Shaolin (1)

 

Moving comfortably in the carriage, Mu Jin headed for Songshan.

Of course, from a distance, it looked comfortable.

Life is a comedy from a distance and a tragedy up close.

"Ugh..."

With each rattling of the wagon, a sharp pain ran through his body.

The Qiu Heavenly King, whose whole body is dyed blue· No, Mu Jin was heading to Shaolin with pain.

But now that convenient trip has come to an end.

We had arrived at the entrance of Songshan, for now we had to get out of the carriage and go up on foot.

"Phew· I'd rather walk..."

Mu Jin sighed and got out of the carriage and climbed Songshan with the Shaolin monks.

“···?”

But why? It was only the first time in more than twenty days that he had climbed Song Mountain, but a strange sensation overtook Mu Jin.

"Was it like this in the first place...?"

The mountain road that is all too familiar to visitors such as Shaolin who travel to and from Songshan·

The road was somewhat strange.

There were many deep dents, and there were trees and bushes crushed everywhere.

“!!!”

Above all, there was a thick layer of blood all over the road.

Of course, this was a mountain. It may be the blood of animals·

However, Mu Jin intuitively felt that it was human blood, not an animal.

The main reason for this intuition was the reaction of the people around me.

For some reason, the faces of the Shaolin monks, who had been exuding a gentle atmosphere all the way here, were stiff.

The strange thing was that the emotion on his face was not one of surprise or bewilderment.

He had a sad look on his face, as if he knew it was coming.

And when we finally crossed the mountain gate of Shaolin and entered the precincts.

“··· What's going on here?"

Mujin couldn't help but ask such a question.

Some of the stone floors and walls in the Shaolin precincts had been broken, and some of the halls had also collapsed.

And there were countless bloodstains scattered around the precincts that I couldn't get rid of.

What greeted Mu Jin and the Shaolin disciples who became more serious was Huidam, the founder of the Mugong Dynasty and the head of the Hundred and Eight Monks.

"The Great Disciple Hyedam sees the head monk of the room..."

But it wasn't normal either.

His slender physique and sullen face remained the same, but he was covered in bandages all over his body and wore a gown over it.

And when Hyuncheon accepted Hyedam's greeting, Mujin's doubts deepened.

"It looks like the flesh has invaded..."

"Yes· Monk Chief·"

Salmak·

The Seven Pillars of Safa· One of the provinces of the Seven Shells and a group of killers·

However, only its existence and the method of tangent contact were only subtly known.

A mysterious force that no one in Murim knows where they are based.

Part 2 of the novel that dealt mainly with Safa· It was a sect that often appeared in the Battle of the Apostolic Emperor.

At the behest of the Black Curtain and the Hyukjin River, he made several attempts to assassinate Dao Yuechen, who had begun to rise in power in Sapa.

It wasn't revealed whether he was a servant of Shincheon or a gate created by Shincheon, but at least it was clear that he was friendly with Shincheon.

As such, Mujin thought that one day he might have to bump into Salmak and deal with it.

But·

'Why is the flesh popping out of here all of a sudden?'

I didn't expect it to appear at this time.

It's not like they're going to raid Shaolin.

* * *

Half a Month Ago· When Mu Jin was about to head to the Wulin League to join the Reaper.

Mu Kyung was touring Kangho with Hye Kwan.

It was a marvelous thing indeed.

It was Hye-kwan who said that he had something important to do, and he took the martial arts to the top of the river.

"Uh-huh... Would you like a drink?"

He was just enjoying drinking and dancing and refueling Kangho.

And Mu-kyung, who was quite nervous at first, followed Hye-kwan as well.

"Then I'll get you a drink. Sajo-sama·"

Before I knew it, I was dyed by Hye-kwan and enjoyed the world together.

Of course, Hye-kwan didn't think that he had dyed the martial arts.

"Tsk... It looks like Mujin has been properly stained by him. The monk is already enjoying drinking..."

"Cool..."

