Chapter 26

Damn it!

Even though he had twisted at the moment of impact to lessen the blow, the palm strike had hurt like hell.

It felt as if his arm bones were crumbling.

Whooosh!

Then came a tremendous whistle as something tore through the air behind him.

Damn it. Who knew he’d be this persistent?

Using the Flying Dragon Turn, Jinmu twisted in midair and swept his sword horizontally behind him.

Claaang!

His sword shattered under the tremendous impact.

The force accelerated his fall, slamming him into the ground.

Thud! He tumbled across the ground.

“Cough—bleurgh!”

Jinmu rolled away in case another attack followed. The moment he pushed himself up, he vomited nearly a bowlful of black blood.

“Urgh…”

Even with both hands braced against the ground, he was so dizzy that heaven and earth seemed to spin.

That goddamned old bastard.

He wanted to go right back and flatten every last wrinkle on the old man’s face.

Damn it. Not a chance when a single palm strike sends me flying. But the next time we meet… I swear!

As Jinmu ground his teeth and vowed revenge, Cheongsang and Cheongu hurried over. Fortunately, both had escaped unharmed.

“Martial Uncle! Are you all right?”

“Urgh… I’m fine, so run. Who knows what that old bastard will—”

Just as Jinmu urged them away—

Crack! Crunch! Kraaash!

The entire tavern began to collapse.

“…”

Where was the old man?

Rrrrumble.

The whole building crumpled into a billowing cloud of dust.

Jinmu scanned the dust-shrouded wreckage with sharp eyes, but could make out no human figure.

Could he have been crushed to… No chance. Not that monster of an old man.

He must have fled.

And he must have been the one to bring the building down, too.

But why had he disappeared?

Having experienced the old man’s strength firsthand, Jinmu knew he could have come straight out and killed him.

“Whew…”

Relieved all the same, Jinmu let out a sigh and sank to the ground.

His body was a wreck.

That lousy old bastard.

He wanted to know who the man was, but had no time to dwell on it now.

First, he had to get away and recover. Then—

“Geum Jeoksan. That son of a bitch dared try to kill me.”

Geum Jeoksan was behind every attack.

Jinmu had watched his antics because they were so laughably clumsy, and nearly ended up dead for it.

“Cheongu, Cheongsang!”

He called to the two beside him, intending to ask them to support him, but something was wrong.

Cheongu had clenched his fists and taken a fighting stance. Cheongsang had his sword out and was glaring at their surroundings.

But… why?

“Hah! Look at that. They’re still alive!”

As a coarse voice reached him from a distance, his blurred vision cleared and his surroundings came into focus.

Dozens of martial artists.

And leading them, a giant of a man with a beard like Zhang Fei’s, standing with his arms folded.

What now?

“Those idiots, the Seven Eccentrics of Danjiang. They couldn’t even handle three young Wudang Taoists. Looks like they were all beaten and crushed to death under the building.”

The giant sneered at the wreckage.

Yes, but who the hell are you?

“Still, this worked out well. I thought I’d have to return the payment after Pallyong failed. Now I can squeeze a little extra out of the U Family Estate.”

Should you really be spouting such important information so freely?

Anyway, Pallyong was familiar, but the U Family Estate? Where was that?

Jinmu frowned at the giant, who was talking to himself at the top of his lungs.

Fuck. This was driving him mad.

One mountain after another. And now dozens of enemies, with his body in this state.

Geum Jeoksan, you miserable son of a bitch. If I get out of here alive, I’ll tear you limb from limb.

But revenge could wait. First—

“Who the hell are you?”

Jinmu slowly rose as he addressed the giant.

“What? ‘Who the hell’? What an ill-mannered little Taoist bastard. Is that any way for a brat to address his elders?”

“Shut up. I’m in a really shitty mood right now. So who are you, you crazy bastard?”

“Hah!”

The giant stared in disbelief at the stream of coarse abuse pouring from a Taoist’s mouth.

Never in his life had a Taoist sworn at him, much less one who wasn’t even twenty.

“Has this Taoist lost his mind? Insulting me, Gong Sacheok, here in Danjiang? You must be mad.”

