Chapter 89 : Rain
"Suspicious people! Catch them all!"
At the second-knot disciple's shout, the beggars spat on their hands and gripped their begging bowls.
Although their appearance was quite frightening.
Tang Soso, on the contrary, snorted and said.
"Hmph! Who do these things think they are, shouting at us?"
"These things? How dare you speak to the Beggars' Sect of the Nine Sects and One Gang..."
"Do you know Mu Uigae?"
At the mention of Mu Uigae, the Beggars' Sect disciple said with a slightly surprised expression.
"Do you know Senior Brother Mu Uigae...?"
Was it because of the name Mu Uigae? The second-knot disciple's voice became smaller.
Tang Soso, at the sight of the second-knot disciple, said triumphantly.
"Yes. I'm quite close to that Mu Uigae. He's the squad leader of the Vermilion Bird Squad now, isn't he? He told me to treat the disciples of the Beggars' Sect well if I meet them. Here, take this."
Tang Soso, who had somehow taken the liquor bottle from Namgung Hui, naturally handed the distilled liquor to the Beggars' Sect members.
The second-knot disciple held the distilled liquor in his arms and smiled broadly.
As expected, the Beggars' Sect members were crazy for free alcohol.
"Ahem! You didn't have to give us all this. Anyway. We'll drink it well."
"We can go now, right?"
"Yes. Since you know Senior Brother Mu Uigae, how can I hold you back? Ah. And when you go, look around carefully. They say the unorthodox faction is rampant these days. There are quite a few victims."
"Thanks for telling me. Then, keep up the good work."
Tang Soso waved to the beggars and leisurely led the way.
Namgung Hui, at the sight of Tang Soso's natural behavior, couldn't help but open his mouth.
"Soso. Was the reason you told me to prepare alcohol to give it to those Beggars' Sect members?"
"Yes. The world is in a state of turmoil these days because of the Blood Cult and the Martial Alliance tournament. The disciples of the Beggars' Sect are going around conducting inspections that aren't really inspections. If you don't want to waste time, it's better to give them some cheap distilled liquor like this."
And it would be a torment to have a long conversation with the foul-smelling Beggars' Sect members.
If he could pass the inspection with just a few bottles of alcohol like this, he would gladly offer even a few bottles of bamboo leaf liquor.
"Even we, who are from the orthodox faction, have a hard time like this, so it must be even harder for the spies of the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance or the Blood Cult to pass."
Would they have been inspected by beggars like this?
The unpleasant stench and the rude inspection attitude of the Beggars' Sect members stimulated one's emotions as if it were intentional.
There must have been a reason why the Martial Alliance had dispatched the Beggars' Sect members with this in mind.
'It must be the work of the Vermilion Bird Squad Leader.'
The Vermilion Bird Squad, which was in charge of intelligence.
If it was Gongson Jeongu, who was the squad leader, it was more than possible.
And considering the personality of the Gongson family, who liked things to be clean, he thought it was also his intention to keep the smelly Beggars' Sect members far away from the Martial Alliance.
"The beef noodles at that inn are quite delicious. Let's eat there and then leave."
"Alright."
And so, the journey that resumed after a simple meal at the inn met another gateway.
* * *
-Thud. Thud.
Rain beat down on the earth mercilessly, as if it were hailing.
The ground was dug up, and rainwater filled the place.
An ordinary person would feel their skin being cut by the falling raindrops.
Because the rain falling now was imbued with a terrible cold ki.
It was enough to make one think that it might be the tears of an imugi that had failed to ascend.
Even for a martial artist, it was difficult to withstand such a rain imbued with cold ki.
It seemed it would be difficult to endure without a specially treated umbrella.
Well, if one could always be surrounded by a protective ki, the story would be different, but how many people in the martial world possessed that much internal energy?
-Ting. Ting. Ting.
However, even if it wasn't a protective ki, there was a person who could produce a similar effect.
Tang Soso looked at the raindrops scattering above Baek Seolhwa's head and said as if she were dumbfounded.
"No. You're freezing the raindrops and deflecting them? Isn't this cheating?"
"And you? Is it okay for you to use an iron umbrella by yourself?"
"Me? I gave you two an umbrella treated with a chemical. This is no different from my unique weapon, so it can't be helped."
"And for me, the martial art I learned is like this, so it can't be helped."
"But I heard the Moon Maiden Palace doesn't use ice arts. You're a little strange."
At Tang Soso's words, Namgung Hui also looked at Baek Seolhwa with a puzzled expression.
He had thought it was because the martial arts of the Moon Maiden Palace had changed in 60 years.
But listening to Tang Soso's words, it didn't seem to be the case.
It meant that there was no such ice art in the Moon Maiden Palace, from the past to the present.
As even Namgung Hui stared at Baek Seolhwa, she said.
"There's no law that says I can't get a fortuitous encounter or learn another martial art, is there? You, Namgung Hui, also learned a martial art other than the Namgung family's martial art. And you, Tang Soso, also learned a new martial art recently."
Namgung Hui had picked up the martial arts of the Thunder Sect and various other martial arts from here and there.
The Wind God Step, the Phantom Step, the Purple Mist Divine Art, the Plum Blossom Sword Art, Hou Yi Shoots the Sun, and so on.
They were all far from the family martial arts of the Namgung family.
And Tang Soso's Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers was actually written by Namgung Hui, so it wasn't a pure family martial art.
Tang Soso, as if she understood that, nodded and said.
"Yes. What's the big deal about you learning an ice art? By the way, what should we do now? Shall we go when the rain subsides a little? Or shall we just push on like this?"
The rain was stronger than Tang Soso had expected.
Even though she had an umbrella made of paper mulberry, it was difficult to block this much rain.
