Book 28 Chapter 11

Hsiangshan Yileng, Meet the Fairies

-Sinmafal

Kwak thought as he ran.

How did this happen?

When I was first called to the Master with eleven priests, who would have thought that this nightmare would happen.

His orders from his master were to lead eleven priests out to capture a "serial attacker" who had recently been causing a stir in Hunan province and put him to death in the name of the mighty justice.

It even seemed a bit ridiculous that the newest signature of the Hyungsan School, the Hyungsan Twelve Swords, would be used to catch a single colorful horse. But then their master spoke up with a cautious look on his face.

"There is a suspicion of grinding."

He added

"In that case, never let your guard down because the worst can happen. Whatever happens, it's not strange, because he's a strong man."

But they were young and full of pride in their swordsmanship, and with twelve of them together, they had nothing to fear. To them, this was just a simple matter of getting some fresh air and a little consultation, with the added bonus of a donation. If all the twelve swords were sent out, they would be able to capture even ten such demons.

With eleven priests, Kwak went on a field trip to Zhangjiajie Village, where the village chief lived who had made a donation to Hyungsanpa. It was at this time that another kidnapping occurred in the village. Although the general public may not have noticed it, there were traces of it that could be recognized by those with a certain level of martial arts training.

Xiang Shaan Twelve Swords immediately began to give chase. Judging from the tracks he left behind as he fled, the colorful demon didn't seem to be a very good martial artist. But the chase took longer than they expected, and they continued northward, eventually crossing the borders of Hunan and arriving in Hubei. Finally, they came upon a vivid trail before a nameless pass. They sped up their pursuit and crossed the pass. The colored horse's head was now within their grasp.

But it was a trap.

Not only were they…… not one, but they had an ambush.

In a surprise attack from behind, Kwak Hyun lost three priests.

They had lured themselves in.

Their martial arts were beyond his wildest imagination, especially the youngest of them, the white ginseng man, whose Han Ice Technique was truly worthy of the Jing Tian. Who would have thought that someone who was only in his mid-twenties could be so profound.

Three swords were broken and fountains of blood erupted from their wielders' bodies as he unleashed his cacophonous artistry. The Twelve Swords went from being the pursuer to being the pursued, and after the first three were struck down, they were scattered to pieces.

The united force crumbled like a sand castle, a decade's worth of defenses wiped out in an instant. All that remained was Kwak Hyun, and he alone, while the rest of the priests fell one by one, their blood frozen in their veins.

Even as he ran from their attempts to destroy the evidence, Kwak's mind was filled with self-pity.

Why did we let our guard down? To dismiss it as a mere coloration, something you don't know until you fight it.

Defenselessness led to defeat, and defeat led to death, and now he was the only one of the Twelve Swords left standing.

It was a disgrace.

But he had to live. He had to live, even if it meant disgracing himself. If he died without avenging himself, he would not be able to face the priests in the basement.

But his steps were not so fast as he raced down the pass alone, for he, too, had taken an icy blow during the battle. His legs grew slower and slower, and his complexion grew more and more pale.

Even though the sun still hung low in the sky, he was breathing white as if it were the dead of winter. The chill in his bones was evidence of a cold that was slowly spreading through his body.

His blood was freezing, and the candle of hope in his heart was dying.

Their trail was now right up to their backs.

"Is this the end?

He pushed through the woods ahead of him, and he saw two groups of people standing in the middle of the road. One of the two groups was beautiful women dressed in black.

Seeing this, Kwak Hyun's face became pensive. It was almost certain that all of these pretty women would become the food of the color horse.

Looking at the women, all Kwak could do was call out in an urgent voice.

"Run! Run!"

But no one fled the crowd, even as he stamped his feet and shouted his warning. In fact, at the head of the line, a noblewoman with long, red hair, dressed only in black, who gave the impression of being somewhat opulent, glared at him and asked, "What are you doing here?

"What are you asking us to run away from?"

She was a woman of great majesty, even in her voice.

"What have you seen that has you freaking out? It sounds like something terrible has happened to you, so tell me."

Kwak Hyun was dumbfounded when a young woman started talking back to him. He'd been trying to help her, but instead of running away, she'd been talking back to him so early on. She didn't look to be in her forties. On the other hand, wasn't he already in his mid-forties?

