Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Section 5. The Lone Wanderer, Solitary Flow (3)
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90
Do Hak-kyeong had left, leaving Eun So-cheong alone with him.
Eun So-cheong apologized first.
"I'm sorry!"
"For what?"
"I had no choice because of my uncle's request."
"Your uncle from the Healing Sword Sect?"
"Yeah!"
"Why would he...?"
"It's because of your brother."
"Hyung?"
"Right!"
At Eun So-cheong's response, Bang Jin-bo furrowed his brow slightly.
"It's because of your brother."
"......"
"You didn't know. The outside world is buzzing with rumors about your brother right now. Especially here in Hunan Province—it's complete chaos. Some sects are already moving fast."
"Why?"
"Because recruiting your brother would make their sect so much stronger."
"Hoo! You really don't know your brother. He's not the type to serve under anyone. If he did, he wouldn't be your brother anymore."
Bang Jin-bo let out a sigh.
Eun So-cheong agreed with him. She'd only seen Dam Ho a couple of times, but she couldn't even imagine him taking orders from someone.
A perfect lone wolf.
That was the Dam Ho she'd witnessed.
But her uncle, Sim Woo-won, thought differently. Even after being humiliated by Dam Ho once, he was still greedy to recruit him.
"You're the connection. That's why my uncle came. But he did genuinely acknowledge your cooking skills. That's an unchanging fact."
"I see."
Bang Jin-bo suddenly felt all his energy drain away.
He'd been thrilled to receive recognition from Do Hak-kyeong, but knowing it was laced with political calculations left him deflated.
Eun So-cheong looked at him pitifully.
"Things like this will keep happening. Your brother's fame is already shaking the world, and you're his only link."
"Hoo!"
"All I can say is hang in there for now."
"Thanks."
"No problem. We're friends, right?"
"Friends?"
"Yeah! That's how I see it. What about you?"
"I... I think of you as a friend too."
Bang Jin-bo's face turned red. Seeing his ears flush too, Eun So-cheong burst out laughing with a "pfft."
Eun So-cheong pulled up a chair and sat down.
"I hope your brother gets here soon."
"Why?"
"The atmosphere around Dongting Lake feels off right now. Martial artists have been pouring in lately."
"Dongting Lake always attracts a lot of people."
"This time it's different."
"How so?"
"Most of the inns near Dongting Lake have been booked by martial artists. Even the expensive detached villas at the World's Best Tower, which rarely get used, have been entirely reserved by Wudang Sect warriors."
"The Wudang Sect is an incredible place, right?"
"Exactly! Along with Shaolin Temple, it's one of the leaders of the Nine Great Sects. For them to send people ahead to book those villas means some major figures from Wudang are coming."
"Mmm."
Bang Jin-bo let out a groan.
He didn't know much about the jianghu, but he knew how formidable the Wudang Sect was. To ordinary folks like him, warriors from massive sects like the Nine Great Sects or Five Great Families were people from a distant world.
The thought of such figures heading to Dongting Lake naturally put him on edge.
"That's why the Silver Family Manor is in an uproar too. The Healing Sword Sect and the Evil Yang Sword Sect are flipped upside down."
"No idea why they're coming to Dongting Lake?"
"If we knew, would it be this much of a mess? When the Nine Great Sects so much as cough, the entire Central Plains catches a cold."
Eun So-cheong let out a quiet sigh.
She didn't like the current situation either. Not knowing what was happening here made her chest feel tight.
Bang Jin-bo suddenly asked as if something had occurred to him.
"By the way, where's that noona?"
"Who? Oh, Sister Hye-ryeong."
"She's not around."
"She won't be here for a while. She has business to handle. She just came out this way and stopped by to see me briefly."
"Everyone's so busy."
"That's life, isn't it?"
"Hoo!"
Bang Jin-bo sighed once more.
Eun So-cheong stared straight at him. She couldn't fully understand his feelings, but she got the gist.
She chatted with him for quite a while longer before leaving.
Left alone, a shadow fell over Bang Jin-bo's face.
Do Hak-kyeong and Eun So-cheong's visits had filled his head with too many thoughts.
"How am I supposed to live from now on?"
He couldn't follow Dam Ho forever.
Dam Ho had only promised to bring him as far as Dongting Lake in the first place. From here on, it was all up to Bang Jin-bo.
His worries deepened.
Drip, drip!
Blood trickled down Dam Ho's hand.
The drops hit the ground and soaked in quickly. But the vivid red stains remained.
Dam Ho's gaze was fixed on the half-collapsed wall. In the middle of the stone wall, a bloodied man was embedded.
"Cough!"
The man spat up blood. After vomiting a mouthful, he barely lifted his head to look up at Dam Ho.
"That kid's become a monster."
The man's name was Go Sang-kyeong, a former member of the Black Tiger Squad.
After the squad disbanded, he'd settled on Yuelu Mountain. Having amassed a fair bit of wealth during his time there, he'd been living comfortably as a local notable.
A messenger had visited him half a shichen ago.
A limping man dressed head to toe in black.
Go Sang-kyeong had laughed at him at first. But it didn't take long for his laughter to turn to horror.
