Anyway, If You’re Late, You Die. (3)
Glug, glug, glug, glug, glug.
“Kraaaaah!”
After gulping down the liquor in big, greedy swallows, Chung Myung let out a satisfyingly loud cry and lowered the bottle, wiping at the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. Then he looked in the direction the Mount Hua disciples had run off to and grinned broadly.
“Heh heh heh heh.”
Hye Yeon watched him with a sullen expression. Since he wasn’t a Mount Hua disciple, he couldn’t join the race and had been left behind against his will.
“Benefactor.”
“Yeah?”
“Isn’t this a little dangerous?”
“Dangerous how?”
Hye Yeon looked anxiously toward the direction the Mount Hua disciples had gone.
“Just now, when I saw the Ghost Sect disciples rushing ahead, their mastery of movement technique seemed extremely high…”
“Of course it did. They’re the Ghost Sect.”
If they hadn’t been outstanding at footwork to begin with, Chung Myung never would have joined hands with them.
That’s the bare minimum, you know.
“But was there any real need to hold a contest like this?”
“What would you know?”
Chung Myung glanced at the Ghost Sect elder, Oh Jang-song, and the young sect leader, Do Un-chan, standing beside him.
“...Well, I figured it was about time to sort a few things out.”
“Sort things out?”
“No, nothing.”
He shrugged and went back to chugging the liquor.
Hye Yeon still looked uneasy.
“I can’t help feeling a bit anxious…”
Chung Myung snorted and looked at him.
“You’ve really become a worrywart, haven’t you, you little bald monk?”
“...”
“What’s the point of training if you’re not going to use it?”
Chung Myung looked so relaxed he almost seemed bored.
If this had been the old Mount Hua disciples who had never been properly taught movement techniques, that would have been one thing. But these days, they had all learned Mount Hua’s footwork properly.
“Movement technique is the most straightforward thing there is. The work you put in shows up directly in the results. And as far as I know, there isn’t a single one of our martial brothers who hasn’t gotten beaten half to death training harder than anyone else.”
“...And you know that and still—”
“Huh?”
“Never mind…”
Hye Yeon shook his head weakly.
Actually, it is a little overblown to worry this much.
By now, even Hye Yeon had a fair grasp of the Mount Hua disciples’ abilities. No, to be precise, among all outsiders who weren’t part of Mount Hua, there was probably no one who knew them better than he did.
From his perspective, Baek Cheon and the others were already far beyond the level of ordinary younger disciples. If they took those people back to Shaolin, there wouldn’t be a single one among their peers who could stand against them. That was, of course, except for Hye Yeon himself.
No matter how good the Ghost Sect was said to be at footwork, it wouldn’t be easy to outpace Mount Hua’s disciples.
“Come to think of it, this should be an easy victory.”
“An easy victory?”
But once again, Chung Myung curled the corners of his mouth into a meaningful smile.
“Yeah, that would be nice.”
“Pardon?”
“Anyway, if you’re late, you’re dead.”
His eyes sparkled as if he were looking at some especially amusing toy.
Seeing that, unease began to creep into Hye Yeon’s face.
“Hup!”
Jo Gul pushed off the ground hard.
Each time his foot drove into the earth, his body shot forward by several jang, and once he caught the momentum, he burst ahead to the front in an instant.
“Hahahahahaha!”
A laugh escaped him on its own.
Holy crap, this feels amazing now that I’ve taken off that damned hunk of metal!
What a sense of freedom!
He had worn that blasted chunk of black iron all the way from Shaanxi to Guizhou. It was a distance that would have broken his legs even if he had traveled barefoot, and yet he had hauled something ten times heavier than ordinary steel strapped to his limbs. How could the suffering have been anything less than hell?
Now that the hunk of metal was gone, his body felt so light he could hardly contain himself. With it came a surge of confidence as well.
Whoever he was facing, whether the Ghost Sect or anyone else, he felt like he could win now.
Thud!
There was power in the footfall that struck the ground.
Definitely!
Perhaps it was the effect of all the abuse he’d put his body through getting here, but the strength driving his legs now was completely different from usual.
That bastard’s training really does work like crazy, damn it.
He hated to admit it, but still!
So, anyway, all he had to do was win this thing first and then—
“Oh? You’re pretty fast.”
At the voice that suddenly came from right beside him, Jo Gul’s head snapped around.
No way…?
He was already rushing ahead at terrifying speed. He was so startled by how fast he himself was running that he could hardly believe it. And yet the man keeping pace beside him wore an expression so relaxed that this speed clearly meant nothing to him.
He’s keeping up at this pace?
For a split second, amazement flashed across Jo Gul’s face, and the Ghost Sect disciple beside him smirked.
“As expected of a disciple from a famous sect. Looks like you haven’t slacked off in training.”
Jo Gul’s brow twitched.
