Chapter 4 – An Alligator Lives in the Yangtze River

Chapter 4 – An Alligator Lives in the Yangtze River

“Damn it, how far did he go?”

Did that guy not have a brain? Why was he acting like victim number one in a horror movie? Did he not learn that you shouldn't just enter unfamiliar places?!

As I quickened my pace and reached the entrance of the cave, a chilly, dreary wind blew out.

Gulp.

Cursing him was only momentary. In the end, I had no choice but to act like victim number two in a horror movie.

Following number one to die together.

‘You punk… My martial arts depend on you.’

Truly, tears brought a blur to my eyes.

Once I picked up Tang Hae-soo and returned, I would first extract the remaining modern conscience inside me. No. If possible, removing that guy from my life was the priority.

I was a modern person whose heart was too weak to live in the Jianghu martial world…

‘Surely there isn't really an Earth Dragon, right? Sigh… Even if there is, it should be hibernating, so it might be fine if I move quietly…’

After hesitating, I cautiously set foot into the entrance of the cave.

“Brother, where are you?”

I went inside and called out for Tang Hae-soo a few times, but no answer returned.

“Just how far…”

“You. Did you actually follow me in secret?”

After walking for a long time, Tang Hae-soo's voice suddenly rang out. However, no matter how much I looked around, only his voice could be heard, and he was nowhere to be seen.

“What, where are you? I can't see you.”

As I walked while guessing the direction of the sound, Tang Hae-soo's figure below a ledge came into view.

What is he doing there?

“…What are you doing down there?”

“Go back immediately. This is no place for you.”

It certainly looked that way. For the first time, I agreed with Tang Hae-soo.

“Did I express my words to get lost too euphemistically? Did you actually come thinking you could be of help? I told you, do not get in my way.”

……You don't know it, but the one who really wants to go back right now is me, okay?

“Sigh, brother. I think you are misunderstanding something right now… I didn't come to help you. Nor did I come to interfere.”

“Huh?”

“I came to pick you… No, to escort you back, you know? So let's go back together.”

The inside of the cave was not as dark as expected. Perhaps because it was a cave formed in a gap between bizarre rocky cliffs, there were parts where light leaked in little by little.

The sound of water droplets dripping down a large stalactite echoed.

“…No, looking closely… Did you perhaps fall down there?”

“………No.”

Given the slow reply, it seemed he indeed did.

“Then how did you go down?”

“……”

When no response returned, a chuckle escaped me. As expected, it seemed to have been unrelated to his own intention. Well, now how do I retrieve that?

As I approached the ledge, I could see the reason why Tang Hae-soo was sitting slumped there.

After taking a few steps, with a cracking sound, the stone beneath my foot broke.

‘Ah, this… must be mica.’

Mica had a property of splitting particularly easily among rocks, and its strength was weak enough to break with hands.

Therefore, one needed to be careful when it was in a cave. This was because if one stepped on it wrongly while the vision was dark, the floor could give way and lead to a fall. It was like a naturally formed trap, so to speak.

And there was Tang Hae-soo, who had fallen into that trap.

After estimating the approximate depth, I took off the robe I was wearing and tore it long.

I firmly secured the rope made that way to a stone pillar connected to stalactites and asked.

“You can grab it and climb up, right?”

“No.”

“Then hurry up and cli… Pardon?”

At the unexpected answer, I suddenly poked my head below the ledge. Tang Hae-soo was still sitting slumped on the ground.

“Are you hurt?”

Tang Hae-soo, who hesitated without answering, briefly explained the situation.

“I am taking a short rest. Below… Ahem. There was an Earth Dragon. You were right.”

Looking closely at Tang Hae-soo, who was murmuring as if talking to himself, only then did the wounds on his arms and legs catch my eye. It seemed he himself was also quite injured while catching the Earth Dragon he happened to run into. Even though the distance was considerable, I wondered if even fifteen minutes had passed, yet he had already fought in that short amount of time.

“…Since it fled while poisoned, its breath should have stopped by now. Once day breaks, we will be able to find it if we search inside the cave.”

