Chapter 31 The Life-and-Death Strange Doctor – Part 1

Chapter 31: The Life-and-Death Strange Doctor – Part 1

Slowly, very slowly.

He breathed so slowly it seemed almost to stop.

I was up in the tree, among the dense foliage. Right now, four Black Robe warriors were approaching below the tree.

Mu-ui was, at best, a second-rate to lower-first-rate fighter.

Even if I faced them head-on, I felt I could easily defeat them.

But I decided to wait.

If possible, I needed to handle this silently.

One step, two steps, three steps.

Now the bastards were passing right beneath me.

And the moment the last warrior had passed, I fell backward silently.

Shwaaak!

My sword, slashing through the air as I flipped, grazed the rear warrior’s carotid artery.

“Gah!”

Splatter!

As a jet of blood spurted from his neck, my blade was already slashing toward the two ahead.

“What…!”

“Guh…!”

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Their eyes turned toward me, but it was useless.

Their necks had already been severed.

Just then, the warrior leading the charge suddenly turned around, saw me, and gasped in shock, his mouth opening wide.

“Enemy…!”

But in that instant, my sword ‘Mukrang’ plunged deep into his heart.

Thud!

“Gah!”

Watching his eyes lose their light as he collapsed, I gently drew the Moolang sword from him.

Piercing and withdrawing it from a human body felt as smooth as piercing tofu.

Marveling once more at the sharpness of my new sword, I resumed my steps.

We still hadn’t found any trace of the Life-and-Death Demon, and until then, I intended to minimize the forces of the Black Shadow Sect we encountered.

Several hours ago, after leaving the Guan Zhi Mausoleum, we had split into two groups once more.

One group consisted of the children of the Life-and-Death Demon and Bae Jong-hwan, who remained to protect them. The other group comprised the squad leader, myself, and Bi Sa-yeong, heading out to rescue the Life-and-Death Demon.

‘Jong-gwan, this mission requires stealth. Squad Leader, Sa-yeong, and I will handle it. You stay at the inn and guard the children of the Life-and-Death Demon. Make sure they aren’t kidnapped again.’

Jo Jang nodded and added,

‘Right. I also think it’s best to start cultivating your qi since your internal power suddenly increased. I’ll teach you a Moon Sword technique; make sure you master it.’

By consuming the elixir this time, Bae Jong-gwan had accumulated internal energy equivalent to over forty years of cultivation.

He had finally met the requirements to step into the realm of the elite.

The three of us, excluding him, raced like the wind and quickly reached the border between Guizhou and Guangxi provinces, where He Shangfang was pursuing the demonic cultivator Ma Zonghuan.

Shengshaogui had fled southeast from Xingren in Guizhou Province, where Hei Shangfang had been, towards Guangxi Province.

The terrain here consisted of dense forests and rolling hills, rivaling Yunnan Province, making the search extremely difficult for the Black Fang warriors.

Therefore, Heo Sang-bang’s leader, Go Ju-yong, had deployed the large force he brought in a wide spread. They had encircled the likely locations where Ma Jong-hwan might be and were slowly tightening the net.

We decided to split into three groups, each following the Black Chamber from a different direction to search for the whereabouts of the Life-and-Death Pact.

‘Each of us will search for the Life-Death-Chaos-Will while, as circumstances permit, we chip away at the Black Chamber’s strength and try to open a gap in their encirclement.’

“Understood. Be careful, especially you, Sa-yeong. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Heh, I’m a first-rate warrior now, so you needn’t worry so much, Captain.”

This was why I was now moving covertly, ambushing the Black Shadow Sect disciples.

By now, Captain Jo must be devastating one side as well.

Though I was a bit uneasy about Bi Sa-yeong, he too had already reached the realm of the elite, and his internal energy was packed to the brim. I was certain that no one could catch him if he fled.

Even if they were a peak master.

Moving stealthily once more, I spotted the Black Shadow Bandits again a short distance away.

This time there were about ten of them; it seemed like quite a large group.

Crouching low in the grass, I began to approach slowly, like a tiger stalking its prey.

The ultimate essence of the Wind-Sweeping Technique lies in becoming the air itself. Even if I hadn’t yet grasped that ultimate essence, there was absolutely no rustling or disturbance in my movements.

I roughly gauged the enemies’ level.

Overall, they were second-rate at best, maybe low-tier first-rate at a generous estimate. But the one who seemed to be in charge appeared to be mid-tier first-rate.

