Chapter 675. Pouncing (5)
'What the hell did I see just now?'
Han Eun-Sol hurriedly rubbed his eyes.
Did he see an illusion?
After rubbing his eyes for a while, Han Eun-Sol looked up again. That was when he was treated to the sight of calm-looking people from earlier.
'Yup. Thought as much...'
Han Eun-Sol was now convinced that what he saw was an illusion. Getting robbed in the middle of the day seemed to have exhausted his mental capacity by quite a lot. He should try to resolve this situation as soon as possible, somehow, then head to the lodging to get some much-deserved rest!
However...
'Where... did that guy go?'
That guy, as in that crazy guy who thrust a huge blade under Mister Jin-Ho's throat! That man was nowhere to be seen. Wondering if that man had moved somewhere else while he wasn't looking, Han Eun-Sol turned his head to scan the area, but that crazy guy still couldn't be seen anywhere.
“Noona?”
“Yeah?” Choi Yeon-Ha glanced at Han Eun-Sol.
“Where is one of them?”
“One of them? Who?”
“You know, that guy who pointed that blade at Mister Jin-Ho. He was over there a few seconds ago, wasn't he?”
“Oh, him?”
“Yes, him. Where is he?”
“Probably in hell?”
“...I'm sorry?”
Choi Yeon-Ha shrugged her shoulders dismissively. “If he survives the fall, it's the ICU for him. If he's dead, then obviously the netherworld. Judging from how he handled that blade, I'm guessing it wasn't his first time playing around with it, so someone like that wouldn't go to heaven after death, right?”
“...N-no, hang on a second here, noona. S-so, what happened to that man is...”
“Although both choices are as terrible as they can get, living is still better than dying, even if you have to eat crap to live, am I right? So, I guess choosing the ICU is a slightly better conclusion. Having said that, this choice is out of that man's hands, anyway.”
“Hold it! Wait a minute! Are you trying to tell me he fell off that cliff?!”
“Why are you pretending you haven't seen anything? You saw him fall below the cliff, didn't you?”
“Below the cliff?!”
“Yeah. Right below there,” said Choi Yeon-Ha while pointing to the distant foot of the cliff.
Han Eun-Sol craned his head just outside the van to look, but nothing could be seen below the cliff from his angle. Unless he left the relative safety of this vehicle, he'd never confirm what was down there. If he was being honest, though... He didn't want to find out, anyway!
He had already seen enough during the past few months driving up and down this mountain road! If the van fell off that cliff, everyone inside would die instantly from the impact. Han Eun-Sol had thought many times that such a fate was far better than wallowing in crippling pain!
But now... a living, breathing human being fell to the bottom?
“...Amitabha.”
If that wasn't it, Oh the Goddess of Mercy. Amen! As-salamu alaykum...
'Oh, wait. That's not right, now is it?'
Han Eun-Sol fiercely rubbed his eyes again before his jaw fell to the floor. “Then, uh... What I saw just now, that really happened? Mister Jin-Ho really tossed someone over the cliff?”
“Yup. Probably...”
“W-what?! But how? How can a human being pull that off?”
“How should I know?”
When Choi Yeon-Ha shrugged her shoulders again, Han Eun-Sol tore his eyes off her and turned his head to look ahead.
They said seeing was believing, but at this very moment, Han Eun-Sol couldn't follow through that idiom. He saw, but he still couldn't believe it!
Even though his eyes were wide open, he couldn't comprehend what he had witnessed. How could a human being casually toss someone away with one hand?!
'N-no, wait! That's not the issue here, is it!'
Fine, let's say it's possible for a person to toss another person with only one hand! This world is full of unexpected things, after all! Of course, I haven't seen something like that happen in the UFC or even in pro wrestling, but let's just say that hypothetically, it's possible!
So... Why did Kang Jin-Ho have to toss that man over a cliff, of all places?!
'Isn't that murder?'
Goosebumps broke out all over Han Eun-Sol's body. The shock from realizing that he just witnessed a murder was enormous.
'That man must be dead, right?'
If that man was a human being like everybody else, it'd be difficult to survive a fall from such a height. Although there were rare occasions of heavenly luck playing its part, like someone falling from the roof of an apartment building only to miraculously survive, expecting that to happen all the time was unrealistic, now wasn't it!
“...Noona, that man must be dead, right?”
“Who knows?”
