Chapter 103: Black Silk Celestial Silkworm (2)
As Hoi Unkyung finished speaking, the three sisters simultaneously launched themselves toward East Moon Pavilion. Though her pride was wounded, she believed she had fulfilled her duty as a merchant.
She was, without a doubt, a merchant.
However, seeing the Three Chivalrous Sisters fearlessly charge into a battle where their lives could be lost, despite being women like herself, stirred a quiet envy within her.
Watching them, the escort warrior Oh Gong beside her murmured,
“I underestimated them for being women, but now I understand why they’re called the Three Heroines.”
The other escorts nodded in agreement at Oh Gong’s words.
However, mindful of the Vice-Sect Leader Hoi Unkyung, they refrained from saying anything aloud.
Hoi Unkyung spoke up.
“Oh Gong, go to the local authorities immediately and report this incident. Request reinforcements.”
“But the celebration is in full swing right now. I’m not sure we can summon soldiers.”
“Then use the name of the Sky Ocean Merchant Union if you have to.”
Hoi Unkyung thought that was all she could do.
Yong Hwarin was astonished at how disciplined and sharp the attackers were.
‘Where did these people come from? They don’t look like Sa Gal Amyeong’s subordinates.’
They were mostly women—courtesans and guards who had been stationed around East Moon Pavilion. It was hard to believe they were all allied with Black Killing Sword Wonho.
‘If someone can command a force of this size, how massive must the power behind them be?’
The Shaolin monks, already in formation, spoke toward the enemy.
“Step back. Otherwise, you will become guests of no return.”
Even in such a situation, the monks offering a final warning to the enemy felt truly admirable.
Unlike Yong Hwarin, these men had spent their entire lives spreading compassion through Buddhist practice.
Even though they were martial monks, they were originally those who chanted scriptures.
Naturally, even in a life-threatening situation, they first spoke as Buddhist practitioners.
“Oh hohoho, shall we see what that famed Shaolin martial arts is like?”
Twenty or so courtesans came down to the garden and surrounded Yong Hwarin and the monks.
It seemed they had judged that women would be more effective against the Shaolin monks than men, and so only the courtesans joined the assault.
‘This won’t be the end of it.’
Yong Hwarin thought there was only one reason the courtesans had stepped in alone.
‘As expected!’
The courtesans suddenly began to strip off their clothes.
“Amitabha!”
The four Shaolin monks lowered their heads and chanted the Buddha’s name, unable to look at the women.
‘This is always the monks’ weakness.’
From Yong Hwarin’s perspective, in a situation where life and death were at stake, ignoring an enemy just because she was naked was nothing short of asking to be killed.
“Attack!”
Once they were naked, twenty women simultaneously drew their swords and charged, causing the four monks to flail in confusion, doing everything they could just to avoid the attacks.
‘Honestly, if they weren’t the Eighteen Arhat Monks, they’d already be dead.’
It was only because they were high-level monks that they could narrowly avoid the fatal blows.
Yong Hwarin raised his voice, infusing it with Qi.
“This is your final warning! Anyone who tries to kill me will lose the hand holding their weapon!”
But that was the kind of threat that might only work on someone who’d just begun training in martial arts.
As expected, the naked courtesans continued to charge at Yong Hwarin.
To Yong Hwarin, a woman’s nudity was neither unfamiliar nor distracting, and if a woman took up a sword to kill, then she deserved to be treated as a martial artist in her own right.
He felt no hesitation.
As four women attacked, Yong Hwarin opened his Vision Technique and broke through their sword strikes, severing their right wrists without mercy.
“Kyaah!”
“Ugh!”
“Aaagh!”
When their sword-wielding right hands were cut off, the women screamed and staggered backward.
But they didn’t give up.
“Form the Soul-Subduing Dance of Yama!”
At a woman’s command, another twenty joined in, surrounding Yong Hwarin and the monks while performing an eerie dance.
Yong Hwarin grew worried now that things were progressing just as he’d suspected.
He had realized it the moment the courtesans began undressing.
Yong Hwarin might’ve endured it, but the four monks could not.
They turned their heads away as the women spread their legs and shook their chests in bizarre poses.
‘Huu, this is really a difficult battle.’
As about ten courtesans combined their attacks, Yong Hwarin found himself unable to escape the defensive position as easily as he’d hoped.
‘Their joint assault isn't something trained in just a day or two. This is the result of decades of professional training somewhere.’
Just then, three figures flew in from the rear garden.
The three sisters of the Jeong family sneered as they saw the naked courtesans performing the Soul-Subduing Dance of Yama.
“Hmph! How dare such shameless things wield swords! I don’t know about others, but I won’t show mercy, so don’t hold it against me!”
The moment Jeong Suji finished speaking, her sword claimed the courtesans’ lives.
There wasn’t a moment of hesitation.
However, when she was soon pushed back by the courtesans’ coordinated assault, she shouted toward Yong Hwarin.
“Master Yong, what are you doing! I’ll handle the killing, so break up their formation!”
At Jeong Suji’s command, Yong Hwarin judged that he couldn’t waste time and began unleashing the techniques of the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword in succession.
As sword auras burst in all directions from his sudden surge of internal energy, the courtesans were forced to scatter.
Seizing that moment, the three sisters of the Jeong family pierced into the gaps, swiftly ending the courtesans’ lives.
