Chapter 261: Reversal
Chapter 261: Reversal
Jin Tae-do could make out the two figures running ahead of him.
The man carrying a woman on his back, most likely Myo A-ran, was Inparang; the woman running alone was Jin So-eun.
"Finally, I've caught you! I will not lose you this time!"
Jin Tae-do and the Six Harmony Swordsmen poured all their strength into increasing their speed.
The fact that the White Wolf Sword was nowhere to be seen was a little strange, but he did not pay it much mind.
He assumed that his condition had worsened and he had been abandoned along the way, and more importantly, the one that mattered was Inparang, not him.
Meanwhile, Seonwoo Jin and Jin So-eun had also spotted Jin Tae-do.
Jin So-eun cried out.
"They're coming, Gongja!"
At Jin So-eun's shout, Seonwoo Jin glanced back.
His eyes caught Jin Tae-do and the Six Harmony Swordsmen charging toward them at a terrifying speed.
'I see he finally shook off all his subordinates. I wondered why the pursuit had gotten faster.'
Jin So-eun asked.
"What do we do?!"
"Let's pick up our own pace!"
"Yes!"
Seonwoo Jin and Jin So-eun increased their speed so as not to be caught.
Then, the distance between the two groups stopped shrinking and began to hold steady.
If Seonwoo Jin were alone, he might have been able to widen the gap, but with Jin So-eun's movement technique, that was impossible.
For her, who had yet to reach the transcendent peak realm, it was impressive enough that she was being pursued by transcendent peak masters and not being caught at all.
Even maintaining this state was only possible because he had sent Ma Yu-gyeom over to the Six Harmony Swordsmen's side.
Before stopping his flight and entering meditation, Seonwoo Jin had tried to send Ma Yu-gyeom and Jin So-eun off with Sakwol and the Six Harmony Swordsmen.
Since the one pursuing them was Myo A-ran, he could not send her along as well, but he had felt there was no need for Ma Yu-gyeom, whose injuries had not yet recovered, or the exhausted Jin So-eun to stay with him.
But Jin So-eun had refused to go.
'When things get urgent, someone needs to look after Myo Sojeo. No matter how capable you are, Seonu Gongja, you can't wield a sword with Myo Sojeo strapped to your back, can you? And besides....'
Jin So-eun smiled brightly and added.
'Didn't you tell me I couldn't go anywhere? So I want to stay by your side.'
At those words, Seonwoo Jin flustered, tried to protest.
'Ah, th-that was....'
Those were words Seonwoo Jin had said to her in the past on Mount Bonghwang, when Jin So-eun had resolved to die so as not to become a hindrance.
To be precise, it had been, 'You may not go anywhere without my permission.'
So it did not exactly fit the present situation.
But rather than press the point, Seonwoo Jin instead gazed for a moment at Jin So-eun's face, smiling so brilliantly.
Somehow, she looked so adorable in that moment that he felt an urge to pat her head.
In the end, Seonwoo Jin had let out a wry chuckle and nodded.
'Very well. Then we shall move together.'
After that, with Jin So-eun standing guard as his dharma protector, Seonwoo Jin had entered meditation.
"Jin Sect Leader! Look over there!"
At Ja Seong-jin-in's cry, Jin Tae-do swiftly scanned the surroundings.
Where his finger pointed were mounds that appeared to be near the main road.
During the pursuit, the surrounding terrain had been shifting into hilly country.
It was not a tall mountain like Mount Bonghwang, but if the bastard entered inside, he might once again vanish from sight.
That was when it happened.
Sure enough, Jin Tae-do's eyes caught Seonwoo Jin and Jin So-eun leaving the main road and entering a narrow gorge.
At that sight, Jin Tae-do ground his teeth and muttered.
"Those bastards are at it again...."
There was no way those bastards would abandon a perfectly good road for a narrow gorge path for no reason.
It looked like they were scheming something again.
'You wretch....'
Anxiety suddenly crept into Jin Tae-do's heart.
It was because of all the memories of letting the bastard slip away time and time again.
He ground his teeth and muttered.
"This time, absolutely not.... We must hurry! That girl's martial prowess has not yet reached the transcendent peak! If she keeps up her movement technique, her internal energy will be depleted!"
Jin Tae-do and the Six Harmony Swordsmen, having clenched their teeth, had just pursued Seonwoo Jin into the gorge.
The moment they entered, what they saw was a sight entirely beyond their expectations.
Jin Tae-do's eyes flew wide open and he shouted.
"A dead end?!"
The opposite side of the gorge was blocked.
It was a dead end.
Seonwoo Jin and Jin So-eun had stopped before the blocked opposite side of the gorge and were staring at them, unable to go any further.
