Ghost Face - Chapter 280



Only Krnovel

Chapter 72. Gathering and Dispersing (1)

The night deepened.

In the city of Chang’an, there was chaos and the aftermath was quite turbulent. However, the nearby rural village of Guozhetan, less than ten miles away, seemed peaceful. In fact, this was natural. On the contrary, it was surprising that there were disturbing movements even in this remote place, even though it seemed so on the surface.

So, the sparks of the fight that broke out in Seongdo spread all the way to this quiet rural village.

Thud thud.

A dozen or so men carrying swords entered the temple located at the entrance of the mountain behind the village with stealthy steps.

The village itself was small, so the Taoist temple was also small. There were only a few Taoist priests, and even they were often absent. However, the master studied at Jongnampa in his youth. It was at Jongnampa, which was one of the old sects. So the villagers thought that he was a talented person, so there were many places that called him.

The sentry standing guard at the entrance to the temple greeted the leader of the men who had come in, a short but muscular man with a bushy beard.

“Thank you for your hard work, Chilho Musa. The Lord Danju has been waiting with bated breath for your return.”

“Okay. What about the others?”

“Everyone is gathered.”

The man called Chilho Musa nodded and entered a building with a sign that read Taeiljeon (太一殿). Only then did the sentry show his knowledge of the others who had come with him, saying, “Brothers, how have you been?” Brothers. They were members of the “Red Claw Brotherhood.”

So the Seven Tiger Warriors, the top-ranking members of the Brotherhood… … .

Squeak.

“Dan-geum, come in. So how many people did you bring?”

It was the Iron Man’s Gold. And it was the reception that welcomed him.

“There are eleven people in total who responded to the call.”

“Hmm, about halfway. Well, I guess it can’t be helped since we’re pressed for time. Thank you for your hard work. Come in and take a seat.”

At present, there were five people in the Taeiljeon, excluding Dan Geum. At the top were Cheonchuchang Yeo Hui and Cheon Gwae of Fan Tian Shuang Gui. In addition, the Sixth Guardian Warrior, Icebreaker Gongsun Xue Wan, the Eighth Guardian Warrior who did not go to Qilian Mountain the day before, and the Rescue Warrior were also present. All the surviving Brotherhood’s top warriors were present.

*The Eighth Guardian, the Moral One

: He was a master of the law, and was especially good at flicking coins with his middle finger. There was a famous anecdote related to this. One day, he was drinking and got drunk and flicked six coins out the window in succession. Then, the coins landed on the wall outside the three-bay yard in a row and at the same time. It was difficult to do it in a row, but it was impossible to flick coins in a row and reach the target at the same time? It was truly a ‘godly skill’.

*Relief Musa Opening of the Road

:He was a sorcerer and a swordsman. The kind that Biho extremely disliked. In fact, even the warriors of the same brotherhood looked down on him, so no one knew what his sorcery was. However, those who faced him as an enemy all died with faces filled with fear, so such rumors spread.

‘If you ever meet a dog and fight him, never look him in the eye!’

So, the six men stationed at Taeiljeon, the nine general-level warriors brought by Cheon-goe, and the eleven men that Dan-geum had just summoned, a total of twenty-six warriors rushed into this small temple.

Why is that?

Naturally, it was to deal with Jin Ga-yong and his group.

About an hour ago, Jin Ga-yong and Bi-ho had caused a commotion in front of the Sajabang gun corps and left. At that time, Yeo-hoe had ordered the Palho warrior Mol-yeom-ja to tail Jin Ga-yong and Bi-ho.

The result was this place now.

Then why did he chase after me like this instead of thinking of hitting me right in the square?

Get rid of the root cause.

And then, a complete destruction.

It was what Yeo-Hwi had hoped for. She was planning to use this opportunity to completely erase everyone related to Jin Ga-Yong from the world of martial arts.

‘Of course, that wasn’t the only reason. At the time, even Danju was pale. But after seeing the chaos caused by those two, who wouldn’t be?’

