Heaven-Defying Hero - Chapter 100

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#100

After riding along Guando from Taiyuan for about three hours, a small town appeared.

It was a place with entertainment facilities for soldiers traveling to and from the North, with gambling houses and brothels as the main businesses.

Snort.

Perhaps disliking the town’s atmosphere, Byeokseong made an unpleasant snorting sound.

“Calm your temper.”

When Byeokseong, who was thirty percent larger than other horses, entered, naturally all eyes turned to them.

Being stared at by soldiers drunk even in broad daylight and people corrupted by gambling was not a pleasant experience.

Though illegal facilities were the main business, since many people came and went on horseback, the horse stable was well-equipped.

Snort!

“Wait. I’ll be back soon.”

When Ja-gang-cheon stabled his horse, a skinny man from the stable immediately followed him.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you, young master.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Of course not. Pleasures are best enjoyed in youth. What would you like to start with? Shall we begin with some thrilling gambling? Or would you prefer to smell women first?”

“I’ll look around slowly and think about it.”

“Don’t do that, let me guide you.”

“Just take good care of my horse. I’ll make sure to pay you well for your trouble.”

Ja-gang-cheon handed over one silver tael first.

“Oh my! How could I refuse! I’ll guard the stable entrance until you return!”

“He has a bad temper, so absolutely don’t go near him.”

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

Ja-gang-cheon left him behind and went to the town center.

The brothel women, who had no concept of time, threw obvious seductive glances at Ja-gang-cheon.

Most were women in their late thirties, quite old for courtesans, and among them, one plump courtesan approached.

“Young master. If you’ve come to study bedroom arts, I can teach you well.”

“I’m looking for a physician.”

“A physician?”

At those words, the courtesan’s expression soured.

If he had come looking for a physician in this place, the reason was obvious.

“You look perfectly fine, but you must have been quite promiscuous. Fire poison at your age.”

People who found it difficult to treat venereal diseases elsewhere sometimes came to places like this.

“Would you tell me where it is?”

The courtesan’s expression brightened at the silver tael Ja-gang-cheon offered.

Here, silver taels made everything possible like a magic wand. It was a very convenient environment for Ja-gang-cheon.

“Over there, the place with red cloth hanging at the gate is the physician’s clinic.”

“Thank you.”

Ja-gang-cheon went to the medical clinic the courtesan had mentioned.

Like all facilities in this town, there were no signboards outside advertising their business.

When he entered, a middle-aged woman approached and asked why he had come. She had a slender build and good skin, making it difficult to guess her exact age.

“I’d like to receive an examination.”

“Please wait a moment.”

After sitting on a chair in the narrow courtyard and waiting for about an hour, the woman opened the inner door for him.

When he entered, there sat a pot-bellied man in his fifties, the kind commonly seen in neighborhoods.

“What brings you here? What’s bothering you?”

Ja-gang-cheon stared intently at the person claiming to be a physician.

“You’re not who I expected.”

“What do you mean…”

That’s when it happened.

The door Ja-gang-cheon had entered through opened and a black shadow leaped in. The dagger in their right hand stabbed toward Ja-gang-cheon’s back.

Clang!

Ja-gang-cheon quickly turned around and deflected the dagger that was aiming for the back of his neck. A dagger of similar length was also in his hand. He had been hiding it in his sleeve since coming to this place.

“I didn’t know that the person called Ho-yeong was a woman, not a man.”

The person who attacked Ja-gang-cheon was the auntie who had kindly guided him just moments before.

“How did you find out about me?”

Osalsaeng, the pride of Salmak.

One of them, Jeok Hwa-sal-seong, was her.

“You look too young for sixty years old?”

Ja-gang-cheon looked the woman up and down with curiosity.

Then, the physician behind him secretly grabbed an acupuncture needle and held it between his thumb and middle finger.

He was trying to flick the needle with his fingers.

At that moment, Ja-gang-cheon stretched his back leg out first.

Bang!

The table pushed by his foot crashed into the physician. And Ja-gang-cheon leaped forward.

Clang!

Jeok Hwa-sal-seong, who blocked Ja-gang-cheon’s dagger, immediately counterattacked.

Though an assassin, she showed skill in this type of combat as well. But she wasn’t skilled enough to defeat Ja-gang-cheon.

Jeok Hwa-sal-seong, who had engaged in direct combat after seeing the young Ja-gang-cheon, greatly regretted her mistake.

The dagger was merely a means of defense; Ja-gang-cheon pressed her with boxing and kicking techniques.

Eventually, unable to hold out, Jeok Hwa-sal-seong tried to escape by breaking through the wall, but her pressure points were struck by the wind force Ja-gang-cheon released.

Thud.

Ja-gang-cheon shouldered the fallen woman and threw the dagger he was holding backward.

Thud!

The dagger hit the forehead of the fat physician who was pushing away the table and getting up.

Fortunately, the physician, who was hit by the handle rather than the blade, lost consciousness immediately.

***

“Huh? That woman is…”

“I found my type.”

The man at the horse stable seemed to recognize Ho-yeong and tilted his head.

“She’s not a woman who sells her body…”

“Is there anything money can’t buy?”

Ja-gang-cheon threw another silver tael to the man and rode Byeokseong out of the town.

“How did you find me? Answer me.”

Ho-yeong, placed like luggage in front of the saddle, asked desperately.

“I have a list.”

“What?”

Ho-yeong spoke with an expression of disbelief.

“Only the sect leader has that.”

“Whatever the reason, as long as I have this, your retirement is impossible.”

Ho-yeong couldn’t understand at all.

“What is this really…”

“Don’t think about it too complicated. If you help me with my work from now on, I’ll completely erase that name from the list.”

“What?”

