Chapter 180. The Covert Strategist

The old man spoke.

“I bear no particular grudge against the two of you. However, you have interfered enough to disrupt the work I had in progress. You are both young and seem quite skilled, so how about preserving those precious lives of yours by working under me for three or four years, perhaps four or five? I promise that once the great matter has passed, I will release you without conditions. Naturally, you will earn a great deal of money, and I will also guarantee you positions where no one will be ordering you about.”

The white-haired old man had not even introduced himself, yet the moment he arrived, he was trying to pull Master Yukhap and me into his family business.

Was this how the Demonic Path recruited talent?

He had not mixed in curses, nor had he threatened us like some third-rate gangster, so I answered as politely as I could.

“Old man, as you can see, the ugly Master Yukhap here is not someone who belongs under another man. Say it after reading his physiognomy. Does an old fart not even know how to read faces? Where the hell did all those years go?”

While the old man glared at me, Master Yukhap also glared at me.

“…….”

For a moment, it felt as though my enemies had increased to two, so I apologized in a calm tone.

“It was a joke. Let’s move on.”

The old man urged Master Yukhap in a friendly tone.

“Master Yukhap, I have often heard your epithet. Would it not be better to serve under this old man than to die here? You may say you would be under someone else, but in truth, you would command far more people than you do now.”

I nodded and looked at Master Yukhap.

“Indeed. It doesn’t sound like a bad offer, so let’s hear the answer directly from the person concerned.”

Master Yukhap answered while glancing sideways at the white-haired old man.

“I am not one to enter under the Heretical and Evil Paths.”

I narrowed my eyes and cut in.

“What does that mean? Are you saying you could enter under Alliance Leader Im?”

Master Yukhap replied.

“Sect Leader, even in the middle of this, must you keep spouting nonsense?”

“I have a habit of spouting nonsense before a fight. Keep that in mind.”

The white-haired old man let out a faint laugh and asked me as well.

“Are you of the same mind as Master Yukhap? You are very young. You must be about the same age as the Great Young Masters. It would be a waste to kill you.”

I nodded as if in agreement.

“If it’s a waste, then you can just piss off. You old bastard, you look like you’ve spent your whole life seeing blood, so don’t pretend to covet talent. It doesn’t suit you. And I am a thoroughly independent man.”

“How thorough is this thoroughness of yours?”

“Even if I were caught by the Cult Leader you fear, I would have no intention of serving under him. Whether he is the Cult Leader or not, it really makes no difference.”

For a moment, I remembered being dragged around by the Mad Monk, and my conscience pricked me a little. But back then, my martial prowess had been terrible, so there had been no helping it.

The old man said with a smile.

“You are friends who truly live recklessly. Do you have anything more to say?”

There was something I wanted to ask the white-haired old man.

“Is the old man who’s setting this shitty mood the Third Young Master’s backer?”

“That is so.”

“If you die or get injured, what will happen to the Third Young Master from now on?”

The old man tilted his head and asked me.

“Who exactly are you, that you speak as though you know something of our circumstances?”

I grinned and looked at the old man.

“Me? I’m the enemy of your superior.”

“Why are you so lost in delusion? Master Yukhap.”

Master Yukhap answered briefly.

“What?”

“Why are you traveling with a deranged young man?”

Master Yukhap snorted and replied.

“He is normal from time to time.”

The old man said to me.

“Listen well. The number of enemies whose names the Cult Leader occasionally mentions does not exceed five or six in all the world. That means no matter what you do, there is no chance your name will ever be spoken from the Cult Leader’s mouth.”

I nodded.

“Once a little time passes, it will be six or seven.”

The old man threatened us.

“Now, you will not die peacefully. You will lick the top of my foot and beg me to give you the antidote. I came all this way to make you an offer with due courtesy, but alas.”

I moved my mouth as much as possible to shake his state of mind.

“Old man, if you return with even one arm cut off, the Third Young Master will be in danger too. Even if you don’t die at our hands, your business will become arduous from now on, so fight properly today.”

The old man thrust both palms toward Master Yukhap and me.

With the intention of protecting my body, I wrapped myself in the Flame Realm Great Hand Seal and struck back.

