Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: TrueDetective
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: 17. Southern Barbaric Beast Palace Masked Ball (2)
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The three members were the ones who gasped in shock when Dang Sa-cheon pulled a sword from his sleeve.
Joo Ja-ha pointed at the sword with a trembling finger.
“You… carry a sword… in your sleeve?”
Dang Sa-cheon replied with a puzzled look, as if she’d asked something obvious.
“As the patriarch of the Tang Clan, isn’t it natural for me to have hidden weapons in my sleeves?”
“No, that’s not a hidden weapon.”
“Everyone else carries a sword around with them.”
“Who else hauls around something like that besides you?”
“…….”
Lee Tae-geuk, who had brought a sword stuffed inside his doll mask, and Namgoong Moo, who clutched his sword tightly under a white cloth draped over his head, both fell silent.
The actual duo didn’t show the slightest surprise at the sight of the sword Dang Sa-cheon had drawn.
They huddled close together and whispered.
“We’re not excommunicated disciples, are we, Right Protector?”
“Left Protector. We’re not excommunicated, right?”
“Our master said we were excommunicated.”
“He did, excommunicated.”
“Hey, you two masks.”
Dang Sa-cheon pointed his sword tip at them and asked.
“Answer me. Did the cult leader send you?”
At Dang Sa-cheon’s question, the duo stared blankly at him before tilting their heads in opposite directions.
The way their heads cocked simultaneously looked downright eerie.
“The boss said not to tell.”
“Not to tell, the boss did.”
“Boss?”
Dang Sa-cheon furrowed his brow, but this time Lee Tae-geuk stepped forward.
“What are you doing here?”
“That much we can tell you!”
“We can, that much!”
“The boss said this place would be fun with the masks.”
“Said there are people here looking for excommunicated disciples.”
“Said those kids would play with Left Protector!”
“Play with him? And Right Protector too!”
The duo’s eyes gleamed from behind their masks as they took another step forward.
Namgoong Moo spoke softly, just loud enough for the members to hear.
“Looks like the boss sent them to stall us so we can’t meet the excommunicated disciple.”
“They don’t seem like they mean us harm, though…….”
Joo Ja-ha peeked out from behind Lee Tae-geuk, only her head over his shoulder, and asked.
“If we play with you? Will you go home nicely?”
“Of course! Obviously!”
“Obviously go home!”
The four exchanged glances at the duo’s eager response.
“They don’t seem to be lying.”
“From the way they talk, they’re like kids… Let’s just humor them and send them off. We’ll lose some time, but if we keep them occupied, Soe hyung’s side can move freely, right?”
“Sounds good.”
After a quick huddle, Namgoong Moo turned to the duo.
“How do you want to play?”
The two masks shouted excitedly, as if they’d been waiting for it.
“Let’s cut off arms and play!”
“No, legs and play!”
“How about heads?”
“Great, love it!”
The group recoiled at the chilling suggestion, but Joo Ja-ha just snorted.
The other three stared at her in horror.
The duo jumped at the sound of her snort.
“Sh-she laughed?”
“Laughed! Just laughed!”
“J-Ja-ha sunbae, no need to provoke them…….”
Namgoong Moo tried to caution her carefully.
But true to her title as the assistant disaster, once Joo Ja-ha’s mouth opened, it wouldn’t stop.
“Come on, that’s ridiculous. Who plays like that?”
The duo looked flustered at her unexpected reaction.
Seeing them rattled, Namgoong Moo seemed to catch on and stepped back without another word.
The duo shot back indignantly.
“Wh-what’s it to you if we play that way!”
“What’s it to you, we’re gonna play, play!”
“You can tell just looking… you guys have no friends, huh?”
The duo recoiled in shock at Joo Ja-ha’s blunt words.
“W-we have friends… Right Protector and I are friends…….”
“Yeah… Left Protector and I are friends…….”
‘As I thought. The way they talk, the size is all they’ve got—they’re just kids.’
The fact that they came here because someone said there were people to play with at this masked event.
Their boss was clearly exploiting their innocence.
In that case, we should make good use of that innocence ourselves.
Joo Ja-ha, who wasn’t the sharpest but had supreme confidence in drawing aggro, spoke up.
“You planning to play just the two of you forever?”
“F-forever?”
The duo flinched and muttered dejectedly.
“Not forever…….”
“Not forever, no…….”
Seeing that, Ja-ha continued in a soothing tone.
“You want to play with us too, right?”
“That’s true.”
“True, that is!”
“Then let’s do this.”
Joo Ja-ha stepped out from behind Lee Tae-geuk and stood in front of the duo.
“First, play how I say.”
“What’re we cutting?”
“Cutting what?”
Joo Ja-ha shook her head in annoyance at their question.
“No, no! We’re not cutting anything!”
“But that sounds no fun…….”
“No fun, sounds…….”
“If it’s no fun, then you guys can do whatever you want.”
“Really? You sure?”
“Sure, you?”
“You guys.”
Joo Ja-ha smirked and tossed out curtly.
“Scared?”
The duo jumped as if they’d heard something utterly alien.
“Sc-scared…? What’s that?”
“What’s scared?!”
“Dunno what it is, but hearing it…….”
“Makes me mad! Can’t take it!”
The duo stepped forward in unison.
“We accept the bet!”
“Let’s do it! No, let’s go!”
Joo Ja-ha grinned wide and clapped her palms together.
“Great. Then the game we’ll play is…….”
* * *
‘Hope the kids with Ja-ha are doing okay……?’
