Episode 202
I decided to speak to him first.
“Excuse me, but I think you’ve got the wrong person. I’m not that Inparang you’re talking about…”
He just scoffed and abruptly shoved a piece of paper toward us.
“Wrong person? Me?”
On the paper was a portrait of a man. When Brother Jeungchil saw it, he muttered in a daze.
“…That’s the youngest, isn’t it?”
Indeed.
The man in the portrait looked exactly like me.
Even I found myself staring blankly for a moment.
Brother Jeungchil looked at me with wide eyes.
“Youngest, is your real name actually Inparang?”
I gave a bitter smile and replied.
“No, that can’t be.”
Then I tried explaining again to the warrior.
“It’s true the portrait resembles me, but I am definitely not Inparang…”
He wasn’t interested in hearing any more.
With a sinister laugh, he said,
“Heard that scoundrel was being chased from the north. As expected, it was all for nothing. To think I’d find him here. Thank you for handing yourself over, Inparang, heir of Haenam. You’ve done me a great favor.”
His words made me frown.
What did he say?
He called me an heir?
At that moment, his subordinates behind him asked,
“What about the people inside the inn?”
He answered with a cruel smile.
“What are you asking? We can’t leave any witnesses. Kill them all.”
“Yes, sir!”
Such brutality.
Words so cruel, it was hard to believe these were warriors from the righteous Hapsan faction.
Our expressions froze as we listened.
The Hapsan warriors immediately sprang into action.
Except for the three top masters leading the group, the rest of the warriors scattered around, brandishing weapons at the inn’s owner and guests.
“Die!”
“Hah!”
“Ahhh!”
“P-please, spare me!”
But they never got the chance to strike.
Whoosh!
“Argh!”
“Ahhh!”
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, those about to swing their weapons fell lifeless, felled by thrown hidden weapons.
The one who threw them was Brother Jeungchil.
In an instant, he had taken down three warriors with his hidden weapons. Then, glancing at me, he asked quietly,
“…Maybe we should have stayed still?”
I chuckled.
“No, you did well, Brother. We can’t just let people like that go.”
Slowly, Brother Seolpoong and I stood up and addressed the attackers.
“How dare so-called righteous warriors try to harm innocent people.”
“I’m certainly not Inparang, but regardless, I won’t let you live.”
The lead warrior sneered and shouted,
“So there was a trick after all. Shoot! Shoot them all!”
Shoot?
We had nothing in our hands. What was he talking about?
Then I realized immediately who he was ordering to shoot.
Pipipipipip!
Arrows rained down through every window, which had been covered to block outside view.
Whoosh!
“Fire arrows?!”
Not just ordinary arrows—fire arrows.
The warriors surrounding the inn had aimed fire arrows at us.
The flaming arrows poured in like a storm through every window, and the people inside screamed helplessly as they fell.
“Ahhh!”
“Help! Please!”
“Ahhh!”
We panicked and looked around desperately.
No matter how skilled we were, we couldn’t protect everyone from arrows raining down from all sides.
Meanwhile, the Hapsan warriors had already slipped out the door.
“Damn it!”
Biting my lip, I made a quick decision and shouted,
“Big Brother! Go outside and disrupt them! Second Brother, help me save the people inside!”
“Got it!”
“Understood!”
Saving those inside was the priority, but if the arrows kept coming, that would be impossible.
So, while Brother Jeungchil, skilled in hidden weapons, stirred up the archers, Seolpoong and I planned to rescue the people.
Inside the inn, the flying arrows, burning tables, and thick smoke had turned everything into chaos.
People coughed and screamed, unable to escape.
Cough! Cough!
“Help me!”
“Ahhh! My leg!”
Seolpoong and I dragged those hit by arrows away from the windows and kicked burning debris to one side.
“Everyone, gather near the door! No arrows are coming from this side!”
Since the Hapsan warriors had exited through the door earlier, no arrows were coming from the front entrance.
Despite coughing from the smoke, the people followed my instructions and gathered near the door.
Cough! Cough!
“Ugh!”
“My leg! My leg!”
After gathering everyone to one side, Seolpoong and I dashed outside.
Thanks to Brother Jeungchil’s efforts, no arrows flew outside anymore.
But what we saw outside was no less chaotic.
And this time, it was chaos caused by someone I knew.
“Ha ha ha ha! Die, you bastards!”
Whoosh!
“Argh!”
“Help! Please!”
“Ahhh!”
“L-let’s run!”
Brother Jeungchil was like a fish in water, rampaging wildly.
There must have been about a hundred warriors surrounding the inn, but half were already dead, and the rest scattered in retreat.
It was a vivid display of what a top master could do against ordinary warriors.
Having wiped out a hundred warriors in an instant, Brother Jeungchil laughed triumphantly.
“Ha ha ha ha! How dare you attack this old man! A hundred years…”
But when his gaze suddenly landed on me, his smile froze.
I was looking at something with a bitter expression.
“Damn…”
What I was looking at were three bodies.
Three top masters, all dead.
The three who had first entered the inn were all dead.
Judging by their state, they hadn’t even dodged Brother Jeungchil’s hidden weapons once.
A shame.
If they had lived, we could have interrogated them for information.
Brother Jeungchil glanced at me nervously and cautiously asked,
“Shouldn’t I have spared them? I didn’t mean to kill them, but how could top masters not dodge even once…”
I gave a dry laugh at his rambling.
He’d been nagging me a bit too much lately.
Seeing him keep glancing my way made me feel a little sorry for him.
Smiling, I answered,
“No, it would have been nice to get information from them, but since it’s come to this, let’s head to the Hapsan branch and find out there.”
