Ch. 69
Yangtze River Waterway Fortress.
Jang Baekseo, who had been pondering for a moment at the unexpected name, soon opened his mouth.
"Innkeeper, we are not asking you to go deep into Hunan. It is enough if you take us to Shaoyang, no, to Xianning."
At Jang Baekseo's words, the middle-aged man seemed to think deeply for a moment and then continued.
"Xianning… if it's Xianning, it might be barely okay… alright. But can I ask you one favor?"
"…If it doesn't take long…"
"Don't worry about that. You just have to go somewhere and say a word."
The story that the innkeeper began was this.
It was said that there was a secret fishing spot in the Water Remnant Gang that had been passed down from mouth to mouth for generations.
The place, which was in the shape of a basin and had a cave, was a place that was difficult to find unless one knew it. It was a place where large fish were well caught since ancient times, and it was a place like a treasure to the people of the Water Remnant Gang.
But a strange woman had settled in that fishing spot, or to be precise, in the cave next to the fishing spot.
"The people who are said to be strong in our Water Remnant Gang went and said a word, but it didn't work at all. They were beaten one-sidedly and even chased away."
According to the stories of the people who had been beaten at that time, the woman was clearly a person who had learned martial arts.
That was because, although the woman was less than half their size, she had been overwhelmed by her strength, and just by pushing her lightly with her hand, a man of large build had been thrown back three feet.
"…In other words, you're asking us to chase that woman out of the cave, right?"
"That's right. Since that young master over there is a master of the peak or something, it won't be that difficult, right?"
"Well, I'll have to see the opponent to know that…"
In the end, Jang Baekseo's party had no choice but to grant that request.
They could not afford to be tied down in Guilin for three days in a pressing situation.
"Here. I'll wait here, so you can come back when you're done."
Jang Baekseo's party went straight to the secret fishing spot of the Water Remnant Gang.
The secret spot, which could not be reached without taking a boat, was certainly located in a secret place that could not be reached unless one knew it.
In case of an emergency, Jang Yuran and Madam Ma were left at the entrance of the cave, and Jang Baekseo and Hwa Mokyeon entered the cave.
"…My, I wonder who is in a place like this…"
"Well… if they are living in a place like this… they are probably hiding from someone's eyes… like us…"
At those words, a silence fell between the two for a moment.
Jang Baekseo and Hwa Mokyeon, who were going deeper and deeper into the cave, silently got into a fighting stance at the traces of a person living that were gradually coming into their eyes.
And.
Saaaaaaa.
Flinch!
"Young Master Hwa…"
"I told you to call me big brother… I felt it too… but what is this…"
'A forbidden art! Or an unorthodox method…'
Forbidden art and unorthodox method!
The reason why the Orthodox Faction called the demonic arts strange and evil martial arts was only because their political positions were projected onto them. Even if it were the Orthodox and Demonic arts, the difference ultimately came from the differences in sect and region.
But the forbidden art and the unorthodox method were different.
The martial arts whose training methods, or the functions or symptoms that appeared through the training, greatly deviated from the heavenly and human principles were called forbidden arts and unorthodox methods with feelings of hatred and fear by the Central Plains martial world, and even by the outside world and the Demonic Path.
And now, from inside the cave, the extremely strange and ominous energy of such a forbidden art and unorthodox method was being felt.
Cold sweat automatically flowed down the faces of Jang Baekseo and Hwa Mokyeon at the strange energy that made their backs feel cold and their hands and feet tingle.
"It's coming…!"
"…!!"
For a moment, a red light pierced through the darkness of the cave and rushed towards Jang Baekseo and Hwa Mokyeon.
Hwoong!
Kwaaaaaang!
The one who had swung a fist clad in fist qi without a word was a woman with strangely red hair fluttering.
'Red hair and red light… Blood Path Ghost Art!!'
The Blood Path Ghost Art. It was the forbidden art that the Blood Tear Axe, which had put the Mysterious Profound Sect in a crisis in the past, had used.
'…A rare forbidden art that can only be cultivated using human blood, and the blood of a relative at that!'
Although there were quite a few forbidden arts that used human blood for cultivation, the horror of the Blood Path Ghost Art far surpassed that of other forbidden arts.
A relative!
At the appearance of a woman who had learned an anti-human forbidden art that had to use the blood of a close blood relative within two degrees of kinship, a person came to Jang Baekseo's mind.
