'What the hell is up with that clown?'
Da Bao tensed up greatly as he studied Kang Jin-Ho standing before his eyes.
He already guessed they weren't dealing with a random average chump. After all, Guo Liqin was seen as a pretty good fighter within the organization. And Da Bao was humble enough to admit that his strength or standing in the hierarchy didn't even come close to Guo Liqin's.
So, someone who could make such a man disappear without a trace couldn't be ordinary. Even then, Da Bao had all the confidence in the world. There were four of them, after all!
Da Bao alone couldn't do much against Guo Liqin, but Da Bao and three of his friends? They could easily beat up three Guo Liqins to a pulp. That was why he didn't feel all that worried about their target possibly being an expert strong enough to kill Guo Liqin. But, now...!
'Yeah, something's wrong here.'
A warning chill ran down Da Bao's back. There were several indicators here. First of all, that Korean man didn't seem nervous at all despite the presence of rough-looking guys blocking the road. Actually, he looked more annoyed than anything else. Annoyed about a bothersome group of flies buzzing around his face!
Also...
'He's totally unmoved?'
Da Bao had been emitting as much of his aura as he could for a little while now. No matter how strong today's opponent was, completely ignoring Da Bao's aura should be next to impossible. But this... Kang Jong-In or whatever his name was, acted as if all the bloodlust gushing out of Da Bao didn't even exist in the first place.
Could he be bluffing, then?
Da Bao chuckled hollowly. A martial artist's aura might be formless, yet it also possessed an intangible form. Facing such an aura head-on would cause one's muscles to cramp up, and it'd get harder to breathe. If they weren't strong enough to fight back, the aura alone could even kill them outright!
However, this Kang Jong-In could bluff in the face of such an intense aura? In that case, that couldn't be bluffing. No, it simply indicated that he could remain unperturbed against Da Bao's aura.
'Maybe I should've listened to the orders?'
The original order Da Bao & Co. had received was to gather in the capital city of the province and be on standby. He had a pretty good idea of what they were about to do, but the order didn't give him or his friends the freedom to make a judgment call.
The one who suggested to his group that they should ignore the order and quickly wrap this matter up was none other than Da Bao.
Successfully wrapping it up meant Da Bao might get chewed out by the brass... But he'd still be acknowledged for acting on his own volition to make things easier for everyone.
However, he realized that this situation increasingly didn't look good. He had a hunch that if he wasn't careful, he might end up paying the price for going against the higher-up's order today.
One of Da Bao's companions snarkily muttered, “Hey, he knows who Guo Liqin is. Da Bao, I think we got the right target.”
'Of course we got the right target, you stupid bastard!'
Da Bao's expression crumpled hideously. Couldn't his companions tell that they were dealing with someone extraordinary simply by looking at how the target remained unaffected by Da Bao's aura?
Pieces clicked so readily into their places, so what more clues did these idiots need! Da Bao suddenly lost all hope when his clueless companions couldn't even see something this elemental. Unfortunately, he couldn't show it on his face.
'I can never deal with that man alone!'
Now was the time for them to combine their strength. He saw no need to express his irritation and make things awkward between him and his companions!
Da Bao slowly nodded. “Yes, we have the right target.”
“Hah? Are you really telling us Guo Liqin got done in by a twerp like him?”
A twerp? Da Bao's head reflexively turned to his side. Getting distracted when facing someone that scary was akin to committing suicide, but after what he heard? Da Bao simply had to turn his head and look at the idiot next to him.
'What the f*ck?! Do these idiots really know nothing?!'
People he no longer wanted to call his companions were standing around, acting all full of themselves. It was as if they had already caught the fish, and the only thing remaining was to use a net to lift it out of the water!
'Dammit!'
It seemed Da Bao was the only person to recognize the grave nature of the situation they were in!
'We've thrown ourselves inside a tiger's mouth, you morons!'
When he heard about how Guo Liqin couldn't even contact anyone before disappearing into the ether, Da Bao should've acted more prudently. Even though he acknowledged Guo Liqin's abilities to be better than his! His mistake was rashly acting on his desire to take over Guo Liqin's position in the organization by swiftly dealing with this matter.
