Chapter 97
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: A Lesson in Deception
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“You that happy?”
“Of course.”
Beom Gye-wi's question made Dan Ak-seon look down at the joint petition again and smile brightly.
He had just obtained the personal signature of the Grand Protector of the Zhongnan Sect, Master Dan-geum, who was also the master of the current Sect Leader.
It had taken him only three days to get it.
And most of that time had been spent searching for the man, who was living in seclusion deep in the valleys of Mount Zhongnan.
—This is something that must be done, regardless of my connection to the Divine Physician.
When Dan Ak-seon revealed his identity and requested a signature for the petition, Master Dan-geum had readily agreed.
Seeing Dan Ak-seon smiling nonstop put Beom Gye-wi in a good mood as well.
“See? Things go much smoother without Brother Cho around.”
“What? There weren't any problems when Mister Cho was here, either.”
“No, that's because you don't know Brother Cho, Doctor Dan. If he were here, some kind of trouble would've broken out long ago.”
Beom Gye-wi turned his head toward Ga Du-dal, who was following behind them.
“Isn't that right?”
“Huh? Y-yes, of course...”
Under Beom Gye-wi's insistent gaze, which subtly demanded agreement, Ga Du-dal forced an awkward smile.
At this, Han Seol-hwa frowned.
For Beom Gye-wi of all people to say something like that.
Both Beom Gye-wi and Cho Ak-ryang were cut from the same cloth, but if she had to pick who was worse, it was definitely Beom Gye-wi.
“I wonder if Mister Cho is doing okay.”
As they say, you don't notice someone's presence until they're gone. Dan Ak-seon felt the emptiness left by Cho Ak-ryang.
“...”
Han Seol-hwa glared intently at Beom Gye-wi.
How dare he bring up such nonsense and pour cold water on the good mood!
Uncomfortable under her gaze, Beom Gye-wi cleared his throat. Then he turned his head toward Ga Du-dal.
“Aren't you two sparring today?”
“Huh? Yes. We should.”
Worried he might get caught in the crossfire, Ga Du-dal quickly approached Dan Ak-seon.
“Is this our eighth match?”
“Yes.”
Dan Ak-seon nodded and carefully set aside the petition he had been clutching dearly all the way down Mount Zhongnan.
Then he stood facing Ga Du-dal.
“I'm definitely going to win this time.”
His eyes held a resolute will, distinctly different from usual.
“It won't be that easy.”
Even meeting Dan Ak-seon's gaze, Ga Du-dal still appeared relaxed.
The boy was certainly showing noticeable improvement with every match, but he still had a long way to go.
No matter how talented one was or who they studied under, the seasoned experience honed over years couldn't be acquired overnight.
Ga Du-dal was particularly proud of his ability to improvise in a crisis, believing he was second to none in that regard.
His own life, spent walking through a forest of blades and dedicating himself to the art of thievery, had been as perilous as anyone's.
He'd had to deceive masters stronger than himself and overcome countless traps.
He couldn't even count how many times he had navigated situations as precarious as a candle in the wind.
The crisis-management skills he had naturally acquired in the process were not to be compared with those of a novice who had just begun learning martial arts.
However, it didn't take long for him to realize how gravely mistaken he was.
The match began with Dan Ak-seon's first move.
In an instant, their figures became a chaotic blur. And before long, a look of bewilderment appeared on Ga Du-dal's face.
Dan Ak-seon's footwork was unsettling; he was preemptively occupying paths as if he had anticipated Ga Du-dal's movements.
‘Did he steal my footwork in that short time?’
What had been mere mimicry now had proper form.
Ga Du-dal intentionally created a few openings to bait an attack. But the cunning little brat in front of him refused to be fooled.
His keen eye had sharpened as well.
Moreover...
“Hup!”
Ga Du-dal gasped and hastily sidestepped.
