Chapter 88
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Chapter 18 Besieged on All Sides (3)
When killing a person, focus, focus, focus... You must be in a state of utter concentration.
From the start—the instant killing intent arises... to the end—the moment the act of killing concludes... your entire body, your entire mind, your entire heart must be focused on the one you're about to kill.
That is the courtesy owed to the dying.
From the moment killing intent ignites to the moment life force extinguishes, no stray thoughts must intrude upon any instant.
But in truth, this is no easy feat.
In the moment of taking a life, you find yourself unconsciously glancing around. Is anyone watching? Is someone approaching? Have you dropped anything that could serve as evidence while committing the murder...? The worries pile up endlessly.
That's why they say: if you're not prepared, don't kill.
If your body and soul aren't wholly directed toward your foe,
then don't make a move.
So how do you know if you're prepared?
You don't. You can't. No matter how meticulously you prepare, a single hair's breadth can derail everything in countless ways. This holds true for nearly everyone in this world.
Yet you can know. There is a precise way to discern if you're ready or not.
Simply see the world for what it truly is.
Here, the world means everything that forms heaven and earth—the natural order itself—along with the one who must die and the one who must kill. Observe it all without a shred of errant thought clouding your vision.
This eye, the eye that sees truly... It cannot be summoned by willpower alone. You must train relentlessly, day and night—even in sleep—keeping your mind's eye wide open, ever watchful.
Four Thousand Four had cultivated such an eye.
Parararak!
A killing gale blew in from the southeast.
To ordinary eyes, it was an invisible wind, one that never brushed the skin. Yet he felt it.
‘Danger!’
He sensed the peril instantly.
He couldn't tell which faction's master it was. But whoever it was, they clearly took issue with him lurking in the water.
Sut!
He thrust his head above the surface and peered southeast.
With the eye that saw the world truly, he beheld the unfolding phenomena exactly as they were.
Shooooaaa!
The killing wind hurtled toward him like a raging tempest.
Undeniably dangerous!
Before committing to a kill, you must gauge if you're prepared—if the world favors you—by identifying every danger. Any hint of threat must be eliminated in advance.
But preemptive removal isn't always possible.
If dozens of eyes are upon you, or a peerless warrior stands guard... There are endless scenarios where your life hangs in the balance before you even strike.
And the risks don't end there. Capture after the deed is all too common.
You might pull off the kill, but safeguarding your own neck afterward? Far from guaranteed.
All these qualify as danger elements.
Before killing, seek them out and neutralize them. If even one can't be removed, never proceed. That's how you stay alive.
And now? A danger element had emerged.
Puk! Sssssut!
Four Thousand Four released his grip on the rope.
The boat was no longer a safeguard. No—instead, it had become nothing more than bait for the oncoming killing wind.
He let go and dove deep into the water.
He wasn't a strong swimmer. Barely... on par with the village kids splashing around the nearby riverbank. But right now, he needed expert-level diving prowess.
Srururuk!
His body was swept away by the current.
The river's undercurrent raged faster than the surface flow. Dead center, in the depths, it thundered like a storm.
Four Thousand Four surrendered himself to that torrent.
His lungs burned. His chest tightened unbearably.
‘I might die like this.’
Four Thousand Four grimaced.
Climb out, and he'd have to face that killing gale—and crumble helplessly. He didn't know its master, but one thing was clear: an opponent beyond his league.
Stay submerged, and he'd suffocate.
His diving skills were abysmal. Worse, the ferocious current had him in its grasp. Truth be told, he wasn't sure he could fight his way back to the surface.
Caught between two deadly perils.
Sut!
A lone boat bumped against the empty one. And with nimble footwork, Mian Xiaoshao leaped aboard.
“Huhu!”
He chuckled.
Exactly as anticipated. The empty boat drifted with the current, and the vessel had a rope trailing into the depths.
He seized the rope. But,
‘Hm?’
It felt wrong. No weight of a dangling body. It should have been heavy in his grip, yet it was light as paper.
Whik whik whik!
Mian Xiaoshao hauled it in swiftly.
The rope rose smoothly with each pull. No snags, no resistance whatsoever.
‘Gone!’
He hadn't even seen the end yet, but he knew.
Hwiririk!
Mian Xiaoshao yanked it up in one fluid motion.
At last, the end surfaced. Just as he'd feared—nothing hung from it.
‘You bastard!’
He glared across the vast river.
The wretch had vanished midstream without a trace... Did the fool possess such masterful swimming skills?
“Just as you said.”
“...”
