Chapter 427: The Seven Heavenly Virtues (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 427: The Seven Heavenly Virtues (4)
The dim light of dawn.
As the darkness faded, the mysterious power of magic also began to wane.
One by one, people began to appear on the streets.
Just as the sleeping city was awakening and another day was about to begin…
“Wh-what is that?”
Beijing was thrown into an uproar by the low cry of a man who had casually glanced up.
Lu Bu, who had received an urgent call during his training, arrived in the heart of the city. He pushed through the massive crowd that had gathered and made his way to the center of the incident.
“…”
The place he arrived at was the headquarters of his own guild, the ‘God-Serving Society.’
In the heart of Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China.
The building, erected on what was boasted as the most expensive piece of land in the city, was brutally destroyed.
The clear traces of a powerful attack had eaten away at the structure.
Those traces were letters.
Written in Chinese characters, a language all too familiar to them.
Reading them one by one, vertically, they formed the following sentence.
Yu (有)
Qiu (仇)
Bu (不)
Bao (報)
Fei (非)
Jun (君)
Zi (子)
Read together, it was You Qiu Bu Bao Fei Jun Zi.
Its meaning was as follows:
‘To have a grudge and not repay it is not befitting of a gentleman.’
A gentleman, the most idealized being in Confucian society, and a bloody, desperate revenge.
It was one of the classic idioms favored by the Chinese, created by combining these two contrasting concepts.
But the characters carved into the building didn't end there.
Jun (君)
Zi (子)
Bao (報)
Qiu (仇)
Shi (十)
Nian (年)
Bu (不)
Wan (晩)
Junzi Baochou, Shinian Bu Wan.
This, too, was a favorite idiom among the Chinese, and its meaning was:
“A gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years…”
It was a desperate vow to exact revenge, no matter how many years it took.
This was a declaration of war.
Aimed at China’s largest guild and its leader, the world-renowned powerhouse, Lu Bu.
The moment he saw it, Lu Bu knew who was behind this audacious declaration, this provocation.
“Kim Do-jin…”
That thorn in his side who had survived a full-power blow from him.
The look on his face as he barely escaped with his life, thanks to a nearby colleague, had been quite a sight.
Worry for his comrade, relief at his own survival, and killing intent directed at him.
It seemed that had led to this result.
“Hmph…”
A single laugh escaped his tightly clenched lips.
He was genuinely impressed.
What kind of place was Beijing?
It was the heart of the nation, where China’s most important figures resided, a place that boasted a level of security on a completely different dimension from other regions.
And in such a place, someone had audaciously committed this crime.
“Our apologies, General!”
“It seems to have happened in the middle of the night… but there are no traces anywhere.”
And they had done it so stealthily that no one had noticed.
Without leaving a single trace.
“Heh.”
As he imagined Kim Do-jin suppressing his rage to carve these marks into his building, he could almost hear his voice replaying in his mind.
-“I’ll be back for your head soon, so keep your neck clean and wait for me.”
The thought of it made him laugh.
“Heh… Hahahaha-!”
A sudden burst of laughter erupted from him.
The mana unconsciously infused within it swept through the surroundings.
Ha- ha- ha- ha-!
“Ugh…!”
“Kyaaah!”
“Cough! Cough!”
Unable to withstand the powerful wave of mana, people staggered and screamed.
A startled subordinate rushed to stop him.
“G-General…!”
Only then did Lu Bu regain his senses and stifle his laughter.
But a deep smile still lingered on his lips.
“…Yes, this is how it should be.”
Lu Bu greatly welcomed this kind of challenge.
Rushing in with emotions alone when you lacked the strength was the mark of a true amateur.
He held no expectations for such people.
On the contrary, it was people like Kim Do-jin who truly piqued his interest.
Someone who knew when to retreat.
Yet, someone who wouldn't just take a beating and turn away, someone who wouldn't be easily broken.
A magnificent declaration of war, written as if with a single, fluid stroke of a brush.
He couldn't just stand by and do nothing in response, like a coward.
He approached the group of reporters who were busy snapping photos and murmured softly.
“I will await your challenge, anytime, anywhere.”
I’m not afraid of the likes of you, so come at me whenever you’re ready.
The single sentence he uttered was immediately turned into a headline, spreading beyond China to the rest of the world.
*
The surprise attack, launched when the enemy least expected it, had been a success. We had cleanly swept away the Hexagram members and the Black Market forces that had decided to follow them, effectively completing the operation.
We were staying at a nearby hotel to handle the aftermath, and I headed to the table where everyone had gathered for lunch.
“…Why are they all staring at their phones instead of eating?”
Every single team member had a full plate of food in front of them, but they were all glued to their smartphones.
…For a moment, I wondered if they’d secretly made a “Kim Do-jin’s Team without Kim Do-jin” group chat, and I was eyeing them suspiciously when it happened.
