Reunion
“Remember this well, Miss Se-hwa. You must cast it off. Right now, your body is in no condition to receive treatment.”
The Azure Clear Stone Oil had been brought in. The words had come from Cheon Yu himself, so there could be no mistake. Yet Cheon Se-hwa was in no state even to swallow the Azure Clear Stone Oil.
If she took it now, her upper dantian would shatter under qi deviation. Once the upper dantian broke, a person either lost their mind and became a cripple—or simply died.
“Calm the killing intent. Gather every strand of energy into your lower dantian.”
Gu-yang Cheol watched Cheon Se-hwa with pained eyes. A girl whose future should have been limitless was now hovering at death’s door because of the Blood Cult.
No one else knew her condition. Only the Cult Leader, the Great Protector, and himself. The demonic practitioners of the Gwang-hyeol Sect had no idea she was even here.
So there was time—plenty of it. He could only pray she would shake free of the heart demon and recover enough to take the Azure Clear Stone Oil.
With that desperate hope, Gu-yang Cheol stayed at her side for a long while and did not leave.
“So that’s how it is. You two are being assigned to the Myeolcheon Squad.”
“Just like that?”
“You saw this coming, didn’t you?”
The moment Shin Gi-woon returned from the Extreme Heaven Assembly, he summoned Bi So-hyang and Sama Yul. The business was the Myeolcheon Squad.
It had been finalized at the assembly, so he intended to tell them at once.
Bi So-hyang looked mildly surprised, but Sama Yul simply nodded as though she had expected it all along.
“Commander Yeom will bring Jin with him. It’s been a while—got anything planned to say?”
“Dunno? Do I really need to think that hard? He’s weaker than me anyway.”
Bi So-hyang giggled. Ma Ra-jin still hadn’t reached the Transcendent Realm, so once the Myeolcheon Squad formed he would be the youngest by rank.
She could already picture his face—boasting about how strong he’d gotten. Just imagining it made her miss the sight.
Quiet Sama Yul, blunt Bi So-hyang who said whatever was on her mind, and Ma Ra-jin who always ended up on the receiving end.
And Shin Gi-woon himself, the one who either led them or got beaten up by them.
Shame Se-hwa isn’t here.
Where was Cheon Se-hwa? He wanted to know, but the Cult Leader had kept his mouth shut. That meant something was going on.
He hadn’t dug deeper. The Cheon Se-hwa he knew was no weakling. Even if a heart demon had come for her, she was the kind of woman who could shake it off and stand back up on her own.
That was Cheon Se-hwa.
“But when Jin gets here, are you gonna tell him?”
“Tell him what?”
“That… magic thing, or whatever it is.”
At Bi So-hyang’s question, Shin Gi-woon chewed his lip. The Myeolcheon Squad would face Cheongung on the front lines.
He was obligated to teach the magic arts to every member. The problem was Ma Ra-jin’s mouth. Bi So-hyang or Sama Yul would be fine, but that guy was loose-lipped.
Bi So-hyang, who had grown up with him, proved the point. If the word “magic” slipped out somewhere it shouldn’t, they were finished.
But not telling him would be even worse. He had no choice.
“I’ll teach him. But I’ll make damn sure he keeps his mouth shut.”
“He’s here.”
At Sama Yul’s words, Shin Gi-woon and Bi So-hyang turned. The main gate swung open and a man stepped into view.
Three and a half years ago, at the Jamma Cave graduation, Ma Ra-jin’s body had already rivaled most external-arts masters. And now?
He was just a full-grown bear. Even a rough glance put him well over seven feet.
“Oh? Whoa! You guys! Long time no see!”
“Ma Ra-jin…? Is that really you?”
“Of course! Pride of the Fist Hegemony Sect, son of the Fist Hegemony Sect, external-arts master of the Fist Hegemony Sect, youngest Peak expert of the Fist Hegemony Sect! That’s me—Ma Ra-jin!”
“How is it that the only thing that changed about you is the outside…”
Bi So-hyang was startled by how massive Ma Ra-jin had become, yet watching him proudly introduce himself at full volume, she felt relief that the person she knew hadn’t changed an inch. Should I even be relieved? The thought flickered for a second.
Ma Ra-jin swaggered as he looked the three of them over. After so long apart, his friends’ frames looked almost scrawny.
But the swagger didn’t last. He tilted his head at Sama Yul, frowned at Bi So-hyang, and by the time his eyes reached Shin Gi-woon his face crumpled like a man about to faint.
Sama Yul finally spoke.
“What are you doing?”
“No! Who the hell are you people?! The friends I know can’t be this stron— ghk!”
“Shut it.”
As always, Shin Gi-woon smacked the back of Ma Ra-jin’s head. The big man let out a long-overdue scream of pain.
After joining the Yeol-am-ah-hwang-dae he had lived through one hellish day after another, and by the end of that training his body had almost forgotten what pain felt like.
Yet one smack from Shin Gi-woon left his skull ringing. That alone was proof enough. His friends had grown absurdly strong.
“What kind of miracle pills did you guys eat?”
“Yeah. Azure Clear Stone Oil.”
“No way pills alone could change you this mu— wait, what? Azure Clear Stone Oil?”
