8 – Retribution (3)

Heukdobang’s leader, Guyangpo.

He was gritting his teeth as he watched the bloodbath unfolding in the corridor.

The appearance of a demon who had mastered demonic arts.

What did this mean?

Drip—

Cold sweat soaked the nape of his neck.

Guyangpo was a martial artist who had been born and raised within the unorthodox faction.

Just as the “jeong” of the Orthodox Sect was not jeong (正, righteous) but jeong (定, established), the “sa” of the Unorthodox Sect was not sa (邪, evil) but sa (似, similar).

Just as the Orthodox Sect did not mean a “righteous group,” the Unorthodox Sect also did not mean an “evil group.”

The only difference lay in the tendency to place relatively less importance on pretext and convention; in their reverence for martial prowess and cultivation of body and mind, the two followed the same path.

…But demons (魔) were different.

True to the literal meaning of the character, they were inhuman (人外), evil incarnate—far surpassing even the Black Path (黑道), which was considered the roughest and most inhumane among the unorthodox factions.

Whether orthodox or unorthodox, demons were public enemies (公敵) that had to be eradicated without exception.

‘Just what the hell is that bastard!? Why did he appear in Heukdobang of all places!’

When he first saw the attacker’s face, Guyangpo had thought he was a master from the Orthodox Sect.

‘If not some orthodox bastard drunk on his own sense of justice, who else would do something like this?’

Seeing him cut off the heads of the Heukdo Sageol and roll them in, he had thought the man was insane beyond measure—but that notion changed the moment the Jo family’s bodyguard died.

‘No matter how crazy someone is, this crosses the line. He can’t be from the Orthodox Sect. He’s Black Path. That bastard is definitely Black Path!’

But everything was wrong.

That thing was a demon (魔). A terrifying existence that ran on a completely different track from jeong (定) and sa (似).

Guyangpo thought to himself.

‘Demons are just beasts that go mad and rampage without reason. It’s no different from a wild predator coming down from the mountains. I need to flee through the back gate and send a plea for help—to Sadoryeon or the Martial Alliance, anyone.’

That was the nature of demonic arts.

At the beginning, the speed of acquisition was insanely fast, but once past the mid-stage, nine times out of ten the practitioner would become a madman.

Only by reaching the ultimate realm in the later stages could this be overcome, and the number of demons who survived long enough to reach that realm was vanishingly small.

Even if there were any, they would already be branded public enemies of the martial world, hunted down and killed in a heavenly net, or imprisoned in a brain prison.

···Puk! ···Puk! ···Puk!

The enemy was beating the Jo family’s bodyguard to death with a bone.

Tearing his gaze away from the bodyguard’s face, which had been reduced to something like minced meat, Guyangpo crept quietly toward the secret passage inside the inner chamber.

At that moment—

“…You’re Guyangpo, right?”

Something unbelievable happened.

Human words came out of the demon’s mouth.

“!?”

Guyangpo, who had been about to flee, froze as if he had seen a ghost.

‘He has…reason?’

This was astonishing.

A demon who retained his sanity.

‘If that’s the case…’

His legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

The opponent was a demon. A demon with reason.

That meant there was a strong possibility that he had already reached the ultimate realm.

‘A peak master!’

To Guyangpo, who had only just reached the threshold between second-rate and first-rate, it was a realm higher than the heavens.

Ts-ts-ts-ts-ts-ts…

The demon began to rein in his presence.

Amazingly, the dense demonic aura that had been felt until just moments ago vanished completely.

Guyangpo fell into even deeper despair.

If the opponent was strong enough to control demonic aura at will, there was no chance he could win, even if he were reborn.

He dropped to his knees before the enemy.

Then he began to beg desperately, hands and feet alike.

“Spare me! Please spare my life! I’ll do anything!”

Chui was suppressing the demonic aura through the breathing technique of the Miao tribe.

As he absorbed the pure energy of the air and stored it in his dantian, the acrid energy that had raged like a storm gradually settled.

Ts-ts-ts-ts…

The Jo family’s bodyguard he had just killed became a changgui and latched onto Chui.

[Do… ryeon… nim…]

The karma of slaughter clung to the soul, and as a result, the foundation of Changguiching grew even deeper.

