Book 28 Chapter 12
The Counterattack of the Abundant Fish
— Drying Firewood
“My, what fiery young ladies,” he muttered.
“To think they would face these elders alone.”
“Do you miss the touch of these old men? Khahahahaha!”
Chae Hong Chilma (Seven Colors of the Rainbow) cheered openly.
To be able to claim eleven beautiful women in one go, it was an unprecedented windfall. While he had been catching them one by one with a fishing rod before, this time it felt like casting a net and sweeping them all up. A big catch, no, an abundant catch! A great abundance at that!
‘A full net! Ehera-diya!’
‘To think I can spend a week immersed in the flesh of women with this, how can this not be good?’
However, it seemed these men, who were shouting such things, hadn't considered the possibility that the fish they were trying to catch were not carp, but sharks.
“You speak wisely. However, there seems to be no need for you to trouble yourselves with such trivial matters, so perhaps it would be best to leave the selection of hands to the firstborn.”
As the woman with water-colored hair spoke calmly and gently, the woman with red hair beside her chimed in.
“That is true. It will also be a good opportunity to refine the subdued children. It is quite fitting.”
At their words, Madam Hyunui nodded reluctantly.
“Very well. Hyoin!”
With a commanding word, as if commanding an army, the firstborn among the eight women standing behind stepped forward.
She had hair as black and long as pitch, tied back with white tiger fur, and wore armbands of the same white tiger fur on both arms. She appeared resolute and straightforward, carrying two swords on her back. Even while standing still, a sharp aura reminiscent of swords emanated from her entire being. In particular, her deep black eyes held the majesty of a great tiger, making ordinary people feel their knees weaken just by looking at her. This signified that she had reached the realm of ‘Sword Heart Eye’ where she could conceal her intangible sword intent within her gaze, though it was a characteristic not easily discernible unless one looked directly into her eyes.
“Yes! Firstborn Hyoin accepts Madam’s command.”
She spoke with hands clasped. In other words, she was now receiving commands not as a mother and daughter, but as a formal member of the Shinma family. Madam Hyunui added briefly to her.
“The road is urgent, so one tea break’s worth of time.”
It meant to finish everything in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Hyoin replied without delay.
“Yes, then I will use three at once! Sixth Hyomin, Seventh Hyohyo!”
“Yes, eldest sister!”
The woman holding the jade flute and the woman holding the silver zither stepped forward as if they had been waiting.
Hyomin, as she was called, had hair as black as ebony, lightly twisted with a silver hairpin and then let down to fall long. Her abundant hair was long enough to reach her thighs. The cascading hair was neatly tied with white silk that reached her knees, creating a striking contrast of black and white. Holding a jade flute in her right hand, she walked out with a seemingly taciturn and graceful demeanor, every step overflowing with refinement and elegance.
On the other hand, the tall woman called Hyohyo strode forward with ease, even with the long silver zither on her back, and asked with a serious expression, flexing her wrists,
“Eldest sister, wouldn't a spear be necessary? I dislike seeing these brutes, and the road is urgent…”
It seemed she usually used a spear.
When she was standing quietly behind, she hadn't been particularly noticeable despite her height, but once she started moving and speaking, she strangely captivated people’s attention. It was unclear whether it was due to her straightforwardness, which did not match the elegant silver zither at all, or the sparkling vitality she possessed despite her relatively ordinary appearance compared to the other women.
“Enough. Are you planning to tear open your skirt and run wild before we even arrive?”
The eldest sister, Hyoin, who had cut off the conversation with a firm voice, called out the name of one last person.
“And, the youngest… Hyomyo.”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
As if she had been waiting, someone from the very back of the women raised her hand and stepped forward.
She appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen years old. The shortest and cutest of the eight, she had her hair braided in pigtails that were then coiled and let to hang long. Her gait reminded one of a black cat, but she wore an uncharacteristically dejected expression.
Thus, only three people stepped forward. Namgung Sang, who watched from a slight distance, showed a look of bewilderment.
“That’s strange, eldest senior brother.”
Namgung Sang voiced his doubt in a low voice.
“What is?”
Bilyeon, who had been watching with an intrigued expression, her mouth shut, asked briefly.
“Isn't it? There are eight attackers, yet they only sent out three.”
“Are you an idiot?”
