The middle-aged woman who was laughing cheerfully while looking at the Suryongdan’s dining table suddenly locked eyes with Nangung Jaeyeong, who had been unconsciously scanning his surroundings.
In that instant, a searing crimson flame of passion seemed to be drawn into Nangung Jaeyeong’s eyes.
Nangung Jaeyeong suddenly felt a sting in his eyes, and a headache started to throb in his skull.
Thinking, ‘Am I just tired?’ he raised his cup and took a sip, but instead, his body only grew hotter. The heat spread rapidly, making his mind foggy and indistinct.
The first to notice Nangung Jaeyeong’s strange change was his sister, Nangung Unhye.
While eating, Nangung Unhye glanced at her brother and immediately sensed something was wrong.
His face was flushed red, and his pupils had lost focus, wandering aimlessly in space.
“Brother, what’s wrong? Why are you like this?”
She asked urgently, but Nangung Jaeyeong just trembled all over, unable to respond.
Morong Hui, who was sitting beside him, instantly rose and grabbed Nangung Jaeyeong’s shoulders, shaking him as she spoke.
“Nangung Gongja, please get a hold of yourself!”
But Nangung Jaeyeong, with his unfocused gaze, only cast a bizarre, fishy smile at Paeng Suhyeon.
Sensing something truly wrong, Hwangbo Uk immediately felt Nangung Jaeyeong’s pulse while scanning the room with sharp eyes.
Je Gal Yong also checked Nangung Jaeyeong’s pulse and exclaimed in surprise.
“The flow of his blood vessels is off—his blood is circulating abnormally fast.”
“Maybe he’s just tired?”
“Not likely.”
“Could there be poison in the food?”
“It doesn’t seem like poison, but it’s definitely not normal.”
Though they were young and lacked worldly Kangho experience, that was only by the standards of ordinary people.
All of them had grown up learning the dangers of Kangho and the martial arts of great clans; they were elite warriors.
Having confirmed Nangung Jaeyeong’s strange symptoms, they were startled but quickly tried to find the cause.
At this moment, Paeng Cheonho gripped his sword tightly and blocked the inn’s entrance, shouting.
“Nobody move! If anyone does, my sword won’t show mercy!”
Everyone in the inn looked terrified, as if struck by a bolt from the blue.
At that moment, among the last two people to enter, the middle-aged man smiled and spoke.
“Heh heh. It’s already rude enough to interrupt the elders’ meal, but now you threaten us with a blade? Whose child are you? You sure learned your manners well.”
The man’s words were clear provocation.
Paeng Cheonho, with his fiery temper, could not simply overlook such a taunt in the current situation.
Without a second thought, Paeng Cheonho swung his sword at the middle-aged man.
Yet, the man easily sidestepped the blade and, moving like lightning, thrust his right hand at Paeng Cheonho’s chest.
Startled, Paeng Cheonho let go of his sword with one hand to block, but the impact sent him staggering back, barely regaining his balance.
Panting, Paeng Cheonho clenched his teeth and shouted, “Urgh, what… This is, Energy Absorption!”
At his cry, everyone in the inn gasped in shock.
Energy Absorption…!
The technique known as Energy Absorption was one of the most forbidden demonic arts in Kangho.
By absorbing the opponent’s internal energy and essence to make it one’s own, this base skill was so reviled that anyone found using it would immediately be marked as a Martial Outlaw, hunted by all of Kangho.
Glaring at his opponent, Paeng Cheonho ground out, “Who… are you?”
“Hahaha. Little brats like you, speaking rudely to elders—kids these days have no manners.”
“Heeheehee, haven’t they always been like that, brother?”
The middle-aged woman who’d been sitting now stood and joined the scene.
All guests except the Suryongdan had already fled toward the kitchen when Paeng Cheonho struck the first blow.
Now, only the Suryongdan surrounded the entrance, while the two middle-aged strangers stood deeper inside.
This arrangement was, in fact, an unconscious strategy by Je Gal Yong to secure an escape route if things went wrong after Paeng Cheonho’s failed attack.
But Je Gal Yong’s plan was shattered by the woman’s cold remark.
“You there, the one scheming—don’t bother. If even one of you steps outside, that kid who’s passed out will die right away. Don’t believe me? Try it.”
Her icy voice made every Suryongdan member freeze in tension.
The truth was clear: the ones who’d caused Nangung Jaeyeong’s condition were the two middle-aged strangers before them.
Je Gal Yong stepped forward, cupped his fist in salute, and spoke as calmly as possible.
