Chapter 72: Miscalculation (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 72: Miscalculation (1)
Dan Ri-geon stood there, his expression dazed.
As if a white mist were frosting over the air, Seok Myeong’s form plummeted from above like a bolt of lightning.
Dan Ri-geon’s eyes snapped wide. He hurriedly pulled the iron whip in his hand, snapping it back and forth to create a barrier before him.
Slash!
By the time Seok Myeong’s figure became clearly visible, Dan Ri-geon was already shielded behind the whistling coils of his weapon. This time, the whip had been faster than the man.
‘I have to push him back now!’
Seok Myeong had used the Illusory Lost Track Step, but it was a mere imitation. Unless he utilized his inner qi, it was impossible to truly deceive a master of this caliber.
Seok Myeong decided he had to end it here.
Internal arts are external styles, and external styles are internal arts.
He observed the inner qi flowing majestically through his meridians. He gathered it into a dense, substantial mass and poured it into his sword. Simultaneously, he channeled the raw strength felt in his hand into the very center of the blade.
Then, he swung downward.
Whoosh!
He missed. A sense of emptiness rushed over him, but Seok Myeong had no time to dwell on it.
Swish!
“With such a pathetic sword shadow?!”
The moment he saw the faint energy gathered at the tip of Seok Myeong’s sword, Dan Ri-geon wrapped the iron whip around the youth’s body. He did not doubt for a second that the whip, saturated with his full cultivation, would tear the young man’s torso to shreds.
However, Dan Ri-geon’s conviction…
Cr-crack!
…shattered along with the sound of the iron whip splitting apart.
The monochromatic, faint energy coating the sword had sliced right through the iron. And it wasn't just one strand. Every single ring of the iron whip that had coiled around Seok Myeong was severed in an instant.
“…Ugh!?”
There was no time for shock.
Reflexively, Dan Ri-geon raised his arms to protect his vitals with his Fish-Scale Armor while manifesting his Protective Astral Qi. Seok Myeong’s sword was already too close to avoid.
The blade swung in a continuous, fluid motion.
Boom!
With a deep resonance, the two hands blocking the sword buckled. Dan Ri-geon’s body was sent flying backward. Though he had managed to blunt the energy with his hastily raised Protective Astral Qi and Fish-Scale Armor, the sheer shock he couldn't absorb propelled him through the air.
“Gah!”
Ultimately, Dan Ri-geon could not withstand the weight of the strike and was blown back over five jang.
“Ah…?”
Seok Myeong’s eyes widened. He stood there with a look of pure bewilderment, as if he couldn't understand what he had just done, even though he had seen it with his own eyes. Slowly, his gaze shifted toward the sword that had sent the captain flying.
“What was that sound?”
“It came from outside!”
A chaotic clamor began to rise from within the fortress gates.
‘Oh, no!’
Only then did Seok Myeong grasp the situation. He remembered the plan: stall for as much time as possible, then rendezvous at the storehouse.
“Someone is lying over there!”
“Open the gates, quickly!”
Seok Myeong looked back and forth between the fallen captain and the main gate. He hesitated. Considering the man’s martial prowess, he should finish him off now. However, if he delayed any longer, he would surely be captured or pursued by the reinforcements.
As the gates groaned open, he hurriedly vanished into the shadows. In the end, he gave up on the finishing blow and began to head down toward the village where they had agreed to meet.
*
“Are you alright, Captain?”
“Ugh.”
At the sound of a voice accompanied by the rustling of fallen leaves, Dan Ri-geon pushed himself up, nursing a severe headache. Three or four members of the Soul Killing Team stood before him, while others kept watch on the surroundings.
As his senses returned, Dan Ri-geon finally remembered why he was lying in the dirt. The moment he blocked that monochromatic energy, he had been sent flying and knocked unconscious.
“Are you awake?”
The moment Dan Ri-geon pulled himself up, a mocking voice reached his ears. The very reason he had come here—that unwelcome man—was standing atop a stone wall, looking down at him.
“Seeing the state you’re in brings many thoughts to mind. Would you care to explain what the man who follows the Great Lord is doing out here like this?”
Hong Geom-baek spat the words with a sneer, looking down at Dan Ri-geon at the bottom of the slope.
“…….”
Dan Ri-geon did not answer. Instead, as if his interest lay elsewhere, he stared down at his own palm.
A straight, clean laceration marked his skin. From within the wound, a mysterious, sinister energy was slowly leaking out. Most likely, this was the energy the youth had unleashed at the very end.
‘It’s an energy I’ve never seen before.’
Even for a veteran of the Jianghu, it was an unfamiliar power. The color it emitted and the sense of heterogeneity it gave off were entirely foreign. But above all, its destructive power was the most alien thing about it.
Not only did it snap his iron whip, but it had also collapsed the Protective Astral Qi he had built up like a fortress wall as if it were a mere levee. It had even torn through his Fish-Scale Armor. All of that from a faint, monochromatic energy that had appeared only for a fleeting moment.
‘Furthermore, that movement technique…’
What bothered him more than anything was the Illusory Lost Track Step. There was no way he wouldn't recognize the martial arts of the Qingcheng Taoists that had once shaken the Jianghu.
That was why he was so confused. A swordsman of Qingcheng using demonic arts? It made no sense.
“I asked why you were here, and you have nothing to say? Just how embarrassing was your defeat that you’re standing there looking so dazed?”
Hong Geom-baek continued to pester him with sarcasm. He clearly saw this as the perfect opportunity to insult Dan Ri-geon, who usually treated him with utter disregard.
After several more rebukes, the silent Dan Ri-geon finally responded.
“What were you doing?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking what you were doing.”
“…….”