"My name is Kwok Hyun, and I'm being chased by a bunch of demons from behind, so get out of here, I can't protect you all by myself!"

Several of the men were surprised to hear his name. As the head of the Hsiangshan Twelve Swords, Hsiangshan Yileng's reputation was well known in the stronghold. The one who was most surprised was Bai Muyoung. He didn't recognize him at all as the big brother he knew. Where had the observant and powerful man gone, and why was he wearing a shabby appearance that suggested he was about to die? He had changed so much that he was not easily recognizable at first.

"Nymphs? Why would a sane man be hunted by such cockroach-like nymphs? It's a strange thing."

As the red-haired woman spoke, she looked at the orphaned woman who stood beside her, holding a dragon's head. Her face seemed to ask for unspoken permission. The woman with the dragon's head lifted her endlessly bright eyes slightly, gazing off into the distance, and nodded slightly.

At that, the red-haired woman nodded and opened her mouth.

"Okay, I know we're on the road, but I'll give you a quick listen, and I'll tell you what happened."

Kwak Hyun became frustrated at the lack of communication.

"This is not the time for this! You're reassuring me that there's more than one of you with swords? These aren't ordinary demons, not even our Brotherhood Twelve Swords are a match for them!"

Then the red-haired woman asked the woman who stood silently beside her with her transparent, watery hair up in a bun.

"Sixty-two swords? Brother, do you know, one is called a sixty-two sword."

The watery-haired woman shook her head and replied in a clear voice.

"It's not a name I remember, but I think Hyea might remember it."

"Really? Hye-ah, I'm curious, what kind of kids are they?"

It was like a conversation between "You don't remember them, you don't need to know them," and "Yeah, but you're curious, who are they?" dressed up.

Kwak Hyun, who had been contemplating whether or not to run away, even on his own, froze in place.

"You don't know who the Hsing-San Twelve Swords is? Crab, and it's a child? Who's a child? Not me?

Already at the age of immortality, he looked at the three beautiful women standing before him.

The women, who could only be in their mid-to-late thirties no matter how many times they were photographed, seemed to be of high status, both in color and demeanor. But this was Hyung San-il, a name that was even being talked about as the next head of Hyung Sanpa, and yet they were treating him, the candidate for the next head of Hyung Sanpa, as if he were a 'child' they had never heard of. At that moment, Gal Hyo-hye, who had already returned to her position, came over and spoke politely.

"Yes, the second mother, who has only recently begun to make a name for herself, and is the leader of the twelve of them, if that makes sense. Other than that, there's nothing else worth remembering."

Kwak Hyun, who had never been treated like this before, was left speechless, forgetting the urgency of the situation. But his humiliation wasn't over yet.

"I see, child, it's your turn. You've wasted your time, so I'll let you explain your situation, and then you can tell me the names of the demons that are after you."

The red-haired woman urged him on this time. She sounded like a passerby soothing a crying child on the street and asking him why he was crying. He felt his heart sink, but for some reason, when he locked eyes with her, he felt strangely numb and couldn't help but answer. Perhaps it was because his mind and body had been pushed to the limit and he was exhausted.

"They are called the Colorful Frenzy Chou Yun and the Crimson Dragon."

The name was so vague, so hard to get in and so hard to get out of, that some of the people watching from afar scratched their heads. They thought it was a very famous color scheme because it was said to have defeated the Xiangshan Twelve Swords, but it was almost unheard of.

"Did you hear that, Mr. Nosa?"

Namgungsang asked Yeomdo in a low voice.

"No, there aren't. The only famous nymphomaniac I know of lately is a nymphomaniac."

"Ah, the same lustful maniac who terrorized the women of Jianghu fifty years ago. I've heard that his freezing temperament is unearthly, and many a martial artist has died at his hands."

"Yeah, well, I've never been in a fight myself."

He was still in his mid-teens when he was thrown off a cliff by a firing squad.

"So it's an emerging nymphomaniac group?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know. Because that's not what's important right now."

"Then what is it?"

"We need to get out of here somehow without being seen. Right now."

He was serious. He couldn't understand why Elder Yin was acting this way.

Meanwhile, Gal Hyo-hye said, 'We have no information on those who bear such designations, Second Mother. Perhaps it's something they've come up with on their own in the recent past,' the red-haired woman frowned as she listened.