'What should I do?'
Cold sweat began trickling down Da Bao's back.
'It's already too late to run away now...!'
“Hey, Da Bao? What's the matter with you?”
Da Bao flinched when someone called out to him.
“Why are you standing there like an idiot? You look like you saw a scary ghost or something, man.”
Actually, he'd have preferred a ghost at this stage! Da Bao wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. His sleeve came away soaked from all the sweat.
“Hey, Da Bao? What's wrong?”
“...All of you, be careful!”
“Say what?”
“That's no ordinary opponent, okay?”
Da Bao's warning wasn't replied to by voices of concern but a thinly disguised ridicule.
“Huh? Are you scared?”
“...You!”
“Hah! To think you'd get scared by a little dweeb like that! Looks like Da Bao's days are numbered!”
Da Bao clamped his mouth shut. He dearly wanted to teach his stupid companions the truth of this situation, but something was preventing him from doing so. And that was... Even he couldn't quite understand his current state.
'Why am I so scared?'
Of course the enemy was strong. But he already knew that before coming here. A man capable of subduing Guo Liqin couldn't be a weakling, after all. Someone too powerful for Da Bao alone to fight! Wasn't that why there were four of them here?
However, were his senses warning him that this young man was too strong even for four fighters? What made Da Bao arrive at this conclusion?
“Fuu-woo...!”
Da Bao sucked in a deep breath.
'No, calm down!' freewe bnovel.com
Maybe his companions were right. Da Bao's nervousness was a bit excessive. Obviously, their opponent had to be strong. However, could he be as strong as Da Bao thought? Not likely.
That seemed logical. Why would an expert on that level waltz into the middle of nowhere in Sichuan and mess around with a Dark Association member? Indeed, if this Kang Jong-In was strong enough to crush Guo Liqin and then toy around with Da Bao and his companions, he must be a big shot in a well-known organization somewhere.
A big shot like that wouldn't come here to waste his valuable time, now would he?
'When I think about it... Isn't that way too obvious?'
When his thoughts reached this far, Da Bao became dismayed by how scared-stiff he was only a few seconds ago.
The basis of his evaluation was rooted in how Kang Jong-In withstood Da Bao's aura, plus the uneasy air surrounding the Korean man. That was all. Da Bao came here fully knowing the superior strength of his enemy. So, nothing more than mere 'atmosphere' was making him consider fleeing? That didn't seem right.
“I guess I was...”
Before Da Bao could say something, Kang Jin-Ho abruptly broke his silence. “I'm in a dilemma.”
He didn't speak too loudly. It was almost as if he didn't mean to address anyone else but himself. Yes, he seemed to be muttering to no one in particular.
Even so, for some unfathomable reason... Everyone was drawn to him.
“I usually wouldn't have bothered to let any of you get out of here alive, but...”
Kang Jin-Ho glanced behind him. Han Eun-Sol and Choi Yeon-Ha were staring at him with their eyes wide open.
Han Eun-Sol was completely unrelated to this side of the world, so him watching on like this made things a bit trickier. And Choi Yeon-Ha told him to not kill anyone, so that also added to the trickiness of this situation. And finally, there was another issue.
'For some reason, I don't feel like killing them today...'
He felt benevolent today. Why? He wasn't sure. But he must be in his most benevolent frame of mind since finding himself in Zhongyuan all those years ago.
If Kang Jin-Ho returned to the modern era in this frame of mind, his story might have changed. He could be working part-time in his father's cafe and attending university like a regular person. A common man living an ordinary life, in other words.
What could be a problem when the world failed to make him angry?
“I guess you can call this my whims...” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. “However, I still haven't verified everything Guo Liqin has told me. Until then, I will let all of you live. However, you shouldn't relax. Because, I'll be seeing you soon enough.”
“...What the f*ck is that clown yapping about?” Wang Fujing stopped listening and stepped forward like a man to glare murderously at Kang Jin-Ho. Then, he growled like a beast. “Sounds like you don't understand the situation you are in, pal. Here's the deal. Release Guo Liqin, then kowtow on the ground and beg us to spare you. Then, we might stop at chopping off only one arm of yours. Of course, if you have already offed Guo Liqin, you ain't gonna walk out of here alive. In fact, we're gonna really hurt you before killing you.”
