Chapter 658

Ding.

System

An unexpected Quest, Either-Or, has been generated!

A System notification rang out. At the same time, a translucent holographic window sprang up in midair.

System

An unexpected Quest, Either-Or, has been generated!

Quest

Either-Or

Only two choices remain to you now.

Will you resist with all your strength and escape this place? Or will you surrender quietly and allow yourself to be captured by them?

The choice is entirely yours, and every choice will be followed by a corresponding result.

Grade: None

Restriction: Jin Taekyung

Mission: Surrender or Resist (Incomplete)

Reward: ???

Failure: ???

• This Quest contains two choices, and you must select exactly one of them.

• Various factors around you will change depending on your choice. A certain person may die in the process.

How will you proceed?

Surrender / Resist

System

Quest

Either-Or

Only two choices remain to you now.

Will you resist with all your strength and escape this place? Or will you surrender quietly and allow yourself to be captured by them?

The choice is entirely yours, and every choice will be followed by a corresponding result.

Grade: None

Restriction: Jin Taekyung

Mission: Surrender or Resist (Incomplete)

Reward: ???

Failure: ???

• This Quest contains two choices, and you must select exactly one of them.

• Various factors around you will change depending on your choice. A certain person may die in the process.

How will you proceed?

Surrender / Resist

I had only one thought after reading the System window.

What a shitty situation.

Either-Or.

The sudden Quest was exactly what its title said.

Surrender or resist.

There were only two choices, and I had to make one. The situation—and the voices rising all around me—demanded it.

“I agree with Great Chieftain Baeksang.”

“Exactly! If the Palace Lord thinks this is an arbitrary decision, then let us convene the Tribal Grand Council right here and now!”

“If he is innocent, he should surrender quietly and submit to an investigation. What is the problem?”

A hollow laugh escaped me as I listened to the pro-Baeksang chieftains.

What’s the problem?

The biggest problem was that this was Murim, not the modern world.

Judicial corruption happened even in the twenty-first century. I didn’t need to see what would happen to me once Baeksang had me locked up.

They’ll brand me a criminal from the start and make sure I stay one.

There would be no fairness in the process. My ill-considered lie had already been exposed, and Baeksang had produced a witness and clear circumstantial evidence.

It was a carefully dug trap. Once I’d stepped into it, there was nowhere to go but down.

Still, some people spoke up for me.

“You’re all insane. Have you lost your minds? You intend to kill Jin Taekyung? Are you planning to start a war with all of Murim in the Central Plains?”

“We don’t even know for certain that he’s the culprit. Why would a pavilion master of the Murim Alliance and the Fire King’s disciple do such a thing?”

“He rescued no fewer than two hundred warriors from Ailao Mountain. And you claim he is the culprit? Even if you hate the Han Chinese, how can you act like ungrateful beasts?”

This time, it was the chieftains who followed the Beast Miao King shouting.

But of the dozen or so, only a few stepped forward. Many others watched in confusion or kept their mouths firmly shut.

Of course. I’m an outsider in the end.

The Nanman people had never felt particularly well disposed toward the Han Chinese. My actions at Ailao Mountain were the only reason a Han Chinese man like me had been granted the extraordinary privilege of attending the Tribal Grand Council. That was as far as they were willing to go.

I didn’t blame them. They could see which way things were turning.

Even if the Tribal Grand Council convened here and now, as Baeksang had suggested, it couldn’t turn this around.

Not even for the Beast Miao King.

I think I’m pretty fucked.

The Beast Miao King’s brow furrowed as my Sound Transmission reached him.

…You crazy bastard.

Why?

You can still joke at a time like this?

I’m telling you the truth. I can’t sit here bawling like a child. It wouldn’t make anything better.

At my Sound Transmission, which calmly faced reality, the Beast Miao King bit down hard on his lip.

I’m sorry. If the Tribal Grand Council is held as Baeksang says… there will be nothing I can do.

Still, it’s a relief that Great Hero Yayul seems to believe me.

Of course I believe you. That’s why I’m all the more sorry.

Then instead of apologizing, could you punch each of those bastards in the mouth? If that’s too awkward, I’ll do it.

……

Or use Flame Divine Palm.

Hah. At this point, you may as well be Old Master Jeok’s flesh and blood rather than his Disciple.

Jeok Cheongang.

At the three syllables of his name, a familiar face suddenly flashed before my eyes, and my mouth turned bitter. If Jeok Cheongang were in this situation, how would he have handled it?

No. If it were Old Master Jeok, things never would have reached this point.

I wasn’t nearly as strong as Jeok Cheongang. Despite thinking I’d grown used to Murim, I was still woefully inexperienced. And my enemies were more thorough and cunning than I’d imagined.

If this were Go… my actions would probably count as a bad move.

I didn’t know how to play Go. But when I was little, my father sometimes sat at the computer and played online.

His username was Jin Sedol, though his win rate was terrible. Whenever he lost to a user from China, he’d mutter, “That Chink bastard plays Go like shit… Taiwan number one,” and Mom would smack him on the back for swearing in front of me.

That was all ancient history.

A few years later, my father died suddenly in a Monster Wave. His Go account, steadily used through defeat after defeat, fell dormant.

But why was it that, all of a sudden, I remembered that day when I had watched my father losing at Go?

