Chapter 20: Surviving a Near-Death Experience (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 20: Surviving a Near-Death Experience (3)
“Young men, why don’t you calm that heated blood of yours?”
A heavy voice spoke up, offering a word of advice.
I looked to the side and saw a middle-aged man standing there, leaning on a thick staff. I hadn't even noticed when he’d arrived.
“Mind your own business, old man,” one of the rats spat.
“It looked like a bad situation, so I thought I’d intercede. It would be best if you stopped here,” the man replied. He had a broad forehead and clear features that gave off a refreshing impression.
Worried the man might get dragged into this pointless mess, I spoke up. My voice trembled slightly from the pain.
“I think you should just keep walking, sir. These rats are trying to bite a person now, so I’ll have to beat them into submission.”
I was confident that if the strange power tormenting me manifested the same way it did against Poison Wolf Ibu, I could easily handle these pests. I already had a plan to deal with them.
In fact, because I was in so much pain, the man’s interference was actually starting to irritate me. I wanted to vent this energy quickly, thinking my body would feel better once it was released, just like before.
“Why is a guy with bad knees sticking his nose where it doesn't belong? Just keep moving,” the thugs sneered.
They sounded exactly like neighborhood hoodlums. They were just like the punks who corner you in an alley, put an arm around your neck, and threaten you for money while whispering, “Act like we’re friends! Smile! Smile!”
Hearing that made my blood boil.
“I’ll say this one last time,” I growled. “Let’s end this here, just like the gentleman said.”
Thinking I was speaking out of fear, the lead rat smirked.
“What are you talking about? Why act like such a weakling? Since it’s come to this, we need to settle the score properly.”
I heard the other rats whispering among themselves.
“Don’t be scared. He’s just bluffing. He lost his internal energy, so he can’t even swing a sword properly. The youngest heard it directly from the Hall Master of Medicine, so it’s a fact.”
It seemed that after their youngest member tried to expose me as a fraud and got humiliated instead, they had been grinding their teeth, waiting for a chance at revenge. Plus, since the Red Robed White-Eyed Demon had broken dozens of my bones, they probably felt their grudge was justified.
And now, hearing that I’d lost my internal energy, they seemed fully prepared to trample me.
The middle-aged man with the staff watched me intently for a moment before taking a long stride backward.
“Get him!”
Led by the big rat, the pack of six swarmed toward me.
As they rushed in, I forced that strange power down toward my Bubbling Well acupoint and performed a Jin-gak.
Thump!
As I channeled the internal power into the blocked Bubbling Well point, a pain like my sole was exploding shot through me.
“Urgh!”
However, along with that pain, I felt the strange energy rush out of me, bringing a sense of relief to my gut. I channeled the remaining residue of power through my sword as I drew it.
Again, a sharp pain followed, as if I had slammed my palm against a jagged rock.
Whoosh!
As I drew the blade, I felt the energy flow into the steel. It was the first time I had ever infused a sword with internal power, but I was more relieved by the disappearance of the agonizing pain in my internal organs than I was happy about the feat.
I realized once again that humans are truly fragile creatures when it comes to pain.
“My—my eyes!”
“Agh! The sand!”
Every single one of them dropped their swords and began rubbing their eyes.
“Whoa! It’s Sword Wind!”
The low-level martial artists behind me clapped and cheered in admiration.
Sword Wind?
To be fair, my own vision was so blurry that I couldn't tell if it was just a gust or actual Sword Qi. I only realized what had happened a moment later.
‘When I stamped my foot, the energy flowed out of my Bubbling Well point and kicked up the surrounding sand and dust. Then, when I drew my sword, the wind from the strike blew all that sand right into their faces.’
Even as the thought occurred to me, I still couldn't wrap my head around this strange power that appeared whenever I took those sleeping pills. It wasn't like the power stayed in my body for me to study; once it was vented, it was gone.
I remained lost in thought even as the rats wailed about the sand in their eyes.
But as I pondered, a splitting headache suddenly struck, and that strange power—which I thought I’d fully vented—began thrashing through my body again.
‘Damn it! Something’s wrong. The power is coming back.’
Right then, the lead rat, who had managed to squeeze one eye shut while tears streamed down his face, lunged at me. He was the one who had taken the least amount of sand to the eyes.
No matter how much of a "third-rate" I was, there was no way I’d be hit by a sword swung by someone who couldn't even see.
I dodged him slightly and pushed his chest with my palm, intending to just knock him down.
Pow!
The lead rat flew back nearly ten feet and slammed into the ground.
“Whoops!”
I stared at my palm in shock. I was so surprised that I didn't even feel the pain for a second.
Striking with my palm had doubled the pain from the vibration, but the relief of the strange power leaving my body was immense. With those two conflicting sensations coexisting, I felt like crying.
What followed was a mix of pain and fury.
I looked around, realizing that if I kept hitting them with my palms, I might actually turn them into jerky.
Seeing the middle-aged man still holding his staff, I called out to him.
“I’m sorry, but could I borrow your staff? I need to give these rats a proper lesson today.”
“This isn't exactly a staff, but will it do?” the man asked, handing over a piece of wood as thick as my forearm.
“It doesn't matter. I just need a club right now.”
“Then use it. Just... try not to kill them.”
The man sounded concerned as he handed it over.
“Don’t worry. I’m just trying to turn these rats into human beings. I won't kill them.”
I was too agitated to notice what the staff looked like or who the middle-aged man was. I marched over to the thugs and started swinging.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Every time I hit them, the vibration sent jolts of pain through me, yet every strike brought a wave of relief as the energy vented.
As I beat them one by one, I felt so miserable about my situation—having to endure such pain—that tears began to fall.
“Sniff... sob...” I actually started sobbing out loud.
