Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Change (3)
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‘Can a person truly change so much?’
Ha Jin-ak watched Ouyang Jue, who seemed to be the very picture of confidence, with great interest.
He was certainly different from before.
It was, for example, a difference in depth.
Like the difference between a fledgling trying to appear strong and someone who was genuinely strong of heart.
He was a world away from the Ouyang Jue he had glimpsed a year ago.
‘It’s as if he’s a butterfly that has successfully emerged from its chrysalis.’
On top of that, he had become remarkably astute, seemingly able to see right through their situation with ease.
This, in turn, made Ha Jin-ak’s gaze sharpen.
“Setting the Three Evils of Shaanxi aside, how did you find out about the Black Dragon Gang?”
“……”
At those words, a strange smile graced Ouyang Jue’s lips.
He had no intention of giving an easy answer.
Just enough for him to get a vague idea, just as Ha Jin-ak had done moments before.
He planned to retort with a statement that could be interpreted in various ways.
“Just like with the Golden Ring Merchant Guild, well… every person has connections somewhere.”
“Are you planning to keep this from me, your Senior-most Brother?”
Ha Jin-ak’s face had hardened.
If he refused to speak, he would undoubtedly face disadvantages in the future.
It was a threat anyone would recognize unless their head was made of stone or split in two.
But Ouyang Jue held no particular attachment to such things.
‘And he calls that a threat.’
A faint smile drew a curve on Ouyang Jue’s lips.
At worst, he wouldn’t be given an important position. In the absolute worst case, he would be expelled.
That was all.
He was confident he could survive somehow, even if he were to leave Mount Hua right now.
Why would he fear something he had already done once before?
‘You’ve picked the wrong person to threaten.’
Ouyang Jue met Ha Jin-ak’s gaze with a relaxed demeanor.
“Let’s just keep it a secret.”
“Junior Brother Ouyang!”
Ha Jin-ak’s face twisted ugly.
But Ouyang Jue sensed something subtle within it.
There was a hint of annoyance, but he didn’t seem as angry as his expression suggested.
Even considering his age of thirty, Ha Jin-ak’s acting was certainly superb.
‘But it won’t work on me.’
It was just an attempt, and it ended there.
Ouyang Jue watched as Ha Jin-ak’s expression returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
“Senior-most Brother, I’m not a child. I won’t be so easily scared by your blustering.”
“Is that so.”
Ha Jin-ak’s gaze flickered elsewhere for a moment.
“You, hiding over there. Come out.”
At his words, Liu Zhangming, who had been catching his breath behind the building, revealed himself.
“...I wasn’t exactly hiding.”
“Then why did you not show yourself and greet your Senior-most Brother immediately upon seeing him?”
“That’s…”
Liu Zhangming, drenched in sweat from his training, wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He looked straight at Ha Jin-ak and continued the words he had paused.
“Because you weren’t acting like yourself, Senior-most Brother.”
Contrary to his refreshing voice, his words were laced with deep disappointment.
At this, Ha Jin-ak’s lips parted slightly.
“Not like myself?”
“No matter how much Jue has changed, he is still Jue.”
Liu Zhangming continued with a serious expression.
“I am also aware that in a short time, his skills, which were merely second-rate, have suddenly improved, and his once violent personality has become calm.”
‘…What is this? Is he trying to curse me out?’
Liu Zhangming may have thought he was siding with Ouyang Jue, but it wasn’t very helpful.
‘Now I can’t talk to Senior-most Brother in private.’
Just as Ouyang Jue was about to tell Liu Zhangming that it was fine and he could leave.
Liu Zhangming once again declared his intentions to Ha Jin-ak.
“But Jue is Ouyang Jue. A disciple of Mount Hua, my junior brother, and the direct disciple Ouyang Jue, whom the Sect Leader himself took in.”
“……”
At those words, Ha Jin-ak couldn’t hide his surprised expression for a moment.
The Liu Zhangming he knew was not this kind of orthodox disciple.
He obeyed the authority of the Senior-most Brother and the elders and possessed outstanding skills, but he lacked a killer instinct, which earned him the assessment that he was one step short of being a true warrior.
But what about now?
Was he not standing up to him, someone he usually treated with difficulty, and saying everything he needed to say?
