by my hand and even refuse the Twin Evils’ request.”
“By the way, my lord, the Blood Demon Sect of Henan also serves as the Henan branch of the Four Blood Alliance.”
“I know. I investigated that much before coming to the Murim [Martial arts world] world. Let’s deal with the Twin Evils first, leaving the Blood Demon Sect for later. It will be quite a sight when the eldest grandson dies, and the second and third sons die simultaneously. I’ll handle this matter, so be aware.”
“Understood.”
“Then, I’ll stop by Henan Province and then go to Jiangsu Province for business, so it will take some time.”
“Don’t worry about the estate and go safely.”
“Hwamyeong Merchant Guild won’t stand still if Seokcheon Sect gets involved.”
“If the warriors of Seokcheon Sect dare to cross the walls of the estate, they will deeply regret their foolish choice.”
Hwa-rin nodded at Yi Do-mun’s confident reply, entrusting the estate to him and leaving to attend to his affairs.
Before heading to Henan Province, Hwa-rin stopped by Sanyang County to meet Seo Dae-yeong at the Nine Dragons Manor’s villa.
“Then this place isn’t safe either.”
“So, take care of it. If necessary, summon all the escort warriors stationed at the business places to protect the estate and the children.”
“Since we can’t fully grasp the enemy, I think we should call the escort warriors to the estate for now.”
The escort warriors they were talking about were those whom the Emperor had personally assigned to Hwa-rin when he left the Imperial Palace.
They were skilled warriors from Dongchang [Eastern Depot, an intelligence agency] and the Geumuiwei [ Embroidered Uniform Guard, a secret police], but their inability to adapt to palace life was noted as a problem.
However, having left the palace, they were now well-adjusted, so there was no major issue.
“And pay some attention to the Nine Dragons Manor as well. I entrusted it to Protector Yi, but since their previous occupation was as assassins, they are a bit weak against warriors who use orthodox methods.”
“Understood. Then, I’ll call the escort warriors to the estate and take the children to the main estate.”
“That’s a good idea too. It seems the rainy season will end by the time I return, so let’s go see Hwasan Sect together then.”
“Why Hwasan Sect?”
“They’re holding a competition called the Hwasan Assembly for the later generation disciples who have mastered swordsmanship.”
“Hwasan Assembly?”
“Yes. The Chief and I are considered later generation disciples, so it wouldn’t be bad to see what kind of competitors there are.”
“Understood. I’ll prepare to go to Hwasan when you return.”
“Then, I’ll be off, so please take care of things.”
Hwa-rin entrusted the overall management to Seo Dae-yeong and then departed for Henan Province.
* * *
Hennan Province is a province located in the central part of the Central Plains. Like Shanxi Province, it is a place where the orthodox sects hold great power in the Murim world. The Shaolin Sect is located on Mount Song in Henan Province, and the Beggars’ Sect’s headquarters is located in Kaifeng.
In addition, the Green Forest Overlord, Yeok Do-san, the chief of the Green Forest, also known as the Black Path, had established himself in Mount Dabie, and numerous Green Forest camps with considerable influence were also located in places such as Mount Tianzhong, Mount Pyeongseong, and Gwangsan.
Although evil sects, including the Blood Demon Sect, also occupied many places in Henan Province, they were inevitably pushed back by the orthodox sects, which were backed by the power of Shaolin and the Beggars’ Sect.
Therefore, the Blood Demon Sect allied with the Green Forest camps, which were part of the Black Path, to check the expansion of the orthodox sects, maintaining a certain balance. However, both the Blood Demon Sect and the Green Forest knew well that even this hard-won balance could be broken in an instant if Shaolin and the Beggars’ Sect intervened.
For this reason, evil sects rarely provoked orthodox sects in Henan Province. Conversely, orthodox sects also did not provoke evil sects or the Black Path.
Perhaps because of this, Shanxi and Henan Provinces were places where Murim conflicts occurred less frequently compared to other provinces.
Hwa-rin arrived in Henan Province and headed to Zhengzhou, the capital city where the Blood Demon Sect, a branch of the Four Blood Alliance, was located.
Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, was less developed than Luoyang or Kaifeng, which were famous for their specialties.
However, despite Henan Province not being as underdeveloped as Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, or Gansu Provinces, Zhengzhou, as the capital, was known as a backward city.
“It’s so different from Luoyang.”
Luoyang, with Mount Song of Shaolin, had many tourist attractions and was located along the Yellow River, leading to significant development and a busy life for its people. In contrast, the people living in Zhengzhou, the capital, seemed to have more leisure in their lives.
Hwa-rin came to Zhengzhou in Henan Province because the Blood Demon Sect, a branch of the Four Blood Alliance, was located there.
Hwa-rin went to an inn, booked a room, and, feeling tired from traveling to Henan Province, decided to sleep first.
After taking a nap, it was already dusk. Hwa-rin had a light dinner at the inn’s restaurant and then left the inn.
It was already dark when he left the inn.
It was raining heavily, making it difficult to find people on the streets.
The heavy rain and deep darkness quickly enveloped Hwa-rin, making him disappear from the sight of the people inside the inn.
“Where is he going in this rain?”
The innkeeper seemed worried as he watched Hwa-rin’s back, but Hwa-rin didn’t hear him.
The Blood Demon Sect’s estate was quite large and spacious, even for Zhengzhou. Apart from the inner courtyard buildings with the main house and annexes, there were five more buildings.
These were the buildings where the Blood Demon Sect’s disciples and their families resided. In addition, there was a training ground where the disciples could practice and a separate dining hall building where many people could eat, occupying a considerable amount of land.
