Chapter 68: The Yangtze River Water Bandits (2)
A river as wide as the sea.
Below the transparently rippling waves, the riverbed as deep as ten gil was visible.
However, the inside of a human, which is barely one gil deep, cannot be seen at all.
“…”
To the woman, Chui was precisely like that.
An expression that gave no clue as to what he was thinking.
It was even more so since he just sat nonchalantly looking at the flowing waves.
Eventually, the woman took off her veil first.
Flutter—
Below her large and beautiful eyes, a sword scar was revealed.
It stretched out horizontally across the bridge of her nose.
When she removed the long false hair, her original short hair fluttered in the wind.
Hae Baek-jeong. One of the twelve Thousand-Heads of the Yangtze River Water Bandit Union was staring at Chui.
“How did you know?”
Hae Baek-jeong asked in a low, subdued voice.
Chui was still staring at the waves.
Eventually, his mouth opened.
“The bloody smell.”
“What? How could that be? I even applied fragrant oil to new clothes?”
“How could I not know when the bloody smell scorched even to your soul vibrates.”
“…?”
Hae Baek-jeong wore a puzzled expression.
However, to Chui, it was a matter of course.
Since the moment Hae Baek-jeong first appeared, the spear ghost that smelled blood leaped and danced, so it was impossible not to know.
Anyway, Hae Baek-jeong, who had no way of knowing this fact, shrugged her shoulders.
“Are you talking about something like karma? You sound like a rogue monk or a fake Taoist.”
She raised the handaxe she had hidden inside her skirt.
“You shouldn’t trust the beauty that covered the lower part of the face.”
“I don’t think there’s much difference.”
“…Really?”
Hae Baek-jeong seemed slightly flustered, but soon adjusted her grip on the handaxe.
“It’s useless even if you flatter me. Anyway, since that Death Plum Blossom guy is gone, it has become easier to do the job now.”
She raised her axe and pointed it at Chui.
And she continued speaking in a firm voice.
“You must pay the price for killing my subordinate.”
“Try it.”
Only then did Chui raise his body slowly.
Eventually, the confrontation between the two experts began.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch…
Hae Baek-jeong, who was raising her momentum, flinched at the scent of blood that brushed past the tip of her nose.
Dark red steam rose from Chui’s body.
The deep scent of blood was clearly spreading from there.
Suddenly, the words Chui had spoken just now came to mind.
‘How could I not know when the bloody smell scorched even to your soul vibrates.’
A drop of sweat formed on Hae Baek-jeong’s forehead and cooled down coldly.
Eventually, a mountain-like momentum began to gush out from Chui, who wore the blade on his waist and clutched his staff.
‘That fellow is dangerous.’
Hae Baek-jeong thought.
Oh Ja-woon or Do Mak-saeng, whom she had seen in the Hegemon Society, were strong but did not look very dangerous.
However, the boy in front of her was different.
He was strong and also dangerous.
A feeling like looking at a figure where the violence lurking within human nature was tightly condensed into a human shape.
‘Was he born with the Heavenly Slaughter Star (天殺星)? What kind of murderous intent is…’
Hae Baek-jeong clicked her tongue inwardly.
She had never seen anyone emitting such thick murderous intent in her entire life.
‘No, there was one. The third senior brother was like that.’
The expression of Hae Baek-jeong, who recalled the face of a person she did not want to think about, crumpled up.
“Will a person die just because you emit murderous intent!?”
She swung her handaxe along with a shout.
Chui also extended his staff and countered Hae Baek-jeong’s attack.
Klang!
The metal staff and the metal axe collided, bursting out a heavy shockwave.
The boat violently shook, and dozens of circular wavelengths began to ripple in layers around it.
Clang! Klang! Crack!
Sparks flew in all directions.
Chui and Hae Baek-jeong exchanged over a dozen clashes in the blink of an eye.
Creak! Creak! Creak! Creak!
Every time they did so, the planks constituting the boat were screaming.
Thud!
Chui retreated and stepped on the bow.
And spinning his body, he applied centrifugal force to the end of his staff.
The end of the hexagonal square Ink Bamboo rushed toward Hae Baek-jeong’s head.
At that very moment.
“Hmph!”
Hae Baek-jeong stepped hard on the right gunwale.
Thump! Splash—
The boat suddenly tilted heavily to the right, and the axis of the floor was shaken.
Chui’s body, which was rotating while stepping on the bow, shifted to the right, and his balance was broken.
Taking advantage of that gap, Hae Baek-jeong’s axe flew toward the completely empty left side.
“…”
Chui twisted his staff.
The opposite end of the Ink Bamboo went up and collided with Hae Baek-jeong’s axe blade.
Clang—Crack!
The axe blade, whose trajectory was distorted after being hit by Chui’s staff, fell upon Chui’s shoulder.
Fortunately, since the axe blade grazed the tip of the staff and was twisted to the side, it was the back side of the axe blade that struck Chui’s shoulder.
However, even so, since he was hit by a heavy lump of iron, the pain was considerable.
Chui’s left arm hung down limply.
Hae Baek-jeong grinned.
“What a pity. I could have made you one-armed like the Death Plum Blossom mister.”
“…”
“Still, at least your bone must have dislocated?”
However, Chui still did not show any expression.
Only.
Crack!
He just put the dislocated arm bone back in place with his opposite hand.
Looking at that sight, Hae Baek-jeong felt a bit of a chill.
‘The more I look, the more he seems like my third senior brother.’
She put on a show of composure to shake off the unprecedented discomfort rising in her heart.
“…You can never defeat me. At least on the water.”
Those words were not a simple threat.
Splash—
Hae Baek-jeong shook the boat once again.
Every time she applied strength to her right foot and left foot, the boat rippled heavily left and right.
