Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Most people wouldn’t endure this long. Who would want to remain at the scene of their own massacre?

Moreover, if one sensed killing intent directed at them, the desire to flee would be even more desperate.

Yet Jin Ja-gang had endured for nearly two hours.

That alone was remarkable. Normally, one would have forcibly fled by now.

But Jin Ja-gang showed no signs of moving.

Mang Ryo admired Jin Ja-gang’s patience.

Truly befitting of someone who had broken through an underground tunnel for eight years to return.

But then again, Mang Ryo had also waited for eight years.

A sense of stubbornness welled up inside him.

‘Are you challenging me?’

Mang Ryo scoffed.

Though this was an unexpected situation, Mang Ryo had no intention of backing down first.

The distance between Jin Ja-gang and Mang Ryo was about one hundred zhang.

With this distance between them, Jin Ja-gang and Mang Ryo were both hiding, waiting for the other to move first.

This hundred-zhang distance was extremely awkward for Mang Ryo, who was hiding on a rooftop.

If Mang Ryo moved, Jin Ja-gang would certainly sense his presence. He might not see Mang Ryo’s face, but he would definitely know someone had been watching him.

So Mang Ryo couldn’t move until Jin Ja-gang moved first. The best outcome would be for Jin Ja-gang to think he had sensed wrong and leave.

But Jin Ja-gang didn’t do that, which put Mang Ryo in a predicament.

The fire had now spread to the house whose roof Mang Ryo was on.

Crackle, crackle.

The straw roof caught fire easily.

It was an especially dry autumn. In an instant, the fire ignited and smoke rose.

As time passed, the smoke became so thick that it obscured vision and made breathing difficult.

Yet Mang Ryo didn’t move.

He endured without using his internal energy, fearing Jin Ja-gang might notice.

Before long, the flames spread to his immediate vicinity. Sparks flew, burning holes in his clothes.

As the flames grew fiercer, sweat poured down his body, and the heat made him feel scorching hot… but even then, Mang Ryo didn’t budge.

It was purely out of stubbornness.

Would Jin Ja-gang move first, or would Mang Ryo?

Though somewhat one-sided, being the first to move in such a standoff was quite a blow to one’s pride.

Whoosh!

By now, the rooftop was almost completely engulfed in flames.

The sound of burning was right next to his ears.

The flames rising so close singed his beard, causing it to curl. His burned skin melted, peeled off, and blistered.

But even then, Jin Ja-gang still hadn’t moved at all.

‘This b*st*rd…’

Mang Ryo swallowed his curse.

He tried to endure by gradually drawing out his internal energy, but the pain of his flesh cooking felt like knives stabbing his entire body.

They say being burned alive is the most painful way to die.

Mang Ryo was vividly experiencing that pain.

But even if he continued to endure, there wasn’t much to gain. He would just end up roasted.

Mang Ryo gritted his teeth with a chilling expression.

He had tried to endure, but now it was impossible.

Even for someone like Mang Ryo, there was a limit to how long he could bear his flesh cooking.

‘Fine. You win this time, you b*st*rd.’

If he didn’t want to burn to death, he had no choice but to retreat.

With the smoke and flames obscuring visibility, there was a chance he could leave without Jin Ja-gang noticing.

Mang Ryo carefully tried to pull his body back, thinking he would repay this humiliation and wounded pride a hundredfold later.

But then…

Suddenly, Jin Ja-gang moved first?

Mang Ryo froze in surprise.

Jin Ja-gang wasn’t fleeing. Instead, he fully revealed himself and walked toward where Mang Ryo was hiding!

‘That, that b*st*rd?’

Mang Ryo hadn’t expected Jin Ja-gang to do this at all. He was so shocked that he lowered his body even further.

‘Wh-what?!’

What kind of person was this?

Jin Ja-gang’s attitude suggested he wouldn’t leave without confirming the source of the uneasy feeling.

Without hesitation, he revealed himself and came right up to the burning house. He was openly watching the burning scene. In his hand, he held a needle ready to throw at any moment.

This made Mang Ryo suddenly excited.

‘Feel more uneasy! Feel as uncomfortable as if a thorn were stuck under your fingernail! Without ever knowing who I am until the very end!’

But he had no intention of burning to death here.

