Book 29 Chapter 2

Smile, Namgungsang!

-The Chaser and the Chased

They were being chased.

Breaking through the southern gate of the city of Wuhan was a good thing, but it was short-lived and quickly followed by a tail. If it weren't for the notification bell Jang Hong had planted along the way, they might have continued on their way to their companions.

"I knew it was you, Mr. Zhang. You didn't look like that for nothing!"

Bi Ryuyeon, who was running with Jang Hong, Mo Yonghui, and Nam Gung Sang, gave a thumbs up.

"Ryuyeon. Even though Brother Zhang is actually an outward…… well, it looks that way, I don't think it's good to talk like that."

Similarly, without slowing down, Mo Yonghui thought of Jang Hong and gave him a word of caution. However, Jang Hong's face only contorted into a nice little smile when he heard that, so that's what I mean by looking good!

"Why, I thought you meant it in a good way, that you reveal your chest but have other abilities?"

"What's good, Ryuyeon, you'd do the world a favor to shut up and just run!"

Jang Hong, who hadn't heard, shouted.

"Now, now, calm down. Senior Brother Zhang's experience really helps in times like this. Isn't that right, Senior Namgung?"

Mo Yonghui set out to comfort Jang Hong. This was Mo Yonghui's great strength: he could think of others even when he had his own problems.

"Of course. I can't believe you thought to use a slender instructor to set up a notification bell while you were on the run. If I were you, I'd be so focused on getting away that I wouldn't have thought of that."

"Tsk tsk. You're the one who's so proud to say, 'I don't think of things like that,' that's why everyone always thinks you're a meal and wants a spoonful, pal."

Bi Ryuyeon's venomous words stuck in Namgung-sang's chest like a spoon in a bowl of rice.

Jang Hong lowered his voice with a newfound seriousness as he spoke, unperturbed by Nan Gongsang's momentary stumble as he ran.

"I smell a professional on their tail. They must be Black Dog's men, the Black Hounds."

If he wasn't an expert, Jang Hong would have been able to detect their presence in the first place.

"Black dog? Who is that?"

Without slowing down her pace, Bi Ryuyeon asked.

"Why don't you at least remember the name of the guy who just shot himself in the foot?"

Jang Hong gave her a pinzan with an incredulous look on his face. Bi Ryuyeon retorted that she didn't understand.

"You have to remember the people who don't get their hands dirty, not the people who do, and that's a waste of memory."

The logic was clear.

"Still, he was once known as the legendary Xin Po, a man who was a household name in the Jiangnan area. And now he's one of the Black Heavenly Ten Masters of the Black Heavenly Blind. He's worth remembering. It's not known for what reason the former official committed himself to the Black Sword, but the fact that he was once called Xin Po means that his following and trapping skills were excellent, right?"

At Jang Hong's serious explanation, Bi Ryuyeon smiled and asked.

"You think you're so great, but you can't even get a little history right. Isn't that dereliction of duty, Mr. Zhang?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm definitely working for the rust bars I'm getting, do you know what it's like to run unpaid missions with no benefits, do you know what it's like for those of us who work in harsh conditions day and night!"

Jang Hong shouted, his voice rising in anger.

"What am I supposed to do about it? If you're so upset, go find your boss and negotiate a meltdown."

The part of the dictionary where the word "warm comfort" was written had long since been torn out.

"Ha, isn't that the same boss who's missing in action right now!"

Jang Hong sighed heavily and said. Of course, the boss here was referring to Meng Zhu, Nie Bai Tian.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to find a place with a boss to get that."

I clapped my hands in agreement that Jang Hong was right.

"I hear you. If you don't raise my overtime pay, I'm going to have to go on strike. What are you going to ask for, permission to marry me, Sojae?"

Jang Hong's eyes narrowed slightly, and he glanced at Bi Ryuyeon as if to ask a question. Bi Ryuyeon replied in a casual voice.

"Nothing."

"You expect me to believe that now? Tomorrow, when the sun rises in the west, I'll think about the truth of your answer."

Mo Yonghui, Nangong Shang, and Bi Ryuyeon all cast disbelieving glances at each other.

"Oh, come on, really? There's no way I'm putting conditions on saving Yerin's father, is there? Right, buddy?"

"Hmm…… Sure."

Mo Yonghui replied with a hint of distrust in his voice.

"Look, Hui, you say you trust me, look at my eyes, do you see these as lying eyes?"

"I can't see, your eyes."

It was impossible to see the eyes hidden by the bangs.

"I see it with my mind's eye."

"Oh, yeah?"

Jang Hong replied in a stern tone. It seemed that Bi Ryuyeon had no intention of removing her bangs.

"Sure, but if you have a conscience, you'll figure it out later."

In the end, it was Bi Ryuyeon, with a nonchalant face, throwing out words in passing.

Meanwhile, running alongside Jang Hong and Mo Yonghui was Nam Gongsang, who was anything but nonchalant.

"These people are so carefree, so carefree.

As for the other two, well, they're just running, so what's the point of making jokes like that in a situation like this? It was just astonishing, mysterious, and ridiculous to Namgungsang, who was diligently kicking his feet with a heavy heart.

I've lost two of my favorite swordsmen, Salt and Ice, to a single woman, and I didn't even try. I don't know about you, but if I told anyone about this straight out, I'd be called a lunatic.

I would then have to go to great lengths to explain that the woman who subdued them both was none other than Muhwa, the dreaded Gutcheon Maiden, the birth mother of the Black Heavenly Lord Galjoongchun, the first wife of the great and mighty Martial God Galjoonghyeok, and the mistress of the Shinmaga family.

It's like a gigawatt of power has been siphoned off.

No, technically, the five halves was the minimum damage calculation, but the damage was more than seven halves according to Namgung's mental calculations.