Water bandits who spent a long time in the Yangtze River were experts at maintaining their center of gravity on a boat.
Hae Baek-jeong could also move around as if on flat ground even on such a violently rocking boat.
Whoosh—
Another axe blade flew in once again.
Chui raised his staff to block the axe.
And he tried to push it back, but.
“I said it won’t work?”
Hae Baek-jeong stepped on the gunwale with a smiling face.
The boat tilted to the right as if it would almost capsize.
Because of that, Chui ended up extending his staff in a strange trajectory once again.
Swish—
Hae Baek-jeong’s axe blade flew in at a terrifying speed.
Since she slipped her wrist into the ring attached to the end of the axe handle, spun it around, and struck down applying centrifugal force, it was much faster and stronger.
Klang!
Chui retrieved his staff, but it was slightly late.
Spurt—
A thin wound appeared on his cheek grazed by the axe blade, and a few drops of fresh blood fell.
Plop—plop—
The blood spreading into the clear water.
The subsequent offensive of Hae Baek-jeong was becoming even more fierce.
Clang! Clang! Clatter!
The axe blade gradually cornered Chui toward the end of the boat.
Chui was swinging his staff to block or deflect the axe blade, but at this rate, he was merely a target standing foolishly.
At that very moment.
“…Certainly, it would be difficult on the water.”
Chui opened his mouth.
Hae Baek-jeong smirked and swung her axe.
“Did you just realize that?”
Nothing changes just because you realized it.
Because this was already the middle of the river and there was no other boat.
However, Chui was still calm.
“Then, not on the water.”
“…?”
“Let’s fight in the water.”
“…!”
At the same time, Chui swung his staff.
It was not aimed at Hae Baek-jeong.
Crack!
Chui’s staff pierced the floor of the boat and was stuck.
Squelch—whooooosh!
From the place where the staff was pulled out, a stream of water began to shoot up.
“Crazy!?”
Hae Baek-jeong half-opened her mouth.
The boat began to sink at a fierce speed.
Hae Baek-jeong shook the boat left and right to scoop out the water, but it was of no use.
“Come in.”
Chui spoke while standing on the bow that was gradually submerging.
But.
“… … …”
Hae Baek-jeong’s attitude was a bit strange.
She had an expression as if she were afraid of falling into the water.
Chui asked.
“Are you afraid of falling into the water, for a water bandit?”
“Nonsense! Who would be afraid!”
Even while Hae Baek-jeong shouted loudly, Chui was gradually sinking into the water.
Before long, the boat stood almost vertically.
Chui extended his staff while submerged in the water.
Splash!
The staff, which looked distorted due to the waves, rushed toward Hae Baek-jeong.
At that very moment.
Whoosh! Crack!
At the same time Chui’s staff smashed the opposite bow, Hae Baek-jeong kicked off the bow and leaped into the air.
Due to the recoil of her leap, the boat was completely submerged in water.
“…!”
Chui widened his eyes slightly.
Something was seen far away in the direction Hae Baek-jeong leaped.
Flutter—
A boat fluttering a flag with a pig pattern was approaching toward this side.
Tap! Thud! Splash! Splash! Splash!
Hae Baek-jeong stepped on rocks and pieces of driftwood protruding above the water, advancing toward the boat.
On the boat, several water bandits had already come out holding bows.
Hae Baek-jeong looked back at Chui and shouted.
“What a pity! Since I did not fall into the water!”
“…”
Meanwhile, Chui slowly sank to the bottom of the river.
Since he took a deep breath, it was possible for him to stay on the riverbed for the time being.
Since the staff was very heavy, Chui did not float up and could take his stance on the riverbed.
‘Should I use the trick I used in the Hegemon Society once again?’
The technique of swinging the staff with all his might on the riverbed to raise waves.
However, the difference from then was about the fact that he could not hide his body because the water here was too clear.
At that very moment.
“…!”
A strange scene was seen in Chui’s eyes.
A sudden turn of events occurred beyond the clear water.
The water bandits standing on the boat began to shoot arrows.
Because the water was so clear, it was also clearly visible where the arrows were being shot.
Ping! Whoosh! Bam!
The arrows shot by the water bandits were definitely aimed at Hae Baek-jeong.
“…!?”
As soon as Hae Baek-jeong leaped into the air, she had to be startled by the arrow grazing past below her earlobe.
“W-What!? A misfire!?”
Unfortunately, it was not.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
Over a dozen arrows stuck into the piece of wood she had just stepped on, turning it like a porcupine.
Swish—
An arrow flew into her chest.
Crack!
Hae Baek-jeong swung her axe and split the arrow, but in the end failed to maintain her light body technique.
She deflected the incoming arrows repeatedly, and because of that, she could not even get close to the boat.
Splash!
Eventually, Hae Baek-jeong ended up falling into the water.
“Heugh!?”
Startled, she spat out water.
Then, she shouted toward the water bandits giggling on the boat.
“Y-You bastards! Where are you shooting! It’s me! Thousand-Head Hae Baek-jeong!”
Then, the water bandits on the boat giggled and spoke.
“We also have eyes, you know.”
“We know when we look, Thousand-Head Lord.”
“It looks quite nice to see you floundering like that over there.”
They lowered the flag hanging on the boat.
Flutter—
The flag with the pig drawn on it was swept by the river wind and disappeared far away.
“Anyway, it was embarrassing to serve under a bitch, so this is great.”
“We will take this opportunity to enter under Lord In Baek-jeong (寅白丁) and get recognized.”
“Archers! Start firing! Capture and kill that female pig!”
The eyes of the water bandits drawing their bowstrings were seen filled with venom.
It was a shipboard mutiny (船上叛亂) meticulously planned from the beginning.
Unrivaled Spear Ghost