Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 202 - Water Ghost (3)

Chapter 202 – Water Ghost (3)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“It seems you do not know what a threat is. Shall I teach you?” At the soft voice from behind him, Old Man Beom’s expression hardened. He had not even perceived it in that instant, and for someone to possess lightness skill sufficient to take his rear position meant that this was absolutely no ordinary opponent.

‘Heoh.’ By qi-sense, he had clearly seemed to be only at peak realm. Yet the fact that he had deceived his senses like this meant he was a master capable of completely concealing his presence.

‘…I cannot believe it.’ Old Man Beom inwardly denied it. That was only natural. For there to be a master capable of fooling him, it should be possible only for one who had crossed beyond the wall. But was not this fellow no more than seventeen or eighteen years old at most? At such a young age, had he truly reached the realm of transforming qi?

‘Yes. There is no way. It is far more likely that he has merely learned some special lightness skill.’ Even he, who had cultivated martial arts for nearly sixty years, had not reached that realm. There was no way this little brat had crossed beyond the wall. Having convinced himself of that, Old Man Beom immediately kicked off the ground.

-Pap! First, he had to separate from this bastard. Hurling himself forward, Old Man Beom’s gray robe fluttered as he spun his body.

‘Dual Extreme Preparatory Linked Hands!’ The moment he spun, the sleeves of his robe became sharp blades and released cutting force. Then, in one stroke, he cut away the torrential rain within a radius of nearly five jang.

-Chwaaaaaak! But that was not all. Old Man Beom stamped his foot toward the ground.

‘One-Step Scattering Explosive Force!’ The moment he drove his stepping strike into the pooled rainwater, the splashing raindrops took on true qi and became hidden projectiles that scattered in all directions. The range was so broad that

“This is bad!”

“Block it!”

-Sreung! Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak drew saber and sword at the same time and blocked the incoming raindrops.

-Chaechachaechang! The force behind those raindrops, charged with true qi, was enough to make their hands go numb even through the blades they held. As they blocked them, the two inwardly clicked their tongues. Not only had the old man reached the very extreme of transcendent peak, but the depth of his internal power was such that it would not be an exaggeration to say it had already gone beyond that level.

-Chaeng! Tremble! It seemed as though internal power at this level might even be comparable to the Five Kings, the upper executives of the Heaven and Earth Society.

While blocking the true-qi-laden raindrops and being forced back, the old man rolled his eyes about, searching for Mok Gyeong-un.

He had used a fairly powerful high-level form to create distance from him.

Both techniques had considerable force, but they also consumed a great deal of internal power.

Still, he had judged that it would take this much to shake that fellow from his back for certain.

‘Where is he?

Where in the world is he?’

Because the rain was so violent, it was difficult to secure his vision all at once.

But then,

“That is an interesting technique.”

At the voice from behind him, Old Man Beom’s expression hardened.

He had been sure the distance would have opened.

So what was this?

‘…I did not create any distance at all?’

Old Man Beom was thrown into utter confusion.

He had unfolded a wide-area anti-personnel form capable of striking in all directions, and yet instead of opening distance, he had still lost his rear.

-Grit!

Old Man Beom ground his teeth.

How could he repeatedly lose his rear to a brat this young?

“Impudent bastard!”

Old Man Beom changed methods.

Instead of opening distance, he stepped through his family’s footwork, the Five Smooth Steps, turning direction while at the same time unleashing Dual Extreme Preparatory Linked Hands to attack Mok Gyeong-un.

This time, since he had not first opened distance, if the fellow wanted to block or dodge the linked-hand strike, he would not be able to keep stealing his rear position.

-Chwaak!

At the same time, a black shadow appeared before his eyes.

‘Got you!’

Old Man Beom immediately unfolded a claw-art form toward the black shape.

‘Dual Extreme Signal Linked Claw.

Overturning, Seizing, and Expelling!’

-Papapapapak!

It was the bearing of a roaring tiger exposing its fangs and hurling itself toward prey.

Old Man Beom intended to settle the matter in the very instant he had caught the target’s position.

But then,

-Paaaaak!

‘What!?’

At that instant, the two hands with which he was unfolding the claw art passed right through the shadow.

Then, from behind him, a voice was heard.

“You are slow.”

“You bastard!”

Old Man Beom slashed backward with one claw strike.

-Paak!

But there was nothing his hand touched.

Instead, all that reached his ears was Mok Gyeong-un’s voice, close to mockery.

“At this rate, will you even be able to see my face?”

‘Are you toying with this old man!’

-Papapapapak!

At that mockery, rage surged up, and Old Man Beom immediately tried to unleash his claw art indiscriminately.

It seemed he would not be satisfied until he forced this bastard to stand before him.

But it was at precisely that moment.

-Thud!

Along with a pain stabbing through his right leg, Old Man Beom’s body slipped in the rainwater and pitched forward toward the ground.

Startled, he hurriedly reached out a hand so as not to fall.

However,

-Thud!

“Uk!”

A kick crashing into his left ribs as his form collapsed sent him sprawling across the ground.

-Kwang!

“Guuuuh.”

Fallen on the ground, Old Man Beom clutched his ribs and let out a groan.

It seemed that bones had been broken by the blow just now.

He could scarcely breathe.

Then Mok Gyeong-un’s voice came to his ears.

“You are making a great fuss over pain.

Or is it perhaps that, because of your age, pain of this level is hard to endure?”

“Cough, cough.”

Old Man Beom raised his head with a hardened expression.

He saw Mok Gyeong-un standing there looking down at him with hands behind his back.

To be lying on the ground in such humiliation and only then see this bastard’s face.

Old Man Beom truly found it absurd.

‘…So he really had crossed beyond the wall.’

Because the gap was so obvious, he had no choice but to admit it.

