Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: The River Bandit's Due
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The battle on the ship was over in less than a quarter of an hour.
The ship was quite large, but there were only about thirty river bandits aboard, compared to the thirty members of the Lunar Eclipse Squad.
The numbers were nearly one-to-one, but with the vast difference in skill, it was hardly a fight.
Moreover, with their leader having fled, the demoralized bandits gave up the fight on their own.
After securing them, the first thing Wang Cheon checked was Neung Un-bi's safety.
To think he'd suddenly jump into the water...
It was unlikely anything would happen against a mere bandit leader, but he couldn't help but worry.
“He's been in the water for a long time.”
“Mm... I agree. He won't be able to hold his breath much longer. Shouldn't we go in?”
“We should, right? No matter how strong the Young Master has become, his opponent is a river bandit who treats the water like his own home.”
As Wang Cheon and Ju Seung leaned over the railing, staring worriedly at the water's surface, Hyang-i let out a smirk.
“And if you go in?”
“Pardon?”
“What brilliant plan do you have? You won't be able to see a thing.”
“Well…”
She was right. The water was a murky yellow, no different from mud.
“Besides, is your master the type you need to worry about over something like this?”
“That’s... but it's already been nearly a quarter of an hour. What if he runs out of breath...?”
“Runs out of breath? The Third Young Master? *Heh heh*, the one running out of breath will be that bandit.”
“Pardon? What do you mean...?”
Wang Cheon tilted his head in confusion, but Hyang-i just kept smiling.
It was only natural...
In truth, she was surprised too.
She hadn't known Neung Un-bi was familiar with the Sea-Resting Breath, a technique practiced by assassins.
But just a quarter of an hour?
With Neung Un-bi's martial arts having advanced by leaps and bounds, if he pushed himself to his limit, he could stay underwater for far longer than that.
Though Hyang-i stopped them from jumping in, for Wang Cheon and Ju Seung, every moment they waited for Neung Un-bi felt like an eternity.
“I can't wait any longer…”
“*Hmph*!”
“But the time…”
“Hey! You've barely taken a few breaths since I spoke. Why are you so impatient? Do you have so little faith in your master?”
Seeing the two of them stomping their feet in worry, Hyang-i snapped.
How could warriors be so impatient?
“I can't. Even if you try to stop me, I have to go in…”
Just as Wang Cheon was about to dive into the water.
“*Puhah*!”
“...!”
Neung Un-bi shot up from the water like a spouting whale.
“Y-Young Master!”
Seeing Wang Cheon's joyful face as he gripped the railing tightly, Neung Un-bi smirked and said,
“Hey, take this guy.”
“...Pardon?”
“This bandit bastard swallowed a lot of water.”
Held in Neung Un-bi's hand, his face scrunched in annoyance, was Ung Pyo, the leader of the West River stronghold.
“How can a so-called river bandit be so pathetic at moving underwater? He dragged me down here, so I thought he had some amazing trick up his sleeve.”
As Neung Un-bi grumbled and climbed onto the ship, everyone stared at him, dumbfounded.
He was completely fine.
They were glad he returned safely, but... how could a person, not a fish, hold their breath for so long?
Even the river bandit Ung Pyo had run out of breath, swallowed water, and passed out...
“What are you doing? I told you he drank a lot of water. He'll die if you leave him like that.”
“Huh? Ah!”
At Neung Un-bi's words, the cultists gathered around Ung Pyo, but they all just stared blankly.
“What are you doing? I said he's going to die.”
“...”
No matter how much their master urged them, there was nothing they could do.
First aid for a drowning person? They had learned it.
Living as martial artists, they faced various situations and learned appropriate responses. It was especially essential for those in charge of protection.
The problem was, they were members of the Demonic Cult.
Who among those they served would enjoy diving like Neung Un-bi?
It was an accident that was never supposed to happen in the first place.
Moreover, having lived only on the frigid Heavenly Mountains, when would they have ever seen a drowning person?
A frostbite patient, perhaps, but...
In other words, they knew the theory but had never put it into practice.
“You... you guys, don't tell me?”
“...”
“You don't know how?”
“Well... we learned it, but we never considered it very important, so we never practiced it…”
Wang Cheon scratched his head and gave an awkward smile.