Ju-yeon, who was sitting nearby, shoved her phone screen in my face and started interrogating me.
“You did this, didn’t you?!”
Displayed on the screen was a Chinese news article translated into Korean.
【SHOCK! China's Largest Guild, God-Serving Society, Half-Destroyed! Who is the Culprit?】
【Terror in the Heart of Beijing! Traces of Brutal Destruction, Yet No One Knew?】
【A Bold Declaration of War Against China's Top Guild, God-Serving Society!】
【Residents’ Anxiety Skyrockets Over Daring Dawn Terror Attack: “Useless Public Security, Do Your Jobs.”】
【Lu Bu’s Response to the Declaration: “I Will Await the Challenge, Anytime, Anywhere.”】
【Victim of the Incident, Lu Bu, Slams the Government: “This Happened Because the Government is Incompetent.”】
“Oh…”
I let out a sound of admiration as I looked at the beautifully destroyed God-Serving Society guild headquarters.
What with blocking the sound and obscuring the view with illusion magic…
It had been twice, no, three times the work to destroy the building without anyone knowing, so writing the characters hadn't been easy. I’d just scribbled them on, hoping they’d be legible…
“It turned out better than I thought… ahem!”
I hastily clamped my mouth shut after my unintentional slip of the tongue.
Then, I offered a clumsy excuse.
“It wasn’t me.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Having already made a blunder, there was no way they would believe me.
It was an obvious lie, but I’d said it to be careful, just in case someone was listening.
“Th-that’s right! Do-jin came to visit me in the hospital early yesterday morning. He wouldn’t have had time for… for something like that, right? R-right?”
That kid Seo-yeon was trying her best to back me up with her clumsy expressions and awkward tone.
Suddenly, I’m starting to doubt our blood ties.
If she were really my daughter, there’s no way she’d be that bad at acting…
“…She’s the spitting image of her mother, I swear.”
Just like Han Ju-hee’s daughter, honestly. Sigh.
“Hmm… right. I went to see Seo-yeon sunbae early yesterday, then came back and slept.”
I continued shamelessly.
This was me forcing the issue.
I’m the one who caused that incident, but this is what you all know for now.
“…I see.”
“Right, it’s a long way from here to Beijing.”
“Yeah, it is.”
And my team members are quick on the uptake.
“R-right! Ahahaha.”
“…”
Except for Seo-yeon.
I gave an awkward smile as I looked at her face, which was practically begging for praise, as if to say, ‘I did a good job, right?’
“Hee.”
Watching her grin and pick up her chopsticks to eat, I was suddenly reminded of that moment.
What was the power she used to block Lu Bu’s spear?
It was definitely a different kind of power from mana.
It was certainly something akin to the Divine Authority that I or Lu Bu used, but…
“Hmm.”
The aura emanating from Seo-yeon’s body was different, too.
Unlike my own aura, which had a somewhat sinister feel to it, hers felt much clearer, purer.
I’ll have to ask her about the true nature of that power someday.
I wonder when would be a good time.
Sensing my gaze, Seo-yeon turned her head and mouthed silently, ‘What?’
I shook my head as if it was nothing, then lowered my gaze and shoveled a spoonful of fried rice from my heaping plate into my mouth.
A greasy flavor filled my mouth.
Ah.
I want some of Jeong-hee’s kimchi stew.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
That afternoon, after lunch.
The decision was finally made to return to Beijing.
The cleanup was faster than expected.
No, to be precise, it was because we’d just dumped all the post-processing onto the Chinese.
Why should we help clean up after guys who had already tried to stab us in the back?
That sentiment had spread widely among the Hunters who still held a grudge over the incident.
For me, it was the best possible outcome.
It meant my return to Korea would be that much sooner.
There’s a lot I need to eat when I get home.
“Hmm, what should I eat first?”
I’m craving kimchi stew, and I’m craving Jeong-hee.
As I was agonizing over the difficult choice…
Knock, knock, knock!
Someone knocked on the hotel room door.
I went to the entrance and opened it to find a neatly dressed, middle-aged woman standing there.
“Good day, Hunter Kim Do-jin.”
“Ah, yes.”
After exchanging greetings, I faced her.
She looked familiar.
She was one of the Saintess’s exclusive ladies-in-waiting.
She was also the one who had brought me news of Seo-yeon last night.
The fact that a woman who rarely left the Saintess’s side, except when she was sleeping, had come to see me must mean that the Saintess she served had business with me.
“What brings you here this time…?”
I asked in a curious tone, and she replied.
“The Saintess has asked me to inquire if you would be interested in accompanying her on the way to Beijing.”
“…”
She wouldn’t suggest traveling together just for fun.
That meant she had a clear purpose for making such an offer…
I was suddenly reminded of something she had said before.
That she had something to talk to me about after this operation was over.
“I’ll be ready to leave shortly.”
It looked like that time had come.