'No matter how strong the big brother is, he can't hit me with his full power, ehhhhhh. It's the worst! It's the worst! It can't get any worse than this! How can it get worse?!'

It's no wonder that Namgungsang is almost in a state of mental and physical turmoil. His backup, the Salt and Ice Sword, which he had trusted to remain at the end and provide him with solid support, had disappeared. The ground he was stepping on cracked and cracked, and the sky had collapsed, a great emergency of the heavens and earth.

'Is she going to be okay? I hope she's okay, I hope she's okay, I hope she's okay, what if she's not okay?

Most of all, he was concerned about Qinling's well-being.

"Since he hasn't been caught, he must have escaped through a secret passage, just like Brother Zhang said. I hope they didn't catch him, because anything bad could happen to him!

I wanted to turn around and run back to Xin Yongsheng, something I would have done if my big brother hadn't warned me.

"Go back if you want to. But then you'll die, and she'll be a widow for the rest of her life, because she won't be there, because there's a secret passage, and where that secret passage leads, I don't know. But you still want to go, then you can go, and I won't stop you."

It didn't stop me from going back, but it only made me more impatient.

'My heart is not as hairy as yours, my heart is as fragile as paper, my heart is as fragile as paper, my heart is as fragile as paper, my heart is as fragile as paper, my heart is as fragile as paper, my heart is as fragile as paper, my heart is as fragile as paper, my heart is as fragile as paper, my heart is as fragile as paper, my heart is as fragile as paper, my heart is as fragile as paper. Big brother! Ugh!

And so Namgungsang walks down the road to loss of mind and body, adding anxiety and fear to his frustration.

Lululemon, lululemon, lululemon, lululemon…….

Namgungsang nearly tripped over his own feet and fell spectacularly to the ground.

Where does this humming sound come from and where is it headed as you run frantically to escape your pursuers? I'm on the verge of losing my mind with a mountain of worries, and I'm humming like I'm actually enjoying myself. I'm going to grab this clueless bastard by the scruff of the neck and punch him in the nose.

"What's with the fist, are you going to hit me?"

But Namgungsang laughed, clenching and unclenching his clenched fist.

Unfortunately, the source of the hum was none other than their troupe's patriarch, a man who was once called the Lucky Duke, and is now referred to by some who know him very well as "Xin Fengkai". It was clear that this man's claim to be Xin Fengkai was a lie.

'hahaha Th-That can't be right, can it? My fingertips weren't getting much blood flow because of the tension, so I decided to do some finger exercises. Like this, like this.'

Namgung-sang laughed desperately, clenching and unclenching his fist.

"Really? I thought you were going to punch me in the nose with that fist again."

With those words, Bi Ryuyeon lightly stepped out, and the hard ground caved in under her feet with an eerie crunching sound. Jang Hong whistled lightly in admiration and continued on his way, but the Southern Palace Master almost fell to his knees begging for his life. But wouldn't that be like confessing his own thoughts?

"Oh, how dare I do such a lowly thing, it's the mood, it's the mood!"

"Yeah? Well, let's just say yes. I don't have much time right now, I'm busy."

What if he had more time? What was he going to do with it? A cold sweat broke out strangely down his spine, and Namgung-san decided not to think about it any longer.

"But are you cultivating some sort of supreme divine art?"

"What? New? You don't grind?"

There's never been a time when I've wished for cutlery to just fall out of the sky. But you have to learn, right?

"Oh, yeah? I thought you were going to be practicing some kind of super-superlative Great Palace Divine Skill that would allow you to gather all of the world's one hundred and eighty brains into your face and make the most exquisite expression."

He realized that his big brother had made fun of him, and he was furious.

"Is this the time to make fun of me, I'm so worried about Jinling, and you're not even worried about me or Sojae?"

The thought of exploding and screaming at his big brother, not realizing that his life was worthless, had left Namgung Sang in a mental quandary.

"What? Are you crazy, how could you not be worried?"

Namgung Sang was surprised by Bi Ryuyeon's unexpected admission.

"But why are you doing that, even humming? If anyone saw you, they'd say you have a quirk that likes to be chased."

I couldn't bring myself to use the word "pervert" because I wanted to save face.

"Huh? What kind of stupid bullshit is that, you like being chased, are you a pervert?"

When Bi Ryuyeon glared at him with a stare that said, "What a weirdo!", Namgung Sang was filled with frustration.

"Rice, pervert, I didn't hum or anything!"

The strange thing is that it seems to be a big brother! But the statue of Molini's South Palace was crazy and jumped up and down as if he was a pervert.

Namgung-san, who was already at his mental breaking point, was so frustrated that he felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"Ho-ho, the way you're jumping around, I'm suspicious."

With no hint of nervousness in his demeanor, Namgung-san stopped shouting.

"Read the mood, read the mood!"

Bi Ryuyeon glanced at Mo Yonghui and Jang Hong at the sound of the rumbling in the South Palace.

"Hmm…… everyone is serious, pretty serious."

"……What, what, that tasteless sentimentality, you know that, and you do it even though you don't, which is why you keep getting ostracized!"

"Uh-oh, when did I get ostracized, this is golden?"

It was the kind of statement that made all the bullies who had been bullying her with all their heart and soul crumble.

"And you thought you didn't get hit, big brother, the so-called bully, the certified bully!"

"Because I don't really care what idiots do."

"What do you mean you don't care? Even though you're bullying your big brother?"

"That's their business, and does paying attention to the losers in your life make you any money?"

"Well, it usually bothers me on its own, but not right now, where am I going to hum in this atmosphere……!"

Voila!

Suddenly, an albatross flew.

They were both running forward, and I couldn't figure out how he managed to hit me in the middle of the forehead.

"Are you sure you don't want to spend the rest of your life sucking up to someone else's honeydew on a topic that's not yours?"

