Chapter 127
Chapter 127
Yeon-ryang’s murderous aura made Jin-sung flinch and take a step back.
With a force that seemed ready to split a person in half, I hurriedly stepped in front of Jin-sung.
“Whoa, whoa? What’s wrong? Calm down, Brother. You have to listen to the end. I meant the Jinseong disciple stopped it so I was cut less.”
“…The Jinseong disciple?”
“Yeah. We were catching pirates together. Beopgong Monk called him.”
“That bald monk? I didn’t hear anything about that?”
Yeon-ryang frowned and muttered, his eyes swirling with Demonic Energy, as red as blood.
Perhaps because the excitement of battle hadn’t subsided, the Qi he was emitting was ominous.
Before Jin-sung could notice anything strange, I quickly pushed Yeon-ryang’s back.
“You can ask the monk when he comes. Come on, we’re almost done here, right? We just have to finish off the three or four hidden in the water, so we’ll be done soon. Brother, clean up over there. They said the ship will sink if it gets too heavy, so throw the pirates into the water right away.”
“But…”
‘Brother. Demonic Energy.’
As I shook my head and mouthed the words, Yeon-ryang sighed and rubbed his eyes.
“Be careful with sharp objects. Don’t use your hands too much. It’ll get infected.”
“Okay. Don’t worry.”
“Wait a minute. Let me see your hand again. You might have blisters. If burns are left untreated, they can scar badly…”
“Whoa, over there! A pirate is twitching! Brother! Hurry!”
I shouted and slapped Yeon-ryang’s arm, and he reluctantly left.
He’s been more fussy lately. He wasn’t like this before.
“I’ll be right back!”
I waved at Yeon-ryang’s receding back and smiled awkwardly at Jin-sung.
“I’m sorry. Jinseong disciple. My brother was a bit prickly. I guess our last meeting wasn’t so good.”
“It’s alright.”
Jin-sung replied calmly and plunged a pirate who had lost his Martial Arts Technique into the river with a splash.
He didn’t seem offended by Yeon-ryang’s behavior.
But I couldn’t relax completely. Like a thief with a guilty conscience, I was worried that he might have recognized Yeon-ryang’s true identity.
I anxiously rolled my eyes, watching Jin-sung’s reaction.
Perhaps my attitude seemed strange, Jin-sung glanced at me and hesitated before speaking.
“Um…”
“Yes?”
Startled, I turned to Jin-sung, and he bowed his head.
“I didn’t mean to evaluate Dang Sojeo’s Martial Arts prowess. I was just amazed at how your Qi changed in such a short time.”
“…Yes?”
I blinked at the incomprehensible words and gaped.
Could he still be dwelling on what I said earlier?
“If you were offended, I apologize…”
“No! I wasn’t offended at all. Jinseong disciple. I was happy to be praised, so don’t worry about it.”
“I understand.”
I shouldn’t speak carelessly to the Jinseong disciple. He doesn’t look like it, but he’s surprisingly timid.
As Jin-sung fell silent, a strange silence descended.
“Um… Shall we finish up? They look like they’re debating whether to run away or not.”
“Yes.”
I pointed in the direction where the water was rippling to change the subject, and Jin-sung, who had been fiddling with his sword hilt, held the Songmun Sword vertically in front of him.
The pirates, sensing the rippling sword Qi, jumped out of the water.
“It’s all or nothing! Attack!”
“Even if we die, we must avenge our brothers!”
The Unorthodox Faction guys always attack first and then talk about revenge.
I scoffed and reached into my sleeve, but something flew by and made a sound like a leather drum bursting.
“Oh, the Sword Immortal’s disciple is here? He’s grown a lot in the meantime?”
It was Beopgong.
Beopgong, who lightly sent three pirates flying out of the boat, scratched his head and climbed aboard.
His face was covered in black soot. He looked like he had stuck his face in a furnace, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Pfft! Monk. You have soot on your face.”
“Little brat, if you looked in a mirror, you’d be surprised at your own state. Looks like you’ve been swimming a bit?”
Beopgong chuckled as if teasing me and looked around.
“Wow, am I on a anchovy fishing boat? How did you catch so many pirates?”
“We would have been in big trouble if Jinseong disciple hadn’t come. People kept crawling out endlessly.”
“Is that so? That guy came at the right time. What about the flagship?”
“There’s no movement. It seems they’re preparing an ambush.”
Jin-sung pointed to the ship hidden in the darkness, only its outline visible, and answered. Beopgong frowned.
“They’ve already turned off all the lights on the deck? Do they have enough people left to ambush us? Judging by the looks of it, eighty percent of them have sunk to the bottom of the Jang-gang.”
“It seems the main force of the Water Dragon Stronghold hasn’t moved. Only second-rate Martial Artists attacked the ship.”
“They might have always been second-rate. Rumors are always exaggerated. We have to capture the Water Dragon King alive, right? I’ll stretch my body for once.”
Beopgong, looking excited, tilted his head from side to side and asked me.
“By the way, brat. Where did your brother go? He ran off like a bear with its tail on fire, worried you’d get hurt.”
“He’s over there. I sent him to help the passengers.”
“Tsk, I hope he doesn’t scare them to death. That would be helpful too. Losing consciousness might be more comfortable.”
Beopgong, with a nonchalant expression, picked at his ear and turned his gaze to Jin-sung.
“Sword Immortal’s disciple, how have you been? You seem to have grown a handbreadth since I last saw you? I’ll have to look up at you now.”
