Chapter 73: Those Who Tie Must Untie (2)
The Baek Noble Clan was the top clan of Xi’an.
Such a noble clan has a prison for criminals. It was inevitable that the security would be strict. High-level martial artists and their subordinates took turns guarding the place.
However, Yuk-ho managed to break in and rescue Baek Jin-tae. It was a surprising feat.
Baek Jin-tae followed a man named Yuk-ho and came out of the prison. The warriors who were on guard were also lying down, struck by the sedative gas.
It was only after they had escaped that Baek Jin-tae could spit out the Poison Resistance Bead from his mouth.
“It’s hard to find such effective sedative gas, not to mention the Poison Resistance Bead. Huh, it seems your master has good connections.”
“Be quiet. Unless you want to be thrown back into the prison.”
Yuk-ho spoke coldly.
Baek Jin-tae shrugged his shoulders and examined the fallen warrior. Then, he took a sword from the warrior’s waist.
Drawing the sword and swinging it, he looked down at the fallen warrior, as if considering whether to kill him or not.
“Follow me.”
“…Alright.”
Just then, Yuk-ho called for Baek Jin-tae. Baek Jin-tae left the warriors behind and followed Yuk-ho.
“Put this on.”
“Oho.”
From a crevice in the rocks, what he pulled out were the clothes of servants. And they were extremely dirty, the kind worn by those who carried night soil.
Baek Jin-tae silently put on the clothes. Being unable to use his internal energy at the moment, it was wise to follow Yuk-ho’s instructions.
Yuk-ho also took off his mask and put on similar clothes. His face looked ordinary.
“Is that a skin mask?”
In response to that question, Yuk-ho nodded without a word and handed over another skin mask.
“Put it on.”
“Never thought I’d have to wear something like this.”
Once Baek Jin-tae put on the skin mask, his former appearance became unrecognizable.
Yuk-ho picked up a night soil carrier that had been prepared in advance and led the way.
There was no need to climb over walls.
As they arrived at the gate, emitting a foul odor, the gatekeepers held their noses and let them pass.
Even after leaving the gate, Yuk-ho did not show any sign of hurrying.
Turning into an alley, two people who appeared to be ordinary civilians were waiting.
“Change clothes once again.”
“Alright.”
They promptly took off their own clothes as if they had been waiting to do so. They then dressed in the clothes Yuk-ho and Baek Jin-tae had shed.
The two, now carrying the night soil carrier, left calmly.
Before Baek Jin-tae, a carriage came to a stop.
“You will have to switch carriages several times. Keep this blindfold on.”
At the instruction to cover his eyes, Baek Jin-tae grumbled.
“I have been saved from the prison, do I really need to go through this?”
“I will tie your hands.”
“Really, this is a complete dismissal.”
Baek Jin-tae willingly put on the blindfold and allowed his hands to be tied.
This man named Yuk-ho seemed to be quite skilled. By going through such a complicated process to erase the tracks, they could avoid the clan’s pursuit for a while.
Baek Jin-tae leaned back in the carriage, feeling inwardly relieved.
“Your master is making quite the expensive gesture. It’s difficult to even see his face once in person. Still, as the Red Dragon Corps Commander of the Baek Clan, it’s a position recognized anywhere in Jianghu.”
“We have made many sacrifices to rescue you.”
“Yeah, I must be useful for something, right?”
“I will be the one asking questions. You just answer.”
Yuk-ho’s voice was bone-chillingly cold. Baek Jin-tae chuckled and nodded.
“Do you have any more loyal subordinates? Among those who were not executed.”
“If my brother hasn’t found them all, there might be some remaining. A few in the Second Corps too…”
“Among them, is there anyone who knows too much and needs to have their mouth sealed?”
The phrase “have their mouth sealed” likely meant to silence someone permanently.
“Hmm, not particularly. Oh, Ho-jin, that child knows quite a bit. He is the vice captain of the Second Corps.”
