Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: You Messed with the Wrong One (2)
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"Who the hell are you?"
Po Yang asked. It wasn't because he didn't know. The moment he laid eyes on Sima Geon and Cheol Woo, he recognized them as the butcher shop owners who had saved the Living Immortal Medical House from crisis. He was just consciously putting on the most ordinary reaction, since he couldn't let that on.
"You don't need to know that. Just answer the old man's questions properly."
Cheol Woo tossed the Dong Gwang draped over his shoulder to the floor. The impact shattered both of Dong Gwang's shoulders, and as he hit the ground, he let out screams like he was dying.
"He was loitering out front, so we brought him along. The bastard looked suspicious as hell, scavenging like that."
As Cheol Woo prodded Dong Gwang with his foot and chuckled, Sima Geon asked with an expressionless face.
"Where's the courtesan called Golden Flower?"
"Who's th—"
Po Yang's words cut off there. The instant he opened his mouth, Cheol Woo stomped on Dong Gwang's knee.
Dong Gwang's scream, unable to endure the pain of his bones crumbling, shook the already perilously tilting Celestial Tower.
"Hey, old timer. Better not play dumb. We didn't come here for nothing. Oh, and by the way, the Blood Fog Sect no longer exists in Soheung."
Po Yang made no retort to Cheol Woo's threat. When they had come to the Celestial Tower, he had already guessed some of the Blood Fog Sect's fate.
[Han Seol must have gotten away safely, right?]
Po Yang sent a transmission, keeping his eyes fixed on Sima Geon and his group.
[She left with Ho Cheop, so don't worry too much.]
[The problem is when she comes to her senses. With that child's temperament, I'm worried she'll turn right back.]
[She's not that incapable of judgment.]
Sangcheon's transmission eased Po Yang's stiff expression a bit.
She was still inexperienced in every way, but Han Seol was a genius who would grow into a pillar of the Hao Clan, and Ho Cheop, training under Sangcheon, was no less a prodigy. For the future of the Hao Clan, they had to survive no matter what.
'The tail got stepped on, but we saved Han Seol and Ho Cheop. At least I can face the Clan Lord now.'
It had been a brilliant decision to get her out the moment the sword qi sliced into the Celestial Tower. Even if she had stubbornly refused to go alone, forcing him to knock her out.
Seeing Po Yang's somehow relieved demeanor, Sima Geon could sense what decision he had made.
"You plan to keep your mouth shut to the end, huh."
"You're looking for Golden Flower?"
"Yes."
"You'll never find her."
Cheol Woo reacted to Po Yang's firm declaration.
"We'll see about that. Doesn't matter anyway."
Cheol Woo's massive foot crushed the chest of Dong Gwang, who was still groaning in agony.
Dong Gwang's bloodshot eyes bulged wide, his mouth gaping as he twitched a few times before his head lolled limply to the side.
"Alright, now let's talk properly."
Cheol Woo's cold gaze swept over Po Yang and Sangcheon.
Han Seol, who had been unconscious, slowly opened her eyes.
'What?'
Her eyes widened rapidly at the rapidly changing scenery around her. She shot up her upper body, causing Ho Cheop, who had been carrying her while running wildly, to stagger.
"Are you awake, Deputy Leader?"
"Ho Cheop?"
"Yes."
"What the hell happened?"
Han Seol slid down from Ho Cheop's back and asked.
"Don't you remember? The Celestial Tower was attacked..."
"I know that. What I'm wondering is why I'm passed out on your back when I should naturally be at the Celestial Tower."
"I received orders to escort you out safely."
"So the Elder laid hands on me."
"Yes."
"Ha!"
Han Seol let out a sigh laced with resentment and turned her body.
"I have to go back."
"You can't."
Ho Cheop, who had already blocked her path, shook his head firmly.
"Move."
"You'll die."
"I'm not afraid of death. If you're scared, you go."
"Do you think this is about fear? No. The problem is that even if we go there now, there's nothing we can do. We'd just end up as two more dog corpses."
