CH 253

Light Novel: Volume 11 Episode 3

The fight between Jin family and Snow Sword Manor escalated to a life-and-death struggle.

In the beginning, they were considerate of each other and only fought to a small extent. But with the casualties increasing day by day, the negative emotions they felt against each other reached its peak.

When the Jin family warriors were ambushed and wiped out by the Snow Sword Manor, the Jin family retaliated by surrounding and killing the Snow Sword Manor warriors. 

Such a situation was repeated several times, causing the damage on both sides to snowball.

If only warriors belonging to the two factions died, then the situation would not have reached this point. 

But the problem is that there is also a number of deaths among the warriors who chose to join the two factions. When this happened, people related to the deceased warriors ended up coming to Runan, declaring revenge.

The fight between the Snow Sword Manor and Jin family went beyond the scope of a small war for regional supremacy.

This in turn caused many intellectuals to say that the fight between the two factions could escalate into a world war. 

However, human desire is not something that could be easily suppressed by someone’s warning.

Jianghu has been peaceful for decades.

Most of the warriors who experienced the horrors of the Bloody War of Heaven have already retired or are too old, so the memories of that time were forgotten from people’s minds.

The old warriors who did not retire warned of the horrors of war, but their warnings fell on deaf ears. 

The young warriors desperately wanted to use this opportunity to make a name for themselves.

The best way for a warrior to gain fame was to play an active role in a major war.

The Snow Sword Manor and the Jin family.

It didn’t matter who was right and who was wrong.

The important thing for them is that the arena of chaos has given them a chance to uplift their reputation.

Warriors from all over the world headed for Runan.

Runan is slowly becoming the eye of the storm.

But the group that is flustered the most by the current situation is neither the Jin family nor Snow Sword Manor. 

It was actually the Shaolin Temple.

The Shaolin Temple initially believed that they could control the fight between the Jin family and the Snow Sword Manor.

That is the reason why they sent monks to mediate the quarrel between the two sides. However, contrary to their expectations, the scale of the fight has spiraled out of control.

If it continues to be left unattended, then this could really provide a foundation to another great war. This caused monk Un-hae and the other Shaolin monks who entered the Jin family to despair. 

Jin Siwoo had issued an eviction order to them. However, the Shaolin monks did not leave the Jin manor. Even if they have to be rude, they concluded that it was better for them to remain in the Jin manor and continue to monitor the series of events.

“Amitabha! Amitabha!”

That night, when Un-hae could not sleep, he walked around the garden alone.

Seongam, who had been in high spirits when he first entered the Jin family, was now stuck in a small room due to the shock he received from Pyo-wol.

Not only was his rod, which was made by mixing various metals, split in two, but he also ended up suffering internal injuries.

This was the first time for Seongam, who is called the Crazy Buddha, to experience defeat.

What puzzled him more than anything was the Jin Siwoo’s and Namgung Wol’s reactions.

He didn’t expect that they would say anything back to him because of their current cornered situation.

But the reality was different.

Jin Siwoo was blatantly hostile towards him, while Namgung Wol openly criticized him.

This experience was very unfamiliar to Seongam.

Until now, he has been living as he pleases.

He had enough martial arts talent coupled with his background as a Shaolin monk.

No one had ever dared to tell him that he was in the wrong. Furthermore, his senior brother would always encourage instead of reprimanding him.

This in turn caused Seongam to become arrogant, thinking that he was always right.

But for the first time, he began to suspect that his thoughts might have been wrong.

That was the reason Seongam was stuck in a small room.

Un-hae’s mind was also in a mess.

Nothing has been solved, only problems are piling up.

“Amitabha! What should I do?”

He, too, had eyes and ears.

He knew how things were going in Runan right now.

One wrong move and a great war could break out in Henan, a province where the Shaolin Temple is hailed as the leading sect. This worst-case scenario had to be prevented no matter what.

It was then.

“I can hear you thinking from all the way from here.”

A cold voice rang in his ears.

‘Who?’

Un-hae looked at the place where the voice came from.

There was a small pavilion where his gaze was directed. A middle-age man was sitting and drinking on the railing of the pavilion.

The moment he saw him, Un-hae felt his heart sink. The middle-aged man was radiating a sharp energy that seemed to be digging into his chest.

