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SERIES: Return of the Divine Thief
CHAPTER 6: Return of the Divine Thief
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Return of the Divine Thief - Chapter 6
Jo Yangtae thought.
The field of battle was against them.
He and Muryang were poisoned while the Lodge Leader still had stamina.
And yet, why?
Why did he feel so calm?
He would soon find out why.
“Here, take this!”
“W-what!”
The Lodge Leader, not expecting the poisoned Muryang to charge so recklessly, hastily raised his sword.
His sword was different from the ones the Elders used.
The blade was wide and sharp, yet it looked strangely light.
With just a slight turn of his wrist, the blade quivered, emitting a faint, silvery gleam.
“A flexible sword? A man of the righteous factions has fallen quite low. Not that it's unheard of.”
Only those confident in their internal energy used such flexible swords.
The warriors of the underworld, who lacked such internal energy, typically used solid, heavy swords.
Unlike Muryang, who was relaxed enough to analyze him, the Lodge Leader had no time for words.
‘Impossible! How can he move like this after being poisoned?!’
The Lodge Leader's flexible sword, which fluttered with the slightest movement, became perfectly straight once imbued with internal energy.
*Clang!*
Sword clashed against sword without pause.
After blocking Muryang's strike, the Lodge Leader withdrew about half the internal energy from his blade.
The hardened, flexible sword instantly became supple again, coiling around Muryang's blade.
“For a Lodge Leader, you're not half bad.”
He was certainly a cut above the Elders he had faced earlier.
But even as he saw the blade flying toward his arm, Muryang closed the distance with the Lodge Leader.
“Hup!”
The Lodge Leader had expected him to retreat and was already preparing his next move.
As he stumbled back in surprise, Muryang's form vanished.
The Divine Thief, who had disappeared like a mirage, reappeared behind the Lodge Leader.
At the same moment, Muryang's sword shot toward him.
“Yii-!”
Just before Muryang's sword could pierce the Lodge Leader's shoulder, the Lodge Leader's own blade, imbued with internal energy, knocked it aside.
*Sssk.*
But it wasn't a sharp sound.
Muryang's sword didn't resist the Lodge Leader's flexible blade; it simply slid past and thinly sliced his shoulder.
And once again, his form vanished.
This time, Muryang appeared on the Lodge Leader's right.
He thrust his sword, aiming for the Lodge Leader's side.
‘What in the world is this bizarre Movement Technique?!’
The Lodge Leader gave up on parrying and retreated.
In the process, he sustained another small wound.
And again, Muryang's form disappeared.
“Enough! Show yourself and fight fair and square!”
But no answer came.
The one-sided exchange of blows continued for over a dozen more clashes.
With every thrust of Muryang's sword, another wound, large or small, appeared on the Lodge Leader's body.
By the time Muryang swung his thirteenth strike, the Lodge Leader's clothes were stained red with his own blood.
‘Ugh….’
The Lodge Leader's movements gradually slowed.
He could feel it himself, but there was nothing he could do.
At that moment.
*Thwack!*
Muryang's fist slammed into the Lodge Leader's lower abdomen.
It was a heavy blow, infused with internal energy.
“Guuuhhh.”
The Lodge Leader writhed in agony as his dantian was shattered.
As Muryang sheathed his sword and looked at Jo Yangtae, he saw One-Eye and his brother, Lop-Ear, who had arrived late and watched the scene unfold.
“*Gasp! Hah! Huuuhh!*”
“B-breathe! Breathe!”
Muryang had defeated the Lodge Leader of the Red Bridge Faction.
And they had tried to kill him, on top of cheating him out of his money and burning down his hut.
Crushed by the weight of Muryang's power and the punishment they would surely face, they could barely even breathe.
Muryang himself, however, was dissatisfied with his current condition.
‘This is a far cry from my movements at my peak.’
Of course, he had started this life under incomparably better conditions.
The poison he had inhaled had turned directly into internal energy, so he'd gotten a bit carried away and tried out some of his more advanced Movement Technique.
But he couldn't be satisfied with this. In this life, he had to become much stronger, much earlier than in his past life.
Only then would all these fortuitous opportunities have meaning.
‘But let's not get ahead of myself. First, I need to take over the Red Bridge Faction.’
Muryang collected his thoughts and spoke.
