Deciding the Path (3)
I just wanted to live.
A new world, new people. What did it matter? Being alive filled me with joy, and the fact that I could keep living brought happiness.
On top of that, I was rich, and with effort, a bright future was guaranteed. I dreamed of success. That's what I thought.
Jin Yeo-rip's steps quickened. His gait turned into a sprint, passing through the Outer Market, crossing the Inner Market, and reaching Taewon.
"G-Grand Young Master!"
"Out of my way."
Taewon's guards spotted Jin Yeo-rip and flinched, stepping in front of him before hurriedly retreating. They couldn't stop him. His face, flushed red as if burning with fever, radiated the fury of an active volcano, and his eyes, gleaming with madness, seemed ready to sever heads on the spot if anyone got in his way.
As Jin Yeo-rip crossed Taewon's main gate and headed for the inner quarters, the guard gulped dryly and said urgently,
"I-I'll notify Da Geumgak."
"But the family head has been in a meeting under his lead since earlier."
"Is the meeting more important right now?"
"……."
"It's because of the people taken from the Outer Market—no, from Unjeong Pavilion. We need to inform them quickly. Look at that face—he seems ready to cause havoc! Even if disaster strikes, it'll be massive. Hurry! Go now!"
The quick-witted guard made the call, and his comrade bolted toward Da Geumgak without another word.
In the meantime, Jin Yeo-rip arrived at the entrance to the inner quarters.
"Halt."
"I need to see the lady."
"I said halt!"
The inner quarters guard, who had closed the gate and was standing watch, shouted threateningly, but Jin Yeo-rip didn't stop.
"This is the inner quarters! Even the Grand Young Master can't enter without permission."
"Is that so?"
Jin Yeo-rip twisted one corner of his mouth into a grotesque smirk and approached the guard.
"Then try stopping me."
"Grand Young Master!"
Stunned by his brazen attitude, the guard hesitated to draw his sword and instead reached out to restrain him. Jin Yeo-rip grabbed the extended wrist and twisted it lightly.
Crack!
"Gah! Aaaargh!"
Jin Yeo-rip's eyes lit up at the scream that tore from the man's throat like it was ripping apart. He gazed down at the fallen guard, his eyes filled with a sinister gleam and a cruel smile playing on his lips. One might feel the man's pain, but it didn't faze him. If anything, his expression carried a mocking sneer toward the writhing, howling guard.
Normally, he would have suppressed it. He would have calmed the Twelve Flows stirring his savagery through the Heart Sutra of Prajna. But this time, he let it be. He allowed the Twelve Flows to rampage wildly within his body. Massive internal energy surged through his limbs, stimulating him, and a tingling pleasure coursed through his entire frame.
What remained was a single emotion.
The ecstasy of destruction.
Madness flickered in Jin Yeo-rip's eyes.
"Damn it! What are you doing? Stop the Grand Young Master!"
Guards, shocked by Jin Yeo-rip's actions, swarmed from all directions. These weren't mere thugs. They were warriors trained systematically, and among them, those guarding one of Taewon's key areas—the inner quarters—could be called the finest in Cheongeumbang, excluding Bihwangdae.
But as he watched them fly in from every side to block him, Jin Yeo-rip let a small smile creep onto his face.
Infused with the internal energy of the Twelve Flows, the footwork of Baji—meaning "a riot of white flowers blooming and burning in all directions"—reached the pinnacle of splendor.
Pop!
With a light step, Jin Yeo-rip's form split into several illusions scattering in all directions, leaving the guards flustered and swinging at empty air as they lost their target.
"What the—?!"
While they reeled in surprise, Jin Yeo-rip slipped through the gap, lowering his stance in preparation to charge.
One of the striking methods.
Bam!
Jin Yeo-rip kicked off the ground, his body elongating in an instant like an arrow shot toward the guards, who scrambled into defensive stances in panic. But before they could fully guard, his fists and feet hammered their bodies.