Thereupon, the face of Jin Tae-do, which had been momentarily bewildered, filled with ecstasy.
"You bastard! You've undone yourself with your own trick!"
Jin Tae-do's face could not have been brighter.
The bastard who had slipped away like an eel through so many crises was finally trapped at a dead end.
In truth, Jin Tae-do had been growing anxious all along.
How many times, while chasing the bastard, had he thought that this time would finally be the end?
At the ingenuity of the bastard who had rendered all those countless moments futile, Jin Tae-do had honestly moved past admiration to something close to shock.
He had honestly even thought at times that he might truly fail to catch him.
But now, the bastard had finally been cornered at a dead end.
The surroundings were cliffs ten jang high, and unless the bastard had the ability to fly, it seemed there was no trick left that could let him escape now.
At last, the thought that everything was over swelled his chest.
It was even to the point where he thought that if all his past hardships had been for the sake of making this moment more joyful, he could accept them gladly.
Jin Tae-do's gaze abruptly stopped on the pure-white sword that Seonwoo Jin held.
'And on top of that, the White Tiger Sword—by killing this bastard, I will finally obtain that as well!'
All along, the reason clan heads like Yu Hae-eung of the Hainan Yu Clan or Oh Ik-deok of the Oh Clan had been able to oppose him was precisely because that thing was absent.
The White Tiger Sword, the sacred relic of the Hainan Sect leader.
So now, if he even obtained that White Tiger Sword, it meant they, too, would have no choice but to acknowledge him.
There could be no better outcome in the world.
Unable to contain his joy, Jin Tae-do burst into laughter.
"Uahahahahahaha!"
They reached Seonwoo Jin's front in a single bound.
Seonwoo Jin had handed Myo A-ran over to Jin So-eun and was waiting for them with his sword drawn.
Jin Tae-do shouted toward Seonwoo Jin with blazing eyes.
"Inparang, you wretch! This is finally the end! I'll tear you limb from limb into a thousand pieces and show you to the other clan heads! Once you're dead and I have the White Tiger Sword, no one will be able to oppose me anymore!"
At that, Seonwoo Jin let out a scoff.
Then he asked toward Jin Tae-do.
"Will it really? Haven't you said those words a few times before? What makes you think this time will be any different?"
For someone cornered at a dead end, it was an attitude that brimmed with far too much composure.
At that image of Seonwoo Jin, the mirth abruptly vanished from Jin Tae-do's face.
Because an inexplicable unease surged in at the bastard's easygoing demeanor.
But Jin Tae-do suppressed his anxiety with effort and gave a derisive snort.
"Hmph! A rat in a jar, and still you posture to the very end! What possible trick could you have left now?! Don't tell me you think you can face me and the Hyeongsan Sect masters head-on and survive!"
He was one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World, and six transcendent peak masters were together at his side.
Even if the bastard had encountered a miraculous fortuitous encounter and achieved enormous growth, he could never make it out of this place alive.
But it was in that very moment, when he was thinking such thoughts.
Suddenly, someone's laughter rang out.
"Uahahahahaha! Why wouldn't I think there's a way?! A rat in a jar, what a fitting phrase that is! Uahahahahah!"
At the sound of that voice, Jin Tae-do could only be horrified.
'What?!'
He whipped his head up toward the top of the gorge.
Someone was already up there.
And the moment he saw, Jin Tae-do's face became utterly bewildered. Because he could suddenly spot countless martial artists looking down at them from above the gorge.
"This is... impossible...."
That was not all.
The instant he spotted a white-haired old man with a massive frame, who appeared to be their leader, Jin Tae-do muttered blankly with an expression as if his soul had left his body.
"Demon Sovereign...? How?"
Indeed.
The old man looking down from the gorge with a fishy grin was none other than the Demon Sovereign.
The Southern Sea Demon Sovereign Man Hak-sung, one of the Four Demons Under Heaven.
The monster that Jin Tae-do feared more than anyone else in the Southern Sea had left Daenam Island and come all the way here.
Demon Sovereign Man Hak-sung looked down at Jin Tae-do and spoke.
"At long last, I meet you again! How wonderful to see you, Jin Tae-do! And in commemoration of our reunion, I shall make this day next year your death anniversary! Uahahahahah!"
Listening to his words, Jin Tae-do stared at Seonwoo Jin with an expression of utter disbelief.
Then he could see it.
His faintly smiling figure, gazing right at him.
Upon seeing him, only a single word surfaced in Jin Tae-do's mind.
'Trap.'
It seemed all of this had been a planned affair.
He had believed he was the one pursuing the bastard, but the truth was that he had been lured in by him.
Deep dejection and fury began to fill his heart.
