Chapter 139: Chapter 139

“Is it really… alright?”

“Why do you keep asking such an obvious thing?!”

Ma Dok-jin shouted in anger with an irritated expression.

The subordinates quickly bowed their heads.

But this was definitely wrong.

Currently, the unorthodox path was waging war in Shaanxi, yet he had led the experts who could be considered the backbone of the Martial Emperor Castle down to Hunan.

Even without this, due to Shaolin’s participation in the war and the Martial Alliance dispatching experts from all over, they were repeatedly being pushed back in the battles.

If the Martial Emperor Castle or the Great Families found out about this, they would never sit idle.

“That bastard! To think that bastard is alive!”

Grit!

Ma Dok-jin covered his left eye and ground his teeth.

Gwon Mu-jin, it was the eye that had been slashed when that bastard fled. Having gone blind without even receiving proper treatment, it was now a useless eye.

Just thinking about it made grief and anger well up inside him.

Not only was he angry at himself for failing to properly block the saber of such a mere bastard, but how dare that kid, whom they took in when he had nowhere to go and raised until now, bare his teeth at his master?

“Son of a bitch!”

He had thought the bastard was dead.

That was why a year had passed without him being able to vent his anger. However, the bastard had shown himself in Henan, and while tracking his tail, they were able to find him faster than the Beggars’ Sect.

Yueyang!

The bastard was hiding somewhere there.

He had heard rumors that there were many unidentified people by his side, but that did not matter to Ma Dok-jin at all. No matter who was by that bastard’s side!

He would tear every single one of them to pieces and kill them!

His surging anger did not subside, and his rage pierced the heavens even further.

“Search! You must find him! Find out how he survived and who saved him! Find out how many people are associated with him! Find every single one of them without exception and bring me their heads!”

“We obey your commands!”

The subordinates quickly bowed their heads to Ma Dok-jin, who raised his voice while radiating his aura. There was no one who could stop him when he became like this.

If that was the case, they had to obey.

Furthermore, the opponent was merely Gwon Mu-jin.

None of the people present here cared about Gwon Mu-jin. Because they had watched him since childhood and knew his skills better than anyone.

They knew that no matter how much Gwon Mu-jin flew and crawled, his skills were below theirs.

* * *

“I suppose you came here to give it a try?”

Geum Eun-hak, the leader of the Gold Ring Merchant Group, was having a private meeting with Dan Woo-hyun in an inn in Yueyang. Knowing that this was the last opportunity in his life no matter how many times he thought about it, he seemed determined not to miss it.

However, facing Dan Woo-hyun was uncomfortable.

He could not even lift his head properly.

“P-Please just give the order!”

“You are the one doing it, not me. I know nothing about running a merchant group.”

“C-Can I really proceed with everything?”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded readily.

Forming a merchant group was already decided. Since he had chosen Geum Eun-hak to lead it, it was ridiculous to argue back and forth about it.

Dan Woo-hyun smiled as he looked at him, who could not even lift his head.

“Do you not believe my words?”

“N-No, it is not that. It, it just feels so much like a dream.”

“Save dreams for when you sleep. What is before you now is reality, so you must distinguish it well.”

“Of course, Great Hero!”

Geum Eun-hak nodded repeatedly at the words that pierced like an awl.

Although he had gone through many things and felt that he was mature in his own way, he could not comprehend Dan Woo-hyun’s thoughts at all.

“However, there is one thing I would like to ask.”

“Speak.”

“Do you really intend to surpass the Myriad Gold Merchant Group?”

Dan Woo-hyun chuckled in disbelief.

Did his words not even sound sincere?

“Of course.”

“They hold seventy percent of the Central Plains’ commercial power.”

“Plundering and being plundered is human nature.”

Geum Eun-hak nodded.

It was true.

Whether it was the Jianghu, the Central Plains, the Imperial Court, or even beasts, the relationship of taking and being taken from formed everything. Even if it was life or wealth.

Dan Woo-hyun and Geum Eun-hak, who knew that law better than anyone, knew that they could never rise to the top unless they took from someone else.

“Many things will change in the future. Although the process will not be easy.”

“I know.”

‘If everything goes well, that is.’

He wanted to say that, but kept his mouth shut.

Because being with this man gave him the illusion that everything would be resolved. This might feel like sending trust in return for believing in Geum Eun-hak, but it was absolutely not that kind of thing.

‘It is conviction.’

Yes, it was conviction.

The man before his eyes was so different from the people he had met so far, and he was someone he could trust that much, and just following him was an honor.

Geum Eun-hak clenched his fist, confident that he would rise to a higher place than now.

“I look forward to working with you.”

“Right. Go to the government office first and find Hong Won-chang. I have spotted a good spot nearby, so you can establish the merchant group there. As for the name… do as you wish.”

Dan Woo-hyun stood up from his seat.

He had said everything he needed to say.

All that was left was to completely relocate the merchant group and build it up again from scratch. Since he did not think of it as a particularly difficult task, he left it to Geum Eun-hak for now.

“I do not need to tell you what to do step by step, right?”

“Do not worry, Great Hero!”

“Right. If anything happens, look for Hong Won-chang or me.”

“Yes!”

Geum Eun-hak stood up abruptly and bowed his head. He then caught his breath while staring at the back of Dan Woo-hyun, who was disappearing without saying another word.

“Even if he tells me to look for him… one is the government office, but I do not know where the other is…”

He sighed deeply and scratched his head.

Because he was nervous, he had failed to ask what he actually needed to ask.

