Chapter 150
KRAAAASH!
In an instant, the main gate of the Sunwoo clan exploded outward, shattering like a bomb had gone off.
From beyond the broken gate, a towering monk stepped in slowly, a cold, sinister smile curling on his lips.
It was none other than Chuk Hotak, the supreme Madouin of the Enma Blood Sect.
Surveying the scene inside the gate, his expression flickered with mild surprise as he spoke.
“Oh? They’ve all crawled out already. Seems their training’s been quite thorough.”
And indeed, just as he said, Sunwoo Joong, the clan elders, and the warriors of Shin Eungdae were all assembled on the parade ground, fully armed and armored.
Except for the fourth son, Sunwoo Gi, who had taken the women to hide in the Seogi Hall, nearly every martial artist of the Sunwoo clan was present.
Considering Chuk Hotak had just dispatched the gate guards and entered at a measured pace, their rapid response was impressive.
Yet, Chuk Hotak showed no sign of feeling threatened.
Instead, a pleased smile spread across his face as he said,
“So you must be Sunwoo Joong. Thanks for making this easy for me by coming out. But since you’re here, how about just dying quietly? Then I won’t have to kill any of the other Sunwoo warriors.”
His words were chilling.
He implied that while a few deaths were acceptable, Sunwoo Joong’s death was a foregone conclusion.
Sunwoo Joong met his gaze with a solemn expression.
“The warriors of the Sunwoo clan do not betray their loyalty out of fear of death.”
Chuk Hotak clicked his tongue and nodded.
“Tsk, tsk. So you’re ready to drink the bitter cup after all. Have you heard? Looks like we’ll have to open the killing ground today.”
At that moment, seven more Madouin appeared behind him.
They grinned greedily as they spoke.
“We’re more than ready, Elder Blood Sect Master.”
“We’ve been waiting for this, kehehe!”
“Elder, may we run wild as we please?”
Sunwoo Joong swallowed hard, unseen by the others.
All eight of these Madouin were clearly top-tier masters.
Within the Sunwoo clan, only the chief elder and himself were considered supreme experts.
Especially the one standing at the front—he gave off a bad feeling. That figure matched the rumors of Chuk Hotak, the Enma Blood Sect’s ultimate master.
If that was truly Chuk Hotak, then these Madouin were beyond what they could handle alone.
Tension dried Sunwoo Joong’s mouth to dust.
Chuk Hotak scolded the Madouin behind him.
“Didn’t you hear the young master’s orders? We must leave some for puppets to use. Kill the clan head Sunwoo Joong, but spare as many of the rest as possible. Understood?”
The Madouin bowed respectfully, hiding their displeasure.
“Yes, Elder Blood Sect Master.”
Satisfied with their obedience, Chuk Hotak turned his gaze back to Sunwoo Joong.
“Now, bring me his head.”
“Yes! Elder Blood Sect Master!”
“Understood!”
At once, the seven Madouin charged forward, all aiming for Sunwoo Joong.
“Ha ha ha ha ha!”
“Die!”
“Kiyaaah!”
I was running as if I had become the wind itself.
The scenery flashed past so fast it felt like a world apart from mine.
At some point, the landscape seemed to separate from me, as if I was no longer part of this world, and even the sounds faded into a strange silence.
The distance from Gaeyang to Guiyang wasn’t far.
At this speed, it would take less than half a shijin.
Yet, my heart grew more restless with every passing moment. Even that short time felt unbearably long.
I had anticipated the enemy might try to strike the Sunwoo clan while I was away.
I had prepared for it.
Still, the unease wouldn’t leave me.
I didn’t know how large the enemy force would be.
If they exceeded my expectations, in the worst case, I could lose my father even in this life.
I gritted my teeth.
“Never!”
Only now had I begun to understand my father, only now had I felt warmth in the word family—I could never lose him again.
“Huuuu!”
I took a deep breath, shaking off my impatience and distracting thoughts.
It was clear that such feelings wouldn’t help me now.
Better to empty my mind and focus.
I decided to think of only one thing: to become the wind itself.
Suddenly, my mind cleared, and my body felt lighter, as if I were dissolving into the air.
At nearly the same time, at the Sunwoo clan estate.
Seven Madouin, each having reached the pinnacle of their art, charged like a storm toward the clan’s warriors.
Sunwoo Joong gritted his teeth and shouted,
“Sunwoo warriors, do not retreat!”
“Yes!”