Even though she couldn't deny Ho Cheop's words, Han Seol didn't break her resolve.
"Still, we can't just run away."
"This isn't running away. It's carrying out our mission."
"Mission?"
"Yes. I was given two missions."
Ho Cheop's heavy gaze met Han Seol's.
"The first is to escort you out safely."
"I'll refuse that. It's a mission that has nothing to do with me anyway."
"The second is to warn the main branch, since the butcher shop brothers might have caught on to our presence, so they can prepare in advance."
"Warning them about those guys can be done by one person. You go. Go tell them. I'll head to the Celestial Tower."
Han Seol couldn't ignore the people left at the Celestial Tower. As she took a step, Ho Cheop swiftly blocked her front again.
"I can't let you."
"Move!"
"No."
"If you block me to the end, I'll cut you down."
Han Seol drew her sword, her expression turning ferocious. But Ho Cheop, far from flinching, even thrust his neck toward her.
"Yes. Kill me and go, then."
"Think I won't if you ask?"
Han Seol raised her voice. Ho Cheop simply closed his eyes and replied calmly.
"Then cut me down."
"You!"
Han Seol raised her sword high but couldn't bring it down.
As the two failed to reach an agreement, about twenty zhang away, someone was quietly watching their exchange.
"What a load of bullshit. If you're gonna cut, cut quick, or run already."
Noe Jeon, who had been secretly tailing them from the Celestial Tower, muttered irritably.
"Maybe I should just smash them."
Instead of boringly following from afar, he itched to charge in and interrogate their backs. But recalling what could happen if he made even one mistake, he couldn't move.
"Ugh, hate to even imagine it."
The moment Noe Jeon shuddered, the two, having stopped their argument, started moving again.
"Decided quick."
Noe Jeon smirked and followed them.
Where Noe Jeon had been, only a mark recognizable by Divine Demon Division members remained.
Kukukukung!
As those who had fled the Celestial Tower looked back with worried eyes, a deafening crash rang out, and the precariously standing Celestial Tower completely collapsed.
"Perfect for a grave."
Cheol Woo, who had delivered the final blow to the barely enduring tower, brushed off unasked-for dust and said.
"Wonder if those bastards regret not spilling their identities to the end. Heh heh heh, shoulda told 'em before they croaked that Noe Jeon was tailing the escapees. Didn't expect 'em to go that fast. Well, can't imagine anyone enduring Bone-Melting Technique this long anyway."
Cheol Woo recalled the two who hadn't revealed their identities even under the Bone-Melting Technique until death, marveling again. Enemies, but their grit was respectable.
"So now we just trust Noe Jeon, huh."
Sima Geon felt uneasy that despite using Bone-Melting, they hadn't gotten even minimal info. Seeing the grunts' toughness without identifying the organization made him anxious that things might not be as easy as thought.
"Head out right away? Everyone's waiting—shouldn't we report the situation so far?"
At Cheol Woo's question, Sima Geon's expression darkened slightly.
"They'll just worry."
"Still, we should tell them."
"Yeah. Let's do that."
Sima Geon nodded and headed straight home.
The two, using lightness skill, arrived home in the blink of an eye and explained the situation to those waiting anxiously.
"Ha! So you don't know who kidnapped Jin or where they went."
"Not yet. But we will soon."
"Jin will be safe, right?"
Sima Hyeon asked, unable to hold back tears.
"Of course. They're probably after Jin's special ability, so they won't harm her recklessly."
"You mean the Heavenly Yin Divine Meridian?"
"Yeah. No one starts a mess like this just to kidnap a girl. It's definitely people who know about her Heavenly Yin Divine Meridian."
"Hoo! Born with a body like that..."
Everyone bowed their heads at Sima Hyeon's tearful sigh.
"At least that's reassuring. If they're after her ability like brother says, she won't be badly hurt."
