Chapter 23: How Much Is My Life Worth? (3)
The distance between him and Baek Socheon was roughly ten paces.
At this distance, there was no way he could miss.
Now all he had to do was move a finger, and it would all be over.
Yet Cheon Yangho hesitated. Unable to understand the source of his hesitation, he tried to reassure himself.
‘No need to trust myself. Trust the Ten-Step Death Needle!’
The fact that the Martial Alliance had designated it as a Golden Dragon Hidden Weapon was proof enough of its unquestionable lethality.
‘Once he’s dead, I’ll live comfortably for the rest of my life. Come on, press it.’
Just as Cheon Yangho’s finger was about to press the trigger that would fire the hidden weapon,
Baek Socheon stood up first, coming out of his handstand, and spoke.
“If you’ve arrived, why don’t you come out? What are you doing hiding there?”
Cheon Yangho was so startled that he nearly dropped the Ten-Step Death Needle.
Fortunately, instead of dropping it, he managed to hide it inside his sleeve.
‘I’d even stopped my breathing. How did he know?’
Moreover, they had said his opponent didn’t even possess Internal Energy. So how had he detected his presence?
Cheon Yangho stepped out of the darkness.
“It looked like you were training, so I was about to pass by. You’re working hard despite the heat.”
“I thought people in the countryside would be kinder, but after coming here, they turned out to be even more vicious. That’s why I have to keep training.”
“Indeed. The saying that country folk are kind is a thing of the past. Well then, carry on.”
Afraid the hidden weapon concealed in his sleeve would be discovered, Cheon Yangho hurriedly turned to leave, but Baek Socheon’s question stopped him.
“Is the investigation into the Liang Qiu incident going well?”
“We’re still completely in the dark. The murderer is so elusive that we don’t have a single clue.”
“Or is it that you simply have no intention of catching them?”
For a brief moment, Cheon Yangho’s brow furrowed.
‘Look at this bastard.’
He buried the surge of anger beneath a smile.
“Perhaps I’m simply not capable enough.”
Now that he knew his opponent was far from ordinary, he couldn’t treat him carelessly.
“By the way, how did you notice my presence?”
He wanted to add, ‘Even though you don’t have any Internal Energy,’ but he couldn’t. If he did, it would reveal that he’d investigated him.
“I’ve always had keen senses. Didn’t I identify the Hundred-Year He Shou Wu inside that box just by its smell before?”
“Ah, that’s right. You really do possess extraordinary senses.”
Now he understood how he’d been detected.
‘His sense of smell.’
He assumed Baek Socheon had recognised him by his scent.
But this time, it hadn’t been his sense of smell, it had been Baek Socheon’s sixth sense.
Ever since losing his Internal Energy, as his physical abilities recovered, his innate senses had become even sharper. Not only his five senses, but even his instincts had become far more precise.
His heightened senses were simply another result of his enhanced physical abilities.
To compensate for the absence of Internal Energy, his body had surpassed its natural limits. Along with it, his senses had improved dramatically as well.
As they talked, the distance between Baek Socheon and Cheon Yangho had narrowed to only three or four paces.
Naturally, Cheon Yangho’s heart began pounding.
‘Should I finish him now? At this distance, I can definitely kill him.’
He had never heard of a martial artist who could evade the Ten-Step Death Needle within three or four paces.
Most importantly, his colleague Gwak had already told him Baek Socheon couldn’t use Internal Energy. No matter how good his sense of smell was, he couldn’t possibly dodge the Ten-Step Death Needle.
One more thing tempted Cheon Yangho even further, Baek Socheon wasn’t wary of him in the slightest. While wiping away his sweat, he didn’t even look in his direction.
‘Now! One pull of the trigger, and twenty thousand nyang will be mine.’
He could spend the rest of his life indulging himself without ever worrying about money again.
‘Wait for the chance. Fire. Fire.’
It wasn’t even his first murder, yet his heart pounded uncontrollably.
Just then, Baek Socheon glanced at him.
“You seem nervous.”
“Do I? It’s just the heat. I’ve always been especially bad with hot weather.”
“Not bad with bribes?”
“What?”
“Ah, don’t get angry. I was only joking. You seem unusually eager to take the Divine Transformation Gang’s side.”
Cheon Yangho nodded with a forced smile.
“Let me have a cup of water.”
“Please wait a moment.”
The instant Baek Socheon turned his back,
Whoosh!
Thud.
Both men froze.
