Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Breaking the Egg
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Meng Yu-shin also realized the gravity of the situation and assumed a stance as if retreating while dropping his sword.
That was when it happened.
With a 'crack', Meng Yu-shin's body began to lift into the air.
Gu Cheon-se had grabbed Meng Yu-shin's jaw and hoisted him up just like that.
It was a monstrous strength that was hard to believe even seeing it with one's own eyes.
Crack!
A deafening shattering sound rang out.
It was the noise of the ceiling collapsing, and at the same time, the sound of Meng Yu-shin's skull exploding.
Blood poured down like a waterfall.
Meng Yu-shin's body dangled limply from the ceiling, head embedded, convulsing wildly.
Yun Bang-mun rushed toward his junior brother in shock. But it seemed too late.
At that moment, murmurs arose.
The outside grew noisy.
In the midst of the clamor, the first face to appear was that of Tang Baek-mun, the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
He shouted loudly.
"It's all over now! Gu Cheon-se."
Tang Baek-mun had slipped out quietly just moments before.
To summon the Murim Alliance members who had been tracking Gu Cheon-se here.
But Gu Cheon-se just cackled and suddenly struck at Yun Bang-mun, who was approaching Meng Yu-shin.
Yun Bang-mun was startled and raised his sword to defend.
But it was a feint.
Gu Cheon-se swiftly spun around and unleashed his lightness skill in an instant, flying forward and extending both hands.
He twisted the wrist of a young woman and Han Ibi, subduing them in a flash.
"Argh!"
"Aaaah!"
Han Ibi screamed from the excruciating pain in his wrist, as if it would snap at any moment.
Gu Cheon-se grinned and said,
"You insolent brat. Who do you take me for, blind? Think I couldn't see that hairpin you threw? Huh? I don't have a taste for men, but this is too infuriating to let slide."
He was talking about the hairpin toss.
Then he cackled again and turned to the woman.
"And you, wench, will pay for placing that hairpin there. Heh heh heh."
'Damn it! Shit.'
Murim Alliance members began arriving one after another.
Unlike at first, they were a mix of various ages and backgrounds.
Gu Cheon-se dragged the subdued Han Ibi and the woman to a corner. He was starting a hostage situation.
One elderly man in monk robes among the arrivals spoke.
"Amitabha. Benefactor, you still haven't awakened."
Gu Cheon-se spat a thick glob of phlegm and snarled,
"Where's that dog barking from? What rotten luck this early in the morning."
"Amitabha... Make no more karma. Pay for your sins."
Gu Cheon-se scoffed.
"You're the one playing games. You should clear a path before piling up your own karma. Or these two insolent young things get crushed right now. Monk. Gonna regret it forever?"
Han Ibi was sweating profusely.
The agony in his wrist felt like it would break any second.
How much worse must it be for the woman right beside him?
This time, a middle-aged Taoist spoke.
"Gu Cheon-se. The Murim Alliance is fully prepared. You can't escape this time. Surrender if you want to live."
Gu Cheon-se smirked.
"Damn it. This is why I don't talk to you stuffy Wudang Taoists. What do you mean can't? Speak."
Even amid the chaos, people of all sorts flooded into the mountain lodge's main hall.
And indeed, it didn't look like Gu Cheon-se could slip away easily today. He burst into loud laughter again.
"Still, you're more pleasant than those Western Depot mongrels. Huh? Those bastards... They're far from scholarly games. Much more... ruthless and vicious."
Gu Cheon-se laughed maniacally several times before turning to Ok Geun-tak and saying,
"Dealing with you saintly gentlemen is far easier. This old man... loves repaying in kind."
What on earth did he mean?
"I'll count to five. After that, no mercy. I've lived long enough anyway. You can tell from these deep wrinkles. Heh heh heh."
Then, with a chilling glare, he said,
"One, two..."
"Aaaah! Ack!"
The woman let out a pained scream as he tightened his grip.
The crowd had grown, but chaos reigned.
Even the Shaolin high monk and Wudang Taoist were the same.
Tang A-yeon said,
"We should... clear a path for now."
Gu Cheon-se replied,
"Oh, that girl... So pretty-faced, just my type. If this old man gets out, I'll come visit. Wait for me."
He leered at Tang A-yeon with creepy eyes, smacking his lips.
Tang A-yeon felt goosebumps all over.
At that moment, Gu Cheon-se suddenly released the hand holding the woman.
Then he pressed a dagger to her slender neck—barely a handful thick—and simultaneously gripped Han Ibi's nape.
The delicate neck contrasted starkly with the sharp blade, looking all the more pitiful.
A little pressure, and the carotid would sever, blood spraying like a fountain.
Gu Cheon-se said,
"Heh heh heh. My mind wandered. Back to it. Now, threeee, fourrr..."
'Ah... What to do. Step up and risk my life, hold back and my conscience stings... This woman as hostage is because of me anyway.'
Han Ibi sighed inwardly, then reluctantly tried to say something.
But with his nape gripped, he couldn't speak properly.
"W-Wait..."
Gu Cheon-se glanced at Han Ibi and spat,
"What're you mumbling, you little pup?"
All eyes turned to Han Ibi, including Gu Cheon-se's and the crowd's.
That made Han Ibi flare up a bit.
"You dog-fucking lecherous bastard. Kill me."
Gu Cheon-se instantly swapped their positions.
It was lightning-fast.
Now he held the girl's nape, dagger to Han Ibi's.