"If it's seven, it's seven, and if you add another one, it's eight, isn't it? How dare you still allow a colorful demon to run rampant in such close quarters, especially at a time like this……."

At those words, Mrs. Yong Dujiang, who had remained silent until now, spoke for the first time.

"Apparently, the Black Panther Party has been a little too laid back lately."

Her eyes were as deep as an abyss, and her brows narrowed slightly. She was a woman of mountainous majesty and prayerfulness, but when she furrowed her brow, most of Bi Ryuyeon's group were stunned, feeling a strange pressure in their nonchalance. Although the Yeomdo and ice sword warnings were not out of the ordinary, nor was the color of her complexion or face, they hadn't expected that the first words out of her mouth would be about the Black Heavenly League. What surprised them even more was the conversation that followed.

"Yes, Big Sister. I'm going to have to go give her a little refresher."

The red-haired woman spoke in a firm voice. Mrs. Hyun nodded her head slightly in agreement, then turned to the watery-haired woman, who stood silently. The woman caught her gaze and replied in a soft voice.

"Yes, I'll clean it up."

As the salt and ice swords unconsciously pressed a little more into the superlative, each of them broke out in a cold sweat, each with an ominous sense of foreboding. Somehow, they felt like they'd run into a bunch of people on the street that they shouldn't have on a rescue mission.

Regardless of what anyone else thought, the redheaded woman called out to Kwak Hyun, who had been in a state of chaos earlier.

"Good. Then you tell me one more thing and go. Where is it?"

Kwak Hyun replied with a puzzled look.

"Yes, what do you mean, where are you?"

Kwak Hyun found himself using respect without realizing it. He had been so disrespected, but now that he had heard their conversation, he couldn't even speak back, let alone rebel. Of course, he was in a panic, so he couldn't figure out what exactly was being said, but he knew it was something big.

The woman frowned at him as he questioned her.

"Those bastards."

But she didn't need to hear the answer.

"Hmph, to meet eleven woeful beauties in the middle of these mountains, hmph, you're lucky today!"

"Kilkilkilkilkil, who's not, I've taken care of that Brotherhood of Sixty-Two Swords that's been bothering me for a while, and tonight I can set the night on fire with the moans of women!"

Everyone's brow furrowed simultaneously at the disorienting voice that seemed to come from everywhere. The voice had a guttural quality to it, causing a physiological revulsion in the listener.

"What a sleazy……!"

Yong Tianming hastily interrupted the fiery Maharishi as he looked around to see if he was about to lose his temper. They were hiding the fact that they were women, and if they spoke out, they would be discovered in this dangerous situation. How could there be so many female martial artists in this stronghold?

Next moment,

Out of thin air, seven men descended. They were strangely dressed in the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, south, and purple. This was Chae Hong Chilma, the mastermind behind the recent kidnapping and attack spree in Hunan province.

The trick they had just performed was an ascending kung fu move in which they kicked off a branch, jumped high on the recoil, and fell vertically from high in the sky. It had the effect of instilling fear in the audience because it made it seem as if they had just dropped out of the sky from nothing.

Just as Kwak Hyun's eyes were beginning to fill with despair at this horrifying sight, a man dressed in a white robe landed in mid-air, as if following them. He exuded confidence and ease as he gently waved a colorful white jade fan. It was Chu Yun, the colorful and maniacal form of the Crimson Phoenix.

Appearing to be in his mid-twenties, he certainly didn't look like the kind of man who would lead a group of colored horses and mastermind a series of kidnappings. In fact, he was so compliant that he looked like a late bloomer with a promising future, and unlike the Chae Hong Chilma, who had a filthy mouth even before he appeared, he merely flicked his fan with a smirk on his face.

"What are you trying to do?"

Grabbing Mo Yonghui's hand as he was about to rush forward, Yidao asked in a small but strong voice. Mo Yonghui, the upstanding young man, looked back at Yin Di with suspicion in his eyes.

"Why are you stopping me?

Those eyes were screaming.

"If you don't know, of course we're going to save them."

In a firm tone, Moyongyu replied.

"Save, which one?"

The answer was given by the Namgung statue next to him.

"The women, of course, who are being threatened by those insolent nymphs."

Mo Yonghui was not the only one to step forward. Who wouldn't feel a sense of righteousness at the prospect of beautiful women being attacked by color horses, no matter how much they seemed to be associated with the Black Sword? The only reason they didn't rush to the rescue was because of the urgent instructions from Yeomdo and Ice Sword, who had sent a message earlier to warn the rescue party.

