Chapter v12c3

Hiss, hiss!

The red, slender tongue flickered menacingly, emitting a threatening sound. The color drained from her already pale face like an ebbing tide, leaving it stark white in an instant.

“Seeing as you haven’t answered for so long, I assume you really don’t need my help, Ha-ryeong? Then I have no further business here.”

Yong Cheon Myeong sheathed his drawn sword and turned around mercilessly. Calling her “Ha-ryeong” instead of her usual title was no accident but a deliberate act. It was a very mischievous and risky move in this situation where the threat hadn’t ended, but it was incredibly effective.

His cold demeanor left Maha Ryeong flustered, robbing her of the composure to maintain her dignity or stubbornness, leaving her no room for rational or logical thought.

Hundreds of snakes were closing in, showing off their perfectly aligned teeth. Maha Ryeong’s face fell. One side of her heart, which had been fiercely battling, finally raised the white flag.

“Young Master Yong, wait a moment. I seem to have misjudged the situation. It wouldn’t be right to refuse the help so readily offered by the Leader of the Gu Jeong Hoe. It would be impolite to reject such kind consideration, wouldn’t it? Hohoho!”

As they say, a woman’s transformation is innocent. She straightened her back and spoke with a serious expression as if stating the obvious. Though her bluff was evident, Yong Cheon Myeong didn’t let it show.

‘Oh my, oh my! Just like Ha-ryeong!’

Yong Cheon Myeong shook his head. It was best not to expect any further submission from this fierce, lioness-like woman. Perhaps this side of her was what made Maha Ryeong, well, Maha Ryeong.

Yong Cheon Myeong drew his sword again. He decided to be satisfied with this much for today. Creating a debt of gratitude at a time like this could be useful in the future.

Whoosh!

He gracefully swept his surroundings, executing the Buddha’s Light Full Tide, one of the thirteen techniques of the Dharma Buddha’s Thirteen Sword Style. The swarm of vipers approaching him and Maha Ryeong were swept away without a trace by the wave of light emanating from his sword, resembling the Buddha’s halo.

**In the Midst of the Flying Snake Formation**

– Snake Charmers Feared by Snakes

“Their intention is to bind our feet for now!”

Even amidst this chaos, Binggeom’s voice remained calm and composed, showing no sign of faltering.

It was clear that the enemy, for reasons unknown, wanted to slow their progress. And they would likely want to weaken their strength in the process.

And as they intended, their advance had been completely halted at this mountain.

“They already knew we were coming this way!”

“They knew?”

Yeomdo exclaimed in surprise.

“Indeed. Otherwise, such a grand welcome would have been impossible.”

“But who could have…?”

“That’s not important right now. It will become important after this fight is over. This is our fault for being careless. There’s no one else to blame. We neglected to scout this terrain despite it being such a perfect ambush spot, so we deserve this, don’t we?”

It was Binggeom’s sharp jab at Yeomdo, who had hindered his order for preemptive scouting. Each of Binggeom’s words seemed to carry a dagger that pierced Yeomdo’s heart. The red-haired man only trembled, unable to utter a word like a mute who had eaten honey.

‘Ah, who would be ambushing in such a dangerous place? Isn’t it just unnecessary worry? It’s fine, it’s fine. If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility. I said I’ll take responsibility! So let’s just go!’

Why did I do that? Yeomdo berated himself inwardly, hitting his head repeatedly. He was frustrated, but he had no words to refute Binggeom. His face flushed red and blue with a mixture of anger and shame.

“I hope you’ll take responsibility for your words!”

Even though it was something he could have easily forgotten, Binggeom’s face was overflowing with the determination to never forget, even if it meant death.

“……”

Once again, Yeomdo couldn’t refute. He could only scream inwardly.

‘Damn it, I’m screwed!’

To be caught in a weak spot by Binggeom! It was an irreversible, fatal mistake.

NoHak, as a beggar of the Beggars’ Sect, loved snakes. Whether they were venomous or not, water snakes or temptresses, even lizards, he had the generosity (disguised as appetite) to love them all without discrimination.

Grilled snake, along with dog meat hot pot (commonly known as “bow-wow soup”), was one of the two favorite foods of the Beggars’ Sect, so there was no reason for him to dislike it. However, at this moment, he felt a strong sense of crisis that his second favorite food might become his first.

The intense fishy smell that stung his nostrils, and the venomous white teeth closing in from all directions. These guys seemed to be showing off their teeth whitening, but frankly, it wasn’t cute at all. This was definitely not right.

This feeling wasn’t unique to NoHak. Tang Cheol-yeong, the direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Clan, who was more commonly known as Tang Sam these days, was very familiar with vipers, along with other poisonous insects like scorpions, centipedes, and spiders.

They were precious donors who always provided him and his family with their daily dose of potent poison. Whether this was voluntary or forced, let’s not delve into that here.

