Chapter 65 : True Crushing Defeat (5)

The severed acupoints were connected.

The side, the Bokgyeol and Daehoeng points, had been severed. He could not continue his true energy. Although he still could not draw his true energy, a thread-like connection had been drawn.

The chest, the armpit, the Juyeong and Geukcheon points had also been cut.

It was a tremendous injury. He had been cut so powerfully that the acupoints themselves had completely disappeared.

The Three Blades One Kill did not just cut the body. It thoroughly destroyed the entire body’s meridians. So even if the body recovered, it made it impossible to draw true energy.

If you were a martial artist, it was better to die if you were hit by the Three Blades One Kill.

Even if your body fully recovered, you could not execute your previous martial arts at all. You could not even use your strength more than an ordinary person.

Of course, the Three Blades One Kill did not let you live either. There was no one who had clashed with Seori Hyeonggae and had lived. The reason why there were no rumors about the Single-Instant Blade was because there were no living people.

Ah Geol had been hit very severely by such a blade.

Looking only at the wound, it was a miracle that he had not died instantly.

Little by little, little by little… the acupoints were connected very faintly. They were connected sluggishly, as if an earthworm were crawling.

The green line leech was showing its medicinal effect inside his body.

Until a while ago, he had a small jar full of green line leeches, so he had used them generously even when his horse was injured. But now, he had used them all up, so they had become very precious.

He had used them on Mongseol, and had poured all the remaining ones on Grandpa.

But just one had not stuck to Grandpa, but had stuck to Ah Geol’s sleeve.

It seemed that one had fallen off by mistake when he had poured out the jar.

Because that one was left, he had thought of the Head Cutting Annihilation Art. If even that one had not been there, he would not have thought of fighting Seori Hyeonggae without any preparation.

Before fighting Seori Hyeonggae, he had released the green line leech.

The green line leech had first invaded his body through the wound on his side. On the one hand, it sucked his blood, and on the other hand, it secreted a green line that was effective in stopping the bleeding.

The green line leech that had invaded his body first occupied his brain.

It crawled into his brain and secreted a green line. In animal terms, it was a kind of territorial marking.

Around that time, his head was struck.

The Head Cutting Annihilation Art was a qigong that was executed without a green line leech. But if there was a green line leech, the possibility of success was much higher. It was not relying on simple luck, but executing a stratagem.

The green line leech was stopping the bleeding from the wound.

Fortunately, Shin Dopa had also given him hemostatic treatment, so his life had been preserved. His lifeline was connected precariously, as if it would break. Although it was only one, the green line leech was doing its job firmly inside his body.

But at some point, he had to push out the green line leech. Because the green line leech that had sucked his blood was getting bigger and bigger.

Ordinary people would cut the flesh with a knife and pull it out. But a martial artist could just push it out with true energy.

“Ugh!”

Ah Geol let out a faint groan and opened his eyes.

The first thing he remembered was the appearance of being hit by Seori Hyeonggae. And he also remembered the appearance of a small man walking over.

‘Ugh!’

This time, he groaned inwardly.

He immediately realized what situation he was in.

He glanced around.

It was dark, so he couldn’t see anything. It seemed he was in a small cave-like place… and since the smell of strong horse manure was mixed in the smell of the air… Ah! Where was this? Where was he?

He knew that he had been handed over to Shin Dopa. If so, he was being dragged to the Sacred Sword Sect.

Had he arrived at the Sacred Sword Sect? Was he locked in a prison?

Thud! Thud!

The sound of footsteps was heard. Someone was approaching. The sound of their feet hitting the ground was very light, and since their stride was regular, it was presumed that they were a considerable master of martial arts.

Clatter!

The sound of a door opening was heard.

“A chicken?”

A person’s voice came out from right next to him.

Ah Geol was startled. He had not known at all that there was a person next to him. He had thought he was alone in the dark space.

“Yes. I don’t know if it’s well-cooked.”

“It’s fine as long as it’s edible.”

The person who had been talking next to him made a rustling sound as if he were taking the chicken.

The savory smell of roasted chicken spread.

It was a very narrow space. The smell of the chicken did not spread, but was contained. It did not flow out. It was a closed space.

‘The smell of horse manure!’

Ah Geol grasped the whole situation.

The stuffy smell mixed with the fresh smell was the smell of the leather that covered the carriage seat.

He was being moved in a carriage. He had not yet arrived at the Sacred Sword Sect.

The person who had spoken next to him was Shin Dopa.

If he had been in a normal state, there was no way he would not have known that there was a person next to him. But now, his true energy was not moving properly.

His senses were also scattered in a mess. Since he had worked in the stable for quite a while, there was nothing he didn’t know about stable work. And yet, he had not immediately recognized the smell of the carriage even after smelling it. It was more than enough to know how messed up his senses were.

Moreover, Shin Dopa was a very outstanding master. It was a habit for him to hide his breath even in normal times.

It was natural that he did not know he was there.

Ah Geol tried to get up. But his hands and feet were as if they were tied, and he could not move a muscle.

“Huh? You’re awake?”

Shin Dopa said, hearing the rustling sound.

“Why did you wake up when you were just going to die? What’s the point of living a day or two more when you’re going to die anyway?”

Shin Dopa said, chewing on the roasted chicken.

Tutuk!

Ah Geol tried to move his hands and feet again. As expected, they did not move. No, whenever he moved, the leather rope that was stuck to his flesh tightened even more.

‘Python rope!’

Ah Geol frowned.

The python rope was a python leather rope refined with medicine. It could not be cut by a sword or a blade, and it did not burn in fire. If the one who had tied it did not untie it, there was no way to cut it.

“…Were you so scared that you tied up a corpse and transported it? The Third Lord?”

