The owner of the sharp, clear voice was a short old man. He was shorter than an elementary school student these days, and his clothes were shabby. And above all…
‘He’s incredibly old.’
I hadn’t lived for very long, but in all my life, I had never seen someone so old. As I was thinking that, my eyes suddenly met with the old man’s.
“Hey!”
“Yes?”
“When an elder asks, shouldn’t you answer? Is this Old Man Jang’s house or not?”
Is this the vibe that comes from seasoned experience?
He was clearly an old man who looked like he could die at any moment, yet his eyes were not just lively, but piercingly bright. Feeling strangely intimidated, I answered, “It is.”
Jang Taebo, who had been clinging to my trousers, staggered to his feet. I thought he might be a friend from the senior citizens’ center, but judging by his wary expression, that didn’t seem to be the case.
“Who are you?”
“A passing traveler. Are you Old Man Jang?”
“That I am.”
“I see. I just stopped by, just in case.”
The old man, after a quick glance around, added a word.
“Well, not that there was any need to.”
“……?”
“……?”
“Then I’ll be on my way. When you’re done, stop by the little kid’s house over there. She’s worried.”
The old man tossed out that single phrase and turned his back.
That old geezer, what on earth is he?
Just as everyone was bewildered by his incomprehensible words and actions, Cheong Pung, who was next to me, poked my side.
“Chomp-chomp. Benefactor. Isn’t that person a bit strange?”
“…In my eyes, you’re the stranger one. And swallow what’s in your mouth before you speak.”
How long is this guy going to chew on a few dumplings? Does he have a mythical inexhaustible pot or something?
At my nagging, Cheong Pung swallowed what was in his mouth and muttered, “No. Something’s strange.”
“What is?”
“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling.”
“What kind of sense does that…”
Wait. Just a feeling? I paused for a moment. If Cheong Pung had been just any eccentric, I would have dismissed it, but he was the disciple who had inherited everything from the Sword Saint and a Peak Realm master far above my level. Could it be that he had sensed something about that old man that I hadn’t?
‘He just looks like an ordinary old man on the outside…’
It was worth a shot. In the Murim, where anything could happen, it was best to look before you leap.
‘Activate Qi Sense.’
Tiring!
Shwoooook.
A blue line, visible only to my eyes, shot out rapidly. The line, which passed through the closest ones, Cheong Pung, Hyeok Mujin, and Jang Taebo, finally reached the back of the slowly retreating old man.
A translucent hologram window suddenly shot up above his white-haired head.
[Lv.3 Jeok Cheon-kang]
Jeok Cheon-kang?
The name alone was final boss-level. But contrary to the cool name, his level was pathetically low. That old man was definitely a commoner who had not learned martial arts.
“I think I just made a wrong guess…” My voice trailed off. It was because the old man, who had been striding away, had stopped in his tracks. Soon, his short figure slowly turned around. From over a hundred feet away, his strangely glowing eyes made my skin prickle.
‘What is it?’
My body froze stiff. My heart pounded and my fingertips twitched. If the old man’s lips hadn’t opened in the next moment, I might have immediately summoned a weapon from my inventory.
“Well now…”
The old man’s wrinkled lips twitched as he looked at me. A low, sunken voice pierced my ears.
“An interesting fellow.”
***
The old man, Jeok Cheon-kang, had faced a rather interesting situation as soon as he arrived at his destination.
‘Oho, look at these guys.’
The realm of a Transcendent was a superhuman domain, worthy of being called a Martial God. He had recognized the martial prowess of the young men at a glance. One of them was so-so, but the other two… he was honestly impressed.
‘To think they’ve overcome the wall at such a young age.’
Especially the one who was rudely munching on dumplings in front of an elder, he was no less than someone who had reached a mature stage of the Peak Realm. Could the elders of the Nine Sects and One Faction whom he had met fleetingly in the past even compare?
On the other hand, the other one who was tall and well-built…
‘Look at that punk staring so disrespectfully. I should just gouge his eyes out.’
He had the face of someone who had seen a living corpse. However, it was clear that he too was a possessor of martial arts that didn’t match his age.
‘Among his peers, there would be no one to match him.’
The rear waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves. Jeok Cheon-kang suddenly realized that the new wave was quite large, and fierce. Large enough to swallow the entire Yangtze River.
‘I had a hunch when they were chattering on about Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron and what not… but they are more interesting fellows than I thought.’
This was Jeok Cheon-kang, who could sense a presence from hundreds of feet away. He had been listening to their conversation from the moment he left Jang Pal’s house. He also knew that the thing Jang Pal was worried about hadn’t happened. Far from being persecuted, it seemed that the old man named Jang was the one being pleaded with.
‘To bring Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron at that level of accomplishment, they must be from the Nine Sects. Well, in any case, it’s clear they belong to a prestigious orthodox sect.’
Jeok Cheon-kang’s interest ended there. Not only was there no reason to form a bond with these young men, but he also didn’t want to reveal his identity. He thought that paying for the meal he had received was enough and was planning to leave.
“Then I’ll be on my way. When you’re done, stop by the little kid’s house over there. She’s worried.”
Jeok Cheon-kang tossed out the last words and turned his back. He had already delayed for a considerable amount of time. He planned to reach Taiyuan within the day and stop by the Hao Sect. Of course, he had no intention of letting his identity be known.
‘I’ll just cover my face with something and rough them up a bit, and they’ll spill the beans.’
