Chapter 101: Punishnt -02
“Please forgive
for coming so abruptly at the crack of dawn.”
“It is fine. When one grows old, one loses the ability to sleep at dawn. And you would not have co to see
at this hour without reason.”
Drip.
Though it was a sudden visit, Damhyeon was not the least bit surprised.
He thought there had to be a clear reason why Ban Hojin had no choice but to co now.
“I was ambushed.”
“……Ambushed?”
Damhyeon’s brows twitched as he poured tea with a benevolent smile.
He was startled by a word he had never once imagined hearing in his life.
“It was an ambush aid at .”
“What did you say?”
At Ban Hojin’s continued reply, Damhyeon’s expression instantly hardened.
At the sa ti, the air grew heavy.
Such was the force of the aura flowing from Damhyeon.
“As you can see, Master, I am unhard.”
“……Where was it from?”
“The Dark Moon Sect.”
“It is highly likely that it was the First Young Lord of the Geum Family Estate.”
Though Ban Hojin had offered no further explanation, Damhyeon reached the answer in an instant.
He already knew that Geum Hoyeon had visited Ban Hojin the day before.
“I think so as well. From the First Young Lord’s perspective, I must have been extrely troubleso. However, I believe it is too early to be certain. As my reputation has risen, so too have my enemies.”
“There is also the Shangguan Family, and the Green Forest Bandits. Among them, the most likely would be the Shangguan Family.”
Damhyeon’s gaze turned cold.
Both were more than plausible possibilities.
“Nothing is certain yet. That is why I intend to confirm it personally.”
“You personally? You an to seek out the Dark Moon Sect?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I know where the Dark Moon Sect is located.”
Damhyeon blinked.
Among those who had fallen to the assassins of the Dark Moon Sect were quite a number of disciples from the Nine Great Sects.
There were also many martial artists belonging to Prestigious Families.
And yet the Dark Moon Sect continued to operate unhindered because neither the location of its main headquarters nor the identity of its sect leader had ever been revealed.
Thus, when Ban Hojin claid to know its location, Damhyeon was greatly surprised.
At the sa ti, he wondered how he had co by such knowledge.
“The Hao Sect? No. Even if the Hao Sect knew, they would never leak that information externally unless they were prepared to wage war against the Dark Moon Sect. And the Dark Moon Sect would certainly do everything in its power not to be discovered.”
“I learned of it by chance. It is not exact, but there is more than a sixty percent probability that it is correct.”
“How in the world?”
“Even I have my secrets.”
Ban Hojin smiled aningfully.
Seeing that smile—which clearly ant he could say no more—Damhyeon let out a hollow chuckle.
Though he had long known that Ban Hojin had already grown beyond his grasp, monts like this never failed to surprise him.
“You did not co rely to report this.”
“I thought I should at least greet you before departing.”
“So you intend to go with just your own group.”
“I plan to receive a bit of support from Young Master Geum. Since the opponent is an assassin sect, I believe it would be wise to make so preparations.”
“I will assign Beopmu and the Eight Protectors to you.”
Ban Hojin’s eyes widened slightly.
The nas had co unexpectedly from Damhyeon’s lips.
“The Eight Protectors?”
“I am well aware of your ability, but did they not dare to target the Main Temple? I must show them sothing as well. They must pay the price for aiming at Shaolin. I would go personally if I could, but that would not be what you want.”
“It is not a matter worthy of you stepping forward, Master. At most, they are rely an assassin sect.”
“Hmph.”
Had anyone else spoken such words, he would have imdiately rebuked them.
But Ban Hojin was different.
He had already proven his martial strength by defeating the Monster King alone.
Even now, Damhyeon could not confidently claim he would certainly defeat Ban Hojin.
“It feels sowhat inappropriate for Senior Disciple Brother to go, but if it is your will, Master, I will comply.”
“He will not be without use.”
“That was not what I ant.”
