Chapter 189

Woon-jeong’s eyes widened greatly upon hearing Jin Ja-gang’s words.

If Taoist Bok-cheon had been pushed back by Jin Ja-gang, it would become a major incident that would damage not only Taoist Bok-cheon’s honor but also that of Qingcheng Sect.

So for Qingcheng Sect’s sake, he hoped his master would win, yet at the same time he had contradictory thoughts hoping Jin Ja-gang would succeed.

Woon-jeong tried to confirm why Jin Ja-gang was insisting he had won. From outward appearances, nothing could be discerned at all. Both their postures and steps were exactly the same as before.

When Taoist Bok-cheon remained silent, Jin Ja-gang said:

“Please lift your left foot.”

Surprisingly, Taoist Bok-cheon raised no questions or objections. As Jin Ja-gang had said, he lifted his left foot and showed the sole.

There was a slight trace of blood on the front part of the leather shoe’s sole. As if he had stepped on blood. Though it was only about an inch, it was a definite fact that Taoist Bok-cheon had moved his foot.

Bian Bu let out an exclamation upon seeing this sight.

“Well, it was real!”

Woon-jeong blinked and sent a look to Bian Bu requesting an explanation. Bian Bu glanced at Taoist Bok-cheon and spoke carefully.

“If he hadn’t moved his foot at all, there would be no way for blood to get on the sole. Poison Dragon’s blood was scattered on the ground during the final third round. That is, because Taoist Bok-cheon moved his foot during the third round, he stepped on blood and it got on his sole.”

“Gasp! Then Master lost?”

“Yes. It seems Poison Dragon won his bet with Taoist Bok-cheon.”

“How, how could such a thing…”

Bian Bu shuddered as if disgusted.

“Ugh, that vicious fellow.”

In Jin Ja-gang’s left hand, which he kept close to his body, a long needle was protruding through the back of his hand. It had pierced through the center of the back of his hand, not between his fingers.

The long needle hadn’t been protruding from the beginning. He had been gripping it inside his hand with the sharp part against his palm. When Taoist Bok-cheon struck the back of Jin Ja-gang’s hand, it protruded with that force and tore Taoist Bok-cheon’s palm.

Taoist Bok-cheon’s demonstration of the first sixteen swords of the Seventy-Two Wave Sword had given Jin Ja-gang the clue for his counterattack.

He had aimed for only a single opportunity. Deliberately exposing the poison needle early was also a conscious action to make him forget that another was hidden in his other hand.

Not using his left hand even once until the third round was for this reason.

Jin Ja-gang looked at Taoist Bok-cheon and asked:

“Will you acknowledge it?”

By anyone’s view, since Taoist Bok-cheon, a senior of the martial world, had moved his foot first, it was Taoist Bok-cheon’s defeat.

However, Taoist Bok-cheon lowered his foot and spoke shamelessly with his hands behind his back:

“You said you would win if you pushed me back, but you never said you would win if you made me step forward.”

Woon-jeong looked at Taoist Bok-cheon with an embarrassed expression.

“Master, that’s a bit…”

Taoist Bok-cheon ignored Woon-jeong.

“Are my words wrong?”

Jin Ja-gang, who had been looking at Taoist Bok-cheon, thought for a moment then answered:

“They are not wrong.”

“You deliberately said you would push me back to confuse me, then actually induced me to step forward. And you tried to rely on common sense standards for the actual victory criteria. You thought that due to martial world propriety and duty, I would have no choice but to acknowledge defeat. However, that is a very despicable act that should not be done by someone of the orthodox faction. Do you understand?”

Taoist Bok-cheon’s words were correct. It would have been nearly impossible for Jin Ja-gang to push back Taoist Bok-cheon in a direct confrontation. He would have been blocked before he could even use his hands.

So Jin Ja-gang had said he would push him back, then actually lured him to step forward.

