Chapter 147
Two days later.
A cave where the Hebei Peng Clan and Sichuan Tang Clan were working together to manufacture Soul-Bewildering Powder.
In the deepest and most secretive part of that cave, within a strictly restricted underground district, a luxurious secret room was hidden.
When the door of the secret room opened, the sharp scent of incense and the fishy smell of alcohol rushed in.
The cave walls, decorated with red silk, flickered in the candlelight to create a dreamlike atmosphere, and the incense burning atop golden candlesticks held the energy of aphrodisiacs.
The three brothers who bore the future of the Hebei Peng Clan:
Eldest, Peng Gang-cheon; second, Peng Ryeok-cheon; youngest, Peng Wi-cheon—
and their business partner, the young head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, Tang Jin-ryong.
These four rising stars each had two or three courtesans by their side, indulging in a debauched drinking party.
"Hahaha! This month's profits increased by thirty percent over last month!"
Peng Gang-cheon raised his cup high with a loud laugh.
His face flushed red from the alcohol, his eyes gleamed with greed.
"Ugh...."
When he roughly grabbed the courtesan beside him by the arm, her face twisted in pain.
The grip strength of the Peng Clan threatened to crush the delicate bones of a woman.
But she didn't even dare scream.
She couldn't know what kind of terrible fate awaited her if she made a sound.
Watching this nonchalantly, Tang Jin-ryong spoke.
"The alliance leader was pleased as well. With the quantity of Soul-Bewildering Powder we've just produced, we could paralyze three or four of Hao Sect's Red Light Districts."
"Kukuku, courtesans stumbling around, drugged out of their minds... The thought alone excites me."
"If those guys lose their stream of funds, they wouldn't dare come out into the open. Their intelligence network would be paralyzed, too."
"Exactly. We make money, Hao Sect shrinks away. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone? No, now that we've gained the alliance leader's trust, it's three birds with one stone!"
Peng Gang-cheon burst out laughing with satisfaction.
Not a speck of guilt could be found in their conversation.
The sin of addicting tens of thousands of innocent people and ruining their lives— to them, it was nothing more than business acumen.
"To our brilliant future!"
Clink!
The clear sound of their glasses striking echoed through the secret room.
Peng Ryeok-cheon downed his drink in one go, grinning slyly.
He wound his arms around the courtesan on his knee like a snake and pulled her close.
Although her face turned pale with fear, Peng Ryeok-cheon seemed to enjoy her terror even more, tightening his hold further.
"Are you afraid? Then drink this. It will give you courage. Kukuku."
Peng Ryeok-cheon tried to feed the courtesan a cup laced with Soul-Bewildering Powder.
It was only natural that her face went even paler.
Almost no courtesan who drank that cup ever left alive.
'These people are insane...! Please, someone save me....'
Just then—
Creeeeak—
The heavy door of the secret room slowly opened.
The raucous atmosphere stilled in an instant.
All eyes turned toward the door.
An elderly man, familiar to them, appeared.
With white hair slicked back, a powerful frame, a face wrinkled by years of hardship, and an overwhelming presence that could silence anyone.
It was Peng Mugeuk, an elder of the Hebei Peng Clan and leader of the Iron Wall Squad.
"Elder Peng?"
Peng Gang-cheon blinked in surprise.
As dissolute as he was, it wouldn't do to be caught frolicking half-naked with courtesans in front of his elder.
He hurriedly shoved the courtesan away and corrected his posture.
"Elder, what brings you here at this late hour?"
"The alliance leader sent an urgent correspondence. I need to see the eldest son alone first."
"An urgent correspondence?"
Peng Gang-cheon's expression became rigid.
The effects of alcohol seemed to vanish instantly.
"May I ask what it's about...?"
"It can't be discussed here. It's a confidential matter. Follow me."
His uncle's voice was different from usual—
not the usual heavy, rough tone, but slightly higher-pitched.
Still, Peng Gang-cheon couldn't doubt his uncle.
There was a pressure emanating from the Peng Mugeuk before him that only a peak late-stage expert could give off.
So, although puzzled, Peng Gang-cheon rose from his seat.
Besides, he was also curious about the urgent correspondence from the alliance leader.
"Understood. I'll be right back."
He gestured to his brothers and Tang Jin-ryong, then followed Peng Mugeuk out of the secret room.
Just like that, Peng Gang-cheon left the cave with his uncle and headed into the woods behind the mountain.
The farther they went, the more deserted the area became, blanketed in thick darkness.
Walking behind his uncle, Peng Gang-cheon asked,
"Uncle, what could be so important that we need to come this far? And what's in the alliance leader's correspondence? Did Hao Sect make a move? Or... is there a problem with Soul-Bewildering Powder production?"
Only then did the uncle stop walking.
"You could say Hao Sect has made a move."
"What? Which branch are you talking about?"
Just as Peng Gang-cheon asked—
Tap.
Gal Seo-ryeong stopped and slowly turned to face him.
Her gaze was not that of Peng Mugeuk.
It was like cold ice— the eyes of a lifeless assassin.
"As the eldest of the Hebei Peng Clan, your martial arts are pathetic. Not even reaching the peak level."
"What?"
Shraaak!
Gal Seo-ryeong's hand moved like lightning.
A thin and sharp sword of unknown type shot out from her sleeve, slicing through the darkness.
The movement was so fast that to Peng Gang-cheon's eyes, it appeared as nothing more than a flash of silver.
"Ghhh...?!"
Peng Gang-cheon's eyes widened.
He instinctively grabbed his neck.
But hot liquid gushed between his fingers;
his carotid artery had already been neatly severed.
"Ggrrk... gghk...."
Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining the corridor walls.
Peng Gang-cheon stared at Gal Seo-ryeong in disbelief.
