Chapter 19: The Treasure of the Baek Ri Clan (4)

The room was filled with stunned silence.

The White Dragon Swordsman had been defeated by a junior instructor from Dongcheon Hall.

A nameless instructor, no less.

It was unthinkable.

But it was the undeniable truth.

‘Who is this man?’

‘He’s a demon with a sword!’

‘That’s a new instructor from Dongcheon Hall?’

He had defeated a peak-level master who wielded Sword Qi, using nothing but pure swordsmanship.

His technique was so refined, so precise, that it had completely overwhelmed Baek Ri Jeong-sun’s superior internal energy cultivation.

It was a sight they had never witnessed before.

Baek Ri Jeong-sun coughed up blood as he struggled to his feet, his body aching from the impact.

“You! You! You bastard!”

He pointed a trembling finger at Cho Un-hwi, his face contorted with rage.

“What sorcery did you use?!”

“Just good swordsmanship.”

“Impossible! I’ve never seen such a technique before!”

“Really?”

Cho Un-hwi grabbed Baek Ri-seol’s wrist and pulled her towards him. He kicked Baek Ri Jeong-sun in the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground.

“Ugh!”

He retrieved a book from Baek Ri Jeong-sun’s robe and tapped it with his finger.

“It’s right here.”

“This… this is the source of that monstrous dual sword technique?”

“Yep. What did you expect? You asked me to analyze your sword technique.”

Cho Un-hwi flipped through the pages, skimming the text.

“Dual sword techniques are rare, especially techniques of this caliber. I wonder how a mere merchant like you managed to acquire such a treasure.”

Everyone turned to look at So Yong-dae, who was shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

He looked like he wanted to disappear.

Baek Ri Man-ho, seeing his father defeated and his precious So Yong-dae threatened, screamed, “Kill them! Kill them all!”

“What are you waiting for?! Attack!”

The remaining guards hesitated for a moment, then drew their swords.

Cho Un-hwi spoke.

“You’re looking in the wrong direction.”

“What?”

At that instant.

He pulled Baek Ri-seol into his arms and swung his sword.

Simultaneoutly a blinding flash of light filled the room, followed by a series of explosions.

Boom! Crack!

A figure, shrouded in a black mist, emerged from the smoke and charged at Cho Un-hwi, her palm outstretched.

“You won’t get away with this!”

Cho Un-hwi kicked her in the chest, sending her flying backward.

The sword in his hand vanished.

Clang!

He caught the attacker’s sword with his bare hand, the blade stopping a hair’s breadth from his temple.

He crushed the blade in his hand, his grip tightening until the metal groaned in protest.

“When did you figure it out?” the attacker asked, her voice strained.

“Not long ago. When you started showering me with gifts? Or maybe it was when I saw you two always together. Ah, that’s right, I knew it from the moment I saw you standing next to Baek Ri-seol.”

“You knew all along!”

“I sensed a familiar aura. I thought it was strange. The so-called treasured jewel of the Muhan Branch was dressed in rags, with no jewelry or possessions. And her room was completely bare.”

“You suspected me based on that?”

“Well, it worked, didn’t it? You revealed your true self.”

“Grrr…”

The woman glared at him, her eyes filled with hatred.

Baek Ri-seol’s jaw dropped as she recognized the attacker.

“Ryeong-ryong?”

It was her maid, her confidante.

***

“R-Ryeong-ryong… why…?”

Baek Ri-seol was devastated.

“What’s going on?”

“Ryeong-ryong is a demonic practitioner?!”

A demonic practitioner, a follower of the dark arts, within the Baek Ri Clan, one of the Ten Great Clans?

The room was filled with shock and disbelief.

Cho Un-hwi broke the silence.

“It’s simple. You acquired a powerful sword technique, but it was incomplete, wasn’t it?”

“…”

Ryeong-ryong glared at him, her eyes filled with venom.

“You probably tried to decipher it yourself, but your demonic arts weren’t advanced enough to restore such a profound technique. So you decided to use someone else. Someone with a pure heart and a strong will. Someone like Baek Ri-seol.”

“What do you mean?” Baek Ri-seol asked, her voice trembling.

“Soul Control Technique. Didn’t you find it strange?”

“Oh my god… could it be that Father’s change in behavior was also…”

The Soul Control Technique.

A form of hypnosis.

It involved using drugs and suggestion to exploit a person’s weaknesses, amplifying their negative emotions and eventually breaking their spirit, turning them into a puppet.

Ryeong-ryong had not only infiltrated the Baek Ri Clan, but she had also been using the Soul Control Technique on them for years.

The person who had imprisoned her, who had robbed her of her freedom, was the one person she had trusted most.

“How much do you know?” Ryeong-ryong snarled.

“Not much. Just that the technique can be broken by killing the caster.”

Cho Un-hwi backed away, pulling Baek Ri-seol with him.

Ryeong-ryong lunged at them, but the guards blocked her path, their swords pointed at her throat.

She snarled, her eyes burning with hatred.

“Seol-ah.”

“Yes, Instructor?”

Cho Un-hwi whispered, “You can stop this now if you want. Once we cross this line, there’s no going back.”

Baek Ri-seol hesitated, her hand trembling as she gripped the sword he had given her.

‘He’s warm.’

The warmth of his body against hers was comforting, reassuring.

She felt like she could do anything with him by her side.

She wouldn’t regret this decision.

“P-please spare me, Miss Baek!” So Yong-dae pleaded, his voice trembling.

“It’s okay. I can do this.”