Finding the location of such a Blood Demon Sect after hearing it once was not a difficult task.
Hwa-rin found the Blood Demon Sect’s estate at once and secretly crossed the wall.
With a single leap, Hwa-rin climbed onto the wall and immediately jumped onto the roof of a nearby building, lowering his posture.
Perhaps because it was the rainy season, the warriors guarding the Blood Demon Sect at night seemed a bit lax.
They were complacent, thinking that no one would come looking for them on such a night because of the heavy rain.
Hwa-rin lay prone on the roof for a while and then moved slowly.
His movements resembled those of a snake, and he made no sound as he moved.
Hwa-rin avoided the gaze of the guarding warriors, moving from the roofs of buildings to find the inner courtyard.
Having found the inner courtyard of the Blood Demon Sect, Hwa-rin waited for a while rather than entering it immediately. This was because, although it was dark, it was still early, and he wanted to wait for the people in the inner courtyard to go to sleep.
Hwa-rin used his inner energy to survey the people in the inner courtyard. Only after some time did he feel that the breathing of the people in the inner courtyard was generally stable and even, and then he moved.
Hwa-rin’s figure disappeared from the spot as if it had sunk under the roof. When he reappeared, he was already inside the inner courtyard.
Inside the inner courtyard building, there were several rooms, and if the rooms in the annexes were included, there were at least twenty rooms.
Some of the rooms were empty, but there were also rooms where two or three people were sleeping together.
Hwa-rin moved to find the largest room.
Hwa-rin moved through the air using a divine technique called Floating Cloud Movement.
It looked similar to the Celestial Flight, which allowed one to walk in the sky, but as it was an applied technique, it did not match the Celestial Flight.
However, this was a more efficient technique when moving inside buildings.
Hwa-rin found the large room and went straight inside without opening the door. If anyone had seen this, they might have screamed that it was a ghost.
Inside the room, two people were sleeping soundly: Na Seong-gi, the Blood Demon Sect’s leader, known as Blood Hand Ruthless, and his wife, Yi-ran.
Lady Yi-ran was also a master of the evil path and the daughter of Yi Cheon-guk, the leader of the White Horse Sect, an evil sect representing Shandong Province.
Hwa-rin quietly approached the two sleeping people.
“How can someone with such poor senses become the leader of a sect?”
Hwa-rin seemed dumbfounded as he looked at Na Seong-gi and Lady Yi-ran, who were sleeping peacefully despite being in imminent danger of death.
“Well, it makes it easier for me.”
Hwa-rin took out the Kill Yellow Ink Blood Flute from his chest and infused it with inner energy. The sword body of the Kill Yellow Ink Blood Flute, which shone with a sharp aura in the darkness, was made of meteorite iron, a rare mineral that could be obtained in small quantities from meteorites. It was a sword that was harder and more elastic than any other mineral.
As Hwa-rin stabbed the Kill Yellow Ink Blood Flute towards Na Seong-gi’s heart, Na Seong-gi’s eyes flashed open and then closed again, and he slumped down.
Then, Hwa-rin raised his inner energy and infused it into the Kill Yellow Ink Blood Flute. Hwa-rin’s inner energy was transmitted through the Kill Yellow Ink Blood Flute to Na Seong-gi’s heart, freezing it solid.
When Hwa-rin pulled out the Kill Yellow Ink Blood Flute, the sword body was clean, without even a drop of blood.
Hwa-rin looked at Lady Yi-ran, who was sleeping next to him, and hesitated for a moment.
Should he spare her, or should he kill her to make the road to death less lonely?
“Well, there are many to kill, and if she’s going to take care of the sect, she’ll need someone to clean up. So, I’ll spare her. And…”
Hwa-rin wore a strange smile, as if he wanted to get something he wanted through Lady Yi-ran.
Hwa-rin tapped Lady Yi-ran’s blood points, putting her into a deep sleep, and then searched the room to find the wealth that Na Seong-gi had accumulated.
“There it is.”
Hwa-rin found Na Seong-gi’s secret vault, as well as Lady Yi-ran’s valuables, and took everything that could be turned into cash before leaving their room.
Strangely enough, although Hwa-rin had spent quite a long time in the room, not a single drop of blood flowed from the body of the dead Na Seong-gi.
* * *
The Blood Demon Sect, which had been hit by a storm the night before, was in chaos by morning.
Someone had infiltrated the Blood Demon Sect and assassinated Na Seong-gi, the leader of the Blood Demon Sect, as well as his two sons and three elders of the sect.
Six people had died the night before, but no one had noticed. Moreover, the lineage of Na Seong-gi’s family, the Blood Demon Sect, had been cut off, and their grief was indescribable.
Lady Yi-ran declared a state of emergency in the Blood Demon Sect and ordered the sect’s warriors to find traces of the culprit, but they could not find any traces of the culprit.
It had rained heavily the night before, so if an intruder had entered, there should have been traces of rainwater on the floor, but even those traces could not be found.
“Find those who are staying at the inns in Zhengzhou who have come from the provinces, especially those who possess swords.”
At her command, the Blood Demon Sect’s warriors came out and scattered into Zhengzhou.
“Chief Sima, go to Hao Gate and find out in detail about those who moved last night.”
“Understood.”
“Sister-in-law…”
“Don’t say anything to me right now.”
One could feel the anger in her voice.
‘But why did they only kill him, my sons, and the elders?’
With that, her gaze turned to Na Seong-gi’s two younger brothers, who were unable to say anything.