Chapter 199: A Perfect Trap (1)

Yong Hwarin's expression grew solemn.

The Third Young Master Eum Sajeok was not someone to be taken lightly. He had a sharp mind, and more importantly, many capable subordinates, making him a threat to be wary of.

‘But I also have a hidden card. In some ways, it's better to move alone to deceive them. They won't be on guard.’

Yong Hwarin spoke to the two.

“You’ve done well until now. The two of you should return to the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.”

“We will accompany you, Young Master.”

“Even alone, I’m more than enough.”

When Yong Hwarin said that, the two stood firm and unmoving.

“We cannot return like this. We’ll either go back together or die here together.”

“I’m not planning on dying.”

Yong Hwarin chuckled in disbelief.

They had assumed Yong Hwarin was prepared to die because of his feelings for Seok Unjeong.

Seeing the look in their eyes, Yong Hwarin faintly smiled, realizing they had no intention of backing down.

“Knowing it’s a trap and still going there... We really must look like fools.”

Yong Hwarin spoke gravely.

“In life, there are times when you must step into a trap, even knowing it's one. This must be one of those times.”

Go Ram and Gam Heum softly smiled when someone ten years younger than them said such a thing.

It was the kind of thing an old veteran of the Jianghu would say.

“When shall we move?”

“We’ll infiltrate after sunset.”

Thanks to Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art, infiltration itself was not a problem.

But the worry lay in not knowing what kind of trap awaited them.

Yong Hwarin waited until sunset to buy time for the Blood Green Unit to arrive.

By then, surely, the Blood Green Unit would have mobilized assassins to carry out the contract.

There was a chance they might reject the request, but Yong Hwarin counted on their ties to Jong Seok and Jong Munhye—he knew they wouldn’t.

In his past life, they had gone so far as to build a power base around Jong Munhye and Jong Seok, which showed how deep their loyalty ran.

They were martial artists who operated with a kind of religious devotion, so such actions were possible.

Even their operation of the assassin group Blood Green Unit had been for the sake of finding those two.

To rebuild power around the Young Cult Leader Jong Munhye, they needed funds, and the most effective way to maintain practical combat sense while training warriors was assassination work.

Yong Hwarin also calculated that if Jong Seok and Jong Munhye knew he was regarded as a brother and elder by them, they would never overlook his request.

But that didn’t mean he could wait forever.

‘Perhaps... they’re already watching from somewhere I don’t know.’

Yong Hwarin infiltrated the manor with Gam Heum and Go Ram.

There was no need to search for Seok Unjeong or Seok Jamyung within the manor. They were tied up in the central garden.

But the scene was grotesque enough to freeze Yong Hwarin’s entire body.

The two were bound at the hands, and thick ropes were looped around their necks. Beneath their feet, which were barely supporting them, were blocks of ice.

The ice had already melted significantly, and they were standing on their toes.

The Demonic Master had lost his internal energy and even had his pressure points sealed. He was no different from a common man.

Even so, his physical strength from his martial arts remained, and Seok Unjeong was barely holding on.

Seeing that, Yong Hwarin ignored all thoughts of infiltration and moved to rescue Seok Unjeong.

Go Ram and Gam Heum had no time to stop him.

Releasing the Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art, Yong Hwarin stepped toward Seok Unjeong.

At that moment, iron arrows flew in from the opposite pavilion.

Dozens of iron arrows rained down, preventing Yong Hwarin from advancing.

A man appeared on the rooftop, his blue robes fluttering in the wind.

“If you’d been any later, they’d be dead. What took you so long?”

Eum Sajeok grinned as he welcomed Yong Hwarin.

Seok Unjeong, standing on the melting ice blocks, looked toward Yong Hwarin.

“Hwarin, o, Orabeoni. Uncle Go Ram, Uncle Gam Heum.”

Yong Hwarin stared coldly at Eum Sajeok, while Go Ram and Gam Heum’s killing intent exploded with fury.

