Chapter 163
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: Earning Pocket Money (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thud!
As Jongri Cheon flailed about after taking Nangong Yeonhwa's fist strike head-on, Taejin's sword sliced smoothly through his left arm.
Splat, splat!
The arm that hit the floor twitched as if still alive, but it soon went still.
Mujin pulled a blood thread from the severed arm and gave it a try.
Aimed at Jongri Cheon.
Swish, slash!
He'd only tossed it lightly, but the speed was impressive. The blood thread was a tricky weapon with an unpredictable trajectory. Without practice, it was hard to bring out its full power.
Mujin ignored that and swung the blood thread wildly, turning Jongri Cheon into a bloody mess.
Thud!
Kneeling on the ground, Jongri Cheon glared at Mujin with murderous intent. This was all because of that dog bastard. If they'd fought fair and square, he wouldn't feel so wronged—this was just a sneaky son of a bitch.
"...Goddamn it~~~!"
If he hadn't gotten greedy for the next stage of the Blood-Sucking Demonic Emperor Art, he wouldn't be in this pathetic state.
"You dog bastard... Hack!"
"I'm cutting off your limbs first. I'll smash your dantian later once I confirm it. Oh, and give up on surviving. Just in case you somehow pull through, I'm making sure you're dead before I go."
"...Just kill me already!"
"Whoa, so impatient. You think I'd let you die easy? Think back on what you did. Ugh, disgusting."
Capturing people and forcing them into sex to drain their vitality—it was a barbaric act.
"...How unjust! If I'd been at full strength, a punk like you... Guh!"
"Crazy bastard. And yet you barge in at night with drugs? This guy's a real joker. People always forget to put themselves in others' shoes after they get caught."
He was someone who absolutely had to die, but he was useful for now. They needed money to stay in the annex for a few days. With free cash incoming, killing him in a fit of anger would be shortsighted.
'Lucky break, huh?'
-Hate to admit it, but it was brilliant.
'Told you we're good at this kind of thing.'
-The method doesn't matter.
In this era, was rated above, but in the future, this guy would be called the Lust Demon Killer, the worst of the demonic heads. If his Blood-Sucking Demonic Emperor Art had broken through ten stars, it might've been a real headache. In fact, the number of martial artists he'd killed was over a thousand. Indiscriminate with men and women, his inner energy drain made him the best in the world at it.
'Tch, feels kinda gross.'
-It's fate.
'Anyway, you gotta crush the bud before it blooms.'
-Obviously.
No one waits for the sprout to grow into a flower and fully bloom. The right way is to stomp it when it's weakest. If you let an enemy grow strong to test yourself, you're a fool without principles.
Having subdued the Lust Killer, Mujin turned to Nangong Yeonhwa.
"See?"
"How the hell did you know?"
"On the way to the inn, I saw this creep staring at you all sticky-eyed. Think about it logically. A beggar-looking bum who can't even tell men from women shows interest? Not normal."
"Shut up!"
"It's fine, I set up a qi barrier."
During dinner, when Nangong Yeonhwa heard Mujin's plan, she'd thought he was insane. She knew it was outrageous, but anyone with common sense couldn't follow through.
But what could she do? The law was far away, and this guy's fist was way too close. She couldn't dodge it. Fine, do whatever you want—she'd gone along with that mindset, and sure enough, a assassin appeared. One of the Seven Killers, no less: the Lust Killer, a vicious criminal.
'If it wasn't for this guy...'
Without Mujin, she'd have been done for. She hadn't even sensed the Lust Killer's moves, so she had no excuse. That's why the more she thought about it, the scarier it got, forcing her to face the dangers of the jianghu. She couldn't deny being grateful to Mujin.
The problem was...
"Not gonna say thanks?"
"...Thanks."
"Louder."
"Thank you! Happy now?"
She was grateful, sure, but look at this smug bastard. She was going to thank him anyway without him rubbing it in. That know-it-all face made her want to punch him.
For Nangong Yeonhwa, she just wished Mujin would shut up. Why keep yapping and making her resent him?
"Just words?"
"Isn't showing gratitude your way enough?"
"For real?"
"Don't push it!"
Without limits on this damn guy, he might uproot the entire Nangong family.
Having drawn a clear line, Nangong Yeonhwa fumed but didn't forget the favor. Whatever Mujin wanted, she'd pay a fair price.
"Yukchil, got it?"
"...Ah, yes! Understood."
Yukchil had spaced out for a moment.
He hadn't predicted this when he first heard Mujin's absurd plan. Let alone that it was one of the Seven Killers, the Lust Killer. Even with limited info, this wasn't someone who gets caught like this.
'He barely used any martial arts!'
If it'd been straight martial arts suppression, he wouldn't be shocked. Mujin had weakened the Lust Killer with schemes over raw power, then taken him down from a superior position. How could that sequence not give chills? Not just strong in martial arts—his cunning was vicious too. He got why the Lust Killer was so resentful.
'And ruthless.'
Not just against the Lust Killer—even his grandpa couldn't escape this diabolical trap. It looked sloppy, but there were no gaps, perfectly meticulous. And he didn't hesitate to toy with the world.
'Just tell the truth, he says!'
Yukchil's head already throbbed.
"What are you doing?"
"Said I'd cut off his limbs."