“Is there anyone you need to spare?”
“They were loyal to me when times were good, but now, I doubt there’s anyone left to follow me. Heh.”
If there was no one to spare, then all would have to be killed.
As Baek Jin-tae’s laughter faded, Yuk-ho switched to the second carriage.
“You were tortured, I understand. How much did you tell them about us?”
“Nearly everything.”
“…You have no shame.”
“Did you think I would have expected you to come to rescue me?”
“Tell us everything you revealed to them and what you didn’t. We need to clean up afterwards.”
“What would I have to tell if I knew nothing? At best, it was about Sam-ho and…”
The sound of writing Baek Jin-tae’s words on a piece of paper was heard. After about a meal’s time had passed, they switched carriages again.
Yuk-ho asked Baek Jin-tae many questions.
Baek Jin-tae’s responses, initially given with some earnestness, became increasingly brief.
Perhaps he even seemed a bit annoyed.
“That’s so. Then, is it true that the previous Clan Head of the Baek Clan has retired to Guangdong? Quite a distance he’s gone.”
“That’s right.”
“Anything else you would like to tell? Any dirty secrets of the BaekClan? Or perhaps someone worth probing. It would be of great help to us.”
“…”
Baek Jin-tae now kept his mouth completely shut.
After a long silence, he suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hu-hahah.”
At that, Yuk-ho, who had been continuously asking questions, also fell silent.
The carriage continued to run quietly.
It must have been about an hour when the dark dawn sky began to turn a bluish tint. Dawn was breaking.
The carriage also stopped.
“Get out.”
Yuk-ho opened the door and stepped out first.
When the carriage door opened, the cold air of the winter dawn blew in. To Baek Jin-tae, who had lost his internal energy, it was a chill that penetrated to the bones.
“We’ve arrived already?”
“Yes, we’re here.”
“Heh heh heh…”
With his eyes covered, Baek Jin-tae couldn’t make out the surrounding scenery.
“…I’m also a fool. Completely taken in.”
It was unclear what Baek Jin-tae was truly feeling, but the smirk on his face seemed exceedingly pleasant.
“Who are you?”
He had realized it at some point. The ones who saved Baek Jin-tae were not Heuk-am and his subordinates.
He was fooled by the naturalness of it all; he hadn’t expected to be deceived in this manner.
A metallic clink sounded. Baek Jin-tae braced himself to be cut by a sword.
“Now that you’ve milked me for information, you’re going to kill me?”
“Don’t act so high and mighty.”
The man removed Baek Jin-tae’s blindfold. Yuk-ho’s face had changed as if he had removed an impermeable mask.
“My name is Pil Hwan.”
“That’s a name I’m hearing for the first time.”
Pil Hwan even went so far as to untie Baek Jin-tae’s wrists.
“I am a warrior of the Biyeon Squad. One of Mu Jung’s colleagues, whom you cut down.”
“Ah, one of those guys.”
Baek Jin-tae smiled broadly. A killing intent flashed in Pil Hwan’s eyes.
However, instead of harming Baek Jin-tae, he suppressed his urge to kill and stepped back.
This place was a dead-end branch. Excluding the forest path the carriage had come through, there was no visible escape.
“Wait here.”
After Pil Hwan left with those words, Baek Jin-tae was left alone.
Then, someone walked out from the forest. Recognizing him, Baek Jin-tae couldn’t even smile.
“It seems my brother has gone mad.”
“Uncle.”
The person who appeared was Yi-gang, drawing his sword.
Baek Jin-tae watched not Yi-gang but the forest he had emerged from. Having lost his internal energy, his senses were dulled, and he couldn’t feel anything. However, it was certain that warriors were hiding there.
“What do you plan to do by coming at me with a sword?”
“What else is there to do once a sword is drawn?”
“Huhuhu, did my brother give you permission? If you want to kill me, you might as well have asked that warrior earlier to do it.”
