Chapter 76
Tsssssssh!
Honestly……
If O Won-jung of Taewha Guild sees this scene, he’ll curse at me.
Because I’m the only bodyguard in the world who uses the client’s goods to deal with the enemy.
Roughly……
Those guys use poisonous salt.
And considering that I recognized it was a Gu poison from the sound of the Yin-Yang Mago from the beginning……
Those guys must have approached with the intention of stealing the Yin-Yang Mago.
Then I have to protect the Yin-Yang Mago no matter what, and wouldn’t that be a serious issue directly related to ‘trust’?
But I,
“Go, Yin-Yang Mago. Go get those bastards.”
Ignoring all that common sense, I just released the Yin-Yang Mago.
As if it had been waiting, the Yin-Yang Mago shot towards them, spewing out tremendous poison. It looked like a long earthworm, its body as thin as a thread, and it had hundreds of tiny, sharp teeth that were impossible to discern with the naked eye…… It looked like a poisonous insect from h*ll.
“Eek, it’s the Yin-Yang Mago!”
“It’s the Yin-Yang Mago!”
“Y-You crazy bastard!”
It was funny.
Those guys must have approached with the intention of stealing the Yin-Yang Mago……
But why are they freaking out like that now that it’s been released?
Tsssssssh!
Regardless, the Yin-Yang Mago spread quickly in all directions like sharp daggers, and soon climbed up their bodies, starting from the tops of their feet.
“G-Get away!”
“Get away, you poisonous bugs!”
“H-Heeek!”
The guys couldn’t hide their horror as they saw the Yin-Yang Mago clinging to them.
And soon……
“Kyaaaaak!”
“Kaaaaak!”
“S-Save me!”
The Yin-Yang Mago started to tear at their bodies.
‘Brutal, brutal.’
I……
Couldn’t help but be astonished for a moment.
The skin of the guys bitten by the Yin-Yang Mago started to turn blue like zombies.
“K-Kyaaaaaak!”
The place turned into chaos in an instant.
Some of the guys bitten by the Yin-Yang Mago jumped into the pile of poisonous salt as if they’d lost their minds, and others vomited blood from their mouths. It was a horrifying sight even for me, who used to be an assassin leader.
“Kill him! Even if you die, kill him and die!!”
Then……
The old man who was leading them shouted.
The old man had been calm the whole time……
But the moment I took out the Yin-Yang Mago, he looked horrified. He probably never imagined that I would release the Yin-Yang Mago with my own hands.
“Jin So-cheon…… You really are a crazy bastard!”
The old man glared at me with resentment and gritted his teeth.
I answered nonchalantly.
“I’m a bit like that. But I don’t live like trash like you guys.”
“Shut up!”
Suddenly.
The enraged old man pulled out the weapon he was wearing on his waist.
At first, I thought it would be a soft sword disguised as a belt, but,
“Is it a whip……”
It was a strange-looking type of whip with a blade attached to the end.
Swish!
Without any warning, the old man immediately attacked and unleashed his whip techniques.
‘He’s fast……’
As expected, the old man was a possessor of outstanding martial arts.
The whip that shot out from his right hand flew towards me quickly, drawing an arc like a venomous snake, and I barely managed to escape the dizzying onslaught of the whip’s path with the Fast Whale Steps.
Crash!
“Whoa!”
The deck where the whip struck crumbled like powder here and there.
“Is that a whip or a hammer?”
It seemed obvious that if I got hit by a whip with such tremendous power even once, not only would my Protective Aura be shattered, but my bones would also turn to dust.
“Shut up, Jin So-cheooooon!”
But the old man still couldn’t hide his fury and swung his whip like a madman.
Swish, Crash!
‘Whew……’
I once again escaped the whip’s wide range of attack with the Fast Whale Steps, but……
‘If I leave it like this, the ship might get wrecked.’
If the old man’s whip continued to smash the deck like this for even a short while.
It seemed like the ship would soon be half-destroyed and sink.
‘No way.’
I……
I’m not a water expert, but I have a way to survive even if I fall into the water.
First of all, as a master of Qi Gong, I can hold my breath for a long time, and the weather is warm enough that I don’t have to worry about freezing to death, plus I’m a good swimmer.
Furthermore, since my stamina is monstrous, I don’t get tired easily no matter how much I move, so I should be able to survive, right?
But the problem is the Yin-Yang Mago.
I have a ‘mission’ to escort these poisonous insects to the Tang Clan.
So,
Whizz!
Grab!
In the end, I made up my mind.
“J-Jin So-cheon…… You……!”
I grabbed the whip that was flying towards me as if to smash my face.
Snap, Crack!
Then……
The end of the whip wrapped tightly around my wrist, and perhaps due to the force imbued in the whip, blood gushed out from my wrist.
‘That stings……’
As expected, the power of the whip was formidable.
Just by wrapping around my wrist, it pierced through my Protective Aura and tore my skin. If it had hit a vital point, I wouldn’t have been able to collect my bones.
But does that matter?
I didn’t get hit in the end, did I?
“Come on, old geezer.”
I.
Seized the momentum and pulled the whip with all my might.
In other words, I pulled the old man towards me with the strength of the ‘Force’ attribute.
The old man must have been agonizing for a split second.
Whether to entrust himself to the whip and approach me to launch a close-range attack.
Or to let go of the whip, retreat, and respond later.
Of course, it didn’t matter to me which scenario unfolded.
In the former case, I could beat the old man up with my specialty, unarmed combat.
And in the latter case, it would be easier to deal with the old man who had lost his weapon.
“……!”
The old man’s choice was…… the former.