“I’m not an idiot?”
“Then why are you asking the obvious? It means they are confident.”
“Confident?”
“Yes. They are confident that three of them are enough to handle eight of those guys.”
Just how much confidence did they possess…
Namgung Sang looked at the women who had stepped forward with new eyes. They were all young and not too old. Yet, there was an inexplicable sense of experience about them. Even the youngest, the girl, lacked the air of a novice female warrior making her first appearance in the martial world.
“No more is needed, right? It’s just one tea break’s time.”
“Yes, eldest sister.”
With those words, the woman called eldest sister stepped back. Then, she stood proudly with her arms crossed in front of her remaining sisters. It was a clear declaration that she would not be participating in this fight.
“Brother Red Demon, have you ever seen such damnable women?!”
“Do you think these old men are a laughing matter?”
The Chae Hong Chilma seemed flabbergasted by the women's insolent behavior.
“You arrogant bitches, get ready! We’ll send you to bliss in no time!”
With a cruel smile, spewing vulgarities that were too foul to utter without hesitation, the Chae Hong Chilseomma charged at the women.
At this point, the Chae Hong Chilma were brimming with confidence. If push came to shove, their elder brother, the supreme being of the demon sect, was behind them. So, what was there to fear?
Therefore, they had no doubt that these women in black, demonic attire would soon be lying naked before them, and that in the end, they would become their sustenance, leaving not a single trace of their Yin energy.
Chae Hong means collecting rainbows. Here, rainbows of course refer to women. For them, women were not objects of love but objects of collection. Just as children collect butterflies and other insects, they merely collected living women instead of butterflies.
These dignified collectors, fitting their epithets, wore garments of seven different colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Their ranking was also determined by this color order. The first color demon was the Red Demon, and the last was the Violet Demon.
The reason they remained at large and continued their activities, becoming a persistent disaster for women, was that they had learned and practiced the Absorbing Yin Devil Technique and the Seven Transformations Technique from their sworn brother, Choeun.
That martial art, though perverse, possessed unpredictable and ever-changing techniques. It was enough to annihilate the promising twelve swordsmen of Mount Hengshan. They were perverse lust demons, but unfortunately, they were strong perverse lust demons.
So, how could they not be confident of their victory?
However, the situation did not unfold as easily as they had expected.
Clang clang clang! Chang chang chang!
Wha-? Huk! Kkuhk! Huk!
It would be an understatement to say they were surprised. The three women were incredibly strong.
The Chae Hong Chilma, who had naturally expected an easy victory, went from ‘Wha-?’ at the unexpected strong counterattack, to ‘Ugh-?’ and finally to involuntary exclamations of ‘Huk! Kkuhk! Huk!’
If the women had not been outnumbered, the match would have been decided from the start. Yet, not a trace of anxiety appeared on the faces of the remaining women. Their strength was overwhelming. If the white-clothed, handsome Choeun, a lustful whirlwind, who had been watching the situation, had not intervened, the heads of the Seven Demons would have been severed in less than half a tea break.
Despite his youthful appearance in his twenties, Choeun’s skill was astonishing. With every swing of his twin palms, mist-like white energy shot towards the three women, and the power of his Frost Hand was incomparable to that of the Chae Hong Chilma. Even these fearless women did not directly touch the white mist. Just brushing against their clothes brought forth a chilling Yin energy. The nature of his palm technique was also strange and eerie, making direct confrontation seem unwise.
Binggeom frowned as he watched the palm techniques Choeun emitted. The unpleasant feeling he had felt earlier had increased tenfold.
“That is…”
A level of skill that could not be learned at that age. And the blue energy rising from his gloomy brow. It was proof that he had mastered extreme Yin internal energy. And the vanished women, the corpses found as mummies.
The name of a ‘forbidden demonic art’ that had caused a stir about fifty years ago came to Binggeom’s mind.
“That guy has learned a forbidden demonic art of the martial world!”
Mo Yonghwi exclaimed in surprise.
“Is that true, old master?”
“Without a doubt. He must have learned the Absorbing Yin Devil Technique!”
Then, astonishment spread across the faces of the rescue party. They, too, had heard stories about it in their martial world history lessons.
