Chapter 92
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Dead Meat (2)
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Yukchil had mulled it over rationally enough, but now he was done. This guy was even crazier than he'd imagined every single time. So he'd realized it was better not to say a word.
Crazy bastards weren't crazy for nothing.
The gang leader was the bold type too, the kind who didn't give a damn about getting burned if it was for the sake of justice. Those two meeting? Trouble was guaranteed.
'If I spill it, I'll get my ass kicked for sure.'
That curiosity-driven maniac wouldn't let prey like Mujin slip by. Hell, it was more believable that a cat would ignore a fish. The problem was who was gonna get thrashed—it was obvious. Sure, they bickered all the time, but Hong Mu-gae was still Beggar Clan.
I don't wanna watch him get beat...
'Do I really have to take the hit alone?'
They always said to share even half a bean. Getting thrashed together might hurt a little less, right?
Yukchil barely shook off the intense temptation.
Thanks to that bizarre mission, he'd crossed paths with this freak of a man and endured every hardship imaginable. And yet, his internal energy had grown. Sure, the disasters were overwhelming, but fortune snuck in now and then.
Disaster after disaster, a bit of fortune, then disaster on disaster.
If he keeled over from sheer frustration before the good stuff hit, it'd be too damn unfair—what then?
"Sacrificing right there on the roadside."
"You lack situational awareness more than you look."
Cheolho and Narung shattered Yukchil's reverie.
He pulled himself together and trailed after Mujin when a familiar beggar caught his eye. A fellow recruit from when he'd joined the Beggar Clan.
Feeling a spark of joy, he called out.
"Honggu!"
"You callin' me? Who is it?"
"It's me, Yukchil."
"If you're Yukchil, then I'm O-chil."
"O-chil's the one tailing the gang leader."
"... You really Yukchil?"
It was a casual test toss. No answer, and he'd have been suspicious. Honggu's face flushed red as if smacked by winter frost, his shock plain as day. He looked like he'd spotted something alien, scanning Yukchil from head to toe.
"On a mission?"
"You could say that."
"So you always looked like this."
"That's a hell of a way to put it."
"How the hell we supposed to recognize faces?"
Fair point. Never washed his face before, so no one knew what he looked like clean. Most in the Beggar Clan were the same. Scrub 'em up, and they were totally different people.
That was why they went by unique stench. Not some cheap artificial stink you could fake. It was a privilege earned from years rolling in the dirt and begging in the clan.
"Where you rushing off to with the kids?"
"Chasing lewd bandits stirring shit nearby. You know about it too."
"Not something headquarters needs to sweat."
"Wasn't treating it serious till recently, but we got word. Sent letters to every sect, beefed up manpower. You hear?"
"Hear what?"
"Heavenly Lord Divine Spear's stepping in."
"What's got the guy who ignores everyone else's business?"
Guo Yunbaek of the Heavenly Lord Divine Spear in the Beggar Clan was fiercely independent. Never joined groups, moved solo, stayed out of personal squabbles. Hated hassle, avoided people. Sure, it got dressed up as "solitary hero," but whatever.
"He'll wrap it up quick."
"Traces left behind, and Wudang sent folks too."
"What's Wudang's deal?"
"What deal? Greenhorns. Secular sects in the mix. Something about the Baemun Merchant Group's daughter, I think... Heuk!"
A shadow loomed suddenly before his eyes.
Honggu recoiled in fresh shock, trying to backpedal. But before he could, his collar was snatched, feet kicking in midair. He hadn't even registered when it happened. If he'd mastered the clan's ultimate art, Dragon Sound Twelve Palms, he might've slipped free.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Shut it. What'd you just say?"
"This punk really! You know who I... Ghk!"
"Asked you. Just now."
His gaze was icy frost, devoid of emotion.
Honggu panicked. No nerve to fight back. Forget Dragon Sound Twelve Palms—even the Beggar Clan's killer move, Fierce Dragon Eighteen Palms, wouldn't cut it. Terrifying.
Gonna piss myself!
"This scum, a branch leader... Hek!"
Woooong!
A ripple circled out, trapping space within.
As Mujin ramped up the pressure, the air grew heavy. The formless aura of a transcendent master.
Gulp!
The Beggar Clan members who'd gathered swallowed hard. Their bodies felt like tons of lead, on the verge of crushing down.
They clocked it: an expert beyond imagination. Honggu, grasping the reality, forced his mouth open.
"We're Beggar Clan. This'll only screw you over... Heuk!"
"Don't make me repeat myself."
"What the hell's this about?"
"Wudang's secular disciples are Baek Yuhwa and Baek Yugyeong?"
"Yeah, but what’s that got to do with choking me... Can't breathe!"
Mujin flung Honggu aside and turned to Yukchil.
Gasp!
That look in his eyes!
Yukchil figured bad words could spell disaster. He got why the guy had snapped.
"Wasn't on purpose. How would they know who Wudang sends?"
"Better not be. If they specifically asked for them, I couldn't guarantee what happens to the Beggar Clan."
Yukchil prayed it wouldn't spiral. Having dealt with Mujin, he knew the risks better than anyone. You couldn't measure him by normal human standards.
'Of all the damn luck!'
One slip, and catastrophe for the Beggar Clan. Had to play to Mujin's temper, max smooth.
"Where?"
"Dangan Village!"
"Dangan Village your house? Exact spot."
"Even I don't... Kek!"
Desperate, Honggu glanced at Yukchil.
Yukchil shook his head frantically, begging him to stay out.
"Spit it out, just!"
"Hey, dude!"