After absorbing another powerful changgui following the Heukdo Sageol, Chui’s realm rose once more.

In one leap, Chui reached the fourth level of the Gulgak stage.

In his previous life, it had taken over a year to reach this level.

Just then—

“S-spare me!”

Guyangpo, the leader of Heukdobang, kowtowed deeply.

“Please spare my life! I’ll do anything!”

Though trembling violently, he continued speaking stubbornly.

“T-today is the day I offer tribute money to Sadoryeon. If something goes wrong, I’ll just die like a fly—but I worry that something troublesome might happen to a distinguished person like yourself!”

In short, he was implying that he was under Sadoryeon’s protection, and that killing him recklessly would bring consequences.

Chui hesitated for a moment.

It felt like the other party was misunderstanding something about Chui’s level of martial arts, and if he used this opportunity well, things might go much more easily than expected.

Chui spoke briefly.

“Abolish your own martial arts.”

“Y-yes? Abolish my martial arts?”

“If you don’t want to, then die.”

“….”

Guyangpo clenched his teeth.

If he destroyed his own dantian and abolished his martial arts, he would become a cripple.

That was no different from a death sentence anyway, so he might as well struggle once.

At that very moment—

Shiver—

A chilling sensation crept over the back of Guyangpo’s head as he lay prostrate.

As he hurriedly tried to retreat—

Crack!

Chui’s bone grazed Guyangpo’s head.

“Ugh!?”

Having been frightened and lying face-down, he had allowed the attack.

Blood poured down Guyangpo’s face as he staggered backward.

Chui was walking slowly toward him.

Guyangpo spat out through clenched teeth.

“You bastard! You’re not a peak master! At best, you’re just some second-rate martial artist—how dare you!”

In an instant, he gauged the opponent’s depth.

“What kind of trickery did you use to deceive me!”

“….”

Chui merely smirked.

Whoom—

The bone swung.

A dark red aura seeped out through the bone, spreading into the air.

“Kuhk! Khk! W-what is this!?”

Guyangpo coughed repeatedly after inhaling the red aura spreading through the air.

His eyes stung, his mouth burned.

For some reason, the inner energy flowing within his body felt turbid and corrupted.

[Kikikikikikik…]

[Die… you die too…]

[Come with us… Bangju…]

On top of that, familiar laughter echoed endlessly by his ears.

The voices of dead Heukdobang members.

“U-uaaa… uaaaaaah!”

Guyangpo drew the saber from his waist and swung it wildly.

But the ghosts of the dead Heukdobang members continued to circle around his body.

Suddenly—

Ping—

Guyangpo’s body swayed.

Blood was streaming from the back of his head, where he had been struck by the bone earlier.

It seemed he had been hit in a bad spot.

“T-this…”

Strength gradually drained from his fingertips.

The sword in his hand began to feel heavier and heavier.

A dense shadow fell over the staggering Guyangpo.

“If it were normal circumstances, killing you might have been a bit difficult.”

Chui nodded at the staggering Guyangpo.

Originally, Guyangpo was a martial artist standing right before the first-rate realm.

If he had resolved himself and focused solely on defense, it could have become quite troublesome even for Chui.

But because the man had misunderstood things on his own and flailed about in confusion, the situation had become much easier.

Gurururuk!

The Heukdo Sageol and the Jo family’s bodyguard became changgui and assisted Chui.

The specters of the strong were like supreme elixirs that deepened inner energy even further.

Chui gripped the bone tightly.

Then he swung it straight toward Guyangpo.

Guyangpo hurriedly tried to dodge it, but—

···Crack!

He narrowly gave up his elbow.

“Ugh!”

The elbow brushed by the bone was instantly pulverized.

Ignoring the arm dangling uselessly below, Guyangpo thrust his sword straight forward.

But Chui bent his waist with an eerie movement that did not seem human and evaded the attack.

“What!?”

Guyangpo shouted in shock, but it was already too late.

Chui was accustomed not to formal duels of technique against technique, but to massive, chaotic melees.

Not just swinging blades, but flying arrows, fallen enemies on the ground, scattering body fragments, exploding gunpowder, fire, blood, dust, mud, and dying screams—surviving amid all those variables.

He knew how to take an enemy’s life at any moment, from any posture, regardless of the trajectory human expectations followed.

