Chapter 195: The Demonic Master Caught in a Trap (2)

The Demonic Master had no intention of letting Eum Sajeok live.

Until now, he had submitted to the man because of his daughter, but with his daughter now rescued, there was no longer any reason to do so.

However, Eum Sajeok smiled faintly and spoke to Deung Hwaun.

"Drink the medicine."

Deung Hwaun couldn’t make sense of the situation, but she couldn’t imagine that the jade bottle he handed over would contain poison.

As soon as she drank the medicine, a sudden surge boiled up from the area around her dantian.

"Urgh! This is…!"

Her dantian suddenly turned scorching hot, her true qi churned violently, and her mind grew hazy.

But the exact same phenomenon was happening to the Demonic Master.

"Urgh!"

It felt as though a ball of fire was writhing inside his dantian.

On top of that, his true qi was breaking apart strand by strand, and his body trembled so violently that he could barely keep it still.

Watching the two of them in that state, Eum Sajeok suddenly burst into thunderous laughter.

"Uwahahahahaha!"

"You bastard!"

The Demonic Master drew his sword and charged toward Eum Sajeok, but he was soon subdued by the warriors of the Blood Heaven Ghost Demon Unit.

Unable to use true qi, he could only resist a few times before collapsing to the ground.

"I wasn’t underestimating you. It was you who underestimated me. I held you in such high regard that I even placed a forbidden restriction on you, didn’t I?"

Deung Hwaun struggled to even breathe under the pain that felt as if a branding iron was searing into her abdomen.

"Huff… What is this?"

"Does it hurt a lot? My apologies. It seems I’ve caused you unintended suffering, Madam. Have you ever heard of something called the Yin-Yang Twin Parasites?"

Deung Hwaun’s cheek twitched at those words.

"You…?"

"Ah, don’t be too angry, Madam. I’ll make sure this price is returned handsomely."

The Yin-Yang Twin Parasites were an extremely rare form of parasite poison, so rare that even after raising hundreds of them, one might not even end up with a proper pair.

The Yin-Yang Twin Parasites were capable of mutual empathy, meaning if one died, the other would follow.

Moreover, these parasites resided in the dantian, and once infected, they could not be removed unless the dantian was completely carved out—making it a deadly poison.

"Was it that time when you invited me for a meal? Was that when you fed me the Yin-Yang Twin Parasites?"

Eum Sajeok smiled gently and nodded.

"You knew that I was having an affair with the Demonic Master and used that against me? Is that why you brought me into your fold?"

Even though she knew the truth, Deung Hwaun still wanted to hear it confirmed.

"You really want to know everything, don’t you? Otherwise, would I have spent such a fortune to bring you in, just for nothing?"

A hollow laugh escaped from Deung Hwaun’s lips.

After the Blood Demon of the Self-Transmission had died and she pursued Yong Hwarin, she encountered Eum Sajeok.

He had pulled her into his faction, and at the time, lacking power, his influence had seemed attractive.

But to think the only reason he recruited her was because he already knew about her affair with the Demonic Master.

The meticulous nature of Eum Sajeok made Deung Hwaun shudder.

"Grrrrgh!"

The Demonic Master writhed in pain, collapsed on the floor.

Eum Sajeok approached him and swiftly sealed dozens of acupoints.

And he handed the other jade bottle to Deung Hwaun.

“If you drink this, the seizure from the Yin-Yang Twin Parasites will stop.”

Deung Hwaun took the jade bottle and quickly drank it.

Strangely, the pain that had felt like her intestines were being torn apart vanished as if it were a lie.

Likewise, when the pain disappeared for the Demonic Master, he sprang up and attacked Eum Sajeok.

But the Demonic Master, whose acupoints had already been sealed, couldn’t exert his strength properly and was subdued.

“Did you make me meet my daughter on purpose?”

No matter how much he thought about it, the Demonic Master couldn’t make sense of the situation.

“You’ll find out later. Let’s go.”

Just then, a figure in black, wearing a mask, appeared like smoke behind Eum Sajeok.

“The one watching this place has left.”

“Really? Then we don’t need to drag the Demonic Master to the Sky Ocean Merchant Union. That spy will deliver the news to Yong Hwarin on their own.”

Originally, Eum Sajeok had planned to capture Seok Jamyung and Seok Unjeong and lead them to the Sky Ocean Merchant Union so that the information would reach Yong Hwarin’s ears.

