Chapter 316
Sun Woo-jin sighed inwardly as he looked at Sa Woo-rim, who was still glaring at Mo Dong-joo as if he wanted to devour him.
‘He really is an important figure…’
Sa Woo-rim was a martial artist with a unique background—he had lived alone, fishing by swimming in Dongjeong Lake. Perhaps because of this, he was extremely stubborn, rigid, and highly unsociable.
Of course, he treated Sun Woo-jin with utmost respect.
Given that Seol Poong and Sun Woo-jin were regarded almost as benefactors by the Banhyung Association members, even the hard-headed Sa Woo-rim never dared to treat them carelessly.
The real problem was his attitude toward Mo Dong-joo, a disciple of the Hyungsan Sect.
He openly showed his hostility toward Mo Dong-joo.
Throughout their journey here, Sa Woo-rim had been glaring at Mo Dong-joo, nitpicking every word and provoking him.
And even now, he was responding to things that could have been ignored, glaring at him as if ready to tear him apart.
In response, Mo Dong-joo, unfazed, gave his usual sly smile and replied.
“Don’t be so harsh. There are many kinds of people in the Hyungsan Sect, aren’t there? The ones we’re about to rescue are among those kinds. If we save them, the Banhyung Association can bring down the Weojeong State, and I can rebuild a proper Hyungsan Sect. Isn’t that a beautiful thing?”
Sa Woo-rim scoffed.
“Hmph! What’s so good about that?! The only good Hyungsan people are the dead ones! All of you Hyungsan bastards deserve to be wiped out!”
His eyes blazed with hatred bordering on madness.
Mo Dong-joo could only give a bitter smile.
To hear someone say that he and his fellow sect members should be completely annihilated—there was no insult worse than that.
But Mo Dong-joo didn’t get angry.
Though his own temper was no joke and he had every reason to be furious, he couldn’t bring himself to lash out after hearing how Sa Woo-rim’s only close friend and family had been killed by the Hyungsan Sect.
He shot a glance at Sun Woo-jin, who was about to step in and restrain Sa Woo-rim, silently signaling him to hold back.
Then, with a bitter expression, he spoke.
“Master Sa, I fully understand why you would say such things. I, too, have killed people under the orders of the Weojeong State’s chief elder, all in the name of survival. So I have no right to argue.”
At that, a fiery spark ignited in Sa Woo-rim’s eyes—an inferno of hatred.
Unable to hold back any longer, he lunged toward Mo Dong-joo.
“I knew it! You damn Hyungsan bastard…!”
Sun Woo-jin hurriedly grabbed him to stop the attack.
But then, Mo Dong-joo spoke with a seriousness unlike before.
“Master Sa, please understand this one thing. The people we’re trying to save now are unlike me—they risked their lives to stop the Weojeong State’s evil deeds. If they had succeeded, your friend and family might have survived unharmed. So… I beg you, won’t you help us rescue them? They could prevent many more sacrifices.”
Sa Woo-rim froze mid-lunge, his blazing eyes locking onto Mo Dong-joo’s desperate gaze.
His glare was so fierce it seemed capable of killing.
Sun Woo-jin and Jeung Chil watched tensely, ready to intervene if Sa Woo-rim lost control.
After a moment, Sa Woo-rim’s gaze softened slightly, and he scoffed, turning his head away from Mo Dong-joo.
“Hmph! Even if you say that, I was going to save them anyway. But don’t think it’s because of your words! I’m only helping to complete Master Sun’s plan!”
Sun Woo-jin and Jeung Chil silently breathed a sigh of relief.
At least Sa Woo-rim was willing to cooperate with the plan.
Mo Dong-joo bowed respectfully and said, “Thank you. I will never forget this kindness.”
“Hmph! Don’t think I’m doing you any favors, you bastard!”
“Well, whatever.”
Watching this exchange, Sun Woo-jin and Jeung Chil exchanged weary glances.
They hadn’t even infiltrated the Hyungsan Sect yet, and already they felt drained.
