Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: The Scent of Blood
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The scent of blood.
Around the time the sun passed its zenith, Byeok Taesan emerged from the pavilion.
He had spent the night absorbing the spiritual energy attached to the soul, using it to circulate the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts and mend his severed energy meridians. Only after completing this task did he come out.
The eyes of those waiting in front of the pavilion focused on Byeok Taesan.
Cheon Gyeongwan's expression was as calm as ever.
And Yu Seoyeon looked as if she were staring at a beast.
Finally, the three men from the underworld wore expressions of mingled astonishment and reverence.
Byeok Taesan's gaze fell first on the three men from the underworld.
“What, you’re still alive?”
At his words, the color drained from the three men's faces.
Cheon Gyeongwan replied nonchalantly.
“They were talking until just a moment ago.”
Byeok Taesan looked at the three men, a peculiar light in his eyes.
The three men swallowed nervously and looked at Byeok Taesan with desperate eyes.
Byeok Taesan watched them for a moment before turning his gaze to Yu Seoyeon.
Yu Seoyeon flinched, unconsciously taking a step back.
Having heard those sounds all night, it was only natural for her to be wary.
“Summarize it.”
“Pardon?”
“You heard them all night. Summarize what they said.”
Yu Seoyeon's face turned beet red.
“Wh-what are you talking about! Are you harassing me?!”
Byeok Taesan tilted his head, then chuckled as if he understood.
“What, is your soul starting to get tainted too?”
Yu Seoyeon was about to flare up at the mention of her soul being tainted, but Byeok Taesan spoke first.
“You heard what those bastards were blabbering about all night. Summarize it. Surely you weren't just letting it go in one ear and out the other? I’d be very disappointed if you were…”
Yu Seoyeon’s face grew even redder.
She had made a ridiculous misunderstanding. It seemed the sounds from last night had thoroughly rattled her mind.
Overcome with embarrassment, she blurted out.
“They’re from the Red Dragon Gang!”
“I already knew that from yesterday.”
Yu Seoyeon took a deep breath, calming herself.
“They’re small fry. The Red Dragon Gang selected men they could discard at any time and sent them.”
“They look the part. They’re not as filthy as the others.”
She couldn't immediately grasp what he meant, but Yu Seoyeon decided to finish what she had to say first.
“It seems only the vice-leader of the Red Dragon Gang knows the identity of the man who came with them yesterday.”
Yu Seoyeon then proceeded to methodically summarize what she had heard.
They had spewed a lot of words, but most of it was useless.
However, among it all were a few bits that could be pieced together into useful information.
Considering the skill of the man from yesterday, he was definitely not someone the Red Dragon Gang could command.
In other words, another organization was behind the Red Dragon Gang.
The order they received wasn’t to kill Byeok Taesan, but to bring him to the Red Dragon Gang.
It was a simple but effective plan: while the man from yesterday held off Cheon Gyeongwan, these men would kidnap Byeok Taesan.
What they hadn't expected was that Cheon Gyeongwan’s skill far exceeded their calculations, and that Yu Seoyeon would be with them.
“They said the plan was just to scare the Young Master a little. But… if they had actually kidnapped him, I think things would have turned out differently.”
Meaning, they would have killed Byeok Taesan.
If that had happened, the Red Dragon Gang would likely have been annihilated.
And anyone else involved would have had to face severe consequences.
“So you think the Jongli Family is behind them?”
“It’s a logical deduction.”
Byeok Taesan nodded and looked at Cheon Gyeongwan.
“And you?”
For the first time in a while, an emotion surfaced on Cheon Gyeongwan’s face. He seemed genuinely flustered.
After a moment of deep thought, Cheon Gyeongwan lowered his head slightly to avoid Yu Seoyeon’s gaze and spoke.
“I don’t think it’s the Jongli Family.”
Byeok Taesan grinned.
“Let’s head back. I need to eat and sleep.”
As Byeok Taesan began to walk away with long strides, Cheon Gyeongwan quickly asked.
“What about them?”
Byeok Taesan glanced back.
The three men, their faces pale, were looking at Byeok Taesan with pleading eyes.
“Bring them along for now.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
* * *
“Why do you think it isn’t the Jongli Family?”
