Il-hu shook her head and grabbed Jo-rim's hand. There was nothing Il-hu could do now.

"Sister Jo..."

At the word 'sister', Jo-rim kept nodding her head. Il-hu, as if satisfied with being called sister, smiled and then closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

*Tuk!*

As her hand fell powerlessly to the floor, Jo-rim's eyes widened. Not knowing what to say, she just stared blankly at Il-hu.

She had experienced numerous deaths, and many people had passed by her side, but Il-hu's death was a great pain for Jo-rim as well.

Il-bi, who was next to her, bowed her head and was silent.

Jo-rim stared blankly at Bi-sun. Bi-sun, whose eyes met hers, shook his head and turned his eyes to the pier.

He looked for the person who had thrown the sword, but the boat had already moved quite a distance. The water mist slowly swallowed everything.

£

In the martial world of eating and being eaten, who is the strongest?

It was the one who stood at the end.

The masked person always thought he had to stand at the end.

The Blood Killing Faction and the Ghost Hand Pavilion were unorthodox factions that had to be dealt with anyway. If he gathered them all in one place and dealt with them along with the inn, it would be killing three birds with one stone.

So far, it was a good plan. But the general manager and the gisaeng house master who were getting away on the boat were alive.

The masked person watched the boat moving away.

"They are going to Muyeon Island. Prepare the boats."

"Yes!"

The eyes of the masked person, who had heard the loud answer of his subordinates, were smiling.

It was not over yet.

He had to get rid of all the remnants of the Demonic Cult remaining in the Central Plains martial world. Only then would it be a truly orthodox world.

The masked person, who had turned his body at the pier, looked at Mae Cheong-pung, the master of the Ghost Hand Pavilion, who was being dragged by his subordinates.

His hair was disheveled, and his clothes were torn like a rag, covered in blood.

His blood-soaked appearance looked as if he would die soon.

The subordinates dragged Mae Cheong-pung and sat him in front of the masked person. But Mae Cheong-pung, who could not sit properly, lay on the floor.

"Heok! Heok! Kill me."

Mae Cheong-pung said, looking at the masked people who were looking at him.

In a situation where he couldn't tell who was who, if he couldn't resist, dying was the best option.

As the masked people retreated, a masked person wearing the same attire approached.

In any case, in Mae Cheong-pung's blurry vision, that bastard was that bastard. He wasn't interested in who he was.

"Kill me."

"The attack on the Gangnam Grand Inn was by the Ghost Hand Pavilion of the Demonic Cult, so all responsibility lies with the Demonic Cult."

"Spit! You're full of shit."

Although Mae Cheong-pung spat out blood-filled saliva, it did not reach the masked person's face and fell on his own stomach. It seemed as if he were looking at himself.

"Hehehe! Hahaha! Fuck."

Mae Cheong-pung, who was laughing and then cursing, looked like a madman.

"You will also die like me. Miserably... Hehehe!"

*Puk!*

A sword pierced his chest. Mae Cheong-pung wanted to say more curses, but the words wouldn't come out.

"Keueo..."

He let out a groan and trembled all over.

The dying bastard was struggling, so in the masked person's eyes, he looked like a wriggling worm.

As Mae Cheong-pung's breath gave out, the masked person turned his body.

"Get rid of it."

At his words, his subordinates approached and moved Mae Cheong-pung's body. A short while later, the boats that had been prepared in advance came into the pier.

£

A grave was made on a low hill. In front of it, many people from the inn had gathered and were grieving.

Jo-rim, who had set up Il-hu's wooden tombstone in the ground, had an indifferent expression.

"When things are sorted out, I will give you a proper cremation."

Jo-rim looked at the tombstone with a heavy heart.

*Screech!*

At the sound of a whistle coming up from the pier, Jo-rim had no time to grieve. Turning her body, she jumped over the heads of the people and headed for the pier.

'They came this quickly?'

The figures of the masked people flashed before her eyes.

