Chapter 379
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 379
Chapter Title: Jang Cheonjo to the Wudang Sect
“Huuuk!”
Panting heavily, Jang Cheonjo glanced back.
Fortunately, no one was pursuing him.
Smirk.
A thin twitch ran across the corner of his mouth.
“Things have gotten royally screwed up.”
Jang Cheonjo, who had crossed into the Yeon Kingdom out of necessity, had been fleeing the relentless pursuit of the Namgung and Danri families—aligned with Yeon—when he encountered Ban Go, who had transformed into a Blood Heaven emissary, and suffered internal injuries as a result.
It had been a crisis for him, but just in time, the Qin Kingdom’s army advanced on Guizhou Castle as enemy forces, causing the Namgung and Danri families’ experts to abandon the chase and depart.
After that, he had to hide in the mountains until his internal injuries healed. If he could have visited a physician, the situation might have improved, but with imperial warriors stationed everywhere people gathered, that wasn’t possible.
As a result, it took a long time for his injuries to recover, and by the time they had, the war between Zhao and Qin was already over.
Judging that fulfilling Jo Yun’s orders would be difficult like this, he chose to cross through Qin territory to return to Zhao, which led him to Hubei Province.
He planned to steal a horse there and head straight to Chongqing.
But things went awry.
Of all times, while stealing a horse from a stable, he ran into Wudang Sect sword guards, and unable to avoid conflict, he had no choice but to kill them.
Now, he was being hunted by the Wudang Sect.
Unable to steal the horse because of those initial Wudang sword guards, Jang Cheonjo had climbed back into the mountains and was on the run for days without a proper meal.
“Huuuk!”
Panting heavily again, Jang Cheonjo looked toward the west. Chongqing wasn’t far, but he couldn’t even guess how many more obstacles lay along the way.
Whiiiing!
A strong wind blew, cooling his feverishly heated body.
A moment later, he started moving again.
How much farther did he go? Ahead, a fairly large snake slithered into view.
Without hesitation, Jang Cheonjo snatched it up and snapped its neck. He started to peel its skin to eat it raw but paused.
‘Even I can’t eat it raw.’
Jang Cheonjo began running for now.
He planned to go as far as possible, find a safe spot, build a fire there, and roast the snake.
Pa pa pat!
* * *
Ju Tae bent down and picked up the snake skin.
“It passed through here just a bit ago.”
“Couldn’t it be someone else?”
“Who hunts and eats a snake deep in these mountains? It has to be that fiend. Let’s go.”
Pa pat!
Kim Mu-gwan and Park Ji-mun followed behind Ju Tae, exchanging glances.
They looked quite shocked by Ju Tae’s tracking skills. And understandably so—Ju Tae hadn’t hesitated even once on the way here.
Though they had some doubts at first due to his firm confidence, traces were indeed appearing just as he said.
[I need to learn that skill someday.]
[Ask him to teach you later.]
Pa pa pat!
The three raced forward at tremendous speed.
After about half a shichen, Ju Tae, who was leading, stopped in front of a small stream.
Kim Mu-gwan and Park Ji-mun landed beside him.
“The trail’s gone cold?”
“No. He’s nearby.”
“Huh?”
“There.”
Ju Tae pointed to the dense forest beyond the stream, on the left. Kim Mu-gwan and Park Ji-mun tilted their heads.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Use your nose.”
“......”
Kim Mu-gwan’s eyes widened round.
“This smells like roasting meat?”
“More precisely, roast snake.”
Smirk.
Grinning to reveal his teeth, Ju Tae continued.
“From here on, suppress your presence as much as possible.”
“Got it.”
“Let’s go.”
* * *
Jang Cheonjo tore into the snake meat voraciously.
Even a martial arts master is powerless before hunger, as they say?
He had no idea Ju Tae and the others were approaching.
“Tasty?”
“......!”
At the sudden voice, Jang Cheonjo leaped to his feet with snake meat still in his mouth and drew his sword.
Chaeng!
“Finish eating. I’ll wait.”
Ptoo!
“Who the hell are you!”
“People here to catch you.”
In that instant, Jang Cheonjo felt all the blood in his body turn to ice.
‘These guys are dangerous.’
Jang Cheonjo, possessing skills on par with Do Geom and one of the top experts among the Blood Demon’s descendants—a sect leader level master—could gauge an opponent’s strength.
At a glance, he realized Ju Tae and the others were experts who matched him without shame.
And not just one, but three.
Jang Cheonjo quickly gave up on fighting and began mapping an escape route in his mind.
His actions were just as swift.
Pang!
His figure blurred as if space itself distorted, then shot toward Ju Tae and the others like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
“Eut!”
Ju Tae exclaimed in surprise and twisted his body. He hadn’t expected the man to charge instead of fleeing.
And that was exactly what Jang Cheonjo intended.
In an instant, Jang Cheonjo’s sword strike fell toward Ju Tae’s head.
Kwang!
Sword clashed against sword, sending out a powerful shockwave.
No matter how startled, Ju Tae wasn’t one to fail blocking such a strike.
But Jang Cheonjo’s aim was elsewhere.
Pang!
Using the rebound force from the clash, Jang Cheonjo vaulted over the three men’s heads.
The problem was that Kim Mu-gwan and Park Ji-mun were even greater experts than he’d anticipated.
Flash!
Park Ji-mun’s massive blade cleaved through the air.