Once the event started, I got down from the Ferris wheel with Dang Sa-cheon’s help.
Moving with the Heavenly Demon would just advertise that he’s the real deal, so we split up.
My marks were the Alliance Leader and Na-hani.
As I came down to the plaza, I spotted the two surrounded by fans who recognized their faces.
Most had chased after the Heavenly Demon, but some hadn’t.
That was exactly why I’d left their faces uncovered.
If they’d gone straight after the other members, it would’ve been a problem.
‘If I keep these two tied up, the others can move freely.’
The Alliance Leader, flustered amid the fans, lit up when he saw me.
“S-Soe hyung!”
As the Alliance Leader called out to me, the Beggar Clan disciples’ eyes turned my way.
“Soe?”
“That’s the Soe who Dang Sa-cheon respects?”
“Yeah, that’s the head manager.”
“They said he’s handsome? Even with the Heavenly Demon mask?”
“The mask makes him handsome.”
“Sorry, excuse me, coming through…….”
I heard every whisper clearly as I pushed through the fans to get inside.
Luckily, or not, the remaining fans were from the famously mild-mannered Alliance Leader and Na-hani fandoms.
Even without me glued to their sides, the only issue was slowed movement—no real problems.
As I reached them, the Alliance Leader said with a worried face.
“Hyung, we got separated from the others.”
“Dang Sa-cheon’s with them. Don’t worry.”
“…Now I’m more worried.”
I got his feelings, but still.
Na-hani clasped her hands together when our eyes met.
Seemed she’d gone back to her silent vow in front of the fans.
The Alliance Leader asked cautiously.
“What do we do now?”
The Alliance Leader and Na-hani knew this was for the final episode of [Righteous-Demonic Co-op Camp Chaos].
They were worried about not getting footage while surrounded by fans.
But fans sticking around them was already factored in.
I addressed the Beggar Clan disciples.
“Everyone here from the Beggar Clan. The Alliance Leader and Na-hani need footage too, so I’d appreciate your cooperation.”
They’d expected me to tell them to disperse and didn’t hide their disappointment.
But I wasn’t about to waste the setup where I’d stuck the Alliance Leader and Na-hani amid fans to hold them.
“You all aren’t that into the Southern Barbaric Beast Palace sub-palace lord title, right? That’s why you stayed here?”
They nodded at my question.
“But isn’t it the Heavenly Demon Beast Palace?”
“…It’s Southern Barbaric Beast Palace.”
Anyway.
“Then how about giving the Southern Barbaric Beast Palace sub-palace lord title to your fave?”
As puzzled head-tilts rippled through the Beggar Clan disciples like waves, I pointed at the Alliance Leader and Na-hani respectively.
“From now on, we split into Team One-Sword and Team Na-hani to chase the Heavenly Demon!”
“……!”
“The first team to catch him gets the Southern Barbaric Beast Palace sub-palace lord title for their member.”
No sooner had I finished than some Beggar Clan disciples broke off from their fandoms and dashed away.
Fans always want to give their faves everything.
But individual hunts weren’t what I wanted.
“Some of you already ran off… It’s a team battle, so you can strategize together. Alliance Leader and Na-hani are team leaders—discuss and move as a group.”
I glanced at them, and they quickly got it, separating on their own.
They both cherished their fans, so they looked relieved to join rather than disperse.
The fandom split like the Red Sea.
The Alliance Leader actively rallied his fans, while Na-hani… just stood silently facing hers.
‘Too much for Na-hani?’
I thought that, but the next moment, Team Na-hani moved first.
They clasped hands toward each other, then suddenly bolted off.
Alliance Leader’s team buzzed at the sight.
“Didn’t White Na-hani say nothing?”
“Says Shaolin fandom communicates with Buddhist spirit.”
“So they’re all Buddhist??”
“But White Na-hani’s birthday is Christmas.”
“Blasphemous heretics.”
I agree Na-hani’s Christmas birthday is heaven’s mistake.
For reference: Alliance Leader’s January 1, Ja-ha’s White Day, Tae-geuk’s March 1.
Namgoong Joon and Namgoong Moo share April 1.
The three members’ birthdays all on the first of the month made for frequent broadcast fodder.
“Alliance Leader. No, Team Leader, what do we do?”
“Should we go opposite Team Na-hani?”
As the Beggar Clan disciples asked, the Alliance Leader looked at me.
…Why’s he looking at me?
“No need to chase that one.”
“Huh, why?”
“Don’t like the sub-palace lord title?”
“No. Why chase hard when… we can make him come to us?”
No idea why he kept looking my way while saying that……
A bad feeling hit me. I started edging back, then tried to sprint out full speed.
But no matter how fast, it’s still within the grasp of martial artists.
The Alliance Leader grabbed my collar, and I gave up.
He smugly announced to the Beggar Clan disciples while holding me.
“If we take hostage the person the Heavenly Demon treasures most, even he can’t ignore it, right?”
“Alliance Leader’s a genius~!”
“Beggar Clan manager’s got the world’s toughest job.”
“Manager, you need to work out. What was that running speed!”
No, my escape speed was plenty fast.
It’s the Alliance Leader and Beggar Clan disciples leaping over rides to pass me that’s weird.
More importantly.
“You seriously think I’m worth hostage value??”
“Of course.”
“Makes no sense. He won’t even know I’m caught.”
The Alliance Leader smiled brightly at my words.
“Then… let’s see if he shows up even after hearing Soe hyung scream.”
“What?”
Scream…….
What are they planning?