Who Would Dare? (1)

A small figure ran without much hesitation through Mount Southern Edge.

A shadow stretched down the trees with rapid movement. Yu Jinsan’s footwork, which had started early in the morning, seemed unstoppable.

Although it was a bit of a stretch, he planned to finish his work and return within a day.

He had never once stayed out overnight, leaving his young granddaughter alone.

As they reached the halfway point of the mountain, a sign came into view.

[From here on, it belongs to the Southern Edge Sect, and no outsiders are allowed to enter.]

It was a warning message commonly found in every sect.

Yu Jinsan had no intention of retreating.

He walked with great strides, pulling a bamboo stick from the bundle on his back. As he left the dense forest path, he saw the mountain path leading through a gap in a steep cliff.

It was an ideal location to block the road with a small number of people.

In all likelihood, Taoists would be guarding the entrance, and Yu Jinsan decided to stop.

He could hear a human voice amidst the silence.

“What are you? How did you get up here?”

The tone was one of shock rather than caution.

It was truly astonishing that a child had managed to climb the steep mountain alone.

Yu Jinsan pointed to a nearby tree with the tip of his bamboo pole and said,

“I walked up. Did you think I flew?”

“…”

The Taoist monk, who had spoken from hiding, was momentarily taken aback. The child’s words truly shocked him, but the end of the bamboo pole was pointing exactly to his location.

However, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t believe that a small child could have noticed their hiding spot.

The hidden Taoists soon dismissed it as baseless confidence and issued another warning.

“What a crazy kid.”

“Get down quickly if you don’t want to get hurt!”

How dare a child make such a provocation in the land of the Southern Edge? If he weren’t a child, they would have sent him away already. They likely did what they could to help.

But had they realized this was an experienced man who had aged backward, they would not have reacted in the same way either.

“There is no time, so all of you come out at once. All six rats.”

They could hardly believe they were being spoken to like this by a child who appeared to be no more than 8 years old.

The dazed Taoists even forgot that the child had accurately guessed the correct number, too.

“Is this brat insane?”

A shadow darted among the trees to the right of where Yu Jinsan stood. One Taoist, unable to endure the taunting any longer, took action.

Their first rule was to check the opponent, but it felt ridiculous to check a child.

Feeling too ashamed to draw his sword, he instead struck the child on the back with the sheath of his sword.

In the blink of an eye, Yu Jinsan’s upper body, which hadn’t so much as flinched, leaned to the left.

His response speed was incredibly fast.

Just as the Taoist monk was registering his shock, the bamboo stick the child held targeted his groin.

Crack!

The painful sound resonated across the entire mountain.

“AKUKKKKK!”

The Taoist, now on the ground trembling, clutched his groin as if he were in pain. The Taoists, who had been hiding and witnessed the scene, winced and hesitated to attack.

The fallen Taoist bellowed in anger.

“Catch him quickly, you idiots!”

It was the first time he had ever uttered such words in his life as a Taoist. His anger was beyond words.

The child could no longer be regarded as just a child.

“Jin Myung Sahyung is hit!

“Everyone, attack at once!”

Five Taoists appeared in formation.

They seemed to have forgotten about the initial check-up, as if they could not even comprehend the situation.

Their movements were clumsy. And Yu Jinsan looked on, not at all nervous, but rather confused.

‘Second-class disciples? Well, this is my lucky day.’

He needed to get accustomed to fighting with a body that had reverted to a young age. They made for excellent sparring partners.

He hid in the forest, leaving the Taoists attacking him from all sides behind.

“Do not let him escape!”

“Catch that insolent piece of shit!”

The Taoists rushed one by one into the forest filled with trees. Until then, none of them realized that Yu Jinsan had lured them there.

Then, as if on cue, someone cried out.

Pack!

“Kuak! You coward!”

In a vast forest dense with trees, the smaller one had the advantage. Yu Jinsan weaved through the trees, striking the approaching Taoists one by one with his bamboo stick.

Thwack! Kuak!

The Taoists’ screams erupted in succession, accompanied by the sound of chaos.

His precise and cunning spear skills were lightning-fast. No one could dodge the stick that aimed to catch them by surprise.

“Kuaak!”

“Wh-what is this guy?”

How could a second-class disciple from the Southern Edge handle this seasoned warrior? Especially without any formation or plan.

It did not take long for all of them to succumb.

Yu Jinsan subdued the fallen monks by pressing on their pressure points and herding them into one place.

“When you come across an elder, you must show respect. These young Taoists nowadays lack it.”

“…”

The Taoists could only narrow their eyes and look on in dismay. The current situation seemed beyond belief.

“If you rest for about two hours, the seals on your pressure points will release on their own.”

No matter how much the second-class disciples struggled, they couldn’t free themselves. Since they were of no concern to him, he turned and left without a second thought.

‘As expected, it’s time to move up.’

There wasn’t much time left. After finishing his work, he began to run towards the summit, where the sect was located.

Fortunately, no Taoists have stopped him thus far.

The border guards were weaker than he had expected. Yu Jinsan saw pride, not carelessness, in the Southern Edge’s actions.

This was probably because they were confident that no one could trespass into the Southern Edge territory.

From the elders of the sect to the retired members, there must have been countless warriors inside. He needed to be careful and avoid leaving any traces.

‘We need to figure out a way to infiltrate first.’

He climbed the nearest peak and started spying.

The view beneath the clouds was breathtaking, but he had no time to admire it.

A vast area lay before him, with all the sect’s facilities concentrated in one area. The most noticeable aspect was a group of around a hundred Taoist monks in the main training hall, practicing their swordsmanship.

Elsewhere, it wasn’t difficult to spot people gathering in twos and threes to practice various martial arts.

‘Mount Southern Edge, which is said to be the sacred place of Taoists, is gone, and now it’s filled with only warriors.’