Unlike Sima Hyeon finding some relief in the worst case, Gwa Yu and Yong Jung listening from behind looked grim. They knew too well how tragic the fates of those born with special constitutions could be in the martial world.
"We need to bring her back before that."
Sima Geon gently embraced Sima Hyeon's shoulder as if to say not to worry. Then he held the still unconscious Sima Ho's hand for a long time before promising to bring Sima Jin back and setting out.
A wild mountain thirty-some ri southwest of Hangzhou.
Sima Geon and Cheol Woo appeared at the fork leading three ways, drenched from the rain and looking exhausted.
"Damn, a fork. We've been on track till here, right?"
Cheol Woo scanned around and asked uneasily.
"Probably."
Sima Geon answered but lacked certainty himself.
The pursuit from the Celestial Tower had gone smoothly at first.
Noe Jeon had left traces meticulously, and though not as good as him, Sima Geon and Cheol Woo, trained since childhood, didn't miss them. But the rain starting half a shichen ago was the problem. The downpour had washed away some of Noe Jeon's marks in short order.
"Noe Jeon, that dumbass, leaves marks on the damn ground of all places. Shoulda thought it might rain."
Cheol Woo, darting around searching, couldn't stand the frustration and scolded Noe Jeon.
"Quit yapping and search properly. If we lose it here, who knows how much time we'll waste."
Sima Geon shouted without turning. His serious tone and words silenced Cheol Woo's complaints.
The two scoured the area for Noe Jeon's traces. Nearly half a shichen of searching yielded nothing. But they couldn't give up. Every moment disconnected from Noe Jeon delayed rescuing Sima Jin.
"Fuck!"
After wandering long, Cheol Woo finally yelled in rage. Sima Geon was staring blankly at the now-clear sky.
"Damn, this is wasting time! Boss, let's split. Can't waste forever here."
"Yeah, probably."
"One in three chance. Better than sitting here."
Sima Geon turned and stared at the narrowest path.
"Left."
"Good. I'll take right."
"Noe Jeon would know about rain, so he left proper traces. If no find in one shichen, assume wrong and return."
"And if found?"
"Keep chasing. If we return without finding and don't meet, assume the other's on right path and pursue."
"Got it. Good luck. Damn it!"
As Cheol Woo launched his heavy body with curses,
"Wait."
Sima Geon grabbed his arm.
"What?"
"There."
Following Sima Geon's nod, Cheol Woo's gaze shifted.
Far off, against a picturesque rainbow, one person was running toward them.
"That bastard!"
Another curse burst from Cheol Woo. But unlike the previous frustrated one, this held fierce joy.
"Division Leader!"
Noe Jeon, with top-tier lightness skill in the Divine Demon Division, closed the distance in an instant.
"Haa! Haa! Knew you'd be wandering here."
Noe Jeon panted with a grin, and Cheol Woo grabbed his collar.
"Knew? Then crawl faster. Or leave proper traces. What the hell were you doing?"
"Ow, hey!"
Noe Jeon shook off the grip irritably, looking wronged.
"Didn't expect rain. Going back to mark risked losing their trail in the downpour."
As Cheol Woo opened his mouth again, Sima Geon covered it.
"You came back here, so you found the hideout?"
"Of course."
"Where?"
"In Hangzhou."
"Hangzhou? There's a Hangzhou nearby?"
Cheol Woo, who had blindly pursued traces without noting surroundings, asked dumbfounded.
"They went mostly over mountains, not our path, so no clue. Plus, first time here."
"We don't know the area either. Thought vaguely north, never imagined near Hangzhou."
Sima Geon let out a hollow laugh.
"But sure? They didn't slip away while we were here?"
At Cheol Woo's question, Noe Jeon smirked smugly.
"Confirmed. It's the Hao Clan."
"Hao Clan? The one we know?"
At the unexpected name, Cheol Woo asked again.
"Yes, that Hao Clan. So..."
As Noe Jeon started explaining more, Sima Geon stepped forward.
"Lead the way."