Chapter 312 – The Blood Wind Blows from Sichuan Province (3)

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“Huff huff!”

Rough breathing mixed with blood odor flowed from Dan Woon-hyang’s mouth. Her face was flushed red, and thick beads of sweat were constantly flowing down her entire body.

Her legs were trembling and her heart was beating madly, but she never stopped. No, she couldn’t stop.

Dam-ho was tracking her. Though she couldn’t see his form, she could tell.

The stench of a beast was carried on the wind. The disgusting breath that only ferocious beasts that hunt and eat living things possess made her feel like she would vomit at any moment.

If she stopped, she would die.

The moment she rested because it was difficult, he would instantly close the distance and bite her spine.

Just thinking of his face sent chills up her spine.

‘Beast! He’s a beast born only to kill and devour. Where did such a person come from…’

The more she thought about it, the more she shuddered.

No one had ever given her such fear before. Cult Leader Cheok Gwan-hyeol was an object of respect to her, not of fear.

‘Different! He’s different. He’s definitely not a normal human.’

She never thought that she, who had grown up in the Demon Cult, a land of struggle, would think this way. The fear Dan Woon-hyang felt from Dam-ho was that tremendous.

Dan Woon-hyang ran and ran again. She drew up all her body’s power and invested it in deploying lightness techniques.

Her body raced forward at wind-like speed, but Dan Woon-hyang still thought it wasn’t enough.

She didn’t know how much time had passed. It seemed like only a moment had passed, or several hours had gone by. She had no time to think of anything else.

How long had she run like this? Dan Woon-hyang’s face suddenly began to brighten. It was because the destination she had so desperately wanted to reach was right in front of her.

It was a small village with impressive picturesque scenery where numerous rice fields were arranged in terraces along the sloping mountainside.

There was the person she had been searching for so desperately.

It was an old man tending to the rice fields with his pants rolled up to his knees. He seemed busy pulling weeds from the fields.

“Elder!”

Dan Woon-hyang called to him with all her strength. Then the old man raised his head and looked at her. The old man who radiated a transcendent aura like an immortal was Cheon Oh-gyeong.

Dan Woon-hyang had come to find the master of Sword Stream, one of the Thirteen Branches, and an old martial artist who had retired from the world’s troublesome affairs.

“Woon-hyang.”

Cheon Oh-gyeong was slightly surprised to see Dan Woon-hyang looking disheveled like a madwoman, then immediately hardened his expression. He sensed an ominous atmosphere from her appearance.

He walked out of the rice field with a stern expression.

“Elder!”

“What’s the matter again? What happened?”

“Huff! Huff! Everyone, everyone’s dead.”

Dan Woon-hyang collapsed into Cheon Oh-gyeong’s arms while gasping for breath.

“Dead? Who?”

“Seok Mu-gang too… the Tang Clan too… all my subordinates are dead.”

Cheon Oh-gyeong’s eyes trembled.

“Seok Mu-gang? The Iron King of the North is dead?”

“Yes!”

“Who killed him?”

Seok Mu-gang, the young master of Rock Cliff Stream. Though he couldn’t compare to himself, he was still an absolute master who could dominate the world. He wasn’t someone who would die easily to others.

“The Fist… Demon.”

“The Fist Demon? You mean that Fist Demon of Mount Hua Sect?”

“Huff! Yes!”

Dan Woon-hyang answered with difficulty while breathing roughly.

Cheon Oh-gyeong’s face was hardened like a stone statue.

“Mount Hua… Fist Demon.”

How could he not know that nickname?

No matter how removed from the martial world he was, rumors flowed in on the wind. And among them, the legend of the young Fist Demon was stimulating enough to make his old heart beat again. What surprised him most was that the Fist Demon was Master Hyeon-so’s disciple.

Master Hyeon-so, who had become sworn brothers over a cup of wine. Even now, when he closed his eyes, his immortal-like appearance was vivid.

