Chapter 14
Having found Biyeon and the old man’s bodies on the riverbank he’d reached, Dokgo Jin trembled with rage.
“Those fucking bastards…!”
He had promised to save them.
He hadn’t believed them, but still, he thought there was no reason to bother someone so weak.
He’d been flustered right up until the moment Biyeon was stabbed. But seeing how utterly calm Murong Byeok and Noh Sun-pyeong looked, he’d truly thought nothing would go wrong.
He’d been a fool.
Feeling bitter, he gathered their bodies and buried them in a sunny spot by the river. Before their graves, Dokgo Jin made a vow.
“… I promise. I’ll make those dog bastards pay, no matter what. Even if it isn’t right now, someday, I’ll…!”
He was different from them.
He would never take a promise lightly.
With that vow, Dokgo Jin left the grave where an old man and a young girl lay buried.
Afterward, Dokgo Jin passed through Liaoning, where the Murong Clan’s influence was widespread, and went to Tianjin.
Because it was where the Beggars’ Sect, the martial world’s largest intelligence network, had originated.
What Dokgo Jin wanted when he stormed into the Beggars’ Sect’s Tianjin branch was, naturally, information.
Information on the Murong Clan, which he needed to keep the promise he’d made to himself and avenge his family, killed by the Tang Clan.
But since the Beggars’ Sect, like the Murong Clan and the Tang Clan, belonged to the same Murim Alliance, it naturally refused to give him any information, and Dokgo Jin caused another huge uproar.
In the midst of it all, the Hao Sect Leader saved an elder of the Beggars’ Sect, who had been on the verge of death after encountering Dokgo Jin.
“…Who are you?”
“I’m Eun Yak-byeok, the Hao Sect’s Young Mistress and its next Sect Leader.”
“…Why did you save me?”
“Because I need you.”
“Ha…. This shit again.”
Dokgo Jin got to his feet, then clutched his chest for a moment as pain flared there.
Seeing him, Eun Yak-byeok smiled.
“You should consider yourself lucky. Surviving after picking a fight with an elder of the Beggars’ Sect is a miracle.”
“I’ve heard that too many times. That same old talk about bad luck and whatnot….”
“Then shall I tell you something more enticing?”
“I’m not interested. I’m grateful you saved me, but with a conniving bitch like you….”
“How about the place where the Tang Clan’s secret art, ‘Extreme Poison,’ is made?”
!!
Hearing those words, Dokgo Jin’s eyes widened.
“…How do you know that? No… why are you trying to tell me?”
“I’m young. And the Hao Sect is weak.”
“…”
Watching the Hao Sect Leader suddenly launch into a story about herself, Mad Demon tilted his head.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It means we need an opening.”
“An opening?”
“Our Hao Sect buys and sells information. We’re a sect made up of people who live at the bottom of the martial world, like courtesans, coachmen, and thieves.”
“…So what?”
“The more valuable information is, the better… but unfortunately, the Beggars’ Sect knows what we know, too. Information someone else knows has no value. So….”
Eun Yak-byeok opened her fan and hid her mouth behind it.
“I thought we could create information only we know and sell it ourselves. That way, we can create an opening in the Beggars’ Sect’s dominance.”
“What a load of crap. You’ll sell information about me if I make a scene?”
“That’s right.”
Even after seeing Dokgo Jin’s expression turn fierce, Eun Yak-byeok smiled.
“For reasons I don’t know, Mad Demon wants to annihilate the Tang Clan, and we want to gain an advantage in our competition with the Beggars’ Sect. Doesn’t that make our interests align?”
“…”
“I’ll provide you with all the information you want. But only if you want it.”
“Hero, hero…. Cut that bullshit out.”
“…”
“Just call me Dokgo Jin.”
“May I take that to mean you accept the deal?”
“…Yeah. But remember one thing.”
“I’m listening.”
Dokgo Jin bared his teeth and let his killing intent show.
“I hate bastards who break their promises. I hate them enough to kill.”
“My.”
Even as she faced his savage aura, Eun Yak-byeok smiled boldly.
“I feel the same way.”
“Then we should get along.”
And so, the agreement between the Hao Sect and Mad Demon was made.
“I have a question.”
“Ask away.”
“How strong is Murong Byeok?”
“…Why are you suddenly bringing up the Murong Clan Head?”
“Because I have to beat the shit out of that bastard.”
“…”
Eun Yak-byeok furrowed her brow slightly.
“Hero…”
“Dokgo Jin. If the word ‘hero’ bothers you, at least choose something else. Just hearing it makes my whole body break out in goosebumps.”
