Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Incomplete Knot (2)
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Dealing with the midnight assassins who suddenly rolled their eyes back and began flailing about was easier than eating cold porridge.
Them thrashing around with faces like they'd seen a ghost...
Crack!!
Like this!
If I casually kicked them aside and herded them into one spot?
"Ugh?!"
"Ugh!"
Splat-!
"Gah?!"
Hiss-!
"Kek?!"
They weren't biting, tearing, and tasting each other—nope.
They were stabbing, smashing, and slashing, turning the place into utter chaos.
Whoosh-
All I had to do was dodge the puddles of blood to avoid any mishaps and follow Master's guidance to the next cluster.
- This time, head left. There's a guy with a truly foul stench.
'Foul stench?'
- Indeed. He's soaked in the smell of blood, and that chilling yin energy clings to his soul like it's glued there. He's the type who only kills women and girls.
'Ah, I know those kinds are pretty common among the gutter trash. Anyway, killers among killers. Should I draw my sword, Master? Are we handling this one personally?'
- No need. There's a saying: Why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken? You're not even wielding an ox-cleaver yourself, and those fools aren't worth a chicken. They don't even deserve a normal death. It's fitting to let trash like them claw at each other until they drop dead. And...
'And what? Why stop mid-sentence?'
- I've been enjoying the sweet scent of Yeo-ahong. I have no desire to taste the blood of such vermin.
Ah.
Can't argue with that.
Of course, there were the occasional nuisances that required extra handling.
"You're not one of the gutter trash, are you?"
The latecomers who failed the Righteous Martial Academy entrance exam.
These guys were just as infuriating.
They were the ones who started this mess in the first place, and they'd threatened to carve me up.
'What? Extra silver taels for anyone who scars my body?'
Applying the eye-for-an-eye principle from Goguryeo watermelons, Qin Shi Huang's tomb murals, and Hammurabi's Code...
Whether I split them like mackerel in half, slice them into five like hairtail, or let them get diced by stray blades in that asura hell over there— no one could blame me for any choice.
But I decided to spare their sorry lives.
"...Hey."
"Ugh?!"
"Can you hear my voice? I'm letting you live today."
To that end, whenever I spotted one of these latecomers, I'd seal their movement acupoints to paralyze them.
Then grab them by the scruff and dump them in a pile.
Bam!!
In the process, I ran into one immune to my curse.
"Let me see, you're a reject too, huh?"
"Hiiik! D-don't come any closer!!"
Curses don't work on holy wheels... er, holy knights, originally.
Accounting for the worldview, if they've built up inner energy based on Buddhist or Daoist heart methods, it won't stick.
"You bastards barge in here and now tell me not to approach? What kind of upbringing teaches you math like that?"
Of course, a latecomer with Buddhist methods would've chosen a Shaolin affiliate academy over the Righteous Martial Academy for their path. So the guy in front of me had to be an inner sect disciple from a Daoist faction or spawn from a related lay family.
"Are you human or ghost?! What sorcery made everyone go mad?! If human, come closer! If ghost, rot away!"
And sure enough, my guess hit the mark.
"I-I may not look it, but I'm the eldest son of the Thunder Peak School, an inner family sect of the Mount Zhongnan School! I tell you plainly, if you're a ghost...!"
"Human, so I'm coming closer?"
"......?"
"And I'm a bit pissed, so I'm gonna hit you?"
"......?!"
"Head! Shoulder! Knee! Foot! Knee! Foot!!"
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Smack! Crack!!!
Master found my actions puzzling.
- I wondered what you were up to while tossing a few into the pile, but now I see you're planning to spare them?
'Spot on.'
- Why? Are they worth it? Doesn't look like it to me.
Well, Master's point wasn't lost on me.
Master—Sword Demon Wi Cheol-jin—had lived a life solving annoyances by simply beheading them.
But I had my own way.
'Worth it? Plenty.'
- Plenty? They're just born under orthodox murim's roof. Rotten from the bud, no different from those gutter trash lives and talents.
'Sure, if we're talking potential. But if I kill them all off, who do I claim compensation from, Master?'
- Compensation? Did I miss you getting sliced somewhere? No, that couldn't be!
'...Your unworthy disciple.'
- ?
'My heart's wounded.'
- ......?
'Only piles of yellow gold or white silver can heal this battered heart. Lucky there's a silver mine right here. I'll send their families a bill for mental anguish compensation and rake in a hefty... er, appropriate medical fee.'
-......
'And I don't need to weed out these yellow sprouts myself, right? The academy's right next door. Once things settle, hand them over.'
- ...Hmm.
'The cradle of orthodox murim letting orthodox latecomers bring in such scum? That's not just smearing their family name—it's shitting on all of orthodox murim. Even the righteous lot get harsher than demonic outsiders on scandals like this.'
- Huh, you're right. Makes sense.
'Right? They won't see good days ahead. Might even wish they'd died. Heh heh heh.'
- You always have a plan. Handle it your way. Heh heh heh.
'Already on it. Heh heh heh.'
How long had it been since I shoved the gutter trash into asura hell and beat the orthodox murim's young filth into a pile?
Creak-
Just as things were wrapping up...
The back door of the Single River's Finest Inn swung open.
"I thought I heard something? Brother Eon, aren't you comi—"
Thanks to my Shadowless Heaven-Splitting Step keeping me nimble, and the curse muffling presences, not much time had passed.
But Woo So-reung, formerly a thief with hypersensitive senses, poked his head out upon sensing something.
"B-Brother Eon?! Wh-what the hell?! Brother Jeong Hyeon! Silver Shadow! Miss Eun!! Come out! A-assassins have broken in!"
