Chapter 67 : Rebirth (2)

There was a common saying among gamblers: ‘When you’re blinded by money, you don’t even know your hands and feet are being cut off.’

Greed for wealth and lust were the number one obstacles that gamblers had to be wary of.

Was it only greed for wealth and lust that gamblers had to be wary of? They also had to refrain from various hobbies. They shouldn’t drink either. They had to be wary of themselves to the point where they seemed like ascetics.

Real gamblers always lived a refined life.

But it was very difficult to see such people around. A gambler who practiced abstinence? Rather, the gambling houses were full of blind people who were blinded by various desires, with no room to even set foot.

That was why the Drunken Flower Garden assassins often used people from the gambling houses.

Just as you would borrow water from the neighboring rice paddy to water your own, they used them for very small purposes.

The one who had been caught today was blinded by money.

It was very easy to tempt a gambler who had lost all his money and was leaving empty-handed. Just by showing a heavy money pouch, they would swarm like flies to a rotten fish.

It went without saying if the person with the money pouch was a weak woman who couldn’t even throw a punch.

Among them, she chose a low-level martial artist who at least knew what martial arts were.

It wasn’t that he had singled out the woman. The woman had chosen him, and had created a situation where he had no choice but to rush in.

The price for coveting the wrong prey was brutal.

First, he was beaten to a pulp, dragged here and there, and had to secretly crawl through the forest as the woman had ordered.

The gambler had no thought other than that he would die if he did not escape from the woman’s hands.

If he showed a slight opening, he would desperately run away, as befitting someone who had tasted martial arts. Since he would be beaten again if he was discovered, he would lie flat on his body and quietly run away.

* * *

Mongseol could not run away. No, she had not thought of running away from the beginning.

She was not confident that she could shake off the Third Lord with her movement technique.

Moreover, it was impossible to run away while carrying Ah Geol, who was much heavier than her.

So she had chosen to hide.

The time it took for the Third Lord to rush to the gambler was only a moment. He would return in the blink of an eye.

The moment the Third Lord left Ah Geol’s side, Mongseol threw a grappling hook and snatched Ah Geol.

Shwoooosh!

Ah Geol was pulled in at once.

As soon as Ah Geol was in her hands, Mongseol immediately launched her body and shot up into a tree.

There were traces of being dragged on the ground. And there was no time to run forward.

She would disappear from this place!

As soon as she had climbed up the tree, she had put a camouflage cloth on Ah Geol. At the same time, she had tied Ah Geol and her own body with a belt she had prepared in advance, and had struck Ah Geol’s fainting point.

Swish! Puk!

As soon as she had touched the point, Ah Geol had lost consciousness and his head had dropped.

Mongseol also executed the Turtle Breath Great Art. Originally, it was a great art that was executed while hiding underground, but there was no time to choose a place. After this, she would leave it to fate and do her best.

Swoooosh!

When she circulated her true energy, her breath became shallow.

Based on an ordinary person breathing ten times, it had changed to one-tenth, one breath.

The flow of her body also slowed down. It sank down like a dead body.

The Turtle Breath Great Art suppressed the body’s activities to the maximum. It even restricted the movements of the stomach and intestines, which a person could not move with their will. The movement of the body became similar to that of a dead person.

In other words, while executing the Turtle Breath Great Art, you became completely defenseless. Even if a poisonous snake came and bit you, you could not stop it.

It was very dangerous to execute the Turtle Breath Great Art on a tree like Mongseol.

But there was no choice. To deceive the eyes and ears of a master like the Third Lord, there was no other way than to die completely. If you tried to hide clumsily, you would be discovered immediately.

Swoooosh!

Mongseol seeped into a deep, deep silence.

* * *

“This!”

Shin Dopa clenched his teeth and let out a groan.

He had been hit by a very simple feint. The thought that an ambusher would appear was too strong. So as soon as he had heard the presence, he had shot his body forward without suspicion.

He found the traces of Ah Geol being dragged.

The grass was lying down. The fallen leaves were swept away. The traces of being dragged on the ground remained clearly.

But the traces suddenly cut off.

He had been dragged and had disappeared like water vapor. There was no trace of him shooting up into the sky, nor was there any trace of him sinking into the ground.

The one who had snatched Ah Geol, this was not the first or second time he had done this.

In secretly killing someone, an assassin was better than a strong martial artist. In stealing, a thief was better than a martial artist. In seducing a man at a drinking party, there was no one who could follow a courtesan.

There was an expert in every field.

This person was a kidnapping expert.

He stimulated his guard by blowing up the main road. He always kept a corner of his mind awake. He killed the horses and made him walk. Ah Geol, who had been hidden in the carriage, was exposed to the world. He shot an arrow and made him enter the ridge of the rice paddy. At that time, he had been annoyed and had done as he had wished, telling him to show himself quickly, but was this a mistake?

While walking on the ridge of the rice paddy, he had found a small forest where he could rest a little.

It couldn’t even be called a forest. It was a small hill with about ten trees, a shelter to avoid the sun.

Here, his attention was diverted. And Ah Geol disappeared. Seamlessly.

To make such a plan, you first had to know the terrain well. It was a plan that could not be made unless you were a local, or had heard a detailed explanation of the terrain from a local.

The guy had not gone far. He was hiding nearby.

If he had executed a movement technique, there was no way he would not have come into his eyes. Except for the small hill, it was a wide-open rice paddy in all directions. It was obvious that he was hiding somewhere between the ridges of the rice paddy.

He could not find him. Even now, the guy would be moving little by little while hiding his body. It was obvious that he would not do something as immature as leaving a presence, so he could not even expect a mistake.

He had lost the guy.

