Chapter 286 – Ghosts (2)

“The one who killed Nobu was a ghost.”

…What the hell is this?

Everyone looked at each other awkwardly at Sura Gama’s words.

What can we do?

I asked on behalf of everyone.

“A ghost…you mean?”

“Hmm. You all have that expression on your face, like you think Nobu might have died of natural causes or something, right?”

“Oh, no, it’s not that…”

Actually, I did think that a little. You know, like when older people say they’ve seen the Grim Reaper.

Of course, I couldn’t say that directly, so I stumbled over my words, but thankfully Sura Gama just laughed it off.

“I think it’s entirely possible, so please don’t make that expression. …However, it was a presence that could only be called a ghost.”

“What kind of opponent was it?”

“Hmm. You’ve all heard rumors about it, I’m sure. The story of the ghosts of the great martial artists who died in the past during the Jungma War appearing and causing trouble.”

“Oh, that.”

On the first day I came over here, when Hong Yeon-hwa and Black Sword Duke met and talked about what had happened so far.

I’ve heard stories like that before, passing by, about people who see the ghosts of dead martial artists all over the central plains.

“Just a moment. Are you bringing up that story now?”

“Hehe. That’s right. Nobu also saw the ghosts of the past.”

Sura Gama’s expression changed as he said that.

As if the impression he had given in front of Hong Yeon-hwa so far, like an old man next door, was false, his face twisted fiercely.

Even his eyes were flowing with tears, and his posture was tightly coiled with fighting spirit.

What was in front of me was Hong Yeon-hwa’s long-standing family, but at the same time, it was a great martial artist with the nickname Sura Gama.

…But underneath that, there was a defense mechanism unique to those who had faced something incomprehensible.

“The name of the one who killed Nobu is Baek Cheon-ho, the owner of the Ice White Divine Sword.”

He may have been someone who had died in the past, but if anyone tried to kill him, they would have done the same.

***

Baek Cheon-ho, the owner of the Ice White Divine Sword.

First of all, according to Hong Yeon-hwa, this guy was the lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, who took advantage of the chaos in the Jungma War to invade.

Well, he blew his head off before he could even use his full strength against Hong Yeon-hwa, but still.

In fact, the New Outer Sect targeting the Central Plains is a common occurrence.

It’s also natural to take advantage of the enemy’s weakness, so the invasion itself would have been a likely event.

The problem is that the person who clearly lost his head and died has come back to life.

“…Is it another Gangshi?”

Chapter 286 – Ghosts (2)

As memories of the disgusting events during the Jungma War came flooding back, Myung Wol-jin raised his head.

“That’s not it. From what I saw, that energy was something that could never be used by a Gangshi. Above all, the energy of a Gangshi can only have the same nature as a Sujja’s internal energy.”

“It’s extremely rare for someone to learn both the rare Ice Divine Energy and Gangshi techniques, isn’t it?”

“No. It’s very rare, but there is still a possibility. What I’m saying is that there were two energies felt from the wounds.”

“Oh.”

I hadn’t thought of that.

There were two energies that worsened Sura Gama’s wounds. One was a cold energy, and the other was an unknown crimson energy.

At best, they could only be used to apply a poisonous ointment, but using such powerful energies was almost impossible for a Gangshi due to their nature.

No, it was impossible.

Well, that’s what Myung Wol-jin, who had studied Gangshi intensively before the Jungma War, said, so his credibility was high.

“Anyway, I’m glad. Even thinking about Gangshi now makes me want to vomit.”

“I feel the same way, Hong-ssi…”

“It definitely gave me the creeps.”

“Ugh…thanks to Yeon-hwa-ssi, I’m reminded of that time for no reason.”

Other women were rubbing their arms as if they were shivering, with disgusted expressions on their faces.

Seeing that, Sura Gama blinked his eyes with a gentle expression on his face.

“Gangshi…is that right?”

“Yes. By the way, you haven’t explained what happened to you during that time yet. We’ll explain everything later, so let’s finish what we were talking about.”

“Yes…”

Sura Gama, who was looking around with a gloomy expression, continued his previous words.

“You said that the dead Ice Divine Sword had come back to life. But it wasn’t fully resurrected.”

According to Sura Gama’s explanation, the appearance itself was suspicious.

It was definitely the appearance of the Ice Divine Sword, but it had no aura, like a lifeless doll, and its body was covered in gold like an old pottery.

It was easy to tell that it wasn’t normal because it didn’t speak properly and spoke incoherently every time it rang, and the rotten blood that spurted out every time it rang.

If that’s the case, it’s definitely not a Gangshi.

Due to the nature of Gangshi techniques, which rely heavily on the state of the corpse, using a corpse that has suffered that much damage would be a very inefficient thing to do.

“Nobu never fought the Ice Divine Sword in his lifetime, but he was definitely weakened because of its current state.”

“Hmm? Then what could have caused this much damage?”

Hong Yeon-hwa tilted her head as if she didn’t understand. Sura Gama sighed deeply and raised his head.

“It wasn’t just one person.”

Chapter 286 – Ghosts (2)

As Sura Gama spoke, memories of the gruesome events during the Jungma War flooded back, causing Myung Wol-jin to raise his head.

“That’s not it. From what I saw, that energy was something that could never be used by a Gangshi. Above all, the energy of a Gangshi can only have the same nature as a Sujja’s internal energy.”

“It’s extremely rare for someone to learn both the rare Ice Divine Energy and Gangshi techniques, isn’t it?”

“No. It’s very rare, but there is still a possibility. What I’m saying is that there were two energies felt from the wounds.”

“Oh.”

I hadn’t thought of that.

There were two energies that worsened Sura Gama’s wounds. One was a cold energy, and the other was an unknown crimson energy.

