Chapter 23. Another Way
Bang Baekji, whose temper was as fierce as fire, could no longer hold himself back when Jaha’s carriage passed through the open main gate.
“I can’t stand this anymore. I’ll go cut that bastard’s head off and bring it back.”
“Baekji, don’t!”
Go Deung tried to stop him, but Bang Baekji was already flying over the gate.
Just as Bang Baekji kicked off the top of the gate and tried to chase after the carriage, he suddenly screamed, just like Sa-il Sword Hwang Ilhyeok and Gwibita Sangpa had.
His entire body began trembling violently.
“No!”
Go Deung could only watch his friend dying.
He could not move.
He felt that if he did, he would die exactly the same way.
“Aaaaaaargh!”
Bang Baekji screamed from atop the gate.
One of his eyeballs bulged out, and blood poured from his mouth.
Even then, he managed to turn his head toward Go Deung.
“D-Don’t… chase them.”
With those final words, Bang Baekji fell inside the gate.
His limbs twisted unnaturally as he crashed to the ground and died.
It was hardly a death befitting a Peak-level master.
In the blink of an eye, two top-class experts and one Peak-level master had died without even getting the chance to fight.
A heavy silence descended over Ineuijang.
Among everyone there, Wang Gyeong wore the most miserable expression.
Ah… I should have tried harder to stop the honored retainers.
But regretting it now was useless.
The Eccentric Doctor gave a strange smile before quietly slipping away toward the rear garden.
There was no longer any reason for him to remain at Ineuijang.
And the man called Byeokho was finally beginning to catch his interest.
Jaha stopped the carriage and climbed down from the driver’s seat.
Jo Unryong could not understand why Jaha had stopped in a place where there was not even a house in sight.
“Senior Brother Byeok, we need to get away from here as quickly as possible. Why are we wasting time here?”
“I’m waiting for someone.”
“Who?”
“Someone I need.”
Hanseol immediately thought of one person.
“Could you mean the Eccentric Doctor?”
Jaha nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why are you waiting for him?”
Hanseol and Jo Unryong often found it difficult to understand their Second Senior Brother’s actions.
In the past, they had at least been able to predict him to some extent.
Now, however, they could not predict him at all.
“He knows this area better than we do. I’m going to ask him to provide us with a hiding place.”
Jo Unryong had been doubtful, but after waiting for about fifteen minutes, the Eccentric Doctor really did appear.
He was stunned inwardly.
How in the world did Senior Brother know that strange old man would follow us?
At times like this, Jo Unryong felt a strange sense of distance from Senior Brother Byeok.
“Were you waiting for me?”
“Yes.”
“You knew I would come?”
“You are someone who values promises. I believed you would come because you intended to keep the agreement we made.”
“Hmm!”
Hearing Jaha speak as though it were obvious, the Eccentric Doctor felt secretly pleased.
He really is quite something.
Looking at the fellow grinning at him with his white teeth showing, the Eccentric Doctor found himself wanting him more and more.
“Let’s go somewhere I know.”
“Then you should take the reins, Elder.”
“You want me to drive the carriage?”
“You’re the only one who knows where the hiding place is, aren’t you?”
For a moment, the Eccentric Doctor got goosebumps.
It felt as though Jaha could see straight through his thoughts.
He stared at Jaha for a moment before muttering,
“If you disappoint me, I’ll kill you.”
Jaha understood perfectly well what those words meant.
They meant that the Eccentric Doctor had begun considering passing down his true secret arts to him.
A deep smile appeared on Jaha’s face.
The Eccentric Doctor sat in the driver’s seat and guided the carriage toward the outskirts of the village.
Then he asked,
“What kind of trick did you use to make those men die like that? Was it another technique you learned from the Yama Doctor?”
Jaha nodded.
“Yes. Elder Yama Doctor taught me several methods of using poison. He called that one the Samicha Poison Art.”
“Hoh… That old man even knew that technique? Now that I think about it, it really was the Samicha Poison Art. Where did you administer the first poison?”
“Before Deung Hwahong woke up, I scattered poison over her clothes so that they would be exposed to it.”
“And the second poisoning?”
“The second poison was mixed into their food.”
“And the third?”
“I tampered with their shoes.”
“With what?”
“I placed scorpion stingers inside them.”
“I see. So that was how you completed the Samicha Poison Art.”
It was an extremely advanced poison technique.
Tiny amounts of poison were administered in stages, making it impossible for the victim to realize that they had been poisoned.
Then, at the final stage, when the victim poured true qi into the Yongcheon acupoint on the sole of the foot, the scorpion venom took effect.