Stepping outside, Dan Woo-hyun walked lightly toward the manor. Although it felt like he had not seen Hong Won-chang’s face in quite a while, he had no desire to go all the way to the government office just to see him.

He might just end up disturbing his work.

As he walked with those thoughts, the face of a person caught Dan Woo-hyun’s eye. It was someone who looked familiar for some reason but did not immediately come to mind.

He was looking here and there on the streets of Yueyang, looking as if he was searching for someone. Perhaps because of his glaring eyes, the aura radiating from him, and the single saber gripped in his hand, people quickly moved away from him.

‘Where did I see him?’

Dan Woo-hyun groaned as he thought.

However, seeing how he did not particularly remember him, he did not think of him as a very important person. The moment he turned around to resume his steps.

“You bastard!”

A booming voice struck his ears.

People turned their eyes toward the source, wondering what it was.

Dan Woo-hyun’s head naturally turned as well.

He was running over.

The man, whom he had no memory of, was running toward him while grinding his teeth like mad. Quickly drawing the giant saber in his hand, he exuded a fearsome aura as if he would split Dan Woo-hyun’s head in a single stroke.

The moment the flying blade was about to split Dan Woo-hyun’s head precisely.

Dan Woo-hyun’s hand, stretched out before anyone knew, caught the blade.

As if he had redirected all the force poured out by the man straight into the ground, a large hole formed where Dan Woo-hyun was standing, and debris splattered upward.

“What kind of bastard are you to wield a blade in broad daylight?”

“You bastard! Have you forgotten me?!”

“Huh?”

Whether he forgot or not, he could not remember at all.

Dan Woo-hyun sighed softly in disbelief.

None of the people he knew were one-eyed.

However, he had a memory of this swordplay. Though it was saber techniques, it pursued fast strikes, yet carried a heavy sensation within them. Surely, one of the bastards he had met because of Gwon Mu-jin…

“Ah… that idiot?”

“W-What?!”

Although faint, his memory gradually returned.

It was definitely him.

The one who had been Gwon Mu-jin’s superior.

Since it was an event from over a year ago and the occurrences back then were not well-remembered, he had forgotten everyone except for Gwon Mu-jin.

But why was this guy here again?

Dan Woo-hyun’s hand moved lightly.

His subtly extended hand shot out as cunningly as a snake and grabbed Ma Dok-jin’s wrist. It was an ultimate move that did not even give him a chance to block or dodge.

Surprised, Ma Dok-jin opened his eyes wide and tried to pull back, but Dan Woo-hyun slammed Ma Dok-jin into the ground as if forcibly pulling and throwing him down.

Slam!

“Argh!”

“I do not know what you were thinking coming back… but if you intended to grit your teeth and seek revenge, should you not have improved your skills a bit more?”

Watching Ma Dok-jin roll on the ground, Dan Woo-hyun kicked him roughly.

Thud!

As the foot dug deep into his abdomen, a rough groan leaked from Ma Dok-jin’s mouth.

“Urrgh…”

Dan Woo-hyun sneered as he looked at him rolling on the ground. However, he knew that the man’s eyes were not dead. Even though he writhed in pain, his gaze was still casting murderous intent toward Dan Woo-hyun.

“Good eyes. Even if the body dies, the eyes do not; that is what a martial artist is.”

“You… you son of a bitch…!”

Thud!

“Argh!”

Dan Woo-hyun casually reached out his foot and stepped on his eye. It was not with strong force, so the eye was not crushed and the head did not burst, but it was enough to humiliate the opponent.

“If this is all you amount to, do not grit your teeth to seek revenge. It is a waste of time…”

“Gggr. I will… kill you! I will kill you! I will kill you, you bastard!”

Hearing the voice, Dan Woo-hyun sneered deeply.

Who on earth was talking about killing whom?

It was absurd, but that tone filled with resentment made him feel the man’s rage. When a murderous intent strong enough to cause a shiver was felt, Dan Woo-hyun’s eyes changed.

Shiver!

In an instant, Ma Dok-jin, who had been shouting, shut his mouth.

Would the feelings of someone facing death be like this?

Would the expression of one who saw the Grim Reaper be like this?

The sight of Ma Dok-jin, turning pale, was too pathetic to look at with open eyes. Where the sharpness he had shown until moments ago had vanished was nowhere to be seen.

He shut his mouth solely out of the will to live.

Seeing that, Dan Woo-hyun nodded, knelt down in front of Ma Dok-jin, stretched out his hand, and stroked Ma Dok-jin’s head. Just like an adult dealing with a young child.

“Yes, good boy. You must know how to control your killing intent sometimes.”

Looking at Dan Woo-hyun as if he were soothing a young child, all the onlookers were lost for words. In their eyes, Ma Dok-jin had seemed like an incredible expert, but he had been played with so easily.

“I hope I do not see you ever again.”

Standing up from his seat, Dan Woo-hyun casually spat out.

And he stared at him with a weary expression and smiled. A look that looked down on him not as if looking at a human, but at an insect that could be crushed to death at any time.

However, even that seemed to lose interest soon.

The back of Dan Woo-hyun, who quietly turned around and walked his way, was full of carelessness as if confident that Ma Dok-jin would not draw a blade from behind.

His pride was stepped on and crushed.

A human stood before a human and did not even treat him as a human. Feeling that to his bones, Ma Dok-jin bit his lip in resentment.

Blood trickled down, but he did not care.

Only his eyes burned even more fiercely.

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