Chapter 30: Heuksangbang Raid-4
Chapter 30: Heuksangbang Raid-4
The steel whip that writhed like a living black dragon surged fiercely toward Seol Pung.
It was a ferocious attack, as though a dragon were lashing out with its tail.
But even in this moment, Seol Pung had not yet been able to settle his heart.
Within Seol Pung's memory, the afterimage of his mother, who had shed tears for him as a child before breathing her last, remained branded like a searing scar.
For him, having spent long years after that living in the mountains alone with his grandfather, the existence known as a woman was no different from the mother in his memories.
And so, dealing with women had always been difficult for him.
Laying a hand on a woman was, even more so, an act he could scarcely bring himself to imagine.
At least, until now, that was the case.
But Seol Pung knew as well.
That someday, the time would come when he must face a woman as an enemy and fight, and if he still could not bring himself to act when that time came, his hesitation might cause his comrades to die.
The moment the black whip came lashing fiercely at his body, Seol Pung squeezed his eyes shut.
Then his body, flipping through the air like a cat, lightly treaded upon the black whip and vaulted over it.
Paang!
The instant the black whip struck the ground in vain, Ya Un-hyang's lips curled slightly upward.
"Ho-oh?"
Along with her smile, the movements of the black whip began to grow more ferocious and violent.
The black dragon, coiling itself around Seol Pung as its center, was lashing out with its tail from all directions.
Chaaaaak!
Chaaaaak!
But Seol Pung's movements, even with his eyes closed, were also growing faster and faster.
Like a cat springing through the underbrush, he nimbly flipped and tumbled, rendering every attack utterly futile.
At this, Ya Un-hyang, her gaze now sharp and clear as if fully awakened from a trance, cried out with a voice full of wonder.
"Magnificent! Then try receiving this as well!"
Her whip, which had been thrashing wildly, split into five strands in an instant.
It was the ultimate technique, the Nine-Tailed Fox of Seduction, said to create nine afterimages when pushed to its limit.
The moment the five whips came pouring down upon Seol Pung from all directions, his body, which had been coiled taut, vanished in an instant.
Pabak!
He had shot forward at a speed that even most martial artists could not follow with their eyes.
Seol Pung's form, transformed into a ray of light, closed in right before Ya Un-hyang's eyes in a flash.
"Hmph!"
But Ya Un-hyang merely sneered.
The world believed that because she wielded a long weapon like the steel whip, she would be weak in close-quarters combat, but in truth, her dagger arts were no weaker than her whip.
Ya Un-hyang, who had already been prepared, moved to draw the dagger at her left side with lightning speed and strike at the charging Seol Pung.
But it was Seol Pung who struck first.
Before she knew it, Seol Pung had grasped a throwing weapon and hurled it at her.
Hwaak!
"Throwing weapons?!"
Startled, Ya Un-hyang hastily brought her dagger up before her body to defend against the projectiles.
But nothing came flying.
"What?!"
It was a feint.
By the time Ya Un-hyang realized she had been fooled and tried to swing her dagger again, Seol Pung had already closed the distance, using a hand wreathed in energetic force to push the dagger aside.
Ya Un-hyang clenched her teeth.
She could not afford to lose so easily.
"Ee-ik!"
Her dagger moved fluidly, trying to evade Seol Pung's hand and strike him down. But as the dagger succeeded only in slicing through his mask, Seol Pung's fingers were already pressing into the acupoint at her throat.
Tak!
Ya Un-hyang's eyes went blank.
To be subdued so easily without even being killed—it was utter defeat.
As her vision faded, the bare face of Seol Pung, exposed where the mask had been cut, was the last thing that entered Ya Un-hyang's eyes.
And then she lost consciousness.
Seol Pung, having subdued her, wore a troubled expression.
Of all things, he had shown his face. Seonwoo Jin had earnestly impressed upon him that should his face ever be revealed, the witness must be killed without exception.
If he had resolved to kill from the start, this would not have happened, but because he had tried to subdue her without killing, his face was revealed, and having been revealed, he was now faced with the necessity to kill her. The situation made Seol Pung's vision go dark.
But after a moment of hesitation, Seol Pung ultimately resolved not to kill her.
Had she not refrained from killing others just moments ago?
He could not bring himself to be the one to kill first a virtuous woman who had tried not to take lives.
Rationalizing to himself that he absolutely was not sparing her simply because she was a woman, Seol Pung carefully laid her down in a secluded corner of an empty cell in the Thunder Prison and hurriedly made his way out.
***
The moment Bi Sa-yeong arrived at the warehouse, he knew he had come to the right place.
