Chapter 171

The sharp, ringing voice belonged to a squat old man.

He was shorter than most elementary schoolchildren these days and dressed in grimy clothes. But more than anything else…

He’s incredibly old.

I hadn’t lived all that long, but in all my years, I had never seen anyone so ancient.

Just as I was thinking that, my eyes met the old man’s.

“Hey!”

“Yes?”

“When an elder asks you a question, you’re supposed to answer. Is this Old Man Jang’s house?”

Is that the vibe that comes with experience?

The old man looked as though he could drop dead at any moment, yet his eyes were more than lively—they practically blazed. Feeling strangely intimidated, I answered.

“It is.”

Jang Taebo, who had been clutching my trouser leg, awkwardly rose to his feet.

I wondered if the old man might be one of his friends from the senior center, but the wary look on Jang Taebo’s face suggested otherwise.

“Who are you?”

“Just a traveler passing through. Are you Old Man Jang?”

“That’s right.”

“I see. I stopped by just in case.”

The old man glanced around, then added,

“Though I suppose there wasn’t any need.”

“…”

“…”

“Then I’ll be going. Once you’re finished here, stop by the house where that kid lives. The child’s worried about you.”

With that, the old man turned around.

What the hell was that old man’s deal?

As everyone stood there bewildered by his incomprehensible words and actions, Cheongpung poked me in the side.

“Munch, munch. Benefactor. Don’t you think there’s something strange about him?”

“…You look stranger to me. And swallow what’s in your mouth before you talk.”

How long is this guy going to keep chewing those dumplings? Does he have some magic jar that keeps producing more?

At my scolding, Cheongpung gulped down what was in his mouth and muttered,

“No, but there’s something strange about him.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling.”

“What kind of answer is th—”

Wait.

It was just a feeling?

I froze. Cheongpung might have been an eccentric, but he was also the disciple who had inherited everything from the Sword Saint and a Peak master far above me in skill.

Could he have sensed something about that old man that I couldn’t?

He looks like an ordinary old man…

There was nothing to lose by checking. In Murim, where anything could happen, it was best to tap even a stone bridge before crossing it.

Activate Qi Sense.

Ding!

System

• You have used the Skill Qi Sense.
• You can detect targets up to Level 90 within a range of 70 meters.
• Internal energy is consumed in proportion to range.

Whoosh.

A blue line visible only to me shot outward.

It passed through Cheongpung, Hyuk Mujin, and Jang Taebo, who were closest to me, before finally reaching the back of the old man as he slowly walked away.

A translucent holographic window sprang up above his snow-white hair.

System

Lv. 3 Jeok Cheongang

Jeok Cheongang? Now that’s a name fit for a final boss.

But despite his impressive name, his Level was pitifully low. The old man was unquestionably an ordinary civilian who had never learned martial arts.

“Looks like you were just barking up the wrong tree…”

My voice trailed off.

The old man’s leisurely steps had stopped.

His squat body slowly turned around. Though he was more than ten jang away, the strange light in his eyes made my skin prickle.

What?

My body went rigid. My heart pounded, and my fingertips twitched.

If the old man’s lips had not opened at that moment, I might have summoned a weapon from my Inventory right then and there.

“Well, now…”

The corners of the old man’s wrinkled mouth twitched as he stared at me. His low voice bored into my ears.

“What an interesting fellow.”

The old man, Jeok Cheongang, encountered a rather interesting situation the moment he reached his destination.

Oh-ho. Well, look at these brats.

The Supreme Peak realm was an inhuman domain where one could be called a Martial God without exaggeration. He recognized the young men’s martial prowess at a glance.

One was nothing special, but the other two…

Frankly, they impressed him.

At that age, they’ve already broken through the wall.

The one noisily chewing dumplings in front of an elder, in particular, had already reached full maturity in the Peak realm.

Would only the Elders of the Nine Sects and One Gang whom I crossed paths with briefly in the past be able to compare?

As for the other one, the tall, broad fellow…

L-Look at the insolent way that bastard’s staring. Maybe I should gouge his eyes out.

The young man had a face like he had seen a walking corpse. Even so, it was obvious that he possessed martial arts far beyond what his age suggested.

No one his age could stand against him.

The rear waves of the Yangtze pushed the waves before them.

That was what they said. Jeok Cheongang suddenly realized that the new wave was quite large and fierce.

Large enough to swallow the entire Yangtze.

I suspected as much when they started making a fuss about Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron and all that… but they’re even more interesting than I expected.

Jeok Cheongang could detect presences from dozens of jang away. He had been listening to their conversation from the moment he left Jang-pal’s house.

He also knew that the matter Jang had been worried about had not happened.

Far from being coerced, Old Man Jang appeared to be the one clinging to them.

Given their accomplishments and the fact that they’d even brought Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, could they be from the Nine Sects and One Gang? Well, either way, they clearly belong to a prestigious orthodox faction.

That was the extent of Jeok Cheongang’s interest.

He had no reason to form a connection with those young men and no desire to reveal his identity.

He had done enough to repay the meal he had been given, so he intended to leave immediately.

“Then I’ll be going. Once you’re finished here, stop by the house where that kid lives. The child’s worried about you.”

Jeok Cheongang tossed out those final words and turned away.

He had already wasted a considerable amount of time. He intended to reach Taiyuan before the day was out and pay a visit to the Lower District Sect.

Of course, he had no intention of letting anyone discover his identity.

If I wrap a mask around my face and threaten them a little, they should spill everything.

But Jeok Cheongang’s train of thought went no further.

