The assassins gripped their weapons as they charged toward the plains.
They were the discarded children of the Moyong, Hwangbo, and Hebei Peng clans—weapons forged in blood, designed for the perfect crime. Comprising most of the group were orphans whose identities would dissolve into nothingness upon death. But leading them were three Transcendent Masters, backed by ten Peak Masters, representing the pride and killing intent of their respective families.
It was a formidable force, one capable of erasing a small-to-medium-sized sect overnight. Their motive was simple: money, face, and the desperate need to check the expansion of both the Gongsun Clan and the White Qilin Medical Pavilion.
The conspiracy had been meticulous. Sending Jin Cheon-hee to the Northern Sea Ice Palace was merely the cornerstone. When intelligence revealed that the daughter of the Gongsun Clan traveled with him, the three families secretly pooled their resources to deploy their strongest shadows.
Yet, even these hardened killers were breaking.
“I feel like I’m going to die.”
“How is that damn spiritual beast so fast? And that Sweat-Blood Horse… we’ve been galloping all day and can barely see their dust.”
“The rain… I think my bones are freezing.”
The assassins grumbled, their voices swallowed by the wind.
“The Masters might endure with their internal energy, but we lower ones are finished. Truly.”
Suddenly, one assassin pulled on his reins.
“…Wait. Wasn’t this area supposed to be sparse plains?”
They had ridden into what should have been open ground, yet a dense jungle of tangled trees loomed before them.
The Master of the Hebei Peng Clan roared, his blade erupting with power.
“Break!”
Imbued with Hardened Qi, the blade slashed through the illusion.
Kaboom!
Debris scattered, and the jungle vanished, returning the landscape to its original, barren form.
“Just as I thought. Parlor tricks!”
“They bought time with these illusions to widen the gap!”
“What!?”
Through the broken formation, the assassins saw two dots retreating far into the distance.
“Cowardly rats—!”
The irony of complaining about cowardice while swarming two youths with an army was lost on them. There was no answer to the shout; the Sweat-Blood Horse and the golden dog, Hwanggu, only grew more distant.
Just as the command to pursue rose in their throats—
Rumble—!
A thunderbolt tore through the dry sky.
It was the wrath of the spiritual beast, Noe-jin. Without Jin Cheon-hee’s direct guidance, the accuracy was sporadic, but against such a dense cluster of targets, precision was unnecessary.
Neigh—!
A horse, struck squarely by the bolt, convulsed and rolled across the earth. Unfortunately for the assassins, it was a steed ridden by a Peak Master. The warrior hurriedly performed a breakfall, leaping from the dying animal, but Jin Cheon-hee was not one to miss an opening.
Twisting his upper body around on Hwanggu’s back, he extended both hands.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
The Heavenly Soft-Essence Penetration—the legendary technique of the One Light under the Heavens.
Finger energy shot out at a speed that shamed the lightning itself, striking the airborne assassin.
Thwack-crack-pop!
Sounds resembling firecrackers bursting echoed as joints shattered. The assassin collapsed, twitching, unable to rise.
“Dodge!” the leader screamed.
But Jin Cheon-hee’s hands were a blur, firing the Heavenly Soft-Essence Penetration like a gatling gun, creating a barrage of invisible force.
Clang! Thud!
The galloping assassins desperately tried to deflect the energy with their blades, but the attack wasn’t solely aimed at them. The finger energy hammered the horses, sending mounts and riders tumbling together in a chaotic heap.
“Aaaack!”
“Damn it!”
Continuously firing, Jin Cheon-hee steadily whittled down their numbers.
The absurdity of the situation was that, amidst the carnage, no one died. Instead, men who would live as cripples for the rest of their lives lay screaming in the mud. The three Transcendent Masters deflected the attacks with their superior cultivation, but the Peak Masters fell behind, one by one.
“Catch them! Kill them!”
They whipped their horses, desperate to close the gap. But whenever they drew near, Jin Cheon-hee unleashed his finger energy. When the distance widened, he drew the Thunder Dragon Bow, keeping them at bay with terrifying range.
After a long, grueling chase, only the three Transcendent Masters remained.
In truth, with the stamina of the Sweat-Blood Horse and Hwanggu, Jin Cheon-hee and Gongsun Yeong could have easily outrun these last three. The youths and their beasts were well-rested and full of vigor, while the assassins were haggard, their horses pushed beyond their limits.
Nevertheless, Jin Cheon-hee pulled on the reins.
He stopped to leave no future trouble. He stopped to end it here.