He, too, had a history of handling various kinds of snakes, whose names were too numerous to mention, as casually as stepping on pebbles on the road, along with a woman who boldly claimed to be his older sister despite being his younger sibling (an opinion that would make Tang Mun-hye jump if she heard it), and other children of the Tang Clan. Of course, all those snakes were venomous. In the Tang Clan, non-venomous snakes were considered useless “why were you even born?” creatures.

Among the many poison collection sites owned by the Tang Clan, there was a separate, specialized viper breeding ground, which was a mandatory training course for all Tang Clan descendants.

The story of a child of the Sichuan Tang Clan, known as the masters of poison, trembling in fear of snakes would probably only elicit a cold snort from a passing dog in the martial world.

However, today, for the first time, Tang Sam found these scaly darlings terrifying. When there were countless, uncountable numbers of them, it could be like this! He felt like he had learned a new lesson today.

He turned to look at Tang Mun-hye, who was still arguing with her brother. Even this tomboy, said to have nerves of steel, seemed to agree with him, her face turning pale as her answer.

At that moment, he remembered something he had learned during his family education: that there was someone in the past who possessed the ability to freely control such a terrifyingly large-scale snake formation. He suddenly felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

‘You fool! Why couldn’t I remember that person? That infamous old monster!’

Tang Sam suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

“Damn it! I just remembered. There was someone like this in the past. A damned old man who used this kind of messed-up formation!”

Curses flowed freely from Yeomdo’s mouth. Anyone would feel the same way in this frustrating situation.

“Hmm!”

Binggeom also nodded.

They should have guessed from the moment the snakes started arrogantly falling from the sky. There was only one person in the entire martial world who could control such a large-scale snake formation.

Flying Snake Demon Lord Mo Sa-ryeong!

The two shouted simultaneously.

“I thought that old monster was already dead. He’s still alive?”

Binggeom asked. It had been a hundred years since he had disappeared without a trace.

“Why are you asking me?”

Yeomdo retorted curtly.

“He’s from over a hundred years ago. Even the famous story of him turning three hundred members of the Righteous Alliance into snake food overnight happened during the Heavenly Tribulation. I never heard that he survived the great battle at the Sea of Blood.”

It was indeed hard to believe.

“If it’s not him, it must be his successor. But they’re too skilled for that. However, if it’s really him…”

If it was truly him, they were dealing with a very troublesome opponent. But that didn’t mean these two were weaklings who would tremble at the mere mention of his name.

“What should we do?”

“What do you mean what should we do? We have to drag that slippery old bastard out of his snake pit! There’s no point in dealing with these endless snakes one by one.”

Binggeom asked, slightly furrowing his brow.

“How?”

“Leave it to me!”

As Yeomdo answered confidently, thumping his chest, Binggeom felt uneasy, as if he couldn’t sit still.

“Hey! You cowardly snake charmer, old man Mo! Stop hiding like a mouse and come out! I’ll roast you nice and crispy today!”

Yeomdo shouted at the top of his lungs, making the gorge tremble. His voice, amplified by his internal energy, reached every corner of the gorge.

“Wasn’t it the Flying Snake Demon Lord Mo Sa-ryeong?”

Binggeom kindly corrected the title. It seemed he had called himself the Flying Snake God Lord a hundred years ago, but to those of the righteous path, he was just the Flying Snake Demon Lord.

“Flying Snake Demon Lord? He’s just a snake charmer! What’s an old man doing in the martial world when he should be raising snakes in his breeding ground? I thought he was quietly tucked away in the mountains, tending to his snakes, but he’s been stirring up trouble behind the scenes! Does such an old monster deserve the grand title of Demon Lord? Maybe Demon Soldier would be more fitting. Flying Snake Demon Soldier? Oh, that’s not bad.”

Yeomdo nodded, impressed with his own wit. Flying Snake Demon Soldier! The more he thought about it, the more he liked it.

“Hey, Flying Snake Demon Soldier! Where are you hiding? Show your face! Hey, snake charmer Flying Snake Demon Soldieeer!”

Yeomdo continued shouting excitedly. Of course, this sound reached the ears of the Flying Snake Demon Lord Mo Sa-ryeong, who was controlling the snakes from atop the gorge, loud and clear.

“T-This… This damned bastard!”

Mo Sa-ryeong gritted his teeth. To dare call him a mere soldier! This was the first time in a hundred years that someone had been so disrespectful.

‘Was my hundred years of seclusion too long? All sorts of strange things are happening. The hierarchy of the martial world has completely crumbled.’

In the past hundred years, no one had dared to be so arrogant and rude in front of him.

“Stop it! One prank is enough. What are you trying to achieve by provoking the enemy?”

Binggeom intervened as Yeomdo’s shouting showed no signs of stopping.

