Chapter 31 Killing Two Birds with One Stone (3)

Chapter 31 Killing Two Birds with One Stone (3)

“……”

Gu Yangjie, frozen in the act of wiping his face with his sleeve, stopped and calculated the distance to the sound.

He couldn’t gauge it precisely, but it was definitely not close.

If he hurried now, he could probably catch up.

But merely catching up wouldn’t suffice.

Few would proceed with their intended actions while leaving a tail following them.

And above all, this was the Huashan Sect, a renowned sect of Shaanxi.

‘What a fearless fool…’

Gu Yangjie’s mind grew icy cold. Simultaneously, rage reared its head.

‘Is he treating the Huashan Sect like his own living room!’

Gu Yangjie did not consider the intruder an outsider who had entered from outside. The Huashan Sect’s vigilance had sharply increased since the incident involving Ha Jin’ak.

Therefore, it was highly probable that the intruder was a guest residing within the Huashan Sect itself.

Or perhaps a lay disciple…

‘That can’t be.’

Gu Yang-jeok dismissed the belated thought.

For a lay disciple, the darkness permeating his footsteps was too deep.

Perhaps he was a spy reporting regularly on the Hwasan Sect’s movements, he mused.

“……”

Gu Yang-jeok swallowed the rising displeasure in his chest and pondered what to do.

The distance wasn’t exactly short, but it wasn’t that far either, making the situation utterly ambiguous.

Gu Yang-jeok swiftly scanned the ground.

Glancing over the cluttered floor of stones, dead leaves, and dirt, he stretched his foot out sharply.

……Thud.

A faint sound echoed through his foot.

He forced his internal energy into it, instantly silencing the sound.

Though it seemed simple at first glance, it was a technique that instantly enveloped the source of the sound with internal energy.

In this manner, Gu Yang-jeok advanced cautiously, like a white snake.

Swish, swish.

Before long, the sound of footsteps faded away, leaving only the sensation of gliding across the path.

About fifty paces, perhaps.

A dull back of the head entered Gu Yangjeok’s field of vision. The attire was identical, then and now.

Black robes and a mask.

It signified a desire to never reveal one’s identity.

If they’d just worn ordinary clothes, they wouldn’t have been spotted from the start.

Gu Yangji clicked his tongue lightly.

“You bastards always wear the same damn clothes, like you’re all in cahoots.”

“……?!”

Slap!

Gu Yangji’s hand roughly yanked the black-clad figure’s collar.

Simultaneously, the figure flinched, only for Gu Yangji to use the momentum to swing his sword.

‘So you’ve trained in martial arts too?’

Gu Yangji sneered, subtly extending his left foot.

Snap.

The figure’s ankle bent forward, sending them flying into the air.

“…Guh!?”

“Lacking patience, aren’t you?”

Gu Yangji remarked indifferently, grabbing the black-clad man’s face with his other hand.

Crack-!

He then slammed the black-clad man down onto a wooden crate rolling nearby.

Since he seemed to have some basic external martial arts training, it would likely be settled with just torn skin.

Meanwhile, the black-clad figure made no effort to hide his confusion.

“You… who the hell are you!?”

“…Brat.”

Gu Yangjeok’s gaze shifted to the black-clad figure’s feet.

Seeing him fidgeting slightly, it was obvious he intended to escape the moment Gu Yangjeok looked away.

Above all.

There was no fear of the unknown in the black-clad figure’s eyes.

This one knew of Gu Yangjeok’s existence.

The corner of Gu Yangjeok’s mouth curled upward.

“How cute.”

Gu Yangjeok tightened his grip on the black-clad man’s face.

Snap, crackle.

“Kwaaah…!”

Gu Yangjeok had never specifically trained in hand techniques, so he wouldn’t kill him, but the level of pain inflicted would be the same.

Above all, the face contained numerous delicate acupoints.

Wasn’t the Yintang point, considered one of the most vital human acupoints, located right between the eyebrows?

Applying intense pressure with his fingertips, Gu Yangji directed an irritated voice at the black-clad man.

“Asking if I ordered it is too obvious a question. Ask something else.”

“……?”