Still, it was a relief that things had settled down for now.
In Sun Woo-jin’s plan to infiltrate the Hyungsan Sect, Mo Dong-joo’s role was just as crucial as Sa Woo-rim’s.
Without Sa Woo-rim, they might manage to find the core of the Hyungsan Sect somehow, but the Chamhoe-dong, located outside the sect, was impossible to reach without Mo Dong-joo’s guidance.
If Sa Woo-rim had lost control and attacked Mo Dong-joo, it would have seriously jeopardized their plan.
Sun Woo-jin silently prayed to the heavens.
‘Please, let it not come to that…’
Just then, Jeung Chil sent a quick message to Sun Woo-jin.
Sun Woo-jin nodded slightly.
He, too, had sensed during their brief time together that Mo Dong-joo was a better man than expected.
When Mo Dong-joo had surrendered to Sun Woo-jin at Anhyang’s Cheonjung Gate, he had hesitated briefly before answering a question about why Sun Woo-jin shouldn’t kill him.
“If Master Sun wishes for the Hyungsan Sect’s destruction, I will be of no help. I would rather die than assist. But if you seek the sect’s renewal, I can be of use. I know who opposed the Weojeong State’s chief elder and where they are imprisoned. Would you need such information?”
Sun Woo-jin had smiled then.
Mo Dong-joo was indeed a clever man.
The information he offered was exactly what Sun Woo-jin needed.
To carry out his plan, Sun Woo-jin needed influential Hyungsan figures who opposed the Weojeong State.
He didn’t believe all Hyungsan disciples supported the Weojeong State’s actions.
Especially now, with the sect drawing the world’s scorn, there had to be dissenters.
If they could recruit respected Hyungsan members who opposed the Weojeong State, they could shake the sect’s unity.
‘And that’s not the only reason we need them. For what comes after this fight, such people are essential.’
Unless they intended to completely erase the Hyungsan Sect, someone had to take charge after the Weojeong State fell.
Sun Woo-jin planned to identify such individuals gradually.
But according to Mo Dong-joo, such people already existed—and were imprisoned by the Weojeong State.
Sun Woo-jin couldn’t help but rejoice.
‘What a blessing! This will drastically reduce our future troubles!’
So he brought Mo Dong-joo into their group.
While Seol Poong drew all eyes on the front lines and advanced slowly, Mo Dong-joo and Jeung Chil moved with Sun Woo-jin toward the Hyungsan Sect’s rear.
To rescue Woo Nan-seol and Jung Mi-hee from the empty sect, to secure the Liuhe Sword Masters with the information they’d gain, and finally, to save the Hyungsan people Mo Dong-joo would guide them to.
Though part of him worried about Seol Poong, who was without his protection, he had already recruited someone to act as a strategist.
For now, he had to trust that person.
‘She’ll manage well even without me.’
With that thought, Sun Woo-jin turned to the now calmer Sa Woo-rim and said,
“Master Sa, then please guide us from here on.”
Sa Woo-rim bowed respectfully and replied,
“Leave it to me, Master. And I apologize. I will be careful not to cause any more trouble.”
Sun Woo-jin smiled brightly.
Those were the kindest words he’d heard from Sa Woo-rim since they met.
He sensed Sa Woo-rim had come to some inner peace and said,
“I understand how complicated your feelings must be, and I’m sorry to have put you in this position. But this mission is necessary to reduce the sacrifices among our Banhyung comrades. I hope you can understand with a broad heart.”
Sa Woo-rim looked flustered and quickly shook his head.
“No, no! Knowing the grace Master Sun and Master Seol have shown our Banhyung Association, how could I ever resent your plan? You’ve crushed our enemy, the Hyungsan bastards. Even if you asked me to give my life, I would follow without hesitation! It’s just that I’m hot-tempered and blunt, and I failed to control my emotions despite the great task ahead. I can only apologize.”
He bowed deeply, and before Sun Woo-jin could respond, he hurriedly added,
“I will move ahead through the waterways to scout. Please follow me at a distance of about five jang.”