It was said that once this demonic art was mastered to a certain level, one could emit white frost from their hands, and at its peak, emit pale blue frost, Cang Yinshuang. It was a terrifying demonic art that could freeze a person’s heart and blood just by contact.
“It’s the same one that the Lustful Demon, one of the Nine Demons of old, was said to have learned…”
Mo Yonghwi’s expression hardened as he spoke.
Absorbing Yin Devil Technique, also known as the White Blood Devil Technique.
While its power was immense, what made this demonic art truly cruel and terrifying was its method of cultivation. It was a fearsome martial art that increased one's power by absorbing the Yin energy of countless virgins. When practicing the technique, it did not appear much different from other Frost Hand techniques, but once one learned its cultivation method, they could not help but tremble at its cruelty. For this reason, the Lustful Demon was designated as a martial world public enemy and hunted down.
To think that this demonic art would appear in such an obscure mountain pass…
It was understandable that the twelve swordsmen of Mount Hengshan were defeated by someone who had mastered the Absorbing Yin Devil Technique. It was also understandable that he possessed such threatening power despite appearing young. With this demonic art, those who abandoned their humanity and became cruel could quickly gain strength. It seemed he, too, had become so powerful by sacrificing the vital essence of over a hundred virgins.
However, Binggeom had one more thing weighing on his mind.
‘Something is bothering me, but I can’t figure out what it is.’
An unknown suspicion continued to linger in his mind without resolution.
‘Could it be that he is not yet revealing his full strength? Of course, that wouldn’t change anything…’
‘I never imagined these women would be this strong!’
Choeun, the handsome man in white clothes, the lustful whirlwind, could not help but grumble inwardly.
‘If I don't act soon, in an instant…’
One woman used her large silver zither as a shield, protecting the other women, while the jade flute was swung through the air with occasional piercing sounds. In between, a child wielding a peculiar straight sword was also throwing daggers, forcing them to focus on protecting their vital points.
If this continued, the other seven would be in danger. They were valuable workers he had nurtured for a long time, always supplying him with fresh virgins to quench his thirst. He could not afford to lose them here.
Just then, his eyes fell upon the three women standing in the back.
Five of the eight women in black demonic attire had moved to block the escape route of the Chae Hong Chilma, leaving only Madam Hyunui and the two other noble ladies isolated.
‘They must be mothers?’
It was unlikely that such young women had given birth to women of that age, so it had to be a stepmother gathering. No matter how wealthy the family, it was likely the head of a prominent martial arts family who had taken in concubines.
‘And not just one, but three! He’s truly blessed!’
It was not uncommon for the head of an influential martial arts family to take in new wives. And the primary criterion for taking in a new wife was… appearance! While the daughters of the family would have trained from a young age, the new concubines would naturally have been brought in based on their looks alone, wouldn't they? There were no signs of them hiding swords or sabers, and the fact that their eight daughters were surrounding and protecting them confirmed it.
‘Heh heh heh, with that!’
What could be a better leverage than hostages to stop someone? The closer the hostages, the more precious they were, the more effective they would be.
“Catch those three! Then the others will just surrender!”
Choeun, the lustful whirlwind, pointed at the three women and shouted.
“Let’s see if they’ll still be so spirited when their stepmothers are taken hostage!”
Ignoring the firstborn daughter’s indignant cry, the lust demons charged at the three women all at once.
“Unleash the Seven Transformations Crimson Robbery!”
Following Choeun's command, the seven women surrounded the three ladies from all sides. Being villains, lust demons, and perverts, they had no moral hesitation or qualifi-cation.
This formation was an extremely cowardly combined formation they had created to systematically abduct and ravish female martial artists. Women trapped in this formation would have their clothes torn off in an instant by the ‘Yin Heart Wave’ and ‘Seven Virtues Divine Power’ mixed ‘Seven Virtues Divine Wind’ emitted by the seven simultaneously, and their pressure points would be sealed by the fingers pouring in from all directions, making them prey without being able to lift a single hand. What awaited them afterward was hell.
All the plans were perfect, he thought.
However, he made one fatal mistake. He had concluded that the dark and heavy expressions on the faces of the women he was facing were merely due to fear.
Their bodies flinched. It wasn't the women who flinched, but the Chae Hong Chilma who were deploying the formation. Surrounded by the three women, they could not help but flinch for a moment at the intense killing intent emanating from somewhere.
