The Price of Sin
The shadow jolted in shock. His body moved faster than his thoughts. Shaking off the formless energy gripping his arm, he flipped his body over. From within his robes, he hurled a small, round bead, and at the same time, leaped straight toward Yi Jinpyeong.
Yi Jinpyeong's pipe spun in a circle. It seemed to gently catch the bead, but the orbs reacted to even that slight impact, exploding with a pung—
Ooh—Yi Jinpyeong pursed his lips in surprise. Amid the black smoke that bloomed and obscured their vision, the shadow had already crossed the space to appear right in front of him. A black dagger pulsing with eerie energy slashed down toward Yi Jinpyeong's head.
But the black smoke had no effect on Yi Jinpyeong. Cutting through the thick haze, his pipe was striking precisely toward the shadow's head as well.
“!!!”
Yi Jinpyeong's pipe and the shadow's dagger. The time it took for each to reach the other's head was exactly the same.
Yi Jinpyeong and the shadow's eyes met. Retreat, or strike down? Yi Jinpyeong's gaze held only indifference and resolve. Not a shred of doubt in himself.
In the end, the shadow retreated first. Just as he had leaped across space, he spun back and seized Un Sa-nang's throat once more. The exchange had happened in an instant—so fast that Un Sa-nang, now utterly drained of energy, hadn't even hit the ground again.
Yi Jinpyeong swung his pipe at empty air and smacked his lips.
“Huh. It's been a while since someone dodged me.”
The shadow recognized him.
“...The Yi family's third whelp.”
He tried to play it cool, but disbelief filled the shadow's eyes. That someone had found his secret space, and that this boy could move at the same speed as him.
Yi Jinpyeong spun his pipe idly, speaking in a tone utterly devoid of tension.
“Glad you know me, but aren't we strangers? Isn't it rude to come at me with killing intent right off the bat?”
“...How did you find this place?”
the shadow shot back.
Yi Jinpyeong snorted lightly.
“How? Nothing's impossible for this body.”
“Impossible. Finding the entrance here is out of the question. Unless you tracked me with some scent...!!!”
Something dawned on the shadow, and he whipped his head toward Un Sa-nang.
“You bitch. No way?”
Un Sa-nang, her body battered to hell, throat gripped tight. Yet even in that state, she cackled, unable to hold back her laughter.
“That's right. You didn't seriously think nothing happened at the Yi family, did you?”
“Hey. The way you say it sounds kinda off.”
Yi Jinpyeong shrugged at Un Sa-nang.
“And we agreed you'd stay put. I don't like this method much. The guy's gonna slip up eventually—why sacrifice yourself like this? What if I hadn't shown up in time?”
“What else? I'd just die. This bastard was on the verge of spilling but clammed up every time. Had to provoke him.”
Un Sa-nang had purged her demonic qi long ago, yet insisted on staying in the shadow's clutches. Her final contingency for Yi Jinpyeong, who worried for her safety, was to douse herself in a special tracking scent detectable only by someone who'd smelled it once before. For months while the scent lingered, Yi Jinpyeong could find her anywhere—a profound show of trust in him.
The shadow's face twisted. Even if Un Sa-nang had tricked him, he couldn't believe Yi Jinpyeong had found this place so easily. His meticulously crafted secret lair, impossible for anyone to detect. True to his perfectionist nature, he'd left no traces.
“Unbelievable. Even so, how did you enter...!”
“Quit with the 'hows.' You shady types always hide your secret rooms in the most obvious ways. You can't fool this body's sharp eyes.”
It was bizarre. How could a kid not even twenty pierce his mechanisms so easily? And even more absurd: without taking his eyes off the shadow, Yi Jinpyeong swung his pipe backward, pressing something. The thick wall rumbled shut with a thunk.
A motion impossible without prior knowledge of their mechanisms. Now, their space was a perfect sealed chamber, no sound escaping.
“There. If screams leak out, it's trouble for both of us. Better with the door shut, right? Classic locked-room murder.”
Yi Jinpyeong grinned. At his nonchalant demeanor, the shadow's face contorted hideously.