There were not many places in the central plains martial world that could use this kind of method. It was very easy to find a kidnapping expert among the groups that were good enough to fight the Sacred Sword Sect.

No, no. There was a place that came to mind right now.

‘Drunken Flower Garden!’

The Drunken Flower Garden assassins were experts in contract killing. But they also excelled in missions such as infiltration, kidnapping, and disruption.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve. How dare the Drunken Flower Garden.”

Shin Dopa sat in a cross-legged position.

He drew his true energy and concentrated it in his two ears. He brought his entire body’s senses to the highest state.

He listens to the sound. He grasps even the sound of an ant moving a hundred zhang away. He gathers all the sounds in his ears and filters them. Among the many sounds, he only finds the sounds made by humans.

This kind of study was called the Heaven’s Vision and Earth’s Hearing Art in the world.

Study? For the Ten Lesser Swords, this kind of training was not even included in their studies. They had never trained in it thinking of it as a special study. It was just a part of the physical development necessary to master the sword.

Chiiiit! Chiiiit! Pyut! Shwaaaa!

Many sounds were heard.

The sounds made by nature disappeared on their own, and only the sounds made by humans remained.

All the sounds were erased. And the remaining sound… was none.

There was no sound made by a human within a hundred zhang. There were no people, or they were not moving at all.

‘Again!’

Shin Dopa gathered the sounds again.

Although he had not found it in the first gathering of sounds, he could find it in the second gathering. Three times, four times, five times… he continued to gather the sounds. If he did that, he would definitely be caught.

* * *

“Huhu!”

Jeon Gaseong’s eyes sparkled.

He had watched the movements of Mongseol and Shin Dopa from a third person’s perspective. He had observed them in detail from a distance.

He had seen Mongseol climb up a tree.

Above Shin Dopa’s head… but because her concealment technique was so outstanding, he had not been able to find her.

“Is it the Turtle Breath Great Art? It’s considerable.”

Jeon Gaseong was genuinely impressed.

Among the young rising stars, it was very rare for someone to pour their attention into a qigong like the Turtle Breath Great Art. They thought that it was better to swing a sword one more time than to train in such a thing.

The Turtle Breath Great Art was a qigong for fugitives.

A quiet state of tranquility could also be maintained with energy circulation. The study of artificially slowing down one’s breath, no matter how you thought of it, reminded you of a cornered rat.

Mongseol had trained in such a study. And she executed it very outstandingly.

To be honest, with that level of concealment technique, it was no different from carrying another life. It was worthy of praise. If other assassins had seen Mongseol’s appearance, their perception of the Turtle Breath Great Art would have completely changed.

But the Turtle Breath Great Art had a blind spot in that it could not be maintained for a long time.

She had to release her true energy soon. Although Shin Dopa was right under the tree, she had to reveal herself in front of him.

Shin Dopa knew that.

He knew that the ambusher was not moving but was nearby. He knew well that if he did not move, he could not move either. So he did not move.

“Shall I help a little?”

Jeon Gaseong smirked and struck a tree with his sword.

Tuk!

A very faint sound rang out.

From Shin Dopa’s position, it was a sound that could never be heard unless you strained your ears to listen. But wasn’t Shin Dopa doing just that, straining his ears to listen?

Shin Dopa did not move. But his eyes and ears were already focused in this direction.

“What shall I do this time?”

Swoosh! Tuk!

He kicked the grass with his foot.

It was also a sound that could not be heard unless you listened carefully. In that instant!

Shwaaaek!

Shin Dopa suddenly shot his body forward.

Jeon Gaseong shot his movement technique forward as if he had known it would happen.

He could not execute his own ultimate technique… he executed the unorthodox movement technique, the Ghost Flowing Fragrance.

When you executed the Ghost Flowing Fragrance, you became as ethereal as a ghost. The Drunken Flower Garden’s Dark Shadow Step or the Ghost Gate’s Ghost Shadow Step were similar. But the Ghost Flowing Fragrance emitted a pungent fragrance like burning chili peppers.

A strong smell that paralyzed the sense of smell.

Even a person who did not know the Ghost Flowing Fragrance at all could immediately think of what kind of study it was just by smelling it.

Shwaaaek!

Jeon Gaseong galloped as fast as a ray of light.

Shin Dopa did not give up and chased him.

Since he had executed the Ghost Flowing Fragrance, he just had to follow the smell. He would think that he would never lose him.

Mongseol needed about one two-hour period to release the Turtle Breath Great Art.

‘I’ll lead him away for about half a two-hour period… and use half a two-hour period to return. Huhu!’

Jeon Gaseong had no intention of helping Mongseol. He just had to lead Shin Dopa away. He would say that he had been chasing Ah Geol and had gone there, and had met Mongseol and Ah Geol there.

There was no reason to save Mongseol. He would kill her as soon as he found her. If she had not released the Turtle Breath Great Art by the time he returned, she would die comfortably. If she had released it, she would be brutally hit by a sword and would die.

He just had to carry Ah Geol and go.

Since Shin Dopa had tied Ah Geol up well, there was nothing he had to worry about.

If you waited, and waited, a chance would definitely come.

Shwaaaek!

He executed the Ghost Flowing Fragrance with all his might.

Although the Ghost Flowing Fragrance was a fast movement technique that the unorthodox path boasted of, it was a step below the Sacred Sword Sect’s movement technique. Above all, since a person who had trained in a high-level study was trying to execute a low-quality movement technique, it kept getting blocked. His own movement technique was trying to come out unconsciously.

So he used all his might.

He concentrated all his attention on the Ghost Flowing Fragrance so that his own movement technique would not be revealed.

Shwaaaek!

A pungent smell spread strongly.

(End of Chapter)