Chapter 40
Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Red Tiger Demon (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Having left Chang'an, Bai Cheong-il put a smoking pipe to his lips.
*Sizzle, hiss.*
The flame from the tinder caught, heating the tip of the pipe. Puffs of smoke rose, dampening his bangs.
Even then, Bai Cheong-il's expression remained unchanged.
He looked like a wax doll.
He was far too calm for a branch master who had just lost his post.
But in truth, he was replaying the scene he had heard about from a merchant.
“A Daoist. A Daoist with his hair tied up.”
He stepped in to protect the fool loitering in the market and killed one of my men in the process.
Then he fled when they said they would punish him themselves.
What happened after is unknown.
That was all he had heard, but Bai Cheong-il was certain that Daoist was the cause of his branch's disappearance.
Yet he knew neither the man's name nor his exact appearance.
‘Is there truly no way to track him?’
Bai Cheong-il let out a dry laugh.
It wasn't that there was no way, but by his standards, it wasn't a very manly thing to do.
But the starting point itself was an unmanly affair.
How could a man with a sound body and mind pick on a pitiful fool?
Whether he knew Ouyang Jue's whereabouts or the Martial Alliance's secrets.
Harming such a person was a foul act.
Bai Cheong-il's gaze turned to the inside of his travel pouch.
"You think so too, don't you?"
Realizing how foolish his own question was, he chuckled.
Wasn't it because he didn't know that, that he had feared the Daoist and fled Chang'an?
Bai Cheong-il took a human-skin mask from his pouch and put it on.
It hadn't dried properly and felt a little stuffy, but it couldn't be helped.
It had to be this face.
*Pat, pat.*
After checking that the mask was on straight, Bai Cheong-il passed through Chang'an's south gate.
As he walked the streets, a few people approached him, acting friendly.
"Hey, how long has it been?"
Bai Cheong-il estimated how many days had passed since he had fled for his life.
"About three days."
"So why'd you come back?"
"Why?"
At that, the man glanced around nervously and said.
"What do you mean, why! Have you forgotten what happened then?"
"Forgotten what? You think I should be scared because of that one fool?"
Seeing Bai Cheong-il's nonchalant attitude, the man grew even more agitated.
"Did you take out your liver and bury it somewhere while I wasn't looking? The Beggars' Sect and the Mount Hua Sect got involved!"
"...The Beggars' Sect and Mount Hua?"
The man took a step back from the sudden intensity in Bai Cheong-il's eyes and gave an awkward laugh.
"Looks like you didn't just take out your liver, you swapped your eyes for a tiger's."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Sure? You were there too!"
Seeing the man's blatant frustration, it couldn't be a lie.
Moreover, there was no sign he had ever trained in martial arts.
He also lacked the sour smell peculiar to beggars.
Only then did Bai Cheong-il smile faintly.
"Take care of your health."
Brushing past the man, Bai Cheong-il tapped his shoulder twice with his fingers.
He had twisted several vital points; the man would be lucky to survive even ten days.
Yet, the man simply took it as a slight sting and saw Bai Cheong-il off.
"You be careful!"
"You too!"
After they parted, Bai Cheong-il's steps led him into a dark alley.
Soon, as if they had been waiting, two beggars appeared. Bai Cheong-il grinned.
"Vermin who don't know their place."
Seeing the formidable internal energy gathering in Bai Cheong-il's left palm, the two beggars' faces stiffened.
* * *
It had been about ten days since he started staying at the Heaven and Earth Fragrance Inn.
Ouyang Jue stroked a gleaming cup and looked at the innkeeper, who was smiling awkwardly.
It was a little sickening.
But what could be done? He was the one who had intentionally made the man think that way.
This was an era where people would harm beggars at will but bow so low their backs bent for someone wearing an armband.
The innkeeper was simply accustomed to the ways of the world.
Ouyang Jue's lips parted slightly.
"My guest will be arriving soon. Bring out your finest liquor and dishes."
"Ah, right away!"
Just as the innkeeper hurriedly bowed and entered the kitchen.
*Creak, clatter-clatter.*
A man who had shoved the door open stood there, staring at Ouyang Jue.
"Should I say, it's a pleasure?"
"Suit yourself."
At that, the man let out a wry smile.
"An interesting fellow."
"Most people say I have no manners. The fact that you find me interesting must mean you're a bit strange yourself."
Ouyang Jue's remark made the man's wry smile grow until he was bent over laughing.
Seeing this, Ouyang Jue's brow furrowed.
"Enough. I don't think what I said was that funny. And we're not on such friendly terms to be laughing like that, are we?"
The man stopped laughing as soon as the words were out.
A hint of embarrassment was creased into a corner of his face.
"That's true."
No sooner had he answered than Ouyang Jue threw a pre-filled cup of liquor at him.
"Here, have a drink!"
Just as Song Muk had tested him before, Ouyang Jue was also curious about the man's martial prowess.
A look of disappointment crossed the man's face.
"Tsk. Playing with your food."
*Tap.*
The man lightly tapped the bottom of the cup with the back of his hand, using his internal energy to force the spilling liquor back inside.
It was a skill worthy of being called the pinnacle of mastery.
Ouyang Jue asked with a subtle expression.
"It seems you are my guest."
"Would I, Bai Cheong-il, ever lie?"
Ouyang Jue's brow furrowed at the man revealing his own name so freely.
"You seem to have something to rely on."
"Not at all."
Bai Cheong-il casually showed his palm.
"This Red Tiger Demon would never stoop to hiding from an enemy."
At those words, Ouyang Jue's lips twisted.
"I guess common folk don't count as enemies?"
Bai Cheong-il replied indifferently.
"Hey, even if you are a Daoist, you're not going to tell me all lives have equal value, are you?"