Bian Bu and Woon-jeong were puzzled about how he had lured him but couldn’t interrupt the conversation and held back.

Jin Ja-gang answered Taoist Bok-cheon’s words:

“I will not deny it.”

However, Jin Ja-gang felt conflicted. This was because Taoist Bok-cheon had called him a member of the orthodox faction.

“But your words are very unreasonable.”

“Why is that?”

“At first meeting you treated me as someone of the evil faction, yet now you apply the standards of the orthodox faction.”

Taoist Bok-cheon answered without changing his expression:

“I never treated you as someone of the evil faction. That woman over there, who was originally orthodox but became evil through acting like the evil faction – that might be different.”

Indeed, he had treated the group as troublesome guests but had never explicitly called them evil faction. Most of Taoist Bok-cheon’s antipathy had been directed at Dan Ryeong-gyeong. He had even glared at Dan Ryeong-gyeong during their exchanges.

Jin Ja-gang felt a strange emotion.

Taoist Bok-cheon declared sternly:

“If you want to be orthodox, act orthodox! No matter what others say!”

Taoist Bok-cheon’s words strangely struck a chord in Jin Ja-gang’s heart.

Jin Ja-gang suddenly felt emotional.

Why did Taoist Bok-cheon keep calling Jin Ja-gang orthodox?

Why?

However, Taoist Bok-cheon made a gesture refusing further questions and stepped back with a cupped-fist salute.

“By our standards, I cannot be said to have lost, but following the usual propriety of the martial world, it would be acceptable to say I was defeated. Your request will be granted.”

Jin Ja-gang also stepped back with an awkward cupped-fist salute.

“I will be able to tell you soon.”

Taoist Bok-cheon said to Woon-jeong:

“Don’t even think of setting one foot in the main mountain until they leave. You lacking fool.”

“Master…”

Woon-jeong made a tearful face and ran to Taoist Bok-cheon. When Taoist Bok-cheon glared at him, he hesitated then fumbled in his robes and pulled out a ceremonial bell. It was the bell that had holes and was dented.

“Hehe, this got broken…”

Taoist Bok-cheon’s face contorted. He grabbed the ceremonial bell and immediately struck Woon-jeong’s head with it.

Clang!

“Aaaaah!”

Woon-jeong rolled on the ground.

Taoist Bok-cheon glared at Woon-jeong then looked toward Dan Ryeong-gyeong and spoke loudly:

“Whether intended or not, your coming here again must be due to heaven’s workings. Untie what was tied! The final human principle to unravel the tangled connections is something that others can hardly resolve!”

Taoist Bok-cheon soon turned away as if he had no more business with the group.

When Taoist Bok-cheon left, Soso ran over and looked at Jin Ja-gang’s wounds with a pitying expression. She was especially saddened seeing the needle protruding through both sides of his palm.

“I’m fine, Soso.”

Bian Bu watched Taoist Bok-cheon’s retreating figure and asked Jin Ja-gang:

“But why did Taoist Bok-cheon step forward half an inch… I still don’t understand.”

“It’s false hellebore poison.”

Jin Ja-gang answered. “False hellebore poison penetrates through the skin and causes dizziness and headaches, dulling consciousness and making sound judgment impossible.”

How he had made it penetrate through the skin was obvious.

“So while scattering blood…”

He had been bleeding excessively to secretly scatter false hellebore poison. Taoist Bok-cheon had also been covered in quite a bit of blood while attacking Jin Ja-gang barehanded.

“But it’s hard to believe that a supreme master like Taoist Bok-cheon would be affected by mere false hellebore poison.”

Bian Bu muttered.

“Did he fail to notice that the distance was different when holding the branch versus not holding it because he was continuously deploying the same sword technique…”

As Bian Bu said, it was difficult to inflict fatal damage on masters with ordinary poison. However, what Jin Ja-gang wanted was just a tiny disruption. Like feeling full after eating a lot, he had aimed for small cracks that one wouldn’t consciously notice.

