Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Luring the Shadows
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“Benefactor!”
Once the twelve cycles of qi circulation were complete, Baekpyo threw himself prostrate before Jinmu.
His mind had cleared, and his body felt lighter than ever.
Even the agony that he could only endure by drowning himself in liquor was gone without a trace.
“……”
“How could I ever repay such a grace!”
No need to repay it. I never asked for repayment in the first place.
It was all because of Cheon U-myeong, but Jinmu had felt a certain responsibility and simply eliminated the side effects.
Yet Baekpyo wept openly, his face overcome with emotion.
“S-Stop crying, I said.”
“Yes!”
At Jinmu's words, Baekpyo miraculously halted his tears and flashed a radiant smile.
He had said he would heal him, but it seemed an unexpected side effect lingered.
Joy and sorrow came and went at whim.
“Hey. But it's not fully fixed.”
“……Pardon?”
“I just helped guide your qi circulation with my own power, but someone who has learned the Vital Harvest Technique cannot cultivate any other internal art.”
Unless it was something like the Two Forms Heart Art.
“Ah…… Yes? Then?”
“You can only use the Vital Harvest Technique.”
“……”
Baekpyo's blank stare suddenly flushed beet red.
“That damn Cheon U-myeong bastard! Giving me such garbage martial arts!”
“……”
“I'll kill him!”
Jinmu gave an awkward smile at Baekpyo's erupting rage.
“Ha…… But don't be too disappointed. Listen carefully. The Vital Harvest Technique isn't necessarily bad. It absorbs vitality, but if used properly, it's extremely useful.”
“……?”
“Just absorb it in tiny amounts. In other words, don't kill. Then no evil aura builds up, and there won't be any side effects.”
“Ah!”
How many times had he exclaimed in admiration already?
“It's thin margins, high volume!”
Baekpyo suddenly clapped his hands in delight.
Not just joy and sorrow—anger and pleasure were erratic too. To be precise, his personality seemed split into multiple parts, or perhaps he was outright mad? Well, it would sort itself out eventually.
And "thin margins"? More accurately, it was like gathering dust into mountains—every little bit adds up.
But that wasn't the point anyway.
“How do you know so much about it, Benefactor?”
Baekpyo tilted his head curiously.
Don't ask questions that are hard to answer.
Jinmu smiled sheepishly.
“Anyway, thank you. Great hero. I don't know how to repay this grace.”
This guy's head was definitely messed up. He asked a question, forgot it immediately, then cried again.
It was getting tiresome. He should have just killed him back then instead of doing something pointless.
“Ahem, so, what are you planning to do now?”
Baekpyo pondered for a moment, then wore a sorrowful expression.
“Even though you've forgiven me and bestowed this grace, my sins don't vanish.”
“So you're going to die?”
“Yes. But first, I need to return to my hometown.”
“To Gaerim?”
“Yes.”
“What for?”
“I have a younger brother. I must help him restore the Baek family estate. Once that's done, I'll confess all my sins to those I've killed and take my own life.”
“Take your own life?”
Jinmu squinted at Baekpyo.
“Yes. Since I killed so indiscriminately……”
Killing martial artists was unavoidable. Those who wielded swords had already accepted death.
But killing ordinary folk was a sin even Jinmu didn't particularly approve of.
The problem was that the sin stemmed from Cheon U-myeong.
And the Immortal Grass played a part too.
Jinmu, struck by an unwelcome twinge of guilt, changed the subject.
“Hmm. Weren't you an assassin? Doesn't that mean you're part of some contract-killing outfit?”
“Yes.”
“Think they'll let you go?”
“I'll have to ask.”
Will they? Has this assassin forgotten how assassins work?
If their secrets were exposed, assassin groups would slaughter everyone involved without mercy.
Even sneaking away would invite pursuit, and no promise of silence would let him escape alive.
“They won't let you go.”
“Even so, now that I'm in my right mind, I can't commit more killings. Even if it means death.”
Baekpyo resolved himself firmly.
“Then I'll take my leave. I'll carry your grace in my heart forever. And I will repay this kindness.”
Repay me? You don't even know my name.
Crazy bastard.
Baekpyo struggled to bow deeply toward Jinmu.
Why did even bowing take so long?
And then.
Step, shuffle. Step, shuffle.
A snail……?
The door was barely more than a half-zhang away. One step, shuffle. Another step, shuffle. And trembling to boot.
He looked so pitiful. Just watching him walk hurt the heart.
Going to the assassin group in that state? He'd be dead for sure.
Declaring retirement without any strength wouldn't even earn pity.
Of course, filling his qi with the Vital Harvest Technique and going might give him a chance.
His saber skills were exceptional enough to handle even a peak expert if powered up.
But that was it.
It would surely turn into a one-against-many fight.
Haah, Jinmu sighed.
It wasn't enough to constrain him, but for some reason, his mind wasn't at ease. Damn this righteous qi.
He needed to hurry and master the Two Forms Heart Art, then the Ink Dragon Chaos Origin Art.
At this rate, his identity would get confused. He kept turning soft.
For now.
“I'll…… help.”
“Pardon?”
“Help you quit being an assassin.”
“Ah……”
Don't cry!
Outskirts of Dongting Lake, Burang Village.
A haven for those who ruined their lives with gambling debts and criminals hiding from countless atrocities.
It was the most dangerous den of vice in lawless Dongting Lake, a place even officials and renowned martial artists dared not tread.
With lawlessness systematized, it was perfect for shadowy figures to hide.
Perhaps for that reason, Burang Village felt perpetually somber, even the sunlit areas shrouded in gloom.