However, they did not think the source of the killing intent was these three women. They mistook it for their daughters, who were pursuing them, emitting killing intent because they couldn't intervene due to their captured stepmothers.
Even though they were surrounded by lust demons, the dark expressions disappeared from the faces of the three noble ladies. Perhaps they had lost their minds from sheer terror.
Of course, the firstborn daughter, Hyoin, was not so passive as to let this situation go unattended. She intended to break through that sticky and unpleasant formation instantly with her sisters.
“It is done, Hyoin.”
If it hadn’t been for the Madam’s voice at that moment, she would have undoubtedly carried out her plan.
“I am sorry, Madam. It is my fault for causing you inconvenience.”
Hyoin, her face pale, apologized to Madam. Her heart was as tempered as steel, and she was not easily moved, but in this situation, she seemed unable to maintain her composure. Then, the red-haired woman clicked her tongue.
“It’s alright. How could you have possibly predicted that these foolish men would commit such a reckless act?”
“I will take immediate action. It is our mistake, so please allow us to handle it directly.”
Her voice held a clear and resolute determination. However, Madam spoke again.
“No, I will handle this myself.”
“……!”
The eight women were startled. The other two noble ladies, who had been calmly observing the fight until now, also seemed a little surprised.
“There’s no need for the eldest sister to personally step in. If anything, I will do it. Do we need a butcher’s knife to catch a chicken?”
The red-haired woman spoke as if the Chae Hong Chilma were beneath her notice. Another noble lady added quietly.
“We haven't lost too much time yet, so it would be best not to escalate the situation.”
Madam Hyunui gave a wry smile at the two noble ladies’ dissuasion.
“Very well, then I will leave those eight to you.”
At those words, the red-haired woman nodded and spoke powerfully.
“You have made a wise decision, eldest sister. I will take care of those brutes.”
The Chae Hong Chilma each had different sexual preferences.
Among them, the fifth, the Blue Demon, had a peculiar constitution that made him unable to resist his desires whenever he saw a married woman who seemed a bit prim and proper.
“Slurp, I will eat well!”
The fifth Blue Demon among the Chae Hong Chilma, his heart racing, reached out to the noble lady with bluish hair.
*Thump!*
‘Huh?’
His hand stopped for a moment. He prided himself on never stopping midway when attacking a woman, yet his body halted abruptly. He tried to force his hand forward. But an infinite distance seemed to have opened between him and the woman with water-colored hair; his hand could not reach her.
‘Come to think of it, what was that ‘thump’ sound just now?’
Only then did the sound he had faintly heard earlier begin to bother him. It felt like it had come from slightly below…
He lowered his gaze slightly. Only then did it catch the Blue Demon's eye.
A cold, pure white ice skewer had pierced his abdomen.
Perhaps because the wound was rapidly freezing, there was no pain or bleeding. However, he could not get any closer because of the skewer. The ice skewer curved gently and connected to the woman’s left hand. In her left hand was a short rod, which looked like a hiltless sword or a whip with only its handle left. Ice was replacing the whip of the whip handle.
Then, there was another strange thing.
He felt no sensation in his lower body. His legs felt as heavy as lead.
Why would he have no sensation below his legs, even if his abdomen was pierced?
He tried to move his legs with a little more force.
*Crack!*
Another strange sound echoed.
The sound of something breaking. He lowered his gaze towards where the sound had come from.
A huge crack had formed on his right leg, starting from the soles of his feet. It had split open, as if his human leg were made of pottery. His own leg, not anyone else’s!
Yet, he felt no pain. There was no bleeding.
He felt as if he were dreaming.
White steam rose from the cracks. Only then did he realize that his entire lower body was frozen solid. That was why he could not feel pain or move.
“H-how…?”
The Blue Demon looked at her face with a bewildered gaze. But her expression was unreadable, seeming a little timid or lost in thought. It seemed as if she were avoiding his gaze, or perhaps ignoring him.
As the woman slightly shook her left hand, the ice whip piercing his abdomen was withdrawn.
*Crackling! Crackling! Snap!*
And the next moment, the cracks spread downwards from the hole where the ice whip had been withdrawn.
“My leg! My leg!”
