I’ll Trust You Alone. (4)

Yu Seol suddenly darted in front of the Clan leader.

Her movement was literally like a lightning strike.

By the time Yu Jinsan noticed it, his granddaughter’s front foot had already been driven into the man’s abdomen.

Screeeech-!!!

It was a strike imbued with tremendous internal power.

The Clan Leader’s feet dragged along the ground as he slid.

Yu Seol followed up and unleashed the Hundred Step Divine Fist at him.

In the blink of an eye, a fist-shaped wind slammed into his chest.

It was such a powerful blow that an ordinary martial master would have died instantly.

Even Yu Jinsan, who had trained in Vajra Indestructible, couldn’t have withstood it.

However, the opponent only staggered briefly and seemed largely unaffected.

“Be careful, child!”

No one had ever been hit squarely by his granddaughter and remained that intact.

This was true even of the Ten Great Martial Masters of the murim world — the Kunlun Martial Emperor who dominated the Kunlun Mountain, and even the Fist Emperor who had recorded an undefeated legend with his two fists.

Naturally, he couldn’t help but worry.

But his warning did little; Yu Seol herself knew better than anyone how dangerous the opponent was.

“Grandpa, step aside. Quickly.”

There had to be a reason why his granddaughter was urging this so urgently.

Yu Jinsan adopted a footwork stance and backed into a corner.

At that moment, as if waiting, the Clan Leader’s counterattack began.

Surprisingly, it was the Hundred Step Divine Fist.

As Yu Seol twisted her torso and evaded, the wall against which Yu Jinsan had been leaning exploded.

If he had remained there, he would have been in deep trouble.

Yu Jinsan swallowed hard.

At last, the fight between Yu Seol and the Clan Leader had begun.

They unleashed gusts of fist qi at each other without yielding an inch.

The underground chamber trembled and shook as if it might collapse.

But there was no time to worry about that.

‘…He even copied the Hundred Step Divine Fist. No matter what it takes, I must finish that bastard today.’

Otherwise, the consequences would be unbearable.

Yu Jinsan looked around, pondering how to help his granddaughter.

At that moment, the unconscious Man-ho regained consciousness and opened his eyes.

“…Yes, sir.”

“Quickly tell me a way to kill that bastard.”

Man-ho was helped to his feet and watched their fight.

“He is not something a human can contend with. Right now the General is fighting behind your granddaughter, but all she can do is hold him off.”

He glanced behind the granddaughter just in case.

As expected, nothing was visible.

“You mean, besides us, there’s some spiritual clash happening?”

“Yes. That’s why your granddaughter can fight like this.”

Yu Jinsan couldn’t understand him at all — he couldn’t feel anything, after all.

In any case, he couldn’t rely on invisible guardian spirits.

“So, is there a way to help?”

“…I’m sorry, sir. There’s nothing more I can do.”

Yu Jinsan refused to give up.

Grasping his wrist with a serious expression, he spoke again.

“If anyone can, it’s you. Hurry and find a way!”

Man-ho hesitated for a moment, then spoke with a grave expression.

“I don’t know if it will work, but there’s one method.”

“What is it?”

He rummaged in his bosom and took something out.

It was a yellow bundle of paper rolled into a circle — a talisman roll.

“Stick this talisman into his mouth. If you do just that, I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Understood. Wait just a moment.”

He answered, but his face remained dark.

How could that be as easy as said?

This was a being who did not yield in the slightest to his granddaughter, who had reached the Profound Realm.

Yu Jinsan looked for an opening to intervene with a resolute expression.

But no matter how he thought about it, he had no confidence in keeping up with their movements.

“Child, you must immobilize him for a moment! Don’t hold back — use even your hidden strength!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yu Seol’s entire body blazed with dazzling golden light, with an aureole surrounding her head.

Whoooooosh-!

‘Buddha Lion Roar Divine technique?’

Suddenly, his granddaughter’s movements accelerated sharply.

She moved so fast it made one’s head spin.

In that instant, the Clan leader, who had not yielded an inch until then, began to retreat. They had finally gained the upper hand.

“Good! Well done!”

Yu Jinsan cheered his granddaughter with eyes full of hope.

It was a peerless martial arts created to reach the Buddha’s state.

As expected, the Buddha Lion Roar Divine technique attained through enlightenment was something even a demon would find hard to imitate.

They had been cheering for a while when suddenly—

Both of Yu Seol’s hands, which had been pressing the opponent, suddenly locked with the Clan leader’s hands.

The two who grasped each other’s grips began to test their strength.

That meant they couldn’t move.

“Grandpa, NOW!”

They couldn’t know what sorcery that evil man might use.

They had to finish him before that happened.

Yu Jinsan ran desperately without a second thought.

Because of the height difference, he couldn’t get the right angle to insert the talisman.

He pushed off the ground and leaped up.

He jumped onto the Clan leader’s shoulders and grabbed his hair with his right hand.

“You rotten bastard — you beat me well earlier, didn’t you?”

As expected, the man’s head easily tilted back — he had poured all his strength into the granddaughter.

Sensing the crisis, a strange, urgent screech poured from his mouth.

“Shut up and just eat this already!”

Yu Jinsan shoved the rolled talisman bundle forcefully into the Clan leader’s mouth.

“Grrrrr!”

He screamed, so it seemed to have an effect.

Simply having it in his mouth wasn’t enough.

With all his strength, he forced the talisman down the man’s throat. He intended to make him swallow it by force.

But perhaps it went too deep?

Gag-!

It was the sound of the back of his hand being bitten by the Clan leader’s teeth.

“Ow! You bastard — won’t you open up!”

Pain surged and blood dripped. If he weren’t Vajra Indestructible, his hand would surely have been severed.