“I am Je Gal Yong, a junior from the Suryongdan under the Cheonyeon Union. May I have the honor of your great names, seniors?”
The man sneered at Je Gal Yong’s respectful attitude and burst out laughing.
“Hahahahaha! See how those who think themselves clever always act? Now you bow your head and call us seniors? Isn’t that funny?”
He glanced at the woman standing beside him.
“Yeom, what do you think? Should we just break their legs?”
The woman answered without expression.
“Do as you please. Just don’t make it troublesome.”
Accepting her reply as permission, the man loudly revealed their identities.
“My name is Jijangmyeong, and that’s Jiyeom over there.”
At the sound of their names, Je Gal Yong froze in shock, his face turning ashen.
“Fujian Twin Fiends…?”
At the mention of that name, several Suryongdan members instantly went pale.
The air grew heavy, tension filling the inn.
The middle-aged man caught their reaction and curled his lips in a sneer.
“Ha ha, interesting. There are still people who remember us?”
The Fujian Twin Fiends were, in truth, brother and sister.
***
The monster Jijangmyeong and the demon Jiyeom were born and raised in a simple mountain slash-and-burn farming village.
When they were twelve and ten years old, they were kidnapped by the infamous Martial Outlaw Naenghon Saekgwi as he passed through their village, forced into slavery and endured unspeakable days.
By a stroke of luck, Naenghon Saekgwi died three years later from a fatal wound received while fleeing. The siblings, after three years, returned to their home village.
But rumors had already spread that they had been defiled by the evil spirit.
The villagers, far from welcoming them, shunned them as ill omens and finally drove them away.
Homeless at a young age, the siblings returned to Naenghon Saekgwi’s lair and continued living there.
By chance, they discovered his secret martial arts manual and began to train.
Jijangmyeong mastered the Threefold Energy Absorption Art, while his sister Jiyeom learned the Soul-Stealing Demon Eye.
Twenty years after starting their training, they reappeared in the world, returned to their hometown, and massacred the villagers who had cast them out.
This atrocity caused the Martial Alliance to mark them as Martial Outlaws, and they were constantly pursued.
But just before capture, war broke out with the Demonic Sect, and their pursuers lost track of them.
After that, no one in Kangho claimed to have seen them again.
In truth, both siblings were now over seventy, but looked no older than their forties thanks to the demonic arts they practiced—namely, the Soul Arts and Energy Absorption.
Jiyeom looked at Nangung Jaeyeong, baring a fishy smile.
“That boy fell under my Soul-Stealing Demon Eye. Left alone, his body will burn up and he’ll die… heeheehee.”
Paeng Suhyeon clenched his teeth and glared at Jiyeom.
“Why are you doing this to us? What do you want?”
Jiyeom slowly licked her lips, laughing scornfully.
“What do I want? Nothing at all. You’re just weak… and it’s more fun this way. Heeheehee.”
Then, with a meaningful smile, Jiyeom added, “We’re short on time, so I’ll make you an offer. If one man and one woman from your group come with us, the rest will live.”
Pointing at Nangung Jaeyeong, she said, “The man’s already decided. Now, just pick a woman. I’ll give you one quarter-hour to choose.”
The Fujian Twin Fiends sat down and resumed eating, looking at the Suryongdan like they were watching a show.
The Suryongdan realized they had fallen completely into a trap.
Yet they knew sacrificing anyone for survival was meaningless.
They chose to fight together to the very end.
Just as the allotted time was almost up, the inn’s door banged open and a young man strode in.
It was Gangchan.
Gangchan, who had been hesitating outside, sensed an unholy aura not of human origin as the Fujian Twin Fiends made their offer to the Suryongdan.
That made his decision.
He strode into the inn, looked around slowly, then coldly addressed the Fujian Twin Fiends.
“You two fiends—just stick your necks out quietly. I’ll make it less painful for you.”
At his words, the Twin Fiends exchanged startled glances—then burst out laughing, clutching their bellies.
“Hahahaha! Where’d this brat get such guts, I wonder.”
“Heeheehee, haven’t seen such an amusing kid in ages. Shouldn’t we give him a present?”
The Twin Fiends stopped laughing and looked at Gangchan, twisting their lips.
“You made us laugh, so if there’s something you want, say it. Whether we grant it or not is up to us.”
But Gangchan’s eyes showed he was not in the mood for their jokes.
He answered, cold and firm, “Things that aren’t human, pretending to be people—it’s disgusting. If you value your lives, stick your necks out right now. Otherwise, I’ll tear you apart piece by piece.”