Cheon Yangho had the Ten-Step Death Needle aimed at Baek Socheon, while Baek Socheon turned his head to look over his shoulder.
Something had just flown through the air and embedded itself in his back.
Cheon Yangho’s face lit up.
As expected, nothing unexpected had happened.
It had been so easy to hit him that he couldn’t even understand why he’d been so nervous. The needle had flown true and struck its target perfectly.
“Ah… That stings! What’s this?”
“What else? It’s the Paradise Needle that’ll send you straight to hell! Hahahaha!”
As Baek Socheon reached to pull it out, Cheon Yangho sneered.
“Too late. Once the needle enters your body, it melts immediately. The deadly poison coating it has already spread through your body.”
“Why me?”
“I was asked to do it, and I was paid for it. That’s right, you guessed correctly. I’m on the Divine Transformation Gang’s payroll. They pay me more than the Alliance ever does. If you were me, wouldn’t you take it?”
“I didn’t.”
“That’s because you’re an idiot. No, wait. You were one of the Iron Sword Corps’ rising stars. You must’ve been getting a hefty monthly salary.”
Thinking about the twenty thousand nyang he was about to receive put Cheon Yangho in such a good mood that he even blurted out things he didn’t need to say.
“I happened to get this hidden weapon a few years ago. I planned to use it either to save my own life or when the chance to change my life came along. I never imagined today would be that day.”
“At least you got one thing right.”
“What?”
“This is indeed the moment your life changes.”
Only then did Cheon Yangho realise that enough time had passed for Baek Socheon to have collapsed, yet he still stood there perfectly fine.
Unease welled up inside him.
Cheon Yangho looked down at the Ten-Step Death Needle in his hand.
‘Surely it wasn’t defective?’
As though reading his thoughts, Baek Socheon spoke.
“The Ten-Step Death Needle worked perfectly.”
Hearing him identify the hidden weapon by name left Cheon Yangho even more stunned.
“Then why…?”
His voice trembled.
“There was a time when assassins kept coming after me relentlessly. Back then, I nearly died from poison several times. I went through quite an ordeal. But I was indispensable to the Alliance at the time, so they took great care of me. Even the Divine Physician and the Poison Doctor stepped in, using every rare spiritual herb and poisonous herb they could find on me.”
“What exactly are you trying to—”
Suddenly, a thought struck Cheon Yangho, and he cried out in shock.
“The Body Immune to All Poisons?”
“That’s right. That’s what the Martial World calls this body.”
“But you don’t have any Internal Energy!”
“Listen. The Body Immune to All Poisons is a change in one’s constitution. It takes tremendous Internal Energy to transform the body in the first place, but once the transformation is complete, it has nothing to do with Internal Energy.”
Cheon Yangho was utterly horrified.
Questions raced through his mind.
‘What? Why in the world did they turn this guy into someone with the Body Immune to All Poisons? Why go that far for someone who was only a Squad Leader in the Iron Sword Corps?’
But this wasn’t the time to stand there in shock.
Cheon Yangho threw away the empty hidden weapon casing and drew his sword.
There was still hope.
His opponent had no Internal Energy.
Corrupt though he was, he was still a Branch Leader of a Martial Alliance Branch.
His sword shot toward Baek Socheon’s vital points with speed and precision.
But his martial arts were a level below Black Hand’s, while Baek Socheon’s physical abilities had improved even further since fighting Black Hand.
Whether he used him as a training partner like before or simply toyed with him, Baek Socheon would have felt no pressure at all.
Instead, Baek Socheon chose to disable him as quickly as possible.
That meant neither option was worth considering.
Whoosh.
Dodging the first strike, Baek Socheon attacked Cheon Yangho’s knee.
Crack.
His powerful snapping kick bent the knee joint sideways.
“Urgh!”
Staggering, Cheon Yangho slashed with his sword.
But Baek Socheon had already anticipated that reaction, leaning backward as he kicked him squarely in the stomach.
Thud.
Cheon Yangho slid backwards across the ground.
The kick had looked light, but it felt as though his intestines were about to burst.
Clutching his stomach with his left hand, he thrust his sword again.
“Urgh.”
In that instant, Cheon Yangho forgot his injured knee, and his balance collapsed.
The next moment,
Smash!
Baek Socheon’s body spun through the air in a somersault-like motion before his foot slammed into Cheon Yangho’s jaw.
There was no grand duel.
It ended just like that.
Cheon Yangho was launched into the air before crashing headfirst onto the ground.
Baek Socheon picked up the sword Cheon Yangho had dropped.
