Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: I Will Spare You
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Namgung Urin and his group, all wearing masks, arrived before the Black Snake Sect.
Today, unlike the boisterous yesterday, the Black Snake Sect was as quiet as a mouse.
"The Black Snake Sect?"
‘Did he come to kill these underworld thugs?’
The underworld belonged to the Unorthodox Faction, but in truth, even its members didn't consider underworld thugs as one of their own.
The underworld thugs were, quite literally, a breed that lived by sucking the blood of the common people, so they weren't treated as martial artists.
Suddenly, First Spirit Namgung Jun drew his sword. Then Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Spirit followed suit, drawing their swords as well.
‘Today, we'll finally get some real combat experience!’
The Young Lord truly had a plan for everything.
That's right. One can't grow stronger without real combat experience. No matter how weak the opponent, the difference between someone with experience and someone without is undeniable.
The Five Spirits tensed up, feeling as if they were walking a tightrope.
Seeing this, Namgung Urin said a word.
"Sheathe them. We're not here to kill anyone. This is where you'll be living from now on."
"What?"
"...Here?"
"As of today, you are members of the Black Snake Sect."
What kind of bullshit was this?
"What?!"
I wish he'd choose a better time and place to be crazy. No matter how dire the Namgung Family's situation was, becoming underworld thugs!
A Namgung, destined to soar toward the azure sky, joining the underworld? Was that even conceivable!
‘Please, tell us it was a joke! Please!’
"No more chatter. Follow me."
"..."
‘Did the Family Head know about this and still allow it?’
Unbelievable.
Clearly.
‘He must not have told him the truth!’
The Five Spirits glared at each other, their eyes urging one another to stop the Young Lord, but no one stepped forward.
If he went crazy and started hitting them again... the pain would be unbearable. Besides, if they were hit while wearing masks, they couldn't even show the pain on their faces, could they?
Then he'd think it didn't hurt and hit them even more.
*Sigh.*
‘He's insane.’
The Five Spirits sank into deep regret, thinking they were the crazy ones for deciding to follow the Young Lord, captivated by his strength.
In the end, the gates of the Black Snake Sect opened.
At that moment, the entire Black Snake Sect came out and bowed to the masked Namgung Urin, their heads nearly touching the ground in a show of respect.
"Welcome, Big Brother!"
The voices of the Black Snake Sect were so loud they echoed throughout the vicinity.
Namgung Urin wore a very satisfied smile.
"Yes."
It didn't matter whether they'd had a change of heart or were just trying to avoid a repeat of yesterday's events. He found himself somewhat fond of how they immediately accepted the change and acknowledged reality.
Meanwhile.
"..."
The Five Spirits, caught off guard by the sudden welcome, unknowingly puffed out their chests. With the entire Black Snake Sect bowing to them like this, didn't it feel as if they had achieved a rise in status?
Why wouldn't it?
The current Namgung Family wasn't respected anywhere. Moreover, weren't they in a situation where they couldn't even leave the family grounds?
But in this moment, it felt like they held a position even higher than the Namgung Family Head.
The disdain they had felt just moments before, calling them underworld thugs, vanished as if it were a lie.
The satisfied Namgung Urin opened his mouth.
"These men will share your joys and sorrows from now on."
They were already scared to death of one masked man, but now that there were five more, the members of the Black Snake Sect couldn't help but shrink back.
"And starting tomorrow, they will oversee your training."
A murmur spread.
At the word "training," the previously quiet grounds of the Black Snake Sect grew noisy.
The Black Snake Sect's leader, In-geol, opened his mouth, his eyes wide.
"Did you say training?"
"Yes. Why, do you dislike training?"
Theirs was a life where they weren't even treated as martial artists. Did they really want to live while being treated that way?
To become a master, everyone starts by tirelessly swinging a sword. But it was as expected. If they had possessed outstanding talent and intelligence, they wouldn't have ended up in a place like the Black Snake Sect.
While there were occasional stories of those who succeeded by learning martial arts on their own, that was limited to those born with god-given talent.
It was impossible for anyone in the Black Snake Sect to possess such talent.
For those without talent or intelligence, all they could do was work hard. But one had to know how to work hard for that effort to be effective. If one could become a master simply through blind effort, then every Tom, Dick, and Harry would be a master.
And in martial arts, the presence or absence of a master or teacher could create a difference greater than that between heaven and earth.
At least the leader, In-geol, knew how to swing a sword reasonably well, but he couldn't bring himself to leave this place, wanting to stay with the younger brothers he had been close to for so long.
In-geol continued excitedly.
"Dislike it? Of course not. It's just hard to believe that we can receive instruction. But are you really going to teach us? Are those men as skilled as you, Big Brother? Can't you teach us yourself?"
Just because someone is a master doesn't mean they are a good teacher. Everyone has a different constitution, so those who can teach according to that constitution are the ones who teach well.
In-geol, who didn't even know this, seemed a bit ignorant, but for these people, this ignorance could actually be a talent.
If you stubbornly follow one path, wouldn't you eventually see something?
"I have no talent for teaching. Beating people, on the other hand, might be a different story."
It wasn't that he lacked talent, but rather that he couldn't understand why they couldn't do something so simple.
How could he teach them when he couldn't understand?
"Ah..."
In-geol let out a huge sigh of relief inwardly. His misguided thought had almost sent him back to the hell of yesterday.
"They will be much better than me, so trust and follow them."
"Thank you, Big Brother!"
In-geol bowed deeply to Namgung Urin and the Five Spirits to express his gratitude, then turned to face his Black Snake Sect brothers.