The specifics were so skin-deep that Namgung-sang's heart throbbed like a pit in his stomach.

"I think you already do…… that?"

"What did you say?"

Smiling, Bi Ryuyeon replied in a gentle tone.

"No, nothing. Nothing."

Moisture pooled in the eyes of the waving Namgungsang.

"Even if you avoid it, if it's inevitable, why not enjoy it? If it catches up with you, you can deal with it then. What's the point of being depressed and drained before then?"

"……Is that really true?"

Although I was thinking, "This isn't right……," there was a point to what Daehyung said about accumulating power and using it at a crucial moment. Maybe that was the "ideal behavior," but knowing that didn't mean anyone could do it.

To be able to have that "leeway" in such an extreme situation is, in a way, to still be in control of the situation.

"How much confidence do I need to have to do that, and how much skill and experience do I need to have to back it up?

But I think I'm being fooled again…….

"And I trust Yerin."

That surprising word brought his racing thoughts to a screeching halt, and he turned to look at Bi Ryuyeon. Her smiling face was there.

"What are you looking at me with those slingshot sparrow eyes?"

"They're monstrously strong people."

"Yerin's strong enough, and she's not going to die unless those ladies swarm her, no way!"

"And what if something happens to Jinling or me, Sojae?"

"Well, what do you think we should do?"

Seeing that smile on Bi Ryuyeon's face sent a chill down Namgung-san's spine and almost took his breath away.

"Well?"

For some reason, Namgungsang didn't want to hear much of what was said behind that smirk.

"Tsk tsk. Don't look like you want to take a shit. What, you think I'm going to say I'm going to kill them all?"

"That, that……."

I was at a loss for words. Bi Ryuyeon laughed refreshingly.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you, you can't be that easy to kill, can you?"

The smile still hovered at the corners of Bi Ryuyeon's mouth, but Namgung Sang clacked his lower and upper teeth together without realizing it. A cold, icy chill ran down his spine.

"Heaven! Please don't let that day come for the sake of this world! This man is a doer!

At that moment, Mo Yonghui interrupted.

"That's all well and good, but first, what should we do about this tail that's been following us, Ryuyeon?"

I couldn't just keep running like this, I couldn't break the tail. It was just eating away at my health.

"Mr. Zhang, how many tails do you have?"

"At least two, and it's safe to assume three."

I'm just guessing because moving at least two groups is the basis of tracking.

"Do you have any ideas?"

Jang Hong was the one who asked the question, but Bi Ryuyeon was the one who stared. Nan Gongsang's heart automatically dropped.

"Why, why?"

I didn't say anything, but Namgung-san's voice was already trembling like a conditioned reflex.

"Hey, Gung Sang, I have a breakthrough way to outrun your pursuers, do you want me to show you?"

Namgungsang's eyes widened at that.

"You mean there's a way to do that, really?"

"Well, yes and no."

"Well, what is it?"

The solution she came up with was pretty simple.

"Smile, that's it."

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

"……."

This is some kind of new ghostly forgetfulness? Dumbfounded, Nan Gongsang could only remain silent for a moment.

In a way, of course, it was pretty revolutionary. The problem with that is that it's a breakthrough.

"Is there any other way?"

Namgungsang timidly replied, not daring to speak his mind.

"No, why?"

"Well, that's because it's ridiculous, you can't outrun a tracker by smiling, that's just 'escapism'."

I'm used to knowing that this man lacks common sense, but this just didn't seem right.

"I think you're right about that, Ryuyeon. It's too outlandish. And reckless."

Mo Yonghui walked out, overruling Namgung Sang.

"I agree. No one in their right mind would laugh in the middle of the night with a chase on their tail. You can't do that. It's suicidal."

Jang Hong, an expert in both chasing and being chased, shook his head in disbelief.

Three out of four decided it was impossible. Normally, it would have been normal for her to give up her opinion, but majority rule was not the standard for her behavior.

"Okay, so why don't you prove to me that smiling really does work, and it works like a charm!"

After all, he had no intention of backing down.

"What the hell are you going to do?"

Mo Yonghui asked, casting a suspicious glance at Bi Ryuyeon.

"Looks like our desensitized prince is getting a lot more perceptive now, he just needs a little help from you two."

"Me too?"

Jang Hong shakily replied, looking quite reluctant to do so.

Then Bi Ryuyeon whispered a few words into Jang Hong's ear. Jang Hong's eyes gradually narrowed.

"If …… is 'that,' then sure, it's there, but…… are you really going to do it?"

Seeing Bi Ryuyeon's smiling face, Jang Hong sighed and said, "I'm sorry.

"That was one hell of a question."

After receiving Jang Hong's approval, Bi Ryuyeon looked toward the South Palace statue this time. Mo Yonghui seemed to have decided that she had already agreed.

"Now, smile."

"Me, me?"

Nod.

"Now? Here?"

Nod.

"Gungshang, you said you wanted to try it first, so there's nothing to lose."

I never said that, never.

But Bi Ryuyeon's smiling voice sounded like the devil's whisper.

"Okay, you can laugh now. Out loud. It's better than crying, right?"

At the subtle emphasis on the end of Bi Ryuyeon's voice, the tension and irritation had grown so high that it had momentarily knocked him out of place. The words he had just spoken to his brother-in-law flashed through his mind like a beacon.

"ha…… ha……."

Namgungsang laughed with a crying face. However, his facial muscles were paralyzed, so he couldn't produce a proper laugh. It shouldn't be easy to smile when you don't want to. But what can you do, if your big brother is a jerk, you have to be a jerk.

"Ha ha…… ha……."

Namgungsang tries a little harder, but his facial muscles are paralyzed and he can only shake.

"Bigger. With a big smile on your face. Smile from the heart. Like this."

