Longevity - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 26: Frost Upon a Wound
The hunchbacked old man appeared to weigh less than a hundred pounds.
Yet the Spirit Energy spreading beneath his feet showed no wavering. The rolling boulder lay pinned beneath his Thousand-Jin Weight

three inches deep in the earth.
Baturuu clenched his teeth.

“Move aside!”

He gathered his strength in his shoulders and both arms, driving the boulder forward. The stone beneath his feet cracked, but the rock merely trembled low without shifting.
Baturuu drew in a breath and pushed again. The old man rolled his feet across the boulder’s surface.
Thud!
Vibration rippled through the entire rock. The boulder, just beginning to rise, sank back down, and Baturuu’s feet skidded half a yard backward.

“Once more!”

Baturuu did not retreat. He bent his two legs like a drawn bow and lowered his hips.
With a third roar, the muscles of his arms and back swelled all at once.
Crack-crack-crack—!
The boulder embedded in the earth clawed upward through the soil, tilting forward. The old man stamped his feet in quick succession, but this time he could not press down both the boulder’s weight and Baturuu’s strength together.
The great stone rolled a full turn.
The old man’s body lurched. He immediately straightened his knees and launched himself into the air.

“Old Master!”

Jangssaeng’s cry echoed through the Gorge.
The old man twisted his waist in midair and drove his feet toward Baturuu’s head and shoulders.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
His heels struck in succession at the temples and collarbones. Baturuu’s upper body swayed side to side, but his arms did not leave the boulder.
Had it not been for the Diamond Indestructible Divine Art,

his neck would have snapped on the first blow.
Jangssaeng watched Baturuu’s clothes cave inward with each kick, then rebound. His skin held, but with each impact his center of balance crumbled further.
If Baturuu released the boulder, the path would seal itself again. The old man was watching for that single moment.
Baturuu bared his teeth and continued to push.

“That barely tickles!”

Jinipchu drove his heels into his horse’s back and vaulted upward.
The Zhuxuan Sword

traced a red line as it aimed for the old man’s waist. The old man planted his foot on Baturuu’s shoulder, twisted his body, and slipped past the blade.
Ijungyong threw the right rein to Jangssaeng.

“Jangssaeng—drive them. I’ll support.”

Jangssaeng snatched the rein with his right hand. Five horses wheeled behind the boulder, their reins lowered in coordination so they didn’t tangle.
Ijungyong drew his sword and ran across the cart bed.
Jeonjingung threw a pair of crossed projectiles. The old man leaned back to dodge, and the weapons embedded themselves in a tree behind him.
She seized the rein of the riderless horse that Jinipchu had left behind, and even leading two horses with one hand, she held her distance on the cart’s right side without faltering.
The old man withdrew the Bronze Tobacco Pipe from his back. The two-foot implement clashed with Jinipchu’s blade.
Clang!
The pipe’s bowl shattered clean off. The old man’s eyes widened.
Ijungyong’s sword rose from below.
Crunch!
Nearly another foot of the broken weapon was severed. The old man cast away the ruined pipe and hurled himself backward.
He dropped back onto the rolling boulder, shifting his feet to steady himself against its tilt.
Jinipchu and Ijungyong both vaulted up to straddle the stone from left and right.
The boulder continued its roll, but neither man’s feet remained fixed to one spot. They shifted their toes and heels in turn to match the tilting surface.
Chasing Wind Ghost Step
the Chasing Wind Ghost Step
was not a footwork that planted itself firmly to the ground. It was a footwork that reclaimed balance and attacking angles fastest in the midst of motion.
Jinipchu’s blade wrapped around the Old Man’s throat. Ijungyong’s sword drove down below the knee.
The Old Man leaned back to dodge the first blade, and with his toes pushed the flat of the second sword aside. Both blades missed by mere inches.
The three of them shifted position atop the rolling boulder.
Each time the top face of the stone disappeared ahead, a new surface rose beneath their feet. A moment too slow and the foot would curl backward into the stone; strike too early and you’d open a gap for your opponent.
Ijungyong cut off the Old Man’s retreat while Jinipchu targeted the ribs with a bending blade. The two moved without words, each reading the other’s cuts instinctively.
Sword light flashed in succession, yet it couldn’t even touch the hem of the Old Man’s robe. He emptied his body the instant before the blade struck, forcing the two attackers to block each other’s paths.
After several more exchanges, the Old Man lowered his stance. As Jinipchu’s blade passed overhead, the Old Man’s elbow drove into Ijungyong’s lower abdomen.
Thud!
Ijungyong’s waist folded. As his breath caught, the Old Man’s leg swept out to the side.
Crack!
The shin struck the ribs. Ijungyong catapulted off the stone.
He hit the ground with his right shoulder first. Before his body completed its roll, he pushed off with his palms and rose.
The cart was bearing down on him from behind.
Ijungyong swallowed blood and threw himself aside. The wheel scraped past his heels.