Sunwoo Joong, the elders, Shin Eungdae’s leader, and the others all raised their swords in unison, resolute.
Though the enemy—one supreme Madouin and seven peak masters—far outmatched them, none showed fear.
Their eyes burned with the fierce light of those prepared to die.
Then, suddenly, a sound drifted through the air.
Kiiiiiiiiiing.
A thin, mournful string note.
Though not loud, the sorrowful melody pierced every ear clearly.
The Madouin of the Blood Sect, charging forward, halted instinctively, drawn to the mysterious sound.
It was an unconscious, natural reaction.
The smile vanished from Chuk Hotak’s face.
He muttered in surprise,
“That’s… an erhu? No way…!”
He scanned the area, searching for the source of the music.
Soon, he spotted a beautiful woman dressed in white, sitting atop the side wall of the Sunwoo estate, playing the erhu with a bow on a large, hammer-like resonator.
Chuk Hotak’s voice rose in anger as he called out,
“So Nan-so! You’ve been hiding here all along!”
The woman stopped playing, leapt down from the wall, and smiled brightly.
“Hiding? No, not at all. I just happened to pass by and caught a nasty smell, so I came to check it out.”
She floated toward them like a dancer, continuing,
“You know I like things clean, right? I tried to avoid it, but honestly, I couldn’t just ignore it. If I didn’t clear that stench away quickly, others would smell it too. So I made up my mind to come. And look! Here we are, meeting like this. Isn’t it surprising?”
Her voice was like a song itself.
Her clear, lilting tone captivated everyone, drawing them in without realizing it.
The first to snap out of it was Chuk Hotak.
Snapping to attention, he shouted,
“Get away! That woman is a Nanhon Witch…!”
Then, as she approached with her dancing steps and singing voice, she suddenly swung the erhu she held.
The erhu was a strange instrument—its resonator looked like a small drum with a long handle, almost like a giant hammer.
But when she infused it with her inner energy and swung it, it became a true battle hammer.
Whoooosh!
Crack!
The energy-charged hammer struck like lightning, and one Madouin’s head exploded instantly.
It happened so fast no one could react.
But the Nanhon Witch didn’t stop there.
She also wielded the bow used to play the erhu’s strings.
When she channeled her energy into the bow and string, it transformed into a sharp blade.
The crimson energy-laden sword slashed like a lightning strike.
Shing!
Fwoosh!
Two more Madouin fell in an instant.
Only then did the others regain their senses, shocked.
But by then, she was already too close.
The Nanhon Witch So Nan-so didn’t relent.
With one hand, she swung the erhu at another Madouin’s head, and with the other, she slashed another’s neck with the bow blade.
She aimed to reduce their numbers before they could fully recover.
But at that moment, a massive wheel spun fiercely, crashing down on So Nan-so.
Wheeeeee!
“Tch!”
She stopped attacking and used the erhu and bow to block the blow.
Clang!
The impact bounced her back several steps.
Meanwhile, the five remaining Madouin recovered and cautiously retreated, wary of her.
So Nan-so clicked her tongue in frustration.
She should have taken out more of them.
Reducing only two wouldn’t be enough.
She silently regretted her interference.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have meddled after all.’
At that moment, Chuk Hotak retrieved the massive wheel and approached slowly.
“Disobedient heretic So Nan-so, who ignored the Supreme’s orders to play at the Haowon Festival in Guizhou City, I searched long and hard to find where you were hiding. So this is why the Sunwoo clan suddenly started acting unpredictably.”
So Nan-so let out a bitter laugh.
It was true she had defied the Blood Demon’s command.
The Blood Demon’s orders were to establish an advanced base in Guizhou City and gradually take over the Guizhou martial arts world. But she had only focused on taking control of the Hao Sect in Guizhou and dedicating herself to helping orphans, courtesans, and the poor.
However, the place where she was hiding wasn’t the Sunwoo family estate.
It was the Guizhou branch of the Hao Sect.
Because of her childhood friendship with Noh Sam-ryong, the branch chief in exile, he had been sheltering her.
So, the fact that Noh Sam-ryong hadn’t been very cooperative with So Nan-so, the Hao Sect leader, was actually just a ruse to deceive others.
So Nan-so had asked him to act that way, thinking ahead to the future.
Despite being over forty, So Nan-so still looked like a beautiful woman in her early thirties. She smiled brightly and replied teasingly.
