Chapter 1511
There are people you can deal with using words. (6)
“Shin Gae!”
“Sahyeong!”
Astonished elders rushed to Ilho Shin Gae without attending to their own wounds.
Then, they stood between Chung Myung and Ilho Shin Gae, bearing their teeth.
“This wicked scoundrel!”
“How could he commit such a heinous act!”
But what they faced was not Chung Myung’s triumphant expression, but rather his face, lips tightly clenched as if something had gone wrong.
“Gulp…”
“Are you alright, Elder?”
Ilho Shin Gae, who had fallen, struggled to rise.
Blood streamed as be grasped his neck.
At first glance, it seemed like a fatal wound, but the elders could tell as soon as they saw it.
While the sword had indeed touched Ilho Shin Gae’s neck, it hadn’t hit a vital spot.
Even with his throat pierced, Ilho Shin Gae had narrowly escaped death.
“Ah… How fortunate, Hwasan Geomhyeop.”
With a pale face, Ilho Shin Gae, supported by the elders, managed to rise. Though a considerable amount of blood flowed from his neck, his expression was as relieved as it could be.
Gently stroking his neck, Ilho Shin Gae’s expression became peculiar.
“Half a chi [it’s a measure].”
“If it had struck just a bit deeper, my life would have been taken. You’ve had quite an unlucky stroke. But isn’t misfortune something that comes to everyone in this world?”
Chung Myung’s face twisted. He seemed about to say something when a urgent voice came from behind.
“Sasuuuk!”
“Damn it! Sasuk!”
Chung Myung bit his lip. Ilho Shin Gae grinned.
‘Got him.’
Hwasan Geomhyeop, whom no one in the world could ever subdue. He, who was both the greatest sword of Hwasan and the General of Cheonumaeng, was brought down by none other than Ilho Shin Gae.
It was something that even Paegun Jang Ilso of Sapaeryeon and the Abbot of Shaolin couldn’t achieve!
Chung Myung growled as he looked at Ilho Shin Gae’s satisfied face.
“Do you think you’ve won…?”
“Oh, it seems Geomhyeop doesn’t understand the situation yet. Well, I’ll have to make you realize. See what recklessness leads to.”
Ilho Shin Gae let out a blatant sneer. Then, his mouth opened. Chung Myung instinctively moved his sword, but he couldn’t rush in recklessly. It was impossible for Chung Myung to break through the elders who had already gathered and kill Ilho Shin Gae in one fell swoop.
“There’s no surrender!”
Ilho Shin Gae shouted. All eyes turned to him.
“Kill them all! Leave not a single one alive! Don’t let a word of what happened here leak out!”
“Yes!”
The elders, with determination in their eyes, snarled and charged at the disciples of Hwasan.
“Just kill them all!”
“We can’t do that!”
“Damn it! Then what? Are you telling me to die, huh!”
Jo Geol shouted in a voice tinged with frustration.
As everyone stood as if guarding the wounded Baek Cheon, their eyes shook.
But then, in that moment…
Kwaaaaaang!
Suddenly, one side of the great hall’s wall exploded with a thunderous roar. Without any warning or sign whatsoever.
“What, what’s happening?”
“Is it an attack?”
The startled elders turned their heads in confusion. Even the disciples of Hwasan, who had been gathered, were shocked and turned their gaze in that direction.
The only one who didn’t seem surprised by this situation was llho Shin Gae.
“It looks like they’ve arrived.”
His venomous voice pierced Chung Myung’s ears.
“Did you say I was a dog? Then before you die, make sure to tell me what it feels like to be bitten by a dog.”
The dust that had risen as the wall collapsed was gradually swept away by the wind. A clear blue sky emerged, serene and beautiful. However, no one here could spare a glance at that sky.
There was something more attention grabbing.
Thud!
A group entered without hesitation.
“That…”
The startled elders murmured in confusion.
Though it was impossible to recognize each individual, their attire alone revealed their identity.
The deep yellow robes. There was only one place in the entire world where one could wear such attire.
“Sh-Shaolin?”
“Why is Shaolin here…?”
Thud!
As the shaven-headed monks of Shaolin, marked with the monk’s stamp on their foreheads, stepped into the great hall, the elders swallowed dryly. Silence flowed.
The monks calmly took their positions.
“Amitabha.”
A monk whose name remained unknown uttered the invocation softly from the front. His posture was straight and composed, yet there was a glint of sharpness in his eyes.
The monk who had been gazing at Chung Myung, confronting Ilho Shin Gae, soon turned his gaze to the disciples of Hwasan surrounded by the elders of the Beggars Sect.
Feeling the intensity of that gaze, Jo Geol flinched and then let out a disheartened laugh.
“Damn it… So, this was the real tiger’s den.”
It was like going into a cave to catch a fox and encountering a real tiger instead. Who could have predicted such a turn of events?
“…Just the Beggars Sect alone is overwhelming.”
Even Yoon Jong, who rarely complained, let out a groan of distress.
Even if they resorted to desperate measures now, they couldn’t win, let alone escape. Their opponent was none other than Shaolin.
“What do we do, Sasuk?”
Baek Cheon, clutching his injured shoulder, bit his lip tightly.
“Sh-Shaolin?”
The elders who were guarding Ilho Shin Gae clenched their fists tightly.
Ilho Shin Gae had prepared a move, and who would have thought it would be Shaolin! If Shaolin intervened, it would be like having the entire heavenly army on their side.
No, it wouldn’t even compare to the heavenly army. If Shaolin intervened, there would be no need to worry about resolving all these issues. They could even shake off the last burden of erasing the core members of Cheonumaeng.
It was truly a move worthy of divine foresight [신기묘산(神機妙算) – an idiom].