“I know. I am sending Beopmu for the sake of experience. Opportunities like this do not co often. Beopmu will likely understand my intent as well.”
“I will return safely.”
At Ban Hojin’s reply—laden with layered aning—Damhyeon smiled faintly.
It seed Ban Hojin had perfectly understood his intentions.
“You will handle it well on your own, of that I have no doubt, but still, be cautious. Revenge is a rightful claim, yet avoiding injury is what matters most.”
“I will bear that in mind. And I have one favor to ask of you, Master.”
“Speak.”
Damhyeon’s eyes widened slightly.
He was sowhat surprised that Ban Hojin, of all people, would have a favor to ask of him.
Yet at the sa ti, it pleased him.
“I would like you to pass along a ssage through the Beggars’ Sect—that you will not overlook this matter. Of course, in words only.”
“You an to draw their attention toward ?”
“Yes. What I say and what you say carry entirely different weight. It would also apply psychological pressure.”
“If that is the case, it would be better to declare the official stance of the Main Temple rather than just my own.”
“I do not believe it is necessary to go that far.”
Ban Hojin shook his head.
He did not think it necessary for the disciples of Shaolin to involve themselves in his personal matter with the Dark Moon Sect.
But Damhyeon thought differently.
“You are also a disciple of Shaolin. On a small scale, it is you who suffered an ambush. On a larger scale, it is an attack upon a disciple of Shaolin—my disciple.”
Damhyeon spoke as though this point was not open to negotiation.
He had only two disciples.
One of them had been ambushed, and he had no intention of letting the matter pass.
Had Ban Hojin not stepped forward, he himself would have gone to seek out the Dark Moon Sect.
“You are not wrong, but the Dark Moon Sect is sothing I can handle within my own bounds.”
“I know. That is why I am surprised, yet not enraged. I know your strength well. On the other hand, the Dark Moon Sect knows nothing about you. If they had known that Danwi had fallen to you, they would not have sent rely a single Special-Grade Assassin.”
“That is true. That is why I intend to thoroughly overturn them this ti. It will also serve to build experience for those accompanying . An all-out confrontation with an assassin sect is not sothing one can easily experience.”
“They will all suffer a bit.”
“Senior Disciple Brother as well.”
At the last remark, Damhyeon let out a faint chuckle.
It sounded as though he was asking whether he would still send them despite that.
Even so, he had no intention of reversing his decision.
“Return safely.”
“Yes. Then I shall take my leave.”
Ban Hojin rose from his seat and bowed toward Damhyeon.
Then, without looking back, he left Damhyeon’s quarters.
“The Dark Moon Sect.”
After Ban Hojin departed, Damhyeon stared at the closed door and muttered.
Yet his expression was far from ordinary.
It was entirely different from the one he had worn monts ago.
Slurp.
Drinking the tea that had already grown cold, Damhyeon sank into thought.
Although Ban Hojin had said he would handle it himself, that did not an Damhyeon intended to simply sit by and watch.
From one perspective, it was no different than treating Shaolin lightly. With a frigid gaze and expression, Damhyeon stared into empty space.
Though the sun hung high in the sky, the expression of the Dark Moon Sect Leader was darker than ever.
At the sa ti, he let out several deep sighs in succession.
Because it had been such a major opportunity, he had expected it would not be easy.
However, he had not imagined it would fail so completely, and so the Dark Moon Sect Leader tightly shut his eyes.
“For now, we must lie low. They may be raging like mad dogs in their fury, but once ti passes, it will all quiet down as though it were a lie.”
Though Damhyeon and Shaolin were speaking as if they would devour the Dark Moon Sect at any mont, the Dark Moon Sect Leader was not particularly afraid.
Since they had targeted Ban Hojin, it was only natural that Damhyeon would be furious.
But at present, that was all Damhyeon could do.
So long as he did not know the location of the Dark Moon Sect, neither Damhyeon nor Shaolin could take any real action.
“Once enough ti passes, it will naturally be forgotten.”