Hong Geom-baek glared at him, his eyes sharpening. But this time, Dan Ri-geon’s gaze was even more intense.
“The people who took the wretches we were going to use as servants—when I arrived, they were all escaping through the wide-open East Gate. I am asking what you were doing while they broke in and caused such a mess.”
“What?”
In that instant, Hong Geom-baek’s eyebrows furrowed into a sharp 'V'. Just a moment ago, it had been confirmed that the servant girls were gone and several dead men had been found. Now Dan Ri-geon was explaining exactly how he knew.
Dan Ri-geon averted his gaze. “I will hold you accountable for your incompetence later.”
“What? How dare someone like you talk about crimes to me? To Hong Geom-baek!”
Despite the shouting, Dan Ri-geon didn't spare him another glance. He had already organized his thoughts. He walked forward a few steps and addressed the black-clad man prostrating before him.
“Where are they?”
The Vice Captain, Beoncheonjang, answered without lifting his head. “I have heard they are heading toward the village below, Soeup-chon.”
“Their numbers?”
“According to the investigation, there are two. It doesn't seem to exceed three at most.”
“Only two?”
Dan Ri-geon’s expression crumpled. He was enraged by the fact that a mere two people had deceived the eyes of the Black Snake Union and made off with all the hostages. However, he soon composed himself.
“Our casualties?”
“Two members of the Soul Killing Team and one squad leader. Five members of the Eyebrow Life Team are unconscious, and their captain is dead.”
“That would be Captain Jin.”
“Yes.”
“Hmph.”
Irritation surged within him, but he didn't ask for the details. Having seen the martial arts of the Qingcheng Sect warrior, he could understand the death of Captain Jin, who was considered a first-class master in his own right.
He hesitated for a moment. He intended to kill everyone involved in this matter anyway, but one thing stuck in his mind. The fact that they were from the Qingcheng Sect kept bothering him.
‘Of all things, it had to be Qingcheng…’
Even among the great sects, he wouldn't have cared much unless it was Mount Hua, Wudang, or Shaolin. He could have used the excuse that he didn't know their identity because they were masked. Besides, he had the justification that they were the ones who had trespassed, so he could just crush them like rats.
But if it was Qingcheng, the story was different.
Their pride was legendary. No one in the Jianghu was unaware of how persistent those people, often called the "Insolent Qingcheng," could be.
A prime example was the saying "Qingcheng Moves Mountains." Originally a play on the anecdote "The Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains," it referred to their terrifyingly stubborn nature—the fact that no matter how long it took, they would hunt down those who had wronged them to settle the debt. If they were on par with the Sichuan Tang Sect in that regard, that said everything.
“All members of the Soul Killing Team and the Eyebrow Life Team are to deploy a Heaven and Earth Dragnet around the Soeup-chon area.”
“Pardon?” Beoncheonjang looked up, puzzled. Even if they gathered every available man, they wouldn't reach two hundred. A true Heaven and Earth Dragnet was impossible with those numbers.
“You madman. Are you trying to start a war?” Hong Geom-baek asked with a sneer. To him, this was utterly ridiculous. Mobilizing the entire force of the Black Snake Union for just two greenhorns?
“Limit the radius to one hundred jang from the location where the attackers are likely to be. And squad leaders ranked sixth and above, follow me.”
Regardless of the protest, Dan Ri-geon continued to issue orders, prompting Hong Geom-baek to intervene again.
“You! Who said you could use the troops as you please? Has your overstepping of authority finally gone too far!”
His grievance was natural. The Soul Killing Team consisted of a little over a hundred members, and Hong Geom-baek was in charge of the remaining eighty or so members of the Eyebrow Life Team. While Dan Ri-geon was slightly higher in rank, he didn't have the authority to command Hong Geom-baek’s men.
“It’s Qingcheng.”
At those words, Hong Geom-baek’s mouth shut tight.
“What?”
“One of the two is a brat from Qingcheng. I confirmed it myself.”
“…….”
Hong Geom-baek stood stunned for a moment before spitting out a curse and raising his hand in a signal to his men.
*
Pitter-patter.
Rain suddenly began to pour from the thickening dark clouds.
Seok Myeong, who had been descending the mountain path, climbed back up the hill and headed toward a place he had scouted before infiltrating the union. It was a storehouse perched on the ridge.
Half-rotten straw was scattered across the floor, and a musty, foul stench wafted through the air. However, it was the best shelter they could find in the vicinity.
“What do you plan to do?”
Hyeok-jin, who had been moving with the captives, approached Seok Myeong as soon as he arrived. In truth, they should have kept moving, but the sudden downpour had forced them to halt.
“Hmm…”
Even Seok Myeong didn't have an immediate answer. The rain had turned the path into a muddy mess, and a fog so thick had rolled in that one couldn't see their own hand at arm's length. Moving with the elderly and children in these conditions was a suicide mission. They would be impossible to control, and if they encountered the warriors of the Black Snake Union, the captives would be slaughtered before he could intervene.
“We have to move. And quickly.”
They couldn't stay in the storehouse forever. With so many people, they were bound to leave tracks. For now, the rain and fog provided cover, but it was only a matter of time before the well-trained warriors of the union found them.
“Please, think of a way to save the children first.”
As Seok Myeong fell into a brief silence, a woman with a familiar face approached from behind along with Old Man Hwang. It was the woman called Aunt Yeon.
“I know there is no other way. So please, save the children first.”
“Madam…”
“If we’re going to die anyway, we will buy you time. So please, just take the children. I beg of you.”
“Might there not be another way? Buying time with your lives is…”
“What kind of way?”
“For instance, negotiating, or perhaps…”
At that, she spoke with a grave, hollow expression.
“Taoist, they are of the Unorthodox Faction.”