“You bastard!”
Black Rose.
As the fifth protector of the Mad Wind Sand, although she was over sixty, her unique peerless art, the Flying Dagger Technique, was extremely fierce, and she was evaluated as a person who was reluctant to face due to her despicable personality. (At least in the Great Desert)
Because she was such a Black Rose, she couldn’t help but feel anger at So-ah’s unrestrained words.
But,
“Whyyyyyy!”
To So-ah, Black Rose was nothing more than a powerless old woman with a bent back.
‘What the, Jin So-ah? Crazy… his skill at getting on people’s nerves is also at a peerless level?!’
For a moment, Wang So-yeong almost burst into laughter at So-ah’s eloquence.
Whyyyyyy!
She had never seen such a scene of scratching people’s insides in the North Sea, at least.
“Our Mad Wind Sand only takes wealth, and it is our principle not to take lives. But today, I will break this rule and fix your bad habits! How dare a petty thief from the Central Plains try to insult the fifth protector of the Mad Wind Sand?”
“It’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black. You have no conscience.”
“You… you… you mangy colt-like bastard!”
“What does that mangy colt look like? Anyway, old people’s curses are completely old-fashioned. Ugh, so tacky.”
At So-ah’s continuing provocation, Wang So-yeong finally,
“Pu… puhup!”
She burst into laughter.
At the same time, the old woman, Black Rose’s face contorted in red and blue, and a thin smile hung on So-ah’s face.
“Die, you trash-like bastard!”
The old woman’s hoarse voice erupted.
Along with that, her flying dagger rushed in quickly and menacingly.
It was a brutal sound of something cutting through the air.
Certainly, the average escort who made a living in the upper world would kneel just by hearing the sound.
But unfortunately, the person Black Rose had to face now was So-ah.
“Anyone can see that you should die first, grandma.”
Grab!
An unbelievable thing happened.
It was something that could not be understood even after seeing it.
At least for the old woman, Black Rose.
“My… flying dagger… with his hand… he caught it with his hand…?”
“Well, why are you stuttering over such a big deal?”
“You… who are you?”
“Me? Let’s just say I’m the grim reaper who came to catch you, grandma.”
That was So-ah’s last provocation.
In fact, So-ah had a kind heart and would not treat an old person carelessly if possible.
But at this moment, Black Rose was nothing more or less than a roadside robber who stole the wealth of good people, so he had spat out such insulting words.
And now,
“It’s time to shit blood, you vicious old hag.”
It was time to inflict physical punishment.
Thwack!
Thwack-thwack!
Thwack-thwack-thwack, thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
“Uwaaaaaack!”
Since joining the Mad Wind Sand, no, it was the first time in her life.
This was not a duel or a confrontation, but ruthless violence.
“Stop! Stop it, I said stop!”
So-ah’s club, imbued with a pale blue brilliance, swept across the old woman, Black Rose’s entire body like a ray of light.
Every time, the old woman let out a desperate scream, but,
“What?”
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
“Black Rose?”
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
“If you’re going to give yourself a nickname, you should pick something that suits you, you shameless thief hag!”
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
There was no mercy in So-ah.
‘My goodness… what is that… is he a person or a beast?’
Wang So-yeong, who was watching him, trembled.
‘Is that what So-ah was talking about… bloody… stool…?’
Only then did Wang So-yeong realize how lenient he had been to her when they first met, and she shook her head.
‘Will I also shit blood if I mess with him? Hah…’
Wang So-yeong vowed not to get on So-ah’s nerves if possible in the future.
***
An hour later…
“Ugh…”
“Does it hurt?”
“If it were you… wouldn’t… it hurt?”
So-ah, who had punished the old thief with about 700 club-beatings, asked with a still vicious expression. Black Rose, whose seven teeth were broken, spoke with difficulty with a lisp.
“Oho? Still talking back? It seems your mental remodeling is a bit lacking.”
“N-No, sir… no, Great Hero… I have committed a sin worthy of death… please save me… save me…”
Black Rose sobbed and sat down, pleading, but her plea could not be continued to the end.
It was because So-ah had coldly cut off her words.
“Enough. Grandma. Listen to me carefully. From now on, you will do as I say, right? Got it?”
“Yeees…”
“If you try any tricks or get caught procrastinating, then I’ll really…”
“Yeees, yeees… I get it!!”
Even in the midst of being half-dead, Black Rose shouted convulsively.
What if she was caught by So-ah again?
Her teeth chattered and her legs went numb.
Only then did So-ah relax his expression.
“We’re going to the Mad Wind Sand. In other words, your mission is to guide us to the base of the Great Desert, the Mad Wind Sand, in the shortest possible time. Can you do it?”