Sun Woo-jin smiled warmly and nodded.
Though his divine sight made scouting unnecessary, there was no need to argue with Sa Woo-rim’s earnestness.
“Understood. Then, please take care.”
Without hesitation, Sawoorim swiftly plunged into the valley just below the Hyungsan Sect.
Splash!
True to his mastery of water techniques, he entered the water flawlessly, not even a single drop splashing.
As the group watched in admiration at his clean dive, he transformed into a large, shadowy shape—like a giant fish—and began swiftly swimming upstream.
After observing him for a moment, Sun Woojin turned to Jeungchil and Modongju.
“Alright, let’s move out.”
The three of them didn’t bother entering the water. Instead, they lightly ran along the rocks lining the valley, making their way upstream.
At the head of the valley stood the Hyungsan Sect itself.
Following Sawoorim’s shadow, which looked just like a real fish gliding through the water, Modongju muttered bitterly to himself.
“To think that the luxurious garden built by Master Wi would become the very infiltration route that led to his downfall… The ways of the world are truly unpredictable.”
The reason Sawoorim, the master of the Eastern Spirit Water technique, was able to infiltrate all the way to the Hyungsan Sect by following the valley stream was because Wi Jeongguk had constructed a large pond in front of his residence’s garden.
To fill and circulate the water in that pond, a channel was created to draw water from the nearby valley stream—and that channel became Sawoorim’s secret path of infiltration.
Because of that pond, information from inside the Hyungsan Sect had been leaking out continuously, eventually leading to this dire situation. It was no wonder Modongju felt a strange mix of emotions.
Sun Woojin smiled faintly and replied, “I heard that the one who requested the pond’s construction was Sun Mu-woohee, a member of the Banhyung Society. From Wi Jeongguk’s perspective, you could say he was ensnared by a beauty trap. Of course, the reason Mu-woohee joined the Banhyung Society was because of Wi Jeongguk’s own misdeeds, so in the end, it’s all self-inflicted.”
Modongju sighed softly, murmuring, “The heavens’ net is vast and wide, yet nothing escapes it.”
“The net of heaven is vast and sparse, but it misses nothing,” he repeated.
Sun Woojin smiled gently at his words.
Then, his thoughts drifted far away to the Blood Demon in Yunnan Province.
“You’re no different, Blood Demon. In the end, you will have to pay for your sins yourself.”
His mind then turned to those waiting for him on the front lines—his beloved Dang Yeoeun, his close friends training at the Guanggeom Tomb, and… Haechungyeon, who was still in the clutches of the Blood Demon, her fate uncertain.
Thinking of Haechungyeon made his heart tighten painfully, and he struggled to suppress the growing impatience within him.
Every time he thought of her, it felt like his chest was being squeezed.
She might still be suffering at this very moment.
Maybe if he rushed now, it wouldn’t be too late.
But even if that were true, he absolutely could not act on it.
Sun Woojin forced himself to reason once more.
“No. No, Sun Woojin. You only have one chance left. If you rush and botch this, everything will be lost.”
He knew all too well.
It was better to be late and lose her than to rush and fail.
He had to choose the path that would allow him to completely defeat the Blood Sect and avenge her.
Still, no matter how much he reasoned, the tightness in his chest wouldn’t ease.
Suddenly, Mukrang’s voice came to comfort him.
“You’ve done all you could. Even attempting to storm Aenoe Mountain to find her was reckless enough. Now, leave the rest to fate. Soon, Seolpung will become the successor of the Sahwang Lotus, and the day to strike the Blood Sect isn’t far off. If she’s destined to survive, you’ll meet again then. And if not… then you’ll have your revenge. Isn’t that the life of a martial artist?”
He was right.
A martial artist’s life is always intertwined with death.
In the end, all those left behind can offer is vengeance.
Sun Woojin smiled faintly and expressed his gratitude to Mukrang.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Oh, don’t mention it.”
Even though he agreed with those words, the aching tightness in his chest remained, stubborn and unyielding.