Heavenly Inquisition Sword

Episode 150: That's Why They're Called Cunning Creatures

At the shout of "hidden weapon," Namgung Cheon reacted instantly.

Instead of responding hastily, he took a great leap backward.

His vast experience in Murim shone through at that moment.

A second later, a rain of black sand fell where the Blue Cloud Swordsman, Namgung Cheon, had been standing.

Shhhhh!

Namgung Cheon exclaimed upon seeing the black sand.

"Dan-hon-sa (단혼사)!"

It was the infamous poisonous sand of the Tang Family, known to be extremely lethal among hidden weapons.

If it had been a dagger or a needle, he might have been able to block it, but no master, no matter how skilled, could easily defend against a handful of poisonous sand.

In that sense, Namgung Cheon's reaction was very wise.

The Young Master Yin-Yang, Yang Jin-ho, stepped back with a frustrated expression.

With his gloved hands, he pulled out another handful of Dan-hon-sa from his chest and shouted.

"This stuff costs a hundred taels of silver per handful! I bought three hundred taels worth of this. Do you want to keep trying?"

Namgung Cheon stared at him silently.

As a member of a warrior family, he knew better than anyone how dangerous Dan-hon-sa was.

Dan-hon-sa might seem simple and unimpressive, but its killing power was outstanding. A single grain in contact with the skin was lethal within three days without the Tang Family's secret antidote.

It was so deadly that, with just a pair of special gloves, anyone could use it. Even a common bandit could carry it.

'If we weren't on the boat...'

In the confined space of the boat, Dan-hon-sa was a deadly tactic.

The enemy knew this, which is why he was determined to use it to win.

Yu Geunsik, observing from about six meters away, shouted furiously.

"Damn coward! That's why you can't trust bandits!"

The Old Dao of the Nine Heavens, Old Shim, glanced sideways at Yu Geunsik.

Mentioning thieves in the presence of Yeon Jeokha and himself was irritating.

Jin Seolha, quick to grasp the situation, elbowed Yu Geunsik.

"Big brother, only that guy is bad. Just him."

"What? That's what I said!"

Yu Geunsik, unaware of his mistake, turned back to the scene.

Yeon Jeokha, who had never seen Dan-hon-sa before, asked Namgung Yeon.

"Sister, what is Dan-hon-sa?"

"It's poisonous sand made by the Tang Family. It's soaked in the Tang Family's secret poison, and just touching it poisons you. Without the antidote, even a Murim master wouldn't survive more than three days."

Yeon Jeokha, alarmed, shouted toward Namgung Cheon.

"Big brother, come back here. I'll handle it."

Namgung Cheon, without hesitation, turned around.

He leaped into the air and easily covered the distance of about six meters.

As Namgung Cheon left, Yang Jin-ho and the healthy bandits began rowing furiously to increase the distance.

When they were about twelve meters away, Yang Jin-ho finally straightened his back, confident in the distance.

"Haha! You bastards! I'm over here! Dare to come and kill me!"

Yeon Jeokha stood at the bow, saying nothing.

He unleashed the seventh technique of the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship, Ground Splitting Dragon Claw.

His sword moved slowly, finally aiming at Yang Jin-ho's boat.

Boom!

Three rays of energy shot out from the tip of his sword.

The water rose about three meters where the energy passed.

Crash! Crash! Boom!

Hit directly by the sword's energy, Yang Jin-ho was torn to pieces.

The boat, split into three, slowly sank.

The new passengers who had boarded at Janghojin couldn't close their mouths at the sight.

The captain, seeing this, strutted proudly as if he had done it himself.

Shortly after, the boat passed quietly through Wanboju.

Janghojin.

At dusk, a group of people arrived at the village.

They were the Total Poison Protector, Yang Soran, along with the Blood Sword and Jade Buddha of the Musansocho.

They left their horses in the stable and headed to the nearby inn, where they quickly ate.

But they were so exhausted that they didn't get up right away.

They had ridden non-stop for two days, which explained their fatigue.

Even superhuman endurance has its limits in the face of accumulated fatigue.

While quietly drinking his tea, Blood Sword glanced at Yang Soran.

"You had a close relationship with Baek San, right?"

"A little."

"Haha. To be honest, we weren't very close. We always invited him to drink, but he never accepted. Maybe because he was from an orthodox sect."

"More than his origin, it was his preference. He didn't like alcohol or women much."

Then Jade Buddha intervened.

"Is there any man who rejects alcohol and women? He probably just didn't want to socialize with us."

Yang Soran, feeling uncomfortable, stopped defending Baek San. She didn't care what those two old drunks thought.

At that moment, Blood Sword commented with an insinuating tone.

"We heard strange rumors about Baek San and Lee Cho-ryang. It was said they transformed into monsters when they died."

Jade Buddha added.

"Yes, they were said to have turned into a demon dragon and a thunder god. Could it be a side effect of the Sacred Artifacts?"

Yang Soran realized that both were equally surprised by the post-mortem changes.

