Chapter 51
Chapter 51: Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven
“Little Brother.”
Gu Ak’s voice dropped into a gravelly rumble. Sensing that trouble was brewing, Yanghwi put on an innocent, radiant grin as he answered.
“Why, Brother Gu! You summoned me? Your loyal little brother is right beside you!”
The pleasant act fell flat. A menacing snarl immediately rumbled in Gu Ak’s throat.
“Did you or did you not give me your word? You swore that as soon as our travels ended, I would be granted peace and quiet to spend with Rangnang.”
“Haha, did such words truly leave my lips?”
“Just how far do you intend to run me into an early grave?!”
Gu Ak roared, his temper flaring. Realizing that feigning ignorance would accomplish nothing, Yanghwi quickly shifted gears.
“My apologies, truly. But this undertaking will demand no more than three days, so ease your mind. And that includes both the journey there and back!”
“Can I actually trust that?”
Gu Ak eyed him with deep skepticism. Having been dragged through endless schemes under the boy’s direction, he found it impossible to take such claims at face value.
“Our quarry is a practitioner of the demonic path, yet you insist we can wrap this up in the blink of an eye? Even tracking down an ordinary fugitive usually demands weeks of effort, let alone an elusive martial artist.”
“Shall we stake our lives on a wager, just like the good old days? What are you willing to put on the line, Brother Gu?”
Faced with such unshakable certainty in spite of common sense, Gu Ak backed down and withdrew his protests. Every single time he had accepted a challenge under these circumstances, defeat had been absolute.
“I merely pointed out how improbable it sounds. Very well, I shall take your word for it.”
“Indeed, putting your faith in me always yields unexpected blessings.”
Beneath his cheerful exterior, Yanghwi possessed absolute certainty that they would capture their prey well within the three-day window. He already possessed complete knowledge regarding the target’s precise movements and current activities.
Sex-Crazed Fox Chu Munjik.
Living up to his vile title as a beast enslaved by carnal desires, he was an unrepentant fiend who preyed upon innocent women. Worse still, he had dared to violate a maiden of the Tang Clan, and their enforcers were now hunting him relentlessly across the province.
If I secure that wretched dog alive, I can bind the Tang Clan to our household as valuable allies.
At this very moment, the Tang Clan agents combing Jiangxi Province moved with two clear purposes: find and execute the Sex-Crazed Fox, and identify prime territory to establish a local branch.
In my previous life, Tang Clan operatives took him alive near Ak’an County, subjected him to unspeakable torments, and ultimately extinguished his breath.
Because of those past events, Yanghwi knew every detail of the Sex-Crazed Fox’s plight as well as the Tang Clan’s pursuit routes. Word of mouth had echoed throughout the jianghu for months, with martial artists marveling at how the Tang Clan repaid every single slight ten times over.
Since the location and method of his capture are already etched into my memory, bagging him will be child’s play.
Even if the Sex-Crazed Fox ranked as a first-rate master hovering on the threshold of the apex realm, it changed nothing.
“Listen closely, Brother Gu, and I will reveal our strategy for trapping this debauched scoundrel.”
Yanghwi laid out the maneuver in brief, precise terms. The core premise was simple: lay a cunning trap, seize the momentum of surprise, and subdue him on the spot.
“Your fountain of knowledge never ceases to baffle me, Little Brother. There are moments when I wonder if you can decipher the will of the heavens themselves.”
“I merely piece together sharp deductions from various rumors floating across the taverns.”
“The truly unsettling matter is that your deductions are never mistaken.”
“That is only natural. How could a common man ever hope to perceive the world through the eyes of an unrivaled genius?”
“…….”
Setting their jests aside, Yanghwi and Gu Ak made their way toward a low-lying ridge nestled north of Ak’an County, right along the frontier of Mugan County.
“His lair ought to be situated within this sector. Let us search for any subterranean hollow or cavern that bears evidence of recent habitation.”
Having departed from the Baek Estate before the first rays of dawn broke the horizon, they succeeded in locating a hidden cavern by midday that matched the signs of the Sex-Crazed Fox’s den.
“With so many discarded female garments strewn across the brush, there is no mistaking it.”
Not far from the cave entrance, fresh soil revealed where the earth had recently been disturbed and hastily smoothed over. They were unquestionably the shallow graves of victims he had despoiled and murdered. Bowing his head in silent tribute to the departed spirit, Yanghwi forged a fierce oath in his heart.