Then he smacked the unconscious Cheon Yangho across the cheek with it.
A moment later, Cheon Yangho regained consciousness.
Looking up at Baek Socheon standing over him, he shouted,
“Please spare me!”
“Get up.”
“Yes.”
Cheon Yangho immediately stood, then dropped to his knees.
To him, nothing in the world was more precious than his own life.
At this life-or-death moment, his mind worked only toward one goal,
Survival.
“Black Hand is buried beneath your feet.”
Cheon Yangho flinched and looked down at the ground beneath him.
He had guessed that Black Hand had died at Baek Socheon’s hands.
What shocked him now was the fact that the corpse had been buried in the front yard.
“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t have a hobby of collecting corpses in my yard.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Though I suppose I could bury a few more. Black Hand must be lonely.”
“Please… spare me.”
“Why should I?”
Cheon Yangho knew.
One wrong answer, and he would die immediately.
“Please accept this first.”
He held out the pouch of money Wang Gon had given him.
It pained him terribly to part with it, but staying alive came first.
“This is the money Wang Gon gave me to kill Martial Artist Baek.”
His first instinct was to shift the blame onto Wang Gon.
Baek Socheon held out the flat of his sword, and Cheon Yangho placed the pouch on top of it.
Slide.
As Baek Socheon tilted the blade upward, the pouch slid along it into his hand.
He checked how much money was inside.
“My life is only worth this much?”
“He promised to pay me the same amount again if I succeeded.”
“Even then it’s only twenty thousand nyang. Are they mocking me? Do you know how much the Black Heaven Alliance once offered for my head at my peak? Three million nyang.”
Watching Baek Socheon boast, Cheon Yangho couldn’t understand it at all.
Three million nyang? Even if he’d once been famous in the Iron Sword Corps?
‘This lunatic! Just because he’s holding the sword, he’s saying whatever he wants.’
But at this moment, even if Baek Socheon had claimed it was ten million nyang, Cheon Yangho would still have to shower him with praise.
“It’s because Wang Gon failed to recognise the hero of the Martial World.”
“You didn’t recognise me either.”
“How could someone as insignificant as me possibly know?”
Cheon Yangho’s tongue moved purely on instinct to survive.
“Was it Wang Gon who ordered Liang Qiu’s family to be killed?”
“I believe so.”
“You believe?”
“He never confirmed it directly to me… but I’m convinced that’s the case.”
Cheon Yangho quickly recounted the impressions he’d gotten from Wang Gon and Wang Woo when he’d met them earlier.
“I’m certain they’re behind it. Those sons of bitches! They’re not even human!”
“Who carried out the murders?”
“I don’t know who the killer is. But from now on, I’ll investigate personally.”
Baek Socheon could tell that Cheon Yangho had no idea the Divine Transformation Gang had commissioned the Seven Swords Society.
He was nothing more than a corrupt martial artist who accepted bribes.
“From now on, let me serve you, Martial Artist Baek.”
“Serve me? Why?”
“If you keep me by your side, I’ll be useful. If there’s anything troublesome, leave it to me.”
Of course, the only things in his heart were revenge against Baek Socheon and making sure that desire never showed.
“Listen, Branch Leader Cheon.”
“Please give your orders.”
“I don’t like people with rotten personalities. Since mine’s rotten enough already, I’d rather keep kind people around me. Understand?”
Cheon Yangho answered immediately.
“I’ll change from now on. I’ll turn over a new leaf. Whatever you order, I’ll do it.”
“Can you really?”
“What can’t be achieved with enough effort?”
“Fine. Let’s say I believe that. But there’s still one problem.”
“Just say the word!”
Baek Socheon stared directly at him.
“Have you ever spared someone who tried to kill you?”
“I have!”
The answer flew out instinctively.
Miraculously, there really had been exactly one time.
In truth, he hadn’t spared the man at all, he had simply failed to kill him because the man had fled far beyond Saewae.
“I once showed mercy and spared someone!”
The instant those words left his mouth,
Slash,
Squelch!
With a single stroke of the sword in his hand, Baek Socheon severed Cheon Yangho’s neck.
Fwoosh!
Blood erupted from his neck like a fountain.
Without uttering another word, Cheon Yangho died and collapsed.
Looking down at the corpse, Baek Socheon said coldly,
“I haven’t.”
Then he looked at the sword in his hand and clicked his tongue.
“Ah, I said I wasn’t going to use a sword…”
He tossed it beside Cheon Yangho’s corpse.
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