Their Flowing Cloud Sword Technique unfolded smoothly, with their blades piercing the courtesans’ chests and foreheads without the slightest deviation.
With the Jeong sisters joining, the courtesans’ offensive faltered, and they regrouped with the Shaolin Arhat monks.
“Amitabha. Apologies, Benefactor Yong. This humble monk is too lacking to have been of help.”
At Master Gak Woo’s words, Jeong Suji snorted and scolded him.
“The four of you monks clearly haven’t attained enlightenment. I heard that for truly enlightened monks, meat is no longer meat, and women no longer appear as women. But it seems to me that you all still see them as women.”
“Amitabha, as you say, this humble monk’s Buddhist power is lacking and has not reached that state.”
As the monks lowered their heads in shame, Yong Hwarin gave a bitter smile.
“From here, we’ll be making our escape. Please follow us closely.”
As he said that, Jeong Daji pulled out a leather pouch, about the size of a fist, from her clothes.
“When I throw this, hold your breath.”
As she tossed the pouch into the air, Jeong Suji sliced it open with her sword.
Paak!
A white powder burst out in all directions, and the courtesans hastily retreated.
Then Jeong Minji swept the powder away with her palm force, dispersing it into the air.
“Follow us.”
Seizing that moment, the three Jeong sisters leapt into the air, followed closely by the Shaolin monks and Yong Hwarin.
“After them!”
About ten courtesans gave chase, but once again, Jeong Daji threw another pouch, and Jeong Suji cut it open swiftly.
When the white powder exploded again, the courtesans hesitated and retreated.
In the meantime, the Three Chivalrous Sisters and Yong Hwarin escaped from East Moon Pavilion.
They quickly used light footwork and entered a secluded mountain area, hiding in a shrine for a local guardian spirit.
“Let’s stay here for a while before moving on.”
As Jeong Minji spoke, Jeong Daji casually dusted off the white powder that had leaked onto her clothes earlier.
Master Gak Pung exclaimed in alarm.
“Ah! You shouldn’t carelessly shake off poison powder like that!”
He was shocked that she brushed off the white powder with her bare hands as if it were nothing.
Even Yong Hwarin looked on in surprise.
Then Jeong Daji made a playful face and spoke.
“Who said this was poison powder?”
“Then… what is it?”
Gak Pung asked naively.
“It’s flour.”
“Huh? Flour? Then why did the courtesans retreat in fear when they saw it back at East Moon Pavilion?”
Yong Hwarin suddenly burst into laughter.
“Ahahaha! Truly incredible, all of you.”
Even the Shaolin monks now seemed to understand, and a few chuckled.
Only the ever-innocent Gak Pung remained bewildered.
“In the middle of a fight, if someone throws powder, wouldn’t everyone assume it’s poison?”
At Jeong Daji’s comment, Gak Pung let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha ha ha! That’s truly clever.”
Then Gak Un raised a question.
“Then, I suppose you can’t use that trick again next time. The courtesans will realize it’s only flour.”
To this, Yong Hwarin replied.
“That might not be the case.”
“Huh? Why not?”
In response to Gak Un’s question, Yong Hwarin looked toward the three Jeong sisters.
“Those three heroines likely carry both flour and real poison. If they meet the same enemies again, they’ll use poison instead of flour. The courtesans, thinking it’s flour again, will lower their guard and fall victim to the poison.”
At Yong Hwarin’s reasoning, Gak Un asked,
“Is what you’re saying really true, Benefactor Yong?”
Jeong Minji nodded.
“As expected of Master Yong. You saw right through it. We’ve experienced many hardships wandering the martial world. That’s a trick we developed to protect ourselves.”
With a curious look, Jeong Daji turned to Yong Hwarin and asked,
“Then who among the three of us do you think carries the real poison?”
This time, Gak Un confidently stepped in first.
“This humble monk believes it is the calm and cautious second sister who holds the poison.”
He spoke up, eager to prove he too had insight.
“What do you think, Master Yong? Do you agree with Master Gak Un? Is it really the second sister?”
Of course, this kind of guessing game was a bit silly, but after such a fierce fight, everyone seemed to enjoy the mental distraction.
Even Master Gak Woo, the senior among them, remained quiet, letting the moment play out.
And truthfully, everyone was a little curious who it really was.
Yong Hwarin smiled and finally spoke.
“Then for a bit of fun, I’ll guess who holds the poison. I believe it’s the eldest of the three.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“Poison is difficult to handle. A mistake could result in mass casualties, so the one carrying it must be careful. Although the second sister is indeed cautious, she also possesses a strong sense of justice and hatred for evil. If she were to wield poison, she might not hesitate to use it. If she had been the one carrying it, I suspect many demonic practitioners would already be dead by now. But the eldest sister values life, even that of demonic foes. I figured she would be the one who could carry poison without using it recklessly. That’s why I guessed Jeong Minji, the eldest, was the one.”
The four Shaolin monks looked toward the three sisters.
They wanted to see if Yong Hwarin’s deduction was correct.
“Master Yong’s insight truly commands admiration. Remarkable—your judgment is extraordinary.”
That comment confirmed that he had guessed correctly.
“Ah, Master Yong was right.”
Gak Pung and Gak Un looked a bit disappointed.
They had tried to use their heads and were still wrong.
“By the way, Master Gak Woo, what brought you to East Moon Pavilion in the first place?”