In short, they only knew the theory.
How was that any different from saying, 'I've read about first aid' or 'I learned it from a book'?
“*Sigh*, and I'm supposed to call these guys my escort... What would you have done if I had been the one drowning?”
“I apologize. This was a completely unexpected situation…”
“Brilliant. Just brilliant.”
Too tired to even nag, Neung Un-bi just shook his head.
Damn Demonic Cultists. They were strong and had tempers, but they lacked any useful real-life skills.
At times like this, there was only one thing to do...
“I know how, but I won't do it.”
“...”
“I might have to put my mouth on his to breathe for him. You think I'd do something like that? Who cares if some bandit bastard dies?”
The moment Neung Un-bi looked at her, Hyang-i whipped her head away.
Damn it. In the end, I'll have to... Ugh, I don't want to do it either.
But he couldn't just let him die. He had a lot of work for these guys to do.
“Hey! He's your leader, so you guys take care of it.”
“Huh?”
Neung Un-bi tossed Ung Pyo toward the bandits.
“Save him. Do your best. Or you'll be the ones to die.”
“...!”
Startled by Neung Un-bi's chilling gaze, the bandits scrambled to Ung Pyo's side and began administering first aid.
Well, from the looks of it, he didn't have to worry.
They were river bandits, after all. They would have far more experience with drowning victims than he did.
“Wang Cheon.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Go find me some clothes.”
“Yes!”
Neung Un-bi peeled off his mud-colored, clinging clothes with a grunt of irritation.
I should really learn a heat-based art or something later...
* * *
“Um... Young Master, this is all I could find.”
“...”
Neung Un-bi took the clothes Wang Cheon timidly offered and stared at them.
It was a single piece of clothing.
Pants. And ones that looked extremely short.
“I brought them, but for you to wear them... it's a bit…”
“You think so too, huh?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
Neung Un-bi squinted one eye and glanced around.
But he couldn't see anything suitable.
The bandits were out of the question, and he hadn't known Jeong Hyo-sang or the branch members for very long.
“Hmm.”
Neung Un-bi sized up Wang Cheon, who was standing before him.
“W-Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Come on, I can tell from your face you already know.”
“...”
“Stand up straight and hold still.”
When Neung Un-bi stood beside him and used his hand to compare their heights, Wang Cheon felt a surge of anxiety and wrapped his arms around himself.
“About the same.”
“Y-Young Master.”
“You, how long have you been with me?”
“...M-More than ten years?”
“Right. And didn't I tell you before that I am the face of the Demonic Cult? I must always consider my dignity.”
“You did, but…”
“Take them off.”
“...”
“Our builds are similar, though yours might be a bit broader... There aren't any other options. And for the sake of my dignity, I can't borrow clothes from the others. Right?”
Neung Un-bi grinned and held out the pants to Wang Cheon.
“What are you waiting for? Take them off. I'm going to catch a cold at this rate.”
What could he do?
If he was told to take them off, he had to take them off.
What power did a mere Guard Captain have?
* * *
Just as Neung Un-bi emerged wearing Wang Cheon's clothes.
“*Cough, gack*!”
Ung Pyo, whom the bandits had revived with all their might, was just then spitting up water and choking.
He was awake, but his mind was not yet clear; he could barely keep his eyes open. As Neung Un-bi approached him, the Lunar Eclipse Squad threatened the bandits to make them back away.
“Ung Pyo, leader of the West River stronghold.”
“...You, you bastard.”
“Bastard? Looks like you still haven't come to your senses... You don't understand the situation?”
“...”
Seeing Neung Un-bi squatting beside him and glaring, Ung Pyo snapped to his senses.
“My apologies. I just woke up, and my mind was still hazy…”
“If you're better, why don't you get up?”
“Pardon?”
“It's not polite to lie down while someone is talking to you, is it?”
“...!”
He said it with a smirk, but to Ung Pyo's ears, his voice sounded like that of the grim reaper.
Vicious little brat...
How could he treat a patient who had just woken up from a near-death experience like this...
But his body was honest. Ung Pyo quickly got up and knelt before Neung Un-bi.
“Young Master.”
Ju Seung brought a chair, and Neung Un-bi sat down, spreading his legs wide and leaning forward to look at Ung Pyo.
