Enshrinement as a God

The black carriage seemed to have completely assimilated with the darkness.

Except for the small noise made by the horses' hooves, it seemed difficult to even perceive the carriage moving in the darkness.

The carriage's route, which was avoiding the main road and heading for a dark and deserted path, was clearly suspicious.

It was clear that the mysterious merchant party that had met Su Hu was imprisoned in that carriage.

Tu Xingsun, while chasing the carriage, repeatedly asked himself about his judgment.

'Should I go back now?'

It was not like him to risk danger to save an old man and a boy, not a beautiful young lady.

The action he was about to take was ultimately an act of obstructing Su Hu, the master of the So family manor.

And to obstruct the So family manor, the biggest supporter of Jeshin, was the same as going against his lord, Jeshin.

Although all of that was rationally stopping him, strangely, Tu Xingsun was not turning his feet.

If he left them like this, the boy's fate would surely end miserably in the hands of the demons.

But it was by no means for such a moral reason that he was moving.

The strong attraction he felt for the boy.

It was an attraction completely different from the affection between a man and a woman.

After discovering the boy and talking with him, a strong desire to attract the boy's attention and to do something for him had arisen.

It was a feeling like a fever, just like when he had first met Jeshin.

Tu Xingsun, muttering that his taste had absolutely not changed, approached the back of the black carriage as carefully as possible.

Although the carriage was running on an unpaved road, its speed was not decreasing at all, and the air flowing from the back of the carriage pierced through the mask that was covering Tu Xingsun's face and seeped into his lungs.

'Ugh!'

As he smelled an extremely unpleasant smell, Tu Xingsun unconsciously covered his mouth.

'Is there really a corpse?'

It was unlikely that he had mistaken the carriage, and perhaps the boy and the old master had already been killed and were loaded onto the carriage.

Tu Xingsun, as the carriage was far enough from the Black Contemplation Fortress, threw the rope he had prepared towards the carriage.

Swoosh!

The thick and sturdy rope was Tu Xingsun's proud Binding Immortal Rope. As it was wrapped around the rear wall of the carriage, Tu Xingsun took the Binding Immortal Rope back and pulled it with all his might.

Thump!

The Binding Immortal Rope was pulled taut. Tu Xingsun, as he was, held it with both hands and began to run at a tremendous speed.

And as he was, at a speed faster than the carriage, he climbed up a nearby rock and began to wrap the Binding Immortal Rope he was holding around a rather thick tree.

Bang!

Tu Xingsun's effort, who had shown a superb feat against the running carriage, was not in vain.

Thanks to the force of the taut rope, the rear wall of the carriage broke with a loud noise.

Neigh!

As a great shock was applied to the carriage, the two horses that were pulling the carriage neighed loudly and raised their front legs.

As the running carriage stopped for a moment, two wooden boxes that looked like coffins popped out from the back of the carriage due to the shock.

Tu Xingsun quickly shouldered the two coffins with both hands, put them down on the floor, and blew off their lids.

In each coffin, the boy and the old man were lying peacefully with their eyes closed as if they were sleeping.

Fortunately, it seemed that both of them had not lost their lives, as their breathing could be heard.

But whether they had been hit by a pressure point or were drugged, a considerable shock must have been transmitted to the surroundings, but they showed no sign of waking up.

"This is... Liu Yezhi?"

Tu Xingsun recalled the familiar face of the old man among them.

If one person was Liu Yezhi, it was not so difficult to deduce the identity of the boy merchant he was escorting.

"Then this child was the new sect leader of Qingcheng, Xi Xibal!"

Although he had left many possibilities open, he had not known that the young sect leader of the Qingcheng Sect would visit the Black Contemplation Fortress so boldly and audaciously.

Moreover, if it were Xi Xibal, there was a rumor that he was a martial talent who could raise Qingcheng again after the Ten Thousand Sword Master.

He was a person who was being watched closely even in the Black Contemplation Fortress.

Tu Xingsun, in his bewilderment, stepped back from the two who were still lying unconscious.

Even if he had not known their identity, to save them was an act that was contrary to the course of the Black Contemplation Fortress.

It was not an act that he, who was in charge of the Dust Division, should do.

Clatter!

At that moment, the coachman, who was covered in a black cloth, climbed onto the roof of the carriage.

The coachman, who was crouching and craning his neck towards Tu Xingsun, was holding the rope that had been tying the horses in his hand.

The two horses that had been pulling the carriage also circled the carriage and appeared on both sides of the coachman.

And from inside the carriage from which the coffins had popped out, two warriors who were covered in black martial arts uniforms got out with stiff movements.

Finally, right after they had left the carriage, a man with his face covered with a veil came out of the carriage, staggering and holding a staff.

"How dare you..."

They were wearing unique clothes that were hard to see in the Central Plains. Although it was difficult to remember the individual characteristics accurately because he had always watched them from afar, Tu Xingsun was once again convinced that they were the people of the So family manor.

And he could recall that the person who had gotten out last was one of his subordinates who had been standing by Su Hu's side.

He uttered a clumsy Central Plains language and aimed the staff he was holding at Tu Xingsun.

"Kill him and take the goods back."

Although the two warriors who were wrapped in black martial arts uniforms stood by the man's side, the two released horses and the coachman who was covered in a cloth immediately flew towards Tu Xingsun from the top of the carriage.

"Gah!"

Tu Xingsun was startled and retrieved the Binding Immortal Rope that had been tying the carriage and threw it at the coachman.

