Book 23 Chapter 18

The rewarding auction concluded.

―The restraints were released.

"Crrk! You thief…"

Zzzt!

Hogang, the chief of the Third Guard of the Sohu, flinched at the 칼날처럼 날카로운 gaze and couldn't finish what he was about to say, quickly changing his words.

"…A seasoned young master! To extort money from our river pirates. Are you truly human?"

From Hogang's diminished mouth, honorifics naturally slipped out. He had clearly witnessed the Black Dragon King, who ignored the warning and spewed profanities, being so brutally beaten that his mouth, resembling a shark's maw that could crush anything, was mangled, leaving him unable to speak for a while. Thus, he had no choice. The gaze directed at him just moments ago was saying:

'Shall I make you look the same?'

In such situations, it was right to make a wise decision quickly, as befits a black dao who is quick with calculations.

"Hurry up and disappear on that returned Black Dragon Ship. Oh, and don't forget to take that father who dotes on his daughter with you."

Bilyeon said, counting money with one hand and waving the other dismissively with the other, telling them to leave quickly.

"Oh, wait a moment!"

The figures of the people from the Janggang Suru Chae, who were slowly slinking away carrying the unconscious Black Dragon King, who couldn't even stand properly, stopped at Bilyeon's words.

Screech!

The head of the First Guard, Hogang, turned back with difficulty.

"Do you still have something left to do?"

Bilyeon pointed to the money chests in front of him and said.

"Are you sure the payment is correct?"

Like pirates, they preferred cash over checks. So this time, they paid the full amount for the two Black Dragon Ships and the Sea God ship in cash. Their ability to pay such a large sum in cash instantly was astonishing. Therefore, Bilyeon had not yet fully counted the money in the three money chests they had received.

"Of course. It's exactly the amount you requested."

Hoho, the second guard and the person in charge of managing the overall funds of the Janggang Suru Chae, stepped forward in front of Hogang and replied.

"Credit is important for such things, so I'll trust you. But it doesn't matter if it's wrong."

"What do you mean by that…?"

"Well, if there's a shortfall, we can go 'directly' to you to collect it. However, at that time, we will charge you for the inconvenience caused, in addition to the shortfall. Is that alright?"

"Wh-what else could there be?"

He said so, but inwardly he was cursing.

'This madman! Alright, go ahead! Just you try coming here! Let's see if you can leave the heart of the Janggang Suru Chae unharmed! That will be the day of your memorial rites!'

Currently, they had only brought a small elite force, so it wouldn't be the same as when they were at the headquarters. If he did such a crazy thing, they would welcome it…

Slap!

In an instant, a flash of lightning appeared before Hoho's eyes. Thanks to that, his grand plan had to be interrupted.

With dazed eyes, he touched his cheek. It was stinging. He didn't know how, but the person who had apparently slapped his cheek had somehow returned to his original spot and was engrossed in counting money.

"D-did the young master do that just now?"

"Yes? Is something wrong?"

Bilyeon replied without even looking at Hoho.

"Why, why did you hit me?"

"You just cursed inwardly, didn't you? Didn't I warn you earlier? Not to use vulgar language."

"Wh-when did I…"

However, Yeonbi ruthlessly dismissed his protest.

"You just called him a '놈' (guy\/bastard) inwardly."

"H-how could you know that…"

At that moment, Hoho suspected that this young man might have mind-reading abilities.

"Well, it's obvious."

He dismissed it as a guess.

"Now, shall we count the money again?"

Counting money was always a pleasant task. The only regrettable thing was that all this money wouldn't go into his own pocket. At least the money from selling the Sea God should be designated as his share. It was a matter that had to be resolved.

"Did you just let go of that guy, the Black Dragon King or whatever black lizard it was? It would have been quite profitable to hand him over to the authorities…"

He was a top-class wanted criminal. As the leader of the Janggang, his head had a hefty bounty.

"I couldn't help it. If he didn't pay, I said I'd hand him over to the authorities and claim the bounty, so he reluctantly paid the money. I can't just hand him over to the authorities after saying that. That doesn't seem very ethical."

Did Bilyeon not think of that? But he had to keep his word.

"It would be nice if they came back for revenge, wouldn't it, disciple?"

The old master said, licking his lips as if regretful.

"No. If they come, I'll have to do all the work again."

"Of course! Do you think this old master will do it?"

"Let's not talk about it."

Bilyeon gave up the argument.

"By the way, you handled the auction well, so give it back!"

"Give back what?"

The master asked with feigned ignorance.

"The Bi Raedo that you confiscated, of course."

"I never said anything like that."

"You're supposed to give a reward when you do a good job. That increases motivation."

"Do you want a reward?"

Bilyeon immediately nodded at his master's question.

"Hmm… stick out your wrist."

The master said after thinking for a moment.

"Why my wrist?"

