Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: A Day's Return (2)
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While Ouyang Jue was fighting the members of the Black Dragon Gang.
A man wearing a black, wide-brimmed bamboo hat was passing near Mount Zhongnan.
Embroidered on his fine silk Daoist robe were the characters for Wudang.
Though not as renowned as Shaolin, the pinnacle of the martial world, the Wudang Sect was a Daoist school that had gradually grown in power since the Great Ming Dynasty began to make its name known throughout the Central Plains.
‘It was by a stroke of luck that the god Xuanwu, worshipped by Wudang, happened to please the Yongle Emperor.’
With a leisurely smile, the man approached the guard protecting the village.
“Excuse me, where am I?”
“…”
At his words, the guard scrutinized the man’s attire and frowned.
It had been just over ten days since Boyeong Village was said to have been annihilated by a Daoist.
‘No matter how unkind they were, how could he kill everyone for a single mistake?’
The guard’s shoulders trembled as he recalled the Daoist’s terrifying deed.
Normally, he would have bowed to the Three Pure Ones alongside him, but not today.
“Please go around.”
“Hm?”
As the man’s gaze questioned why, the guard snapped.
“Didn’t I tell you to go around somewhere else!”
“…Hoh.”
Beneath the bamboo hat, the man’s lips curved into a smile.
“To be so prickly at the sight of a Wudang Daoist… it seems something must have happened.”
Moreover, the walls built around the village were not that high.
Convinced, the man removed his hat.
The guard’s eyes widened at the sight.
“A-A Black Dragon Emblem?!”
*Clank.*
As if in response, the iron plate tied to his forehead swayed.
The characters for Black Dragon, embossed in gold, reflected the sunlight, shining brilliantly.
That meant the man’s identity could only be one thing.
The guard’s face turned pale with terror.
“The Red Tiger Demon!”
“Isn’t it rude to call my title so casually?”
The Red Tiger Demon, Bai Cheong-il, revealed a pristine white smile.
A moment later.
Bai Cheong-il casually tossed his blood-soaked Daoist robe onto a tree.
Then, remembering he had left his long pipe inside the robe, he clicked his tongue and retrieved it.
Bai Cheong-il’s expression soured.
“Tsk, it’s gotten damp.”
*Toss.*
Though a hint of disappointment was on his face, Bai Cheong-il didn’t dwell on it.
It was just a slight shame.
Bai Cheong-il took a tinderbox from his pack and threw it at the robe.
*Fwoosh!*
The fire fiend that instantly erupted consumed the robe and evaporated the moisture from the tinderbox in a single burst.
Until it had swallowed an entire village.
It didn't even take the time to drink a cup of tea.
The inferno billowed wildly, devouring the last remaining thatched house without a trace.
As if still unsatisfied, the fire’s breath turned toward Bai Cheong-il.
At that moment, Bai Cheong-il swung his hand forcefully.
“Agh! Dammit, that’s hot.”
*Whoosh!*
At the wave of Bai Cheong-il’s hand, the fire fiend flinched for a moment and bowed its head.
The wind in between them vanished.
By the time a new breeze blew in to fill the void, Bai Cheong-il was already walking far into the distance.
“So Boyeong Village is gone.”
Bai Cheong-il smirked.
“Heh, I don’t know who the bastard is, but he’s cut off the snack money for our boys.”
Although he didn’t yet know the Daoist’s identity, Bai Cheong-il inwardly thought him quite a man.
He was a Daoist who should have forbidden killing, yet didn’t he prove himself right by breaking that very rule?
He even supposedly erected a monument at the site of the Boyeong Village massacre.
‘Isn’t he a complete madman?’
Though that was his thought, a chuckle escaped his lips.
It was such a complete blindside that he couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
Bai Cheong-il’s eyes grew cold.
‘Did he use the chance when I was away? Could there be a spy in our ranks?’
But he should have taken measures to prevent such a thing.
As he walked, Bai Cheong-il wondered if there had been a lapse.
After about a quarter of an hour of continuous footwork.
He spotted a carriage in the distance, kicking up a cloud of dust as it sped toward him.
“…Ho?”
With no driver, it looked as if a lone merchant was hastily gathering his valuables and fleeing. A spark of interest lit up Bai Cheong-il’s eyes.
He felt a sense of anticipation that this man could answer his questions.
With a confident expression, Bai Cheong-il waved his hand up and down.
“Hey, you there, st—”
“What are you blabbering about!”
*Thududududu!*
The carriage, pulled by two horses, was moving so fast that the merchant failed to notice the Black Dragon Emblem.
He simply dismissed the man as some idle ruffian trying to pick a fight.
But Bai Cheong-il was on a completely different level from such ruffians.
There was a reason the Red Tiger Demon was called the Red Tiger Demon.
“…You’re making me lose face.”
Leaning his upper body forward, Bai Cheong-il bent his knees and stared in the direction the carriage had disappeared.
Then, he finally unleashed the internal energy he had accumulated through the Black Dragon’s Secret Arts.
…*BOOM!*
He pushed off the ground with such force that a large cloud of dirt erupted from beneath his crushed feet.
The Tiger King’s Art, a secret technique of the Black Dragon.
The internal energy projected outward gradually materialized into a red aura, enveloping Bai Cheong-il’s skin.
