novelraw Chapter 20 : Chapter 20
Chapter 20 : Chapter 20
Chapter 20 - Three Seconds Have Already Passed
Who is the strongest person in the Guangxi region?
Not a few people would beat their chests and say, ‘That’s me!’
But if the target was a ‘bandit,’ everyone would point in one direction.
A seven-cheok giant who carried a large saber.
The master of the Tree-Uprooting Stronghold, who ruled the Duhua Mountain area of Guangxi.
A man of monstrous strength with the nickname ‘Overflowing Stab without Form’ because his monstrous strength in wielding and stabbing with his saber was excessively strong and free.
Jang Pae.
As if to boast of his overflowing strength, he always wore his top open, revealing his hairy chest.
Jang Pae’s strength was so famous in the Murim that a saying went around, ‘If you see a giant with his chest open in Guangxi, run without looking back.’
“Kahahahahahaha!”
A voice as big as his body echoed loudly in his ears.
Jang Pae’s lips were stretched to his ears as if he was very satisfied.
“To make up for the wasted trip to the Tiger-Bear Stronghold like this. This is why they say life is a dressing in disguise, right! Isn't it?”
‘It’s a "blessing" in disguise, not a "dressing"...’
‘Ugh, so embarrassing.’
‘If you don’t know, don’t use it.’
Jang Pae, the Overflowing Stab without Form.
Unlike his cool nickname related to sabers, his subordinates had to frown every time they mentioned his nickname.
Because they felt that it was being talked about by people in a different sense (?) than its original meaning.
Especially when he revealed his shallow knowledge to the world like that.
“They say speak for the dead, and I guess we had to suffer at Diancang Mountain for this to happen! Wahahahahaha!”
‘It’s "speak of the devil," not "for the dead"!’
‘For the dead, my ass… is someone supposed to be dead?!’
Someone beat their chest in frustration, and someone else had to make a desperate effort to hold back their laughter.
And someone else felt despair.
‘How can I meet Jang Pae of Duhua Mountain here of all places. My luck is just too bad.’
Jo Seom, the head of the Lee family’s merchant group, let out a deep sigh.
He had made every effort to proceed with this merchant group without any trouble.
He had carefully selected the roads and times when bandits didn't appear often, and he had also paid half a price more to select the escort warriors.
However,
Kwang!!!
With one blow from Jang Pae’s saber, three or four escort warriors were sent flying into the air at once.
“Kahahahahaha!!”
As if mocking the high price paid to hire them, 80% of the dozens of escort warriors had fallen, and 20% had run away.
An act created by Jang Pae alone.
Judging by his expression, it didn't seem like he had used much strength.
‘Young Master Yi. The heavens are truly heartless.’
Jo Seom swallowed his tears as he thought of the illegitimate son of the Lee family.
Yi Sedong.
He was a prodigy, one of a kind in the Lee family.
He had loved books since he was young, and if you taught him one thing, he would understand three, and he was so eloquent that he couldn’t hide his intelligence.
But there was just one thing he lacked.
That was ‘luck’.
The items he selected for trade would suddenly run out at their source, or he would often be attacked by bandits while traveling with the merchant group.
He had intended to make this merchant group a success and use it as an opportunity to turn things around.
But as if by agreement, he encountered bandits as soon as he left Yiliang County.
And not just any bandits, but Jang Pae of Duhua.
A man whose victory or defeat could not be easily guaranteed even if a Murim master was brought in as an escort warrior.
Never mind the trade goods, it would be fortunate if the people of the merchant group could escape safely.
“Don’t feel too wronged. This place isn’t that far from Yiliang County anyway, right? If you run without resting, you’ll arrive in half a day. Kahahahaha. I’ll count to three, and if you run away before then, I’ll spare your lives. But if you’re still here after I count to three, you’ll be having dinner in this world!”
“……?”
‘It should be that you’ll be having dinner in the next world!’
‘What sin did we commit?’
‘We’re all going to be lumped together as idiots.’
Although Jang Pae’s characteristically foolish behavior came out, no one dared to correct him.
On the other hand, there was no need to point it out.
Because communication wasn’t something that could only be done with words.
Jang Pae’s gleaming eyes, his tongue sticking out, and the domineering aura flowing from his whole body were conveying a clear message.
The message that ‘if you resist, you die.’
A time of three seconds.
It was a time that felt short even when standing still.
If one had to choose between life and death within that time, the time would inevitably feel even shorter.
They would have wanted to run away immediately, but the subordinates of the merchant group were thankfully waiting until the head gave an answer.
Jo Seom couldn't throw away the lives of all his subordinates, including the porters.
So he clenched his teeth and answered as if groaning.
“Run…”
“Stop.”
“?”
Jo Seom’s words were not finished.
Because someone’s voice was heard from one side of the bushes.
“Eh?”
Of course, the bandits of the Tree-Uprooting Stronghold, including Jang Pae, also heard that voice.
A clear and young, but somehow eerie voice.
Where everyone’s gaze was directed, a boy appeared.
“Oho?”
A strange exclamation escaped from Jang Pae’s mouth.
He was a handsome man who captivated the eye, so much so that he briefly forgot his original purpose.
Although his youthful appearance was still evident, his well-defined features and fair skin were like a painting.
“Wow. Isn’t that a person who can be called ‘fruit of the loom’?”
“What does fruit of the loom mean? Chief.”
“Aing! You foolish subordinates of mine! Isn’t it called ‘fruit of the loom’ because the fruits thrown at a handsome man fill a cart!”
“Ooh! As expected of the Chief!”