Wang Fujing pointed his broadsword at Kang Jin-Ho's face.
Kang Jin-Ho stared at the tip of the massive weapon thrust under his chin, then smirked silently. And when Wang Fujing saw that smirk...
An indescribable dread flooded his heart.
***
'What are they even talking about over there?'
Han Eun-Sol tried to eavesdrop.
'Dammit, it's in Chinese...!'
Han Eun-Sol had no talent for speaking English. Holding a simple conversation alone took a lot out of him. Despite his absolute confidence in Korean, it seemed English didn't suit his temper.
However, this trip to China had taught him the truth. It wasn't the case of him not having any talent in English, but more like... He had no talent in all foreign languages!
Other people handily picked up Japanese while watching animes or opened their ears to Chinese through their love of Hong Kong cinema. However, Han Eun-Sol had to dedicate all of his free time to studying Chinese just to reach the level of holding simple conversations.
Months of desperate studying efforts had paid off somewhat, and Han Eun-Sol could understand Chinese to some degree, but... Even then, understanding more complicated Chinese words was still impossible for him! And when the triple whammy of the distance, complicated words, and lower volumes were combined...!
Han Eun-Sol focused his hearing like a high school senior in English class with the National Entrance Exams just around the corner. And, just like that hypothetical high school senior with no talent in studying trying to memorize English... Other than a handful of words here and there, everything else flew right by his head!
The best he could do with the rest was to use the atmosphere and the flow of this situation to make an educated guess.
Thankfully, though, the atmosphere between Kang Jin-Ho and those ruffians didn't seem too bad. None of them were shouting, for instance. And they certainly didn't look angry. No, they were... simply smiling and conversing away.
As for those few words Han Eun-Sol could hear...
'Mm, so, they were...'
Kill. Chop off an arm. Death. Hurt.
“...!”
Han Eun-Sol's complexion paled first.
'What the f*ck?! Isn't this f*cking serious! Uwaaaaah! W-what the hell is up with this situation?!'
Han Eun-Sol started freaking out while tightly gripping the steering wheel. If the situation turned for the worse, he planned to drive straight into that crowd and rescue Kang Jin-Ho.
“This is why I didn't want him to go outside the van! I told him, didn't I?! Urgh! I did tell him, so why...!”
That was when a man with a bandit-like countenance thrust his huge blade right under Kang Jin-Ho's throat!
'Heeeeeiiiiik?!'
That was enough. Han Eun-Sol couldn't endure anymore! If this kept up and Kang Jin-Ho was killed, then Choi Yeon-Ha and Han Eun-Sol would never be able to live a normal life ever again!
Just as he was about to stomp on the accelerator...!
Grab!
Kang Jin-Ho leisurely grabbed the blade pointing at his neck.
Hiccup!
A loud hiccup escaped from Han Eun-Sol's throat as he watched that scene unfold. At least it was nothing more than a hiccup! Han Eun-Sol thought it was his heart about to leap out of his mouth instead!
Han Eun-Sol sobered up. The bravery required to grab the blade pointing at your neck certainly deserved all the respect in the world, but doing so wouldn't improve the situation. After all, there were two more men wielding weapons. And no one would say Kang Jin-Ho had effectively blocked that blade, either. In that case, the only choice might be to ram them with the van, and then...
That was when this happened.
Kang Jin-Ho's arm seemed to move a little, then the man pointing the blade suddenly went up in the air.
'Eh? He's... levitating?'
No, rather than levitating, it might be more correct to say he got flung away. But where was he flying away to? Just where?!
“Uwaaaaaaaaaah?!”
While leaving behind an ear-piercing scream of despair, the man who used his blade to intimidate Kang Jin-Ho flew beyond the edge of the cliff.
Hiccup!
More hiccups jumped out of Han Eun-Sol's throat as he watched the figure of a man disappear below the tall cliff.
Hiccup!
Unlike before, Han Eun-Sol couldn’t bring himself to feel relieved about his heart staying put where it was supposed to be.
