Chapter 300 : Saving Jo Gyeongmae (2)

Chapter 300: Saving Jo Gyeongmae (2)

“You lunatic! How dare you try to contest us in pure internal energy!”

The white-robed elder placed his palm once again on Yong Hwarin’s right hand.

Yong Hwarin’s left hand was already locked in an energy contest with the black-robed elder, and now his right hand was engaged with the white-robed elder.

He appeared to be in a battle of internal energy against two opponents simultaneously.

To any observer, this looked like certain defeat for Yong Hwarin.

The two elders clearly did not believe that Yong Hwarin’s internal energy had reached past Three Cycles of Cultivation.

But when Yong Hwarin summoned the energy of over Three Cycles and held his ground, they were taken aback.

The white-robed elder exclaimed in admiration.

“Hoohoo, to think you’ve surpassed Three Cycles! But you’ve made a grave mistake. How dare you engage us in a battle of internal energy? Each of us alone possesses energy of at least One Cycle.”

With that, the two combined to match the energy equivalent of Four Cycles of Cultivation—an amount approaching the final realm of martial arts: The Divine Stage.

But Yong Hwarin paid no attention to their words. Instead, he merely activated the Dual-Mind Inner Art and channeled two distinct energies stored separately in his Tai Chi Dantian—sending the qi of Dongyeo Thunderquake and its opposite, the energy of Silent Falling Echo, into his right and left hands, respectively.

When the energy of Silent Falling Echo spread through his left hand and the force of Dongyeo Thunderquake surged through the right, the black-robed elder’s eyes suddenly bulged wide.

“What... What is this?!”

Yet it was the white-robed elder standing behind who bore the true brunt of the pain.

“Let’s see how you bastards will deal with conflicting energies rampaging inside your bodies!”

Thanks to his Tai Chi Dantian, Yong Hwarin could contain these opposing energies within his body.

But normally, housing such clashing forces within oneself would lead to internal combustion—like a Thunderburst Pellet.

A human body, even with resilient flesh and bone, was not made to hold contradictory qi.

Such opposing forces would inevitably collide and explode.

“Stop!”

As the thunder energy and yin energy collided within the black-robed elder, the energies that the Tai Chi Twin Swords shared began to spiral out of control.

“S-Stop, I said!”

“After pushing my companions to their deaths, you dare ask that?”

“Uwaaaaaagh!”

The black-robed elder’s eyes popped out and dangled grotesquely.

Unable to contain the rampaging true energy, it burst through the weakest outlet—his eyes.

Then, blood poured from his ears and nose.

When Yong Hwarin withdrew his left hand, the black-robed elder collapsed like a decayed bundle of straw.

The white-robed elder shared a similar fate.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, a fountain of blood erupted, silencing him as he fell backward.

Thud!

Their deaths were bizarre and far from graceful.

“Why would you challenge them to an internal energy battle so recklessly?”

Jeong Suji’s voice scolded him, but Yong Hwarin replied casually.

“You said we didn’t have time, didn’t you? If they escaped while fighting, it’d be more troublesome. So I locked them in and fought them outright.”

Brushing aside Jeong Suji’s concern, Yong Hwarin sat down in front of Jo Gyeongmae and immediately checked her qi.

Her pulse was faint—she was slowly dying.

For Jeong Minji’s sake, Yong Hwarin couldn’t let Jo Gyeongmae die.

He immediately transferred his own true energy and guided it through Jo Gyeongmae’s body.

The qi of the Realm of Self-Existence began healing her from within.

“Her internal injuries are far too severe. This won’t be an easy recovery—it’ll take time.”

“To survive such trauma would be a miracle.”

Jeong Daji thought it was truly a blessing that her mother had not perished.

“We must leave this place first.”

When Jeong Suji spoke, Yong Hwarin asked,

“Where is Min-mae?”

“Eonni escaped just before she could be taken hostage.”

“Where to?”

Jeong Suji’s face darkened as she looked at him.

“I don’t know.”

Just then, Deuksang arrived late, and Yong Hwarin addressed him.

“My lord, please dispatch your men to search for Lady Jeong’s whereabouts.”

If necessary, Yong Hwarin would mobilize every member of the Blood Green Unit to find Jeong Minji.

When Deuksang gave the order to the subordinates he had brought, they scattered in every direction.

Among them were individuals wearing the uniforms of the Sky Ocean Escort Agency.

“Our people will find her.”

But Yong Hwarin wasn’t one to just sit and wait for a report.

“Where do you think your sister might’ve gone?”