‘He caught the Earth Dragon alone? Wow… Although he's hurt, that's amazing. He isn't the Young Clan Leader for nothing.’

After pulling the rope to make a knot at the end, I lightly kicked the wall and went down.

The stratum that the mica had been covering was about seven to eight meters, a height that Tang Hae-soo could have easily climbed up alone if he had not been injured.

As I stepped onto the ground, Tang Hae-soo asked in a grumpy voice.

“Why on earth did you follow me?”

“I didn't want to come either, you know? But what can I do. Since I'm a twenty-first cent… No, anyway. Grab my shoulder.”

“Twenty-bastard?”

“……You did that on purpose, didn't you?”

I exchanged light jokes while inspecting Tang Hae-soo's injuries. Fortunately, it was not a serious injury.

“We need to splint your ankle. I mean, who told you to come to a place like this alone in the middle of the night? I know you feel pressured, but the search taking longer isn't your fault either.”

"I am the Young Clan Leader, so whose…"

"Blame others, blame others! Everyone lives like that!"

"…Your speech habits have been a mess since you woke up."

When I yelled, Tang Hae-soo let out a soft sigh.

"Secure your body to the rope…"

Clatter.

At that moment, the faint sound of a rolling stone came from somewhere. I stopped talking for a moment and looked around. However, nothing caught my eye.

‘…Did I hear wrong?’

Clatter.

Clack. Click!

However, as the once-faint sound echoed louder and louder, my body froze in an instant.

“What is this sound…”

Roll…

At that moment, the dried and hardened wall cracked, and a pebble rolled all the way to my feet.

Tang Hae-soo's gaze and mine turned to that wall at the same time. The gaps in the wall, which looked as though it were covered in dry mud, were widening more and more.

Thump. Thud!

The cracked wall surface dropped onto the ground, piece by piece.

“…!!!"

From within, a snout revealing sharp teeth suddenly burst out.

Grrrr.

The low, rumbling growl was felt not in the ears, but in the heart. Thump, thump.

“……What on earth is that…”

“Go up first.”

At my murmuring, Tang Hae-soo whispered quietly, his eyes fixed on the wall.

The protruding snout collapsed the wall in an instant, revealing its giant body.

The qi flowing in nature did not only accumulate in human bodies. The internal energy accumulated that way allowed one to exhibit abilities beyond the physical body, but that was the same for beasts as well. A beast that accumulated internal qi in such a way lived for over hundreds of years, finally becoming a spiritual beast.

‘…Surely that's not the Earth Dragon…?’

I had certainly never seen an alligator of that size. Was that not a size that should be called a dragon, or a dinosaur, rather than an alligator? Its length seemed to be well over ten meters… Indeed. That was why it was a dragon in the earth.

At the unfamiliar creature I was experiencing for the first time, I stared at the Earth Dragon as if I had temporarily lost my mind.

Grrrr. Growl.

They were the eyes of a predator, shining menacingly even in the darkness. Every time a sound rumbled from its innards, a grayish smoke leaked out from between its sharp teeth.

“Don't breathe. The Earth Dragon's breath is mixed with deadly poison. Seeing that it is alive, it seems it somehow neutralized the poison I used.”

No, where on earth is there an alligator that spews poison… Are you seriously kidding me?

I regained my senses, grabbed the tied rope, and shouted urgently.

“Let's go quickly! If we go up, we will buy some time!”

However, Tang Hae-soo shook his head and drew flying daggers from his sleeve. Midst the hazy dust, six flying daggers were held in his hands. Yet, whether Tang Hae-soo, who had already injured his arm, could hold out was an unknown.

"Go and fetch the Squad Leader!"

"And you have the confidence to stay alive until then?!"

"I told you to run!"

If only you weren't standing there, that's exactly what I'd want to do, okay?!

Even if the world's strongest expert came, he would be eaten first before the Squad Leader could be fetched at this distance. There was no way Tang Hae-soo didn't know that. That must be why he was telling me to run.

"All you can do right now is run away or die together. So hurry!"

I had no words to say.

Because it was true. Not a single word that came out of Tang Hae-soo's mouth was wrong.

