CH 123

The shoulders of the black figure trembled. 

A hoarse voice came out of what was assumed to be his mouth.

“You ruined my work.”

Tseuu!

The black clothing wrapped around Heukam’s body was removed one by one, and soon his true form was revealed. His physique looked normal. It was his face that was not in any way ordinary.

He checks all the features of an ugly man, an upturned nose that points up the sky, crooked teeth, small and turbid eyes. His face was so ugly that it would make anyone turn their heads away once they saw him. 

This was also the reason why everyone who saw him as a young child called him a monster and tried to beat him up. The trauma he endured from his childhood made him even more withdrawn.

If he had not been taken by the Xiaoleiyin Temple’s Hyeolbul, he would have lost his life immediately.

But after entering the Xiaoleiyin Temple, he found out what it means to have an amazing talent. 

He was born with a rare eye that captures the mind of the viewer, called the Demon Eye.1

It’s just that he’s still young and his power was weak back then so it took him a long time before he can use it properly.

Hyeolbul of the Xiaoleiyin Temple maximized the talent of Heukam by training him. As a result, his power grew stronger. But there were also drawbacks that he could not be overcome.

One of which is that it takes a long time for him to subdue the opponent’s mind. It was only possible after the opponent was completely incapacitated.

So to overcome this fatal shortcoming, Heukam studied how to combine cursed poison and herbs. He was especially passionate about cursed poison, which was nothing more than a small bug.

He kept countless insects trapped in one place. As the insects devoured each other, only the strongest insect ended up surviving. 

The last insect to survive managed to develop a strange property, which is the ability to control the human mind by becoming a parasite. 

However, it was not possible to completely control the human mind. The insect only had a small influence. Since it was only to a small extent, the insect could not have had much of a significant effect on the general public, more so to a warrior who had strong mental power. 

However, when combined with his Demon Eye, the story changes. Its power is amplified not just by a couple of times, but by several dozen times.

Heukam also found the herbs that could affect a person’s mind which made the best combination. 

Heukam had an innate talent. He managed to create a combination that other people could not find even if they thought about it for years. 

Heukam named the medicine Dream Dispersing Drug.2

The combination of his white eyes, cursed poison and the dream dispersing drug gave Heukam wings. It allowed him to control and manipulate the minds of others.

Heukam used his talents to eliminate the enemies of the Xiaoleiyin Temple.

He mainly infiltrated the enemy camp and induced rebellion by controlling the minds of the people inside. He instilled distrust in each other and instigated madness, causing their self-destruction.

That’s why he got the nickname, the harbinger of chaos.

Wherever he passed, only chaos, fear, and distrust remained. In a way, Heukam was worse than a warrior who had mastered martial arts to the highest level. 

Heukam has never failed a mission before.

At least until yesterday. 

So today, his splendid history is tainted.

The fearless bastards who broke into the Qingcheng sect out of nowhere fatally hurt his pride.

Heukam caressed his side. Blood was oozing from the wound caused by Jin Geum-woo’s sword. No matter how hard he tried to stop the wound from bleeding, it was so severe that blood still keeps on oozing out.

Had it been cut a little deeper, he would have died without fighting back.

“That bastard!”

Heukam burst in anger towards Jin Geum-woo.

He shuffled along and walked away.

A huge city appeared in front of him.

Chengdu.

The center of Sichuan.

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The warriors of the Qingcheng sect sat on the floor, exhausted. There were countless dead bodies scattered around them.

Muhwajin looked around with a despondent expression. The Thunder Clan, High Sky sect, and Jinseong sect warriors were down on their knees.

Jin Geum-woo’s party and the Qingcheng disciples first killed those whose minds were controlled by Heukam.

When those who instigated and commanded disappeared, the rest of the warriors surrendered themselves. They too had no choice but to follow orders, so they lost the will to fight when their central figure disappeared.

They all abandoned their weapons and waited for the decision of the Qingcheng sect.

Muhwajin’s eyes turned to the bodies of the Qingcheng disciples. The bodies of the Qingcheng disciples were horribly mutilated.

Heukam placed a particularly strong mental control on the Qingcheng disciples. Because of that, they rushed in without the fear of getting hurt. The scars left on their bodies were devastating.

“How could this possibly happen?”