“I… I can do it!”
“I like that attitude. Oh my… you look quite hurt. So why did you steal! What is this, what is this! I’m a person who has learned as much as I can about the Three Bonds and Five Relations, and the order of seniority. You’re making me use violence. It hurts my heart, sigh!”
Black Rose cried at So-ah’s words.
Wasn’t it the hottest tears of her 63-year life?
***
“No! Fifth Protector?!”
When they arrived at the base of the Mad Wind Sand, the gatekeeper was astonished to see Black Rose.
Why wouldn’t he be?
There would be no one with a strong heart who could maintain their sanity after seeing a protector who was beaten to a pulp to the point where it wouldn’t be strange if she died right away.
“Take… take me to the chief…!”
The old woman, Black Rose, said to the gatekeeper.
“Fifth Protector. What on earth is this? And who are these young people?”
The gatekeeper asked back with still astonished eyes.
At that, So-ah whispered softly in Black Rose’s ear.
“Grandma. Hurry, hurry!”
At that, Black Rose made a tearful face and scolded the gatekeeper.
“These are my grand… grandchildren… so, hurry up and guide us…!”
“Ah… I understand!”
The gatekeeper nodded and opened the gate of the Mad Wind Sand.
‘Done!’
So-ah was overjoyed.
A little later, So-ah’s group was able to enter the annex where the chief of the Mad Wind Sand, Yi Ga-don, was staying.
‘Wow…!’
‘What is all this?!’
So-ah and Wang So-yeong’s eyes widened as they entered the chief’s room.
They were surprised by the huge scale and splendid decorations of the chief’s room.
‘How much did he steal to accumulate such wealth?’
His teeth ground automatically.
He felt disillusioned with the despicable human beings who stole from the weak and filled their own bellies.
But,
‘Wait a minute… this…’
A fun idea came to So-ah’s brilliant mind once again.
‘This could be a jackpot if I do it right.’
And as he was curling up the corners of his mouth,
“What is this? Fifth Protector!!”
A man with a huge build from a dark room in a corner of the room.
The chief of the Great Desert, the Mad Wind Sand, Yi Ga-don, revealed himself and shouted at Black Rose.
“Chieeeef!”
Seeing Yi Ga-don, Black Rose burst into tears.
It was because her sorrow had exploded.
But her complaint could not be continued.
So-ah interrupted the conversation.
“Hello, Chief!”
“Who are you?”
“Ah! I am…”
In that moment.
A instinctive cry flowed out of Wang So-yeong’s mouth as she was looking at the chief’s room, which was hung with all sorts of jewels and accessories.
“The Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade!!”
That’s right.
What she had seen was the natural ore of the North Sea, with a gold-plated border, on one side of the wall.
It was the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade.
“You bastards!”
At the same time, the chief, Yi Ga-don’s roar echoed through the room, and,
—Clang, clang-clang-clang!
Dozens of robbers drew their swords all at once.
‘Oops…’
So-ah squeezed his eyes shut.
‘This is going to be a headache.’
It wasn’t that he was scared.
But the number of robbers he had roughly estimated as he entered the annex was about 300.
Although it couldn’t even be compared to the Eighteen Fortresses of the Green Forest or the Yangtze River Waterway Fortresses, it was a rather troublesome number to handle alone, and to make matters worse, he was in a state of being overlapped with endemic symptoms and fatigue, so he was inwardly resentful of Wang So-yeong.
But the deed was done, and,
“Catch those bastards!”
The robbers were rushing in with their crude weapons.
“So-ah…”
“Since it has come to this, it’s a head-on fight.”
So-ah drew his club, and Wang So-yeong drew her sword.
***
“You brats!”
—Kwagwagwagwagwang!
“Even if you act up!”
—Papapa!!
“You’re just thieves!”
—Kugugugugung!
‘My goodness…!’
It was truly a momentum of a rising sun.
Every time So-ah threw a punch, a dozen robbers were knocked down. Not only Wang So-yeong, but also the chief, Yi Ga-don, and the old woman, Black Rose, realized that the round ki wave wrapped around his fist was a gang-hwan and were utterly astonished.
‘So-ah is a much greater master than I thought!’
A strange light appeared in Wang So-yeong’s eyes.
Although she had realized that So-ah’s martial arts were at a heaven-shaking level, she had thought that it was limited to his peers.
But it turned out that was not the case.
To shoot out such a brutal gang-hwan form of ki wave indefinitely, one’s internal energy must have reached at least several decades.
‘I thought he was at the level of our palace’s elders… I was mistaken.’
