Chapter 190: An Unsatisfactory Act (5)
“Oouugh…!”
Not only was his appearance the same, but the sword granted by the Gu Clan, which Muyeon was carrying, was identical as well.
“So this is why you’ve been tailing me for a week.”
Over the past seven days, these mysterious fellows had been following me without any signs of activity, but now, I felt I understood their intent.
Could it be that they were trying to identify the person they needed to replicate?
If their goal was anything like observation, I could somewhat empathize with their approach.
They would naturally need time to not only mimic physical appearances but also to grasp unique speech patterns and expressions.
They likely had some confidence in not being caught, too.
Given the skill level I observed last time, they were well-trained enough that unless I focused, I wouldn’t have noticed them at all.
Just before I left Hanam, during my conversation with Peng Woojin, if I hadn’t sensed them back then, I probably wouldn’t have now.
“So they must have decided to act now that they feel ready, huh?”
That led me to wonder why they chose to approach me this way.
Was it an ambush meant to kill me?
From my perspective, that didn’t seem to align with their intent.
Having been shadowing me, they’d likely gauged my martial arts level to some extent, suggesting they had a different motive if I was able to subdue them this easily.
Relaxing my grip on the bastard’s mouth slightly, I said, “Huff… Huff!”
“Who are you?”
“Young Master… why are you doing this to me?”
Crack—
“Grrrgh!”
The wretch screamed when I twisted his arm with ferocity.
Judging by his muscle reactions as he screamed…
“So, you can feel pain?”
Unlike the guy I encountered back in Shaolin, this one seemed able to experience pain.
“Can’t he regenerate?”
The fellow I met back then displayed an absurd ability to recover from a twisted neck.
But could this guy not do that?
“Or is this all just an act?”
Not being well-acquainted with them, I needed to figure out their tactics.
“Y-Young Master, please stop!”
“If you wanted to imitate him, you should have taken more care.”
“What do you—”
Shing—
I pulled out the sword that had been hanging at the bastard’s waist.
It was a well-maintained sword that matched Muyeon’s usual style.
“Hey, didn’t you realize he changed swords? I didn’t think you were that blind.”
The bastard’s expression froze at my taunting tone.
Seeing that, I couldn’t help but smirk and say, “Just kidding.”
“…!”
“He kept that sword hidden because he didn’t want to destroy a gift I gave him.”
I urged him to use a good sword I provided, but instead, he kept it hidden as if it were a treasured heirloom.
Did he think someone would snatch it from him?
“Though Gu Jeolyub admitted he was eyeing it quite a bit,” I thought to myself.
His longing gaze might just stem from knowing he had no means to obtain it.
Anyway, I threw that line out to test him, and when he was visibly rattled for just a moment, it solidified my suspicion that he was acting.
“Where are the others?”
He seemed taken aback and didn’t anticipate being caught, as he glanced around nervously.
This implied he was unaware that I had wiped out the fellow back at Shaolin.
Or perhaps, he belonged to a different faction.
“Seven.”
“…!”
“That’s about right, isn’t it? The number of people in your group.”
The bastard jerked back in surprise as I hit the nail on the head.
“It doesn’t seem like they’re from the Dark King.”
If they were, I wouldn’t have had the slightest inclination that they were around.
They had no compelling reason to target me either.
“And it looks like they can’t regenerate.”
Unlike the fellow back in Shaolin who was impervious to pain and martial arts but could regenerate, this guy seemed to possess martial arts but lacked the capacity for quick recovery.
“So, is that the distinction made by possessing Qi?”
That could very well be the case, but it was still too soon to conclude anything.
Regardless, this wasn’t my primary concern right now.
I amplified my senses to the maximum.
It consumed an immense amount of Qi, but I managed it smoothly due to having previously accessed the middle abdomen.
“They don’t seem to be nearby.”
Not only could I not feel where the other four bastards had gone, but I also failed to detect Muyeon’s presence, which was the most critical factor.
This meant they were either too far for my senses to pick up…
Or
“They were actively employing measures to avoid detection by my senses.”
I considered the possibility of Muyeon being captured, but he wasn’t the kind of martial artist who could be easily taken down.
There’s no way someone on the brink of becoming a first-rate martial artist could be subdued so simply.
I looked at the bastard and inquired, “Aren’t you going to talk?”
“How did you know?”
Ultimately, the bastard recognized that his ruse was ineffective and spoke with a shift in tone.
He finally sounded more authentic.
“I told you—it was quite obvious.”
“That can’t be! There’s no way someone like you could be perceptive enough to notice—”
“Let me guess, you’re refusing to tell me where you’re from, huh?”