Cheon Oh-gyeong let out a quiet sigh.

“Sigh! It’s karma.”

No matter how intricately the world’s connections were woven like a net, he didn’t know they could be this tenacious and coarse.

Whoooosh!

At that moment, wind blew.

Cheon Oh-gyeong felt the fierce killing intent contained in the wind.

His gaze turned toward the direction Dan Woon-hyang had run from. The wind was blowing from there.

Clatter clatter!

Faint hoofbeats were mixed in the wind.

When he concentrated power in his eyes, he saw a man in black clothes riding a black horse from far away.

Despite being quite far away, a thick scent of blood rushed into his nose. Cheon Oh-gyeong frowned at the intense blood scent that made his head dizzy.

‘That person is Hyeon-so’s disciple?’

Cheon Oh-gyeong unconsciously shook his head.

Mount Hua Sect was a Taoist sect of the Orthodox School. Naturally, martial artists who had learned Mount Hua Sect’s martial arts should emanate the mysterious energy unique to Taoists. A representative example was Master Hyeon-so.

From Master Hyeon-so, one could feel an energy that made one’s mood refreshing just by meeting him. But from the man approaching from far away, only the energy of destruction and slaughter could be felt.

“I don’t understand how such a disciple came from Hyeon-so.”

Cheon Oh-gyeong let out a sighing voice.

Clatter clatter! Clatter clatter!

The hoofbeats grew louder and finally Dam-ho reached right near him.

Snort!

Black Ghost neighed forcefully. Black Ghost was also sensing an ominous atmosphere from Cheon Oh-gyeong.

Dam-ho’s gaze turned toward Dan Woon-hyang, who was still in Cheon Oh-gyeong’s arms.

“Ugh!”

Dan Woon-hyang shuddered just from receiving his gaze. Seeing such Dan Woon-hyang, Cheon Oh-gyeong briefly closed his eyes.

The Dan Woon-hyang he knew wasn’t someone who would easily be frightened by others. If she had been such a weak-hearted woman, she wouldn’t have abandoned the position of Holy Maiden and called herself the Demon Mother.

Dam-ho’s killing intent was eating away at her mind. And it was also shaking Cheon Oh-gyeong’s composure.

Dam-ho’s gaze turned toward Cheon Oh-gyeong.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Cheon Oh-gyeong.”

“Cheon Oh-gyeong?”

The moment he heard that name, Dam-ho’s gaze turned ominous. At his reaction, Cheon Oh-gyeong’s eyes lit up.

“You seem to know me.”

“I do.”

“As I thought.”

“Because you killed my friend’s master.”

“Your friend?”

“Cho Yeon-woon.”

“Cho Yeon-woon of the Hundred Battles Sect?”

“That’s right!”

“Ah!”

Cheon Oh-gyeong unconsciously let out a sigh.

He thought fate was too cruel.

Not only was he a disciple of his sworn brother Master Hyeon-so, but he was also connected to Cho Yeon-woon. There was no worse evil connection than this.

Dam-ho dismounted from Black Ghost.

When he patted Black Ghost’s rear, it ran far away on its own. Black Ghost, who had jumped into the river water on its own to avoid danger during the river battle, was again avoiding to a distant place where the aftermath wouldn’t reach.

When Dam-ho dismounted, an even stronger blood scent was felt. It was like having a blood-hungry beast right in front of him.

Cheon Oh-gyeong tried to steady his shaking heart and said:

“I’m sorry about that child’s matter. But I don’t regret it. Do you know why?”

“Do I need to know the reason?”

“Because grudges in the martial world must be resolved. I merely settled my grudge. There were no personal feelings about Cho Yeon-woon in it.”

“Lies!”

“What?”

“All grudges involve personal feelings. You just pretend otherwise and package it nicely. Just like you.”

“Hmm!”

At Dam-ho’s harsh words, Cheon Oh-gyeong was at a loss for words.

