Chapter 155: I Like You a Lot, Boss Cheon
When Yang Tae-ho, the Viper of the Yangtze River, beheaded his vice-boss, Yeon Jeokha nodded in satisfaction.
"I understand. I hope there won’t be any more conflicts between the Yoomyung Cult and Nokrim."
Saying this, Yeon Jeokha approached Yang Tae-ho, who stood there with a bitter expression.
"I’ll convey your message to Musansocho... Kugh!"
The moment Yang Tae-ho lowered his gaze, Yeon Jeokha plunged his sword into his chest.
With a look of disbelief, Yang Tae-ho asked, "Why...?"
"So you can feel what it’s like to be betrayed. Now you know how it feels to be stabbed in the back."
"Ugh..."
Yang Tae-ho spat out blood and fell backward.
"No!"
From a distance, Yang Soran screamed desperately.
Watching the fight between Yeon Jeokha and Yang Tae-ho, she had planned to intervene, but there wasn’t enough time before it ended.
The shock was shared by Blood Sword and Jade Buddha.
They never expected someone of Yeon Jeokha’s caliber to execute such a cold and calculated surprise attack.
Meanwhile, Yang Soran and the others rushed toward the shore, weapons in hand.
Despite facing a formidable enemy, they couldn’t stand idly by.
They were about 21 meters away when their advance abruptly stopped.
Suddenly, a gigantic monster emerged from Yang Tae-ho’s corpse.
Observing the creature, which was over 3 meters tall, Yang Soran murmured, "Am I seeing things?"
"Boss Yang, that seems to be the monster spoken of in legends! It looks like the rumors were true!"
Blood Sword, astonished, raised his voice.
Then, a fierce battle began between Yeon Jeokha and the monster Yang Tae-ho had become.
As she watched the struggle, Yang Soran hesitated.
She couldn’t determine whether the monster facing Yeon Jeokha was an ally or an enemy.
Blood Sword and Jade Buddha also hesitated to join the fight, aware that they might not be of help.
At that moment, the battle between Yeon Jeokha and Yang Tae-ho was reaching its climax.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Yeon Jeokha relentlessly struck the monster with his sword, creating a sound as if he were chiseling a rock.
"Graaaah!"
Yang Tae-ho frantically swung his arms, weakened by the multiple blows from Yeon Jeokha’s sword.
Yeon Jeokha easily dodged the monster’s attack and lunged forward, unleashing the first move of the Nine Heavens Supreme Swordsmanship, "Heavenly Woman Descends."
Crunch.
The sword penetrated Yang Tae-ho’s chest, eliciting a cry of agony.
"Kraaagh!"
In an instant, a dull sound echoed as Yang Tae-ho’s back exploded.
Yeon Jeokha’s Nine Heavens Energy had pierced through the monster’s chest.
Yang Soran and the others watched in astonishment as the monster disintegrated into dust.
Yang Soran shook her head, pale.
"This can’t be. Something must be wrong."
She had never imagined that the end of a member of the Demon Warriors would be like this.
A moment later, Yeon Jeokha turned to the three onlookers, his gaze sharp.
"Who are you? Could you be part of the Demon Warriors?"
A strange energy emanated from the Sacred Artifact in Yeon Jeokha’s chest, causing him to frown.
Regaining her composure, Yang Soran signaled to Blood Sword and Jade Buddha.
Blood Sword and Jade Buddha circled Yeon Jeokha in formation, ready to attack.
Prepared, Yang Soran asked, "We’re from Musansocho. Why did you kill the Demon Warriors?"
Meanwhile, the pirates had retreated, allowing Shim Tong, Namgung Yeon, Namgung Cheon, and the rest of Yeon Jeokha’s group to reach the shore.
Shim Tong and Namgung Yeon quickly ran to where Yeon Jeokha was confronting the three enemies, ready to support Yeon Jeokha.
Yeon Jeokha responded with a frustrated expression.
"The Great Chaeju asked me to clean out the Demon Warriors within Nokrim. I didn’t plan to kill them, but they tried to assassinate me first."
Yang Soran, having witnessed Yang Tae-ho’s betrayal, couldn’t refute it.
Meanwhile, Shim Tong and Namgung Yeon took position behind Blood Sword and Jade Buddha.
Yang Soran, feeling the tension, asked, "Who is the young woman?"
Namgung Yeon remained impassive, staring intently at Yang Soran.
Yang Soran averted her gaze, feeling uncomfortable under Namgung Yeon’s piercing stare.
With a sigh, Yang Soran quickly assessed the situation.
With Yeon Jeokha, a supreme-level expert, Shim Tong, known for his skills, and an unknown young master, it didn’t make sense to continue the fight.
