Episode 22


    Did you sense the determination of a middle-aged Taoist?


    The expressions of the demons also became cautious.


    “I think we both don’t want our children to get caught up in the fight, so I have a suggestion.”


    “If you are nning on taking hostages, give up. “The top priority is not the recovery of the child, but its destruction.”


    “I thought you would say that. But whether those words are bluff or not, don’t you still want to get your child back safely?”


    “What do you want to say?”


    “I won’t ask you to open a road. Instead, why not at least move the location?”


    “Not possible. Do you think I don’t know your intentions? “It looks like they want to buy time somehow, but we’re not free enough to just y to the beat.”


    “You don’t have to go far. All you have to do is maintain the original position and move only three times. “Leave the child on the floor.”


    “…….”


    “You’re not going to say that’s not possible, are you?


    The Taoist took steps slowly.


    The eight demons moved along, maintaining the siege as if they had made an appointment.


    A strange confrontation urred based on tacit agreement.


    I hope the breathtaking silence continues.


    Perhaps thinking they had widened the distance enough, the seven demons extended their swords towards the Taoist monk.


    At the same time, one of the rear demons left the circle and stretched out his hand toward the child.


    ‘……now!’


    There was strength in the middle-aged Taoist monk’s eyes.


    He had been waiting for this moment from the beginning.


    The moment when one axis of Wonjin leaves its position.


    There is no change in the fact that it is a hopeless situation, but there is a big difference in whether there is a gap worth poking around or not.


    The middle-aged Taoist monk leaped into the air to avoid the swords of the demons and unleashed the Cheongpung Sword Technique.


    Damn it!


    The demons who quickly retrieved the sword struck it back, and the Taoist warrior, who was thrown back using the rebound force, extended his sword toward the back of the demon who had left the circle.


    Then, as if he had been waiting, the demon turned his sword and shed upward with his sword.


    ‘Damn it. ‘You read the number!’


    Let’s go!


    The sword rose up in a gentle trajectory and gently pushed away the Taoist sword.


    The Taoist monk, who naturally exposed his chest, took a vain breath.


    The moment the demon’s left hand touches the Taoist’s sr plexus.


    Quaaaang!


    Something with an enormous presence fell into the hall in a parabolic arc.


    The demon who was about to explode into a frenzy fell to the ground without even being able to scream.


    Absolutely! Absolutely!


    White current swirled.


    The man standing in the center seemed to slightly raise his right foot, but then mmed it down hard.


    Kwazijic!


    The demon’s head, which was lying on the ground and writhing around, exploded into pieces.


    “Thank goodness.”


    The intruder, who held the child in his arms with a sigh of relief, nced at the demons with cool eyes.


    A ferocious energy wave came out one after another, encroaching on the entire area.


    Not only the demons, but even the middle-aged monk who had been rescued had a hard expression on his face.


    The intruder spoke in a low voice.


    “I don’t know why demons are running around in Sacheon instead of Xinjiang.”


    Even though he knew that these words were not addressed to him, the middle-aged Taoist felt as if a great tiger was growling before his eyes.


    “Not a single one will escape this ce alive.”


    * * *


    A palm the size of a pot lid flew towards the sr plexus.


    I knew it instinctively.


    If I fight back, there will be no body left.


    “Sigh!”


    I sharply leaned my upper body back to avoid the attack, then rotated my body around my left foot and unleashed a barrage of Wolyeonggeom.


    The third herbivorous full moon.


    The second herbivorous month (殘月).


    The sword’s trajectory draws arge circle.


    The evil demon snorted as if it wereughable and avoided the attack by lightly taking a half step back.


    However, the herbivory that appeared earlier is, so to speak, a kind of trick.


    The real thing was the second herbal medicine that instantly erased the presence of the sword mixed in at the end.


    Fit!


    The tip of the sword grazed below the demon’s ear.


    I clicked my tongue in disappointment and kicked the ground to increase the distance between me and the other person.


    “…….”