Ouyang Jue gazed steadily into Bai Cheong-il's eyes as he spoke.
Confidence was on the surface, but underneath lay the freedom unique to the Unorthodox Faction.
Truly one of the Eight Evils of the Northern Plains.
A man who feels no doubt about his own actions, who acts as he pleases and tolerates no questions about it.
That was the Red Tiger Demon, Bai Cheong-il.
‘A tiger who will one day even devour the Black Dragon Gang Leader.’
When Ouyang Jue's eyes turned momentarily chilling, Bai Cheong-il made a sour face as if the liquor had lost its taste.
"Hey, isn't this a time for drinking? This isn't proper drinking etiquette!"
"You have something to say to me, don't you?"
Ouyang Jue was asking if he had no particular feelings toward him for destroying his branch.
But Bai Cheong-il understood it differently.
"Ah, that."
A small ripple formed in the cup Bai Cheong-il held.
"My subordinate oppressed a simpleton, I hear. And you killed him."
"...?"
"I just remembered. Yes, that was unmanly of him."
At that, Ouyang Jue asked nonchalantly.
"Does that bring the dead back?"
"No, but if it were me, I would have torn his limbs and tendons and driven an iron spike through his skull. A bit of a shame, really."
Bai Cheong-il took his hand off the cup.
*Shhhk.*
As Ouyang Jue half-drew Severing Manifestation, Bai Cheong-il waved his hands dismissively.
"Put it away. As much as I failed to manage my subordinate, I don't want to lose my head."
"Then we can just drink and fight outside. Why did you come all the way here?"
"A subordinate is, well, in your finer terms, they're called 'limbs,' aren't they?"
From his seat, Bai Cheong-il unleashed a claw technique from the Tiger King Arts.
Ouyang Jue sensed the movement with his All-Seeing Eyes, but did not react.
It wasn't aimed at him.
Rather...
*Squelch!*
Blood spurted from the severed cross-section, spattering the ceiling before dripping to the inn floor.
*Thud, thud!*
The eldest son of the Black Dragon Gang Leader.
The arm of the man who would one day become one of the Eight Evils of the Northern Plains and rival the Heretic's League rolled limply on the ground.
Bai Cheong-il's face turned deathly pale.
"This should be enough to take responsibility, right? I've given up one of my own arms for one damn fool."
"...You madman."
Bai Cheong-il, who had stopped the bleeding by pressing his own acupoint, laughed loudly.
Then, to forget the pain, he lifted the liquor jug.
"I called you an interesting fellow, but you call me a madman."
"There's a limit to madness. Who cuts off their own arm?"
As Ouyang Jue stared in disbelief, Bai Cheong-il thought of a joke.
"Don't worry, it'll grow back."
"What?!"
Could the Black Dragon Gang truly possess such a physical art?
Seeing the deep killing intent settle on Ouyang Jue's face, Bai Cheong-il recanted.
"I'm kidding."
"You son of a bitch."
"Khaha, that's right. I am a madman. That's why so many followed me."
Bai Cheong-il's eyes grew cold, taking on a desolate light.
"And you are the butcher who killed the men who followed me."
"..."
Ouyang Jue did not deny it.
Adding any excuses here would only be pathetic.
Bai Cheong-il, too, had reached his own conclusion.
How could one treat such a man lightly?
"I was just thinking I needed a tiger to look after the scum who've fallen into hell. This is perfect."
With those words, the fight began.
The innkeeper, rushing out late from the kitchen, trembled.
"...Damn it all!"
*CRASH!*
Everything between Ouyang Jue and Bai Cheong-il shattered and scattered.
A simple clash of power.
The shockwave from the collision between the Mount Hua Sect's core sword arts and Bai Cheong-il's Tiger King Arts had swept through the inn.
*KR-R-R-RUMBLE!*
When Ouyang Jue exhaled, the wooden floorboards beneath his feet buckled and splintered.
Bai Cheong-il, cloaked in internal energy like a tiger's, used swift movements to aim for Ouyang Jue's openings.
In a moment split into fractions of a second.
On the verge of hyper-focus where not even the slightest twitch of his opponent was missed, Bai Cheong-il smiled faintly.
‘At least my men weren't killed by some weakling.’
The Black Shadow Assassins must have had their throats slit by a fine sword path just like this one.
A sword art that seemed fluid at first glance, yet the power embedded within it was as solid as a pillar.
Combined with the sharp energy of Severing Manifestation.
"Good. This is good!"
As Bai Cheong-il's eyes turned yellow, his Tiger King Arts reached the fifth stage of mastery.
*FWOOSH!*
When Bai Cheong-il swung his hand, the wind tore into four paths, clearing the way.
And what of his speed, his original specialty?
He accelerated further along the parted wind paths, the corners of his eyes stretching into long yellow streaks.
It was not a set form.
Every one of Bai Cheong-il's attacks far surpassed the ultimate techniques of a first-rate martial artist.
A simple attack surpassed sword energy, and a straightforward punch was reminiscent of a sword aura.
The air vibrated.
"Not bad."
Ouyang Jue looked at his tattered sleeve, his fighting spirit blazing.
"Really, not bad at all."
If the Black Shadow Assassins were just useless fools, Bai Cheong-il, despite his youth, had already surpassed the initial stage of the peak level.
So, what better opponent could there be to test the martial arts he could currently use and gauge their power!
Amidst Bai Cheong-il's fierce assault, Ouyang Jue opened his mouth.
"Watch closely."
Ouyang Jue's sword path changed in an instant.
"Otherwise, you'll die before you know it."
The eighth form of the Six Harmonies Sword, which should not exist in a style with only six forms.
The Completion of the Six Harmonies was unleashed upon the martial world for the first time.
At the same time, a mixture of emotions washed over Bai Cheong-il's face.