Where he had just been standing, the ground was now indented. It was the mark left by Dan Ak-seon's sweeping foot. Ga Du-dal, who had nearly been sent tumbling to the ground, inwardly calmed his startled heart.
His bold attacks, seizing every opportunity, were also incomparably sharper than before.
His grappling techniques, which now seamlessly blended offense and defense, were just as tricky to deal with.
“Did you just use internal energy?”
“...!”
Ga Du-dal flinched at Beom Gye-wi's sudden voice.
He had been caught using internal energy unconsciously when cornered a moment ago.
In the instant Ga Du-dal was rattled.
Dan Ak-seon seized that fleeting opening and charged again.
“Ugh!”
Ga Du-dal was startled as a dizzying array of hand-shadows surrounded him in an instant.
The hands cleverly blocked his escape routes, gradually closing the distance.
He managed to evade them by bending and twisting his body, but it was difficult when he had lost the initiative. Eventually, reaching his limit, Ga Du-dal's face fell.
Before he knew it, his sleeve had been caught in Dan Ak-seon's hand.
*Riiip.*
As if tearing off a handful of his sleeve wasn't enough, Dan Ak-seon's hand changed direction and flew at him once more.
Ga Du-dal's pupils quaked.
‘I can't dodge this!’
The situation was so dire that a groan escaped him automatically.
Facing imminent defeat, Ga Du-dal didn't have many options.
He threw face and honor to the wind and flopped onto his back.
But Dan Ak-seon's attack was relentlessly persistent.
‘Damn it!’
Ga Du-dal began to roll around on the ground.
This was a technique called the "Lazy Donkey Roll," named for its resemblance to a lazy donkey flailing on the ground.
Dan Ak-seon was taken aback by the sight, while Beom Gye-wi and Han Seol-hwa frowned.
A martial artist's pride is something they hold dearer than life itself.
They would rather die by the sword than roll on the ground in such an unsightly manner. To think he would use the Lazy Donkey Roll in a mere spar, not even a life-or-death battle.
Dan Ak-seon, on the other hand, was amazed for a different reason.
He found it fascinating how Ga Du-dal was using the Lazy Donkey Roll to evade all of his attacks.
Despite its messy appearance, the technique contained a rather profound principle.
Dan Ak-seon had to reluctantly retreat because of the cloud of dust obscuring his vision.
Perhaps that had been the goal from the start.
If so, there was no need to fight inside it.
And a moment later.
When the dust settled, Ga Du-dal had already retreated a good distance away.
From then on, Ga Du-dal changed his fighting style.
He now kept his distance, not allowing Dan Ak-seon to approach at all. Instead, relying on his lightness skill and footwork, he began to throw hidden weapons.
However, Dan Ak-seon skillfully dodged all the hidden weapons.
It was the same when he tried to lure him into prepared traps.
As if he had grown accustomed to it, Dan Ak-seon wouldn't even go near the traps anymore.
Watching the situation, Beom Gye-wi shot Ga Du-dal a displeased look.
“Looks like this guy's useless now.”
Ga Du-dal froze at those words.
Han Seol-hwa nodded.
“He's clearly being pushed back by Doctor Dan now. We should allow him to use internal energy.”
“If we're going to do that, I might as well do it myself. What's so special about his internal energy?”
There was only one reason they had chosen Ga Du-dal as Dan Ak-seon's sparring partner in the first place.
It was to teach him how to respond to unexpected variables by fighting dirty. But at this rate, it seemed he was no longer of any help to Dan Ak-seon.
“Stop.”
In the end, Beom Gye-wi stopped the match.
It was after he confirmed that Dan Ak-seon had dodged all three attempts using hidden weapons and traps.
Beom Gye-wi beckoned Ga Du-dal over.
As Ga Du-dal hesitantly approached, Beom Gye-wi spoke abruptly.
“You can go now.”
“What?”
In response to Ga Du-dal's bewildered question, Beom Gye-wi waved his hand dismissively.
