Chapter 134 : Cowardly Bastard

Chapter 134: Cowardly Bastard

“I am the Pavilion Lord.”

The one who hurriedly answered was a retiring courtesan with a thoroughly frightened expression. Well, she had just watched someone die right before her eyes.

At the retiring courtesan’s explanation, everyone’s gazes turned toward the woman.

For the owner of a famous and enormous Pleasure Quarters like the Flower Pavilion, she looked far too young. Yul Han and the others wore noticeably surprised expressions.

The Pavilion Lord spoke to them.

“You have avenged one of my courtesans, so I shall bear all the costs myself. Please, change your seats and enjoy yourselves to your hearts’ content before you leave.”

A voice from the Cult Leader instantly snapped shut the mouth of Iron Demon, which had been hanging open wide enough to fit a basin.

“Vertical slit in the pupils. So you’re a wench who has learned Spider Transformation Art.”

At the Cult Leader’s words, the Pavilion Lord’s eyes flickered with intrigue.

“You are the first to recognize Spider Transformation Art. May I ask your honored name?”

“Honored name, my foot. Stop playing ridiculous games and go bring your master.”

At the Cult Leader’s words, the Pavilion Lord’s eyes glowed blue.

“You go too far. No matter that you are benefactors of this establishment, a reckless tongue can hasten one’s death.”

At her cold warning, the Cult Leader merely snorted in disdain.

“So the Human-Faced Spider bastard took in a fairly usable wench as his adopted daughter. Seems that rumor was wrong. A foolish girl who cannot even distinguish when to step forward and when to withdraw.”

The Cult Leader not only spoke carelessly but hurled outright insults. The Pavilion Lord stepped forward, intending to lash back at him—but Ghost Demon’s question came a step faster.

That was fortunate for the Pavilion Lord.

“Human-Faced Spider? Isn’t that the former lord of the Four Calamity Emperors’ Stronghold, Cult Leader?”

“That’s right. The incompetent fool who got driven out after losing a power struggle. Ran off without even looking back, and it seems he’s been making money here running a Pleasure Quarters.”

“He’s not saving up to buy a nice house, is he? Preparing for a return?”

At Ghost Demon’s question, the Cult Leader shook his head.

“That bastard? With that Freakish Hammer controlling the Four Calamity Emperors’ Stronghold, you think he could?”

Hearing words in their conversation that allowed her to gauge their identities—while they treated her master like a stray dog—the Pavilion Lord’s face filled with shock.

The problem was that the ‘Cult Leader’ she had in mind would have almost no chance of appearing here in Suzhou, the very heart of the Hundred Paths’ territory.

Much less idling about in a Pleasure Quarters.

The doubt gnawed at her.

“Who in the world are you? Who are you to dare insult the host as guests?”

“You’ve clearly figured it out, yet you persist to the end! Just as insidious as that Human-Faced Spider bastard.”

At the Cult Leader’s cold voice, the Pavilion Lord shrank and failed to respond.

She had finally become certain of his identity.

Watching her, Iron Demon asked regretfully,

“Um… they’re offering us drinks. How about we stop here?”

“Are you crazy about liquor? No, even if you are, did you not hear what I said? This is that Human-Faced Spider bastard’s den.”

“Would they really drug even us?”

“What’s that bastard’s specialty?”

“…Absorption Technique.”

“Exactly. If it were you, would you pass up plump prey like us?”

From the Cult Leader and Iron Demon’s exchange, Yul Han grasped the general situation and turned his gaze to the flustered Pavilion Lord.

“Have you ever harmed a guest?”

<Have you killed someone?>

It was the same gaze with which he had asked that question before calmly severing the neck of Slaughter Demon Gireon.

There was no way the Pavilion Lord would not be afraid.

“Th-that is….”

As Yul Han slowly approached, she shrieked hysterically,

“If you harm me, my master will never let it pass!”

It was a desperate struggle to survive—but she had chosen the wrong approach.

The Cult Leader casually tossed out the answer.

“Your master? Don’t be ridiculous. That chicken-hearted bastard taking revenge on Emperor Salyejin? If that happens, I’ll sear my own hands.”

At the Cult Leader’s mocking words, realization dawned at last in the Pavilion Lord’s eyes—followed by despair.

Standing right before her, Yul Han’s gaze, however, was not directed at her but somewhere else entirely.

“A man who hides and refuses to appear even when his disciple must bear his fault and die in his stead. He is not worth showing courtesy.”

At the incomprehensible end of those words, Yul Han finally drew his sword.

The people of the Bright Cult’s eyes widened at the sight of the blade twisting slightly from the lower stance. It was the initiating stance of Half-Moon Asura Slash.

As expected—

Sssheaaaak!

Like lightning, the sword shot upward, and from it burst a Half-Moon Force Energy that tore across the ground.

After smashing through several rooms, the force energy fulfilled its duty by shattering the doors of a pavilion across the way before dispersing.

Through the long path now carved open, they saw a massive, hairy man standing there in shock.

Well, he had been eavesdropping on the conversation here when the door had suddenly exploded apart.

Staring at the hairy giant, the Cult Leader laughed incredulously.

“Well, look at that. That bastard’s over there.”

The hairy man, meeting the Cult Leader’s eyes, tried to flee in panic—then abruptly froze.

Yul Han, who had been standing beside the Cult Leader just moments ago, was now right in front of him.

The movement art that consumed the most Internal Energy in the world, yet displayed a truly terrifying speed—One-Flash Form—had been unleashed.

As if he had teleported through the Demon Wall Five Absolutes, Yul Han blocked the escape of the hairy man, Human-Faced Spider, and asked in a cold voice,

“Did you truly harm your guests?”

From Yul Han’s blood-red eyes, dense killing intent dripped heavily.