“Are you sure? You can still go back to your old life. You can be the treasured jewel of the Baek Ri Clan, the true mistress of the Muhan Branch.”

“I’ve made my decision.”

“The Murim world is a cruel place. Trust me, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Look at me, I’m poor and miserable. That’s the life of a martial artist. It’s a life of hunger and hardship.”

Baek Ri-seol chuckled.

His words only strengthened her resolve.

“My heart has chosen its path.”

“Really? That’s a shame.”

Cho Un-hwi chuckled and released his grip on the sword.

She felt the full weight of the blade in her hand, and she was about to plunge it into So Yong-dae’s heart when…

“Not yet. It’s too early for that.”

Cho Un-hwi redirected her sword.

It was now pointed at the portrait of So Yong-dae’s late wife.

Thud.

“Agh!”

So Yong-dae screamed as the sword pierced the portrait.

Ryeong-ryong roared in anger.

“How dare you interfere with my technique!”

Baek Ri-seol, confused, looked at the portrait.

The beautiful woman in the painting was melting, her features dissolving into a grotesque mess.

Cho Un-hwi chuckled.

“The caster doesn’t have to be human, does she? You were planning to frame So Yong-dae and use his rivalry with his enemies to create an opportunity for yourself, weren’t you?”

“Aaaaaargh! I’ll tear you limb from limb!”

“The Soul Stealing Flower Technique. You carve a line into the victim’s heart every time you break their spirit. And when the portrait is complete, you steal their soul. Am I right?”

Ryeong-ryong didn’t answer, but Cho Un-hwi knew everything about the technique.

It was a powerful technique, but it was also difficult to execute.

The victim had to be a virgin, their internal energy cultivation couldn’t be too advanced, and the caster had to spend years breaking their spirit and crushing their will.

It was a cruel and insidious technique, but once it was complete, the victim would become a mindless puppet.

‘She was torturing Baek Ri-seol to complete the Soul Stealing Flower Technique.’

He was certain of it.

‘The Crimson Witch was Baek Ri-seol.’

That’s why she had looked so familiar.

In the future, or perhaps in the past, Baek Ri-seol had been completely brainwashed by Ryeong-ryong.

And then, she had been killed, her body taken over by the Crimson Witch.

The Crimson Witch wouldn’t have let such a talented vessel go to waste.

‘But that’s not going to happen now.’

The situation had changed drastically.

A demonic practitioner had been exposed in the heart of the Baek Ri Clan’s most important branch.

The guards, realizing the gravity of the situation, attacked Ryeong-ryong without hesitation.

“Aaaaaargh!”

She unleashed a torrent of demonic energy, but the guards, trained by the Muhan Branch, held their ground.

“Protect the master!”

“Escort the mistress and the young master to safety!”

Baek Ri Jeong-sun and his family, freed from the Soul Control Technique, were unconscious.

The guards evacuated them while fighting off Ryeong-ryong.

Fortunately, she wasn’t at her full strength yet.

‘That’s why she chose to use the Soul Control Technique. It’s a time-consuming process.’

The guards returned after securing Baek Ri Jeong-sun and his family.

“Reinforcements will arrive soon.”

“Hold her! Don’t let her escape!”

“Ugh!”

It was chaos.

She might not have been at her full strength, but she was still a dangerous opponent.

There was a reason why both the righteous and demonic factions had issued orders to kill demonic practitioners on sight.

“Aren’t you going to do anything?” Namgung Yun-ho asked.

“Why? Do you want me to help?”

“No, I’m just curious. It would be a problem if she escaped.”

“You’re right.”

Ryeong-ryong glared at them, her eyes filled with hatred, as she fought off the guards.

If she escaped, she would definitely seek revenge.

But Cho Un-hwi was unfazed.

“Don’t worry, she can’t hurt me.”

“Why not?”

“Well, I’m her natural enemy.”

Crack! Thud!

She struck several guards with his palm, sending them flying backward, blood spraying from their mouths.

The encirclement was broken.

“Hahaha! I’ll have my revenge!”

Ryeong-ryong, realizing that she was outnumbered, decided to retreat.

Cho Un-hwi sighed and stepped forward.

“Well, I guess that’s enough.”

He had taught the Baek Ri Clan a lesson.

He looked at Ryeong-ryong, his eyes cold and calculating.

*Look at me.*

Ryeong-ryong, who had just struck a guard in the chest and was about to break another guard’s neck, froze.

A voice echoed in her mind, low and menacing.

Whose voice was it? Man or woman?

She didn’t know, but she knew she had to obey.

She turned to see the instructor standing there, his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on her.

The man who had ruined her plans, the man she wanted to kill.

‘I’ll tear you apart! I’ll feed your flesh to the dogs!’

Her mind was filled with violent fantasies.

And then…

Her pleasant, blood-soaked fantasies vanished, replaced by an excruciating pain.

“Aaaaaargh!”

She clutched her eyes and doubled over in agony.

“My eyes! My eyes!”

She touched her eyelids, which were burning hot.

“Ugh… ugh…”

She tried to open her eyes, ignoring the pain.

Sizzle!

The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and she felt something sticky on her fingertips.

Squish. Squish.

It was her eyeballs.

The eyeballs that had once allowed her to see the world, the eyeballs that had been the conduit for her Soul Control Technique, were melting in her hands.

“Ugh… ugh…”

Squish.

She felt something else oozing from her eye sockets, something deep inside her skull.

A memory surfaced, a warning from her master.

“C-could it be… he’s…”

*Shatter.*

But the thought was cut short.

She couldn’t think anymore.

Her brain was melting.

Thud!

Silence descended upon the room.