Wang So-yeong thought that perhaps So-ah was a peerless master who was not inferior even when compared to her father.
Just then.
“Everyone, pull yourselves together! Perform the Great Desert Annihilation Formation!!”
At Yi Ga-don’s shout, the robbers who were falling like autumn leaves moved quickly and formed a formation.
‘This won’t be easy.’
He felt a pull in the back of his neck.
It was because he had felt the momentum of an impregnable fortress from their formation, which was called the Great Desert Annihilation Formation, at a glance.
[So-yeong-ah.]
So-ah quickly sent a sound transmission to Wang So-yeong.
[Huh?]
[This is not ordinary. Don’t step forward, and guard me from behind. I’ll try to break through that formation first.]
[Alright.]
Until then, Wang So-yeong had not taken it seriously.
She had thought that with So-ah’s martial arts, he would be able to break through the shabby formation of the thieves without difficulty.
But.
—Papapat!
So-ah, who had performed the Bow Body Ejecting Shadow with the Swift Whale Steps and thrown himself into the formation,
—Kwang!!
He was startled by the huge repulsive force of the Great Desert Annihilation Formation and moved his body back.
‘Wow, this is crazy.’
Only then did So-ah realize why the Mad Wind Sand had not been destroyed for a long time and had been able to commit robbery even outside the pass.
‘Their individual martial arts are shabby, but I can’t ignore that Great Desert Annihilation Formation.’
So-ah thought that he would have to perform the Heaven-Shattering Consecutive Cannon and the Tsunami Kick, which were effective when facing a large number of opponents among the Ten-Second Invincible Arts, in succession and emit a strong ki to break the formation, and operated the Great Whale Heart Law.
“Hoo-eup…!”
Gooooooo—!
At that, a huge ki flowed out of So-ah’s body and instantly overwhelmed the room.
Soon, So-ah flew into the formation, scattering a halo of light.
In that moment.
—Clang!
“Oops!”
A single scream brushed past his ears.
As soon as So-ah headed for the Great Desert Annihilation Formation, Yi Ga-don had attacked Wang So-yeong from behind.
‘Dammit!’
It was a bad move.
Wang So-yeong had dropped her sword and had barely avoided Yi Ga-don’s great saber, but if she was left like that, it was obvious that she would soon be bleeding and fall to the floor.
‘Things are getting twisted as much as they can.’
Since coming to the Jianghu, So-ah was facing the most difficult moment, except for when he had faced No Yeong-myeong.
Dizziness due to endemic symptoms, hunger, and fatigue, as well as having to break through a bizarre formation and at the same time, look after Wang So-yeong?
‘There’s no answer.’
If it weren’t for Wang So-yeong, he would have overcome the situation with the Ten-Second Invincible Arts and retrieved the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade.
But it would be useless if the client died.
In the end, So-ah,
—Kugwagwang!
Instead of performing the Heaven-Shattering Consecutive Cannon and the Tsunami Kick, he wrapped Wang So-yeong, who was cornered, with the Iron Armor Great Rotation and sent Yi Ga-don and the rushing robbers flying.
“Keut!”
Yi Ga-don and the robbers, who were brushed by the whirlwind of the Iron Armor Great Rotation, spat out blood and fell.
So-ah did not miss that opportunity.
“Wang So-yeong, are you okay?”
“Huh? Yeah…”
“First, we retreat.”
***
An hour later…
“Ah… what a waste. So-ah, I’m sorry.”
So-ah and Wang So-yeong, who had escaped the Mad Wind Sand and had been running for a long time, were idly walking through the desert.
Wang So-yeong, feeling like a burden, could not even lift her face.
But So-ah, without caring, comforted her.
“You did well, you brat. Their formation was amazing, so it was irresistible.”
As So-ah came out surprisingly gently, Wang So-yeong asked with widened eyes.
“Really? I did well?”
“Of course.”
“Hmm… but what do we do now?”
“First, let’s rest somewhere for a bit. I’ll go back and find the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade, so don’t worry.”
“Wait… let’s rest for a bit?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm… you…”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
“What is it?”
“You… you’re not thinking of something strange, are you?”
“What are you talking about?”
Just then.
Something like a transparent haze caught So-ah’s eye.
‘What is that?’
In that moment.
[O master of the Ghost Valley Mountain Manor. Do you truly wish to challenge the trial of the first room?]
Is this a sound heard from the ears?
Or is it a signal ringing in the head?
The Ghost Valley Mountain Manor. And the trial of the first room.
It was the moment when a piece of a buried memory brushed past So-ah’s mind.
(End of Chapter)