Chapter 28: Chapter 28
A clearing surrounded on all sides by forest.
The very man Ji Dae-ho was waiting for like an anxious girl was in grave crisis.
[Heh heh heh! Die-!]
Slaughterhouse rank five, Yo Do-sun. His ambush was the cause.
His arrows were on a different level from ordinary warriors’. Qi-infused tips that could punch through walls. Rapid fire of five, six arrows in sequences so cunning they were nearly impossible to track.
But worse than all of that.
“Jang I-seo-!”
The paralytic poison had already spread, numbing both hands. Inside his body, the toxin was mingling with his turbid internal energy, his stomach churning. For Jang I-seo, poison was rat poison.
FW-FW-FW-FWISH!
Arrows rained in. Jang I-seo launched himself sideways. Six arrows tore through where he’d stood and embedded themselves in the abandoned house behind.
More arrows followed.
PING!
He used the Falling Lotus Evasion, rolling his body, barely dodging.
[Heh heh heh! How long do you think you can keep running!]
Yo Do-sun was right. At this rate, there was no path to victory. Death loomed before his eyes.
But,
‘Arrow speed. Angle of impact. He’s shifting between left and right positions to fire. Which means this time…’
Why was that? Despite Mao’s anguished cries and Yo Do-sun’s confident laughter, Jang I-seo seemed relaxed. Almost languid. The expression of a man who knew he could crush the insect before him whenever he chose.
And in truth, he could.
『Thunder Circulation Method』
BZZZT!
The turbid qi creeping through his narrow meridians transformed in a flash into blazing lightning. Before he could blink, the Great Heavenly Circuit was complete.
If Mao was swift, Jang I-seo was light itself.
FW-FW-FW-FWISH!
Six arrows screamed from the forest in succession.
‘Now!’
Simultaneously, Jang I-seo burst forward like a streak of light.
Speed and reflexes fast enough to dodge incoming arrows mid-flight.
Flash.
“Urgh?!”
He materialized before Yo Do-sun, who was nocking his next arrow, with lightning-quick movement.
THUD!
“Gak!”
Jang I-seo spun like a top and unleashed an elbow strike. Yo Do-sun’s scream became his dying breath. A single strike to the chest, yet his nose, throat, collarbone, solar plexus, upper abdomen, lower abdomen, and groin were all caved in. He was slammed against a tree, dead on impact.
Seven points shattered by one blow.
With impure internal energy it might have looked unremarkable. But this technique contained the essence of the Seven-Legged Great Monk Da-gwang, the Martial Alliance elder who was the foremost master of leg techniques in the righteous sects.
“Rest in peace.”
Jang I-seo left a brief farewell and turned away.
Fzzzz.
Releasing the Thunder Circulation Method, the turbid qi that reverted from lightning qi churned his meridians into chaos. Already volatile by nature, now laced with poison, the turmoil was inevitable.
“Damn it.”
Dizzy, he took a step back.
And,
“Jang I-seo-!”
Mao came sprinting toward him. The moment Jang I-seo saw him, his eyes went glassy and he slumped against Mao’s shoulder.
“Hey, Jang I-seo! Y-you lunatic! A doctor. Let’s get you to a doctor!”
Mao hoisted him onto his back in one motion and took off running. One look at his deathly pale face told him this was serious.
But,
“The Heavenly Demon Palace…”
Jang I-seo rasped from over his shoulder. Mao scowled fiercely.
“You crazy bastard. You took two arrows. Your face already looks like a corpse. You hear me? If we don’t get you to a doctor, you’re going in a coffin.”
“The Heavenly Demon Palace… go.”
“Shut up! Who’s speaking informally now. And I’ll handle this.”
“Faster…”
“Hey!”
So noisy. Jang I-seo steadied his breathing a few times and growled in an irritated tone.
“I know my body. After some sleep… I’ll be fine… so… go. To the Heavenly Demon Palace.”
“You insane piece of shit…”
Mao’s lips trembled. What fortune and glory was he chasing, going this far? Was he seriously trying to make him Young Cult Leader? He didn’t understand. This man was simply insane.
But,
Mao’s pupils wavered.
Had anyone ever been this sincere to him? No. Never. Not once had someone tried to accomplish something alongside him.
They had either sought to harm him, ignore him, or simply watch from a distance. That was all.
But Jang I-seo…
Mao squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.
“Don’t regret this.”
He resumed his pace. Destination: the Heavenly Demon Palace.
“Just try dying. I’ll bury you at a crossroads and plant a headstone. I’ll make it a holy site where every dog in the village takes turns pissing. I’ll make sure the stench follows you into the grave. Yama himself will pinch his nose before he looks at you. Got it?”
“Keuk.”
“You’re laughing? I’m not joking. I’m Mao, the Wolha Village good-for-nothing. When I say I’ll do something, I do it.”
Jang I-seo let out a weak laugh. Right. Mao would do exactly that and more. Just to avoid that fate, he’d have to survive.
First… a nap.
Jang I-seo’s eyelids drooped and darkness swallowed him.
And Mao.
“Let’s go. To the Heavenly Demon Palace.”
Ran with everything he had.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the forest where Mao and Jang I-seo had vanished, leaving only a desolate wind.
Before the absurdly dead Yo Do-sun’s corpse stood a lanky masked man, a bow slung over his shoulder.
“What the hell is that adjutant bastard… What is he?”
