Chapter 215
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 215
Chapter Title: Five Beasts (5)
'What the hell are these guys!'
Jaja had pulled her boat up to the riverbank and was staring blankly at the shore.
There were two men there. One was sitting down, while the other was harassing a woman passing by on the road.
The riverbank was bustling with people.
Fishermen were laying out the fish they'd caught that morning on stalls to sell. There were laborers doing odd jobs, vendors hawking rice cakes, and even a girl peddling leaf tea from a porridge pot.
At least thirty or forty people were milling about.
But Jaja didn't see any of them. Her eyes locked instantly on those two men—only those two.
Wag!Wag!
The sitting man spotted Jaja and crooked his finger at her. Come here.
'Just as I thought—Bisan Ga. They've already got my tail.'
She'd predicted they'd latch on before she even killed Hancheong.
'Wait! Ah!'
Jaja furrowed her brow.
She'd anticipated that eliminating the target would draw Bisan Ga's attention.
Someone was bound to tail her. Then she'd shake them off and trace them back to Bisan Ga.
That was Four Thousand Four's plan... And sure enough, Bisan Ga martial artists had shown up right on cue... But how was she supposed to tail them? Who was going to follow them, and how?
There'd been no discussion on that part.
When she got the secret message, she hadn't expected Bisan Ga's men to close in this fast.
Four Thousand Four will handle it.
But Four Thousand Four was gone now. There'd been just one message left back then, so he must have gone off to kill someone too.
No one was left to tail them.
'Damn it! Then what the hell was I doing? Why did I even kill Hancheong! Four Thousand Four, you bastard! What kind of half-assed plan is this? No, he must have planned it properly... What did we miss?'
Jaja trailed off in her thoughts and let out a wry chuckle.
She shouldn't worry about distant problems. She had a disaster right in front of her now.
She stared at the two men for a moment.
The sitting one crooked his finger at her again. Hurry up and come.
Jaja had no escape.
Those two exuded total confidence. They were smirking like she was the Monkey King in Buddha's palm—no matter where she fled, she'd end up in their grasp. Go ahead and run if you want, they mocked.
"Guess... I have to run then?"
Jaja flashed them a grin.
"Heavenly Annihilation Division. What kind of freak is this?"
"Heavenly Annihilation killers don't move alone. So what's this?"
The two muttered to each other.
The boat carrying Jaja drifted farther toward the middle of the river.
They didn't bother chasing. She was a rat in a trap—nowhere to go.
Choosing the river as her escape route was a fatal mistake.
Though... in that situation, she probably couldn't have held out a moment longer without taking the boat.
"Her martial arts are strong. At least deputy leader level..."
"The skills she used to kill Hancheong weren't Heavenly Annihilation style, were they?"
"True, but... she's still Heavenly Annihilation, right?"
"Heh heh! Heavenly Annihilation's got a weirdo on their hands. Acting alone, weird martial arts."
The two were convinced the fleeing woman was a Heavenly Annihilation killer.
They read her escape straight out of the Heavenly Annihilation playbook.
In a situation like this, protocol said to steer the boat into the river's heart. You couldn't let the enemy catch you. But heading straight across, or downstream, or upstream? That was for fools. Would the enemy block your path without preparing for those moves?
So Heavenly Annihilation went潜—submerged.
Their killers trained aquatic arts precisely for scenarios like this. Their diving skills were top-notch.
Jaja hadn't dived yet. But no doubt she was following protocol. Even if her martial arts weren't theirs, she had to be a Heavenly Annihilation killer.
What would someone else do?
The two had kept their distance from the ferry landing. Most people wouldn't even notice them and would dock normally. That was the standard play.
Second option: sharp senses spotted them.
Most folks would hurriedly beach the boat. Escape routes were still open. They'd deliberately left the east bank clear—anyone with eyes could spot the exit.
Some might steer for the opposite ferry.
But the methods differed. The woman who'd killed Hancheong started backing her boat away, eyes still glaring at them.
Come and get me if you dare!
Her escape reeked of leisure.
It screamed hundreds, thousands of escape drills for exactly this. Or tons of experience.
Splash!
The two heard the water.
Of course, Jaja had slipped in silently. But they caught it.
That severed her trail.
Now she could pop up anywhere—east, west, south, north, upstream, downstream, opposite bank, this side. No eyes on her.
Being able to watch and not seeing were worlds apart.
Classic Heavenly Annihilation escape.