Because three warriors were surrounding a single woman, attempting to violate her.
Beside them, a teenage girl who looked to be her younger sibling was tied up tightly with rope, crying and screaming.
"Stop it right now! You beasts worse than animals! Stop this instant!"
But they merely giggled.
While two men held the woman who appeared to be the elder sister, one of them was grinning as he tried to pull down his pants.
"Kk-euheuheu! We're going to have a special experience today!"
"Hurry up and finish! We're waiting for our turn!"
"Don't worry. That bastard's quick as a rabbit, so it won't take long. K-hahaha!"
It was the moment when the man, wearing a greedy leer, finally pulled down his pants, and the captive woman's eyes were stained with despair.
The enraged Bi Sa-yeong flew in behind the man like a meteor.
Puhak!
In the space of a single breath, the man's head was sent flying by his blade.
The remaining men cried out in shock.
"Gang-ga!"
"Wha-what is it?!"
The men hurriedly released the woman and stepped back, grabbing for their weapons.
But the speed of Bi Sa-yeong, the senior disciple of the Bi Sect, exceeded their imagination.
After severing one man's head, Bi Sa-yeong lunged straight at the man to the left, and his blade slashed diagonally through the body of the man who was just reaching for his weapon.
Puhak!
"Kuaaaak!"
"Yi-ga-ya!"
By the time Bi Sa-yeong, having killed the second man, turned his head to look at the remaining one, the man had already drawn his blade, his face contorted with fury.
"You wretch, how dare you!"
Bi Sa-yeong clicked his tongue.
"Tch!"
His heart was growing impatient.
Thanks to Bae Jong-gwan causing a ruckus near the main gate, there were no people near the warehouse, but regardless, he had already produced far too much noise.
Besides, the stance of the opponent who had drawn his blade looked far from ordinary.
"Haaap!"
At the tip of the blade of the man charging toward him, something like a hazy mist became visible.
It was blade qi.
'Damn it, he's a first-rate warrior!'
Screaming inwardly, Bi Sa-yeong used the Wind Heaven Step to fluidly redirect his opponent's attacks.
The opponent's level also seemed to be around the lower first-rate tier, so Bi Sa-yeong did not appear to be in immediate danger.
But for Bi Sa-yeong, who needed to kill the opponent quickly and escort the women to safety, it was an undeniably troubling situation.
A moment later, the man, who had been unleashing a fierce barrage of blade strikes like a storm but had failed to hit Bi Sa-yeong, sneered as if he finally understood something.
"So, you can't form blade qi, can you? You're nothing but a second-rate wretch, all speed and no substance."
Bi Sa-yeong clenched his teeth.
But he had no words to refute it.
Bi Sa-yeong's current internal energy had already well surpassed forty years; measured by internal energy alone, it was power sufficient to reach the middle first-rate tier.
However, despite his continuous efforts, he had been utterly unable to manifest blade qi.
Even with sufficient internal energy, the enlightenment of harming with the sword had denied itself to Bi Sa-yeong, like a divine miracle just out of reach.
The man no longer tried to catch Bi Sa-yeong, who would not be caught.
He simply raised his voice and called for others.
"Intruder! There's an intruder here at the warehouse!"
Bi Sa-yeong's heart grew frantic.
At this rate, everything seemed about to go completely wrong.
Of all places, it had to happen here, where he had found the daughters of the Life and Death Obsession.
"You wretch!"
Without further thought, Bi Sa-yeong threw his body forward, leaping upon the man. He absolutely could not accept ruining the entire operation because of his own failings.
At this, the man also swung his blade at Bi Sa-yeong as if he had been waiting. He had likely been aiming for this from the start.
Chang! Chachang! Chachang!
Blade clashed against blade countless times.
Originally, the gap between first-rate and second-rate was not merely a matter of whether one could wield sword qi or not.
The internal energy operation capability sufficient to create sword qi, and the resulting enhanced strength, speed, reflex nerves, senses—there was an enormous difference in every aspect.
It was as stark a disparity as between a house cat and a lynx.
But right now, Bi Sa-yeong could not feel that gap at all.
Speed, power, combat experience.
In every category except blade qi, he felt no sense of being outmatched.
He was able to realize it.
The skill of the man clashing blades with him now was far, far too low compared to the squad leader Jang, or Seonwoo Jin, or Miss Cheongyeon, or Lady Na, whom he had been training against.
At last, a smile rose on Bi Sa-yeong's face.
Against this level, even his current self seemed more than capable.
As he regained his confidence, his Bi Sect Blade Method, driven by the Swift Spirit Heart Method, began to grow faster and faster.