My interruption caused a subtle smirk to twitch at his lips.
He seemed to be trying to stifle back laughter.
“Kill me.”
Upon hearing that, I twisted his neck without hesitation.
With the sound of bones cracking, the bastard’s body collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.
“[Hmm?]”
Elder Shin displayed shock at my prompt decision to take his life.
He didn’t seem to anticipate I’d actually go through with it.
“[Weren’t you planning to make him talk through torture?]”
“I was,” I replied inwardly.
Believing he could feel pain, I thought gaining some information out of him would be relatively simple.
However, this wasn’t a situation where I could afford to waste time interrogating him.
First, I needed to locate Muyeon, and I had to understand why those seven guys scattered.
More importantly, there was a nagging suspicion lingering in my mind.
I placed my hand upon the fallen body.
Using my Demonic Absorb technique to siphon visible energy, the bastard’s body twitched in response.
“Urgh… Ugh…”
“So, you’re not dead.”
As anticipated, the bastard wasn’t dead.
This made complete sense since the lingering energy around his body clearly indicated he was still alive.
It didn’t seem he could turn his neck back easily like the fellow from Shaolin.
However, he appeared to be faking death, as evidenced by his panic triggered by feeling his energy being absorbed.
“Now, do you feel like talking?”
“Ugh… Urghhh…”
With his neck twisted, he couldn’t nod, but his responses suggested agreement.
I gazed into his eyes and stated, “Sorry, but I don’t give second chances in situations like these.”
As I finished my statement, all of his energy went flowing toward me.
When he completely lost his energy, just like before, his body shattered and vanished from existence.
This aspect wasn’t any different from the other bastard I had encountered at Shaolin.
Once I confirmed this, I stood up.
All that remained were the uniform confirming Muyeon’s affiliation with the Gu Clan, and the sword that was exclusively awarded to the swordsmen of the Gu Clan.
I picked up the uniform that lay abandoned.
“It’s not fake.”
This deep red uniform could only be acquired by members of the Gu Clan, so its resemblance to my current outfit left no room for doubt.
With that mystery cleared up, I decided to jump to change locations.
With my senses heightened, I surged through the forest toward the campsite.
Moving swiftly, I detected a faint presence just ahead.
It was thanks to the heightened sensitivity I had maintained.
However, it wasn’t Muyeon’s presence.
“It seems like Namgung Bi-ah.”
The spark of Lightning Qi I felt in the distance was undoubtedly emanating from Namgung Bi-ah.
However, there was an issue: she wasn’t alone.
As I hurried toward that location, flames ignited around my feet, radiating heat throughout my body.
Upon my arrival, engulfed in flames, I found that the area had been reduced to chaos as if a battle had unfolded.
Amidst the destruction, Namgung Bi-ah was holding someone’s neck.
“Ah.”
When I touched down, Namgung Bi-ah already had her gaze directed at me, as if she knew I would arrive.
I double-checked just to be sure, but thankfully, she was not a fake.
The chaotic surroundings indicated that she had fought against multiple enemies, unlike my solitary encounter.
“What happened here?”
I cautiously inquired, to which Namgung Bi-ah calmly sheathed her sword and released the fellow she had held.
Noticing the charged atmosphere, I realized Namgung Bi-ah was on the brink of reaching the Peak Realm.
“An ambush.”
Namgung Bi-ah explained with a succinct word.
That alone was enough to clarify the situation.
“This…”
As I approached her cautiously, Namgung Bi-ah gestured downward.
In the direction she pointed, the guy she had captured was, again, wearing Muyeon’s face.
Upon viewing that, I intended to inform Namgung Bi-ah that it wasn’t Muyeon.
“It’s not him.”
To my surprise, she answered me instead.
And the assertiveness in her voice astonished me.
“How did you know?”
As I queried, Namgung Bi-ah tilted her head while locking eyes with me.
Her gaze seemed to ask, “Then how did you know?”
I could sense it through the ability of my treasure.
But what about her?
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Setting the questions aside, I first focused on her condition. Namgung Bi-ah nodded in acknowledgment of my inquiry.
Counting the fallen opponents sprawled around, there were four of them total.
Although Namgung Bi-ah had faced four foes by herself, she appeared as if she had just woken from slumber, akin to her state on the carriage.
This suggested that taking on these opponents hadn’t posed much of a challenge for her.
“So they didn’t dispatch particularly strong individuals?”
The purpose behind contriving such a scenario eluded me.
“This person… is not him.”
