Light Novel: Volume 22 Episode 11
Manhwa: N/A
The news of the chaos in Duchang had reached the Golden Heaven Society across Poyang Lake.
Because of this, the intelligence organization within the Golden Heaven Society, the Hundred Arms Pavilion, was in turmoil.
Tae Jin-wang, the head of the Hundred Arms Pavilion, yelled at his subordinates.
“What do you mean? Why Duchang?”
“We are still in the process of gathering information.”
“And when are we supposed to send troops across the lake if we’re just starting to gather information now?”
It would take a full day for even the fastest boats to cross Poyang Lake. By then, the disturbance in Duchang would surely have been settled.
Time was of the essence when it came to information.
A day too late and the information could turn out to be worthless.
That’s why it was crucial to collect information as quickly as possible.
Even if it was happening on the other side of Poyang Lake.
Duchang was a place heavily influenced by the Silver Lotus Society.
If there was any chaos there, then it would surely mean that there was a problem within the Silver Lotus Society.
If they could find a weakness in the Silver Lotus Society, there would be no better deal.
Tae Jin-wang shouted,
“Come on, think of something! Can’t you think of anything good?”
“Well, that’s—”
“You incompetent…!”
When his subordinate couldn’t provide an answer, Tae Jin-wang scolded him.
The subordinate desperately racked his brain to escape the criticism of his superior.
“Ah!”
“Why? Did you think of something?”
“The Blood Rakshasa group is currently returning by boat.”
“The Blood Rakshasa group?”
“Yes! They should have entered Poyang Lake by now.”
“Wasn’t it said that the Blood Rakshasa Force suffered heavy casualties? I heard that Lee Chu-soo and the Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms became invalids.”
“That may be the case, but they should still be capable of gathering information.”
“Hmm!”
“We don’t really have any other option, do we?”
The return of the leader of the Blood Rakshasa, Lee Chu-soo, her loyal Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms, and their force was delayed due to encounters with unidentified martial experts.
The wounds to their minds were greater than the wounds to their bodies.
Because of this, the Golden Heaven Society had sent a boat to facilitate their return.
If they were returning on schedule, they would be crossing the middle of Poyang Lake by now.
“Even if they’ve become invalids, there should be no problem in commanding their subordinates. They’re not fighting directly so if it’s just about stealthily hiding and collecting information, they would gladly do it.”
“Very well, let’s do that. As you said, we have no other choice right now.”
“Then I will send a messenger pigeon.”
“Hmm!”
With his superior’s consent, the subordinate hurriedly ran outside. A moment later, a pigeon soared into the dark night sky.
* * *
Lee Chu-soo and the Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms sat crouched on the deck of the ship.
They were all wrapped in thin blankets.
With their pale complexions and trembling bodies, their former majesty was nowhere to be seen.
It was because they all had suffered severe physical and mental damage.
“Damn it!”
Lee Chu-soo bit her lip as she gently touched her side.
She felt excruciating pain where her hand touched.
It was where the Elder Assassin had pierced her.
Although she had been fortunate enough to receive treatment and survive, the unhealed wound still caused severe pain.
It wasn’t just her side that was injured.
Her left hand was also splinted and wrapped tightly with cloth because all her fingers had been broken.
The injuries inflicted by the Elder Assassin had not only robbed her of her confidence but also inflicted serious psychological damage.
While physical wounds had healed enough for her to move around, thanks to a skilled physician, her broken spirit was not as easily mended.
Lee Chu-soo was not the only one affected.
Her loyal followers, the Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms, also suffered severe psychological and physical damage. Because of this, they could not return to the Golden Heaven Society right away and had to bide their time.
It was only after a long while that their minds and bodies recovered enough for them to move. That’s why they could finally embark on the return journey on the boat sent by the Golden Heaven Society.
The memories of that day still remained as a nightmare.
Now, although her body had somewhat recovered to the point where she could move around, she still had nightmares whenever she managed to sleep.