“Ah! Young Hero Eo is so heartbroken even as he punishes those wicked men.”
“He is a true warrior. To weep so sorrowfully while disciplining those who tried to harm him...”
“I heard he lost his internal energy to the White Horse Ten Canes, but I guess he’s recovered.”
“They say a wealthy man’s ruins last three years; even if a master loses his energy, wouldn't some of it remain?”
The spectators were busy romanticizing my tears into something noble.
“Please, spare us!”
The thugs began to beg.
But I couldn't stop. I felt like I would die if I stopped swinging. I had to keep hitting them to vent the power.
“Do you know... hic... why you’re being beaten?” I asked through my tears.
One of them started wailing along with me.
“Waaaaah! It’s because we tried to hurt Young Hero Eo!”
“Are you going to... hic... act like rats again? Or not?” I dragged out the questioning to buy more time.
“We won't do it again! Waaaaah! Please let us live!”
It was a pathetic sight—grown men crying and begging. But since my strikes were infused with that strange power, the pain must have been beyond imagination.
“Gah!”
One of them eventually passed out from the beating. From then on, I focused primarily on the lead rat.
He resisted at first, but eventually, he was clinging to my pant leg, begging for his life.
“Young Hero Eo, we’ll never do it again!”
“I’m just trying to... hic... fix your rat-like habits!”
“Aigo, I’m dying! Young Hero Eo, from now on, we won't be rats, we’ll be cats! Just please, spare us!”
The saying that no one is brave before a club proved true. By the time they were foaming at the mouth, the power that had been tormenting me was finally gone.
Only then did I lower the club. The men lay on the ground, twitching and groaning.
‘Now they’ll probably tuck their tails and run the moment they see me.’
And hopefully, others wouldn't be so quick to challenge me out of suspicion. To protect myself, I was willing to be a bit cruel. To survive in the Murim, one had to be either a tiger or a porcupine. Given my abilities, I could only be the latter.
“One day, you will all be grateful to me.”
I said it just to sound cool after the beating, but I had no idea that my words would actually come true later.
A few days later, after learning that I liked cats, these men changed their title to the "Seven Cats of Sichuan" and took it as their moniker.
Suddenly, looking at the club in my hand, a thought occurred to me. To discourage anyone else who might want to challenge me because I supposedly lacked internal energy, I spoke loudly for everyone to hear.
“Listen well! The Phoenix King Yeop Seung, a supreme master of the staff, once lost his internal energy and wandered aimlessly. Others said the era of the Phoenix King had set, that he was finished. But I did not believe them. Because he possessed an indomitable spirit! Instead of despairing, the Phoenix King devoted himself even further to his training. A few years ago, the warriors who thought his time was over were shocked. When the Samurai, the strongest martial group of the Wa, came to take over the continent, it was the Phoenix King—the man we thought was finished—who struck them down. With a single swing of his staff, the Samurai fell like autumn leaves! And is that all? The Nine Grannies Gate, a gathering of the continent’s top masters, was a sect even the Martial Alliance feared. He swept through that entire sect with nothing but a staff! Just because a master loses his strength for a time does not mean he becomes a weakling. When a master regains his power after losing it, you should be even more wary and fearful. For he has overcome his limits through blood-soaked training!”
It was a roundabout way of telling them not to look down on me, using the Phoenix King as a metaphor. Low-level martial artists only understood things when you put them that way.
I didn't care if the thugs were listening. These words were for the crowd gathered around us.
“Take these men to the Hall of Medicine and have them treated.”
At my word, the spectators rushed forward, hoisted the thugs onto their backs, and headed toward the medical hall.
Mok Yi-gun arrived late to the scene. I thought he had come because of the commotion, but to my surprise, he bowed deeply and respectfully to the middle-aged man.
Mok Yi-gun hesitated for a moment as he looked at the man.
“I heard you were coming, but I apologize for not coming out to greet you. Please, this way.”
Mok Yi-gun didn't even glance at the mess that had just occurred.
‘If Lord Mok is treating him with such reverence, is he someone important?’
Looking at the man, who appeared to be around the same age as Mok Yi-gun, I thought to myself: ‘He must be a senior relative with a higher rank in the family hierarchy.’
I approached the middle-aged man.
“I made good use of this staff.”
As I returned it, the man smiled.
“How do you know so much about the Phoenix King, young man?”
I gave him a smirk.
“He was once my idol. There was a time when I used the staff as my primary weapon.”
That was the truth. When I first entered the Murim, my first weapon of choice had been a staff. It was only after I found the Nine-Section Soul-Severing Sword on a dead warrior that I switched to the sword.
“Of all the weapons, why the staff?”
I thought he was asking a lot of questions, but since Mok Yi-gun was treating him so politely, I answered respectfully.
“Doesn't a club have a certain... feel to it? That solid feedback you get in your palm is top-notch.”
As I laughed, Mok Yi-gun gave me a slight scolding.
“Young Hero Eo, how can you speak so flippantly to this gentleman?”
“It’s fine. He’s right, isn't he? To be honest, I use this club for that very same reason.”
“Huh? Wasn't that a walking staff?”
“Hahaha. A walking staff, he says.”
Mok Yi-gun looked like he wanted to say something to me, but for some reason, his face turned red and he looked incredibly restless.
“You’re a very interesting fellow. What is your name?”
“It’s Eo Ja-seo.”
“Is that so? So you’re the Silent Star Throwing Sword who killed the Red Robed White-Eyed Demon.”
The middle-aged man looked me over once, nodded, and began walking ahead. Mok Yi-gun followed behind him, glancing back at me with a grimace.
I tilted my head back.
‘What? Did I do something wrong?’ I stared back at him with that exact expression.