“You elders are impressively persistent.”
Bark!
Jin Cheon-hee hopped off Hwanggu. Gongsun Yeong reined in the Sweat-Blood Horse, skidding to a halt about ten jang past him before dismounting.
“It seems you came from far away; you must have suffered a lot. Hahaha.”
“Young Zhuge bastard! You are as wicked as your master! Is this how a martial artist fights?”
Perhaps it was the unrelenting finger energy teasing them for miles, but the three Transcendent Masters were apoplectic with rage.
“You will not die peacefully. We will tear you apart, limb by limb, and send the pieces to your master…!”
Kwa-boom!
Noe-jin’s lightning struck again. The three masters barely scrambled out of the way, soot staining their robes.
“This bastard doesn’t even wait for us to finish speaking!?”
“Since the three elders seem to enjoy surprise attacks, I thought I’d follow suit. Any problem?”
Although the assassins wore masks, Jin Cheon-hee could vividly imagine their faces turning the color of rotten tomatoes.
Wow, little brother… At this rate, you’ll kill people with your tongue alone.
The rumor that he had caused a Kongtong Sect Taoist to fall into Qi Deviation simply by talking during the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly seemed less like exaggeration and more like historical fact. He had become a master of provocation.
At a hand signal, Hwanggu retreated. Jin Cheon-hee continued to flick pebbles with his finger arts.
Thud!
But something was different. Where the pebbles grazed the assassins’ skin, the flesh turned a bruised purple.
“Poison Art! That bastard is applying poison to the stones!”
“I specially applied a sleeping agent so the elders can rest deeply,” Jin Cheon-hee chirped. “You ran day and night through the cold rain; you should get some sleep. Living like that rots your bones, you know.”
“You bastaaaaard!”
“Oh my, I only spoke the truth, yet you get angry?”
The three Transcendent Masters surrounded Jin Cheon-hee and Gongsun Yeong, positioning themselves at the points of a triangle.
“Oho, seeing you aren’t forming a sword formation, the three of you must not be close?”
“Cheeky brat. I will tear that tongue out first!”
Jin Cheon-hee smirked at the black-clad figure. Gongsun Yeong’s voice echoed in his mind via telepathy.
[Benefactor Kid. Leave your back to me for now.]
[Yep. Sister.]
Gongsun Yeong planted her feet firmly, shifting into the Thousand Pine Tree stance of the Gongsun Sword Art—an impenetrable defense. In stark contrast, Jin Cheon-hee shoved his sword deep into its scabbard, let his arms hang loose, and adopted a posture of utter relaxation.
He beckoned with one hand. Bring it on.
With a roar, the three assassins rushed in simultaneously.
Gongsun Yeong immediately intercepted two of them, her blade weaving a steel net to block their Hardened Qi. Jin Cheon-hee focused on the third.
Tap!
“Oh my, why did the Moyong Clan Master come?”
The Moyong Clan’s Transcendent Master. Jin Cheon-hee had identified the man’s lineage simply by the stance he took to wield his sword.
“I don’t go easy on assassins.”
Bam!
In a single movement, he slipped past the guard and struck.
He didn’t cut; he destroyed. The danjeon shattered in a single strike.
One hit…?!
The eyes of the other masked men widened in horror. Even in the heat of battle, they intuitively realized the complex, profoundly mysterious principles contained in that single internal blow. They were Transcendent Masters, after all; they recognized the terrifying disparity instantly.
Jin Cheon-hee chopped the back of the Moyong assassin’s neck, rendering him unconscious, then hopped toward the remaining two.
Rabbit Form Step.
How did Hyeon make people’s insides burst?
Recalling the movement, the bouncing Rabbit Form Step manifested naturally.
Ah, right, right. This feeling.
Like a cat toying with a mouse, Hyeon used to dismantle opponents with a leisurely yet elegant cruelty. Although Jin Cheon-hee’s version looked a bit more frivolous, he had mastered the essence of the footwork in his own way.
“Surely the Thunderbolt Divine Fist and the Five Tigers Door Severing Blade won’t run away scared of a mere rabbit hop? Elders~”
Hop, hop, hop!
“You son of a biiiiitch!”
“Do you mock our clan with that damned three-inch tongue!”
Gongsun Yeong urgently sent a telepathic message.
[Benefactor Kid, aren’t you provoking them too much?]
[When I signal, step three paces forward and strike down. Don’t use movement techniques, just your normal steps, Sister.]
[What?]
