Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Splash!

“Keugh!”

Gwon Mu-jin opened his eyes to a sudden cold sensation. Within his blurry vision were several figures, and at the center of them were also familiar faces.

Where was this place?

What had happened while he was unconscious?

Bewildered by the incomprehensible situation, he examined his surroundings and soon realized he was tied up with rope. Soon, a person's voice carried over the wind.

“You woke up well.”

“Kug!?”

It was Ma Dok-jin.

He was right before his eyes. His tattered clothes and bloodstains were everywhere.

His appearance, showing that he had suffered deep internal injuries, was extremely poor.

Since even his face had turned blue, it was clear that a significant portion of his meridians was blocked, and it seemed difficult for him to even circulate his qi for the time being.

However, his gaze was unusual.

“How did this…”

“You bastard!”

At that moment, Ma Dok-jin approached while spitting out curses. Pushing aside the subordinates around him, he ran over in a single breath and violently threw a punch.

Thud!

“Keugh!”

It hurt.

His fist, which struck his face, carried a force so strong that it was hard to believe it came from someone who had suffered deep internal injuries. Because having an internal injury did not mean one could not use internal energy.

However, it was definitely weaker than usual.

“I saved a dying bastard and raised you, yet how dare you! How dare you!”

Gwon Mu-jin realized the whole situation.

He knew about Gwon Mu-jin trying to betray him.

Indeed, even he himself had woken up from his unconscious state, so there was no reason Ma Dok-jin could not do the same.

Looking at that murderous gaze, he must have heard everything.

“Who raised whom? You just threw me away like dog food and neglected me.”

“This bastard…!”

What was already discovered could not be helped. He did not want to bow his head just to survive submissively either.

Therefore, he planned to curse to his heart's content, at least at the moment of his death.

Thud!

“Keugh!”

At that moment, a fist flew in out of nowhere.

For a moment, his breath seemed to stop from the impact striking his abdomen. However, he gritted his teeth and stared straight at the person who had swung the fist.

Ak-gyun.

He was once Gwon Mu-jin's right-hand man, but looking at that murderous gaze, it seemed he was no longer that.

Indeed, in order to survive in the unorthodox path, one had to aim for the top.

Although mutiny against a superior was a taboo even in the unorthodox path, the unorthodox path was ultimately a place where one had no choice but to die if they did not fight their way up.

It was a laughably absurd rule.

‘This guy…!’

Gwon Mu-jin gritted his teeth.

He did understand Ak-gyun's actions. Because this Jianghu was structured in a way that one could not seize power without bringing someone else down.

Gwon Mu-jin swallowed his saliva and looked around. He felt murderous gazes.

Gwon Mu-jin had betrayed his lord.

Only that fact was shaking the minds of the subordinates.

‘I must escape.’

Gwon Mu-jin looked around.

The two sabers he usually favored were in front of Ma Dok-jin. The distance was one thing, but Ma Dok-jin was not an easy opponent to ignore and grab his favored weapons.

However, because there was no time to think deeply, he smirked and mocked Ma Dok-jin.

“I dedicated my life to you, but I always thought it wouldn't be strange whenever I died. Honestly, don't you have an inferiority complex toward me?”

“You… you damn bastard!”

Ma Dok-jin gritted his teeth.

Even without this, his anger had not subsided due to his defeat by Dan Woo-hyun, and having Gwon Mu-jin, who had bowed to him his entire life, say such things made his rage flare up even more.

He gripped his large saber.

He intended to kill the bastard with a single strike.

“How dare you defy the lord you served!”

“What kind of lord tries to kill his subordinate? You're just a bastard worse than a bug!”

“This guy until the very end!”

The strength in Ma Dok-jin's grip was so strong that it seemed as if it would crush the hilt.

Ma Dok-jin's murderous intent, which had reached its peak, spread out in waves.

“Die!”

He swung his large saber just like that.

Although he was said to have suffered internal injuries, the name Hegemonic Saber did not vanish. The large saber carried a force that seemed capable of tearing Gwon Mu-jin's body apart at once.

Swish!

Gwon Mu-jin stared straight at the large saber and hastily twisted his body. In a split second, if his movement was even slightly late, his head would inevitably be severed.

Swoosh!

“Ugh!?”

Fortunately, the blade of Ma Dok-jin, who had suffered internal injuries, was not that fast. Gwon Mu-jin, who used that gap to cut the rope, rolled on the ground.

He narrowed the distance in an instant, grabbed the two sabers fallen on the ground, and stabbed Ak-gyun's abdomen.

Stab!

“Keugh!”

Even as he felt the blade penetrating deep into the opponent's body, he did not let down his guard.

He pulled out the saber roughly and rolled his body to the side again.

Slash!

Hegemonic Saber Ma Dok-jin's blade grazed past.

Whether he failed to avoid it perfectly, blood splattered from his flank. However, it was not the time to feel pain. He twisted his body and brandished his twin sabers.

Clang!

“You bastard!”

Gwon Mu-jin blocked Ma Dok-jin's strike.

Since he had observed him while serving as his subordinate for a long time, he could sufficiently face him as long as Ma Dok-jin was not in perfect condition.

Gwon Mu-jin moved his twin sabers quickly.

The range was short, but it was that much more unpredictable.

The saber art of Ma Dok-jin, who pursued heavy power with a massive saber and quickness, was seemingly grand, but if Gwon Mu-jin did not even give him the time to display it, this fight was by no means advantageous to Ma Dok-jin.