Whoosh!
The old man didn’t let go of the whip.
I guess this oddly shaped whip is the old man’s ‘trump card’?
Perhaps because of that, the old man, unable to withstand my pulling force, flew towards me along with the whip, and I saw a flash of light from the old man’s mouth.
‘This old man is truly vicious.’
I……
Instinctively realized that the old man had some kind of hidden weapon in his mouth.
In fact, such an act is a dangerous move that endangers the user himself.
However, it seems that the old man’s will to kill me was stronger than his concern for his own safety.
‘Let’s see who wins.’
In my past life, very occasionally.
And in this life, mostly.
I’m the ‘type’ who’s serious about martial arts.
What this means is that after reincarnation, I’m longing for true ‘self-realization as a martial artist’.
For example, in my past life, I was so focused on my assassin duties that self-realization as a martial artist was the last thing on my mind, and I only concentrated on eliminating targets……
In this life, when I fought Baek Gui-ho, when I fought Noh Ho-yeong and Noh Jeong-ju.
Even when I fought Yuk Gwang, I aimed for fights that challenged me as a martial artist.
So……
“Old man. Die!”
Even though I knew the old man’s attack was a vicious trap…… I went for a head-on confrontation.
Crash!
I struck the old man’s face with my elbow, which boasts the strongest killing power among the Ten Invincible Hand Techniques.
At that moment, the hidden weapon the old man was holding in his mouth exploded. It seemed to be some kind of gunpowder.
“Hmm……”
Fortunately, my sixth sense was faster than the aftermath of the explosion.
As soon as the object exploded, I unleashed all the power of ‘Force-Thunder’ and maximized my Protective Aura. Thanks to that, although my top was torn, I avoided a fatal injury, and,
“Kuuuuugh……”
On the other hand, the old man’s mouth was torn to shreds, his teeth were broken, and he became a hideous sight, like a monster.
Tsssss!
Then……
The Yin-Yang Mago that I had released had somehow turned about 20 of the 30 sailors into corpses, and they were melting one by one, mixed with the poisonous salt scattered on the deck.
“That was close.”
Now.
It was time to protect the goods first, regardless of anything else.
“Come here, Yin-Yang Mago.”
◈ ◈ ◈
As if they would come just because I told them to.
Those monster bastards.
But……
“???”
Such a ridiculous thing actually happened.
“They’re really coming just because I told them to?”
Come here, Yin-Yang Mago!
At my words, the Yin-Yang Mago started to turn around and rush towards me.
“Crazy……”
Whether it was a coincidence, or whether the Yin-Yang Mago recognized its master.
Or maybe they were just trying to eat me, but anyway, the Yin-Yang Mago slithered towards me.
Fortunately,
Tsssssssh!
Snap!
I had gloves made of Golden Silkworm Thread, and I have reflexes that ordinary people can’t even imagine.
Thanks to that, I unleashed lightning-fast Golden Snake Hands and caught the Yin-Yang Mago rushing towards me one by one and put them in the iron box. Even while doing that, my head was spinning from the poison the Yin-Yang Mago was emitting.
‘What would I have done without Young Master Oh?’
I felt grateful to Oh Won-jung, who had given me the Golden Silkworm Thread gloves.
If it weren’t for the Golden Silkworm Thread gloves, I wouldn’t have been able to release the Yin-Yang Mago in the first place, and if that were the case, I wouldn’t have been able to avoid a fierce struggle.
Snap!
Anyway……
I continued to use the Golden Snake Hands like crazy for a while and barely managed to retrieve most of the Yin-Yang Mago.
Of course, I failed to retrieve all of them because some of them melted in the pile of poisonous salt, but this much shouldn’t be noticeable, right?
“Ugh……”
“Groan……”
“Grrr…… Grrr……”
Then.
I realized that the scene on the deck was reminiscent of h*ll.
The corpses of the sailors, who had turned blue from decay, were scattered everywhere, and the survivors were vomiting blood from all seven orifices. Those who were lucky enough not to be bitten by the Yin-Yang Mago were huddled in a corner, trembling and even wetting themselves.
Also, the old man, the leader of the sailors, had his face smashed in due to the aftermath of the hidden weapon explosion and was bleeding like a fountain. I didn’t want to bother touching him because he would die soon anyway.
“Pirates. I’ve seen a lot of things in my life, but I never dreamed I’d meet thieves who would try to steal my belongings. That’s how Jianghu is, but…… To try to take mine? You guys are really unlucky.”
I continued speaking quietly to the sailors who were already devastated and couldn’t even think of counterattacking.
“But. This isn’t the end. From now on, I’m going to interrogate you guys. But my interrogation is quite different from a typical interrogation. During my interrogation, if you give insincere answers or tell lies, you’ll be subjected to the most horrific torture. For example, I’m going to put the Yin-Yang Mago in your nostrils, your mouth, your ears, and even your a*s.”
“……!”
“Think carefully. The Yin-Yang Mago is a Gu poison that rots your skin just by touching it. What happens if that Yin-Yang Mago gets inside your body? Interesting things will happen, right? Especially if it goes in through your a*s…… Oh boy.”
I’m not deliberately bluffing or making a fuss.
I got goosebumps the moment I imagined it, and if I’m like this, how much worse must it be for those guys listening?
“So let’s do this the easy way. Your identities. Your purpose. Your spies planted in Taewha Guild. One by one, in detail. So that you can report it all.”
Then,
“I-If we do that…… If we do that……”
“Ah! Is there anything else?”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
I grinned at the guy who nodded enthusiastically and said.
“I’ll let you live.”