Chapter 8: Hong Soyeon

The woman— spy Hong Soyeon— furrowed her brows.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

She looked really angry.

Her eyebrows, lips, and even fists were all trembling— there wasn’t a part of her that wasn’t shaking.

It seemed he had touched a serious nerve.

Hmm. Provocation successful.

Cheongun nodded in satisfaction.

“We’re in the middle of rooting out spies.”

“Spies? What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t tell me you’re pretending not to know?”

“Sorry, but I think you’ve got the wrong person.”

Too late to deny it now.

Cheongun revved up his tongue as usual, ready to start taunting.

“Do you know what an orphan is? It means you don’t have parents.”

“What the hell are you going on about…”

“And a eunuch? That’s a man without a dick. Born that way, too.”

“Stop.”

“You know what a bald guy is, right? I mean, how is someone that bald supposed to be the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader? Not a single hair on his head— it’s pathetic. What did the Cult ever do to deserve him?”

“……”

“A disgrace to the martial world. Scum of the murim. A toothless has-been.”

“You son of a bitch!!!”

Hong Soyeon’s face twisted with fury.

Her eyes turned sharp like a viper’s, and her lips curled in a sneer.

In that instant, a sharp slicing sound pierced the air as something flew toward Cheongun’s forehead like a lightning bolt.

It was a Dark Shadow Flying Needle (Amyeong Bichim).

A secret weapon exclusive to the Flying Shadow Sect (Biyeongmun), the assassins of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Thin, silver, and deadly, the needle streaked through the air with a flash.

Its speed was terrifying— more than enough to tear through most defensive energy barriers like paper.

Cheongun gripped his fishing rod tightly and summoned his inner power.

The fishing line, now infused with sword energy, stood rigid like a spear.

With a lazy flick of the wrist, the line lashed through the air like a whip.

As the arc of the taut line met the oncoming needle—

Chaeng—!

The first needle deflected off with a shower of sparks.

A second one came in fast, but the fishing line curled and cracked like lightning—

Jjeoeong!

With a piercing crack, the needle shattered into pieces.

“!!!”

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

From launch to destruction, not even a full breath had passed.

Hong Soyeon’s face froze.

What the hell was this insane situation?

Her precious Dark Shadow Needle had shattered—shattered—against that flimsy fishing line.

Unwilling to believe it, she slipped another needle between her fingers.

Clenching her teeth, she hurled it at Cheongun with all her might.

But—

Cheng!

Jjeoeong!

Kwa-deuk!

Every single needle she threw was blocked effortlessly by that one fishing line.

And then it hit her.

‘Shit! He’s a master!’

The boy who had just spewed such outrageous insults,

It is enough to be executed on the spot.

But it was actually a martial arts master of terrifying skill.

She was stunned. And baffled.

A man strong enough to shatter her iron weapons with a thread-thin line… why the hell was someone like that living here as a freeloader?

Hong Soyeon swallowed hard and stared at Cheongun.

Whatever.

The warriors who had been watching the situation belatedly drew their swords all at once, and Namgung Yul also snapped out of it a beat late.

“Cheong Daehyup! Should we join in?”

“No.”

“Then we’ll just watch.”

That was it.

She really was a quick-witted woman.

Cheongwoon had no intention of killing Hong Soyeon.

Of course not — to him, a demon was an incredibly precious being.

Every time he met one, his martial arts level shot up like some kind of cheat code. How could he possibly hate demons?

They were like a portable charger you find when your battery’s at 10%.

Last time, he ended up killing one by accident, but this time, he was determined to keep her alive and savor her for a long, long time.

Then, Cheongwoon suddenly radiated killing intent.

Ssst—!

His sticky, affectionate(?) killing intent pressed down on Hong Soyeon.

All he did was release his aura.

Depending on his emotional state, it flared up openly and randomly.

And yet, even with just that, Hong Soyeon trembled under the weight of it, gritting her teeth to stay standing.

She slowly backed away, creating some distance, and finally opened her mouth.

“You son of a bit—…”

She was about to say ‘bastard’.

Twitch!

She quickly twisted her body to the right, reacting to a strange sensation coming from her blind spot.

Whoosh—!

A fishing line flew in from the blind spot, tearing through the air.

Its end curled into a sharp, skewer-like point.

Hong Soyeon stepped through the air, launching herself upward.

Her body twisted midair, shifting her trajectory.

Just when she thought she’d barely dodged the attack, Cheongwoon shouted out the freshly made-up name of his technique.

“Fishing God Art.”

It was a move that didn’t even exist, but he blurted it out anyway.

Didn’t it sound like some kind of supreme martial art?

Of course, no sane martial artist yells out their move names during a fight — but he did it. Just to piss her off.

Fortunately, his desperate attempt worked — Hong Soyeon’s face twisted in pure rage.

At the same time, Cheongwoon’s wrist subtly flicked upward.

The fishing line, which had been flying through the empty air, suddenly soared toward the sky as if it had a will of its own.

Then, it wrapped around Hong Soyeon’s neck in a blink as she was performing light footwork in the air.

