Chapter 327
Chapter 327
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 327
Chapter Title: The Foolish Man
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Heavenly Tyrant Gwak Jidal arrived near Three Valleys Village and looked around.
'Back in the day, I ran into Tu Hui around here.'
But unlike before, Tu Hui didn't come out to greet him now. He hadn't expected her to. Gwak Jidal headed straight for the village midway up the hill without hesitation.
He'd only just entered the small village, but he felt inexplicably excited. It was like he'd come to clear away some long-standing unease. Or perhaps like he'd come to find the woman of his destiny. Gwak Jidal walked with the swagger of a king.
The first person to spot Gwak Jidal was an old woman from Three Valleys Village.
The moment she saw him, she held her breath. His appearance screamed martial artist to anyone who laid eyes on him.
Tu Hui would hole up in a cave every time her madness flared, so the villagers sometimes had to face wandering martial artists when she was absent.
And those encounters never ended well.
A relatively mild-mannered martial artist might just rob the villagers of money or goods, but a rough and violent one would indiscriminately harm people.
To ordinary folk, martial artists were calamities in human form.
The old woman tried to hide before Gwak Jidal noticed her. But a mere elderly woman couldn't evade the senses of someone like Gwak Jidal, no mere wanderer.
As Gwak Jidal unleashed his lightness skill, his figure vanished from where he stood and reappeared before her.
Gwak Jidal blocked her path and spoke.
"Hey, granny."
"P-Please spare me!"
The old woman was overcome by an overwhelming fear. Even to someone ignorant of martial arts, Gwak Jidal's lightness skill far surpassed that of an ordinary martial artist.
She scanned her surroundings desperately. She hoped someone would clear the rocks from the cave and fetch Tu Hui.
It was a faint hope at best. Even if they hurried, it would take considerable time for Tu Hui to emerge. Meanwhile, Gwak Jidal could snap the old woman's neck in a single breath.
But Gwak Jidal stepped back a couple of paces from her and said,
"I'm not here to kill you. I'm not some thug who kills people to show off."
Gwak Jidal held one firm belief. There was no reason to associate with those who claimed to enjoy killing.
As far as he knew, none of them truly enjoyed killing.
Their goal wasn't the act of killing itself, but instilling fear and unease in those around them through it.
In other words, what they relished was the reactions from others to their murders, not the murders themselves.
Lacking the skill to earn genuine respect, they tried to solidify their position through that revulsion.
They were the most cowardly sort, like the loudest-barking pup that hadn't learned to fear the tiger.
Gwak Jidal, on the other hand, didn't need such卑鄙 means to command respect. He had the strength for it.
That's why he could afford to be lenient with those who posed no threat.
The old woman sensed he wasn't lying, but that didn't mean she could relax. Tension gripped her even facing a docile tiger.
She spoke.
"Wh-What do you need...?"
"Tu Hui. Where's Wi Jinanhyang?"
The old woman thought inwardly that this was good. Wi Jinanhyang had been a demon when she first appeared in the village, but now she was its sturdiest guardian spirit.
Not a single martial artist who had strutted into Three Valleys Village had survived facing her.
"Th-There. In the cave."
The old woman raised her wrinkled hand and pointed toward the cave—or rather, the rocks blocking it.
The Heavenly Tyrant scoffed at the sight of the boulder.
"For someone of her skill to play guard dog for this tiny village. What a joke of a life. Oh, and you, granny—head home. Don't trip in your haste."
"Y-Yes..."
The old woman leaned on her cane and shuffled home on trembling legs.
Heavenly Tyrant Gwak Jidal stared at the massive boulder, pondered briefly, then pressed both palms against its side and drew a deep breath.
"Huuuup!"
He poured his strength until his face turned beet red.
His internal energy, built from nearly monopolizing southern spirit medicines, combined with his natural physique, made the astonishingly huge rock scrape along the ground as it began to move.
Grrrrrind—The old woman, who had been scurrying away, nearly fell over in shock at the sight of him shoving the boulder. How could a human budge something so enormous?
At last, the rock shifted nearly ten feet, revealing the cave mouth peeking out.
Gwak Jidal stepped into the dim cavern.
Before he'd taken ten paces inside, a growling breath echoed.
From the darkness emerged a woman crouched low, charging at Gwak Jidal. It was Wi Jinanhyang.
She didn't even check who her opponent was. Her left arm swung toward his throat. More than half-driven by instinct, she targeted vital points first.
Gwak Jidal drew his sword and smacked her left arm away hard. Despite her beastly movements, he noticed her neatly trimmed, rounded nails. He couldn't tell if she filed them herself or someone else did it for her.
Wi Jinanhyang didn't resist the force that blocked her. Instead, she spun her body midair in reverse, unleashing a kick. Instinct-guided, it lacked polish— a big, flashy roundhouse.
But its lack of efficiency gave it tremendous power. Her leg held enough force to kill a large man in one blow.