Pat!
By a hair’s breadth, his blade grazed Jang Cheonjo’s leg.
Blood sprayed into the air. But Jang Cheonjo burst through the forest and escaped.
Ju Tae’s face flushed red.
“That bastard!”
Kwa kwang!
As the three kicked off the ground and leaped after him.
Suddenly, a explosive boom erupted ahead. Followed by a sharp scream.
“Uwaak!”
* * *
Thud!
Jang Cheonjo slammed into a massive tree.
Yi Hwan moved toward him.
Jang Cheonjo’s sword, staggering as if about to collapse, flew toward Yi Hwan’s waist—a masterful counter that could bisect most experts.
But his opponent was Yi Hwan.
Ka ka ka ka!
Sword and blade glanced off each other, sparking flames.
Jang Cheonjo quickly pulled back his sword. But it wouldn’t budge.
“......!”
In that moment, Yi Hwan’s left hand struck his chest.
Thud!
“Keuk!”
With a sharp cry, Jang Cheonjo flew back like a fallen leaf. Hwa Ryeong and Go Mi landed beside him.
Go Mi’s sword pointed at Jang Cheonjo’s throat.
“Stay still.”
“......!”
Jang Cheonjo’s eyes filled with shock.
He thought he’d shaken off Ju Tae and the others, only for Yi Hwan to suddenly block his path.
“Uwaak!”
The impact to his chest twisted his guts, and he vomited a gush of blood.
Whirlic!
Ju Tae and the others landed nearby.
“How did you know he was here...”
“Fires in the forest are visible from far away due to the smoke.”
Ching!
Yi Hwan sheathed his sword.
Go Mi sealed Jang Cheonjo’s acupoints. Wudang sword guards belatedly pushed through the forest.
“Is this the guy?”
“Yes! That’s him!”
“We’ll leave the cleanup to your Wudang Sect.”
“Thank you, Great Prince!”
Go Mi and the others widened their eyes in surprise. They’d assumed there’d at least be a basic investigation.
“We’ve delayed quite a bit, so hurry.”
* * *
On the road toward Songja, Ju Tae asked.
“He wasn’t ordinary. Given his skills, he might have backing worth investigating. Wouldn’t it have been better for us to handle it?”
“If they find anything, they’ll inform us, so it’s fine.”
Then Go Mi stepped forward.
“Even so, with the Righteous Alliance involved, wouldn’t dragging him directly to Wudang Sect help steer future negotiations in our favor?”
At Go Mi’s words, Yi Hwan smiled faintly and replied.
“The Wudang Sect keeps its distance from the court, but it’s not a sect that forgets alliances or righteousness. Even without prior aid, if they believe it’s the righteous path, they won’t refuse. And of course, they won’t ignore the help we gave this time.”
Only then did Ju Tae, Go Mi, and the others understand Yi Hwan’s intent, nodding as they resumed their journey.
Quite some time had passed, and many events had occurred in between.
That might be why Yi Hwan and everyone else had forgotten something.
Namely, Jang Cheonjo’s altered appearance.
Perhaps because he looked so disheveled when captured, they hadn’t recognized him.
If even one person had realized he was the man hunted by Qin, they never would have handed him over to Wudang so easily.
* * *
Mount Wudang.
Jang Cheonjo gasped for breath.
Climbing a steep mountain path with internal injuries and all acupoints sealed was excruciating.
“Sect Leader! We’ve captured the criminal!”
“Is this truly the one who killed our disciples?”
“Yes, it is!”
Flames of rage flickered in Sect Leader Tae-eul Zhenren’s eyes.
Then one sword guard said something astonishing.
“The Great Prince helped us capture him!”
“What?”
“It’s just that...”
Tae-eul Zhenren couldn’t hide his surprise as he listened to the explanation. The senior elders beside him were the same.
After the explanation ended, Tae-eul Zhenren asked.
“You say he captured this man and handed him over, then left immediately?”
“Yes. He said to leave the investigation to us. He seemed to have urgent business.”
Tae-eul Zhenren nodded silently.
“Lock him in the Subduing Demon Cave!”
“Yes!”
Tae-eul Zhenren watched Jang Cheonjo being dragged away by the sword guards, his gaze steadying.
‘Even our sect’s seniors couldn’t capture this expert, yet the Great Prince did. So the rumors aren’t exaggerated?’
He had heard rumors about Yi Hwan until his ears rang.
But Tae-eul Zhenren didn’t believe every rumor outright. Rumors tend to grow with time.
Tae-eul Zhenren turned away soon after.
‘We owe the Great Prince a great debt.’
Then a senior elder approached and spoke.
“If it were anyone else, they’d have visited the sect to take credit... especially after the letter the Great Prince sent before.”
“Didn’t they say he seemed busy?”
“Even so, passing by so close without stopping feels a bit...”
“Would you prefer this kingdom’s Great Prince to be the type who seeks credit?”
“Of course not.”
“Handle the investigation on him. With that level of skill, he surely has backing we can’t ignore. Investigate thoroughly.”
“Understood. And after the investigation?”
“Don’t kill him. Since the Great Prince entrusted him to us, we’ll ask his opinion later and decide.”
“Understood. Then.”
A moment later, Tae-eul Zhenren stood with hands behind his back, overlooking the foot of the mountain.
‘It’s only right to be grateful, nothing more. Our Wudang never draws close to the court.’