Cheon Gyeongwan hesitated at Yu Seoyeon’s question.
“You’re not saying that because you’re worried about hurting my feelings, are you?”
He was, but he couldn’t admit it. Still, since she asked, he felt he had to answer.
“It’s because the Jongli Family is unlikely to make such an overt move.”
Yu Seoyeon nodded at his words.
“That’s true…”
The Jongli Family is cunning. As Byeok Taesan had said, they had a vile side, but in Yu Seoyeon’s view, ‘cunning’ was a more fitting description than ‘vile’.
People like them were unlikely to act so openly.
Even if someone within the family tried to handle things this way, they would be stopped.
They would use a much more subtle approach.
*‘Does that mean… someone is taking advantage of this situation?’*
Who could possibly take advantage of this situation and also command a warrior as strong as the man who fled yesterday with his arm severed?
*‘There are countless possibilities.’*
But if I narrow it down to those who would orchestrate such a thing, only a few remain.
*‘The Thousand Gold Alliance?’*
Yu Seoyeon’s expression and thoughts grew increasingly complicated.
* * *
Soso, who greeted Byeok Taesan’s group upon their return to the Golden Jade Villa, was startled.
Not only had their party grown in number, but the three new men looked incredibly rough.
“Y-Young Master, you’re back?”
“Yes.”
“But those men behind you are…”
“Didn’t you say we needed a few hands for manual labor?”
“Huh? When did I…?”
Soso trailed off as something occurred to her, and she looked at Cheon Gyeongwan.
She hadn’t told Byeok Taesan they needed workers, but she had mentioned it in passing to Cheon Gyeongwan.
Soso’s expression became peculiar.
It was surprising that Cheon Gyeongwan had remembered her passing remark and relayed it to Byeok Taesan, but it was even more surprising that Byeok Taesan had remembered and brought back workers like this.
But the truly shocked ones weren't Soso, but the three men designated as workers.
They were men of the underworld. They had no desire to do menial chores in a place like this.
Byeok Taesan turned to face them, pointing a finger at each one in turn.
“Black One, Black Two, and Black Three.”
“Huh?”
“From now on, those are your names.”
“Wait, what do you mean…”
Byeok Taesan grinned. But his smile felt incredibly menacing.
The three men swallowed nervously.
“Shouldn’t you receive new names? You died and were born again, after all.”
Understanding his meaning, the three men nodded their heads vigorously in unison.
“You are absolutely right. From now on, I am Black One.”
“It’s a name I really like.”
Byeok Taesan looked at Soso and said.
“You heard them? Call them that from now on, and work them as you please.”
Soso’s eyes widened as she asked.
“Th-these men? Me?”
They looked like they could handle themselves in a fight. And they looked ill-tempered, too.
How was she supposed to order such men around?
She worried she might end up serving three new masters instead.
“Come to think of it, they might not listen to you. They’ll die if they don’t, but men like these can be annoying when they’re not afraid of death.”
“Wh-what a terrifying thing to say! We will unconditionally follow that young lady’s orders. If she tells us to die, we’ll even pretend to. Please, believe us!”
“I’d sooner trust a dog than you.”
Byeok Taesan gestured for them to follow with a jerk of his chin and entered the pavilion.
Black One, Black Two, and Black Three followed quietly, with Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon close behind them, as if standing guard.
Once inside, Byeok Taesan spoke to Cheon Gyeongwan.
“I know a rather useful restriction technique. And since we have three subjects to practice on, you should learn it.”
“I will do so.”
Cheon Gyeongwan accepted Byeok Taesan’s words as if they were the most natural thing in the world.
The three men, however, could not.
Practicing a restriction technique on them? What kind of horrifying proposal was that?
But they didn’t dare refuse. It felt like they would truly be killed if they did.
Yu Seoyeon, for her part, was also surprised.
Honestly, her feelings about Byeok Taesan up to this point hadn't been very positive.
Her impression of him was one of lethargy and incompetence. On top of that, he was cynical, casually saying things that could hurt others.
But the Byeok Taesan she witnessed today was completely different from the one she had known.
*‘And a restriction technique, no less…'*
Where on earth did he learn a restriction technique?