Swoosh!

With Tu Xingsun's amazing skill, the coachman, who was tied up in the rope in an instant, fell to the floor and began to thrash.

"Ugh!"

The appearance of the coachman, which was revealed as the old cloth was torn off, was extremely hideous.

His skin was half-melted, so his facial features could not be recognized, and white bones were visible in the places where the flesh had fallen off, which was a truly terrible sight.

Neigh!

Tu Xingsun, without even having time to be surprised, somersaulted to avoid the two horses that were rushing at him.

One of them only circled Tu Xingsun and did not attack directly, and the other one rushed to Tu Xingsun's close vicinity as if to kill him.

Tu Xingsun immediately took out the short staff he was carrying on his back.

"Hah!"

Tu Xingsun twisted his body and swung his weapon, the Iron Staff.

Crack!

The Iron Staff hit the head of one of the horses that was rushing at him with a terrifying momentum, and with the sound of bones breaking, the horse's body bent and it fell to the floor.

Flap!

Although the feeling of bones breaking was clearly transmitted, the fallen horse was staggering and trying to get up.

Tu Xingsun, seeing the identity of the horse, whose old cloth had been torn off and its appearance was revealed, swallowed his dry saliva in tension.

"Am I dreaming?"

Except for the flesh attached to its legs, it was all white bones...

The skeleton horse, whose head was half-crushed by the Iron Staff, was still alive and moving.

But the other horse continued to wander around Tu Xingsun and then returned to the side of the man who was holding the staff.

As the man took off the cloth that had been covering the horse's appearance, a black horse with two horns on its head was shaking its head with its red pupils glistening.

"You must be a very promiscuous fellow. To think that the Bicorn would like you."

As the man shook the staff in his hand again, the warriors in black martial arts uniforms by his side moved strangely and began to rush at Tu Xingsun.

Tu Xingsun, feeling a cold sweat running down his spine, swung his Iron Staff at the warriors.

Thump! Thump!

The warriors' movements were terrible.

They were allowing all of Tu Xingsun's attacks without even blocking or avoiding them.

But even though his iron staff, which broke bones and tore through internal organs, had clearly hit them, the black warriors were reaching out to Tu Xingsun again as if they had not been hit at all.

"What kind of sorcery is this!"

Although he had poured out dozens of attacks in an instant, it felt like hitting an empty leather bag.

Tu Xingsun gritted his teeth and did not stop his attack.

The coachman who had been tied up in his Binding Immortal Rope was now almost untying the rope, and the skeleton horse with a broken head was now in a position and was ready to rush at Tu Xingsun again.

"Damn it! Open your eyes!"

As if they did not know Tu Xingsun's crisis, Xi Xibal and Liu Yezhi showed no sign of opening their eyes.

Snap!

The coachman, who had untied the Binding Immortal Rope, began to rush at Tu Xingsun on all fours like a beast again.

Tu Xingsun, as the coachman, whose movements were quick unlike the two black warriors, joined in, his hands and feet soon became dizzy, and sweat began to flow down his whole body like rain.

"Hehehe... I don't know for what purpose you interfered with me, but since the carriage is broken, I will kill you and use you instead of the carriage."

Tu Xingsun had no time to ask how he, a human, could be used instead of a carriage.

This was because, while his mind was briefly distracted by his words, his collar was caught by one of the black warriors who had been rushing at him with a tremendous stamina.

"Oh no!"

As one of them grabbed his clothes, Tu Xingsun's steps became heavy in an instant, and the other black warrior, not to be outdone, also flew towards one of Tu Xingsun's legs.

Although he swung his iron staff to get them off, the black warriors, like inanimate objects, still did not budge.

As Tu Xingsun's movements slowed down, the coachman grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground.

Thump!

Tu Xingsun, feeling a tremendous pain in his jaw, swallowed a groan.

In addition to the pain, Tu Xingsun almost fainted from the suffocating stench coming from the coachman's hand that was holding his hair.

"Hehehe."

The man with the staff, with a triumphant expression, walked towards the completely subdued Tu Xingsun.

Tu Xingsun, even in his daze, was on edge at the sound of the man's footsteps, which were like those of a grim reaper.

"Take off his mask."

Although Tu Xingsun shook his head and struggled, there was no way to avoid the coachman's rotten hand.

Tu Xingsun, who had lost his mask defenselessly, tried to bury his head in the ground as much as possible, but it was a futile resistance.

"Who are you?"

"Isn't it polite to introduce yourself before asking for a name?"

As Tu Xingsun spat out blood and answered, the man with the staff looked down at Tu Xingsun as if it were amusing.

"Yes... I am a subordinate of the great King Seong, and I am called the Demon God Official, Zhang Gui."

Zhang Gui, kindly, introduced himself in a way that Tu Xingsun could understand as much as possible, in accordance with the Han language.

"I..."

The King Seong and the Demon God Official that this man was talking about were all titles that he had never heard of.

Given the situation, it was highly likely that the person called King Seong was Su Hu, the master of the So family manor.

Tu Xingsun was creeped out by Su Hu, who handled such monsters.

Moreover, it was questionable how he would handle the aftermath if Jeshin, who had borrowed the power of such monsters, were to occupy the Black Contemplation Fortress.

"I... you foolish fellow, why would I have worn a mask if I were going to reveal my identity so obediently?"

Tu Xingsun, screaming, tried to get up.

Soon, something shiny fell from the sky around the bodies of the coachman and the black warrior who were holding him.

(End of Chapter)