Meeting that gaze, Human-Faced Spider could not answer carelessly.

He instantly realized that a single word from him would decide life or death.

The Pavilion Lord, who had hurried over in his stead, answered instead.

“We did render them unconscious with Bewitching Drug and used Absorption Technique, but we have never killed anyone! It’s true. No guests would come to a Pleasure Quarters where people die.”

Yul Han stared intently into her urgent eyes before sheathing his sword.

He had discerned that her words were not false.

Once the truth was separated from lies, the crimson hue in Yul Han’s eyes returned to its original color.

He then said to Human-Faced Spider,

“Senior Brother is calling.”

Which meant that if he tried to flee, he would not be spared.

In the end, like an ox dragged to the slaughterhouse, Human-Faced Spider slumped his shoulders and followed behind Yul Han.

At the Pavilion Lord’s suggestion to move to another room to talk, the Cult Leader agreed, and they relocated to a new Pavilion Residence.

Even the Cult Leader had no desire to converse in a room made a mess of by corpses, spilled food, and blood.

Seated face-to-face in the newly moved room, the Cult Leader asked Human-Faced Spider,

“You’ve done fairly well for yourself?”

“I-It just happened somehow….”

“You begged me for help, so I went. Then you bolted and left me there.”

“I-I didn’t think you would truly come….”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Because of a small connection from childhood, I didn’t think you would really come. When you actually did, I was shocked.”

“So you were shocked and ran?”

“T-That’s right.”

“Talk sense. You stuck me there and ran while that Freakish Hammer bastard was flustered.”

“Un-Uncle. That’s a misunderstanding….”

“Uncle? Bastard, now that you’re in a bind, it’s ‘Uncle,’ huh.”

Ghost Demon, watching Human-Faced Spider laugh awkwardly under the Cult Leader’s scolding, asked,

“You knew each other?”

“Just bumped into each other a few times when we were young. His father and I were drinking companions.”

It was a story that made no sense at all when looking at Human-Faced Spider, who appeared well advanced in age, and the Cult Leader, whose face still looked like a man in his thirties.

But those who knew the Cult Leader’s true age simply accepted it.

“Then when you suddenly went to the Four Calamity Emperors’ Stronghold over a decade ago—?”

“That’s right. He asked for help, so I went. But he ran. I thought he wanted me to fight alongside him. Instead, he used me to escape.”

Ghost Demon’s expression twisted at the Cult Leader’s words.

“He’s a real son of a bitch.”

The Cult Leader snorted, and Human-Faced Spider could not refute it.

Looking at him, the Cult Leader continued,

“Honestly, he’s been like that since childhood. He became a martial artist because of his father’s greed, but he was never suited for the Martial World. Unlike his appearance, he’s timid.”

“Human-Faced Spider, one of the Five Great Masters of the Unorthodox Factions, is timid?”

“If not? Even when you were cursing him out, he couldn’t squeak back.”

“That’s because I look stronger than him.”

“If someone from the Unorthodox Factions stronger than you called you a son of a bitch, what would you do?”

“What bastard would dare! Even if my head split open, I’d—”

Ghost Demon, who had begun speaking with rising fury even at the hypothetical, stopped mid-sentence and nodded.

He had understood the Cult Leader’s meaning.

The Cult Leader turned his gaze back to Human-Faced Spider.

“Why here? Out in the open, in a place full of people. You’re not that bold.”

“In Suzhou… a strong ghostly aura flows here. If left alone, many people would be harmed….”

“So you settled here to protect them because you were worried they’d be harmed?”

Human-Faced Spider could not answer.

That had not exactly been his intention.

He was worried, but he lacked the courage to go to the Martial Alliance and inform them. Yet to ignore it and leave felt uneasy.

So he had stayed, weighed down by that tangled state of mind.

The Cult Leader instantly saw through him and clicked his tongue.

“You just collapsed here again. No plan. No resolve.”

“Th-That’s….”

From his inability to give a proper reply, the Cult Leader confirmed his guess and continued rebuking him.

“When will you ever fix that? You couldn’t even tell your father you didn’t want to learn martial arts. You couldn’t refuse the elders who pushed you to become Stronghold Lord. You got stabbed in the back by a sworn brother who trusted and supported you, and you ran. You think I don’t know what’s in your head? Back then, too, you avoided it because you didn’t want to fight your sworn brother with blood flying everywhere!”

Human-Faced Spider merely smiled bitterly and said nothing.

Realizing from the Cult Leader’s words that he was not as wicked as he seemed, Yul Han stepped in.

“What do you mean by a strong ghostly aura flowing?”

“Ah! Not always, but sometimes the ghostly aura manifests strongly. Just yesterday and today, it spread powerfully several times.”

Such a phenomenon did not occur naturally. That meant human hands were involved.

And ghostly aura touched by human hands was never a good sign.

“Do you know the origin of the ghostly aura?”

At Yul Han’s question, which suggested intervention, the Cult Leader asked with concern,

“Why? Again?”

“People will be harmed.”

“This is Hundred Paths territory. Have you forgotten?”

Yul Han smiled faintly.

“I know. But the people living in Hundred Paths territory are still people. Just like us.”

Realizing from his answer that he would not back down this time, the Cult Leader clicked his tongue.

“Tsk. That meddlesome streak of yours.”

Yet he said no more.

Seeing the Cult Leader fall silent, Yul Han smiled again.

He knew that silence meant consent.

Having secured the Cult Leader’s approval, Yul Han asked Human-Faced Spider once more,

“Can you find it?”

“Not perfectly, but roughly….”

“That will suffice. Once we’re near it, I will handle the rest.”

He intended to trust Ghost Eyes.

Thus, by Yul Han’s decision, the group unexpectedly set out to track the ghostly aura flowing through Suzhou.