Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Black Fiend Sword Jin Cheon-u
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'Are they insane?'
A thick vein bulged at Black Fiend Sword Jin Cheon-u's temple.
It was already infuriating enough that they were clinging to their seats so stubbornly, but what? Leave the food behind? He wondered if he'd misheard for a moment.
'Could they be martial artists?'
The sword sheath at his waist.
Their clothes were shabby, but now that he looked closer, he couldn't rule out the possibility that they were martial artists.
He wanted nothing more than to beat them into pulp right then and there, but...
Wasn't there that saying in the martial world: beware of the old, the young, and women?
And here was an armed woman and a boy sitting together at the same table. Honestly, it was too suspicious.
Above all, their attitudes weren't right in the head.
In this menacing atmosphere, plenty of people would have pissed themselves.
And yet they were brazen like that?
It was one or the other.
They had something to rely on.
Or they were just completely deranged.
Jin Cheon-u glared at Cheongun with sharp eyes.
To survive in the jianghu, you needed quick instincts.
The fact that he'd survived in the jianghu this long was proof that Jin Cheon-u had eaten his share of wary glances.
And right now, his instincts were ringing alarm bells.
First, reveal his identity and explain the situation.
With that in mind, Jin Cheon-u cleared his throat loudly.
"I am Black Fiend Sword Jin Cheon-u. Under orders from the Pavilion Lord of Bloodline Pavilion, I am here to execute traitors. I would be grateful if outsiders would step aside for a moment."
Jin Cheon-u was seasoned in situations like this.
So he figured they'd take the hint and leave politely after such a courteous warning.
Refusing to move here would be a declaration of war against Bloodline Pavilion.
But despite his shout, the two showed no real reaction.
In fact, they calmly ate their food and chatted.
"Smack, smack. Bloodline Pavilion? Oh, that intelligence outfit?"
"Does Hero Cheong know of it too?"
"Kinda. Traitors, huh? Now I remember. Those were the bastards who stole the manual and ran off."
The jianghu was always rife with conspiracies.
To prevent them in advance, prominent sects usually ran their own intelligence networks, and Bloodline Pavilion was one of the larger ones.
Cheongun, who had sunk 20,000 hours into the game, couldn't not know the name.
Cheongun asked Jin Cheon-u with a bored expression.
"Hey, mister. You're with the Blood Dragon Squad, right?"
"What?"
"Leading the charge like that, you must be the Blood Dragon Squad Leader or something."
Jin Cheon-u was dumbfounded.
In fact, he was indeed part of Bloodline Pavilion's elite assassination unit, the Blood Dragon Squad.
"The Pavilion Lord's name is Wi Yeong-hwa, right?"
"Bloodline Sword Sovereign, but..."
"No one's asking for the nickname. I'm talking about her real name."
"Y-Yes, that's right."
Jin Cheon-u felt his face heat up.
His pride as Blood Dragon Squad Leader, his rage, and the intense unease from the boy clashed—and the unease won.
The reason he'd survived in the cutthroat martial world, where one wrong move meant a blade to the throat, was his sharp instincts.
'Damn it. Is he a master?'
Casually dropping the Pavilion Lord's name like that?
Not something you'd do without serious guts.
And how did he know Bloodline Pavilion's internal affairs so intimately?
Whoever he was, it could be trouble to mess with him without knowing his background.
As he racked his brain, one of the four warriors in the corner, who had drawn his sword and was on guard, bellowed.
"Young hero! Help us! That man's a vile unorthodox scum who preys on honest folk! The manual they claim we stole was originally ours! We just took back what they took from us!"
Jin Cheon-u scoffed derisively.
"Bullshit! You took our legitimately sold goods and now cry theft?"
"You vicious bastard! When you used every dirty trick to threaten us into selling the manual, where was all this talk of 'fair price'?"
"What nonsense. You lot aren't leaving here alive today!"
"No more words! Let's settle it here!"
"Fine!"
They circled each other around the table where Cheongun and Namgung Yeol sat.
Swords drawn, growling, glaring in a tense standoff—but no one dared make the first move, wary of provoking the mysterious boy and causing unforeseen trouble.
Jin Cheon-u, about to step forward, looked at Cheongun with a troubled expression.
If they kept this up, they'd inevitably ruin the boy's meal.
Unable to hold back, Jin Cheon-u irritably addressed him.
"Ahem! Excuse me."
"What now?"
"The path is narrow. Could you move aside?"
"Move? Why should I? Can't you see I'm eating?"
"You can eat at another inn."
There were inns everywhere.
No need to insist on this one.
But Cheongun thought differently.
"Ha! What about the money I've already paid for the food?"
"That's..."