"We catching her?"
"Have to. Gotta teach her Heavenly Annihilation tricks don't work anymore."
"Sounds good."
As they talked, each scribbled a note with a fine brush on a scrap of paper.
Secret messages for HQ.
They'd leave them in different spots only they knew. Even their partner wouldn't know the locations.
Insurance if the messages were found.
Shh!
Jaja poked her head above the water.
Heavenly Annihilation underwater escapes had low success rates.
It seemed like you could go anywhere, but geography limited you hard.
Couldn't head into strong currents or spots with wild depth changes.
Local fishermen knew these waters inside out.
Grab any fish-eater around here—they'd know.
She jumped in there. Where's she surfacing?
A few answers, all limited spots. Deploy enough men, and you could stake them out.
Three or four out of ten? That was the success rate for river jumps.
Not just that... She hated running, period.
Killing stand-ins taught her: the stronger the foe, the more relentless the pressure.
Attack, attack, attack!
Hesitate, and you're dead. The moment you think retreat, you're done.
They were strong.
Stronger than Hancheong at the landing, at minimum. And there were two.
Still, she attacked. Retreat meant death.
'You picked the wrong fight.'
Pretending to flee, Jaja swam back toward the landing.
They'd never expect her return. Now they were the prey. She could strike from perfect hiding.
Third house from the left in the village, under the right pillar of the gate.
Message spot.
Land and river changed spots. This was village-only.
Would HQ find it?
No worry needed. They'd track her in under a day. Assuming she didn't return, of course.
"Done. Time to hunt?"
The man who'd left his message stood with a grin.
Hunting was all that remained.
Mess up? No big deal. HQ had everything underground. Not that they'd fail—even a speck.
"Her martial arts weren't Heavenly Annihilation... Wait! No, they were!"
The man muttered unconsciously.
The sword was too brutal, too clean—not Heavenly Annihilation. But it was. Many of their killers used that style. What was it called? Couldn't recall...
He'd overlooked it because her blade was vicious. Heavenly Annihilation arts were all killer, but hers dripped murder every move.
Their death swords were cold. Impersonal.
Hers had no mercy at all. Not impersonal—ruthless. Ruthless Sword? Yeah, nailed it. No shred of pity for Hancheong or even herself.
A woman who knew death's edge.
"Heh heh heh! Mystery solved. Heavenly Annihilation... sent out a real freak."
The man turned—and froze stiff.
The woman!
Dripping wet like she'd just crawled out, standing right there.
"Coming back... insane or overconfident?"
"Why's the world full of hotshots? Why'd I think I couldn't kill you?"
"Since you're here, answer this: Heavenly Annihilation?"
"Yeah."
"Who are you?"
"Why tell you? You're dead soon."
Shing! Shing!
The two slowly drew their swords.
"Heavenly Annihilation killers excel at ambushes. Why not? Might've had a shot."
"Ambushes are for the strong."
"Hahaha! Sharp tongue."
The man didn't rate her. The reason showed fast.
"Kuh!"
Jaja clutched her gut, staggering back.
"Heh heh heh! That's the world. Ambushes aren't just for killers."
An ambush hit. Eyes wide open... silent, gnawing her flesh.
Poison!
"Intestine... Severing... Flower!"
Jaja glared at the man, eyes bulging.
"Proved two things. Stepping up to me? Crazy. And you can't kill me."
"This is... Sacheon... Tang Clan poison?"
"Surprised? Hahaha!"
The man took his time.
Jaja was poisoned deep. Toxins rising, getting fiercer by the minute. A venomous snake now, meek lamb soon.
Time was his ally.
"Sacheon Tang Clan..."
Jaja frowned, baffled.
Sacheon Tang Clan was the mightiest poison house in the martial world, but not one of the Five Great Families. Too far off in Sacheon Province.
Like Snow Mountain Sect's arts rivaling the Nine Great Sects, but ignored for being remote.
"You know Intestine Severing Flower—makes talking easy. So, two hours of fun, or end the pain? Your call. Go ahead and talk now... but if you change your mind, say so. Lots of questions, and it'll hurt bad... Few words, then mercy kill."
The man laughed.
Intestine Severing Flower took two hours to progress. Half a day of slowly shredding guts. Like thousands of needles stabbing your innards.
No one endured that.
It drove you to gouge your throat with your own fingers.
That's why Sacheon Tang used it for torture.
"Kuh!"
Jaja groaned harshly, swaying.