Muhwajin couldn’t believe the terrible reality.

It was like having a nightmare.

When he closed his eyes and opened them, he thought that it would be nice if everything that had happened so far was just a dream. But no matter how much he closed and opened his eyes, the reality in front of him did not change. 

The gruesome scene unfolding before his eyes was not a dream but a clear reality.

“Senior brother, all the bodies have been sorted out. First aid for the wounded has alsobeen completed.”

A great disciple approached and reported.

Muhwajin nodded his head weakly.

“Yes. It must have been hard on you.”

Since the sect leader, Muryeongjin was seriously injured, Muhwajin had to lead the Qingcheng sect until he recovered. Muhwajin found it difficult to breathe under the formidable pressure. 

However, he didn’t show a sign of weakness.

All of the Qingcheng disciples were looking at him.

Muhwajinin got up from his seat and approached Jin Geum-woo and his party who was standing at one side.

“Thank you for helping us. The Qingcheng sect and I will never forget your kindness.”

“We are not expecting anything in return.”

At Jin Geum-woo’s calm answer, Muhwajin shook his head.

“How could that be? I will definitely repay this favor later.”

“More than that, do you know who manipulated their minds?”

“I have no idea. But is what you said true? Was it really cursed poison?”

“I confirmed it with my own eyes. In the blood shed by one of the disciples of Qingcheng sect, there was a worm so small that it was difficult to distinguish it with the naked eye. Their behavior can’t be explained other than because of cursed poison.”

Jin Geum-woo took Muhwajin to the body of another Qingcheng disciple. The chosen disciple was also suppressed by Heukam and attacked his colleagues. He also vomited blood and died, and likewise cursed poison was found.

Muhwajin confirmed the cursed poison by concentrating his inner qi on his eyes.

“Oh my god! It truly is a mind-controlling cursed poison!”

He mumbled in disbelief.

There were also different kinds of cursed poison. But he had never heard of cursed poison that had such a direct effect on the mind.

Jin Geum-woo burned the cursed poison with fire and said,

“Your opponent is a monster that is capable of manipulating the human mind at will. If you miss him, there will be no end to the repercussions. We must immediately hunt him down and eliminate him.”

“Do we even know of his identity?”

“Isn’t there someone who knows?”

Jin Geum-woo’s body turned towards the members of the Thunder Clan.

Among the three groups that attacked the Qingcheng sect, the Thunder Clan suffered the most damage.

Probably because they were the one who led the attack, the warriors of the Qingcheng sect responded and attacked them with vigor. So while some of the members of the Thunder Clan are still alive, they are not in a very good condition.

Jin Geum-woo approached one of them.

“Tell me about the person who was here earlier.”

“Ugh! I don’t know anything!”

Wu Jinghua, who was the new sect leader of the Thunder Clan, lost his life during the fierce battle. 

Those who were still alive did not know the truth behind the matter because they were only at the bottom of the Thunder Clan hierarchy. Furthermore, among the few warriors who went to the Xiaoleiyin Temple, all of them died.

Jin Geum-woo pressed the Thunder Clan disciple.

“You really don’t know?”

“I really–”

“This is the last time. I won’t ask you again.”

There was a dark gleam in Jin Geum-woo’s eyes. His appearance seemed to be too ruthless to be a member of a righteous sect.

The Thunder Clan disciple swallowed dry saliva.

“Ah! Come to think of it, I heard that the top members have visited Xizang.”

“Xizang?”

“Yeah! I heard that they went to ask for support, but I don’t know the exact details of the situation itself.”

“Is that really true?”

“Not only me, but others have heard about it too, so I’m pretty sure.”

Jin Geum-woo got up from his seat and looked at Muhwajin.

“If it’s Xizang— then maybe?”

“The Xiaoleiyin Temple, which can be said to be the origin of the Thunder Clan, is in Xizang.”

“Hmm. If you say that, there’s a high probability that the black figure is a Xiaoleiyin Temple warrior.”

“I heard that all kinds of strange magic exist in the Xiaoleiyin Temple.”

Muhwajin’s voice sank.

If it is true that the Xiaoleiyin Temple intervened, it would no longer be an ordinary case.

“First of all, it is urgent to confirm if the black figure is really one of Xiaoleiyin Temple’s warriors. That way, we can ask for cooperation from other factions.”

