Episode 100: Return to the Demonic Sect
“Where are we off to this time? And without your sword, no less.”
Mae Seol-ran grumbled as she trailed behind Sa Bi-gang.
As always, his response was the same.
“You’ll see when we get there. Seeing is believing, after all.”
“Are you sure it’s okay to just wander around like this? Especially after making such bold claims to the old military officer?”
Looking back, it was quite absurd.
To boast that a war expected to last five years would be over in one, and that he’d turn the cadets into top-tier warriors in the same time frame?
Anyone would think he was just a braggart.
“We’re almost there.”
Sa Bi-gang glanced back at her as they navigated the dense forest.
The path was so convoluted that it felt like they might be retracing their steps.
Suddenly, a thought struck Mae Seol-ran.
“Wait… is this…?”
“You’re slow on the uptake.”
“We’re inside a formation, aren’t we?”
“Correct. It’s designed to make you lose your way, but it naturally leads you back to the entrance.”
It was like a maze.
But even if you didn’t know how to break it, there was no danger. You’d just end up back at the start.
“Are we here to gather more elixirs?”
“No, we’re here to have some fun.”
“What on earth are you talking about…?”
“We’re here.”
Sa Bi-gang stopped walking.
Just as he said, the forest ended a short distance ahead.
There, beneath a towering cliff, was a cave entrance flanked by two figures.
“What is that place?”
“Here, take this.”
Sa Bi-gang pulled something from his robe and handed it to her.
Mae Seol-ran almost screamed when she realized what it was.
In her hands was a human-skin mask.
A mask made from the face of a woman.
Sa Bi-gang applied a sticky substance to the inside of the mask, like glue.
“When we wiped out the Blood Lotus secret branch last time, I asked the instructor to make this.”
Mae Seol-ran stared at the mask.
It must have been the face of a female warrior who died in that branch.
She had never worn anything like this before.
“What are you waiting for? Put it on.”
“I will.”
Feigning indifference, Mae Seol-ran placed the mask over her face.
‘Ugh, this feels awful.’
Sa Bi-gang’s face had already transformed completely.
He adjusted the mask on her face, ensuring it fit snugly.
Their faces naturally drew closer.
‘His face may have changed, but… those eyes are the same.’
Eyes that seemed endlessly deep.
Was it because of his profound inner strength?
When their eyes met, Mae Seol-ran quickly looked away and shouted.
“I-I can do it myself.”
She turned away and adjusted the mask.
‘Why am I so flustered? Just because our eyes met…’
Her heart pounded inexplicably.
As she smoothed the edges of the mask, it began to blend seamlessly with her skin.
Sa Bi-gang inspected her face and nodded.
“Good, it looks natural. From now on, my name is Ga Deok-sam. What will yours be?”
After a moment’s thought, she replied.
“Ga Yeon-ok.”
“Oh, so we’re pretending to be siblings. Not a bad idea, though we don’t look much alike.”
“Why do we have to go to such lengths?”
“You’ll see.”
“That again.”
“It’s too complicated to explain right now.”
“Then let’s get going.”
“First, practice calling me.”
“Calling you what?”
“Brother.”
“I’ll go ahead.”
Mae Seol-ran abruptly started walking.
**
The spacious cavern was filled with a sweltering heat.
As Mae Seol-ran entered, her eyes widened.
‘Who would have thought a place like this existed…’
The area was bustling with warriors, all armed with swords.
“This is the Tiger Fight Arena. A place for combat and gambling.”
“How do you even know about this place…?”
Mae Seol-ran began to speak but then fell silent.
As unbelievable as it seemed, hadn’t he claimed to be from the future?
If that were true, her question was pointless.
She changed her approach.
“Who runs this place?”
“The Black Heaven Society.”
“Never heard of them.”
“Of course not. It’s a secret organization.”
Mae Seol-ran nodded silently.
The martial world was full of hidden organizations and mysterious groups.
It wasn’t surprising that one of them ran a place like this.
What was surprising was the sheer number of people gathered here.
Another notable aspect was that many people wore masks or disguises to conceal their identities.
Which meant…
“There seem to be a lot of orthodox warriors here.”
“Heh, who doesn’t love money?”
“I bet even the wealthy merchants are involved.”
“Exactly. Almost everyone with money in the central plains comes here.”
Such gambling dens usually spread by word of mouth among the wealthy.
No doubt, the Black Heaven Society orchestrated it that way.
“Do they send representatives?”
“Most do.”
“Why are we here, then?”
“Why else? To make money, of course. We have a lot to do, and we’ll need plenty of funds.”
“So you’re planning to gamble for it?”
“No. I’ll fight, and you’ll gamble.”
“What do you mean…?”
Sa Bi-gang pointed to the center of the cavern, where a unique fighting stage was set up, surrounded by iron bars.
Two people were fiercely battling inside.
The more intense the fight, the louder the cheers grew.
A life-and-death duel.
Of course, one could concede defeat to avoid death.
