Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Plagued Assassin
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Inn near the Dongjeong Lake Branch of the Donglim Battlefield.
"Ugh......"
Baekpyo awoke, feeling excruciating pain in his abdomen and face.
"......?"
His blinking eyes gradually cleared, vision sharpening.
The first thing he saw was a fairly spacious ceiling.
And beside him, a man in yellow robes sitting on a chair. It was Jinmu.
"You bastard!"
The moment Baekpyo spotted Jinmu, he shot up and swung a fist.
"What are you doing?"
"......"
Jinmu wore a pathetic expression.
Slow.
He was giving it his all, but it was agonizingly slow—not even enough strength to swat a fly.
And frail, too.
Baekpyo's bony hand, thinner than a woman's wrist.
Thwack!
Jinmu casually deflected it with an annoyed look.
"Kek!"
Just a light tap?
He'd been careless. Merely brushing the hand aside, yet Baekpyo couldn't withstand the force and tumbled off the bed.
"......"
Was he a paper doll?
Just a simple 'thwack,' and... Better to be careful next time.
"Hey, get up."
At Jinmu's sigh-mingled words, Baekpyo struggled to his feet.
Ah, how pitiful.
Jinmu had watched Baekpyo's changes throughout the night.
The vitality sucked from the cow lasted barely over two hours.
It wasn't like watching a corpse wither in real time.
Baekpyo's sturdy frame shriveled like a waterlogged sponge drying out. His limbs thinned drastically, and his eyes sank hollow with terror.
He knew the side effects of the Qi Plundering Technique, but hadn't expected them to be this severe.
"Ugh... You... I'll kill you."
"......"
Jinmu looked slightly flustered at Baekpyo, who gripped the bed and rose shakily.
His head was cracked open, face bloodied, and the arm struck by Jinmu dangled like it was broken.
Hey, come on.
Was that enough impact to break an arm and split the head?
First, he needed to snap out of it.
Crack!
Jinmu lightly pressed a hand to Baekpyo's forehead.
"What are you...!"
Krang!
In an instant, Baekpyo's mind cleared.
Wudang's pure qi.
As the energy of the Taoist school, its refreshing purity repelled evil and demonic qi.
"Ugh......"
Once his wits returned, the murderous glint and madness faded from Baekpyo's eyes. For a while, at least, his original temperament would resurface.
"Wh-where is this?"
Regaining his senses, Baekpyo looked around in confusion.
No wonder—his memories while lost to demonic qi wouldn't be intact.
"Hey, just one question."
"......"
Baekpyo grimaced, head still throbbing, at Jinmu's words.
Irritated by the silence, Jinmu considered giving him a beating but shook his head.
No point in hitting someone not in their right mind.
With a guy like this, coaxing worked better than blows.
"Who are you?"
"Me? Doesn't matter. How'd you learn the Qi Plundering Technique? Spill."
"Qi... Plundering?"
He didn't even know the name of the technique he practiced.
"Yeah. Qi Plundering Technique. The one where you suck others' energy."
"...?!"
Baekpyo's face twisted, shock flashing in his eyes.
"How do you know that?"
"Need more trust?"
"......"
"Your body's changes. You can only hold the cow's vitality for two hours. Then agony hits. We call that qi dispersal. Without liquor, you'd barely endure sober. Even with your state now, booze wouldn't ease it much."
Baekpyo's eyes widened gradually at Jinmu's words.
"Killing by night, back home by dawn—agony awaits morning? That's the emptiness from sudden qi dispersal. Then it passes; strength gone, but okay."
"......?"
"Your body wasn't always like this, right? Absorbing vitality caused no issues before."
Jinmu divined his life like a fortune teller.
In colorful robes and makeup, he'd pass for a shaman.
"But eventually, you withered. And thirst set in."
Baekpyo's eyelids twitched violently as he listened.
"Side effect. Dead qi buildup."
"How...?"
Still wary, but his tone softened.
"What if I say I can cure it? Might take time."
Cure it?
Baekpyo's pupils trembled faintly.
He'd scoured everywhere for a cure—all futile.
Yet this smirking man before him?
Not only pinpointing his condition without being told, but offering a cure?
"Who the hell are you?"
"I ask, you answer. Got it?"
Jinmu grinned.
"How can I trust you?"
"Don't have to. Killing you here changes nothing for me. That was the plan."
"......"
After hesitating, Baekpyo began his tale.
Baekpyo, young master of Baek Manor in Gyeirim, Guangxi Province.
Baek Manor was a notable orthodox sect in Guangxi.
It endured even in unorthodox territory for generations.
Especially their family blade art, 'Turbulent Wind-Cleaving Blade,' sharp enough to slice wind—top-tier among Central Plains blade techniques.