KWA-A-A-A-A-A-A-ANG!

In an instant, my ears rang, and before I knew it, my body was floating in the air. The spot where our palm force had clashed was sunken in, and a short distance away, Master Yukhap was landing on the ground with a frown.

As soon as I landed, I asked the old man.

“Old man, what is your epithet?”

The moment the old man opened his mouth, I roared like a thunderclap.

“Shut up! Now that I think about it, I’m not curious about your damn epithet. Keep coming at me.”

The old man sighed, then, while looking at me, twirled his finger several times beside his own temple.

As soon as I saw that, I said.

“Crazy bastard…….”

Had the provocation worked too well? Leaving Master Yukhap alone, the old man charged at me.

His momentum was vicious, so I immediately ran away.

“…….”

After several days of taking walks, I had already examined most of the terrain of Uhyang Valley. I fled down the valley, discovered that the forces the old man had brought with him had formed an encirclement, then made a wide turn and returned to Uhyang Valley. In the meantime, the white-haired old man and Master Yukhap arrived one after the other, each letting out a breath.

“Hoo…….”

The white-haired old man asked me.

“What is this? Why are you running away? I have already placed all my subordinates outside. I shall return exactly what you said to me earlier. If you cannot defeat me today with my body intact, then you too will die while trying to break through the encirclement.”

I blinked several times with a frown.

“Ah, you old bastard. Every time you talk, you’re so boring I get sleepy. Ah, it’s time for my nap, and this is killing me. Ugh… Yukgap, you try fighting him. This old bastard even talks slowly, so it makes me feel stifled.”

When Master Yukhap drew his sword, the old man charged at me again.

“No, wait…….”

I was so dumbfounded that I stopped mid-sentence and ran away again. The old man’s lightness skill was quite excellent, but I was going to run dirtily anyway. I ran through the swamp, deliberately hid behind large trees, then sprang into the air, pushed off the trunks, and changed direction sharply. In the meantime, cracking sounds rang out as several large trees toppled over.

As I ran, I said.

“The mountain spirit will be furious.”

This time as well, I had not run far before I was blocked by the troops sealing off the surroundings. I warned the ones ahead.

“Move.”

At the same time, dozens of swords were drawn ahead.

I drew my wooden sword toward those who had no intention of moving aside and immediately unleashed sword qi with a sword-drawing form.

Swish!

The straight line of sword qi was met by dozens of men swinging their swords. I quickly approached one of the staggering bastards, stepped on his shoulder to vault over him, and swung my wooden sword. The old man’s voice rang out.

“Move aside.”

In that instant, I felt my five senses expand and my field of vision broaden. My senses, instincts, hearing, and even touch were all lending strength to my sight. With the purpose not of killing but of breaking through, I pierced through their forces, shot upward, and bounded from tree to tree through the narrow growth, escaping the encirclement.

I changed direction again, widened the distance between myself and the old man, then headed for Uhyanggok. When I arrived back at the place where we had been talking, Master Yukhap was kneeling in meditation.

I said to Master Yukhap,

“Yukhap, this isn’t the time to meditate.”

Master Yukhap answered with his eyes closed.

“I’ll join you once you stop using lightness skill. Keeping up with you is rather taxing.”

“I appreciate the honest confession.”

Then the white-haired old man appeared in Uhyanggok again and stared at me with an absurd expression.

I repeated exactly what I had said to him at first.

“……Old sir, welcome. Your lightness skill is a bit lacking compared to your internal energy. Since you’ve spent your life indoors ordering servants around with a jerk of your chin, your back and knees can’t be normal. At this rate, you’ll stop breathing while running soon enough. The old bastard’s regulating his breathing.”

“…….”

I suddenly looked at Master Yukhap.

That bastard was smiling with his eyes closed even in the middle of all this.

“You laughing?”

I recommended to the old man in a serious tone.

“Old sir, this bastard is laughing. Instead of attacking only me, why not check Master Yukhap’s swordsmanship as well?”

The old man answered.

“I don’t know what I’m doing against juniors so much younger than myself. Both of you, come at me at once.”