He brightened immediately.
“Right? Why bother asking these guys when we can just go there? What a hassle.”
…Going there would probably be way more trouble than interrogating them.
Such easy self-justification.
Brother Jeungchil definitely needed to be nagged more.
When my gaze turned cold, his expression quickly darkened again.
We dashed like the wind toward the Hapsan Namnyeong branch.
We planned to strike before those who attacked the inn could reach it.
Brother Seolpoong asked as we ran,
“Are we going in head-on?!”
“No! Let’s sneak in first! We need to capture the leaders and get some information!”
Soon, we arrived at the Hapsan Namnyeong branch.
Its size was roughly comparable to the Seonwoo clan’s estate.
As we approached, we melted into the shadows like ghosts.
Ssssh!
I led the way.
Using the Moonlight Phantom Sword Dance, Hyunwol, I amplified my senses to detect movements inside the compound within a certain radius.
It was as if I were watching from above, easily grasping the internal situation and relaying it to Brother Jeungchil.
Another convenience was that I only needed to send silent signals to Brother Jeungchil.
Since Brother Seolpoong’s senses were just as sharp, there was no need for rapid communication.
As the footsteps inside faded and a gap appeared in the guards’ watch, I sent the signal.
Ssssh!
All three were experts in stealth techniques, so there was no noise or unnecessary movement.
Like ghosts in the shadows, we moved smoothly into the estate’s interior.
My target was the main hall, where I expected the leader to be.
Usually, the main hall is at the center of any estate, so finding the largest building in the center was easy.
And it wasn’t difficult for us.
‘Found it.’
The main hall was enormous.
Compared to other buildings in the estate, and even considering the estate’s size, it was huge.
Around it, about twenty or thirty warriors stood guard.
We moved toward the side of the building.
There were eight guards at the front gate, making a quiet entrance difficult.
Besides, there was no need to go through the front.
With our stealth skills and techniques, entering through a window two or three stories up was simple.
Sshhh!
The moment a gap appeared in the vigilant gazes of the warriors guarding the side, I immediately sent a silent signal. In the next instant, we slipped through the crowd of warriors and pressed ourselves against the building’s wall.
Moving like shadows, hidden from sight, no one noticed us.
We climbed the wall like ghosts, silently ascending to the third floor, and slipped through an open window.
Without hesitation, we pounced on the two warriors inside the room.
Shhhhk!
“!”
“!”
It was no surprise that I had not only located them but also caught them completely off guard—the difference in reaction speed was like night and day.
Before their eyes could widen in shock, they were already immobilized by the pressure points I struck.
Thud!
I glanced at my two brothers, who, as if on cue, formed a perfect seal to block any sound from escaping.
Every breath, every movement was flawless.
I then spoke aloud to the two stunned warriors.
“From now on, I’m going to use a technique called ‘Bun-geun Chak-gol’ on you. It’s divided into ten levels. For now, I’ll take you through the first three steps. After that, we’ll talk again.”
Without warning, I began twisting their muscles and bones.
Crack! Crack!
“Ughhh!”
“Grrrrr!”
As soon as I finished speaking, the sudden application of Bun-geun Chak-gol made their eyes tremble with pain and groans.
A short while later, after enduring the technique up to the third level, we released their pressure points. They immediately began spilling information, competing to talk.
They were the easiest targets I’d encountered so far.
From them, we learned that the entire Hapsan faction was a filthy group, hardly deserving the title of righteous sect.
Their methods for eliminating rival factions and expanding their power were utterly unscrupulous.
Assassinations, kidnappings, threats, extortion—they masked themselves as a righteous sect, but their deeds were far more depraved than those of any heretical group.
As for the successor of Haenam, a man named Inparang, whom I had mistaken for someone else, they knew very little.
They only said that their superiors had distributed his description and ordered his assassination as he was expected to pass through the area soon.
I nodded and said to my brothers, “Looks like we’ll have to take down someone higher up.”
Then, I pressed their pressure points again.
Plop!
“!”
“!”
They died instantly.
I never promised to spare their lives if they talked, so I felt no guilt.
Besides, with what they’d just revealed, there was no way I could leave the Hapsan faction’s Namnyeong branch alive.
We left the room and dashed down the corridor like a storm.
We passed other warriors along the way, but none dared make a sound.
The moment they saw us, they fell lifeless.
“!”
Shiiik!
“Ugh!”
Without obstruction, we reached the fifth floor, where we found the Namnyeong branch chief of the Hapsan faction, indulging in debauchery with a woman in broad daylight.
Shiiik!
“Gah!”
“Ugh!”
“Haah!”
“Ugh!”
We swiftly slaughtered the four warriors guarding the antechamber, threw the door wide open, and charged inside.
Shiiik!
The man, robust and naked, caught mid-act with the woman, screamed in shock.
“Who the hell—!”
Tap!
That was all he managed to say.
With an internal power level of about eighty years’ worth of training, he was utterly powerless against the three masters before him—experts in divine techniques.
What followed was the same as before.
After pressing the woman’s pressure points to put her to sleep, my two brothers sealed the room to prevent any sound from leaking out.
I looked at the man with a blank expression and said, “This is going to hurt. I’m going to use Bun-geun Chak-gol on you. It has ten levels, but for now, you’ll experience up to the fifth. Then we’ll talk.”
There was no need to go beyond the fifth level.
We easily extracted all the information we needed.
Shortly after, we killed every warrior in the main hall and all the scattered officers of the Namnyeong branch, then made our escape.
We set the main hall on fire, and collected all their assets along with documents proving their crimes.