At this insult, the Twin Fiends’ faces twisted in rage.
Jiyeom’s eyes flashed with venom.
“You dare insult us? You’d better know how you’ll pay for your words.”
Jijangmyeong grinned wickedly, raising his hand slowly.
“Heh heh… Refusing our gift is a grave crime. I’ll make sure you receive it—the screams you give will be our present in return!”
Slowly, the Fujian Twin Fiends began to approach Gangchan, their movements silent and predatory, like beasts closing in on prey.
***
Behind the Fujian Twin Fiends, a murky, foul aura coiled in the air.
Jiyeom, still glaring at Gangchan, suddenly narrowed her eyes and activated the Soul-Stealing Demon Eye.
The burning flames of desire entered Gangchan’s eyes, trying to seep into his body.
But as soon as the fire spread within him, it immediately dissipated and vanished from his body.
Jiyeom, waiting for a reaction, put on a seductive smile—only for her face to harden at Gangchan’s blunt remark.
“So you just tried to attack me, right?”
Jiyeom, flustered, took a step back. Her most confident technique hadn’t worked.
“Filthy old monsters.”
At Gangchan’s biting insult, Jiyeom’s face reddened.
Yaryul Hui hurriedly tried to restrain Gangchan.
“They’re the Fujian Twin Fiends! It’s dangerous—get back over here!”
Gangchan glanced at the concerned Yaryul Hui, then strode over to the unconscious Nangung Jaeyeong.
As he grasped his hand to check his condition, the Twin Fiends snorted in disbelief.
“Turning your back on us? You’re truly fearless. I’ll tear you apart myself.”
Jijangmyeong moved forward, but Gangchan waved a hand, stopping him, and said nonchalantly, “Hold on, I’ll be done in a moment.”
He gathered the tainted fire of passion lurking within Nangung Jaeyeong’s body and drew it all out at once with his spiritual energy.
Nangung Jaeyeong’s face quickly returned to its normal color, and his breathing calmed.
Only then did Gangchan slowly approach the Fujian Twin Fiends.
“You could have lived like people, but instead you chose to act like beasts in human skin. Why?”
Gangchan’s gaze seemed to pierce into the deepest parts of the Twin Fiends’ past.
Without a word, he sensed from the foul energy emanating from them and the evil aura of their martial arts the lives they’d lived.
“No matter what your past is, your choices brought you to this wretched state.”
Even before his words finished, Gangchan moved like lightning and launched his attack.
Jijangmyeong instinctively stepped back and punched.
Bang!
The two palms collided. Both Gangchan and Jijangmyeong took a step back.
Jiyeom cried out anxiously to Jijangmyeong,
“Brother, be careful! My Soul-Stealing Demon Eye didn’t work on him!”
Gangchan sneered, mocking them.
“Whatever your past, now you’re just old monsters making a spectacle of yourselves. I’ll end it before you shame yourselves any further.”
Without hesitation, Gangchan closed in on Jijangmyeong’s body.
Jijangmyeong swung his right hand, aiming for Gangchan’s head.
But Gangchan ducked in close, lightning-fast.
Realizing close combat was disadvantageous, Jijangmyeong instantly withdrew his hand and kicked with his left leg at Gangchan’s head.
Gangchan nimbly retreated, then whipped his right leg at Jijangmyeong’s right leg like a lash.
But Jijangmyeong leapt into the air, dodging the attack.
Gangchan seized that instant and struck Jijangmyeong’s abdomen with a lightning punch.
Thud!
“Hm?”
Though the blow hit dead-on, the sound was strangely muffled.
Gangchan’s fist sank deep into Jijangmyeong’s belly, and at the same time, it felt as if his own energy was being drawn out, sucked away.
Startled, Gangchan leapt back. Looking down at his fist, he saw the spot that had struck the opponent’s stomach was red and swollen, as if something had drained it.
Je Gal Yong, seeing this, shouted to Gangchan.
“He’s using Energy Absorption! Be careful!”
“Energy Absorption?”
Gangchan, with little Kangho experience, wasn’t even familiar with the term.
So he had no idea how to deal with it on the spot.
‘Well, this is tricky. Energy Absorption means he sucks everything up, right?’
Gangchan’s troubled expression made Jijangmyeong grin.
“You’re pretty good, but you’ve got no way out. Hahaha!”
“Yeah? But wouldn’t your belly burst if you suck everything up like that?”
Jijangmyeong’s smile deepened.
“What a pointless worry. Now, time to eat again?”
This time, Jijangmyeong darted forward, launching a punch like lightning.
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