Chapter 8
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“Kugh… Ugh. I don’t know anything.”
Just as the masked man was about to bite his tongue, Jegal Haesu's hand once again struck several of his pressure points.
Simultaneously, the masked man cried out in excruciating pain.
“Kuh, kuaargh!”
“I struck the pressure points that stimulate the nerves. If you try to bite your tongue, I’ll make it hurt even more. You won't be able to die so easily. You'll have to endure this agony, perhaps until the sun rises.”
Hiding in Jegal Haesu’s robes and listening in, Soso thought to herself.
‘He’s a master of torture…!’
The master of torture relentlessly tormented the masked man.
“So speak obediently. What happened to the Rising Talents who were kidnapped five years ago?”
“Keuk, I… I don’t… don’t know about that.”
“I prefer things to be neat and tidy… It seems I can’t leave your body in one piece.”
Jegal Haesu’s hand moved swiftly again, striking the pressure points that would twist the man’s energy meridians.
At that, bloody tears began to stream from the masked man’s bloodshot eyes.
Unable to learn powerful martial arts due to his Turbid Meridian Condition, Jegal Haesu had mastered many minor skills instead. Acupoint striking was one of them.
“Kuaargh! S-s-stop! I'll… I'll talk! Please!”
In the end, unable to bear the pain, the masked man surrendered.
“I'll make it just a little less painful for you.”
Jegal Haesu released a few of the pressure points, leaving the masked man in just enough pain to be able to confess the truth.
Letting out a ragged breath, the masked man finally began to speak.
“Most of them… went mad.”
“Are there any who didn't go mad and are still alive?”
“I… I don't know that much. But there are definitely some who are still sane.”
“Did one of them become the Heavenly Demon?”
“…”
Even while gasping in pain, the masked man remained silent on that matter, as if speaking of it would bring about a great disaster.
“The Cult Leader is…”
It was then that something horrific happened.
Blood began to pour from all the masked man's orifices. His eye sockets, his nostrils, his ear canals…
“Gyaaaaaargh!”
Letting out a grotesque sound, the masked man died on the spot.
“A curse that kills you if you speak the Heavenly Demon's name, is it…?”
Jegal Haesu showed a hint of disappointment amidst his surprise.
“Sami, let's go back now.”
Just as Jegal Haesu and Soso were about to leave the cave.
Swoooosh— A faint sound of something slicing through the air began to approach from the distance.
“Someone's coming.”
Jegal Haesu must have sensed the presence as well, for his face hardened and he quickly began to use his lightness skill.
“Sami, hold on tight.”
Jegal Haesu fled quickly, but the one who had made their presence known quickly blocked his path.
“Kekekeke.”
The source of the bizarre laughter was a white-haired Old Fiend.
*Somehow, that laugh sounds familiar,* Soso thought.
She was naturally reminded of the laugh of the Old Fiend who had kidnapped Young Master Eon-u.
“So you're the one who made off with the spiritual herb? Kekeke.”
“…”
“Seeing you've returned, you must be dying to die!”
“Damn it.”
Jegal Haesu swallowed dryly.
The Old Fiend standing before him was on a completely different level from the Blood Wolf Fiends he had met in the cave.
An unapproachably sinister energy emanated from him.
The oppressive aura flowing from the Old Fiend crushed his entire body. He felt as if he could be slammed into the dirt floor at any moment.
Beads of sweat, which had formed at some unknown point, trickled down his cheek.
‘A top-tier master from the Demonic Cult. I can't beat him.’
Jegal Haesu knew it instinctively.
It seemed that even with the lightness skill he had desperately mastered to flee from masters, he would not be able to escape this Old Fiend.
‘I made a mistake. I should have been more careful…’
Jegal Haesu bit his lower lip.
In that moment, strangely, the one who came to mind was not his older brother, but Sami, hidden in his robes.
‘I have to prevent the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng from falling into the Old Fiend's hands. Even if I die.’
If I die like this, I won't be able to see my brother again, yet I'm more worried about Sami. Have I already grown so attached?
In any case, he had to create an opportunity to hide Sami.