Baek Jin-tae laughed incredulously.
He had anticipated his death but never expected his nephew, Yi-gang, to appear with a sword.
“It is not proper to have a mere warrior strike at Uncle’s neck.”
“Then my brother should come himself.”
“It would also be unfilial to have a father cut down his own brother.”
Baek Jin-tae felt a surge of anger rising within him.
“You take me for a fool. Do you think you, a crippled fool, can defeat me just because my dantian is shattered? Huhu.”
Yi-gang silently raised his sword.
Naturally, he brought the Shooting Star Fang with him, ready to cut down his uncle at this place today.
It was a trap conceived by the general. They deceived Baek Jin-tae to extract information he hadn’t revealed. It was sanctioned by his father and the Council of Elders. Yi-gang had volunteered to step forward himself.
“Think of it as solving our own problems. I, too, have things to take from Uncle.”
It was a matter that Yi-gang had to resolve himself. That’s why he had come all the way here.
Baek Jin-tae drew his sword.
“Alright, since you’re prepared to die, I shall reciprocate.”
“I hadn’t expected a reward.”
“If I lose, I will tell you the true identity of Heuk-am.”
Yi-gang frowned.
“Weren’t you unaware of it?”
“I’m not certain. But I have my suspicions.”
Because of his ever-smiling face, people often overlooked it, but Baek Jin-tae’s insight was not poor.
Yi-gang nodded.
“Very well.”
“Huh.”
Baek Jin-tae let out a sneer and, without any warning, took the initiative to attack.
Swoosh—
Despite having lost his internal energy and having been weakened by imprisonment, he was still undeniably a warrior on the threshold of Supreme Peak.
The neck of his young and frail nephew could be swept away as easily as plucking a peach.
His sword lunged towards Yi-gang’s neck like a venomous snake.
Clang—!
However, Yi-gang twisted his sword, effectively parrying the strike.
It was not unexpected, but Baek Jin-tae’s expression hardened nonetheless. The tingling counterforce he felt in his hand was not ordinary.
“…Have you become able to use internal energy?”
It seemed impossible to think otherwise.
But Yi-gang only scoffed at Baek Jin-tae’s question.
“Does it appear so to you?”
Still, not a trace of internal energy was gathering in his lower dantian.
It was only the consistently practiced Great Yin Flow that had enriched the Innate True Qi in his middle dantian. Above all, even if slight, the subtleties of the Great Yin Flow were imbued in his now muscular body.
“Laughing?”
“Why are you so stern with me when you always laugh?”
“You brat…!”
Baek Jin-tae swung his sword. Yi-gang crouched down as if falling and stretched his legs out long.
This was the lightness skill he had learned from Jin Ri-yeon of the Azure Forest. Yi-gang’s body seemed to stretch out and, in an instant, he dodged Baek Jin-tae’s sword.
However, Yi-gang’s back was fully exposed. Baek Jin-tae, smiling, launched his sword towards Yi-gang’s back.
But even this was within Yi-gang’s expectations. His entire body momentarily became blurred.
The sensitive perception born from the Great Yin Meridian Blockage. On this basis, he executed the Shadowless Sword Pavilion’s Shadowless Splendor passed down to him by Neung Ji-pyeong.
Maximizing the body’s elasticity, he imparted rotational force into his sword.
His sword extended long and drew an arc.
Swish—
Baek Jin-tae’s nose was sliced open lengthwise. If he had been any slower to dodge, his face would have been split in two.
Baek Jin-tae had no choice but to acknowledge that he could not underestimate Yi-gang. A chill went through his chest.
“My father wouldn’t have sent me out unprepared.”
“Impudent brat.”
When Yi-gang had volunteered to come forward, there was naturally opposition. But Yi-gang had stood his ground, even against the Clan Head and the elders’ restraints.
Naturally, he must have shown the confidence that he could defeat Baek Jin-tae.
