Chapter 287 : The Battle, Hasn’t Ended Yet
Chapter 287: The Battle, Hasn’t Ended Yet
Lee Jaseung dreamed.
Usually, he primarily had lucid dreams.
He would dream while recognizing that he was dreaming, but this time was different.
He fell deeply into the dream and had a dream that was truly like a dream.
He wandered through unfamiliar places and sat for a long time in front of flowers blooming prettily by the roadside.
While chasing a butterfly that took flight, he fell from a high place, drank liquor with strangers, and rode a horse across the wilderness.
Past dreams vanished into oblivion.
New spaces appeared rapidly, and he experienced unexpected people and unexpected events.
Not a single familiar face appeared.
That was why it was more comfortable.
Meaningless dreams, the kind of dreams one would forget upon waking up, calling them mere nonsense dreams.
Probably, he would not even remember them.
Then, the dream suddenly became intense.
Lee Jaseung was running while gasping for breath. He was not being chased by someone, but was merely running forward.
For some reason, a sorrowful thought occurred to him.
Just why? For whom must he run like this? Because it was a dream? He would end up dying eventually anyway. What meaning would there be in achieving a dream?
At the moment he felt such a skeptical heart, he lost his footing and fell downward.
The place he fell into with a splash was a swamp.
The swamp was deep and dark.
The world spun around and he felt the sensation of his body floating as if he were in pain.
That was not bad. If he just stayed like this, it felt like he would descend forever into that deep darkness. A devil whispered. He would become comfortable if he stayed like this.
At that moment, a single face came to Lee Jaseung's mind.
Baek Seolyoung.
The image of her crying while looking down at him occurred to him.
In an instant, Lee Jaseung put strength into his entire body. The devil whispered even more seductively, but he could no longer hear the bastard's words.
He wanted to see her again.
Lee Jaseung flailed his arms. There was nothing to grab onto.
A single scene suddenly occurred to the mind of Lee Jaseung, who was struggling desperately.
It was the appearance of when he fought the Heavenly Demon Soul at the final moment.
The fight with the Heavenly Demon Soul was reproduced inside the dream. Until the moment he bit it and cut the stray thought body that was inside his body. All those scenes flashed by quickly.
And at the final moment, at the moment of cutting the stray thought body, he moved at the original speed.
He remembered dimly. How he had cut that thing which had entered his body. If he developed this method, he would be able to cut external opponents with the Mind Sword as well.
Lee Jaseung looked calmly into his heart.
When one can truly manage one's heart, that is how one becomes a true master.
Lee Jaseung, who had been struggling, comfortably entrusted his body to the swamp.
Before long, Lee Jaseung's body began to rise upward again.
A bright light was visible above the surface of the swamp.
Just a little more, just a little more.
Lee Jaseung managed his heart. If his concentration wavered even a little, he would plummet to the bottom again.
The moment he poked his head above the surface, bright light poured down.
Lee Jaseung opened his eyes and woke up from the dream.
Sunlight was pouring in through the window.
He might have been tired because he dreamed a lot, but Lee Jaseung's entire body felt refreshed.
The events of fighting the Heavenly Demon Soul felt like a dream.
A sweet voice heard in his ears.
“Are you awake?”
A smile formed on Lee Jaseung's lips.
It was her, who became a light when he wandered lost in the darkness. It was the voice that overcame the devil's temptation.
When Lee Jaseung slowly turned his head, she was folding laundry to one side.
She spoke with a smile.
“Why do you talk in your sleep like a child?”
“In my sleep? Me?”
Lee Jaseung asked urgently in embarrassment.
“What did I say?”
Baek Seolyoung enjoyed Lee Jaseung's reaction.
“You would be embarrassed if you heard it.”
“Just what did I say for you to say that.”
“Should I really tell you?”
At her gaze staring intently, Lee Jaseung ended up shaking his head.
“No, never mind.”
“Haha.”
Baek Seolyoung laughed pleasantly.
