Chapter 34: Life-Death Eccentric Doctor-4
Chapter 34: Life-Death Eccentric Doctor-4
Saengsagwoe-ui spoke urgently.
"Put me down and at least you get away quickly. Even if I'm caught, I can survive, but your life is in danger! You've truly done your best for me so far! I will absolutely never forget this kindness!"
I gritted my teeth as I listened to his voice.
'Is there really no other way?'
My insides seethed with frustration.
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from somewhere.
"Jin! Keep running!"
In that instant, I went blank.
It was a voice I could never forget.
The voice of Seolpung Jojang, my idol and benefactor whom I had respected most since my previous life.
I grinned and shouted to Saengsagwoe-ui.
"Elder! Hold on tight!"
Then I began to run.
Now there could be no hesitation whatsoever.
Heukgwangnyun Gak Gi-hyo, who had been coming toward me, was looking around, trying to figure out where that voice had come from.
Then, as I began running toward him, he shouted with a menacing glare.
"A moth rushing into the flames, I see! All of you, surround him and capture that bastard!"
"Yes! Second Guardian!"
That was the moment.
From the bushes on the right side of the encirclement, Seolpung Jojang burst out like a thunderbolt.
Hwaaak!
His momentum was like that of a fierce tiger pouncing on its prey.
"Euhaaaap!"
The moment his roaring form plunged into the midst of the Heuksangbang thugs, the low-level warriors were sent flying in all directions, spraying blood as if struck by a bomb.
Puhwaaak!
"Kuaaaaak!"
"Euaaaaak!"
"Keuooook!"
In an instant, an empty space formed around the squad leader.
But that was only the beginning.
The squad leader now began charging straight toward Gak Gi-hyo. As he surged forward like a fierce tiger, the low-level warriors around him were flung aside helplessly like pebbles caught in a storm.
It was like watching a gale bearing down.
Kwakwakwakwakwang!
"Kuaaaaak!"
"Euaaaaak!"
It was overwhelming martial prowess.
Through his closed eyes, a faint crimson light was seeping out — I could see it clearly.
"Wh-what?! Who is that bastard?!"
Startled by the squad leader who had charged right up to him in a flash, Gak Gi-hyo raised his wheels and focused his gaze on the squad leader.
At that moment, grinning, I threw throwing weapons while running.
It was Dong Paegyeong's black water needles.
Shwiik!
As the water needles I had launched with all my strength flew at him as though to pierce him through, the startled bastard, caught off guard by the sudden ambush, hastily swung his wheels to deflect the projectiles.
Ting!
In that instant, the squad leader closed in on him.
"Haaaaap!"
The squad leader's kick, swinging his whole body, struck Gak Gi-hyo across his upper body.
"Euk!"
Gak Gi-hyo, clenching his teeth, frantically defended, but a tremendous downward strike exploded onto his twin wheels.
Kwaaaaaang!
"Keuuuuuk!"
From the immense impact, the man who took the kick with his wheels was driven into the ground up to his ankles.
That alone would have been a significant blow, but unfortunately for him, the squad leader's Wild Beast Fist had the Chain Strike as its greatest strength.
Using the force from Gak Gi-hyo's block, the squad leader instantly rotated in the opposite direction and this time lashed out at Gak Gi-hyo with the Tiger Claw Hand.
Gak Gi-hyo, horrified, barely managed to block with his wheel.
Teong!
But as if waiting for this, the squad leader grabbed Gak Gi-hyo's wheel and yanked it, while simultaneously launching a straight punch into Gak Gi-hyo's face with his other hand.
A thrust with cannonball-like force shot forward as if to pierce through his skull.
Syuhak!
Gak Gi-hyo's face was now deathly pale.
But he too was a seasoned peak-level master; this time as well, he turned his head just barely enough to evade.
Then he released the wheel that had been seized and, with desperate effort, kicked off the ground and threw his body backward.
He seemed to want to get out of the squad leader's attack range by any means.
That was when it happened.
In an instant, four long iron claws shot out from the squad leader's arm guard as if launched.
Then he pulled his arm inward and slashed with it.
Shyaaak!
A crimson energetic force sheathing the iron claws painted a blood-red afterimage in the air like a rainbow.
It was a vivid red as if real blood were mixed in.
Gak Gi-hyo, who had stepped backward, moved his lips.
But with four grooves deeply carved into his face, he couldn't produce a sound in the end.
Soon, blood spurted from the four gashes etched into his face, and he died right there.
Though he had escaped the range of the squad leader's arm, he hadn't escaped the range of the Fierce Tiger Claw, so this was what happened.
