Book 7 Chapter 2

The ending was decided from the beginning.

"Don't you need my help?"

Namgung Sang thought that the only person who could intervene in the fierce fight between those two and take the lead in the situation was, like it or not, whether he found him annoying or scary, Bi Ryuyeon.

Namgung Sang was very disappointed that Master Yeomdo was not present, as he had gone to Mount Wudang on business.

To Namgung Sang, his senior disciple Bi Ryuyeon still seemed unreliable.

"Why would I?"

Bi Ryuyeon retorted. Namgung Sang's expression was instantly one of disbelief.

"Of course you should help! We are in a crisis!"

Namgung Sang felt like shouting at Bi Ryuyeon's face to make him realize the current situation properly, but he exercised extreme patience and restrained himself to raising his voice.

No matter how much he rubbed his eyes, he couldn't find any sense of crisis on Bi Ryuyeon's face. The slightly furrowed brow was clearly saying, 'Be quiet! You're annoying!'

Namgung Sang's despair was immense. He shouldn't have trusted this senior disciple in the first place.

"Gungsang-ah!"

Bi Ryuyeon called Namgung Sang quietly, his gaze still fixed on the intense battle between Moyong Hwi and Galhyo Bong.

"Yes?"

Namgung Sang replied quietly in unison. But his heart was racing like a runaway train.

"I hate echoes that don't return!"

"Yes!"

Namgung Sang nodded without understanding.

"And I hate investments with no return!"

"Yes!"

It was a perfectly understandable statement, given Bi Ryuyeon's personality.

"And you want me to help Moyong Hwi now?"

Bi Ryuyeon glared at Namgung Sang mercilessly. Of course, Namgung Sang couldn't see Bi Ryuyeon's eyes directly because of his bangs. But not being able to see didn't mean not feeling it.

"What?"

"Have you ever seen a merchant invest in a business with no profit?"

"No!"

"Neither have I!"

"What do you mean?"

Namgung Sang couldn't immediately understand Bi Ryuyeon's words. Bi Ryuyeon's kind explanation continued. His eloquence was like flowing clouds and running water.

"Why would I go to the trouble and exert myself to help that guy when he doesn't welcome my help at all? It's obvious I'll only get resentment, let alone thanks."

'Of course you should!'

Namgung Sang couldn't answer. Even though that was the truth filling his heart.

Bi Ryuyeon's words were not yet finished.

"Why would I do such a deficit-ridden act? I can't do that!"

Unnecessarily interfering in someone else's fight was against Bi Ryuyeon's life philosophy. Especially if it was help that wouldn't even be appreciated. His mind was decided from the beginning.

Just to stand by and watch! That was the ending decided from the beginning.

It was then.

"Huk!"

"Hiek!"

Namgung Sang gasped for air. Bi Ryuyeon, without any warning, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He choked. Bi Ryuyeon's actions didn't stop there.

Vwoooooom!

A person was thrown into the air by someone else's will. Bi Ryuyeon had thrown Namgung Sang's body forward without any mercy.

The eyes of the onlookers widened. Another act of insubordination had occurred. The price for the request was too high.

"U-uh!"

Namgung Sang's arms flailed awkwardly in the air. His actions clearly showed that the current situation was not a mutually agreed-upon one.

Panicked by this sudden turn of events, Namgung Sang managed to twist his body in mid-air and land safely only after flying for about a丈. However, the shock of being thrown still lingered, causing his body to lean forward. He didn't want to think about it, but if he hadn't landed successfully, he would have greeted the ground with a spectacular face-plant, drawing a long streak of blood.

"What is this… Huk!"

Namgung Sang, who had sprung up, turned around to protest, but his words were swallowed back into his throat as quickly as a cat eats a rat.

"Creak!"

The moment he saw the two figures that came into his rapidly turned vision, goosebumps erupted all over his body.

"Chak!"

Unconsciously, Namgung Sang's hand went to his waist, searching for his sword.

Killing intent!

What he sensed was a deadly killing intent, so intense and unfamiliar that he had never experienced it before! A dark and chillingly dense killing intent that vowed to kill everyone present!

Bi Ryuyeon stood facing that killing intent head-on.

Parak!

