Chapter 17
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Repercussions
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“Pant! Pant!”
So Jeok-san gasped for breath as he dashed through the mountain. He had been running so much that a metallic taste filled his mouth. He was so exhausted he felt he could collapse at any moment, but he couldn't afford to waste a single second.
Only a quarter of an hour remained until the appointed time.
‘Am I not too late?’
Just as his attention wavered for a moment, So Jeok-san's ankle was caught by something unseen, causing him to lose his balance and tumble to the ground. By the time he came to his senses, a cold dagger was already pressed against his throat.
“You son of a bitch!”
So Jeok-san cursed as he finally recognized the face of the man who had pinned him down.
It was Ga Hwi-seop.
Just then, Ga Hwi-seop forced something into So Jeok-san's mouth.
“Swallow it, if you don't want to die.”
The dagger on his throat dug in an inch deeper.
*Gulp.*
So Jeok-san swallowed the pill in his mouth. He had no other choice.
Ga Hwi-seop's one good eye curved into a narrow slit.
“What you swallowed is the Black Spider Red Vine Poison.”
“...!”
So Jeok-san's eyes wavered.
A spider found in the remote southern lands.
It was a fearsome poison; once bitten, the victim would die within a day, their body covered in red marks that looked like entwined vines.
“Tell me what you found out, then go back. Come find me tomorrow. I'll give you the antidote then.”
“And if I refuse?”
Ga Hwi-seop answered by moving the dagger.
*Damn it!*
So Jeok-san seethed with anger. Unlike him, who was utterly exhausted, this bastard was still full of energy.
*You cunning bastard!*
While he had been running himself ragged, Ga Hwi-seop had been hiding here from the start, conserving his strength.
He couldn't trust a word from such a man.
Even if he managed to escape, Ga Hwi-seop would surely use the antidote as leverage to swallow his Righteous Brothers Faction whole.
He would rather die than let that happen.
Countless people had been tricked by him and had their lives ruined. Even the Pure Righteousness Gang, who lived by collecting protection money in the entertainment district, had lines they wouldn't cross, but this man had none.
“Just kill me.”
Ga Hwi-seop laughed viciously.
“If that's your wish.”
Just as Ga Hwi-seop was about to slit So Jeok-san's throat...
“What are you two doing?”
Ga Hwi-seop whipped his head around in shock. A bald giant was standing nearby, frowning. He hadn't noticed his approach at all.
So Jeok-san shouted urgently.
“I found him! Someone saw the Martial Alliance warriors taking the boy!”
“The Martial Alliance?”
“Yes. I heard he was involved with a notorious member of the Unorthodox Faction...”
“Is that so? Then where are they?”
“Pardon?”
“The place where those bastards are.”
“The... the Blue Flower Inn.”
Beom Gye-wi grabbed So Jeok-san and Ga Hwi-seop by the scruff of their necks and shot off.
So Jeok-san's legs went weak at the sight of the ground rapidly receding below him.
It was an incredible movement technique, hard to believe even while seeing it with his own eyes.
***
*Tap. Tap.*
Gwak-ga tapped the table, his gaze filled with irritation. It was an unconscious habit he had when troubled. A quick-witted subordinate poured him a drink and spoke.
“They said he left on horseback, so he should be arriving soon.”
Gwak-ga silently raised the cup to his lips. But he set it down before he had even drunk half.
He had sensed a presence outside the door.
“Looks like he's here.”
Gwak-ga grinned.
Arriving this much earlier than expected, he must have been in quite a hurry.
A moment later, the door to the annex opened and a person stepped inside.
A look of confusion appeared in Gwak-ga's eyes.
It wasn't Pung Jin-seong, the man he was waiting for, but a stranger he had never seen before.
But there was something unusual about his aura.
The moment their eyes met, his gaze as cold as ice, Gwak-ga felt the blood in his veins turn cold.
Moreover...
*Killing intent!*
The palpable killing intent flickering behind the man's eyes was chilling enough to instantly sober him up.
“Did Pung Jin-seong send you?”
Cho Ak-ryang let out a dry laugh.
Who in the martial world would dare to command the Blood Hand Honored One? The man seemed to be under some sort of misunderstanding, but Cho Ak-ryang had no intention of correcting him.
Gwak-ga gripped the hilt of his sword.
“Interesting. To think he'd send a mere assassin against the Evil-Shattering Corps.”
Gwak-ga was secretly pleased with this turn of events. Because of this, Pung Jin-seong would become his loyal dog.
“Stay back.”
Gwak-ga commanded his lined-up subordinates, then spoke.