Un-hae recognized the identity of the middle-aged man at once.

“Amitabha Buddha! So it’s the Sword Saint.”

The one who was drinking alone was none other than the Sword Saint, Han Yucheon.

In response to Un-hae’s greeting, Han Yucheon stood up from the railing and said,

“You bastard, the sound of you thinking is so loud. I can’t drink at all because you’re so noisy.”

“Why are you here drinking alone? You also seem to have a lot in mind.”

“Isn’t that all because of you guys?”

“Pardon?”

“How dare you stir up trouble by meddling unnecessarily…”

“Amitabha! I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You son of a bitch! Are you going to deny it until the end?”

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about. And didn’t you want the Jin family to perish in the first place? Have you begun to change your mind now?”

“No. My thoughts remained unchanged. I wish for this useless family to be ruined.”

“Then why?”

“Because you guys kicked him out.”

“Who?”

“Pyo-wol.”

“Pyo-wol? Why are you interested in that assassin?”

Un-hae had a questioning expression on his face.

He couldn’t figure out why someone like Han Yucheon would be interested in an assassin.

“I wouldn’t pay him any attention if he’s just an ordinary assassin. But he’s no ordinary assassin. You already know that, don’t you?”

“That’s—”

“Do you think it was a coincidence that Seongam was humiliated?”

“…….”

Un-hae could not deny his words. 

Not only Seongam, but also the disciples who came with him surrounded him, but they could not stop Pyo-wol. Furthermore, Pyo-wol disappeared after breaking through the entrapment of the other warriors.

His martial arts skills were too great for him to be labeled as a mere assassin.

Han Yucheon asked again,

“Are you confident that you’d be able to stop him if he attacks you secretly?”

“The Shaolin Temple is not weak enough to be defeated by a mere assassin.”

“That’s bullshit!”

“Even if you are the Sword Saint, please refrain from insulting the Shaolin.”

“So you still have some pride left? Hehe!”

“Senior!”

“Did you attack him even knowing who he was?”

“Yes.”

“You attacked him even though you knew? Haha! The Shaolin is over. It’s done.”

“Do not insult the Shaolin Temple anymore, senior!”

“If you don’t want to be ridiculed, then you should have acted properly. How could you do something like that? Not only did you hastily accuse someone without proof, you even failed to suppress him properly. I don’t know why Un-ji sent you and Seongam. Isn’t that simply the worst combination? If he had sent Woon Seong instead, then the problem wouldn’t have become this big.”

“That’s…”

He had no excuse.

In the end, Un-hae ended up stuttering, at a loss for words. 

Watching Un-hae’s reaction, Han Yucheon was taken aback.

Han Yucheon didn’t like Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol was arrogant and showed no respect for him. Nevertheless, the reason he let Pyo-wol go was because of the expectation that he might be able to find out the truth related to his disciple’s death. 

However, his expectations were ruined since the disciples of Shaolin Temple kicked him out.

For that reason, Han Yucheon’s irritation was at its peak.

“Tell that monk, Seongam, to stay out of my sight. The moment I catch sight of him, I’ll show him what true hell is like.”

“Senior!”

As Un-hae was trying to calm down Han Yucheon,

“Hurry, move him this way!”

“Shit!”

“Doctor, doctor—!”

Suddenly, a loud noise came from the entrance of the Jin manor.

Han Yucheon and Un-hae frowned at the same time.

They both sensed an unusual atmosphere.

They ran towards the entrance.

Numerous dead and wounded were being brought in on carts at the entrance of the Jin family.

More than a hundred people were killed, and all of the wounded were in critical condition. The condition of the bodies brought in on the wagons was simply gruesome. 

It was to the point where anyone who would see them were afraid to see the sight of him cut, broken, and with his tongue pulled out would appear in my dreams.

This was the greatest tragedy they had witnessed since their stay in the Jin family.

Many had been killed or wounded before, but this was the first time so many casualties had occurred in one night.

“Amitabha!”

“……..”

Un-hae closed his eyes tightly, while Han Yucheon fell silent.

Even if they had gone through all sorts of battles in Jianghu before, they could not bear to maintain their composure.

“How did this happen?”