Bi-sun was standing in front of the pier of Muyeon Island. Behind him, Il-bi stood silently and observed the approaching boats.

On three boats that looked like cruise ships, masked people were standing.

On the deck of the foremost boat, the masked person who had killed Il-hu was visible.

'That bastard...'

Bi-sun stared at the masked person on the deck. It was to capture his gaze in his eyes.

No matter how much one changes their face and disguises themselves, the gaze does not change. One must distinguish people by their gaze.

-Distinguish by the gaze. The gaze cannot hide a person's truth.

The only thing that could not be hidden in the human body was the eyes.

Next to the masked person, a familiar shadow poked its head out. It was Shin Hong, the master of the Do Faction.

He knew that he had guided them to Muyeon Island.

Bi-sun suddenly blamed himself for having settled into a peaceful life for too long.

Bi-sun's gaze turned to the masked person.

"Our inn is in the same boat as the Martial Alliance. Do you think you'll be safe after attacking the inn?"

The masked person was silent. There was no need to raise his voice, and there was no reason to have a conversation with Bi-sun.

As the masked person remained silent, Bi-sun sneered at Shin Hong.

"Master Shin. Do you think they will let you live just because you are there?"

"Hahaha! General Manager Bi. Why are you so surprised? These are all high-ranking people who always keep their word..."

As Shin Hong was speaking, two swords protruded from his abdomen.

It was the price for saying something useless. In any case, Shin Hong's role was already over, and his value had disappeared.

Shin Hong was startled, his eyes widened, and he raised his voice.

"You cowardly! You..."

The moment he was about to talk about their identity, his neck flew off. The masked person standing right behind him had cut his neck.

As Shin Hong's neck fell into the water, the masked person raised his hand.

*Whoosh! Hwiririk! Splash! Splash!*

Numerous masked people jumped from the boats at once. As they ran towards Bi-sun, Bi-sun's figure moved in a straight line towards the man in front.

A circular silver flash bloomed and cut the necks of the three foremost.

After that, Bi-sun, who had jumped in the blink of an eye, stabbed his flexible sword at the masked person standing on the deck.

*Pararak! Hwing!*

As a sharp wind sound and a silver sword energy rippled like a wave, the masked person's eyes widened. It was because he had seen a tremendous fast sword that surpassed his expectations.

Bi-sun was operating the Explosive Art of the True Blood Demonic Art.

There was only one chance.

"Hoo hoo!"

The masked person retreated as if sliding back. His appearance of moving back while standing in place was like seeing the Immovable Step of Shaolin.

*Swish!*

Bi-sun, who had cut the empty air, opened his eyes wide.

In that instant, sword energies flew in from Bi-sun's left and right. They were other masked people.

"Tsk!"

Bi-sun kicked the deck, jumped, and flew back.

If the first attack had failed, the second had to be considered a failure as well. On top of that, his breath was also getting short due to the excessive use of internal energy.

*Papat!*

As he landed on the ground, three masked people rushed at the retreating Bi-sun. They were the ones who had subdued Mae Cheong-pung, and they attacked, occupying Bi-sun's three sides.

Bi-sun had to retreat.

Just then, a dozen or so hidden weapons passed his head and shoulders.

The masked people were startled, parried the hidden weapons with their swords, and faltered. In the meantime, Bi-sun, who had retreated further, stood side by side with Jo-rim.

Jo-rim, who had passed the briefly-breathing Bi-sun, threw hidden weapons at the masked people who were attacking Il-bi.

"Fall back."

At Jo-rim's words, Il-bi retreated.

*Whoosh!*

As the sound of the wind was heard, Jo-rim, who had turned her head, opened her eyes wide as a masked person appeared like a ghost in her eyes.

*Whoosh!*

As a sharp sword pierced her solar plexus, Jo-rim avoided it to the left, leaving an afterimage like a ghost.

But she could not avoid all of the sword blade that had changed direction.

*Thwack! Jureureuk!*

As her side was cut and blood flowed, Jo-rim's complexion changed. There was no time to properly identify which sect or what martial art it was.

