Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: The Wall (1)
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Drip, drop.
A drop or two of blood formed at the corner of his lips and fell.
Losing some blood should have made his body feel lighter, yet it somehow seemed to grow heavier.
“I may be a beggar, but...”
...isn't this a bit too squalid a place to lock me up in?
Cheol Pung-gae looked beyond the wooden bars with an empty smile.
One beggar was snoring, while a scrawny one took the opportunity to wolf down the gruel rationed to the sleeping man.
*What a sight.*
Swallowing the thought, Cheol Pung-gae shouted a curse aloud.
“God damn it!”
Thud, thud!
He tapped the bars with his forehead. They didn't seem very sturdy.
If his hands and feet weren't bound, or if he could at least circulate his internal energy, he could have easily escaped.
Did this mean they were that wary of him and the Mount Hua Sect?
Cheol Pung-gae sniffed, his nose twitching.
“Hey, you! Stop stuffing your face and scratch my nose for me!”
The scrawny man started and retorted.
“What the hell are you talking about? Shut up!”
“What's the big deal? Just scratch my nose. Or what, you want me to scream?”
The sleeping beggar seemed to stir, and the scrawny man's shoulders flinched.
It was obvious he was the type who'd never properly learned any martial arts but still wanted to freeload.
All greed, no conscience.
Cheol Pung-gae was overcome with the urge to wring the man's neck.
“Hurry up!”
“Alright, alright!”
The moment the man came close to scratch his nose, Cheol Pung-gae's mouth opened wide.
Chomp!
At the same time, the man's mouth also flew open.
“Aaaaargh?!”
The man thrashed in shock and pain.
But the hand that had gone through the bars showed no sign of coming out.
Of course.
Cheol Pung-gae had bitten down on his wrist and was pulling with all his might.
“Hang in there, you beggar!”
To get proper leverage, he lay his back on the floor, his bound feet braced against the bars.
Craaack!
Just as something white began to show from the man's wrist, the wooden bars started to crack.
“You... you crazy bastard!”
The other beggar, now awake, scrambled to grab a Dog Beating Staff from the wall.
But this was expected.
Each time the beggar's grip subtly shifted, Cheol Pung-gae twisted his body.
The scrawny man was naturally in the way.
“Ugh, aaargh!”
He wasn't even being hit, and the man in the middle was blocking his view.
“Who are you! Get the hell out of the way, you damn fool!”
“Sob, sob, please save me! Sir!”
“A beggar calling another beggar 'sir'! You son of a bitch!”
Just as the annoyed beggar kicked the scrawny man...
...a glint appeared in Cheol Pung-gae's eyes, and he yanked with his teeth in the direction of the kick.
“Aaaaargh!”
“Yes!”
Seeing the bars half-destroyed, Cheol Pung-gae's face lit up, his speech slurred.
Then, he quickly kicked upwards at the man's chin.
“Wha-what?!”
Not expecting that, the beggar instinctively blocked with his Dog Beating Staff.
Good reflexes. But there was no foresight.
Snap!
Cheol Pung-gae pressed the ropes binding him against the staff.
The tension from the rope felt like it was crushing his wrists.
But in the process, he felt the ropes loosen somewhat.
*Damn it, this is going to hurt like hell.*
Cheol Pung-gae's face contorted.
But he didn't hesitate.
Grrr... Grrrind!
The sudden exertion made his shoulders ache, and a sharp pain shot down his spine.
Not good. It felt like every muscle in his body was about to cramp.
*Just a little more.*
Snap!
Cracks began to form in the rope binding his hands.
Seeing the skin under his fingernails turn red, Cheol Pung-gae muttered, "Fuck."
After all this trouble, shouldn't the damn thing just break already?
Then he let out a fierce roar.
“Hraaaaaaagh!”
Snap, creak!
With a sensation like a lightning strike before his eyes, the rope binding Cheol Pung-gae's hands snapped.
Though he couldn't draw on his internal energy due to the Energy-Scattering Poison...
*...I'm not about to lose to a couple of punks like them.*
He spat into his palm.
After spitting phlegm into his hand, Cheol Pung-gae beckoned to the two beggars.
“Come on, you beggars.”
“Y-Yiiikes!”
Before he could even finish, the scrawny one fled outside, while the remaining beggar charged at Cheol Pung-gae.
* * *
“It seems rather noisy.”
As expected of Perfected One Sim Won, an elder of the sect.
Ouyang Jue, with his keen senses, also noticed the disturbance inside the Beggars' Sect at around the same time.
“Hey, you son of a—!”
“Can't even handle one—”
The sounds leaked from inside.
Ouyang Jue realized someone was fighting desperately inside and gave a faint smile.
*So this is what they were up to.*
Beggars fighting amongst themselves.
Ouyang Jue clenched his fist.
“Perfected One, I will clear the way.”
“...I'll leave it to you.”
Perfected One Sim Won nodded lightly.
*It's best if the first Daoist to break into the Beggars' Sect is from Mount Hua.*
They were both Daoist sects, allies from the same Shaanxi province, but he had no intention of showing goodwill when their sects' interests were intertwined.
Above all, he was an elder of the Zhongnan Sect.
Crash!
Watching Ouyang Jue kick down the door and rush in, Perfected One Sim Won smiled bitterly.
But Ouyang Jue's thoughts were quite different.
Acting first could certainly be a poison to one's justification.
But to look at it another way...