    For some reason, the demon demon did not follow me and just stood still and looked at me.


    He mumbled while touching the wound under his ear.


    “I don’t understand.”


    Although it was only a scratch, he seemed unable to understand that he had been injured by an opponent of low rank.


    It was a natural reaction.


    Looking at it objectively, I could never fight on equal footing with the evil demon.


    It was normal for it to be less than 50 seconds, let alone 100 seconds.


    ‘If I didn’t have any memories of my past life.’


    In my past life, under orders from the religious leader, I was in charge of cleaning up various corruptionsmitted by demons of evil spirits.


    Of course, the process was not smooth.


    Since there were more than one person involved, shes broke out every day.


    He also had a life-or-death struggle with Hwa Yu-seon, the son and disciple of Eumsalgwima.


    ‘The power is different from the martial arts performed by Hwa Yu-seon, but in the end, the essence is the same.’


    I know the other person, but the other person does not know me.


    This difference wasrge.


    Although it was difficult to predict the odds, it was not difficult to buy time.


    ‘I don’t know how long I can hold out.’


    I was trying hard to pretend I was fine, but my physical condition was a mess.


    Because he had practiced magic for a long time, his internal strength and stamina were low, and he had suffered some internal injuries in the process of rescuing Dok Go-seong.


    “…Is he simply good at tact, or is he hiding his true state?”


    The Demon Demon of Eumsal kicked the ground hard.


    I stamped my feet so hard that the floor cracked and splinters flew out.


    “You’ll find out when you check.”


    A fist invades the gap in the blink of an eye.


    Whoops!


    When I ced the de held in my left hand on that path, my body rose into the air with a dull impact.


    Holding back the rising nausea, I aimed at the demon’s wrist with my left hand, which was bent like a rake.


    “Where!”


    What followed was a Geumnasu (擒拿手) fight.


    The attack and defense went back and forth for about ten seconds during the short flight time.


    Reach out, retreat, grab, and throw away.


    After a fierce battle of wits, the evil demon finally seeded in snatching my wrist.


    A new model that cannot withstand the force and is dragged away.


    The next moment, a massive shock was inflicted on my abdomen.


    Quaaaang! Quad deud deuk!


    The body that flew out crashed into the wooden building behind and ended up among the misceneous debris.


    “Uweek!”


    I quickly tried to get up, but fell to my knees on the ground, spitting out a dollop of blood.


    In an instant, the world spun.


    Even without having to sit cross-legged and check the condition of my body, I could tell that I had suffered serious internal injuries.


    ‘It was dangerous.’


    If he had not thrown away his sword, if he had been a littlete in covering his abdomen with his right hand, his internal organs would have been turned to mush.


    ‘shit. ‘I should have let it flow instead of blocking it.’


    It wasn’t that I was particrly let down.


    What I thought was the best decision turned out to be the worst oue.


    ‘The right hand… still moves.’


    It was effective to protect my hands by pouring out all my energy in a split second.


    I felt a burning pain and it seemed like it would soon swell, but there shouldn’t be any problem with fighting right now.


    ‘Anyway, why is this guy sote?’


    Groaning inwardly, I struggled to get up and shook my head vigorously to shake off the dizziness.


    The evil demon frowned as he looked at me like that.


    “You’re a tough guy. “I never thought I could stop that.”


    “My specialty is clinging to something like a leech.”


    “Honestly, I was surprised. Despite his appearance, he seems to have gained considerable experience.”


    “Why are youplimenting me all of a sudden? “It’s strange.”


    “I say this out of regret. “I wish my student had even half the talent you have.”


    I needed time to control my rampaging spirit.


    I continued talking, hoping that the other person would join in on the conversation.


    “But are you okay?”


    “What do you mean?”


    “I’m saying you don’t have to go after it yourself. “It has already been dyed considerably.”


    “Why do you think I’m feeling nervous?”


    “No? “If the Taoist master escapes pursuit and informs the Qingcheng Sect of what happened here…”


    “That won’t happen.”


