Un-hyeok had sent a letter to Go Gu — and simultaneously, one to Ryeon-hwi.
Un-hyeok was well aware.
That Go Gu was a fighter far beyond what he could currently handle.
Which was why he had called for someone to fight Go Gu in his place.
"You...... came...... Father......"
Despite looking as though he might choke to death at any moment, Un-hyeok managed a grin.
In a flash, Ryeon-hwi's figure vanished and reappeared gripping Go Gu's arm.
"Black Slaughter Sect Master, I suggest you release that hand."
"Poison Demon Sect Leader! Your son turned mine into a cripple! Could you let go if you were in my place?!"
"I think there has been a misunderstanding."
Green haze shimmered from Ryeon-hwi's body.
"Does it look like I'm asking?"
Poison energy traveled through Ryeon-hwi's hand and tore mercilessly into Go Gu's meridians.
"Tch......!"
The Peerless Poison Ghost King, indeed!
The toxicity was so fierce that purple veins bulged across Go Gu's face.
"......"
"......"
Go Gu lashed out with his free left hand, driving a palm strike toward Ryeon-hwi's chest.
But it did not work on Ryeon-hwi.
Ryeon-hwi coiled around the attack and slammed his own palm dead-center into Go Gu's chest.
"Gkh—!"
Go Gu stumbled backward.
Thanks to that, Un-hyeok was freed from his grip.
"Cough, cough......"
That had nearly killed him.
As Un-hyeok caught his breath, a warm presence settled against his back.
"Hyeok, are you all right? You're not hurt anywhere?"
Ryeon-hwi checked him over.
Fortunately, there seemed to be no serious injuries.
Un-hyeok offered a faint smile.
"Yes, Father. You saved me."
"Phew, thank goodness."
Just as he exhaled in relief.
Go Gu bellowed.
"Poison Demon Sect Leaderrr!"
He spat a glob of dark, blood-streaked phlegm.
Go Gu's cheeks trembled as he glared at Ryeon-hwi.
"Do you truly intend to go to war with us?!"
"If blood must be shed, I will gladly oblige."
"Wh-what?!"
"Let me be blunt. Right now, I want nothing more than to tear you limb from limb."
The killing intent radiating from Ryeon-hwi stung the skin.
"But the reason I am holding back......"
Un-hyeok stepped forward, placing himself in front of Ryeon-hwi.
"Is solely because of my son. Bear that in mind."
For a moment, Go Gu was bewildered.
'Why is that brat......?'
"You showed great restraint, Father. Leave the rest to me."
"Very well."
Ryeon-hwi stepped back, folded his arms, and chose to observe.
'I'm curious.'
In truth, the letter had caught Ryeon-hwi off guard.
Hyeok had joined hands with the Golden Dragon Chamber.
The Golden Dragon Chamber, which had always maintained its independence — how on earth had he won over its master?
'One thing is certain: Hyeok's resourcefulness is extraordinary.'
And so he was curious.
What was Un-hyeok after, that he had asked to handle the negotiations himself?
"Now we can finally talk."
That brazen face.
Go Gu ground his teeth.
"You......! You said you'd be here alone, yet you brought your own father! You lied to me!"
"Oh, come now. We're both men of the world."
"What?"
"Honestly, what would I be thinking, waiting here alone for you? You didn't come 'alone' either."
Go Gu was struck speechless.
In truth, he was not unaware.
That the root cause of all this was the Black Slaughter Sect.
"Tch......"
Justification.
Strength.
He was outmatched on every front.
'What do I do?'
Backing down here would cost him his dignity as sect master.
'If only I could get back to the Black Slaughter Sect right now......'
If he mobilized every warrior for an all-out assault, there might be a chance.
Even Dok Ryeon-hwi could not fend them all off.
But these people would never sit idly by and wait for that.
"Hey."
Un-hyeok's voice broke Go Gu from his thoughts.
"Scheming is fine, but in the meantime, your son."
Go Gu's gaze shot toward Eo-ryeong.
In just that brief interval, Eo-ryeong's complexion had worsened dramatically.
"Could die."
A trace of the Myriad Streams Return to Poison Divine Art's energy that Un-hyeok had left inside Eo-ryeong.
It was devouring him in real time.
"You......!"
He was being forced to choose.
His son's life, or his pride.
The answer was simple.
But the words would not come easily.
As Go Gu clamped his mouth shut, Un-hyeok nudged Eo-ryeong with his foot.
"Poor bastard. Even in this state, your father's sitting there deliberating. Guess you're just fated to die here."
"Tch...... fine, fine!"
Go Gu let out a sharp breath.
"Tell me. What do you want in exchange for releasing Eo-ryeong?"
Go Gu was seething at having lost to a brat half his age — his clenched fists shook.
Un-hyeok shrugged.
"Why are you asking me?"
"What?"
"The price of a life — it's the buyer who sets it. Not the seller."
In any transaction.
The key was to thoroughly conceal what you wanted, so you could squeeze out even a fraction more.
Especially when the other side was the desperate one.
'The knife is in my hand.'
Un-hyeok regarded Go Gu.
"What I want? To find that out, you need to start by telling me what you can offer. That's how this works."
"You......!"
"I'm curious. Just how much will you, Go Gu, give up for your son?"
Un-hyeok's smirking face.
Insufferably smug.
If only he could wring Dok Un-hyeok's neck right now — Go Gu would pay any price and not regret it.
'Damn him......!'
The great Go Gu, forced to agonize over what would please a brat still wet behind the ears.
He swallowed his surging fury and thought calmly.
What could the wretch possibly want?
Money?
Rare elixirs?
Top-grade weapons forged by the Black Slaughter Sect's smiths?
No — none of the above.
Offer anything halfhearted and Un-hyeok would not even glance at it.
