Chapter 454 : Battle with the Masters of the Three Demonic Heavens (2)
Chapter 454: Battle with the Masters of the Three Demonic Heavens (2)
Yong Hwarin and Sohyeon were on the verge of clashing when a massive vessel emerged from the Igang River.
“It’s a boat!”
Yong Seollan shouted as she saw the vessel bearing the flag of the Imperial Family.
Seeing it, Yong Hwarin frowned.
The boat had appeared at a critical moment, interrupting the duel.
Yong Hwarin had intended to settle the outcome here no matter what.
If the Martial Flower Lord was the figure behind it all, eliminating the key figures of the Three Demonic Heavens would be most advantageous.
After all, if he couldn't eliminate the Martial Flower Lord, a member of the Imperial Family, the next best option was to get rid of her close associates.
Sohyeon looked somewhat relieved, though a trace of regret also showed on his face.
He felt both the urge to fight someone like Yong Hwarin and relief at being able to avoid it.
The one who had brought the ship was Sang Il-do, the commander of the Martial Flower Lord’s personal guards.
Sang Il-do had been guarding Geuknamdong from a distance and had witnessed Yong Hwarin battling the masters of the Three Demonic Heavens.
When he saw that the Blood Demon Castle’s Lord Moonwoo and the Demonic Cult’s Cult Leader Sandok had died, he returned to the anchored ship and brought it over.
It was out of concern that Yong Hwarin might even kill the Martial Flower Lord.
The ship was carrying Royal Guards as escorts, under the calculation that their presence would prevent Yong Hwarin from acting rashly.
The Martial Flower Lord glared at Yong Hwarin as if she were ready to kill him.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Yong Hwarin asked, and the Martial Flower Lord suddenly smiled.
The sudden change in her expression gave Yong Hwarin chills.
“You’re wondering why I’m doing this, aren’t you? I suppose it must’ve shocked you.”
The Martial Flower Lord, who had been muttering to herself, then locked eyes with Yong Hwarin as her expression changed again.
“It’s simply what I want to do. If there is another reason, it’s just that I despise the place called Murim.”
What more was there to say after that?
Yong Hwarin closed his eyes.
“Miss Cho was used in your schemes and died because of it.”
“That was something even I couldn’t help. She was a rather useful girl, but once she figured out who I was and started digging into the truth, I had no choice but to get rid of her. She was so clever, I couldn’t predict what kind of variable she’d become. Still, in the end, she escaped and informed you, didn’t she? Though she died anyway.”
The Martial Flower Lord assumed that the reason Yong Hwarin was here was because Chouhui had informed him.
While Yong Hwarin and the Martial Flower Lord were speaking, Sohyeon gathered the corpses of Moon Gyeom and Sandok and brought them aboard the ship.
Once the corpses had been cleared, the Martial Flower Lord opened her mouth, knowing it was time for her to leave.
“I owe you quite a bit this time, Young Master Yong. It was truly nerve-wracking. But know this—I will make you pay for how you treated me today.”
Yong Hwarin did not avert his eyes from hers and replied.
“If you can claim it, then go ahead. But keep one thing in mind. If you want that price from me, Martial Flower Lord, you will have to risk everything.”
Though his words were resolute and even disrespectful, the Martial Flower Lord didn’t take them lightly.
“Risk everything…”
She gazed at Yong Hwarin with deep eyes for a moment, then turned and headed toward the ship.
Sang Il-do twitched his cheeks, clearly bitter about leaving Yong Hwarin untouched, but he turned to follow her.
Once the Martial Flower Lord had departed, Myeong Gujeong spoke up.
“Is it alright to just let her go like that?”
Yong Hwarin gave a bitter smile.
“Even without our interference, the Martial Flower Lord will no longer be able to leave the Imperial Palace.”
“What do you mean?”
Not just Myeong Gujeong—others also turned their attention to Yong Hwarin’s words.
He had spoken reflexively, recalling memories from his past life.
“Ah, you’ll see soon enough.”
The others, still curious, pressed him for answers.
“Don’t be like that, tell us. Is something going to happen to the Martial Flower Lord?”
At Pang Giyok’s prompting, Yong Hwarin nodded and sank into thought.
In his past life, around this time, the Martial Flower Lord had been ambushed and severely injured, resulting in her retreating into years of seclusion for recovery.