Smiling, Bi Ryuyeon grabbed both cheeks of Namgung's top and yanked them up and over the top of each other.

"Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Namgungsang let out a strange scream.

"Aww, who said laugh or cry, do you want me to shape your mouth again?"

Bi Ryuyeon said with a gentle smile.

"Okay, I didn't do a good…… job……."

"Huh? What? What did I do wrong? What happened?"

"Dae…… sha…… yung…… it… shul…… steams… loses… yo……."

"Don't worry, human mouths don't tear that easily."

Bi Ryuyeon was still smiling brightly, her cheeks bobbing up and down like a sagging stick.

'Oh, why did I do that…… knowing full well that my big brother's rear end is the strongest……. Ouch!'

There's no immediate reaction, so you realize that the water level you'd unknowingly raised a while ago is now back up.

Namgungsang wanted to punch him in the face for his impatience.

'This could go on for months…… ugh. Is there any chance I can get out of here alive?'

I felt a stinging, throbbing pain in my cheek, and tears welled up in my eyes.

And after a while.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Barely escaping the claw's grasp, Namgungsang was able to elicit something resembling a smile after a few tries.

"Louder, louder, louder! Vigorous, vigorous! Do you want me to practice it again?"

She opened and closed her thumbs and forefingers in the shape of pincers. I really wanted to say no.

Hmph!

"Eat, be what you will!

The statue of Namgung became the heart of Judge Lee. Maybe it's because I feel that dying this way and dying that way are the same.

"Hoohahahahahahahaha!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the mouth of Namgung Sang, who took a deep breath and then stopped. The laughter was contagious, and it spread throughout the room.

Nan Gongsang laughed, Jang Hong laughed, and Mo Yonghui, who had been frowning so seriously, laughed. Finally, Bi Ryuyeon laughed.

The night sky is fading away.

And with that, everyone burst out laughing.

Hahahahahahahahaha!

* * *

"No, are they crazy?"

The leader of the Black Dogs, a specialized chasing unit, who had been following Bi Ryuyeon's group from the southern gate of Wuhan, couldn't help but be suspicious of the laughter that echoed through the forest from up ahead.

It's not the kind of laugh where you can't quite place it because it's got a hexatonic quality to it, and you're like, "What the hell is he doing? Is he mocking us for running away, or is he mocking us for chasing him, or is he turning around because he can't handle the tension of being chased?".

But the smell has changed.

He had a natural sense of smell that was nothing short of heavenly. This natural talent, coupled with seasoned experience, meant that he could now determine the status of his prey by scent alone.

When you're feeling urgent, your body odor tends to be a little more sour than usual. The smell of tension that had been evident just a few moments earlier had been cut short. Instead, a fresher scent was wafting in on the breeze.

I've tracked a lot of different kinds of humans over the decades, but I've never seen anything like this.

There was no darkness, no shadows, no tension, no urgency, just a clear, high, loud laugh that somehow managed to sneak into his mind a single suspicion.

"Is this a trap?

Once planted, the sprout only grew stronger and stronger, and never withered. His steps slowed as the suspicions in his mind grew stronger and stronger. It was an unexpected turn of events that had never happened before in his life of tracking. His lack of certainty naturally slowed him down, and when the leader slows down, so do those who follow.

"No way, it has to be a trap, there's only four of them over there anyway, too few to dig a trap.

The black dog picked up the pace of his slowing pursuit. But now his mind was a tangle of threads.

"Oh, shit, why do things keep going wrong? It's not this, it's this.

His job was not to go after them overtly, but to go after them more covertly.

But then the plan was completely derailed.

"Ew, Choi Wah Wah, if it weren't for that little bastard, he'd be the head of the family, and he makes such a basic mistake?

Whoever had planted the alarm bells must have had some experience in the underworld. They had stabbed him in the back while he was relaxed from the chase.

Black Dog felt a strong need to go back and do some mental training. He'd been away for a while, and his men's spirits had dropped considerably.

'I'm going to train you back to the basics, to the point where you can't make a sound! Especially you, Choi Wah Wah, you mouth-breathing idiot! You're already dead, you bastard!

* * *

'I'm dead. It's over!

Shivering with chills, Choi and Wawa continued their pursuit. But with his anxious, sweaty, and pale face, it was hard to tell who was chasing and who was being chased.

"How did we get here……."

At this moment, when I had barely risen to the position of deputy leader of the black dog pack and was only one step away from becoming the second in command, I was caught in a trap set by my stealthy pursuer! I felt like cutting off my errant ankle.

"I have to make up for this mistake somehow.

Choi Wah Wah was so concerned about his own well-being that he forgot to look out for Joe's. There was barely enough room in his mind to care about anything other than himself.

So when an unusually large shadow fell at his feet, he didn't even notice it as it swallowed up his men one by one without a sound.

He was muttering to himself until someone interrupted him.

"Hello."

The bangs covering his eyes, he must be one of our targets. What's he smiling about? It was time to capture him alive.

"You guys……?"

But when he turned around, Choi's eyes widened.

No, no one.

Not a single one of his eleven-man crew was in sight.

"Tsk, tsk, how did such a dullard get into a unit specializing in following?"

Jang Hong clicked his tongue pathetically.

Puck!

And Choi Wah-wah was stunned by Mo Yong-hui's touch.

"What do we do now, Ryuyeon?"

Mo Yonghui asked in a cautious voice. Inwardly hoping that she wouldn't make him do something like murder.

"Peel."

"What, take it off?"

Mo Yonghui replied in a hot voice.

"Take it off."

Bi Ryuyeon sighed slightly. It seemed that her upstanding friend was definitely distracted right now.

"Uncle Zhang and Gongsang, you help too."

Together with the three of them, he quickly began to move his hands. Speed was of the essence in a job like this.