"Yeon Jeokha, if we retreat, will you let us go?"
Yeon Jeokha shrugged.
"I already told you. I was just defending myself. I don’t want to become someone like you. If you don’t attack, I won’t attack."
"I’ll believe you."
Yang Soran sheathed her sword, hoping to avoid a fight.
After a brief hesitation, Blood Sword and Jade Buddha also lowered their weapons.
About to leave, Yang Soran said, "Baek San wasn’t someone who should have died like this. Someday, we’ll make you pay for his death."
Yeon Jeokha coldly replied, "Hey, old woman, do you think the monks you killed deserved to die? Stop pretending to be a hero. I don’t want to become someone like you. So leave before I change my mind."
Yang Soran, surprised by Yeon Jeokha’s response, realized that he knew the dark secret of the Demon Warriors.
With a bitter expression, Yang Soran and her companions left as quickly as they had appeared.
Yeon Jeokha’s group returned to the main hall of the Viper of the Yangtze River.
The pirates, along with the members of the Yangtze River Alliance, knelt, bowing their heads.
They felt deep guilt and didn’t dare to speak, waiting for Yeon Jeokha’s judgment.
Observing the pirates, Yeon Jeokha spoke listlessly.
"We lost our cart, our horses, and everything we carried. We’ve been left with nothing."
"Please forgive us!"
"We’ll repay everything!"
"We didn’t know the Viper of the Yangtze would do something like this."
"Yes, it was the fault of a few traitors!"
The hall turned into chaos with the pleading voices of the pirates.
Cheon Susan, the newly appointed leader of the Yangtze River Alliance, quickly intervened to calm the situation.
"Grand Inspector, this wasn’t the work of all of us. The Viper of the Yangtze and a few traitors plotted this. I’ll take care of investigating it and punish those responsible."
"And then what?" Yeon Jeokha asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Sorry, what do you mean?" Cheon Susan asked, puzzled.
"We lost our cart, our horses, and everything we carried. How do you plan to compensate us for that?"
"Oh, of course. We’ll repay everything lost. Don’t worry."
"I hope so. If you try to betray us again, I’ll wipe out all of you."
"That won’t happen. I’ll make sure everything is restored as it was before."
Yeon Jeokha added, "You know, we were carrying a lot of money. We gathered a considerable fortune in the places we passed. I had around three thousand taels of silver. How much did Shim Tong have?"
Playing along, Shim Tong replied, "I had about one thousand... five hundred taels of silver."
‘Damn thief!’ Yeon Jeokha thought, surprised by Shim Tong’s audacity, but chose not to point it out.
Shim Tong continued, "How much did the others lose? I’m sure they carried substantial sums."
However, Namgung Cheon, Namgung Yeon, Jin Seolha, and the rest, being fair, didn’t exaggerate their losses.
The coachman Lee Sa added a modest sum to his own loss.
Cheon Susan didn’t hesitate and opened the Yangtze River Alliance’s warehouse to cover the compensations.
"We’ll buy a new cart and horses in the nearby county. Meanwhile, you can stay in Guga Village. Is that okay?"
"Sounds good. Boss Cheon, I like you. Why didn’t you take leadership before?" Yeon Jeokha patted Cheon Susan’s shoulder, pleased.
Having doubled their belongings and with his mood improved, Yeon Jeokha let Cheon Susan handle everything.
Cheon Susan led Yeon Jeokha’s group to a luxurious inn in Guga Village.
"This is the Nine Dragons Inn. It’s the preferred place by the Bosses of the Yangtze River Alliance. You won’t find a better one in the region."
Yeon Jeokha was satisfied with the cleanliness and size of the inn.
"I’ll make sure no other guests are received during your stay. Consider this place your home while you’re here."
Cheon Susan took his leave, bowing deeply.
Watching Cheon Susan leave, Yeon Jeokha murmured, "He’s very kind. He almost seems like the innkeeper."
"Jejeje. Cheon Susan, kind? You’re the first to say that," Shim Tong responded.
"Do you know him?"
"If someone stared at him, he’d hit them with his fishing rod. That’s where his nickname 'Blood Fisher' comes from."
"That man, so kind and humble?"
"Only with you. Young Master Namgung, right?"
"Haha. That’s right, Yeon Jeokha. In the Justice Alliance, Cheon Susan is listed among the 'Ten Most Wicked Demons of the Year.'"
"Really? Is Cheon Susan that strong?"
Jin Seolha chimed in, "The list isn’t based on strength, but on the number of killings."
"And that?"
"The ten demons who killed the most that year. They also have bounties on their heads."
"Oh."
Yeon Jeokha realized the gravity of the situation between Nokrim and the Justice Alliance.
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