Enraged, Yu Jinsan pounded the Clan leader’s skull with his clenched right fist.

Bang-! Wham-! Wham-wham-!!

Despite the indiscriminate barrage, there was no sign the man would open his mouth.

His granddaughter had both hands locked together with the opponent and had no leisure.

Turning to his right, he saw Man-ho with his eyes closed.

He held up his ritual sword and touched the blade with his index and middle fingers, muttering an inscrutable dharma incantation.

“Do something, anything!”

No matter how Vajra Indestructible his grip, if this continued there was a risk of it being severed.

Just then, as if waiting for the moment, Man-ho’s eyes snapped open.

At the same time, the patterns engraved on the ritual sword he held began to glow — bright and majestic like the night-glow of Night Pearl.

“I’m going in now!”

The Clan leader was completely defenseless.

Yu Seol was holding him in front, and Yu Jinsan was raining blows over his shoulder.

Darting like an arrow, Man-ho hurled the ritual sword with all his might at the man’s back.

At that moment, the thrashing body of the Clan leader froze as if by a lie.

Seizing the opportunity, Yu Seol’s foot shot up.

Her soaring toe struck precisely at the man’s Adam’s apple.

The Clan leader opened his mouth. Only now could Yu Jinsan finally withdraw his hand.

At the same time, the man crumpled forward as if his soul had departed.

Yu Jinsan muttered as he inspected his bloodied hand.

“Tell me it’s all over now.”

It was his first time exorcising in his life. Something he never wanted to experience again.

But for some reason, Man-ho’s expression didn’t look cheerful.

“We’ve confirmed that the evil entity possessing the Clan leader has left his body. But…”

He trailed off, and Yu Jinsan urged him again.

“What else is the problem?”

“It needed to be sealed immediately, but it suddenly vanished.”

What kind of absurd thing was that?

He looked around but couldn’t find anything strange.

Then Yu Seol pointed and shouted.

“Grandpa, your hand!”

Only then did Yu Jinsan realize something was wrong with the sensation in his left hand.

On closer inspection, black smoke was billowing from the bite wound.

“W-what is this?”

While Yu Jinsan panicked, Man-ho startled and pulled a multicolored cord from his sleeve.

He hurriedly tied it around Yu Jinsan’s wrist and said,

“It — it just entered your hand, sir.”

“Then what should we do?”

“Quick — cut off the wrist…”

Yu Jinsan flatly refused.

“That’s not possible!”

He didn’t want to carelessly cut off his wrist because of an invisible entity.

He couldn’t give up without trying to fight it with willpower.

“Then there’s only one other option.”

“Anything’s better than losing a hand. Hurry and tell me.”

Man-ho hesitated a moment, then spoke cautiously.

“I don’t know if it’s the right thing… but we must seal the demon into your left hand, elder.”

To seal such a dangerous thing within a part of the body.

It was unsettling, but better than cutting off his hand.

“Proceed then.”

“Understood. There’s no time to hesitate; I’ll begin at once.”

Man-ho gripped his left hand and began chanting the dharma incantation.

After a long time, at some point Yu Jinsan’s hand began to tremble and react.

It was as if an evil spirit was writhing and resisting inside his palm.

But the trembling showed no sign of stopping even as time passed.

Meanwhile Man-ho grew pale and broke into a cold sweat; his breathing became rough, and Yu Jinsan, unable to stand it, spoke.

“This isn’t easy, is it? If you’re overexerted, rest for a moment. You’ll get into big trouble otherwise.”

Man-ho shook his head while chanting as if he couldn’t stop.

When he insisted, Yu Jinsan said one more thing.

“Oh ho, you stubborn man!? Your qi and blood feel unstable — you’ll die if you keep that up.”

There was a resolve in Man-ho’s eyes that he wouldn’t stop even if it killed him.

At that moment, Yu Seol, who had been watching, gently placed her right hand on his back.

“I’ll help.”

At that instant, a radiant golden current began to seep into Man-ho’s back.

It was the merciful aura of the Buddha Lion Roar Divine technique.

A tremendous energy, seeping endlessly like a tide, flowed through Man-ho’s dantian and was emitted through his hands.

It then enveloped Yu Jinsan’s hand like a droplet and shone dazzlingly.

Yu Jinsan cried out with a look of triumph.

“It seems to be working. Continue, child!”

Then, in that fleeting moment, he saw an apparition.

Behind his granddaughter, a gigantic General Guan Yu was standing in the same posture.

Soon the trembling of the hand began to subside.

When it stopped completely, Man-ho’s incantation ceased as well.

He rolled up his left sleeve, quickly took out prayer beads, and slipped them onto Yu Jinsan’s wrist.

“Phew. We barely succeeded. That could’ve been disastrous.”

“You look very tired. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. How about you, sir?”

Yu Jinsan clenched and unclenched his left hand repeatedly.

“Nothing’s wrong. No — rather, I feel some tremendous power.”

“The prayer beads on your wrist are suppressing the man’s power. Don’t remove them carelessly.”

Human nature is such that being told not to do something only makes one want to do it more.

“What happens if I take them off?”

“Unless you can control the demon’s power, sir. Otherwise, disaster could strike.”

“Hmm. It feels unsettling, so I suppose I’ll keep wearing it.”

With the incident resolved and tension easing, Yu Seol patted her stomach and said,

“Grandpa, I’m hungry.”

Perhaps because she had exerted herself so much — it was still early dawn, yet she was already hungry.

But it wasn’t impossible to feed her.

“Alright. Come on up and Grandpa will cook you some noodles.”

Yu Seol grabbed the treasure box containing the seeds and followed with light steps.