Thwack! Crack!
They couldn't dodge, and blocking was futile. Jin Yeo-rip's punches, which had matched the Tanggi-level expert Hwangbo Wonpyeong, tore flesh and shattered bones.
In a flash, he felled five and stood boldly before the inner quarters' main gate. He pushed, but it held firm, barred from inside. With a cold laugh, Jin Yeo-rip unleashed a powerful punch toward the door.
Boom!
"What was that noise?"
"Yeah? Sounded like a scuffle."
The guards inside the inner quarters tilted their heads and approached the door. They were in the midst of interrogating prisoners, under orders not to let anyone in. They figured they'd warn the outside to keep the unnecessary commotion down. Just as one reached to unbar the door—
Kaboom!
A deafening roar shook the air as the door bulged inward, the heavy bar snapping under the strain.
Splat!
A guard caught a shard of the shattered bar in the face and screamed as he collapsed.
"Wh-what the hell?"
"What's going on?!"
The sudden uproar drew more guards. They spotted Jin Yeo-rip striding through the broken door and couldn't hide their shock.
"G-Grand Young Master! What is the meaning of this?!"
"……."
Jin Yeo-rip ignored their question and fired back.
"I've come to take the people from Unjeong Pavilion."
"Pardon?"
"Where are they?"
"……."
The guards exchanged bewildered glances, then frowned at Jin Yeo-rip.
"That's impossible."
"What's impossible?"
"They're prisoners under direct investigation in the inner quarters."
"……."
"We understand your feelings, but this is excessive. Even for the Grand Young Master, causing this commotion…."
Pop!
His words cut off mid-sentence. Jin Yeo-rip kicked off the ground, grabbed the guard's head, yanked it down, and drove his knee into it.
"Guhk."
The guard flipped his eyes back and crumpled. Standing over him, Jin Yeo-rip muttered calmly, his eyes blazing with clear madness.
"I asked where the Unjeong Pavilion people are—not for your opinion on my actions."
"Grand Young Master!"
"If you won't tell me, I'll find them myself."
As Jin Yeo-rip stepped deeper into the inner quarters, the guards exchanged glances and surrounded him.
"Grand Young Master, please forgive us."
Jin Yeo-rip let out a snort at that, baring his teeth in a fierce grin.
Forgive? Between people beating each other? Besides, forgiveness comes from the one who got hit, not the hitter.
"You should be saying that."
"Pardon?"
Thud!
No sooner had the words left than Jin Yeo-rip stomped the ground hard and swung his fist at the guards.
"Dodge!"
They were decent. True to inner quarters guards, the first managed to evade. But Jin Yeo-rip had no intention of showing mercy.
Thwack!
His hands began moving according to Baji's forms. His swings were like fierce winds, his hand blades slicing bone like knives. Guards struck by his straight punches flew back and struggled to rise, while no one could touch Jin Yeo-rip's fluidly evading body.
But with the commotion, more guards poured out from inside. There were at least fifty guarding the inner quarters alone. Even with the rapidly amplifying Twelve Flows and the boost from Xiaohuan Dan granting him near-Tanggi-level power, and Im Pilsaeng honing his Baji to razor sharpness, he couldn't handle that many alone. Pushed by the onslaught from all sides, Jin Yeo-rip's movements shifted from offense to defense. He couldn't advance and was forced back.
And encircled.
"Huff… huff…."
Having overused his energy in unchecked rage, Jin Yeo-rip caught his breath up to his chin and swept his fierce gaze around.
"Well, well, who might this be? If it isn't the Grand Young Master."
"……?"
Someone addressed Jin Yeo-rip, isolated amid the guards. It was Jang Pyeong, leader of the inner quarters' escort guards. Just as Bihwangdae leader Wang Seok had protected Jin Ha-seong since childhood, he had guarded young Yang Sojin from her days at Saihai Money House.