Clang! Clank!
Sparks flew as the swords clashed fiercely.
Their physical strength was similar. Although Yi-gang suffered from a certain vein condition, Baek Jin-tae was also in a weakened state due to his injuries.
The depth of Baek Jin-tae’s swordsmanship was undoubtedly profound. He had years of experience holding a sword, and his talent was not lacking either.
However, there were three factors Baek Jin-tae hadn’t accounted for.
The first was that Yi-gang’s swordsmanship exceeded his expectations.
The second was the disparity between Baek Jin-tae’s weakened body and his swordsmanship; he was unable to perform to the best of his abilities.
The last was the difference in the quality of their swords.
Was it really a meteorite sword?
The sword sharpened by Firelight Forge, named Shooting Star Fang, was ferocious. With each clash, Baek Jin-tae’s blade chipped away.
They had exchanged no more than a hundred moves.
Crack-!
With an ominous noise, Yi-gang’s sword deeply penetrated Baek Jin-tae’s sword.
They froze in that posture.
Yi-gang and Baek Jin-tae’s eyes met, and Yi-gang twisted his wrist, rotating the sword.
Changkang!
Baek Jin-tae’s sword snapped in two.
And it was there that Baek Jin-tae’s practical experience shone through.
“Keuk!”
He did not panic but instead thrust the broken sword at Yi-gang’s abdomen. It was a lightning-fast surprise attack.
However, the feeling in his hand was not quite right.
Gurgling—
Baek Jin-tae’s face contorted in disbelief.
“Are you wearing protective armor?”
“I should mention, I could have avoided it if necessary.”
Through the tear in the clothing at the abdomen, the shape of a chain was discernible. It wasn’t full armor, but for Baek Jin-tae, who could no longer wield sword energy, it was impenetrable.
Then Yi-gang pointed his sword at Baek Jin-tae’s chest. The victory was decided.
It was Yi-gang’s win. Baek Jin-tae knew it too.
“I have no intention of begging for my life.”
“I know.”
Yi-gang replied with an impassive face.
He had won without the need to resort to the possession of the Immortal Divine Sword. Even without the protective armor, he would not have lost.
Yi-gang, with a stern look on his face, said to his uncle, “Please keep your promise.”
As promised, he was asking to reveal the identity of Heuk-am.
Baek Jin-tae chuckled and then said something else, “Is my brother here? Watching over us?”
Yi-gang nodded.
“Yes, tell me.”
Baek Jin-tae gestured for Yi-gang to come closer with his ear, but Yi-gang didn’t fall for such tricks.
“Just say it. Out loud.”
“You are so cautious… Alright then… those people are…”
He seemed to wet his lips for a moment.
Then, with a distant look, he bit his tongue off. Gushing blood into his mouth, he spat it out towards Yi-gang’s eyes.
Yi-gang’s sword then pierced through Baek Jin-tae’s chest.
Thump—
Baek Jin-tae’s right hand, which had been about to swing the broken sword, fell lifelessly.
“You keep resorting to these tricks until the very end, Uncle.”
Yi-gang shook the blood off his left hand, which had blocked the spray.
In the urgency of the moment, cutting the tongue to spit blood was a tactic. Yi-gang knew it, having learned it from the members of Biyeon Squad.
Yi-gang’s sword had completely penetrated Baek Jin-tae’s chest.
Baek Jin-tae chuckled weakly.
“Heh, heheh…”
In front of Baek Ryu-san watching, he had intended to kill Yi-gang.
But Baek Jin-tae, having failed in his final surprise attack, shook once.
“Will you not speak until the very end?”
“Heuh…”
“Uncle?”
“…”
Baek Jin-tae couldn’t laugh anymore.
The chuckle from moments before was his last dying breath.
“…You’ve just gone.”
Yi-gang pulled out his sword.
Baek Jin-tae’s body toppled over as if sliding down.
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