Got You, You Bastard (4)

It was clearly a death-throe scream.

The fight between Jeon Chung and Im Cheon-ho must have been decided first.

Even Yu Jinsan hadn’t expected a duel between absolute warriors to end so quickly.

Although they were at the same Supreme realm, the gap in skill seemed overwhelming.

After that, a sound of something being severed was heard.

Shlick-!

Yu Jinsan and the two Blue Dragon Troops who faced him simultaneously looked up at the sky.

A familiar severed head cut across the void.

The Blue Dragon Troops who recognized its owner turned ashen.

“Th-this can’t be.”

“…Damn it.”

Except for the unit leader being chased by the Yin Monster, Im Cheon-ho was their strongest comrade.

But it seemed insufficient to face Jeon Chung.

And contrary to their reactions, Yu Jinsan was overflowing with composure, a faint smile even gracing his face.

“You insolent brats! Did you see the Kaifeng’s Number-One Swordsman as a pushover?”

His taunting in the guise of a little boy was infuriating.

The two Blue Dragon Troops trembled with murderous intent, both hands shaking.

“You Yang Monster…”

“I will make sure to kill at least you.”

Yu Jinsan was not one to be intimidated by threats.

Jeon Chung was already walking toward this place; there was nothing to fear.

“Relax your gaze now. Where did these brats get the nerve to…”

Before he finished speaking, the Blue Dragon Troops sprang into action.

They knew well too.

That there was only a single chance.

Perhaps because of that, they prepared a sure-kill technique that disregarded defense.

A do-or-die technique that would take them both down.

But Yu Jinsan had already perceived their move.

‘I knew it, you lot of idiots.’

He ran sideways toward the left one of the two.

He didn’t need to worry about the right one; Jeon Chung was already heading that way.

Drawing a breath, Yu Jinsan thrust the pulled spear with all his might.

Yu Family Wind Slaying Spear, the eighth form: Fierce Dragon’s Fang.

The spear tip traced a circle, forming the head of a furious dragon.

Swoooooosh-!!

The Blue Dragon Troops in front, sensing the end, brandished his saber.

The saber tip, wreathed in a whirl of force, collided as it pierced into the dragon’s maw.

Kraaaaang-!!!

With the loud explosion of qi, a thick cloud of dust billowed up.

Soon after, the sound of a sharp weapon tearing into flesh was heard.

Fuuuuuk-!!

“…Guhk!”

Blood gurgled from the Blue Dragon Troops’ mouth.

The haft of the Dragon Slaying Spear that had pierced his chest jutted out halfway behind his back.

It was, without a doubt, a clean finish.

Yu Jinsan’s chest swelled with pride at his ever-improving spear technique; he felt his shoulders rise with strength for the first time in a while.

“Consider it an honor. You died at the hands of the world’s greatest spearman.”

It was a line he’d wanted to say at least once.

The Blue Dragon Troops quivered in the face and kept opening his mouth slightly.

He seemed to have something he wanted to say.

No sound came out, but his lip movements allowed Yu Jinsan to guess.

That he was cursing at him.

“If you can’t admit it, then fine.”

Yu Jinsan retrieved his spear and turned his head without hesitation.

It was the sound of him collapsing. There was no need to confirm the sight.

Looking to the right, the other Blue Dragon Troops member was already dead.

Jeon Chung, who had felled him, approached and saluted him first.

“You’ve done well.”

Yu Jinsan looked up at him with a puzzled expression.

“Is it appropriate for a Kaifeng administration official to salute an outlaw like me? The Prefect is watching, after all.”

“An outlaw? Sir, you helped us with the criminal investigation; you are our benefactor.”

In the end, it wasn’t an incorrect statement.

Whether Wang Sa-pyeong would agree with that was another matter.

Having finished avenging his son-in-law, he stared blankly at the sky. He seemed to have much on his mind.

“Is that really why you show me respect? Not because you’re afraid of the Yin Monster?”

Jeon Chung chuckled in response to Yu Jinsan’s joke.

“Actually, there’s a bit of that. By the way, why hasn’t she returned? I would have thought she’d have caught him by now.”

Yu Jinsan was puzzled by that as well.

Could something have happened to his granddaughter? It seemed unlikely, but not seeing her made him uneasy.

“I was actually planning to go check. What will you do?”

“Please go ahead. I’ll stay to finish things up and then bring the noble along.”

There were still Blue Dragon Troops who were alive.

They needed to be tied up and dragged away, or executed; some cleanup was required.

“Hmm. Then let’s meet again at the mountainside where we split up earlier.”

With that, Yu Jinsan turned his back.

He had to quickly check what was happening.

Even to his own mind, it seemed impossible that Yu Seol hadn’t caught that fellow yet.

Yu Jinsan unleashed his lightness skill at full speed toward the direction his granddaughter had disappeared.

After recklessly tearing through the mountains for a while.

His steps suddenly stopped; he had found traces nearby.

‘This is definitely the place…’

Within a radius of about ten paces, it was nearly razed.

Dozens of trees had been snapped off, and huge pits dotted the area.

It looked like a fierce clash had occurred.

Yu Jinsan, scanning the surroundings, suddenly froze.

‘What is that brat doing over there?’

Under a tree about twenty paces away.

He saw the back of a little girl crouched like a squirrel.

She gripped a twig like a switch in her hand.

Looking closely, she was babbling nonstop.

“Why did you do it? Tell me now! Why did you hurt our family?”

