NOVEL NEXT Chapter 145
“Hmph, there haven’t been any decent jobs lately.”
The man with a hooked nose and protruding lips, along with frog-like eyes, surveyed his surroundings as he thought to himself.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve ventured outside…”
Although he had been recruited by the Poisonous Blood Cult, spending an entire lifetime wandering the Central Plains proved restless for the martial artist who now found himself bound to remain in one place.
“At least I’m not being hunted by the Martial Alliance anymore.”
Yunnan was not a place where even the Martial Alliance could easily intervene, having lost control over it after the Dianjiang Sect met its downfall. The scattered families and sects that remained were all wiped out by the Poisonous Blood Cult.
Since the Poisonous Blood Cult had become the dominant force in Yunnan, he accepted their leader’s invitation, also seeking the benefits of their protection. After all, he was tired of the wandering life.
“Still, this is suffocating.”
Having joined the Poisonous Blood Cult, it became more difficult for him to act as he pleased, and his patience had reached its limit.
“I might as well visit a pleasure house and entertain myself with some ladies.”
Unable to act with the same freedom as before, the only way to alleviate this boredom was to visit a pleasure house and spend time with a woman while drinking.
“Paying for women isn’t something I relish…”
But now that he was part of the Poisonous Blood Cult, there was no way around following orders. He spat on the ground and headed toward the pleasure house.
The street with its red lanterns and women in revealing clothing was one of the only forms of entertainment in this city, and despite the dark night, it remained brightly lit.
“Even if you’re dressed to the nines, they’d all fade if they had dull faces.”
He evaluated while walking toward the pleasure house. Then, something caught his eye.
“Wow… what a figure…”
Without noticing, he became entranced, staring at the woman walking ahead of him.
Even from the back, the woman had an extraordinary figure, walking confidently despite the attention of the surrounding men.
“…An extraordinary beauty.”
While it might have been premature to make such a judgment without seeing her face, would she have garnered this many male glances if she were plain?
“I might as well have her tonight.”
When would he otherwise get the chance?
He discreetly intimidated the other men around him with his qi, then began to follow the woman.
“Something’s off…”
While an attractive woman walking alone caught his attention, her complete lack of tension was strange. Even considering that he had been trailing her, her calm demeanor seemed unnatural.
The woman who entered the back alley, having moved away from the red-light district, made him stop and reconsider.
“Could it have been her intention to lure me from the start?”
Though perplexed, he didn’t feel fear or anger.
“Did some woman harbor a grudge against me?”
“Whoa, you really look just like what’s written in the hit list.”
“What?”
“Your face looks like you rolled some clay and stuck it on.”
The unexpected insults angered him. An insult to his face was like striking a nerve, and given how he had been abandoned by even his own parents because of his appearance, this stung deeply.
“You think it’s funny to mock someone like me?”
The Ghost-Faced Killer drew his hatchet.
A weapon that radiated a sense of unease, unlike a conventional weapon for martial artists. Yet when Hye-ryeong countered by drawing her sword, she did so calmly as she faced him down.
“Uses unique martial arts with the hatchet, extremely dangerous, doesn’t hesitate to use Naeryeotagon when needed. He is known for his cruel methods, including raping women and slaughtering them with his hatchet, leading to his wanted status by the Martial Alliance…”
Hye-ryeong retrieved this information from the death list as she assumed her martial stance.
“I don’t know what kind of martial arts you use, but it hardly matters if you’re an opponent at my level.”
The Ghost-Faced Killer had spent nearly twenty years in the Jianghu, rich in combat experience. Although he lacked the natural talent to rise to the top, within a few years, he believed he would achieve peak proficiency if given some time.
“I, personally, will enlighten you about combat.”
“Enlighten me? Please.”
With a smirk, Hye-ryeong initiated the thirty-six sword techniques of the Hainan Sword Sect, unleashing her first skill: Endless Waves.
As he licked his lips watching her, the Ghost-Faced Killer was taken aback at her unexpectedly sharp swordplay. Immediately swinging his hatchet, he managed to block her sword.
The forced clash of the hatchet and sword caught him by surprise with the unexpected weight behind her strike.
“Hmph, you’re pretty capable.”
“Can your skills keep up with your face?”
“Damn woman!”
With a roar, he pushed her sword aside. Hye-ryeong capitalized on the recoil, twisting her body fluidly to neutralize the momentum before lunging at him again.
An endless cascade of attacks. The Ghost-Faced Killer tried his best to block her relentless strikes but could not find an opening among her aggressive and unpredictable swordplay.
‘This woman is more skilled than expected!’