"Ryuyeon, why are you searching through your arms, one after the other?"

"It's not a big deal, don't worry about it."

"What's not to like, something has been transferred from the arms of the warriors to yours?"

"It's all to see if there's anything that can help me later."

Keep your hands busy, even in the middle of a conversation.

"You're not looking for something that'll make you money?"

Bi Ryuyeon shrugged off Jang Hong's words, as if to say that she would no longer respond to such condescending remarks.

"Take it off, we're running out of time."

Soon the ten Black Dogs were in a natural state, lying naked, without a single thread, soaking up the energy of the earth.

Mo Yonghui's suggestion that he shouldn't touch the last hollow for fear of rotting his hands was lightly dismissed, and the job was later completed by Jang Hong and Nan Gongsang on the condition that Mo Yonghui buy him a drink.

Choi Wah Wah and the other nine members of the Third Black Dog Battalion were already half-conscious, but they couldn't move their fingers because of the blood. Mo Yonghui averted his gaze, afraid that he would lose his eyes, as he mourned the desolation and trauma they must have felt upon waking up.

"A little hesitation is what kills you, and once you start something, you have to finish it."

It was Bi Ryuyeon who casually threw out a comment that had no blood or tears in it.

"What can I do, she's going to freeze to death if I leave her here, and I can't give her her clothes back."

Jang Hong asked in a serious voice. He wanted to avoid causing any casualties to the Black Heavenly Blades.

"I'll bury it."

"Are you suggesting we bury him alive?"

Jang Hong asked, his eyes widening in surprise at the idea. Bi Ryuyeon nodded nonchalantly.

"Okay, you…… that's a great idea!"

Mo Yonghui and Nan Gongsheng sent him a look, wondering what was wrong with him, but Jang Hong didn't care.

"Huh, I'm kind of a genius."

She shook her head, as if she was afraid to tell the truth. As expected, she made another cup.

"Woof, woof, woof!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You bloodless, tearless mongrels, you can't untie this right now, you're trying to bury a man alive, and they say you're not even human."

Jang Hong said in a tone as if he was reading a book.

Wow!

At that moment, a rock lying right next to Choi Wah-wah's head was stepped on by Bi Ryuyeon's foot and crushed into powder.

"Oops, I meant to step on the head next to me, but I accidentally stepped on a rock."

It's not a big deal, she said to herself.

"Help me, help me and I'll be your dog, wah wah, wah wah."

Jang Hong read out Choi Wah's silent words, again in a high-pitched voice.

Bi Ryuyeon said, nodding in satisfaction.

"Ask."

The members of the Black Dogs were soon buried with nothing but their necks exposed. From a distance, it looked like a watermelon field had suddenly sprung up in the woods.

"Okay, let's move on to the next one."

* * *

One is missing.

They're gone.

Three are gone.

And four disappeared.

"Who is it!"

Baek-gu, the troop leader leading the pursuit of Jay, sensed something was amiss and drew his sword into an attack stance.

"Oh, okay, there's some reaction this time, but it doesn't change the outcome or anything."

"Uh, where are you?"

At that moment, the shadows of the forest where he stood stirred, and a black shadow stretched out and wrapped itself around the hand that held the Bai Gu Dao.

Playing God

The Art of Kamikakushi [神隱しノ術]

Kagekui

Rename (改名)

Shinigami Spiritualization

"This, this?"

The next moment, shadows leapt up in unison, coiling and tightening around Bai Gu's entire body like snakes, and as if waiting, a young man with long bangs and a black robe dropped from the tree.

"Who is it?"

"None of your business."

The young man smirked, raising a clenched fist.

Puck!

And darkness fell upon the white globe.

When Baek-gu comes back to his senses, he is stunned to find himself buried neck-deep in the ground, just like Choi's final moments.

"Woof…… woof.

His voice was muffled by his blood pressure.

'What the hell is this…….'

He hoped it was all a dream, but when he looked around, he saw that not only he, but all nine of Jayzo's other men were equally buried.

'What is that technology I've been hit with? It controls shadows……. That's not a Zhongyuan technique. It must be a foreign technique…….'

Honest admiration prevailed over anger; it was no easy feat to defeat an expert like them so unexpectedly, especially with a shadow technique like that, which could only be used by those whose stealth had reached godlike prowess.

"Who the hell wrote that shadow technology?

The two young men in white seemed to be too much of a master to use such techniques. That left one of two options: the young man in black, or the oldest of the three.

Then, an old man in a faded robe opened his mouth and spoke to the young man next to him.

"Well, I'm sure you've had your blood drawn, right?"

"Don't worry, I've made sure of that, and you won't wake up for another twelve hours."

"But let's be honest, you're not very good at phlebotomy, are you?"

The young man in black, apparently irritated at being ignored, replied bluntly.

"Come on, I'm just as good at pricking, but I use my fists instead of my fingers like everyone else."

"Isn't that already the realm of the puncture? Other people call that a beating."

Waving off the tongue-in-cheek remark, the young man in black shrugged.

"I passed out anyway, so it doesn't matter."

"You're the kind of person who would punch a thrush if you asked him to draw blood."

He didn't seem to mind the scolding, though.

"At least it's quiet, right?"

Bai Gu never wanted to encounter a person like that in his life, but it seemed that he had already encountered one in the worst form.

"At least I know how to do some bloodletting by the time I'm a company commander.

According to the old man, if the young man in black was nervous about taking blood, it might be easier. It was worth a try.

After a while.

"That's it.

Bai Gu sang a happy tune. The mucus had been released much more easily than he had expected. He could feel his stiff tongue begin to loosen.

Yay!

There was only one way this could have happened.

"I, Bai Gu, commander of the Black Dogs, will fulfill my duties, even if it takes my life today. I'm not like that disloyal waste captain!

