Chapter 192: Chapter 41. The Demonic Sect’s Pursuit

The bleak night forest rustled its leaves and swallowed the demonic practitioners’ screams.

Clouds covered the starlight, deepening the darkness, yet somehow my vision only grew sharper.

I wiped the blood from my face and steadied my ragged breathing.

Three members of the Demonic Sect had died instantly.

Two more would soon follow; I had severed the tendons in all four limbs.

And then there was one more...

A demonic practitioner who was calmly tearing the poisoned flesh from his own arm.

“The poisonous toads of Sichuan just keep breeding no matter how many you kill. Move.”

He tossed the blackened chunk of his own flesh to the ground as he spoke, his eyes gleaming ominously.

They were the eyes of a murderous ghost, utterly devoid of emotion.

The aura he gave off was nothing like that of the Demonic Sect members sprawled across the ground.

He had to be their leader.

“Don’t want to.”

I answered as casually as I could and planted myself in front of Yeon Ryang, refusing to let myself shrink back.

The demonic practitioner did not even look at me.

Treating me as though I didn’t exist, he addressed Yeon Ryang.

“So the rumors that you became an apostate were true, Wraith.”

“I don’t know about that. Why not call me an unbeliever instead? I never believed in the first place.”

“He is looking for you.”

“That old bastard still isn’t dead? Tenacious old thing.”

The sharp exchange between them made it sound as though they had known each other for years.

I gauged the direction of the wind and shifted my weight onto the balls of my feet, ready to spring at any moment.

“Krrk...”

Cane, cradled in Yeon Ryang’s arms, let out a quiet, wary growl.

“You can only hide inside this poison mist for so long. If you refuse to come now, he will come for you himself. Wouldn’t you rather return on your own feet than be dragged back like an animal?”

At the threat in his voice, Yeon Ryang sneered and clenched his fist until the joints cracked.

“You’ve grown bold, Number Seventeen. You used to be too scared even to meet my eyes. Now you’re standing there with your chin up.”

“There’s no reason to fear a piece of scrap whose body is rotting from the inside.”

Number Seventeen swept an indifferent gaze over Yeon Ryang.

“You still refuse to drain vital essence, I take it? I don’t understand why you insist on suffering. Taking this girl alone would solve your problem.”

“Has it occurred to you that that’s the only reason you’re still alive? Be grateful my body’s a wreck. Otherwise, your head would already be rolling across the ground.”

At Yeon Ryang’s biting reply, a flicker of fear passed through the man’s eyes.

He unconsciously stepped back.

“Well... it’s none of my concern. The offering only needs to remain alive.”

Yeon Ryang snorted at the way he had tucked his tail between his legs like a frightened dog.

“The old man must be getting desperate. How short on useful men does he have to be to send a halfwit like you into the Central Plains?”

Hearing such coldness in Yeon Ryang’s voice for the first time made my chest tighten.

I adjusted my grip on the poisoned butterfly blades and fixed my eyes on Number Seventeen.

I had to finish this before Yeon Ryang got worked up enough to act.

The demonic practitioner gave me a contemptuous glance and shifted his sword into his left hand.

“Girl of the Tang Clan. I admit you have some skill, but step aside now. If you interfere any further in the Cult’s affairs, I will have no choice but to cut you down.”

“That’s what I was about to say. Mister, unless you’re eager to experience what it feels like to have your arms and legs fester and rot away, you should just leave. Or would you rather take a sightseeing trip to Mount Beimang? I hear the burial plots there are lovely.”

I cocked my head as I answered.

His expression twitched.

“You...! You little brat are nothing but mouth.”

“I don’t know about that. At least I’m not pretending to be tough after charging in without even judging my opponent’s strength and losing my right arm for it. Hard to say which one of us is all talk.”

His face turned red, then blue.

He gripped his sword hard, plainly trying to rein in his temper.

“...You’ve picked up a girl exactly like yourself, Wraith.”

“My little sister is rather exceptional.”

At last, a faint trace of amusement entered Yeon Ryang’s voice.

Some of his anger seemed to have eased.

“But my sister doesn’t bluff, Number Seventeen. You’d better prepare to leave this world. For old times’ sake, I’ll personally choose a good grave for you.”

The tone was so cold it bordered on oppressive.

Number Seventeen swallowed hard, his throat bobbing visibly.

Whatever their exact relationship was, he clearly wasn’t someone in a position to treat Yeon Ryang lightly.

Or else Yeon Ryang’s former standing had been far higher than I had guessed.

I wonder how the ones who admire you would react if they saw you like this. Number Seventy-One thinks of you almost like a god.

The words of a Demonic Sect member I had once encountered flashed through my mind, making my breath catch.

But whichever possibility was true, it didn’t matter right now.

What mattered was making sure this man never got the chance to report Yeon Ryang’s whereabouts.

Killing intent entered my eyes.

Number Seventeen visibly bristled and sneered.

“Impudent girl. Poison like that can simply be neutralized—”

“Will you stop calling me ‘girl,’ you bastard? It’s seriously getting on my nerves.”

I snapped and hurled a butterfly blade.

There was a wet sound like a watermelon bursting, and the demonic practitioner toppled backward.

Thud!

The death was so ridiculously abrupt that the hand already holding my next concealed weapon froze awkwardly in place.

My eyes darted.

...What?

He couldn’t even dodge that?

After all that posturing?

Seeing my baffled expression as I stared at the headless corpse, Yeon Ryang gave a quiet laugh.