This fellow was truly a master of the transforming-qi realm.

‘For a youngster not even yet of full age to have climbed to such a terrifying realm.’

He was a monster.

Just what sect did he come from?

With martial power like this, his fame should naturally have already spread throughout the murim.

Even though he himself came from “that place,” he still knew, to some degree, the identities of those whose reputations were great within the martial world.

So, forcing his breathing steady with difficulty, Old Man Beom asked,

“Haa… haa…

What is your name, young man?”

“What would you do with that information?”

“Haa…

There is no special meaning.

I was simply struck with admiration for your martial power and grew curious about the fame attached to it.”

“Then you can remain curious.”

“……..”

It meant he had no intention of telling him.

Old Man Beom let out a sigh almost like a lament.

What an absurdly unlucky turn this had taken.

Driven by the young lady’s insistence, he had provoked someone like this.

What kind of ridiculous case was this?

He had truly touched the wrong person.

‘…This was the old man’s error.’

In truth, it could hardly be called an error.

To meet a peerless master capable of completely deceiving qi-sense was already rare.

And to meet someone not yet twenty years old who had reached the transforming-qi realm was rarer still.

It was close to sheer misfortune.

“Haa… haa…”

As he straightened his body and sat upright, Old Man Beom said,

“Very well.

If you will not tell me your name, then this old man will simply address you as little brother.”

-Pak!

Bringing both hands together in a salute, Old Man Beom lowered his head.

“This Beom bows and sincerely apologizes to you little brothers.”

“Apologizes?”

“Indeed.

Even if I had two mouths, I could not excuse this matter, but this old man truly had no intention of doing you harm.

Still, whatever the case, it is certain that I made you feel threatened.

For that, I apologize, and I will give the greatest compensation within my power.

So please, just this once, show some generosity.”

Old Man Beom bowed his head once more with utmost politeness.

Unlike that place, the murim ran by the logic of strength, and so in accordance with that he had thrown away his pride and apologized.

But mere words alone might still not be enough.

-Slide.

So Old Man Beom pulled a square jade token from within his robes.

Holding it out to Mok Gyeong-un, he said,

“This is a first-grade jade token issued by the Xiping Merchant House.”

“Xiping Merchant House?”

“Yes.

With that jade token, one may draw one hundred gold at a time.”

“One hundred gold?”

A strange light entered Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes.

One hundred gold was no different from ten thousand silver.

It was an enormous sum, enough for a sect of considerable size to run for about a year.

He judged that compensation of this magnitude would force anyone to relent.

“Oh?

Is that so?

Then I will gratefully accept it.”

Mok Gyeong-un accepted the jade token.

Seeing that, Old Man Beom thought, as expected.

Martial artists were still human.

There was no way they would not be dazzled by a huge sum like this.

It stung a little since it was half the travel funds he had received, but it was still preferable to letting the matter grow worse.

“Thank you.”

Just as Old Man Beom released his salute and was about to rise to his feet,

Mok Gyeong-un tucked the square jade token into his robes and said,

“Compensation is compensation.

Shall we continue the conversation we were having?”

“What?”

Old Man Beom frowned.

What sort of thing was this man saying?

After taking a Xiping Merchant House jade token good for one hundred gold at a single draw, what could he mean by this?

“Young man.

Surely this matter should end here…”

“No.

There are things that can be settled with money and things that cannot.”

“What?

After receiving that much money, you can still say such a thing?”

“Of course.

If you had been stronger than me, then there would have been no need for you to pay money or to apologize so humbly.

You would simply have achieved what you wanted.”

“……….”

Old Man Beom’s mouth fell shut at those words.

It was true, and he could not deny it.

He had, from the start, intended to pressure these men by force and drag them before the young lady.

Since he had truly spoken as much, it was difficult to offer any excuse at all.

So Old Man Beom tried to calm Mok Gyeong-un as mildly as he could.

“Little brother.

This old man fully understands how you feel.

If it seemed as though I was trying to settle it with money…”

“What exactly do you understand?”

“That is…”

“It does not seem you understand at all.”

“……..No, did I not say?

This old man merely…”

“Would it not be fastest for you to experience it directly rather than talk?”

“Experience?”

“Yes.

Since you do not seem to know the difference between cooperation and a threat.”

‘This fellow, could he…’

At those words, Old Man Beom’s eyes sharpened for an instant.

Come to think of it, this fellow’s companions were nowhere to be seen.

And it was at exactly that moment.

-Crash!

“Y-you insolent wretches!”

‘!?’

At the great crashing noise from the direction of the inn and the familiar cry that followed, Old Man Beom’s pupils shook wildly.

‘Th-this bastard!’

-Pap!

Old Man Beom’s face twisted as he immediately hurled himself toward the inn.

When he entered through the back door, his expression froze.

There, with the escort guards collapsed on the floor, Mong Mu-yak stood behind the veiled young lady and held the edge of a sword against her delicate throat.

Though Mong Mu-yak and Seop Chun were one level below Old Man Beom, none of the other escort guards were in any position to deal with the two of them.

“Y-you bastards!

Will you not release that person at once?”

Old Man Beom barked at them in a voice full of rage.

If it were up to his feelings alone, he wished to tear apart those wretches who dared put steel to that person’s neck.

To him, Mong Mu-yak answered in a cold voice,

“It would be best if you do not move.”

“You!”

How was he supposed to deal with this situation?

He had feared it, and these men had indeed committed a truly irreverent act.

Then,

“How does it feel?

Do you think you now understand the difference between cooperation and a threat?”

-Clench!

At Mok Gyeong-un’s voice, now sounding from behind him again, Old Man Beom bit his lower lip.

He had not thought he would be repaid in exactly this manner.

He had truly laid his hands on the wrong opponent.