Chapter 184: Are You Ready To Be Beaten (1)
Chapter 183 – Are You Ready To Be Beaten (1)
Do Ji-baek, who had grown urgent, pressed Chae Seon-il once more.
“There is no way! Owner! If you inspect it closely once more…!”
“Stop it!”
Chae Seon-il raised his voice, unlike before, and continued speaking with a cold expression.
“Are you doubting my eyes right now?”
“It’s not that…”
“Earlier, I was too flustered to look properly. So I thought the item Sect Leader Do brought was real! However, looking at it now, it is an utterly crude item! Is it not a thing that can be bought with a few pennies in the market street! No matter how distracted I was, I feel so pathetic for mistaking such a thing for the genuine article that I feel like gouging out my own eyeballs!”
“How can this be…!”
Glaring at Do Ji-baek, who was retreating hesitantly, Yi Sa-heum continued speaking.
“Owner, will you believe my words now? That fellow is a despicable man who joined hands with the Black Mountain Stronghold to raid the escort party. Territorial behavior? Nonsense. Had it not been for the Master of the Biwol Sect and the cadets, this escort mission would have been truly difficult. However, we kept the goods safe. In fact, it was Young Master Namgung’s suggestion to prepare the fake goods as a backup plan.”
“Mmh. Chief Yi. I am truly sorry. I made a huge misunderstanding. Please forgive me. I will apologize to you too.”
Chae Seon-il turned to Namgung Cheon and apologized politely.
Namgung Cheon waved his hand and said.
“Ah, no need for that. I am glad you cleared up the misunderstanding now. This is all because of that despicable bastard who played tricks in the middle.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Chae Seon-il wiped his cold sweat and quickly turned around, glaring at Do Ji-baek.
“Sect Leader Do!”
“Y-yes?”
“Now it seems to be your turn to explain. What is the meaning of this? Did you really join hands with the Black Mountain Stronghold to target my goods? And yet you brazenly visited the merchant association and even played tricks?”
“A-ah, t-that is a misunderstanding. I mean, that is, well…!”
“Did the Wuzhou Merchant Association look that laughable to you!”
As Chae Seon-il raised his voice, a frost-like dignity was transmitted.
At that moment, the martial artists of the Wuzhou Merchant Association in the hall drew their swords all at once.
Clang!
“Gasp!”
Do Ji-baek retreated while sucking in cold air and ended up falling on his buttocks.
At that moment, the association’s martial artists who drew their swords burst into laughter all at once. Chae Seon-il also let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded.
Yeon Chu-ryang, the Master of the Biwol Sect, shook his head and clicked his tongue, while the detestable Namgung Cheon repeatedly sneered, casting a pathetic look.
How did I end up like this…!
What raised his head at the end of despair was a kind of anger.
‘Fine, you dog-like bastards! Since things have come to this, it’s do or die!’
Do Ji-baek, grinding his teeth, jumped up and drew the saber at his waist.
Clang!
“Ah!”
“Owner!”
The place Do Ji-baek’s blade pointed was, unexpectedly, Owner Chae Seon-il.
Not only the association’s martial artists but also Yeon Chu-ryang and Yi Sa-heum were startled by the sudden occurrence and assumed guard postures.
Clang!
Yeon Chu-ryang, who drew his sword, shouted sharply.
“Sect Leader Do! What on earth are you doing?”
“Can’t you tell by looking? I took a hostage!”
As the situation became urgent, Gang Sang-do, who was wearing a human skin mask, also turned around and drew his blade.
At that, Namgung Cheon, who stood on one side, shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk. You’re doing all sorts of things.”
“You bastard! Do you not know it is you who brought the situation to this pass?”
When Do Ji-baek shouted angrily, Namgung Cheon picked his ear.
“Wow, shifting the blame to the extreme.”
“W-what?”
“You bastard. Still, how can someone with a bright future ahead go this far just because the situation got a bit twisted? You are beyond hope. You need to eat bean rice in the Martial Alliance dungeon to snap out of it.”
“Uh, uh? Do not come close! Can you not see the hostage!”
Do Ji-baek raised his blade and pressed it close against Chae Seon-il’s neck.