“Noona, are you okay with this?”
“Okay with what?”
“A man just died, you know? Right in front of our eyes, no less!”
“So what?”
“...!” Han Eun-Sol gulped his saliva back in surprise. “N-noona, that, that was a murder, you know? Mister Jin-Ho just murdered someone in our...”
“Are you an idiot, Eun-Sol? Or a pushover?”
“I'm sorry?”
“Why should we worry about the lives of people with knives who clearly want to kill us?”
“N-no, hang on. That's not...”
“Listen, Eun-Sol. This is a justified act of self-defense. Even if the remaining three die and this matter is brought to the court, the court security will tell us, 'Such a thing isn't worth a trial, everyone. Allow me to use my judgment to grant you the verdict of not guilty. Now that's sorted, should I give you your parking ticket?' And then he'll let us go home.”
“...Wow, what an amazing security guard that is.”
Of course Han Eun-Sol was not entirely on board with South Korea's very strict self-defense law. If the situation was inevitable, he'd rather prefer seeing the robbers put in harm's way instead of him or his acquaintances getting hurt.
However, there was an enormous gap between thinking that way and actually experiencing that situation. After all, Han Eun-Sol was an ordinary person!
When would an ordinary person like him ever get a chance to run into knife-toting villains in the middle of a road? Or how about throwing a knife-toting villain over a cliff? Never!
To make matters worse, the person responsible for tossing another human being to their doom was a man Han Eun-Sol had been gently teasing until a few minutes ago.
Kang Jin-Ho was way too pure for a man with such handsome looks, so Han Eun-Sol used to think he was an idiot who didn't deserve that face. But that man tossed another human being over the cliff without batting an eyelid, then leisurely dusted his hand as if all he did was take out the trash!
'I'm definitely not dreaming, aren't I?'
No dream would be this dumbfounding, anyway. Dreams were cooked up based on the dreamer's common sense and logic, after all! And in Han Eun-Sol's world, something that gobsmacking couldn't have existed!
“Noona, are you really okay?”
Choi Yeon-Ha cocked an eyebrow. “Why are you asking me that again?”
“I mean, look. A person just now, he...”
“Eun-Sol.”
“Y-yeah?”
“Stop talking nonsense and keep it down, okay! I can't hear what they are talking about!”
“...Yes, ma'am.” Han Eun-Sol obediently clamped his mouth shut and returned his gaze to the front of the van.
'Is she really okay with this?'
He wasn't asking if Choi Yeon-Ha was fine with someone dying right in front of her nose. No, he wanted to know if she was fine with Kang Jin-Ho killing someone.
However, Choi Yeon-Ha's response turned out to be way, way too relaxed. And she wasn't putting on a facade, either. She really didn't seem to care too deeply about this situation!
'Just what... is going on with these two?'
Maybe Choi Yeon-Ha had seen this side of Kang Jin-Ho several times already? Was that why she could remain unruffled?
Han Eun-Sol had no choice but to view Kang Jin-Ho in a new light now.
'And what... Or who is that guy?'
Finally, Han Eun-Sol began wondering about the truth regarding Kang Jin-Ho's identity.
***
“...Fujing!” Da Bao bit down on his lip.
Wang Fujing's figure was gone. No longer visible. Out of sight.
Which made sense, since he was flung beyond the steep cliff a few seconds ago!
Da Bao's trembling eyes locked on Kang Jin-Ho next.
'What the hell is he?!'
He should've trusted his senses. The consequence of ignoring the warning sirens ringing from deep inside him was... this!
Not only Da Bao, but the other two could only stare at Kang Jin-Ho in pure panic and astonishment.
Non-martial artists would never understand the significance of what just happened. Indeed, only those who walked the path of cultivation would understand how extraordinary and common-sense-breaking this event was!
The act of throwing someone wasn't that significant in and of itself. Picking up a fully-grown adult male with one hand wasn't all that surprising. Neither was the throwing distance being illogical a cause for shock.
What surprised these men, however, was the simple fact that the victim was a martial artist, just like them!
The problem with this situation was that Wang Fujing, a martial artist, couldn't react at all while being lifted up by his enemy. A warrior of his level would've tried to counterattack as he was lifted in the air. Even if a counterattack wasn't on the cards, he'd stab his blade to the ground to stop himself or spin his body around mid-air to change the direction of his falling.