“Jo Yangtae. Avenge your parents with your own hands.”
“…You kept him alive on purpose.”
Subduing an opponent is much harder than killing them.
Muryang had gone to the extra trouble for his sake.
“…There's much I want to say, but for now.”
Jo Yangtae rose to his feet and performed a respectful fist-and-palm salute.
“Thank you. You are the benefactor of my life. I will repay this debt until my body turns to dust.”
Muryang considered teasing him a little, but Jo Yangtae's demeanor was so earnest that he just waved his hand.
“Uggghhh… s-save me….”
As Jo Yangtae approached, the Lodge Leader writhed in pain, begging for his life.
“Lodge Leader. As promised, I will send you off peacefully.”
The Lodge Leader's face filled with terror at Jo Yangtae's words.
Just as he opened his mouth to beg for his life once more.
*Shluk.*
Jo Yangtae's sword pierced the Lodge Leader's heart.
“May you find peace in the next life.”
* * *
Muryang let Jo Yangtae gather his thoughts and called the two brothers over.
“Come here.”
“*Hic!*”
The two brothers answered with a hiccup and ran over.
Muryang handed the sword to One-Eye and said.
“I made good use of it.”
“Th-thank, *hic!* you.”
Muryang picked up a sword he liked from the ones in the training hall and continued.
“You two, go clean up. Take care of the dead faction members, too.”
“Ah, yes, sir!”
After sending the two brothers off, Muryang took a deep breath.
“*Hooo- haaa-*”
The San-gong-dok still lingering in the air entered Muryang's body.
For a moment, his head spun.
The internal energy in his dantian purified the poison's aura, regardless of Muryang's will.
Then, it absorbed that energy, and returned to his dantian.
“Seriously. How is this even possible?”
A martial artist who had reached a certain level could deal with inhaled poison.
But that meant gathering the poison and expelling it from the body, not purifying it entirely.
The same was true even for the Muryang of his past life, who had been far more skilled than he was now.
But Muryang had never even heard of purifying poison and absorbing it directly as internal energy.
“Sorry for cursing you, senior.”
What does it matter if I can't enjoy a bit of refinement and romance?
It purifies poison for me.
Muryang recalled a previous memory and muttered.
“Does that mean alcohol is also a poison?”
This was because the way it purified the effects of alcohol wasn't much different from how it purified the poison's aura.
“Then again, what else would you call water that turns a man into a dog but poison?”
As Muryang was saying this, Jo Yangtae approached.
“What are you muttering to yourself about?”
“A contemplation on alcohol, poison, and internal energy.”
“…Your words are as difficult to understand as ever. More importantly, how are you? You must have been poisoned.”
“It's complicated. Just accept it as it is.”
“…Alright. What should we do with the bodies?”
“Burn them.”
“What? Not bury them?”
This was Jo Yangtae, who had sought out Muryang out of fear of a dead man's curse.
The idea of burning corpses was not a pleasant one for him.
“The afterlife won't even accept scum like them.”
“Wh-what if they come back to haunt us as spirits?”
“They died at my hands when they were alive. What are they going to do as mere spirits?”
“……”
What could he say when the man himself was so certain?
When Jo Yangtae fell silent, Muryang continued.
“Anyway, what should we do about the Red Bridge Faction and the Red Pavilion… What do you think?”
“I think it would be best to burn down the Red Pavilion and disband the Red Bridge Faction.”
“Agh, this bastard.”
Muryang almost smacked Jo Yangtae on the head without thinking but barely restrained himself.
“…Did I say something wrong?”
“Why are you so eager to burn things down? Then and now.”
This guy hadn't changed at all from his past life.
“It is wealth built through dishonest means. Burning it is the right thing to do.”
“Right, my ass. What about the courtesans who made a living here? What about the villagers who did business with the patrons of the Red Pavilion?”
In his past life, after Jo Yangtae burned down the Red Pavilion, the courtesans had ended up living even more miserable lives, and the village had become poor as money stopped circulating.
Muryang, too, had seen his work as a tomb-builder decrease, forcing him to expand his territory to neighboring villages.
It was during that process that he had become entangled with the martial world.
‘Come to think of it, you're one of the culprits.’
Jo Yangtae had also played a part in why he'd ended up in the ruthless martial world.