He couldn’t help feeling saddened.

The essence of Taoism wasn’t martial arts, but honing the Tao to become a good person. However, the sight of a Taoist monk studying Buddhism was nowhere to be found here.

What had caused them to change? He was curious about it, but that investigation was of secondary importance.

At that moment, Yu Jinsan’s gaze fixed on a nearby Taoist.

This young Taoist, as tall as an adult, was moving around with a teapot in hand. It seemed like he was waiting for someone.

‘That guy will do.’

Yu Jinsan lay down to ambush him and waited for the boy to come closer.

Judging by his naive appearance, it was clear that he was the youngest among the disciples.

After a while, as the distance narrowed, Yu Jinsan sent a qi message to the boy.

“Come to the peach tree on the right.”

“…?”

The young Taoist clutching the teapot looked around, shocked.

Yu Jinsan sent another message.

“When Sasuk calls, you need to move right away. What’s with the hesitation?”

Tension appeared on the young monk’s face when he heard the word ‘Sasuk.’

The child bowed his head and walked quickly to the tree.

He looked awkwardly cute.

At that moment, a black shadow fell from the tree and wrapped around the child’s body.

Wheeik!

The little Taoist lost his thoughts, not even realizing what was happening. His blood points were now sealed.

“Grandpa needs to borrow some clothes. From now on, if someone you don’t know calls you, don’t approach them.”

He took the child’s robe and hat, tried them on, and surprisingly, they fit his body perfectly.

He hid the bamboo pole and grabbed the teapot as he moved deeper.

Most of them were young Taoists, as the sect had recently taken many new disciples. Perhaps because of that, none of the people he encountered looked at him with suspicion.

Yu Jinsan wandered the outskirts of the sparsely populated land, searching for a suitable target.

After a while, his eyes fixed on one place.

A small building stood alone on a towering peak. If there was someone there, he intended to subdue and question them.

Yu Jinsan approached the door and secretly checked for any presence.

‘This feels like I’m lucky right from the start.’

He sensed a ray of qi from within. It seemed like the person was a first-class disciple, judging by the flow of qi, which was stronger than that of a second-class disciple.

Thud! Thud!

The knock on the door was followed by a middle-aged man’s voice from inside.

“Who are you?”

“It’s me.”

After a while, the Taoist appeared through a small crack in the door, his face full of annoyance.

“What is it?”

“I brought tea.”

“Tea? Why for me? Why did you bring this to me?”

Yu Jinsan looked around for a moment. The place was remote, and there was no one around.

Was that why he felt the mood suddenly changed?

“There is a lot to talk about. If an adult gives you something, you thank them and take it.”

“…?”

At that moment, the face of the first-class disciple looked shocked.

Yu Jinsan’s palm hit him hard in the pit of his stomach.

Takk!

The first-class disciple, struck by an unexpected blow, was pushed out of the room.

He bent over like a shrimp, as if he were out of breath.

“…Eukkk.“

After entering, Yu Jinsan closed the door and walked toward him.

A look of absurdity and contorted eyes complained of the unfair attack.

The first-class disciple was ambushed by someone who appeared to be the youngest member of the class. Naturally, he couldn’t understand it.

But the real surprise was just beginning.

Soon, his short leg moved and kicked him in the shin.

Crack!

“Kuak!”

The Taoist fell on his buttocks, screaming in pain.

As soon as their eye levels adjusted, Yu Jinsan’s right hand shot out like lightning and grabbed his throat.

Grab!

The first-class disciple, gasping for air, turned red and trembled.

“…”

Unlike when dealing with the second-class disciples, he had no plans this time.

If the Southern Edge Sect was related to his family’s horrible end, then the disciples couldn’t be considered unrelated to the incident.

His tone of voice and facial expression were also quite different from before.

“If you don’t answer my questions obediently, this old man will rip out your throat right here.”

Yu Jinsan, noticing his nervous look, loosened his grip.

The Taoist monk, after mumbling for a while, asked with doubtful eyes.

“Kuak… Wh-Who are you…?”

As an experienced first-class disciple, he guessed that Yu Jinsan might be a veteran who had reverted to youth, or perhaps an expert warrior from the Evil Sects, or some affiliated sect.

If not, who would have the audacity to come here and threaten them?

Based on his guess, it wouldn’t have been shocking if they murdered him right then and there. His eyes gradually filled with fear.

“I, the old one, will be asking questions. If there is even a speck of a lie in your answer, your life will be taken away immediately.”

“…”

The Taoist nodded his head slowly, secretly thinking.

Yu Jinsan would not have failed to notice this.

“Give up trying to think of a way out. As long as the qi surrounds you like a shield, no one outside can hear you.”

“I-I understand…”

Yu Jinsan looked at him and said,

“If you want to live, you need to prove your worth.”

This implied that if he provided useful information, he would spare his life.

“I have no desire to be killed needlessly. I will answer any questions you have, but you must promise to spare my life.”

Yu Jinsan nodded once and asked with a serious expression.

“Were you also there when the Southern Edge Sect attacked the Extreme Truth Clan?”

“Yes.”

“Then speak quickly. Tell me who the three monsters helping your sect were.”

“I do not know them. It was my first time seeing them that day.”

Looking into his eyes, it didn’t seem like he was lying. Yu Jinsan shook his head with a grim look.

“Right. Your information isn’t valuable, so there’s no need to keep you alive.”

Yu Jinsan raised his sharp blade, causing the face of the first-class disciple to turn as pale as a sheet.

“B-but!”

“…?”

“Master Hyun Ho will know who they are. I-I am sure of it!”

Having four hundred disciples under one’s command would qualify one as an elder.

If it were in the past, with his old body, he might have given up, but now it seemed worth a try.

“Where is he?”