No matter how much of a special chemical she had applied, she couldn't block the encroaching cold ki.
Namgung Hui couldn't block the rain with an ice art like Baek Seolhwa.
And he didn't have a black iron umbrella like Tang Soso.
However.
"Let's go like this. I also have a way to block the rain."
Namgung Hui finished his words and sent his will to the bracelet.
As the bracelet opened wide like a flower bud, Namgung Hui placed it on top of the umbrella.
As expected of a precious artifact, it also blocked the cold ki.
"Huh? Isn't that the bracelet I modified before?"
"Yes. I happened to get it at an antique shop. Then let's hurry on our way."
Baek Seolhwa also looked at Namgung Hui's bracelet with a slightly strange expression, but she soon turned her head and walked along the path.
Namgung Hui, for some reason, saw Baek Seolhwa's appearance as only pitiful.
* * *
Two days had passed since Namgung Hui's group had set out, and they had soon arrived in Henan Province.
There was still a considerable distance to Zhengzhou, where the Martial Alliance was located, but it seemed they would arrive if they ran for a full day.
Now that the rain had stopped, if they unfolded their lightness skill, it wouldn't even take a day.
"Phew~ It feels like it's been a long time since I've seen such a clear sky."
"A long time? It's only been two days. And Sichuan is also a region with a lot of rain, isn't it?"
"Is a shower the same as a downpour? If you put it that way, it's no different from saying that sword ki and sword gang are the same."
"Well, you could compare it like that. Then, since the rain has stopped, let's unfold our lightness skill. If we're lucky, we might arrive in Zhengzhou tonight."
"I welcome it. I want to soak my body in warm water as soon as possible. But was Seolhwa always this quiet?"
"No. I think she hasn't been feeling well for the past few days."
Tang Soso, as if she had realized something, clapped her hands and nodded.
"Ah... Could it be because of that?"
"Do you have any idea?"
"I do. It's a secret among women."
"If you don't want to tell me, just say so. Don't act pricey. Then, Seolhwa. Are you in a state to unfold your lightness skill?"
Baek Seolhwa finally turned her head and said.
"Yes."
Baek Seolhwa's condition was not normal, no matter who looked at her.
It had been like that since before she left the Namgung estate, so what on earth had happened right before she left?
Baek Seolhwa, who was receiving Namgung Hui's gaze, recalled the past for a moment.
And the conversation she had had with the Moon Maiden Palace Lady, Yu Seolran.
'Seolhwa. I just met with the Namgung family head and the Tang family head.'
'You must have had a very close conversation.'
'That's right. Since I heard about the succession of both families.'
At the word 'succession', Baek Seolhwa pricked up her ears and listened to Yu Seolran's words.
'The Tang family has once again proposed a marriage to the Namgung family. As you might have guessed, it was a marriage proposal between Namgung Hui and a child named Tang Soso.'
Thump.
For some reason, Baek Seolhwa's heart ached.
But without showing any such sign, she said calmly.
'Is that so? It's a good thing that the Namgung family and the Sichuan Tang family are connected. It will be a good thing for the martial world as well.'
'Do you really think so?'
'...Is there anything else to think?'
'No. That's enough. I'm saying this out of concern, but if you have any strange thoughts, get rid of them right away. The Moon Maiden Palace has its own path.'
Baek Seolhwa did not say anything back to Yu Seolran after those words.
She just left the Namgung estate and was heading for the Martial Alliance like this.
As Baek Seolhwa was recalling the past.
"Gasp. Gasp. Help me..."
A groan full of pain was heard from a considerable distance. A thick smell of blood also wafted, as if a mishap had occurred.
Namgung Hui and Tang Soso quickly ran out and were able to witness the situation right away.
As expected, people were lying on the floor, covered in blood.
Blood was thickly covering the earth where rainwater had collected.
The owners of the blood were the beggars of the Beggars' Sect.
Most of them had already stopped breathing, and there was not even a sound of breathing.
Still, since there was one person alive, Namgung Hui immediately asked him.
"What happened here?"
"We were attacked during an inspection... To the Martial Alliance, quickly..."
-Thud.
The last survivor's head drooped powerlessly.
When he put his finger to his nose, his breathing had stopped.
Namgung Hui closed the Beggars' Sect member's eyes and examined the wounds on his body.
'There are almost no traces of martial arts. I can't tell if they're from the unorthodox faction or the Blood Cult.'
Tang Soso, unlike Namgung Hui, examined the surrounding terrain, not the corpse.
She even tasted the dirt and even the collected blood.
Tang Soso, as if she had found something, nodded and said.
"It has a sour taste, so they must have been hit by a ki-scattering poison."
"You can even tell that? That's strange."
"It also seems to have come from the Southern Barbarians. It's probably the ki-scattering poison of the Five Poisons Sect."
"The Five Poisons Sect. It's a place we both have a connection with."
The sect that had provided the five-colored poison to Dugu Sang, who was once the third son of the Namgung family.
Hadn't Namgung Hui eaten that poison and wandered between life and death for 10 years?
And a disciple from that place had even infiltrated as an assassin to deal with Namgung Hui directly.
And the Five Poisons Sect was also currently at war with the Sichuan Tang family.
In other words, it meant they were no different from a common enemy.
Of course, they might not have killed the Beggars' Sect members directly, but the fact that they had given the ki-scattering poison to the culprits meant they were no different from accomplices.
It was fine even if they weren't directly involved.
Because Namgung Hui and Tang Soso had a debt to collect from them.
"Then should we follow the traces of this ki-scattering poison?"
"Yes. But wait a moment. There's something more."
Tang Soso bent her knees and lifted the corpse of the Beggars' Sect member who was lying face down.
Then, with a 'click' sound.
-Boom!!!
Something exploded.
(End of Chapter)