Chapter 89

When the Blood Cult member looked up sharply, Dang Ran-yeong's hand was already firmly gripping his head. He applied force to his arm.

"Guk...!"

With a crunch, the Blood Cult member's neck twisted, and he died without even making a proper sound. Dang Ran-yeong, who had jumped down onto the Blood Cult member's head, grabbed the collar of the collapsing body. After removing the mask and putting it on his own face, then donning the white clothes to disguise himself as a Blood Cult member, he instructed,

"Wait here and catch anyone trying to escape."

Then he went inside without waiting for a reply. Cheong-ra, thinking that Dang Ran-yeong now assumed he would naturally do as told, smiled bitterly as he hid the corpse nearby. The interior was still quiet, suggesting this poor disguise hadn't been discovered yet.

Cheong-ra silently leapt onto the roof of the mountain fortress. As he removed his veil so it wouldn't interfere with combat, he surveyed the structure of the fortress.

'There's a main entrance and a back door.'

As he slowly circled the fortress, he also discovered two Blood Cult members standing guard. Cheong-ra silently drew his sword, its blade gleaming long in the sunlight. Soon, he leapt down from the roof and sliced through one Blood Cult member's neck. As the other was about to scream in surprise, he covered their mouth and thrust his sword into their chest.

Next, he blocked the main entrance. He found a wooden bar to barricade it and brought a nearby cart to place lengthwise in front of it. Then he went to the back door to watch for anyone trying to escape. Soon, a commotion arose inside the fortress. It seemed Dang Ran-yeong had begun dealing with the Blood Cult members in earnest.

Dang Ran-yeong's methods towards the Blood Cult were particularly cruel, and Cheong-ra felt as if he could smell the strong scent of blood even from here. It was then that he sensed someone approaching. Thinking it might be a Blood Cult member, Cheong-ra watched carefully and frowned.

The person wasn't wearing a mask, and their clothes weren't white. The swift, silent footsteps and the firm hand on the sword hilt were clearly those of a martial artist. Moreover, they seemed to be quite skilled, so Cheong-ra was wary. The person glanced at the Blood Cult fortress.

'Dang Ran-yeong must be killing the Blood Cult members inside, but if this person appears, won't the two of them clash?'

Naturally, he wasn't worried about Dang Ran-yeong at all. The one he was concerned about was this stranger who clearly seemed to be from the righteous faction. In the end, Cheong-ra came down from the roof and blocked the person's path.

"Please stop."

"Who are you!"

Startled by Cheong-ra's sudden appearance, the man immediately tensed and drew his sword. Though not as handsome as Dang Ran-yeong, he had a fine face with thick eyebrows, sharp eyes, and a firmly set mouth that revealed his temperament at a glance.

Cheong-ra slowly looked the other up and down. Two tokens hung at his waist. One was the crescent-shaped token that was popular these days, and the other was a Martial Arts Alliance token. After hesitating, Cheong-ra revealed his identity.

"I am Baek Ri Cheong-ra of Moon Lake Sect. The place you're heading towards is a den of cultists, so it would be best not to approach any further."

"Moonlight Flashing Sword?"

The man muttered in surprise, then immediately accepted Cheong-ra's identity upon seeing his beautiful appearance. He lowered the tip of his drawn sword and revealed his own identity.

"I am Geum Sa-cheon, dispatched from the Martial Arts Alliance. I am investigating these cultists on the orders of the Alliance Leader."

Cheong-ra's face brightened at Geum Sa-cheon's words. How worried he had been upon hearing that the Martial Arts Alliance was deliberately ignoring the new Blood Cult. But it seemed that Mo Yong-hyeon, the Sword Saint, wasn't neglecting the matter after all. It was fortunate. Geum Sa-cheon glanced at the fortress. By now, he too seemed to have detected the commotion inside.

"Young Master Baek seems to know what kind of people these cultists are. They're particularly fond of blood, aren't they?"

Though the other claimed to be dispatched from the Martial Arts Alliance, Cheong-ra kept his mouth shut, finding it difficult to share sensitive information with a stranger. It wasn't just his own business; this was Dang Ran-yeong's affair. Fortunately, the other took Cheong-ra's silence as affirmation on his own.

"I was just carrying out my mission alone, but meeting Moonlight Flashing Sword is quite reassuring."

"I feel the same, Young Master Geum."

As they conversed, Cheong-ra grew increasingly anxious. When would Dang Ran-yeong emerge from inside, covered in blood? With his appearance that anyone would mistake for an evil sect member, if he encountered Geum Sa-cheon, there would surely be a fight with swords or whips.

He was worried about the safety of this person who said he was dispatched on the Martial Arts Alliance Leader's orders. Dang Ran-yeong was unlikely to welcome the Alliance's intervention. Just then, Geum Sa-cheon frowned.

"But what on earth is happening inside there?"