Jeong Suji replied,

“She must have gone to find you, Young Master Yong.”

Yong Hwarin shook his head after a brief thought.

“No, she wouldn’t have come looking for me.”

“Why not? To Eonni, you’re her only hope. Of course she would have gone to you.”

“Min-mae is a clever woman. Since she managed to escape, she would’ve thought the hideout would be relocated. Rather than trying to come find me, she would’ve gathered others—or tried to find the hideout on her own. She must have waited for an opportunity to rescue them. If the hideout moved, she’d never find it again. That’s why she acted as she did.”

Yong Hwarin spoke with certainty, and Jeong Suji found herself unable to refute him.

Thinking it over, she realized that her sister’s nature aligned with his reasoning.

Though she was the quietest among the three, she was also the wisest and most prudent.

Jeong Suji also knew that her sister was far more astute than herself, who merely pretended to be clever.

And just then, she felt a strange emotion as she realized that Yong Hwarin seemed to understand her sister better than she did.

Jeong Daji was quicker to acknowledge it.

“You’re right, Young Master Yong. Now that I think about it, Eonni wouldn’t have wasted time searching for you. At first, maybe she tried, but once her reason returned, she would’ve done anything she could to find us before the hideout moved.”

Having reached an agreement, Jeong Suji and Jeong Daji turned their gaze toward the direction of the hideout.

“I’ll carry the Manor Mistress on my back. I’ll have to keep feeding her my true energy while we move.”

Because her condition was so dire, Yong Hwarin planned to continue treating her with the energy of the Realm of Self-Existence even while traveling.

“Is that even possible?”

Speaking while performing movement arts was difficult enough.

Treating another person by transferring qi while on the move seemed unimaginable.

By conventional martial knowledge, it was absurd.

“I’ve trained in a technique called Dual-Mind Inner Art, which allows me to divide and use my true energy in two streams. I can heal the Manor Mistress that way.”

“There’s no martial art you don’t know, is there, Young Master Yong?”

Jeong Daji murmured in admiration as Yong Hwarin smiled faintly and carried Jo Gyeongmae on his back.

Still unconscious, she hung limp against him.

“If Min-mae went to the Heavenly Demon Sect hideout, she won’t be able to handle many martial artists alone. We must hurry.”

Just as he was about to take his first step, Yong Hwarin suddenly realized he had overlooked something.

“Where is Lord Geum? Lord Geum of the Manor seems to have died a gruesome death.”

“He…”

When Jeong Daji hesitated, Jeong Suji answered.

“That man ran away. He said he wouldn’t die a dog’s death.”

Jeong Daji couldn’t forgive the fleeing Geum Yujin.

“Ah.”

Even without hearing the full story, Yong Hwarin could understand how it had unfolded.

‘At this rate, one of the Four Great Clans will lose its line completely.’

“My lord, please follow us.”

Yong Hwarin didn’t have the luxury to think about the Geum Clan.

Right now, his head was filled with nothing but thoughts of Jeong Minji.

“You two, guide me to the hideout.”

As Jeong Suji and Jeong Daji rushed ahead, Yong Hwarin followed behind them.

Jeong Minji was moving with the Gunwi siblings and members of the Hwangbo Clan.

As expected of a clan among the Twelve Clans of the Martial World, not one of the Hwangbo Clan members was a weakling.

There was nothing to criticize.

Although Hwangbo Jooyang’s immaturity was a bit irksome, Hwangbo Mak was clearly seasoned in Jianghu experience—he was calm and dependable.

Even now, watching Hwangbo Jooyang grumble about mud splashing on her clothes reminded Yong Hwarin of his second sibling.

‘Lady Hwangbo is quite similar to my second sibling.’

Slight vanity, an awareness of others’ eyes, and that innocent disposition—everything reminded him of Jeong Suji.

“Where is the Heavenly Demon Sect’s hideout?”

Hwangbo Mak asked, thinking they had already come deep into the mountains.

“It’s just beyond that valley.”

“To build a hideout in a place like that… No wonder no one could find it.”

“Yes, it seems they had meticulously prepared from the start. Besides us, many other martial artists were taken hostage there.”

“Any members of the Clans among them?”

“I don’t know each of their affiliations, so I can’t say who was captured. But it seemed like they were from various sects. I didn’t see any clan members.”

“Why would they take them hostage? If they wanted ransom, clan members would be better targets.”

“That’s what I found suspicious as well.”

“Hmm.”

At that, Hwangbo Mak shared a recent rumor he had heard.