Mang Ryo endured even as his flesh turned bright red from cooking, and when the fire had sufficiently spread across the roof, he secretly released his internal energy.

The skillfully directed energy struck the main beam.

Crack.

As the beam twisted, the roof, already weakened by fire, collapsed instantly.

Crash!

Boom!

Mang Ryo was swept along with it, falling face down. But he didn’t panic and used the Thousand-Weight Technique to add weight to his feet. As he fell straight down, he rolled the moment he touched the ground.

Above him, the beam and roof fell as a mass of flames.

Mang Ryo rolled as far as possible into a corner.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The beams and burning straw bundles continued to fall. The collapse of the house’s ceiling happened in the blink of an eye.

Even Jin Ja-gang had to step back to avoid being harmed.

Whoosh!

With the ceiling completely collapsed and the entire house engulfed in flames, Jin Ja-gang still didn’t leave.

He just stood there, staring at the collapsed house. Contrary to Mang Ryo’s expectations, he wasn’t leaving easily.

But Jin Ja-gang couldn’t stay for long either.

Villagers from nearby had gathered, drawn by the rising flames.

“Fire!”

“Quickly, look for people!”

Hearing the voices of villagers approaching from a distance, Jin Ja-gang could no longer remain.

He had confirmed as much as he could. If someone had been there, they would have emerged by now.

The number of gathering villagers increased. The sound of murmuring came from all directions.

Jin Ja-gang looked at the burning house one more time before finally walking away.

After Jin Ja-gang disappeared with quick steps, the villagers entered the village and searched for people.

“Where did everyone go?”

“Hey, Wang! Wang! Come out!”

***

***

Mang Ryo was holding up a burning beam with his right arm raised diagonally.

The falling debris had caught on the beam, preventing it from falling further. But the pillars caught on the beam continued to burn like firewood.

Sizzle, sizzle.

Even with internal energy surrounding him, his flesh was cooking, and his face and hands were red with blisters.

Mang Ryo endured in this position until Jin Ja-gang disappeared.

Only when he was sure Jin Ja-gang was truly gone did he move.

He exerted force with his hand and pushed the beam away with all his might.

Boom! Rumble.

The beam, taller than a person, flew outside, breaking through the house wall along with the burning debris.

Mang Ryo strode out of the burning house.

“Hoo-ah!”

He exhaled the breath he had been holding and took a deep breath.

Some villagers wandering around the village were startled to see Mang Ryo walking out of the burning house.

“Huh? Huh?”

“A, a person from the fire…!”

The villagers were shocked and bewildered, but Mang Ryo paid them no mind.

He glared in the direction where Jin Ja-gang had disappeared, baring his fangs. His expression was strangely contorted, as if both smiling and angry.

Then he raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.

“Kuk kuk kuk, damn b*st*rd. You’ve made me look like this?”

He was truly infuriating. When Mang Ryo sensed that Jin Ja-gang hadn’t left even though the house was burning down, it gave him chills.

“Well, fine. This is how it should be for the wait to be worthwhile!”

Mang Ryo laughed heartily, even enjoying the dirty feeling.

The nearby villagers approached Mang Ryo with curious eyes.

“Ex-excuse me. Are you alright?”

Mang Ryo waved his hand as if annoyed.

Thwack!

A head flew off.

The headless corpse flailed its arms before falling forward.

“Ah, ahhh!”

“He, he killed someone!”

The villagers were so shocked they fell on their backsides.

Mang Ryo looked down at them coldly. Though indirect, he had just encountered Jin Ja-gang after eight years and wanted to savor the feeling a bit longer, but that mood was ruined in an instant.

“Tsk.”

Mang Ryo clicked his tongue and raised his hand.

That was the last thing the villagers ever saw in this world.

* * *

Jin Ja-gang came down around the back of the mountain.

As he was almost at the bottom, his steps kept slowing.

It was due to anxiety.

Though he had left his position because he no longer sensed anything, he never confirmed the source of that feeling.

‘Why did I feel that way?’

Could it have been a wild animal rather than a person?

If it had been a person, they would have surely emerged from the burning house.

If they had weak martial arts, they couldn’t have endured and would have died, and if they had strong martial arts, there would have been no reason to hide and endure.

Part of him wanted to wait until the house was reduced to ashes and then search for traces. But with villagers gathering, he couldn’t stay to confirm further.