A bright morning in Burang Village.
A hulking figure in black robes and veiled hat entered a noodle shop that opened early for drunks stumbling in late from liquor.
Such attire would draw suspicion on a proper city street, but in Burang Village, it was commonplace.
Most there hid their identities.
“Boss, one bowl of noodles here.”
The giant sat back-to-back with a raggedly dressed old man who had already claimed a seat and placed his order.
While the noodles were prepared, the black-hatted giant muttered softly.
“No word from Baekpyo.”
The old man's brows furrowed slightly as he ate with his chopsticks.
The old man's name was Beomyong. Dressed like a beggar, he was actually the leader of the Three Kills Hall, a fairly notorious assassin group in Dongting Lake.
“Did he fail?”
“Unclear. The target is still alive, and Baekpyo vanished from his lodgings without showing at the butcher shop.”
“Hmmm.”
Beomyong's expression turned puzzled.
It was unexpected.
The Three Kills Hall, led by Beomyong, was a shadowy assassin group known discreetly in Dongting Lake's nightlife.
First Kill: Chorip, the black-hatted giant. Second Kill: Hyeonmuk, called the Silent Assassin. And Third Kill: Baekpyo.
The Three Kills Hall's elite assassins.
They had never failed a hit.
Especially Baekpyo—an enigma with exceptional killing techniques.
He usually appeared gaunt and perpetually drunk, exuding a eerie aura but hardly looking like a martial artist.
But he was an assassin nonetheless.
They didn't pry into each other's pasts. Kill the target, collect the pay—that was it.
Baekpyo had proven his elite status in just a handful of missions.
The impeccably clean marks left on his victims. They knew he was skilled as a bone butcher, but that alone didn't explain it.
And despite mediocre stealth or lightness skills, no one had ever seen him.
A man who could barely walk leaving no traces and succeeding every time—it was quite the tale in assassin circles.
What happened?
Beomyong's eyes chilled as he worked his chopsticks.
Their secret orders came via Yeowaru's fool. Once received, the target was always found dead the next day. It had been routine since he joined Three Kills Hall.
Now, that routine had broken.
The target walked alive, and Baekpyo had vanished.
Change was bad.
Something felt off.
“Tell Chorip and Hyeonmuk.”
“……”
“Track Baekpyo.”
“Yes, Hall Leader.”
As the black-hatted giant—Chorip—replied curtly, the noodles arrived.
They spoke no more. Soon, the old man finished eating, hitched up his hunched back, clasped his hands behind, and vanished into his own path.
“Benefactor? You mean wait here?”
Baekpyo, never having learned Jinmu's name, simply called him "Benefactor."
“Yeah.”
A curt reply.
As if there was no need to think about it.
Baekpyo tilted his head.
After curing the side effects, Jinmu had brought him straight to a quiet street in Dongting Lake. They hadn't gone to the butcher shop or Baekpyo's lodgings.
Their location was a street near the butcher shop.
From morning, all they'd done was sit, eat in crowded areas, and drink tea. With so many passersby, anyone who knew him would spot them easily.
If Three Kills Hall was pursuing him, this was practically waving a flag.
Why?
“Curious?”
“Pardon?”
“Why we're just waiting around? And why we're making ourselves visible?”
“……Yes.”
“You're not the sharpest. You said you're with Three Kills Hall or whatever, right?”
“Yes.”
“Know where they are?”
“I know they're roughly in Burang Village.”
“So you don't know the exact spot.”
“……Yes. I only ever got contract notes and payment.”
“Exactly. That's why you can't go there.”
“……?”
Baekpyo tilted his head in confusion.
“Think about it. You didn't carry out the hit you were contracted for.”
“So?”
“What should have ended took an extra day because of us, so they'll be suspicious and looking for you.”
Without a doubt.
Jinmu had commanded the infamous assassin group Salmak of Evil Hegemony Heaven.
He knew assassins inside out.
The more secretive, the more paranoid—especially those who traded in lives.
“You can't charge into their base without even knowing the exact location.”
“Is that so?”
“……”
Why do I have to explain this?
Considering it a side effect, Jinmu patiently continued kindly.
“Going in blind without knowing their size or position is asking for trouble. Why invite danger by walking in proudly?”
Baekpyo looked utterly baffled but listened quietly.
“The basis of all fights starts with seizing the advantageous position. We don't know them, so we lure them to where we have the edge. It's basic strategy.”
“……I see.”
He nodded calmly, but his expression showed he didn't get it. Jinmu sighed.
The madness and demonic qi had faded, returning his original personality, but it had only been a day. The brain damage was severe; full recovery would take time. Even his emotions fluctuated wildly.
Heading into an unknown enemy base in this state? With Baekpyo's current condition?
Insane. He could handle himself, but protecting Baekpyo from assassins? No.
A sigh escaped. If only he'd absorb some qi with the Vital Harvest Technique.
Stubbornly refusing unprovoked absorption. Since when was he one of the righteous sects?
Without replenished internal energy, Baekpyo wobbled just standing, on the verge of collapse.
“Fine. Whatever.”
Jinmu had already prepared.
He'd dragged Baekpyo to a crowded street, deliberately exposing their trail.
The sun dipped below the western peaks; night approached. Darkness would bring the shadows out in force.
Three Kills Hall, Baekpyo's group—they would come.
And.
“Alright, shall we go?”
“Pardon?”
As dusk settled with the sun fully vanished, Jinmu finally stood.
“Looks like our guests have arrived.”
Jinmu grinned slyly, but Baekpyo still looked puzzled.