Chapter 98. Today, I am the Black Cloaked Figure

Black Cloaked Figure (黑衣人).

A person dressed in black.

The meaning is simple and clear.

However, the Black Cloaked Figure mentioned in the martial world is somewhat enigmatic.

They don't seem to be completely insane.

They also seem to have some formidable martial arts skills?

But when their mask is removed by someone, their status drops drastically. The key is to maintain an air of mystery. Perhaps, no one in the martial world has studied the essence of the Black Cloaked Figure as deeply as I have.

I am the expert on Black Cloaked Figures.

First, the basic posture of a Black Cloaked Figure is to cross one's arms.

The places where Black Cloaked Figures often move include walls, rooftops, above the main gate, and alleys, with their appearance being the most important. Typically, they emerge from the darkness, cross their arms, and it's best to emit a low, sinister laugh.

"Hehehe..."

This laugh should be emitted about three times, leisurely.

The important thing is not to make it too creepy.

A somewhat low-pitched "hehe" and "huhu" in between, perhaps. Here, "huhuhuhu" or "hihihihi" are perverted laughs used by villains or lunatics, so I don't recommend them.

In my view, a Black Cloaked Figure should be as heavy as darkness and as mysterious as moonlight. These two aspects are the core.

However, if you look a bit deeper, the Black Cloaked Figure also has clear limitations.

Based on my experience of frequently clashing with the top experts in the martial world, most Black Cloaked Figures were actually insane.

A truly strong expert reveals themselves as they are.

In other words, if we roughly divide the levels of the martial world through the mouths of those who like to argue and categorize, the Black Cloaked Figure, at best, belongs to the realm of first-class experts or slightly above or below. But when I, who was more skilled than those guys, pretended to be a Black Cloaked Figure, it was for the following reason.

I wanted attention...

Although it might seem unlikely, there is a term in the martial world that precisely refers to such people.

Attention Seeker (關心種子).

It's a real term. It refers to those who enjoy drawing attention by deliberately acting strangely.

If we abbreviate this as a martial world nickname...

Attention Seeker (關種) is me.

I transformed into an attention-seeking Black Cloaked Figure after securing a lodging not far from the Sword Gang headquarters and waiting for the moon to rise.

When I took out the black clothing prepared by the Black Cat Sect's subordinates, the righteous spirit (浩然之氣) in my chest swelled even more.

When did the Black Cloaked Figure first appear in the martial world?

Looking at the black clothing, I felt a surge of confidence that I could do even worse things than usual.

Standing under the moonlight with my arms crossed, it's hard to tell whether I'm a crazy Black Cloaked Figure, the mastermind behind the black curtain, or the leader of a mysterious force (神祕勢力) that suddenly appears and shakes up the martial world.

I took off all my ordinary clothes, put on pitch-black shoes, dark pants, and a dark top, and tightened the dark belt. Finally, I put on a long black robe to emphasize that I'm not a simple lunatic and slightly raised the collar near my neck.

Has there ever been such a perfect Black Cloaked Figure in the history of the martial world?

Indeed, Black Cloaked Figures, who are more visible in slightly brighter places, are mostly attention seekers (關心種子).

If you raid a rural village where people save oil and turn off all the lights, the darkness would make such black clothing effective. However, most black sects keep the lights on all night.

Would you visit such a place in black clothing?

Let's not talk about it...

I put my precious flashing dagger and fire snatcher (火攝子) inside the robe and attached the Black Cat, which pairs perfectly with the Black Cloaked Figure, to my waist.

The target is the Sword Gang headquarters.

From now on, speak heavily, walk lightly.

Eyes cold, heart grand.

I meditated in a lotus position while waiting for Nangarak, who was transforming into a Black Cloaked Figure in the next room.

Meditation usually involves clearing one's mind, calming the heart, exploring the elusive Dao (道), and pondering questions like what is life and why do beauties dislike me.

But my mind was filled with...

Pork ribs, rice wine, geez, bastards, despicable guys, and the like, all jumbled together.

'Confused. Confused.'

Is there a man who becomes more confused the deeper he meditates?

I am.

I concentrated for a moment, calmed my heart, dispelled my杂念, and maintained my composure while contemplating the depths of my inner self, then fell asleep.

A sound sleep.

.

.

.

Knock knock.

"Come in."

I opened my eyes, which had developed double eyelids, and looked at the Black Cloaked Figure entering the room, slightly surprised.

'Ah, it's Nangarak.'

Nangarak looked at my face and said,

"Master, you must have been tired."

"No way."

I tried to stifle a yawn, which made my nostrils flare, and inspected Nangarak's outfit.

"Perfect. The Southern Ming Sect's preparations are impressive."

Nangarak, pleased with my praise, crossed his arms and laughed.

"Hehehe, the Black Cat Sect is quite something."

"We are the Black Cat Sect, so we're prepared from the start. Let's cover our faces and go."

I and Nangarak took out what we had prepared.

Nangarak had a traditional black hood that completely covered his head.

I, on the other hand, put on a triangular black mask that fell from my jaw and tied it at the back of my head. This way, it wouldn't mess up my hair and looked much cooler.

In contrast, Nangarak's unimpressive black hood... let's not talk about it.

Nangarak, wearing a closed hood like a low-level assassin, looked like a black egg.

I looked at Nangarak with a sneer.

"Rustic..."

"..."

Nangarak asked me,

"Is there another one? If so, lend it to me."

I thought for a moment and took out a mask from my bag.

'Attentive Wall Chief.'

