Chapter 82
"This is the horn of the single-horned great serpent."
Gu Mungoe said as he stroked the horn. And he also showed the skin he was holding.
"And this is its skin."
"It's enormous."
Mugwang and Hwangbo Jun approached the single-horned great serpent's horn and looked at it. They were amazed at the majesty of the huge horn. When in their lives had they ever seen a horn bigger than a person?
"But I don't know if this will be of any use..."
Gu Mungoe muttered as he looked at the skin in his hand. But Hwangbo Ryeong approached. She was more interested in the skin than the horn. She pulled the skin here and there and felt its texture.
"So this is the skin of the single-horned great serpent."
"Is the serpent's skin that strange?"
Dan Bulseok asked. He had spoken up because it was noticeable that she was only looking at the skin, not paying any attention to the other things. Hwangbo Ryeong answered with an expression that said, 'What are you talking about?'
"It's not just any serpent's skin. The skin of the single-horned great serpent is a treasure."
At the word 'treasure', the other people also became interested. The people who had gathered around the horn came to see the skin.
"It's hard and yet flexible. On top of that, it is said to have the effect of blocking poison. It would be really good to make something like a protective armor with this."
"Oh. I see."
Since it was such a large creature, the amount of skin was also enormous.
"If I had known it was such a treasure, I would have skinned it all."
"What if someone comes and takes it?"
Gu Mungoe said they should go quickly and skin the rest of it.
"Let's eat and rest a little before we go."
At Mok Wigun's words, Gu Mungoe jumped up.
"What if someone comes and takes it? Let's go quickly and get the rest."
"With this mess, who would come near the Flame Pond? And even if they come, it will take time to skin it."
Only then did the members calm down a little. They knew well from having skinned it. It would take a long time unless they were a master who could use a sword aura.
But perhaps because they were still anxious, as soon as they finished eating, they all prepared to leave.
"I'll go too."
Hwangbo Ryeong stepped forward. She said she wanted to go and see for herself.
"Alright. What about the others?"
"I'll go too."
"I'm also curious."
When Hwangbo Jun also stepped forward, Mugwang also expressed his intention to go. And so, all the members except for Pyon Juksu were to move to the Flame Pond.
"Wow. You caught this?"
Hwangbo Jun, who saw the corpse of the single-horned great serpent, let out a cry of admiration, as if he couldn't believe it. On the other hand, Hwangbo Ryeong went to the corpse of the mother human-faced spider first and examined it carefully.
"It's a pity. It would have been better if I had seen the fight in person."
"You're looking at that disgusting thing so well."
Hwangbo Jun said, as if he couldn't understand his sister. Don't normal girls freak out even when they see a small bug? But Hwangbo Ryeong was not like that.
The corpse of the mother human-faced spider was truly gruesome. The sight of its legs all cut off and its body broken here and there was so bizarre that it even felt eerie. But Hwangbo Ryeong examined and touched the gruesome corpse here and there.
"I don't think there's anything more to get from here."
Hwangbo Ryeong said that and then moved towards the corpse of the single-horned great serpent. Mok Wigun, who saw that, said.
"Alright. The three of you skin it, and the Light Wind Unit, catch the rest of the young human-faced spiders."
At Mok Wigun's words, the people began their respective tasks. Both went smoothly. It was easy to skin it because Mugwang used his hands. The Light Wind Unit was the same. Perhaps because they had the experience of catching them earlier, they easily caught the young human-faced spiders.
Mok Wigun watched the movements of the Light Wind Unit carefully.
"They've certainly become accustomed to the formation."
Perhaps because they were dealing with a monster, their concentration had increased. As they continued to use the formation in that state, their proficiency naturally increased. But not everything was satisfactory.
"If Dae Seokpyeong is holding on, you have to help him from the side right away!"
If there was even a slight delay in response or a mistake, he would shout without fail. The Light Wind Unit members continued to focus without letting go of their tension. Thanks to that, they were able to catch the young ones much faster than before.
"Shall we try to catch one too?"
Hwangbo Jun said. Mugwang's hands were also itching as he was just skinning it.
"You're going to catch it with just the two of you?"
Mok Wigun smiled as if it was interesting.
"Go ahead and try. Captain Dan, take a few people and help them."
Mugwang was confident in his heart. After all, wasn't he a well-known master in the martial world? But as soon as he faced the young human-faced spider, he immediately regretted it.
"Ugh! Why is it so strong?"
It was more difficult to deal with than he had thought. It had looked very easy when the Light Wind Unit was catching them, but when he actually faced it, it was completely different from what he had seen.
If Dan Bulseok and a few others hadn't helped, he would have been in big trouble. The same went for Hwangbo Jun. After dealing with the young human-faced spider, the color had drained from his face. It was because he had almost died for real.
"How about it? It's different from what you saw, right?"
Mok Wigun said with a chuckle.
"A monster is a monster. Wow. It's completely different from just watching."
Hwangbo Jun trembled and clicked his tongue. Seeing that, the ones who were resting all stood up.
"Alright. Shall we start again?"
The Light Wind Unit members lured the young human-faced spider again. For some reason, the members' shoulders seemed to be held high.
And so, they repeated catching the monster and resting. Thanks to continuously catching the creatures, the number of young ones, which had been over a hundred, had decreased significantly. It seemed they had dealt with more than half of them. And when they had just lured four more young ones and started to attack.
"Someone's coming."
Mugwang felt a presence and said. People appeared at the entrance of the gorge, and one of them said with his internal energy.
"Amitabha!"
At that moment, Mugwang's face contorted slightly. It was because the people who had come were from Shaolin.