Even to the Dark Moon Sect Leader, Damhyeon and Shaolin were fearso.
Yet no matter how terrifying an existence might be, if one did not face it, it could cause no harm.
Thus, the Dark Moon Sect Leader rely waited for this storm to pass.
The only regrettable point was that until matters blew over, he could conduct no operations.
“The money is a pity, but avoiding the storm cos first. We already received enough as advance paynt.”
For the ti being, they could not act under the na of the Dark Moon Sect.
Not until the anger of Shaolin and Damhyeon subsided.
Until then, they would have to remain as quiet as dead mice.
“Tsk! If he had just died, things would not have escalated this far.”
Though the solution was obvious, the Dark Moon Sect Leader smacked his lips in frustration.
Had the assassination succeeded, there would have been no need to lie low like this.
But it had failed, and now he had no choice but to accept the consequences and prostrate himself flat.
Even if he disliked it.
“The First Young Lord must be parched with anxiety as well. In that sense, I hope he struggles desperately soon.”
The easiest way to divert public attention was for a new incident to erupt.
One that would capture the interest of the masses.
And in a way, since the First Young Lord was the true instigator of this affair, he was surely the one most frantic of all.
“Hm?”
Though the possibility was realistically slim, the Dark Moon Sect Leader indulged in hopeful imagination—and then suddenly sprang to his feet.
He sensed sothing imbued with terrifying force hurtling toward the building at a dreadful speed.
The instant he felt it, he kicked open the closed window and leapt outside.
Kwaaaaang!
The pavilion exploded the mont he leapt down from the seventh floor.
Sothing that had flown from afar blew the wooden structure apart in a single strike.
Clangclangclangclang!
At the sa ti, warning bells began ringing from all directions.
At a glance, it resembled a remote mountain village in the countryside, but this was the stronghold of the Dark Moon Sect, whose notoriety surpassed even that of the Assassin’s Gate.
Thus, as soon as they were attacked, the assassins shook the warning bells hanging everywhere.
“How dare you!”
Simultaneously, the Dark Moon Sect Leader roared in fury.
He was enraged by the sudden assault.
Yet as he shouted, his face flushed red, and then—upon seeing sothing—his body suddenly flinched.
At once, his crimson face turned deathly pale.
Pupung! Pupupupung!
The assassins rushing to intercept the attackers were flung back even faster than they had charged.
They were utterly helpless before the palm force unleashed by eight old monks.
“E-Eight Protectors!”
“So you must be the Dark Moon Sect Leader, judging by how readily you speak.”
Unlike the assassins who died vomiting blood without uttering so much as a groan, the Dark Moon Sect Leader shrieked at the sight of them. Beopmu’s eyes glead when he spotted him.
The aura he exuded was exactly what one would expect of the Dark Moon Sect Leader.
“Kill them! All of you, attack at once!”
This was the first ti the Dark Moon Sect Leader had seen Beopmu or the Eight Protectors in person.
However, most masters of Jianghu were known through appearance notices, and he recognized Beopmu at a glance.
Thus, the mont he saw Beopmu and the Eight Protectors, he shouted.
Shiiiiiik!
How Beopmu and the Eight Protectors had found this place was irrelevant.
What mattered now was survival.
So the Dark Moon Sect Leader scread hoarsely as he summoned the Special-Grade Assassins.
Though their numbers were many, those currently engaging were mostly Third-Grade and Second-Grade Assassins; coldly speaking, they were no more than tools to buy ti.
That was why the Special-Grade Assassins were necessary.
Fortunately, aside from Guwol—who had been sent to Shaolin—the remaining nine Special-Grade Assassins were all present here, and the Dark Moon Sect Leader believed he still had sufficient odds of victory.
‘And I am here as well.’
The Dark Moon Sect Leader’s figure gradually faded.
Though he no longer acted in the field, he too had once been a Special-Grade Assassin.
Thus, grinding his teeth, he executed the Concealnt Technique.
Pung! Pupupung!
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