“Who told you?”

At those words, the black-clad man’s face turned deathly pale.

Gu Yangji was certain.

‘……Yeah, no matter how I thought about it, it was strange.’

The Plum Blossom Clinic was fundamentally occupied by the Blue Tiger Pavilion.

The Blue Tiger Pavilion, while not at the level of an elder, possessed not only personal bodyguards but also shadow warriors capable of alerting the surroundings to danger.

But not today.

Today was the day he had bestowed the Jasmine Pill upon Gu Yangjeok.

To refine a new Jasmine Pill, the Blue Tiger Pavilion needed to be ‘exactly one day’ unoccupied.

‘That’s why he hasn’t announced to the other disciples yet that he bestowed the Jasmine Pill upon me.’

And yet, the man in black had specifically targeted that day?

A sneer crept onto Gu Yangjeok’s face.

With no eyes or ears around, there was nothing to measure. This time, he needed to revert to his primal form, not that of a cultivator.

“They say if your mouth is heavy, your body suffers.”

Gu Yangji, the Blood Dog, laughed.

“From reading your face… it seems you’re going to suffer quite a bit.”

* * *

“Ugh… Guh.”

The black-clad man groaned repeatedly, yet no words came.

Gurgle.

Blood gushed from the gums inside his mouth, where all his teeth had been pulled out.

Gu Yangji watched him, indifferently tearing his robe to staunch the bleeding.

“Speak.”

The blood-stained face emitted a groan instead of an answer.

“Uuugh…”

“Speak, I said! Unless you wish to prolong this ‘pleasant time’.”

At those words, the man in black felt a chill that made him tremble as if he were about to freeze.

Barbaric.

From Gu Yangjeok, the very option of sparing his life was nowhere to be seen.

Die uncomfortably, or die comfortably.

Gu Yangjeok’s eyes were darker than pitch. That gaze, reflecting nothing, seemed to swallow the man in black whole.

Yet, Gu Yangjeok harbored other thoughts.

‘Did he place a mental seal?’

Worried he might try to escape, he pulled out all his teeth, bound his limbs, and removed the poison pellet lodged under his tongue.

Even that wasn’t enough; he pressed the acupoints to ensure complete subjugation.

Gu Yangji spat out a sound of disappointment and withdrew his sword.

‘It’s not working. What a waste of time.’

Given the situation, entrusting it to experts like Qinghowen or Songmu wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Just as Gu Yangji reached that conclusion and pulled the black-clad man toward him.

……Puff!

At the crackling sound from the grass, Gu Yangji reflexively drew his sword and swung.

The technique chosen in that split second from the depths of his consciousness was the Six Harmonies Sword’s ‘Unbreakable Advance’.

It possessed no special abilities or divine power, but for such a sudden attack, no other martial art could match its speed of execution.

Clang!

The shock of impact against something traveled up the sword to his wrist.

Gu Yangji’s eyebrows furrowed.

‘The internal energy channeled into that isn’t a joke.’

This wasn’t merely a warning strike; it was clearly intended to kill someone.

Gu Yangji reflexively glanced at the black-clad figure.

Though it was a worthless insect that could only emit a hoarse “Ehh, eeeh,” its intent to kill him was crystal clear.

‘Because I caught you before you could kill my senior brother.’

The moment he realized this, Gu Yangji’s fist clenched tightly.

‘You were watching to see how I’d react, was that it?’

If that was the case, he had no choice but to act even more irritatingly.

Gu Yangjeok’s figure seemed to blur slightly, then in an instant, he leapt up, grabbing the black-clad man by the throat.

The height was between one and two zhang.

Perhaps judging it wasn’t a particularly high distance, something else shot out from the bushes.

Swoosh, shoot!

This was the second time they faced each other.

‘Now I can see you.’

The moonlight positioned above revealed a featureless silver dart.

He had already anticipated the target would try to conceal its identity somehow, yet Gu Yangjie couldn’t hide his displeasure.

“You coward!”

The sword in Gu Yangjeok’s hand flowed along the path of the Plum Blossom Sword.