It wasn’t Yong Hwarin who had been closest to Seok Unjeong, but the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect.

Because they had lived together like family, Seok Unjeong was like a younger sister, even a niece to them.

When in training, she prepared meals and brought water for them. She also did their laundry.

Especially during their time traveling, it was always Seok Unjeong who cooked for them. She was more than just a companion.

The Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect felt a stronger bond with Seok Unjeong than anyone else.

They cherished her so much that they even promised to introduce her to their own younger siblings, sons, or nephews once they returned to the Heavenly Central Sect. Seeing her in such a state filled them with uncontrollable rage.

“Young Master, no one here will leave alive.”

Yong Hwarin nodded at the killing intent radiating from the two.

“The ones who did this to Mae will pay the price.”

But Yong Hwarin sensed it would not be an easy fight.

Eum Sajeok was a strategist who knew how to shake his opponent’s psyche by doing something like that to Seok Unjeong.

Once the ice completely melted, Seok Unjeong and Seok Jamyung would be hanged. In the midst of the fight, the mental strain would cause distraction, inevitably exposing openings.

Just looking at Go Ram and Gam Heum made that clear.

They were not maintaining their composure but were instead consumed by rage.

If Yong Hwarin had not lived his past life, he, too, would not have been able to remain rational in this situation.

But since the opponent’s intent was all too obvious, he couldn’t fall for it and managed to regain his composure.

If he followed the enemy’s scheme, the fight would be lost before it even began.

– Use Dragon Scale Finger against them.

At Yong Hwarin’s words, Go Ram and Gam Heum snapped out of their blind impulse to charge in.

In their agitation, they had even forgotten they were carrying Large Needles.

– I will take care of the ones shooting Iron Arrows.

“I’ve made up my mind today. Someone like you doesn’t deserve to live. I’ve decided to kill you today.”

When Yong Hwarin said that while staring at Eum Sajeok, Eum Sajeok replied with a face full of mock surprise.

“Oh! That gave me such a thrill I almost pissed myself. You really know how to say what I want to hear.”

Yong Hwarin grabbed a handful of Large Needles from inside his robes and said,

“Then I’ll have to prove it with action.”

At the same time as he spoke, he launched himself toward Eum Sajeok.

His intention was to draw the Iron Arrows’ fire toward himself.

“Fire!”

Swaaahhh!

At Eum Sajeok’s command, dozens of Iron Arrows poured toward Yong Hwarin like a rainstorm.

Yong Hwarin deployed a sword barrier and swiftly launched Large Needles using Dragon Scale Finger.

“Uaargh!”

The archers on the roof, struck by the Large Needles, fell to the ground and died as their skulls cracked open.

As five or six of them died in an instant, Eum Sajeok felt a chill down his spine.

“How the hell did that bastard get this much stronger since the last time I saw him?”

Until now, he had believed no one but his Senior Brother could match him, but just seeing Yong Hwarin made him shrink, and it wounded his pride.

“But this place will be your grave.”

Muttering to himself, Eum Sajeok snapped his fingers.

The archers who had been firing Iron Arrows swapped to new arrows and launched them at Yong Hwarin.

Swwweeeeek!

They looked identical and had the same force, so Yong Hwarin didn’t even think before swatting them away.

However, the previously blunt-feeling arrows that had been deflected suddenly exploded upon striking Yong Hwarin’s sword.

They were bamboo arrows, painted black.

And the poison hidden inside the bamboo began to spread into the air, prompting Yong Hwarin to shout,

“Poison! Hold your breath!”

Since Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art’s foundation was breathing technique, he could endure about two hours without breathing.

When poisoned arrows began to rain down again, Yong Hwarin dodged instead of deflecting them.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

But it was no use. The poison arrows exploded upon hitting the ground, releasing clouds of poison mist.

As thick poison smoke filled the air, Yong Hwarin leaped into the sky.