“I got the gist. Lackey of a Demonic Cult dog. Looks like you lot are scheming in pockets all over the jianghu in cell-like groups. Didn't learn after getting a real taste a century ago?”
Yi Jinpyeong closed the distance slowly after sealing the door. The shadow tightened his grip on Un Sa-nang's throat. But she didn't groan, and Yi Jinpyeong showed no agitation.
“Useless. She's tough as nails. Better focus on me than waste time on her. Even odds on winning—might as well have a proper scrap, yeah?”
The shadow, flustered by this out-of-control situation, gradually regained his composure. His breathing steadied as he released his grip, acknowledging Yi Jinpyeong's words. Un Sa-nang crumpled to the floor.
Demonic qi surged from the now-calm shadow. Indescribable black, ominous killing intent concentrated on Yi Jinpyeong. But it had no effect. His thick green aura completely blocked the black demonic qi.
Yi Jinpyeong tapped his pipe against his palm.
“Demonic Cult slave. Truth is, I was losing interest in whatever you're plotting. Just wanted to eat well and live easy. But our fates are stubbornly tangled, dragging me back here.”
The shadow couldn't follow. What grand ties could a fifteen-year-old punk claim with the New Cult?
“Spit it out nice and easy. Why gather the Beggars' Clan by Dongjeong Lake? Your forces' size now? Who's the cult leader? What role's that young master you serve playing? Answer one right, and I'll kill you painlessly.”
The shadow said nothing. Gripping his dagger, he lowered into stance, body hugging the ground like a coiled viper. Gauging Yi Jinpyeong's skill from their clash, he prepared to go all-out.
The crouched serpent hissed shh-shh—. Yi Jinpyeong, suddenly grounded, chuckled and thrust his pipe forward. Enveloped in Gwi Hwa Yeon Cheon Gong's third stage, metal qi, it gleamed with dull golden light.
“Little snake. Show me your tricks.”
Splat! In the next instant, the two figures tangled.
***
Un Sa-nang lay collapsed on the ground. Her hands and feet still bound tight. After prolonged beatings and choking, she teetered on unconsciousness. But she clung to awareness desperately.
To witness with her own eyes how this standoff would end.
Even without demonic arts, she possessed high-level martial skill. But the clash between Yi Jinpyeong and the shadow was too swift for her to follow.
Writhing demonic qi lashed endlessly at the foe. Black mist swallowed her vision. Glimpses showed a grotesque form, human yet beastly. His qi filled the space. Even not targeted, mere exposure dizzied her mind.
She shuddered at the chill. The shadow's skill far exceeded what she'd known.
But Yi Jinpyeong surpassed even her heightened expectations—by leaps.
The shadow's vortex of potent demonic qi couldn't pierce him. Thick green and gold auras intertwined mysteriously, pushing back the black. Faint laughs from Yi Jinpyeong, stifled groans from the shadow.
He's gotten so much stronger. Beyond compare to before. Is this even possible?
She followed him more from gratitude for saving her from despair, and the hope he reignited, than blind faith in his martial prowess.
But now, he embodied overwhelming might. As if born to crush the Demonic Cult.
The thick demonic qi cleared. Revealed: Yi Jinpyeong pinning the writhing shadow to the floor with one pipe. A mole hunting a snake.
The shadow thrashed limbs desperately. Black dagger slashed relentlessly at the pipe. Klang. Klang. Klang—
But the gold-qi pipe stood immovable, like it weighed a thousand catties.
“Not bad for a slave. But that's it.”
Bloodshot eyes glared up. Yi Jinpyeong looked down impassively.
“I know your type. No real rewards from the cult, yet blindly loyal, stubborn as hell. Torture won't yield squat. You're a slave to the bone. Kinda pitiful, really.”
He glanced at Un Sa-nang, sprawled in ruin.
“Still, can't let you go easy. Gotta pay for what you did to my friend, right?”
Yi Jinpyeong's eyes shifted subtly. Red qi flickered in them, and flames whoosh! erupted from the pipe.
“So, fall to hell.”
Boiling flames devoured the shadow's form in an instant.