He wanted to punch him, but he unclenched his fist when he saw the perplexed look on Jo Yangtae's face.
“I, I didn't think that far ahead….”
“Forget the villagers for a moment; for the courtesans, this place is their home and their workplace. If you burn it down just to ease your conscience, dozens of women will be thrown out onto the streets.”
“But… many of the courtesans don't want to do this work. It's not like they sell their bodies because they want to.”
Muryang had been planning to use the Red Pavilion to make money.
Naturally, he already had a plan.
“First, for those who want to leave, give them a generous sum of money and send them on their way.”
“And for those who don't?”
“Support them so they can learn what they want, whether it's musical instruments, painting, poetry, or singing—anything is fine.”
“You mean to turn them into entertainers?”
“That's right. As of today, there will be no more prostitutes in the Red Pavilion.”
As Jo Yangtae nodded, thinking it wasn't a bad idea, Muryang continued.
“So, about that. You'll be responsible for making this happen.”
“Me?”
“And while you're at it, deal with those connected to the former Lodge Leader. Then, gather the remaining members and you can be the Lodge Leader.”
“Understood. …No, wait a minute.”
Jo Yangtae, who had been nodding absently, looked at Cho Muryang.
“You want me to become the Lodge Leader? It's not a problem to follow the words of my benefactor, but shouldn't you be the one to take the position?”
The one who strikes down the leader becomes the next leader.
That was the law of the underworld, but Muryang shook his head and replied.
“I have too much to do, I can't be bothered with something so tedious. Publicly, we'll say you took care of the Lodge Leader. That should solve any problems. I won't hear any objections. Just do as I say.”
“……”
After silencing Jo Yangtae, Muryang took out the wooden box he had stolen from the Lodge Leader.
*Click.*
When he opened the box, a small, dried, dark-red lotus flower revealed its form.
“Is-is that the Poison Flower Lotus?”
He had never seen one in person, but it was a rather famous elixir, so Jo Yangtae recognized it immediately.
“It's a bit different from a normal Poison Flower Lotus. Anyone who eats it will go mad, without exception. Of course, I have a way to handle it.”
It was a variant of the common Poison Flower Lotus, enhanced with the energy of Fire.
And it was also the biggest reason Muryang had taken over the Red Bridge Faction.
“Why would the Lodge Leader have something like this… No, more importantly, how do you know about it?”
“Because for a thief, information is even more important than it is for a merchant.”
A thief.
It was too much to dismiss as a passing remark, given everything Muryang had shown so far.
Stealing his sword, entering the Lodge Leader's training hall alone—there was no doubt that Cho Muryang was a skilled thief.
However, it was hard to define him as just a thief after what he had demonstrated these past few days.
“…Who are you, really, Cho Muryang? A tomb-builder? A thief? Or a martial artist?”
“All of the above. And an aspiring hero, too.”
“…What kind of hero steals from others?”
“All of them.”
*Ah, here comes another one of his sophistries.*
Jo Yangtae had a feeling.
“What kind of nonsense are you going to spout now……”
“Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Xiang Yu, Emperor Gaozu of Han. Among the countless heroes of the Central Plains, was there any who did not rise on the blood of others?”
“No, that's… I mean, it's still somehow different……”
“It's not different. I told you before. In the past, I lacked resolve.”
“……”
“I have no intention of hiding anymore. To walk the path I believe is right, I'm prepared to strike. And to be struck.”
Jo Yangtae was simply no match for Muryang's silver tongue.
“Anyway, once you've sorted things out internally, have the faction members clean the village twice a week, and do some house repairs.”
At Muryang's words, Jo Yangtae asked with a dumbfounded expression.
“…You want me to make underworld thugs do the cleaning?”
“It's better than killing parents and kidnapping their children.”
“There will be a lot of resistance.”
“If it's more than you can handle, tell me.”
“It's not that bad. If I make an example out of a few of them, they'll fall in line. But if this goes on for too long, there will definitely be problems.”
“Don't worry about that. I have a plan. You just focus on reorganizing the Red Bridge Faction and the Red Pavilion.”
“What are you going to do?”
In response to Jo Yangtae's question, Muryang looked down at the Poison Flower Lotus.
“Settling the spoils of war.”
Since he was already in the training hall, he planned to consume it right away.
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