As he cried out with a haggard face, the cracks, far from shrinking, deepened. And the next moment, the Blue Demon's body collapsed.
“Kyaaaaaaaah!”
He had completely lost the lower half of his body that he had so recklessly manipulated.
With half of his body collapsed, he stopped moving, his eyes wide open. He had died of a heart attack, unable to bear the immense horror of his body collapsing.
*Rustle.*
The ice whip withdrawn from the Blue Demon’s abdomen then turned to water and flowed to the ground. It soon soaked into the ground and disappeared. And in her hand, not even the handle of the whip remained.
The remaining Chae Hong Chilma, or rather, the Six Demons, were bewildered by this unexpected situation.
However, as there was no blood, it felt completely unreal. It was like watching a sandcastle crumble from a wave that had come from somewhere.
Their minds were in a fierce struggle to accept the unbearable reality. The one who most quickly overcame this psychological resistance and accepted reality was the firstborn, the Red Demon. He hurriedly tried to shake his sworn brothers awake.
“Snap out of it! A true lust demon doesn't cower at something like this! Have you forgotten? We are lust demons! Lust demons that women tremble at, scorn, and fear! What are you going to do as lust demons in front of women? Show your lust demon will! Let’s all charge at her at once!”
At that moment, the woman with fiery red hair shouted.
“You fools, didn't you hear me earlier? Try charging at me instead!”
Her hair fluttered like flames, and fragments of fire flashed like lightning in her golden eyes. And in an instant, she disappeared.
“Kkkeok!”
When she reappeared, her left hand grasped the Red Demon’s face. She was standing next to him, her grasp firmly on his head.
“Since your head seems to be for decoration, I must lighten it a bit!”
As he heard the terrifying roar, Yeomdo, who was watching the situation, let out a low exclamation of admiration.
“What an incredibly fast Shunshin (instantaneous movement)!”
It felt like a blazing flame had suddenly extinguished and then reignited at a distance.
Could he really achieve that speed?
Yeomdo, who was notoriously not skilled in footwork, unconsciously looked back at himself. Wasn’t that incompetent footwork the main culprit for him always being outsmarted by Binggeom! He had been practicing secretly without Binggeom’s knowledge, but it was uncertain how successful it had been.
From the Red Demon’s ears, which were held by his head, white steam gushed out with a hissing sound like a whistling kettle.
“What in the world is that…”
Mo Yonghwi could not comprehend what he was seeing.
“Can’t you see? It’s steam,”
Binggeom, who was watching from the side, said with a frown.
“What? Steam?”
“The water inside that lust demon’s body is boiling at a temperature above its boiling point, so the steam is escaping through the orifices of his body. The ears are just the beginning.”
As Yeomdo, standing beside him, explained, white steam soon erupted from the other five orifices besides his ears with terrifying force.
This was a technique only achievable by someone who had mastered fire-elemental martial arts to its extreme. It caused immense pain by boiling the water inside a living body. It was a terrifying method that was rarely used, even on the most wicked villains.
“It’s also colloquially called ‘Drying Firewood’.”
There was a hint of bitterness in Yeomdo’s words.
“Drying Firewood?”
He knew the reason for this name without needing to be told.
The Red Demon’s body, emitting steam from its seven orifices, was gradually shriveling. Naturally. With over eighty percent of the human body being water, how could it maintain its form if that water escaped?
“It’s like a mummy,”
Mo Yonghwi said, frowning.
“Do you find it cruel?”
“……”
Mo Yonghwi did not answer. It was a tacit affirmative. Then Yeomdo said.
“Have you heard what the recently discovered women looked like?”
“Ah!”
Only then did Mo Yonghwi realize something. He understood that the red-haired woman had deliberately used this technique.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Since you turned countless pitiful virgins into ancient trees, you yourselves should experience the same thing.
*Fwoosh.*
Soon, human combustion occurred. The fat that constituted his body exceeded its ignition temperature. As the water filling the human body evaporated beyond its boiling point, the dried body became even more prone to ignition. Naturally, dry firewood burns better than wet firewood.
“I’m a one-on-one fighter, but since you’re attacking me all at once, there’s nothing I can do.”
The red-haired woman was not foolish enough to let the lust demons who had lusted after her escape unharmed. In her view, letting them go would not be kind, but foolish.