Bai Gu pursed his lips, then gathered his inner qi and blew with all his might.

Pie in the sky!

A clear whistling sound cut through the night sky. Startled, Jang Hong quickly turned around, but it was too late. As if to mock him for his slowness, Bai Gu shouted straight ahead.

"Captain! Enemy fire! All out! Rapid!"

It was a heartfelt cry, and on a night like this, in the stillness of the night, it could have reached even a black dog.

"Gee, how did I get the blood out?"

Jang Hong paled and hastily covered Bai Gu's mouth, but only a smile of deep satisfaction at the accomplishment of his mission tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Jang Hong pulled his hand away in frustration.

"Hahaha, soon the elite of our Black Hounds will be here. There will be nowhere for you to run. Hahahahaha!"

Bai Gu laughed out loud, as if he was actually enjoying himself.

Even if the rest of his body was buried and only his neck stuck out, Bai Gu had done his job faithfully. But the scruffy-looking man didn't share his laughter.

"Phew, you think you can get us with just a bunch of black dogs, that's too much."

"Haha, what can you be afraid of when you have a black dog!"

"Hehe, what's the big deal about the black dog, he's already in our hands, and we should be grateful that he didn't get mauled."

Snorting in disbelief, Jang Hong sneered at Bai Gu's faith.

"Hahaha, don't you think you've earned the title of "Black Thousand and Ten" just because you lost on purpose once? You should know your subjects! If the boss shows his real skills, you're all doomed."

Jang Hong's expression stiffened for a moment before he looked at Bi Ryuyeon, Mo Yonghui, and Nangong Shang and said in a serious tone.

"How did you like my performance?"

Bi Ryuyeon smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

"I had a feeling, you had me completely fooled."

"……."

Mo Yonghui and Namgungsang nodded their heads in agreement, their faces bright as they remained silent.

At the unexpected reaction of the three, the buried Bai Gu felt an ominous sense of foreboding run down his spine.

"Cow, fooled?"

An ominous sense of foreboding ran down the spine of the white goo.

"Ah, gosh, whew. You can put up your shades now."

Without responding to Bai Gu's words, Bi Ryuyeon gave the order, and Mo Yonghui and the Namgung Sang withdrew the curtain of Qi they had been using.

"A sound barrier… No way……. It's a technique only the most accomplished masters can utilize………."

He meant to say that he couldn't imagine how such a youngster could do that, but his words were ignored.

"It's the same old guy, he was doing it on purpose, his hand was different than usual."

"Huh, that's a lot. You mean you have a knack for beating people up?"

To the continued disregard, Jang Hong chimed in.

"What do you mean, of course they're different, how can they be the same, just like all pigs have different flavors, all hands have different tastes, and I was kind of annoyed earlier because I felt like I was just skimming the surface instead of getting down to the bone, but now that I know, I feel better."

Apparently that didn't sit well with him.

"Hey, are you ignoring me? Hey, do you know who I am? I'm Bai Guo, the leader of the Black Dogs, and I still have a lot of information."

Baek-gu couldn't believe that he, an expert in the intelligence world, had been fooled by such a youngster.

But Bi Ryuyeon's group didn't seem to pay any attention to his words.

"Okay, now we're down to the last target, the black dog."

This was just a warm-up. This is where the real fun begins.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hello?"

Puck!

Suddenly, with a loud thud, fire flashed in front of Bai Gu's eyes.

The black dog was not of the same quality as the bits of grass they had buried, and it would take much more effort to capture him alive than they had done with these two.

* * *

The Black Dog, who had no way of knowing that this group of three had been wiped out, was seriously and deeply pondering how he could best fulfill the task that the Great Mother had given him after so long.

'I don't want my guides to be wary, it could jeopardize the mission. It's not easy to let them go on purpose.

His original role was actually to make it look like they did it on purpose and let them go.

A wild chase like this was not what the Black Dog wanted at all; he could not just stop here, nor could he break off the chase in moderation, for that would only arouse their suspicions. Besides, with the airspeed so high, the wrong move could put too much distance between them. That wasn't the only worry.

'I hope the boys from Jindae who followed the other girls are doing well, and the big dog, the leader of Jindae, is doing well. ……I hope he's doing well.'

He was as much a dog as a black dog can be, so he was not good at sieges and ambushes, let alone the next best thing, which is a massacre.

'If only he wouldn't run his mouth in front of you…….'

The problem was that he sometimes made fun of his mouth and was called a "mangy mouth".

'Menggu, please keep your cheap mouth shut. One cheap joke can cost you your life. Seventh Lady's personality is not normal, but what's even more frightening is…… Sixth Lady, because even that bubbly tomboy Seventh Lady can't move against the quiet Sixth Lady. At times like this, it's good to have the Heavenly Dog by your side, eh? What an ungrateful bastard!'

That was it.

"Who are you!"

Yikes!

The black dog swung the black rope like a whip, and the grass in front of them was instantly cut in half, revealing a man. He was a wounded, gaunt figure, with a black dog emblem embroidered on his left chest.

"Black dog, boss……."

The black lab limped over and collapsed in a heap in front of the dog.

"Wake up. What the hell happened?"

"All…… have been hit."

Gasping for breath, the man managed to say.

"Defeated? There are only four of them, are there not?"

The black dog asked in an urgent voice.

"We were distracted by the sound of laughter in the distance and…… were ambushed. The laughter turned out to be a trap, and in the meantime, some of them came back and attacked…… us, catching us off guard. We had no choice but to be caught off guard."

"Only four of you! What a disgrace! How can you see the face of the Great Lord!"

The Black Dog flinched for a moment.

"Hey," he said, "thanks for letting me go on purpose. But…… chasing after you will be in vain. I'm sorry. Go home, wipe your feet…… and get some sleep."

"How dare they make fun of me!"