Nangarak took off his hood and threw it away, then put on the mask I handed him and said,

"Lucky."

"Let's go."

"How? Are you thinking of going out the window and jumping on the roof?"

I shook my head.

"We should go down the stairs."

"Wouldn't people stare too much?"

I let out a slight snort and replied,

"Enjoy it, endure it, bear it."

That's the life of an attention seeker.

"Hmm."

"Anyway, if we walk around the Sword Gang's territory with a serious look, everyone will think we're Black Cloaked Figures from the Sword Gang. Do you think they don't have Black Cloaked Figures?"

"That's true."

We went down the stairs, paid for the room, and asked the innkeeper to dispose of the clothes in the room. Seeing the innkeeper, who was terrified, nodding continuously, I knew there would be no trace of us left in the room.

I said to Nangarak as we went outside,

"See? This is the charm, the power, and the advantage of being a Black Cloaked Figure. Most people tremble at the sight of a Black Cloaked Figure, which is the way of the martial world."

"Don't joke in such a serious tone. It's confusing."

As soon as we went outside, I looked at the moon hanging in the night sky.

"Wow, the moonlight..."

Nangarak also looked at the moon and exclaimed,

"Wow, it's so bright."

"Great."

"Indeed."

"It's a perfect night. The air is dry. If it had rained, our plan would have failed, but the night sky is helping us."

"Lucky."

I and Nangarak deliberately entered the bustling commercial district and walked slowly. As soon as people saw us, they cleared the way.

Majestic and imposing.

I deliberately made a cracking sound with my knuckles as I walked.

"Anyway, their defenses will be tight."

"Probably."

"Hey, Black South (黑南). It would be good to set fire, but we don't have to if we can make them angry in some other way."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The point is to make them angry. Pay attention to the commercial district and the alleys."

It's good to use the chaos of the commercial district when pulling out the Sword Gang's forces and escaping. Anyway, Nangarak is also the top expert of the Southern Ming Sect, and in terms of lightness, he's second only to me. Probably only a Hongxin Sect sister specialized in lightness could match Nangarak's speed.

I and Nangarak, buried in the darkness, could see the Sword Gang's main building and burned with determination.

"Did you dare send assassins after me? Is the Sword Gang leader on the highest point there?"

"Probably."

"Let's destroy it."

It was a luxurious mansion, like a major merchant (大商) leading a large business. The main building was three stories high, and the black roofs visible at a glance numbered over thirty. A sign reading "Gang Family Manor" hung above the large gate.

"Is the leader surnamed Gang?"

"Yeah."

The sign "Gang Family Manor" looked old, indicating that the Sword Gang was a unique black sect. It seemed like a wealthy person had joined the black sect to make even more money. I examined the structure of the house and said to Nangarak,

"Let's move freely. But I'm determined to destroy the main building."

"It's been a while since I felt this excited."

The reason we didn't bring many subordinates is that there aren't many experts who can destroy a place and escape gracefully.

The virtue of a Black Cloaked Figure is to make others angry, not to get caught and have their mask removed.

"I'll go first."

I moved to the main gate with my arms crossed, but I uncrossed them when they started to feel numb. As soon as I felt a surge of anger, I ran, leaped into the air, and kicked the sign reading "Gang Family Manor" to pieces with a flying kick.

Kwaang!

I heard Nangarak's surprised voice from behind.

"What...?"

I infused my hands with inner energy and shattered the main gate with a punch.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Nangarak, who had rushed over, raised his voice.

"If you're going to do this, why did you wear black clothes?"

"Clothing only enhances madness. I am who I am."

"Huh..."

I looked at the destroyed main gate and thought. I am a Black Cloaked Figure expert, but my actions are not.

"A man should enter through the main gate."

The Sword Gang's interior suddenly became chaotic, with shouts and the sound of doors opening mixed together, and even the dogs they kept barked.

I felt a surge of anger at the dog barking and shouted,

"Stop the dog barking in the middle of the night! Bastards!"

Nangarak laughed with a strange sound and ran off somewhere. I leaped onto the roof and started using my lightness technique. Black troops were pouring out from inside.

I took a moment to look at the moonlight again.

"Wow... the moonlight."

I felt like I might lose myself in the moonlight, so I leaped into the air and drew out the Black Cat. I bounced the moonlight off the blade of the Black Cat but put it back in its sheath since there was nothing to cut, and continued straight ahead.

The roofs gradually became higher. After repeatedly leaping and bounding, I quickly reached the roof of the highest building in the Gang Family Manor.

From there, I crossed my arms and looked down at the Sword Gang's premises. My heart swelled with grandeur, not just for show.

"Hehehe, hehe, huhahahaha!"

I spread my arms and declared war on the Sword Gang.

"Come at me!"

As I expected, the Sword Gang's martial artists, dressed in black, were stepping on walls and roofs and rushing towards me, probably planning to ambush me. How can they distinguish between allies and enemies when they all dress like that?

Anyway, I would get all the attention, and Nangarak would set fire.

Suddenly, I felt angry thinking about the Sword Gang leader, who had been eating, sleeping, and doing everything else comfortably while I hadn't slept for days. I wrapped my hands in flame incense.

Whoosh!

I had been cultivating the Fire Incense technique, so the flames wrapped around my hands burned more fiercely than ever.

Originally, it should be called the Fire Incense Great Technique, which is performed with both hands.

But now, I am a Black Cloaked Figure.

I combined the flames on both hands above my head and thrust them into the roof, making it look like a Black Flame Dragon (黑炎龍) descending in a massive fire stream.

Kwaang!