Geum Sa-cheon's hand tightened on his sword hilt. Just as Cheong-ra was about to reluctantly open his mouth to explain, the back door burst open and a Blood Cult member ran out. Seeing the Blood Cult member fleeing in terror, Cheong-ra thought this was fortunate and shouted,

"Young Master Geum! We must catch that person! We can't let them escape! I'll block the back door!"

Geum Sa-cheon hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth between Cheong-ra and the fleeing Blood Cult member. Soon, as if he had made a decision, he nodded.

"Hmm! I've heard much about Moonlight Flashing Sword's reputation. Let's talk again when this is settled. I'm staying in a nearby village."

After leaving these words, Geum Sa-cheon used his lightness skill and quickly chased after the Blood Cult member. Cheong-ra sighed in relief inwardly. Then he immediately leapt in front of another fleeing Blood Cult member. Seeing the flashing sword blade before his eyes, the Blood Cult member swung his weapon.

However, Cheong-ra's sharp move with the Thrusting Kingfisher Sword struck first, as if splitting the blade. More than deflecting the weapon, it made the opponent stagger. Not missing the opening, Cheong-ra cut him down in one breath, and he collapsed on the spot, spilling blood. Stepping aside to avoid the spurting blood, Cheong-ra looked down at the Blood Cult member with cold eyes before raising his gaze.

Beyond the wide-open door, the atmosphere was like that of a gloomy cave. As the screams that had been intermittently ringing out from inside gradually subsided and fell silent, the atmosphere became even more eerie. Dang Ran-yeong walked out of the darkness that reeked of blood. Dressed in black clothes, if not for the blood splattered on his cheeks, one wouldn't believe he had just carried out a massacre.

Leaving red footprints, Dang Ran-yeong approached Cheong-ra. In his eyes, shining on his handsome face, traces of merciless killing intent still lingered. The pressure emanating from him was so heavy that Cheong-ra unconsciously wanted to step back but resisted.

"Two of them escaped, where's the other one?"

Dang Ran-yeong asked, glancing at the fallen Blood Cult member on the ground. And before Cheong-ra could answer, he threw another question.

"And there was clearly one more presence."

To have sensed another presence while carrying out a massacre inside - it was truly ghost-like sensitivity. Just as Cheong-ra was about to answer, Dang Ran-yeong stared at him too intently, making him tense reflexively.

"Why are you staring like that?"

"I'm curious whether Beauty will try to cover it up with lies."

"What..."

Dang Ran-yeong suggestively caressed Cheong-ra's chin with the end of the whip handle he was still holding. Cheong-ra flinched and stepped back.

"Then we can have another enjoyable time together."

Dang Ran-yeong smiled, narrowing his eyes, as he coiled the blood-stained whip and fastened it to his waist.

We? Together? Though Cheong-ra had come to enjoy Dang Ran-yeong's torment to some extent, this statement seemed too unconscionable. The one who had enjoyed the most from these actions punctuated by threats, intimidation, and sadistic abuse was the man right in front of him.

'Could he have heard my conversation with Geum Sa-cheon earlier?'

The higher a martial arts master's level, the more sensitive their five senses become. Isn't there a saying that after achieving a breakthrough, one can even detect the sound of a needle dropping ten zhang (~30 meters or ~110 feet) away? In fact, Cheong-ra's master, Oh Tae-ryeong, always seemed to know everything that happened among her disciples, even if there was just a small commotion.

So Cheong-ra, not knowing exactly what level Dang Ran-yeong was at, couldn't help but be nervous. Since he hadn't intended to lie in the first place, he answered honestly.

"There was someone who said he was dispatched from the Martial Arts Alliance. His name was Geum Sa-cheon. I thought it would be troublesome in many ways if he encountered Young Master Dang, so I told him to chase after the fleeing Blood Cult member. That's all."

"Is that so? But why would it be troublesome if he met me?"

Dang Ran-yeong asked, slowly tilting his head. The corners of his eyes curved up in a smile.

Is he really asking because he doesn't know? If one saw how Dang Ran-yeong killed Blood Cult members, it didn't seem at all like he would cooperate with the Martial Arts Alliance. Rather, it seemed he would kick away any offer of cooperation from the Alliance and act independently.

Cheong-ra wanted to avoid Dang Ran-yeong causing trouble for Geum Sa-cheon, which would consequently entangle Cheong-ra and strain his relationship with the Martial Arts Alliance.

"Why didn't you mention that you promised to meet and talk again?"

So he had heard everything after all! Moreover, this accusation felt unfair, causing Cheong-ra's eyes to tremble slightly.

"What are you talking about? When did I make a promise? Young Master Geum unilaterally brought it up."

"So you're not going to meet him?"

At this follow-up question, Cheong-ra hesitated for a moment before answering honestly.

"That's... not the case."

Hearing this answer, the amused look in Dang Ran-yeong's eyes, which had been pressing Cheong-ra, turned cold.