Chapter 44 : Breaking the Egg (4)

Many people were gathered in the Drunken Flower Garden master’s residence.

They sat calmly, chatting with the person next to them, or drinking tea.

They were about to have a meeting.

Since not everyone had gathered yet, they were waiting without discussing the agenda.

“Garden Master, won’t you give us a hint? There was a big commotion in Dongseung this time, is it related to that?”

One of the gathered people asked with a smile.

The Drunken Flower Garden master was looking out the window with her hands behind her back.

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

Small birds were chirping as they flew between the flower gardens.

The clear morning air and the clear sound of birds went particularly well together. If flowers were also mixed in, it was the icing on the cake.

“The sound of the birds is so beautiful. It’s not a common opportunity, so listen carefully. How beautiful it is.”

The Drunken Flower Garden master closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the birds.

The question was as if it had not been asked.

Everyone returned to what they were doing. Those who were chatting continued to chat, and those who were enjoying tea picked up their teacups again. There was also a person who picked up a book from the bookshelf.

After a while, the door opened and a person entered.

Her face was flushed as if she had run a long way, and sweat was beaded on her forehead.

“Why are you so late…!”

The Fourth Elder was about to reprimand the late Sixth Elder, but she cut off her words.

“Garden Master!”

The Sixth Elder looked at the Drunken Flower Garden master.

The Drunken Flower Garden master nodded her head lightly.

She did not ask why she was late, or why she was panting with her breath up to her chin.

“Sit.”

The Drunken Flower Garden master pointed to the meeting table.

“Hmm!”

A groan leaked out.

The people of the slash-and-burn farmer’s village had been massacred. Not a single person had escaped, and they had all died.

The people of the slash-and-burn farmer’s village were common people. They were the people.

There were not only young people there. There were also old people, women, and children.

They had all died.

The Drunken Flower Garden’s Three Defenses and Shedding the Shell had already become a secret that everyone who knew, knew. So, sects that tried to use the Three Defenses and Shedding the Shell in reverse were also appearing from time to time.

So, they had attached another layer of surveillance on top of the Three Defenses and Shedding the Shell.

One of the main tasks that the Sixth Elder was in charge of was that.

The slash-and-burn farmer’s village, the old woman who guided the way on the roadside, and the carriage… she watched from a distance.

This time, a big incident had occurred.

The people of the slash-and-burn farmer’s village had been completely massacred. A killing spree with not even a speck of mercy had swept through a village.

“How many?”

“About twenty.”

“Twenty?”

“They were all masters. What should I say? Fierce wolves? Untamed wild beasts? They gave off that kind of smell. Fierce, ferocious, and unrestrained. They even laughed while killing a child.”

Even though she had only heard it from the Sixth Elder, she trembled with rage.

The scene of twenty men turning a village into a land without life was easily imagined.

“If it’s a blade, is it a blade art?”

“But that… you can’t exactly call it a blade art… it wasn’t a blade art, it seemed like they were just swinging it wildly. Striking down, sweeping, hitting. There were no forms.”

The Fifth Elder explained, even mixing in hand gestures.

Well, there would have been no need to use forms to attack the weak who did not even know martial arts.

The killing sword had followed the tail.

Those twenty men had chased Mongseol. They had known exactly where Mongseol was going and had struck!

“The tail has been caught.”

The Second Elder said as if groaning.

“What about Mongseol?”

The Drunken Flower Garden master asked.

“She is watering the Five-Colored Flower in the flower garden.”

The answer came from outside the door.

“Tsk! What time is it now, and she’s leisurely watering flowers? This all happened because of whom?”

The Third Elder clicked her tongue as if she was displeased.

“At what point should we cut it off?”

The First Elder said in a grave voice.

If the tail was caught, you had to cut off a certain part like a lizard. You had to prevent them from entering by holding the tail any further.

“Let’s wait and see.”

“What? We… wait more?”

The First Elder looked at the garden master with a puzzled expression.

The garden master threw her gaze out the window.

She didn’t know if it was the same bird as before, but a bird flew by, letting out a clear chirp!

“Master Doji, we’ve found the body.”

“What!”

The First Elder was about to jump up from her seat, but she looked at the garden master and sat down again.

The garden master was still looking out the window.

It seemed that she had expected this.

“Mongseol, this girl. What on earth did she do!”

The Fifth Elder muttered to herself.

The Fifth Elder had muttered it, but in fact, all the elders were thinking the same thing.

What had Mongseol done, what was it?

After a while. The garden master, who had seemed as if she would be silent forever, opened her mouth.

“I’m going to disband the Drunken Flower Garden. Scatter right now. As quickly as possible. Move to the first peak within the next half a two-hour period. Erase all traces of the main garden. Stay healthy, and let’s meet again.”

“Garden Master!”

The First Elder looked at the Drunken Flower Garden master in bewilderment.

Fifteen years ago, the Duke Heo’s residence had begun to mercilessly cut down the demons of the central plains.

The support of the people also soared to the sky. Who would not support them when they said they would wipe out all the bad weeds rooted in the central plains? Everyone welcomed them with open arms.

But the Drunken Flower Garden was in the opposite situation. The Drunken Flower Garden itself was a target for extermination.

So, they had prepared for an escape just in case.

Everyone would scatter. Disband!

When the disbandment order was given, the nine elders would lead their disciples and go to the first base.

Only the elders knew the first base. The Drunken Flower Garden master did not know, and the disciples who followed the elders did not know either. The moment they left the main garden, the words ‘Drunken Flower Garden’ would disappear.

When they arrived at the first base, they would disband individually.

Everyone had to find their own way to live.

They had created a structure where they would scatter like ants, so that even if one person was caught, the others would not be caught.

