Chapter 95
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Solo Run (5)
“What exactly did you do to me? Would you care to explain?”
“The stunt you pulled in the corner of the Thunder Prison... Care to tell me why you did it?”
Zhuge Soso was referring to the time Four Thousand Four had clung tightly to the corner of the Thunder Prison.
That incident was closely tied to the Zhuge family head's departure from the clan.
“It sounds like you're refusing to tell me what you did. Did I interpret that correctly?”
“It sounds like you're refusing to tell me how you knew the Zhuge family's secrets. Am I right?”
Four Thousand Four fell silent.
Zhuge Soso fell silent as well. But as time passed, a deepening shadow gathered between her brows.
“I can't pinpoint him!”
She knew Four Thousand Four was in the forest. Since they were conversing, she could roughly guess where he was hiding. But that was as far as it went. If she ordered him seized... she couldn't move. She couldn't precisely locate his hiding spot.
Four Thousand Four was someone she couldn't catch.
Of course, she could deploy the Emerald Fragrance Weasel. If the weasel tracked him, she could nab Four Thousand Four right now.
In other words... it meant that catching this man called Four Thousand Four required a spirit beast like the Golden-Eyed Black Spirit or the Emerald Fragrance Weasel. It meant the Ten Directions in Unison—one of the Zhuge clan's four great pursuit arts executed by humans—wouldn't suffice.
It even made sense how Four Thousand Four had slipped away from the Merchant Traveler Lodge.
Four Thousand Four had a real knack for exploiting human psychology. Regardless of other skills, he possessed exceptional talent in assassination, pursuit, and evasion. It was almost innate.
After a long pause, Four Thousand Four spoke.
“Would you lend me the Emerald Fragrance Weasel?”
“How rude. Asking to borrow someone else's family heirloom so casually.”
“I'm saying this because I truly don't want that thing to die.”
“What did you say?!”
“He can't keep getting pursued like this. We need to shake at least one tail off for some peace.”
“So... if I don't lend you the Emerald Fragrance Weasel, you'll kill it?”
“That's right.”
“Can you even do that?”
“The time it takes for one stick of incense to burn... that's all the time left before that thing dies.”
Zhuge Soso shuddered.
If Four Thousand Four was telling the truth, it meant he'd already used poison.
Was that possible? Yes, it was. The bastard had masterful poison skills. Hadn't he dared to poison and kill people from the Merchant Traveler Lodge right in front of Ha Dok-ro and Dang Jung?
“Ugh!”
Zhuge Soso groaned as she pulled a small pouch from her bosom.
An ominous feeling. She hadn't even opened the pouch yet, but a bad premonition flashed through her mind.
The Emerald Fragrance Weasel was unnaturally still.
Until moments ago, before she'd started talking with Four Thousand Four, it had been sniffling and groaning... But during their brief conversation, when she'd neglected it, the weasel had gone limp.
Four Thousand Four hadn't lied.
“Impressive skill.”
“I really don't want that thing to die. So... lend it to me.”
“How? You're not coming out here, are you?”
“Just toss it this way.”
“Toss it?”
“I'll catch it.”
Zhuge Soso's eyes sparkled.
“No choice then. Fine. But it's surprisingly fragile. If you don't catch it right, the shock might kill it.”
“Don't worry. Just throw it.”
Zhuge Soso's eyes sparkled again.
She hadn't noticed until just now, but Four Thousand Four's speech felt oddly off.
Extreme honorifics!
It wasn't the way martial artists spoke. More like a servant addressing a master... no, even more deferential than that. He either had no history in the martial world or very little. In short, he lacked experience in jianghu ways.
“Catch it good!”
Whoosh!
Zhuge Soso hurled the small pouch into the air.
The pouch sailed into the forest. Then, a wolf hidden behind a tree in the woods popped out.
'Got you!'
Swoosh!
Zhuge Soso immediately launched her body forward.
She'd anticipated this. From the moment Four Thousand Four asked her to throw the weasel, she'd prepared for a surprise attack.
The second he revealed himself from the forest, she'd seize him.
From then on, it wouldn't be a game of cat and mouse. Once exposed, it'd be a straight martial arts clash. And in that, Zhuge Soso held the overwhelming advantage.
Swoosh! Papapapap!
She shot toward Four Thousand Four. To restrict his movements, she also flung four hawk knives.
Tat!
Four Thousand Four snatched the Emerald Fragrance Weasel mid-air.
Incredibly swift footwork!
But he couldn't dodge the hawk knives Zhuge Soso had thrown. One struck his torso dead-on.
Thud! Plop!
Four Thousand Four dropped like a puppet with cut strings.
Zhuge Soso panicked for a split second. She hadn't thought he'd fall to such a paltry hawk knife. She'd figured he'd dodge but be slowed...
'Oh no!'
She realized her mistake.
The one restricted was herself. The instant she thought he'd been hit and faltered, her own footwork slowed just a fraction.
“Eek!”
She immediately surged her qi and dove at where he'd fallen.
Gone! She'd expected it, but still. Not even a drop of blood on the ground. He hadn't been hit at all.
'What kind of person is this!'
Zhuge Soso couldn't help but chuckle in disbelief.
Logically, it wasn't funny, but the laugh escaped anyway.
“You're something else.”