The three poisons lying dormant inside the body would erupt at the same time, causing the victim’s true qi to reverse violently through their meridians.
The Eccentric Doctor was amazed that Jaha knew such a difficult technique.
This was not something a person could understand merely by hearing an explanation.
One normally had to practice administering and using poison many times before being capable of using it in actual combat.
Yet Jaha had succeeded despite barely having practiced it.
The Eccentric Doctor could only regard him as a genius.
“So you brought poisonous insects out of the Poison Forest because you expected something like this to happen?”
“That’s right.”
“And how did you know they intended to kill you?”
Jaha answered calmly.
“I knew from the moment we set out. The man called Wang Gyeong and the other guards treated us as though we were already dead. I judged that they behaved that way because they intended to kill us once everything was over.”
He continued,
“That was why I gathered poisonous insects as a precaution. I specifically chose ones suitable for using the Samicha Poison Art.”
The Eccentric Doctor thought highly of Jaha’s wisdom in anticipating future danger and preparing for it in advance.
He was equally impressed by the wit and courage Jaha had shown in making fools of the Western Gorge Gang’s honored retainers and Protectors.
That made him curious about something else.
“But why didn’t you save Deung Hwahong? If you had wanted to, you could have saved her.”
Jaha gave a faint laugh.
“I told you before. I had no reason to save her.”
Then he continued,
“Besides, saving her would be like carrying firewood into a burning house. Soon, Hwancheonma and the leader of the Western Gorge Gang will appear to claim her. I see no reason for a shrimp like me to get its back broken in a fight between whales.”
The Eccentric Doctor smiled.
“So you intend to profit while the two sides fight?”
“That is part of it, but I also know that Deung Hwahong is not some helpless young girl.”
The Eccentric Doctor narrowed his eyes.
“You speak as though you know who Deung Hwahong really is.”
“I do.”
“Really? Then what is her true identity?”
Jaha looked at the Eccentric Doctor.
The old man had been pretending otherwise, but his curiosity was clearly burning.
“This is only my guess, but I believe she is a descendant of Samgija, the guardian of the Nineteen Forbidden Demon Zones.”
“What?!”
A strange cry escaped the Eccentric Doctor.
That was the last name he had expected to hear.
“Now that I think about it, considering that her surname is Deung, your guess may not be entirely baseless.”
The Eccentric Doctor was one of the distinguished seniors of the martial world, so he knew that Samgija’s family name had also been Deung.
“So what you’re saying is that because she is Samgija’s descendant, she can escape from them using formations?”
“Exactly.”
Jaha continued,
“Isn’t that why that girl behaved so boldly? And why she remained so calm? She was confident that she could escape whenever she wanted.”
Then he added,
“And why do you think Hwancheonma went out of his way to put her to sleep using the Yeongsok Suhon Art?”
“Then waking that little girl up was the Western Gorge Gang’s mistake.”
Jaha nodded.
“Exactly. The Western Gorge Gang probably had absolute confidence in their two honored retainers and three Protectors. They must have believed those five could restrain Deung Hwahong no matter what tricks she tried.”
The Eccentric Doctor chuckled.
“How amusing. They trusted men who dropped dead because of you. And now only two of them are left. Escaping should be as easy as eating rice cake while lying down for that little girl.”
“Who is left?”
Jaha did not know who had died after he left Ineuijang.
“Only the man called Go Deung and another called Seo Donggoe are alive.”
“Then Bang Baekji died?”
“Yes. After you left, he tried to chase you and suddenly dropped dead.”
The Eccentric Doctor paused and glanced at Jaha.
“In any case, you’ve now made an enemy of the Western Gorge Gang. Life is going to become troublesome for you.”
That bothered Jaha as well.
He still had many things he needed to accomplish.
If he became entangled with a massive organization like this, he might not even be able to do what he needed to do.
The Eccentric Doctor drove the carriage toward a secluded village.
Eventually, he entered a small manor located at the very edge of it.
“A long time ago, an entire family here died from an epidemic, and this house was abandoned. It is perfect for staying in temporarily.”
Jaha looked around.
“There doesn’t seem to be anyone around. Did everyone in this village die?”
“Yes. I came here long ago to treat the sick, but by the time I arrived, there was no one left alive. People rarely come this way either, so it should be a good place to hide for a while.”
Jaha found the Eccentric Doctor’s words somewhat unexpected.
He had not imagined that this selfish and eccentric old man had once come all the way here to treat people suffering from an epidemic.