At this unbelievable turn of events that had unfolded in a flash, the Heuksangbang thugs nearby were now plunged into terror.
"Uooook?! The Second Guardian!"
"The Second Guardian defeated by such a young bastard!"
"And so easily?!"
When the squad leader glanced at the surrounding warriors with beast-like eyes, they hastily retreated, their faces frozen with fear.
Even as he stood unguarded, retracting the Fierce Tiger Claw, none of them even dared think of approaching him.
At that moment, I landed beside him and shouted joyfully.
"Jojang!"
Then the squad leader laughed clearly and said to me.
"Sorry I'm late, Jin."
Keuh, after appearing so perfectly timed and saving me so spectacularly, he says he's sorry for being late.
'Is it okay for someone so cool to be humble as well?'
I wondered if a person could really be this perfect.
Except for his fear of women, of course.
Shaking my head with a smile on my face, I answered.
"You weren't late at all. Weren't you just waiting until now to make a dramatic entrance on purpose?"
That was when it happened.
Go Ju-yong's enraged roar was heard.
"How dare you kill Gak Ije! These bastards! I'll never let you live! Capture those bastards, all of you! Kill them all!"
Shouting this, Go Ju-yong was leading the charge, racing down the cliff as if in a frenzy.
Seeing this, the squad leader spoke.
"We'd best save the detailed talk for later. Let's go."
And we began our flight again.
But the direction wasn't the one I had originally intended to go.
"Come this way!"
With the squad leader guiding us, we ran a bit further north.
And a short while later, I realized why the squad leader had guided us this way.
"Welcome! You've done well, Jin!"
"Sa-yeong!"
In front of a river that looked to be about ten jang wide, Bi Sa-yeong was waiting for us.
Apparently, Bi Sa-yeong and the squad leader had met up first.
Moreover, Bi Sa-yeong was holding one end of a rope tied on the opposite side of the river.
He pulled the rope taut and said.
"We'll do our greetings after we cross this. Go first!"
I abruptly looked at the river, and the current was quite strong, so even for martial artists, it didn't seem easy to swim across through the water.
So if we crossed first using the rope, it seemed we could definitely shake off their pursuit for some time.
But suddenly I grew worried.
'Once we're across, how will Bi Sa-yeong get over?'
I asked him in a concerned tone.
"Once we've all crossed, what about you, Sa-yeong?"
Then he grinned confidently, pointed to himself with his thumb, and retorted.
"Don't tell me you're worried about the eldest disciple of the Bi Sect?"
At his confident demeanor, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Alright. I leave it to you, then."
And so, with the Life-Death Obsession Stranger on his back, he ran along the rope and was able to cross to the opposite bank in an instant.
After I crossed over, Squad Leader Seol Pung also traversed the river in the blink of an eye.
But it seemed we had still taken quite a bit of time.
I caught sight of Go Ju-yong and the other Heuksangbang bandits charging from the rear, shouting war cries.
"Catch them! Don't you dare let them get away!"
"Just wait until we catch you! We'll chew you up, bones and all!"
Go Ju-yong and his third sworn younger brother, Han Jeok-sam, looked as if fire was blazing from their eyes, even at a glance. I had thought it was merely a contractual relationship, but it seemed there was some loyalty among sworn brothers after all.
Worried, I shouted to Bi Sa-yeong.
"Sa-yeong! Cross over, quickly!"
At that, Bi Sa-yeong glanced at them, grinned, and began to pull the bound rope with all his might.
Then, using the elasticity of the pulled rope, he launched himself forward in a single motion and leaped like a bird right before the river's surface.
Tadak!
Bi Sa-yeong's movement technique was truly astonishing.
He soared lightly into the air like a bird, covering roughly fifty meters in a single bound.
But even so, that was only half the width of the river.
His body was losing momentum and about to plunge into the raging current.
"Sa-yeong!"
We cried his name in worry.
But in the next moment, we could only stare in shock, mouths agape.
The instant his body began to fall, Bi Sa-yeong released the rope he was holding and stepped upon the rope falling powerlessly through the air, using it to vault himself back upward.
Tat!
"Th-that's—!"
It was a movement technique so exceptional that not only we watching, but even Go Ju-yong's group pursuing from behind, were stunned.
After that, Bi Sa-yeong stepped on the falling rope a few more times to make short leaps, and within moments, he successfully landed beside us.
Filled with admiration, we burst into cheers.
"Whoa, Sa-yeong! How did you do that?!"
"I thought Seon-woo Sohyeop's movement technique was plenty impressive compared to mine, but this is really tremendous! A tremendous movement technique!"