But now that a pursuer had witnessed this scene, there was no need.

The Demonic Master ground his teeth hard.

Only after hearing Eum Sajeok’s words did he realize this had all been a ploy.

‘What does he hope to gain by letting Yong Hwarin know that Seok Unjeong fell into his hands?’

Not knowing the details made the Demonic Master feel stifled.

And seeing his captured daughter at the same time weighed heavily on his heart.

‘Maybe staying by Yong Hwarin’s side would’ve been safer. I ended up putting my daughter in danger because of me.’

Thinking that drove him nearly mad. The Demonic Master bit his lips until they bled.

‘I’m sorry, my daughter.’

Perhaps she would be sent to Ihwa Palace as a sacrificial lamb.

Thinking of all this made the Demonic Master go mad, and he let out a scream.

“Uaaaah! I’ll kill you, you bastard!”

Then, unable to calm his raging qi, it erupted, and he vomited blood.

“Keuk!”

“You should learn to temper that temper. That’s why you won’t live out your years.”

Hearing Eum Sajeok click his tongue, the Demonic Master lost consciousness.

“Return to the manor.”

Eum Sajeok withdrew to the manor where he had thoroughly laid his trap.

“The Demonic Master hunt is over. Now all that’s left is to hunt Yong Hwarin.”

Eum Sajeok began to hum unconsciously.

Yong Hwarin finished his morning training and was preparing to head out.

He planned to meet the Division Leader of the East Evil Division and obtain the antidote to the Jiangshi Poison.

It was something he might’ve had to wait several days for, but fortunately, the appointment was set without delay.

Had it been indefinite, Yong Hwarin had been planning to go directly to meet the East Evil Division Leader.

Judging from how the appointment was set in the morning, it seemed like an attempt to shake off any pursuers.

Namgung Yoo entered Yong Hwarin’s quarters dressed in light attire, accompanied by three guards from the Namgung Clan.

“Shall we go?”

Yong Hwarin was already fully prepared and approached Namgung Yoo.

At that moment, someone rushed toward them using movement arts.

Yong Hwarin slightly furrowed his brow.

The person looked familiar.

Gam Heum arrived at Yong Hwarin’s location and stopped.

He must have run with such urgency that his face was blackened with dust. From the Sky Ocean Merchant Union to Azure Sky Martial Arts Hall, it would take at least two hours by movement arts.

Seeing how exhausted he looked made Yong Hwarin’s heart sink.

For him to run here in such haste, Yong Hwarin feared something might have happened to Hoi Unkyung.

“What happened?”

Gam Heum moistened his dry lips and glanced at Namgung Yoo.

“It’s alright for Namgung Sojeo to hear.”

Namgung Yoo smiled faintly.

Gam Heum nodded and spoke.

“Last night, Seok Sojeo secretly left the merchant union with someone who appeared to be her father. However, Seok Sojeo’s father was caught by that bastard known as the Third Young Master, and both of them were captured.”

Yong Hwarin asked urgently.

“Who witnessed it?”

“It was Squad Leader Mu who followed them and saw it happen.”

That made the information trustworthy. It wasn’t just anyone—if Mu Iso saw it himself, it was certain.

Yong Hwarin thought the middle-aged Demonic Master must have learned that Seok Unjeong was at the Sky Ocean Merchant Union and tried to rescue her.

But to hear that his movements had been exposed to Eum Sajeok and that he was subdued—that part raised questions.

‘The middle-aged Demonic Master isn’t someone Eum Sajeok could subdue. If he was captured, it must mean some kind of forbidden restriction was used.’

With that thought, he asked again.

“Who is pursuing them?”

Gam Heum answered in a cracked voice.

“Go Ram is tailing them.”

Yong Hwarin nodded.

Gam Heum was a prodigy among the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect who especially excelled in movement arts, and Go Ram was particularly outstanding in the Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art.

Just as each of the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect had different traits, their accomplishments in the martial arts they were taught also varied.

‘If Go Ram went, at least he won’t be discovered.’

After briefly deliberating, Yong Hwarin seemed to reach a decision and spoke to Namgung Yoo.

“Ayu, I think I’ll have to go rescue Jeong Mae myself.”

Namgung Yoo looked at Yong Hwarin with a sorrowful expression.

“Seok Unjeong always thought of you as her orabeoni. I hope you’ll save her. I’ll mention you to the Division Leader when I meet him.”