Catching Yukchil's desperate plea, Honggu waved off his underlings. He queried Yukchil in clan code. The Beggar way: twist words for insiders only.
Like this:
'What the fuck you doing?'
'Better off clueless.'
Sounds straightforward, but really it's "the guy who eats regular but don't shit." Not every word's code, but rigged so outsiders can't parse. Intermediate lesson once you hit branch leader.
"Anyway, we're heading out first. Spread the word however."
"What now... Huh?"
Swaaaaang!
Mujin and his crew vanished. Yukchil bolted after with lightness skill. Honggu, aiming to tail and snoop, ended up stock-still.
"That jerk!"
Slower than me, my ass.
Honggu had prided himself on topping lightness skill among rookies. Yet Yukchil vanished from sight before he could move. He pushed off to chase—and deflated in dismay.
"Branch leader, who the hell were they?"
"Hell if I know, idiots! Report already!"
Too old to risk life for bro code, but rivalry? Pure beauty. Not wanting to trail a friend was warrior instinct.
But gaps widen? Time to fold.
"Made it big, huh!"
Hmm.
Didn't see this coming.
It was off his script. Nangong family's flop had pinned eyes on him, sure, but this? No prediction.
Clever play.
Confirming the encirclement closing in, he admitted escape wouldn't be easy. From the ten women laid out on the cabin floor, he picked one. The one thickest with pure yin aura. He'd sealed her blood points with yin blood technique, deep suspended animation.
"Take one each and drop dead."
"Got it."
Something off about the tightening net. Strong, at this level. Outnumbered, prioritize breakout. Resolved, he didn't waver. Subordinates dying? Zero fucks.
'Gonna hear an earful.'
He headed for his failure contingency spot. Shame to ditch untasted goods, but no clinging. Post-use, just rotting meat anyway.
Shuuuung!
Even cradling the woman, he was swift. Lustful gentleman? Lightness skill on lock. Old wisdom: can't keep up speed, stay chaste.
Plus, his men cracked the path open. Unforeseen bullshit? Minimal odds.
'Drooling over this.'
Holding her but can't sample—tragic. Should've tasted first if he'd known. Untouched woman? Pure fragrance. Obvious, but virgins warped by men? Pass.
Lick!
His red tongue slid over her slender white neck, savoring. Flesh quality key for rating.
Twitch!
The pinned woman shuddered on instinct.
'Miss paradise flavor, tough rebirth even postmortem.'
Tsk tsk tsk!
Darkness deepened with the man's sigh.
En route to Dangan Village, Yukchil scoped Beggar Clan positions. Pinpoint meant questioning. Clanmates didn't share all intel. Fragmented sometimes, for capture-proofing.
Every query, Yukchil proved himself a hassle. All "who?"—cue clan code. Pissed enough to vow getting filthy again.
"What went down?"
"Not the gang leader's doing. Pure coincidence stack. Word is the two young misses joined Hyuncheon Hall as disciples. Got tapped for lewd bandit cleanup on allocation."
Hmm.
Sisters-in-law no casual sword dabblers. Flowing Cloud Sword laced with Dragon Flower Heavenly Immortal Sword Manual—skills leveled up.
'Father-in-law must've hooked 'em up.'
Traded millennium ginseng to Wudang, no doubt. Key ingredient for their treasure Taecheong Pill. Skipped profit for his girls.
Wudang backing a sweet bonus, sure. But future bet over quick cash. Old man's foresight sharp.
"Lewd bandits been around forever. Government handles, no?"
"They tried. Bupkis. Cheonui Gate tapped Heavenly Lord Divine Spear. HQ spotted weird shit, pegged 'em non-standard."
"Risky?"
"Still just lewd bandits. No sweat."
"Better not be."
Mujin wouldn't buy losing to lewd bandits. But that Demon King's quip nagged.
'For real?'
-Kinda like the lewd monk's playbook. Snatching multiple girls to scatter eyes? Classic.
'Ate plenty L's to that creep.'
-Ecstasy Gaze hits, game over. Righteous chicks stripped gleefully. Chicken scratch next to my Soul-Piercing Demonic Eye, though.
'Gotta pluck Demonic Cult eyes first.'
Those peepers the issue.
Strange chains, most snared.
Lewd monk especially—sorcery hit men and women alike, hammered Murim Alliance. Trickier than kung fu. Spill secrets like water.
'Taoist stock, they'll hold.'
-Did they now? Kkekekeke!
'Shit.'
-Tardy's gonna spawn master-brother pillow talk.
Pure Taoists or Buddhists, maybe. But Ecstasy Gaze turned hall heads and immortals into rutting mutts. Still, no assuming this era's monk matched peak illusion power.
'Feels off. Not sloppy enough for Beggar sniff this era.'
-Hypothetical: Nangong success pulls Beggar intel there.
Made sense.
Demon King had chops.
"Word's out, honor it."
"Roger!"
"Tried playing me."
"Gang leader's personal call."
Yukchil pinned blame square on Hong Mu-gae. Context screamed it. Whole clan at risk for one man? Nah. Clan leader'd get loyal Yukchil's play—next gang leader seat wide open advice included.
"Noted. I'll make sure Hong Mu-gae gets your choice verbatim."
"Huh?"
Don't tell him!
"Individual sacrifice for the greater good. Noble. Damn noble."
"Just kill me instead!"
"Tempting?"
"... No jokes allowed?!"
Hong Mu-gae catching Mujin's eye now? Disaster. Opposites attract trouble, and he'd nailed the weakness.
'Do crazies got a wavelength?'
Why they all alike?
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