“I’ll be fighting in there. You bet on your brother.”
“Wait a minute. How can you expect me to bet money? I don’t have that kind of cash.”
“I’ll give it to you.”
Sa Bi-gang handed her a promissory note.
Mae Seol-ran’s eyes widened.
“Ten… ten thousand nyang?”
An enormous sum.
Considering the average instructor’s salary was about four hundred nyang, it was an astronomical amount.
“Where did you get so much money…?”
“Here, it’s not much. Bets here often exceed a million nyang.”
“But…”
Mae Seol-ran quickly scanned the area.
She worried someone might see the note and get greedy.
But there was no need to worry.
Inside the Tiger Fight Arena, security was impeccable.
And as Sa Bi-gang said, ten thousand nyang wasn’t much here.
Bets often exceeded a million nyang, and sums nearing ten million were not unheard of.
In truth, the money Sa Bi-gang handed over was all that remained of the sect’s finances.
“Come on, let’s go.”
Sa Bi-gang led Mae Seol-ran into another tunnel connected to the cavern.
At the end of the passage, they encountered a metal door.
A burly man stood guard.
“Which side are you on?”
The man asked.
Sa Bi-gang understood and replied.
“I’m here to fight. She’s here to gamble.”
The man smirked and opened the door, gesturing them inside.
The room was relatively small, with an old man sitting at a desk, and another door leading elsewhere.
The guard stopped them there.
The old man, busy with an abacus, glanced up.
‘Tsk, tsk, showing your face in the Tiger Fight Arena…’
The old man clicked his tongue inwardly.
With such large sums at stake, few dared to show their faces.
These two must be naive youngsters hoping to strike it rich.
In truth, Sa Bi-gang and Mae Seol-ran wore masks, but the masks were so expertly crafted by the sect that they appeared real.
“Fighter and gambler, is it?”
The guard spoke for them, and the old man asked without looking up.
“What’s the difficulty level?”
“Well, I could handle the highest, but let’s start with the lowest.”
Sa Bi-gang’s response made the old man chuckle and nod.
“Let’s see… you’ll be the twelfth match. There are quite a few ahead of you, so you’ll have to wait.”
“Understood.”
“If you win, the prize is a thousand nyang.”
“Is that all? The entry fee is two hundred nyang.”
Sa Bi-gang feigned disappointment.
“The prize increases tenfold with each difficulty level. So, ten thousand for medium, a hundred thousand for high. And the highest… well, you won’t need to worry about that. So, what’s your choice?”
“Does the entry fee increase too?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm. I’ll stick with the lowest for now.”
“Heh, wise choice. A young man should take care of himself.”
The old man chuckled, accepting the two hundred nyang from Sa Bi-gang.
Then he turned to Mae Seol-ran.
“And you, miss? Who will you bet on?”
“My brother.”
The old man smirked.
“Naturally. How much?”
“Here.”
With trembling hands, Mae Seol-ran handed over the ten thousand nyang note.
The old man’s expression wavered slightly.
It was more than he expected.
Sensing this, Sa Bi-gang turned to Mae Seol-ran with a determined look.
“Yeon-ok, watch closely. Your brother will win gloriously! This will be the first step in making my name known. Heh, once we win, we’ll rebuild our family!”
Though it was an impromptu act, Mae Seol-ran was quick on the uptake.
With a mix of worry and anticipation, she replied.
“Brother, please be careful.”
“No problem! I’ll win and be back before my father even notices I’m gone.”
The two clasped hands tightly.
An old man watched them quietly, lost in thought.
“Is this a family on the brink of ruin? They seem like naive youngsters who have no idea how dangerous the world can be…”
He suspected they had secretly taken their family’s entire fortune to fund this reckless endeavor.
But then again, what did their story matter?
How many people came here without a story of their own?
If he exaggerated a bit, young men like Gadeuksam showed up here almost every day.
“The real issue is leaving with an even bigger story. Heh heh.”
The old man chuckled, his face breaking into a wide grin as he handed over a slip of paper.
“Sign here. It’s an agreement to the life-and-death duel.”
**
If you looked closely at the middle of the gambling hall’s wall, you’d find a large window.
From this second-story vantage point, you could see the entire hall below, and two people were standing by the window, gazing out.
One was a short, hunched old man, and the other was a slender woman of striking beauty.
The old man was the leader of the Black Heaven Society, and the woman was Hong Myo of the Blood Lotus Sect.
The secret behind the sudden financial power of the Blood Lotus Sect lay here.
The Black Heaven Society, which ran the gambling den known as the “Hotujang,” was a subsidiary organization, raking in enormous sums of money.
Hong Myo Seoraehyang had come to collect this month’s earnings and stood by the window, staring intently at the duel stage below.
Beside her, the Black Heaven Society’s leader, Gal Cheonseong, ogled her with a lecherous gaze.
“Truly, a body that’s hard to resist. Heh heh.”
Just then, a young man stepped onto the duel stage.
It was none other than Sabigang, using the alias “Gadeuksam.”