“Brother Ijungyong!”

Jangssaeng wanted to pull the reins, but he could not stop. If the cart halted here, the Gaebang rabble behind would swarm over them all at once.
Ijungyong raised his hand, signaling them to keep going.

“I’m fine! Watch the road ahead!”

Blood smeared the corner of his mouth.
Ijungyong shouted toward the Old Man on the stone.

“Third Brother, that man is Cavern Profound

realm! Watch out for the Pale Blue Spirit Energy!”

Jinipchu had no time to respond.
The Zhuxuan Sword did not advance merely straight like an ordinary blade. Each twist of the wrist bent the sword’s body to bite into the Old Man’s back and ribs.
For the first time, the Old Man gave ground a half-step.
The blade’s tip grazed his chest at an angle. His robe tore, and shallow blood began to seep.
Jinipchu’s eyes blazed.
But the sword was still new to his hand. He had not yet learned through his body how much it bent and where it straightened again, so he could not drive it deep enough.
The Old Man looked down at the wound on his chest.
The cut was shallow, but the fact that blood flowed mattered. A master who had fought two novices bare-handed had just had his robe torn by a young disciple.
Below, the Gaebang men stirred. The ease vanished from his face.
Pale Blue Spirit Energy gathered around both his arms.
Jangssaeng saw the change first. The man who had been attacking rapidly suddenly lowered his breath and withdrew his right foot back.
It was a stance to gather power.

“Third Brother, get clear!”

At that moment, the rear curtain was pulled back.
Nayangja stepped on the cart’s edge and leaped forward. Despite his pallid face, his body moved like an arrow toward the boulder.
The Old Man turned his right shoulder to the side. His right fist pulled back while his left arm extended long before him.

“Die!”
“Through-Back Fist

technique. Fall back!”

Hearing Nayangja’s warning, Jinipchu hastily withdrew. The original distance exceeded four feet; he added another foot.
Yet the Old Man’s fist still pursued.
His left arm seemed to shrink in an instant while his right arm stretched unnaturally long. The fist, extended nearly five feet, struck the center of Jinipchu’s chest.
Bang!
Jinipchu’s body bent backward. Blood sprayed from his mouth as his feet skidded across the stone.
Had Nayangja’s warning come even a moment later, the blow would have shattered his heart.
The Old Man was not satisfied. He gathered the pale blue Spirit Energy into his right arm again and lunged at the reeling Jinipchu.
Nayangja stepped into his path.
His left fingers wove through the seals with blinding speed, his right palm thrust forward.

“Five Thunder Palm.”

Fist and palm collided.
Crack!
The air burst open, dust billowing outward in a perfect circle. The Old Man’s arm bent backward, his body hurled beyond the rolling boulder.
He spewed blood into the void, plummeting over the cliff.
Nayangja could not fully absorb the impact either. His shoulders drove backward, his feet lifting from the boulder.

“Master!”

Ijungyong rushed forward, pressing the wound with one hand.
Nayangja did not fall. He spun, placed his palm on the back of the galloping horse, and used the recoil to vault back into the carriage.
As the startled horse dropped its body, he rode that momentum through.
Nayangja wiped his mouth and spoke low.
Even in the brief pause of a single breath, his chest heaved visibly. His fingertips trembled, but his voice held steady.

“Don’t stop. Break through.”