Just as he was about to fly onto the roof to deal with the archers, a group of martial artists suddenly came flying at him from beyond the rooftop.

Yong Hwarin halted his ascent and dropped back down.

Around thirty martial artists moved through the poison mist as if it were their own bedroom, launching attacks at Yong Hwarin, Go Ram, and Gam Heum.

From the way they moved, Yong Hwarin immediately recognized their identity.

There was only one group in the entire Murim who could move and fight through poison smoke so freely.

‘They’re the martial artists of the Sword Poison Sect.’

The Sword Poison Sect was infamous for attacking opponents after filling the battlefield with poison smoke like this.

This was precisely why they weren’t acknowledged as an orthodox sect, despite not being part of the Demonic Path.

They didn’t use poison arts directly but incorporated poison into their martial arts. Because of that, the Murim sects shunned them.

The general belief in Murim was that one poison-using sect like the Tang Clan was enough.

Allowing others would only lead to an exponential rise in poison-wielding sects, which made the orthodox world uneasy.

Poison was difficult to counter, so they didn’t welcome the idea of integrating it into martial arts.

As the martial artists of the Sword Poison Sect formed a sword formation and attacked, Gam Heum and Go Ram were forced into a purely defensive stance.

The poison smoke narrowed their vision and obstructed their breathing, preventing them from exerting their full power.

Soon, once they ran out of breath, Go Ram and Gam Heum would inevitably collapse from the poison.

Fortunately, Seok Jamyung and Seok Unjeong showed no signs of poisoning, likely because they had taken antidotes.

Yong Hwarin had expected a trap, but he had not anticipated one prepared so thoroughly.

‘So this is what it means to be completely surrounded.’

Yong Hwarin had no choice but to admit he was utterly cornered.

The ice continued to melt, and Seok Jamyung and Seok Unjeong were holding themselves up by the ankles alone.

On top of that, fighting while holding his breath in the poison smoke was making him increasingly breathless.

Yong Hwarin was holding on through the breathing method of Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art, but that too would soon reach its limit.

It was only a matter of time before Go Ram and Gam Heum collapsed.

Shuk!

Go Ram’s sword sliced through the shoulder of a Sword Poison Sect martial artist, who screamed in agony.

“Kuaaaagh!”

Slick!

Then, as if the scream had been bothersome, a fellow martial artist slashed his throat.

It could be seen as an act of mercy to ease his comrade’s suffering, but to Gam Heum, it was a display of horrifying cruelty that made his skin crawl.

‘Even if I die today, I’ll drag every one of you bastards down to the underworld with me.’

Go Ram and Gam Heum resolved to die and summoned their internal strength as they charged forward.

In that moment, both of them grimaced as their breath rose to their throats. But they did not stop Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword.

Go Ram and Gam Heum unleashed the full extent of their polished Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword without reserve.

More intensely and fiercely than in any battle before, they wielded it, but in the poison smoke, only about five or six of the Sword Poison Sect were cut down.

Yong Hwarin didn’t know how many of them he had killed.

The Sword Poison Sect martial artists kept crawling in relentlessly, their numbers barely decreasing.

It felt as if the entire Sword Poison Sect had been mobilized for this place.

“Ugh… Go, Go Ram Ajusshi…”

Go Ram clenched his teeth as he glanced at Seok Unjeong calling him from the side.

The ice platform had nearly melted, and the rope was tightening around Seok Unjeong’s neck.

“Keugh, kuhuk!”

As the rope choked her windpipe, painful groans escaped from her lips.

Go Ram stopped fighting the Sword Poison Sect martial artists and turned his body to save Seok Unjeong.

At that moment, Gam Heum noticed three Sword Poison Sect martial artists closing in behind Go Ram. He leapt to intercept them, but couldn’t stop them all.

One of them slipped past Gam Heum and plunged his sword into Go Ram’s back.

“Keugh!”

Go Ram groaned and involuntarily gasped.

The poison entered his body and, in an instant, clouded his consciousness.

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