Chapter 95: Beyond the Jade Gate (1)
Chapter 95: Beyond the Jade Gate (1)
What’s with this confidence? Is this kid actually…?!
The old man looked at Woon-seong’s attitude with suspicion.
Suddenly, Woon-seong flashed forward like a bolt of lightning.
Bam!
The next second, the old man was already lying on the floor.
He had been completely unprepared.
Everything had happened in a second.
Even the man who was hit by Woon-seong could not determine what had happened.
What they hell just happened? I think I saw a faint shadow and then my body shifted. But the shadow had been…white? And then I was already on the ground…
The old man was not a fool, so it didn’t take long for him to figure out the situation.
It’s obvious. My body was launched by something.
“You bastard! You were hiding your strength!”
The old man slowly got up off the floor and grabbed something from around his waist.
Snap—
Short rods snapped together, forming a long spear.
A hexa-jointed spear..? And that purple colored blade…
Perhaps the weapon would give them some idea about who the old man was.
“The ‘Snake Spear Poison Artist’, Nam Choong!”
Was it because someone had recognized him? Nam Choong responded with a smile, “Hehehe. It looks like you at least have an eye.”
Nam Choong grabbed his spear and pointed it at Woon-seong, who looked at him indifferently, no matter what he did.
“You. You will pay for insulting me.”
The word ‘insult’ made Woon-seong laugh.
Apparently Nam Choong was not a very smart man.
There was a great wall between their strengths. As long as Woon-seong did not want others to know of his true strength, it would be impossible for insects like Nam Choong to know.
So Nam Choong had no idea.
The fact that he could still talk, that he was still alive, that even despite insulting Woon-seong, the young man had already been merciful.
Snake Spear Poison Artist, huh…I’ve never heard of him, but I assume his name is known for a reason.
Woon-seong wet his lip with the tip of his tongue.
Finishing him with a single blow will cause too much attention.
The appearance of new blood who defeated the Snake Spear Poison Artist after fighting for some time, and the appearance of one who defeated him in a single blow are two very different things.
I’m not planning to become famous during my trip to Zhongyuan.
Enough fame to make my journey a bit more comfortable is good enough.
Woon-seong turned around and asked, “Is he that powerful of a martial artist?”
“Y-Young sir. Have you never heard about Nam Choong, the Snake Spear Poison Artist?”
The Head Representative could not hide his trembling voice.
Originally, Un Gwang-gook thought that Woon-seong was one step ahead of them. He recognized that Woon-seong was strong, seeing as he had easily blasted the bandit leader into a tree.
But the young man hadn’t attacked Nam Choong because of his identity? Was it just a coincidence?
Unwittingly, Nam Choong’s pride had taken two blows from Woon-seong.
Woon-seong casually shrugged his shoulders. “I told you that I travelled to Xinjiang with my master at a young age. I know nothing about any recent famous figures.”
At that point, the Head Representative swallowed. Just as he was about to explain some more, he was interrupted.
“Enough talk! We’ll see if that tongue of yours can keep you alive any longer.”
Nam Choong flew towards Woon-seong.
Woon-seong took a step back and lightly dodged the attack before reaching over his back.
Sching—
The White Night Spear flew into Woon-seong’s palms, as if reacting to the youth’s summons.
To be honest, Woon-seong did not even need his spear to feel with Nam Choong.
The Snake Spear Poison Artist was only about as strong as a high-level Demonic General or a really weak Great Demon.
Even before becoming the Heavenly Demon, Woon-seong had been able to deal with both Chun A-young, the Divine Maiden, and Gwan Tae-ryang, the new Captain of the Charred Dragon Unit — both well established Great Demons.
But defeating him with my bare hands will cause too much attention. I don’t need that much fame.
Rumors that I went toe to toe with the Snake Spear Poison Artist are good enough.
Woon-seong swung his spear.
He did not use any particular technique, only the basics of the spear.
Whip and bounce the spear like breaking out of a cage.
Cut by twirling the spear in a spiral, like a conch shell.
Thrust to stab and pierce the opponent.
In Woon-seong’s hands, even the most basic spear movements were dramatically reproduced.
That was the biggest difference between the skilled and unskilled.
He was using the Seven Stars of the Spear, but it couldn’t be any different.
With smooth movements, the spear in Woon-seong’s hand was so dazzling that no one dared to say he was using the Seven Stars of the Spear.
Inside what looked like chaos was logic and insight.
Woon-seong’s spear arts had surpassed textbook perfection.
Obviously, this was not a level Nam Choong could surpass.
The Snake Spear which continually missed Woon-seong by the width of paper proved this point clear.
Woon-seong smiled as he glanced at the spear next to his cheek.
Others watching the battle probably thought Woon-seong was just barely blocking Nam Choong’s attacks.
But Woon-seong was quite relaxed.
For example…
Kang—
Woon-seong did not get nervous, even as blades of wind rained down on him.
From his point of view, they were no different from fireworks to celebrate his successful acting in the drama called life.
After a few seconds…
Flash!
Woon-seong’s spear squeezed through the wind wall and striked.
It was a move so precise that Nam Choong hadn’t even known he had a weakness there!
“Ugh!”
A single blow was enough.
A white spearhead pierced through Nam Choong’s navel, exiting through the back.
“H-How?”