When she treated Lee Jaseung, she would sometimes use honorifics and sometimes treat him comfortably as she did in the past.
And one thing that clearly changed.
A heart of respecting Lee Jaseung was born.
Of course, there was a similar respect previously. Because he was so outstanding, at his appearance of making diligent efforts, at his appearance of advancing toward a dream, and at his appearance of cherishing his subordinates.
But this current respect had a different character.
The respect that arose because he was Seol's father.
“You look tired.”
Her eyes were bloodshot.
She had hardly slept.
At the last moment, she really thought Lee Jaseung was dying. She prayed truly earnestly.
When she recalled the appearance of Lee Jaseung as he was dying, it felt like her heart would burst.
Throughout the night, she did not leave Lee Jaseung's side. No, she could not leave. She could not take her eyes off him for even a single moment.
“You are hungry, right?”
“Yes.”
“Let us eat, and go pick up Seol.”
“Let’s do that.”
Just as the two were about to leave the room, a warrior of the Three Eyed Pavilion entered urgently.
“An urgent contact came from the right.”
“What is it?”
“It is said that Mountain led his subordinates and went to the secluded land where Strategist Dan and the young lady are.”
In an instant, Lee Jaseung and Baek Seolyoung were startled.
There was no leisure or reason to share words.
Baek Seolyoung said urgently.
“You go first!”
Lee Jaseung had already thrown his body in a flash.
Because it was not that far a place, it was a distance he could run to with qinggong. The problem was that because his physical condition was not at its best, he could not display the Limitless Steps of grand mastery.
Baek Seolyoung ran to her room, grabbed her sword, and departed immediately. No matter if her physical condition was not at its best, she could not just follow behind.
Lee Jaseung ran while displaying the maximum speed he could achieve.
The fight was not over yet.
One more remained, and it had stabbed at Lee Jaseung's fatal weakness. Self-reproach or regret for missing it while focusing on the Heavenly Demon Soul was meaningless in this situation.
Lee Jaseung's heart held only this one thing.
Woobin, I beg of you.
* * *
The carrier hawk, which descended while spreading its long wings, landed on Mountain's wrist while fluttering its wings.
The content held in the message was that the Heavenly Demon Soul was killed by Lee Jaseung.
The message was crumpled inside Mountain's hand.
He had pledged fake loyalty to the Heavenly Demon Soul. He thought that at least the Heavenly Demon Soul would be able to defeat Lee Jaseung. But...
“Is it that fated destiny cannot be defied after all?”
If even the Heavenly Demon Soul was killed, there was currently no one in this Jianghu who could stop Lee Jaseung.
Excluding one person, precisely himself.
The Heavenly Demon Soul was confident, but Mountain did not trust it.
It was also the reason he showed his form here.
Naturally, he expected that Lee Jaseung would hide the child in a safe place, and he devoted his soul to finding that place.
As a result, he could stand here now.
The place Mountain was looking at was precisely the hideout where Dan Woobin hid while taking Seol.
Behind where Mountain was standing, fifty men were standing. They, who possessed martial prowess of at least the Peak Realm, were truly the last power Mountain possessed.
Now there was only one method left.
If only he could take Lee Jaseung's daughter as a hostage?
Not only would he preserve his life, but if things went well, he would also be able to wield power behind Lee Jaseung.
Like the case of Jang Wonso in the past.
This time, he would be able to reign as the mastermind of the entire Jianghu, not just the Orthodox Faction.
Of course, it would not be easy. Lee Jaseung would run wild with madness.
But as long as he held the daughter's life in his hands, he would not be able to kill him.
The subordinate who went out for reconnaissance returned.
“Currently, the manor is empty.”
“Could it be that everyone has fled?”
“No. Up until this morning, there were dozens of people in that place. Since they did not exit to the outside, it is speculated that everyone is hiding somewhere in the building.”
It seemed they hurriedly hid after being reported that he had arrived.
In other words, it meant the troops to respond were insufficient. Mountain thought that heaven was helping him.
“Let us go.”