His panic brought Jeong Hyeon and the Eun siblings rushing out, swords drawn.
Shing- Shing-
Sching-
"We'll join you right away, Brother Eon!"
"Which bastards are messing with our big bro?! Huh?! These rejects look like the ones who flunked!"
"...Flunked ones? You mean the guys you mentioned earlier, Ha-seong? The ones who objected when that Eon Young Master was called top?"
"Yes, sis. Specifically, the ones who attacked during the group trial gate. Oh, that Hwang Bo-jun over there—he's the punk who picked a fight at the restaurant."
"The one whose finger got broken for talking shit to Young Master Eon?"
"Yep yep, that's the punk."
I showed my open palm to the group.
Time to put them to work, but first, some order.
"Whoa, whoa. I've got a formation laid out, so don't barge in recklessly."
They didn't know about the curse covering the backyard—could lead to accidents.
"A formation?"
Jeong Hyeon tilted his head at my words.
But the Eun siblings, having seen something similar on the way up from Hui Province for the exam, clocked it from the writhing assassins and grabbed Jeong Hyeon and Woo So-reung's robes to halt them.
I spoke to them again.
"From now on, we're dividing tasks. Woo So-reung."
"Yes, Brother Eon!"
"Activate your Lightbody Technique right now and head to the academy's main gate."
"And do what?"
"There'll be a duty room where the gate guard instructors are on night watch. Tell them the situation. Say we were attacked by gutter trash assassins—they'll get it."
As I finished, Woo So-reung nodded sharply and vanished in a cloud of dust.
Next, the Ha-seong punk.
"Eun Ha-seong."
"Yes! Brother Yong-un!"
"Go inside and borrow some rope from the innkeeper."
"How much?"
"Ha-seong. I said use your brain, not that I'd tell you why. Why do you think I want rope?"
"...Uh, to tie up these bastards?"
"Right. So how much rope? Do I need to spell it out? Sometimes this big bro's shocked you eyed Miss Eun's spot."
"Lots! Lots!"
Next, Jeong Hyeon.
Come to think of it, he was the true heir to the Wudang School's Taiji Sword lineage.
Meaning...
Even without my blood on his forehead or special measures, he could move freely through this curse.
"Miss Eun, you can let go of Jeong Hyeon's robe. Jeong Hyeon."
"Yes, Brother Eon."
"Come help inside. These guys are blinded and muted by my formation."
"Ah, got it?! That's why they seemed off! But for a formation, the energy feels kinda eerie..."
"Tch. The guy's chatty right before jumping in?"
"Ah, going now!"
"Good. Oh, sheath that sword. No slicing. We're candidates, remember."
"Yes, sir. Scabbard only."
Finally, the crucial Eun Ha-yeon.
"Miss Eun."
"Yes! What should I do, Young Master Eon?!"
"Forgot to tell Ha-seong, but grab some writing supplies."
"...Writing supplies? Suddenly...? In this blood-soaked mess?"
At Eun Ha-yeon's reaction, I sheathed Regret and pointed at the orthodox filth strewn about.
"Even in blood and gore, money blooms, doesn't it? I'm calm now, but I stepped out just to glimpse a lady's profile when these idiots jumped me—gave my heart quite the scare. What heals a wound like that?"
"...Ah!"
"Get my drift?"
"Yes! Yellow, white, hard, and heavy. That kind of trauma salve, right?"
"Not just any— lots and lots."
"Lots. Yes."
"Writing supplies. Now."
"Yes!"
With tasks assigned, I turned and spotted one of the main culprits with the heaviest crimes right in front of me.
'Hwang Bo-jun!'
I launched straight at him.
Even rotten, he's Hwangbo clan stock—blind as he was, Hwang Bo-jun sensed my killing intent and threw a fierce straight punch my way.
Whoooosh!!!
But 'fierce' was all it was.
In this worldview, closing eyes to sharpen other senses happens plenty, but not for this guy.
No surprise—he got thrashed with eyes wide open; no way he'd handle me now.
Swish-
I easily dodged his punch.
Slash!
Then smashed my scabbard into his exposed ribs.
Crack!!!!!!
If I'd drawn the sword, Hwang Bo-jun would've split into 'Hwang Bo' and 'Jun' right then. But with Regret sheathed, no such luck for him.
"Urgh!"
Instead, he clutched his ribs, mouth agape.
Exposing his crown, shoulders, and knees perfectly.
"Head! Shoulder! Knee!"
I hammered each spot with full force.
Crack!
Smack!
Crack!!!
Hwang Bo-jun rolled his eyes white and toppled forward.
I frowned at him briefly.
- What's wrong?
'Hit him more and Bo-jun might croak. Still pissed though.'
- Hm. Back in my day, for iffy targets, I'd use this method—harsher than death for a man. Seal the Laughter Waist Acupoint and Tail Dragon Acupoint together. Press Laughter Waist with raw strength, then infuse Heaven-Splitting energy into Tail Dragon as you press. Laughter blocks, Reverse Heaven surges from Tail Dragon...
Pop! Flash!
'Like this? Oh, this bastard's foaming at the mouth while passed out. What the hell?'
- ...You idiot, wait for me to finish before acting! Why're you so damn quick?!
- I'm quick on the draw by nature. Plus, Master's advice, so I figured it'd work. Did it. What is this?
- It drains strength from the lower body.
'Cripple?'
- Not that basic—if so, I'd say heel-slice him. Deeper: he can walk, run, but can't exert force. Real bad for a guy, heh. Word's escaping me...
'Eunuch?'
- Ah! Yes, eunuch!!
Puhaha.
Eunuch!
Him, a eunuch!