Until that moment, Nam Choong did not fully understand what was happening and alternately looked at the spear-shaft in Woon-seong’s hands and his pierced abdomen.
Perhaps, even until the end, he had no idea that Woon-seong was only playing with him.
Puchi—
Woon-seong withdrew his spear and Nam Choong fell to the floor, blood spilling from the hole in his body.
As he pulled his spear back, Woon-seong rolled his shoulders, conscious of the others watching.
“Whew.”
He did not forget to exhale as though it had been a difficult battle.
The end of a perfect scene.
Woon-seong glanced to the side.
“R-Run!”
With the bandit leader down and the Snake Spear Poison Artist dead, all of the remaining bandits scattered.
With no leader and no strong backing, it was unlikely that there would be anymore bandits around this place.
Thus, Woon-seong did not bother chasing after them. He was no saint, but there was also no reason to kill unnecessarily.
After all the commotion had ended, Representative Un approached Woon-seong.
“Y-young master. That was some remarkable skill.”
The Righteous Cry Sect… I didn’t expect much because I had never heard of its name… But he was strong enough to defeat Nam Choong, the Snake Spear Poison Artist. Un Gwang-gook was filled with newfound admiration.
Woon-seong shook his head, then motioned to his tattered sleeves. “It wasn’t an easy fight.”
Though the wear and tear on the sleeves were intentionally made, none of those present were talented enough to see through the trick.
“Hmm, it was certainly not an easy fight. A little mistake might have been disastrous.”
Un Gwang-gook, who presented himself as the Head Representative of the Four Sea Courier Group, did not recognize the false traces made by Woon-seong.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Thankfully, no. Although it seems like my clothes didn’t survive.”
As Woon-seong smiled bitterly, the Head Representative perked up.
“Before we go through the Jade Gate, I’ll get you a good set of clothes at a nearby town.”
“I do have an extra set… But I’ll thankfully take the offer.”
“You just saved our lives. It’s nothing much compared to that.”
Just as the Head Representative said, the group stopped at a village and bought some new clothes for the youth.
As the village was frequented by merchants to and from the Jade Gate, the store was considerable and stocked with a variety of high quality clothing.
A nice bandana was paired with a purple-colored cloak, both spun from silk.
Neither was very expensive, as they were not embroidered or adorned with precious stones.
Nodding his head, Un Gwang-gook was satisfied with Woon-seong’s clean appearance. “Now that you’re dressed like this, you really look like some young hero from Murim.”
Without another word, the Head Representative paid for the clothing.
Woon-seong smiled bittersweetly as he looked at the clean clothes wrapped around his body.
A nice martial artist’s coat and a bandana. It’s the same clothing Master Nok Yu-on bought me when I first became his apprentice.
Although the colors and the quality are different, it’s a nice gift that reminds me of those days.
Though, it feels like a bit too much.
Woon-seong made a small sound of discomfort, then said, “Thank you for your gift.”
“Don’t worry. This is really nothing compared to what you did for us.”
He’s talkative, but still a good person, nodded Woon-seong, adjusting his impression of the Head Representative.
***
Soon they arrived at the entrance to the Jade Gate.
Beneath the tall walls was a long line of people trying to enter through the massive gate.
It was all people trying to get through the Jade Gate or enter into Zhongyuan.
The Jade Gate, which was connected to the Silk Road, had a thorough inspection process.
A number of officials were inspecting the people passing through.
What is your purpose for crossing the Jade Gate?
Do you have any prohibited items or items to declare?
Are you sure you’re not a criminal trying to escape?
The process was straightforward, but the guards were all showing signs of fatigue.
“That’s the Jade Gate. At least it doesn’t look too busy today,” commented the Head Representative as the group waited in line.
Soon, it was their turn.
“Hmm. You’re from the Four Sea Courier Group?”
An inspector checked their identification cards, then stood up and checked their carts.
“You don’t seem to have any contraband items. And your list of people…”
The inspector steadily moved around the group to keep track of the number of Four Sea Courier Group members, a little like a pigeon searching for crumbs.
In the end, he found something to pick at.
“Seems to have one extra. Your number of people does not match the records.”
Almost greedily, the inspector’s gaze focused on Woon-seong.
“I’m not part of the Four Sea Courier Group.”
“You’re not with the Four Sea Courier Group? Then why are you traveling with them?”
As soon as this question came out, it was the Head Representative who answered. He pulled out a small pouch from his sleeve and whispered to the inspector.
“This young sir is a martial artist. We met him in the mountains and just happened to enter Zhongyuan together. He says that he used to live in Zhongyuan but went outside with his master to train and is returning home for the first time in many years.”
“Is that so?”
The inspector acted like he was thinking as he listened to Un Gwang-gook. In the end, he snatched the pouch and tucked it into his sleeves.
Woon-seong felt like the inspector was greedy like a child. He was planning to rip them off using some lousy reason.
Looking around, the other inspectors were the same. They tried their best to find a problem and would make a big deal out of anything, no matter how small.
Among the inspectors were even those who would not let someone pass unless bribed.
Woon-seong frowned.
Based on the events at the Jade Gate, Woon-seong was convinced.
Even the officials in the outskirts are corrupted.
I can’t even imagine how bad the officials in the court are.
The larger a well, the more water it contained, the easier it was to become rotten.
The same could be said for power and control.