As the same masked person appeared again in front of the staggering Jo-rim and stabbed his sword, Jo-rim's eyes widened at his phantom-like movements.

*Thwack!*

The blood-soaked sword blade seemed to touch Jo-rim's abdomen. But it could not stab Jo-rim.

"I'm sorry."

It was Il-bi.

Il-bi stood in front of Jo-rim and blocked the sword with her body.

Il-bi grabbed the sword with both hands and rushed at the masked person, baring her teeth.

It was to bite his neck. But the masked person's left hand moved faster and bent Il-bi's head back.

*Snap!*

As Il-bi's head was completely bent back, her eyes met Jo-rim's.

Jo-rim trembled her shoulders. But Jo-rim, who had quickly come to her senses, had the Blood Threads from both her hands dance like a net and covered the masked person along with Il-bi.

*Hwiririk!*

As the sound of the wind was heard, the masked person who had appeared on the right was cutting Jo-rim's side.

*Whoosh!*

With the sound of the wind, a silver flash flew to the masked person's shoulder. It was the flexible sword thrown by Bi-sun.

The masked person parried the flexible sword and then looked at Jo-rim. But she was already moving away with Bi-sun.

In that brief moment, Bi-sun had embraced Jo-rim and jumped into the water full of reeds.

It was an escape where he had poured out all his strength. Bi-sun's eyes, who had turned his head, and the masked person's eyes met in the air.

-I will kill you.

Bi-sun's eyes were saying that.

"Hmm..."

The masked person threw his sword into the shaking reed forest. But only a *plop* sound was heard.

Behind him, his masked subordinates approached.

"Search the entire ten-li radius. You will surely find them on the lakeside. They might be hiding nearby, so the third division will remain and search the island."

At his words, the masked people moved quickly without answering.

***

He opened his eyes around noon.

The light seeping through the window stung his eyes. Even if he struggled not to open his eyes, he had no choice but to.

The pain in his abdomen had mostly disappeared, and he didn't feel the movement of the worm. There was just a stiff feeling and a faint internal energy in his dantian.

It was proof that his body was getting better.

It seemed to be because of the decoction he had drunk after going through a period of agony for several days.

The decoction Jang Cho had made was not a medicine that humans could drink. Even Jang Cho didn't seem to be human.

'Didn't he say there were hundreds of worms in my stomach?'

He recalled the worms that had come out of the dead Chung Pavilion Lord's stomach.

There was no way a decoction made by such a person would be normal.

But he couldn't not drink it either. It was as bitter as if he would vomit when he drank it, but after he finished it, his insides felt refreshed.

Perhaps because he had consistently drunk the decoction, received acupuncture, and circulated his qi for the past ten days, his body became lighter day by day.

After drinking the cold tea on the table and coming to his senses, he sat down in a chair.

*Tadak!*

The sound of urgent running was Yuk Seol-jeong's. The only person around here who ran with such energetic, loud footsteps was her.

*Thump!*

"You're awake?"

Yuk Seol-jeong, who had opened the door and entered, saw Jin Sa-wol sitting in a chair, ran to him, and said, "I have bad news."

"Is it about the inn?"

"Yes. A great misfortune has occurred at the Gangnam Grand Inn."

At Yuk Seol-jeong's answer, Jin Sa-wol showed interest. A few days ago, when he had inquired about the inn, he had been told that there were no problems.

"A misfortune?"

"I don't know the details. It seems an unorthodox faction group attacked the inn, burned the buildings, looted, and even killed people. It seems Gangnam is in an uproar because of it."

"What about the general manager and the faction masters?"

"I don't know."

Jin Sa-wol stood up from his seat.

"Tell Pavilion Master Jang that I was grateful for everything."

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes."

"Wait a minute. I'll call my brother. Say goodbye before you go. Wait."

As Yuk Seol-jeong hurriedly went out, Jin Sa-wol sat down in the chair again.

'How dare they...!'

(End of Chapter)