Chapter 56
“We are thieves!”
The Mad Wind Sand echoed with a loud shout.
Who?
It was So-ah.
At that,
“We… are… thieves….”
The tattered and beaten robbers knelt and spoke in a crawling voice.
So-ah’s brow furrowed menacingly.
“Look at these guys. Haven’t you come to your senses yet? What’s with your voices?! It seems you need more physical therapy.”
At those words, the robbers were startled and waved their hands.
“No, no, sir! Great Hero! No!”
“Please take back those words!”
“We will speak loudly! Pleeeease!”
It was a fuss like no other.
But if anyone knew the real situation, they would not be able to say such a thing.
Because the robbers of the Mad Wind Sand had experienced a hell that could not be described in words today.
Even so, So-ah’s handiwork was the best in the world in terms of beating (self-proclaimed physical therapy).
Wasn’t it a fact that had already been proven through numerous cases (such as the students of the White Martial Academy)?
And now that he had even achieved Bone and Marrow Cleansing, what more could be said?
So-ah’s beating ability had evolved even further and had now almost reached the realm of entering the divine.
‘I was beaten so much…’
‘Strangely, no one died.’
‘How did he completely avoid the vital points while beating us so recklessly? Is he a person, or a demon? Or is he the god of beating?!’
In the eyes of the robbers, So-ah was a yaksha from hell.
If So-ah had committed murder, they would have accepted death with detachment…
Isn’t there a saying like that?
‘It is better to take one’s own life than to live in agony after being poisoned by the Sichuan Tang Clan.’
It was one of the ten old commandments of the Jianghu history.
That’s how much pain, in some aspects, is a fear more terrifying than death.
But So-ah’s beating far surpassed that.
What was this? I want to faint! Or I’d rather just die! Please kill me! Even though such terrible sounds came out automatically, their consciousness became clear and their senses became sharp, so from the perspective of the person being beaten, there was no separate hell.
“But your voices are still so weak?”
“We were wrong!”
“We were wrong, Great Hero!!”
“I’ll give you one last chance. Now, repeat after me. Got it?”
“We understand!”
“Yes, sir!”
As the will was clearly felt in the robbers’ shouts, So-ah relaxed his expression and shouted again.
“I am a thief!”
“I am a thief!”
“I am human trash!”
“I am human trash!”
“Human trash lives in the trash can! I will never set foot in the Jianghu again!”
“Human trash lives in the trash can! I will never set foot in the Jianghu again!”
“If I get caught stealing one more time, then I will undergo ten years of physical therapy and drug therapy under the great hero Jin.So.Ah.”
The last passage was hard to utter, but fearing the consequences, the robbers shouted so loudly that the Mad Wind Sand seemed to leave.
“If I get caught stealing one more time, then I will undergo ten years of physical therapy and drug therapy under the great hero Jin.So.Ah!”
“That’s right. Live a good life. The day you see me again will be the day of your ancestral rites, so you understand?”
“We will keep that in mind!”
“Thank you for the grace of saving our lives!”
“Long live the great hero Jin So-ah!!”
Before they knew it, the robbers, as if they had become a fanatical group, began to bow deeply to So-ah.
—Thump!
—Thump!
—Thump!
Among them, there was even a guy who slammed his forehead on the floor so hard that the floor seemed to break.
Of course, their inner thoughts were,
‘Please just go now!’
‘Seriously, when is that bastard going to get lost?’
‘Die. Get struck by lightning on your way and die!!’
They were grinding their teeth at So-ah.
***
“Hmm… this is too big…”
“So… So-ah.”
“It’s going to be quite hard to carry this too.”
“Hey… this is a bit…”
“I think it’s better to just take the gold ingots and jewels. Don’t you think so, So-yeong-ah?”
A look of embarrassment appeared on Wang So-yeong’s face.
She had never thought that So-ah would go this far.
This kind of behavior?
It was,
“What are you guys doing? Didn’t you hear me? Pack a load with mainly gold ingots and jewels. Make it grand.”
He had stepped forward, saying that he would be ‘supported’ by the wealth accumulated in the Mad Wind Sand.
‘That thief bastard!’
‘Mainly gold ingots and jewels? Why don’t you just pull out the pillars!’
‘Please die, please!’