His expression changed dozens of times in an instant.

Bewilderment, anger, regret, attachment, and countless other emotions appeared and disappeared.

Dam-ho silently watched such Cheon Oh-gyeong.

After a moment, Cheon Oh-gyeong sighed.

“Sigh! You’re right. I’m a hypocrite. I acted as if I had transcended the world on the outside, but in the end I couldn’t escape from the bonds of personal resentment. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry to me.”

Dam-ho’s gaze turned toward Dan Woon-hyang, who was still in Cheon Oh-gyeong’s arms. Then Cheon Oh-gyeong hid Dan Woon-hyang behind his back.

“You seem to have a grudge against this child.”

“……”

Dam-ho didn’t answer. But even his silence became an excellent answer for Cheon Oh-gyeong.

“Right! That’s why you chased her all the way here. Hehe!”

“……”

“Let me make a request of you. I hope you’ll listen.”

“……”

“Turn back here.”

For a moment, Dam-ho’s eyebrows twitched. Then Cheon Oh-gyeong smiled with self-mockery.

“It’s hard to accept easily. But I’m saying this for your sake. If you turn back here, I’ll forget all grudges.”

“Forget?”

“Yes! Killing Seok Mu-gang, cornering this child, and many other resentments, I’ll forget them all.”

“……”

“I’m saying this thinking of your master. Hyeon-so and I are sworn brothers.”

“So?”

“I’m saying this considering my relationship with Hyeon-so.”

“Would my master be sad if you died?”

“……”

At Dam-ho’s cold words, Cheon Oh-gyeong lost his words. Those few short words contained countless meanings.

Only then did Cheon Oh-gyeong realize he had been thinking wrongly about Dam-ho.

Make Dam-ho retreat with a few words? It was impossible.

Probably no one could make him retreat until his master came personally.

“So we must see blood after all?”

“Your side started the war first.”

“You don’t know how high the sky is. I acknowledge that you’re strong, but that doesn’t make you the strongest in the martial world. When one is too strong, one tends to break, and sometimes choosing to retreat is much wiser.”

Cheon Oh-gyeong knew. No matter what he said, Dam-ho wouldn’t listen.

People with the eyes of beasts like Dam-ho never change their minds or go back on their decisions once they’ve made them.

The type that only looks ahead and charges forward.

Even if only a cliff existed at the end of that path, he was the type of human who would charge at full speed and choose to fall.

‘Truly the worst opponent.’

For martial artists who had learned martial arts, someone like Dam-ho was a nightmarish opponent too terrible to see even in dreams.

Cheon Oh-gyeong picked up a sickle that was lying on the ground nearby.

It was an old sickle whose blade wasn’t even properly sharpened. But the moment it was held in Cheon Oh-gyeong’s hand, the sickle began to emit an aura no less than any famous sword in the world.

Cheon Oh-gyeong, holding the sickle, said to Dan Woon-hyang:

“Stay far away.”

“Elder!”

“This won’t be an easy fight.”

Dan Woon-hyang’s pupils shook.

She never expected such words to come from Cheon Oh-gyeong’s mouth.

Dan Woon-hyang quickly moved away from Cheon Oh-gyeong. Dam-ho watched this but didn’t move.

It was because a tremendous presence that overwhelmed mountains and rivers had begun flowing from Cheon Oh-gyeong’s entire body.

Dam-ho had fought countless opponents until now. Among them were many absolute masters who had dominated the world. But none of them had radiated such overwhelming presence as Cheon Oh-gyeong.

The presence of a giant who had chosen retirement after feeling disgusted with the world was enough to make goosebumps rise on Dam-ho’s skin.

This was the first time.

Dam-ho was someone who gave fear to others, not someone who felt fear.

It was as if a giant wall stood before his eyes.

A giant wall that he couldn’t even dare to climb over.

But Dam-ho smiled.

Chillingly brightly.