At that moment, the sound of tearing clothes was heard from behind Namgung Sang. Instantly, Namgung Sang's face turned as pale as a ghost.

'Wh-when!'

Without realizing it, his clothes had been cut by an unknown sharp sword energy.

'I-I can't believe it! H-how could this be!'

He hadn't sensed it at all, but when did the sword energy damage his martial arts uniform! It must have been the moment Bi Ryuyeon threw him. As his body leaned forward and floated in the air, sharp sword energy must have swept through the empty space. Casting the shadow of the Grim Reaper!

For a moment, his heart pounded like a drum and compressed. Cold sweat poured out of every pore of his body.

'If the senior disciple's reaction had been even slightly delayed, I would have…!'

He probably wouldn't be enjoying himself so leisurely in this life. His neck felt as cool as if the Grim Reaper's hand had touched it and withdrawn.

Today, he had once again narrowly escaped death. His blood felt ice cold. His neck felt as if it were frosted.

Suddenly, the seemingly unremarkable, but exceptionally ill-tempered senior disciple appeared immensely great. The power of a savior was so effective that it made him forget his own poor eyesight.

"Ho ho! My goodness!"

A sigh of amazement escaped the lips of the emaciated elder, one of the two old men.

The one who had suddenly attacked from behind Bi Ryuyeon and Namgung Sang was Cheonsal (天煞) of Cheonji Ssalsal. Cheonsal gazed at his sword and then glanced at Bi Ryuyeon again. He then tilted his head with a bewildered expression. It seemed something in his calculation was wrong.

The one who should have died did not. Cheonsal couldn't help but ponder the discrepancy between the predicted future and the present reality.

He felt no shame in performing petty sneak attacks on insignificant brats. For them, it was merely a matter of removing bothersome obstacles blocking their path.

But the obstacle had the audacity to show it had legs and evaded his sword. It was natural to think it was extremely impudent. And unforgivable.

"Ho ho! Did I make a mistake? Two lives that should have died are alive and well? How bizarre."

To Cheonsal, it was no different from a strange occurrence.

His senses were perfectly fine. He had merely repeated the swordplay he had performed tens of thousands of times. His swordplay always drew the blood of departing lives, but this time, it was an exception. Therefore, Cheonsal was suffering now.

As Bi Ryuyeon watched Cheonsal agonizing over this rare and utterly ridiculous mistake, he puffed out his cheeks and grumbled. From the perspective of Cheonji Ssalsal, his words were insolent.

"You approach like a ghost without dying of old age, isn't that too much? That kind of thing can wait until you're a ghost. An old man trying to startle young people is going too far."

"Pak!"

"Huk!"

Namgung Sang almost retreated in shame from the blade-like killing intent emanating from Cheonsal's entire body. A normal master would have collapsed on the ground, and an ordinary person would have lost the strength in their legs and wet themselves. Namgung Sang deserved praise just for suppressing his instinct to retreat.

Cheonsal's white beard twitched up and down. His cheeks contorted with anger.

"You insolent brat, you don't respect your elders!"

A chilling killing intent, mixed with a sinister ghostly aura, spread in all directions. It was clear that he was determined to kill. There was no need to open his chest and examine his heart.

However, even while facing such intense killing intent head-on, Bi Ryuyeon's expression remained calm. He seemed to be challenging, as if saying, 'Try it if you can.'

"Heh heh! This brat, you wish to die? Then I shall kill you!"

"Shweeeek!"

Cheonsal swung his sword with terrifying force. A blue sword energy cut through the air. It meant shut up and die.

"Boom!"

However, Cheonsal's educational guidance did not succeed due to the interference of someone else. Cheonsal's eyes widened in irritation. Twice today his sword had been rendered useless.

"Who is it?"

Cheonsal's gaze shifted to the unexpected interferer who had blocked the tip of his sword. His brow furrowed slightly.

The intruder's hair was a striking deep red, like a burning flame.

"Cough, cough! Damn it! You've got the wrong person!"

Yeomdo's voice, filled with regret, burst forth from the hazy dust. A rough, confrontational voice! The one who had blocked Cheonsal's sword and shown the divine power to repel him was Yeomdo.

