Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Rogue Heo Pung-gae - [2]
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Yang Taeja, the master bandit of the Green Forest, broke out in a cold sweat as he desperately racked his brains.
He had once looked up the data on Invincible BB Bullet out of curiosity. He recalled the finger-flicking technique's bullet speed and its infamous unreal ricochet paths.
He had thought ahead about how he would respond if it were him.
They said that even with gloves on, the BB bullets fired by Invincible BB Bullet were slow enough to track with the naked eye? Just swatting them away would lead to those bizarre ricochets. The best way was to grab them with your hand to prevent that.
He put his thoughts into action. He focused his eyes on the incoming BB bullet.
Damn it. Was it because it was Invincible Unaffiliated instead of Invincible BB Bullet? It felt much faster than the data suggested. At least he could take some comfort in the fact that all those spirit pills hadn't gone to waste—he could still see it.
He swung his large palm toward it... and caught it!
"Got it—"
But just before it was trapped in his hand, the BB bullet bounced off his palm. Thwack.
The BB bullet flew off into the distance, striking the chest of a Green Forest bandit who had been standing in the corner holding a gun.
That bandit's body went rigid.
The other bandits who hadn't been hit froze as well. It was a physical reaction born of shock and tension.
Yang Taeja was no different; he had to take deep breaths to calm his mind and body. He had known intellectually that this could happen against Invincible BB Bullet, but experiencing it firsthand was a shock.
Everything was a blur. Mentally, visually—it was chaos.
BB bullets began flying through the broken window in a steady stream.
"Cover yourselves!"
The bandits huddled down, using tables and whatever else to shield themselves as they resisted, but they couldn't hold out forever. One by one, their bodies went numb.
Yang Taeja gritted his teeth.
Maybe to relieve the tension somehow, two of his subordinates were chattering while hunching over tightly.
"It's okay. Even if you get hit, you won't die..."
"It's not dying that's the problem, you idiot—it's getting filled up..."
A BB bullet flew into the mouth of the man who had opened it to speak. He clutched his throat where the bullet had gone in, and his body froze like ice.
Now, only he and one other could still move.
Yang Taeja gripped his hand axe tightly. A few months ago, he had attended the Martial Alliance tournament. Back then, he had laughed at Go Jin-cheol's pathetic response during his match against Invincible Unaffiliated.
He couldn't laugh now.
Just like Go Jin-cheol, Yang Taeja flailed wildly, swinging the hand axe in his hand desperately. He had to do anything to keep the BB bullets from hitting his body.
Eventually, he grew exhausted. The moment his arm's movements couldn't keep up with the bullets' speed, one finally struck him.
His body shuddered violently, and Yang Taeja slumped limply.
Leaning against the wall, he stared blankly ahead with lifeless eyes.
Incomprehensible as it was, it seemed he could see everything even from beyond the door.
The firmly shut door creaked open.
Invincible Unaffiliated entered the room. Yang Taeja blinked, checking his own body.
Nothing below his neck moved at all, but at least he could still breathe. He couldn't make a sound, but he could still work his mouth a little.
He remembered his mission.
He bit down on the capsule wedged between his molars.
Heo Pung-gae looked at the three women gasping for breath.
One of them had been shot in the arm. She seemed dizzy from the blood loss and confusion, but her life wasn't in danger. Only then could he finally relax inwardly.
As Heo Pung-gae started toward her, he froze.
His sharp hearing picked up a change in one bandit's breathing. He turned his gaze that way.
"Ah, uh..."
There was Yang Taeja, aiming a gun at him.
His eyes were wide open. Was he flustered at being caught just as he was about to pull the trigger?
But Heo Pung-gae was just as flustered.
He had clearly confirmed the acupoint strike via the flow of qi—how?
He couldn't know for sure, but he could guess. Blood was trickling from Yang Taeja's mouth. Internal bleeding, but plastic BB bullets couldn't have damaged his organs. He had done it to himself.
He must have twisted his own qi flow to break the acupoint strike. What kind of demonic art was that?
He couldn't fathom what gain there was in going this far. It was shocking, but he didn't show it.
Heo Pung-gae simply stared at Yang Taeja impassively, watching to see what he would do.
There was no conversation between them.
Yang Taeja looked at him with trembling eyes, then finally pulled the trigger.
And Heo Pung-gae kicked off the floor.
Taoism teaches that human fate depends on good and evil. Live wickedly, and disease and misfortune will strike, shortening your life. Live righteously, and you can enjoy longevity without threat to your life.
In modern times, hardly anyone believes it, and Heo Pung-gae didn't either. If he followed that teaching, he had outlived his wife because he was more righteous—which was ridiculous.
Heaven is indifferent; it cares nothing for human lifespans. So one must guard one's own life. That was his conviction after living this long.