However, Jeok Cheon-kang’s thoughts could not continue any further. The next moment, something unknown had been shot at him from behind. It could not be seen, nor heard. He only felt it. Jeok Cheon-kang felt something cool and unfamiliar digging into his back.
‘A sneak attack?’
No. He didn’t feel a sticky, unpleasant killing intent. Rather, it was as natural as the wind blowing from afar, and for that very reason, it was all the more alien. The unknown energy vanished the moment it touched Jeok Cheon-kang’s back.
‘What is this.’
Though he had lived for nearly a hundred years, this was the first time he had experienced such a thing. As he turned around, bewildered, he immediately knew the identity of the culprit.
“I think I just made a wrong guess….”
The mouth that snapped shut the moment their eyes met. The trembling eyes and the twitching fingertips. Jeok Cheon-kang’s lips slowly curled up as he looked at the culprit.
“Well now…”
Jeok Cheon-kang stroked his chin with an interested expression.
“An interesting fellow.”
At the same time, his foot pushed off the ground. In the next instant, the distance of over a hundred feet between them vanished. Jeok Cheon-kang whispered in Jin Tae-kyung’s ear.
***
Summon inventory.
It was just three words. All I had to do was picture the image of the spear and shout it in my mind. And yet…
“You, what are you?”
The breath tickling the back of my neck made the hair on my entire body stand on end.
When did he?
No, before that, how?
‘He was definitely, definitely level 3.’
It was an unbelievable reality. The old man, Jeok Cheon-kang, who looked like he could die at any moment, was faster than anyone I had ever seen. So fast that I couldn’t even dare to resist.
“Hey, when an elder asks, you should answer.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Is that an answer?”
A skinny, wrinkled finger poked my solar plexus. There was clearly no strength or internal energy behind it, yet it felt as if someone was stabbing me with a sword.
“I asked, what are you?”
I swallowed hard. My mouth was as dry as if I had a handful of sand in it.
“I’m Jin Tae-kyung.”
“Not that. To which sect do you belong?”
“The Taiyuan, the Taiyuan Jin Family.”
“The Taiyuan Jin Family? Are you from a heretical path, by any chance?”
I almost nodded my head without thinking. Seeing the glint in the old geezer’s eyes when he mentioned the heretical paths, it seemed that if I made the mistake of saying yes, he would immediately send me to an early grave.
“I-I’m from the orthodox path.”
“Orthodox path? Then why are you stuttering?”
“It’s true.”
“Is that so? The Taiyuan Jin Family… I think I’ve heard of it. Or maybe not.”
Jeok Cheon-kang, who was lost in deep thought, suddenly looked at me with strange eyes.
“The more I look, the stranger a fellow you are. That just now, it was you, right?”
That just now?
Though his words were vague, I immediately understood. This old man, he had definitely felt my [Qi Sense].
‘Does this even make sense.’
I had a faint inkling when he reacted immediately, but now my mind went blank. My god, a monster who can detect Qi Sense.
“Why no answer?”
I bit my lower lip hard and answered.
“It wasn’t me.”
“And you know what I’m talking about?”
“H-Hey, it was you, wasn’t it?”
“It wasn’t me. In any case, it wasn’t me.”
“Oh, you’ve got guts. I like it. Very manly.”
Jeok Cheon-kang chuckled and continued.
“Shall I break a few bones and ask again?”
“It was me! It was me!”
“Good. Fine. Then what did you do to me?”
I hesitated for a moment. This opponent was an old geezer whose wits were as sharp as the years he had lived. If I lied here and got caught, I wouldn’t be able to return in one piece. I had to deliver the truth as pleasantly as possible.
“You seemed like an extraordinary person, so I just a little…”
“A little?”
“I was just checking to see if you had learned any martial arts.”
“How?”
“Pardon?”
“I am asking how you did that.”
“Just, by sending a little of my energy to read the opponent’s energy. Something like that.”
“Hoho. Is that so?”
Jeok Cheon-kang, who was laughing as if amused, clenched his fist.
“If you continue to lie, I will break your legs. Answer me again.”
I hastily waved my hands.
“W-Wait a minute. Why are you suddenly acting like this?”
“You have mistaken me for someone else, boy. Do I look like a fool who cannot even distinguish such a thing? What I felt just now… was different. Enough to think it was some kind of deceitful art.”
“Deceitful art? It’s real, I tell you!”
This is driving me crazy. It was true that [Qi Sense] was a cheat skill closer to a system function than a martial art. For that reason, Jeok Cheon-kang, who I presumed to be a Transcendent Realm master, might have felt a different kind of alien sensation than usual. The problem was… how was I supposed to explain that?
“You brat! Will you not confess the truth!”
Fuck it, I’m done. Not doing this.
I decided to speak frankly and openly.
“The truth is, I’m using something called a system, and since it’s a bit of a shortcut, it might have felt uncomfortable to you, elder. I’m sorry.”
It was a moment later that Jeok Cheon-kang spoke.
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“…I told you exactly as it is. I had a feeling you wouldn’t understand.”
“Are you done talking?”
“I have a lot I haven’t said. I’ve been through so much.”
“You are a fellow whose life has had many twists and turns.”
“It’s been tremendous.”
“Do not worry. After today, there will be no more twists and turns in your life.”
“Are you planning on sending me on a permanent downhill path?”
“What’s there to say? Shall we start by warming up your body a little?”
Me, Cheong Pung, Hyeok Mujin, Jang Taebo. It was a single instant, so fast that no one present could react. Jeok Cheon-kang chuckled and poked my chest with his finger.
And…
FWAAAAAH!
An immense heat swept through my body.