Kang Sogun

Jang Ung felt a pain as if his arm were breaking. At the same time, all the strength in his body drained away.

"Ouch. What is this!"

At Jang Ung's voice, Old Man Jang woke up.

"Oh dear. Are you drunk? It seems I used too much strength."

No Ichil made a fuss and pulled Jang Ung.

Jang Ung could not overcome the pain and had no choice but to sit down as he was led.

No Ichil smiled at Old Man Jang as if nothing had happened and said.

"I was lonely eating alone, so I asked my grandson to be my drinking companion."

Jang Ung rubbed the arm that had been grabbed by No Ichil. He didn't know how he had pressed it, but his lower body was paralyzed and he couldn't stand up.

As Jang Ung was about to protest, No Ichil poured wine into his own cup and spoke first.

"Old Man Jang, give me another cup, will you?"

"What kind of drunken antics are you trying to pull with a child?"

Although Old Man Jang grumbled, he placed another cup and went into the kitchen. It seemed he was going to bring more side dishes.

"You must be very happy to have such a kind grandfather."

No Ichil said as he poured wine into the cup in front of Jang Ung.

"I grew up as an orphan. My father passed away when I was a baby."

Jang Ung glared at No Ichil. He couldn't understand why No Ichil was acting this way.

'Was this man a martial artist?'

He had thought he was a merchant, but it seemed he was a man who had learned martial arts.

He had heard that there was a technique called acupoint pressing among martial arts, and that if you were hit by it, you couldn't move.

Jang Ung wondered if his current state was what he had only heard of, being hit by acupoint pressing.

"Here, drink up."

No Ichil leaned over and handed him the wine cup, whispering quickly and in a low voice.

"If you go to the Heavenly Martial Faction, you will die at my hands."

Jang Ung's mind became clear.

No Ichil was definitely a martial artist.

'How did he know that I was going to meet the Heavenly Martial Faction warriors?'

Jang Ung looked towards the kitchen. He could see Old Man Jang putting vegetables into a large pot and stir-frying them.

"Why are you just sitting there? I told you to have a drink."

No Ichil straightened his posture again and drank his wine.

"Kuh. The wine tastes good!"

No Ichil wiped the corner of his mouth and continued.

"My father was a man of great strength, but he liked to help others. Then he got involved in a strange incident and died."

"That's quite a coincidence. This boy's father also got involved in someone else's business and died."

Old Man Jang took No Ichil's words as he came out with the stir-fried vegetables.

"Is that so? Your son too?"

"It's all his fate, what else could it be?"

Old Man Jang lamented and went into the inner courtyard.

No Ichil shouted at Old Man Jang's back.

"Fate? If he hadn't been unnecessarily curious or reckless, he would have been fine, wouldn't he? The reason I don't go out at all on days like today when martial artists are running rampant is for that reason."

There was a hidden meaning in No Ichil's words.

Just then, a human presence was heard from outside, and the young ronin came in.

The young ronin glanced at the table where No Ichil and Jang Ung were sitting and then went into the inner courtyard.

"That man is young, but he knows the wisdom of living in the martial world. He's definitely better than some bastard who grew up preciously and can't distinguish between heaven and earth."

No Ichil threatened Jang Ung in a low voice.

"I know what you're thinking. But if you do that, neither you nor your grandfather will live to your natural lifespan."

Cold sweat broke out on Jang Ung's forehead.

He had been thinking of finding the Heavenly Martial Faction people and telling them that there was a suspicious person in the inn.

He was just curious as to how No Ichil had known that.

Just then, the door of Kang Sogun's room opened.

Kang Sogun came out and walked towards the restaurant.

Jang Ung tried hard to look away.

As Kang Sogun came out, he became nervous, as if a thief had been caught in the act.

All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind.

'Are these two a team?'

It seemed likely. If not, there was no reason for No Ichil to stop him from reporting Kang Sogun.

If so? He might die now.

As his thoughts reached that point, Jang Ung's heart pounded.

Jang Ung, a frog in a well who had been born and raised in Xinyang, could not guess the complexity of the martial world's situation.

He did not know that No Ichil had only stopped him because he was reluctant to face the Heavenly Martial Faction people for his own reasons.