A real man keeps his promises. Mujin didn't take his words lightly.
"In front of the kid?"
"Oh, right. Son, good kids sleep early and wake early, yeah?"
After sending his son to the room, Mujin sliced off the Lust Killer's limbs with a sword. No worries about bleeding—he cauterized the stumps with Triple Flame Ignition.
At dawn, Mujin headed to the Wind Sword Sect.
He'd notified the yamen beforehand. With the government and jianghu investigating jointly, they had to handle it fairly.
The Wind Sword Sect buzzed when he said he'd caught the killer who murdered their young master. They'd tried hard but got nowhere, half-given up despite the bounty.
Sect Leader Wind Forest Sword Han Baekjin rushed out upon hearing. His face showed doubt. Recently, bounty hunters had shown up, but he knew his son's skills. Few late-generation talents in Nanjing could match him.
"You caught the killer?"
"Yes."
"I'd like to believe you, but bad luck's been piling up lately. If you're not sure, be prepared."
"Of course."
At Mujin's signal, Yukchil set down and unwrapped the cloth sack he carried.
Gasp!
Everyone gasped at the object inside. A limbless, blood-soaked figure. No one would be surprised if he died right there—faces wrinkled in disgust.
Han Baekjin examined the figure without flinching.
"Who is this?"
"The Lust Killer of the Seven Killings."
"...?"
Silence fell at Mujin's words.
They were curious about the figure's identity, but this was beyond imagination. The Lust Killer, whose identity was unknown even among the Seven Killings? Hard to buy outright. But if true, it explained why the killer hadn't been identified till now.
"Can you prove he's the Lust Killer?"
"His inner energy's sealed, but you can check. By the way, the martial art he practices is a type of Energy Absorption Art. It might suck out your inner energy, so be careful."
That was why Mujin hadn't crushed the dantian yet. Confirming the inner energy proved he was the Lust Killer. Just claiming to have the killer wouldn't convince many.
Especially since he was one of the Seven Killings. Understandable they'd hesitate.
As Han Baekjin reached to check, the elders stopped him.
"Sect Leader, it's dangerous."
"Don't worry."
If this was his son's killer, he didn't want an easy death. Han Baekjin carefully infused inner energy into the figure's dantian.
Bzzz!
Usually checked via the wrist, but the dantian was more reliable. So handing over your dantian meant handing over everything—not wrong.
Shake!
As Han Baekjin tested the backlash, his pupils trembled. The amount of inner energy lurking inside dwarfed his own.
'...Is it true?'
He'd half-doubted the killer claim, more so the Lust Killer bit. But feeling the dantian, doubts vanished.
'Sixty Cycles? Maybe more.'
Above all, the inner energy's purity was off—impure, mixed with various energies. Signature of Energy Absorption Art practitioners.
Urk!
Couldn't let guard down. The Lust Killer was waking. The absorption art activating. As his energy rapidly drained, Han Baekjin panicked.
'Damn!'
Big price for forgetting the warning. At this rate, the son's killer would drain him dry.
That was when...
Smack!
Mujin slapped the back of the Lust Killer's head with his palm. Han Baekjin yanked back his hand and recovered his energy.
"The more I see him, the uglier he gets. Oh! Didn't mean to interrupt."
"...?"
Coincidence?
The timing was too perfect—could've been dangerous. Unsure, Han Baekjin eyed Mujin oddly.
"Ah, time for his meds. Open up."
Mujin pulled powder wrapped in paper from his bosom, mixed it with water, and forced it into the loosening-mouthed Lust Killer. Struggling was pointless—Mujin kindly pinched nose and mouth shut.
"What is that?"
"Ear here."
Han Baekjin leaned in blankly at Mujin's gesture.
He whispered softly.
"Scattering Powder Poison. Keep it quiet, please."
"Why?"
"Bad for my reputation."
"Who are you, exactly?"
"Kang Mujin. Cheongyang Greatest Sword's my little sister."
"Who?"
Not the Nanjing Greatest Sword, but Wind Forest Sword was known in the jianghu. Yet Kang Mujin rang no bells—no nickname even. Cheongyang Greatest Sword? Still unfamiliar. And he was name-dropping his fame.
'Can't get a read.'
Couldn't admit not knowing. Whatever the reason, he caught the enemy who killed his son—the sect's benefactor. Couldn't say he'd never heard of him.
"Also called Heavenly Fortune Fist."
"...Sounds familiar."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Figured. Wouldn't ask for details, that'd be rude."
Han Baekjin broke into cold sweat. The more they talked, the more tongue-tied he got. Couldn't say he didn't know, so he bullshitted—now cornered endlessly.
'If he used Scattering Powder Poison, it's possible.'
Frontal fight with the Lust Killer? Impossible. Not on par with the Twenty Heroes of Divine Province, but capturing a Seven Killer needed all Nanjing sects united.
Still, pulling it off was impressive. Scattering needed time to spread. No sloppy martial arts could catch him. Pride well-earned.
Han Baekjin decided to treat Mujin as the sect's benefactor. A twinge of guilt for suspecting him briefly.
"I don't want much. Just money. Rewards are best in cash."
"...I see."
Again, was this guy slick or what? Han Baekjin was confused. If not for rage at the Lust Killer, it'd be a headache.