Common-sensically, what could I possibly do? I was a modern person who, until a few days ago, had been lying down with a warm back. Though I had suddenly woken up in the Jianghu martial world, the body I resided in was also not that of a proper martial artist. I did not know any martial arts either.

There was nothing I could do. So, of course, running away was the best choice. Yes, that was right.

……Although that was right.

‘…Ha.’

Along with an unpleasant feeling, a sense of nausea surged from deep within.

My life up until now had always been like this.

I had always lived choosing the slightly less terrible option among the shitty and dog-like choices given to me.

It was the same now. Running away vs. becoming prey side-by-side. Which one to choose was my decision. But suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

‘I decided to stop living a life where I'm pushed into choices.’

I hated surviving alone like a coward, and I hated dying together out of loyalty.

I decided to make a third choice.

I picked up a flying dagger that had fallen to the ground and stood beside Tang Hae-soo.

Taking a deep breath, I calmly settled my mind.

Then, I murmured softly as if casting a spell on myself.

“…I will not die here.”

This was the answer I chose.

‘Even if I run away alone now, with this height, it is only a matter of time before the Earth Dragon chases me. Tang Hae-soo has already wounded the Earth Dragon, so if I just play the role of bait well… there is a chance of winning.’

At that moment, the rapidly approaching Earth Dragon opened its large mouth as if it had been waiting and spewed out a grayish poisonous smoke.

Ssshh-

“Dammit…!!”

“Ack, what is this!”

This alligator bastard, launching a chemical attack so cowardly?!

At the poisonous smoke poured out before there was even time to dodge, Tang Hae-soo stumbled and looked at me.

“You, ugh… I told you to get up quickly!”

“Aargh, damn… Ah, *cough*! My eyes sting, *cough*!"

Coughing in the smoke that stung my eyes, nose, and mouth, I spat out a cough. Unexpected tears streamed down.

“……?”

“Ah, my eyes sting! What kind of alligator spews chemical gas from its mouth! *Cough*, are you okay?”

Tang Hae-soo looked at me as if he could not understand and asked.

“Am I… okay? ……What about you?”

“Other than wanting to wash my eyeballs out, I think I'm fine, but why?”

“…That… shouldn't be possible.”

“Huh? No, that's not what's important right now, but I think we need to climb up before that thing charges again.”

Grrrr… Growl!

Perhaps because the Earth Dragon had been hit by poison and hidden weapons in turn, fortunately, it did not attack immediately but was slowly testing the waters.

This was thanks to Tang Hae-soo driving a flying dagger into one of the Earth Dragon's eyes right before he was hit by the poisonous smoke.

“……Ugh…”

At that moment, a short groan was heard from beside me.

“Brother?”

Feeling a sudden sense of foreboding, I looked to the side to see Tang Hae-soo gritting his teeth in pain.

“……Brother Hae-soo?”

…You're not going to die and leave me alone, right?

“…Sigh, I need to expel the poison… Can you buy some time?”

Strength entered my hand holding the flying dagger.

‘Can I do it?’

But it was too late to doubt. I had to do it.

I nodded, reassuring Tang Hae-soo.

“…I tend to get braver the lower my survival rate is. Haha…”

I don't know what you're going to do, but please do it quickly.

Not much time remained.

Looking at the Earth Dragon's eyes, it seemed it had finished its search. It was approaching as if it would not miss the prey it had marked.

‘With my strength, I won't even be able to scratch that hard hide.’

Therefore, I had to target the softest spot.

There was only one chance.

The moment the Earth Dragon opened its mouth would be right before it bit me. If this attack succeeded, I would be able to buy some time.

‘I can do it… I can do it.’

I concentrated all my nerves at my fingertips. A dreary chill was even transmitted through the flying dagger.

I was so nervous that my lower abdomen felt ticklish.

Grrrr!

And finally, the moment the Earth Dragon, which had approached right before my nose, gaped its mouth wide open.

Swish!

‘Even though I look like this, I was once a marksman, you alligator bastard!’

The sound of the flying dagger released from my precisely extended fingertips tearing through the air was heard.

It was a sound slightly… louder than my expectation.