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C92. The Jukbang Method
Just as there are various reasons to want to kill someone, there are multiple ways to do it.
You can use poison, set traps, launch a sneak attack, or fight fairly.
Jukbang preferred the most popular methods.
Perhaps it was because of the preference of the Third Young Master Shim Yeongchun, the head of Jukbang.
Shim Yeongchun enjoyed killing in broad daylight, in crowded places, in an ostentatious manner.
Did he not fear the laws of the land?
That’s only for common people.
If a thief or a gangster kills someone, they are brought before the authorities, but the powerful of Murim are an exception.
In fact, if they kill someone, they are praised as brave.
Of course, if the murdered person has powerful connections, like being related to the feudal lord, even the brave killer will have to flee.
The Assassins of Jukbang, influenced by Shim Yeongchun, also enjoyed public killings.
Depending on the skill of the opponent, the number of assassins varied, but the method was the same.
They would go, provoke a fight, and kill.
That’s why Ma Cheonwoo, the Jukbang Assassin, caused a fight here.
“Who the hell are you?” asked Pung Yeoncho.
Ma Cheonwoo smiled and replied.
“I’m a customer, idiot. The liquor is trash and the girls are ugly, so I’m in a bad mood. Go and call your boss.”
One of the courtesans who was watching intervened.
“He’s lying. He drank all the liquor, and he was caressing Sohyang, saying he liked her, and then suddenly started doing this. Poor Sohyang. I hope she’s not dead.”
“You, damn b*tch! Where do you think you are to talk like that? You’re next.”
Pung Yeoncho was speechless at the man’s threat.
Even though they were in a brothel, he couldn’t behave so recklessly.
“Bastard! If you come to a brothel, eat and leave quietly. Why are you doing this?”
Ma Cheonwoo laughed as he stomped on the courtesan’s head.
“Jeje, why are you so upset all of a sudden? Are you her lover or what? Is that it?”
“Crazy bastard!”
Infuriated by the continuous taunts, Pung Yeoncho dashed like lightning towards the man.
As if expecting it, Ma Cheonwoo drew his sword and attacked with a deadly strike.
Sss.
Pung Yeoncho, surprised, rolled to the side to dodge, but his opponent’s sword was so fast it cut his waist.
He felt the warmth of the blood and knew he was injured.
In this unexpected situation, he couldn’t hide his surprise.
He didn’t understand why someone would attack him so viciously from the start.
‘Why, if he holds no grudge?’
Standing up, Pung Yeoncho drew his sword and glared at the drunken man.
After the surprise attack failed, Ma Cheonwoo increased his intensity.
Pung Yeoncho, now fully prepared, was ready to respond coldly.
Both maintained a proper distance as they moved slowly towards the center of the pavilion.
Suddenly, Pung Yeoncho noticed something unusual.
‘Didn’t she say he drank all the liquor?’
But the man’s eyes showed no signs of drunkenness, only bloodlust.
Either he had sobered up or he had been pretending.
Observing his sword stance, he realized that the man was superior to the guards of the Chamber of Commerce he had faced before.
‘If I make a mistake, I might never see my family again,’ he thought, calming himself.
‘Sorry, but you have to die.’
With his decision made, Pung Yeoncho slowly lowered his sword.
It was the initial stance of the Flying Dragon Ascension Technique.
Ma Cheonwoo looked at Pung Yeoncho curiously.
Usually, lowering the sword’s tip meant switching from attack to defense.
Unless it’s a superior swordsmanship or sword fighting technique, that’s how it is.
If your opponent cowers and shrinks, that’s a meal served on a plate.
He slightly turned his body to hide his left hand from Pung Yeoncho’s view.
When he straightened his stance, he had three needles in his fingers.
He was ready to use his special technique, the Triple Thrust.
Ma Cheonwoo twirled his sword playfully and then moved his left hand.
Paf, paf, paf.
Simultaneously, he raised his sword above his head and charged.
Who said lowering the sword’s tip was for defense?
Pung Yeoncho stepped forward, channeling his energy with the Baekjagugyeol technique.
Ma Cheonwoo’s sword danced in a zigzag pattern in the air.
Ting.
With a faint sound, the needles were deflected.
Ma Cheonwoo, who was about to deliver a killing blow, quickly changed the direction of his sword to defend against the attack coming towards his throat.
Crack.
The sound of his sword blade shattering echoed in his ears.
But he didn’t have time to be surprised.
Pung Yeoncho’s sword changed direction in the air and came down on his head.
Before he could scream...
Ma Cheonwoo’s body was split in two from the crown to the groin.
Plaf. Plop.
The red blood flowed like a river.
Pung Yeoncho, looking at the man with sad eyes, slowly turned around.
The workers, who had been watching from afar, rushed to clean the place.
As he walked towards the guards’ residence, Pung Yeoncho stopped.
