Chapter 629: Return of the Demon Sect Leader
Torn clothes, blood seeping from his side, disheveled hair, and trembling hands.
Yeotabum was in shambles, unable to believe the carnage before him.
Dozens of elite fighters from the Celestial Gate, once a source of pride, lay bloodied and scattered across the courtyard.
Sabiran fought as if possessed, as if she had been waiting for this moment.
The longer the battle dragged on, the more Yeotabum realized his grave mistake.
Yes, his opponent was the leader of the Demonic Palace.
And what was the Demonic Palace? The most formidable alliance in the martial world, reigning supreme for over thirty years.
No matter how successful he was, that was only within the confines of Hefei.
He had momentarily forgotten how vast the world truly was, deluded by his own power into thinking everything would bend to his will.
“Damn it…!”
Yeotabum clenched his trembling fist.
At that moment, Sabiran was slicing through the neck of Du Ilpo, the Thundercloud Sword.
A chilling sound of flesh being cut was followed by a fountain of blood, and Du Ilpo collapsed, his body twisting as he fell.
Du Ilpo was a top-tier fighter Yeotabum had hired at great expense to protect himself on a day like today.
Yet, the seasoned warrior was defeated without even landing a proper blow on a woman in her twenties, just beginning to blossom.
“How could this happen…!”
Sabiran, having dispatched Du Ilpo, looked around and spoke.
“Anyone else want to try?”
But the hall was silent.
Though many lay fallen in the courtyard, there were surely more fighters inside.
Yet, not a single one dared to show themselves.
Yeotabum realized once more that something was terribly wrong.
Perhaps the Hundred Flowers Sect had already infiltrated the Celestial Gate.
Maybe they were even now watching the fighters from the outer walls.
“It’s over…”
Yeotabum closed his eyes slowly.
He had heard rumors of the Hundred Flowers Sect’s activities for years but had been complacent.
He was too intoxicated by the power he had amassed in Hefei.
And now, it was all gone.
Step by step, Sabiran approached, her expression as cold as ice.
With a thud, Yeotabum fell to his knees, pressing his forehead to the ground.
“I deserve to die for not recognizing a great person. Please, forgive me!”
Sabiran’s expression twisted slightly.
Yeotabum, gauging her reaction, repeatedly bowed his head to the ground.
“Please, spare my life!”
“You say you deserve to die, yet you ask for your life to be spared?”
Sabiran’s voice was icy cold.
Yeotabum froze as if turned to stone.
He squeezed his eyes shut, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Watching him, Sabiran sighed and turned away.
“Well, I suppose this is enough. Your remaining life will be a living hell anyway.”
In that moment, Yeotabum’s eyes changed.
He had lost everything.
Rather than rot in prison for life, having his wealth confiscated, he might as well take his revenge.
“Arrogant girl…! How dare you turn your back on me!”
No matter how skilled she was, showing her back at such close range was a clear mistake.
Surely, she was too young to understand the dangers of the world.
How could such a girl become the leader of the Hundred Flowers Sect?
If he had time, he might have pondered the reason, but all Yeotabum felt was the urge to kill the woman who had become his nemesis.
As Sabiran began to walk away,
Thud!
He lunged like a flash of light.
“I’ll drag you to hell with me…! Ugh!”
In an instant, a beam of light seemed to fall from the sky, and Yeotabum’s head was cleanly severed.
His head hit the ground with a thud, rolling a few times before coming to a stop.
Yeotabum never understood why his head was separated from his body.
Just before his consciousness faded completely, he saw someone approaching his severed head.
The man who had struck Yeotabum’s neck was dressed in black, with a sharp gaze and a striking appearance.
The sword in his hand hummed with a gentle vibration.
Seeing this, Sabiran chuckled.
“Looks like the Ghost Blade is pleased with the taste of blood.”
“It’s not that. It’s warning me because I suddenly drew on its power.”
The man, speaking with a somewhat blunt expression, was Deng Gahui, the vice-leader of the Hundred Flowers Sect.
He sighed lightly and asked,
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“What?”
“Turning your back on him just now.”
“Who knows?”
“Please don’t. There are safer ways to test someone like him. If you wanted him dead, you should have just killed him. I’ll handle the report.”
Sabiran’s expression turned playfully mischievous.
“Why do you think I was testing him?”
“Then…”
“Maybe I was testing whether the vice-leader was doing his job properly. Your primary duty is to protect the leader, right? You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
Deng Gahui looked momentarily stunned, then shook his head.
He couldn’t win against her in a battle of words.
Instead, he surveyed the area.
Injured and dead bodies lay tangled and scattered everywhere.
He sighed again.
“You handled it quite spectacularly.”
“I had no choice. They came at me like they wanted to kill me.”
“You didn’t provoke them on purpose?”
“Does it matter? Someone will write the report properly.”
Deng Gahui found himself at a loss for words again.
