Prison Break (3)

Bibun, who had tried to move on ahead, suddenly plopped down, as if realizing he could no longer wriggle free; saddled with a disciple he didn’t even like, he looked hollowed out.

He looked a little pitiful. Feeling sorry, Neung Je-gang decided to lift his mood.

“Take him in. Isn’t that fellow’s name Majil? You’ll find it hard to shake him off. In return, I’ll give you True Fire Energy.”

Whoosh!

In the cramped tunnel, Bibun’s head snapped around so fast it seemed to twist front to back.

“True Fire Energy? You know that art?”

“I do. I’ll teach it once we’re out of the tunnel.”

“This is unreal! I searched all my life and could never obtain it… and it turns out Nam Yeong’s disciple knows it. Now I can’t even resent that man. Damn!”

It seemed Bibun still smarted from being coerced by Nam Yeong into rescuing Neung Je-gang.

“And if I ever discover other parts of the Five Element Divine Art, I promise to share those with you as well.”

“Give me your word—no breaking it.”

“I give you my word.”

“Good, good. Whatever else, Nam Yeong’s disciple won’t spout nonsense. You! I am Bibun, called the Golden-Furred Rat in the martial world. From today, I’ll take you as my disciple. But if I see you slack off, deceive me, or do evil, I’ll cut off your head at once.”

“I understand, Master. But, uh…”

“Why? Speak.”

“My dantian is injured…”

“Ah, right. You were imprisoned in the Forbidden Demon Prison too, weren’t you? But the Five Element Divine Art doesn’t really rely on the dantian. That’s why some say it’s not ‘martial arts’ proper… It only becomes true martial arts when you master all five elemental true energies; only then do you employ the dantian. If you don’t learn all five, it doesn’t matter whether your dantian is intact.”

“Thank you, Master. I won’t disappoint you.”

Majil prostrated himself before Bibun again.

“Good grief… a mole and a leech—what is this sect becoming?”

Bibun lamented with a wry face.

Only when enough time had passed for their eyes to bear the light did they move again.

Even after that period of adjustment, Majil kept tearing up, claiming his eyes hurt; in the end, he had to clutch Bibun’s ankle with eyes closed to stumble forward.

Neung Je-gang protected his own eyes with inner energy. That was the blessing of internal arts: used well, they made life truly convenient. They were not created merely to kill.

“Master!”

Neung Je-gang bowed low before Nam Yeong, overcome with guilt.

“Your unworthy disciple has made even you a criminal against the state.”

They had broken out a traitor; by now, Neung Je-gang’s master could be branded a high traitor as well.

“No need for that talk. I’m not even a man of this country, anyway. In any case, I’m glad you’re alive. I worried a lot…”

Nam Yeong’s heart ached at his naked disciple’s state.

Had he not recommended him to the Eastern Depot, the boy would not have suffered like this. Hearing he needed to find his younger brother, Nam Yeong had simply suggested the Depot for its intelligence network—and this is what it led to.

Nam Yeong took off his long robe and covered Neung Je-gang’s body.

“Thankfully, I lived decently inside. I even treated my wounds…”

“You treated your wounds? Then your dantian?”

“My inner power has recovered as well.”

“Heh-heh—so you encountered a great chance in there. Then what shall I do with this? I prepared a miracle medicine said to restore a ruined dantian…”

At the words “miracle medicine,” Bibun’s expression turned odd. Majil still could not open his eyes.

“It’s the inner core of a Fire Carp. Not a thousand years old, perhaps five hundred. If its someone who holds Pure Yang True Energy like you, your dantian should recover.”

Tears welled in Neung Je-gang’s eyes. He felt his master’s heart.

Not only had he arranged the escape—he had procured a medicine to restore a shattered dantian. Five hundred years may be a figure of speech, but how hard must it have been to obtain?

“I’m fine. Please take it, Master.”

“What use is a tonic at my age? You take it. After so long underground, your vital energy must be depleted…”

“No. Truly, I’m fine. Please take it, Master.”

“No, this is for you…”

Affection between master and disciple overflowed—too much for one man to stomach.

“Enoooough!”

Bibun suddenly roared loud enough to shake the mountain.

“I’ve had it—are you two making fun of me? Huh? Playing around? Want to watch someone’s guts explode? I did all the hard work alone and this is what I get?”

Bibun huffed, truly furious.

“What’s with you?”

Nam Yeong asked, puzzled.

Since Bibun did not practice Pure Yang True Energy, the Fire Carp inner core was no more than a picture of cake—tempting but useless. It might help health, but that would waste a precious tonic.

“What did you do with my family?”

“Mole, have you taken something? Are you picking a fight with me?”

Nam Yeong’s face turned grave.

“N-no, I mean—where are they?”

When Nam Yeong grew serious, Bibun tucked his tail. Whether master or disciple, when they grew stern, their pressure was immense.

“Your family should be safe at your home.”

“…Huh? You said you had them.”

“I never said that.”

“You said they were well protected!”

“Yes, well protected. Did you think I’d harm your family?”

“T-then what? I worried myself sick for nothing?”

“If you insist, I can have them live comfortably on an island in the middle of Dongting Lake… Shall I do that?”

To Bibun, who feared water like poison, that was true coercion—threatening to separate him for life.

“Y-you—you bastard!”

Relieved that his family was unharmed, Bibun let out a long sigh.

Yet, contrary to expectations, he did not leave right away, but sat back down on the spot.

Smirk.