Getting no reply, Zhuge Myeong turned to Zhuge Soso.
She wasn't listening. Her mind was already fixed on the river's heart.
“Not coming out?”
She muttered, as if to herself.
Zhuge Myeong left her be.
Once Zhuge Soso latched onto something, nothing else existed for her.
Right now, she saw only Four Thousand Four.
“Proficient in water too? No. This isn't about proficiency.”
She cocked her head.
Four Thousand Four was submerged, yet still within the Green Fragrance White Rat's detection range.
Even poking his head out briefly, the rat would catch his scent.
To evade it, he'd need to surface for a split-second breath—faster than lightning—then dive again. Any full inhale above water, and the rat would know instantly.
The same held if he reached the opposite bank. Exposure guaranteed.
He had no choice but to stay submerged and drift.
Anyone could manage that much. With intent to mask his scent, it was simple enough. The brief breath-and-dive was tricky, but a man with one foot in the grave would do it out of sheer desperation.
She had layered one more trap atop it all.
A deathblow aimed straight at the submerged prey.
How would Four Thousand Four respond? Could he slip away even now?
Her curiosity burned hotter for the assassin himself than for the Heavenly Annihilation Division or Vanguard's crew.
“What if he stays down there?”
She murmured, as if he were right beside her.
Expose himself to the air, and the Green Fragrance White Rat sniffs him out. Surface to breathe, and Mian Xiaoshao's killing blade finds him. But he couldn't linger underwater forever.
Zhuge Soso stated it plainly.
What are you going to do?
His mind grew foggy.
His lungs screamed from holding his breath too long; his heart swelled as if to burst. No—it ached fiercely.
He couldn't endure it anymore.
Shuuuuut!
He broke the surface.
No room for thought. He'd pushed past his limit; all that remained was frantic need for air. But,
Kwarururung!
The swift current snared him as he rose.
He couldn't break free. He needed to escape the flow to surface—yet it dragged him deeper still.
Mian Xiaoshao settled cross-legged at the boat's edge and sank into meditation.
He opened his ears. Unfurled every sense. Absorbed every sound the world offered. Drew in every sensation. From it all, he sifted for noises Four Thousand Four might make.
He meditated in perfect stillness.
No urgency at having lost him.
The bastard was nearby for certain. He knew surfacing would shatter his scent-concealment ploy, turning every plan to dust.
He was still underwater.
He needed air. Which meant exposing mouth or nose somehow.
‘A reed, perhaps?’
The notion flickered—maybe he'd snapped a reed to breathe through.
That would hide his form.
It fit. Otherwise, he'd have surfaced by now. No human could hold out this long.
Mian Xiaoshao opened his eyes and rose.
He scanned the surface, from near to far...
Teng! Shuut!
He kicked off the gunwale and soared into the air, surveying an even wider expanse.
A reed in his mouth would cast a faint shadow on the water.
But more than that... he hadn't had time to grab one. No reed beds near where he'd boarded the boat.
No underwater breathing tool.
Even so, he'd leaped skyward because Four Thousand Four still hadn't surfaced.
No human could hold their breath this long.
Mian Xiaoshao sat once more.
From aloft, no reeds or bamboo in sight.
Was Four Thousand Four still down there?
“Clever bastard—one trick up his sleeve.”
Zhuge Myeong said with a frown.
Any onlooker could see: Four Thousand Four was cornered. Trapped in a blind alley with no way out.
Yet he'd vanished.
Not surfacing till now meant he'd escaped somehow.
The Zhuge clan had lost Four Thousand Four.
“What about the Ten Directions Net?”
“...”
No answer from Zhuge Soso. She couldn't speak. Her brow deeply furrowed, eyes locked on the river.
Zhuge warriors had scattered along the banks to form the Ten Directions Net.
Centered on the drifting boat, they patrolled ten li upriver and down.
Anyone emerging would be spotted immediately.
Yet no signals rose from anywhere. Four Thousand Four hadn't reached the shore. And midstream, Mian Xiaoshao held position.
Four Thousand Four hadn't so much as poked his head out.
“Impossible.”
Zhuge Soso finally muttered after a long silence.
“What trick do you think he pulled?”
She turned the question on Zhuge Myeong.
This was unprecedented. She'd never once solicited anyone else's opinion.
Zhuge Myeong merely shook his head.
Four Thousand Four had plunged into the water utterly unprepared. Relying solely on that one rope.
Zhuge Myeong knew it. So did Zhuge Soso.
What in the world had Four Thousand Four done?
The river flowed on. Indifferent.