“Hmph! Are you scared? You might be, but I’m not afraid at all. If he responds to my provocation and appears before me, he’ll realize that today is his death anniversary. That guy is just a simple snake charmer, the Flying Snake Demon Soldier. What kind of Demon Lord is he, just herding snakes? Hey, snake charmer, where are you? Are you too scared to come out? If you’re not afraid of my saber, come out quickly, Fly-ing Snake De-mon Sol-dier!”

Each word, imbued with internal energy, sounded like it was directed at Mo Sa-ryeong. Binggeom decided to give up, not wanting to waste any more energy on pointless arguments.

‘Do as you please!’

Yeomdo, even past forty, was still acting like a snot-nosed child.

‘Where did all those years he’s lived go…’

But contrary to Binggeom’s inner thoughts, Yeomdo’s provocation was incredibly effective. Even a hundred years of cultivation was useless against such a reckless taunt.

“Ugh! T-That… That bastard! Alright, you’re desperate to die today. If you want to die, I’ll grant your wish.”

Mo Sa-ryeong, his temper flaring, swung his staff with all his might. The reserve snake legion that had been waiting on top of the gorge all flew down.

“Not a single one will survive. Khahahaha!”

The snakes that had remained around him weren’t there for conserving strength but to carry out the order not to annihilate the delegation. However, the enraged Mo Sa-ryeong’s gray brain no longer cared about the orders from above.

“Kyaaaah! Kyaah! Kyaah! Get away! Get away! You won’t go away?”

Maha Ryeong’s sharp screams continued relentlessly, as if she wouldn’t tire. It was almost at the level of a murderous ear-splitting technique.

“Oh dear, oh dear!”

Yong Cheon Myeong shook his head, cursing his delicate ears. How could they be so different? The mysteries of the world were truly amazing. As Yong Cheon Myeong was captivated (?) by the mysteries of the world, he sensed a sudden change in the situation.

Why had the number of snakes, which had been decreasing, suddenly increased? Yong Cheon Myeong couldn’t understand. He had already cut down so many that he had given up counting, but there was still no end in sight… It felt like he was facing an endless wave on the beach.

“What are you… kyaah! thinking about? … kyaaaah!”

Maha Ryeong asked, looking at Yong Cheon Myeong, who was mechanically swinging his sword with a dazed expression. However, the snakes’ offensive didn’t stop even for a moment. They weren’t kind enough to allow Maha Ryeong time for questions and answers.

Yong Cheon Myeong looked back and forth between Maha Ryeong and the empty air, as if trying to find traces of the voice that had passed through there in the past. After looking back and forth several times, he shook his head.

“How can the same scream be so different… The heavens are unfair. This is so sad!”

Maha Ryeong didn’t miss his muttering and sighing. Something was bothering her like a thorn in her heart.

“What did you just… kyaah! say? … kyaah! Kyaaaah!”

Maha Ryeong asked irritably, sensing an instinctive discomfort and displeasure (she felt it, but couldn’t explain why). The saber she wielded was still brutally violent.

“N-Nothing! I didn’t say anything! You must have misheard.”

Yong Cheon Myeong felt a pang of guilt, but he quickly regained his composure and spoke nonchalantly. At times like this, he truly realized how excellent and useful the Vajra Immovable Mind Technique, one of the 72 Shaolin Arts, was.

‘It allows me to regain my peace of mind instantly in any situation!’

While swinging his sword, Yong Cheon Myeong expressed deep gratitude to the Buddha’s grace and the teachings of his sect in his heart. Looking at Yong Cheon Myeong, who was joining his hands in prayer inwardly, Maha Ryeong was still reluctant to withdraw her sharp, suspicious gaze, honed by a woman’s intuition.

Yong Cheon Myeong’s resourcefulness in dealing with this crisis was admirable. Instead of making lame excuses, he escaped this dangerous situation with the simplest and most straightforward action.

“Miss Ma? Are you alright? Be careful!”

He simply pointed his left index finger nonchalantly behind Maha Ryeong’s foot. That was more than enough. Maha Ryeong’s gaze slowly followed his seemingly serious fingertip. And when her gaze reached the point where his finger was pointing, her eyes widened in horror.

While she was distracted, a viper had crawled close to her heel. As if ready to strike, the viper flicked its red tongue playfully and flashed its sharp fangs menacingly.

“Kyaaaah!”

Once again, a sharp, neurotic, ear-splitting scream echoed through Thunderbolt Valley, creating countless reverberations in the narrow gorge.

“Die! Die! Die!”

Swish, swish, swish! Whoosh!

As Maha Ryeong’s saber swung like a whirlwind, a faint spray of blood erupted around her. The bodies of the vipers, torn to shreds, fell to the ground. Her revenge on the creatures that disgusted her was incredibly cruel.

“I was right! It’s definitely different!”

Yong Cheon Myeong nodded once more.