The blood on the back of his hand was not red.
Jangssaeng saw it clearly. What Nayangja had coughed up was black blood, dark as ink.
Entirely different from the crimson blood the Old Man had spat. The poison had not remained in the wound—it had reached deep into his lungs.
The rolling boulder entered the downward slope to the north and tumbled faster.
The Old Man beyond the rocks was nowhere to be seen. Not even a corpse appeared after passing a dozen boulders.
His men must have carried him off first.
Once there was no more need to push, Baturuu dropped his arm and rushed to the carriage without pausing to wipe the sweat from his brow.
He took the reins from Jangssaeng and took his place at the driver’s seat.

“Master, are you all right?”

Nayangja did not answer, only nodded and withdrew into the carriage.
Jinipchu barely managed to mount the horse Jeonjingung had brought forward. Blood seeped from between the fingers pressed to his chest.
Ijungyong also hunched over his side and returned to his own mount. None of them were in any state to fight again.
The moment the rolling boulder tumbled free of the gorge, Baturuu cracked the whip.

“Ride!”

Five horses pounded down the slope. As the carriage cleared the gorge, a roar exploded behind them.
Jangssaeng looked back.
Armed Gaebang fighters poured out like a black tide. The front rank alone numbered dozens, and no end appeared behind them.
Four to five hundred by his count.
They spread down both sides of the gorge and converged again on the Official Road below. The pursuit was so savage that men trampled those who fell.
Jeonjingung raised a Flying Blade toward the rear but did not throw it. Even dropping a man or two would not slow a pursuit from that distance.
Baturuu was exhausted. Ijungyong and Jinipchu bore serious wounds. Nayangja had paid for pushing back his enemies with black blood on his lips.
If they were surrounded again now, it was over.
The group had wagered everything on the speed of their horses.
The battlefield below Yunzhou Castle was drawing near. The fortress walls crawled with Siege Forces like ants, and behind them the reserves and Iron Cavalry waited for the signal to advance.
When a strange carriage came racing toward the rear guard, a commander raised his spear.

“Who comes from where?”

Jinipchu pulled out a Bronze Tablet while keeping pressure on his chest. Lifting his arm high, the bronze seal caught the sunlight and gleamed.

“Gaebang has slain our soldiers and stolen our supplies! General, send your forces at once!”

His voice was hoarse, soaked in blood.
As if once were not enough, he cried out again.

“The Gaebang plundered our provisions! Those pursuing us are them!”

Ijungyong and Jeonjingung added their voices to his account.
The rear commander saw the bronze tablet and military uniform, the three figures drenched in blood. Behind them, he watched hundreds of beggars give chase, weapons raised.
There was no reason to doubt.
The supply caravan had come from the south at just the right moment, and the bronze tablet Jinipchu carried belonged to General Ijungyong’s force. More than anything, the ragged clothes and crude weapons of the pursuers made the lie seem like truth.

“You touched the provisions?”

His face flushed crimson.

“Three thousand iron cavalry—follow me! I will sweep away these traitors!”

A horn blast split the air.
Thud-thud-thud-thud—!
Three thousand mounted riders wheeled in unison. As hoofbeats struck the earth, dust rose up like a wall at the battle’s edge.
The Gaebang rabble realized their deception only when the cavalry drew near.
The front ranks halted and collided with those behind. Someone shouted an explanation, but it was swallowed by the roar of three thousand iron cavalry.
In the end, they turned to flee.
Unlike when they had moved as one mass in the narrow gorge, now on open ground each man scattered in his own direction. Pushed and trampled by one another, the pursuit splintered into chaos in an instant.
The cavalry poured forth against the fleeing Gaebang, and as spears and horses carved through their ranks, the carriage slipped into the military encampment.
With the siege in full swing, no one lingered to watch where the party went.
Baturuu chose the empty path between tents and wagons. Ijungyong gripped the horse’s mane to keep from falling, while Jeonjingung steadied Jinipchu’s mount alongside hers.
Jangssaeng glimpsed Nayangja through the carriage curtain.
Nayangja sat with his back against the wall, eyes closed. He had wiped his mouth, but beneath his beard, a dark stain remained.
The carriage broke free onto the Official Road north of Yunzhou Castle.
Behind them, the roar of cavalry and the screams of the Gaebang mingled together. Ahead lay the endless northern road once more.
No one could find relief.
Though they had escaped the gorge, a far greater blockage now lodged within their master’s body.

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