Still, he felt uneasy.

Jin Ja-gang stopped walking.

‘Should I stay in the area for a few more days to observe the situation?’

He couldn’t shake his doubts.

But time was limited. He needed to deal with Iron Umbrella Sect before the Yunnan poison sects’ assembly.

There was barely two weeks left. Considering the time needed to travel to Iron Umbrella Sect and formulate a plan, even two weeks wasn’t enough.

In this situation, wasting several days because of an uncertain feeling…

Jin Ja-gang gave a bitter smile.

‘Maybe I’m being oversensitive…’

In truth, it didn’t matter if someone had survived.

Whether there were witnesses or not, his existence was already somewhat known, and he had succeeded in destroying the Shadow Bureau’s main base.

And after annihilating both Stone Forest Gang and Shadow Bureau, anyone could guess that his next target would be either Iron Umbrella Sect or Poison Valley.

Jin Ja-gang shook his head.

‘Enough. I might have sensed wrong, so I shouldn’t dwell on it. Finding a way to eliminate Iron Umbrella Sect is more important now.’

With that thought, Jin Ja-gang was about to quicken his pace.

But…

Hesitation.

Strangely, his feet wouldn’t move.

Though rationally he thought it was enough, he still felt uneasy somewhere inside.

Future trouble…!

The Extreme Poison Sect was destroyed because they left a small child named Jin Ja-gang unchecked. The same was true for Stone Forest Gang and Shadow Bureau.

That’s why leaving future trouble behind is so frightening.

Perhaps Jin Ja-gang would have many sleepless nights because of this unidentified feeling. If something went wrong, he might suspect it was because of this.

No, he might truly come to regret this one day.

“Sigh.”

Jin Ja-gang let out a long sigh.

Then he looked back up at the mountain.

“Let’s go back.”

No matter how uneasy he felt, he couldn’t spare days. Just confirming that the villagers had extinguished the fire and resolved the situation would make him feel much better.

He would find a suitable spot and hide for a day or two, just observing.

Jin Ja-gang turned around and began climbing back up the mountain he had just descended.

☕ Support on Ko-Fi

Most people wouldn’t endure this long. Who would want to remain at the scene of their own massacre?

Moreover, if one sensed killing intent directed at them, the desire to flee would be even more desperate.

Yet Jin Ja-gang had endured for nearly two hours.

That alone was remarkable. Normally, one would have forcibly fled by now.

But Jin Ja-gang showed no signs of moving.

Mang Ryo admired Jin Ja-gang’s patience.

Truly befitting of someone who had broken through an underground tunnel for eight years to return.

But then again, Mang Ryo had also waited for eight years.

A sense of stubbornness welled up inside him.

‘Are you challenging me?’

Mang Ryo scoffed.

Though this was an unexpected situation, Mang Ryo had no intention of backing down first.

The distance between Jin Ja-gang and Mang Ryo was about one hundred zhang.

With this distance between them, Jin Ja-gang and Mang Ryo were both hiding, waiting for the other to move first.

This hundred-zhang distance was extremely awkward for Mang Ryo, who was hiding on a rooftop.

If Mang Ryo moved, Jin Ja-gang would certainly sense his presence. He might not see Mang Ryo’s face, but he would definitely know someone had been watching him.

So Mang Ryo couldn’t move until Jin Ja-gang moved first. The best outcome would be for Jin Ja-gang to think he had sensed wrong and leave.

But Jin Ja-gang didn’t do that, which put Mang Ryo in a predicament.

The fire had now spread to the house whose roof Mang Ryo was on.

Crackle, crackle.

The straw roof caught fire easily.

It was an especially dry autumn. In an instant, the fire ignited and smoke rose.

As time passed, the smoke became so thick that it obscured vision and made breathing difficult.

Yet Mang Ryo didn’t move.

He endured without using his internal energy, fearing Jin Ja-gang might notice.

Before long, the flames spread to his immediate vicinity. Sparks flew, burning holes in his clothes.

As the flames grew fiercer, sweat poured down his body, and the heat made him feel scorching hot… but even then, Mang Ryo didn’t budge.

It was purely out of stubbornness.

Would Jin Ja-gang move first, or would Mang Ryo?

Though somewhat one-sided, being the first to move in such a standoff was quite a blow to one’s pride.

