episode_0049

Clang clang clang clang clang—!

The bell rang loudly, announcing an invasion.

The flustered Namhyuk stood still, his mouth agape.

He was so surprised that his complexion was ashen, and he couldn’t speak properly from the shock.

In reality, Namhyuk was truly beside himself with rage.

No, he had long given up on retaliation, but suddenly they came and told him to get his revenge?

He was so dumbfounded that his entire body stiffened, and he couldn’t speak.

‘That madman…!’

He should have known from the moment the character for ‘mad’ (狂) was in his alias.

Namhyuk retorted.

“Great Hero! Revenge, what kind of ridiculous talk is that!”

“I broke your teeth.”

“No, I’ve told you many times that I’m really fine…!”

Bang Jongdae interrupted Namhyuk.

“This humble monk turned you into a bloody mess.”

“…”

‘That crazy monk bastard, seriously!’

He was completely unable to reason with them.

No matter what he said, it always came back to ‘I broke your teeth’ or ‘Get your revenge on me,’ so a conversation was impossible.

And there was another problem.

For a martial artist to get into a dispute with another martial artist and have his teeth broken was a humiliating disgrace.

However, given who his opponents were, he hadn’t intended to seek revenge, so he had kept this incident hidden from his colleagues until now.

He had even secretly investigated the identities of those two men by sending someone.

That was precisely the problem.

In the eyes of the other escort guards, those two men were simply madmen who dared to raid the Chengdu branch of the Ten Thousand Dragon Escort Agency in broad daylight and pick a fight with Namhyuk, the Chief Escort.

“Who are you!”

As expected.

One of the escort guards at the forefront, unaware of the situation, shouted loudly.

Cheongun answered his question.

“We are the ones who broke that man’s teeth.”

“Damn it, how dare you pick a fight with the Chief Escort!”

“Hmm? So he wasn’t just an escort guard, but the Chief Escort?”

Bang Jongdae answered Cheongun’s question.

“Cheong Sohyeop, look at that attire. Isn’t there a gold plaque on his chest? Seeing him wearing the Ten Thousand Dragon Gold Plaque, the symbol of the Ten Thousand Dragon Escort Agency, it seems that claiming to be the Chief Escort is not an empty boast.”

It was an accurate explanation, not off by an inch.

Cheongun nodded at Bang Jongdae’s clear and concise explanation.

It was the same during their martial arts sparring and now; he was truly a monk who knew a lot of useless things.

Thus, Cheongun and Bang Jongdae each corrected their introductions.

“Then I am the one who broke the Chief Escort’s teeth.”

“This humble monk is the one who turned the Chief Escort into a bloody mess.”

At those words, the escort guard who had asked their identities turned red and blue with rage, his anger soaring to its peak.

“These dog-bastards, worse than worms, don’t know their place…”

He swung his hand, signaling an attack.

“Everyone, attack!”

Rumble rumble rumble!

The escort guards, already boiling with rage, swarmed forward like a beehive.

Every single one of them drew their weapons and charged, letting out battle cries.

Those wielding swords, those holding spears, those with axes.

The escort guards, densely packed in the front, swarmed in.

From the rooftops on both sides, arrows and hidden projectiles poured down with urgent momentum.

Cheongun rapidly twisted his body this way and that, narrowly dodging the flying projectiles.

At the same time, he pulled something out of his pocket.

They were leftover pork bones.

He held them between his fingers like projectiles, took a stance, and then imbued them with sword energy and sent them flying.

Whoosh—!

The bones flew in a zigzag pattern.

Clink.

With a light clinking sound, they deflected the incoming arrows.

The bones continued to accelerate, flying freely.

The men on the rooftops who had been launching projectiles tried to dodge, but they couldn’t.

What kind of madman would throw leftover bones like hidden projectiles?

It was impossible to predict, and more importantly, they were too fast with the added acceleration.

The result was tragic.

Six bones cleanly thudded into the foreheads of the six men hidden on the rooftops!

“You scoundrel!” A furious shout.

At the same time, one man sprang out from the left and another from the right, dropping down from above and unleashing sword strikes.

Cheongun pulled out the fishing rod he had slung over his shoulder.

He lightly swung it, and the fishing line swished out.

It then stuck firmly to the sword blade of the man charging from the right, wrapping around it several times and binding it.

At the same time, with a crunching sound, the sword shattered like breaking glass.

“!!!”

The man falling from the right stared at his sword, now only a hilt, and broke out in a cold sweat.

Suddenly, Cheongun shot up into the air.

He spun his body once.

Cheongun’s heel, gaining momentum, came down like a roundhouse kick on the man’s neck.

Thud—!

The man was slammed straight into the ground, and a cloud of dust rose.

“Die!”

Just then, another man from the left delivered a downward sword strike.

Bang Jongdae, his back to Cheongun, chuckled and extended his index finger straight out to the left.

It was the opening move of Tanji Shingong, the supreme finger martial art of Shaolin.