"Just give it to me if I tell you to!"

Bilyeon reluctantly extended his wrist towards his master.

"It seems you're wearing the bracelet well."

At this moment, the restraint, the Muk Ryong Hwan, worn on his arm had been replaced with a gold bracelet. It was a pure gold bracelet. The weight hadn't changed. Only the appearance had changed. A phoenix was engraved on the gold-plated bracelet.

"But what is this? This flashy thing? Did you gild the Muk Ryong Hwan? What a waste of gold."

The master said, frowning slightly.

"How can I wear such a conspicuous accessory? It would reveal my identity. So I touched it up a bit. The gold can be melted down and recycled, and restoring it to its original state isn't difficult either."

If he had asked someone else, he would have had to pay labor costs, but in Bilyeon's case, there was no need.

"By the way, aren't you going to give me a reward?"

"Don't be impatient. Wait, I'll give you a reward now."

What kind of reward would it be? Bilyeon waited with mixed feelings of apprehension and anticipation. The master let out a short yell.

"Hya!"

With a playful shout, the golden bracelet opened and fell to the ground.

'Thud!' A heavy sound echoed.

"Th-this is…!"

Bilyeon's eyes widened at the sudden turn of events. At that moment, his master's palm touched Bilyeon's dantian.

'I was careless!'

The moment he thought that, it was already too late. A vast amount of qi flowed into Bilyeon's body. Humiliatingly, Bilyeon couldn't move at all.

After a while, the master removed his hand from Bilyeon's abdomen and said with a triumphant smile.

"Hahaha! How is it? To pour so much qi into my disciple's body, am I not a truly loving and excellent master?"

However, Bilyeon was in no mood to laugh.

"You… you're insane… You told me not to take this off carelessly! Besides, this qi…"

The qi that began to rage within his body started to rush uncontrollably towards his right arm, which had its seal released. His right arm began to shake violently. Blood vessels bulged, and muscles repeatedly swelled or contracted erratically.

"Oh, if you don't control it quickly, it will be dangerous."

Contrary to the master's nonchalant voice, the situation was grave. This was not a joke; it was truly dangerous. If something went wrong, dislocating his right shoulder would be the least of it; there was a risk of muscles tearing and meridians being ripped apart.

"Don't say such nonchalant things and give me back the Muk Ryong Hwan quickly! I need that to control this power!"

The Muk Ryong Hwan was not just a heavy bracelet. It also had protrusions on the inside that served as pressure stones, pressing on several acupuncture points. Due to its weight and protrusions, it prevented excessive qi from flowing beyond the body's limits. All four Muk Ryong Hwans, worn on both arms and legs, had the same structure. It was possible to release them for a short time to gain explosive power. However, that time had to be very short. Otherwise, one could become a cripple or even die from the runaway power. But the master remained unconcerned.

"It seems your martial arts are reaching their limits, aren't they?"

Instead of returning the Muk Ryong Hwan, the master asked quietly.

"Crrk, h-how… how could you know that…"

"I'm not your master for nothing. I can see that much at a glance."

Was it only the person he had been running away from who could truly see his situation? It was truly tragic, or perhaps comedic.

"Well, actually, I watched you fight! In other words…"

"In other words?"

"It was boring."

The master's assessment was harsh.

"S-so, does that mean there's still more training I need to undergo?"

"Of course. I never said you had finished it all. Did I tell you to come down from the mountain?"

"No."

"Then who was it that ran away from home and descended the mountain as they pleased?"

"That would be… me."

"Yes, and you still have something to say?"

"……No."

"Then there's no problem, is there?"

"There's no problem, except that my master is crazy!"

*Snap!*

In an instant, a knuckle-rap on the head flew at him. Even with Bilyeon's movement techniques, it was an unavoidable, absolute knuckle-rap. Bilyeon tried to evade it with his four-part clone and two-part illusionary transformation, but failed again, holding his forehead and making a crying face.

"Ugh…"

He pouted and grumbled.

"And about the Bi Raedo…"

Bilyeon's ears perked up.

"When you can control it, I'll seriously consider it then."

"Are you always just thinking about it?"

"Then should I not even think about it?"

If that happened, all hope would be gone. As expected, he was a wicked master, clinging like a leech once he had a weakness, never letting go. Not until he had drained him to the bone.

He adopted an attitude that the 500,000 nyang competition was none of his business.

This was not a reward but a punishment.

"How long are you going to rely on tools? Win the competition without the Bi Raedo."

And he added,

"You have to be able to do that to become the successor of the Bi Raedo sect."

It was a remark that truly pricked his pride. Bilyeon, who couldn't just listen to that, said,

"Fine! I'll do it if I have to, I'll do it!"

It seemed that was the only option left.

"You've thought well."

Bilyeon felt a nagging feeling that he was always being drawn into his master's flow.