The black dog's temper flared and he threw up his ears.

"Uh, we need to get the word out."

"Eight, I am ashamed and disgraced, and how can I tell the big man about it!"

The member of the black dog squad spoke softly and cautiously over the black dog's rant.

"Well, that would rather be to defeat the Great Lord…… and if the Great Lord finds out about it later, I wonder if he will stand still……."

The black dog flinched at the words.

"If that doesn't work, why don't you send it to someone other than Big Mama?"

The black dog handlers were diligent and even offered alternatives. Even though he was dying of his injuries, he was talking so intently, no one thought it was strange that he was not in a panic.

"That's a great idea. I see. Get the third lady a light bulb immediately."

The black dog hurriedly gave the command and then asked again.

"What kind of a man is this? Tell me."

It was a black dog, urging me to answer.

"He was using a strange technology, something I'd never seen in the Middle Kingdom."

"What was the technology?"

"That's…… Cool! Kool-Aid!"

Blood spattered as the man who had been speaking so well suddenly coughed violently, unable to finish his sentence.

"No way. When you die, tell your story!"

The black dog's words were unrelenting.

"That was this…… technique, Job."

"What?"

The sleeve of the man being supported suddenly came alive and wrapped around the black dog's arms in an attempt to contain it.

"This, this!"

With a quick maneuver, Black Dog drew his right arm out of the grip of his flailing sleeve. Seeing no time to sheathe his weapon, he thrust his drawn right arm forward.

Blood!

As he struck, a sharp iron sword hidden in his sleeve shot toward the man's forehead. He ducked his head to the left, deftly dodging the blade, then extended a golden thread to snatch the black dog's right wrist.

"How dare you!"

The Black Dog's right hand was already clutching the tip of the dragonhead. He had shot Cheoljung only to buy time to grab it.

Park Dragon Thirty-Six (縛龍三十六式)

独臂 三絶招

Thirty-three seconds (第三十三招)

Twin Dragon Gourd (雙龍兩縛)

The black pentacarp in his right hand spun in a large circle, binding the man and the black dog at the same time.

"Hmph. How's that, you little bastard, you're going to be stuck now, aren't you?"

A rope, like a whip, requires some distance, but since the art of entrapment came from the art of capturing criminals alive, it could be used to great effect at close range. As long as you had two good hands.

The lack of a hand was a fatal weakness in binding techniques that required delicate dexterity, and the Poisonous Bamboo Trap was a black dog's secret weapon that literally allowed him to capture an enemy at close range with only one arm, the poisonous bamboo trap. Among them, the twin dragon yang gourd is a dangerous technique that binds the enemy and the user at the same time, and its essence is to block the opponent's two arms and save one arm for the final blow.

"I'm going to catch you right now and make you confess everything!"

Unlike more grandiose techniques such as the bow and arrow, the essence of the Park Ryong Thirty-Three was to capture an opponent alive, torture them with fire, and then force them to reveal information about themselves.

The man chained to the gourd said with a snicker.

"Hahahaha, you look like you can swing a rope with only one arm. But this guy's shadow can do it without two arms."

"What?"

Suddenly, the shadows beneath the man's feet began to dart.

Shinigami (神隱術)

Projection (影蛇索)

The Art of Shadow Binding

Mukyung Pobak (墨影捕縛)

Para la la la la la la la la la la la!

The shadows rose again, enveloping the Black Dog's right hand in darkness, locking them together and immobilizing them both. But the Black Dog still had men.

"Hey, capture this guy alive!"

As soon as I turned my head, the black dog barked at the first subordinate I saw.

"Hey, Rani, you're being a little harsh. You need to treat your superiors with more respect so they'll follow suit."

"What, what?"

The black dog's eyes flashed with life, but his subordinate clicked his tongue and shook the bat he held from side to side in disbelief.

"It's old school, old school, old school to think that just because you're yelling and screaming that people will follow you."

Suddenly, the black dog realized. Something wasn't right. Where are the others, and why is this guy standing behind me? No, was there a guy with bushy bangs like that in my unit?

"You bastard, who the hell are you?"

"Man, it's a shame he can't even recognize his own subordinates. This is called being a boss, black."

The black dog's face flushed with anger, unable to contain his rage.

"I've never had a man like you as a servant!"

A guttural cry erupted.

"Bam, amnesia, you need urgent medical attention."

"Now, wait a minute, what am I supposed to do with that stick……."

Secrets

Unauthorized Memory Recovery Secrets

Boom!

Instead of an answer, what came back was a lopsided grin, and a blow of a hollow club to the back of his head in the name of healing.

Bam!

With a loud crack, Black Dog's consciousness flew into the darkness beyond. The slowly tilting, darkening vision of his men on the floor came into focus, and he was completely stunned.

"Nice work, mister."

The young man in the black dog suit said as he looked at the man who had been freed by Park Yong-sak and was now a free man.

"Whoa."

He smiled bitterly and removed the bast mask from his face. This revealed a face that looked quite ragged.

The first man to appear before the black dog was Jang Hong.

And the young man who hit the black dog over the head with a hard bat was, of course, Bi Ryuyeon.

While Jang Hong, a master of disguise, dressed as one of the Black Dogs and captured the spirit of the Black Dogs, Bi Ryuyeon, Nam Gongsang, and Mo Yonghui, dressed in identical Black Dog clothes, took care of the Black Dog's men.

"Brother Zhang, I've seen it again, and I can't believe you've been hiding such a great trick all this time."

Namgungsang gave a thumbs up in genuine admiration.

"Oh my God, what's wrong with you, sir?"

Jang Hong stopped the bent Namgungsang from doing so.

"No, I'm surprised you managed to subdue one of the Black Thousand and Ten without a scratch. I didn't believe you when you said your big brother wasn't just a simple pervert, but I was rash."

