Chapter 169
Chapter 169
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: I'm More Scared of That
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Whew, it's absolute chaos out here."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages muttered, looking around.
He was currently touring various parts of Changsha, accompanied by a few members of the Underworld Sect and the Secret Heaven Group.
And right beside the Divine Doctor was Na Heontak.
"Doesn't this just prove how powerful the name of the Hyeoncheon Sword is?"
At Na Heontak's words, the Divine Doctor gave him a sour look.
"Well… I suppose you're right about that."
"And the ones who orchestrated this from behind the scenes are surely fanning the flames."
That much was also obvious.
The Divine Doctor continued to eye Na Heontak with a dubious expression.
"Is there something you wish to say to me?"
"No, it's just that lately… your presence seems to be growing heavier by the day, Captain Na. You weren't like this when we first met."
At the Divine Doctor's remark, Na Heontak smiled gently.
"So you've noticed."
"Of course, I have. My eyes aren't just for show. By the way, if you got your hands on something good, you should've shared. I've been feeling so drained lately, it's hard to even get up in the morning."
"For someone who says that… didn't you visit the Danhyang Pavilion just last night?"
The Divine Doctor shouted indignantly.
"That was for gathering information! Did I do anything… strange there?"
Na Heontak grinned.
"That's not what I'd call strange. I was merely talking about your energy levels. You're still quite vigorous, are you not?"
"Ahem. Well, anyway, is any of that good stuff left?"
"That good stuff was a gift from the Young Master."
"Oh. I see."
The Divine Doctor immediately dropped the subject and turned his gaze forward again.
Whatever it was, he wanted nothing to do with it if Byeok Taesan was involved. No, he was scared of it.
Still, he couldn't suppress his curiosity.
"So, what did you get?"
"He helped me with my martial arts."
For a moment, the Divine Doctor looked at Na Heontak with eyes full of pity.
"Hang in there."
"Pardon?"
The Divine Doctor said no more, simply shaking his head and quickening his pace.
Na Heontak, looking utterly confused, watched the Divine Doctor's back for a moment before quickly catching up.
"Hm? Those people over there, aren't they from the Martial Alliance?"
At the Divine Doctor's sudden comment, Na Heontak glanced over to where he was indicating.
"They are. It looks like the Martial Alliance's Heavenly Sword Unit."
"The Heavenly Sword Unit?"
The Divine Doctor's expression soured slightly.
The Heavenly Sword Unit were the ones who had followed the Heavenly Medicine Hall to Wuhan not long ago, tried to stir up trouble, and ended up getting crushed.
His impression of them was not very favorable.
Na Heontak glanced at the Divine Doctor with a hint of confusion before continuing.
"And the man in the center is undoubtedly Bang Durip, the Leader of the Heavenly Sword Unit."
"The leader himself came?"
The Divine Doctor looked at Bang Durip with renewed interest.
Though they were quite a distance away, it wasn't difficult to discern his features and aura.
And the same was true for Bang Durip.
The moment the Divine Doctor looked his way, Bang Durip seemed to sense something and turned to face him.
Their eyes met.
As they stared at each other for a moment, Na Heontak, who was standing beside him, spoke.
"What… are you doing?"
The words snapped the Divine Doctor back to his senses, and he quickly averted his gaze.
"Let's get going."
The Divine Doctor hurried his steps.
Na Heontak, along with the members of the Underworld Sect and the Secret Heaven Group, scurried after him.
Once they had moved a fair distance away, Na Heontak asked.
"Why the sudden rush?"
"You said he's the Heavenly Sword Unit's leader, right? That man."
"Yes. I am almost certain."
"He's terrifying."
"Was he that formidable? To be honest, I didn't notice anything in particular."
The Divine Doctor shook his head.
"From the moment our eyes met, I couldn't look away."
"Was it that intense?"
The Divine Doctor nodded.
"If you hadn't called out to me, I probably would have ended up in a sorry state."
From the instant his eyes met Bang Durip's, he had to bear the full force of his presence alone.
That was why he couldn't look away. His spirit had been crushed by the man's aura.
Bang Durip had likely projected his presence casually, but the Divine Doctor had seen something deeper.
"He's the strongest person I've seen recently. Ah, besides our Young Master, of course."
Byeok Taesan was always in a league of his own.
Na Heontak, unaware of what the Divine Doctor had been through lately, simply accepted it, but this was, in fact, a remarkable statement.