“I already told you I came because I smelled something foul passing by. Are you really that slow? Or is it because you don’t have any hair? Oh, right. You pretend to be a monk just to hide your baldness, don’t you?”
So Nan-so’s sly taunt made Yeomra Blood Saint Chuk Ho-tak’s expression twist slightly.
“…You’re still the kind of woman I want to tear apart. Well, that’s good. Now I can kill you with my own hands here.”
Surprised, So Nan-so responded with a smirk.
“Oh? You? Me? Have you gotten any better? Though judging by your bald head, I doubt it… Well, fine. Come on then. Let this big sister see how much you’ve improved after all this time.”
So Nan-so was deliberately provoking Chuk Ho-tak, trying to make him angry enough to face her one-on-one.
The martial skills of the Wild Witch So Nan-so and Yeomra Blood Saint Chuk Ho-tak were nearly equal.
If they fought alone, she might have a slight chance.
But if even one other Blood Demon joined in, the situation would be hopeless.
That was why she was trying so hard to provoke him. But when she saw the cold, sly smile on Chuk Ho-tak’s face, she immediately realized she had failed.
“Heh heh heh heh. Pathetic, So Nan-so. Unless you’re dealing with some fool like Noh Jo-song, do you really think this Yeomra Blood Saint would fall for your tricks?”
At his words, the smile finally vanished from So Nan-so’s face.
He was right.
Among the Blood Demons, Chuk Ho-tak was one of the rare cunning ones who actually used his head.
Chuk Ho-tak shouted to the other Blood Demons.
“Everyone, attack her all at once! Don’t let your guard down!”
“Yes, Elder Blood Saint!”
Watching them ready to charge at any moment, So Nan-so gave a bitter smile.
It seemed she had failed after all.
Not only had she failed to protect the Sunwoo family, but her own whereabouts had been exposed. It couldn’t have been a worse outcome.
‘I should’ve listened to Sam-ryong when he told me not to come.’
Coming here had been a reckless impulse.
She had acted on the information that Yeomra Blood Saint was heading toward the Sunwoo estate, where Sunwoo Jin was absent.
Probably because she was so frustrated.
Her situation—always hiding, forced to keep hiding forever—was suffocating.
As a famous Blood Demon, she was already on the righteous sects’ wanted list for her crimes.
Now, even the Blood Demons themselves were hunting her.
She had nowhere left to go in the martial world. It was a truly desperate situation.
‘A complete bat, living hidden away in a cave.’
For her, the only joy was hearing from Noh Sam-ryong about Sunwoo Jin’s movements.
Watching him deal with the family’s enemies and get back at the Blood Demons gave her a vicarious thrill.
That was probably why she wanted to protect him.
He was the family she had lost long ago, and his happiness was hers to cherish.
So Nan-so chuckled softly.
‘I got too caught up in it.’
Of course, she could still run away and survive.
She couldn’t stay at the Hao Sect’s Guizhou branch forever, but with her top-tier skills, she wouldn’t fail at escaping.
Yet she chose not to.
She thought ending her miserable life of hiding in a cave wasn’t such a bad idea.
‘Alright, let’s burn it all down!’
Just as she ignited her fighting spirit, Sunwoo Jung approached from behind and spoke.
“Thank you for your help, Hao Sect Leader. Let us fight together.”
She was startled.
She hadn’t expected those words at all.
Flustered, she replied, “W-wait, but I’m with the Blood Demons…”
Sunwoo Jung cut her off.
“I’ve heard from my son how devoted you’ve been to helping orphans and the poor. I’ve wanted to meet you for some time, and now here we are.”
So Nan-so stared at Sunwoo Jung in stunned silence.
The dignified man smiled warmly back at her.
He must have overheard their earlier conversation, so there was no way he didn’t know she was the Wild Witch of the Blood Demons.
And the Wild Witch was far too infamous among the martial world to be unknown.
So Sunwoo Jung’s intention was probably to acknowledge her identity but keep it quiet.
She never imagined she’d hear such words from someone of the righteous sect.
After a moment of dazed silence, So Nan-so smiled brightly and said,
“Your son takes after his father. Very well. Let’s fight together.”
Somehow, she felt a surge of strength.
Sunwoo Jung called out to the Sunwoo family warriors.
“Sunwoo family warriors, draw your swords! Let us strike them down alongside the Hao Sect Leader!”
“Waaah!”
Watching this, Chuk Ho-tak, who had been observing with disdain, shouted as well.
“Attack! Do not let Sunwoo Jung or So Nan-so live!”