"Fine, fine. Chopping this tender girl's head might be a waste. Too bad. Heh heh. Perfect timing for your 'hero play'. Switching order ain't bad. Heh heh. Should've killed you first, but this merciful old man will count to three again. One, twooo..."
The Murim Alliance members hesitated.
As a coalition of various sects, lacking a clear leader was one reason.
"Three."
The old man spoke while drawing the dagger across Han Ibi's neck.
But Han Ibi had one thing he trusted.
For now, he could only cover localized areas with the Dark Shell Technique.
Han Ibi had focused all his mind on his nape since earlier.
At the same time, he channeled maximum internal energy and punched backward at Gu Cheon-se's unguarded 'groin'.
It was a highly effective strategy.
That spot was as vital to Gu Cheon-se as his life.
He flinched in panic, instinctively defending his 'precious parts', diverting attention from the nape dagger.
Slash!
Blood spurted from Han Ibi's nape.
Immense pain assaulted him.
Without the Dark Shell Technique, his head would've rolled off instantly.
His blood splattered Gu Cheon-se's face.
Grinning like a madman, Gu Cheon-se licked it.
'G-Guh! Y-You sick pervert...'
Han Ibi was horrified seeing him lick his bright red blood.
"You mangy cur. Got some guts. Daring to target this elder's jewels... You're unforgivable."
His eyes were bloodshot red.
By then, even more Murim Alliance members poured in from outside.
"But this old man... always repays in kind, doesn't he? I'll wreck yours first. Then kill you. Sound good? Heh heh heh."
Gu Cheon-se hooked his fingers like claws and thrust at Han Ibi's 'there'.
Literally to 'burst' it.
Han Ibi writhed in horror but, badly wounded, couldn't move properly.
Alarms blared in his head.
'Not there... Even a graze and... Ahh!'
That was when it happened.
A red line appeared under Gu Cheon-se's nose.
Yes.
Nosebleed gushing out.
He staggered back a step, as if collapsing.
Dizziness surged.
Then he glared alternately at Tang A-yeon and Tang Baek-mun.
"You damn... Tang Clan bastards... You so-called righteous scum using poison... poison..."
The Murim Alliance members checked their own bodies.
Wondering if they were poisoned too.
Gu Cheon-se growled, abandoning the woman and Han Ibi to approach them.
'Phew... Saved my eggs at least...'
Gu Cheon-se roared in fury.
"You filthy Tang Clan dogs. Today I'll rip apart every limb of every Tang with that name. And hunt down the rest... all of them!"
His ferocious aura made the Alliance members unconsciously grip their weapons.
That was when it happened.
Gu Cheon-se suddenly lifted a bed.
The Alliance split like the Red Sea miracle.
But...
Gu Cheon-se hurled the bed elsewhere entirely.
Toward the sky.
He'd thrown it upward with full power.
As everyone stared dumbfounded,
Tang A-yeon shouted.
"No! The roof! He's escaping through the roof. Stop him!"
Crash! Boom! The ceiling caved in, dust billowing white.
The Alliance experts snapped to and charged at Gu Cheon-se.
However...
Nothing remained but the hole in the ceiling.
A few pursued Gu Cheon-se.
The middle-aged Taoist frowned.
"His lightness skill has few peers under heaven. Regrettably this time..."
Another middle-aged man sighed.
"Alas... Disaster. The mighty Murim Alliance can't handle one fiend..."
Then the old monk said to Tang A-yeon and Tang Baek-mun,
"Amitabha. Poison can be medicine depending on use. You did well, benefactors."
Tang A-yeon and Tang Baek-mun exchanged bewildered glances, as if denying responsibility.
Then a late-arriving middle-aged man from the Sichuan Tang Clan, 'Tang Ga-gye', spoke.
He was Tang Baek-mun's uncle and master.
"Reverend Tanheo, you overpraise us."
At that moment, Tang A-yeon pointed at Han Ibi.
"That man's condition looks dire."
Indeed.
Han Ibi's mind was hazy.
He'd lost too much blood.
'Am I dreaming? Familiar faces...'
No. Precisely, faces stored in Jong Ri-mae's memories.
"Hyu... Ung..."
Han Ibi mumbled unconsciously.
Surprise was evident on his face amid the pursuit team.
That youth was Jong Ri-mae's half-brother and the protagonist of Dream of the Ant Snake, Jong Ri-hyeok.
[Sudden Quest: Rescued Ok Geun-tak from Gu Cheon-se]
🎁 Reward: Wisdom +2, Needle Technique +1 Stage, Reputation +5...
Han Ibi couldn't hear the full rewards.
His body toppled backward, and he fainted.
Time flowed dimly like darkness.
Sensations lingered, but unmeasurable.
Suddenly, his nape ached dully, stabbing pains.
Opening his eyes, Han Ibi slowly... ever so slowly, like eternity, turned his head.
"Hee hee hee."
Laughter.
High-pitched, a woman.
It was a girl about his age.
She held what looked like a book, giggling in a corner chair.
Then she met Han Ibi's gaze.
"Hey!"
She jumped up.
"Say something if you're awake! Why stare like an idiot?"
Han Ibi was speechless.
He parted his lips with effort, but no sound came.
She snapped irritably,
"Ugh... Why wake on my watch? Such a hassle."
Then the girl hurried out.
'Wh-What the...'
Han Ibi sighed deeply. Then painstakingly straightened his head.
A wooden ceiling came into view.
(Continued in the next chapter)