Chapter 154
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: A Vicious Ploy
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He wondered if the Dignified Fire Divine Arts the two had mastered possessed some hidden effect unknown to others.
Was this perhaps how Dan Ak-seon had been able to sense Neung So-mil's presence from a distance far beyond their own sensory range?
"You've truly been through a lot."
"Valley Lord…"
On the other hand, Neung So-mil was simply grateful for Dan Ak-seon's warm words.
He felt as though all his hard work had been washed away in an instant by that warm gaze.
It wasn't for nothing that they say a woman will risk her life for the one who loves her, and a man will risk his life for the one who acknowledges him.
But that warmth didn't last long.
At times like this, someone always showed up to spoil the mood.
"Why did you stop talking?"
"Pardon?"
"You said you found them."
Seeing Beom Gye-wi press him with a frown, Neung So-mil inwardly gave a bitter smile.
But he soon relayed the information he had learned.
"As you suspected, Gong Hyeonja and his disciple, Hyeon-geom, were indeed abducted."
"Hmph, serves them right. Calling themselves one of the Nine Great Sects and getting themselves kidnapped."
Unlike the sneering Beom Gye-wi, Cho Ak-ryang's gaze was serious.
It was the Kongtong Sect of all places, and a direct disciple at that.
Someone of that caliber would have had enough skill to walk with their head held high in the martial world.
To abduct such a master meant that their opponent's abilities were far from ordinary.
"Have you learned anything about the perpetrators?"
Neung So-mil calmly answered Cho Ak-ryang's question.
"He said their skills were so formidable that he couldn't approach them recklessly."
Cho Ak-ryang nodded.
It was better that way than to risk being discovered by pushing too hard.
"Their location?"
Impatient, Beom Gye-wi was already shifting in his seat.
"Gogu Mountain, near Hanzhong. An abandoned temple on the northeastern side."
"Hanzhong?"
"It's near the border of Gansu and Shaanxi."
"Not too far, then?"
Roughly estimating the distance, Beom Gye-wi nodded.
"Shouldn't we inform the Kongtong Sect?"
At Dan Ak-seon's words, Cho Ak-ryang shook his head.
"It would be better not to."
"Why not?"
"I doubt they would readily believe our words. And besides, I don't trust them in the first place."
Given the nature of this matter, causing a commotion would only be counterproductive.
The key was to handle it secretly and swiftly.
As if he'd been waiting, Beom Gye-wi shot to his feet.
"I'll just go and bring them back."
"I'll go with you."
When Cho Ak-ryang also stood up, Beom Gye-wi, who had wanted to take the credit for once, shot him a displeased look.
"Don't you trust me?"
Seeing Cho Ak-ryang staring at him, Beom Gye-wi grumbled under his breath.
"Even so, this is for our Physician Dan. You think I'd actually kill them?"
Cho Ak-ryang smiled faintly and shook his head.
"It's not that I don't trust you."
"Then?"
"I want to see the perpetrators for myself."
Beom Gye-wi grinned as if he understood.
"You know, Brother Cho, you can be quite a mean person."
"What?"
"You want to go mock that pathetic master and disciple who got themselves kidnapped after bragging about being from a prestigious orthodox sect, don't you?"
"…"
Cho Ak-ryang was so dumbfounded he couldn't speak.
What he wanted to confirm was the identity of the perpetrators.
But he just made a sour face and didn't bother to explain.
It would only drag out the conversation and become tiresome.
Beom Gye-wi nodded readily.
"If that's the case, then come along. Since you probably have a lot of pent-up anger towards them too, Brother Cho, I'll make a special exception and take you with me."
At that moment, Neung So-mil quickly spoke up.
"If you two move together, the one watching this place will notice."
At Neung So-mil's point, Beom Gye-wi grinned.
"It's fine."
"Pardon?"
"We just have to be faster."
"Ah!"
Neung So-mil exclaimed in realization.
He had overlooked who they were.
From the beginning, they were exceptions to the rule, beings who couldn't be measured by ordinary standards.
Whether it was a person or a carrier pigeon.
No means of delivering a message could be faster than them.
They were monsters whose martial arts themselves were beyond the realm of common sense.