Perhaps noticing Jaha’s gaze, the Eccentric Doctor said,
“This old man isn’t such a bad person. I simply dislike people who carry swords.”
“In any case, thank you.”
Jaha expressed his gratitude with those simple words.
The Eccentric Doctor liked even that.
If Jaha had rambled on and showered him with gratitude merely to curry favor, he would probably have disliked it.
After entering the abandoned house, Jaha spoke to Hanseol and Jo Unryong.
“Clean the inside so Master has somewhere comfortable to stay.”
Hanseol asked,
“Where are you going, Senior Brother?”
“I’m going to erase the carriage tracks.”
As Jaha left the abandoned house, the Eccentric Doctor spoke up.
“While you’re cleaning, clean a room for me too.”
Hanseol and Jo Unryong still regarded him as the physician who had treated their master, so they obediently bowed.
“Understood.”
Watching them, the Eccentric Doctor muttered,
“Country children really are nice and innocent.”
Jaha erased every carriage-wheel track that had been made while they entered the village.
If Shinbi was still pursuing them, there would surely be trackers following behind.
Those trackers might discover the carriage marks and follow them all the way here.
After erasing the tracks, Jaha headed straight for the government office.
Erasing the carriage tracks had been one reason he had left the abandoned manor, but his main purpose had been to visit the authorities.
While staying at Ineuijang, Jaha had spent a great deal of time thinking about how they could overcome this crisis and survive.
If things went badly, they might not only be rejected by the Demonic Cult but also by the Martial Alliance.
And since Mount Hua Sect was located nearby, they might even end up facing trouble from them as well.
All because they had transported Deung Hwahong.
That was why Jaha had concluded that if he wanted to turn the situation around, he needed to take the risk and inform the Martial Alliance about the truth as quickly as possible.
Only then could he use their assistance to defend himself against the Western Gorge Gang and the Demonic Cult.
The Martial Alliance definitely failed to find Deung Hwahong in Yeongje County. They must have asked government offices in other parts of Shanxi for help as well.
Judging by how quickly the Martial Alliance had been moving, their response was extremely fast.
Trusting that assumption, Jaha headed for the government office first.
He explained that he had come to report an important matter concerning the Martial Alliance, so he was able to meet the county magistrate without much difficulty.
Just as he had expected, the Martial Alliance had requested assistance from this region as well.
And, by fortunate coincidence, a member of the Martial Alliance had been dispatched there.
Heaven is helping me.
When Jaha realized that his prediction had been correct, he celebrated inwardly.
On the left side of the martial artist’s chest, the characters for Righteousness (正義)—the symbol of the Martial Alliance—had been embroidered in regular script with blue thread.
Because of this symbol, people in the martial world sometimes also called the Martial Alliance the Righteousness Alliance.
The rank of a Martial Alliance member could be identified by the color of these characters.
The order was green, black, blue, red, and yellow.
Green lettering represented an ordinary warrior of the Martial Alliance.
Black represented someone of Incense Master rank.
Blue represented Hall Master rank.
Red represented Division Commander rank.
And yellow represented Elder rank.
Because the Martial Alliance had so many members, they used these different colors to distinguish their ranks.
Since the characters embroidered on this man’s chest were blue, he was a Hall Master-level figure.
A Hall Master was a considerably high-ranking position within the Martial Alliance.
Jaha approached him.
“Excuse me. Are you from the Martial Alliance?”
The Martial Alliance warrior looked Jaha up and down before nodding.
“I am. Why do you ask?”
“Good. There is something I need to tell you.”
“Go ahead.”
Jaha looked directly at the Martial Alliance warrior.
“I know that the Martial Alliance has recently been searching for a young girl. Is that why you came all the way here?”
The warrior stared at Jaha suspiciously.
His expression practically said, How do you know that?
Jaha continued.
“I know where that girl is.”
Instead of being surprised, the Martial Alliance warrior gave a dismissive snort.
He assumed Jaha had merely heard some rumor somewhere and had come to test him.
“Do you even know who that girl is?”
Although Jaha carried a sword, his clothes and overall appearance were unimpressive, so the warrior looked down on him slightly.
Jaha smiled.
“Isn’t she a descendant of Samgija, the guardian of the Nineteen Forbidden Demon Zones?”
At those words, the faint smile on the warrior’s face instantly disappeared.
His gaze became sharp.
However, Jaha remained completely unguarded, wearing a smile that clearly showed goodwill.
The warrior looked around before lowering his voice.
“Let us hear what you have to say in detail.”
Seeing the seriousness in the man’s eyes, Jaha nodded.