'The demonic head who caused a massacre in Guizhou and Hunan!!'
The person who had massacred the sects of the Unorthodox Faction and the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions and was on the run!
Jang Baekseo was convinced that the woman who was attacking them now was the very person who had become the justification for the dispatch of the Righteous Sword Squad and the Strong Sword Squad, which were chasing Jang Baekseo's party.
Kwaang!
"Haat!!"
Dodging the red-haired woman's attack, Hwa Mokyeon immediately swung his sword. As if he had no intention of hiding it anymore, he openly used the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique, but the red-haired woman easily dodged that attack.
"Tsk! Brother! What are you doing, just standing there!"
"Wait! Stop for a moment, Young Master Hwa!"
Jang Baekseo, who had blocked Hwa Mokyeon, stepped forward and spoke to the red-haired woman.
"…The demonic head who caused a massacre in Guizhou and Hunan. Is that you?"
Looking at Jang Baekseo, who had politely cupped his fists, the red light that had been dwelling in the red-haired woman's eyes weakened.
"…Who are you?"
The voice of the woman who had opened her mouth for the first time was so rough and hoarse that it was hard to believe it was a woman's.
"This is a fishing spot that the people of a place called the Water Remnant Gang often visit. Because you have settled here, the people of the Water Remnant Gang are in trouble. We are the ones who have come to ask you to please leave this place at their request."
As Jang Baekseo calmly explained the situation, the red-haired woman was silent for a moment and was lost in thought.
"…Hmph, even if you hadn't come, I was going to leave soon anyway…"
Jang Baekseo looked at the red-haired woman carefully and recalled the information about the demonic head that he had heard from the Black Dot before.
"Yun Soso… is that your real name?"
As Jang Baekseo called her name, the shoulders of the red-haired woman, no, Yun Soso, flinched.
Even if he had guessed that she was a demonic head after seeing the forbidden art, she was only known as a demonic head. Thanks to her changed appearance after learning the forbidden art, her identity was not properly known.
"How do you know my name…"
"It was just a guess, but it seems I was right. You don't have to think it's strange. We were also concerned about the trends of the Righteous Heaven Alliance for some reason, and while investigating the information, we just happened to find out about the information of Mrs. Yun, whom the Righteous Sword Squad and the Strong Sword Squad of the Righteous Heaven Alliance are chasing."
"…"
A strange silence continued between Yun Soso, who did not answer, as if she could not easily believe Jang Baekseo's words, and Jang Baekseo and Hwa Mokyeon, who were waiting for such a Yun Soso's answer.
At that moment.
"Hey~! Jang Baekseo! Hwa Mokyeon! What's taking you so long!"
"Baekseo! Young Master Hwa! How much longer do we have to wait?"
The voices of Madam Ma and Jang Yuran were heard from outside the cave. Perhaps because he had heard a woman's voice, Yun Soso, who had thought that Jang Baekseo and Hwa Mokyeon were not the extermination squad that had been chasing her, released her fighting stance.
"…Get lost. As I said before, I'll get out on my own soon."
Even at the sight of Yun Soso, who was speaking in a threatening tone with her red light flashing again, Jang Baekseo was not particularly flustered.
And.
"Jang Yuran! And Madam Ma! Come here for a moment!"
"Wh-what!? Brother, what are you doing now!?"
"…What are you thinking?"
"Ah, it's nothing much…"
Jang Baekseo scratched his cheek slightly and said.
"I was thinking of having a talk with Mrs. Yun."
***
"Ah… so, I'm Jang Yuran…"
"Ma Juhwa… just call me Madam Ma."
Jang Yuran and Madam Ma, who had had an awkward meeting, could not easily make eye contact with Yun Soso, who had red hair and red eyes, as if she were scared.
"For reference, I'm Jang Baekseo, and this is Hwa Mokyeon."
Jang Baekseo, who had also introduced his and Hwa Mokyeon's names, urged Yun Soso with his eyes, saying, 'You do it too'.
"…It's Yun Soso. The famous demonic head these days…"
At the words 'demonic head', Madam Ma's shoulders flinched, and she turned her body slightly and wrapped her arms around her stomach.