'What the hell is up with that clown?'
Da Bao tensed up greatly as he studied Kang Jin-Ho standing before his eyes.
He already guessed they weren't dealing with a random average chump. After all, Guo Liqin was seen as a pretty good fighter within the organization. And Da Bao was humble enough to admit that his strength or standing in the hierarchy didn't even come close to Guo Liqin's.
So, someone who could make such a man disappear without a trace couldn't be ordinary. Even then, Da Bao had all the confidence in the world. There were four of them, after all!
Da Bao alone couldn't do much against Guo Liqin, but Da Bao and three of his friends? They could easily beat up three Guo Liqins to a pulp. That was why he didn't feel all that worried about their target possibly being an expert strong enough to kill Guo Liqin. But, now...!
'Yeah, something's wrong here.'
A warning chill ran down Da Bao's back. There were several indicators here. First of all, that Korean man didn't seem nervous at all despite the presence of rough-looking guys blocking the road. Actually, he looked more annoyed than anything else. Annoyed about a bothersome group of flies buzzing around his face!
Also...
'He's totally unmoved?'
Da Bao had been emitting as much of his aura as he could for a little while now. No matter how strong today's opponent was, completely ignoring Da Bao's aura should be next to impossible. But this... Kang Jong-In or whatever his name was, acted as if all the bloodlust gushing out of Da Bao didn't even exist in the first place.
Could he be bluffing, then?
Da Bao chuckled hollowly. A martial artist's aura might be formless, yet it also possessed an intangible form. Facing such an aura head-on would cause one's muscles to cramp up, and it'd get harder to breathe. If they weren't strong enough to fight back, the aura alone could even kill them outright!
However, this Kang Jong-In could bluff in the face of such an intense aura? In that case, that couldn't be bluffing. No, it simply indicated that he could remain unperturbed against Da Bao's aura.
'Maybe I should've listened to the orders?'
The original order Da Bao & Co. had received was to gather in the capital city of the province and be on standby. He had a pretty good idea of what they were about to do, but the order didn't give him or his friends the freedom to make a judgment call.
The one who suggested to his group that they should ignore the order and quickly wrap this matter up was none other than Da Bao.
Successfully wrapping it up meant Da Bao might get chewed out by the brass... But he'd still be acknowledged for acting on his own volition to make things easier for everyone.
However, he realized that this situation increasingly didn't look good. He had a hunch that if he wasn't careful, he might end up paying the price for going against the higher-up's order today.
One of Da Bao's companions snarkily muttered, “Hey, he knows who Guo Liqin is. Da Bao, I think we got the right target.”
'Of course we got the right target, you stupid bastard!'
Da Bao's expression crumpled hideously. Couldn't his companions tell that they were dealing with someone extraordinary simply by looking at how the target remained unaffected by Da Bao's aura?
Pieces clicked so readily into their places, so what more clues did these idiots need! Da Bao suddenly lost all hope when his clueless companions couldn't even see something this elemental. Unfortunately, he couldn't show it on his face.
'I can never deal with that man alone!'
Now was the time for them to combine their strength. He saw no need to express his irritation and make things awkward between him and his companions!
Da Bao slowly nodded. “Yes, we have the right target.”
“Hah? Are you really telling us Guo Liqin got done in by a twerp like him?”
A twerp? Da Bao's head reflexively turned to his side. Getting distracted when facing someone that scary was akin to committing suicide, but after what he heard? Da Bao simply had to turn his head and look at the idiot next to him.
'What the f*ck?! Do these idiots really know nothing?!'
People he no longer wanted to call his companions were standing around, acting all full of themselves. It was as if they had already caught the fish, and the only thing remaining was to use a net to lift it out of the water!
'Dammit!'
It seemed Da Bao was the only person to recognize the grave nature of the situation they were in!
'We've thrown ourselves inside a tiger's mouth, you morons!'
When he heard about how Guo Liqin couldn't even contact anyone before disappearing into the ether, Da Bao should've acted more prudently. Even though he acknowledged Guo Liqin's abilities to be better than his! His mistake was rashly acting on his desire to take over Guo Liqin's position in the organization by swiftly dealing with this matter.