Whoosh!

By now, the rooftop was almost completely engulfed in flames.

The sound of burning was right next to his ears.

The flames rising so close singed his beard, causing it to curl. His burned skin melted, peeled off, and blistered.

But even then, Jin Ja-gang still hadn’t moved at all.

‘This b*st*rd…’

Mang Ryo swallowed his curse.

He tried to endure by gradually drawing out his internal energy, but the pain of his flesh cooking felt like knives stabbing his entire body.

They say being burned alive is the most painful way to die.

Mang Ryo was vividly experiencing that pain.

But even if he continued to endure, there wasn’t much to gain. He would just end up roasted.

Mang Ryo gritted his teeth with a chilling expression.

He had tried to endure, but now it was impossible.

Even for someone like Mang Ryo, there was a limit to how long he could bear his flesh cooking.

‘Fine. You win this time, you b*st*rd.’

If he didn’t want to burn to death, he had no choice but to retreat.

With the smoke and flames obscuring visibility, there was a chance he could leave without Jin Ja-gang noticing.

Mang Ryo carefully tried to pull his body back, thinking he would repay this humiliation and wounded pride a hundredfold later.

But then…

Suddenly, Jin Ja-gang moved first?

Mang Ryo froze in surprise.

Jin Ja-gang wasn’t fleeing. Instead, he fully revealed himself and walked toward where Mang Ryo was hiding!

‘That, that b*st*rd?’

Mang Ryo hadn’t expected Jin Ja-gang to do this at all. He was so shocked that he lowered his body even further.

‘Wh-what?!’

What kind of person was this?

Jin Ja-gang’s attitude suggested he wouldn’t leave without confirming the source of the uneasy feeling.

Without hesitation, he revealed himself and came right up to the burning house. He was openly watching the burning scene. In his hand, he held a needle ready to throw at any moment.

This made Mang Ryo suddenly excited.

‘Feel more uneasy! Feel as uncomfortable as if a thorn were stuck under your fingernail! Without ever knowing who I am until the very end!’

But he had no intention of burning to death here.

Mang Ryo endured even as his flesh turned bright red from cooking, and when the fire had sufficiently spread across the roof, he secretly released his internal energy.

The skillfully directed energy struck the main beam.

Crack.

As the beam twisted, the roof, already weakened by fire, collapsed instantly.

Crash!

Boom!

Mang Ryo was swept along with it, falling face down. But he didn’t panic and used the Thousand-Weight Technique to add weight to his feet. As he fell straight down, he rolled the moment he touched the ground.

Above him, the beam and roof fell as a mass of flames.

Mang Ryo rolled as far as possible into a corner.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The beams and burning straw bundles continued to fall. The collapse of the house’s ceiling happened in the blink of an eye.

Even Jin Ja-gang had to step back to avoid being harmed.

Whoosh!

With the ceiling completely collapsed and the entire house engulfed in flames, Jin Ja-gang still didn’t leave.

He just stood there, staring at the collapsed house. Contrary to Mang Ryo’s expectations, he wasn’t leaving easily.

But Jin Ja-gang couldn’t stay for long either.

Villagers from nearby had gathered, drawn by the rising flames.

“Fire!”

“Quickly, look for people!”

Hearing the voices of villagers approaching from a distance, Jin Ja-gang could no longer remain.

He had confirmed as much as he could. If someone had been there, they would have emerged by now.

The number of gathering villagers increased. The sound of murmuring came from all directions.

Jin Ja-gang looked at the burning house one more time before finally walking away.

After Jin Ja-gang disappeared with quick steps, the villagers entered the village and searched for people.

“Where did everyone go?”

“Hey, Wang! Wang! Come out!”

***

***

Mang Ryo was holding up a burning beam with his right arm raised diagonally.

The falling debris had caught on the beam, preventing it from falling further. But the pillars caught on the beam continued to burn like firewood.

Sizzle, sizzle.

Even with internal energy surrounding him, his flesh was cooking, and his face and hands were red with blisters.

Mang Ryo endured in this position until Jin Ja-gang disappeared.

Only when he was sure Jin Ja-gang was truly gone did he move.

He exerted force with his hand and pushed the beam away with all his might.

Boom! Rumble.

The beam, taller than a person, flew outside, breaking through the house wall along with the burning debris.