‘Still, he’s as soft-hearted as ever.’
Ha Jin-ak let out a faint sigh.
“Alright, I understand what you’re saying. But it’s not like I was trying to persecute Jue or anything.”
“But Senior-most Brother, you…”
Before Liu Zhangming’s words could get any longer, Ha Jin-ak looked at Ouyang Jue.
“You didn’t think so either, did you?”
“Well, to be honest, yes.”
Ouyang Jue scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish.
If Ha Jin-ak had been serious about persecuting him, he wouldn’t have let it go so easily.
He would have undoubtedly played a strong hand from the start, threatening severe punishment.
After all, Ouyang Jue had lied to the orthodox disciples and put Ha Jin-ak in a difficult position.
By the sect’s rules, it was a crime severe enough to make him the first young disciple in Mount Hua’s history to have the tendons and meridians in all four limbs severed.
“So, both of you, just calm down… no, first, please calm down and listen to my story.”
And so, Ouyang Jue had no choice but to share with Liu Zhangming the plan he had intended to tell only Ha Jin-ak and Song Muk.
From the Black Dragon Gang and the Three Evils of Shaanxi to the orthodox sects in Shaanxi.
After hearing the full explanation, Liu Zhangming let out a groan.
“That seems a bit of an exaggeration.”
“No.”
Ha Jin-ak shook his head lightly.
“There is certainly a point to our junior brother’s words. That is also the reason I haven't returned to Mount Hua for the past six months.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
At those words, surprise was evident on Liu Zhangming’s face, but Ouyang Jue nodded as if he had expected it.
At the starkly contrasting reactions of the two, Ha Jin-ak sighed once more.
Now it was his turn to talk about the Black Dragon Gang.
* * *
“You let Ha Jin-ak escape again!”
*CRACK!*
A fist the size of a woman’s face lightly smashed through a desk made of ebony.
At the sound, the two warriors prostrating themselves before the arrogantly seated man flinched in surprise.
To the man, they were utterly pathetic.
Even more pathetic than the orthodox disciples who pissed themselves in fear.
“And you call yourselves warriors of the Black Dragon Gang?”
“We are sorry, Gang Leader!”
“Enough! You must have been prepared to die the moment you returned empty-handed anyway!”
The man who rose from his seat, the Black Dragon Gang Leader Bai Wun-hwan, clenched his fists and approached the warriors.
He felt that everything had been going wrong lately.
He had expected his plan to completely ruin the Nine Dragons Competition to fail from the start.
But even the Three Evils of Shaanxi had said they would only take care of two or three young disciples from the great sects before pulling out.
So, while he was already in a foul mood, things had gotten even more twisted.
‘I just intended to give the orthodox sects a warning…’
*Grind!*
Bai Wun-hwan ground his teeth.
Ouyang Jue, was it?
To think that one of the Three Evils of Shaanxi would be killed by a mere disciple who was neither famous nor well-mannered.
It was such an unexpected result that Bai Wun-hwan still couldn’t believe it.
It would have been better if they had failed to kill him and simply withdrawn. This outcome only benefited their enemies.
Furthermore…
“Do you have any idea how many of our branches have been shattered by that damn Ha Jin-ak!”
Currently, Ha Jin-ak was relentlessly crushing the Black Dragon Gang, which had been accumulating evil deeds in Shaanxi and neighboring regions, in addition to his official duties for the Mount Hua Sect.
He mostly acted alone, but sometimes he would ask for help from nearby orthodox sects.
The authority of being the Senior-most Brother of the Mount Hua Sect, and the supreme sword arts he had mastered there.
Ha Jin-ak was certainly a warrior who knew how to play the cards he was dealt.
‘An orthodox disciple should be appropriately foolish.’
The title, Fire Cloud Red Mist Sword, was as good as given to him by the Black Dragon Gang.
Every time he raided a branch dealing in slaves, drugs, or usury, he would always set it on fire.
By abruptly setting fire to a branch, it was difficult to escape, no matter how many secret passages were made.
For instance, the heat could cause internal injuries, or in the worst cases, damage the lungs, ending a warrior’s life.
In particular, the Heavenly Flow Fire Cloud Sword that Ha Jin-ak practiced was a sword art that exerted even greater power in a place filled with fiery energy.