Jin Ja-gang had continued scattering false hellebore poison while being hit, gradually leaning back bit by bit. So that as Taoist Bok-cheon unconsciously extended his hand to strike, he would gradually come forward.

However, even though Jin Ja-gang thought his plan had worked properly, he felt somehow unsettled.

Hadn’t Taoist Bok-cheon said that Jin Ja-gang had ‘induced’ his mistake? That sounded like he already knew Jin Ja-gang’s intention. Especially his scolding… no, it felt more like advice than simple scolding, which was even more puzzling.

‘Could he have made up words to avoid acknowledging his defeat?’

Somehow it felt strange.

But then Dan Ryeong-gyeong muttered while watching Taoist Bok-cheon’s departing figure:

“He’s still the same…”

Woon-jeong rubbed his struck head and slyly asked Dan Ryeong-gyeong:

“What do you mean?”

“Your master has always been affectionate and unable to be harsh with people. He still hasn’t changed.”

Woon-jeong stopped crying and smiled brightly. Then he looked at Bian Bu and Jin Ja-gang and said:

“See? Just as I said. Our master isn’t someone who would cut people’s throats on sight. He hates evil but he’s really so affectionate that he listens to everything…”

Bian Bu clicked his tongue and gestured toward Jin Ja-gang with his chin. Jin Ja-gang’s appearance, covered in blood with holes in his neck and hand.

“Uh… hmm.”

Woon-jeong couldn’t say more and averted his gaze. Since the result before his eyes was somewhat different from his words, it seemed awkward to insist further.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong said to Jin Ja-gang:

“Taoist Bok-cheon is someone with terrifyingly accurate judgment. For such a person to not yield the first move to a junior of the martial world and use his hands is impossible. Do you understand what I mean?”

Jin Ja-gang nodded.

“If he had intended to harm us, we wouldn’t have been able to enter this far into Qingcheng Sect’s territory.”

In a way, it could be said that Taoist Bok-cheon had safely guided Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s group to this place. Thanks to this, they hadn’t received a single restraint from Qingcheng Sect.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong muttered:

“He… is truly a righteous person…”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s last words even sounded sad.

Perhaps Jin Ja-gang felt that Taoist Bok-cheon might already be predicting what Jin Ja-gang’s request would be.

In any case, they had managed to stay in one of the safest places in the martial world for the time being.

It was relief that had come after a very long time.

—

Tang Ha-ran stared intently at Mang Ryo.

“What are you up to?”

“What I’m up to isn’t something I should do, but something you should do from now on. Ah, since we must come out from the shadows to the light now, calling you ‘young master’ seems a bit odd. Should I call you niece?”

Tang Ha-ran’s gaze became sharp. Though she hadn’t been particularly respectful before, her current attitude was seriously arrogant.

“How dare… Do you have two lives or something?”

“If calling you niece doesn’t please you… Let’s see. Ugh, thinking about such things is bothersome, so let’s be reasonable. Let’s just go with Young Lady Tang.”

Calling her ‘young lady’ while ignoring the Tang family’s special circumstances where men and women were treated equally before marriage contained meaning that anyone could understand.

“Oh right, didn’t you hear from the elder?”

“What did he say?”

“Did you receive notice that your title of Young Lady Tang would be stripped and external activities prohibited?”

“Was that your doing?”

“Even knowing that, you’re still quite stiff-necked? Hehehe.”

Tang Ha-ran swallowed her anger and asked in a low voice:

“I’ll ask just once more. What scheme are you plotting?”

“Matchmaking. Before I die, I want to do one good deed by building a bridge between a man and woman.”

Now Mang Ryo was openly speaking down to her. Tang Ha-ran was furious at Mang Ryo’s attitude, as if their positions had reversed in just one day.

Moreover, Mang Ryo was sitting at the table while Tang Ha-ran stood.

“So! I’m asking why you’re arranging my marriage!”