"…Are you pregnant… it seems you don't have much time left…"
Looking at Madam Ma's belly, which was now so swollen that it could not be hidden, Yun Soso's eyes, unlike before, had a faint red light, and a little bit of humanity was felt.
"…In the world, there are things that make you feel at ease just by telling them to others."
Although it was a somewhat random remark from Jang Baekseo, Yun Soso opened her mouth as if she understood what he was saying.
"Hah…! Seeing you say that, you must roughly know the situation, don't you?"
At Yun Soso's words, Jang Baekseo grinned and said.
"Yes, of course I know. But as I said just now, there are burdens that can be relieved by speaking for yourself."
At Jang Baekseo's words, Yun Soso, who had felt something, scratched her reddened hair and soon began her story.
***
She said that she had been abandoned by her parents as a child and had grown up in the Hao Sect.
Usually, the women who grew up in the Hao Sect worked in brothels and became informants for the Hao Sect.
But a person from the upper echelons of the Hao Sect had recognized her, who was overflowing with talent for martial arts, and thanks to that, she had been raised as an elite of the Hao Sect's secret unit.
Then, while carrying out an unreasonable mission, Yun Soso had fallen into a crisis. Although she had survived by a hair's breadth, the Hao Sect had already processed her as dead, and Yun Soso had taken this as an opportunity and had decided to live a new life.
But for Yun Soso, who had only learned the skill of harming people all her life, it was not easy to live a new life. In the end, she had made a living by working as a troubleshooter for the Unorthodox Faction or the Black Path factions.
Yun Soso, who was getting tired of the days that reeked of blood, met a man as if by fate.
Baek Jangyu.
Baek Jangyu, who was a clear and upright constable, and Yun Soso fell in love with each other as if by fate. And with her marriage to Baek Jangyu, Yun Soso completely liquidated her life as a martial artist.
And not long after, she became pregnant with Baek Jangyu's child.
She had given birth to a son on a clear day without a single cloud, so she had named the child Baek Cheongyu.
A gentle husband, a lovely child. Yun Soso had thought that this happiness would last forever.
But misfortune has no eyes. It came so suddenly, without a sign or a warning, and mercilessly.
Yun Soso's husband, Baek Jangyu, who was usually clean and upright, was a thorn in the side of the Unorthodox Faction and the Black Path factions in Guizhou, where the power of the Unorthodox Faction was strong.
In particular, Baek Jangyu, who was leading the charge in destroying the illegal businesses of the Unorthodox Faction at the time, had incurred a terrible grudge from various Unorthodox Factions.
In the end, on a day when Yun Soso was away.
Her house was attacked, and her husband, Baek Jangyu, and his son, Baek Cheongyu, who had just passed two, were unjustly killed.
Thus, Yun Soso's happy life was shattered and disappeared.
She had lost her husband, who was her other half, and her son, whom she would not have traded for the world…
Although Yun Soso, whose grief was so great, had tried to take her own life, she had thought that if she died like this, her husband and child who had already passed away would not be able to close their eyes even in death.
Yun Soso, who had vowed revenge, began to dig into the background of this assassination, and she was soon able to find out their identity.
But the scale of the background was larger than she had thought.
Yun Soso, who was desperate at the opponent whom she could not do anything about on her own, soon made a choice that she should never have made.
She had decided to cultivate a forbidden art.
Yun Soso, who had been a member of the Hao Sect's secret unit, had been able to view most of the martial arts in the Hao Sect, and among them, there was also something about the forbidden art.
Since she had nothing left, she had no reason to hesitate.
Thus, Yun Soso had learned the forbidden art, and with the power of the forbidden art she had obtained, she had begun her revenge.
"…And well, I've killed most of the guys I had to kill, and now I'm just like this…"
After Yun Soso's story ended, a deep silence fell in the cave.
Breaking through that silence, Madam Ma asked with a pale complexion.
"…According to Baekseo, you have learned the forbidden art, the Blood Head Ghost Art… you said you were an orphan who didn't know your parents… then…"
Madam Ma trailed off, hoping that her thoughts were not true.
But Yun Soso, who had given Madam Ma a scornful smile, said.
"Yes, I used the blood of my son, Baek Cheongyu."
At that answer, Madam Ma began to retch, and Yun Soso looked at Madam Ma with dry eyes and continued.
"To avenge that child… and my husband… I avenged them with that child. I have no regrets about that."
(End of Chapter)