Wearing a sardonic smile, Seonwoo Jin turned those very same words back upon Jin Tae-do.
"At long last, it is over, Jin Tae-do. I shall tear you into thousands of shreds and bring you back to Hainan Island."
Jin Tae-do's body, brimming with rage, began to tremble violently.
In truth, Seonwoo Jin's encounter with Man Haksung's subordinate, the Flying Demon Commander Sang Dogyeong, had occurred right after he awakened from an hour-long meditation.
True to his epithet Biyo (飛—to fly, 鰩—a flying fish), Sang Dogyeong had been tracing Seonwoo Jin from Sangpo, moving up the main road using his exceptional movement technique.
Upon discovering Seonwoo Jin in meditation, he had immediately tried to wake him.
However, he was stopped by Jin So-eun, who was standing as his dharma protector, and had no choice but to wait.
If Jin So-eun had not been present, he would have either missed the meeting or been forced to jarringly awaken from meditation; it was a situation that could only be described as truly fortunate thanks to her.
Afterward, having awakened from meditation and met with him, Seonwoo Jin was able to receive the news that the Demon Sovereign Man Hak-sung himself had come to Sangpo.
His plan to lure the demon sovereign out and force a clash with Jin Tae-do had finally come to fruition.
It was, at long last, the moment for the awaited counterstrike.
Seonwoo Jin had requested of Sang Dogyeong: "Please create a trap to cage him in. I will lure Jin Tae-do to you..."
And the result of that request was the current situation.
With a contorted expression, Jin Tae-do bellowed at Seonwoo Jin.
"You fool! Do you not realize you have summoned a tiger to catch a fox?! To draw in Hainan's greatest enemy for the sake of a mere personal revenge! Why can you not see that, whatever the outcome, you shall ultimately fall into the demon sovereign's hands and become nothing more than his plaything?!"
At these words, Seonwoo Jin replied with a faint smile.
"Are you worrying about me now? How amusing. But... you do realize that words spoken while weeping aren't very persuasive, right?"
"You bastard!"
It was at that moment.
Man Hak-sung, who had been atop the gorge, descended downwards with his three subordinates.
As lightly and slowly as a falling feather, he landed—his position firmly blocking the canyon entrance.
He had sealed off the path through which Jin Tae-do and the Six Harmony Swordsmen would have to exit.
Exuding a thick killing intent, he spoke.
"In the old days, you would've hightailed it out of here immediately. Your judgment has slowed, Jin Tae-do. Is it because of that little tiger cub over there?"
Gulp.
Jin Tae-do swallowed dryly.
Alongside Man Hak-sung, the three members of the Daenam Four Evils—reduced from their original number of four—were glaring at him as if they intended to devour him.
As he quickly scanned them, he thought,
'They intend to avenge the Blue-robed Demon Commander. This will be troublesome.'
The reason he hadn't immediately tried to flee earlier was because he had already known escape would be impossible.
Since Man Hak-sung's position was at the entrance, he had thought that simply running away would only draw attention to himself.
Thus, in order for him to survive and escape this place, he needed another decoy to draw that attention away from himself.
Jin Tae-do asked Man Hak-sung,
"To leave Daenam Island empty because of that mere brat—what madness is this, Demon Sovereign? The Saintess is surely aiming for Daenam Island right now?"
At that, Man Hak-sung chuckled with a snicker.
"Quite impressive, having the leisure to worry about me. But you see, words spoken while weeping aren't very persuasive."
At his words, directly quoting the sarcastic remark Seonwoo Jin had made, Jin Tae-do gritted his teeth.
However, he was not simply fuming in anger.
Even as he spoke to Man Hak-sung, he had been rapidly sending a telepathic message to the Taoist Ja Seong.
— Taoist Ja, can you hold the demon sovereign back for just a moment? If it's just the demon sovereign alone, those Daenam Four Evils bastards are no match for me. I will quickly dispose of them, and then we can launch a combined attack on the demon sovereign.
At his words, Taoist Ja Seong swallowed dryly and looked once more at the absolute being who was one of the Four Demons of the World, the Demon Sovereign Man Hak-sung.
And his body involuntarily trembled at that overwhelming presence.
He was unmistakably a master of a wholly different caliber from the Thirty-Six Stars of the World, like the Honam First Sword Wi Jeong-guk, the sect leader of the Hengshan Sect, or the Hainan Demon Sword Jin Tae-do.
'Will the Six Harmony Sword Formation truly be able to hold against that monster?'
He couldn't be confident at all.
But...
There was no other way.
The Ghost Extermination Six Harmony Sword Formation was indeed a force more suited to defense than offense.
Thus, as Jin Tae-do had said, if he could quickly handle the three of the Daenam Four Evils, the thought that some method might present itself began to creep into his mind.
