Episode 34

Saengsa Gwaeui spoke urgently.

“Put me down and run away as fast as you can. I can survive even if I’m caught, but your life is in danger! You’ve done your absolute best so far! I will never forget this debt!”

Hearing his voice, I clenched my teeth.

Is there really no other way?

My insides boiled with frustration.

Then, suddenly, a familiar voice echoed from somewhere nearby.

“Jin! Keep running!”

For a moment, I was stunned.

It was a voice I could never forget.

The voice of Seolpung, the leader of the Jo clan—my idol and benefactor whom I had respected since my previous life.

Grinning, I shouted back at Saengsa Gwaeui.

“Sir! Hold on tight!”

Then I took off running.

There was no room for hesitation anymore.

The black-glowing ringsman, Gak Gi-hyo, who was advancing toward me, looked around, trying to locate where that voice had come from.

When he saw me charging at him, his eyes darkened with malice as he shouted,

“You’re like a moth flying into the fire! Surround him and capture him!”

“Yes, Master Lee Hobup!”

At that moment, from the right side of the encirclement, Seolpung burst out like a lightning strike.

Whoosh!

His ferocity was like a tiger pouncing on its prey.

“Ughaaah!”

As he roared and leapt into the midst of the Black Shadow Guards, the lower-ranked warriors scattered like they’d been hit by a bomb, blood spraying everywhere.

Pffah!

“Graaah!”

“Uaaah!”

“Grrrgh!”

In an instant, a void formed around Seolpung.

But that was only the beginning.

Seolpung charged straight at Gak Gi-hyo like a fierce tiger. Around him, the lower-ranked warriors were flung aside helplessly, like pebbles caught in a storm.

It was as if a tempest was sweeping through.

Kwah kwah kwah kwah kwah!

“Graaah!”

“Uaaah!”

His overwhelming martial prowess was undeniable.

I noticed a faint red glow seeping from between his closed eyes.

“What… what is that guy?!”

Startled by Seolpung’s sudden charge right before him, Gak Gi-hyo raised his rings, focusing his gaze on him.

At that moment, I grinned and hurled a hidden weapon while running.

It was a black throwing needle from Dongpaekgyeong.

Shshik!

The needle flew with all my strength, aiming to pierce him.

Surprised by the sudden attack, Gak Gi-hyo hastily swung his rings to deflect the weapon.

Ting!

Just then, Seolpung crashed into him.

“Haaah!”

Seolpung’s spinning kick struck Gak Gi-hyo’s upper body.

“Ugh!”

Gritting his teeth, Gak Gi-hyo barely managed to block, but an enormous downward strike slammed onto his twin rings.

Kwahaaang!

“Grrrgh!”

The impact was tremendous—his foot sank deep into the ground.

That alone was a heavy blow, but unfortunately for him, Seolpung’s beast fist technique was strongest when chained together.

Using the force Gak Gi-hyo had blocked, Seolpung spun in the opposite direction and struck him with a tiger claw.

Gak Gi-hyo was shocked but barely managed to block with his rings.

Thud!

Seizing the moment, Seolpung grabbed Gak Gi-hyo’s rings, yanked them, and with his other hand delivered a powerful punch to Gak Gi-hyo’s face.

The strike, like a cannonball, seemed to pierce through his head.

Shuak!

Gak Gi-hyo’s face turned pale.

But he was a seasoned master; he twisted his head just in time to avoid the blow.

Then, releasing the rings he’d been holding, he pushed off the ground with all his might and leapt backward.

He was desperate to get out of Seolpung’s striking range.

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, four long iron rods shot out from Seolpung’s arm guards.

He pulled his arm inward, slashing with them.

Shhaak!

The red energy coating the rods left a blood-colored trail in the air, shimmering like a rainbow.

It was a vivid red, as if mixed with real blood.

Gak Gi-hyo stepped back, lips trembling.