*...if I can seize the initiative, it's not poison, but medicine.*
He could clearly grasp what was happening inside and frame it to his liking.
As Ouyang Jue's pace quickened, the noise from the beggars grew louder and more aggressive.
The smile on Ouyang Jue's face deepened.
“Hey! Beggar, I was wondering why I couldn't reach you. Were you playing house?”
“Playing house, my ass.”
Crack!
Cheol Pung-gae's foot kicked up at the chin of a beggar trying to press down from above, while his other arm grabbed the back of the knee of another beggar approaching from the side.
Thump.
Hearing the beggar break his fall, Cheol Pung-gae mercilessly kicked him in the groin with his other foot.
“Gyaaaah...!”
“Does this look like playing house to you?”
As Cheol Pung-gae grumbled unpleasantly, Ouyang Jue's smile vanished.
It was time to get down to business.
“Where is the Branch Leader?”
“He's not here. I have a good idea where he went, though.”
“Then we'll have to clean this up first.”
“I have allies here too, so don't just start cutting everyone down.”
Ignoring Cheol Pung-gae, Ouyang Jue stared at the tangled mess of Beggars' Sect members with hollow eyes.
He then gripped Severing Manifestation tightly.
Screeeech!
He deliberately scraped the scabbard, making a harsh noise.
It was slightly damaged, but a scabbard could be repaired.
A cheaper price to pay than the mental energy it would take to sort out this situation.
As all the Beggars' Sect members stared at him with surprised eyes, Ouyang Jue spoke.
“Have you come to your senses?”
“What business does the Mount Hua Sect have with the Beggars' Sect!”
A gruff voice emerged from among the beggars, followed by a few murmurs of agreement.
He couldn't give them any leeway here.
Ouyang Jue's lips twisted stubbornly.
“Enough!”
“...?”
“The fact that your Beggars' Sect secretly isolated the Mount Hua Sect is utterly outrageous! Our Sect Leader is aware of this!”
“Th-that's...”
Ouyang Jue raised his voice so those outside could hear.
“The seniors from the Zhongnan Sect are right outside! How dare you attempt to lie in their presence!”
At his words, the beggars' faces stiffened.
If that was true, it wasn't just one junior from Mount Hua, but another Daoist sect, Zhongnan, that knew about the situation.
At this rate, even their Branch Leader, Gyeon Ju-gae, would find it difficult to evade responsibility.
Judging the situation, the beggars finally let go of the collars they were holding.
Among them, only Cheol Pung-gae wore a triumphant expression.
“You dogs! Get on your knees, now!”
“That's enough.”
Ouyang Jue, sensing the approaching presence, moved closer to Cheol Pung-gae and whispered.
“The seniors are coming.”
“...Tch.”
Cheol Pung-gae's expression looked somewhat sulky.
* * *
About half an hour later.
After hearing the Beggars' Sect members' story, Perfected One Sim Won fell silent for a moment before asking again.
“Are you saying you have no connection to the Black Dragon Gang?”
“O-Of course!”
When a beggar said that, Cheol Pung-gae mercilessly kicked him.
“Don't lie! You were there when they locked me up!”
“But... we didn't see any masters of sword ki! So it might not have been the Black Dragon Gang!”
A clear attempt at evasion.
Cheol Pung-gae's face contorted.
“How dare you twist your words, you lowlife?”
As Cheol Pung-gae clenched his fist again, Ouyang Jue reached out and stopped him.
He just needed to ask a different question.
“After you imprisoned the Section Leader here, who came to visit the Beggars' Sect?”
“Not a guest... but there was someone who seemed close to the Branch Leader.”
Ouyang Jue muttered the beggar's words.
“Someone close?”
It didn't make sense.
A man of the Branch Leader's stature met with a close friend while in the middle of isolating a major sect like Mount Hua?
That was not a wise move.
If it was a close friend, he would have postponed the meeting.
*Perhaps it was someone he had to meet, but whose identity needed to be concealed.*
Ouyang Jue licked his dry lips.
“Where is the Branch Leader now?”
Cheol Pung-gae answered with what he had heard.
“He's somewhere else with that friend of his.”
“I see. However...”
“...?”
Ouyang Jue warned with a stern expression.
“The seniors of the Zhongnan Sect are present. Though I may be your junior, I believe you should still show some decorum.”
“...What?”
“Ahem!”
As Ouyang Jue stared at him seriously again, Cheol Pung-gae pouted.
He felt a little wronged.
*Th-that bastard. He's been calling me a beggar and whatnot all this time...*
...and now he flips like a switch and tells me to speak formally to him.
Feeling tears welling up in his eyes, Cheol Pung-gae corrected his speech.
“My apologies, Young Hero.”
“Good.”
Ouyang Jue looked at the Zhongnan Daoists, each lost in their own thoughts, and urged them on.
“We must go if we are to understand the full situation.”
At the same time, Ouyang Jue sent a telepathic message to Cheol Pung-gae.
-Take care of the aftermath.
-You bastard.
He had many complaints, but their goals were aligned, so Cheol Pung-gae nodded.
Ouyang Jue walked ahead, and the Zhongnan Daoists followed him.
Thud, thud...
Once they were gone.
-Get the iron brush ready.
He planned to tattoo the mark of the Black Dragon Gang on the beggars who supported Gyeon Ju-gae.
Cheol Pung-gae's cynical smile deepened.