However, he did none of those. He resembled a piece of stiff firewood with his eyes wide open as his body flew away before falling below the cliff.
The remaining men instantly recognized the grave implications behind what just happened. A martial artist suppressing another martial artist's movements and throwing the latter in the air couldn't be performed with a significant difference in power. To explain that in terms of non-martial artists, the difference had to be something similar to an athletic young man and a little kid around three years old.
That brief 'exchange' of moves was enough to teach Da Bao the difference in power between his group and this Korean man. Even if the lesson was learned a little too late to be useful!
'We... should've waited!'
This man was not someone Da Bao and his chums could fight. As a matter of fact, this man was so powerful that all the agents of the organization currently converging toward the capital of the province would still not be enough!
Did the higher-ups realize the severity of the situation and order Da Bao to be on standby? Probably not.
No, they were probably planning to take their time and collect information before moving in. One small slip-up somewhere, and the organization might have to shutter its doors permanently, after all!
Of course, that was not what Da Bao was worried about. Why should he care about that when his own neck was on the line?! The tiger had opened its maw just a little, and one of Da Bao's friends slipped in between those ferocious fangs before being ripped apart into pieces!
Who could guarantee Da Bao wasn't next in line?!
That was when Kang Jin-Ho suddenly glanced at Da Bao. “You.”
“...Y-yes?” Da Bao's body responded even before his brain had a second to think first. Although the pecking order in this situation hadn't been officially decided yet, Da Bao's body was already acting super-respectfully and honestly toward Kang Jin-Ho.
“Who sent you?” Kang Jin-Ho asked.
“...”
“I'm waiting.”
“It... It's difficult to explain, sir,” Da Bao nervously gulped his saliva before cautiously replying. His voice sounded desperate. Urgent. “Our order was to gather at the nearest provincial capital; that was all. But we were discussing with each other about the order, and that's how we realized it might be related to Guo Liqin's disappearance.”
“Guo Liqin, huh...”
That didn't sound like the Crimson King's faction making a move against Kang Jin-Ho, and that gave him a bit of a dilemma.
If the Crimson King's faction started moving against him, escaping China would become nearly impossible. Obviously, Kang Jin-Ho wasn't afraid of them, but staying here meant people around him would get caught up in his conflicts.
Protecting them while fending off the Crimson King's men? That was still asking for too much from him at this stage.
“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho glanced back at Da Bao. “I only need one more person.”
“S-sorry?”
“Just one person. That is all I need.”
A sudden chill ran down Da Bao's spine. Including himself, there were three here. So, when Kang Jin-Ho said he only needed one person...? “S-sir, what will happen to the other two?”
Kang Jin-Ho remained eerily still as he stared at Da Bao in the eye. “Consider yourselves lucky. I'm in a good mood today, you see?”
“...!”
Kang Jin-Ho pointed at the cliff with his chin. “Today must be my first time willingly letting go of idiots who threatened me with weapons. Since that's the case... Don't you agree I shouldn't dirty my hands as well?”
“...!”
“Now, choose,” Kang Jin-Ho smirked. “Choose between jumping off the cliff of your own volition or staying here and entertaining me for a bit longer.”
What a funny offer that was. Who in their right mind would choose the cliff? Even so, something bizarre happened right afterward.
The three men... suddenly turned around and dashed toward the edge of the cliff at full tilt!
“Get out of my way, you f*ckers!”
“No, you step aside!”
These three men had realized one of them had to become the sacrificial lamb. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they began tugging, shoving and wrestling desperately with each other.
Kang Jin-Ho leisurely mouthed a cigarette while watching this spectacle unfold.
'I guess this... could get a bit more entertaining.'
Kang Jin-Ho lit the cigarette, leisurely inhaled and then exhaled the gray smoke before glancing at the wrestling trio on the ground. “Oh, by the way... Don't use your qi while jumping off the cliff.”
“...!”
The three men briefly stopped tussling and stared at Kang Jin-Ho. However, their fearfully trembling eyes soon regained their ferociousness.
Of course, that viciousness wasn't directed at Kang Jin-Ho. The three men yanked their weapons out and began attacking each other instead!
Kang Jin-Ho sighed softly as three grown men fought each other for the right to jump off a cliff.
“People these days have no loyalty...”
That was a pearl of wisdom from a hundred-plus-year-old boomer.
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