But ten years ago, bloodshed struck Baek Manor.
"Cheon U-myeong of Evil Hegemony Heaven came?"
"Yes. So what?"
"No, nothing. Continue."
Jinmu waved it off.
Why would Cheon U-myeong go there?
Ten years ago—he was hunting the Immortal Grass.
"He sought something, demanding entry to Sacred Heart Valley, guarded by my clan for generations. That place..."
Sacred Heart Valley.
A gorge at the heart of the catalpa forest protected by Baek Manor.
Rumors of rare herbs blooming there—he must've checked on a hunch.
Damn, Cheon U-myeong really turned over every stone.
It made sense.
As an orthodox clan, they'd bar entry to their sacred site.
A fight ensued.
And with Cheon U-myeong and Iron Sword Unit's prowess?
"Father died by his hand. Mother, harboring grudges, hanged herself."
As expected.
Cheon U-myeong would do that. Once fixated, he spared no means.
"Ah, I... see."
"......Pardon?"
"Nothing. Go on."
Baekpyo tilted his head at Jinmu's reaction, then continued.
"All because of him."
Yeah, sure.
"That bastard Cheon U-myeong did this to me..."
"Ah!"
Jinmu remembered.
One other besides him had learned the Qi Plundering Technique.
And he'd taught it to Cheon U-myeong.
Damn fool—I told him never to pass it on.
"That idiot Cheon U-myeong!"
"......Pardon?"
"No, nothing."
"......Right. Anyway, he cursed me to die in agony, implanting that technique by force. I couldn't control the bloodlust, had to flee home. Should've died then."
Baekpyo gazed at his hands, face full of regret. Tears welled in his hollow eyes.
It must've been hell. Unable to suppress the forced thirst and desires. Surviving this long was impressive.
"I tried to endure. But the bloodlust grew stronger..."
Yeah.
His slumped shoulders stirred unexpected pity.
Cheon U-myeong, that moron, wouldn't have taught it properly.
He'd learned it beaten into him, barely memorizing.
Definitely skipped the incantation and warnings.
Thus, bloodlust from dead qi buildup hit from the start.
Ah, idiot.
If you don't know it well, don't teach. Why destroy a family and force the art?
Why not just kill cleanly, adding torment?
But perhaps the Immortal Grass caused it all.
His efforts led to finding it, letting Jinmu return in this body.
Buddhist reincarnation? Past ties carrying over?
No, so what?
Not my fault, right?
Yet guilt kept creeping in. Ignorance would've let it slide; now it weighed heavy.
Damn, does practicing pure arts change personality? Lately, emotions swayed him too much.
Jinmu sighed and asked,
"Why not die?"
"Why? Guess even with this cursed art, I didn't want to."
Baekpyo gave a self-mocking smile.
A casual question, not meant to prod—yet tears like chicken droppings flowed.
The pure qi cleared his mind; jumbled memory fragments aligned as he recounted the past.
Memories returning gradually.
Faces of those he'd killed in demonic frenzy surfacing one by one.
"Me, an assassin? To live, sate bloodlust... How can I face my ancestors?"
"Hey, no need to cry."
"Forgive me."
Wiping tears, Baekpyo straightened before Jinmu and knelt.
"I don't know who you are, but thank you for restoring my senses."
"......"
"Better this way. Please, end me now. Absolve my sins."
Jinmu stared at Baekpyo's exposed neck.
Damn. What to do?
He pondered briefly.
An assassin killing innocents, but root cause was Cheon U-myeong.
And wasn't he partly responsible?
Yeah. Help him. The Qi Plundering Technique wasn't inherently evil.
Perfect for building foundations, at least.
And coincidentally, fellow practitioner of the same art.
Jinmu sighed, drawing his sword.
Shing.
The pristine blade gleamed.
Swish!
Jinmu's sword whipped out swiftly.
Splurt! Splish-splurt!
Blood spurted from twelve acupoints, staining the floor.
"......!"
Yet Baekpyo was unharmed.
He stared at Jinmu in bewilderment.
His eyes asked: Why spare me? What of those twelve sheathed acupoints?
"Told you. I can remove the side effects."
"......Ah!"
"Those acupoints gather evil qi. And..."
Jinmu sheathed his sword and approached.
Tap.
Hand on Baekpyo's crown acupoint.
"Now, I'll drive out the evil qi inside. Circulate your qi."
"......!"
Shock after shock.
Baekpyo expected death. Instead, salvation—and truly curing side effects?
As awe hit, vast inner energy poured through his crown.
'Ah!'
Another gasp.
"No stray thoughts—follow the flow and circulate. Mess up, and you really die."
"......Yes!"
Baekpyo unfolded from his knees into meditation pose.