They moved covertly. Because they were those with skills of Peak Realm, they approached the manor promptly yet covertly.
The warrior in charge of reconnaissance crossed the wall first.
According to his signal, the rest of the warriors crossed the wall.
The place they intruded was the back garden, and just like the reconnaissance warrior's report, no sign of a person could be found.
They moved promptly to the central building. They did not scatter or anything for no reason. The goal was only one.
It was just as they were about to leave the flower garden.
Clank.
Suddenly, a mechanism soared up from under the ground.
Shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu!
A mechanism that looked like a square wall poured out hidden weapons.
Two men who were running in the lead fell at the flying hidden weapons. The mechanism was fast and powerful.
“Destroy the mechanism!”
The warriors following behind flew their Sword Qi.
But the mechanism that soared up had already vanished into the ground again after finishing its mission.
“Hurry!”
The men, including Mountain, threw their bodies toward the building simultaneously.
Clank, clank, clank, clank.
This time, mechanisms revealed their forms from all directions. They were mechanisms that responded automatically when someone entered within a certain area.
Shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu!
Hidden weapons flew in from all directions.
Again, three men fell. One of them bounced away the flying hidden weapons, but the power was so strong that his wrist broke and he became a porcupine from the hidden weapons that flew in subsequently.
Of course, they did not just suffer. They destroyed two out of the four mechanisms that popped out.
“Stop!”
The man in the lead raised his hand and restrained everyone.
The mechanism responded every time they moved. Likely, the mechanism responded when they entered a certain space.
The man threw a dagger to the front. There was no reaction. He intended to move forward after checking one by one like this.
The man threw his body accurately to the place where he threw the dagger. The moment he landed, a mechanism popped up quickly.
Shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu!
The man fell after being pierced by hidden weapons.
The mechanism did not respond to the dagger or other objects, but only to people.
Everyone was startled. Truly, it was the first time encountering such a sophisticated mechanism.
Another man flew into the air. He was the expert with the most outstanding qinggong among them, and he intended to leap across the air in one breath.
It was when the man had flown about halfway.
Slice. Slice. Slice.
His body was cut into several pieces and plummeted to the floor.
Those watching frowned at that terrible sight.
Bloodwater flowing slowly along lines in the air.
Thin Thousand-Year Silk, which was impossible to discern with the eyes, was woven densely there. It was sharp enough to cut even steel, and poison was even applied to it.
“Dammit!”
One man discharged palm force consecutively.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He had blown away all the Thousand-Year Silk in the air.
“I will take the lead.”
The man who flew the palm force threw his body confidently.
Slice.
But that man also fell to the floor after being broken into pieces. The lines had not been broken even by the palm force.
Another man unleashed his Sword Qi this time.
But the Thousand-Year Silk shed the flying sword Qi to the side.
Mountain, who was watching, shouted.
“We just break through by force!”
Everyone began to run simultaneously.
Shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu!
Every time they moved, mechanisms popped out as a surprise attack and poured out hidden weapons.
Every time, the men fell one by one.
If they had attacked while taking their time calmly, they would have been able to go while minimizing damage.
But Mountain did not have such leisure.
What if reinforcements came because he stalled for time? If even Lee Jaseung flew in, everything would be at an end.
His thought was that he only needed to secure Lee Jaseung's baby, even if he sacrificed all his subordinates.
Slam!
They entered inside while breaking the door.
A long hallway was spread out before their eyes.
One man threw his body forward while being completely tensed.
Ping-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping!
Needles as thin as a hair were embedded in the man's body. Shortly after, the man died with his eyes rolled back. They were needles coated with a lethal poison where one died just by a graze.
One subordinate spoke with a fearful gaze.
“It is not an ordinary mechanism. It is too danger—”
Before his words even finished, Mountain's sword pierced his chest.
“Then am I an ordinary master?”
Mountain looked back at the remaining subordinates and spoke coldly.
“If you cannot break through, you die by my hand. Now go.”
The men ran down the hallway.