The spirits watching the situation were also puzzled. Yukyung Ok, who would have been the first to run away in anger at this kind of thing, was surprisingly not angry, but was watching with a serious expression as if she had something on her mind. Jang Hong was also suspicious of her behavior.

"I'm sure I've seen this before somewhere……."

Okuyukyung furrowed her brow slightly and muttered to herself.

"…Permission!"

Mo Yonghui asked Yin Do for permission to conduct the consultation in an open voice, but Yin Do flatly refused.

"Arthur, you could get yourself killed."

Yin Dao shook his head. Mo Yonghui, who had expected to be denied permission, was no longer enraged by the unexpected answer.

"Have you suddenly become a coward and expect me to just keep my eyes open while women are being threatened by nymphs? I'm not afraid of those nymphs!"

His voice was casual, but the words were coming out of his mouth in a way that was quite harsh for a man who is usually so polite that it's almost over the top. That meant he was excited, and it meant he had a lot on his mind.

He could not ignore this injustice, no matter how much the women seemed to be associated with blackness. Above all, it was not in his nature to allow such unrighteous and filthy people to be left alone. They had to be cleaned up, if only for the sake of the world.

Mo Yonghui's red eyebrows twitched for a moment, but he somehow managed to suppress them instead of exploding.

Refrain. Today's Yeomdo was truly out of the ordinary, he said, lowering his voice to a whisper. Even Mo Yonghui could barely hear him.

"You fool, who told you that you were going to be killed by those scum?"

"Well, then?"

Then Yeomdo wrote a whole note to warn the young men around him.

"I'm just going to say this. If you go out there, you're going to get killed by those ladies, you idiots!"

"…Oh, ma'am?

They didn't look to be more than mid-thirties at the most, but the word "auntie" came out of the mouth of Yeomdo……. The young men of the rescue team were dumbfounded when they heard the news.

I had a hard time understanding what Yeomdo was saying because it didn't seem to make sense.

"I don't understand."

Mo Yonghui shook his head in confusion and muttered.

"You don't have to understand. Just brace yourself and watch, and you'll see."

This time, it was the prelude to the ice sword.

The Yeomdo was asked by Binggum, who looked a little worried.

"Why don't you just tell me?"

"Arthur. But what if someone slips up, and you're so surprised, it's like a surprised thief breaking the general's crockery?"

"You make it sound so easy."

"Simply put, ignorance is bliss."

It's not often that these two come together as one, but today was one of those days where they were on the same page.

However, Mo Yonghui was not the only one who was unperturbed by their warnings. Nangong Shang and Yong Tianming also stepped forward, their hands on their weapons, their spirits high, ready to fight. No, they were about to step forward.

As they drew their swords and moved forward, a hand stopped them in their tracks.

"You shall remain where you are."

It was a beautiful hand that gave no hint of age. Not a single wrinkle could be found on them; they seemed to be frozen in time. The owner of the hand that stopped them was the Godmother in Black, who stood at the head of the line.

As if her words carried some invisible power, the three of them were unable to take another step forward at the same time. The woman, who could only have been in her mid to late thirties, treated them like children, but they felt no offense; it was the naturalness of her words.

"What? But……."

Mo Yonghui, bewildered by the unexpected turn of events, stammered and tried to say something, but the black-clad godmother's demeanor was resolute.

"I will remember to use my heart to not pass by injustice. But it is the law of our house that one must defend oneself. Their malice and threats are directed at us, and I must leave you now to see to this as you deserve."

What is deserved?

Mo Yonghui was very confused because he couldn't understand what was happening.

Any other woman would have called out for help in a voice of terror and fear. Even if she was a martial artist, if she was in the company of men and encountered a villain of the nasty sort, such as a nymphomaniac, she would not usually take matters into her own hands. They might have been nervous, wondering what she was doing with her eyes wide open, or what she was doing without a quick rescue, and that's not a bad thing, because if you're going to do something yourself, you don't need a group.

But they refused help, even when it came, as if to tell the children to stay away.

From the start, they seemed to have an unusual history, but they were truly remarkable women. But in the end, Moyongyu couldn't figure out why the salt and ice swords feared them, or why they said they would die if they went out.

Until their identities were revealed a short time later.