“He was always a worthless loudmouth. If they entrusted scouting to someone like him, there must be more than one or two of them active in the Central Plains. We’ll need to be careful.”

Adjusting Cane in his arms, Yeon Ryang began bustling around the area, apparently trying to erase all traces of demonic corruption.

I watched him for a moment, then frowned as I sensed someone approaching from afar.

The aura was blue and unmistakably belonged to an orthodox martial artist.

It was coming fast.

I could not let an orthodox martial artist find Yeon Ryang in the middle of this slaughter.

“Brother. Someone’s coming. We need to go. Get on my back.”

“There are still traces of demonic corruption. We need to erase them before—”

“Jang Miryeo will take care of it somehow. She’s smart. We need to go straight to the safe house. There’s no time to hesitate, so come here, Brother. You can’t use your movement art.”

I cut him off, stepped closer, and hoisted him onto my back.

Yeon Ryang let me carry him without protest, then tried to joke as though nothing was wrong.

“Well, well. Never thought I’d live to ride on my little sister’s back again. But when are you going to grow taller? Your brother’s legs are dragging.”

“I don’t think I’m getting any taller. If that’s a problem, you’ll have to shorten your legs instead. Want me to cut them down to size while we’re at it?”

“...”

“I’m kidding, Brother. Ready?”

“...That didn’t sound like a joke. At this rate, you’ll be the one to slit your brother’s throat someday.”

Muttering to himself, Yeon Ryang rested his cheek against my shoulder.

Maybe the encounter with the Demonic Sect had stirred him up too much, because his body was burning hot.

Once we reach the safe house, I need to make him drink something to calm his energy first.

I bit my lip, tightened my hold on Yeon Ryang, and ran out of the forest.

******

The trail Namgung Hwi and Jeokroe had followed ended at the edge of a forest so dense that the sky vanished behind the canopy.

Jeokroe’s expression turned serious at the sinister energy seeping out from within.

“Young Clan Head. I’ll scout ahead.”

“You know we don’t have time for that. We go in together.”

“Then take an antidote first. That demonic energy is no joke, and I doubt Miss Tang used anything as mild as ordinary poison.”

After dividing the antidote pills between them, the two covered their noses and mouths tightly and entered the poison-filled forest.

The poisonous energy was thick enough that a moment’s carelessness could mean being poisoned, keeping both men taut with vigilance.

Here and there, deep cuts from bladed weapons scarred the tree trunks, but there were relatively few sword marks.

It did not seem that Tang Sohae and the Demonic Sect members had exchanged many moves.

They followed the source of the demonic energy while watching every direction, then stopped before an unpleasant sight.

Several corpses lay scattered about, portions of their bodies grotesquely destroyed by poison.

Jeokroe approached one and turned it over with his scabbard, then recoiled.

[They’re all members of the Demonic Sect. What the hell is this, right in the middle of Yueyang? We need to report this to the Martial Alliance immediately, Young Clan Head.]

[Wait.]

[Six Demonic Sect corpses have been found. We can’t simply ignore this. The Demonic Sect has never operated this openly before.]

[We don’t know what situation Sohae is in. I said wait.]

[If Miss Tang is their target, then we need to inform the Tang Clan as well. She is a Tang Clan martial artist, after all. Officially, she’s still a blood relative under the clan’s protection.]

Jeokroe waved a hand as though asking what Namgung Hwi was talking about, but Namgung Hwi merely shook his head.

[Look at the footprints, Jeokroe. She isn’t alone right now.]

Jeokroe followed the direction of Namgung Hwi’s pointing finger.

[They hurriedly tried to erase their tracks, but you can still make out the shape of a man’s foot. She has a companion.]

Jeokroe studied the ground carefully and frowned.

Just as his master had said, a few footprints had escaped being erased.

Namgung Hwi rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing.

[So that’s why her whereabouts have been so hard to trace all this time... Now I understand. There’s something wrong with her companion’s identity.]

[What?]

[There’s some reason she can’t openly say, “The Demonic Sect is after me, help me.” Either her companion has ties to the Demonic Sect, or he’s someone who can’t afford to encounter members of the Martial Alliance. Whatever it is, she has something to hide, which is why she’s stayed out of sight this whole time. Is it that brother of hers who was investigated with her at the Alliance? Damn it. Why didn’t I notice sooner? It’s obvious now that I’m looking at it.]

Irritated with himself, Namgung Hwi stared down at one of the corpses.

The needle marks had pierced the vital points with exact precision.

Tang Sohae’s work.

The technique was so refined that it was hard to believe this was the same girl who had once clumsily thrown coins.

Namgung Hwi’s expression darkened.

The gulf between those two images seemed to tell him exactly what kind of years Tang Sohae had lived through.

His emotions tangled, Namgung Hwi rubbed around his eyes.

[We can’t tell the Alliance. Pretend we never saw this. It’ll put her in a difficult position.]

[Then what are you planning to do?]

[Obviously, I’ll help her myself. Jeokroe, I’m going after her now. Quietly deploy a search party and clean this up. I’m going ahead.]

Namgung Hwi answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world, then shot away before Jeokroe could even respond.

Left abruptly alone with six corpses, Jeokroe stared after him in disbelief.

...Maybe I should just retire.

He sighed toward the sky, pulled out a pair of gloves, and began putting them on before reaching for a poison-soaked Demonic Sect corpse.