Jang Hong's hidden identity was not unusual, but this was the first time the Southern Palace had seen a glimpse of his skills.

"……."

Jang Hong was about to cringe at the subtlety of Nan Gongsang's words, but decided to let it slide since he was busy, so he just sighed and said to Bi Ryuyeon, "I'm sorry.

"By the way, Ryuyeon, my friend, if I do it your way, I'm not going to be better off with amnesia, I'm going to lose the memory I had."

Jang Hong shook his head, looking down at the black dog lying on the ground with a warm, large bump on its back, with a pitying expression on his face.

"Well, at least you've got your head on straight, right?"

His face, he said, was unusually intact for someone who had been beaten like that.

"That makes me cry."

After thanking him, which was somehow a mixture of sighs and sighs of frustration, Jang Hong pulled a box about the size of a thin, square book from his bosom. He opened the lid, and inside was a soft, grayish-white dough.

"Excuse me."

Jang Hong held the box of plaster over the black dog's face and dipped it in. The off-white dough was soft but not soft, and the black dog's face was pressed into the dough as if it were being sucked into it.

"What is that, Brother Zhang?"

Unable to contain his curiosity, Namgungsang asked.

"It's not much. It's just some sort of portable mask-making plaything. Never mind."

"Portable masquerade?"

After counting to fifteen, Jang Hong took out the box again, which was stamped with the face of a black dog. Jang Hong nodded once, as if satisfied, then took his bottle from his bosom, poured it into the mold, and opened it thinly.

"It's done. All that remains is to dry it."

Jang Hong wiped the sweat from his forehead and said. At that moment, Mo Yonghui asked.

"But what do you want him to do? I don't think we can leave him alone."

The black dog's share was nowhere near the other two.

"Take it off."

"Are you stripping again?"

Compared to Mo Yong-hui, who looked nervous, Bi Ryuyeon's answer was firm.

"Of course, this is a moonfish, we can't afford to leave any scales behind, can we?"

"Shall I sell you the land along with it, big brother?"

At Namgung-sang's confirming question, Bi Ryuyeon took a moment to look around at the fallen members of the Black Dogs before speaking.

"No, I can't release that hard-caught walleye already. I'm taking him in."

"You're taking him with you? We've got tracks to cover, people to rescue. Don't you think it's a bit of a luxury to have such a useless hostage under the circumstances?"

Jang Hong retorted.

Even if the black dog was one of the ten great black dogs, it was not very useful from the hostage's point of view. There were ten masters of the Black Heavenly Blade, but only one master of the White Heavenly Blade.

"You can't walk around with a lump like that."

"If you knew that, I wouldn't have to explain it to you."

Jang Hong nodded, and Bi Liuyue nodded as well.

"Okay, I'll take him then."

……It saves me the trouble of explaining, but it's meaningless if the conclusion is arbitrary.

"I'll get something out of it later, maybe a ransom if I have to."

"We're not a rescue mission, we're not a kidnapping gang."

"Tsk, tsk, hasn't this guy ever been to war? You're supposed to pay a similar price when you exchange prisoners of war. It's common sense that if it's not human life, it's money, common sense. Why? Because it's more profitable to buy them than to grow them back, and if they're peak cilantro, that's one thing."

Cilantro doesn't happen overnight, and it certainly doesn't happen for free. A time- and money-consuming monster is the race of cilantro.

"Ha, I can't do that, let's do it."

* * *

However, when he had moved about an angle with his black dog barking at him to kill him, he suddenly stopped.

"Why but?"

"I think this is the place, let's ask."

"You brought me all this way and now you're going to tell me something?"

Ignoring Jang Hong's tongue-in-cheek remark, Bi Ryuyeon spoke to Nan Gongsheng.

"Five cubits long, two cubits wide, four cubits deep, and just the right depth, palace boy."

"Isn't that the size of a coffin? Are you really going to bury him alive?"

The black dog's eyes widened. His consciousness was lucid, and if he could speak, he would have shouted. Kill me with a single blow, you chewable bastard!

"It's only temporary, and it would be embarrassing to lose it."

"Temporary or archival?"

The question was not completely answered, but we decided to dig. The digging duties fell to Namgung Sang and Jang Hong. Jang Hong was particularly skilled at digging, though he wouldn't admit it because of the secrecy that surrounded him, but it was clear that he had trained in the earth energy system. Otherwise, the mounds of earth would not have risen like silent waves with each sweep of his hands. I wonder if this is the result of studying abroad.

"It's a human digger."

Soon there was a pit, just right for a coffin. Without hesitation, Bi Ryuyeon placed the black dog in it.

"Okay, everybody, cover up."

Bi Ryuyeon mobilized the others, shoveling the mound of dirt that had been piled to one side back into the pit.

"Hey, you bastards, what are you doing, you murdering bastards, you might as well just take that rock and smack me over the head with it, you rotten bastards!

The black dog struggled inside, but there was only so much he could do as he was subdued.

"Oh, how I wish I was a grown-up."

It was a long, thin, hollow bamboo that Bi Ryuyeon stuck into the black dog's mouth.

"That's a nice tri-fold."

What a waste, Jang Hong grumbled.

"Okay, close your eyes, you're going to get dirt in your eyes."

The burial was complete. The only thing sticking out of it was a long bamboo pole.

"Now, let's go do our business."

Ryu-yeon Bi exclaimed excitedly, stretching her arms out in front of her.

"Where does he get the confidence to be so reckless? He's lost, he's lost.

Namgungsang shook his head.

"But…… said it's okay for that big brother, so it must be okay for Jinryung, right?

At least that was a comforting thought.

But unfortunately, Jinling wasn't feeling very well right now, and neither was Na Yerin.

They were walking through a dark passageway, oblivious to the danger that lay ahead of them.