“Otherwise, I’ll hand over your personal information to Hao-mun and Gae-bang. Of course, that information includes the family you cherish like your life.”

Ho-yeong trembled all over.

“Think simply. I’m not trying to make you do difficult things. When an assassin who has killed dozens of people retires, there should be this much adversity. Isn’t that courtesy to the dead?”

“What do you want?”

“I’m tracking someone called Sal-mak-i Mu-gyeong. You just need to come north with me and find out information that Salmak shares. Once we find his exact location, I’ll let you go. How about it?”

Honestly, from Ho-yeong’s perspective, it wasn’t a difficult task.

“That’s really all it takes?”

“As long as you don’t do anything foolish, that’ll be the end of it.”

“Fine. You must keep your promise.”

Byeokseong, carrying them both, galloped across the meadow.

***

-Among the fifty Evil Sect figures who came to Gwigokdo, there was one face I didn’t recognize.

The person specially selected by the Evil Sect Leader was a man of ordinary appearance wearing a long robe. He had the atmosphere of a common laborer you’d see in any market, so he didn’t stand out. Especially since the other forty-nine members were so flamboyant, he blended in even more.

-Since we thought it was a fight we’d win anyway, it didn’t matter if there was one person we didn’t know.

But the battle met a disastrous end, with only two survivors.

-Whether he had targeted the Evil Sect’s treasures from the beginning, his corpse was found not at the battlefield, but at the Evil Sect’s stronghold. Only after recovering the body did we learn who he was.

Even Mother, who was telling this story, frowned.

-He was the leader of Salmak. We only realized this after seeing this list.

From the inner pocket of the robe the leader wore, an old piece of paper emerged.

It was a list of fifteen names. Among them, five had detailed personal information written not only about themselves but also about their families and acquaintances.

-Salmak’s assassins cannot meet privately. Only the leader can connect them. This list represents the ultimate power held by Salmak’s leader.

The moment an assassin’s identity is revealed, they become a public enemy of the martial arts world. The leader could do this at any time.

-With this alone, we could dismantle Salmak.

What Ja-gang-cheon had brought from Deungmyeong Manor’s treasure vault was precisely that list.

***

Their first destination was Otaesan.

A sacred site of Buddhism in northern Central Plains, there was a legend that Manjusri Bodhisattva, symbolizing wisdom, resided there with ten thousand bodhisattvas.

There used to be a temple where nuns stayed, but now only traces remained.

Ja-gang-cheon deliberately went to a village near Otaesan.

“I stopped by Heukjeom. If they informed Salmak, there should be an assassin stationed here.”

Ja-gang-cheon didn’t trust Heukjeom.

‘They’ll definitely inform Salmak of my existence.’

So Ja-gang-cheon deliberately visited the village at Otaesan.

Because this was the first place Heukjeom had mentioned.

“How is it?”

Ja-gang-cheon, who was buying provisions and water at the market, asked.

“There is one.”

“Good.”

“I’ll go and come back.”

“One hour. If you don’t come before then, I’ll consider it as you running away.”

“Without me, you won’t be able to achieve your goal either.”

“If I lose Ho-yeong, the Heavenly Flame Arrow Master, I can just find Cheon-sal-seong. Then the chance for retirement would pass to Cheon-sal-seong.”

Retirement was the happiest ending an assassin could have.

This could be seen from the changes that occurred after Salmak’s leader died.

When the leader went missing, two of the Osalsaeng disappeared as if they had retired.

Regardless of political affiliation, most people shuddered at the mention of assassins. So assassins whose identities were revealed would even take their own lives.

“One hour.”

Ho-yeong, the Heavenly Flame Arrow Master, sent him a sharp glance before entering the market.

A short while later,

She returned to Ja-gang-cheon and told him their next destination.

“Mu-gyeong was at Mt. Hang three days ago.”

Though they didn’t know where he was now, their next move was decided.

“I smell blood.”

“Do I need your permission for my methods too?”

“No.”

They moved north again from Otaesan.

Going just a little north from Otaesan, Mt. Hang appeared, known as the Northern Peak among the Five Great Mountains of Central Plains.

But when you actually saw it, it was just an ordinary mountain that was somewhat tall.

“Is this really Mt. Hang?”

“That’s right.”

Even though Ja-gang-cheon was disappointed, it was praised as one of the Five Great Mountains because northern barbarians had to cross the mountain range starting from Mt. Hang to move south. So rather than scenery or landscape, its meaning as protector of Central Plains was greater.

“How about this time?”

They entered the village where pilgrims visiting Mt. Hang’s temples gathered most.

It was the first village in Mt. Hang that travelers from the main road reached, and it was the largest in the vicinity.

“There is one.”

Ho-yeong, who had bought a veil at Otaesan’s market, covered her face and dismounted from the horse.

This time too, Ja-gang-cheon decided to wait.

Ho-yeong went to a street stall that sold offerings to be dedicated at temples to pilgrims.

She stood behind someone who was handling rice there, when something strange happened.

“Oh no!”

She was saying something when suddenly her body trembled and she collapsed on the spot.

Ja-gang-cheon quickly ran over and examined her collapsed form, but she had already stopped breathing.

Thick blood flowed from her back, staining the ground. Someone had stabbed her heart precisely from behind.

‘The Heavenly Flame Arrow Master in one strike?’

Even though she had been hiding for twenty years, dying so futilely was strange.

‘To do this much means their skill is that exceptional.’

It wasn’t difficult to think of who could do this.

‘It must be one of the other Osalsaeng.’

If this deduction was true, he could infer one more thing.

‘Then there’s a target worthy of Osalsaeng’s movement nearby.’

Various deductions led to one conclusion.

‘Uncle Mu-gyeong is close by.’

Ja-gang-cheon looked around with a serious expression.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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