Book 20 Chapter 19

Let the legendary roar resound!

-Hojo (虎爪襲來)

"Yu Dae-hyeop! How did Yu Dae-hyeop get here?"

Qin Shaolin asked, his eyes widening.

"What? I, uh, I was inspected by Gene Sojae and this is how……."

The reaction was the opposite of what she had expected, and Yoo Eun-sung panicked, pulling out the scroll from her pocket.

"What do you mean, a scout? I've never sent a scout?"

"Well, that can't be right, you didn't send a scout?"

For Eunsung Yoo, the news came like a bolt from the blue. But there was no time for disappointment.

"Well, then……!!"

"No way!"

Both men looked at each other at the same time.

* * *

"What's the matter, businessman, Zen master, is there something dreadful going on?"

Yoon asked with a rotten smile.

"……."

The boy hastily hugged his sister and cast a wary glance toward the unwelcome visitor in the middle of the night. Fear filled the boy's eyes.

"Be at ease. This uncle is here. This place is too dangerous for you, so come with me, and I will protect you!"

Yoon's voice was soothing as she snuck into the room in the middle of the night.

"Uncle!"

The naïve and unsuspecting Sun Yat-sen rose to follow, but Liu Yong immediately stopped him. The boy's gaze at the man who had once been his uncle was filled with a mixture of wariness and hostility.

"What is the matter, businessman? Is something wrong?"

The boy shuddered violently at Yun's kind words. The smile on his face was terrifying.

"Good girl, don't be fooled, don't follow him!"

Teeth click together.

"The author is… The author is……."

The boy's finger pointing at the man shook violently up and down. The words only hovered in his mouth.

"The author is… my father's… father's……."

The boy, who had been huffing and puffing, finally called out.

"Your father's enemies!"

It was almost a scream.

For a moment, Yoon Yi-jeong's body stiffened.

"Black and white, how could you say such nasty things to me……."

Yun Yizheng lowered his head and continued his play, but before he knew it, he raised his head, a ghastly smile on his mouth and a fierce look in his eyes.

"How did you know?"

Apparently, they decided they didn't need any more theatrics.

"Ah… my father told me about what happens to the opponent when the family arcane spell is cast! The scar on his right forearm that was revealed then, it was definitely Yong Linfeng's."

"Hmph, he doesn't look like Abby, he's many times smarter, and it breaks this uncle's heart to think that he has to squash that talent today."

"Hey, we're in the middle of China, and if I shout……."

"Blah, blah, blah, what a sissy thing to say. Why don't you just say, 'Oh my God, I'm going to scream at you if you come near me'?"

There was a sneer in his voice.

"But what about this, the sound can't get out because of the sound barrier(遮音遮) I've put up around this room?"

"Well, that's not possible……."

Pale horror flashed across the boy's face.

"Hmph, have you finally given up? You must die for the new heavens. Hahaha, the keys are ours now!"

The same blade that had killed their father flashed through the air.

"Ouch!"

Liu Yun wrapped her arms around her sister and squeezed her eyes shut.

Just as the lives of the two siblings were in the balance, another wind blew in.

Boom!

With a loud crash, the doorway shattered, and Ishigan cried out in surprise as he saw something huge flying toward him.

"What, what?"

It was too big, too fast. It was not unreasonable for Yi Shiguan, who was waiting in the tree for Yun Yi to return from her mission, to be startled, but he was an expert, and instead of panicking, he calmly deflected the flying object, halving its power.

"Boom!"

The object was heavier than I thought.

boo-woo

The impact sent his body flying backwards.

"Yikes!"

He gritted his teeth and spun his shinbones in midair; if he lost his balance and fell to the ground, he'd be deadly. He flipped a couple of times before finally landing on a tree just a few feet away.

But that wasn't the end of it.

"Huh!"

When he realized the identity of the object he had received, Ishigan was stunned.

"이정……."

It was the body of Yun Yizheng, who had just entered the room with a cheerful face, with five long, furrowed wounds on his front chest, from which a thick stream of blood was flowing.

"What the hell is this……."

But his thoughts were interrupted.

"What's going on? Hey, what happened?"

Lee Shi-Gun asked, shaking Yoon Yi-Jung, who was critically ill, vigorously.

"Cool, cool, cool! Do… do……."

"What the hell does 'do' mean?"

Ishiguro asked nervously.

"Dao, run away…… Tai, the sun is……."

"Run?

What are you talking about, running away?