It had been such a grievous internal injury that it had rendered her unable to act further.
‘Now that I think about it, I might know who ambushed the Martial Flower Lord in my past life. Back then, the assassin’s identity wasn’t revealed, so I didn’t consider it, but now it makes sense.’
The more he thought about it, the clearer it became.
Fan Yegok, who always followed Chouhui like a shadow, had been conspicuously absent.
Even when Chouhui was fatally injured and fleeing, Fan Yegok hadn’t shown up.
That could only mean one thing—Chouhui, recognizing the severity of her situation, had deliberately kept Fan Yegok away.
‘The one who ambushed the Martial Flower Lord in my past life was undoubtedly Fan Yegok. And since there’s still no news of Fan Yegok being captured, I’m certain of it.’
Knowing that, Yong Hwarin hadn’t touched the Martial Flower Lord.
Had he not remembered, he would have slaughtered every last one of her associates here.
‘Martial Flower Lord, you should thank Fan Yegok. If I hadn’t recalled that memory, you would have died here. I would have killed you, even if it meant eradicating your entire lineage.’
Pang Giyok spoke with a grimace.
“Hwarin, fine—let the Martial Flower Lord go. But you should have killed Sohyeon, the Valley Leader of the Valley of Hidden Darkness. Letting him go will bring massive consequences.”
Jegal Yohye nodded in agreement.
“Pang Gongja is right. Even if we had killed Sohyeon, the Martial Flower Lord wouldn’t have been able to retaliate. Letting him go was a misstep on our part.”
But Yong Hwarin shook his head.
“He absolutely had to be allowed to leave alive.”
The two looked at each other as if asking if the other understood what Yong Hwarin meant, but even the brilliant Jegal Yohye couldn’t comprehend his reasoning.
“What do you mean by that?”
Unable to hold back, she asked.
Yong Hwarin gave her a bitter smile.
“If Sohyeon had died, the Three Demonic Heavens would have united their forces.”
Jegal Yohye gasped and clapped her hands.
“Ah! That’s right.”
She looked at Yong Hwarin in admiration and spoke.
“Two of the Three Demonic Heavens’ leaders are now dead, so of course Sohyeon will seek to take control of the entire organization by eliminating the Blood Demon Castle and the Holy Heaven Cult. Since the Orthodox Murim has united under the Hundred Justice Alliance, he’ll feel the need for Demonic Unity as well. But if Sohyeon had died here, the three successors of the Three Demonic Heavens would’ve recognized their limitations and tried to unite instead. You let Sohyeon live to prevent that.”
Yong Hwarin thought to himself that she truly had the insight befitting the Deputy Strategist of the Hundred Justice Alliance.
With just one sentence from him, she had completely grasped his intentions.
“That’s correct.”
“Then the Hundred Justice Alliance will be quite busy. But what if Sohyeon does manage to unify the Three Demonic Heavens? We’ll need a countermeasure.”
“Even if he succeeds, the Three Demonic Heavens will have suffered tremendous losses during the unification process. In that state, they won’t be able to match the Hundred Justice Alliance.”
“Indeed, that’s true.”
Jegal Yohye’s eyes gleamed as her mind began working furiously.
But there was something even she hadn’t considered.
Yong Hwarin had yet another layer to his plan.
‘But is Sohyeon really the one who will unify the Three Demonic Heavens?’
As he watched Jegal Yohye deep in thought, Yong Hwarin turned his gaze to the boat rapidly disappearing down the Igang River, unable to take his eyes off it.
Luoyang had once been the capital of nine dynasties—Eastern Zhou, Later Han, Cao Wei, Western Jin, Northern Wei, Sui, Tang, Later Liang, and Later Tang—and was thus also called the “Ancient Capital of Nine Dynasties.”
Because it held that title for a total of 924 years, it was also famously known as the “Millennium Capital.”
Because it had been the capital of nine dynasties, Luoyang was inevitably a city where culture and arts flourished.
The Hundred Justice Alliance was located near Baekma Temple (白馬寺), slightly removed from the heart of Luoyang.
It lay to the northeast, opposite the southern outskirts where Yongmun Stone Cave was located.
That area had once been a site where Shaolin Temple and many Buddhist followers from Henan tried to construct a grand temple, only to abandon it due to a lack of funding. The Hundred Justice Alliance had renovated that abandoned space and made it their base.