Yet Gwak Jidal spotted a slight instability and awkwardness in the motion.
He grinned.
"As expected, you're nursing internal injuries, aren't you?"
Gwak Jidal bent at the waist to dodge her leg, then launched his body backward.
He saw her right hand fumbling at her waist. No sword in sight, yet she reached for one.
Seizing the brief opening, Gwak Jidal examined Wi Jinanhyang. Through her disheveled hair draping down, her face came into fleeting view.
Even the famed Tu Hui couldn't escape time's passage. She no longer had that youthful freshness. Coldly put, she was past full maturity.
Yet she remained a beauty, retaining the aura from her Tu Hui days. That subtle discrepancy stirred Gwak Jidal's heart.
He had lived a debauched life as the overlord of southern martial arts, but no woman had ever made his heart race like this.
"Good. Very good..."
Gwak Jidal gripped his cherished sword, Cheonam—three inches longer and an inch thicker than most blades—and slowly pressed Tu Hui. The space she controlled in the cave shrank bit by bit.
When her back finally hit the cave wall, Tu Hui Wi Jinanhyang abruptly changed direction and lunged at him. Her hands were curled like animal claws.
Even in that crude form, it embodied the insights of a transcendent master. Any ordinary foe would have died in a couple exchanges.
"Haha!"
But Gwak Jidal not only blocked her assault—he cut off her escape routes, preventing her from fleeing into open space. Even in her instinct-driven state, she panicked like a bristling cat.
Gwak Jidal's chest swelled.
'My skills are superior.'
Perhaps from extreme tension, the subtleties of her ingrained martial arts began to blur. Thanks to that, her attacks grew wilder and faster, but his defenses grew more relaxed. In martial arts, raw power, speed, or momentum weren't the most crucial elements.
At last, Gwak Jidal played his trump card. He deliberately exposed an opening to lure her attack.
Sure enough, Wi Jinanhyang threw herself at it with her whole body. Right where he'd predicted, with the exact attack he'd foreseen.
Sliiiide.
As Gwak Jidal subtly shifted his foot, her hand sliced empty air. He drove his knee up into her abdomen.
"Khek!"
Had her condition been sound, she'd have used internal energy to minimize the damage, but Tu Hui couldn't. Her internal injuries hadn't fully healed.
Before her body hit the ground rolling, Gwak Jidal's elbow smashed down onto her back. She spat blood and tumbled across the floor.
Gwak Jidal rushed forward and attempted to seal her acupoints.
The internal energy she'd amassed over decades from the spirit spring's waters resisted instinctively. Yet Gwak Jidal's was far greater. Hadn't he swept up southern spirit medicines like a whirlwind?
He didn't seal her blood flow to put her to sleep or her pulse to knock her out. Instead, he only sealed her limbs' acupoints. Enough for her to twist her torso in some resistance.
Gwak Jidal mounted Wi Jinanhyang's body, pinning her down with his weight. Tu Hui thrashed and screamed like a beast. She seemed reduced to pure animal instinct, but amid it, he sensed faint reason and fear.
His head spun with excitement.
Gwak Jidal pressed her throat with his left arm while his right hand fumbled at his waistband.
But before he could lower his pants, he felt killing intent approaching from behind.
"...!"
Too caught up in the thrill, his reaction was delayed, but it wasn't fatal. Gwak Jidal deflected the incoming blade with his right forearm.
A small but deep gash remained on his forearm. Yet no blood flowed. The wound had frozen shallowly.
'Yin cold internal art?'
The one who appeared behind Gwak Jidal was Seolhwa.
She hadn't gone herb gathering; she'd been slacking off in hiding. She'd heard the old woman's plea for help and come to the cave.
Gwak Jidal sized up Seolhwa.
His experiences were broad, but even to him, Seolhwa was unusual in many ways.
People who cultivated blazing yang arts cropped up occasionally, but this was only the third who'd mastered a yin cold internal art. And Seolhwa's was incomparably more refined than those two hacks.
A woman with those rare jade eyes, no less.
Her attainment wasn't low. Impressive compared to her age. But her talent was still unripe. Far behind not just Gwak Jidal, but even the rationaless Tu Hui.
Instead, Gwak Jidal felt interest in another way. Not quite like with Wi Jinanhyang, but still.
He pointed at Wi Jinanhyang, who writhed trying to break her seals.
"You came knowing you'd end up like her if you challenged me?"
Seolhwa didn't answer. She straightened her stance and glared at Gwak Jidal. He interpreted it differently.
"They say jade-eyed folk are innately lascivious by nature—looks like it's true. You're hooked! Haha!"
The moment he finished speaking, Gwak Jidal stomped forward.
The ground trembled lightly around his foot, as if his internal energy swept the area. For an instant, the body stiffened. Gwak Jidal didn't miss the gap and charged at Seolhwa.
She swung her sword immediately, barely parrying his. Three exchanges followed in rapid succession.