Originally, in the blade arts of the Bi Sect, famed for the swiftness of their movement techniques, most of its stances were also composed of swift blade strikes.
But speed alone could not overcome an enemy.
No matter how fast, if one's eyes grew accustomed, it could be defended against. The most crucial art for those wielding the swift blade was control of tempo—varying the speed of the blade to create openings in the opponent's guard.
But now, Bi Sa-yeong exerted no control of tempo whatsoever.
Fully immersed in the fight, he merely poured out swift strikes like a sudden downpour.
Chaechaechaechaechaeng!
Faster, even faster.
It was as if he were casting a spell upon himself.
As Bi Sa-yeong's swift blade grew ever quicker, the man, his sight growing dizzy at last, let out a scream-like battle cry.
"Euaaaaaap!"
In that instant, Bi Sa-yeong's blade, with the fastest speed it had achieved yet, passed through the man's defenses and swept through his body.
Shaaak!
At the tip of Bi Sa-yeong's blade, which had cleaved through the man's body, a hazy blade qi extended out a single inch.
"Haah, haah, haah."
Behind Bi Sa-yeong, who stood gasping for breath with a dazed face and his blade halted, the man's chest split apart with a gash, spewing blood before he collapsed just as he was.
Puhwaak! Kung!
"Ha, haha, hahaha. So this is blade qi."
Bi Sa-yeong smiled.
The sensation of his internal energy, delivered to the very tip of the blade as if it were his own body, spread a pleasant thrill through him.
At that moment, the girl who had been tied up suddenly cried out.
"Daehyeop! Please, help us!"
Snapping back to his senses, Bi Sa-yeong hurriedly cut the ropes binding them and asked,
"Are you two the daughters of the Life and Death Obsession, Ma Daehyeop?"
"Yes! I'm the daughter! Oppa over there is a man!"
Huh?
At the girl's answer, Bi Sa-yeong, momentarily unable to comprehend, asked again.
"...What did you say, Sojeo?"
Then the girl answered again.
"I'm the only daughter! That one over there is my oppa, a man!"
"...Eh?"
And the person he had thought of as the elder sister upon looking again was an exceedingly beautiful-looking... man.
With a slender build and a pretty face, he certainly looked just like a woman, but the clothes he wore, and the flat chest exposed where his upper garment had been torn, were all unmistakably male.
His mind blank, Bi Sa-yeong asked,
"No, then those bastards just now...?"
At that, the brother answered shyly in a small voice.
"They said I was pretty-looking and... different..."
"Ugh..."
Clutching the back of his neck, Bi Sa-yeong regretted having killed them too easily a moment ago.
But unfortunately, there was no time to kill them again.
"You two, do you know how to use lightness arts? We're getting out of here immediately!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
The noisy sound of footsteps rushing toward us could be heard from the distance.
***
We all safely escaped the Black Sang Pavilion and regrouped at the designated meeting place, a remote Guan Yu shrine.
The squad leader had apparently been worried about Bi Sa-yeong and had joined up with him earlier to move together.
I first looked at Bae Jong-gwan, whose upper garment was completely shredded with sword marks, and asked with concern.
"Jong-gwan, you've been through a lot. Are you hurt anywhere? Judging by your clothes, it seems you went through something quite rough."
I regretted whether I had given him too difficult a role after all.
At that, Bae Jong-gwan laughed heartily and answered.
"Hahahaha! No need to worry. That officer over there was so amazed by my external arts that I just showed him a bit more. He seemed to be completely smitten by the power of my external arts, I'd say. Wahahahaha!"
...It seemed my worry had been unnecessary.
Then I examined the children of Saengsagwoe-ui—well, his son and daughter, not just daughters.
The son, who had a rather pretty face, kept his mouth shut with a dark expression, still seemingly in great shock, while the daughter, now sixteen years old, at least had the presence of mind to thank us.
"Thank you for rescuing us. My brother and I were truly on the verge of disaster. We thought it was all over because even Father had abandoned us..."
As she spoke, the girl's eyes reddened again, as if overcome with emotion mid-sentence.
"Young lady..."
I hesitated for a moment, not knowing what words to use to comfort a girl that young, when Bi Sa-yeong spoke.
"Indeed, Saengsagwoe-ui is a remarkable man. To willingly bear the resentment of his own children in order to save them."
At Bi Sa-yeong's words, the girl asked with a puzzled face.
"...What? What do you mean by that?"