Watching him, Nam Yeong smiled apologetically, then glanced at Majil.

“And this one…?”

“He’s my disciple.”

Nam Yeong was startled; he hadn’t expected Bibun to take a disciple.

“Then I suppose we can’t kill him.”

“By the way, those who left first?”

“I buried them all.”

Nam Yeong’s simple answer made Majil nearly wet himself. Swept up by the crowd, had he rushed out with them, he would have been buried the instant he saw daylight.

Neung Je-gang was not surprised by Nam Yeong’s decisiveness. He had been the same when teaching: hating evil, putting the common folk first. Though not an official, some in the martial world took him for a secret imperial expert.

“Let’s go. No need to linger in a foul place.”

With that, Nam Yeong drew something from his sleeve and tossed a walnut-sized object into the tunnel leading to the prison.

Boom!

Dust billowed from the tunnel.

“Heaven-Shaking Thunderbomb! You bastard—where did you get that?”

Bibun yelped again in surprise.

But Nam Yeong did not answer; he launched himself away.

“Let’s move. The Eastern Depot will send a search party soon.”

Naturally. A thunderbomb exploding near the prison would not be ignored.

“I’ll take Majil.”

Seeing Bibun’s troubled look, Neung Je-gang scooped Majil up and tucked him at his waist.

Majil hastily covered his groin and backside with his hands. At least, wearing the shackles Bibun had given him, one hand sufficed.

Whoosh!

Neung Je-gang shot into the air first, flying the way his master had gone, and Bibun ran after. Perhaps due to the limits of True Earth Energy, Bibun had never learned lightness-skill.

“You! You raided my storeroom, didn’t you?”

Only Bibun’s accusing shout at Nam Yeong drifted faintly through the air.

“Where to now?”

Once clear of Xiao Taishan, Nam Yeong and the others ran south. In the nearest village, they procured clothes for Majil and Neung Je-gang, then ran on without rest.

Bibun’s lightness-skill was poor, so their pace was slower; regardless, the priority was to get as far from the prison as possible—beyond the Eastern Depot’s pursuit range.

“And you, Master…?”

“I will return to the mountain. I have been away too long.”

“I’m sorry—it’s because of me. For now, let me attend to you as well.”

He had no particular destination in mind.

“That’s fine. Stay with me for now and consider what you will do next.”

“Yes.”

In truth, Neung Je-gang wanted to sprint to Beijing and kill Gye Yu first. But dealing with a man of the Eastern Depot was no easy task.

Three years had passed. He could not be sure the Dispatch Chief, Gye Yu, still remained in Beijing; he likely had been promoted as reward for handling Neung Je-gang’s treason.

If so, loitering near the capital risked exposing his identity for nothing.

He was branded a traitor; having escaped the prison, he would have to avoid the eyes of the Eastern Depot and Brocade Guard for life.

He was prepared to be hunted forever. But he could not bear seeing senior colleagues in the Capture Bureau harmed for aiding him.

Since the prison fell under the Bureau’s jurisdiction, if an escape were discovered, the Bureau’s superiors would be held responsible.

“I’ll need a new identity.”

That was essential. He also had to change his face. His martial level no longer mattered, but his face was far too well known to the Depot and the Brocade Guard.

Fortunately, among the arts he had gained were illusions, so changing his face would not be difficult.

“I’ve already prepared one. When the time is right and you appear in the martial world under that name, no one will suspect you.”

As expected, Nam Yeong—the martial world’s foremost problem-solver—lived up to his name. Neung Je-gang realized he still did not know his master’s real name. The man hid many things; no wonder his epithet was “Shadow.”

“There’s someone I must find.”

“You still haven’t found your brother’s betrothed, Dam Yeo-yeong. And her father, Dam Ja-cheon, is still a mystery.”

“Not them. There’s a warrior named Cheong Yeon who served under me. I heard he was imprisoned for three years for helping me.”

“If imprisoned, his inner power is likely broken. Good—then give him the Fire Carp inner core.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s only right, since he suffered for helping you. I’m just not sure his cultivation will harmonize with the core.”

“Hard to say. I don’t think his inner art was a Pure Yang style.”

With his current ability, Neung Je-gang could likely heal the ruined dantians of both Majil and Cheong Yeon with the Great Reconstitution Method.

But he still didn’t fully understand his own powers; opportunities to test them had been scarce in the prison, and, more importantly, he did not yet know exactly what the Demon Doctor had done to his body.

“Come to think of it, your inner power isn’t what it used to be. I must be getting old—I’ve been chatting while using lightness-skill and didn’t even find it odd…”

“I’m not sure either. I only know I have crossed the threshold between life and death.”

-Halt!

At those words, Nam Yeong stopped as if nailed in place. Bibun, panting behind, also flopped down, jaw hanging.

“If the prison… hah… had such fortunes, I would’ve gone in myself. Anyway, Shadow! Can’t you slow down a bit? I’m dying here.”

Most lightness-skills draw on dantian energy. For someone like Bibun, who stored true energy outside the dantian, there was no proper lightness-skill until all Five Elements were mastered and unified; until then, there’s nothing for it but to run oneself ragged.

“Since we’ve stopped, shall we rest?”

“Not just rest—let’s eat something. You might not realize it, but we haven’t eaten a thing since the prison.”

“R-right.”

Dangling at Neung Je-gang’s waist, Majil bobbed his head in a hurry.

“Then let’s find a campsite and spend the night. I want to hear exactly what fortune you found in that prison.”