Understanding the situation, Yu Jinsan was stunned and couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

Who did she think she was interrogating like she knew something?

That was clearly his role.

Yu Jinsan ran over in one stride and scolded his granddaughter.

“Why are you interrogating first?!”

“Grandpa’s here? Because he won’t answer even if I ask.”

“This is Grandpa’s job. Step aside at once.”

Yu Seol sighed and listlessly stood up.

“…Okay.”

Finally, the unit leader lying there came fully into view.

He had been beaten so badly his entire body was a mass of blood.

His nose had caved in and more than half his teeth were gone.

He showed not the slightest movement.

His pupils were fixed on the void, like someone dead with eyes open.

“Did you… talk to a corpse all this time?”

“No, he’s alive.”

On closer inspection, they could faintly feel his pulse and breath.

He had been knocked down just short of dying.

“Hm. Still, you should’ve beaten him enough to make him talk.”

“He kept resisting, so I had no choice.”

There was reason in Yu Seol’s words.

A Blue Dragon Troops officer wouldn’t have ordinary martial skill; he likely reached a high level even within the Supreme realm.

It wouldn’t have been easy to subdue him without killing him.

This was still a remarkable feat.

“Yes, yes. Good job. From now on Grandpa will handle it, so go rest over there.”

Yu Jinsan looked at the man again with a solemn face.

“What is your name?”

“I heard your men call you the unit leader. Then you must be second in rank in the Blue Dragon Troops. Who is your commander?”

As expected, no answer came from him.

There likely was no relation; he hadn’t expected an answer in the first place.

He had only tried to probe.

“It’s fine if you don’t answer. Now, shall this old man tell you what he intends to do?”

At last his pupils shifted toward Yu Jinsan. He seemed curious.

“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to kill you. You will go with us to the Kaifeng administration.”

Yu Jinsan saw his gaze waver; he was disturbed.

“Afterwards we’ll use you as bait to lure the others, round them all up and behead them. The Prefect will likely be pleased.”

“Y-you devil…”

“I can’t agree with that. Is that all you have to say?”

The unit leader ground his teeth as if furious.

“…You two have ruined the preparations we’ve carried out for centuries.”

“Preparations? You mean abducting children and raising them?”

He had been the one to divert children raised as the Blue Dragon Troops’ next generation and send them to the Defeating Blade Clan.

And that was not all.

So far, the number of Blue Dragon Troops members they’d assassinated approached twenty.

Since about a hundred people served in a generation of the Blue Dragon Troops, roughly half had already fallen to the Yin Yang Twin Monster’s hands.

“Yang Monster… you know the invasion from Heaven Clan is imminent, don’t you?”

“Yes. I know. It became clear while investigating you. But why do you ask?”

“You shouldn’t have touched the Protectorate that was watching them. What on earth were you thinking?”

“They deserved to die, so we killed them, you brat.”

They were vile men who had been turning a blind eye to the bandits and slave traders of Dunhuang.

Whatever their motives, Yu Jinsan did not regret his actions.

The unit leader sighed as if exasperated.

“Huh… We’ve even lost the Information Center Courtyard; now there is no way to monitor them. Soon everything will collapse. All because of you…”

Perhaps Yu Jinsan grew tired of hearing more. Before he finished, Yu Jinsan spread his right hand wide.

Then he slapped the unit leader across the face.

“You’re noisy, truly. You were tight-lipped earlier; why so talkative now? You didn’t answer when asked either.”

There was no reason to worry about Heaven Clan, the Western Regions, or the wider murim world.

His only reason to be in the murim world was revenge for his family.

A great commotion erupted in the Kaifeng administration.

Armed guards were swarming in from all directions, weapons in hand even in daylight.

“M-my lord! What is the meaning of this situation?”

News that Wang Sa-pyeong had returned had already spread.

The problem was that he had appeared accompanied by the Yin Yang Twin Monster.

Jeon Chung was there as well, and he showed no sign of being wary of them.

Moreover, there was even a bound person whose identity was unknown.

The guards were bewildered by the awkward situation.

“There’s nothing to worry about, everyone stand down!”

Wang Sa-pyeong waved his hand, but how could they disband so easily?

A few officials couldn’t contain their curiosity and stepped forward.

“Why are the outlaws who kidnapped the noble present here together?”

“Please explain, my lord!”

“Order their arrest so we can detain them!”

At that moment Jeon Chung stepped forward before Wang Sa-pyeong and drew his sheath to clear the way.

“You are all mistaken. The noble was never kidnapped.”

“What do you mean? Didn’t we all see the noble being dragged by those ruffians?”

Jeon Chung replied bluntly with an impassive face.

“It was all an act; to deceive the criminals and entrap them all at once.”

“You mean it was all a ruse for the investigation?”

“Yes. It was such a critical matter that we had to deceive even our own.”

Then someone pointed to the Yin Yang Twin Monster following behind and asked.

“Th-then why are those guys still following us?”

At that moment Wang Sa-pyeong, who had been silently listening, spoke sternly.

“Aha!! Those are the ones who risked their lives to assist our investigation, and you call them ‘those guys’? Say that again and see!”

At his single reprimand, everyone fell silent.

No one dared to question further.

Perhaps finding it amusing, Yu Seol grinned and slid close behind Wang Sa-pyeong.

Then she stuck out her tongue at the officials.

To play pranks in this situation; there was not an ounce of tension in her.

Everyone just stood dumbfounded and watched silently as they disappeared into the main hall.