Chapter 373

A pigeon flitted in fearlessly over the high walls of the Deokhyeon Royal Family.

Of course, no one would get mad at such an audacious act as a pigeon daring to fly in without permission!

But let’s be honest, the pigeon ain’t knocking politely on the door saying, “Dear Prince Deokhyeon, even though I was born without a clue about my parents, I’ve heard so much about your virtuous name that I couldn’t resist visiting. May I enter, coo-coo?”

But this pigeon is a bit special.

It was trained to find the royal family from anywhere in the Central Plain.

As long as it can survive the hawks, wild dogs, and the dangerous beasts among them—particularly those starving beggars—it would eventually return to the royal family’s messenger service known as the Courier Pigeon.

So when the royal family’s pigeon keeper saw Yeongsun (a six-year-old pigeon, sharing the same name with the lady he secretly admired) return suddenly, he expressed his joy.

“Yeongsun, what a surprise! Did you come back because you missed your big brother?”

In a playful mood, he moved to take the messenger tube off the pigeon’s leg, but he hesitated.

The tube was just stained with blood.

Quickly, the keeper opened the messenger tube.

The trained pigeon pecked mercilessly at the keeper, trying to protect its precious message, but he showed no signs of caring.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. There ought to be a message!

But the tube was empty.

The keeper’s face paled.

This was the most urgent kind of SOS.

In a hurry, with blood splattering everywhere, he had sent the pigeon off without enough time to write down the message—there was a serious problem with Wang Ya’s safety.

Rushing out of the courtyard, he left in haste.

And around this time—

The gates of the royal family opened, and a group of warriors charged out like a storm, swiftly covering the ground as they dashed towards the city.

—-

Inside a vast indoor training area.

This sprawling arena could easily fit over a hundred men lying down, but amidst the emaciated corpses and mummies, only one person sat alive and quietly meditating.

If the people of the world could see this scene, they would instantly understand the saying that beauty can bring a nation to its knees.

There was a woman beneath matted hair soaked with sweat, truly the essence of beauty.

Her eyes sparkled with one kind of lewdness while a beauty spot on her nose only added to the allure—a shamelessly glimmering pair of lips that looked like they could stir up trouble!

Even just breathing made men seethe with desire; she radiated seduction in every sense.

Then she sighed—a sound that was almost a moan. Even her sigh dripped with sensuality!

Finally, she opened her mouth.

“I’m hungry…”

Her sweet voice could hardly contrast with her alluring visage, throwing the atmosphere into disarray.

Rising from her spot, she dusted her butt cheerfully and walked over to a box on the wall.

Inside remained three wall-grain cakes.

But given that the green and blue fuzz had already taken over, she was risking her life eating those cakes meant to detoxify her body.

The woman frowned.

“Ugh, they’re spoiled…”

Abandoning the wall-grain cakes, she turned to look at the thick iron door of the training area.

Then, with a growl of hunger, her eyes turned sultry as she approached the heavy iron door, placing her hands on it.

A massive iron door, surprisingly, this petite woman displayed formidable strength as she pushed it open.

Grrr…!

The door creaked loudly, barely scraping the ground as it opened.

As this happened, a man sitting cross-legged outside opened his eyes.

He was a handsome man in his thirties, with an impressive build and a distinguished jawline that spoke of a stubborn personality.

However, one eye was ironclad, while the other seemed empty, as if he sold it off somewhere.

The man covered his empty eye socket with a patch and deeply bowed his head.

“You’re quite late, my lady. Congratulations on your great accomplishment.”

“Great accomplishment? What’s that?”

“It means you’ve achieved something impressive.”

“But I didn’t reach the Realm of Transformation?”

“There’s no need to rush. The world is still filled with countless villains. However, your inner strength isn’t quite right, so take your time.”

“But I need to protect my uncle!”

“Being hasty often leads to poisoning the situation. Now, since you’re hungry, let’s go have a meal.”

“Yeah, let’s eat.”

The lady nodded with an obliviousness that contrasted sharply with her enchanting appearance.

As they walked, the lady suddenly remembered something and asked.

“By the way, the purge? Is that all over? Are there any remnants of the Zhuanzhupa left?”

“It’s ‘Zhuanzhupa’, not ‘Zhuanzuopa’. The Lord of Black Blood Demons you just took down was the last, so everything’s wrapped up. You did a great service; even the traitors might be feeling grateful from the afterlife.”

“If that’s the case, why were they throwing curses around?”

“I said they might feel grateful from the afterlife. Sometimes the dying clutch at straws of revenge, even if it’s too late to make a difference.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“Indeed.”

“Well, if you say so, then it must be true. I don’t know much about such things!”

She readily accepted it.

Her innocent, overly trusting nature was a rare charm she possessed.

“Hehe, so can I finally go see my uncle? I miss him.”

Then the one-eyed man hesitated, stopping in his tracks.

Noticing his gloomy expression, she immediately suggested.

“Should we bring our nephew along too?”

“Would it be alright to do so?”

“Of course! We’re going to visit our adoptive mother. Besides, I think our nephew is already a really good person! I’m sure my uncle will be happy to see him too.”