Hmmm!

It was then that I felt the icy chill of midwinter on my back.

"What, what is this chill?

Ishigan turned his head cautiously, his nerves on edge.

Flash!

He saw the same two golden suns that Yun had just witnessed.

"Ouch!"

A scream erupted from his mouth of its own accord.

* * *

Pah-bah-bah-bah!

Kicking the blades of grass with great speed, they ran. The night dew that hung from the green blades of grass became countless drops and bounced. As they did, they leaped farther and faster.

"Gee, Gene Sojae!"

Qin Xiaolong didn't look back.

"The flag is in danger."

Ami Goddess Qin Xiaoling and Falling Sun Sword Yue Yunsheng ran at full speed toward the Zhongyang Marked Country.

'I hope nothing happens until I get there…….'

* * *

Quack!

With a thundering sound, the beautiful tree was shattered by Bai Muohui's blow. Using the tree as a shield, Yi Shiguan managed to survive, but at great cost: most of the left side of his face was blown away along with the tree.

"Kaaaahhhh!"

Blood splashed. The wounds were large, reaching down to the bone. The five claws were relentless, and the three wounds were the biggest. It was a miracle I was still alive.

"My, my face is… my handsome face is……."

Ishgan muttered in a weak voice. Apparently, it was more important to him than his life.

"We have to run!

He didn't even have time to feel the pain. All he could think about was getting away from this place somehow.

Surprised that Yi Shiguan had dodged his blow, Bai Muhu raised his claws again.

"Eight!"

In a panic, Lee Shi-Gun threw Yoon Yi-Jung, who was still in a daze, to the ground.

Puck!

As if a fly had flown by, Bai Muhu lightly swung his front paw and struck Yun Yizheng.

"Kwehwehwehweh!"

A pitiful scream erupted from Yun Yizheng's still-conscious mouth.

"This is it!

Realizing that this was his chance, he took off like a madman.

Oops!

Certainly, the snow-white eyes said so. Thinking that it was unworthy to dare to run away from him, the skilled hunter launched himself to catch his fleeing prey.

The gap between Ishigaki and Baekmoohoo quickly narrowed.

"Shi, thirteen bloods, stop them!"

Ishiguro cried out, blood dripping from his left face.

"What the hell?"

The eyes of the eleven, twelve, and thirteen quickly widened.

"Hey, what's that?"

They wanted to rub their eyes, too.

"What are you waiting for?"

Yi Shiguan grabbed the distant Twelve Bloods with a swift golden thread and hurled them toward Bai Muhu.

"Ugh!"

Caught off guard, Twelve Blood was stunned.

What the hell is this?

Voila!

The twelve bloods were down in a single blow.

"Twelve!"

"Twelve!"

Eleven and Thirteen, seeing their brother's death, cried out in anger.

"You go and stop them too!"

Yi Shijian threw his Eleven Bloods and Thirteen Bloods as hard as he could toward Bai Muhu. No matter how wounded he was, his martial prowess was above the Thirteen Bloods.

"Uh-oh……."

Still, they were a little better off than the Twelve Bloods. At least they were able to put up one last fight.

"Eight!"

"What a bum!"

You're probably referring to the wrong spirit.

"Die, dog!"

Eleven Blood and Thirteen Blood simultaneously swung their bloodthirsty katanas in midair.

Bam!

"Huh!"

The two men's eyes widened.

Bai Wuhu had used his claws to slice through their flesh, which was imbued with sword qi. Even a peak master's empty-handed swordsman could not do this. Their blades could cut through iron, but they could not cut through Bai Xiaochun's claws.

Crrrrr!

Translated into human language, it would be something like "How dare you call me an asshole……". It was an outrageous insult to this elegant lady. The sin of insulting a lady was a heavy one.

Changgang!

She clenched her claws, and the two knives that were embedded in them instantly cracked and broke.

Puck! Puck!

There was the sound of something breaking, followed by a pitiful scream.

For the crime of insulting a lady, they did not die as comfortably as their brothers before them.

Now all that was left was an Ishigaki.

Eleven and Thirteen's assault was over so quickly that Ishigan barely had time to escape.

"What a bunch of assholes, not even to buy time!"

Profanity erupted from his mouth, and he found himself facing Bai Muhu once again.

The golden sun glowed amber in the darkness. Goosebumps ran through my body.

"Die!

It was too big a presence to be treated as an afterthought. Rather, it felt like they were being ignored.