"You... uncle... no, who... are you...."
He staggered, slurring his words.
His vision became cloudy, his legs gave out.
Gal Seo-ryeong coldly flicked the blood off her sword as she replied,
"This is the price for defiling the Hao Sect's Red Light District. Go to hell and regret it deeply."
"......!"
Peng Gang-cheon's body pitched forward.
Thud.
With a heavy sound, the eldest son of the Hebei Peng Clan and candidate for young clan head collapsed to the ground.
Even in death, he never realized who killed him, or why.
Gal Seo-ryeong kicked the corpse, hiding it in a shadowy corner.
She pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and swiftly wiped up the spilled blood.
Her movements were all fluid and quick, like water flowing.
With cold eyes, she gazed at the corpse engulfed in darkness and murmured inwardly.
'One.'
Adjusting her clothes, Gal Seo-ryeong returned to the secret room.
Her expression had once again transformed into the stern face of Peng Mugeuk.
Inside, Peng Ryeok-cheon, Peng Wi-cheon, and Tang Jin-ryong were still drinking.
As the eldest had not been gone long, they were unsuspecting.
"Where is our brother?"
Peng Ryeok-cheon asked, tilting his head.
"He is writing a reply to the alliance leader. He said the matter is too important to decide alone. Ryeok-cheon, you should go help him."
"Huh? Ah, yes, understood."
Peng Ryeok-cheon stood up, a bit puffed up at being needed by his brother, and set down his cup.
"My brother called urgently, so I must go. Young head Tang, please wait a moment."
He left the secret room, following Gal Seo-ryeong.
The same mountain, the same darkness.
Peng Ryeok-cheon looked around in confusion when he didn't see his brother.
"Uncle, where is my—"
"Right here."
Gal Seo-ryeong stopped walking.
"Huh?"
Just as Peng Ryeok-cheon turned to her in puzzlement—
Shraaak!
Gal Seo-ryeong's sword danced once more.
This time, it was a fatal strike aiming for Peng Ryeok-cheon's heart.
The sword tip pierced precisely between his ribs, skewering his heart.
"Ghrk... wh-what is...."
Unable to even scream, Peng Ryeok-cheon stared blankly at the sword embedded in his chest and met Gal Seo-ryeong's cold eyes.
"This is the result your greed has brought."
When Gal Seo-ryeong pulled her sword free, Peng Ryeok-cheon's body crumpled lifelessly.
Thud.
The second corpse fell to the ground, right beside his brother's.
The siblings, who committed so many misdeeds together in life, now lay side by side in death.
Gal Seo-ryeong muttered coldly,
'Two left now.'
With quick steps, Gal Seo-ryeong returned to the secret room.
Only Peng Wi-cheon and Tang Jin-ryong remained.
"Uncle, why are my brothers taking so long? Nothing happened in the Murim Alliance, did it?"
Peng Wi-cheon asked anxiously. Tang Jin-ryong looked at Gal Seo-ryeong with similar unease.
Gal Seo-ryeong answered calmly,
"It must be because the alliance leader's correspondence is complicated. Wi-cheon, you go as well. The opinion of all three brothers is needed."
"... Understood."
Peng Wi-cheon stood, unable to shake off his sense of discomfort, but unable to disobey his uncle.
"Young head Tang, I'll be back soon."
Peng Wi-cheon left, and only Tang Jin-ryong remained in the secret room.
Gal Seo-ryeong led Peng Wi-cheon down the corridor.
He, too, followed in the footsteps of his brothers.
Shraaak!
"Gghrk...!"
With a final scream, blood spurted from Peng Wi-cheon's abdomen.
He collapsed to the ground, seized by convulsions.
"U-uncle...! What is this...!"
"You're the one who collapsed the pavilion in Ansun's Red Light District and massacred dozens of innocents, are you not?"
"Huh...?!"
"I'll let you die slowly. That way the Lord of Scarlet Lotus Hall Hall might feel a bit better."
With those words, Gal Seo-ryeong swiftly pressed Peng Wi-cheon's Blood Blade points.
Overwhelmed by pain, Peng Wi-cheon could only moan, "U... u...."
In that state, Gal Seo-ryeong mercilessly stabbed his body in several places with the sword.
Pshuk! Pshuk! Pshuk! Pshuk!
Blood spurted from the multiple wounds piercing Peng Wi-cheon's body.
Left like that, he would soon die slowly from massive blood loss and agony.
'With this, the Hebei Peng Clan's line has ended.'
Wiping the blood from her sword, Gal Seo-ryeong murmured to herself.
Under her overwhelming martial arts, the three brothers once called the Peng Clan's future lay dead in a single night.
Such was the price of trespassing upon Hao Sect's territory.
'Now, just one left....'
Gal Seo-ryeong made her way back to the cave where Soul-Bewildering Powder was being produced.
She headed for the underground secret room.
Inside, only the young head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, Tang Jin-ryong, remained.
Unlike the three brothers who were wasted by drink and neglected their martial arts training, this one was a true rising star of the orthodox faction, recently stepping into the peak realm.
Of course, to Gal Seo-ryeong, who had reached the supreme peak, he was but a newborn pup.
Still, since the Sichuan Tang Clan excelled in dark weapon techniques and poison, she had to be careful.
'If Tang Jin-ryong doesn't die quickly and manages to call for help, I'll be surrounded by hundreds of Hebei Peng Clan warriors.'
So Gal Seo-ryeong had to finish Tang Jin-ryong with a single strike this time as well.
A dangerous assassination unfolding deep within enemy territory.
Gal Seo-ryeong adjusted the face-skin mask of Peng Mugeuk and entered the secret room where Tang Jin-ryong was waiting.