— Understood, Sect Leader Jin. I beg you, make it as quick as possible.
— I'm counting on you, Taoist Ja.
Even as he exchanged telepathic messages with Taoist Ja Seong, a villainous smile flickered deep within Jin Tae-do's mind.
'If only I can play this right...'
In truth, he had absolutely no intention of joining forces with them in this situation.
This was because, in Jin Tae-do's estimation, the only way for him to survive was to break through the Daenam Four Evils while the Six Harmony Swordsmen held Man Hak-sung at bay and flee.
Of course, since he could become a nuisance, he figured he would need to cripple the legs of Sang Dogyeong, the Flying Demon Commander who was a master of the movement technique.
It was just as he was putting the finishing touches on this escape plan.
Suddenly, Seonwoo Jin spoke up from behind him.
"I think I know what you're scheming without even having to look. You clearly told the people from the Hengshan Sect to hold onto Senior Man for you. So you can sneak away by yourself in the meantime."
The moment he heard those words, Jin Tae-do flinched involuntarily.
It was because the remark was so accurate, it was as if Seonwoo Jin had stepped right into his head and read his thoughts.
Taoist Ja Seong was also startled by those words and stared at Jin Tae-do.
At that, Jin Tae-do hurriedly spoke toward Taoist Ja Seong.
"Nonsense, Taoist! Pay it no mind!"
But Seonwoo Jin, smiling sardonically, continued to speak.
"You should pay attention, Taoist. Think about the kind of man he has been, as you've observed him all this time. If you were to take on Senior Man for him, is he truly the type of man who would flee? Or is he the type to come back?"
Jin Tae-do gritted his teeth.
Seeing Taoist Ja Seong's gaze toward him turn cold, he felt he knew what conclusion the man had reached without even needing to hear it.
"Inparang, you damn bastard!"
He glared at Seonwoo Jin with eyes that seemed about to spew fire.
Just then, Man Hak-sung burst into roaring laughter.
"Kuahahahaha! Amusing! Truly amusing! This is indeed a tiger cub worth raising! Keeping him by my side will surely be endlessly entertaining! I am greatly looking forward to it! Kuahahahaha!"
Man Hak-sung gazed warmly at Seonwoo Jin, laughing as if he found him absolutely adorable.
In return, Seonwoo Jin bowed his head slightly to him with a faint smile.
Yet inside, his heart had gone utterly cold and chillingly calm.
Just from that statement alone, he could infer enough about what Man Hak-sung intended to do with him.
'He probably intends to swallow Hainan Island whole with me at his side. That's why he even brought his subordinates and left Daenam Island.'
But Man Hak-sung, unaware of that inner thought, looked back toward Jin Tae-do with a still-laughing face and asked.
"Anyway, were you really thinking something like that, Jin Tae-do? To think you believed a mere six old men could hold me back—I'm astonished."
At that, instead of the teeth-gritting Jin Tae-do, Seonwoo Jin answered.
"They are not people you should take so lightly. They are the Hengshan Sect's secret weapon, the warriors called the Six Harmony Swordsmen. It is said that when they deploy their sword formation, even the Honam First Sword Wi Jeong-guk, the Hengshan Sect Leader himself, cannot withstand them."
At those words, this time it was Taoist Ja Seong who cried out in shock.
"H-How do you know that?!"
"Ho-oh!"
Taoist Ja Seong's wide-eyed shock and Man Hak-sung's intrigued gaze flew toward Seonwoo Jin simultaneously.
At this, Seonwoo Jin respectfully clasped his hands toward Man Hak-sung and said,
"Which is why I bring this request to you, if I may ask just one gift in honor of my entry into your esteemed command, Great Elder Demon Sovereign?"
At these words, the three of the Daenam Four Evils frowned deeply.
Though they did not voice it, their meaning was clear: this whelp had the impertinence to dare request something of Man Hak-sung.
Man Hak-sung too stroked his beard with an unreadable expression and asked in return.
"A gift, you say. What is it that you wish to receive?"
At this, Seonwoo Jin looked straight at Jin Tae-do and declared.
"If it is the Hengshan Sect's Six Harmony Swordsmen, they will be more than sufficient to stave off your boredom, Elder. Therefore... would you grant Jin Tae-do over there to me? Allow me to exact my revenge with my own hands."
Seonwoo Jin's eyes, fixed upon Jin Tae-do, blazed with an intense, luminous fury.
At this, Man Hak-sung, as if thoroughly entertained, laughed and let out an exclamation of delight.
"Ho-oh!"
Jin Tae-do stared at Seonwoo Jin with alarmed eyes.
Not even in his wildest dreams had he imagined that the boy would request a one-on-one duel against him.