I imitated the old man’s slow, drawn-out manner of speech.

“Both of you… at once… come at…… meeeeeee.”

Because the old man charged at me again, I hurriedly dodged.

“Ah, shit!”

Why was he chasing me again? The old man’s level of internal energy was quite high, so I ran away once more. This time, while running, I tried to placate him.

“I’ll apologize.”

“…….”

“Let’s go back to Uhyanggok and fight properly.”

Even in the midst of this, the old man asked me,

“Will you not run away?”

“Let’s settle this. I’ll join forces with Master Yukhap.”

“Do so.”

“Good.”

I changed direction and entered Uhyanggok again. For some reason, the scenery of flowers along the entrance felt familiar and dear. I called out to Master Yukhap.

“Master…….”

When my tone differed from usual, Master Yukhap opened his eyes.

I looked at Master Yukhap, winked one eye slightly, and said,

“You attack first. Let us oppose him in rotation. When you grow tired or are in danger, I’ll switch in.”

Master Yukhap rose from his seat.

As I headed toward the liquor on the table, Master Yukhap asked the old man in a respectful tone,

“Senior, may we face you in rotation?”

When Master Yukhap asked politely, the old man nodded.

“You first?”

“I shall learn a move from you.”

I poured myself a cup of liquor and drank, glancing sideways at the old man and Master Yukhap as I muttered,

“Phew… He follows disgustingly well. Old bastard.”

As soon as I cursed, the old man glared at me again. I stretched out my hand to calm him.

“I’m sorry.”

The old man charged at Master Yukhap. The two clashed right in the center like foolish bear cubs, then began to fiercely exchange blows. In my opinion, Master Yukhap didn’t possess even a speck of genuine courtesy. The fact that someone like Master Yukhap had used a respectful tone meant he could read the room.

Honestly, I had no idea how long that bastard could hold out.

First, because I had badly needed to urinate even while running, I turned my back to them, loosened my waistband, and took care of it. Perhaps I was tense in my own way, because no stream came out, so I tried using the traditional method.

“Pss……. Psssss…….”

With thunderous roars sounding behind me and small pebbles occasionally flying past to graze my ears, it was only natural that the stream wouldn’t appear.

But in the end, I did it.

“Phew.”

Splashhhhh…….

As I watched the clear stream, my ears listened to the sounds of the Ghost Demon from my previous life fighting desperately. Every time sword and palm force collided, the internal energy of the two experts was expressed in sound. The opponent was certainly no pushover, and the Ghost Demon from my previous life was being pushed back.

After finishing my business, I tightened my belt. I drew in a deep breath, let it out, and muttered,

“Asura-balbalta.”

Around the right hand that had been at my waistband, I wrapped Flame Fragrance; around my left hand, I wrapped White Flower Fragrance, created through the Moon Shadow Heartless Art.

In other words, urinating had been a covert strategy to prepare for a surprise attack.

Compared to when I fought at the Namak Alliance, my realm in ice arts had risen slightly. It wasn’t quite on the level of Flame Fragrance, but the chill of the White Flower Fragrance created with ice arts was fairly cool.

Like a master craftsman forging a famed sword, I painstakingly gathered the two energies in my palms, then slowly turned around.

The old man and Master Yukhap were still fighting fiercely. The two of them had yet to notice what I was doing.

In that instant, I poured out my power and pressed the two energies down, compressing them like a battered Taiji forced against itself. The clashing forces of extreme yang and extreme yin began to scream.

Crackle-crackle-crackle-crackle!

Master Yukhap noticed me first and shouted while swinging his sword.

“Have you gone mad?”

The old man’s gaze unconsciously lingered on me, then he hurriedly dodged Master Yukhap’s sword and retreated again and again.

Risking my life, I continued forging the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven and said,

“……Old man. You may be able to dodge, but I’ll send every last one of your subordinates forming that encirclement across the River of Three Crossings.”

Only then did the old man’s face, while he was facing Master Yukhap, begin to turn pale.

I glared at the old man and spoke in a clear, precise tone.

“I am I Jaha, leader of Haomun. You picked the wrong man today.”