    “……?”


    “Because my men are stationed in the direction he fled.”


    “You mean there were more subordinates?”


    “Are you surprised?”


    What’s surprising?


    I already knew that the Ghost Corps was a group consisting of a total of 24 members.


    “The expression on your face is worth seeing.”


    He was a child who couldn’t help but giggle as he enjoyed the rhythm.


    In a way, he was a very easy person to deal with.


    ‘I’m thankful for giving me a chance to catch my breath.’


    I sighed inwardly, rolled my eyes and looked around.


    Not only were the injuries internal, but losing the sword was painful.


    My eyesight darkened at the thought of having to deal with the Demon of Eumsal, an expert in boxing techniques, with my bare body.


    The good news is that the man believed to be the ghost master still shows no signs of leaving.


    The man with the cut off arm and the man with the cut on the chest seemed to have no intention of joining in, just watching the situation and taking care of the injuries.


    It would have been a much more difficult fight if the evil demon had not given the order, ‘I n to tear you to death with my own hands, so you must not step forward.’


    ‘How did I end up here like this?’


    A thought crossed my mind that there was no need to risk my life.


    No matter how much you want to be epted as Dokgo Woojin’s disciple, isn’t it meaningless if you die before then?


    I jumped in blindly, fearing that all the time and effort I had put in might be in vain, but as things turned out like this, I felt a little regret.


    ‘Well, if I was going to weigh this and that because my life was a waste, I wouldn’t have even set foot in Murim in the first ce.’


    Living as a martial artist was like living with one’s head resting on a de.


    Those who only seek the easy path and the safe path were ultimately destined to be left behind.


    ‘What can I do because I regret it? ‘I should think positively that it hase to this.’


    A crisis can quickly be an opportunity.


    It was said to be a blessing in disguise.


    If Dokgo Woojin became interested in me because of this, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.


    If I were to be epted as a disciple, it would be even better.


    “Seup.”


    After taking a deep breath, I picked up a wooden stick that was mixed in among the misceneous items.


    It was a cane with a rounded handle, and it was heavier than it looked, so it fitfortably in the hand.


    ‘It’s better than nothing.’


    They say that a swordsman who has reached the level of skill can hold a tree branch in his hand and use it like a famous sword, but that was just nonsense made up by talkers who like to exaggerate things.


    material, shape, center of gravity and length.


    It was impossible to perform proper swordsmanship with a wooden staff, which waspletely different from the sword.


    But what can you do?


    The sword I used is far away and there is no way to retrieve it.


    Teuong!


    The demon of evil spirits kicked off the ground strongly and leapt down, drawing a parab with both hands stretched out forward, bent like a rake.


    I gritted my teeth, swung my staff, and unleashed the Wolyeong Sword.


    April, the twelfth herbivorous month.


    The illusion of a sword fluttering like a dance blocked the entire front of the demon.


    * * *


    “Who are you?”


    Staring at the profile of the man who exuded an overwhelming presence, the Taoist monk asked in a trembling voice.


    The man answered by handing the child he was holding in his arms to the monk.


    “He is the father of the child.”


    “Could you tell me your name?”


    “We’ll make a full statementter. “I have to go immediately to rescue my student. First, please take my son and move to a safe ce.”


    “……All right.”


    The middle-aged Taoist swallowed his saliva and nodded.


    The man in front of me was the god of death himself, who had descended on the battlefield.


    The bodies scattered around proved it.


    Among the powerful masters of the Demonic Cult, there was no one who could take on the man’s power.


    ‘I can’t believe there was a person like this in Sacheon.’


    The man’s gaze rested on the child, who was sleeping as if dead.


    It was just that, but I felt so pressured that I couldn’t even breathe properly.


    “I will visit the Qingcheng Sectter to formally express my gratitude.”


    The man who briefly bowed quickly turned into a dot and moved away.


    The Taoist monk who stood still for a while, staring into space, let out the breath he had been holding and shook his head.


    “It’s been a hectic day.”