“Dad, are you losing again?”

“What do you mean, again? Dad’s only losing this game. No, it’s not even over yet.”

“But you lost yesterday and the day before. And I saw you losing earlier!”

“…My sweet boy. You’ve grown so big you can drive a nail straight through your father’s heart.”

But why do you always lose, Dad?

“Hmm. I made a bad move.”

“A handshake?”¹

“Not that kind of move. I mean a bad play. Like yesterday at the sports festival, when you kicked Minjun’s leg instead of the soccer ball by mistake and lost the game. A bad choice. Understand?”

“Uh-huh! So if you make a bad move, you lose at Go?”

“Not necessarily.”

Why?

“One bad move doesn’t end the game. You lose when you keep making them. Hmm. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“But I got sent off right away yesterday.”

“Son, wasn’t that because you fractured Minjun’s leg?”

“Ohh.”

“What do you mean, ‘ohh’? I nearly broke my back apologizing to Minjun’s parents. Anyway, what matters is not making bad moves over and over.”

“What happens if you do?”

“In Go, you lose your precious stones and eventually lose the game. That’s the price of bad choices.”

“I know! That’s why you always lose, Dad!”

“…Honey! Take Taekyung away! Honey!”

I didn’t know why that memory had come back to me now.

No. Maybe I did.

It had helped me make up my mind.

Can you promise me one thing?

Why have you gone quiet all of a sudden… A promise?

Yes. A promise.

I looked straight at the Beast Miao King and sent another Sound Transmission.

No matter what happens from this point on, promise me you’ll make sure the others can return safely to the Central Plains.

……!

That’s all I need.

You… Surely you aren’t…

I’ll take that as a promise.

The Beast Miao King stared at me, eyes wide, as though he’d guessed what I intended. Then he nodded, his face troubled.

I promise. I’ll use every bit of power I have to protect your subordinates. I’ll clear your name, too.

Good. That’s enough.

I muttered inwardly and began walking toward Baeksang.

Or I would have, if two hands hadn’t reached from behind and seized my clothes.

Grab!

“Jin Taekyung. What are you planning to do?”

Yayul Mok’s face was rigid. Namho, who had already figured it out, spoke next.

“You foolish bastard. Are you planning to walk into a tiger’s mouth on your own?”

“I’m not sure whether it’s a tiger’s jaws or a fucking mutt’s.”

I shrugged.

“But things have come to this. What else can I do?”

Namho’s gaze grew darker than I’d ever seen it.

“Is it because of me and the others? You’re afraid we’ll be hurt if you escape?”

“Hmm. I don’t know.”

“If that’s what you’re thinking, forget it. None of us would want—”

“I know. I know how you all feel.”

I cut him off gently.

“But it would be the same if our positions were reversed. If the other members were in my place, or if Elder Namho were me right now, you wouldn’t run away alone either.”

……!

“See you later.”

His eyes wavered, but he said nothing. I pulled my clothes free, gave them both a look in farewell, and walked on.

Step. Step.

Silence had settled all around us. My footsteps seemed to thunder as I crossed the space alone, while Baeksang watched me, as still as an undisturbed lake.

“Have you finally come to your senses?”

“Someone told me a long time ago that if you make too many bad moves in Go, you lose your precious stones and the game.”

If this were an actual game of Go, I’d play however I liked. To hell with bad moves.

So what if I lost? A famous professional player had once said that, in the end, it was only Go. And to me, it really would be only Go.

After losing, I could simply smash Baeksang’s head open with the Go board while saying, just like my father had, “That Chink bastard plays Go like shit.”

But this wasn’t a game. Here, a bad move would cost me my people instead of stones.

Ju Hwaran. Hyuk Mujin. Song Ilseom. Sama Pyo. Taishan. Namho…

Even if I got out of here, breaking through the Nanman Beast Palace’s net over heaven and earth with all of them would be nearly impossible.

They’d trusted me and followed me this far. I had to keep them alive.

Whatever it took.

“If you keep making bad moves, you lose your precious stones and eventually the game… Whoever told you that was wise.”

“He was a good man. At least he wasn’t a piece of shit like you.”

Shing! Shing! Shing!

Weapons came free on every side, as though everyone had agreed on a signal. Baeksang glanced at the tightening ring and waved his sleeve.

“For once, I commend you for avoiding a bad move. Even the Fire King’s disciple had no other choice.”

“I’m not doing this for praise from a piece of shit like you.”

“No matter. You’re going straight to the underground prison.”

“An underground prison. Can’t say I’m glad to hear that.”

“We’ll have iron balls weighing several thousand geun² ready for you as well. You may look forward to them.”

“Sure. My balls are trembling with anticipation already.”

It was more or less what I’d expected. I answered calmly, then addressed Baeksang as he slowly sheathed his sword.

“But why aren’t you looking forward to it?”

“What?”

“Didn’t you say earlier that if I ran, you’d kill all my people?”

“Why bring that up now—”

I had no reason to hear the rest of his words. Nor did I need to.

Say that kind of bullshit to me, and you should expect a punch.

Along with a final word he could not hear, I thrust out a single fist like a ray of light.

Crack!

Without waiting to see the result, I shouted as fast as I could.

“Ah, I surrender! I surrenderrr!”

What are you going to do about it, fucker?