At that moment, the two assassins roared and charged.
[Now!]
She didn’t understand the logic. She simply obeyed. Gongsun Yeong stepped three paces forward and brought her sword down with all her might.
Bang!
The Hwangbo Clan assassin, winding up for a linear punch, slammed his forehead directly into the flat of her descending blade. It looked as if he had intentionally headbutted the steel. He collapsed without a sound.
“Keuk?”
Jin Cheon-hee sent a breezy telepathic reply.
[Originally, the Hwangbo Clan’s fist uses linear force, so they must take three steps before releasing maximum power. It’s boring to get hit when you clearly know which direction and who they’ll kill.]
[…What in the world is this…?]
[Now, the remaining one!]
Pow!
Jin Cheon-hee launched a kick.
The leg inscribed a smooth arc, burying itself in the last assassin’s solar plexus. The man went flying like a rag doll.
Watching this, Gongsun Yeong felt goosebumps rise on her arms.
This is… Isn’t this like foreseeing the future?
Jin Cheon-hee knocked out the airborne assassin and destroyed his danjeon before the man even hit the ground.
In the wilderness, bathed in the pale light of dawn, only Jin Cheon-hee’s blue eyes shone sharp as blades.
“Sister? Sister?”
“Ah, ah. Yes.”
“I’ll strip the assassins’ clothes and roughly set up a tent with them. Sister, please cut some wood.”
“O-Okay.”
Her sister, Gongsun Hyeon, also used strategies that bordered on foresight. But that was the Gongsun way. This… this was the Zhuge way.
For a moment, Gongsun Yeong found it difficult to look straight into Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes. That was the fear everyone faced at least once when they experienced the true worth of the Zhuge Clan.
Surprisingly, or perhaps characteristically, Jin Cheon-hee pretended not to notice her hesitation.
***
He gave emergency treatment to the Peak Masters as well, stripping them of their clothes to construct a makeshift shelter.
“Sister, look. It’s a beautiful, large bonfire.”
Whoosh!
He arranged the unconscious bodies in a cluster of tents and lit a fire in the center so they wouldn’t freeze to death. As the assassins began to rouse, groaning in pain and humiliation, they realized their state.
“Rather… rather just kill us… You venomous snake!”
“Everyone, listen. You can live well even without a danjeon. Look at this bonfire. How warm. How beautiful. Life is full of such good things. I even roasted potatoes under the fire so you don’t skip a meal. They’re delicious.”
“Kill uuuus! You wicked Zhuge bastard!”
“Oh my, you are overflowing with energy. At this rate, you’ll endure in the wilderness until someone picks you up.”
Saying that, he clasped his hands together toward the naked, crippled assassins and spoke with the benevolence of a saint.
“Although you came to assassinate a fellow Orthodox faction member yesterday, from tomorrow, you will experience the peaceful lives of ordinary civilians. Be happy, everyone. You have families in your hometowns, don’t you? Just stay put in the tent and endure until the rescue team comes. If I see a government office, I’ll definitely send someone.”
His profile, illuminated by the firelight, looked like that of a celestial being descending to earth.
Then, he shoved hot potatoes one by one into the mouths of the children raised as weapons.
“I removed all the poison pills from your molars. Suicide is not allowed. If you have nowhere to go, come to the White Qilin Medical Pavilion. Don’t bite your tongue for no reason trying to commit suicide, just eat the potatoes. I put water canteens at the tent entrance so you don’t choke.”
He had tied the ropes loosely on purpose; they would be able to untie themselves soon enough.
Jin Cheon-hee climbed onto Hwanggu.
“Everyone, bye-bye! Be happyyyyy!”
“You damned One Light bastard!!”
“One Light, you son of a bitch!!”
“You fucking deviiiiiil!”
“I cheer for your second lifeeeee!”
Jin Cheon-hee’s shout, amplified by Sound Arts, echoed across the plains as he departed.
Bark, bark!
Hwanggu drove the assassins’ horses ahead of them like a sheepdog herding a flock, leaving the killers stranded on foot.
Watching this scene fraught with madness, Gongsun Yeong’s fingertips trembled.
The kid is indeed a crazy bastard… but still, he went easy on them because they are Orthodox.
He had built a fire. He had made the tent. He had fed them.
If they were Unorthodox, he would have just killed them or left them to rot.
Even her dull eyes could see that much.
But within the Orthodox factions, unless they were bottom-feeding assassins, there was no way these men—raised in the lap of their clans—would understand such a twisted form of mercy.