I do not know your name, but I swear to exact a retribution so thorough that your soul may rest easy in the netherworld.
“Brother Gu, I shall begin preparing our snare. Stand guard over the perimeter.”
Relying on his recollections from his prior existence, Yanghwi understood that the Sex-Crazed Fox was currently prowling nearby settlements, hunting for his next victim. Even while actively hunted by the terrifying Tang Clan, the monster remained unable to rein in his carnal impulses—a depraved wretch entirely worthy of his moniker. Bearing this in mind, Yanghwi swung the heavy bundle off his shoulders and set it upon the dirt. Typically, he would have relegated the baggage to Gu Ak, but a rare twinge of guilt had prompted him to shoulder the load himself.
Hehehe, let us see how well you stomach this pleasant surprise.
The contents of the sack were potent poison bombs. They were the very same toxic munitions Gu Ak had pilfered from the Cheongsa Gang’s hidden vault immediately following his rebirth. Having found no occasion to deploy them during the recent skirmishes for control of the dark path, this presented an ideal opportunity to expend them.
When exterminating a rabid predator, one need not bother with chivalrous methods.
“Heheheh.”
Chuckling under his breath, Yanghwi dispersed the poison bombs throughout the cavern’s recesses. Drawing upon the seasoned expertise acquired during his wandering days, he erased every trace of interference until the surroundings looked untouched.
“Brother Gu, the trap is set.”
“Finished already? You possess remarkable speed. Are you certain I do not need to inspect it?”
An edge of doubt lingered across Gu Ak’s face. It was entirely natural, considering that a matter of life and death had just been entrusted to the hands of a mere youth.
“Have faith in my work. Still, we have ample moments to spare, so venture inside and examine it yourself if your heart remains unsettled.”
After entering the cave and surveying the interior, Gu Ak reemerged, clicking his tongue in disbelief.
“I cannot locate a single trace of those poison bombs. Little Brother, where beneath the heavens did you master such underhanded crafts?”
“A once-in-a-generation genius possesses the ability to summon miracles out of thin air.”
With an airy shrug, Yanghwi cast his gaze over the terrain to select a vantage point. They needed an ambush post positioned close enough to ignite the fuse mechanism while offering a clear tactical advantage for a pincer strike. Finding a secluded depression, he and Gu Ak concealed their silhouettes within the foliage.
“Brother Gu, how polished are your stealth techniques?”
“Do you take a former dark-path enforcer for an amateur? Of course I have trained in breath concealment.”
Exchanging knowing grins, the two martial artists suppressed their physical presence in unison. Approximately two shichen drifted by. As the sun dipped beneath the mountains, painting the dusk in shades of crimson and violet, a subtle shift in the air signaled someone’s approach.
— Brother Gu. The Sex-Crazed Fox has arrived.
— He carries a captured woman draped over his shoulder. It is him without a doubt.
— Did I not speak the truth? Never again doubt the intellect of an unrivaled prodigy.
Gu Ak maintained complete silence. Having expected nothing less, Yanghwi promptly transmitted his instructions via internal voice.
— We must guarantee that the innocent captive is not engulfed by the toxic vapors from our poison bombs. Spring forward with an abrupt strike to compel him to drop her.
— Understood. But will our might suffice? To speak candidly, I harbor little confidence in besting him through my own strength alone.
The Sex-Crazed Fox was renowned as an exceptional first-rate combatant standing right at the threshold of the apex realm. What was more, because he cultivated the vile art of harvesting yin to nourish yang, his inner reserves ran deep and treacherous. Even so, Yanghwi showed not a flicker of agitation.
— Do you not smell the stench of demonic qi rolling off that fiend?
— My senses detect nothing of the sort.
In truth, being hunted day and night, the Sex-Crazed Fox had sealed his aura with exceptional vigilance. Even so, Yanghwi possessed an uncanny, monstrous sensitivity toward foreign spiritual pressure.
— So long as an adversary relies on demonic qi, I have absolute confidence I can bring him to his knees.
— True enough. Ever since you consumed that miraculous elixir, your internal energy has manifested bizarre characteristics.