The falling man paused, his eyes wide with surprise.

Because a single prayer bead was resting on the tip of Bang Jongdae’s index finger.

At that moment, Bang Jongdae flicked his index finger.

As a single prayer bead, imbued with a bright yellow aura, burst through the air and flew towards him, the startled man angled his sword to deflect it.

However, Tanji Shingong was Shaolin’s supreme technique, which condensed the internal energy emanating from the fingertip into a single point to pierce through obstacles.

The prayer bead, imbued with Bang Jongdae’s internal energy, cleanly pierced a hole in the center of the man’s sword blade.

Soon after, the prayer bead that had pierced the sword blade continued flying and embedded itself in the man’s philtrum.

“Gasp!”

Thud.

The man foamed at the mouth and collapsed onto the dirt ground.

A chilling silence descended upon the situation, which had unfolded in an instant.

Bang Jongdae was not originally of such a disposition.

He was a gentle and benevolent monk, emulating the teachings of great compassion.

Thus, he ventured into the martial world with a hopeful heart, intent on saving all living beings.

However, the martial world he actually encountered was vastly different from his expectations.

The reality he faced directly was like a storm.

It was a world where villains ran rampant, good people suffered, and merciless slaughter was rampant… Not a speck of the Pure Land he had read about in Buddhist scriptures could be found.

In such a situation, he met Cheongun and received his teachings.

Little by little, he had begun to question the Buddhist scriptures’ teachings on the enlightenment of villains.

And now, Bang Jongdae could finally feel it.

He had always had many grievances against the Ten Thousand Dragon Escort Agency, who conspired with merchant guilds to extort property from civilians using land deeds.

Punishing such scoundrels with his own hands felt as refreshing as a blockage being cleared.

My goodness, how exhilarating!

Indeed, it was right to guide villains using methods appropriate for them.

At that moment, Cheongun spoke.

“Now, we go to meet him.”

With those words, Cheongun, holding a shabby fishing rod, charged towards the swarming escort guards.

Every time the fishing line swished, blue lightning energy crackled in the air!

He casually passed them by as if on a stroll, only pushing forward.

From behind, Bang Jongdae sequentially shot prayer beads into the philtrums of the men entering Cheongun’s blind spots.

Cheongun pierced through, and Bang Jongdae supported the rear.

It was truly a flawless assault combination.

“Cr-crazy.”

Meanwhile, Namhyuk, whose situation had spiraled out of control, had a deathly pale face.

He had known they were masters, but seeing them now, they were even more formidable than he had imagined.

“Kill them!”

The belatedly gathered escort guards rushed at Cheongun.

They had already lost their reason; there were more escort guards charging at Cheongun, unable to control their rage, than those who hesitated out of fear of Cheongun’s martial prowess.

Only then did Namhyuk snap back to his senses.

If things continued like this, the outcome was obvious.

For a branch of the Ten Thousand Dragon Escort Agency, one of the Ten Great Escort Agencies, to be utterly devastated by just two people?

If this fact became known, there would be no greater disgrace.

He couldn’t know what kind of responsibility the Ten Thousand Dragon Escort Agency headquarters would demand from him.

Namhyuk shouted, imbuing his voice with internal power.

“Stop!”

At Namhyuk’s shout, Cheongun also shouted, imbuing his voice with internal power.

“No!”

“This crazy bastard!”

“The opportunity for revenge is right before your eyes!”

“Damn it! I told you I don’t want revenge!”

“I broke your teeth!”

“Listen to me!”

Before anyone knew it, Cheongun, who had charged through the numerous escort guards, appeared.

The fishing line came flying with a whoosh.

Namhyuk quickly twisted his body to the right, but the fishing line curved like a hook and ensnared Namhyuk’s body.

Bound by the fishing line and unable to move, Namhyuk was dragged away.

Namhyuk cried out desperately.

“W-what on earth are you doing?!”

He couldn’t understand.

Although he had indeed instigated the fight, he had clearly begged for forgiveness on the spot, and had not made any moves for retaliation since then!

What on earth was he dissatisfied with that he would invade this place and cause such a ruckus?!

Cheongun answered his question.

“There are many reasons.”

“Excuse me?”

“First, you people insulted me and my companions.”

“No, didn’t I clearly beg for forgiveness then?!”

“I forgave you. But you should not forgive me.”

“What the f…”

Cheongun slowly folded his last remaining finger and spoke.

“More than anything, do you know what kind of people I dislike the most?”

“…What is it?”

“Those who mess around with other people’s land.”

“What on earth does that have to do with you, Great Hero… Gulp!”

Before he could finish speaking.

Cheongun instantly extended his finger and struck Namhyuk’s paralyzing pressure point.

Namhyuk was instantly paralyzed and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

A chilling silence descended.

The remaining escort guards held their breath, looking back and forth between Cheongun and the fallen Namhyuk.

At that moment, Cheongun spoke.

“From now on, I am the Chief Escort of the Ten Thousand Dragon Escort Agency.”

“…”