Chae Seon-il, who suddenly became a hostage, soothed Do Ji-baek with a pale face.
“H-hey. Sect Leader Do! There is no need to go this far…”
“Shut up! Since I lost everything anyway, shouldn’t I at least get myself out!”
“How do you plan to escape here… Already, the association’s martial artists are layered… Gasp!”
As the blade pressed against his Adam’s apple, blood trickled down.
He was now in a state where it was hard to even breathe properly.
Yeon Chu-ryang and Yi Sa-heum also could not let down their tension and swallowed hard.
“Calm down, Sect Leader Do! Do not make any more mistakes!”
“Release the Owner quickly!”
However, Do Ji-baek, who stood back-to-back with Gang Sang-do, had no intention of releasing Chae Seon-il easily. As of now, he needed Chae Seon-il to get himself out safely.
“Shut up! Know that if you take even a single step closer, the Owner’s life is forfeit!”
“Ah, then just kill him.”
“W-what…?”
Do Ji-baek opened his mouth wide and looked back toward the direction of the voice.
Namgung Cheon walked over step by step with a face filled with annoyance.
Uh, uh? I told you not to come!
As Do Ji-baek retreated reflexively, Gang Sang-do, whose back collided, shouted in annoyance.
“Ah, why do you keep pushing?”
“T-that fellow…!”
Do Ji-baek, who replied without realizing it, grit his teeth tightly and shouted angrily.
“Hey, won’t you freeze there? Do you want to see the Owner die?”
“I said, if you’re going to kill him, just do it.”
At Namgung Cheon’s unrestrained words, Do Ji-baek wore a dumbfounded expression.
Not only that, but Yeon Chu-ryang and Yi Sa-heum also looked back at Namgung Cheon with pale expressions.
‘Young Master Namgung… that is a bit…’
The one wearing the most awkward expression was Chae Seon-il.
‘No, what is that young hero talking about right now? Is it psychological warfare?’
Was he not approaching too relentlessly for that? As if he really did not care about Chae Seon-il’s life at all.
“Guh!”
As Do Ji-baek pulled the blade even closer, the blade penetrated his neck.
The blood flowing along the blade was now about to drip onto the floor in drops.
Chae Seon-il hurriedly raised his hand.
“Y-Young Master Namgung! W-wait a moment…!”
“Ah, don’t worry. If you happen to pass away, I will make sure to avenge you. I will twist that fellow’s neck to make his face point to his back.”
No, that’s not it.
First, I must stay alive too, right? Huh?
However, Namgung Cheon seemed to have no intention at all of grasping Chae Seon-il’s inner thoughts.
Namgung Cheon spoke while rolling his shoulders.
“What are you doing? If you’re going to kill him, do it quickly. The Owner also wouldn’t want to feel humiliation by being dragged around in your hands. He wouldn’t want to see us submit to injustice. In that case, he must be prepared to throw away his life honorably.”
No, I have no such preparation at all! I want to live too, you crazy bastard!
Namgung Cheon took another step.
Do Ji-baek retreated that much.
“This crazy bastard…!”
“The one who barged into the merchant association and held a blade to the Owner’s neck is the crazy one, why am I the crazy one?”
“You bastard. Do you think I won’t kill him if you act like this?”
“I said I don’t think so? Just kill him cleanly already?”
At this point, Chae Seon-il’s heart burned even more anxiously.
No, why do you keep telling him to kill me since earlier, you crazy bastard! I want to live!
Yeon Chu-ryang and Yi Sa-heum also hovered anxiously, merely watching the situation.
However, Namgung Cheon alone was overflowing with composure.
‘I know the psychology of a cornered fellow better than anyone.’
He had experienced such cases countless times in his past life.
Of course, it was from the opposite position back then, but.
Namely, it was when he himself had held a hostage and confronted the Martial Alliance fellows like Do Ji-baek. In such times, one must unconditionally take the most important and high-ranking figure in the organization as a hostage.
From that perspective, Do Ji-baek’s response like this was ten out of ten!
However, even in such times, there was a most troublesome case.
It was precisely when they did not care whether the hostage died or not, like now. Or when the hostage did not care about his own life and wanted them to keep attacking.
In such cases, it was truly annoying and troublesome.