“You may have heard—there’s a disturbing rumor spreading in the martial world lately. I heard small sects heading toward Shaolin Temple were being attacked, but I dismissed it as baseless. I thought it was just an excuse by those who couldn’t attend the Shaolin Temple Gathering. But today, I’ve realized it’s not nonsense. The rumor that Three Demonic Heavens is attacking sects affiliated with Three Central Alliances en route to the gathering—it’s true.”

Now that they had personally suffered such attacks, they knew it wasn’t just a rumor.

“It seems the Three Demonic Heavens have resolved to disrupt things this time. To think they’d even dare target the Hwangbo Clan…”

Jeong Minji felt uneasy knowing that the balance of power in the martial world was shifting drastically.

The chaos seemed to be dragging in even the Jeong Family Manor and Geum Clan, which weighed heavily on her heart.

“From here on, we must be cautious. This is where the enemy’s surveillance begins.”

“What if they already abandoned the hideout and moved elsewhere?”

“It’s possible, but they wouldn’t have moved so quickly.”

Still, Jeong Minji grew anxious seeing no guards around the hideout.

“Let’s move faster.”

When she dashed toward the hideout, Hwangbo Mak watched her with concern.

Jeong Minji, standing blankly and staring at the hideout, looked so despairing she seemed ready to collapse.

It was clear from the state of things that the Heavenly Demon Sect had hurriedly packed and fled.

Their belongings were strewn all over the place.

“This can’t be…”

Jeong Minji, dazed and hopeless, staggered as if she would fall to her knees.

“Lady Jeong!”

Hwangbo Mak supported her and led her to a tree stump.

“Sit here for a moment. We’ll search the hideout.”

Jeong Minji felt she might lose her mind, thinking she’d never see her mother and siblings again.

Just then, she sensed a sharp hostility pricking her back and turned her head.

A strangely dressed middle-aged person emerged from the forest.

“Who are you?”

Instead of answering, the middle-aged figure let out a nasal hum.

“Hhmm!”

But as martial artists began to arrive one after another behind the strangely dressed figure, Jeong Minji quickly stood up.

“Blood Demon Castle!”

“Hhmm!”

Everyone who appeared bore the unique insignia of Blood Demon Castle.

Startled by their sudden appearance, Hwangbo Mak stepped forward.

“Who are you?”

Hwangbo Mak spoke firmly, and the elegantly dressed middle-aged figure again hummed.

“Hhmm, so here you were… My little darlings.”

Wearing feminine clothing but speaking in a deep masculine voice, the figure’s words made everyone’s skin crawl.

“I am Wi Oh.”

While Jeong Minji remained calm, Hwangbo Mak and the Hwangbo Clan turned pale.

“The Leader of the True Dragon Blood Sword Division, Wi Oh!”

Hwangbo Jooyang murmured involuntarily, and the middle-aged person smiled, pleased at being recognized.

“Yes, I’m the great leader of the True Dragon Blood Sword Division.”

Only now did Jeong Minji grasp the full gravity of the situation.

Among the six military divisions of Blood Demon Castle, the True Dragon Blood Sword Division was infamous.

It was widely known, partly due to its leader, Wi Oh.

Rumors claimed that Wi Oh possessed a neutral nature, and that his martial prowess was so overwhelming that anyone who insulted him didn’t live to tell the tale.

Upon seeing them, Hwangbo Jooyang muttered bitterly.

“See? I told you we should’ve run. Look at this mess!”

Meeting such dangerous people while already racing against time to find her family made Jeong Minji sigh heavily.

“I don’t understand how you made it this far.”

Wi Oh asked with a grin still on his face.

He had followed the trail after seeing the corpses of his subordinates guarding the road to Shaolin Temple.

When he saw the group, who should’ve been incapacitated by Qi Dispersing Poison, looking perfectly fine, he turned to Jeong Minji.

“Did you rescue them? You there, girl. Where are you from?”

He spoke unmistakably in a woman’s tone.

Jeong Minji didn’t reply.

“Hhmm! So you refuse to speak. That means you’ll allow me to do whatever I want, doesn’t it?”

Looking at the sweet-talking Wi Oh, Jeong Minji said,

“Please just let us go.”

“Hhmm!”

Wi Oh looked at her like she’d just said something outrageously naive.

“That’s difficult. I’m under orders to capture anyone who passes through this area. But since you’re pretty, I’ll go easy on you.”

Wi Oh smiled softly and gave an order to the subordinates behind him.

“Bring those children before me!”

“Yes, sir!”

Roughly twenty martial artists of the True Dragon Blood Sword Division began surrounding Jeong Minji’s group.