Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: Run Away! (2)
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One with a drawn sword, one bare-handed, one with iron claws strapped to his knuckles.
Everyone seemed armed with hidden weapons—needle-like darts kept flying our way.
"Stop right there!"
The bare-handed guy, who'd taken a rock to the back of his head from me, bellowed as he charged ahead.
He must've been absolutely furious.
"Aaack!"
I let out a scream and staggered, sensing him rapidly closing in behind me.
I twisted my body at once, unleashing a barrage of Finger Wind to sweep his legs—but he retreated, dodging by a hair's breadth.
"Y-You bastard!"
"You're the fool for falling for the same trick twice!"
I'd hoped to cripple his leg like the last guy I'd caught, but his evasion left me inwardly anxious.
Huangbo Hyo-seon's breathing was growing ragged; we couldn't keep up this pace much longer.
That anxiety deepened as the sword wielder and claw guy closed in tight while the bare-handed one fell back.
The sword wielder and claw guy had drawn nearly abreast of me. I slowed slightly to dodge their flying darts, then accelerated to pull away again—
Just as I was about to shake off the pair, slowed by dealing with darts flying at each other, I felt a heavy palm force surging from behind and countered instantly.
Boom!
The bare-handed guy's palm strike, now right on my tail, made my hand tingle far more than expected.
Having lost the timing like that, I was already surrounded from three sides.
The bare-handed one flashed a sinister smile my way as he gathered inner energy into his right palm's striking surface.
"Hold it—stand down!"
"Why're you stopping us?!"
"Subduing and capturing them comes first. Deciding their fate after is not our call."
"...Fine."
The sword wielder outranked the bare-handed guy, it seemed—the one overflowing with thoughts of payback shrank back like a kicked dog.
"Now, behave yourself. Get lucky, and you might even live..."
"Hold on."
I stared straight at the puzzled sword wielder and opened my mouth.
"We were sent by the Young Cult Leader."
"The Young Cult Leader?"
"Looks like the Elder didn't pass it along. Otherwise, why would we head all the way there?"
"Don't buy it, brother! He's just spouting bullshit!"
Spot on.
"If it were true, he'd have surrendered peacefully from the start! Running all this way is proof enough that..."
"Sure, if I saw you lot every day. But I came today for first contact. You were radiating killing intent—normal for me to just stand there?"
"..."
"Even now, I'm only spilling the truth because I got caught against my will, on the off chance it helps. If I had the strength, I'd still be running."
I analyzed every word they let slip as I spoke.
Even these experts couldn't decide my fate on their own. Their superior was probably an Elder.
He called him "hyungnim," not "sahyeong." Different weapons, no blood brothers.
"Don't trust him! Look at his martial arts! That's pure orthodox sect technique!"
"You're exhausting. Let's flip it: Does the Young Cult Leader have anyone he can command freely without anyone knowing?"
"..."
"At best, he'd borrow from First Elder's men. Expect him to have direct subordinates trained in orthodox demonic arts?"
Another guess. He'd said First Elder's men for the show I requested. The sword wielder's expression suggested I was close.
"So the Young Cult Leader truly intends to join us? But the Elder..."
"Brother!"
"Shut your mouth! Need a bone broken before you wise up?!"
The bare-handed guy kept yelling his distrust, but the sword wielder's shout shut him up, face flushed crimson.
"Did the Young Cult Leader give you any token?"
"...Regrettably, no. But he granted me full authority."
"Ha! As if! Brother, no more talk—just drag him off and..."
"Wh-What did you say! You bastard!"
"Second Brother!"
The bare-handed guy finally flipped and lunged at me, but the sword wielder jumped in to block.
"Move! If I don't break that bastard's leg...!"
"Wh-Why are you doing this?! C-Calm down!"
I ignored Huangbo Hyo-seon quietly catching her breath nearby and slowly approached the bare-handed guy tussling with the sword wielder.
"Can't you stop?! If they really were sent by the Young Cult Leader...!"
"Uwaaaah! Let go of m—Guhk!"
"What the hell...!"
Perfect!
The moment I blew demonic energy into the bare-handed guy's excited opening, I kicked the ground hard, hurling a clod of earth packed with inner energy, then spun and bolted.
"Y-You rat!"
They'd let their guard down thinking they had me; the dirt-caked sword wielder and claw guy gave chase a beat too slow.
"Looks like I'll have to tell the Young Cult Leader it's impossible to meet today after all!"