At best, they could only be used to apply a poisonous ointment, but using such powerful energies was almost impossible for a Gangshi due to their nature.

No, it was impossible.

Well, that’s what Myung Wol-jin, who had studied Gangshi intensively before the Jungma War, said, so his credibility was high.

“Anyway, I’m glad. Even thinking about Gangshi now makes me want to vomit.”

“I feel the same way, Hong-ssi…”

“It definitely gave me the creeps.”

“Ugh…thanks to Yeon-hwa-ssi, I’m reminded of that time for no reason.”

Other women were rubbing their arms as if they were shivering, with disgusted expressions on their faces.

Seeing that, Sura Gama blinked his eyes with a gentle expression on his face.

“Gangshi…is that right?”

“Yes. By the way, you haven’t explained what happened to you during that time yet. We’ll explain everything later, so let’s finish what we were talking about.”

“Yes…”

Sura Gama, who was looking around with a gloomy expression, continued his previous words.

“You said that the dead Ice Divine Sword had come back to life. But it wasn’t fully resurrected.”

According to Sura Gama’s explanation, the appearance itself was suspicious.

It was definitely the appearance of the Ice Divine Sword, but it had no aura, like a lifeless doll, and its body was covered in gold like an old pottery.

It was easy to tell that it wasn’t normal because it didn’t speak properly and spoke incoherently every time it rang, and the rotten blood that spurted out every time it rang.

If that’s the case, it’s definitely not a Gangshi.

Due to the nature of Gangshi techniques, which rely heavily on the state of the corpse, using a corpse that has suffered that much damage would be a very inefficient thing to do.

“Nobu never fought the Ice Divine Sword in his lifetime, but he was definitely weakened because of its current state.”

“Hmm? Then what could have caused this much damage?”

Hong Yeon-hwa tilted her head as if she didn’t understand. Sura Gama sighed deeply and raised his head.

“It wasn’t just one person.”

“In addition to the Ice Divine Sword, the Geumgang Divine Sage and Mugol Gwonwang were also in a similar state.”

I don’t know much about the people in this world, but just looking at their names, they all seem like formidable opponents.

At this point, Hong Yeon-hwa seemed puzzled, tilting her head left and right.

“Sura Gama, you have indeed become stronger during that time, but it’s not like you were weak enough to be defeated by three Hwakyung Muin. How are they still alive?”

“Well, it’s thanks to the person brought by the Heavenly Demon and the elixir given to me by my husband! Haha…ugh!”

“Don’t laugh too much, Sura Gama. You might end up not laughing for the rest of your life.”

As Sura Gama laughed too much, his wounds burst open, and he vomited blood. The medicine man shot him with a medicinal bullet, even as he spoke, and re-wrapped his wounds. Sura Gama received treatment obediently, although he looked a little dazed.

“I’m sorry about that. Anyway, to answer the Heavenly Demon’s question, I didn’t come back to life.”

“Then?”

“I was sent back alive from the other side.”

“……”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression, which had been holding back her anger, began to harden again.

It was strange enough that a dead person had come back to life like a zombie, but it was another problem altogether to send someone who could be killed back alive.

Someone was behind this, and it meant that he was sending a message to the Heavenly Demon Sect.

“Did they say anything?”

“No. They didn’t say anything, but their muttering was meaningless, like ‘it hurts,’ ‘save me,’ ‘die,’ ‘I wantyou,’ and so on.”

Sura Gama’s words made everyone feel uncomfortable.

It was as if the dead were speaking through the Ice Divine Sword, and their words were filled with carnal desires and vulgar language.

It was a terrifying thought, and it made Hong Yeon-hwa’s skin crawl.

“Anyway, we need to investigate this matter thoroughly. We can’t let this go unnoticed.”

“I agree. We need to find out who did this and why.”

Myung Wol-jin nodded in agreement with Hong Yeon-hwa’s words.

At that moment, Sura Gama’s expression changed.

“Wait a minute. I just remembered something.”

“What is it?”

“When I was sent back alive, I saw a woman.”

“A woman?”

“Yes. She was wearing a white dress and had long black hair. She was beautiful, but her eyes were cold and lifeless.”

Sura Gama’s voice trembled as he spoke.

“I don’t know who she is, but I have a feeling that she’s the one behind all of this.”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes narrowed.

“A woman in a white dress with long black hair…I have a feeling I’ve seen her before.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I can’t remember where, but I have a feeling that I’ve seen her before.”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression became serious.

“We need to find out who she is and what her intentions are.”

“I agree. We can’t let her get away with this.”

Myung Wol-jin nodded in agreement.

At that moment, the door opened, and a young man entered.

“Master, the guests have arrived.”

“Guests?”

“Yes. They said they were sent by the Heavenly Demon Sect.”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression became even more serious.

“Let them in.”

“Master, urgent reports are coming in from all branches.”

One day, a urgent voice of a messenger suddenly visited.

Sensing that something was wrong, Hong Yeon-hwa straightened up.

“What is it, Kohm? Speak quickly.”

“The ghost-like things that were said to have harmed the Sura Swordmaster before have been witnessed simultaneously throughout the Jungma region.”

“What?”

“In fact, this has been happening for a while. But at that time, it ended with the witness being dismissed as a hallucination, and it was considered a mental problem, so no separate response was made… “

“But this time, they revealed their appearance in earnest and caused harm to those around them, and they left a statement.”

“A statement…what did they say?”

“Yes. They all said something like ‘Come to Taesan, my daughter, Heavenly Demon,’ instead of meaningless gibberish.”

Hong Yeon-hwa was visibly relieved to hear that no one had died, but soon her pink eyes blinked with confusion.

Of course, it was natural. She was an orphan, just like me.