The face of the chief, Yi Ga-don, who had come to his senses, was strangely distorted.
He had lived for a long time.
He had lived for 65 years.
He had also met many people.
He had extorted from the escort agencies passing through the Great Desert, as well as the nomads, so it was needless to say that the number of people he had met in his life was like a sea of people.
But he was unique.
Yi Ga-don thought that he had really never seen such a cruel, heinous, and shameless person.
“Haha… Great Hero… that… if you take mainly gold ingots and jewels, we…”
He gathered his courage.
He consoled himself by thinking that being beaten to a pulp was a karma from his past life, and if he stopped doing bad things now and lived a leisurely life with his vast fortune, it wouldn’t be such a bad life.
To do so, he had to protect his fortune now.
But his courage, in the end,
“This bastard, he’s not coming to his senses even after I let him go.”
Pababababak!
It became a reckless courage.
“Keuk… eok… eok… sorry… oops… sorry!”
So-ah hit only the places he had hit before.
Yi Ga-don cried, So-ah laughed, and Wang So-yeong’s eyes were about to roll back.
‘Jin So-ah… it’s a million times fortunate that I didn’t meet you as an enemy, really…’
But whether he knew Wang So-yeong’s heart or not, So-ah delivered a death sentence to the robbers in a firm voice.
“Don’t be mistaken. Do you think your wealth will remain intact just because I don’t take it? You still haven’t come to your senses even after being beaten like that. Should I just skin you alive and throw you in the middle of the desert? There is no wealth that will go back to you. Got it?”
“Great Hero…”
“That’s…”
“What do you mean…”
A few of the robbers, even in the midst of their fear, responded to the terrible sound that made their hearts sink.
At that,
“From today, the Mad Wind Sand will donate all its wealth to the nomads, shave their heads, destroy their dantian, and not appear in the world.”
‘That’s…’
‘Is he really a crazy bastard?!’
This was just telling them to die.
“Great Hero! Shouldn’t you at least leave us a way to live?”
“Great Hero Jin!”
But So-ah was adamant.
‘If I show mercy to these kinds of people, they will definitely commit another evil act.’
So-ah knew for sure.
When stepping on an evil person, one must step on them completely so that they can never recover.
Hadn’t his grandfather also made Lord Nam a cripple to the point where it would have been better to die when he had dealt with him when he was young?
“Mercy is shown to humans. You trash like you don’t need such a thing. Anyone with a complaint, raise your hand. I’ll just chew you up.”
—Kwajijik!
As So-ah clenched his fist and raised his internal energy, a pale blue lightning flashed like a bolt of lightning.
Seeing that, the robbers did not dare to raise their hands and just shed tears like chicken droppings with dazed faces.
***
“Thank you! Thank you!”
“Oh my… so much!”
“How can we ever repay this grace…!”
The nomads’ eyes widened like lanterns.
They were dumbfounded at first when the notorious robbers of the Mad Wind Sand gave them wealth.
But as So-ah’s pleasantries and encouragement continued, they accepted the unexpected good fortune and were genuinely happy.
“Everyone, don’t worry now. There are no more robbers to steal your wealth. As of today, the Mad Wind Sand is disbanded.”
At So-ah’s words,
“Hooray!”
“Hooray!”
“Hooray!”
Men and women, young and old, shouted hooray.
‘Wow, is this why people do good deeds?’
His heart was filled with a strange sense of pride.
The first good deed he had done since coming to the Jianghu.
He was extremely proud.
‘Grandpa. I did well, right?’
—Kekeke! Well, you brat! From now on, don’t torment even evil people too much.
A voice that no one could hear.
But in his heart, that silent voice began to spread.
It was the moment when a pleased smile also spread on So-ah’s face.
***
Ten days later…
“It was refreshing, but the appearance was not good. Really, it was to the point where I couldn’t tell who was the evil person and who was the good person. No, if the Mad Wind Sand guys were evil, then you were a demon. Anyway, it was like that.”
After finishing the turbulent journey of the Great Desert, So-ah’s group ran for ten days straight and arrived in Xi’an.
Although there was still a long way to go to their destination, Manju-jang in Qinghai, since they had obtained a fortuitous encounter and wealth, So-ah, to give Wang So-yeong, who had suffered a lot, a break, found a rather luxurious inn.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. What if they hadn’t destroyed their dantian? They probably would have stolen the nomads’ wealth again. Now that they’re not only without internal energy but also beaten to a pulp to the point where they can barely move, they won’t be able to commit robbery. Well, it’s a minimum safety measure.”