'Dok Un-hyeok — much as I hate to admit it, he is no ordinary man. There must be a reason he phrased it that way. Perhaps he has already mapped out the entirety of our Black Slaughter Sect's assets.'
After a long, brooding silence, Go Gu spoke.
"......The Black Spirit Stone Iron. I will hand it over."
Well, well. He gave up the Black Spirit Stone Iron more easily than expected.
He had seemed like a heartless father, but perhaps he did care about his son after all.
But.
'That's not enough.'
Un-hyeok held his silence.
With no response forthcoming, Go Gu grew frantic.
'Damn...... damned wretch! The Black Spirit Stone Iron isn't enough?!'
Then Eo-ryeong suddenly went into convulsions.
"Gkh, grrkkkk......! F-Father......!"
He foamed at the mouth and vomited a torrent of blood.
The severity of the situation finally sank in.
"E-Eo-ryeong......!"
"Decide quickly. You're really out of time now."
Damn it all!
If not the Black Spirit Stone Iron, then what did he want?!
Then a thought flashed through Go Gu's mind.
'Could it be...... does the bastard want the smiths we poached from the Poison Demon Sect too?!'
If so.
This man was nothing short of a highway bandit.
The gold spent on luring away the Poison Demon Sect's smiths alone was staggering.
Giving them back for free?
The losses would be incalculable — but they were not more precious than Eo-ryeong's life.
In the end, swallowing his pride with bitter tears, Go Gu had no choice but to yield.
"Fine! I'll return every smith we recruited from the Poison Demon Sect! Just save Eo-ryeong!"
Only then did Un-hyeok grin and open his mouth.
"Now that's an answer I like."
Un-hyeok turned and approached Eo-ryeong, gripping his shoulder.
"Then I can collect what you've agreed to immediately."
"That's......!"
"Yi So-ye, draw up a contract regarding this deal and give it to the Black Slaughter Sect Master."
"Understood."
So-ye swiftly drafted the key terms of the agreement and handed it to Go Gu.
Un-hyeok gestured with his chin.
"Read it over, press your blood seal there. Then I'll spare Go Eo-ryeong's life."
"Must you go this far?! I swear I'll keep my word — just release Eo-ryeong fir—!"
"Yawn. If you'd like to watch your son die in front of you, be my guest. I'm in no rush."
"Tch......!"
Leaving no opening.
He wanted a blood seal — a written record.
With this, Go Gu's last chance to stab Un-hyeok in the back had just evaporated.
Go Gu bit the tip of his thumb until it bled, then pressed a blood seal firmly onto the contract So-ye had presented.
Agony like tearing flesh from bone.
Once So-ye tucked the signed contract into her robe, Un-hyeok made his request.
"Yi So-ye, go to the Black Slaughter Sect right now and execute the contract. As you can see, I can't leave at the moment."
"Got it. Leave that to us."
So-ye departed the Jade Guest Pavilion immediately with several swift-footed Chamber members.
"There — I've done everything you wanted! Now release Eo-ryeong!"
"As you wish."
HUMMM—!
Green energy shimmered, and Un-hyeok withdrew the trace of the Myriad Streams Return to Poison Divine Art's power from Eo-ryeong's body.
"The poison has been fully recalled."
"Huff...... huff...... huff......"
Un-hyeok tossed the slightly revived Eo-ryeong toward Go Gu.
CRASH—!
Eo-ryeong tumbled to the floor in an ungainly heap.
"Eo-ryeong......!"
Go Gu rushed to his son and wrapped him in his arms.
"Are you all right? Your body...... no — can you even tell who I am?"
"F-Father......"
Go Gu examined Eo-ryeong's condition.
A sword wound on his abdomen, and a face so gaunt from suffering it had shrunk to half its size.
"I-I'm sorry. I...... caused trouble for the family by doing something reckless......"
"No. Don't speak. You're alive, and that's...... that's all that matters."
The losses had been devastating, but at least the Black Slaughter Sect's bloodline had been saved from extinction.
A tearful father-son reunion. Un-hyeok watched impassively, then spoke to Ryeon-hwi.
"Let's go, Father."
He had gotten what he wanted — and the Black Spirit Stone Iron on top of it.
There was no reason to linger.
But a lingering worry tugged at Ryeon-hwi.
"Are you truly sure about this?"
"About what?"
"Hyeok, those men will bear a grudge against you from this day forward. Are you certain you need not eliminate the threat?"
Eo-ryeong was one of the candidates entering the Demon Cultivation Grotto.
Left unchecked, he would surely seek revenge for today.
"The Demon Cultivation Grotto is a den of schemes and machinations. Even for someone like you, you cannot dodge every trap he sets. The thought of you falling victim...... it worries this father."
"It's fine. That won't happen."
His composure was absolute.
What could possibly make him so certain?
Then Un-hyeok called out in a loud voice.
"Hey, Go Eo-ryeong."
Eo-ryeong flinched.
Un-hyeok had turned to look directly at him.
"You're entering the Demon Cultivation Grotto too, right?"
Un-hyeok grinned.
"Then we'll be classmates."
That meant —
He would have to face this demon of a man again inside the Demon Cultivation Grotto!
The terror Un-hyeok's poison had branded into him.
It was etched deep within Eo-ryeong's body.
His shoulders shook violently, teeth chattering, seizure-like tremors wracking his frame.
"Ngh......! N-no. No! I...... I never want to see him again!!"
"What's wrong, Eo-ryeong? Calm yourself."
But Eo-ryeong, already consumed by terror, could not be calmed.
Un-hyeok watched the display and smirked.
"Had quite the fun day. Take the time you have left to put yourself back together, and......"
His business here was finished.
Un-hyeok turned away and waved over his shoulder.
"See you at the Demon Cultivation Grotto."