“Yeah, but now your sect can’t afford to fight them. As you can see, even your remaining power has been severely damaged. I don’t know how long it will take for you to recover.”

“Mister Jin?”

“I’m sorry. Our group will skip this one.”

A devastated expression appeared on Muhwajin’s face.

In the past, he would have insisted that the sect would take revenge immediately. But now the foundation of the Qingcheng sect is shaking.

Their sect lost too many disciples in a short time. In their current state, it was already difficult to survive, let alone take revenge.

He had to make a decision. And his decision would be the beacon of the Qingcheng sect disciples. 

As it was in the past, there was no other way but to build up their strength again after going into isolation and closing their doors.

They had to face the humiliation once again, but Muhwajin had no other choice.

‘I swear. If we persevere and endure, once we regain our strength, the day will surely come when we will repay them for today’s humiliation.’

Jin Geum-woo and his colleagues looked at Muhwajin with sad eyes. It was because the agonizing decision of the Muhwajin people was understandable.

The Qingcheng sect had no choice but to worry about their survival for now rather than regaining their injured pride.

“It is said that revenge of a man is never too late, even if it takes ten years. In that case, the revenge of the Qingcheng sect will not be too late even if it takes a hundred years. We must focus on restoring the former glory of the sect within the next hundred years before thinking of repaying this disgrace.”

“If it is Mister Muhwajin’s choice, then there is nothing we can do. I wish for the successful reconstruction of the Qingcheng sect.”

“Thank you! If it is possible, I want us to go inside and give you a warm meal, but as you can see, with our situation… I hope you understand.”

“I understand.”

“Thank you! Then I wish you good luck as you go down the mountain.”

“I’ll also pray for the prosperity of the Qingcheng sect. Well then–”

Jin Geum-woo turned his back on Muhwajin after saying his farewells and good wishes. Neung Soun and Won Ga-young quickly gathered next to him.

Jin Geum-woo said to them,

“Track him down. We must catch him at all costs.”

“It’s been a long time since he ran away, will we be able to catch him?”

“He was wounded by my sword, it’s a pretty deep wound that an average doctor can’t treat. I’m sure he will go to a reputable or famous doctor.” 

“If it’s a famous physician there’s a good chance he’ll be in Chengdu.”

Chengdu is the center of Sichuan, where all kinds of objects and people gather. There are a lot of patients, and clinics. As such, there is a high probability that he was receiving treatment in Jaseongdo, which he suffered from.”

“We should also contact the Hao clan for help. If they can help us, it will be easier to catch him.”

“I see. Then I will be in touch with the Hao clan.”

Jin Geum-woo nodded at Neung Soun’s answer.

Won Ga-young, who was listening to their conversation, said,

“I’ll tell So-ha and Mister Yu Shinfeng about the situation and ask for their cooperation. If it’s Mister Yu Shinfeng, I’m sure he’ll definitely be happy to help us.”

“Okay, do that.”

Jin Geum-woo nodded his head with a heavy expression.

Neung Soun looked at Jin Geum-woo silently for a moment.

He wanted to stop Jin Geum-woo. No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t seem like they would benefit much from this case. 

However, he knows Jin Geum-woo’s personality.

He knew him better than anyone.

Jin Geum-woo had a firm belief. A strong belief that those with power must do righteous acts.

Some people ridiculed him for being old-fashioned, and others said he was too upright and boring.

Neung Soun also thought that Jin Geum-woo was being foolish. With a little more flexibility, he would have built a reputation much faster than he is right now and climbed to a higher place. 

But this foolish friend of his honestly pushed his belief straightforwardly without any compromise.

Yet, he fell in love with Jin Geum-woo nonetheless which was why he followed him.

To Neung Soun, Jin Geum-woo is like the sun. He shines brightly on its own while illuminating his surroundings.

As far as Neung Soun knew, there were only a few people like him in Jianghu.

This time too, Jin Geum-woo is choosing to go down a difficult path. Even if he turned away, no one would say anything, but he was trying to walk a hard and arduous road.

Neung Soun stood next to Jin Geum-woo, who had blood on his clothes.

‘At least you won’t be walking the arduous road alone. Since I’ll always be with you.’

Hope you enjoyed the chapter~