‘This bastard isn’t just some second-rate martial artist. A highly trained assassin? No, then what…?’

Too free to belong to any sect.

Too disciplined in movement to be a mere wanderer.

Too straightforward to be an assassin.

And on top of that, demonic aura?

But Guyangpo’s thoughts did not reach their conclusion.

Whoom—

Chui threw his body into the air and hurled the bone forward.

Like a harpoon, the bone shot out, shattering both of Guyangpo’s clavicles and smashing his Adam’s apple.

“Keh—hek!”

Guyangpo flailed, clutching his broken clavicles with one hand.

As he did, his exposed torso took another blow from Chui’s bone.

Crunch!

This time, it was his side.

Guyangpo vomited everything in his stomach and collapsed.

Chui’s bone hung loosely before him.

At that moment—

“Ugh! Uuugh!”

Guyangpo began waving his hands frantically.

“S-spare me, Great Hero! Please, just my life—”

He began to beg, tears and snot streaming down his face.

It was an even more abject display than before.

If the people of Naesong County knew that the mighty leader of Heukdobang was showing such an appearance, they would all faint in shock.

At least within Naesong County, he was no different from a King of Hell holding the power of life and death over countless commoners.

But—

“Bring me the map of the Jo family’s manor.”

Before Chui, he was nothing more than a bug that could be crushed at any moment.

“T-the Jo family? Understood! I’ll bring it right away!”

Guyangpo crawled like a dog into the inner chamber and soon returned, presenting a large map to Chui.

Chui tucked the map into his clothes and asked,

“Did you lend money to Hojeongmun?”

“Y-yes? Hojeongmun?”

“Did you or not?”

“I-I did! I have the bond documents!”

“Where.”

After trembling for a moment, Guyangpo looked toward one of the drawers inside the inner chamber.

···Kwa-kang!

Chui smashed the drawer with the bone.

Then he took out all the debt contracts, slave documents, ledgers, and the like.

Guyangpo knelt there, blood and cold sweat dripping down.

“G-great hero. If you spare my life, I’ll reward you greatly—”

“How many were there?”

“Pardon?”

Guyangpo raised his head with a puzzled expression.

Chui asked him,

“People who begged for their lives in front of you like this. How many were there?”

“G-great hero… please…”

Guyangpo lowered his head as if he were about to cry.

But Chui merely looked through the ledgers in his hands with an indifferent expression.

“You kidnapped freeborn women from other cities, raped them, sold them to brothels, extorted their earnings, and used that money to grow Heukdobang. You also quietly saddled Hojil Escort Agency with plenty of debt—under borrowed names.”

“H-Heukdo all do things like that. I’m just a lackey…”

Guyangpo couldn’t finish his sentence.

Chui brought the bone down repeatedly.

Crack—crunch! Crack! Smash!

Both of Guyangpo’s knees shattered, and his hands were crushed as well.

“Aaaaaaagh!”

He rolled on the floor in a miserable state.

Chui kicked over the brazier nearby and burned all the ledgers and documents.

The fire consumed the documents and grew, setting the entire inner chamber ablaze.

“This should ease the resentment of the Hojil Escort Agency’s escorts a little.”

At the mention of Hojil Escort Agency, Guyangpo’s eyes widened.

Chui leaned his face close to him.

“Now it’s time to avenge my brother.”

Chui raised the bone high and brought it down on Guyangpo’s head.

Crack!

The long corridor split into two.

So did Guyangpo’s skull.

“….”

Chui leaned out the corridor window and looked at the Heukdobang members climbing up toward him.

At a glance, there were nearly a hundred of them.

It was a number difficult to handle for Chui, exhausted from fighting his way this far.

But—

Ts-ts-ts-ts-ts-ts…

From the blood-soaked floor, a new specter rose.

Guyangpo. The former master of Heukdobang, freshly turned into a changgui, became Chui’s new power.

···Rip!

Something tore inside his dantian, and the amount of inner energy surged.

This was the true power of the demonic art Changguiching (倀鬼稱), which absorbed the strong and bound them as changgui.

Step—step—step—

Holding the bone, Chui slowly descended the stairs.

Below, the remnants of Heukdobang could be heard climbing up.

“Tonight will be a long night.”

It seemed he would be able to work his body thoroughly.

 

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