“…Forgive me for asking, but may I ask why you have a grudge against the Murong Clan Head?”
“That son of a bitch killed the boatman who was going to take me across, and his granddaughter.”
“…”
A slight crack appeared in the mask Eun Yak-byeok had kept perfectly still until now.
Forcing her face back into composure, Eun Yak-byeok continued the conversation.
“…You truly don’t know your place, do you?”
“What?”
“…The Murong Clan Head is the ‘Sword Venerable,’ one of the ranks: God, Immortal, Venerable, Emperor, King, Lord, and Saint.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
When Mad Demon frowned deeply, Eun Yak-byeok clapped her hands.
A courtesan came out from outside and brought her a brush and paper.
Eun Yak-byeok took the brush, held the paper in place, and looked at Dokgo Jin.
“Have you heard of the Top Hundred Masters of the Martial World?”
“That damn nonsense the Murim Alliance announces once every ten years.”
“But it’s also like a declaration to the people of the martial world.”
“…A declaration?”
“‘Don’t challenge us lightly. The martial artists in our Murim Alliance are this strong.’”
“Who’d believe a ranking decided by them beating each other up? Ha!”
“But that ranking is quite accurate, you know?”
Eun Yak-byeok began writing characters one by one, starting at the top.
“Orthodox martial artists can’t fight one another to determine their strength. But if the strongest at the top ranks the martial artists below him, there’s no problem. That’s why the previous Murim Alliance Leader introduced this system.”
Eun Yak-byeok wrote the character ‘God (神)’ at the very top.
“Sword God, War God, Fist God.”
The next character she wrote was ‘Immortal (仙)’.
“Sword Immortal, Poison Immortal, Saber Immortal. Fist Immortal. Painting Immortal. Ink Immortal.”
Finally, she wrote ‘Venerable (尊)’.
“There are many Venerables. Among them, the Murong Clan Head is the ‘Sword Venerable.’ Even by a simple count, the Murong Clan Head is among the top twenty masters in the orthodox martial world.”
“…Where would I rank?”
“You’re not on the list.”
Bang!
When Mad Demon slammed his fist down, Eun Yak-byeok grimaced once more.
“…Please don’t break the brothel.”
“Sorry. I have a madness problem.”
“…You don’t look sorry at all.”
“Anyway, I don’t get it. Then what about Noh Sun-pyeong?”
“…Noh Sun-pyeong, the Murong Clan’s blade, is the ‘Sword King.’ Counting down from the top, he’d be somewhere below the middle of the Top Hundred Masters of the Martial World.”
“…”
Grit.
Seeing that the assessments of himself and Noh Sun-pyeong were much lower than he’d expected, Dokgo Jin felt resentment rise within him, even as he refused to believe in the Top Hundred Masters ranking.
“Fuck, this sucks.”
“…If your rank were properly assessed, I think you’d still be around ‘Saber Lord.’”
“You just said I wasn’t ranked.”
“…Since the Murim Alliance announces it, martial artists who don’t belong to the Murim Alliance are naturally excluded.”
“Fuck….”
Though he grumbled aloud, Dokgo Jin was secretly pleased.
“The person you’re targeting is the ‘Poison Immortal,’ right?”
“…I’m devoting my life to killing that son of a bitch.”
“You have a long way to go.”
“…”
Seeing how candidly and plainly Eun Yak-byeok spoke, Dokgo Jin frowned again.
But Eun Yak-byeok paid no attention to his fierce expression and continued what she had to say.
“If you challenge the Tang Clan as you are now, you’ll die like a dog. You’re still weak, so it’s best to assume the Tang Clan doesn’t pay you much attention yet.”
“…That’s a shitty thing to say, but it’s true.”
“…”
When Dokgo Jin calmly admitted it, Eun Yak-byeok’s eyes widened slightly.
“Hehe… You’re more interesting than I expected.”
“What is?”
“Nothing. It was a slip of the tongue, so please forget it. Anyway… this is what I’d like to suggest.”
Eun Yak-byeok held out a book.
“…What is this?”
“It’s a register of the Top Hundred Masters of the Martial World. I’ve written down their approximate whereabouts.”
“…Why are you giving me this?”
“Start at the very bottom, at the ‘Saint’ rank, and work your way up, defeating them one by one.”
“…What do you get out of this?”
“Everything.”
Eun Yak-byeok once again covered her mouth with her fan.