The members of the Black Snake Sect looked at In-geol with desperate eyes. From the way they were talking, it seemed like a very positive conversation, but they wanted confirmation from In-geol.
"Now."
In-geol made eye contact with each of his younger brothers.
"We too. We can finally receive proper training! Fuck!"
"R-really?! Boss?"
"Yeah, you bastard! Now if we train like hell, we can be called masters too!"
"Wow!"
"Waaaaah!"
They were overjoyed. They jumped up and down with elation. As if the Black Snake Sect themselves had beheaded the Heavenly Demon in the War of Orthodox and Demonic Factions.
"..."
‘I never said they would become masters.’
The ignorant hopes and expectations of the Black Snake Sect weighed down on the Five Spirits' shoulders. The weight was so heavy that their shoulders were slumped, weren't they?
‘Masters...’
‘Young Lord. What on earth have you done?’
‘I want to become a master too.’
The level of "master" the Five Spirits envisioned and the "master" the Black Snake Sect envisioned were worlds apart.
The cheers of the Black Snake Sect continued for a while, the desire to end their own lives from the previous day completely forgotten.
Once the grounds quieted down, Namgung Urin spoke again.
"Nothing unusual happened, right?"
What could have happened in just one day?
Especially these days, the Hyeoncheon Sect had probably cut all ties with Hefei. Having achieved their goal, the Black Snake Sect was now nothing more than useless trash to them.
"There was."
"There was?"
"Yes. A while ago, an order came down from the Hyeoncheon Sect to capture someone. It seems they've spent quite a lot of money because of this person. Other groups besides us were also looking for him."
"So you caught him."
In-geol's eyes widened like saucers.
"...H-how did you know?"
"I have my ways of knowing."
‘As expected...’
This Big Brother, who seems to know things as if by magic, is truly on another level.
Different.
"He's not a martial artist, I assume. What does he do?"
"They say he ran a small clinic nearby. I don't know the details either."
The fact that the Hyeoncheon Sect didn't provide details was proof that the information couldn't be allowed to leak.
In other words, the captured person was very important... And yet, he ran a small clinic?
Was he some kind of legendary doctor?
"Is there anything special about him?"
"Just an ordinary physician. Well, there were rumors he was quite skilled, but not to any extraordinary degree."
‘There must be something more.’
"When are the people from the Hyeoncheon Sect coming?"
"Tomorrow."
"Can I see him now?"
"Of course."
Namgung Urin, who could roughly gauge a person with his eyes, now enhanced by the Primordial Chaos Art, had to find out why the Hyeoncheon Sect was so desperately searching for an ordinary physician.
That was the only way he could prevent the Hyeoncheon Sect—who had joined hands with the Baekri Family to bring Hefei to this state—from getting what they wanted.
In short, now that Namgung Urin had entered the martial world, he was determined not to see the Baekri Family and the Hyeoncheon Sect prosper in Anhui.
And that was also the beginning of his revenge.
Namgung Urin and In-geol headed to the warehouse where the ordinary physician was being held.
* * *
When Namgung Urin opened the warehouse door and entered, a man who appeared to be in his mid-fifties, bound tightly with ropes, glared at him with a sour expression, his eyes seeming to say, 'Who the hell are you, wearing a mask on top of everything!'
He was a middle-aged man who remained defiant even in captivity.
"You may leave."
"Understood."
The middle-aged man opened his mouth.
"Are you from the Hyeoncheon Sect?! I'll die before I open my mouth or work for you, so kill me right now!"
"I'm not from the Hyeoncheon Sect, but if you truly wish it, I will kill you."
Namgung Urin mercilessly drew his sword. Its chilling blue blade glinted as it cut through the darkness.
"W-w-wait a moment!"
The middle-aged man, startled, fell backward with a thud.
"You asked me to kill you, didn't you?"
"I-it was just a figure of speech."
He hadn't expected him to actually try to kill him. As a middle-aged man, he knew his own value and believed the Hyeoncheon Sect wouldn't be able to kill him.
So he was shocked when the masked man really tried to kill him.
"But you said you're not from the Hyeoncheon Sect?"
"That is correct."
"Then are you one of the Black Snake Sect thugs?"
"No."
"Then who the hell are you?"
"You don't need to know."
"Right. A man wearing a mask must have a lot to hide."
"But what is this work you're supposed to do?"
"You don't need to know that either."
"I see. I was going to spare you if you told me. A pity."
As Namgung Urin sheathed his sword and turned to leave, the middle-aged man shouted.
"W-wait!"
Namgung Urin turned around again.
"C-can you really spare my life?"
At the mention of sparing his life, the middle-aged man's tone switched to a respectful one.
"I can. If you tell me the truth."
"The Hyeoncheon Sect is after me. No, perhaps it's the Baekri Family searching for me. Even so, are you confident you can save me?"
"Then I have all the more reason to save you."
"What if... this is a lie to test me?"
"Believe it or not. That is up to you."
‘What should I do?’
Either way, it was obvious he would be dragged away and tortured. That is, if he stubbornly refused to create it. Then he wouldn't be able to withstand the torture and would end up creating what the Hyeoncheon Sect or the Baekri Family wanted.
He would be doing something that would leave him with eternal regret.
The middle-aged man's mouth opened again.
"Could you perhaps take me where I want to go?"
"Leaving Anhui would be difficult."
"No. It's close."
"It seems like it would be better to flee far away. If it's close, you could be caught again, no?"
"If I am caught there too... I will consider it fate."
"Very well. Where is this place?"
"The Namgung Family. I'm going to the ruined Namgung Family."
"..."