Kang Sogun entered the restaurant.

"Would you like a drink? Please sit."

No Ichil spoke to Kang Sogun.

Kang Sogun looked at No Ichil for a moment and then sat down at the opposite table.

It was next to Jang Ung.

Jang Ung couldn't even breathe.

No Ichil went to the kitchen, brought a new bottle of wine and a cup, and placed them in front of Kang Sogun.

"The wine in this house is good."

Kang Sogun gulped down the cup.

Kang Sogun had been recuperating in his room and had heard No Ichil's words.

No Ichil had deliberately raised his voice and talked about how the Heavenly Martial Faction was swarming.

His intention to warn Kang Sogun was obvious.

Kang Sogun did not know No Ichil. He was curious as to why he was telling him about the Heavenly Martial Faction's movements.

If he was a person who had approached him on purpose, he had to find out his hidden intentions.

Kang Sogun looked at Jang Ung.

"He's the inn owner's only grandson. He's still immature, but he's a good-hearted man."

No Ichil said out of the blue.

No Ichil himself could not accurately explain to himself why he had suddenly stopped Jang Ung.

Even if Jang Ung created a troublesome situation, he could just avoid it himself. But he had still stopped Jang Ung.

'Is it because of Old Man Jang?'

It had been several years since he had been coming and going to the Huayang Inn.

Old Man Jang had not forgotten him, who came once a year, and had treated him warmly every time he came.

As No Ichil himself had said, he had grown up as an orphan, so he might have felt a father's affection from Old Man Jang.

No Ichil could not just watch as Old Man Jang's only hope was extinguished before it could even bloom, so he had intervened.

He had an instinctive premonition that if Jang Ung informed the Heavenly Martial Faction of Kang Sogun's existence, the Huayang Inn would become a sea of blood.

Jang Ung, not knowing such circumstances, was just sweating profusely.

He desperately racked his brain, but since his lower body was paralyzed, there was nothing he could do.

Fortunately, Kang Sogun did not seem to have any intention of harming him.

"How did you know?"

Kang Sogun picked up the wine bottle, poured it into his cup, and asked out of the blue.

Jang Ung didn't know what he was talking about and just stared blankly at Kang Sogun and No Ichil.

No Ichil knew what Kang Sogun was asking.

"As you wander the world, you see and hear a lot. There isn't a martial artist who doesn't know about the recent assassination of the Heavenly Martial Faction's third young master in Yueyang."

Although he was dressed as a merchant, No Ichil was well-versed in the affairs of the martial world.

"The rumor that the person who killed him is related to the Three Blade Sect and that the Heavenly Martial Faction Master has personally stepped up because of it is also rampant in the martial world."

Jang Ung, forgetting his own situation, pricked up his ears.

Although the Wuhan Three Blade Sect was not far, he had not known such a fact at all.

Kang Sogun listened, silently tilting his wine cup.

"I also heard the news that the Three Blade Sect Master sent all his family members away and is trying to fight to the death with a few disciples."

The rumors circulating in the martial world were often exaggerated or different from the truth, but what No Ichil knew was quite accurate.

This meant that he had an extraordinary side when it came to handling information.

But he probably couldn't have known about the bloody incident at the Three Blade Sect that had happened yesterday.

Nevertheless, No Ichil's analysis continued.

"When I went out today, I saw that the streets of Xinyang were filled with Heavenly Martial Faction warriors. What do you think this means?"

"What does it mean?"

As No Ichil stopped talking, Jang Ung could not hold back his curiosity and asked.

No Ichil smiled and said.

"I wish you were half as good as your grandfather, Ung. If you want to survive for a long time, you have to learn the art of pretending not to see what you see and not to hear what you hear."

"I don't think that's something you should say. Seeing as you speak as if you've seen what you haven't."

Kang Sogun said a word.

"The fact that the Heavenly Martial Faction warriors have appeared in Xinyang means that the Three Blade Sect has already fallen, doesn't it? But why did they come all the way here? Aren't they looking for the survivors of the Three Blade Sect?"

Jang Ung looked at Kang Sogun.

This person is a survivor of the Three Blade Sect?

Kang Sogun was lost in thought.