The sword energy, which had only faintly outlined its shape, had grown denser through Ha Jinak’s transmission of internal energy and the Jasmine Pill.

His body, which had previously been unable to withstand his accumulated insights and internal energy, had undergone a transformation and was now somewhat stabilized.

Though it still needed more tempering, attacks of this caliber could be easily parried.

The problem was…

‘The enemy isn’t revealing his true strength.’

Gyu Yangjeok had already realized in their first exchange that his opponent was unfamiliar with hidden weapons.

Had the enemy been someone like the Sichuan Tang Clan, skilled with hidden weapons, he would have calculated angles where the sword couldn’t easily strike, aiming for the man in black.

Had that been the case, even Gu Yangji wouldn’t have been able to block it without suffering damage.

Had that been the case…

Gu Yangji stared impassively beyond the thicket.

“If you intended to harm me, you should have used a sword, not some petty dagger.”

“……”

No reply came.

But Gu Yangji was half certain.

“A fellow disciple, or perhaps an elder?”

Only someone from the same Huashan faction could have plotted this ambush.

The moment Gu Yangjie finished speaking, the presence lurking within the bushes gradually faded.

The black-clad figure had long since collapsed unconscious.

* * *

Having listened calmly to the account, Baidanxian posed a question to Gu Yangjie.

“Couldn’t you have captured him?”

“If I had, this bastard would be dead.”

“……Hmm.”

At those words, Baek Dan-hyeon’s head nodded quietly. It was indeed a reasonable judgment.

Putting an enemy whose strength was uncertain and a card whose information was certain on the same scale was never wise.

Baek Dan-hyeon’s eyes narrowed.

‘Even in such a desperate situation, he made an immediate judgment on what was truly important.’

As Gu Yangji sat quietly, seemingly waiting for his words, Baek Dan-hyeon let out a single sigh.

Why had he brought the man in black here, rather than to the Discipline Committee or the Enforcement Hall?

Baek Dan-hyeon understood the intent perfectly.

“So you came to ask me.”

“That is correct, Grandmaster.”

As he spoke, Gu Yangji’s gaze, sent slowly, was slightly curved, as if he would have been disappointed had he not known.

Baek Dan-hyeon looked at Gu Yangji and bent and straightened his index finger once.

‘So young, yet truly…’

His insight surpassed even that of masters who had long roamed the martial world.

Baek Dan-hyeon struggled to discern whether he was addressing a disciple or having a private meeting with the head of the entire sect.

At that moment, Gu Yang-je opened his mouth.

“Does no one come to mind, Sect Leader? Someone who knows the exact whereabouts of the Grand Elder, or perhaps the one managing the Jasmine Pill?”

“I know them all, but it’s hard to cast suspicion carelessly.”

Baek Dan-hyeon sighed deeply, expressing his difficulty.

“Only those involved with the Jasodan, Jin Aki’s condition, or the core members of the Huashan Sect would know. By core members, I mean those who have shared hardships and joys within the Huashan Sect for decades, right?”

“…I see.”

Gu Yangji understood what Baek Dan-hyeon meant by that.

It wasn’t about shielding them by saying it wasn’t the Huashan Sect’s doing; it meant that once suspicion began, it would inevitably be revealed to an unknown enemy, no matter what.

And if the Sect Leader, Baek Dan-hyeon, were to step forward?

It would inevitably spread like wildfire.

Moreover, if rumors flowed down the mountain, it would only bring disaster to the Huashan Sect.

After agonizing over this for a long while, Gu Yangji finally offered a solution.

“I will go down for a moment and return. In the meantime, investigate the man in black. If you discover anything, please inform me.”

“Jia, you can hardly avoid the Black Dragon Sect’s gaze now, can you?”

“Master.”

Gu Yangji’s pent-up anger now burst forth with full force.

“If I act as I always have, it will seem natural.”

He intended to resume his former persona.

Bai Danxian, sensing his intent, frowned.

“…You.”

“You may speak ill of me to my senior brothers or disciples.”

Gu Yangjie smiled faintly and sank back into the darkness.

“For I was always that sort of person.”

A person accustomed to murder.

Gu Yangjie swallowed the rest of his words.