He examined the body on the ground with eyes of utter disbelief. Then, with trembling hands, he removed his mask and covered the corpse’s face.
The nape of his exposed neck bore a tattoo of two characters.
Slaughter. Kill.
The Slaughterhouse. Yo Do-sun hadn’t been the only assassin.
But more astonishing was his face.
“You idiot. Dying this easily. But don’t worry. I’ll definitely avenge you. I, Yo Do-sun, will make sure of it.”
The same name as the corpse he carried. The same build. The same face.
That was right.
Slaughterhouse rank five Yo Do-sun wasn’t one man. He was a pair of twins masquerading as a single assassin, a two-man, one-identity unit. That was how the rapid fire had come from one direction, and then a subsequent arrow from a completely different angle.
“Jang I-seo. I will kill you with my own hands. Without fail.”
The blood feud with the Slaughterhouse was deepening by the moment.
* * *
– Mahe Mountain, Guardian Dragon Hall.
Time marched on. The sun climbed toward its zenith.
Less than a quarter-shi remained until the private audience with the Cult Leader.
The Guardian Dragon Hall’s main gate, through which one passed to reach the Heavenly Demon Palace, was about to close.
“Hall Master, what shall we do?”
A subordinate asked cautiously. He should have been preparing to shut the gates by now. The Seventh Young Master still hadn’t appeared. Ji Dae-ho, eyes fixed on the path below, answered firmly.
“Wait a moment longer. Just a moment. That man will definitely come.”
Growing anxious, Ji Dae-ho had even let “that man” slip from his mouth. The subordinates startled, wondering if he’d just called the Seventh Young Master “that man.” Not at all.
His mind was filled with only one person.
‘Did I misjudge you? I believed you could go further. Jang I-seo…’
No basis. But Ji Dae-ho was certain.
Jang I-seo. That man would definitely show them something unexpected. He would produce a miracle.
But neither had shown so much as a whisker.
He swallowed involuntarily. Cold sweat dripped from his palms.
“Is he truly not coming?”
Was it all misplaced hope? The path remained empty. Time flowed on mercilessly.
A quarter-shi passed. The opportunity for the private audience evaporated.
Incomprehensible. Unless explicitly excused, anyone summoned by the Cult Leader had to attend. Nothing could justify absence.
Disappointment flooded in. Ji Dae-ho finally turned away.
“Close them.”
His order fell. Subordinates moved with disciplined precision.
Creeeak!
Just as everyone turned and the gates began to swing shut.
“WAAAAIT-!”
Ji Dae-ho’s eyes shot open. His body whipped around. His lips crawled up to his cheekbones.
They came. They’d come!
They’d finally appeared.
In the most unexpected form imaginable.
Mao sprinting up the hill with a battle cry.
And on his back, Jang I-seo, limp as a corpse.
“OPEN THE GATES-!”
Ji Dae-ho’s roar erupted like thunder.
* * *
When Jang I-seo came to, the first thing he noticed was a bitter, mingled scent.
The pungent, musty smell stung his nose, drawing an involuntary groan.
“Mmm…”
Then came the body’s pain. Both arms, wounded by arrows, burned with every movement.
Lifting his eyelids, he saw medicinal herbs packed over wounds on solid muscle.
“The ingredients include poisonous herbs, so the smell is foul, but I guarantee the effect.”
A voice from beside him. Jang I-seo turned his head. A powerfully built man sat in a chair, looking down at him.
The Clever Tiger.
Guardian Dragon Hall Master Ji Dae-ho.
“The arrows were embedded too deep for too long. You should rest for a while…”
Before he could finish, Jang I-seo pushed himself upright. He even managed a fist-and-palm salute, despite the fact that raising his arms should have been impossible.
His expression remained perfectly serene. Ji Dae-ho frowned on his behalf.
“…You’re as stubborn as they come. Heh heh. Well, any decent fellow in this cult would be.”
“Did I make it in time?”
“The first thing you do upon waking is worry about your master?”
“I believe in earning my keep.”
“Heh heh, don’t worry. The Seventh Young Master departed for the Heavenly Demon Palace earlier. By now, whether he’s opened the doors or not, something will have happened.”
Jang I-seo nodded slowly. That was enough. It would have been nice to go together and meet the Heavenly Demon, but this would suffice.
“Is this… the Guardian Dragon Hall?”
Jang I-seo belatedly surveyed his surroundings. He didn’t really need to ask. Tigers were everywhere, on the ceiling and walls alike.
Ji Dae-ho answered with evident pride.
“Precisely, this is a forward outpost just before the Heavenly Demon Palace. The Seventh Young Master insisted on bringing you along, so we came here.”
“He… did?”
At Jang I-seo’s surprised response, Ji Dae-ho nodded.
“I never imagined the Seventh Young Master would keep anyone at his side. When he lost his only friends, the light in his eyes had already gone out. I saw him several times after, and nothing changed. But this time, he was genuine. He seems to have given you his heart.”
Had he. Jang I-seo offered no real response, simply bowing his head with a blank expression. Should he be happy about the mission succeeding, or click his tongue at the bittersweetness? Neither felt particularly pleasant. Either way, he was there beside Mao as a spy.
“Let me apologize first.”
Jang I-seo raised his head. Apologize?
“While you were asleep, I looked without your permission.”
“At what…”
“Your body.”
“My… body?!”
Jang I-seo craned his neck to look down at himself, eyes widening.