After all, among the people the Divine Doctor had recently encountered was none other than the Hubei Martial Alliance Leader.
In other words, in the Divine Doctor's eyes, Bang Durip was even stronger than the Hubei Martial Alliance Leader.
"You also saw the men from Nameless, did you not? Is he more formidable than them? I heard those Nameless fellows are no pushovers."
"The truly strong ones were all dealt with by the Young Master, so how would I know? And even if I had seen them, I wouldn't have had time to size them up."
In any case, the important thing here was that Bang Durip was a much greater master than he had thought.
"If the Martial Alliance is here, it's highly likely the Black Alliance and the Five Great Families have come as well."
"Anyway, let's just continue on our way. It'll be a pain if that Bang Durip fellow decides to follow us."
"You're right. Let's hurry."
They quickened their pace.
Their destination was the slum that Nameless had been using as a base.
Although they had cleared out all three of Nameless's bases in Changsha, the slum was the only one that still had people in it.
The base on Geojem Street and the Hwangcheon Martial Academy had been neatly cleared out, as everyone there had been a member of Nameless.
Now, not a single person remained in those two places.
What might happen later was unknown, but that was the situation for now.
The slum, on the other hand, was different.
The members of Nameless had taken control of the slum and lived intermingled with the poor.
If not for Byeok Taesan, it would have been impossible to so accurately distinguish between the Nameless members and the slum's residents.
The Underworld Sect had taken over the management of the area.
Even though Byeok Taesan had swept through, there was always a chance that some had hidden, or that some actual Nameless members remained because they hadn't been outwardly active.
The Underworld Sect members were subtly blending in, continuously monitoring for any such individuals, while also taking control of the slum from the shadows to use as a strategic asset in the future.
The reason the Divine Doctor and Na Heontak were heading there today was due to a request from the Underworld Sect.
Factions had emerged, trying to seize control of the slum from the shadows, and it wasn't a single organization but several different groups.
The Underworld Sect had identified them as some of the outside forces that had flocked to Changsha.
Large organizations like the Martial Alliance or the Black Alliance wouldn't bother turning a slum upside down to use its people, no matter how useful it might be.
Therefore, it had to be the work of some half-baked groups beneath them. But since they were split into so many factions, it was problematic for the Underworld Sect to openly confront them.
Currently, the Underworld Sect was mixed in with the residents, secretly investigating the backgrounds of those trying to take over.
The Divine Doctor and Na Heontak's visit wouldn't solve the problem immediately.
The plan was to go, assess the situation, and then slowly formulate a plan.
It was also an opportunity to observe the atmosphere in Changsha along the way.
"Ah… I have a bad feeling about this…"
The Divine Doctor muttered. A chilling sensation ran down his spine.
He cautiously glanced back and saw someone's figure in the distance.
Amidst the teeming crowd on the main street, a person who had just appeared at the end of the road stood out distinctly.
It was Bang Durip.
"Hey, run."
As the Divine Doctor started running, Na Heontak followed suit.
Despite the street being packed with people, the two of them weaved through the gaps as if they were running on an open field.
After running for some time, they arrived at the entrance to the slum.
Even after arriving, the Divine Doctor kept looking back anxiously. He checked several times, but Bang Durip was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed he hadn't followed them this far.
"Phew. Looks like we're okay. Let's go in."
The Divine Doctor let out a sigh of relief and entered the slum.
The rest of the group followed him.
* * *
"What is it, sir?"
Bang Durip glanced at the vice-leader who had questioned him.
The Heavenly Sword Unit had three vice-leaders. One of them had gone to Wuhan and hadn't been heard from since.
The one beside him now was one of the remaining two.
The other vice-leader was currently with the unit's captains, looking for suitable lodging.
"Just a strange feeling."
"Pardon?"
"I felt like I should follow them, which is why I came this far… but there's no need to postpone my duties for it."
The vice-leader simply bowed his head slightly. He honestly couldn't understand what Bang Durip was talking about.
"Find out who those people were."
"Yes, sir. I will."
Even after the vice-leader replied, Bang Durip stood there for a while, gazing silently in the direction the Divine Doctor had disappeared.
His eyes glinted sharply.
* * *
After entering the slum, the Divine Doctor and Na Heontak walked slowly, surveying their surroundings.
The members of the Underworld Sect and the Secret Heaven Group who had come with them scattered in all directions.