Dan Ak-seon said to Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi,
"Then I'll leave it to you two. Please be careful."
Beom Gye-wi cast a doubtful glance at the nodding Cho Ak-ryang.
"By the way, Brother Cho, can you keep up with me?"
"No problem."
While wintering in Kunlun, Cho Ak-ryang had also focused on his recovery.
Thanks to that, the internal injuries he had sustained at the Qingcheng Sect were fully healed.
The same went for his internal energy.
It wasn't yet in perfect condition, but it was much better than when he had first arrived in Sichuan.
"Still, don't overdo it."
At Dan Ak-seon's concerned words, Beom Gye-wi nodded in agreement.
"Don't lose your temper and get hurt again. No need to trouble our Physician Dan."
Cho Ak-ryang's eyebrow twitched.
Hearing the same words from Beom Gye-wi made him feel extremely unpleasant.
He didn't care either way.
Having said his piece, Beom Gye-wi immediately shot off.
Seeing him go, Cho Ak-ryang let out a soft sigh.
To think he was being nagged by Beom Gye-wi of all people.
"Well then, I'll be back."
With those words, Cho Ak-ryang also disappeared from the inn.
***
An abandoned temple, devoid of human presence.
Inside the half-collapsed main hall, untouched by human hands for a long time, two men were seated, circulating their energy.
Perhaps in his mid-thirties.
A middle-aged Daoist priest, his topknot undone and hair disheveled, looking utterly distressed, yet his eyes remained firm.
And a young man, around the age of twenty, with handsome features.
However, both men's complexions were terribly haggard.
Their faces were pale as sheets, and sweat poured down like rain, dripping from their chins.
"Keuk…"
Just then, a groan escaped the young man's lips.
Seeing his disciple's unstable state, Gong Hyeonja spoke urgently.
"Endure it! You must hold on!"
"Yes… Master… But…"
"The elites of our sect will come for us soon. Until then, you must hold on, no matter what it takes!"
The firm voice awakened his faltering spirit, and Hyeon-geom barely managed to steady his wavering will.
He then resumed circulating his energy.
On the other hand, Gong Hyeonja's complexion had gone beyond pale and was beginning to turn deathly dark.
Speaking while circulating his energy had destabilized his true qi, and as a result, the thread-like connection he had maintained was severed.
Fearing his disciple might hear, Gong Hyeonja bit his lip to endure the pain.
But once the taut balance within him shattered, the suppressed pain rushed in with a vengeance.
*'What a truly vicious poison!'*
The Dissipating Energy Poison the enemy had used was incomparably wicked.
It felt as if tens of thousands of ants were gnawing at every blood vessel in his body.
A truly unbearable, excruciating itch.
That was followed by a searing pain, as if he were being scorched by fire.
The horrific pain, washing over him in waves several times in a short period, felt as if he had been thrown into the middle of hell while still alive.
*'Damn it…'*
Gazing outside the temple, Gong Hyeonja inwardly swallowed a curse.
A burning sunset was already beginning to settle around them.
He could only resent the sun, which, oblivious to his burning anxiety, was indifferently sinking behind the western mountains.
Today marked the tenth day since they had been abducted and brought here.
During that time, they hadn't had so much as a sip of water, let alone any food.
They couldn't even sleep.
All they could do was continuously circulate their energy to resist the Dissipating Energy Poison.
If they stopped circulating their energy, the poison would obliterate the internal energy they had built up over a lifetime.
For a martial artist, losing one's martial arts was a fate more miserable than death.
But even he couldn't say for sure how long they could hold on.
They had already reached their limits, both physically and mentally.
Several times a day, the temptation to give up and let go of everything would suddenly arise.
Nevertheless, each time, Gong Hyeonja would grit his teeth anew.
He couldn't choose an easy way out for himself while abandoning his disciple to suffer.
Right now, there was no other way.
They could only trust their sect and wait.
But… one day, then two… the longer they were held here, the more that faith began to waver.
*Clink.*
Just then, a person entered, stepping on the broken roof tiles that littered the floor.
"Tsk, tsk."
The person clicking his tongue at Gong Hyeonja and Hyeon-geom was a short, hunched man.