'Damn it! I can't believe it's this darned enemy!' Yeomdo wanted to add, but he swallowed the words. However, it was indeed regrettable. If he had known the target was Bi Ryuyeon, he wouldn't have intervened. He had done a useless thing due to a lack of attention.

He thought the children wouldn't be able to handle the rampant sword energy coming from somewhere and blocked it in the middle, but he didn't realize the opponent was Bi Ryuyeon!

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

He was overwhelmed with regret. He should have just let it be! He felt like he had lost for no reason.

Wasn't he in the position of a disciple bravely blocking the path for his master's crisis? Yeomdo suddenly couldn't forgive himself for being in such a position. Moreover, his irritation didn't end there. At a time like this, he had unexpectedly reunited with a face he detested to the point of wanting to gnash his teeth. It was only natural that his irritation combined with the hatred he had harbored from the past, causing a dramatic reaction.

'That guy!'

The moment he recognized the figure, the smile disappeared from Jisal's face, who was always smiling. The easygoing smile he usually showed had vanished from his broad face for that moment. His face had turned as cold as if a layer of ice had been placed upon it. But that too was momentary. A moment later, Jisal's characteristic sly smile returned to his face.

Yeomdo was the first to speak to the opponent. He was currently filled with killing intent.

"Long time no see, fatty!"

Fatty's face twitched. His facial fat rippled like waves.

"Ho ho ho! Look who it is. Isn't it Yeomdo, the epitome of simple-minded ignorance with boundless energy? Nice to see you, nice to see you! Is it 15 years?"

Jisal didn't stay silent either. He was too embarrassed by his formidable reputation built up over time to just passively accept it.

"Yes! It's been 15 years! It seems your fat has gotten even more unyielding than before, you pig!"

"You still have no manners. If you have time, learn some etiquette. It will help you in life. Otherwise, what's the difference between you and a beast! Burning, unruly dog!"

Yeomdo's face turned bright red. The atmosphere between them was so hostile that it wouldn't be strange if a murder occurred.

"What use is etiquette in catching a pig? Isn't a slaughtering method enough? Stop with the chatter and come at me, you fat pig!"

It seemed these two had known each other for a very, very long time and had steadily built a substantial friendship. Their closeness had gone too far, and now there was a tense atmosphere where blood and flesh could fly with the slightest movement.

Yeomdo, who openly displayed all his emotions on his face as anger, and Jisal, who hid all his emotions in his heart, had very contrasting attitudes.

However, the killing intent harbored within both of them was the same.

"Are you going to continue? The ending from 15 years ago! If you want it now, I'll give it to you. We couldn't finish it then, could we?"

Yeomdo spoke in a challenging tone, his fighting spirit ignited. The only reason he wasn't drawing his sword and rushing forward excitedly was his deep meditative training from accompanying Bi Ryuyeon. In the past, Yeomdo would have skipped all procedures and swung his sword first. It wasn't for nothing that one of his nicknames was 'Burning, Unruly Dog'.

"Well… it's not a bad offer. It was my dream to teach that arrogant brat from back then a lesson."

"So, it seems you won't refuse?"

Yeomdo raised his characteristic red sword energy and entered a combat stance. It was an ambitious attitude, aiming to settle things today.

"Reinforcements will arrive from Mount Wudang soon, but I think we can settle this before then. I'll decide the outcome within ten moves."

Yeomdo boasted.

Deciding the outcome within ten moves was an insult to the name of Jisal's Mingwangdo (冥王刀), even if it was a notoriety. Weren't they a pair who fought for over three hundred moves 15 years ago and still couldn't finish it? But there was no need to reveal an unpleasant truth to someone whose face he hated to see. Especially if it was a truth that would boost their ego.

Jisal's face changed at the mention of reinforcements from Mount Wudang. Moreover, Cheonsal's attitude was also strange. Galhyo Bong's condition also seemed abnormal after the loud explosion that shook the mountain earlier.

Furthermore, the current target hunting results were poor. In fact, it was nonexistent. If Mount Wudang joined, things wouldn't look good. So, Jisal had no choice but to change his mind.

'What should I do…'

"Kwah-kwang!"

However, Jisal's thoughts were drowned out by a tremendous roar. It seemed Galhyo Bong and Moyong Hwi had collided head-on.