Gu Ak remembered the Ghost Slave Hundred Demons, an abomination who had commanded legions of wicked spirits while wielding terrifying martial mastery. Even that nightmare practitioner had been reduced to a helpless state before Yanghwi’s peculiar energy. Dealing with a scoundrel like the Sex-Crazed Fox would surely prove far simpler. Reinvigorated with sudden courage, Gu Ak surged from the brush to strike at their mark.
“Who dares!”
True to his reputation as a master knocking at the apex realm’s gate, the Sex-Crazed Fox reacted in an instant.
CLANG!
Tossing the abducted maiden aside, the Sex-Crazed Fox parried Gu Ak’s falling axe with his bare palm. Despite human flesh colliding with forged iron, an ear-splitting metallic chime rang out through the woods. From that singular clash, Gu Ak grasped an unavoidable truth.
In a fair fight to the bitter end, I would never prevail against this monster.
Fortunately, having spent his entire life traversing the dark path, Gu Ak had never once entertained the thought of fighting fairly.
“Over here! Tang Clan brothers, the Sex-Crazed Fox is cornered right here!”
“What! The Tang Clan?!”
Sheer terror washed over the Sex-Crazed Fox’s face at the mention of the name, and he wheeled about to make a desperate escape. Yet rather than bolting into the open woods, he instinctively plunged straight into the cavern. Yanghwi let out a silent cheer.
Just as expected.
During his earlier sweep of the interior, he had sniffed out a hidden escape tunnel. Naturally, he had nestled a cluster of poison bombs right along that route.
“Swallow our poison bombs, you mongrel!”
BOOOOM!
A thunderous explosion tore through the hollow, and thick, acrid clouds of poisonous fumes billowed outward.
“Agh! Cough, hack! What devilry is this?!”
Having dashed inside like a frightened hare, the Sex-Crazed Fox came scrambling back out toward the entrance in absolute hysteria. By then, Yanghwi and Gu Ak had already blocked the exit, weapons primed.
“Brother Gu, strike!”
With a resounding cry, Yanghwi unleashed a brilliant sword arc charged with immortal qi. Just as he had done against the axe, the Sex-Crazed Fox raised his hands, coated in dense demonic qi, to parry the cold steel.
Slice!
The blade shore cleanly through the Sex-Crazed Fox’s flesh and bone, splitting his palm in two and showering the ground with crimson spray.
“AARGH!”
No seasoned fighter would grant an enemy respite while he writhed in agony. Seizing the opening, Gu Ak’s twin axes descended with crushing force, burying deep into the Sex-Crazed Fox’s shoulders. Shaking off the blinding pain, the fiend attempted to mount a desperate counterstrike, but—
STAB!
The sharp tip of Yanghwi’s blade plunged directly into his dantian.
“AAAAARGH!”
Harmonious Heaven qi, bearing the profound, untamed essence of immortal qi, ripped through his energy center, shattering the vessel completely. His lifelong martial cultivation dissolved into nothingness.
“My dantian! My hard-earned internal energy! You wretched curs! I will tear your flesh and chew your bones to dust!”
Even with his head laid upon the executioner’s block and the gates of the underworld gaping open, the Sex-Crazed Fox curled upon the earth, shrieking profanities. It was customary for martial artists to lose their minds upon the destruction of their dantian, as it represented every drop of sweat and blood invested throughout their lives. Yet Yanghwi had no intention of indulging such vile arrogance.
“Listen to the squealing of a parasite who sustained himself by harvesting yin to nourish yang.”
Without hesitation, Yanghwi drove a savage kick forward, the hard bridge of his boot striking squarely between the Sex-Crazed Fox’s thighs.
CRACK!
“AAAAARGH!”
The brittle crunch of both testicles being utterly pulped vibrated up through the leather of his shoe.
“What a pity. It seems your days of harvesting are finished forever, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Aargh! Gaaah! Cough, wheeze…….”
Swallowed by unimaginable agony, the Sex-Crazed Fox shook violently before losing consciousness and collapsing into the dirt. Yanghwi had no desire to allow him the luxury of peaceful oblivion.
“Open your eyes, you piece of filth. Did you think this was the time for a nap?”
Reviving him through gentle acupressure would be far too considerate. Instead, Yanghwi and Gu Ak delivered a relentless barrage of kicks until the fiend sputtered back to awareness.
“Cough, wheeze, gasp! Ugh……!”