Not because he saw Tak Gomyung running towards him.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder.
Realizing that he hurt in various places, he understood how tense he had been.
The man was truly strong.
Only thanks to the Baekjagugyeol Technique and the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship was he alive.
At the moment he sighed in relief, his vision darkened.
“Brother!”
Hearing Tak Gomyung’s shout, Pung Yeoncho slowly collapsed.
I need to go home...
---------------
Kaifeng.
Tianxiang Inn.
Late at night, two men were sitting facing each other in the innermost room of Jukbang.
The head of Jukbang, Shim Yeongchun, and the sixth assassin, Gong Jindan.
Both had somber faces.
“You say Ma Cheonwoo is dead?”
“Yes.”
Gong Jindan didn’t dare to lift his head.
There hadn’t been any deaths in the last three years during missions, but today that record was broken.
“Ha! You say that idiot died at the hands of someone from Waryong Manor?”
“...”
Gong Jindan lowered his head even more.
“Is he an Elder of the Seven Great Sects? No, Waryong Manor doesn’t have anyone of that level. Maybe Yeon Mubaek, the Waryong Swordsman, but the rest are just amateurs. Besides, that guy isn’t even a Yeon. So he’s a wanderer? You say that idiot was defeated by someone like that? Damn it! Do you think that makes sense?”
Bang!
Shim Yeongchun, unable to contain his anger, slammed the table.
Gong Jindan trembled and spoke in a submissive voice.
“Even so, it wasn’t a total failure. He was hit by Cheonwoo’s poisoned dart...”
“Idiot! Do you think that counts? He’s tarnished my reputation! Don’t you see that Jukbang’s fame has gone down the drain?”
“Forgive me.”
Gong Jindan bowed his head so low his chin touched his chest.
It was true that this incident had weakened Shim Yeongchun’s position at the Tianxiang Inn.
Shim Yeongchun, glaring harshly at Gong Jindan’s crown, spoke.
“You will finish it yourself.”
“Understood!”
Gong Jindan responded without hesitation.
Even though Cheonwoo’s poison would probably kill Pung Yeoncho on its own, he couldn’t disobey Shim Yeongchun’s order.
-------------
That night, Pung Yeoncho couldn’t return home.
In his confused state, he stayed at the Longxi Pavilion.
Tak Gomyung sent a worker to Pung Yeoncho’s house to inform them of the situation and stayed by his side.
Although a doctor came around midnight, Pung Yeoncho’s condition worsened.
The next morning.
Tak Gomyung, who was sleeping intermittently next to Pung Yeoncho, woke up with a start at a faint sound.
“Ugh, Gomyung...”
“Yes, brother!”
“My wife must be waiting for me...”
“Don’t worry. Your wife came last night.”
“...”
Pung Yeoncho, staring blankly at the ceiling, let out a sigh.
“Ah! Maybe I shouldn’t have done this...”
“What are you saying?”
“I have a bad feeling. I think I did something terrible to my family, who were fine without me.”
“Oh! Don’t say such things. Your weakness is due to the poison.”
“Poison?”
“Didn’t you know? They pulled a poisoned dart from your shoulder. The doctor is looking for a remedy, so don’t worry. If necessary, we’ll go to the Tang Family...”
“Don’t mention the Tang Family.”
It’s unlikely that the infamous Tang Family would rush to help a brothel guard.
“But why would someone use such a poison in a brothel? It’s the first time I’ve seen something like this. Definitely not a common person.”
Even for Murim, poisoned darts were uncommon. It was natural for Tak Gomyung to be suspicious.
“Who was he? That guy.”
“We still don’t know. Everyone says he was a new customer. Do you have any idea who he might be, someone who holds a grudge against you?”
“Many.”
Pung Yeoncho’s unhesitating answer made Tak Gomyung chuckle softly.
The more he thought about it, the more foolish the question seemed.
The enemies were too numerous to count. It could be the family of someone who died from a fake medicine his sworn brother sold, or some associate from the Chamber of Commerce who recognized him.
“Ah! I’d like to see my sworn brothers before I die.”
“Don’t say such ominous things.”
Despite his words, Tak Gomyung decided to send someone to Five Peaks Mountain immediately.
It might be his sworn brother’s last wish.
Seeing Pung Yeoncho’s dark complexion, it seemed he could die at any moment.
---------
Luoyang.
Mujin Inn.
Around noon.
Yeon Jeokha, who had woken up late, slowly got up like a caterpillar.
“Ah! I’m hungry. I can’t stay lying down any longer.”
“Jeje. I wondered how long you’d stay in bed. Already up?”
“I had a restless dream last night.”
“Yes, you woke up late yesterday and the day before too.”
“Old Shim, do you know what ‘Yukshinton’ is?”
Yeon Jeokha looked seriously at Shim Tong, the Old Dao of Nine Heavens.