Once the Hundred Justice Alliance established itself there, many in the jianghu began referring to Baekma Temple and the Alliance together as Three Whites County (三白縣).
Pang Giyok explained this to Yong Hwarin and asked,
“Hwarin, do you know why it’s called Three Whites County?”
After all, it should have been called Two Whites County, since there were only Baekma Temple and the Hundred Justice Alliance.
Yong Hwarin chuckled.
“You’re asking something too simple. Isn’t it called Three Whites because Yi Baek (李白) lived and wrote here in Luoyang?”
As a city of culture and the arts, Luoyang had once been home to greats like Laozi of the Warring States Period, as well as the poets Li Bai and Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty.
“I really can’t win with you.”
While exchanging such conversations, Yong Hwarin and his party arrived at the main gates of the Hundred Justice Alliance.
Counting the rooftops of the pavilions rising over the walls, it looked like there were more than ten buildings.
‘At this rate, this place could easily accommodate a thousand people.’
The pavilions of the Hundred Justice Alliance were that spacious—clearly constructed to house a large number of martial artists in preparation for the Great Martial Battle between Demonic and Orthodox.
Thanks to Pang Giyok and the Deputy Strategist of the Hundred Justice Alliance, Jegal Yohye, Yong Hwarin and his group were able to enter the Alliance without any obstruction.
“Let’s head straight to the Alliance Leader. First, we should report what happened at Yongmun Stone Cave.”
Pang Giyok and Yong Hwarin’s group made their way across the bustling headquarters, where martial artists of various sects moved about busily, and headed to the Alliance Leader’s office located at the center.
“Whoa! Look who it is! Brother Yong!”
Just then, a martial artist passing by recognized Yong Hwarin and shouted.
Yong Hwarin grinned as he saw the man approaching.
“Hahaha, Brother Tang, you always look well.”
The man who approached was none other than Tang Cheolgi.
After blocking the attack from the Great Dabie Sect Alliance, Tang Cheolgi had immediately rushed to the Hundred Justice Alliance when it was founded.
There was no reason for a man like Tang Cheolgi, already well-known in the martial world, not to join the Alliance.
“I wonder how Doohwa is doing?”
“Miss Tang is still doing well.”
“Hahaha, that girl swore she wouldn’t return to the Tang Clan unless she won over Young Master Hae, and that she’d become a ghost haunting the Heavenly Central Sect. You’re going to have a headache with her. She’s as stubborn as steel sinew.”
Tang Cheolgi seemed proud to be speaking with Yong Hwarin so openly in the middle of the road, laughing heartily and shaking his shoulders whenever passing martial artists greeted him.
His personality had a bit of a childish streak, but that very childishness made him seem pure-hearted.
Yong Hwarin exchanged a few words with Tang Cheolgi before parting ways.
He was pleased to see that Tang Cheolgi seemed to be adjusting well in the Alliance.
Soon after, they arrived at the Alliance Leader’s office. Yong Hwarin straightened his attire and composed his posture.
“Alliance Leader, this is Deputy Strategist Jegal Yohye.”
“Enter.”
From inside came the voice of Yeo Sanmuhwo, the Mistress of Mount Yeo.
Hearing that voice, Yong Hwarin smiled warmly and opened the door.
Yeo Sanmuhwo had already sensed Yong Hwarin’s presence and had risen to her feet.
“Young Master Yong, it’s been a long time.”
Yong Hwarin offered a line every woman liked to hear.
“I greet the Alliance Leader. You seem even younger than when we met at Shaolin Temple.”
“Hohohoho, just that one line from Young Master Yong makes all my hardships melt away. Come, have a seat.”
Yeo Sanmuhwo greeted Yong Hwarin with a broad smile, clearly delighted to see him.
Then, upon noticing the five women who had entered with him, she offered a warm remark.
“As the saying goes, beauties follow heroes. Looking at Young Master Yong, that saying proves to be true.”
The five women accompanying Yong Hwarin blushed as they greeted Yeo Sanmuhwo.
After exchanging pleasantries with them, Yeo Sanmuhwo sat down.
“I’ve been working tirelessly, sacrificing sleep to firmly establish this Alliance. That’s why I think it’d be a great time for Young Master Yong to join us…”
Yeo Sanmuhwo spoke hopefully, still holding onto her wishes.