Chapter 37
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: The Assassin's Defeat
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Yi Ho-chang did not release the hand gripped with Neung Un-bi's.
And that grip became a sturdy shackle, dragging Neung Un-bi into a swamp of agony.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Each time Yi Ho-chang swung his fist, a savage sound rang out.
A sound so brutal it hardly seemed to come from striking a human body.
Occasionally, Neung Un-bi would regain his senses and attempt a counterattack, but his fists never reached Yi Ho-chang.
And why would they? To Yi Ho-chang's eyes, Neung Un-bi's punches looked impossibly slow.
It was unbelievable for Neung Un-bi.
For a mere kid to possess such power.
All of this was thanks to the Summon Pill and the Dalma Strong Body.
And Yi Ho-chang was fully experiencing his transformed physique.
'Normally, I wouldn't have dominated him this thoroughly.'
He marveled anew at the spirit medicine and the ascending martial art.
Thus, he pummeled Neung Un-bi for quite some time.
In the end, Neung Un-bi had no choice but to admit his defeat.
"S-Stop! I lost! I admit my defeat!"
But Yi Ho-chang did not stop.
No, he didn't even respond as he continued beating Neung Un-bi.
"Aaaargh! I said I lost!! Stop!!"
"Shut your mouth."
This was the man who had done that to Hwang Chae-jung.
There could be no mercy in his strikes.
But that didn't mean he intended to kill him for real.
Yi Ho-chang had never taken a life before.
He had no desire to start now.
Besides, did death absolve all sins?
Then why would anyone sentenced to life imprisonment beg for the death penalty instead?
This bastard shouldn't get off easy with death.
He needed to be kept alive and made to pay for his crimes in full.
Only after thoroughly thrashing him until the rage in his heart fully subsided did Yi Ho-chang accept his surrender.
"Hoo..."
Yi Ho-chang flung the man away like trash.
Neung Un-bi rolled across the ground, tears streaming as he groaned in pain.
Yi Ho-chang spoke.
"One last question. Did Mu-myeon send you?"
He had clearly heard Bok Jung-ho call him Mu-myeon while traveling to Shaolin beside Wi So-so.
Given the circumstances, he suspected that man was behind it.
"Urgh... Y-Yes."
Neung Un-bi answered readily.
He sensed that any more bravado now would truly get him killed.
But even after hearing the answer, Yi Ho-chang stomped on the back of his hand.
"Gaaah!!"
"Speak properly. If you don't want to die."
"S-Sorry! I was short-sighted!"
As he trembled and begged, Yi Ho-chang finally lifted his foot.
"You said you took a commission? What group do you belong to?"
"Urgh... Truth is, it wasn't a commission. I'm the squad leader of the assassin unit led by Mu-myeon."
Assassin unit squad leader?
It was unexpected information.
Yi Ho-chang pressed on.
"Then, was the demonic disturbance at the Famous Name Assembly in Yingbo, Zhejiang, also Mu-myeon's doing?"
"Yes. He reached out to Three Response Gang Leader Ga Ui with his demonic claws."
"Where is Mu-myeon now?"
"That guy's in Shanxi Province."
"Shanxi?"
"Yes. Among the underworld heavyweights, there's this Wealth Mad Old Man he failed to assassinate, so he's wanted now. He's hiding out there."
"Why did he try to kill that guy?"
"I don't really know... I swear! Please believe me!"
He looked like he truly didn't know.
Still...
'Shanxi.'
Valuable information.
But there was still a crucial question left.
Yi Ho-chang placed his foot on Neung Un-bi's hand again and asked.
"Is Mu-myeon a Blood Sect demon?"
At Yi Ho-chang's question, Neung Un-bi's pupils began to tremble violently.
He bit his lip too.
Not fully there yet?
What was he agonizing over?
As Yi Ho-chang thought that and prepared to stomp again, suddenly foam bubbled from Neung Un-bi's mouth, and his body shook like an aspen tree.
Then he rolled his eyes back and screamed into the void.
"S-Sorry! Sorry!"
What the hell?
Startled by Neung Un-bi's sudden seizure, Yi Ho-chang quickly pulled his foot back.
Then Neung Un-bi began slamming his own head against the ground repeatedly.
'That!'
Yi Ho-chang's eyes widened.
It was the exact behavior Ga Ui had shown at the Famous Name Assembly.
Neung Un-bi lifted his head, eyes rolled back and foam at his mouth, mumbling.
"...Ma... rin... man... bok."
As soon as he finished, a chilling energy spread instantly.
Demonic energy.
Yi Ho-chang immediately leaped back, but nearby leaves swept by the erupting demonic energy withered and fell on contact.
It was tremendous deathly aura.
But the changes didn't end there.
Something writhed at his temples.
'Blood worm!'
It was certain.
Ga Ui had been the same.
Instinctively, Yi Ho-chang drove his fist into Neung Un-bi's face.
If left alone, he'd go berserk like Ga Ui for sure.
But a simple punch couldn't subdue him.
'What now?'
Nearby lay the flying dagger Neung Un-bi had thrown.
But Yi Ho-chang hesitated to use it.
Even if this man was turning demonic, he was human first—and Yi Ho-chang still recoiled at killing.
Yet no other method came to mind.
Time was short.
If this continued, it'd repeat the Famous Name Assembly nightmare.
And Yi Ho-chang lacked the skill to subdue a demon of that level yet.
Then, a solution flashed.
'Right! That's it!'
If the blood worm was the issue, just burst the one inside him, right?
No time to hesitate.
Yi Ho-chang closed in and unleashed Dragon Claw Palm with both palms at Neung Un-bi's head.
Boom!