Still, there are times when you must entrust your life to heaven.
When your own hands can't manage it, you have no choice but to leave it all to heaven—not to give up and stand still, but to keep fighting to the end without surrendering.
The bullets were closing in.
No matter how peerless the master, no one could see them with the naked eye. He could barely catch their afterimages reflected in the karaoke lights. Heo Pung-gae felt death approaching inescapably.
But he wouldn't go down without a fight.
Bending at the waist as he ran, Heo Pung-gae unleashed the flowing form of Taijiquan. He instinctively sensed the incoming bullets and moved his hands.
The Qiankun Great Rope he had recently mastered proved immensely helpful. Applying its principles, he successfully deflected three in a row.
But his opponent wasn't some leisurely supreme master content with three shots. Terrified, Yang Taeja kept his finger clamped on the trigger.
Bullets poured endlessly from the submachine gun capable of 700 rounds per minute.
Finally, one grazed his side.
Agony clawed at his mind.
No one could ever get used to this kind of pain. But he had learned to endure it somehow. That was the only accomplishment of his 120 years.
He took one more step forward.
Seeing no change in Heo Pung-gae's expression despite the hit, Yang Taeja grew even more frightened. He pressed the trigger harder. You bastard.
This time, a bullet pierced his shoulder. Horrific pain shook his mind.
Thunder roared in his head.
Lightning struck from head to body.
That lightning was probably the embodiment of pain. And also the god dwelling within him.
As if struck by a bolt from the blue, excruciating pain engulfed his entire body. Along with it, lightning burst from his upper dantian—his head—splitting into multiple branches that spread everywhere.
The lightning raced through every nerve, to his fingertips and toes.
Was the shock so intense? The world seemed to slow down.
No, perhaps it wasn't an illusion. Heo Pung-gae doubted his own eyes.
He could see the incoming bullets.
Three about to hit his body—still terrifyingly fast, but visible now. Even his body felt a bit faster.
He caught one bullet and flicked it.
His two fingers moved faster than thought. Thwack.
The flicked bullet collided with the two following ones in succession.
As even that shattered, Yang Taeja's eyes flew wide.
Only then did Heo Pung-gae smile. Seeing his opponent's face filled with shock flooded his mind with exhilaration.
With the agony now unfelt, the lightning in his head vanished. Time's pace returned, but it no longer mattered.
The bandit's stunned face showed no will to resist anymore.
Heo Pung-gae approached and snapped his arm.
Yang Taeja collapsed, vomiting blood. He couldn't let him die just yet. Heo Pung-gae pulled out needles he had prepared and jabbed them into the man's chest, sending a slight current through.
Then he turned. Speaking to the three trembling in fear,
"Are you alright?"
One middle-aged woman answered Heo Pung-gae's words.
"Y-yes? Yes..."
"Get out of here. Tell the cops I helped you out."
After sending the women away, Heo Pung-gae checked his own body.
Blood was oozing from wounds all over. He sighed in dismay.
The original plan was to wrap things up quickly and escape before the police arrived.
Wasn't this incident part of the conflict between the Green Forest Bandits and the Martial Alliance? Even if he claimed he was saving civilians as a Martial Alliance member, to a judge's eyes, he'd just be another martial thug. Better to avoid trials altogether.
But bleeding profusely like this, escape was impossible. Even if he made it out in this state, the bloodstains left behind were unavoidable.
Now he truly had to leave it to heaven.
Heo Pung-gae sank to the floor as if collapsing. To understand the phenomenon from his upper dantian, he fell into meditation.
Sirens began wailing outside the window.
When the armed police finally entered, what they saw were men sprawled everywhere and a young man sitting cross-legged in the center of the room.
Objects lay smashed all around, blood pooling on the floor. The meditating cultivator with eyes closed didn't fit the gruesome scene at all.
Their brains couldn't easily process the incomprehensible sight.
The police stood frozen, eyes bulging. Finally, one detective snapped out of it.
"What are you doing? Cuff him quick."
Yi Do-hyeok stared at the TV with wide eyes.
"Incheon Police, Delayed Response (...)"
"Prestigious Yangban Family Suspected as Masterminds (...)"
The broadcasters and police seemed confused. No one had a clear grasp of the situation; they were spewing disjointed, messy information.
"Three Civilians Confirmed Safe (...)"
Yi Do-hyeok caught a glimpse of a man in the broadcast. His face was blurred, but recognizing him was easy.
Heo Pung-gae was treated as a key figure in the incident, so he was isolated even during treatment. He couldn't watch TV right away, but he knew three things.
The nine o'clock news yesterday would have covered the incident. And tonight's nine o'clock news, tomorrow's too.
One gun incident alone triggered a state of emergency. This was a gang war not seen in decades, with civilians caught in the crossfire. News fodder for days.