“Indeed…”
Indeed, it was a small flaw for Gungu Ilho to see Chung Myung pushing him pack with his martial arts prowess, but Ilho Shin Gae turned that flaw into an asset, so that it couldn’t even be considered a flaw.
Wouldn’t it be natural for such a person like him to become the Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect?
“You are impressive, Elder…”
The elders looked at Ilho Shin Gae with admiration and reverence.
However, that gaze soon became tainted with suspicion.
It was because a strange expression had appeared on Ilho Shin Gae’s face, as if… as if he were facing something unimaginable.
“Gr-Great… elder?”
The elders looked at Ilho Shin Gae with perplexed faces. He mumbled absentmindedly as if he were not even listening.
“…Sh-Shaolin?”
“Yes?”
“Shaolin…”
Something was wrong. Something had gone awry. It was the moment the elders sensed it.
Kwaaang!
Suddenly, as the door inside the great hall had burst open, a strange group intruded.
Their momentum was truly remarkable, and unlike Shaolin, who had revealed themselves just before, their attire has varied. The men, with their rough and disparate energies, exuded formidable aura as soon as they entered the great hall.
“Ilho Shin Gae! As agreed…”
The one who was about to roar like a lion at the forefront suddenly faltered, freezing in place. It seemed he had spotted Shaolin’s monks standing on the opposite side.
The bewildered expressions on the faces of the unfamiliar strangers were obvious.
“This, this is… Shaolin! Isn’t this a different story? I’ve never heard such a thing, Ilho Shin Gae!”
The elders looked at them in bewilderment as they vented their frustrations. Who on earth were they?
“What’s the situation now…?”
A series of unexpected events threw everyone into confusion.
“Amitabha.”
At that moment, a low and powerful Buddhist chant echoed thunderously in the main hall. The leading Shaolin monk, who had uttered the chant imbued with inner strength, raised his head.
“Where is the Sect Leader?”
There was no reply. He asked again.
“I ask once more, where is the Sect Leader?”
The bewildered elders unintentionally glanced towards Pung Yeong Shin Gae.
If they truly intended to present Ilho Shin Gae as the Sect Leader to meet Shaolin, they should never have done so. However, in moments of panic, people act instinctively. Thus, this action clearly demonstrated that the current Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect was still Pung Yeong Shin Gae.
“Here I am.”
Pung Yeong Shin Gae, wounded in various places and with disheveled hair, wiped the blood trickling down his mouth and stepped forward.
“I am Pung Yeong Shin Gae, the Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect.”
The Shaolin monk gave a slight nod. Judging by the others’ gazes, there was no doubt about his identity.
“Amitabha. I am Hye Bang, a first-generation disciple of Shaolin, accompanied by Shaolin warrior monks.”
Clear, bright light shone from the eyes of those standing behind Hye Bang.
“We have come to assist the Sect Leader at the request of the Dragon Head of the Beggars Sect.”
The elders’ jaws dropped. A groan filled with confusion and doubt escaped through their gaping mouths.
“Wh-what is this…?”
“Isn’t it Shaolin? But now, who is Shaolin offering there help to?”
As if to answer their question, Hye Bang’s powerful voice, filled with inner strength, spread throughout the main hall.
“It is clearly against the way of righteousness to falsely spread the news of the Sect Leader’s death and attempt to usurp his position while the Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect is still clearly alive!”
Now, all the elders’ gazes fell upon Ilho Shin Gae.
Their eyes demanded an explanation, but Ilho Shin Gae could not utter a single word. He was not the one who had called Shaolin.
“I hope the elders understand their shame and step back. If not, Shaolin, along with myself, will have no choice but to intervene at the Sect Leader’s request.”
“Wh-what is this…?”
“Amitabha.”
A resolute Buddhist chant rang out, filled with the determination not to listen to any more excuses.
Hye Bang, having finished speaking, turned his gaze in one direction.
“Sa-Sahyeong.”
There stood Hye Yeon, on the verge of tears, his large eyes welling up.
A small smile appeared on Hye Bang’s lips. Without words, they understood each other’s situation.
However, even at this moment, the elders of the Beggars Sect kept looking around nervously, dumbfounded. Or perhaps they knew the situation but were unwilling to accept it.
The silence was broken by a small groan. The person who could clarify everything had appeared.
“Ugh… I told you to come with me.”
Behind the rows of Shaolin monks, the outer wall of the main hall lay in ruins. From the debris, a hand suddenly emerged.
Propping himself up with a groan, a figure crawled out.
The man who appeared was someone the elders of the Beggars Sect knew all too well.
“Ho-Hong Daekwang?”
“H-how did you get here?”
Drawing the attention of the elders, Hong Daekwang looked slightly embarrassed, then turned his head in search of someone. Finally spotting the person he was looking for, he shouted in a voice mixed with both irritation and triumph.
“I made it in time, Hwasan Geomhyeop! Don’t ever bully me again! I almost broke my leg traveling all the way to Mount Song!”
Not only the elders but also Ilho Shin Gae looked at Chung Myung with a stunned expression. On Chung Myung’s lips… a smile was forming. A smile that looked extremely wicked.
“What was it you said again?”
“…”
“You said my brains are overrated?”
Ilho Shin Gae had merely implied that Chung Myung’s intelligence was exaggerated… but it seemed that was how Chung Myung had heard it.
“Well, that might be true. Sure, it might be. But… what do you call someone even dumber than that idiot?”
“You, you bastard…!”
“The situation has changed, so we could negotiate properly, but…”
Chung Myung took a step towards Ilho Shin Gae, flicking his sword. Ilho Shin Gae and the elders protecting him instinctively stepped back several steps.
“There are people you can deal with using words.”
“…”
“I’m too dumb to do that, so let’s just talk with swords, you beggar bastard.”
Chung Myung’s lips twisted into a malicious grin.
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