Dokgo Jin thought it was rather peculiar how Eun Yak-byeok always covered her mouth with her fan whenever she smiled, and waited for her to speak.
“…Do you need me to explain further?”
“…”
But when Eun Yak-byeok offered no further explanation, Dokgo Jin simply accepted the book.
“I go beat them up, and that’s it?”
“If possible, I’d appreciate it if you stopped by a brothel and told us before you fight. We’ll cover any expenses you need.”
“So I don’t have to tell you.”
“That’s right.”
“…Fine. I’ll do it. In return, give me all the information on the Tang Clan and the Murong Clan.”
“Of course.”
Eun Yak-byeok stood and bowed to Dokgo Jin.
“I pray that you’ll stay alive for a long time, guest, and cause as much of a stir as possible.”
“…I think I got caught up with one crazy bitch.”
“You’re crazy yourself, guest. Hehe.”
“…”
“If you need anything, call one of our girls. Of course, that goes for when you’re lonely at night, too. Just don’t handle them too roughly.”
“…I don’t need anything.”
“Hehe, then.”
After Eun Yak-byeok left, Dokgo Jin lay back down on his bed and flipped through the book she’d left behind.
With each page he turned, his smile deepened.
“There are a lot of bastards I need to kill.”
And so Dokgo Jin began to establish a new ranking for the Top Hundred Masters of the Martial World.
Two years later, on the day he stormed the Murong Clan’s main estate.
Unfortunately, Murong Byeok wasn’t there, but Dokgo Jin defeated around three hundred Murong Clan martial artists and ‘Sword King’ Noh Sun-pyeong, earning a new title from the martial world.
‘Blood-Chasing Mad Demon.’
A mad devil who chased blood.
*
Dokgo Ryeong opened her eyes and looked around to see where she was.
‘I had a shitty dream….’
Perhaps because she’d seen Noh Sun-pyeong again after so long, memories of the past had come back to her.
Her head hurt, and her throat was parched.
As Dokgo Ryeong raised a hand to clutch her head, she saw the bandage wrapped around it.
“…Huh?”
Wondering when someone had wrapped it, Dokgo Ryeong finally looked around.
‘When did I fall asleep?’
As Dokgo Ryeong focused and looked around, a sound reached her ears.
“Hngh… Ngh….”
It was a woman’s moan.
“…Fuck.”
Dokgo Ryeong got to her feet.
Even in the darkness, once she focused a little, everything became clear.
Clothes strewn about, Baekri Sohyeon’s moans, the Lust Demon nowhere to be seen, and a head that felt ready to burst.
Dokgo Ryeong quickly remembered what had happened before she fell asleep.
‘…I fell asleep while drinking.’
She remembered drinking nonstop until she fell asleep, but nothing after that.
“Water….”
Dokgo Ryeong carefully moved, searching for where they kept the water in her room.
Unfortunately, there was no water in her room.
‘…Fuck.’
She focused and listened again, but Baekri Sohyeon’s moans had stopped.
Thinking their moment of pleasure was over, Dokgo Ryeong confidently flung open the Lust Demon’s door.
“Lust Demon, let me have some wa…ter?”
Dokgo Ryeong opened the door and went inside, then slammed it shut again.
Then she shouted at the door.
“H-Hey… you crazy bastard!”
“…Miss, it’s a problem if you shout that loudly in the middle of the night.”
“No… uh…. Fuck….”
“If you want some water, come in. It’s here.”
“Are you crazy?! You think I’m going in there?!”
In that brief moment, Dokgo Ryeong had seen a lot.
Baekri Sohyeon sprawled on the floor, and a whitish liquid running down from between her legs.
And Wi Ilcheong’s ridiculously huge cock.
‘C-Crazy bastard. Why the hell is it that big….’
Dokgo Ryeong’s heart started beating faster for no reason.
Just then, the door opened, and naked Baekri Sohyeon grabbed Dokgo Ryeong’s hand.
“…Ryeong-unnie, want water?”
“Ah… no. Later.”
“…Huh? Weren’t you thirsty because of the liquor?”
“I-I’m fine, so later!”
Just as Dokgo Ryeong was desperately trying to pull her hand free, Wi Ilcheong spoke.
“Why don’t you just come in, miss? There’s something we need to talk about, too.”
“G-Go to hell, you lunatic! Put on some clothes first, then call me again!”
“…You’ll see it someday anyway, so why not now… Ah.”
Wi Ilcheong grinned.
“Miss Baekri.”
“…Yeah?”
“Please hold Miss Dokgo.”
“…Yeah.”