"I mean how he refused the demand to trade the spirit pills for you two, and instead placed a bounty using the spirit pills. The reason we were able to rescue you was because Saengsagwoe-ui arranged it that way. He made the master of the Black Sang Pavilion decide that you two were worthless and mobilize all his forces to capture him instead. Isn't that right, Jin?"
It was something I always felt, but Bi Sa-yeong, that bastard, had his cool moments from time to time.
The problem was that it was far too infrequent.
I nodded and picked up where Bi Sa-yeong left off.
"That's correct. Conversely, if he had tried to trade the spirit pills for you two as the Black Sang Pavilion master demanded, even Saengsagwoe-ui himself would have been captured by him. And then, in order to keep you alive, he would have had to spend the rest of his life imprisoned in the Black Sang Pavilion manufacturing spirit pills."
At that, the son suddenly raised his head and asked.
"I-is that true? That Father deliberately did that to save us?"
Bi Sa-yeong spoke as if exasperated.
"Don't ask us, ask yourselves. Is your father the kind of man who would abandon you just because he was reluctant to part with a few spirit pills?"
Saengsagwoe-ui's son and daughter looked at each other and shook their heads vigorously.
"No, absolutely not."
"That's right. Those measly spirit pills, he could just make more. Then..."
It seemed the shock they had suffered was not so much from the rough experience, but from the disappointment that their father had given up on them.
Now that they knew the truth, the son, his face clearly brightened, offered his greetings.
"Thank you! If it weren't for all of you, we would have died like fools, never knowing our father's true intentions! It was such a simple thing if we'd only thought about it a little. Truly, truly, thank you!"
"That's right! We're so grateful! How in the world can we ever repay this kindness..."
The younger sister, now acting her age, shed tears and embraced her brother.
It seemed she had suffered greatly in her heart.
As Bi Sa-yeong gazed at the scene with satisfaction, he suddenly asked me.
"Well, now shouldn't we go rescue Saengsagwoe-ui as well?"
Squad Leader Seol Pung also chimed in with a smile.
"Indeed. Seeing that sight makes me want to go rescue him right away."
Their proactive attitude made my own motivation surge as well.
But before that, there was something I had to do first.
I led the siblings to the back to rest for a while, then set down the enormous bundle I had brought with me in front of the group with a loud thud!
"Now, before we go, let's take a look at this first."
At that, everyone focused on it with curious eyes.
"I've actually been curious about that for a while now. What on earth did you bring?"
"I was curious too. A bundle as big as you are. Did you perhaps kidnap a few people or something?"
I grinned and finally opened the bundle.
Then everyone's eyes and mouths gaped wide open.
"Wh-what is this?!"
"No way! This is?!"
"Whoaaaa! What is all this?!"
I smiled with deep satisfaction and savored their reactions.
It was well worth it.
After all, I had swept up everything that looked good from the Black Sang Pavilion master's warehouse.
As for valuables, I took only gold, excluding gemstones.
That was because I figured being tracked down would be a headache.
And as for the spirit medicine varieties, I just brought everything that looked good.
Truthfully, what I had ultimately wanted to obtain by rescuing Saengsagwoe-ui this time was spirit medicine, and it seemed that goal had already been far exceeded.
Lastly, I brought some weapons that looked promising.
From among them, I first handed two arm guards to the squad leader.
"A gift. They're called Fierce Tiger Claws. It seems they were modeled after the Blood Dragon Claw."
"Hmm? Modeled after the Blood Dragon Claw, you say?!"
The squad leader showed interest at the mention of the Blood Dragon Claw.
The Blood Dragon Claw was the exotic weapon used by Mak Jong-gi, the Blood Killing Ghost Claw of the evil faction.
The four long talons that freely shot out from his arm guards were known to be a subject of lethal terror not only to those facing them for the first time, but even to those who already knew about them.
It was like giving claws to a fist master who was already threatening with just his bare body—its power went without saying.
The squad leader gave it a rough look over, and having seemingly grasped the principle, put on the arm guards and gave his wrist a slight twist.
Chang!
"Ooh!"
The squad leader marveled at the four long talons extending from each hand.
Then, as he focused his mind, red energetic force blazed and flickered from the talons like flames.
"With this, I can slash as well as thrust. I could cut down demons easily without even having to smash them. Thank you, Jin. This is the best gift."
Next, what I gave Bi Sa-yeong was a curved sword engraved with the name Danwol, and a throwing dagger connected by a thin silver thread.
Bi Sa-yeong immediately drew Danwol and marveled at the cold, gleaming light of the blade.
"Ooh! Magnificent! Thank you, Jin! But what's this throwing dagger?"