“I will send you all to the ‘Crimson Flame Hell’ together!”
There are definitely people in this world who are like rats, never to repent until they die. For such people, it is better to inflict divine punishment as soon as possible, for the sake of the world and for the sake of their idiotic souls. That way, they can have a chance to repent in their next life.
As the Red Demon, the leader of the Chae Hong Chilma, burned to death in a futile but terrifying manner, chaos erupted among them. Only then did they realize that something had gone terribly wrong. And thus, they reached the ordinary and reasonable conclusion that they should flee.
With two of the seven already gone, maintaining the encirclement formation was meaningless.
“Retreat!”
The Purple Demon, who had just become the ranking first, shouted urgently.
“It’s too late. A hell gate that has been opened cannot be closed.”
As the Purple Demon tried to flee, a woman, with her middle and ring fingers folded and fixed by her thumb, making a shape like a horned animal, extended her hand and shouted.
“Chase and burn them!”
*Fwoosh!*
From her outstretched left hand, flames erupted with terrifying force, as if a fire dragon had been born.
“Kkweeeeeeek!”
The Purple Demon, engulfed in flames, rolled on the ground screaming, praying that the fiercely warm flames would subside even a little.
However, the intense flames showed no signs of subsiding; instead, their heat convulsed him. The smell of burning flesh permeated the air along with the smell of oil.
What was this vivid flame?
The Chae Hong Chilma were not the only ones shocked by the sudden burst of flames. Yeomdo, who practiced the same fire-elemental martial arts, was also astonished, his eyes popping out at her previous move.
‘What is that? Is that a martial art?’
Then, what was this strong smell…
He had never seen flames that burned people in such a way before. That was not fire generated by converting true energy.
“Burn!”
*Fwoosh.*
Once again, from her left fingers, a fire dragon opened its mouth and spewed flames. And those flames became karma that stuck to the body of the Blue Demon, one of the four Chae Hong demons, and burned him.
Amidst the flickering heat and the smell of burning flesh, a strong smell of oil reached Yeomdo’s nose.
‘Why does it smell like oil when using martial arts?’
Only then did Yeomdo’s gaze shift to the large red gourd bottle hanging upside down on the woman’s back. It was so large that it looked like she was carrying a small pot. The character ‘Flame’ (炎) was engraved on the surface of the gourd bottle.
‘Could it be…?’
Yeomdo’s eyes widened as he focused his gaze on her gourd bottle. Then, it became clearly visible. The stopper of the gourd bottle popped open, and a thin, transparent yellow liquid flowed out like a rope.
This thread, like a living snake with a will of its own, entered through a hole in her sleeve and flowed down her forearm to her wrist. The transparent yellow snake, which paused below her wrist, suddenly passed through the small flame that ignited between her middle, ring, and thumb fingers, and instantly transformed into a giant fire dragon, biting its prey. Since the body of the dragon was made of highly pure oil, it did not disappear easily even after leaving her hand. The Blue Demon, engulfed in flames, was destined to turn to ash.
*Pop!*
And the stopper of the gourd bottle, which had opened by itself, closed by itself.
The oil she was using was called ‘Flame Dragon Oil,’ a specially refined oil that could generate immense heat instantly once ignited.
Using this oil, she created flames comparable to karma with even a small spark. However, the effort involved was not insignificant. To extract the desired amount of oil from the gourd bottle hanging upside down on her back, without the aid of tools, using only the power of the void, and then creating flames to spew them out was an immense feat.
It might even be better to channel that true energy into her internal energy.
Flame Palace Secret Art
Fire Spirit Divine Technique
Fire Control Branch Secret Skill
Five Dragon Divine Flame
*Fwoosh.*
Four fire dragons emanating from her left hand instantly burned the Chae Hong Chilma, who had been reduced from seven to four. As the flames, like hell’s karma, burned their bodies, piercing screams echoed loudly.
Even as their bodies burned fiercely, they were still alive. Therefore, they had to endure the agony of their bones roasting, lungs burning, and flesh charring until their hearts turned to ash.
How could the pain be described in words? It was a terrifying sight, as if the Crimson Flame Hell had appeared in the mortal realm.
And after that single moment, everything was settled.
When Choeun, the lustful whirlwind, regained his senses, he was alone, having lost the Chae Hong Chilma.