"How dare you invoke the Young Cult Leader!"
I flung quick palm forces behind me, then caught up to Huangbo Hyo-seon, who'd fled ahead.
"Th-This pace... we'll be caught again in no time. What're you planning...?"
"Don't worry."
I shared my inner energy with the gasping Huangbo Hyo-seon once more, then kept glancing back as we fled desperately.
But our destination this time wasn't Yeongbin Pavilion.
"Th-Those guys...!"
Honestly, I had no confidence—but after that conversation, there was no reason to stubbornly head to Yeongbin Pavilion.
Those guys were definitely up to something. Their talk of the Young Cult Leader "joining" them felt off.
This path was risky too, but much closer.
Huangbo Hyo-seon and I fled like mad and barely managed to slip into hiding.
The house in Gyeonghyeon-dong—Chae Su-ran's quarters.
Chae Su-ran jolted awake the instant she heard her room's window fly open urgently.
She'd waited for the man until falling asleep when he didn't show; as she shot up in bed, two figures in night travel clothes and masks stood before her, eyes only visible.
"Who...!"
A familiar voice tickled her ear, but Chae Su-ran couldn't hide her fluster.
He always came dressed like that, but never once with company.
"Th-That's fine, but..."
Their dust-covered states suggested dire urgency.
Seeing their tense, huddled forms, Chae Su-ran held her breath too.
She stole a glance at the companion panting beside him—likely a woman.
'Who is she...?'
Her inner energy level was no joke—not someone to underestimate. Almost certainly above Chae Su-ran's own.
No demonic qi leaking out; she seemed to cultivate orthodox faction arts.
And the voluptuous curves fuller than Chae Su-ran's own hinted the woman was undoubtedly attractive.
"Sorry for the intrusion so late..."
"N-No, it's fine."
Chae Su-ran jumped at the woman's voice. She'd been sizing her up thoroughly, and the woman had noticed.
Voice suggested roughly her own age. The realization sparked an ominous imagination.
'What’s her relation to him? Did he skip yesterday and today because of her...?'
"Seems clear."
Chae Su-ran whipped her head toward the man's voice.
"Madam, terribly sorry, but can we impose here a bit longer?"
"...No issue."
Her husband showed zero interest in her anyway; their hiding here posed no problem.
But Chae Su-ran's mind was a whirlwind.
Was this woman his new flame? Had his interest in her been fake?
'No, it can't be.'
Even if born from lust rather than true affection, she was certain his desire ravaging her body had been utterly real.
Chae Su-ran fretted until the pair departed her quarters whether his attention had drifted from her.
And to the end, she couldn't voice that worry to him.
"Thanks... I made it back safe thanks to you."
"Think nothing of it."
Huangbo Hyo-seon succeeded in sneaking back to Yeongbin Pavilion, supported by the man.
"If anything, I'm sorry—it’s my fault. If you hadn't escorted me there..."
"No, no. I chose to follow in the end, didn't I? Without your scheme, I'd surely have been... Ngh!"
"Yeoheop!"
Huangbo Hyo-seon, expressing her gratitude, furrowed her brow at a pain like skewers stabbing her insides.
"Must be from overexerting with demonic qi infiltrated."
"I'll manage. A bit of qi circulation will..."
For an instant, the man's eyes seemed to crinkle in amusement. Thinking she'd misseen, she looked again—his eyes brimmed with concern.
'Must've been my imagination.'
"Those guys will hunt us no matter what. Tied to Elder level, they'll zero in on you soon enough."
"..."
It was a headache. Not even the Demonic Cult's heartland—she'd never imagined suddenly crossing paths with such folk.
"Big trouble... Looks like I need a full day of qi circulation at least..."
Without purging the demonic qi right away, it'd scattered through her body; rooting it out would take considerable time.
If they—or their backers—came at dawn, the infiltrated demonic qi would serve as irrefutable evidence.
'One slip, and I could be branded a spy...!'
"Yeoheop, seems I have a solution..."
Huangbo Hyo-seon's ears perked at the man's voice. Meeting her desperate gaze, he began to speak, looking deeply embarrassed.
"Th-That's absurd...! You saying that's actually possible?"
Huangbo Hyo-seon's face flushed beet red upon hearing the explanation.
The man avoided her eyes too, clearly quite ashamed.
Of course, it was all an act by the lust-crazed demon desperate to trick her into letting him thrust his manhood at this chance encounter.