I gave Bi Sa-yeong, who looked satisfied, a pleased smile and explained.
"This is just my thought, but I figured it would be good for you, Sa-yeong, to learn throwing dagger techniques. You're already training in hidden weapons, aren't you? Whatever that silver thread is made of, it doesn't seem to break even from sword ki. If you're skilled, you might even be able to cut an opponent with just the thread."
"Oh, nice! But isn't Jin training in hidden weapons too?"
At Bi Sa-yeong's words, I grinned and answered.
"Heh heh, I already snagged one for myself."
"Heh, well then, I'll gladly accept it."
Lastly, I presented Bae Jong-gwan with a guandao.
It was an item whose long shaft could be separated into two pieces and used as short staves, and it seemed to weigh well over ten gwan.
It was the heaviest thing among all that I had brought.
But Bae Jong-gwan, upon receiving the guandao, smiled apologetically and shook his head.
"I appreciate the thought, but I'm sorry, Jin. My body is enough for me. To someone like me who has cultivated external arts, weapons are useless, aren't they? Hahahaha!"
Yeah, I had figured this bastard would say something roughly like that.
But using a weapon meant gaining an advantage in reach, regardless of its sharpness.
So it was my judgment that for Bae Jong-gwan, whose brawling technique was weak compared to his solid body, he absolutely needed to secure an advantage in range.
I smiled and answered.
"Of course I think so too. Jong-gwan, you have no need for weapons. But think about it. If a giant with a magnificent physique like yours were to fight, swinging this guandao around like a storm, who would people be reminded of?"
"Hmm? Who would they be reminded of, you say?"
To his puzzled question, I answered while gesturing around the Guan Yu shrine we were in.
"Wouldn't they be reminded of Guan Yu himself? Gwan Un-jang, the greatest warrior of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms."
"...Gwan Un-jang?"
"Yes, just imagining it is truly fantastic. I'm sure if Lady Cheon were to see that sight..."
At this combo that led from the eternal idol of martial artists, Gwan Un-jang, to Lady Cheon, Bae Jong-gwan could hold out no longer and declared his surrender.
"R-really? You think so?"
"Of course!"
Of course, I didn't bother to mention that the odds were higher he'd be reminded of someone like Jeon Wi or Heo Jeo rather than Gwan Un-jang.
Nor did I mention that I wasn't quite sure what kind of reaction Lady Cheon would have if she saw that sight.
In any case, I had only said "if she were to see that sight," so I hadn't exactly lied, had I?
Besides, if using that thing increased Bae Jong-gwan's survival rate, wasn't it ultimately a good thing? I rationalized to myself.
Squad Leader Seol Pung, who had been examining the Fierce Tiger Claws with a satisfied face, suddenly asked me.
"Anyway, Jin, what did you decide to take for yourself? Surely you didn't fail to grab something for yourself while taking care of ours?"
Good people tend to assume others are as good as they are.
But I was not someone like the squad leader.
I grinned and answered.
"No way. Of course I grabbed something. There was one that caught my eye perfectly."
So saying, I drew out the sword I had taken and showed it.
It was the sword that had completely captivated me the moment I saw it—'Mukrang.'
Mukrang, with both its grip and scabbard entirely painted black and adorned with the head of a howling wolf at the guard, was a magnificent sword.
The squad leader admired its splendid appearance.
"Oooh! How magnificent!"
"Right?"
But the most magnificent thing about this fellow was the ethereal gleam that radiated from its blade when drawn. The way it cleanly split a rock I tested it on into two pieces was such that I wondered if it could even bisect a demon without using sword qi.
A fine weapon was a martial artist's friend and treasure. My comrades, who had gained good friends, were all grinning from ear to ear, completely absorbed in examining their own weapons.
I felt proud.
I suddenly thought to myself.
'Lady Na will be happy too, won't she?'
I had already set aside things to give to the female members who hadn't come along this time.
My heart fluttered at the thought of what expressions the members—especially Lady Na—would make upon receiving them.
I, who had been smiling contentedly, soon clapped my hands to gather everyone's attention.
"Now, now. Then let's test the weapons in actual combat, and let's get moving! But... before we depart, since we're feeling a bit peckish, how about we each have a spirit medicine or two before we go?"
At my words, my comrades let out incredulous laughs.
My internal energy was now just a few more years away from reaching one full gapja—the minimum condition for ascending to peak-level.
In the past, I had thought there was no need to wastefully consume spirit medicine when I only needed a little more, but now that I had spirit medicine to spare, there was no need to hold back, was there?
It was finally time to fill my internal energy to a full gapja.