But deep grooves carved into his face prevented him from uttering a sound.

Soon, blood gushed from the four deep wounds on his face, and he collapsed, dead.

Though he had escaped Seolpung’s arm’s reach, he hadn’t gotten out of the tiger claw’s range.

The surrounding Black Shadow Guards were gripped by terror at the unbelievable turn of events.

“Ugh?! Master Lee Hobup!”

“To be defeated by such a young man!”

“And so easily?!”

Seolpung glanced at the nearby warriors with fierce, beast-like eyes.

They shrank back in fear, unwilling to approach even as they tried to contain the tiger claw.

At that moment, I landed beside Seolpung and called out cheerfully.

“Leader!”

He smiled brightly and said to me,

“Sorry for being late, Jin.”

Hah, showing up just in time to look cool and save the day, and then apologizing for being late?

Can someone be this perfect?

Well, except for his fear of women.

I smiled warmly and shook my head.

“You’re not late at all. Didn’t you come out just to look impressive?”

Then, from behind, I heard Ko Jooyong’s furious roar.

“How dare you, Gak Je! You bastards! I won’t let you live! Capture them all! Kill them all!”

Shouting that, Ko Jooyong was madly charging down the cliff.

Seolpung said,

“It’s better to talk details later. Let’s move.”

And we started running again.

But the direction wasn’t the one I had originally planned.

“Follow me this way!”

Guided by Seolpung, we ran more northward.

After a while, I understood why he had led us there.

“Welcome back! You’ve been through a lot, Jin!”

“Sayoung!”

By the riverbank, about ten strong warriors waited for us.

Apparently, Sayoung and Seolpung had met earlier.

Sayoung was holding one end of a rope tied across the river.

Pulling it taut, he said,

“Let’s greet each other after crossing. Go first!”

Looking at the river, the current was strong enough that even martial artists would struggle to swim across.

So if we crossed by using the rope, we could probably shake off any pursuers for a while.

But I worried.

“What about you, Sayoung? How will you cross after we’re all over?”

He grinned confidently, pointing to himself with his thumb.

“Are you really worried about the top disciple of the Bijong clan?”

His confidence made me chuckle.

“Alright then. I’m counting on you.”

Carrying Saengsa Gwaeui on my back, I crossed the river by sliding along the rope.

Seolpung followed swiftly.

But it seemed we had wasted some time.

From behind, I saw Ko Jooyong and the Black Shadow Guards shouting as they ran.

“Catch them! Don’t let them escape!”

“Just try getting caught! I’ll chew you to the bone!”

Ko Jooyong and his third sworn brother, Han Jeoksam, looked like flames were shooting from their eyes.

I had thought their relationship was just contractual, but it seemed there was some brotherly bond after all.

Worried, I shouted to Sayoung.

“Sayoung! Cross quickly!”

He glanced back at them, grinned, and began pulling the rope hard.

Using the rope’s recoil, he suddenly sprang forward and leapt like a bird just before the riverbank.

Tap!

Sayoung’s technique was truly astonishing.

He soared lightly into the air like a bird, leaping about five lengths at once.

But even so, that was only half the river’s width.

Losing momentum, he began to fall into the raging water.

“Sayoung!”

We called out anxiously.

But the next moment left us speechless.

As he fell, Sayoung let go of the rope he was holding, stepped on the slack rope falling beneath him, and pushed himself back up into the air.

Snap!

It was an incredible technique that shocked not only us watching but even Ko Jooyong’s pursuing group.

Sayoung repeated this a few times, stepping on the falling rope to make short leaps, and in no time, he landed beside us.

We cheered in amazement.

“Wow, Sayoung! How did you do that?!”

“I thought Sunwoo’s technique was impressive for his age, but this is on another level! Incredible!”

“Awesome, Sayoung! With a bit more practice, could you even master Neunggongheodo?”

