Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Easy Pickings
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Hiding near Muwollu and observing the situation, Zhuge Geun was utterly dumbfounded.
When he'd heard that Jinmu's group had headed to the tavern with Qingyang Merchant Group Leader Geumjeoksan and rushed over,
"What the hell is that?"
Gong Sacheok had appeared out of nowhere.
Gong Sacheok was a fairly well-known expert even in the Zhuge Family.
Though a back-alley thug, he'd reached the Profound Realm and wielded his qi with complete freedom. He even had ties to the Black Market.
The Zhuge branch family in Dangang District never intervened unless he encroached on their territory.
They feared sparking friction with the Black Market over trivial matters.
But if Jinmu's group was up to something illegal with Geumjeoksan, Zhuge Geun had planned to step in, no matter who tried to stop them.
And yet...
'Geumjeoksan is trying to kill Jinmu's group? Why?'
It was utterly absurd.
But it didn't take long to realize the meaning behind the mutterings of his father, Zhuge Murin, the family head.
Wudang's First Generation Disciple Jinhye.
And the head of his Wu family clan.
The Wu Family Head had hired them to eliminate Jinmu, who could rival Jinhye in the race for chief disciple.
'Brothers commissioning murder? Wudang's running smoother than ever.'
As Zhuge Geun sneered inwardly,
Jinmu suddenly flew back, vomiting blood, and the entire building collapsed.
Just as it seemed like he was fighting Gong Sacheok, he suddenly shouted toward them.
"Why'd you take so damn long? I almost really died there. If not for these injuries..."
What?
Zhuge Geun couldn't make sense of Jinmu's words.
Then Jinmu's group retreated, while Gong Sacheok merely glared with ferocious momentum.
"Alright, I'll leave the rest to you guys."
"......"
Once they'd retreated far enough to pass by Zhuge Geun, Jinmu winked at him with extreme familiarity.
'This bastard...'
He'd been played. Jinmu had spotted them and used their presence as an escape route.
Dumping Gong Sacheok right in his lap.
You son of a bitch!
"Young Master. What should we do?"
"......"
A Blue Flower Troop warrior asked as Zhuge Geun grasped the situation, his face twisting in rage.
"Damn it."
Meanwhile, Jinmu's group fled Muwollu without looking back.
"Huff... huff... Shit, that was close. Nearly got fucked."
His breath came in gasps to his throat, and scraping every last drop of qi from the bottom of the barrel had left his condition in shambles.
Dizzy, too, in the middle of it all.
But they had to keep running for now.
"Martial Uncle, why head into the city? Wouldn't a remote mountain be better?"
Jinmu shook his head instead of answering Cheongsang's question.
Idiot.
They said the area under the lamp is darkest. The best hiding spot was right under their noses.
They'd never dream the group had fled into the heart of Dangang District, enemy territory.
They were probably scouring the roads to Wudang instead.
Jinmu rented rooms at an inn in the city center for the time being and finally exhaled in relief.
But his anger wouldn't subside.
"Gong Sacheok, Geumjeoksan. You fucking bastards. And the Wu Family Head? Who the hell are these nobodies trying to take my life?"
This life he'd barely clawed back.
He didn't care about the Wu Family Head for now.
But Geumjeoksan, who'd directly thrown him into danger, and Gong Sacheok, who'd attacked—no way he'd let them off.
"Cheongu! Cheongsang!"
"Yes, Martial Uncle."
"You have those Recovery Pills, right?"
"Yes."
"Hand over every last one!"
"......"
Recovery Pills were a type of restorative elixir for internal injuries.
Jinmu swallowed all ten pills Cheongsang and Cheongu pulled from their pouches in one go.
"M-Martial Uncle. All of them?"
Cheongsang looked flustered, but ten or a hundred—it didn't matter.
He needed to recover as fast as possible and strike Gong Sacheok.
Sleep? Rest? As if he had time for that crap.
By now, the Zhuge Family had probably backed off, and Gong Sacheok was hunting them.
Jinmu knew the ways of savage faction warriors all too well.
They'd chase for exactly one day.
If they didn't find them by then, they'd bolt.
Strike a tiger while it's down—kill it right there.
Nothing was scarier than a wounded beast, especially with Wudang waiting behind Jinmu.
One day was terribly short to heal internal injuries.
But it didn't matter.
Jinmu dredged up a technique from his long memory.
Frenzied Blood Soul-Severing Qi Technique.
It was one of the acupoint arts that explosively burst one's internal energy temporarily.
Whether orthodox or unorthodox, it didn't matter—it used your innate qi.
As dangerous as rampaging blood and qi while severing your very soul.
The aftereffects were brutal, but right now,
"You bastards. Clean your necks and wait. I'll make sure you never see the light of day again."
His rage burned hotter.
The ten Recovery Pills he'd already swallowed surged with tremendous heat, goading his dantian.
"What an idiot!"
Crash!
The thrown inkstone shattered against Zhuge Geun's head.
Blood trickled from the gash on his forehead, but Zhuge Geun didn't flinch.
"What? Help those bastards? When we should be killing them ourselves?"
Deep into the night. Zhuge Murin's roar, head boiling with fury, echoed through the Zhuge Family manor.
Zhuge Geun, leading twenty Blue Flower Troop warriors to monitor Jinmu's group, had unwittingly aided their escape, against his own intentions.