“I said, go on your way. I'll tell Brother Cho, so don't worry.”
“W-wait a minute!”
Ga Du-dal had dreamed of escaping these monsters countless times a day. But now that the moment he had so longed for had arrived, he didn't welcome it.
‘I can't leave like this.’
As Ga Du-dal glanced at Dan Ak-seon, an unconcealable greed flickered in his eyes.
He still needed more time to make Dan Ak-seon the successor of the Divine Thief's lineage.
“May I ask why?”
At Ga Du-dal's question, Beom Gye-wi frowned as if annoyed.
“Our Doctor Dan has nothing left to learn from you.”
Ga Du-dal's expression turned serious at that answer.
“I still have tens of thousands of methods.”
“Then why aren't you using them?”
“Because I wasn't sure if I was allowed to.”
Looking at the puzzled Beom Gye-wi, Ga Du-dal spoke with a determined gaze.
“Please promise me one thing. That there will be no repercussions no matter what methods I use during the match.”
“What are you plotting?”
“If you can guarantee that, I will pull out all the stops.”
Beom Gye-wi eyed Ga Du-dal suspiciously, but Ga Du-dal met his gaze without flinching.
Seeing his confident attitude, Beom Gye-wi finally nodded.
“Fine. Then let's see what you've got.”
With Beom Gye-wi's permission, Ga Du-dal once again stood facing Dan Ak-seon.
“Cho Ak-ryang is a son of a bitch.”
“What?”
Dan Ak-seon's eyes widened in bewilderment.
He hadn't expected Ga Du-dal to suddenly start cursing Cho Ak-ryang.
The surprise was even greater because he usually feared Cho Ak-ryang like the grim reaper.
“Do you know the term 'Grass-Grass Young Master'?”
“Grass-Grass Young Master?”
Ga Du-dal continued his explanation to the confused Dan Ak-seon.
“A profligate young master from a rich family is called a 'Flower-Flower Young Master'. But Cho Ak-ryang is called 'Grass-Grass Young Master' because he'll chase after anything in a skirt. It means he doesn't even care if it's a weed, not a flower. That's how much of a lecher he is, second to none in the world.”
Dan Ak-seon frowned.
“Mister Cho isn't that kind of person.”
“That's because you don't know him.”
Ga Du-dal continued speaking in a jeering tone.
“It's so bad they even coined the phrase 'a human face with the heart of Cho'.”
“A human face with the heart of Cho?”
“It means someone with a human face but a heart like Cho Ak-ryang's. It's a much more unpleasant term than 'a human face with the heart of a beast'.”
Dan Ak-seon, who was initially flustered, was now starting to get angry.
“Stop it.”
“There's a saying in the martial world. 'Cho Ak-ryang is scarier than tigers and smallpox.' They say even crying children stop their tears the moment they hear his name.”
“Stop it!”
Dan Ak-seon, thoroughly agitated, rushed at Ga Du-dal.
At the same time, Ga Du-dal's eyes flashed coldly.
In Dan Ak-seon's reckless advance, the precision from moments ago was gone.
Tilting his shoulder to deflect Dan Ak-seon's attack, Ga Du-dal instantly exploited an opening.
“Aargh!”
A sharp scream burst from Dan Ak-seon's lips.
In a flash, Ga Du-dal had moved behind Dan Ak-seon and seized the nape of his neck.
His vital points struck, Dan Ak-seon stiffened like a block of wood and collapsed. Even then, he continued to glare at Ga Du-dal.
“Mister Cho is absolutely not that kind of person!”
He was so indignant that his eyes welled up with tears.
Looking down at him, Ga Du-dal smiled and readily admitted it.
“You're right. It was a lie.”
“...!”
Dan Ak-seon looked up at Ga Du-dal with a devastated expression.
“Then why...?”
“Isn't riling up your opponent's emotions the most effective tactic of deception?”