Mang Ryo strode out of the burning house.

“Hoo-ah!”

He exhaled the breath he had been holding and took a deep breath.

Some villagers wandering around the village were startled to see Mang Ryo walking out of the burning house.

“Huh? Huh?”

“A, a person from the fire…!”

The villagers were shocked and bewildered, but Mang Ryo paid them no mind.

He glared in the direction where Jin Ja-gang had disappeared, baring his fangs. His expression was strangely contorted, as if both smiling and angry.

Then he raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.

“Kuk kuk kuk, damn b*st*rd. You’ve made me look like this?”

He was truly infuriating. When Mang Ryo sensed that Jin Ja-gang hadn’t left even though the house was burning down, it gave him chills.

“Well, fine. This is how it should be for the wait to be worthwhile!”

Mang Ryo laughed heartily, even enjoying the dirty feeling.

The nearby villagers approached Mang Ryo with curious eyes.

“Ex-excuse me. Are you alright?”

Mang Ryo waved his hand as if annoyed.

Thwack!

A head flew off.

The headless corpse flailed its arms before falling forward.

“Ah, ahhh!”

“He, he killed someone!”

The villagers were so shocked they fell on their backsides.

Mang Ryo looked down at them coldly. Though indirect, he had just encountered Jin Ja-gang after eight years and wanted to savor the feeling a bit longer, but that mood was ruined in an instant.

“Tsk.”

Mang Ryo clicked his tongue and raised his hand.

That was the last thing the villagers ever saw in this world.

* * *

Jin Ja-gang came down around the back of the mountain.

As he was almost at the bottom, his steps kept slowing.

It was due to anxiety.

Though he had left his position because he no longer sensed anything, he never confirmed the source of that feeling.

‘Why did I feel that way?’

Could it have been a wild animal rather than a person?

If it had been a person, they would have surely emerged from the burning house.

If they had weak martial arts, they couldn’t have endured and would have died, and if they had strong martial arts, there would have been no reason to hide and endure.

Part of him wanted to wait until the house was reduced to ashes and then search for traces. But with villagers gathering, he couldn’t stay to confirm further.

Still, he felt uneasy.

Jin Ja-gang stopped walking.

‘Should I stay in the area for a few more days to observe the situation?’

He couldn’t shake his doubts.

But time was limited. He needed to deal with Iron Umbrella Sect before the Yunnan poison sects’ assembly.

There was barely two weeks left. Considering the time needed to travel to Iron Umbrella Sect and formulate a plan, even two weeks wasn’t enough.

In this situation, wasting several days because of an uncertain feeling…

Jin Ja-gang gave a bitter smile.

‘Maybe I’m being oversensitive…’

In truth, it didn’t matter if someone had survived.

Whether there were witnesses or not, his existence was already somewhat known, and he had succeeded in destroying the Shadow Bureau’s main base.

And after annihilating both Stone Forest Gang and Shadow Bureau, anyone could guess that his next target would be either Iron Umbrella Sect or Poison Valley.

Jin Ja-gang shook his head.

‘Enough. I might have sensed wrong, so I shouldn’t dwell on it. Finding a way to eliminate Iron Umbrella Sect is more important now.’

With that thought, Jin Ja-gang was about to quicken his pace.

But…

Hesitation.

Strangely, his feet wouldn’t move.

Though rationally he thought it was enough, he still felt uneasy somewhere inside.

Future trouble…!

The Extreme Poison Sect was destroyed because they left a small child named Jin Ja-gang unchecked. The same was true for Stone Forest Gang and Shadow Bureau.

That’s why leaving future trouble behind is so frightening.

Perhaps Jin Ja-gang would have many sleepless nights because of this unidentified feeling. If something went wrong, he might suspect it was because of this.

No, he might truly come to regret this one day.

“Sigh.”

Jin Ja-gang let out a long sigh.

Then he looked back up at the mountain.

“Let’s go back.”

No matter how uneasy he felt, he couldn’t spare days. Just confirming that the villagers had extinguished the fire and resolved the situation would make him feel much better.

He would find a suitable spot and hide for a day or two, just observing.

Jin Ja-gang turned around and began climbing back up the mountain he had just descended.

☕ Support on Ko-Fi

☕ Support on Ko-Fi

☕ Support on Ko-Fi