Dan-geum, who was sitting in his seat, held back a sigh and then shook his head.

In any case, what was important was the response immediately afterward. Yeo-Hwi quickly regained her composure and launched a large-scale counterattack. So now, isn’t it time to show them an example and heal their wounded pride?

At this time, Yeo-Hwi was asking Mol-Yeom-Ja, who was monitoring the enemy’s movements, for the final check of the operation.

“Was there no change?”

“Yes. Since he entered Anga half an hour ago, he has not shown his face and has been shut inside. It seems that he is protecting himself because of the situation.”

“You don’t think they noticed the tailing or anything, do you?”

“Of course. I guarantee it.”

Biho and Jin Gayong left the capital city of Chang’an and joined up with Hyung Woo-saeng. And it was only when they came to this area that they made contact with two strangers. So the total number of enemies they had uncovered so far was five.

And now they were staying in a small hut located a little outside the village.

What are they doing in there?

Perhaps he is trying to recover from the exhaustion from the fierce battle. He may also be trying to replenish his depleted internal energy.

But whatever, now they were like rats in a trap.

“I see. Then how is the deployment of the support troops going?”

“It’s almost finished. Take a look.”

At the end of the meeting, Gaero-mok spread out a map of the village that he had made himself on the table and explained the deployed troops.

The place marked with an X on the map was where Jin Ga-yong’s group was staying. And around it were seventeen large and small circles.

These circles were the locations of the support troops. Each circle had from five to six men, and up to thirty. They were organically linked so that if someone came from this side, they could come right away from the other side. In doing so, they blocked all the routes out of the village.

So this was similar to the way Hoyeonsang’s troops blocked the roads in the Yeosan area in advance when they were destroying Jogajang. Of course, the scale was smaller compared to that time.

The number of people hastily mobilized this time exceeded two hundred.

Haomen and Seojeongsangbang were the main groups, and ten other minor factions, including Ssangbongmun, participated. All of these factions were also active supporters of the Lion King’s Grand Prince Hoyeonsang. That’s why they were able to move so quickly.

It was a decision made because it would take time to move the warriors in the Lion’s Wing, as it would require the approval of the other clansmen.

“Remember! Those who have been mobilized are merely there to block the enemy from receiving help from outside and to hold them back from escaping from within. The finishing touches must be done by the hands of the brothers themselves. Isn’t that right?”

“yes.”

After the story was almost over, Yeo-Hwi looked back at Cheon-Gwae.

The monster was deeply saddened by the death of his twin brother, and he looked completely different than usual. He always had a smile on his face and liked to chat, but he kept his mouth shut the whole time, and only occasionally did a murderous glint flash in his eyes.

“Master Cheon, then I will ask you to take good care of me.”

“I will only take care of Jin Ga-yong. You guys figure out the rest.”

“Is this what you mean? I expect that Jin Ga-yong will account for more than half of the entire force, so I feel ashamed to have entrusted you with such a big burden.”

Finally the meeting ended.

Yeo-Hwi looked around at those seated and said.

“There are so many empty seats. Many brothers have died in the meantime. But it is thanks to the blood they shed that we are standing here today. And when the sun rises tomorrow, we will finally be able to go out into the sunlight.”

“Oh, that means… … .”

“Yes. Our Brotherhood officially disbands after today’s operation. This is our last mission. And we will be re-established in a new era.”

Those who were seated nodded. It was a long-held wish of the Brotherhood. They had been hiding their names and acting secretly under orders from their superiors, but now they were finally stepping out into the world of martial arts, and it was a special feeling. And the opponent of their last operation was the Bul-in-geom Jin Ga-yong, so it was more than enough to decorate the finale.

match.

The women rose from their seats and applauded loudly. Then they said:

“Okay, then shall we go and wrap things up now?”

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Gongsun Xuewan, Dan Jin, Mol Yeom Ja, and Gaero Mu all pounded their fists on the table once each and then jumped up. It was their own ritual of changing their answers to instill their spirit. Then they followed Dan Ju as he left Taeiljeon.