Gong Sacheok?

Fortunately, it was a name he had never heard. But the pressure coming off the man was far from ordinary.

At least Qi Manifestation.

That would make him an outstanding rising talent in most martial families, or one of the strongest first-generation disciples of a great sect.

Had someone smeared honey all over Danjiangkou? Why were even the local gang bosses so damned strong?

In his usual condition, Jinmu could have kindly separated the man’s flesh from his bones. Right now, though, he was dangerous.

But a fight had never been decided by strength alone.

First, a bluff.

“Hey!”

“Hey?”

“I don’t care if you’re Gong Sacheok or a gong on a stick. Get lost, and I’ll let you off. Pretty good offer, wouldn’t you say?”

The giant, Gong Sacheok, gave an incredulous laugh.

“Hah. You’re a funny little Taoist bastard. Don’t you know my name?”

“Why the fuck would I know the name of some nobody like you?”

Of course he didn’t.

The man might be a Qi Manifestation master, and Jinmu might once have ruled Sapacheon, but why would he know some back-alley gang boss whose name meant nothing beyond his own patch of turf?

Still, he had to be careful.

In his present condition, he could not beat Gong Sacheok.

He had one chance.

He had to provoke the man into giving him an opening.

“Hey. I’m Gong Sacheok. Gong Sacheok.”

“Hah… You’re wearing me out. Forget it. Just come at me. You think a few internal injuries mean I’ll lose to some back-alley punk?”

“What? Hahaha! Would you listen to this brainless little bastard!”

Gong Sacheok unfolded his arms and turned toward his men, laughing in disbelief.

Jinmu did not miss that fleeting opening.

Whoosh!

Before anyone realized he had moved, Jinmu closed the distance and slashed at Gong Sacheok’s throat.

“Gah!”

Never expecting a surprise attack, Gong Sacheok recoiled in alarm.

The sword tip passed across his neck, leaving a shallow cut and a spray of blood.

Ah. Too short.

He should have taken his head off.

Now that he had failed to kill him, there might not be another chance. Having wasted that precious opening, Jinmu glared at Gong Sacheok and caught his breath, bitterly disappointed.

Normally, that would have been more than enough to kill him.

But in his present condition, it was all he could manage.

Just that one movement had left him dizzy and sick, as though he might cough up blood.

“A sneak attack out of nowhere? What kind of fucking Taoist are you?”

Clutching his neck, Gong Sacheok twisted his face into a demonic scowl and drew a broad saber.

Then, eyes blazing, he charged straight at Jinmu.

Clang! Clang-clang!

Saber and sword collided, scattering sparks through the air.

Urgh. Damn it, where does he get all that strength?

As expected, Gong Sacheok’s martial arts were no trifling matter.

Above all, the sheer force bearing down on Jinmu was immense.

Because of its weight and size, a broad saber was often wielded with both hands, earning it the name “two-hander.”

Yet Gong Sacheok swung his one-handed as if it were a fire poker.

And its speed…

Damn it. If only his body were in good shape…

He was compensating for the gap in internal energy through skillful use of his techniques, but he clearly could not hold out for long.

Each clash sent blood surging up his throat, and he could barely keep it down.

Clang-clang!

A blow from the saber drove Jinmu back. He gritted his teeth hard.

He had to find a way out.

His mind began racing madly.

When you lacked strength, what mattered most was how cunning you could be.

But nothing came to him.

As anxiety slowly crept into his eyes—

Ah!

He suddenly remembered the words of the old man who had left him in this state.

Wait. Those sinister bastards must have been Gong Sacheok’s gang.

But hadn’t he mentioned the Jegal Clan, too?

An old man with such abilities wouldn’t have been talking nonsense, and he had no reason to lie.

Perhaps the Jegal Clan was even why he had withdrawn without killing Jinmu.

Then where were they?

They must be watching from somewhere.

Jinmu swiftly scanned his surroundings.

He had to find them.

However much the martial families of the Central Plains put their own interests first, surely they would not join forces with back-alley thugs.

“Boy, you’ve got some skill, but nowhere near enough.”

A bluish energy suddenly gathered around Gong Sacheok’s saber and extended nearly five feet beyond it.