While the Divine Doctor and Na Heontak met with the Underworld Sect member they had contacted, the others were to gather information on their own.
In truth, they would be the ones handling most of the work. The original plan was to send only them.
If the Divine Doctor hadn't suddenly decided on a whim to come along, that's what would have happened.
And if that had been the case, Na Heontak wouldn't have come either.
The two walked deeper into the slum.
"Isn't this a bit strange? We didn't exactly sneak in here, so why hasn't anyone shown up yet?"
At the Divine Doctor's words, Na Heontak's expression turned serious.
"It seems we must brace ourselves."
"Agh, seriously. Why does everything go wrong whenever I do something?"
The Divine Doctor scowled.
"This is a trap, isn't it?"
"Yes. I'm certain of it. It seems the Underworld Sect members who were monitoring this place have all been taken out."
"Who do you think it is?"
"It must be Nameless."
The Divine Doctor nodded.
"We've had it too easy for too long, thanks to the Young Master."
He had to admit it. How could one feel any tension when Byeok Taesan was around?
All tension originated from Byeok Taesan.
While with Byeok Taesan, the only person who had made the Divine Doctor even slightly tense was Byeok Taesan himself.
The two had now reached the center of the slum.
They could feel a stir in the air all around them.
"Do you think… we'll make it back alive?"
Na Heontak said calmly.
"They won't kill us. They'll have much they want to learn from us, and they can use us as bait. So, I expect they'll treat our lives as precious."
"I'm more scared of that. It means they'll treat everything but our lives with contempt."
Their bodies, minds, and spirits would likely be shattered.
These Nameless bastards dealt with Half-Jiangshi and used Blood Augmenting Pills without a second thought.
Their methods of torture were surely varied and vicious.
"The Young Master usually shows up at the critical moment, but I guess that won't happen today, right?"
The Divine Doctor was filled with regret.
This was all because he'd come out on a whim.
He also felt a little sorry for Na Heontak. If it weren't for him, he would be back at the Gakwol Inn, poring over documents.
The air, which had been stirring, began to give way as men in crimson clothes started to appear one by one.
It felt as if the scent of blood suddenly filled the area.
It wasn't a literal smell of blood, but the atmosphere they created. It was as if they had all been soaked in blood several times over.
And among them was one man who reeked of blood more than any other.
His clothes were also different from the others.
While the others wore robes of cloth, this man's attire was made of leather, intricately layered like armor.
The Divine Doctor frowned as he looked at him.
"He looks damn dangerous."
"I'm not dirty."
The man said with an amiable expression.
If not for his attire and the distinct, blood-soaked atmosphere around him, he would have been a very charming man.
"I recognize the Divine Doctor of the Ages, but who might you be? We've figured out that you're the owner of the Gakwol Inn, but beyond that, things are a bit vague."
Na Heontak answered calmly.
"I am merely an innkeeper."
"Come now, a mere innkeeper couldn't be such a master, could he? From what I've seen, there are quite a few masters mixed in among the inn's workers."
For an instant, lightning flashed in the man's eyes.
"Now, let's not waste each other's energy and speak frankly. Who are you? Why are you with Byeok Taesan? I could understand if you were with the Underworld Sect, but that doesn't seem to be the case either…"
As he spoke, the man studied Na Heontak's and the Divine Doctor's expressions before scratching the back of his head.
"Ah, this really doesn't suit me."
An explosive aura erupted from the man's body.
The corner of his mouth twisted into a dangerous smirk.
"It all ends if I just smash and kill everything."
The aura that burst from the man's body violently wrapped around the Divine Doctor and Na Heontak.
Seeing this, the Divine Doctor whispered to Na Heontak.
"Hey, run for it."
The two immediately turned and bolted.
The man stared at them with a look of disbelief and muttered as if spitting out the words.
"Escaping from me is impossible."
*BOOM!*
The ground caved in as the man's body shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
His hand lightly touched the Divine Doctor's back.
*KABOOOOM!*
A powerful explosion erupted, sending the Divine Doctor's body flying forward to tumble across the ground.
*Thud-thud-thump!*
The Divine Doctor rolled across the ground, then bounced back to his feet, using the momentum to surge forward once more.
The man, momentarily halted by the explosion, glared at the Divine Doctor before launching himself forward again.
A desperate chase had begun.
< I'm More Scared of That > End