“Yes. Beopgong Daesa, have you been well? It’s been three years since I last saw you.”
Jin-sung politely clasped his hands, and Beopgong clicked his tongue.
“You’re still as stiff as a rock. Make yourself comfortable. Be comfortable.”
“I am comfortable.”
“Hey, your master is a free spirit, so why are you so rigid? There are so many fun things in the world. Live a little more flexibly.”
I glared at Beopgong, who was saying things like a nasty uncle trying to corrupt his well-behaved nephew.
“Why are you scolding someone you called here?”
“Huh? Brat. Are you taking the Sword Immortal’s disciple’s side? He was running around with his eyes bloodshot trying to catch you, you know?”
“Who was it that called that bloodshot-eyed person here? Anyway, now that the monk is here, I’m going to go to Yeon-ryang. Talk amongst yourselves.”
I slipped away, and Beopgong chuckled and placed his hand on my head.
“You’ve worked hard.”
For some reason, those simple words made my heart flutter.
“You too, Monk…”
“But what a pity. You’ll have to work harder.”
“Yes?”
Just then, the ship that had been shrouded in darkness emitted a bright light.
The strong light momentarily made me squint. I shielded my eyes with my palm and looked at the ship that had lit up.
It was a ship of a type I had never seen before. It was wide, as if two other ships had been attached together, and a two-story pavilion had been built on the deck.
I wondered where all those pirates were coming from, but seeing the flagship’s grandeur, I understood.
If you put people on a ship like that, they’ll pour out endlessly.
On the two-story pavilion, a man sitting on a high platform chair was looking at us with his legs crossed. I guessed that was the Water Dragon King.
The man standing next to him shouted loudly.
“I bring you the words of the Water Dragon King!”
Beopgong smirked and sneered.
“He’s learned how to imitate his superiors.”
“The King is impressed by your courage! He values your talents highly and has shown mercy, so you will become members of the Water Dragon Stronghold as of today…!”
“Hey. We don’t need to hear any more.”
“Hidden Weapons?”
“Yeah. Shut that mouth.”
At Beopgong’s gesture, I shot Feather Needles at the herald. The herald, with the Poison Needles lodged in his pressure points, coughed and collapsed forward.
“Yeon-ryang! Come out on your own!”
At the same time, Beopgong shot out, running across the water and climbing onto the deck of the flagship.
Yeon-ryang, muttering something that sounded like a curse in the distance, kicked off the railing and jumped onto the flagship as well.
I watched the backs of the two men disappearing like the wind and nudged Jin-sung.
“Can Jinseong disciple do that too? I can only jump about ten feet on the water.”
“…Not yet.”
“Hmm. Shall we just wait here?”
“Yes.”
Jin-sung nodded. We exchanged awkward glances and then started helping with the cleanup, assisting the remaining people.
\ \ *
The ship, with its masts gone and burned in places, was a mess, and it was a wonder it was still afloat.
There were many injured, and groans could be heard from all directions.
The captain, who was recovering the bodies of the dead, had a miserable expression.
“It would be good to take them ashore and hold a funeral… But the situation is not favorable. I’m sorry.”
He swallowed a sigh and closed the wide-open eyes of the corpse.
Two sailors watched the scene and carefully lifted the corpse’s arms and legs, lowering it into the river.
The solemn atmosphere dampened my mood as well.
I knew we couldn’t save everyone, but facing the results directly made my stomach churn.
A woman quietly approached me, who was biting my lip, and handed me something.
“Great Hero.”
It was Myeong-ri, who had disappeared in the chaos.
I thought she had flown somewhere along the Jang-gang, but it seemed the woman had picked it up and kept it.
“You saved my life, thanks to you. Thank you. Great Hero. Although my child’s father is dead…”
The woman, with tears welling up in her eyes, smiled gently. On her back was a child sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world.
I didn’t know what kind of comfort to offer. I opened and closed my mouth, then silently put on the Myeong-ri she handed me.
I wanted to hide my messed-up expression.
The woman bowed her head and soon moved away from me. I blankly watched her go to help other survivors and steeled my heart.
…Let’s take care of the injured, at least.
At that moment, everyone’s attention was drawn to a shout coming from afar.
“S, save me! Help! Help me!”
“Rope! Where’s the rope?”
“Just hold on!”
Someone was crying out in the darkness, swimming towards our ship.
People hurriedly threw a rope and pulled him onto the ship.
The person, whose lips were blue and trembling, was a girl about my age.
“Did you escape from the pirate ship? You’re a mess. Wipe yourself off.”
A man clicked his tongue and handed her a dry cloth with a pitiful expression.
“Cough, cough! Thank you.”
The girl, sitting on the floor wiping off the water, had a swollen left ankle, as if she had sprained it while escaping.
“I’m a doctor. It looks like you’ve hurt your ankle, let me take a look.”
I raised my hand, and people made way for me.
As I approached and squatted in front of the girl, Jin-sung urgently called out to me.
“Dang Sojeo!”
My body flipped over, and the cold sensation of metal touched my neck. Jin-sung, who had been running towards me, stopped abruptly.
He narrowed the distance little by little with a tense expression. Then the girl pulled me close, as if to say it was impossible.
“You better not come any closer. Because if you come any closer, the Taoist’s group will get hurt.”
Jin-sung, gripping his sword so tightly that the veins on his hand stood out, asked sharply.
“Are you the Water Dragon King?”
“…You’re a quick-witted Taoist.”
The girl, who retorted fiercely, gritted her teeth.
“So stay still. I don’t want to see any more blood today.”