Mu Kyung, who was drinking alcohol, was stunned by Hyekwan's words.

The aroma of the regurgitated liquor covered his nostrils, and he was tormented by a burning sensation that felt like the spirit was burning his throat, but he managed to come to his senses and said,

"How did you know that?"

"Isn't it obvious? You've been wandering around Wulin with Mujin for almost a year, so how could he not have been drinking? And if Mujin was a guy, he'd make an accomplice, and he'd feed you and the other Taesa guys as well. Just like me. Uh-huhh

Saying that, Hyekwan poured the drink again into the glass that Mu Kyung had emptied.

"Tsk· I don't know that my son-in-law is a drinker. Don't spit it out this time..."

“····”

Looking at Hye-kwan with a trembling face, Mu-kyung carefully gulped down the liquor that Hye-kwan had poured for him.

"Hmph... Alcohol is a good thing. When my mind is dizzy, it's good because the intoxication makes me dizzy. When I wake up, it's nice to get out of the dizzy state of my mind."

It was Hyekwan who was drunk with a sullen face as if he were having a fresh game.

Unlike when he was in Shaolin, Hui Guan's gentle demeanor made Mu Qing sneak a question.

"If you're drunk, don't you have trouble attaining enlightenment?"

"Hmph... When sickness accumulates in the heart, Simma comes. Is it not better to indulge in poison than to indulge in simma?"

"Shouldn't we be careful not to fall into the abyss?"

To Mukyung's innocent question, Hyekwan replied with a wry smile.

"Hmph... Man is not perfect, Shason. At some point in your life, you're bound to be shaken, and then you're bound to lean on something. Isn't that why there is a religion?"

"If you do it, why don't you just rely on the Buddha?"

"A Buddha . . ."

Hyekwan muttered in a bitter tone, and then returned to his usual sullen face and gulped down his drink.

"You should lean on the Buddha. I'm going to lean on alcohol."

Hyekwan·

He was a disciple of Shaolin, but he was determined to walk Surado. Forty years ago· Starting from the incident when Shaolin was attacked,

However, as he entered Shaolin with the intention of becoming a Buddha, it was not easy for him.

No matter how vicious they were, they couldn't bear to look directly at the Buddha with so much blood on their hands.

Mukyung was different·

He was a child born with a desire for murder in the first place. When you kill someone· He was a child who felt pleasure rather than discomfort or disgust.

But because of this, he was always wary of himself and loathed his deepest self.

It was the same hatred, but the essence was so different.

Hyekwan, who had long since passed the age of fifty, could easily see through this fact.

That's why he taught martial arts so strictly.

He hoped that he would not be eaten by his instincts and bring even greater regret and disgust in the future.

However, it is difficult for his young son to understand such a subtle difference.

"Awing· I just got rid of the taste of alcohol for no reason. Let's have fun· Enjoy· Uh-huhh

Instead of continuing for a long time, Hyekwan said it in a light tone and blew on his bottle.

A new flesh job was waiting for him, and he wanted to clear his head for a while before he started it.

"Tsk· It seems that Mujin didn't tell you the lead properly. If you're not going to get drunk, don't drink· If you're going to drink, drink until you're drunk. This is the basic of the basics."

With a sullen face and a drunken voice, Hye-kwan snatched the glass of wine that Mu Kyung was using and handed over the bottle.

"Drink· Hmph· Drinking from a glass is not the same as drinking from a bottle. The aroma from the glass is faint, but if you drink from a bottle, a strong~strong aroma comes from the bottle full of wine..."

As expected, when I followed the deep teachings of Master Sajo, the intensity of the incense that stinged my nose was different.

While being deceived by its sweet scent, Strong liquor rushed down his throat one after another.

"Hmph... The little one is already addicted to alcohol..."

Hyekwan teased him as he looked at the situation with satisfaction, and the drunken Mu Kyung replied unusually.

"It's all because of you!"

"What? Is this the guy named Sasson going against Sajo now?"