After assessing their level, I hesitated for a moment.

The problem wasn’t winning a surprise attack.

The real disaster would be if a reckless ambush alerted other nearby Black Robe members.

As I pondered, my eyes suddenly fell on the leather pouch hanging at my waist.

A faint smile touched my lips.

I finally made up my mind.

I’d take a slight risk.

It would be reckless if I were alone, but I had my lovely companions, didn’t I?

After roughly gauging the distance to the enemies, I turned the tied opening of the leather pouch toward the air.

Then, as she slightly opened the opening, two snakes shot out of the sack like arrows.

Pee-ping!

They were the three-colored snakes I’d been diligently raising since that day in the poison forest.

I watched as the Samcha Sisa snakes shot skyward, soaring high before falling in a parabolic arc.

The aim seemed to be good.

My precious little creatures were falling right onto the heads of the black-robed men searching the forest.

***

Jeong Mo-su, the head of the Jeongjo squad belonging to the Oedang division of the Heuksangbang, was boiling over with irritation.

Honestly, everything was infuriating.

The elusive life-and-death enigma that hadn’t shown its shadow for days, the leader who had them wandering through the jungle to catch that enigma, the sweltering heat, the mosquitoes buzzing incessantly and attacking without pause.

There wasn’t a single thing that didn’t irritate him.

So Jeong Mosu was venting that frustration by berating his subordinates.

“Can’t you move a little faster, you idiots?! We need to catch that bastard to get home, got it?!”

Truthfully, he himself wasn’t exactly swift either, and he could guess that taking out his frustration this way only made things harder for his subordinates, who had nowhere else to vent.

But he had no consideration to spare for that.

That was when it happened.

Something dropped from the sky, landing right beside the subordinates whose faces were turning dark with exhaustion.

One of the men glanced at it absentmindedly, then screamed in terror.

“Eeek! A snake!”

“Waaah! Wh-what is it?!”

In an instant, the men scattered in panic, retreating from the snake.

Two snakes coiled on the ground, flickering their tongues as they stared this way.

In truth, Jeong Mosu had also been startled.

But out of habit, he snapped first.

“Hey, you idiots! Is that all the fuss over just two snakes?! Why aren’t you catching them right now?!”

“……”

Just as Jeong Mosu’s subordinates scowled in displeasure at his words and started approaching the snakes again,

Suddenly, the snakes shot out like arrows.

Shh!

Thud!

“Aaargh! Wha—what the hell?!”

“You… you got bitten?!”

By the time they came to their senses, the snakes had already sunk their fangs into the two men.

The startled subordinates scrambled backward again.

But the bitten subordinates couldn’t do the same.

Their faces already turning dark, they collapsed with a thud, foam beginning to form at their mouths.

“D-did you see that?! The snake flew like an arrow!”

“Wh-what?! They turned like that the moment they were bitten?!”

The terrified subordinates couldn’t bring themselves to approach the snake again.

And Jeong Mosu was no different.

He himself couldn’t get close, staring at the snake with a fearful expression while shouting at his men.

“Hey, you idiots! Hurry up and catch that snake! You want those guys to die?!”

“But, Sergeant!”

Seeing that no one stepped forward despite his order, Jeong Mosu glared at his subordinates with a furious expression.

“These bastards…?!

Then he saw it.

A handsome young man who had approached like a ghost, now slashing at the soldiers’ backs with his sword.

Shuuuwaaah!

His sword spread out like an illusion.

“Huh?!”

“Gah?!”

“Gahhh?!”

In an instant, his sword fanned out like a fan in all directions, and his subordinates were collapsing, spurting blood, in the blink of an eye.

“Wh-what?!”

Startled, Jeong Mosu frantically tried to draw his sword.

But the man’s sword, which had just sliced through his men’s throats, struck first.

Push!

The man’s face, magnified at incredible speed, filled Jeong Mosu’s vision. In that instant, a sharp sting at his throat was followed by the sudden sight of blue sky filling his eyes.

It was the last sight Jung Mosu ever saw.

***

Having cleanly severed the neck of the enemy who appeared to be the leader, I let out a hollow laugh and looked at the Moolang Sword.

The sensation of severing a human neck felt as smooth as cutting grass.

Examining the Moolang Sword again, not even a trace of blood stained its blade.

“This is a demon sword, I see.”

Muttering this, I turned my head to survey the surroundings.

I had thrown daggers at three figures slightly farther away and needed to confirm they were definitely dead.

Satisfyingly, all had died instantly.