In the midst of this chaos, Namgung Bi-ah continuously affirmed that the individual on the ground wasn’t Muyeon.
Observing her, I said, “I know it’s not him. For now, please head back to the camp.”
“Alone?”
“Yeah, I have something I need to check out.”
I had no idea how she was able to identify that it wasn’t Muyeon, but I opted to send her back to the camp without probing further.
“Please go and keep an eye on Wi Seol-Ah for me.”
“Oh.”
Namgung Bi-ah’s expression turned stubborn, refusing to leave, but upon mentioning Wi Seol-Ah, she quickly wrapped herself in Lightning Qi and was ready to expedite her departure.
Then, with an unusually anxious voice, she asked, “Where should I go?”
“Straight ahead where you’re looking right now.”
“Okay.”
At that moment, it reminded me of how terrible she was with directions.
I had thought she’d gotten better lately as she seemed to manage finding her way.
However, now it seemed otherwise.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Namgung Bi-ah departed while sounding worried, but as soon as she was out of sight, I set my plans in motion. Using Wi Seol-Ah as an excuse to send her away was intentional.
Fortunately, it seemed that heading back to the camp wouldn’t be necessary.
[What are you planning to do?]
Elder Shin questioned, but I chose to stay silent. I approached the guy wearing Muyeon’s face and drained his energy until he vanished.
Then I turned my attention to the remaining three. They were still breathing, having been subdued by Namgung Bi-ah while retaining their lives. I forcibly awakened one of them who had been unconscious using Qi.
“Ughh!”
Without allowing him a moment to gather his wits, I seized the bastard’s neck as soon as he gained consciousness.
“My, that’s strange.”
“Ugh!”
Putting aside the uniform, I deduced that obtaining the sword must have been a challenge for them.
Using Qi to probe into the interior revealed stark truths; it became evident.
“These aren’t even human, except for the bizarre energy I sensed that seemed familiar.”
I began to heighten the heat in my hand, still clinging to the neck of the bastard.
“Where are you from?”
“Kill me! There’s no way I’d tell you!”
Even as the pain intensified from the rising heat, he stubbornly insisted I kill him.
Unlike those bastards who could change appearances and wouldn’t perish unless their energy was entirely consumed, the wretch I was currently holding onto was an ordinary human.
Perhaps residing somewhere between the second and first-rate martial realm.
Locking my gaze onto the fool commanding me to kill him, I rephrased for clarity.
“Are you from the Third or the Second Sword Army?”
“!”
“If not, then are you from the Fourth? I doubt you’re from the First.”
His pupils fluttered vigorously at my words.
This indicated one conclusive fact: this bastard was from the Gu Clan.
Despite his efforts to conceal his affiliation, the unusual feeling I detected from afar, combined with my close examination of his body, allowed no room for doubt.
“What nonsense are you spouting!”
He failed to mask the trembling in his gaze, vehemently denying my allegations.
As anticipated, I had expected this response from the start.
“Yeah. The first guy usually doesn’t say a word.”
Through my experiences of torturing numerous individuals in my past life, that became an undeniable observation.
In moments like this, there existed a relatively simple method.
“Flame.”
“H-Huh?”
Sensing the indescribable heat on his neck, the bastard gasped in alarm.
Then, with realization dawning upon him, his eyes widened.
“W-Wait!”
“Blaze!”
“AHHHHH!”
With flames erupting from my hands, I enveloped the bastard completely, igniting him in a fiery blaze.
It would be unbearable for anyone, even if they utilized Qi for protection, but since this fellow was burning alive without any ability to utilize Qi, the agony must have been unbearable.
Leaving him behind, I aimed my attention toward the two remaining figures feigning unconsciousness.
“Did you get a good look? Many tongues here. Think wisely.”
After my statements, I sensed a rise in their tense presence.
The two remaining wretches were covertly observing me, likely believing they wouldn’t be detected.
They seemed to be preparing to escape.
“Blaze!”
But before they could make any move, I activated the enormous flaming dome around them.
“Kyaaa!”
Thanks to my control over the fire, the unfortunate bastard still consuming flames continued burning, and I left him for now while approaching the others.
No reason to be shocked since they were from the Gu Clan.
In fact, the notion that I might utilize this as an excuse allowed me to feel a sense of relief.
It wasn’t entirely unexpected.
After all, I had anticipated that sly old fox would activate his plans soon.
However, I didn’t expect him to employ such a pathetic tactic.
“Ugh!”
Having subdued the last escaping wretch, I contemplated the mastermind behind it all.
“The First Elder.”
The old man I suspected of orchestrating these events.
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