Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Whose Possession Is It?
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Whoooosh—
A sudden gust swept across the deck from somewhere.
Everyone folded like folding fans. They weren't showing it, but they were all on the verge of pissing themselves.
And pissing took priority over catching fish. Because they were about to die right now.
Heuk Do-san, lying with his arms as a pillow and one leg propped over the other knee, watched what the others were doing.
*How will these foolish mortals solve this dilemma?*
*Quite intriguing.*
"How about we all take care of business at the same time?"
Gong Cheon-ak said.
"It'll be a truce while we're doing it, right?"
Hyeon-gak said.
"Ambushing someone mid-piss isn't human."
"Agreed."
"Since it's come up, how about now?"
"Everyone goes to the stern and does it simultaneously."
"Sounds good."
The people, who had been in sharp standoff over who would catch the fish first, united in the urgent matter of pissing. But would it really be that easy?
"Hold on."
Dang Yak-ran piped up.
"You're not saying we have to do it that way too, are you?"
Hyeon-gak and Gong Cheon-ak scowled. Yeom Jin-sang, who had been rushing to the stern with his pants already undone, stopped dead.
They hadn't considered the women. The men could just stand at the rail and spray into the sea, but it wasn't so simple for the women.
"Miss, I know it's awkward, but..."
"That's all you need to know."
Hyeon-gak folded like a fan at Dang Yak-ran's firm cutoff.
The men fell into dilemma. In this tense standoff, the only fair way was to go and return simultaneously.
But with the women uncomfortable, what were they to do?
The solution was for men and women to handle it separately...
Just then, an idea flashed in Gong Cheon-ak's mind. As he opened his mouth to speak, Heuk Do-san cut in.
"The cabin's off-limits."
"Is the whole cabin yours?"
"Don't you know we have to bail water from it every morning? You're not telling me to go in there where someone's pissed, are you?"
"Who said anything about pissing in the cabin? There's a hole in the stern planking from the meteor shower debris. Climb on the edge of that board, sit facing the sea, and do your business."
The men unwittingly pictured the two women side by side on the plank edge, baring their pale asses.
Dang Yak-ran's face flushed red and pale by turns.
Bing-seol closed her eyes.
"That won't work."
"I'm not asking your permission."
"The swells are getting bigger. You could tumble into the sea mid-piss. The currents are strong—once you're in, we won't even recover the body. And there's nothing to grab onto."
"We can string a rope."
"Is the stern your outhouse now?"
"Then what do we do?"
"Why ask me about your pissing?"
"If you're gonna be like that, we might just piss at the stern."
"Enough!"
Dang Yak-ran could hold it no longer and shrieked.
The discussion looped back to square one.
With no one offering a solid solution, time just dragged on.
If they hadn't brought it up, it might've been fine, but now that they were thinking about it, it was pure agony.
After a long while, Hyeon-gak glanced warily at Dang Yak-ran and murmured.
"How about the men close their eyes, and the women go first while they're blind?"
It sounded reasonable enough that Gong Cheon-ak nodded a couple times. He turned to Bing-seol.
"What do you think?"
Bing-seol's face turned beet red.
"Worried that bald monk might peek? Don't be. If he does, I'll gouge his eyes out."
Heuk Do-san, watching, was dumbfounded.
To monitor if Hyeon-gak opened his eyes, someone else would have to keep theirs open. What kind of idiot was this?
*This guy's a Seventh Star Lord?*
"Why so quiet?"
Gong Cheon-ak asked again.
Bing-seol floundered, face crimson.
Unable to stand it, Dang Yak-ran stepped in.
Wearing an incredulous look, she said.
"Is that what you call reasonable?"
"What's the problem this time?"
"Fine. Then we'll close our eyes, and you men drop your pants and piss right in front of us. Go on."
"......!"
"Afraid we might peek?"
Gong Cheon-ak looked wronged.
It wasn't even his idea—why was this wench snapping at him?
Hyeon-gak silently nodded. Putting himself in her shoes, it did sound absurd.
If the men felt awkward, the women must feel worse.
In the end, it wasn't about who saw what—it was about basic human dignity, especially as a woman.
That was when it happened.
A swell crashed into the hull from somewhere.
Splash! As the bow lifted, two Righteous snowballs rolled right over to the Demonic side.
A disaster out of nowhere while everyone was lost in thought.
"Well, well."
Heuk Do-san said.
Hyeon-gak and Dang Yak-ran went ashen.
Conversely, Gong Cheon-ak and Yeom Jin-sang, mid-pee scheming, lit up like they'd hit the jackpot. A frigid silence fell. Hyeon-gak swallowed dryly and asked cautiously.
"You won't play dirty, right?"
"With what?"
Gong Cheon-ak's lips twitched at the feigned innocence. He looked ready to burst out laughing. Hyeon-gak's face burned red. Swallowing curses up to his throat, he said.
"You're a martial artist before you're a Demonic cur. If you have any honor, return the snowballs."
"Forgot, have we? We're at war right now."
"Even war has rules."
"Monk, you don't know shit about strategy. In war, you loot the enemy's grain to feed your own—that's the rule. When we're short ourselves, you expect us to return ones that rolled right to us? Dream on."
"When did snowballs become grain?"