“Do you know who I am?”
“Aren't you... a high-ranking member of the Demonic Cult?”
“Not that high-ranking. The name's Neung Un-bi.”
“Neung... *Gasp*! The, the rumored Third Young Master?”
Ung Pyo's eyes went wide.
How could he not know?
The rumors had already spread everywhere. Even as a river bandit on the Yellow River, one could not afford to be ignorant of worldly affairs.
Moreover, this time, you could have been lazy and still heard it.
For whatever reason, the rumors about Neung Un-bi had spread faster than any other.
It was as if someone had deliberately spread them.
In any case, there were various rumors circulating about him.
First, the conflict with the Zhongnan Sect.
They said that as soon as the Demonic Cult's Third Young Master entered Shaanxi, he relocated the branch and simultaneously seized all the business interests in the area.
And as it happened, those were interests in which the Zhongnan Sect was involved.
But what happened?
Instead of a disaster, the Zhongnan Sect admitted their own fault and even apologized.
He even heard that several disciples who had secretly engaged in illegal activities and accepted bribes were excommunicated and imprisoned.
But that wasn't the most surprising part.
The truly astonishing rumor was something else.
The defeat of the King of the Green Forest.
This was truly a monumental event.
According to the rumors, Neung Un-bi had subjugated a mountain fortress called Cheonghwa that had been tormenting people, and the enraged King of the Green Forest had sought him out for a battle.
The result was that the King of the Green Forest lost. The same King of the Green Forest, who would fight even the Nine Sects or the Five Great Clans if provoked, had personally admitted defeat.
Because of that, Neung Un-bi's name spread throughout the Unorthodox Faction in an instant.
Even the river bandits, who belonged to the Unorthodox Faction, talked about it whenever they had a chance.
And that person... was this young brat?
He doesn't even look twenty, and he beat the King of the Green Forest?
“What are you staring at? You're making me blush... Why? Is there something on my face?”
“Huh? Ah, no, sir.”
“From your expression, it seems you've heard the rumors about me. Now that introductions are over, shall we get to the point? Time is precious.”
Neung Un-bi grinned and said to Ung Pyo.
“The Head Chief, he's on the Yellow River, isn't he?”
“...Pardon?”
“Don't even think about playing dumb. I know the main stronghold of the waterway bandits is hidden on the Yellow River.”
“Well... I don't know the exact location either…”
“You don't know? Really?”
“Yes. It's been a long time since the Head Chief had a warrant issued for his arrest, so he moves around a lot…”
“Oh, is that so?”
At Ung Pyo's words, Neung Un-bi smiled brightly and nodded.
This bastard. If you're going to lie, at least do it properly.
“Alright, so that's how it is? Hmm…”
Neung Un-bi suddenly stood up from his chair and grabbed a nearby rope.
“W-Why the rope...?”
His confusion was short-lived. Neung Un-bi's touch sealed his vital points, and Ung Pyo stiffened and collapsed.
As Ung Pyo rolled over, he could see what Neung Un-bi was doing.
Tying a rope around his ankle... Why? For what reason?
“So you don't know?”
“...Th-That's right.”
“Then I'll help you remember by jolting your senses.”
“Pardon?”
Neung Un-bi grabbed Ung Pyo by the collar, lifted him up, and smiled wickedly.
“Living as a river bandit... this must be your first time being subjected to water torture, huh?”
“What?!”
“It'll be a good experience.”
“...!”
Before anyone could stop him, Neung Un-bi threw Ung Pyo off the deck.
“You son of a biiiiitch!”
*Splash*!
Ung Pyo flew in an arc before plunging into the murky river with a curse.
“Ju Seung.”
“Yes.”
“Light an incense stick. Let's time it. We can't have him dying.”
“Yes!”
“And tell the men to rest. They've worked hard. It's not like he's going to confess on the first try, is it?”
“Understood.”
Having given the Lunar Eclipse Squad a break, Neung Un-bi held the end of the rope and settled in for a leisurely wait.
Like a patient angler who has cast his line into the river...
And behind him.
“Hey, take it off.”
“...”
Wang Cheon was stealthily approaching a warrior from the Lunar Eclipse Squad with a similar build, and relieving him of his clothes.