Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Capturing the Lustful Mad Fox
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"Little brother."
Blood Lord Gu-ak's low call made Baek Yang-hui feel a pang of guilt, so he replied with forced cheerfulness.
"Yes, Brother Gu! You called? Your little brother is right here!"
But it didn't work. Gu-ak soon growled.
"Didn't we have a deal? That after your outing, I'd get time guaranteed with Rang-rang."
"Haha, did I say that?"
"How much more do you plan to work me to the bone!"
Gu-ak bellowed. It seemed dodging the issue and slipping by wouldn't fly.
"Sorry. But this time, it'll be no more than three days at most, so don't worry. And that includes travel time—three days total!"
"Really?"
Gu-ak shot him a suspicious glare.
After all the grief he'd endured, he couldn't bring himself to trust it easily.
"You're going after that demon, and you think it'll wrap up that fast? Even if it were just a regular guy, tracking down someone in hiding takes serious time."
"Want to arm-wrestle over it? What'll you put up, Brother Gu?"
Despite the valid doubt, Baek Yang-hui's bold assurance made Gu-ak back down meekly.
He'd never won when he took the bait in moments like this.
"I was just saying. I'll trust you."
"Yes, and if you do, good fortune falls into your lap even in your sleep."
In truth, Baek Yang-hui was confident he could capture the target within three days.
Because he knew exactly where the quarry was and what they were up to.
'Lustful Mad Fox Chumun-jik.'
True to his epithet meaning a fox mad for lust, the bastard was a lecher who raped women left and right.
As an extra, he'd violated a woman from the Tang Clan and was now on the run from their pursuit.
'Capture him, and I can turn the Tang Clan into allies for the main house.'
The Tang clansmen roaming Gangseo Province had two goals.
First, to catch and kill the Lustful Mad Fox. Second, to scout a spot for a branch hall.
'In my past life, the Tang clansmen captured him alive near Ak-an County, tortured him mercilessly, and killed him.'
That was why Baek Yang-hui knew about the Lustful Mad Fox's whereabouts and the Tang clansmen's movements.
The gossips had chattered endlessly about how the Tang Clan repaid grudges tenfold.
'I know exactly where and how they caught him, so nabbing him alive will be a piece of cake.'
Even if the Lustful Mad Fox was a first-rate expert nearing the Peak realm.
"I'll tell you the plan to catch that lecherous Lustful Mad Fox right now, Brother Gu."
Baek Yang-hui laid out the simple scheme.
Dig a trap, gain the advantage, and capture him alive—that was the gist.
"Little brother, you know so damn much sometimes. Makes me think you're divining the future or something."
"Just educated guesses based on rumors, close to the facts."
"Guesses that never miss— that's the amazing part."
"It happens. Criminals can't outrun a genius's insight, after all."
"......"
The place Baek Yang-hui and Gu-ak headed was a wild mountain on the border between Ak-an County to the north and Mu-gan County.
"His hideout should be here. Let's look for a cave or hut with signs of recent living."
They'd left Baek Clan Manor at dawn, so by noon, they found a cave that seemed like the Lustful Mad Fox's hideout.
"Women's clothes piled up like this. Obvious."
A short distance from the cave, there were signs of freshly dug and covered earth.
No doubt the grave of some poor woman he'd raped.
He prayed briefly for the victim's soul. Then vowed.
'Whoever you were, I'll make sure he pays in the afterlife too.'
"Brother Gu. Time to set it up. Keep watch for me."
Based on memories from his past life, the Lustful Mad Fox was out scouring nearby villages for his next victim.
Even while fleeing the Tang Clan, he couldn't quit his lust—true to his name.
As he thought that, he set down the bundle on his back.
Usually he'd make Gu-ak carry it, but this time, feeling guilty, he'd shouldered it himself.
'Heh heh heh, have a taste.'
The contents of the bundle were poison bombs.
The very ones Gu-ak had grabbed from the Blue Serpent Gang's hideout right after his return.
A perfect chance to use ones even untouched during the Black Dao skirmish.
'No need to play fair catching a rapist scum.'
"Heh heh heh heh."
With a vile chuckle, Baek Yang-hui hid poison bombs throughout the cave, then used his rogue days' know-how to clean up perfectly, leaving no traces.
"Brother Gu. Done."
"Already? You're quick. No need for me to check?"
Gu-ak's face showed a flicker of unease.
Which made sense.
It was like entrusting the crucial job to a kid.
"Trust me. Plenty of time left anyway—if you don't, go take a look."
Gu-ak inspected the cave and clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Can't spot the poison bombs at all. Where'd you learn this sneaky stuff, little brother?"
"A once-in-a-millennium genius can create something from nothing."
Baek Yang-hui shrugged and scanned for a good hiding spot nearby.
Close enough for easy ambush, with line of sight to ignite the fuses.
Found the perfect one, so he and Gu-ak hunkered down.
"Brother Gu. Any good at stealth arts?"
"What do you take a former Black Dao man for? Of course."
They shared smirks, then both cloaked their presence with stealth techniques.
About two hours passed.
As the sun dipped low, painting the sky orange, a presence approached.
-Brother Gu. It's the Lustful Mad Fox.
-Carrying a woman over his shoulder. Looks like it.
-See? My guess was spot on. Don't underestimate a genius's strategy again.
Gu-ak didn't reply. Not expecting one, Baek Yang-hui sent another transmission.
-We can't let the woman get hit by the poison gas. Ambush and make him drop her.
-Got it. But you sure? Honestly, I don't have confidence solo against him.