"That's amazing, Sa-yeong. With a little more practice, couldn't you even achieve the Void Step?"
At that, he slicked back his hair as if trying to look cool and answered.
"Heh, as the eldest disciple of the Bi Sect, I should at least do this much. The Void Step might be asking too much, but someday I'll be able to manage something like the Superb Flying level, don't you think?"
Instead of scolding him for showing off as usual, I looked at him with a pleased smile.
It seemed that since Bi Sa-yeong had ascended to the first-rate realm, his level in the movement technique had also risen dramatically.
In my previous life, he was my friend who died saving me without ever escaping the second-rate. To see him growing so rapidly like this, I couldn't have felt more gratified.
I suddenly wondered if this was how it felt to raise a disciple.
At that moment, having finally found some leisure, I glanced at Go Ju-yong, who had arrived at the opposite bank but looked like a dog that had chased a chicken, and introduced my companions to the Life-Death Obsession Stranger.
"Ah, Elder. This friend is the one who rescued Maeng Un and Yong Ji, whom I mentioned earlier. And this is our squad leader, who commands the Seventh Squad of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads that I belong to."
"Oh, so you are the ones who saved our children. Thank you, truly thank you!"
"Ah, th-that was just me doing as Seonwoo Jin here instructed. I didn't really do much..."
"It is an honor to meet you. And I am glad you are safe, Senior."
We exchanged brief greetings and then set off again.
The Heuksangbang bandits still appeared to be busily searching for a place to cross the river.
But once they were out of sight, I came to a halt once more.
"Squad Leader, where do you think they will cross over?"
At my question, the squad leader pondered for a moment before answering.
"If you go upstream for about a half-hour, there's a spot where the river narrows somewhat. They'll probably cross over there. The current speed itself is similar whether you go upstream or downstream. So that would be the only place. But why do you ask?"
I grinned and answered.
"Because I intend to cross back over to the other side. In that case, it would be best for us to cross at the downstream side."
At my words, everyone looked at me with puzzled expressions.
Among them, Bi Sa-yeong was the first to ask.
"You mean we're not just slipping away from here? It doesn't seem like we'd be caught even if we just escaped like this?"
The squad leader and the Life-Death Obsession Stranger also nodded.
"I think so too. It seems we could get away sufficiently if we just kept running."
"I think the same, Jin."
Of course, that was true.
There would be no problem at all in simply escaping like this.
But what I desired was not just that level of outcome.
"Of course, we could slip away like this. But then, wouldn't those bastards keep harassing you, Elder, for a long time to come? And since we didn't cover our faces either, they might eventually figure out our identities."
And though it was a bit awkward to say this, since they had seen my Mukrang Sword, they would soon realize we were the ones who had ransacked their vault.
So in many ways, escaping like this would leave behind future troubles.
The squad leader nodded as if he understood somewhat.
"Jin, you mean we should stay here and harass them further. Are you suggesting we ambush them while hiding in the forest like now?"
That was certainly a possibility.
But I smiled and shook my head.
"No. There won't even be a need for that."
"Huh? No need for that?"
"Because soon, those who desire your life-death pills, Elder, will swarm this place. Even without us lifting a finger, Go Ju-yong and the Heuksangbang will end up buried here. So what we need to do is simply make people mistakenly believe that you still haven't been rescued until then."
At my words, Bi Sa-yeong's mouth fell open in admiration.
"Whoa, you wicked bastard. Planning a borrowed-knife murder like this, even the Blood Cult bastards couldn't be as wicked as you."
"That's a bit much. It's just my personal philosophy to do good to the virtuous and evil to the wicked."
While I was bantering with Bi Sa-yeong like that, Squad Leader Seol Pung, who had been lost in thought for a moment, suddenly furrowed his brow and spoke.
"I understand your thinking well. It does seem like a good method to me as well. However... I'm a bit worried we won't have enough time for that. We barely have three days of leave left now, don't we?"
The squad leader's point was entirely reasonable.
Four days of the week-long leave had already passed.
So excluding the travel time back, we had to resolve this within two days at the very longest.
But I grinned and answered confidently.
"It will be resolved well within two days. Don't worry."
At my confident words, the squad leader wore a skeptical expression, but he eventually nodded.
Indeed, it was only natural for him not to trust this completely.
Even if the process is one thing, the outcome is up to heaven. Unless one is a prophet, how could anyone guarantee something would be accomplished by a certain time?
In that regard, having earned enough trust from my acquaintances that they would believe such a prophecy-like statement was something I felt quite proud of.
It seemed I was living this life rather well.
And my prophecy came true the very next day.