*Grit.*
Bai Wun-hwan’s eyes widened.
“Two. A whole two branches were burned down by that bastard!”
“…We are sorry!”
“Tch! Enough, get out of my sight!”
At those words, the warriors inwardly sighed in relief, thinking that perhaps Bai Wun-hwan’s mood had improved.
But that was not the case.
*CRACK!*
The head of the prostrating warrior was shattered by Bai Wun-hwan’s swinging fist.
At the sudden turn of events, the other warrior prostrating beside him could only tremble in fear.
No, his fate was even more tragic than the one who had died first.
“G-Gang Leader, I will never disappoint you again.”
“…Hmph.”
Bai Wun-hwan showed his disgust as he looked at the warrior who kept his head lowered, continuously apologizing.
“I can forgive a failure, but I can’t forgive a dog that bows its head!”
From the moment they had said they were sorry, instead of saying they would go back and fight, the prostrating warriors had already lost.
Instead, they should have said this:
That now that they had experienced Ha Jin-ak, they would not be so easily defeated if they met him again.
They should have shown their fighting spirit like that.
But they hadn't.
They just repeated their apologies, waiting for their punishment.
How could such men be called unorthodox warriors of the Black Dragon Gang?
Bai Wun-hwan’s fist clenched with a grinding sound.
“G… Gang Leader!”
*CRACK!*
After smashing the head of the remaining man, Bai Wun-hwan flicked the blood from the back of his hand.
Then, sensing a presence beyond the door, he barked out in an annoyed voice.
“Come in!”
“…Yes.”
*Creeeak—*
Rusted metal let out a long scream.
Through the open door, the Three Evils of Shaanxi—no, now called the Two Evils since their youngest was dead—appeared.
Bai Wun-hwan smiled at them nonchalantly.
“Have you come for your payment?”
“That is not it.”
“…?”
As Bai Wun-hwan tilted his head, Tu Guang, the eldest of the Two Evils, spoke up.
“We want revenge.”
At those words, Bai Wun-hwan’s eyes blinked.
He had only entrusted them with dealing with the young disciples.
The Black Dragon Gang had no obligation to help them with anything else.
“Honestly, that’s something the Black Dragon Gang can’t really help you with.”
“We will return the payment.”
“…That’s still not quite enough.”
“Additionally, we will assist the Black Dragon Gang with their affairs on three occasions.”
*Smirk.*
Only then did a cunning smile bloom on Bai Wun-hwan’s face.
“Anything?”
“As long as my brother’s life and mine are not in danger, anything.”
Bai Wun-hwan thought for a moment before nodding readily.
“Fine. I will help you.”
*Clasp.*
Tu Guang and Bai Wun-hwan faced each other and clasped their fists in salute.
It was as if the corpses of the two dead warriors were invisible to them.
* * *
After Ha Jin-ak’s story ended, the other two were left in silence.
Ouyang Jue was no different.
No, he was even more shocked, for this was something he hadn't known even in his past life.
‘In my past life, this would have been around the time I just left the sect. Does that mean this would have happened no matter what I did?’
He never imagined that disciples from Mount Hua and other orthodox sects would encounter such a thing during an escort mission.
Ouyang Jue did not hide his grim expression.
Disciples being captured during an escort mission.
He understood the weight of those words all too well, which made him realize the gravity of the situation even more.
‘…Ah!’
Could it be?
With an uncharacteristically urgent expression, Ouyang Jue pressed Ha Jin-ak.
“We must rescue them right now!”
As Ouyang Jue suddenly raised his voice, Ha Jin-ak looked at him with a puzzled expression and said.
“That’s why we’re joining forces with the other orthodox sects…”
“If we do that, they’ll just escape to another location to avoid us. We have to rescue them now!”
Ouyang Jue knew.
He knew that various orthodox sects had suddenly started searching Shaanxi and the adjacent regions, yet had failed to find anything.
And…
‘That’s when the counter-techniques, capable of breaking the martial arts of each sect, began to appear.’
It must have been around that time.
The time when Ha Jin-ak met a mysterious death…
Ouyang Jue’s gaze was fixed on Ha Jin-ak, unable to move.