The next moment, something unknown shot toward him from behind.

Whoosh.

He could neither see nor hear it.

He had only sensed it. A cold, unfamiliar presence pierced toward Jeok Cheongang’s back.

An ambush?

No. He sensed none of the sticky, unpleasant killing intent that accompanied one.

Instead, it felt as natural as a breeze blowing from afar, which only made it more alien.

The unknown energy vanished the moment it touched Jeok Cheongang’s back.

What in the world…?

He had lived for nearly a hundred years, yet this was the first time he had ever experienced anything like it.

Still bewildered, he turned around and immediately identified the culprit.

“Looks like you were just barking up the wrong tree…”

The young man’s mouth snapped shut the instant their eyes met. His gaze wavered, and his fingertips twitched.

As Jeok Cheongang stared at the culprit, the corners of his mouth slowly rose.

“Well, now…”

He stroked his chin, intrigued.

“What an interesting fellow.”

At the same time, his foot pushed off the ground.

In the next instant, the distance of more than ten jang between them vanished. Jeok Cheongang whispered into Jin Taekyung’s ear.

Inventory summon.

Just six syllables.

All I had to do was picture the spear and shout the words in my mind. But…

“What are you?”

The breath tickling the back of my neck made every hair on my body stand on end.

When did he—?

No, before that…

How?

He was definitely, definitely Level 3.

It was impossible to believe.

Jeok Cheongang looked as though he could drop dead at any moment, yet he was faster than anyone I had ever seen.

So fast that I did not even dare consider resisting him.

“Hey. When an elder asks you a question, you’re supposed to answer.”

“Y-Yes?”

“You call that an answer?”

A thin, wrinkled finger repeatedly poked me in the solar plexus. There was no force or internal energy behind it, yet it felt as though someone were stabbing me with a sword.

“I’m asking what you are.”

I swallowed hard. My mouth felt as dry as if someone had poured a handful of sand into it.

“I’m Jin Taekyung.”

“Not that crap. Which sect are you a disciple of?”

“Taiyuan—the Jin Family of Taiyuan.”

“The Jin Family of Taiyuan? Are you one of those demonic, heterodox sorts?”

I nearly nodded without thinking.

The old man’s eyes had flashed when he mentioned demonic, heterodox arts. If I said yes even by mistake, he looked ready to cut my life short on the spot.

“I’m with an orthodox faction.”

“Are you? Then why are you stammering?”

“I’m telling the truth.”

“The Jin Family of Taiyuan… I feel like I’ve heard of it. Or perhaps I haven’t.”

Jeok Cheongang sank deep into thought, then suddenly gave me a peculiar look.

“The more I look at you, the stranger you seem. That thing just now—it was you, wasn’t it?”

That thing just now?

His words were vague, but I immediately understood.

This old man definitely sensed Qi Sense.

How is that possible?

I had vaguely suspected as much when he reacted right away, but the realization still made my vision go dark.

Good God. A monster who can sense Qi Sense.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

I bit down hard on my lower lip.

“No.”

“How do you know what I’m talking about?”

“…”

“Hey. It was you, wasn’t it?”

“No. Anyway, it wasn’t me.”

“Oh, I like that. You’ve got some backbone. Very manly.”

Jeok Cheongang laughed heartily, then continued,

“Should I break a few bones and ask again?”

“It was me! Yes, it was me!”

“Good. Fine. Then what did you do to me?”

I hesitated.

My opponent was an old man whose instincts were every bit as sharp as his age suggested. If I lied and got caught, I would not be leaving with my body intact.

I needed to stick as closely to the truth as possible while phrasing it in a way he would find agreeable.

“You seemed like an extraordinary person, so I just…”

“A little?”

“I checked whether you had learned martial arts.”

“How?”

“Yes?”

“I asked how you did it.”

“I sent a little of my qi toward you and read yours. Something like that.”

“Ha. Is that so?”

Jeok Cheongang laughed as though amused, then clenched his fist.

“If you keep lying, I’ll break your legs. Answer me again.”

I hurriedly waved my hands.

“W-Wait. Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

“You’ve completely misjudged this old man. Do I look like some fool who can’t distinguish something like that? What I felt just now… was different. Different enough to make me think it was the dark arts.”

“What dark arts? I’m telling you, it’s real!”

This is driving me insane.

Qi Sense was certainly a cheat Skill, closer to a System function than martial arts.

Because of that, someone like Jeok Cheongang, who appeared to be a Supreme Peak master, might have sensed something alien that he had never encountered before.

The problem is, how the hell am I supposed to explain that?

“You bastard! Can’t you tell me the truth?”

Fuck this. I’m done.

I decided to lay everything out honestly.

“The truth is, I use something called the System. It’s a bit of a cheat, so it might have felt strange to you. I’m sorry.”

Jeok Cheongang remained silent for a moment.

Then he opened his mouth.

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

“…I told you exactly what happened. I figured you wouldn’t understand.”

“Have you said all you have to say?”

“There’s plenty I haven’t said. I’ve been through a lot.”

“You’ve led a turbulent life.”

“You have no idea.”

“Don’t worry. After today, your life won’t have any more twists and turns.”

“Are you planning to make it all downhill from here?”

“Why bother saying it? How about we warm you up a little before we begin?”

It happened in an instant—too fast for me, Cheongpung, Hyuk Mujin, or Jang Taebo to react.

Jeok Cheongang let out a quiet laugh and poked me in the chest with one finger.

And then…

Fwoosh!

An overwhelming wave of heat swept through my body.