Chapter 14: Internal factions of the Thousand Slaughter Valley

It was impossible to perfectly control internal energy that wasn’t one’s own, but there was no need to.

Guhyeong stimulated Gokyeong’s internal energy little by little. Subtly, but fatally.

“Kugh…”

Gokyeong’s face contorted. The blood vessels under her skin writhed like living snakes.

Guhyeong moved her internal energy even more violently.

In a completely different direction from its original flow, causing it to flow backward through the owner’s meridians.

Each blood vessel swelled up as if about to burst, then repeatedly subsided.

“S, stop! F, forgive me! Please forgive me!”

There was no mercy.

Although he had received the teachings of the Buddha, the man who had long been a defector from the precepts had no qualms about alcohol, women, meat, or even killing.

One by one, the fine blood vessels began to burst.

Small red spots spread under Gokyeong’s skin.

Even more terrible things were happening inside her body.

Due to Guhyeong’s control, Gokyeong’s internal energy began to flow backward.

A sinister energy rampaged through her body.

Each organ was destroyed one by one. Heart, lungs, kidneys, and even intestines.

Even with subtle vortexes, the thin blood vessels were cut off.

“Eugeuk…”

A stream of blood poured from her mouth.

“N, no way!”

With a desperate scream, a huge fist entered her vision.

That was the last sight she saw.

Bang!

I was speechless.

It was awesome.

Something had happened before my eyes, but I couldn’t figure out what had happened at all.

I could only see the opponent’s pinnacle master spitting blood from all seven orifices and my master’s fist blowing her head off.

“S, sister was defeated.”

“No way… she was just a harmonious body…”

The enemies’ confused cries were heard.

“Charge!”

With my master’s cry, our warriors moved all at once.

I watched the battle unfold mindlessly.

There were first-rate masters, but they were like fallen leaves in front of my master.

Every time my master’s body moved, the enemies’ lives were taken with a single punch.

It was like a shotgun.

No, even comparing it to a shotgun was an insult to my master’s fist.

To compare it, my master’s fist was similar to an oversized shotgun loaded with a fist-sized slug.

Watching the Blood Fiend Hall’s elite fall, the morale of the lower-ranking warriors completely plummeted.

“K*ll!”

“Die!”

Even with our side’s clumsy attacks, they fell without even putting up proper resistance.

Those who had seen the miserable end of the pinnacle masters and first-rate masters no longer had the will to fight.

“Save me!”

“I just got married to my sweetheart!”

“My wife and children are waiting for me!”

The obvious surrenders became their last words.

The stone chamber was soon filled with corpses.

All of them were members of the Blood Fiend Hall. There were no casualties on our side.

It was a one-sided, overwhelming victory.

News of the battlefield came one by one.

The battle on the other side was also a victory for the Thousand Slaughter Valley.

They killed seven of the opponent’s pinnacle masters and twenty-nine first-rate masters.

On our side, there were no casualties among the pinnacle masters, and fourteen first-rate masters were lost.

Although a considerable number of masters were injured, it was an overwhelming victory considering the results.

But my master’s face was dark.

There were no deaths among the pinnacle masters, but there were injuries. One of them was Madam Number Four.

“That damn woman, she overdid it…”

My master examined Madam Number Four’s wounds.

“Given the situation, it couldn’t be helped.”

Madam said with a smirk.

“It’s a deep sword wound…”

“If I hadn’t overdone it, I might have lost. Well, he’s probably regretting it in the afterlife.”

My master sighed and turned his gaze to me.

“Junho.”

“Yes, Master.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to properly watch over your training for a while. Treating this woman is my priority…”

“Of course. Madam’s treatment comes first.”

Martial arts training was important, but it was natural that treating the injured person was the priority.

Especially if that person was Madam.

And the next day.

I turned away from the path to my master’s residence, yawning. The morning air was chilly.

“The Grand Master is taking care of Number Four.”

A servant who was attending nearby told me.

“Die, Blood Fiend Hall bastards!”

“Aaaagh!”

A commotion was heard from beyond the 복도 (bokdo).

It seemed that the servants were playing with wooden swords.

I chuckled. Yesterday’s battle seemed to have become a plaything for them.

It wasn’t just the young children. The adults were also very excited.

It was natural. They had fought against a rival sect, which was a cut above us, and won a great victory.

In terms of my past life, it was like a war broke out with Japan, and we ate up Hokkaido with little damage to our troops.

Those who had only trained in martial arts every day in the yard were drinking from the morning and reveling.

It wasn’t even lunchtime yet.

Should I train?

But my master wasn’t there, and wouldn’t I look too rigid if I trained even on a day like this?

Oh well, whatever. Let’s play too.

“So, you’re asking me to recommend a place to play?”

Nancho asked, squinting her eyes.

“Yeah. I’ve been training all the time since I came to this valley.”