Better to just keep quiet.
He sighed for the third time and continued,
“The Celestial Gate is currently being searched from the outer walls. Once this area is secured, we’ll proceed to the inner quarters.”
“Alright, just do it roughly. With what we’ve uncovered so far, they deserve to die a dozen times over.”
“But we must follow procedure.”
“Of course.”
“And once this is wrapped up, it seems we’ll be busy for a while.”
“What’s going on?”
“A message has arrived from the palace.”
“Why? Is my father saying he can’t wait to see his daughter again?”
Deng Gahui chuckled and shook his head.
“No, it seems we’ve been assigned a rather complicated mission. You’ll need to travel for a bit.”
He handed over the letter.
Sabiran tilted her head in curiosity as she took it.
As she read, her expression shifted several times.
Finally, when she finished,
“Do we really need to go this far? The Hundred Flowers Sect should be enough.”
“It’s the lord’s command. There must be a reason.”
Sabiran narrowed her eyes at Deng Gahui.
“Do you really think so? That my father has some profound reason?”
“Well… it could be the chief’s intention.”
“If it’s my mother… maybe.”
“Either way, we must complete the mission, right? Where shall we start?”
“Let’s see…”
Sabiran closed her eyes in thought.
After a moment, she opened them and smiled.
“Perhaps we should visit the former Grandmaster first? It would be a chance to witness his archery skills again.”
“But the person accompanying you on this mission isn’t him…”
“I know. It’s his son. I remember meeting him when he was very young. I’m curious to see what he’s like now.”
“When he was young…”
“Five years old…?”
“That’s a long time ago.”
“Anyway, let’s go. I’m sure he’s grown into someone remarkable, being his father’s son.”
**
“You rascal! Get out here this instant!”
A middle-aged man stormed down the hallway of the largest and most opulent brothel in Guiyang.
His face was flushed with anger, as if he might explode at any moment.
The unusual thing was the enormous bow slung across his back.
“Sir, please! You can’t do this here! Calm down!”
A servant clung to his leg, pleading.
“Out of my way!”
“But there are other guests here! Please, calm down.”
The middle-aged man paid no heed.
Dragging the servant along, he flung open a door.
Inside, a naked couple screamed and scrambled to cover themselves with a blanket.
“What, what is this? What are you doing?”
The male guest shouted, his face red with embarrassment, but the middle-aged man merely snorted and slammed the door shut.
He continued opening doors one by one until he reached the last room.
He had already been informed.
His son was staying in this brothel.
A son who frequented such places almost daily.
Only one room remained.
He flung the door open and shouted,
“Dan Lihyuk! I’ll…!”
The middle-aged man, who had been shouting, widened his eyes.
A courtesan, naked and shivering under a blanket, and a young man poised to leap out the window.
“You, you…!”
The middle-aged man pointed a trembling finger, while the young man scratched his head and offered an awkward smile.
“Hehe… Father, you’re here? Well, this isn’t exactly the best place for a family reunion, is it?”
“What the…?! This is insane!”
“Whoa! Father, please don’t!”
But the middle-aged man, who was being called ‘Father,’ had already pulled out the bow slung across his back and drawn the string taut.
Thwack!
As he released the string, an arrow shot forward with terrifying speed, striking the window frame with explosive force.
Boom!
The arrow’s impact was followed by a deafening blast.
In an instant, the room descended into chaos, filled with screams and panic.
The innkeeper’s assistant stood there, stunned, staring blankly at the shattered window and wall.
The middle-aged man, breathing heavily, approached the window, but Dan Ri-hyuk had already leaped down and was sprinting away.
“You scoundrel! Get back here this instant! If you run away now, I’ll disown you!”
“I’d rather be disowned than die by your hand, Father!”
“What…?! You insolent brat! Dan Ri-hyuk!”
As he reached for the bowstring again, the innkeeper’s assistant clung to his waist, pleading desperately.
“Please, Master Dan Ri! Calm down! This is getting out of hand!”
Meanwhile, Dan Ri-hyuk disappeared around the corner.
The man turned back, still fuming, just as an elderly man entered the room.
He seemed ordinary, lacking any martial aura, but he was none other than Dan Ri-chu, the former master of the One Star Sword School.
It seemed the owner of the establishment had urgently summoned him.
“Father…”
The middle-aged man, Dan Ri-jung, hung his head, and Dan Ri-chu chuckled.
“Well, that boy sure knows how to make a scene.”
“This is no laughing matter, Father.”
“Hahaha. Don’t be so hasty. When have children ever done exactly as their parents wish?”
“I never imagined raising a child would be this difficult.”
Dan Ri-jung sighed deeply, and Dan Ri-chu smiled gently.
“No matter how tough it gets, things tend to work out in the end. Patience is the key.”
Dan Ri-jung listened to his father’s words, gazing helplessly down the path his son had taken.
“That troublesome boy…!”