“Let's see what you've got.”
The moment his words ended.
His sword tore through the air.
A brilliant blue light erupted from the blade, instantly enveloping Cho Ak-ryang.
But Cho Ak-ryang didn't even flinch.
He simply raised his hand as the sword descended toward his brow and flicked its tip.
Gwak-ga, who was holding the sword, was instantly flipped upside down in mid-air.
*CRASH!*
Gwak-ga was slammed into the wooden floor with a heavy thud.
“...!”
Thrown to the floor for no apparent reason, Gwak-ga stared at Cho Ak-ryang in horror.
*Four Taels to Move a Thousand Catties!*
The essence of martial arts, also known as Grafting a Pear Blossom onto a Tree.
It was a supreme technique that redirected the direction and flow of force to subdue an opponent with their own power. Gwak-ga knew of it, but only in theory.
*He's no mere assassin!*
He could feel an insurmountable wall, one that could never be reached by someone who sold their sword for a few coins.
This was the presence of a grandmaster.
“Could it be...”
At that moment, a lightning bolt struck Gwak-ga's mind. He remembered the reason they had been dispatched to this town.
His voice trembled involuntarily.
“The Blood Hand Honored One?”
Cho Ak-ryang nodded with an indifferent expression.
“You came to catch me, yet you only recognize me now?”
Gwak-ga's heart sank.
He had been drinking, but that was no excuse. The man's face was exactly as described on the wanted poster; how could he have failed to recognize him?
*KRAAANG!*
Just then, the rear wall of the building collapsed with a deafening roar. As his eyes met a pair of blood-red pupils shimmering through the thick dust, Gwak-ga instinctively swung his sword.
His body had reacted on its own to the opponent's killing intent, regardless of his will.
A sinister shadow of the blade erupted, swallowing his opponent.
Just as the gleaming blue blade was about to tear him to shreds, Beom Gye-wi thrust his hand into the shadow.
*CRUNCH.*
Something utterly unbelievable happened from Gwak-ga's perspective.
The sword he had swung with ferocious momentum had been caught by a bare hand.
*He's insane!*
Utterly aghast, Gwak-ga poured all his strength into infusing the sword with his internal energy.
Blue veins bulged on his forehead.
As if waiting for this, Beom Gye-wi also injected his internal energy into the hand gripping the sword.
In that instant, Gwak-ga realized something was terribly wrong. An unimaginably powerful repulsive force was surging toward his own energy.
But it was too late to reverse the situation.
His sword glowed red-hot, then melted into molten steel and dripped to the floor.
“Huk!”
Gwak-ga gasped and hastily retreated.
At that moment, Beom Gye-wi stretched out both hands. Two members of the Evil-Shattering Corps, who were standing there dumbfounded, were caught in his grasp.
“Kuk!”
“Keoheok!”
As his cauldron-lid-like hands clamped down on their heads, the two corps members dangled in the air, struggling.
*SPLAT!*
In that instant, both of their heads exploded.
While Gwak-ga stared in horror at the incredible grip strength that had crushed human skulls, the headless bodies collapsed into a pool of blood.
Only then did Gwak-ga realize the opponent's identity.
“Mang Mountain's Thistle!”
Beom Gye-wi ground his teeth and glared at Gwak-ga.
“Are you the one? The bastard who messed with our Physician Dan.”
***
A back alley not far from the Blue Flower Inn.
So Jeok-san and Ga Hwi-seop, who were hiding in a spot out of public view, were startled. Flames had suddenly erupted from the direction of the Blue Flower Inn.
*That place is...*
The annex used by the Evil-Shattering Corps.
So Jeok-san's face turned pale as he witnessed the soaring flames. No one was running out of the blaze.
The meaning was clear.
There were no survivors.
*The Evil-Shattering Corps was wiped out?*
Staring blankly at the flames, So Jeok-san only came to his senses after some time had passed.
People who had belatedly noticed the inferno began to shout.
Ga Hwi-seop also seemed to snap out of it then, spitting out a curse.
“Son of a bitch...”
Ga Hwi-seop turned to leave, but So Jeok-san grabbed him.
“Where are you going? That monster told us to wait here.”
Ga Hwi-seop gave So Jeok-san an incredulous look.
“You don't get the situation, do you?”
“...?”
“After something like this, you think the Martial Alliance is just going to sit back and do nothing?”
“...!”
Only then did So Jeok-san realize the gravity of the situation.
“The moment the Martial Alliance makes a move, small fry like us will be crushed in an instant.”