"The leftover food? The mental anguish of leaving perfectly good food behind? The time and effort wasted finding another inn? What if the next one's worse? Tastier food? More expensive? No seats?"
"No, that's..."
"This is ridiculous. Look, if someone barged in while you were quietly eating and kicked you out, wouldn't you be pissed? Especially on a very special day?"
"A special day?"
"Nah, not really?"
"......"
Damn it.
Then why bring up the special day premise?
"Anyway! On such a special day, enjoying a nice meal, and suddenly a bunch of appetite-ruining assholes swarm in? And what? Threatening to shit right in front of me if I don't leave?"
"I never said that!"
"Sure. And the shit from your mouth isn't shit?"
It was a blatantly malicious distortion, so Jin Cheon-u tried to explain, but Cheongun's mouth was motoring along at high speed, spewing words nonstop.
"You've ruined my appetite."
"That's..."
"Got indigestion from the ugly sight? Feeling sick already? How are you gonna make up for this?"
"What does that have to..."
"Damn, now even passing by an inn will bring back today's trauma. No, from now on, your face will pop up and ruin every meal. I'll waste away from malnutrition and die. Wait. That means you're basically killing me!"
"That's a bit of a stretch."
"I felt my life was threatened. Take responsibility. Compensate me."
Jin Cheon-u was amazed at Cheongun's seamless, logical leaps.
What kind of lunatic was this?
His tongue was so slick it left him speechless.
Asking him to move aside had somehow painted him as a murderer!
He'd seen all sorts of crazies roaming the jianghu, but Cheongun took the cake.
"Fuck!"
At that point, Jin Cheon-u's patience snapped.
No matter how cautious he was, he wasn't spineless enough to take this.
Even if he lost, so be it.
'Gonna lose' was different from 'gonna die'—a felt crisis.
At least Jin Cheon-u didn't sense imminent death here.
Above all, he was confident he could preserve his own life.
They had the numbers advantage. Winnable fight.
As he gathered his internal energy with that thought—
Cheongun's eyes blazed blue, radiating sharp gaze.
The realm of Manifest Intent, where will alone manifests tangible qi.
"!!!"
A terrifying killing intent soon pressed down on them.
Viscous malice crushed Jin Cheon-u and the other men's bodies.
Gazing at Cheongun, Jin Cheon-u broke out in goosebumps.
'Damn it all! He is a master!'
Just from the killing intent, his mouth went dry and breathing labored.
He couldn't even lift his head straight against the immense presence emanating from Cheongun's entire body.
Then Cheongun's lips parted.
"Felt it again. Threat to my life."
Jin Cheon-u wasn't a Demonic Cultist.
Yet the reason Cheongun could muster such internal energy was that his dantian was currently filled to the brim with it.
How was this possible?
The secret lay back when Cheongun first saved Namgung Yeol, the moment he subdued that Darkwood Sect's Sa Uncheon or whoever.
When facing the Demonic Cultist Sa Uncheon, Cheongun's unique trait 'Overthrow Demonic Cult!' activated, triggering Void Spirit Body among others.
Void Spirit Body was a special constitution that could directly absorb natural qi.
At that time, Cheongun had used Accumulate in Dantian Art to store as much ambient natural qi as possible in his dantian.
Possible only because Cheongun's stats, including qi sense, were abnormally high.
Of course, the natural qi crammed into his dantian was fundamentally different from true internal energy.
True internal energy was pure qi refined within the body through decades of arduous accumulation, whereas Cheongun's was just temporarily stored natural qi.
It drained like water once used, with abysmal efficiency.
But that was fine.
Against Jin Cheon-u, it was more than enough.
Meanwhile, drenched in cold sweat, Jin Cheon-u asked Cheongun.
"Wh-Which school's esteemed senior are you?"
"Why do all you unorthodox scum spout the same lines?"
Jin Cheon-u yelped and dropped to his knees.
"I failed to recognize your eminence and committed a grave offense! Please forgive me with your vast magnanimity!"
"Magnanimity? Why should I? Is this a minor slight? You almost killed me just now."
Jin Cheon-u swallowed his grievances and bowed his head tightly.
He had drawn his sword first, after all, and in the jianghu, might makes right.
Mess with the wrong crazy temper, and it was straight to the afterlife.
"Spare my life! I'll compensate for all your losses!"
"Oh? Then hand it over."
"Wh-What do you mean?"
Jin Cheon-u blinked dumbly.
Cheongun sneered at him.
"What else? Money. And your clothes. Can't you see my state? Thanks to you, I look like a total beggar."
"No, how is that my fault? You were dressed like a beggar from the start..."
"Talking back?"
"Eek!"
Namgung Yeol, who had been quietly watching, thought to herself.
......This must be a side effect of years cut off from the world.