Cheongwoon tugged on the line.

A big catch!

“Argh!”

A scream burst from Hong Soyeon’s mouth as her neck was suddenly strangled.

Startled, she focused her energy, drawing out as much internal strength as she could.

She tried to generate rebound force to shake off the line strangling her neck.

But then—

“Aagh!”

The fishing line tightening around her neck showed no sign of loosening.

Instead, it dug deeper into her flesh, squeezing even harder.

As the pressure came and went—tightening just enough to keep her from passing out—Hong Soyeon’s head grew foggy.

“Ghk! Ghk!” Drooling uncontrollably, she was dragged along, caught by the line.

In that moment, seized by the terror that she might actually die, Hong Soyeon thrashed violently.

Then, as if in a panic, she opened her mouth wide and spat something out— It was the dokdan (a kind of poison capsule or pill).

Sharply spitting out the dokdan, Hong Soyeon screamed as if cursing at the world:

“Ghk! Fuuuck! I almost swallowed that!”

“……”

****

Having assessed the situation, Cheongun strongly persuaded Namgung Hwi that Hong Soyeon absolutely had to be captured alive.

Thanks to that, Hong Soyeon was imprisoned in the Golden Cell located beneath the branch headquarters.

The next day.

As soon as morning broke, Cheongun wandered down into the underground.

Guryong Geumok (Nine-Dragon Golden Cell).

This was the underground prison of the Justice Alliance branch located on Mount Cheongseongsan.

There was only one reason to bother going down into such a dark, dreary place.

To see the face of the imprisoned Hong Soyeon with his own eyes.

The damp stone steps spiraled downward.

With every step, the wet stones crumbled underfoot.

The torches on the walls cast long, dancing shadows.

“Where the hell is Cell Thirty-Five?”

Cheongun grumbled as he glanced at the map in his hand, continuing down the path.

Various traps, including mechanical formations, were laid out along the way, so wandering around recklessly would get you a one-way ticket across the River of the Dead.

How long had he been walking?

Finally, he arrived in front of the cell marked “Thirty-Five.”

Through the bars, Hong Soyeon could be seen leaning against the wall.

She was wearing tattered martial robes, her expression half-vacant, as if her soul had partially left her body.

Cheongun smiled in satisfaction.

“Been well?”

“No.”

He crouched down to meet Hong Soyeon’s eyes.

“Want me to let you go?”

“Yes.”

“Too bad.”

“……”

Hong Soyeon clicked her tongue and sharply turned her head away.

It was her way of saying she was done talking.

Cheongun gazed at even that reaction with amusement.

The moment he met her, his unique trait had activated, and natural energy filled his dantian.

With his spirit brimming, it was only natural he felt good.

Wearing a rare smile, Cheongun struck up conversation again.

“You’re with the Flying Shadow Sect, right?”

“What’s that?”

“That throwing weapon you used earlier— it’s the Flying Shadow Sect’s signature. The Shadow Dagger, wasn’t it?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“The rendezvous point is Black Dragon Cave in Iron Moon Valley. A contact shows up at midnight every 15th. The signal phrase was… what was it? ‘I saw a swallow returning home,’ right?”

“…Who the hell are you?”

“Want to hear something fun? Imagine this: I go to Black Dragon Cave at midnight on the 15th. I meet the contact and say, ‘Hong Soyeon from the Flying Shadow Sect betrayed the Demonic Cult! She gave us this meeting place! She said the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader is a parentless, dickless, brainless bastard!’”

Hong Soyeon’s face turned pale.

“The Heavenly Demon Cult is strong. Way more than you seem to realize.”

“And?”

“Do you think you could really get away with something like that?”

“I think I could.”

“Just kill me.”

“Should I?”

“No. I was just saying.”

…Seems like she’s got a strong will to live after all.

“Fuck, don’t do, just stop playing around and tell me what you want. Give the order. If you want betrayal, I’ll betray. If you want the mission done, I’ll do it.”

“That’s a bit much. How am I supposed to trust a demon cultist?”

“If you can’t trust me, then feed me solitude or something! What do you want me to do?! Why are you even here? Just to get on my nerves?”

“Ah, it’s not that. I came to check on something.”

Cheongun had only one reason for coming here.

His unique trait.

A cheat-like ability that caused his martial arts to surge when facing a demonic cultist as an enemy— but it required more thorough research.

How long the trait could remain active once triggered.

Whether the intensity of the enemy’s hostility affected the power boost.

Whether permanent internal energy increase was possible in this state.

Above all, letting the overflowing natural energy in his dantian go to waste was a shame.

So for now, he needed to keep an eye on Hong Soyeon and figure out the limits of his ability.

“Excuse me for a second.”

“…?”

Cheongun abruptly sat down cross-legged.

Seeing that, Hong Soyeon blinked blankly.

“What are you doing?”

“Observing.”

“It’s uncomfortable. Please leave.”

“Then die.”

“…You bastard.”

…But she couldn’t quite bring herself to say she would die.