What’s this bastard’s problem?
The Ghost Sect disciple’s attitude was unmistakably condescending. It was the same sort of attitude that disciples of Mount Zhongnan had often shown in the past, or the sort of smugness other Nine Sects and One Gang disciples had displayed when they met Mount Hua at the early stages of the martial contest.
At the very least, they were clearly certain that in terms of movement technique alone, they were superior to Mount Hua’s disciples.
Getting a little hot under the collar, Jo Gul snapped back, “If you keep acting that cocky, you’re gonna get a nasty surprise.”
“Oh?”
The Ghost Sect disciple grinned as if he’d just heard a funny joke.
“Confidence is good and all, but there’s something you should understand.”
“Huh?”
“Do you know what road this is?”
Jo Gul tilted his head. What was that supposed to mean?
“It’s the route we use for training.”
“And? You’re saying you’ll win because you’ve run on it more often?”
“No, no. That’s not what I mean.”
Still smirking, the Ghost Sect disciple suddenly shot forward at high speed.
“What—!”
“You’ll see when you experience it yourself!”
At that lightning movement, Jo Gul’s eyes went wide.
“Jo Gul!”
And from behind him, Yoon Jong came running with incredible speed.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I-I don’t know, that bastard just—!”
“Forget it! Catch up first! If we lose the lead, we’re in trouble!”
“Yes!”
The two of them charged forward side by side, pouring every bit of their internal energy into their legs and hurtling ahead without hesitation.
“Uraaaaah!”
“Stop right—!”
And then, at that exact moment—
Crunch.
Huh?
Jo Gul felt a strange sensation under the foot he had forcefully planted.
Instinctively looking down, he saw the ground cave in beneath him.
“Wh-what the hell!”
“A trap?”
In an instant, the ground where Jo Gul and Yoon Jong had stepped collapsed completely. Their bodies plunged straight down.
“Aaaaaaah!”
“No, you crazy bastard!”
They had been focused only on running at full speed, and so when the floor suddenly gave way, they had no way to react.
Thump!
Thunk!
Still carrying all their speed, the two of them slammed into the walls of the pit and slid downward.
Splash!
“Grrrlll…”
They crashed into water that filled the bottom of the pit, and after choking and sputtering for a moment, they finally managed to get their bearings and raise their heads above the surface.
“Puuuuuh!”
“Cough! Gah—cough!”
Yoon Jong coughed until his face turned red, spitting out the water he’d swallowed, then stared in utter disbelief before shouting, “What is this? Why is there a trap on the road?”
“I-I know, right…”
Just then—
A mocking voice came from above the heads of the two men, who were gritting their teeth and trying to climb out.
“Ah, one more thing.”
The Ghost Sect disciple who had shot ahead somehow reappeared, peeking his head over the pit.
With a broad grin plastered across his face, he chuckled softly.
“There are plenty of traps besides this one, so be careful.”
Jo Gul, already seething with rage, felt a spark go off in his eyes.
“No, seriously, what is wrong with this bastard?”
“Consider it a gift.”
Thud!
The Ghost Sect disciple stamped the ground, and the earth trembled. The vibration was especially clear to the two men trapped inside the pit.
“...Huh?”
But if he kept stomping like that, then—
“N-no way…”
Rumble-rumble-rumble.
The walls of the pit, which had seemed just barely stable, began collapsing all at once. A flood of soil poured down over Jo Gul and Yoon Jong like a waterfall.
The two men gaped and screamed in horror.
“You bastard!”
“Hiiiiiiik!”
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
The ground around the pit caved in completely, burying the place where Jo Gul and Yoon Jong were standing in an instant.
The Ghost Sect disciple looked down at the neatly covered pit and smiled faintly.
“I don’t have any personal grudge against you, but if we lose, it’ll look pretty ugly for us too.”
With that, he leapt away without hesitation and shot forward again.
A little later.
As the dust and debris finally settled in the buried pit, a hand suddenly shot up through the earth.
Fumbling left and right a couple of times, the hand swept violently through the soil and pushed it aside.
“Grrrrrrr…!”
“Guh!”
At last, Yoon Jong and Jo Gul—covered head to toe in water and dirt, reduced to miserable mud-men—crawled out from the rubble.
“Ptooey! Ptooey! Aaaagh!”
“...Gul. Don’t eat the dirt.”
With his face smeared in mud, Jo Gul’s eyes were bloodshot.
“Sahyung.”
“...”
“Let’s kill those bastards. All of them.”
Yoon Jong was no different.
“This once, I agree.”
The two of them exchanged a look, then, as if by silent agreement, burst forward with savage momentum.
“Kill them!”
“If they catch us, we’re dead for real!”
Spitting out every obscene curse that Hyun Jong would have clutched his head and fainted over if he’d heard them, the two charged up the mountain.