'Did the people of the Three Blade Sect cross the mountain?'

Kang Sogun did not know what had happened to the Three Blade Sect after he had left.

He could only guess that they had escaped since he had shaken the Heavenly Martial Faction's siege.

But it was unexpected.

If he were the Three Blade Sect Master, he would have used the waterway.

Since the Heavenly Martial Faction was in the mountains of Hubei, they would be skilled at mountain pursuit, so why did they cross the mountain?

"So I found a merchant I know and confirmed the facts."

No Ichil poured wine into his own cup, drank it, and wiped his mouth.

"There happened to be a merchant from Wuhan. According to him, the Three Blade Sect was annihilated yesterday. He said that the Heavenly Martial Faction is chasing one person."

Kang Sogun's eyebrows twitched.

In the end, were they annihilated? Why did Yeon Hwasim's face flash through his mind?

"The Three Blade Sect was annihilated?"

Jang Ung asked in surprise.

Jang Ung also knew that there was a shop managed by the Three Blade Sect in Xinyang.

"You're quite a strong drinker, Ung."

No Ichil muttered and then flicked the chopsticks in front of him with his finger.

Thwack!

The chopsticks flew and hit Jang Ung's forehead.

Jang Ung's vision went black as if he had been hit in the head with a sledgehammer, and he fainted.

Kang Sogun did not say anything.

"I have to keep this bastard's life so that the old man can live."

No Ichil muttered.

Kang Sogun raised his wine cup with a calm face.

'He's not an ordinary person, after all.'

No Ichil nodded to himself, thinking that his judgment was correct.

Hitting an acupoint with chopsticks was not a very difficult task, but it was not an easy task either. Nevertheless, Kang Sogun was calm.

No Ichil's expression became serious, and he continued.

"I think you are the one who killed the Heavenly Martial Faction's third young master."

As No Ichil spoke, he raised his internal energy and spread it throughout his body.

There was no telling how the opponent would react.

It was common for a person on the run to try to kill a witness if their identity was revealed.

There was no change in Kang Sogun's expression.

Kang Sogun, who had been lost in thought for a moment, muttered.

"Is the Heavenly Martial Faction's third young master that great?"

It was just a mumble, but to No Ichil, it sounded as if he were saying, "I just killed a fly, why are you making such a fuss?"

No Ichil was dumbfounded for a moment and then said.

"Do you know that the Heavenly Martial Faction is one of the four hegemons of the current martial world?"

"..."

"Since the Yocheon Pavilion Master is dead, you could say there are now three hegemons."

No Ichil raised his wine cup and emptied it into his mouth.

"Do you know that?"

No Ichil asked out of the blue.

"The Yocheon Pavilion Master died a mysterious death, but he had no father."

"...?"

"The Heavenly Martial Faction's third young master himself may not be much, but his father is the Heavenly Martial Faction Master."

Kang Sogun silently looked at the wine cup in front of him.

That was right. The only ones who would take revenge for the Yocheon Pavilion Master were the Three Masters.

But the entire Heavenly Martial Faction would step up for Gu Yangun's revenge.

Kang Sogun sighed inwardly.

He was resolute with his enemies, but he was not a killing demon. Nevertheless, he had killed Gu Yangun, whom he had never even met, at White Dragon Temple.

To make an excuse for himself, he could say that he was in a situation where he was being mentally chased.

His internal injuries had not fully recovered, and the Three Masters were persistently chasing him.

Moreover, his nerves were on edge due to the disappointment of having to return empty-handed without finding Jang Seonbaek's tracks, so Gu Yangun and the Heaven's Mandate Brigade were unlucky.

The fact that Gu Yangun and the Heaven's Mandate Brigade had blocked his path was their fault. Moreover, they had tried to kill him.

But thinking about it now, various problems had followed because of it.

For one, he himself had left White Dragon Temple and was in this place.

'Was the annihilation of the Three Blade Sect because I killed Gu Yangun?'

In terms of results, it could have been.

If Gu Yangun had not died, the Heavenly Martial Faction Master, Gu Yeongang, would not have come to Wuhan in person.

Kang Sogun's chest felt tight.

At the same time, Yeon Hwasim's desperate eyes came to mind once more.

(End of Chapter)