"Oh dear, looks like you came worrying about Unjeong Pavilion's retainers."
"……."
"But what can be done? They dared defy the lady without knowing their place. And that's not all—you injured inner quarters guards to protect those whose crimes were plainly exposed in the Outer Market."
A mocking sneer filled Jang Pyeong's mouth. It sounded like kind explanation, but it was ridicule and provocation. Normally unthinkable toward the Grand Young Master, but he had received secret orders from Yang Sojin: Provoke him into uncontrollable rage.
But Jin Yeo-rip seemed deaf to the taunts, silently regulating his breathing.
"I've just come from whipping them myself. That damned bitch is vicious, isn't she? I was in the middle of waking one who'd fainted when I heard you'd arrived, so I…."
Jin Yeo-rip, who had been listening silently, asked with chilling eyes.
"Was it you?"
"……."
"You're the bastard who whipped So Hye?"
At that gaze, Jang Pyeong—smug until then—flinched back involuntarily. The madness in those eyes burned with killing intent, sending chills down his spine just from meeting them. As he gulped harshly,
Jin Yeo-rip spoke in a voice as cold as a winter gale.
"You son of a bitch…."
"Wh-what?"
"Now I get it. I wondered why a mere dog like you was barking so fearlessly and provocatively. So that's the order the lady gave you. Fine, if that's what she wants, I won't hold back either."
"Grand Young Master! That's too much!"
"Too much? How?"
He hadn't even started with the real harsh words. If he could, he'd unleash every curse he knew and it still wouldn't be enough.
"Whatever. Cursing won't cut it anyway. You whipped them? Good. No need to hunt you down."
"What?"
"What else? I'm done holding back."
Done holding back? After all this chaos? Jang Pyeong nearly laughed in disbelief. What gave him the arrogance? He'd heard the boy learned Shaolin arts, but he was barely seventeen. Facing dozens of guards, plus himself.
"You won't step aside?"
"No!"
"Fine, then I'll give the lady what she wants. She wouldn't want to leave a barking dog be."
"What do you…?"
Before Jang Pyeong could finish, Jin Yeo-rip launched himself at the guards.
Crack!
One guard dropped in a single blow, and Jin Yeo-rip snatched his spear, grinning fiercely.
"Hoo…."
Did he think I'd gained nothing from the Hwangbo family? Im Pilsaeng taught only Baji, but the Hwangbo family head showed him that martial arts change with internal energy. Even a simple kick became entirely different.
The intricate techniques of the Twelve Flows and the Baji were originally acquired through entirely different paths, yet they have now seamlessly merged into one singular force within the depths of his body. The very forms of these arts undergo a fluid transformation based entirely on how his internal energy is channeled, where a concentrated focus of strength in the initial swing results in a devastatingly heavy strike, while the subtle dispersion of that same energy can instantly alter the trajectory and vibration of the spear shaft to catch any opponent off guard.
Baji's eight methods create countless variations. And if each form incorporates all twelve ways of channeling energy?
Gripping the spear, Jin Yeo-rip sneered at Jang Pyeong and the inner quarters guards.
"You'd better watch out from now on. I'm a different beast with a weapon than bare-handed."
Bam!
The air exploded, and Jin Yeo-rip shot forward—not merely leaping, but like a projectile.
And he swung.
Shrieeeek!
The spear shaft tore through the air like ripping fabric, smashing into the guards' bodies.
Crunch!
"……?!"
Jang Pyeong's eyes bulged at the single strike. The guard struck by the shaft folded like a shrimp and flew back.
"Huh?"
Then Jin Yeo-rip's spear swept through the guards like a raging storm. It was just one weapon. Yet it felt like an entirely different martial art from before. Moreover, the energy waves spreading with each swing, the killing intent—it surpassed his own skill?
The Grand Young Master was this strong? Jang Pyeong stared wide-eyed, tensing unconsciously and swallowing hard.