It was reminiscent of a tiger’s hide, said to be resistant even to fire.
And was that all?
“Stop—right there!”
The shout Bai Cheong-il let out was comparable to a cannon blast, and with each step, he covered a distance easily surpassing three strides of an ordinary person.
Even so, his speed was still increasing. How could one ignore that?
The merchant, belatedly recognizing Bai Cheong-il’s identity, was aghast.
‘It’s… the Red Tiger Demon!’
But this was not a man who would spare him even if he stopped now.
A grim determination began to settle on the merchant’s face.
*Crack!*
The merchant cracked his whip and didn’t look back again.
He felt that if he saw him again, he would freeze in terror.
But did the merchant know?
That Bai Cheong-il wasn’t even using his full strength yet.
“Son of a bitch.”
The rushing wind slightly slurred his words.
Annoyance filled Bai Cheong-il’s eyes.
“You’re dog food.”
*KABOOM!*
Bai Cheong-il kicked off the ground with immense force.
***
“Whimper, yelp!”
Ouyang Jue kicked the dog as he entered through the main gate.
The battle of dozens against one had consumed a fair bit of his internal energy, but if he stopped now, he would fail to secure any real gains.
‘Even if that beggar is friendly for now… there’s no guarantee his eyes won’t wander to the prize.’
During the Nine Dragons Competition, hadn’t they pestered him about whether he had cut off the heads of the Three Evils of Shaanxi?
Ouyang Jue kicked the growling dog again.
“How dare a dog bark at a person?”
*Hiss, whoosh!*
As Ouyang Jue raised his foot again, the dog flopped onto its back, exposing its belly.
Now, that was more like a proper dog.
Ouyang Jue once again stroked the dog’s head, subtly applying pressure.
Having properly broken its spirit like this, it wouldn’t dare bark at or try to bite people anymore.
Ouyang Jue’s gaze shifted from the dog to the interior of the Shaanxi branch.
“Now, where to start searching?”
Trying to discern by smell was difficult with the rain still falling, and it was eerily quiet.
As if every single member of the Black Dragon Gang had died in the recent fight.
‘Trying to pull a fast one on me.’
Ouyang Jue, with a look of contempt, began to search here and there.
He would tap his fist against places that seemed particularly worn from touch.
As he leisurely moved between the buildings, Ouyang Jue suddenly swung his fist at the wall to his right.
*Crack!*
With that one punch, the martial artist hiding behind the paulownia wood wall died instantly.
It was over in a flash.
But Ouyang Jue’s face showed no particular satisfaction.
No matter how he thought about it… this wasn’t a natural picture.
This wasn’t a game of Whac-A-Mole. Why would they hide each martial artist one by one?
‘Hiding a single tree in a forest…’
As his thoughts continued, a sudden idea struck Ouyang Jue, and he realized there was something much bigger at play.
‘They say one virtuous man is worth more than a hundred villains.’
Then what about one fool versus one Black Dragon Gang?
Ouyang Jue headed toward a place from which a particularly strange smell emanated.
Acrid.
Dry.
A smell that reminded him of Ha Jin-ak.
As he approached, Ouyang Jue’s face gradually contorted with rage.
“You goddamn bastards.”
Even after spitting out a curse, the anger Ouyang Jue felt did not subside.
The Black Dragon Gang, at least its Shaanxi branch, had crossed a line.
The minimum code of honor and duty that formed the martial world.
The Black Dragon Gang was trying to disrupt it.
“Do you bastards have any pride as martial artists?!”
At his words, a martial artist emerged from the darkness.
A clear sneer was on his face.
“We sold that off a long time ago.”
Behind him, three more martial artists appeared.
Ouyang Jue knew their names.
The Four Black Shadow Assassins.
They were dispatched from the Black Dragon Gang’s headquarters to the Shaanxi branch, a group considered to be elite.
A deep sense of disgust appeared on Ouyang Jue’s face.
“I know a little about the Four Black Shadow Assassins. I hear you’re just insects that lurk in the dark, not even worthy of being called martial artists.”
At the word “insects,” the Four Black Shadow Assassins burst into laughter.
“Kekeke, you don’t know a little, you know us very well.”
“But your voice sounds quite young.”
So, even assassins have their own kind of experience.
As Ouyang Jue silently gripped Severing Manifestation, the Four Black Shadow Assassins looked at him with suspicious eyes.
“We saw your Sword Aura from outside. It was impressive.”
“But you know, that’s useless if you can’t hit your target, right?”
“Shut up.”
Ouyang Jue cut him off, maintaining a calm demeanor.
“Speak one at a time. It hurts my ears.”
“What’s he talking about?”
“No, on second thought, it seems lengthy talk won’t be necessary.”
Ouyang Jue’s voice stretched out thinly.
“Because if it gets out that you knew about a private gunpowder stash, not a government one, and kept silent, you won’t get away unscathed either.”
“…”
At those words, the cocky expressions of the Four Black Shadow Assassins instantly turned cold.
“You know without even looking inside?”
“I know.”
Ouyang Jue raised the blade of Severing Manifestation upward and checked if there were any other orthodox faction members nearby.
‘If there are none, shall I speak frankly?’
The Four Black Shadow Assassins’ eyes widened at what Ouyang Jue said next.
“That you bastards are idiots.”