She called out to the forest.
“I'll send the weasel your way.”
Four Thousand Four's voice replied from deep within the woods.
“Wouldn't it be better for you to get captured by someone?”
“...”
“I found out while subduing you—there's a bomb in your head, you know?”
“I know.”
“And no one knows when it'll go off.”
“One more thing. You let us go after capturing us because of the Heavenly Annihilation Division, right?”
“No.”
“Not for the Heavenly Annihilation Division?”
“My goal... is the Northern Bloodletter.”
Zhuge Soso revealed her personal secret, one she'd told no one.
She didn't know why. Four Thousand Four wasn't an acquaintance but an enemy. Someone she might have to cross blades with anytime.
Yet she felt it was okay to share this much.
“Do you know who the Northern Bloodletter is?”
“Just rumors. Isn't he one of the two great geniuses, alongside you?”
“Right. People call us the North Bright and South Small.”
“Our paths diverge, so farewell.”
Four Thousand Four said goodbye.
Zhuge Soso didn't reply. She instinctively knew he'd already left.
'He leaves without a backward glance.'
Zhuge Soso chuckled.
She'd crossed paths with Four Thousand Four often. Chased him, even caught him. But in every encounter, she felt outmatched.
This time, she'd lost completely.
He'd been right in front of her, yet she couldn't pin him down. And now her heirloom, the Emerald Fragrance Weasel, was stolen too.
She had no more tools to pursue Four Thousand Four.
Zhuge Myeong might deploy the Ten Directions in Unison, but it'd have limits against him.
Still, it wasn't over. No, Four Thousand Four was still in her grasp. No direct leads to chase him, but indirect methods aplenty.
There was the Killing Gate targeting him.
Vanguard too.
They couldn't evade the Ten Directions in Unison. No matter where they moved, they'd be exposed.
Four Thousand Four might hide, but he'd ultimately stick with them.
In a pinch, she could kill Vanguard. Jaja could kill Hanbi.
That was the key to catching Four Thousand Four.
This man Four Thousand Four... who treated her with extreme honorifics... the murder ghost who'd killed countless... Few knew he was unexpectedly weak to emotions.
Zhuge Soso was one of the few who did.
She'd known since he was first imprisoned in the Thunder Prison.
That was why she'd released Vanguard, Hanbi, and Jaja alongside him. To see how he treated them, what feelings he held.
Vanguard, Jaja, and Hanbi's lives were very expendable.
It wasn't that she couldn't kill them because she hadn't caught them. She didn't kill them because there was no need.
If she wanted them dead, a word to Mian Xiaosha would suffice even now.
She'd let go of those unnecessary kills to gain another leash.
In terms of gains and losses, it was like clutching a solid gold nugget.
Four Thousand Four didn't want Vanguard, Jaja, or Hanbi harmed. Death? Even less.
If she'd tried killing them inside the Zhuge clan, it'd inevitably clash with Four Thousand Four.
One man fighting the entire Zhuge clan? Insane? No sound mind would do that.
True. But Four Thousand Four was the type to do it anyway.
Even if others called it reckless, he acted on his heart's dictate.
While pursuing him, Zhuge Soso had grasped nearly all of Four Thousand Four's human nature.
And reached a conclusion.
Four Thousand Four was easy to manipulate. He didn't fit the martial world. He might be formidable now, but over time, weaknesses would show. And he'd die.
The jianghu wasn't a place where strong martial arts alone ensured survival. No flaws allowed. Discard anything that could become a weakness. That's why lone wanderers were often called heartless.
Four Thousand Four's sole path to survival was absolute obedience to the Heavenly Annihilation Division, becoming one of them and relying on the organization.
But even that was off now.
The Heavenly Annihilation Division had dispatched the Killing Gate to kill him. Intent on total elimination. But if he survived this fight, they might reconsider. Use him instead of killing.
Not ideal for him, but he had to survive no matter what.
'What am I thinking...'
Lost in thought, she realized she was worrying about his well-being. Even pondering escape routes for him.
Zhuge Soso left the forest.
A fragrance wafted from the pouch.
The pouch her hand had touched. The one she'd kept in her bosom.
Four Thousand Four pulled the Emerald Fragrance Weasel from the pouch.
Limp field mouse... its nose bright red. Like a red dot embedded there.
Four Thousand Four blew antidote powder into the weasel's nose.
It twitched in discomfort.
“It wasn't lethal. Sleep it off, and you'll feel refreshed.”
He stroked the weasel.
Driving me mad. Talking with Zhuge Soso made it worse. His feelings for her intensified.
Chatting with her eased his heart.
Watching her, time flew by unnoticed. He even forgot the dangers closing in.
He'd seen plenty of beautiful women, so why had he fallen for one he shouldn't get close to?
Such a connection was ill-fated. Like embracing burning coals. A mere assassin and one of jianghu's two great geniuses, the Zhuge clan's prized daughter—how fitting was that?
Yet he cherished the pouch she'd given him as if it were her.
He handled the weasel extra gently because her hands had touched it.
“Still, not bad. We had quite the talk today, huh? Heh heh! Your goal is the Northern Bloodletter... Now I'm suddenly curious about him. Aren't you? You too, right?”
Four Thousand Four muttered while stroking the limp weasel.