Saber qi.

Now that the bastard had begun using saber qi, Jinmu had even less time.

Damn it. He should at least have taught Cheongsang how to use sword qi.

He bitterly regretted it, but there was no time to dwell on that now.

As Gong Sacheok approached, Jinmu kept searching for the Jegal Clan members who might be somewhere nearby.

Then, as his gaze swept across a certain spot, a smile touched his lips.

“You young Wudang Taoist. Once I’ve killed you lot—”

Clang!

This time, Jinmu struck the saber hard instead of guiding it aside, then retreated.

“Whew. Dream on, dumbass.”

“…”

Had being cornered driven him mad?

Only moments ago, Jinmu’s face had been rigid with tension. Now he looked utterly at ease.

He even sheathed his sword.

“Hey, Gong Sacheok.”

“‘Hey, Gong Sacheok’? You little bastard, I’ll kill—”

“Shut up, you stupid fuck.”

Gong Sacheok looked increasingly baffled by Jinmu’s change in attitude.

“Have you really lost your mind?”

Anyone would have thought so.

But Jinmu grinned.

His bluff had failed. All that remained was to use whatever he could find around him, friend or foe.

“Can’t you feel it? Shut your trap and look around.”

“What?”

Frowning, Gong Sacheok scanned their surroundings.

Then—

“Huh?”

He spotted scholars in blue robes watching them from a distance.

What? Jegal Geun? And those are the Blue Flower… Corps? Goddamn it, what’s the Blue Flower Corps doing here?

Jinmu did not miss the flicker of alarm in Gong Sacheok’s eyes.

“Get it now?”

“…”

“Idiot. Did I look stupid enough to come here without making any preparations?”

Gong Sacheok’s expression crumpled.

The Jegal Clan was known as the strongest power in Danjiangkou.

They were a pillar of the Orthodox Martial Alliance.

And though Wudang had declined in recent years, it too belonged to the Alliance.

However fiercely they fought over profits and dominance in Hubei Province, surely the Jegal Clan would not stand by and watch Wudang Taoists, fellow members of the Orthodox Martial Alliance, fall to the unorthodox faction.

At least, that was what Gong Sacheok thought.

Damn it. He asked the Jegal Clan for help.

Seeing the Jegal Clan present at such a convenient moment, Gong Sacheok naturally drew the wrong conclusion.

And Jinmu, whose cunning was second to none, waved toward the distant Blue Flower Corps.

“What took you so long? I really did almost die! Ah, if it weren’t for these internal injuries.”

Jinmu called warmly to Jegal Geun as though they had known each other for years, leaving Gong Sacheok even more conflicted.

What should he do?

Jinmu and the Jegal Clan certainly looked close.

Should he press on?

Those were the warriors of the Blue Flower Corps, regarded as the strongest unit in the Jegal Clan’s Danjiangkou branch.

Their numbers were roughly equal to the men he had brought, but their quality was another matter.

Most of the Blue Flower Corps would have surpassed Sword Infusion, and some would have entered the early stages of Qi Manifestation.

Gong Sacheok knew he could not take them on alone.

But he could not simply withdraw, either.

He had targeted Wudang disciples.

That alone was enough to have Wudang hunting him for the rest of his life.

Damn it. What do I do?

While Gong Sacheok agonized, Jinmu gave a sly smile and sent Cheongsang a voice transmission.

Telling the clueless Cheongu would only invite trouble.

[Cheongsang.]

[Yes, Martial Uncle.]

[Let’s run.]

[What? We aren’t going to fight?]

[Fight, my ass. Those bastards are no different from these bastards.]

The Jegal Clan would not help.

Jinmu recalled the Jegal Clan members he had encountered in Bangcheon.

He had humiliated them. Those petty ink-stained scholars would never forget it.

Given the circumstances, they must have been keeping his party under surveillance.

If they had wanted to help, they would have intervened the moment Gong Sacheok appeared.

But even if they would not fight for him, he could still put them to good use in making his escape.

How fortunate that they had been watching him.

“All right, then. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Jinmu withdrew, and Gong Sacheok could only grind his teeth and watch him go.