“You’re really thorough, aren’t you? Ugh, anyway, you were a bit scary, hey.”
“I’m more scared of you.”
“What?”
“Look in the mirror. See if you’re scary or not.”
“Didn’t you say I was pretty before?”
“That was a lie. Anyway, it was a lie.”
“Pfft…”
“Haha.”
The two exchanged silly jokes.
They had found the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade, there was no more suffering, the table in front of them was filled with delicacies, and they had even gotten some extra money, so they were in a state where they were happy no matter what.
Just then.
“Ugh…”
Wang So-yeong, who was eating a proper meal for the first time in a while, felt nauseous.
Come to think of it, her complexion also didn’t look so good.
“Are you okay?”
“Ugh… my stomach is churning and my head hurts.”
“It seems the endemic disease hasn’t healed yet. Well, it was a tremendous forced march, so there was no such strain on your body in a state of reduced stamina.”
“I’ll have to stop by a doctor first, right? I don’t think I can go on like this.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll take a look at you.”
“Hey! Stop it. A quack doctor kills people… you’re not a doctor, are you?”
“You’re going to regret saying that. I’m at a level that would put a decent doctor to shame.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Stop talking and let’s go to the room.”
“To the room… why?”
“We need to do some acupuncture, some moxibustion. We need to take some medicine and rest.”
As So-ah got up from his seat, Wang So-yeong had no choice but to get up as well.
“Let’s go. To the room.”
“Huh? Ugh… yeah.”
Wang So-yeong’s face turned red.
Although they were traveling together, she was embarrassed to enter the same room with a man of the opposite sex in broad daylight.
But a little later…
So-ah, who had bought acupuncture needles, moxibustion, and some medicinal herbs from the market, treated Wang So-yeong’s various places, and the strange thoughts that had been shaking her mind completely disappeared.
‘It’s comfortable.’
It was because the headache and nausea had completely disappeared.
The fragrant scent of mugwort moxibustion pierced her nose.
The endemic symptoms that had been tormenting Wang So-yeong’s mind and body also subsided like that.
“So-ah.”
“Huh?”
“When did you learn medicine?”
“I didn’t particularly intend to learn it, but when I was young, I became curious when my grandfather was making medicinal water, so I learned it. My grandfather was not only good at martial arts, but also very proficient in alchemy and medicine.”
“He was an amazing person. Ah… to be the disciple of the God of War, you’re really a lump of fortuitous encounters, really.”
Wang So-yeong exclaimed without realizing it.
The God of War, Moyong Cheon.
That great name was widely known even in the North Sea.
To the point where even Wang So-yeong’s father, the North Sea Palace Lord, had named Moyong Cheon as a person he respected.
As she was reminded that So-ah had studied under such a strongest man in the history of the martial world, she felt that it was a stroke of luck that she had come to accompany So-ah.
‘Now that this is over… I won’t be able to see him again, right?’
She was like a frost in midwinter.
Although Wang So-yeong had a warm heart, since she was a noble existence as much as a princess in the North Sea, no one could dare to be her friend.
Therefore, Wang So-yeong’s heart was always empty.
What would it feel like to have a friend of the same age?
She had lived a lonely and desolate life with such a question.
But after meeting So-ah, she was changing little by little.
And her curiosity about friendship…
‘Oh my! What am I thinking?’
She, who had covered her reddened face with her hands, shouted abruptly.
“Hey, Jin So-ah!”
“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“I’m tired, so get out now! Are you trying to sneakily stay in a room where a lady is staying?”
“What are you talking about? Staying.”
As So-ah spoke,
Thud!
He suddenly pushed his butt onto the bed where she was lying and sat down.
“Kyaaak! Get away from me!”
“Puhaha!”
Only after teasing Wang So-yeong like that for a while did So-ah, with a smiling face,
“Rest well today. From tomorrow, we’ll run to Manju-jang in Qinghai.”
He spat out the words and left Wang So-yeong’s room.
Wang So-yeong, watching such a So-ah, curled up the corners of her mouth slightly.
(End of Chapter)