The pointless standoff with Gong Sacheok dragged on for over an incense stick's time before they warily withdrew—and then Jinmu's group had vanished without a trace.
'That damn punk...'
Zhuge Geun ground his teeth to the breaking point as he endured his father's tirade.
"Father, give me one more chance. I will find them."
"Find them? With what?"
"Locate them so Gong Sacheok can kill them..."
Zhuge Murin's face flushed beet red in an instant, and Zhuge Geun realized his grave mistake.
"Have you ever seen such a brainless fool? Spouting whatever from that gaping mouth! What? Help a back-alley thug kill a Wudang disciple?!"
"I-I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."
"Shut your mouth!"
"......"
Zhuge Geun's face twisted in despair.
In his haste, he'd blurted out something stupid.
"Utterly disappointing."
"Father, that's not—"
"I said shut it."
"......"
"Is there a Blue Flower Troop leader outside?!"
At Zhuge Murin's call, Blue Flower Troop Leader Mo Ik-sang entered from beyond the family head's chambers.
"Escort this fool back to his quarters immediately."
"Father..."
"I don't want to hear it. Confine yourself there until I say otherwise! Step one foot out, and I'll break your legs!"
A truly ruthless father.
He'd spared no encouragement or even Blue Flower Troop warriors when Wudang was mentioned—but one slip-up, and he was cast out in an instant.
Yet Zhuge Geun could say nothing.
Adding words would only stoke his father's rage.
"Get out!"
At the razor-sharp expulsion order, Zhuge Geun bowed politely and exited the family head's chambers.
'Jinmu, you damn Wudang Taoist bastard. This is all your fault.'
Twice.
Humiliated once, used the second time.
And now he'd lost the trust he'd barely earned from his father.
"Looks like Father chewed you out again, huh?"
Someone was waiting for Zhuge Geun as he left the chambers with Mo Ik-sang.
"......"
The mocking voice belonged to his half-brother and the young master of the Dangang Zhuge branch—Zhuge Gak.
"Greetings, Elder Brother."
"Spare me. I don't want your fake courtesy."
"......"
Zhuge Geun bowed his head, his face contorting like a demon's at Zhuge Gak's response.
"Tsk tsk, you fool. Thought you were catching a rat by the pig's trotter? Figures a lowly mutt couldn't handle simple surveillance."
Zhuge Geun said nothing in response to his brother's near-insult.
He was used to it.
Always had been.
"Why not leave the family now and seek refuge in a Taoist sect? They might take you in after you saved their disciple."
"......"
"Idiot."
Zhuge Gak glanced at Zhuge Geun with a sneer and headed toward the study.
"Father, it's Gak."
"Come in."
Only after Zhuge Gak disappeared into the study did Zhuge Geun raise his head.
Grind!
"Just you wait. I'll show you how I become the next family head. See how long you can keep that smug head high."
Glare scorching like fire toward the study, Zhuge Geun returned to his quarters.
On the outskirts of Dangang District's night market stood a fairly large manor.
It was the headquarters of the Four Evils Faction, brazenly flaunting its presence in a lawless world.
They committed countless crimes without hiding thanks to bribes and the massive backing of the Black Market.
As dawn approached,
The grand manor, lit by blazing braziers, brimmed with more people than usual despite many having left.
Back-alley vagrants, swindlers, thieves—
Gong Sacheok had mobilized everyone under his influence in Dangang District.
Whether they knew martial arts or not didn't matter.
All they needed was Jinmu's group's location.
Nearly a hundred had been deployed, and wary of potential fights, Gong Sacheok included his best subordinates in the hunt.
The warrior Jinmu seemed skilled, but injured—he figured his elites would suffice.
"Still no word?!"
"Yes. They haven't found them yet."
"Useless fools!"
Gong Sacheok kicked over a nearby brazier in rage.
The hefty bronze vessel toppled violently, spilling flames across the floor.
After the Zhuge Family's Blue Flower Troop withdrew, Gong Sacheok realized he'd been completely duped.
He immediately sent his men to the roads leading to Wudang Mountain.
Night? Not a big issue.
If they escaped to Wudang, that would be real trouble.
They'd targeted a Wudang disciple's life.
If word got out, Wudang Taoists would swarm like bees.
No turning back then.
They were obsessive about their comrades' deaths.
Even if they fled now, they'd be hunted till they dropped.
The Black Market had some ties, but it wouldn't help.
They'd cut him loose to avoid clashing with Wudang.
He had to find them.
Find and kill them, no matter what.
Gong Sacheok bit his nails in anxiety.
"Gwakgi!"
"Yes, Boss."
"Go to the Wu Family Head right now. Tell them the Wudang disciples escaped and ask for help."
"Will the Wu Family help?"
"Hmph, if we go down, they won't escape unscathed. They'll help for sure."
"Understood."
More hunters were better.
Especially Wu Family warriors—properly skilled ones.
Far more useful than his own men.
"Hurry!"
Gwakgi dashed out at Gong Sacheok's order.
That instant—
Kaboom!
A massive explosion rocked the air.
The manor's main gate blew apart, and Gwakgi—who'd just received orders—flew back with a bloodied face.
"Wh-what?!"
"What's happening?!"
Everyone stared in stunned confusion at the sudden event.
"Man, having your manor right out in the open makes it real easy to find."
With a mocking remark, three men strode in confidently through the thick dust, robes billowing.
Jinmu, along with Cheongsang and Cheongu.