'What should I do?'
Cold sweat began trickling down Da Bao's back.
'It's already too late to run away now...!'
“Hey, Da Bao? What's the matter with you?”
Da Bao flinched when someone called out to him.
“Why are you standing there like an idiot? You look like you saw a scary ghost or something, man.”
Actually, he'd have preferred a ghost at this stage! Da Bao wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. His sleeve came away soaked from all the sweat.
“Hey, Da Bao? What's wrong?”
“...All of you, be careful!”
“Say what?”
“That's no ordinary opponent, okay?”
Da Bao's warning wasn't replied to by voices of concern but a thinly disguised ridicule.
“Huh? Are you scared?”
“...You!”
“Hah! To think you'd get scared by a little dweeb like that! Looks like Da Bao's days are numbered!”
Da Bao clamped his mouth shut. He dearly wanted to teach his stupid companions the truth of this situation, but something was preventing him from doing so. And that was... Even he couldn't quite understand his current state.
'Why am I so scared?'
Of course the enemy was strong. But he already knew that before coming here. A man capable of subduing Guo Liqin couldn't be a weakling, after all. Someone too powerful for Da Bao alone to fight! Wasn't that why there were four of them here?
However, were his senses warning him that this young man was too strong even for four fighters? What made Da Bao arrive at this conclusion?
“Fuu-woo...!”
Da Bao sucked in a deep breath.
'No, calm down!' freewe bnovel.com
Maybe his companions were right. Da Bao's nervousness was a bit excessive. Obviously, their opponent had to be strong. However, could he be as strong as Da Bao thought? Not likely.
That seemed logical. Why would an expert on that level waltz into the middle of nowhere in Sichuan and mess around with a Dark Association member? Indeed, if this Kang Jong-In was strong enough to crush Guo Liqin and then toy around with Da Bao and his companions, he must be a big shot in a well-known organization somewhere.
A big shot like that wouldn't come here to waste his valuable time, now would he?
'When I think about it... Isn't that way too obvious?'
When his thoughts reached this far, Da Bao became dismayed by how scared-stiff he was only a few seconds ago.
The basis of his evaluation was rooted in how Kang Jong-In withstood Da Bao's aura, plus the uneasy air surrounding the Korean man. That was all. Da Bao came here fully knowing the superior strength of his enemy. So, nothing more than mere 'atmosphere' was making him consider fleeing? That didn't seem right.
“I guess I was...”
Before Da Bao could say something, Kang Jin-Ho abruptly broke his silence. “I'm in a dilemma.”
He didn't speak too loudly. It was almost as if he didn't mean to address anyone else but himself. Yes, he seemed to be muttering to no one in particular.
Even so, for some unfathomable reason... Everyone was drawn to him.
“I usually wouldn't have bothered to let any of you get out of here alive, but...”
Kang Jin-Ho glanced behind him. Han Eun-Sol and Choi Yeon-Ha were staring at him with their eyes wide open.
Han Eun-Sol was completely unrelated to this side of the world, so him watching on like this made things a bit trickier. And Choi Yeon-Ha told him to not kill anyone, so that also added to the trickiness of this situation. And finally, there was another issue.
'For some reason, I don't feel like killing them today...'
He felt benevolent today. Why? He wasn't sure. But he must be in his most benevolent frame of mind since finding himself in Zhongyuan all those years ago.
If Kang Jin-Ho returned to the modern era in this frame of mind, his story might have changed. He could be working part-time in his father's cafe and attending university like a regular person. A common man living an ordinary life, in other words.
What could be a problem when the world failed to make him angry?
“I guess you can call this my whims...” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. “However, I still haven't verified everything Guo Liqin has told me. Until then, I will let all of you live. However, you shouldn't relax. Because, I'll be seeing you soon enough.”
“...What the f*ck is that clown yapping about?” Wang Fujing stopped listening and stepped forward like a man to glare murderously at Kang Jin-Ho. Then, he growled like a beast. “Sounds like you don't understand the situation you are in, pal. Here's the deal. Release Guo Liqin, then kowtow on the ground and beg us to spare you. Then, we might stop at chopping off only one arm of yours. Of course, if you have already offed Guo Liqin, you ain't gonna walk out of here alive. In fact, we're gonna really hurt you before killing you.”