Even though she looked young, her sword techniques were sharp and irregular, surpassing his expectations.
When he tried to knock her sword aside, she would stab at his flank. As soon as he deflected her to the side, she twirled and struck his opposite flank. If he deflected that, she moved to his shoulder next.
“Attack is the best form of defense.”
Who could stand against an endless tide?
The Ghost-Faced Killer found himself retreating before her relentless assault.
‘I need to find an opening.’
He needed to focus on the gaps in her technique. However, that proved difficult because his focus was consistently drawn to her excessive curves.
‘What a torture.’
Human instincts are tragically frustrating—he realized his breathing destabilized as his eyes wandered up and down her form.
‘I’ll die if I can’t concentrate!’
Grimacing, he gathered his strength and powerfully struck her sword, leveraging the prolonged experience of blocking her strikes to predict her movements.
Hye-ryeong attempted the same maneuver as before to utilize the recoil, but this time, the Ghost-Faced Killer had taken the advantage.
‘This may be a bit of a waste, but…’
No point in holding back given her resistance.
The Ghost-Faced Killer’s hatchet appeared to multiply into five.
As her sword danced, striking down all the hatchets he threw at her, Hye-ryeong’s hand ached.
‘His face might be a half-finished sculpture, but the force behind his hatchets is real.’
Three steps back, Hye-ryeong regained her footing, marking a slight advantage for the Ghost-Faced Killer.
A faint blue light shimmered faintly on the Ghost-Faced Killer’s hatchet—a manifestation of energy still somewhat lacking, but top-tier among first-class practitioners. His short hatchet glowed red as he drove toward Hye-ryeong.
‘Just stay calm. Uncle’s sword strikes may be heavier, but this shouldn’t be too hard…’
Hye-ryeong calmly observed the path of the hatchet.
A straight downward slash from the right—an obvious move, easily identified as a feint.
She let the feint pass.
Her body tilted backward, the hatchet narrowly missing her chest. Hye-ryeong immediately focused on the next strike.
“Left flank.”
It was sharp insight, considering most martial artists preferred their right hand or both hands. Twisting under such strain, blocking an attack coming from the left was no easy task.
But Hye-ryeong grinned.
For the Hainan Sword Techniques were designed to be wielded with either hand.
Her sword, flung from her right hand to her left, flowed naturally.
The sword she gracefully held in her left hand swirled inside, deflecting the hatchet and causing sparks to fly.
“Hmph!”
Unfamiliar trajectory.
Unfamiliar sword technique.
Hye-ryeong, from an odd angle, slashed upward with her sword. Though easily evaded by the Ghost-Faced Killer, his expression betrayed his inner shock.
“Could this be… that sword technique?”
Rarely seen in the Central Plains, though famous in legends, it could only mean one thing.
“Hainan Sword Sect?”
“Took you long enough.”
Her sword, now in her left hand, moved with elegance and ferocity like ocean waves. The assault was relentless, to the extent that he almost heard the sound of waves in his ears.
“Damn it! I haven’t wronged the Hainan Sword Sect—why is their disciple after me?”
A lone martial artist harboring old grudges wouldn’t be a big deal, but the Hainan Sword Sect was another matter.
As one of the Nine Great Sects, while occupying the lowest position, it was infamous for its fiery temperament.
“Indeed, these waves-like techniques are their signature. I need to create some distance…”
What is the disadvantage of using a hatchet?
Unlike a sword, all the killing power was concentrated in the head of the weapon.
Given that a hatchet’s lethality relies on the small metal part at the end of a wooden handle, it becomes less effective in close combat. Even with a short hatchet, one needs the correct posture to maximize its power.
So he needed space.
He needed enough room to fully swing his hatchet.
He immediately utilized his footwork to retreat, but Hye-ryeong countered with her agile footwork.
Having anticipated his retreat, she moved fearlessly, closing the distance of two steps.
If she got too close, she would face difficulty wielding her sword as well. But the Hainan Sword Techniques were designed for pure lethality. There was no way such a system would not have a solution for this exact scenario.
In Hye-ryeong’s hand, the sword spun half a turn, positioning the blade downward.
An unconventional grip for a swordsman, from this seemingly absurd stance, she executed her move.
Her reverse-grip sword slashed cleanly through the Ghost-Faced Killer’s side.
“Ugh…!”
It wasn’t a deep wound, but enough to impair his combat ability significantly.
The Ghost-Faced Killer dropped to the ground to make an escape but found his escape route blocked by a giant figure in a lion mask, arms crossed.
“That’s it…”
And with that, these were his final thoughts.