If he killed the useless hostage, he had to worry about the guys who would go wild and rush in, and if he kept him alive, he would only be in the way since he couldn’t play the role of a hostage.
‘It drives you crazy, right?’
Indeed, Do Ji-baek’s mind was exactly so.
‘Motherfucker! How can a fellow like that exist? Telling me to just kill the Owner?’
Should I really just kill him according to my temper?
But if I did that…
“Just know this. The moment the Owner dies, you die too. Because I will kill you extremely painfully.”
Namgung Cheon raised both hands, wearing a sinister smile.
Looking at that smile, it sent a chill down the spine.
How could a kid’s smile be so spine-chilling?
It was not an aura that could be seen from a mere cadet.
Was this not like facing a yaksha that had crawled up from hell? An illusion unfolded as if dozens or hundreds of corpses were sprawled around Namgung Cheon.
Do Ji-baek quickly shook his head vigorously.
‘Get a grip!’
Admonishing himself, he put strength into his hand holding the saber.
Namgung Cheon began to approach again.
“Uh, uh? Do not come! I said I’ll kill him! I told you not to come!”
“I said, kill him quickly already!”
That crazy blockhead really did not seem to care whether the Owner died or not.
Fine, since things have turned out this way, I will show him that I also have venom.
Rather than living in disgrace, I would choose to die while putting up a desperate struggle.
Having steeled his resolve, Do Ji-baek glared coldly at Namgung Cheon and murmured.
“Did you say you are Namgung Cheon? You looked down on me too much. All of this happened because of you!”
At that moment, he channeled force into his hand holding the saber.
Yeon Chu-ryang and Yi Sa-heum stretched out their hands and shouted.
“Ah!”
“No!”
No way, my foot!
Then you should have stopped that arrogant greenhorn from running wild in the first place! Now I will kill the Owner and fight with the resolve to resist to the death!
In a split second, Do Ji-baek slashed his blade ruthlessly.
Slice!
The blade imbued with internal energy cut through along with the bone, causing a gruesome sound of tearing flesh.
The watching Yeon Chu-ryang and Yi Sa-heum burst into screams of shock simultaneously.
“Gasp!”
Thud! Splat!
As a lump of flesh fell, blood sprayed like a fountain.
Do Ji-baek twisted the corners of his mouth.
“Greenhorn, do you understand now? That if you provoke someone recklessly, you go to the grave? Do you really… Huh?”
Why is that fellow’s expression so indifferent?
Is it not something he should be shocked out of his wits by now?
Since he slashed the Owner’s neck, he should have collapsed in horror.
Wait… but why is my hand…?
Do Ji-baek, who flinched for a moment, lowered his eyes and saw his severed wrist.
‘Gasp!’
He clearly thought he had slashed Chae Seon-il’s neck, but was it not his own left hand that was severed?
As soon as he recognized the situation, a terrible pain pierced his mind.
“Guh! Aaaaah!”
A desperate scream filled the hall.
“W-what? What is this?”
“What happened?”
While everyone widened their eyes in confusion, only Baek Mu-geuk flinched and stared blankly at Namgung Cheon’s back.
‘Illusion art…?’
Although there were times when he wondered if it was illusion art during his previous duel with Namgung Cheon, seeing it again, did it not look like real illusion art?
Moreover, it was highly similar to the method he himself used.
How on earth did Namgung Cheon do it?
Baek Mu-geuk’s rough guess was correct.
The moment Namgung Cheon’s eyes met Do Ji-baek’s, he altered the flow of internal energy to cast an illusion and cause an optical illusion.
Because he was in a state of extreme tension, the illusion worked even better.
In a brief moment, Do Ji-baek mistook his own wrist for Chae Seon-il’s neck and slashed it.
However, for Do Ji-baek, who had no way of knowing such inside story, it was enough to drive him mad.
Taking advantage of the opening as Do Ji-baek stumbled and retreated, Chae Seon-il quickly pulled himself away, and Namgung Cheon walked over step by step, rolling up his sleeves.
“Well, it sure took a long time to get ready to get beaten up.”
As Do Ji-baek trembled and raised his head, Namgung Cheon was smiling like a ghost.