"Damn it."
Mugwang was in a position of having been kicked out of Shaolin. It was inevitable that he would feel awkward meeting the people of Shaolin. If it were a normal situation, he would have avoided the place, but where would he go from here? Mugwang lowered his head and skinned it.
In the meantime, the Shaolin monks in gray robes and kasayas entered the gorge in a line. There were two people at the very front, and they were people who were called by the Buddhist names of Jongheo and Jongmyeong.
"They said everyone had run away, but it seems that's not the case."
Jongheo said, and Jongmyeong looked at the walls, the floor, and the corpses scattered here and there.
"It seems there was a really big fight."
A scene like an earthquake. A scene where anyone could tell that there had been a huge fight was unfolding before their eyes. So everyone sympathized with Jongmyeong's words.
They moved, looking around like that, and when they were almost at the place where Mok Wigun's party was, they stopped. They watched the Light Wind Unit deal with the young human-faced spider.
"A spider with a human face. It's a monster that shouldn't exist in the world."
"But they are fighting very well. They seem to be people with considerable skills."
At that, a monk who was behind them approached and said. He was a person who had done a lot of external activities, and he had also been with the Light Wind Unit before.
"They are called the Light Wind Unit, and they were quite famous in this area."
"Oh? The Light Wind Unit. I think I've heard of them."
"But there's the Mok family's Lady Son. I heard that the Light Wind Unit also suffered a great blow during that incident ten years ago and was almost disbanded."
Jongheo tilted his head.
"I don't think they can be considered disbanded at that level. Aren't they fighting so well?"
At a glance, their martial arts were at a considerable level, and Jongheo thought so. But Jongmyeong's thoughts seemed to be a little different.
"Fighting well? It's because those are the young of the human-faced spider and are weak. If it had been the mother human-faced spider, they would have all died without being able to do anything."
He had heard the story on his way here. The news that countless martial artists had died because a human-faced spider and a single-horned great serpent had appeared was widely spread. Among them were also peak masters, and it was said that Sa Hongmyeong of the Huashan Sect had also died to the single-horned great serpent.
Jongmyeong had a bad impression of the Huashan Sect, which was challenging the authority of Shaolin, in his heart. But he acknowledged their skills. But Sa Hongmyeong had died, and Taeseokgwan had run away. So he couldn't help but be tense.
"Who do you think killed the single-horned great serpent?"
At Jongheo's words, Jongmyeong also expressed his curiosity.
"He must be a master higher than Taeseokgwan. I think it might be Seomun Daecheol."
Among the people who were said to live in this vicinity or had come here, he couldn't think of a master higher than the Cold Sword Taeseokgwan. If there was, the only one was Seomun Daecheol, who lived here.
"It seems to be almost over."
As Jongheo said, the Light Wind Unit was dealing with the last remaining young one. And it was soon finished.
"Amitabha. This humble monk is called Jongmyeong of Shaolin."
"I am called Jongheo."
When the Shaolin monks greeted them first, Mok Wigun showed his respect.
"I am called Mok Wigun. It has not been long since I became independent from the Mok family."
At the introduction of the Mok family, it was obvious that Jongmyeong was indifferent. It seemed the Mok family was not to his liking. Whether that was the case or not, Mok Wigun introduced his party.
"This is the Light Wind Unit, and that is the Hwangbo family..."
As he was giving a simple introduction, Jongmyeong suddenly burst into anger.
"No. Isn't that Mugwang?"
Jongmyeong looked at Mugwang as if he was facing an enemy. He showed such strong hostility that the people around him were all flustered.
"I'm sorry to Young Master Mok, but we will go over there."
Jongmyeong said that and then moved. It was an expression of his intention that he didn't even want to be near Mugwang.
"You don't have to go that far."
Although Jongheo tried to stop him, Jongmyeong did not change his mind. He didn't even pretend to listen and said to his party.
"We have to deal with the remaining monsters, so everyone get ready."
Jongheo sighed and shook his head. Then he slyly approached Mugwang.
"Have you been well?"
Jongheo had spent quite a lot of time with Mugwang when he was in Shaolin. And he was also one of the few people in Shaolin who was friendly to Mugwang. When Jongheo greeted him, Mugwang also answered.
"Has Great Master Jongheo also been well?"
Mugwang's tone surprised Jongheo. Because he was not a person who spoke in such a polite tone.
"You seem to have changed a little from before."
"I'm getting older, so how can I be the same?"
Mugwang said with a 'haha' laugh. In fact, the reason he, who had been a bit arrogant, had changed like this was all because of Pyon Juksu. After being severely beaten by him, his words and actions had become a little more careful.
"But you shouldn't think of the young human-faced spider as too easy."
"Is that so?"
But it seemed Jongmyeong was listening to Mugwang's side of the story. He said to his party in a loud voice.
"As you all know, the martial arts of Shaolin have the power to subdue evil things and make demons surrender!"
It was a widely known fact in the martial world. That's why the word 'demon-subduing' was often attached to the martial arts of Shaolin.
"We are people who have taken refuge in Buddhism, so we must avoid killing, but those are monsters that have killed many people. If we leave them, there will be more damage."
Jongmyeong finished his words by hitting the ground with his Zen staff.
"I will open the killing gate!"
As soon as Jongmyeong's words ended, the Shaolin monks moved towards the young human-faced spider. The people who had come here were all skilled people. A solemn energy was felt from the appearance of the monks holding Zen staffs and staffs.
But Mok Wigun, who had been watching that continuously, clicked his tongue and said.
"They shouldn't do it like that..."
(End of Chapter)