Two killed by the Three-Blade Strike, six by the sword, three by the throwing weapons.

Dealing with this many people without even giving them time to scream was a pretty decent result.

This was somewhat better than the end of his past life, he thought.

I had finally surpassed my past self.

Well, it wasn’t like I’d ever reached the pinnacle anyway, so I wasn’t sure what significance that held, but at least in this life, I felt I could step onto the path to the pinnacle.

‘As long as I don’t die suddenly, that is.’

After seizing the black snake, he approached those being bitten by the three-colored snake and was dying. He simply grabbed the snake’s neck and stuffed it back into the sack.

Thanks to their habit of not retracting their fangs until their target’s breath was completely gone, retrieval couldn’t have been easier.

“Good work, my darlings.”

A satisfied smile came naturally.

It was astonishing how beautiful they could be, even as snakes.

Didn’t they seem far prettier than that human, Joo Tae-kyung, the Pointed Blade Sword Spirit?

Then again, Joo Tae-kyung was no help at all, but our beauties defeated the Bloodthirsty Demon General Ji Gwang-ok, so it was only natural.

Of course, it did try to bite me at first, but I decided not to dwell on that.

What does the past matter?

As long as she’s pretty now, that’s all that matters.

With that thought, I began moving stealthily once more.

If possible, I wanted to find the Life-and-Death Puzzle before Heuksangbangdo.

Continuing forward like that, I sensed something unusual about two hours later.

Squeak!

An urgent whistle sounded from the direction I was heading.

It seemed they had discovered the Life-and-Death Puzzle.

Pababak!

I abandoned stealth and began running at full speed.

The speed at which the surrounding scenery flew past made me feel, all over again, that I had grown.

After running for about a moment,

A crowd of people came into view ahead.

Black-robed figures were driving one person toward the wall of a towering cliff and surrounding them.

I slowed my pace and quickly hid my body.

There were roughly thirty or forty of them, and the man leading them looked unusual.

A man in his forties, clad in black martial arts robes, laughed heartily as if feeling thoroughly satisfied.

“Hahahaha! Finally caught, you wretch! You suffered all that for nothing, since you were going to be caught anyway! I’d kill you right now, but since it’s the commander’s order, I’ll just break your legs instead!”

The leader…

The Black Robe Sect had four supreme masters known as the Four Heavenly Kings, including Go Ju-yong. They were all sworn brothers.

That was astonishing enough.

For four peak masters to gather in such a backwater sect.

Being on the front lines had dulled my sense of masters, but the truth was, peak masters were absolute beings in places like this backwater.

Even in Guiyang, where the Sunwoo Clan was based, since it was the provincial capital of Guizhou, there were over a dozen peak masters, including my father and other sect leaders. In other regions, it was the normal state of affairs for a single peak master to dominate an entire area, acting like a king.

‘Of course, I’d heard rumors that the Nine Great Sects or the Martial Alliance had dozens of peak masters, and that the Heavenly Demon Cult up above had hundreds gathered there, but those were exceptions. That’s precisely why they were called the Nine Great Sects or the Martial Alliance’s foremost power.’

In any case, peak masters were extremely rare and precious beings in the martial world.

That’s why when Miss Qingyan saw the Flying Dragon Thirteen Clans boasting five peak masters in their twenties, she was astonished, remarking that even the Martial Alliance couldn’t match that.

It was easy to understand why the Blood Sect’s martial arts, which allowed one to reach the pinnacle more easily and quickly than anyone else, held such appeal for martial artists.

‘But why, of all places, did such a peak master appear in a place where I was alone, without a squad leader, and even discovered the Life-Death Strange Will before me?’

And he even led over forty warriors behind him.

He couldn’t help but be troubled.

‘What should I do?’

Even at this very moment, they were surrounding the Life-Death Paradox, pressing it toward a dead-end cliff.

If I left it like this, they’d be caught. No matter how hard I thought, no clear solution came to mind.

That was when it happened.

From behind, from the direction I had come, I sensed someone running toward us.

Judging by the weight of the footsteps, it was likely a second-rate warrior. Probably a Black Banner warrior.

About three of them were rushing urgently this way.

Samurai rushing urgently from the direction I’d come? I could roughly guess what was happening.

‘Damn it, the bodies of those we ambushed and killed have been found!’

My mouth went dry.

Of all times, my presence had to be revealed now.

I even considered turning back to rejoin Sergeant Seolpung.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

Hmm, if I play this right?