Ah Geol said, looking at the carriage ceiling as if he had given up.

“It’s not a corpse. And… if Jo Chuhan was hit, I could be hit too. The Single-Instant Blade is scary.”

Shin Dopa ate the chicken, not caring about the words that were scratching his insides.

“It doesn’t seem like something the number one in speed, the Third Lord, would say.”

“To be honest, you’re no match for me right now. But the guys who have trained in the Single-Instant Blade have so many variables. How else would even a ghost not take them? Be glad that you’re tied up like that. If I had my way, I would have wanted to kill you for sure and take you.”

“It hurts a lot, won’t you even treat me?”

“I told you earlier. You’re going to die anyway. Just go. It’s also good if you die on the way.”

Ah Geol did not say any more.

After exchanging a few words, he knew what kind of person Shin Dopa was.

What Shin Dopa said was not an empty threat. He was speaking from the heart. He did not do things that had even a little bit of risk. And rather than taking a risk, he would choose to kill.

The injury Ah Geol had received was very serious. He could not escape death with just first aid. But he would not treat him any further. He would not even change his bandages. He would leave his wound to fester and rot. The words that he would only live for a day or two at most were also from the heart. So he would leave him alone.

A person who would soon die!

In Shin Dopa’s eyes, there was no need to go through the trouble of saving Ah Geol.

So he would not even give him food. Let’s say he couldn’t prepare dinner now because he was unconscious. As you would see at the next mealtime, he would not even prepare anything for Ah Geol to eat.

Water? He might give him water.

“Hmm!”

Ah Geol let out a deep sigh as if he had given up everything.

Shin Dopa was right.

The Single-Instant Sect disciples had so many variables. Even if they seemed about to die, they would swing their blades very fiercely. You didn’t know when or at what moment they would use their blades. If they didn’t have a blade, they would at least throw a punch.

How was this kind of action possible?

Did the Single-Instant Sect have many qigong techniques that other sects did not have? Was that why there were so many variables?

No. The Single-Instant Sect disciples were like that by birth.

One in a million was chosen. They would line up a million martial artists and pick the one with the strongest constitution. They would find the one who was naturally the best at fighting.

In fact, the act of picking one out of a million was impossible in itself.

If you actually made a million people fight until only one was left, there would be no one left. Everyone would die. It wasn’t that they would die from exhaustion. About a hundred out of a million were top-level fighters. Since their skills were similar, they would die together.

So, there were almost a hundred who corresponded to the Single-Instant among a million. It was hard to find one out of that hundred even with the eyes of a god.

The Single-Instant Sect Master played that role.

If he couldn’t pick one out of a hundred, he would give up all hundred.

They were not the real ones. They were fake Single-Instants. The real Single-Instant had to be found without hesitation. He had to be sure that this was the one in a million.

His master had also made a mistake.

The third disciple, Dongbak, was not a Single-Instant martial artist. But he had mistaken him for a Single-Instant martial artist. When he had accepted him as a disciple, he would have been sure that he was a Single-Instant martial artist. As he had trained him, he would have found out that he was a fake.

Then how were the real and the fake different?

The real one did not give up until the moment his life was cut off. He only insisted on the blade. He would never let go of the blade until the opponent was dead. He only thought of the target.

It wasn’t that he was called a Single-Instant martial artist because his martial arts were strong, because he had trained in a strong martial art.

He was a Single-Instant martial artist because his original personality was that of a stubborn person.

He was a Single-Instant martial artist because he was a villain who would wander the fighting pits by nature even if he had not trained in martial arts.

‘Hook!’

Ah Geol gathered his true energy.

There was no way his true energy would gather. It was more important to heal his body than to practice energy circulation. If you circulated your energy in Ah Geol’s state, it was easy to fall into qi deviation.

But Ah Geol forcibly gathered his true energy.

He had to add true energy to the green line that the green line leech had laid down. He had to add true energy to the thin line and make it a thick line. If he made a mistake, even the green line would be cut, and then he would never be able to draw his true energy… but as Shin Dopa had said, he would die in a few days anyway.

There was no choice.

‘Kaaargh!’

When he moved his true energy, a pain as if his flesh were being torn washed over him. Dozens of large awls stabbed him mercilessly.

A scream poured out.

Ah Geol bit his tongue and suppressed the pouring groan. And he continued to circulate his energy.

His meridians were cut in strands. It was painful even if he stayed still. But he continued to move. He moved very largely, as if he were determined to abuse himself.

If you moved your body, you would touch the wound. That pain could not be described with words. But the pain that occurred when your true energy moved and touched the severed meridians was much greater. His bones ached, his head became numb, and yellow sparks flared in his eyes.

‘Haak! Hook! Haaak!’

Ah Geol suppressed the rough breath that was welling up from his stomach. Although a smell like burning leather wafted from his mouth, he clenched his teeth and endured. And he searched for the green line leech.

‘It’s here!’

He found the green line leech.

The green line had an anesthetic effect. The green line that one secreted was very small in amount, so it had no great effect. But the green line leech was excellent at hiding its own movement.

Just as it itched when you were bitten by a mosquito, the green line leech secreted an anesthetic fluid. It was a protective device to hide itself from the one being attacked. Although you would know a mosquito because of the itch, it was impossible to find a green line leech because it erased all feeling.

You could only find a green line leech with true energy.

The green line leech was stuck to his intestines.

‘You have to help me a little.’

Ah Geol began to stimulate the green line leech with his true energy.

Naturally, the green line leech resisted roughly. It secreted even more anesthetic fluid.

One played the role of two. But that was still not enough. He had to stimulate it even more strongly and make it play the role of four, five.

Chiiiit!

Ah Geol clenched his teeth and endured the pain that made his flesh tremble, and pushed out the green line leech.

(End of Chapter)