Ma Ra-jin’s eyes bulged. Of course they did. Hearing someone had taken Azure Clear Stone Oil and not reacting like that would have been the strange part.
“Bullshit! Where the hell would you even get Azure Clear Stone Oil?!”
“I almost died because of it.”
“You crazy bastards! Some of us were swinging iron bars on a mountaintop every damn day while you were casually popping miracle pills?!”
“Then you should’ve picked a better unit.”
A sudden thought struck him: Sama Yul talked a lot more when Ma Ra-jin was the target.
How to put it—like an older sister teasing her dense little brother. People really didn’t change much, did they?
He felt that truth keenly.
“Ahem. But Se-hwa’s not here. Isn’t this supposed to be the historic reunion of the Five Stars of Jamma?”
“Se-hwa’s got something going on, so she’s temporarily out of the Myeolcheon Squad. She’ll join once it’s handled.”
“That so? Well, we’ll meet again someday. Then let’s raise a toast among ourselves, friends!!”
Ma Ra-jin pulled a liquor bottle from his bag. So that was why he’d shown up carrying a bag—he’d brought booze.
Still the same unpredictable, free-spirited bastard. The description didn’t quite fit, but whatever.
“I’ll stake my name on this one thing! My realm might be the lowest, but I’m the best drinker here!”
“Huh? How’s a guy with the lowest realm supposed to be the best drinker?”
“You’ll know once you try. A man’s liver is something you’re born with.”
“I can already tell how much you drank in that unit.”
“So-hyang. Chicken?”
“What did you just say?”
Ma Ra-jin curled one corner of his mouth and launched the provocation. The classic “if you’re scared, die” play.
Bi So-hyang was not a woman who took bait like that. Of course, that only applied when the other party wasn’t Ma Ra-jin.
“Wanna bet? Who can drink more.”
“Haha! Wish tickets as the stakes, then!”
“Fine, let’s do it. I don’t plan on losing a drinking contest to a guy like you.”
“Same here!!”
Fire lit in Bi So-hyang’s eyes. At the same moment, Shin Gi-woon and Sama Yul looked at each other.
The glance said they wanted no part of this fight. Or at least, it should have.
“Shin Gi-woon! Sama Yul! You two are in too!”
“Why?”
“Three wish tickets are better than one, right? Hahahaha!”
This time it was an area-of-effect taunt. Roughly translated: You two can’t drink better than me.
Shin Gi-woon snorted. As if he’d fall for something that cheap.
“What, chicken?”
“Not falling for it.”
“Chicken? Chicken? Chicken?”
“Even if you keep—”
“Aigoo, looks like someone’s scared. Our great and mighty Myeolcheon Squad Leader Shin Gi-woon is scared! I get it! I am a pretty good drinker! Hahaha! Extreme Demon expert, my ass—nothing special!”
“…This son of a bitch.”
Grind.
His teeth clenched. He hadn’t expected the taunt to go this far. Had the kid lost his mind?
Hey. You said you weren’t falling for it.
Shut up. I’m watching that bastard puke if it’s the last thing I do.
You just told me to shut up a second ago?
Quiet, lizard.
…You bastard.
Ryu-jin grumbled and muttered behind his back, but Shin Gi-woon ignored her, sat down on the platform, and accepted the drinking contest.
Naturally, that left Sama Yul out.
“Hey. You not joining?”
“Joining what.”
“Ah, right—our Yul just throws hidden weapons from the back, so she’s got no stamina—”
Whoosh!
Ma Ra-jin froze mid-sentence, face locked in place. By a hair’s breadth, Sama Yul’s throwing knife grazed his throat and flew past.
A bead of blood trickled down his neck. Ma Ra-jin had just felt death brush him.
“Hey.”
“Y-yes, ma’am!”
“If you don’t want to die, shut up.”
“Understood!!”
Ma Ra-jin immediately abandoned any thought of dragging Sama Yul in. She was the type who followed through.
Push any harder and there would be a lot more blood. Then the unexpected happened. The woman who had seemed determined to stay out sat down right beside him, plain as day.
“Huh?”
“What.”
“Weren’t you not drinking?”
“Who said I wasn’t drinking? You’ve got no skill and no sense either.”
“Ghk.”
A direct hit straight to the solar plexus! For some reason Shin Gi-woon and Bi So-hyang both felt a deep, satisfying relief.
“That’s enough clowning around to lighten the mood, right? Come on—a toast to surviving three and a half years.”
Silence followed. Ma Ra-jin lifted the bottle by the neck. Shin Gi-woon, Bi So-hyang, and Sama Yul all pulled out bottles of their own.
“May the Five Stars of Jamma live forever!!”
With that slightly cringeworthy toast, Ma Ra-jin led the way and the other three tipped their bottles back as well.
Gulp, gulp.
“Kyaah~ Tastes better when you’re drinking with friends.”
“Why is this happening? Booze isn’t supposed to taste sweet.”
“I always think this, but I still don’t get why people drink. There’s so much sweet stuff in the world.”
“Bitter.”
“Yes, yes, complaints not accepted. Let’s go again!!”
The drinking party unfolded under Ma Ra-jin’s lead. It had started as the sunset was sinking, and it stretched through the entire night.
They say the four of them laughed and talked so loudly that their voices never faded until the sun rose again.