Wang Fujing pointed his broadsword at Kang Jin-Ho's face.
Kang Jin-Ho stared at the tip of the massive weapon thrust under his chin, then smirked silently. And when Wang Fujing saw that smirk...
An indescribable dread flooded his heart.
***
'What are they even talking about over there?'
Han Eun-Sol tried to eavesdrop.
'Dammit, it's in Chinese...!'
Han Eun-Sol had no talent for speaking English. Holding a simple conversation alone took a lot out of him. Despite his absolute confidence in Korean, it seemed English didn't suit his temper.
However, this trip to China had taught him the truth. It wasn't the case of him not having any talent in English, but more like... He had no talent in all foreign languages!
Other people handily picked up Japanese while watching animes or opened their ears to Chinese through their love of Hong Kong cinema. However, Han Eun-Sol had to dedicate all of his free time to studying Chinese just to reach the level of holding simple conversations.
Months of desperate studying efforts had paid off somewhat, and Han Eun-Sol could understand Chinese to some degree, but... Even then, understanding more complicated Chinese words was still impossible for him! And when the triple whammy of the distance, complicated words, and lower volumes were combined...!
Han Eun-Sol focused his hearing like a high school senior in English class with the National Entrance Exams just around the corner. And, just like that hypothetical high school senior with no talent in studying trying to memorize English... Other than a handful of words here and there, everything else flew right by his head!
The best he could do with the rest was to use the atmosphere and the flow of this situation to make an educated guess.
Thankfully, though, the atmosphere between Kang Jin-Ho and those ruffians didn't seem too bad. None of them were shouting, for instance. And they certainly didn't look angry. No, they were... simply smiling and conversing away.
As for those few words Han Eun-Sol could hear...
'Mm, so, they were...'
Kill. Chop off an arm. Death. Hurt.
“...!”
Han Eun-Sol's complexion paled first.
'What the f*ck?! Isn't this f*cking serious! Uwaaaaah! W-what the hell is up with this situation?!'
Han Eun-Sol started freaking out while tightly gripping the steering wheel. If the situation turned for the worse, he planned to drive straight into that crowd and rescue Kang Jin-Ho.
“This is why I didn't want him to go outside the van! I told him, didn't I?! Urgh! I did tell him, so why...!”
That was when a man with a bandit-like countenance thrust his huge blade right under Kang Jin-Ho's throat!
'Heeeeeiiiiik?!'
That was enough. Han Eun-Sol couldn't endure anymore! If this kept up and Kang Jin-Ho was killed, then Choi Yeon-Ha and Han Eun-Sol would never be able to live a normal life ever again!
Just as he was about to stomp on the accelerator...!
Grab!
Kang Jin-Ho leisurely grabbed the blade pointing at his neck.
Hiccup!
A loud hiccup escaped from Han Eun-Sol's throat as he watched that scene unfold. At least it was nothing more than a hiccup! Han Eun-Sol thought it was his heart about to leap out of his mouth instead!
Han Eun-Sol sobered up. The bravery required to grab the blade pointing at your neck certainly deserved all the respect in the world, but doing so wouldn't improve the situation. After all, there were two more men wielding weapons. And no one would say Kang Jin-Ho had effectively blocked that blade, either. In that case, the only choice might be to ram them with the van, and then...
That was when this happened.
Kang Jin-Ho's arm seemed to move a little, then the man pointing the blade suddenly went up in the air.
'Eh? He's... levitating?'
No, rather than levitating, it might be more correct to say he got flung away. But where was he flying away to? Just where?!
“Uwaaaaaaaaaah?!”
While leaving behind an ear-piercing scream of despair, the man who used his blade to intimidate Kang Jin-Ho flew beyond the edge of the cliff.
Hiccup!
More hiccups jumped out of Han Eun-Sol's throat as he watched the figure of a man disappear below the tall cliff.
Hiccup!
Unlike before, Han Eun-Sol couldn’t bring himself to feel relieved about his heart staying put where it was supposed to be.