It was a fight he was bound to lose if they clashed.
If I can just divert the Old Fiend's attention for a single moment, just once.
Jegal Haesu forced the corners of his mouth into a smile.
“Hoho, my my. For an old man who should be one foot in the grave, you're awfully confident.”
“What did you say?”
“I was just getting bored because those Blood Wolf Fiend bastards were so pathetic! I'll teach you a thing or two.”
“Kekekeke! You dare speak of teaching me? I shall grant the most humiliating death to a young whelp from the Orthodox Factions who hasn't even learned to respect his elders.”
This was no joke; the killing intent flowing from the Old Fiend's body was terrifying.
Jegal Haesu struggled to deflect the killing intent and, with a snap, opened the fan tucked at his waist.
“No matter how great a master you are, I have a particular talent for running away. I shall specially grant a lesson in lightness skill to a sinister fiend like you! Hahaha!”
And then, Jegal Haesu shouted obnoxiously.
“Catch me if you can~!”
Unleashing his desperate lightness skill, Jegal Haesu had already vanished, becoming a mere dot in the distance.
The Old Fiend was so stunned he couldn't even think to follow, just standing there dumbfounded.
“Catch me… What? Catch me if you can?”
The words were so absurd, so infuriating, that he couldn't come to his senses for a moment.
“That… that insolent brat!”
Belatedly regaining his wits, the Old Fiend's body moved faster than a flash of lightning.
Meanwhile, Jegal Haesu's face was dead serious as he descended the mountain using his lightness skill.
He looked nothing like the person who had just obnoxiously yelled, “Catch me if you can~!”
Jegal Haesu hadn't made that boast just to mock the Old Fiend.
He was aiming to catch the Old Fiend off guard.
And so, with an obnoxiousness that would make the heavens themselves furious, he had earned a single opportunity.
He had bought time to hide the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
Before the Old Fiend could follow, Jegal Haesu hid the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng under a bush at the base of a large tree.
Sami struggled slightly, as if trying to say something, but Jegal Haesu had no time.
“Stay still.”
Soso stared up at Jegal Haesu.
“I truly wanted to help you… But my abilities are so lacking that hiding you is the best I can do. You must not, under any circumstances, be caught by the Old Fiend.”
Jegal Haesu seemed to have resigned himself to losing his life.
Leaving behind what sounded like his last words, Jegal Haesu vanished in a flash before Soso could even react.
Left behind, Soso stared blankly at the spot where Jegal Haesu had disappeared.
‘I feel like this is the last time I'll see the Young Master. No…!’
Her heart ached at the thought of Jegal Haesu suffering the same fate as Young Master Eon-u at the hands of the Old Fiend.
She felt like crying, but in this body, she couldn't even shed tears.
But instead of doing something foolish like following him, Soso kept her body hidden quietly among the bushes.
She knew it was better to stay hidden like this than to move recklessly and be spotted by the Old Fiend.
Jegal Haesu had risked his life to hide her; she couldn't let his efforts go to waste.
But she couldn't stop worrying about Jegal Haesu, who was now on the brink of life and death.
‘Young Master Jegal won't be able to defeat that Old Fiend…’
She wasn't certain, but it seemed that Old Fiend was the same person who had defeated Young Master Eon-u.
There was no way the frail Jegal Haesu could defeat an opponent that even Young Master Eon-u, who was strong enough to be called the Hidden Dragon, could not overcome.
Of course, Jegal Haesu seemed to have many other talents, but they were not the kind that would be of much help in a direct confrontation.
Unless it was to lure or deceive an enemy.
Soso curled her body up as tightly as she could and prayed desperately for Jegal Haesu's safety.
She hoped that the end for Jegal Haesu, who shared the same pain of having a loved one kidnapped by the Demonic Cult, would not be a tragic one.
If gods truly existed, she prayed that Jegal Haesu would have a Fortuitous Encounter and escape with his life.
As long as he's alive, we might be able to meet again.
‘Please…’
In that moment, a small golden light sparked from Soso's fine roots, which were clenched in prayer.
It happened in an instant.
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