It seemed inescapable. It seemed like he could never win, and it was only then that he came to a stark realization of what fear is.

Loudly, loudly, loudly!

A tremendous roar erupted. Ishigan froze at the majesty of the roar, which commanded the absolute submission of any living creature.

"This is the end!

Finally, he gave up and gave in.

Voila!

It was then that something came flying out of nowhere.

Bam!

It flew out of nowhere and landed squarely on the bridge of Bai Muhu's nose. Startled, Bai Muhu jumped back in his seat.

Kahhhhhhh!

The perforated doorway burst open and a rant erupted from within.

"Noise! Get some sleep! Get some sleep!"

The culprit was the Ministry of Labor and Industry.

Bam! Bam!

This allowed people to see a very unusual side of the legendary Baekmoohoo: sullen and brooding.

"Solved!

Ishiguro's body, stiff as a board, moved.

"It's time!

Ishigaki seized the opportunity and quickly turned around.

There was only one thought ruling his mind and body now.

"Let's run!

In his desperation, his men were already out of his mind.

"Do, we have to run, we have to run!

I had to get out of this nightmare as soon as possible. It was the only way to survive. There was nothing left of his pride or his ego.

Scratch that!

Boom!

Busy scratching at his nose with his front paws, Baek Mu Hu was too busy doing his own thing to think about chasing.

Ishigan barely escaped with his life.

Kahhhhhhhh!

Bai Muhu roared. It was the cry of an emperor, the roar of a true victor.

That day all the inhabitants of Nanchang heard the roar and trembled with fear. The astonished moon fell and dawn broke.

It was the dawn of what would become a legend.

From then on, the name of the Zhongyang Bureau spread to the four seas and quickly became a myth. Needless to say, contracts poured in from all over the place.

And the Zhongyuan markers were seriously threatened by the rapid growth of the Zhongyang markers.

Kahhhhhhhhhh!

The roar shook the night, woke the day, and echoed throughout the entire south wing. Some people jumped out of their seats, wondering what the hell this was all about. The disciples from Amifa hugged each other tightly or crawled under their blankets in unspeakable terror.

The faintest sound was probably in the dungeons. It couldn't be the same as above ground, so only a faint echo carried through. Nonetheless, Bi Ryuyeon jumped up from her seat.

"Hmm? What was that?"

I strained my ears, but I couldn't hear anything. I thought I heard a familiar sound that I had heard many times before……. But he lived in Sichuan, so it was impossible for him to be in a city like this.

"Am I hallucinating? No way……."

Like the last nightmare and this one, I've been experiencing things that don't feel like me lately.

"A harbinger of something, or just plain sleep deprivation……."

Either way, it wasn't pretty.

"I hope it's nothing, but……."

My highly developed sense of foreboding kept sending me warnings.

"Eh, I don't know. Let's go back to sleep."

Bi Ryuyeon lay down on the floor again. It was a poor place to sleep, but when it came to sleep, he had learned from his master to be unforgiving of disturbances. It was better to recover from fatigue while he could, just in case.

There was no point in thinking about it now.

When Qin Shaolin and Yue Yun arrived at the Zhongyang Marking Station, they couldn't help but wonder. The whole place was brightly lit, but there was no sign of a battle. However, looking at the stoic faces of the marksmen guarding the main gate, it was clear that something had happened. Nervously, she made her way to the center of the bustle, where she saw two young siblings hugging each other tightly.

"You guys……."

The girl's ears perked up at the sound of Qin Xiaolong's voice, and she jumped to her feet.

"Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Seven-year-old Sun'er ran to him, sobbing, and fell into his arms.

'Ah, Auntie…….'

Hearing the name next to him, Yoo Eun-sung nearly lost his mind from the trauma. The name sounded terrifying to his ears.

"Yes, yes! Don't cry, Sun-ah, you can rest easy now that 'Auntie' is here. What on earth happened while I was gone?"

The last question was directed at Yoo.

"Jin Yeohyeop, that's why it's……."

Trembling with fear, Liu Yong recounted what he had witnessed. When Qin Xiaolong heard the boy's account of what had happened, he was horrified.

"Yeah, that's right, that white guy……."

The boy's story was one for the books.

"That's an unbelievable story, Gene Sojae!"

Yoo Eun-sung said with a look of half wonder, half suspicion.

"Yes, and it's a mystical story, too. You are indeed the master of the amino acids, and we humans need to be more humble before nature."