Clank-!

Slash-!

“Argh!”

The twin blades, which struck in unpredictable ways, slashed Ma Dok-jin's eye.

At the same moment he saw blood splatter, Gwon Mu-jin threw his body in the opposite direction.

All of this happened in literally the blink of an eye. The other subordinates, whose skills were low, could not even react properly.

“Grr! Chase him! What are you doing! Kill that bastard!”

Ma Dok-jin shouted roughly while covering his eye with one hand. He vented his anger at the fact that he could not chase him with his own body because the pouring blood would not stop.

“Aaaaah! That son of a bitch!”

* * *

Most of the children attending Green Pine Academy were children of wealthy families. That was to say, they were children of such houses that one might face a severe beating if they touched them recklessly.

“Where are we going today?”

A girl with a clear voice smiled cutely and looked at Dan So-mi.

At the time school ended, Dan So-mi walked out of the academy with a child.

Since there was still about one shijin left until Dan Woo-hyun arrived, playing with this child during that time had now become her daily routine.

The child beside Dan So-mi was a girl named Ji-yak. She looked about one or two years younger than Dan So-mi, but as it turned out, she was an older sister who was one year older.

Ji-yak was her first friend she made at the academy.

In fact, she was a child who had no friends just like Dan So-mi, and though she did not know how she entered this academy, they got along quite well and spent time wandering around like this together.

Dan So-mi also found it very enjoyable.

“Umm… the market street?”

“You want to eat sugar candy?”

“Hehehe.”

Dan So-mi nodded her head slightly at Ji-yak's question.

Sugar candy was delicious. Especially, the sugar candy sold in Yueyang was sweet as if made by a master artisan, and it melted softly in the mouth. If she did not eat it for even a day, it felt like thorns would grow in her mouth now.

“Then, for me, dumplings! I want to eat dumplings!”

Two children burst into giggles and ran out. Their eyes sparkled, showing excited expressions.

Before they knew it, the market street they arrived at was noisy and crowded. Since there were so many merchants and many people visited, it was a place with a high probability of getting lost.

The two children held each other's hands tightly.

They gripped tightly to not separate and pushed through the crowd. Finally, the moment they arrived in front of the shop selling sugar candy.

“Jin-rang?”

A familiar face was seen.

A large build, a harsh impression.

Hong Jin-rang turned his head with a sugar candy in his mouth at the sound calling him, his eyes widening. It was because he saw Ji-yak and Dan So-mi.

He hurriedly swallowed the sugar candy.

“What is it?”

“Hehe, you're eating sugar candy here too?”

“Mind your own business. Whether I eat something or not.”

Hong Jin-rang snapped roughly. Even without this, he really hated that Dan So-mi, whom he disliked, was in the same academy.

Honestly, he did not really like encountering her like this either.

At that moment, Ji-yak's voice was heard.

“No! You shouldn't speak like that.”

“Ugh…”

When she scolded him with a "Hey!", Hong Jin-rang flinched. Stealthily checking Ji-yak's reaction, he felt like a rabbit standing in front of a tiger.

Dan So-mi looked at Ji-yak and Hong Jin-rang with a puzzled expression.

Come to think of it, Hong Jin-rang was helpless in front of Ji-yak every time.

Was it because they were close?

“S-sorry.”

“Good job! That's a man!”

As she beamed a bright smile, Hong Jin-rang's face turned beet red. A strange sight of him glancing away and playing innocent was also glimpsed.

Dan So-mi pondered over this, but right now, the sugar candy before her eyes took priority.

She bought three so that the three of them could eat together in harmony. As she handed one to each of them, Hong Jin-rang looked down at the sugar candy with a blank expression.

However, Dan So-mi and Ji-yak put the sugar candy in their mouths, burst into giggles, and began conversing amongst themselves, leaving Hong Jin-rang out of place like a borrowed sack of barley.

In the end, with a small sigh, he took a bite.

“Jin-rang, next is over there! You buy the dumplings!”

“What? Why should I buy that for you?”

Hong Jin-rang protested at Dan So-mi's remark.

However, as Ji-yak grabbed his wrist and pulled him, whether because he was flustered or simply couldn't bring himself to shake off her hand, even the large-statured Hong Jin-rang followed along helplessly.

“Dumplings are expensive.”

Sugar candy was only one iron coin.

On the other hand, dumplings cost about two to three iron coins. Since the amount of money spent was relatively larger, it was quite a burden for young children.

However, seeing Ji-yak wearing a broad smile, Hong Jin-rang ended up scratching his head as if he had no choice.

“Will dumplings do?”

“Yeah! Ji-yak said she wanted to eat them, rather than me.”

“Fine, eat until your stomach bursts.”

At Hong Jin-rang's words, flowers bloomed on the faces of the two girls.

As he rummaged through his shirt and took out half a silver coin, which could be considered his emergency money, the merchant quickly served the dumplings.

“Why on earth am I…”

“Now that we bought food too, let's go to the teahouse!”

“Ugh…!”

Hong Jin-rang grimaced. He had planned to eat sugar candy and go home to practice, but it did not seem like he could easily escape from the clutches of these girls.

If it were only Dan So-mi, he wouldn't have cared at all, but unfortunately Ji-yak was beside her, so he could not do that.

Furthermore, he could not leave these two to play by themselves either…

With a small sigh, Hong Jin-rang nodded his head.

He had to do as he was told, what choice did he have?

Thus, the three children walked while chatting amicably.