He brushed back his hair coolly and replied,

“Hmph, as the top disciple of the Bijong clan, I have to at least manage this much. Neunggongheodo might be a stretch, but someday I’ll be able to do something like Chosangbi, I’m sure.”

I smiled fondly at his cocky attitude instead of scolding him as usual.

After reaching first-class mastery, his technique had clearly improved dramatically.

Seeing my friend, who had never even reached second-class in our past life and had saved me at the cost of his own life, grow like this filled me with pride.

For a moment, I wondered if this was what it felt like to raise a disciple.

By then, I had reached the opposite bank of the river. Glancing over at Ko Jooyong, who was staring helplessly at the raging waters like a dog chasing chickens, I finally relaxed a bit and introduced my companions to Saengsa Goeui.

“Ah, sir. This is the friend I mentioned earlier—the one who rescued Maengwoon and Yongji. And this here is our team leader, in charge of the Seventh Squad of the Black Dragon Thirteen.”

“Oh! So you’re the ones who saved our children. Thank you, truly, thank you!”

“Ah, well, it was mostly Sun Woojin following orders. I didn’t do much myself…”

“It’s an honor to meet you, and I’m relieved you’re safe, senior.”

After exchanging brief greetings, we set off again.

The Black Dragon Thirteen were still busily searching for a place to cross the river.

But once they disappeared from sight, I stopped in my tracks.

“Team leader, where do you think they’ll cross?”

The leader paused to think before answering.

“If we go about an hour upstream, the river narrows a bit. They’ll probably try to cross there. The current’s about the same upstream or downstream, so that’s likely their only option. But why do you ask?”

He smiled slyly.

“I’m planning to cross back to the other side. So it’d be best for us to cross downstream.”

Everyone looked puzzled.

Among them, Bi Sa-yeong was the first to speak.

“You’re not just going to slip away? It seems like we could get away just by running as we are.”

The team leader and Saengsa Goeui nodded in agreement.

“I think so too. Just running like this should be enough to lose them.”

“I agree, Jin.”

Of course, that was true.

We could have escaped without issue.

But that wasn’t what I wanted.

“Sure, we could get away now. But if we do, won’t those bastards keep harassing you, sir, over and over? And since we haven’t hidden our faces, they might even figure out who we are.”

And, though it felt awkward to say, since they saw my Mukrang Sword, they’d soon realize we’d robbed their treasury.

So escaping now would only leave trouble behind.

The team leader nodded, seeming to understand.

“Jin, you’re saying we should stay and make their lives miserable. Like ambushing them from the forest, picking them off one by one?”

That was certainly an option.

But I shook my head with a smile.

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

“Huh? Not necessary?”

“Because soon, many who want the senior’s Saengsahwan will flock here. Without us lifting a finger, Ko Jooyong and the Black Dragon Thirteen will end up buried here. Our job is just to make them believe the senior hasn’t been rescued yet.”

Bi Sa-yeong’s mouth dropped open in admiration.

“Wow, you wicked bastard. Planning a murder by proxy like this—probably even the Blood Sect isn’t as ruthless as you.”

“Come on, it’s just my philosophy: kindness to the good, cruelty to the wicked.”

While Bi Sa-yeong and I joked like that, the team leader, who had been deep in thought, suddenly frowned and spoke.

“I get your point. It does sound like a good plan. But… I worry we don’t have that much time. We only have three days left of our leave, right?”

He had a valid point.

Four days had already passed out of our one-week leave.

So, excluding travel time, we had at most two days to wrap this up.

But I grinned confidently.

“It’ll be done within two days. Don’t worry.”

Though skeptical, the team leader eventually nodded.

Honestly, it was natural not to believe me.

No matter the process, the outcome is always up to fate. Unless you’re a prophet, how can you guarantee when something will happen?

In that sense, it felt deeply satisfying that my friends trusted me enough to believe in this near-prophecy.

I was living this life quite well.

And my prediction came true the very next day.