"It's always like this, then there, and then I punch it!"

"Gosh? He's very good now..."

"Are you going to flick again? Hit it! I'm no longer the wonderless man of the past!"

It was true, though.

After following Mujin to Shaolin and returning to Shaolin, he was punished in the Penitential Pavilion.

For a period of a year and a half, Mu-kyung continued to live and die with Hye-kwan, and the level of Mu-kyung, who boasts of his ridiculous talent, has already caught up with Hye-kwan.

To be precise, the number and level of martial arts he learned was ahead of Mu Kyung, but in terms of practical experience and depth of skill due to his age and age, Hye Kwan was ahead, and when it came to martial arts, it was almost at an equal level.

"Goyan bastard· You have a very good habit of talking..."

"Uhhh Didn't you learn it all from him?"

Hyekwan clicked his tongue, but the corners of his mouth twitched upwards as if he thought the injection was cute.

Maybe the corners of his mouth twitched in frustration.

"If you're drunk, go to sleep."

"Yep! I'll go to bed!"

Mu Qing replied and collapsed, slamming his head into the table.

"Oooo

As it was, he looked at Mu Kyung, who was asleep as if he had fainted, and Hyekwan laughed.

"Tsk... You drink so ignorantly that you can't win..."

He had already forgotten that he had recommended it.

Take a moment to look at Mu Kyung, who has fallen asleep in a stunned state.

Hye-kwan swung his fist at Mu-kyung in surprise.

Pot!

Mu Kyung, who had been asleep, stood up and blocked Hye Kwan's fist.

"I knew it was going to be like this..."

Then, leaving those words as a testament, he fell down with his head in the head again.

"Hahaha· That's great."

Even in a drunken state, Hyekwan laughed heartily as if he was genuinely satisfied.

This was all the result of his quenching over the years.

In Shaolin, under the pretext of practical training, he had made dozens and hundreds of ambushes on the sleeping martial arts officers.

* * *

In the days that followed, their refueling continued.

And when he arrived at Yihuang County, located near the Jade Volcano in Jiangxi Province, he said. Hyekwan opened his mouth.

"You've finally arrived..."

"Was this your destination?"

"Yes..."

"What are we supposed to do here?"

He had been wandering around with Hyekwan for five days now, and now he was asking about something important.

"I'm here to catch a mad killer."

“··· Do you have a name or a nickname?"

"I don't know the name. And those who know him call him the Spiritless Demon."

"You mean the Spiritless Demon?"

"Yes. . . He is so called because he is so good at stealth and light attack that his face and name are unknown. I've been chasing him for two years now, but I still don't know his face or name..."

"How the hell do you catch someone whose face or name you don't know?"

"Hmph... I've chased down the masked one before. I didn't catch him in the end, but at least I remember his secret energy. And most of all, it always leaves some kind of mark, unlike the one that comes out of nowhere."

"What kind of trail?"

Hye-kwan, who always had a crooked smile on his face, replied with an uncharacteristically blunt expression.

"Corpses· The corpse of a woman or child who had been mutilated as if she had been tortured. A corpse that has lost so much blood that it has dried up like a throat..."

“!!!”

He was so stealthy that it was hard to see him directly.

As such, Hyekwan has been tracking its movements through the horrific corpses he leaves behind at every turn.

The movements of the guy that I've been figuring out for the past few years· And the habits of the killers that I learned when I slain countless evil people.

The results of inferences based on them· Hyekwan thinks that this is where he is here. I concluded that it was Uiwang County·

Sooner or later, he would lose his patience again, kidnap a woman or a child, commit a horrific murder, and get out of here.

Hyekwan was aiming to catch him here before he could do it again.

I instinctively realized that I had slain countless demons. He's a pleasure killer.

He tortured the child and the girl until the blood drained from them, so that he could hear their screams.

That's why he brought Mu Qing here.

To show him what happened when someone who was born with a mania similar to himself was blocked by instinct.