Suddenly.

The doors to Taeiljeon are wide open.

‘Bulin Sword Jin Ga Yong! I will finish you off today, the last survivor of the Jo family. By doing so, I will settle the past and move forward into the future.’

Yeo-Hwi stepped out and made a resolution. Then, his spear shivered. It was a pleasant thrill. So, the first step he took after leaving Taeiljeon was… .

But should we say that this was a mess from the start?

Shudder.

The steps that Yeo-Hwi took to step down the stepping stone were reversed and she was unable to do so.

… … !

Thud thud.

At first, a beggar limped into the temple alone, leaning on a club.

So the guard guarding the entrance to the temple thought that a wanderer had come to escape the dew overnight, so he glared at him and politely(?) went out to greet him, intending to scare him away. It was a decision made out of concern that he might cause a commotion and upset the superiors.

But what the heck, before the sentry could even take two steps, a man who seemed to be his comrade was walking beside the beggar. So the sentry slowed his pace, rubbed his eyes, and looked forward again, and before he knew it, the beggar was walking toward him with three men.

Thud thud.

“Who… are you?”

The sentry stopped walking and asked the group approaching. By the time he finished asking, there were already six of them, and they smelled very bad as they approached. So he unconsciously shrank back and asked, “Who are you?” Then he suddenly remembered that his colleagues and superiors were behind him. So he braced his stomach and turned his words around, asking fiercely, “… Nya?”

Then the beggar snickered as if he found it ridiculous. And at that time, more than ten warriors were already walking behind him, their breaths of murderous aura in the air. That was it. The familiar yet unpleasant smell was ‘murderous aura’!

Only then did the sentry realize one thing.

‘The fist is near, the law is far.’

The sentry was ten paces from the gate, and the beggar was right in front of him. He was so frightened that he backed away, trying to shout toward the gate, ‘The enemy! The enemy has invaded!’

But the club was swifter than the horse.

Crack.

A beggar suddenly rushed forward and struck the guard on the head with the club he was walking with. He then continued walking towards the passage, leaving behind the fallen guard. Also, a group of people, more than ten in number, passed by without even looking at the fallen and squirming guard.

This scene was seen by Yeo-Hwi, who had just left Taeiljeon.

Towering.

The beggar stopped walking only in front of the main gate of the temple. Then, he looked at the woman standing in front of Taeiljeon and smiled rottenly. It was a smile that made even Buddha swear.

It was the first time I had seen him as a member of the Yeohoe.

I didn’t think he was a political person.

Above all, the beggar and his companions were skilled killers.

So he, the first warrior of the ‘Red Claw Brotherhood’, could be sure.

‘You’re of the same kind as us! And you know us! And yet… you dare to challenge us?’

The woman shouted in anger.

“Who dares!”

“One stick, two palms, Mt. Mobuk.”

“Ilbongsangjang?”

Yeo-Hwi recalled the nickname that she had heard somewhere. The beggar smiled and said in a relaxed manner. She was a forgotten person, so there was no need to force herself to remember. Instead, she relayed someone else’s words.

At this time, the subordinates had already rushed out in front of the female courtier and set up camp, and on his left and right, four high-ranking warriors of the Brotherhood, including the Heavenly Monster, were standing in a row. On the other hand, a group of beggars had gathered behind him, facing him, starting from the main gate of the Taoist temple.

The atmosphere was tense, and it probably started when the two sides’ arguments ended.

“The kid told me that if I showed this to Chumyungapjo, he’d be so happy he’d die.”

“A masked man? Could it be that kid… … .”

“Heh heh heh. It’s a message from Biho. Eat this and die!”

As soon as Mobuksan finished speaking, those standing behind him threw something into the tunnel.

So what is it?

It was a dark night, but they were unusually visible. They were self-luminous, perhaps. Each of the dark, round spheres had a wick attached to it, and now they were lit.

Cheeeeee… … .

Episode 281