An undisguised irritation showed in Ga Hwi-seop's eyes.
“Fuck, this is so messed up. How did I get swept up in this...”
The only way out was to inform the Martial Alliance first.
If they handed over information about this incident, their circumstances might be taken into consideration.
It was the only way to survive.
With that thought, Ga Hwi-seop turned and fled. So Jeok-san, on the other hand, agonized over his decision before ultimately staying put.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't bring himself to be complicit with Ga Hwi-seop.
*I'd rather eat arsenic and die.*
Above all, he didn't dare defy the will of the bald demon.
It was then that Beom Gye-wi appeared, the soaring flames at his back.
Beom Gye-wi's eyes were bloodshot.
The thick, pouring killing intent froze So Jeok-san in place.
*Damn it!*
He had struggled so hard to live, but...
So Jeok-san squeezed his eyes shut.
But after a long moment, nothing happened. He peeked open his eyes and looked at the bald giant.
*What's he eating?*
A pill taken from his robes.
He saw Beom Gye-wi pop the whole thing into his mouth without even removing the wax coating, chewing it noisily.
Then, something miraculous happened.
The crazed glint in Beom Gye-wi's eyes gradually began to clear. The killing intent radiating from his entire body also diminished noticeably.
He spoke abruptly.
“Why are you alone?”
“Th-that's...”
So Jeok-san hesitated, stammering.
“Aaaargh!”
At that moment, a desperate scream echoed from the distance. It came from the direction Ga Hwi-seop had fled.
A moment later.
Ga Hwi-seop, who had disappeared around the corner, reappeared.
He staggered as if drunk, then reached out a hand as if begging. But the one who took that hand was Beom Gye-wi.
Simultaneously, crimson flames erupted from his eyes, mouth, nose, and ears.
“Gasp!”
So Jeok-san sucked in a sharp breath.
In just a single breath, Ga Hwi-seop had been reduced to black ash.
*Crumble.*
The body hit the ground and disintegrated, scattering into dust.
At the hair-raising sight, So Jeok-san could only move his mouth, speechless.
He had no way of knowing what on earth had just happened.
“Huh?”
At the same time, a perplexed sound escaped So Jeok-san's lips. His body had suddenly started to heat up.
White smoke began to rise from his clothes.
He also felt an intense heat, as if his entire body was being incinerated.
It felt like lava was flowing through his veins.
“Aaargh!”
As So Jeok-san collapsed to the ground screaming, Beom Gye-wi asked him.
“Why didn't you run?”
In that moment, So Jeok-san understood.
Ga Hwi-seop's fiery death and the heat he was now experiencing were both connected to him.
So Jeok-san struggled to speak.
“Because I made a promise. With you, sir...”
Was he pleased with that answer?
Beom Gye-wi grinned and flicked his hand, and the hellish heat vanished as if it had never been. If not for the smoke still rising from his clothes, he would have thought it was all a dream.
“Wh-what in the world...?”
The answer came from a different direction.
“He's got some backbone.”
So Jeok-san turned his head toward the voice.
“Haaa...”
So Jeok-san let out a sigh of relief.
The saying "Look before you leap" didn't come from nowhere.
Ga Hwi-seop's case was a perfect example.
He thought he was being clever, looking for a way to survive, but in the end, he walked right into his own death. These people were not opponents he could have ever hoped to handle.
So Jeok-san prostrated himself on the spot.
Looking down at the prostrate So Jeok-san, Cho Ak-ryang spoke.
“Forget what happened today.”
So Jeok-san quickly nodded.
His hope of survival was short-lived, as Beom Gye-wi spoke in a commanding tone.
“And protect him well.”
“Pardon?”
Beom Gye-wi pointed toward the Blue Flower Inn at the bewildered So Jeok-san.
“You know why those bastards died, right?”
So Jeok-san had a great realization.
“If Physician Dan gets so much as a scratch in this town, it's all your responsibility from now on.”
“I will take it to heart!”
“If Physician Dan is hungry, that's your responsibility.”
“Pardon?”
“If Physician Dan is bored, that's your responsibility. If Physician Dan is tired, that's your responsibility. If Physician Dan wants a woman and she doesn't fall for him, that's your responsibility...”
Cho Ak-ryang frowned and cut in.
“Let's go.”
Reluctantly turning away, Beom Gye-wi glared at So Jeok-san.
“Remember. It's all your responsibility.”
His relief at having survived was fleeting.
*Am I supposed to forget, or am I supposed to protect?*
He wasn't sure which order to follow, but for now, So Jeok-san just nodded vigorously.