She was well aware that there had once been a proposal in Amifa to mobilize the disciples to take on Bai Muhu and his band, if only to show them who the true owners of the mountain were. 'We should not pretend to be the owners when we are only renters of the mountain. It is an act of forgetfulness of one's own fountain, and it will surely be retaliated against by nature.' Fortunately, the proposal was overruled by the strong argument of one of the elders, but if it had gone ahead, it would have been…….

The resulting devastation was horrifying to imagine.

"Phew, what a surprise, and by the time the people of the land were awakened by that roar, it was after everything was over, and then it was gone like the wind again, like a flash of white lightning, and then it was gone."

I didn't tell him that I'd run away from a flying needle. He didn't want to be called a liar for telling the truth. Even at a young age, the boy understood that adults were in the habit of being suspicious of anything a child said, no matter how true it was.

"I know you guys have been through a lot, and I'm sorry I didn't do a better job of protecting you."

"Oh, no, I'm just grateful that you're thinking of me."

At the boy's mature words, Qin Shaolin smiled wryly.

"Truly, the current Qinglong Silvermaster is as majestic and mature as his master!"

"Thank you for the compliment."

Blushing with embarrassment, Yu Yongyong replied, "That's the kind of child I was.

"Hmm, but it's a shame we missed what appears to be the enemy's handler."

"I never would have thought that the head of the Middle Kingdom and one of the four walls would be so unscrupulous, Gene Sojae."

This was usually nothing serious.

"Good, I'll take you to Mr. Iron Fist tomorrow."

Jin said with conviction.

"Excuse me… who is Mr. Tekken?"

At the unfamiliarity of the star sign, Yoo asked.

"Who do you think it is? It's Ma Jing'er, the current master of the Heavenly Martial Academy, Ma Daihua. He was my gift before."

"Is it true, Ms. Jin, that I can finally meet him?"

Yoo was overjoyed that she was finally able to go to the Tianmu Museum, which she had always wanted to visit.

"Sure."

Seeing that, Qin Xiaoling smiled and replied.

"But where is Lord Nosa?"

In response to Qin Xiaoling's question, Liu Yun replied hesitantly.

"That's me… still sleeping."

At that, Yoo Eun-sung's heart skipped a beat.

"What, he's still sleeping like a log when the country's been turned upside down? What's wrong with him, too, at a time like this?"

Yoo Eun-sung was not at all convinced by the labor ministry's attitude.

"You must be tired, why don't you just let him sleep?"

After Qin Shaolin defended her, Yu Eunsung felt even worse. Middle-aged jealousy is more terrifying than young people's!

"No, I'll go get him now."

Then, without waiting for an answer, he strode briskly toward Nosabu's quarters.

"I, uh… I think you should quit, Yu Dae-hyeop."

The boy's words stopped him in his tracks.

"What makes you think that, Mr. Management?"

His head tilted slightly, his face filled with wonder.

"It's just… I… I'm afraid you might get hurt."

In a voice as small as a mosquito's, Yoo replied.

"Hahaha, I'm going to wake up someone who's barely sleeping, what harm can come to me? Don't worry."

Yoo Eun-sung let out a boisterous laugh and quickened her pace.

"No… that's… dangerous……."

In a barely audible voice, the boy muttered in frustration. Apparently, the adults hadn't heeded his warning. For the sole reason of being young!

Smart!

"Are you inside, Mr. Nosa?"

"……."

Smart!

Thud! Thud!

"Hello, it's Eunice in the storefront. Please stand up, there's something going on outside, and I'll come in."

When there was no sign of life inside, Eun-sung did what he could to open the door and enter. Nosabu's quarters were within the same wall as Yu's, so they could see him reach for the doorknob.

Yay!

The door opened a little with the sound of friction from the hinges.

"Example……."

Bam!

The younger brother and sister squeezed their eyes shut at the sudden echoing 'pop'. That hollow sound… they remembered.

"……."

There was a pause, and the boy mustered up the courage to open his tightly closed eyes. Then his vision filled with the image of Eunseong slowly tilting backward, a solid birch necklace firmly in his face.

"Uhhhhhhh……."

Kudang! Bang!

Yoo Eun-sung immediately fainted, unable to recognize the name of the first sword. Qin Xiaoling was also left speechless by this sudden turn of events.

"That's why I told you you were hurting yourself……."

It was the adults, not the boy, who dismissed the sincere warning as a joke.

Boom!

The door that opened closed again on its own.

No one ever tried to open that door again.