“You’re talking like I’m good at playing.”

“Then you can ask your brother. He trains a lot, but he has a wide circle of friends.”

So I called Nanpa. He explained the places where the children of the Thousand Slaughter Valley gathered to play one by one. In fact, he was a bit old to play in such places, but he knew well because he was the leader of the young servants.

“If you follow the ridge of the mountain behind, there’s a waterfall. You can swim there…”

“Brother, it’s dangerous there.”

“Then there’s only the north yard.”

“Ugh… you’re going to go play mahjong again.”

“It’s not just mahjong. I’m sure Young Master will like it if you go there.”

“Are you going to take responsibility if Young Master gets into bad water?”

“What bad water? It’s good to go to such places once in a while. Isn’t that right, Young Master?”

In the end, curiosity was triggered.

“So… this is the north yard.”

I muttered, looking up at the still bright blue sky.

The air was quite chilly because it was morning.

“Welcome, Young Master.”

A child who looked to be my age bowed and greeted me from one side of the yard.

“Anyway, I heard that this is where the young assassins of this valley play.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I heard a rattling sound.

“Tsk… it’s mahjong again.”

Nancho sighed at the sound of mahjong tiles clashing.

“It would be fun if you learned it. Shall we go?”

Nanpa grabbed my arm, but I shook my head. No matter how I looked at it, it wasn’t my taste.

First of all, learning those complicated tiles was a job.

“Young Master, there are many other fun things to do.”

A child approached and whispered.

“For example?”

“There’s dice games, and gambling…”

…

“They’re all gambling entertainment.”

At Nancho’s words, the child stepped back slightly.

So that’s why Nancho was against it…

Well, I thought there would be something since it was the playground for assassins.

But it’s all gambling. My master would be disappointed if he knew.

“It’s better to sit here and listen to stories.”

I approached the children who were gathered in one corner of the yard, chatting.

“They were talking about yesterday’s battle.”

A child who worked in the main hall was talking about yesterday’s battle, spitting out saliva.

“Actually, two of the enemy’s seven pinnacle masters died without even fighting.”

“How?”

“According to the elders in the main hall, they set up a trap in advance. They pretended that there was something important and lured the enemies in. And then they burned them all to death.”

Nodding at the words of the well-informed child, I pondered.

No matter how pinnacle a master is, even if they are an ultra-pinnacle master, they are helpless in the face of flames.

However, it’s a different story if they are at the Hwagyeong level.

They can even block the flames with their internal energy.

“So, besides the b*tches who burned to death… who killed the other pinnacle masters?”

A child asked with a brutal tone typical of an assassin group.

“Number One, Number Four, Number Eight, Number Seventeen… and Grand Master Guhyeong, so five of them.”

“Oh… so they’ll be appointed as the first-class meritorious retainers this time?”

A child said excitedly.

“First-class meritorious retainer, what’s that?”

I couldn’t resist my curiosity at the child’s words.

“Young Master, in this valley, the merits are divided into grades whenever there is a big event. From 1st to 10th.”

The well-informed boy explained politely to me.

I was lost in thought for a moment.

The success of this battle was as good as thanks to me… Wouldn’t I become a first-class meritorious retainer?

Honestly, it would have been difficult to win with such little damage if it hadn’t been for me.

But it was a bit much to ask directly, so I asked indirectly.

“By the way… can you be promoted to a first-class meritorious retainer just by bringing important information?”

The well-informed boy smiled subtly as if he had noticed my intention and replied.

“Young Master will probably be appointed as a second-class meritorious retainer.”

Then he quickly added.

“Of course, it’s not because Young Master’s merits are small.”

“Then what is it?”

“The Valley Lord gives meritorious retainers evenly by faction.”

Then he began to count his fingers one by one.

“Number Four, Number Seventeen, and Guhyeong, who is Young Master’s teacher, are all in the same faction. The only one on the opposite side who killed the enemy is Number Eight… Number One is excluded from factional strife in the first place.”

He paused for a moment and added in a meaningful voice.

“Besides, Number Sixteen was even caught as a spy. Young Master’s faction is already stronger on average, and with this happening, the other side will have no choice but to shrink even more.”

Then he concluded with a confident voice.

“In a situation where things are already tilted to one side, adding Young Master to further tilt the scales… The Valley Lord will never do that.”

I knew that there were factions within the Thousand Slaughter Valley.

I had heard that our side was a small elite and the other side had a large number.

At first, I thought it was just a mental victory due to numerical inferiority, but seeing that our faction had killed almost all the enemies this time, it seemed that it wasn’t just nonsense.

“Perhaps… does the Valley Lord like the other faction more?”

I asked, lowering my voice as much as possible.

“The Valley Lord is neutral. But…”

The boy also whispered, following my tone.

“She hates one faction taking the lead.”