A Jin family member, who ran after hearing the news of the disaster, asked an injured soldier, 

“We were ambushed.”

“Ambush?”

“Yes! I’ve never seen them before. They were more like soldiers than warriors.”

“There were people like that in the Snow Sword Manor?”

“They called themselves the Black Cloud Corps.”

“The Black Cloud Corps?”

“Yes! They are good at riding horses and group warfare, similar to soldiers. We need to come up with a plan.”

The wounded soldier coughed up blood and said.

Seeing this, Han Yucheon’s eyes sunk deeply.

“It seems that the Snow Sword Manor has even hired a mercenary group.”

“That’s kind of…”

“Monk! Are you confident that you can mediate the fight between the Snow Sword Manor and  the Jin family? Will you really convince them with your trivial tongue?”

“…….”

“If you really want to stop their fight, you will have to mobilize the Shaolin Temple elites and suppress them by force. That’s the only way for you to have any significant impact.”

“Amitabha!”

“It’s your choice.”

Un-hae could not give any answer to Han Yucheon’s words.

* * *

Contrary to the depressed and lifeless atmosphere in the Jin family, the atmosphere in the Snow Sword Manor was very upbeat.

After all, they had a great victory in a fight against the Jin family that happened an hour ago.

It was originally an unfavorable fight for Snow Sword Manor.

The warriors of the Jin family attacked fiercely, causing them to be in danger of being annihilated.

What appeared at that time was the Black Cloud Corps.

They suddenly appeared and attacked the rear of the Jin family.

Because of them, the Snow Sword Manor warriors managed to escape their impending crisis. And by working together with the Black Cloud Troops, they were able to inflict great damage on the Jin family.

It was the greatest victory they ever had since the fight between the Jin family and Snow Sword Manor started.

This caused the morale of the Snow Sword Manor to naturally go up. And with Seol Kang-yeon offering to serve alcohol and food to his victorious subordinates, the atmosphere at the Snow Sword Manor became even more heightened.

But not all of the places in the Snow Sword Manor were full of excitement and activity. Such was the case with the residence where Geum Suryeon is staying.

Given Geum Suryeon’s critical condition, the atmosphere in the place she was staying at was particularly gloomy.

Since Geum Suryeon is a big shot, the security in her room was especially strict. Seol Kang-yeon even ordered the elite members of his sect to protect Geum Suryeon, and to inform the Golden Mountain Manor of the news. 

Upon hearing the news of Geum Suryeon’s injury, Geum Shin-chung said they would also send their elite warriors over. Until they arrive, guarding Geum Suryeon’s safety would be the responsibility of the Snow Sword Manor. 

At the time when the Snow Sword Manor warriors stood guard at Geum Suryeon’s room, someone opened the door and came out,

“Oh! It’s you, brother Lim.”

“How are you feeling?”

The warriors who had a cautious look on their faces in the beginning soon relaxed their guard.

The man who opened the door and came out was the one who had brought Geum Suryeon on his back. Even though he himself suffered serious injuries, he still managed to protect Geum Suryeon and came all the way here.

As a fellow warrior, it was an act worthy of respect. This is also the reason why the warriors of the Snow Sword Manor looked at the man with favorable gazes.

The man who carried Geum Suryeon on his back identified himself as Lim Kwon-ok.

Lim Kwon-ok caressed his wounded shoulder and replied,

“It’s gotten a lot better. How is the young miss?”

“Don’t worry. Doctor Jang is taking care of her.”

“Is that so?”

“You’ve done a great job. Perhaps Lord Geum will give you a big reward.”

“I’m not interested in receiving any reward. By the way, since I’ve been in my room all day and my whole body is numb, is it alright for me to walk around for a while?”‘

“Sure. It just so happens that our sect leader has given us food and alcohol, so you can go and get some.”

“Really?”

“You can go to the training hall in the outer garden. There are a lot of people there. You can go ahead and eat with them.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll be back.”

Lim Kwon-ok said from the warrior who kindly explained it and then walked away.

On the way to the training hall, he ran into the Snow Sword Manor warriors several times, but no one suspected and questioned Lim Kwon-ok’s presence.

Lim Kwon-ok quietly blended among the people at the Snow Sword Manor.