“Awake at last? Why sprawl out here as though this ditch were your personal bedchamber? I woke you up before the night chill twisted your features. Shouldn’t you express some gratitude?”
As Yanghwi mocked him with an icy smirk, the Sex-Crazed Fox glared back, his eyes burning with venomous fury. A dark, ragged curse tore from his lips.
“I will slaughter you both. Whatever the price. Even if I cross into the netherworld ahead of you, I shall wait by the yellow springs and grind every splinter of your bones to fine ash.”
“Keep dreaming. You’ll be waiting a full century before you see my shadow.”
Noticing Yanghwi’s contemptuous sneer, a sinister resolve hardened across the Sex-Crazed Fox’s bruised face.
“You dogs came hunting me at the behest of the Tang Clan, didn’t you? Hahaha! You blind, brainless fools.”
“What mindless drivel are you spewing now?”
“The aphrodisiac poison I wield originated from the Tang Clan itself! You must have heard the tales of their nature, haven’t you? The Tang Clan will butcher you! Bwahahaha!”
What kind of absurd accusation is this? The Tang Clan crafting aphrodisiac poison?
Such a bizarre claim had never once surfaced during his entire prior life.
“You idiots have stumbled upon the Tang Clan’s deepest secret! They show no mercy to anyone! Like the yellow-bellied cowards who rely on poison, their hearts are more toxic than vipers!”
A perverted butcher practicing demonic arts dared to mock the ways of poison?
Bewildered by the sheer audacity, Yanghwi countered,
“Why should that concern us when we are handing you over as an act of goodwill?”
“Because the moment you present me, the Tang Clan will suspect that you unraveled the truth behind that aphrodisiac poison! They will conclude that your mouths must be sealed in silence forever! Perishing under excruciating torture while dissolved in venom will be your pathetic fate!”
In essence, the fiend was spouting frantic nonsense, claiming that because they had apprehended the Sex-Crazed Fox while he carried their clandestine aphrodisiac poison, the Tang Clan would execute both Yanghwi and Gu Ak to safeguard their reputation.
WHAM!
“GAAAH!”
A solid strike remained the swiftest remedy for incoherent raving. Yanghwi’s foot slammed into his mouth, sending shattered teeth and blood spraying across the dirt. Gu Ak turned toward Yanghwi, a furrow of concern lining his brow.
“Little Brother. What that fiend babbles might hold a grain of truth. Did we perhaps plunge into the Tang Clan’s business too carelessly?”
Only upon hearing his companion’s worry did Yanghwi recall the dark reputation that cloaked the Tang Clan during this era.
Ah, indeed. In these years, the Tang Clan was viewed with immense dread and suspicion.
A lineage notorious for wielding stealthy venom and concealed projectiles from the shadows. Because of such methods, the upright factions shunned them as unworthy of the orthodox path, and common rumors held them to be so spiteful that their family creed demanded repaying any slight tenfold. Such stories circulated freely throughout every tavern. It was only natural that Gu Ak would feel uneasy after hearing the Sex-Crazed Fox’s venomous threats.
Even so.
“Set your worries aside. The Tang Clan will never lay a hand on us.”
“How can you remain so certain, Little Brother? Tang Clan operatives are renowned for cruelties that would make dark-path outlaws blush. And now we have heard this secret regarding their aphrodisiac poison.”
Yanghwi studied Gu Ak’s nervous expression for a heartbeat, then flashed a roguish grin.
“Brother Gu, care to make a wager? I will stake a hundred silver nyang that the Tang Clan will declare they must repay our kindness twofold.”
Though Gu Ak had shied away from the wager earlier, the heavy rumors surrounding the poisonous clan emboldened him this time.
“Hmph. If you are that bold, I wager that the Tang Clan will invent some pretext to find fault with us and cause trouble.”
“A deal!”
Yanghwi felt not the slightest shred of doubt regarding the outcome of their bet. For if the Tang Clan remained the proud, rigid lineage he had known, their response would not deviate from his calculations in the slightest.
I wonder how Brother Gun and Sister Yeon are faring these days.
Comments for chapter "Chapter 51"
MANGA DISCUSSION
Madara Info
Madara stands as a beacon for those desiring to craft a captivating online comic and manga reading platform on WordPress
For custom work request, please send email to wpstylish(at)gmail(dot)com