"Snow or water, same difference."
*Damn it!*
He had to admit it.
With no telling when it'd snow again, the snowballs were their only drinking water.
You could last ten days without food. But without water, you'd die in three. And they'd be attacked in their weakened state before that.
Hyeon-gak and Dang Yak-ran's faces rotted away.
Gong Cheon-ak's expression brightened more than ever. He even shot a leisurely smile at Bing-seol and Yeom Jin-sang. As if water worries were gone for a while.
At that moment, another wave slammed the side. This time, the stern lifted sharply.
All five snowballs, including the three made by the Demonic side, scattered and started rolling every which way.
"Grab them!"
Gong Cheon-ak and Yeom Jin-sang lunged frantically.
Hyeon-gak was clever. A bit farther away, he slammed the deck planking with a seated left-hand strike from his position.
Boom!
With a roar, the opposite end of the plank flew up.
A lever principle move. The plank shot up like lightning and smacked Gong Cheon-ak's jaw dead-on.
"Agh!"
It happened in a blink. The two snowballs Gong Cheon-ak had been reaching for slipped straight into the gaping hole.
No need to check—the cabin below was full of water, so they'd melt in seconds. Even Hyeon-gak hadn't anticipated this.
"Huh!"
Meanwhile, Yeom Jin-sang was about to snatch the three rolling leftward.
In that instant, Dang Yak-ran's instep rocketed toward his temple at ferocious speed.
So fast, no one saw her approach.
Prioritize the snowballs, and his skull shatters. Block the kick, and he loses the snowballs. Which mattered more than his face?
"Eek!"
Yeom Jin-sang swept the three snowballs aside with his arm and hastily shielded his face with both wrists.
Thud!
Feeling the heavy impact, Yeom Jin-sang rolled three full somersaults before staggering upright.
But his final move must've had power—the three snowballs soared into the air toward the sea.
"Uh-oh, those."
Heuk Do-san pointed and said.
As the six watched, two plopped into the ocean for good.
The last one precariously hit the rail at an angle and fell. Then it started rolling again. The sole survivor.
Hyeon-gak, Gong Cheon-ak, Dang Yak-ran, and Yeom Jin-sang all dove for it.
Just then, a swell hit, rocking the ship hard. Incredibly, the snowball grazed their fingertips and rolled right up against Heuk Do-san's ass.
"Hm?"
The Demonic faces turned to dirt.
The Righteous ones chilled cold.
Heuk Do-san, suddenly with three snowballs, blinked in bewilderment.
Gong Cheon-ak bellowed at Yeom Jin-sang.
"You idiot!"
"Sorry."
Gong Cheon-ak's eyelids twitched.
With his earlier words to Hyeon-gak, he couldn't demand them back and just suffered in frustrated silence.
Hyeon-gak was different. Though only one remained, it having gone to Heuk Do-san over the Demonics was a relief.
He'd declared neutrality, so there was room to negotiate.
"Hey, Brother Heuk?"
"Me?"
"Yeah."
"Monks usually call it 'donations.'"
"The situation's tricky. I'm not begging alms here. You look about my age, too..."
He was cozying up slyly.
His intent was obvious.
"So?"
"Straight to the point: hand it over."
"Like I'd give back these snowballs without knowing whose they are!"
Gong Cheon-ak shot back instantly.
Hyeon-gak didn't back down.
"Whose? Ours, obviously."
"Did you mark them or something?"
"I saw it with my own two eyes."
Dang Yak-ran joined in.
"I saw it too."
Yeom Jin-sang jumped in without missing a beat.
He even checked with Bing-seol.
"You saw it too, right, miss?"
Bing-seol gave a tiny nod.
Yeom Jin-sang turned back to Dang Yak-ran.
"That's two of us."
"Shut it, you third-rate Demonic scum thinking you know anything."
"Watch your mouth. You look younger than me."
"What're you babbling, you Demonic cur?"
"If you're the Tang Clan heiress, act with some dignity."
"Beasts and curs can't be taught with words."
Dang Yak-ran slipped a hand into her sleeve. Poised to draw a poisoned dart any second. Yeom Jin-sang paled and retreated two steps.
But did she really have any left?
Yeom Jin-sang mustered courage and blustered.
"Hah, bluffing!"
"You know it's a bluff, so why not charge? Come on!"
Yeom Jin-sang's face turned green. Even without poisoned darts, Dang Yak-ran was no match for him. Stuck dithering, Gong Cheon-ak stepped up.
"Wench, I'll handle you."
"You're mine."
Hyeon-gak advanced too. Tension spiked once more.
Clang!
Heuk Do-san slammed his axe into the deck.
All eyes snapped to him.
"I never said I'd give up this snowball."
What the hell was this curveball?
Forgetting their prior spat, they all glared at Heuk Do-san united.
Ready to toss him overboard and claim the rest. Slightly flustered, Heuk Do-san quickly added.
"I never said I wouldn't, either."
"What nonsense is this?"
Gong Cheon-ak snapped.
"Let's find a way everyone accepts."
"Like what?"
Hyeon-gak asked.
Heuk Do-san scanned the group, then declared gravely.
"In the martial world, there's only one way to settle disputes. Two from each side duel fair and square. Winner takes the remaining snowball."