Regardless of Yu Seoyeon watching, Byeok Taesan had Black One stand before him and began explaining the restriction technique to Cheon Gyeongwan in detail.
“First, remember here, here, and here. These three acupoints are the foundation. From there, you can apply it to here, here, and here. The effects vary depending on the sequence, so remember it well.”
“Yes. I understand.”
“There’s also an order for channeling internal energy. The key is controlling your internal energy, so practice that part well.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Byeok Taesan explained the restriction technique in great detail.
Cheon Gyeongwan wasn't the only one listening to the explanation, but he was the only one who truly understood how it worked.
Even as he listened, Cheon Gyeongwan found it truly amazing.
He was being taught the flow of internal energy, and he could understand it without any special explanation.
Byeok Taesan was using the leftover spiritual energy from killing the Red Dragon Gang's leader to imprint the flow of internal energy onto Cheon Gyeongwan’s senses.
It was impossible for anyone here, given their level, to notice the movement of spiritual energy.
“So? Do you get it? It doesn’t matter if you don’t. You’ll get used to it once you start doing it yourself.”
“I think I can do it.”
“Really? Then give it a try. Let’s start with… something light, like blindness?”
“What? B-blindness? W-w-wait a moment, please! Just a moment! I swear I won’t do anything foolish! I don’t think you need to go to the trouble of using a restriction technique!”
Black One shouted in terror.
How could he remain still when they were about to apply a restriction that could make him lose his sight in an instant?
Of course, Black One’s shouts were in vain.
In a flash, Cheon Gyeongwan had stimulated Black One’s acupoints and channeled his internal energy into them, applying the restriction.
Seeing this, Byeok Taesan nodded.
“Precise. You have good instincts.”
“Thank you.”
“Releasing the restriction is about five times harder than applying it, so I’ll teach you later. Well… honestly, you don’t really need to know how to release it, do you? As long as you add more internal energy every three or four days, there won’t be any problems.”
The color drained from Black One's face.
Byeok Taesan gestured with his chin at the restricted Black One, who lowered his head and limply walked outside.
“Try a different restriction on the other two. Since it’s for practice… let’s go with an exploding heart.”
Hearing this, the remaining two men thought that Black One was a very lucky bastard.
* * *
Yu Seoyeon stared at Byeok Taesan walking ahead of her with a weary expression.
If she hadn't gone to the brothel with him yesterday, she probably wouldn't be feeling this way.
*‘He does that every day?’*
Yu Seoyeon was well aware that Byeok Taesan was ill. She had even witnessed him suddenly lose consciousness and collapse.
She remembered how startled she had been.
But looking at him now, she doubted if he was really a sick man at all.
Yu Seoyeon truly cared for Yeon Harin.
That was why she had insisted on becoming Yeon Harin’s personal guard.
In truth, with Yu Seoyeon’s skills, it would not have been strange for her to hold a high position in the Yeon family.
Yet she had insisted on being Yeon Harin’s guard.
As she walked, almost glaring at Byeok Taesan, Yu Seoyeon’s eyes suddenly gleamed.
The two men walking in front had suddenly stopped.
This time, she saw it clearly. Byeok Taesan stopped first, and then Cheon Gyeongwan.
“What is it this time?”
Yu Seoyeon asked cautiously. Honestly, she didn't sense anything yet, but remembering yesterday's events, she couldn't dismiss it.
“I smell blood.”
Yu Seoyeon looked puzzled at Byeok Taesan's words. She tilted her nose up slightly and sniffed the air.
“I don’t smell anything.”
It was the same for Cheon Gyeongwan. He looked at Byeok Taesan with a troubled expression, as if to say he couldn’t smell anything either.
Byeok Taesan spoke with a frustrated expression.
“Do you only smell with your noses?”
*Do you smell with your eyes, then?* Yu Seoyeon looked at Byeok Taesan with a slightly dumbfounded expression.
Cheon Gyeongwan, on the other hand, was the type to unconditionally trust Byeok Taesan’s words, so he immediately mobilized all of his other senses.
He even mobilized his sixth sense, not just his five senses.
Soon, Cheon Gyeongwan muttered to himself.
“I smell blood.”
Yu Seoyeon looked back and forth between Cheon Gyeongwan and Byeok Taesan with a baffled expression.