The Lustful Mad Fox was a first-rate master nearing Peak.
Plus, he'd trained in yin-essence absorption arts, so deep internal energy.
But Baek Yang-hui stayed confident.
-Can't you feel the demonic qi leaking off him?
-No.
In fact, the hunted Lustful Mad Fox had his energy tightly suppressed.
Yet Baek Yang-hui's senses picked it up unusually sharply.
-As long as he's got demonic qi, I can at least trip him up.
-True, after that spirit pill, your energy got some special edge.
Gu-ak recalled Ghostly Noble White Horse, who commanded hordes of evil spirits with invincible might.
Even that horror was helpless against Baek Yang-hui's unique energy.
So the Lustful Mad Fox was nothing.
Buoyed, Gu-ak ambushed instantly.
"Who goes there!"
True to a master before Peak, the Lustful Mad Fox reacted fast.
Clang!
He flung the woman aside and blocked Gu-ak's axe barehanded.
Flesh met steel axe, yet it rang like metal.
One exchange told Gu-ak one thing.
'No winning a fair fight.'
But as a Black Dao man, fair fights were never his plan.
"He's here! Tang Clan, the Lustful Mad Fox is here!"
"What! The Tang Clan!"
At Gu-ak's shout, the Lustful Mad Fox paled and bolted—not away, but into the cave.
Baek Yang-hui cheered inwardly.
'Knew it.'
He'd found a hidden escape route while scouting the cave.
And packed it with poison bombs, of course.
"Taste the poison bombs, you bastard!"
Boom!
A massive explosion, thick poison smoke billowing out.
"Gah! Cough, what the—!"
The rabbit-like intruder bolted back out.
By then, Baek Yang-hui and Gu-ak were primed at the cave mouth.
"Brother Gu!"
With the cry, he unleashed sword strikes laced with sword energy.
The Lustful Mad Fox tried blocking with demonic-qi-charged hands, as before.
Clang!
His hand split vertically, spraying blood.
"Gaaah!"
No fool waits for a screaming, stiffened foe.
Baek Yang-hui's sword strike flowed into Gu-ak's twin axes embedding in the Lustful Mad Fox's shoulder.
The foe came to his senses for a counter.
Thud!
Baek Yang-hui's sword tip pierced his dantian.
"Gaaaaah!"
Harmonious Heaven energy, infused with sword will, invaded and ruined the dantian.
He was crippled now.
"My dantian! My energy! You fucking bastards! I'll chew you up!"
Even on death's door, he curled up wailing.
Typical for martial artists losing their dantian—the core of their life's work.
But no mercy for his arrogance.
"Pathetic, you yin-sucking creep."
Baek Yang-hui kicked without pity.
His instep smashed dead into the groin.
Splat!
"Gaaaaah!"
Shattered. Both balls crunched satisfyingly.
"Oops. No more yin absorption for you."
"Gaaaaah! Gah... ugh......"
Pain overwhelmed him; he passed out mid-scream.
Baek Yang-hui had no intention of letting him rest easy.
"Wake up, scum. Not nap time."
Waking via acupoint stimulation was too kind.
He and Gu-ak beat him until he stirred.
"Guh, ugh, cough! Ugh......!"
"Awake? Can't sleep here like it's your bedroom. Woke you before your jaw locks. Grateful?"
The Lustful Mad Fox glared venom at Baek Yang-hui's snide jab.
Venomous curses poured from his lips.
"I'll kill you. Whatever it takes. Even if I go first, I'll wait in hell and gnaw your bones to dust."
"Bullshit. You'll wait a century."
Scoffing, Baek Yang-hui watched the Lustful Mad Fox harden with resolve.
"Figured the Tang Clan sent you. Haha, blind fools who can't see ahead."
"What're you on about?"
"The aphrodisiac poison I used is from the Tang Clan. Heard the rumors? They'll kill you! Hahaha!"
What? The Tang Clan making aphrodisiacs?
Never heard that in his past life.
"You learned the Tang Clan's secret. No mercy from them! Poisonous as their arts."
A yin-absorbing lecher dissing poison arts?
Absurd. Baek Yang-hui retorted.
"We're handing you over as a favor. What's the issue?"
"They'll suspect you know about the aphrodisiac! Then decide to silence you! Marinated in poison under torture—that's your end!"
In short, since he'd used their aphrodisiac, they'd kill Baek Yang-hui and Gu-ak to hide the secret.
Splat!
"Gah!"
Beat nonsense. Kicked his yap until teeth flew.
Then Gu-ak voiced concern.
"Little brother. That scum's got a point. Maybe we stuck our noses too deep into Tang Clan business."
Only then did Baek Yang-hui recall the Tang Clan's reputation at this point.
'Right, they weren't well-regarded back then.'
Vile poison and hidden weapon users.
Unrighteous, repaying grudges tenfold— their infamous motto.
Gu-ak fretting over the curse made sense.
But.
"Don't worry. The Tang Clan won't harm us."
"How can you be sure? They're harsher than most Black Dao bosses. And now we know they make aphrodisiacs."
Baek Yang-hui grinned at Gu-ak.
"Brother Gu. Wanna bet? I say they repay favors double. Silver 100 taels."
Gu-ak, who'd balk at bets before, was game now.
"Fine. I bet they try to screw us somehow."
"Deal!"
Baek Yang-hui was certain he'd win.
The Tang Clan he knew would react exactly as expected, without deviation.
'I wonder if Brother Gun and Sister Yeon are growing well.'