“No.”

Yong Hwarin switched to telepathy.

– Let’s set the Jiangshi issue aside for now. First, when you meet the Division Leader of the East Evil Division, get the antidote for the Jiangshi Poison. Hoi Sojeo was poisoned with it.

– Ah, really? The Jiangshi Poison?

– It looks like the Jiangshi Poison was mixed with Sleeping Poison, making it a poison with altered properties. In any case, you need to ask the Division Leader of the East Evil Division for the antidote.

– Got it. I’ll be sure to get the antidote. Once I finish my meeting with the Division Leader, I’ll return to the martial arts hall. You should also come here after rescuing Seok Unjeong.

– No, it’d be better if you came to the Sky Ocean Merchant Union. If I rescue Jeong Mae, I think it’s best to go straight to the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.

Namgung Yoo agreed that it seemed like the best course of action.

– Alright. I’ll get the antidote and head to the Sky Ocean Merchant Union. Be careful.

Instead of answering, Yong Hwarin simply nodded.

“You be careful too, Ayu. Weren’t there people pursuing the Division Leader of the East Evil Division?”

“Don’t worry. The Division Leader is an incredible master.”

Gam Heum opened his mouth in surprise as Yong Hwarin and Namgung Yoo spoke informally, like friends, using plain speech.

He blinked and looked at the two, as if seeing a scene he had never even imagined before.

Yong Hwarin hurried into his quarters, grabbed water, and threw it to Gam Heum on the way out.

After drinking all the water from the gourd bottle, Gam Heum let out a long sigh.

“Did Squad Member Go Ram leave a signal behind?”

“Yes.”

“From where did he begin tracking?”

“Until I left, he was tracking from Hongjeong.”

Hongjeong was a district within Jeongju that one could reach in about half a si-jin’s worth of movement arts from here.

Upon hearing that, Yong Hwarin felt a strange sensation.

The distance between Hongjeong and Jeongju was about half a si-jin, and the distance between Hongjeong and Banggyo, where Azure Sky Martial Arts Hall was located, was also about half a si-jin.

‘If they captured Jeong Mae near the Sky Ocean Merchant Union, they should’ve waited there. Why would they have gone all the way to Hongjeong? As if waiting for me, who was at Banggyo, at the midpoint, Hongjeong.’

Yong Hwarin felt like this entire sequence of events was a setup meant to drag him in.

But that sense of suspicion wasn’t enough to stop him from going.

‘If they kidnapped Jeong Mae just to draw me in, then I need a different plan. Charging in to rescue her knowing it’s a trap would be no different from a moth flying into a flame.’

But right now, there was nowhere to request reinforcements from.

And he didn’t have the luxury of time to request aid either.

‘Let’s think of a countermeasure as I go.’

There was no time to sit around and ponder solutions.

As Yong Hwarin took the lead toward Hongjeong, Gam Heum tilted his head.

“Sect Leader, do you know where Hongjeong is?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I’ve lived in Jeongju for decades.”

As he said it, he realized he’d made a slip of the tongue.

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

Lost in thought, he had answered Gam Heum’s question carelessly.

“Hongjeong is a famous place, so of course I know where it is.”

Gam Heum, who also didn’t know much about Jeongju, let the matter pass.

“Is that so?”

Gam Heum hadn’t even given directions to Hongjeong, yet Yong Hwarin picked the exact direction and dashed off using movement arts, which struck him as strange.

As they exited the central district of Jeongju and entered the outskirts, Yong Hwarin was about to accelerate further with his movement arts.

Just then, someone infused energy into their voice and called his name from behind.

“Young Master Yong!”

A two-horse carriage was rushing toward them, and someone was hanging onto the carriage door.

Yong Hwarin stopped in his tracks.

The one who showed their face was the Tyrant Jade Blade, Shangguan Joyoung, the Young Master of the Shangguan Clan.

He hadn’t expected to run into Shangguan Joyoung in a place like this and stood there in a brief daze.

“Where are you rushing off to?”

Shangguan Joyoung spoke to Yong Hwarin with a tone far more familiar than before.

“I’m in a hurry on personal business.”

“I heard Young Master Yong was at Azure Sky Martial Arts Hall and was heading there to find you.”

“To find me?”

A woman stepped down from the carriage and spoke.

“Why else, but to invite you, Young Master Yong.”

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