Lee Chu-soo planned to focus solely on healing without taking on any missions for a while after returning to the Golden Heaven Society.
The psychological and physical damage she had suffered was tremendous.
So much so that she wished never to recall it again.
“Damn it! Damn it! How did I end up like this?”
Until not long ago, she had been a promising martial artist within the Golden Heaven Society. But now, she was nothing but a wastrel.
It seemed impossible to fully recover from the psychological damage without some sort of breakthrough.
The same was true for the Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms.
The Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms, who had been like sisters to her, also suffered greatly in spirit and body, becoming significantly less talkative.
Taking care of them was also her responsibility as the leader of the Blood Rakshasa group.
“Hoo!”
It was when Lee Chu-soo let out a sigh unknowingly.
Flap!
Suddenly, with the sound of vigorous wing flapping, a hawk landed where they were.
“A messenger pigeon?”
Lee Chu-soo immediately recognized that the hawk was a messenger sent from the Golden Heaven Society.
A small tube was tied to the hawk’s ankle, and inside the tube was a note with instructions sent from the Golden Heaven Society.
Lee Chu-soo read the note with an anxious expression.
“Are they insane?”
“What’s wrong?”
“What does it say?”
The Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms asked cautiously.
Lee Chu-soo answered with a look of disbelief.
“They want us to stop by Duchang to assess the situation.”
“What?”
“Us?”
The Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms blinked in disbelief.
They had already told them in detail how exhausted and devastated they were now. They had also mentioned that they would need to be nursed for a while to recover. Yet, such an order had still come.
“Aren’t they crazy?”
“How can they issue such an order even while knowing our condition?”
The Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms protested.
Their reaction and protest was natural. Even Lee Chu-soo thought the person who issued the order must be out of their mind.
However, unlike the Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms, Lee Chu-soo couldn’t just protest. After all, she was the leader of the Blood Rakshasa group and had a duty to clearly distinguish between public and private matters.
If she simply refused the mission because she had suffered a mental blow, her standing within the Golden Heaven Society would only diminish.
‘After all, they’re not asking us to move directly. They just want us to send a few able-bodied ones to assess the situation.’
On that day, the three of them had suffered a lot both mentally and physically. However, the actual strength of the Blood Rakshasa group was not so greatly damaged.
Since there were many able-bodied members, it seemed feasible to send some of them to Duchang to understand the circumstances.
Lee Chu-soo said,
“Let’s pick ten of the able ones and send them to Duchang.”
“Sister?”
“You’re going to follow their orders?”
The Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms raised their voice in protest. However, Lee Chu-soo’s decision remained unchanged.
“We won’t be getting off the boat anyway. As long as we leave as soon as the kids we sent into Duchang return, there will be no issue.”
“Hmm!”
“We would also be able to save some face, and if we’re lucky, we might obtain some useful information which might make up a bit for our failure.”
Hearing this, Lee Chu-soo’s opinion seemed reasonable.
If they returned as is, the standing of the Blood Rakshasa group within the Golden Heaven Society would inevitably diminish. However, if they could gather even one piece of useful information, their standing could be somewhat restored.
“Alright.”
“Let’s do that.”
Eventually, the Ice and Flame Twin Blossoms agreed with her opinion.
The boat carrying the Blood Rakshasa Force docked, and ten warriors entered the chaotic Duchang.
* * *
“Hmm!”
Namgung Seol frowned slightly.
The impact she felt in her hand was quite significant.
Contrary to her expectations, Eunyo’s martial arts were not to be underestimated. Because of this, it was taking quite some time to subdue her.
Eunyo’s martial arts were like waves.
Pushed back and again, the continuous onslaught resembled waves.
She seemed to recall hearing about such martial arts once before.
“That’s right! I’ve heard stories about a sword technique resembling waves in the Xiaoleiyin Temple. That technique must be from Xiaoleiyin Temple.”
Namgung Seol finally identified the technique Eunyo was using.
It was an impressively sharp intellect.