An old man with a grotesque appearance, his drooping eyelids covering most of his eyes.
"Trying so hard, so very hard."
The hunchbacked old man, scratching his cheek with a left hand that only had a thumb and an index finger, spoke mockingly.
"Looks like the Kongtong Sect has abandoned you. I hear they still haven't kicked out the Divine Physician's son and his companions."
"Shut your mouth, Chiljigoeta!"
"Hoh? You still have the energy to speak? How impressive. I'll give you credit for that mental fortitude. Truly befitting of Kongtong's next Sect Leader."
Having rebuked the hunchbacked old man who was trying to unsettle them, Gong Hyeonja glared at him with furious eyes.
"Do you think our sect would bow to the threats of mere villains? You will pay the price soon enough."
"We'll see. Will you, really?"
The man called Chiljigoeta, Hong Dan-yeop, wore a foul smirk.
"Then why haven't any of your oh-so-great Kongtong swordsmen shown their faces?"
"…"
"You've been abandoned. All because of that paltry pride, that reputation of being one of the Nine Great Sects."
Gong Hyeonja gritted his teeth so hard they could have shattered.
"You're the kind of pathetic curs who resort to petty ambushes with poisons like the Dissipating Energy Poison. You wouldn't know the first thing about honor."
"Hey, big nose. I think you're gravely mistaken about something."
Hong Dan-yeop let out a sneer.
"You don't actually think we're holding back because we're afraid of you, do you?"
"If we fought properly, you would be no match for me."
Finding something hilarious, Hong Dan-yeop cackled.
Then, like a bolt of lightning, he shot his hand out and retracted it.
"I'm not the man I used to be. The likes of you wouldn't even last a hundred moves against me."
With those words, Hong Dan-yeop extended his hand and opened his palm.
Lying in his palm was an ear.
Gong Hyeonja's heart sank.
It was a single move, executed right before his eyes, yet he couldn't follow it at all.
It was that frighteningly fast.
But soon, he couldn't contain his boiling rage.
He had belatedly noticed Hyeon-geom's cheek, from which blood was pouring freely.
"Ugh…"
Another groan escaped Hyeon-geom's lips.
The extreme pain of having his ear torn off had broken his concentration.
Ignoring the instability of his own true qi, Gong Hyeonja shouted.
"Bear it! A trial like this is nothing! You are destined to one day become the greatest under heaven! You must not yield!"
"Such tear-jerking love for your disciple."
Hong Dan-yeop approached Gong Hyeonja with a foul smirk.
"What are you plotting?"
Gong Hyeonja's eyes wavered with anxiety.
Looking into them, the smile on Hong Dan-yeop's face deepened.
"Since the Kongtong Sect continues to be uncooperative, I thought I might change my methods."
*Thwack.*
As soon as he finished speaking, Hong Dan-yeop grabbed Gong Hyeonja's shoulder with his left hand, which had only a thumb and index finger, as if pinching it.
*Sizzle.*
"…!"
With the acrid smoke of burning flesh, a piece of cooked, whitened flesh was torn away effortlessly.
Not even blood seeped from the gaping, red wound.
It had been cauterized by a powerful, hot yang energy.
Gong Hyeonja's wide-open eyes filled with bloodshot veins.
But he endured to the end without letting out a single groan.
He was displaying superhuman patience for his disciple's sake.
Hong Dan-yeop sneered at him.
"Don't worry. At least you won't die from blood loss."
Looking down at Gong Hyeonja, who was trembling from the horrific pain, Hong Dan-yeop continued.
"I plan to send you to Kongtong like this, piece by piece. I'm curious to see how your sect will react."
"Kongtong…"
Gong Hyeonja did not break his will.
"…will never compromise with injustice."
"Is that so?"
Hong Dan-yeop's gaze moved past Gong Hyeonja to Hyeon-geom.
"Then what about the future greatest under heaven?"
Gong Hyeonja flinched and shouted.
"What are you doing!"
In response to his ashen expression, Hong Dan-yeop replied nonchalantly.
"What choice do I have? If the fishing is poor, you have to change the bait."
Between his wrinkled eyes, a vicious killing intent streamed forth.