"I asked our leader, but she doesn't know either. She said they would discuss the matter at the next meeting of the Great Demon Generals, so we'll find out soon."

The three fell silent for a moment.

Finally, Jade Buddha broke the silence.

"Why is Heaven Destroyer Demon Lord acting like this with us? Do you think he's really against our Cult?"

Blood Sword shook his head.

"It doesn't make sense for him, who isn't from an orthodox sect, to want to confront us. He must have some other purpose."

Jade Buddha looked at Yang Soran.

Yang Soran nodded in agreement.

"Maybe he doesn't like our influence in Nokrim. After all, it's as if we've replaced the clan leaders."

Blood Sword and Jade Buddha nodded.

At first, they had been annoyed by what Yeon Jeokha was doing, but after hearing Yang Soran's explanation, it made sense.

The three continued discussing Nokrim and Yeon Jeokha, trying to understand the intentions behind his actions.

Pyeongtaek County, Seogyeong.

At dusk, Yeon Jeokha's boat and his group docked at a small port.

Unlike Janghojin, Seogyeong had an inn, which allowed them to find a good meal and a place to sleep.

After dinner, Jin Seolha went up to her room, unpacked her belongings, and hesitated for a moment.

It was too early to go to bed, so she decided to go down for some tea.

Before, she would have invited Namgung Yeon, but after the morning incident, she felt a bit uncomfortable.

At that moment, Namgung Yeon spoke.

"I'm sorry."

"What? Why?"

"I was a bit harsh this morning. I wanted to apologize, but I hadn't had the chance."

Jin Seolha looked at Namgung Yeon, waving her hands in denial.

"No, no. You didn't say anything wrong. I think I was too relaxed. When Young Master Yeon handles everything so well, I sometimes forget how dangerous it is."

Looking into each other's eyes, Namgung Yeon lowered her head slightly.

"Still, I shouldn't have been so harsh. I think I was too sensitive."

Namgung Yeon surprised herself. She had never had to apologize to anyone before.

Before, she had always kept her emotions under control and hadn't needed to apologize for anything.

"It wasn't necessary..."

Jin Seolha was surprised by Namgung Yeon's attitude. At that moment, she seemed like a normal person.

The famous Heart-Reading Solitary Flower, Namgung Yeon.

Still in a daze, Jin Seolha cautiously asked.

"It's early to sleep, would you like to go down for some tea?"

"Yes."

Namgung Yeon and Jin Seolha went down together.

The inn's dining hall was quiet after dinner.

Jin Seolha sat by the window and poured tea into two cups, pushing one gently toward Namgung Yeon.

It was her way of thanking her for apologizing.

"Thank you."

The two drank in silence, enjoying the tea, though the taste was mediocre.

As she played with the cup, Jin Seolha murmured.

"Young Master Yeon is surprising. His martial skill is impressive, but sometimes he acts like a child."

"Yes, he has that side."

"At first, I admired him, but now..."

Jin Seolha shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

Namgung Yeon smiled softly.

"Do you not admire him anymore?"

"He's so adorable."

Namgung Yeon was surprised by the unexpected confession and looked at Jin Seolha with wide eyes.

Seeing Namgung Yeon's reaction, Jin Seolha hurried to clarify.

"No, I don't mean I'm in love with him. Just that it's nice to see him. Don't you think so?"

"Yes, I also find him adorable."

Saying this, Namgung Yeon felt liberated.

Jin Seolha continued, excited.

"Right? I'm only a year older than him, but he's so adorable. This morning, when he was teaching me how to throw stones, he seemed like a different person. How can someone who fights against the Demon Warriors be so tender?"

"Do you like Jeokha?"

Jin Seolha hesitated at the direct question.

She found him charming and felt an attraction to him, but "liking" implied something deeper.

"To be honest, I don't know. He's kind and not arrogant, but he keeps a certain distance. It's like..."

Jin Seolha was about to compare Namgung Yeon to Yeon Jeokha, but she held back. She didn't want to ruin their newly regained friendship.

Namgung Yeon kept a visible distance, while Yeon Jeokha did it more subtly, creating an invisible barrier.

Suddenly, Jin Seolha looked at Namgung Yeon.

She realized that both shared the same characteristic of keeping others at a distance.

What would happen if two people like that met?

Would they drift even further apart?

The thought made Jin Seolha laugh.

Namgung Yeon, curious, asked.

"Why are you laughing?"

Jin Seolha returned to reality.

"I was just thinking about something silly."

"If it's something funny, share it."

Namgung Yeon's insistence felt strangely comforting to her. She seemed more approachable than ever.

At that moment, Yeon Jeokha, who was coming down the stairs, was surprised to see the two women chatting animatedly.

After a day of barely looking at each other, they now seemed like the best of friends.

'Is that possible?'

Old Shim, who was beside him, muttered into Yeon Jeokha's ear.

"That's why they're called cunning creatures. This morning they seemed like enemies, and now they're inseparable."

Yeon Jeokha nudged Old Shim with his shoulder.

"Don't be disgusting. Don't whisper."