With an explosion, Dragon Claw Palm landed true.
The impact staggered Neung Un-bi.
But that was all.
The blood worm hadn't burst.
Worse, the Dragon Claw Palm stimulated it, accelerating the transformation.
'Damn!'
Neung Un-bi's eyes fully rolled.
Consumed by the blood worm, he was now a complete demon charging at Yi Ho-chang.
Or trying to.
Dong—!
If not for the sudden bell toll.
"Grk?!"
The abrupt bell made Neung Un-bi falter in confusion before slamming face-first into the ground.
No one had grabbed him.
True energy had crushed him immobile.
Then, a familiar voice came.
"Good thing I'm not late."
"Master!"
"Yes, it's me. Any injuries?"
A familiar voice.
It was Nangyo.
He held a bell, and in his joy, Yi Ho-chang rushed over and clung to him.
"How did you get here?"
"How? I ran."
"Huh?"
"What kind of question is that? We all got duped by that bastard. Seo Wan-cheol or whatever was tied up in the Great Hero Hall. Nearly became roast pork. So I hurried here. From the looks of it, the one who came to us was the real threat."
So that's how it went.
Thank goodness.
If Nangyo hadn't shown up at that moment, the outcome was obvious.
Nangyo chided Yi Ho-chang.
"Anyway, kid, if the opponent's too much, you should've just run while I held him off. What gave you the confidence to stand there slugging it out?"
"You saw it. Even if I'd run, he'd have caught me."
"Tsk tsk, so nimble dodging my fists, but turns out you're all show?"
"What do you expect at my age?"
"Age card only when it suits you? Anyway..."
Nangyo slowly approached the immobilized Neung Un-bi.
"Aigoo, you idiot. You poke what you should poke? Daring to target my disciple's enlightenment?"
"Guhhh...!"
"These demon scum... I thought they'd been wiped out long ago, but some still linger..."
His words sounded like casual scolding, but Nangyo's eyes burned with fiercer rage than ever.
And then Yi Ho-chang finally saw it.
The immense internal energy rising like heat haze around Nangyo.
No exaggeration—it was the strongest aura Yi Ho-chang had ever felt.
'At this level, even above Yi Chan-seong the transcendent... Could it be Flower Realm?'
In the world...
He'd thought him just a Go-incapable old monk hiding his strength or something.
Then Yi Ho-chang noticed the bell in Nangyo's hand.
Pointing to it, he asked.
"Master, what's that bell? Was that sound from it earlier?"
"Yes, from this. It's the Palm Buddha Bell, a Shaolin divine weapon that infuses sound waves with internal energy to suppress foes. Its power varies wildly with the user's energy reserves... but you get it without me explaining, right?"
I see.
Only someone like Master could subdue a demon with a bell.
Nangyo rang it repeatedly.
With each toll, the mounting pressure made Neung Un-bi scream.
"Grahhh!"
"Eh? Why such weak grit? Hold out longer."
Nangyo kept ringing.
Then he held the bell close to the man's head and said.
"No resistance? Came here with that feeble mind? If it's tough, ring the bell yourself!"
For some reason, his tone made one want to ring it.
Suddenly, Neung Un-bi's head swelled red and inflamed.
Yi Ho-chang quickly backed away, but Nangyo stayed put unconcerned.
In panic, Yi Ho-chang shouted.
"Master! Get back!"
"Why? Scared of this?"
"Isn't it dangerous?"
"It is. He's trying a mutual destruction now. Heh, same old tricks as always with these bastards. Watch closely—this is how demons pull their tantrums."
As he spoke, Nangyo removed his upper robe and stuffed it into Neung Un-bi's mouth.
Then he raised his fist and smashed the back of Neung Un-bi's head with full force.
It was one of his signature moves, the Diamond Subduing Demon Fist.
Neung Un-bi's head exploded in a burst, vanishing without trace, and his body went limp.
Nangyo shook the blood from his fist and said.
"Burst the head or slice it off like this. See? Easy, right?"
"...Yeah, looks super easy."
If it were, I'd have done it already.
Yi Ho-chang glanced at Neung Un-bi's corpse.
He didn't pity him particularly.
Though different from his original intent, he'd received the punishment he deserved.
But Yi Ho-chang's expression wasn't great.
Nangyo asked.
"What, pitying him?"
"No, not that... He mentioned the escort master he impersonated. Said he killed him and fed him to wild beasts, so I've been thinking."
Killing Neung Un-bi wouldn't bring back the dead.
Nangyo smacked Yi Ho-chang's head.
It felt like hitting a rock; Yi Ho-chang clutched it and asked.
"Why'd you hit me suddenly?"
"'Cause you're cute."
"Suddenly?"
"Heh, kid, you still don't know the jianghu?"
"Know what?"
"That was a lie."
"A lie...?"
"Yeah. Demon talk is obvious bullshit. All psychological warfare. You must've let slip you knew the escort during your chat. Or at least he sensed it. That's why he said it."
"How are you so sure? What if he really killed him?"
"Killed my ass. Kid, even bombs are quiet till they blow, so you can hide one, but killing? Not that easy. He was an escort, right? He'd fight back. Clashing swords, yelling, chaos—and no one in Shaolin noticed? Please."
Huh?
Now that I think about it...
But how was I supposed to know?
You'd have to experience it.
Still...
"...So Grandpa's probably alive too?"
"Likely. Tied up like Seo Wan-cheol somewhere."
"Good enough."
The possibility that Grandpa was alive made Yi Ho-chang smile unwittingly.
Nangyo smirked at the sight, then bonked his head again.
"Ow, why again!"
"My whim, kid."
Nangyo chuckled.