It’s true his opinion matters, but…

Originally, her innocent brain couldn’t think on such a high level.

The one-eyed man’s face brightened with a childlike smile as if he had transformed from a man into a naive boy.

—-

Kang Su-yang, the Sect Leader of the Gye-rim Sword Faction, observed the joyful faces of his disciples.

At that moment, it hit him like a sledgehammer—it was a huge shock.

When was the last time he had seen his disciples smile like that?

With the Gangster Group riding roughshod over them every day, threatening them, how could they possibly smile?

Martial artists surely shouldn’t tolerate such humiliations; even if they did for the sake of the faction’s survival, the feelings of disgrace his disciples must have felt could hardly be described.

But if they left the manor, where would they go?

Whatever city they entered, their original faction wouldn’t just sit still; even if they set up base elsewhere, the stigma of having fled would mean they’d slowly wither away.

Even if they stayed in Namnyeong after giving up the manor, losing all their businesses and taking down their plaque wouldn’t amount to much.

Yet, what have they gained by holding on so far?

Just a sliver of hope, a vague notion that perhaps they could gain help from the Martial Alliance.

Fighting was a guaranteed loss, and fleeing was just as inevitable; they were on the brink of the Spring Festival.

This just can’t go on.

He had to make a decision long before now.

Even if he had to lick the gallbladder and sleep on a log, he should have left the manor, strategizing for the future, or perhaps attacked before the enemies charged in, earning his faction glory while dying valorously.

Only then did a desolate, Daoist-like smile appear on Kang Su-yang’s face.

Yeah, let’s vacate the manor.

When you think about it, what even is a manor, and why cling so desperately to a business?

Who earns glory every single day in life? Mud stains happen too.

The investigating members of the Gye-rim Sword Faction were originally based in Gye-rim, but they took root and established themselves in Namnyeong.

A faction that has succeeded once wouldn’t fail a second time.

As long as there’s a disciple alive today who can smile like one from Gye-rim, the Gye-rim Sword Faction will not perish!

The decision he made was truly monumental.

Because the life of a martial artist, after all, can be summed up in one line.

Invariably, losing ‘honor’ is akin to embracing death…!!

Of course, someone might scoff and ask what honor mattered to a gang of bandits.

But people naturally emphasize and crave what they don’t possess.

Thus, it’s easy to understand why martial artists—or even the entire Chinese ethnic group—are so obsessed with honor.

For this reason, when Qing saw Kang Su-yang, the Sect Leader of Gye-rim Sword Faction, he surprisingly exuded an aura of a true daoist.

Though he wasn’t exactly a Chen sect leader or a true daoist, he’d seemed almost transcendent.

“Thanks to you, laughter hasn’t been heard in our faction for a long time. It feels quite embarrassing to have shown you such unseemly sights right on your arrival.”

Kang Su-yang was also embarrassed for another reason.

He had inadvertently shifted the blame onto this adorable kid, and now to welcome him, it shamed him to a significant degree.

Of course, Qing was late.

But the journey in the Central Plain is usually unpredictable.

Even a month’s delay isn’t unreasonable; one should rather roll with the cultural punches than complain about timing.

It wouldn’t make sense to blame Qing’s tardiness.

Though, of course, one’s heart often doesn’t align with logic; the Zhang Disciple had let out frustrations typical of someone carrying the future of the sect on his shoulders.

Initially, this situation wasn’t Qing’s fault at all, blaming him for not arriving early when perhaps he could’ve prevented this tragedy was a trivial outlook.

Kang Su-yang put aside his foolish feelings and asked his guest how he was.

“So, how are your esteemed elders?”

“Uhh, Sect Leader? I have something to inform you first.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“The Deokhyeon Prince from Sichuan wishes to stay with the Gye-rim Sword Faction, and he’s currently waiting outside. I wanted to let you know before making any announcements.”

“…?”

Kang Su-yang questioned his ears.

Why on earth would a prince just pop up out of nowhere?

And a prince from Sichuan, no less?

“Did I hear you correctly? The prince has come with you?”

Qing scratched his head and replied.

“Hehehe, it kinda turned out that way. If it’s too much trouble, you can decline.”

“Why did a prince come to visit…?”

“Ah, we met on the way here.”

Like he picked up a prince on the side of the road.

(Actually, that is exactly the case!)

“…?”

In that moment, Kang Su-yang’s mind went off like fireworks.

“…!”

The ultimatum is by the end of this year, by tomorrow!

Yet, no matter how brazen those Gangster Group guys were, they surely couldn’t attack the residence where the prince was staying!

Not to mention, they couldn’t even approach, swords drawn, without being mowed down!

Peeking at the prince’s residence while armed?

That act itself would be downright sacrilegious!

Kang Su-yang, who had embodied a daoist, reverted back to the warrior Kang Su-yang.

Who cares about leaving the manor now!

This gives us a chance to stall!

If the Martial Alliance’s support arrives, I will wipe out those arrogant Gangster Group punks!

“Right away, let’s bring in our esteemed guest! No, wait, that’s not right, it’s not proper etiquette! Where has the prince arrived? I ought to personally greet him, that’s the right thing to do!”

---