Exactly half a shichen. That was how long it took for all the servants he brought to turn into corpses.
Until just half a shichen ago, the mansion had been full of laughter and life. Now it reeked only of death.
Go Sang-kyeong muttered.
"They were innocent. Did you have to kill them all? You're truly a demon without blood or tears."
"I told you not to interfere."
"Urk!"
"They ignored my warning."
Go Sang-kyeong had hired plenty of martial artists to protect himself. With all his guilty secrets, he'd prepared thoroughly.
They'd charged at Dam Ho to defend him. And they'd met the gruesome end visible now.
Dam Ho knelt on one knee in front of Go Sang-kyeong and met his eyes. Go Sang-kyeong turned his head away, avoiding Dam Ho's gaze.
Even with death breathing down his neck, meeting Dam Ho's eyes was more terrifying than death itself. Carrying that gaze into his final moments would be too horrific. That's how much Go Sang-kyeong feared Dam Ho.
Dam Ho grabbed Go Sang-kyeong's chin with his hand, forcing him to look.
"Urk!"
"Where's Jo Yun-san?"
"I told you, I don't know. It's been over a decade since we lost contact. How would I know?"
Dam Ho's eyes darkened deeply in that instant.
Crack!
"Arrrgh!"
Go Sang-kyeong's pinky finger crumbled. Like it'd been smashed by a massive hammer, the bone shattered and the muscles mangled.
Experiencing such agony for the first time in his life, Go Sang-kyeong screamed like a madman.
Dam Ho looked down at him impassively. The sight was utterly terrifying.
Dam Ho crushed Go Sang-kyeong's ring finger next. Wracked by unimaginable torment, Go Sang-kyeong thrashed. But Dam Ho methodically pulverized his finger bones without a care.
Go Sang-kyeong screamed and begged for his life.
He wished he could just die. But Dam Ho wouldn't let him go so easily.
He'd dislocated the jaw to prevent biting his tongue, and sealed his internal energy to block him from rupturing his heart meridian.
"Eek!"
In the end, Go Sang-kyeong could only scream his lungs out.
How much time passed?
The focus faded from Go Sang-kyeong's eyes. His hands and feet were crushed like they'd been caught between boulders.
He couldn't even feel pain anymore. The total loss of sensation terrified him even more.
A dizzying sense of floating isolation, as if only his head existed, drove him to the brink of madness.
"Please... kill me."
"Where's Jo Yun-san?"
"I... I don't know. I really don't."
"Any way to find him?"
"I don't know! Hwah! I really don't know!"
Tears streamed down Go Sang-kyeong's face.
Dam Ho's gaze grew even colder.
Go Sang-kyeong truly seemed to know nothing. For him not to spill by now meant there was nothing to tell.
The problem was that this severed the last link to Jo Yun-san.
Dam Ho muttered.
"You're lucky."
Go Sang-kyeong flinched, thinking it was directed at him. Terror filled his eyes. But he soon realized it was about Jo Yun-san.
The shadow in Dam Ho's eyes deepened further.
Go Sang-kyeong pleaded.
"Now kill me. Please..."
Dam Ho placed his foot on Go Sang-kyeong's throat. The cold, eerie sensation made him shudder. But a smile soon crept onto his face.
'Finally, I can die. I get to die.'
Crack!
The sound of his own neck breaking—that was the last thing Go Sang-kyeong ever heard.
Dam Ho stared for a moment at Go Sang-kyeong's corpse, tongue lolling out.
With this, the connection to Jo Yun-san was completely cut. But Dam Ho wasn't disappointed.
If the bastard wanted to play in deep waters, he'd surface eventually.
The jianghu.
There were no deeper waters for a martial artist.
Dam Ho stepped outside and mounted Black Ghost.
"Let's go."
Black Ghost bolted off at terrifying speed.
Two shichen later, they arrived at the docks in Mangseong. A small county on the river connected to the lower reaches of Dongting Lake. A boat from here would reach the lake quickly.
Dam Ho stood at the dock, waiting for a boat.
After about half a shichen, one arrived. It was a ferry line plying the route to Dongting Lake.
Dam Ho tied Black Ghost on the first deck, then went up to the passenger deck. The other passengers had already settled in.
As Dam Ho passed them,
"The scenery of Dongting Lake is said to be unparalleled, and it's no empty rumor. 'I steal the time and advantages of heaven and earth.' I'm enjoying what heaven and earth have to offer."
A cheerful voice suddenly rang out from among the passengers.
The voice sounded familiar. Dam Ho turned to see a face he recognized.
The owner of the voice spotted Dam Ho too and widened his eyes.
"No way, who do we have here?"
Dam Ho furrowed his brow slightly.
A young man in his late twenties with shining black eyes like a morning star and a mischievous expression—none other than Cho Yeon-un.
Dam Ho had forgotten about him since parting at Hongam Ranch, never dreaming he'd run into him thousands of li away.
Cho Yeon-un also looked stunned to see Dam Ho.
He strode over with a grin.
"I never expected to meet a friend here. Good to see you, friend."
A smile bloomed on his face.