“Kahahahahahaha! You guys! Read some books!”
Most of the subordinates let out exclamations as if asking what was going on, and only a very small number of people contorted their faces.
Because they knew very well that the idiom Jang Pae said was not fruit of the loom.
Of course, no one with a liver outside their body would point out Jang Pae’s ignorance.
Because he would make a pulp out of anyone who pointed it out, even though he flaunted his ignorance every time.
But.
The boy who suddenly appeared didn’t seem to be afraid of the giant in front of him at all.
“It’s called ‘To Throw Fruit and Fill a Cart’..”
“Eh?”
“Study a little. Why are you so excited and babbling about something so wrong? Aren’t you embarrassed in front of your subordinates?”
“!?”
As if he had been hit on the back of the head with a hammer, Jang Pae’s eyes bulged out halfway.
Seeing that, his subordinates didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
‘To think the day would come in my life when the boss would be called out for being ignorant! I have no regrets even if I die!’
‘Yes! That’s exactly what I wanted to say!’
‘Are you happy? Are you happy? The man being ignored is our boss, are you happy?!’
Jang Pae, seized by shock, asked his subordinates, “Is what he said true?!”, but no one had the guts to say yes.
Naturally, Jang Pae’s gaze turned to the boy.
It went without saying that his gaze had become more vicious than before.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Biyoung.”
“Biyoung? Where did you roll in from?”
“I just dropped by on my way home.”
“Just… dropped by?”
Not only Jang Pae, but also the head Jo Seom was dumbfounded by Biyoung’s answer.
It wasn't like he was following a neighborhood candy seller, where in the world was this to just drop by?
“You… what in the world are you?”
“I told you, I’m Biyoung.”
He answered so confidently that Jang Pae even lost the timing to get angry.
“Hahot. What a guy.”
Jang Pae scratched the back of his head and then gave a simple and clear answer.
“You guys. I’ll count to three again. If both the merchant group and the little kid don’t disappear before I count to three, you’ll become minced meat.”
Originally, Jang Pae was not such a generous person.
But this wasn’t his main area of activity, and it wasn’t far from Yiliang County, so there was no good in dragging things out.
Although he lacked common sense, he had the mental acuity to be a leader.
“One! Two!”
‘Fast…!’
The speed of counting the signals had become drastically faster than before.
The members of the stronghold bent their legs as if ready to spring out at any moment.
There was no time to think, the only good plan was to turn around and run right now.
“E-everyone, run!”
It was just as Jo Seom shouted to his subordinates and was about to take a step.
“Geez. I told you to wait.”
Surprisingly, Jo Seom’s action stopped again.
‘Why?’
This time, he had intended to ignore whatever this boy said and run away.
The sword at his waist had a somewhat extraordinary aspect, but he had no intention of entrusting the safety of his subordinates to this child.
But Jo Seom stood frozen at Biyoung’s words.
It wasn't just Jo Seom.
Not only the frightened subordinates, but even the experienced porters couldn’t easily take a step.
An astonishing thing, even to himself.
But Biyoung clicked his tongue as if he had known it would happen.
‘They only listen when I use force.’
Even while clicking his tongue, a faint smile appeared on Biyoung’s face.
Biyoung had just restrained the merchants’ actions by putting his vital energy into his voice.
It would have been an impossible story before, but after eating Hyeokri Chong’s elixir, such a thing had become possible.
It wouldn't have worked on an opponent who had learned even a little bit of martial arts.
But it was enough to freeze the actions of ordinary people.
The problem was that this action had made Jang Pae lose his reason.
“Ooooooohnya! So you want to see blood, is that it?!”
Jang Pae’s roar echoed throughout the mountain.
“Ugh…!”
Some merchants covered their ears and took a step back.
Fear appeared on the faces of all the merchants, including Jo Seom, and some looked like they were about to wet their pants.
The pressure that Biyoung had subtly laid also faded away like an illusion.
The sight of a giant over seven cheok tall drawing a large saber was truly reminiscent of the King of Hell from the underworld.
His slightly foolish-looking face contorted like a demon, and his thick chest hair looked like the haze of black flames.
“What are you all doing! Don’t let a single one of them go, get them all…!!”
At that moment.
‘Flash’ and a streak of light shot out.
Kwang!!!!!!
“All… of them…?”
Jang Pae, who wouldn't even bat an eye at a thunderclap, flinched his shoulders.
It felt like something flashed, and the man who had been standing three zhang away had, in the blink of an eye, leaped in front of his closest subordinate.
“Keok…!!”
It wasn’t just a leap.
The scabbard was precisely embedded in the subordinate’s shoulder, and his arm was dangling.
The subordinate, who could have been called the second-in-command, couldn't even scream and was just gasping for breath, “keok keok”.
“S-since when?”
Had he been careless because he was a young boy?
No.
Even so, it was impossible not to even see a shadow.
Jang Pae couldn't believe the fact that he hadn't been able to keep up with the boy’s movements.
‘What in the world is going on?’
If Jang Pae had just flinched his shoulders, Jo Seom was so surprised he almost fainted.
He had only blinked once, but the boy’s body was already by the group of stronghold members three zhang away.
He had seen not a few Murim-born people while hiring escort warriors, but he had never seen a movement like this in his life.
Merchants and bandits alike, everyone stared at the man with wide eyes, unable to find their next action.
Looking at the speechless Jang Pae, Biyoung asked bluntly.
“What are you doing. Now?”
With the scabbard embedded in his shoulder, Biyoung gave a smile that fluttered like a spring breeze.
“Three seconds have already passed.”