Namgung Seol was the first person to recognize that Eunyo was from the Xiaoleiyin Temple just by looking and observing her technique.
It also meant that Namgung Seols knowledge was rich.
She hadn’t expected Eunyo to be from the Xiaoleiyin Temple nor did she anticipate Eunyo to be this strong.
Eunyo’s accomplishments were greater than she had anticipated. However, not to the extent that she posed a threat to Namgung Seol.
It wasn’t that Eunyo was weak.
She was strong.
Among her peers, there weren’t many martial artists stronger than her.
The problem was Namgung Seol.
Namgung Seol was strong.
Not just strong among her peers, but strong enough to aspire to conquer the martial world.
Born with the Namgung surname, she had mastered all the supreme sword techniques of the Heavenly Guardian Association.
Unlike Eunyo, who suddenly became strong after receiving some great technique, she was a true powerhouse, building her foundation step by step.
Her true martial arts prowess was enough to overwhelm Eunyo and then some.
“Let’s end this now.”
Namgung Seol declared with a cold voice as she brandished her sword.
Her aura transformed.
There was only one sword technique in all of heaven that could unleash power that was similar to that of an emperor.
The Emperor Sword Form.2
This legendary martial art, which had established the old Namgung family in the past, had survived through the ages and was passed down to the Heavenly Guardian Association.
Namgung Seol had thus mastered such a legendary sword technique.
But hecause she was a woman, her father had not fully imparted the Emperor Sword Form to her.
He also imposed a restriction, citing the principle of ‘not transmitting to the right person,’3 preventing her from passing it on to others.
That was one of the reasons Namgung Seol left the Heavenly Guardian Association.
Merely because she was a woman, her father and the association stifled her growth.
Despite her being far more talented and ambitious than her siblings, her father had pushed her aside simply because she was a woman.
This filled her heart with rage.
Even after traveling the world and accumulating achievements, and eventually meeting and becoming lovers with an outstanding hero like Lee Geumhan, deep resentment still lingered in her heart.
Namgung Seol poured all her anger into the Emperor Sword Form.
Boom!
A technique of a different dimension than before engulfed Eunyo.
Eunyo countered with the Seven Strikes of the Nine Demonic Wave Sword.
Crash!
The two techniques collided in mid-air, creating a massive shockwave that swept through the area.
The barely intact shrine collapsed, and the surrounding buildings suffered extensive damage.
“Kuegh!”
Eunyo was thrown into the middle of a collapsed wall, coughing up blood.
Her jaw and chest were stained red with fresh blood.
With a pale face, Eunyo had clearly sustained serious damage.
Namgung Seol approached Eunyo with her sword drawn.
Namgung Seol’s gaze then fell on Eunyo’s chest.
This was because a small booklet was peeking out from between her chest clothes.
Namgung Seol reached out with her white hand and pulled the booklet from Eunyo’s chest.
Even as she saw Namgung Seol taking the booklet, Eunyo couldn’t resist at all. She was powerless, as if her entire body had been crushed.
Namgung Seol quickly flipped through the booklet, reading it rapidly.
“Trends of martial sects near Poyang Lake? This information must be from the Hao clan.”
Namgung Seol furrowed her delicate brows deeply.
She couldn’t understand why the Hao clan, which had coldly rejected her request, would pass such high-level information to a young girl.
In any case, this gave her the excuse and justification she needed to subdue and take Eunyo and Do Yeonsan away.
With this much evidence, her lover Lee Geumhan or the Silver Lotus Society would likely not blame her too much for this disturbance.
Just as Namgung Seol was about to tell her subordinates to take the fallen Eunyo away, she felt something off.
“……”
The area was too quiet, eerily so.
It didn’t make sense to her that it would be this quiet when Do Yeonsan and her men should be fighting nearby.
“What’s going on?”
Namgung Seol turned around.
The entire street seemed to be holding its breath.
Within that silence, a black tidal wave was rushing through.
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