Seolhwa's swordsmanship wasn't particularly threatening. But Gwak Jidal grew intrigued for another reason. Frost lightly coated his blade, and his forearm stiffened as if dipped in icy waters. He felt his internal energy flow slowing bit by bit. Her sword was one that slowly constricted its foe.
"Interesting!"
But no martial art's uniqueness could overturn such an overwhelming skill gap.
Gwak Jidal crouched low, then kicked off the ground with full power, hurtling at Seolhwa. She swung to block, but couldn't fully absorb his massive frame and strength.
Boom—
His shoulder slammed her torso, sending her tumbling ignobly across the floor. Gwak Jidal followed up, sealing her arms and legs just as he'd done to Wi Jinanhyang.
Now he had two women at his mercy.
But Seolhwa's reaction differed slightly from Wi Jinanhyang's. She didn't thrash, tremble, or show fear. She just stared straight at Gwak Jidal.
Since proclaiming himself Heavenly Tyrant, no woman had stared at him like that. Not a single one.
Gwak Jidal met her gaze and burst into laughter.
"You bitch, you really came hoping for this? What a slut! Well, women always want a strong man."
Seolhwa spoke.
"I wasn't hoping for you."
"Who else would you be waiting for?"
Gwak Jidal didn't know someone had just arrived at the cave entrance.
Hyeon-gong was peering inside.
In fact, not just Gwak Jidal—Seolhwa didn't know of Hyeon-gong's presence either. She simply believed he would come.
Moments ago, Hyeon-gong had been gripped by a strange intuition and abandoned his spirit medicine search to return to the village. The rocks cleared from the cave entrance proved his hunch right.
As Hyeon-gong looked inside, the first thing he saw was Seolhwa flying back and getting her acupoints sealed.
From that alone, he could gauge Gwak Jidal's prowess.
A flurry of thoughts raced through Hyeon-gong's mind.
'A person with that level of skill is rare. Is that Heavenly Tyrant Gwak Jidal?'
'Far stronger than me.'
'The situation's bad. Two hostages already.'
'I'd lose in a fight.'
'Could I win with Namgung Myeong and Hong Geolgae's help? Probably.'
'But they don't know the situation. No telling when they'll return. Can't count on them.'
'How long could I hold out against the Heavenly Tyrant?'
'What do I gain from winning?'
Winning was near impossible anyway, and even if he did, there'd be no reward.
He'd just avoid loss. And the losses weren't even his own. The ones suffering would be Seolhwa and Tu Hui.
'Tu Hui? We've gotten friendly, but we haven't known each other long.'
The only real concern was Seolhwa's feelings.
But she'd never expressed affection toward him. Hyeon-gong only assumed she didn't dislike him because she hadn't rejected his overtures.
The world was vast. There must be women better than Seolhwa aplenty.
Women who would confess to him first, not ones he had to chase. A man like Hyeon-gong wouldn't lack for options anywhere.
Fleeing here might make his friends see him as trash.
They surely would.
But with luck, he could slip away without them noticing.
His friends wouldn't know he'd witnessed this. He could just pretend to arrive late.
It took one breath to weigh it all.
Hyeon-gong's legs began inching backward stealthily.
But he couldn't flee as cleanly as usual.
It wasn't just because Seolhwa, the woman he'd invested in, was in danger.
He'd simply realized no one else would step up to clean up the mess in his place.
Hyeon-gong halted his legs, drew a deep breath in and out.
The calculating man sank back into thought.
This time, he thought in reverse order.
Before, he'd assessed the best outcome from the given situation and chosen accordingly.
Now, it was the opposite. He picked the best outcome first, then fitted the current situation and possibilities to it.
'With luck, my friends might arrive in time. The villagers might smartly fetch them.'
'Do the villagers know where Namgung Myeong and Hong Geolgae are? Probably not. But with luck, they could bring at least one.'
'How long would it take? Could I hold out that long?'
'With luck, maybe. I'm confident in defense.'
'Our martial arts might match up favorably.'
He chained one stroke of luck to another.
Optimism on flimsy grounds. Hyeon-gong knew how foolish it was. He wasn't as reckless as his friends.
But the key was that the possibility wasn't zero. There was a slim chance. Definitely.
Hyeon-gong couldn't look away from that sliver.
One more breath. In that time, he sorted his thoughts again.
When he stopped thinking, he was already inside the cave.
Hyeon-gong had deliberately thrown himself into a no-retreat situation.
That was the coward's courage. Commit first, then figure out how to manage.
Heavenly Tyrant and Hyeon-gong's eyes met.
Hyeon-gong took a large breath, then spoke in feigned casualness.
"Think about it logically. You think Seolhwa was waiting for a creep like you? Obviously, she was hoping for me."
The Heavenly Tyrant asked.
"And who the hell are you?"
"I am—"
Hyeon-gong answered.
"Hyeon-gong of Wudang Mountain."