“Hah! Hah!”
Meanwhile, Dang Soso was also sprinting ahead, sweat pouring down her face. Even though she was gasping so hard it felt like her lungs were about to burst, her eyes kept flicking to the side.
“Sa, sago!”
“No.”
“P-please, just let me, let me go ahead fir—”
“No.”
Right beside her, Yu I-seol ran with a blade-sharp look in her eyes.
“I can’t, heh, keep running anymore.”
“You can.”
Even if she was the daughter of the Dang Family and had a solid foundation in physical stamina, and even if her internal energy was on par with anyone’s, that was only true when compared to ordinary Mount Hua disciples.
Her martial ability still couldn’t compare to the Mount Hua Five Swords. So how in the world was she supposed to keep pace with them?
The problem was that Yu I-seol was not the kind of person who accepted such common sense.
Dang Soso had thought they could simply run at a moderate pace while the senior brothers took care of the victory, but Yu I-seol had stuck to her side from the start and had no intention of letting go.
In the end, Dang Soso had been forced, with tears in her eyes, to match Yu I-seol’s speed until now she felt like the heavens themselves were turning yellow.
“I-I’m gonna die!”
“It’s fine. You can do it.”
I’m not fine, I’m not!
Why do you keep saying I’m fine?!
Resentment flashed across Dang Soso’s face.
Then Yu I-seol glanced ahead, frowned slightly, and slowed her stride just a fraction.
She had spotted the backs of two Ghost Sect disciples who had run out in front of them.
We’ve caught up?
No, not yet, surely.
That meant the other side was slowing down. Why?
Just then, one of the men in front happened to look back. Seeing the faint smile on his lips, Yu I-seol’s expression hardened.
“Watch out!”
“Pardon?”
Her premonition was right. The men in front kicked the trees around them with full force.
Bang! Thud!
The instant those powerful kicks shook the trunks, Yu I-seol’s head snapped back sharply.
“So-so!”
“Yes?”
Yu I-seol yanked Dang Soso hard toward her and, at the same time, drew the sword at her waist.
Sswaaaash!
Something was raining down from the tops of the trees, where the dense branches blocked out much of the light.
Bamboo spears?
Strictly speaking, they were more like bamboo poles than spears. Bamboo that had not been sharpened at the ends, and so had no real killing power.
But for people running at this speed, even blunt bamboo poles were a serious threat.
“Taah!”
A short, sharp shout burst from Yu I-seol’s lips.
Her sword flashed through the air furiously, cutting down every single bamboo pole that rained overhead.
How petty!
Paahaaang!
But at that very moment, a loud burst of force rang out. Following the bamboo poles, large ball-like objects came pelting down at the two of them.
“Useless!”
Yu I-seol’s sword once again cleaved the sky. Dang Soso screamed.
“Aaaagh! No, Sago!”
Huh?
What’s no?
Slash! Slash!
The sword had already been swung, and the incoming balls were cleanly sliced apart all at once.
But then—
Pow! Pow-pow! Pow!
The cut balls exploded, and black masses burst outward, spreading wide to both sides.
What?
Yu I-seol’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.
“A net…?”
By the time she realized it, it was already too late.
The iron nets hidden inside the balls came flying out and covered Yu I-seol and Dang Soso completely.
Whap! Whaaap!
One layer! Two layers! More nets kept raining down over the two of them, already tangled in the first mesh.
“Kyaaahhhhh!”
In the end, their feet got caught, and the two of them became one tangled mass rolling down the slope.
“Agh! My back! Agh!”
“...”
Bang! Thunk! Bang-thunk!
Curled up like a round ball, the pair bounced off the ground, then rolled again, then bounced once more. Only when they reached level ground did their speed finally begin to slow.
“Ugh… ngh… I’m… dead…”
“...”
A weak hand flopped around and tore the net away.
Flop.
At last, Dang Soso freed herself from all of it and collapsed face-first onto the ground with a pained groan.
“...Those... those damned bastards…”
She ground her teeth and let out a long sigh, and Yu I-seol, having thrown off her own net as well, opened her mouth.
“So-so.”
“Yes?”
Dang Soso reflexively lifted her head and shrank back with a start.
Yu I-seol, whose hair tie had been half torn and left her hair in disarray, ripped the rest of the tie apart and tossed it to the ground. Her black hair spilled down like a ghost’s, and within it, a cold blue light glowed in her eyes.
“...”
Even someone with considerable courage would have felt their heart drop at the sight.
Yu I-seol, her entire body exuding a chilling aura, muttered through clenched teeth, “I’m going ahead.”
“...Please don’t kill them.”
“I’ll think about it.”
She gripped her sword with eyes like a vengeful spirit’s and shot forward like a bolt of light.
“...”
Left alone, Dang Soso found herself, against her will, worrying about the Ghost Sect disciples.