The items and funds needed for escape were all prepared at the first base. An escape plan had been thoroughly established so that they could escape to the ends of the central plains if they just got their bodies out.

But… if disbandment was scattering like this… it would be impossible for the Drunken Flower Garden to gather again. How could they gather when even the garden master did not know where the elders were?

Disbandment should only be attempted in a desperate situation where there was no other choice.

But the garden master had just said to disband.

The Drunken Flower Garden master said, “Just now… the prison collapsed.”

“What!”

“No! How can this be!”

The elders were so surprised that they let out a cry of astonishment.

“Is it the Duke Heo’s residence?”

The Second Elder said in a grave voice.

It was a question of whether they had to be annihilated as a price for killing Kang Jo. If the Duke Heo’s residence was angry after seeing Kang Jo’s death, it was a story that was entirely possible. Since the Duke Heo’s residence had thoroughly investigated the Drunken Flower Garden, they could strike whenever they made up their minds.

“No, the Duke Heo’s residence is not that cruel. At least, they don’t kill children.”

“…”

Everyone was at a loss for words.

That was right. Then who was doing this?

The prison was built in a very secret place. Because they had dug into a cliff and made a prison, it was not easy to invade. Moreover, they had even installed mechanisms all over the prison.

The fact that the prison had collapsed meant that the prison master had been killed and had collapsed it with all her might.

Only the prison master knew how to collapse the prison.

Also, this was a signal to the Drunken Flower Garden. When the prison collapsed, it would create a huge sandstorm, and this storm could be seen even from the Drunken Flower Garden, which was about half a day away.

The Drunken Flower Garden master had been continuously watching out the window.

She had been worried that a storm might arise, but she had finally seen the dusty haze.

The prison master had dragged a considerable number of the intruders to hell with her. It was a hundred-zhang high cliff that had completely collapsed, and there were not many people who could come out alive from within it.

In fact, she wanted to believe that all the intruders had been buried.

Should she investigate the prison, or should she disband as it was? Had the intruders survived, or had they been annihilated? If they had all died and she disbanded, it would be a foolish act. If there were survivors and she did nothing, they would be massacred.

The garden master said, “Listen well. We don’t know these people. We are being attacked by people we don’t know. It’s the most dangerous case among dangers. So disbandment is the answer. Everyone leave. Stay healthy and well.”

The garden master finished her words and immediately stood up.

Half a two-hour period was not a long time. They had to take refuge at the first base within that time.

“Hurry up and go.”

The garden master urged the elders who were still sitting without standing up.

* * *

She had known it would be like this.

She regretted not having been firm and sending Ah Sam away when he had come.

-Ah Geol, that guy… he’s going to his death now.

-Can’t he just stay put? What is he going to do now, talking about a path of death and all that?

-Isn’t it the Single-Instant Blade? It’s the nature of the Single-Instant Blade to seek blood, so what can he do?

-If it’s a path of death, he should go alone. Why is he looking for his innocent fiancée? If he had a proper mind, he shouldn’t have looked for her on purpose. How on earth did you teach the child? Are you saying you want to die together?

-They’ve both grown up, so I should let them see each other’s faces.

-They were engaged when they were five and six, and that’s still a pretext?

-Why wouldn’t I have thought of that? I did. It was an engagement made without their knowledge when they were young, so what if it’s broken? Bia might have found a good match. Moreover, this Ah Geol is a guy who will walk the path of death, so a fiancée would just be a hindrance.

-Push that thought.

-But there’s one thing that bothers me. The Blood Sword Sutra. That Ah Geol has the lower volume of the Blood Sword Sutra, right? He’s going to give it to his fiancée, so if I tell him to give it to me, he’ll give it to me, but… thinking about that, I feel so sorry for him. Let’s just let them see each other’s faces.

-No. It’s a connection that won’t be good to see. Bia is living well now, so if he insists on finding his fiancée, tell him to come after the fight is over. That’s a man. Why is he coming with a lot of baggage on his back? Even if he can’t give her a good palanquin.

-I have the same thought. I was just poking your side to see what you thought.

When Ah Sam had said that, she had thought it was a relief.

But Ah Sam, who had been about to stand up after finishing his business, had sat down again. And he had taken out something wrapped in cloth from his bosom.

-What should I do with this?

-What is it?

-You’ll know when you see it.

She had unwrapped the cloth.

It was a bronze mirror split in half. It was the size of a child’s palm, so it was just right to carry around.

It was Senior Namso’s item.

The bronze mirror was made of copper, so it could not be split by force. It had been split with a sharp sword. It would only split if it was cut without hesitation, very quickly, in a single breath.

-Who was it?

-Heo Dogi.

She was at a loss for words.

Ah Geol’s sword was aimed at Heo Dogi. He couldn’t even get close to Heo Dogi’s presence, but he was trying to get close.

Heo Dogi was the mortal enemy who had killed the parents of both Ah Geol and Oh Bia.

One person was trying to approach the murderer, and the other was sitting there, knowing nothing.

-…I wondered who had killed senior. Was it Heo Dogi? Seori Gaheon? Seori Hyeonggae? It was Heo Dogi.

-It was so obvious that he would die, so I couldn’t ask him to go with me. So I was thinking of letting him see her face and receiving the Blood Sword Sutra. I know what you’re thinking. I’ll send the Blood Sword Sutra by messenger.

-Sit down. Let me think for a bit.

That word… the word to sit down was a mistake.

She should have just let him stand up and go. If she had, nothing would have happened.

This chaos of the Drunken Flower Garden disbanding would not have happened either.

Ah Geol’s blade had not even reached Heo Dogi’s toes, but how many people had already died?

‘It was a mistake to send Mongseol.’

The garden master shook her head.

(End of Chapter)