Chapter 34 The Life-and-Death Strange Doctor – 4

Chapter 34: The Life-and-Death Strange Doctor – 4

The Doctor of Life and Death spoke urgently.

“Put me down and escape quickly, at least you! I can survive if captured, but your life is in danger! You’ve truly done your absolute best until now! I will never forget this favor!”

Hearing his voice, he gritted his teeth.

Was there truly no other way?

His insides churned violently.

Just then.

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from somewhere.

“Jin! Keep running!”

I froze for a moment.

It was a voice I could never forget.

The voice of Seolpung, the squad leader I had most admired and who had been my benefactor since my past life.

He chuckled and shouted to the Life-and-Death Demon.

“Elder! Hold on tight!”

Then I started running.

There could be no hesitation now.

Heukgwangryun Gakgihyo, who was approaching me, was looking around, trying to figure out where that voice had come from.

Then, as I began charging toward him, he shouted with a menacing glare.

“You’re like a moth flying into the flame! Surround him and capture that bastard!”

“Yes! Lord Lee!”

It was at that very moment.

From the right side of the encircling net, Squad Leader Seolpung burst out like a bolt of lightning.

Whoosh!

His momentum was like a tiger pouncing on its prey.

“Gahhh!”

As his roaring figure plunged through the ranks of the Black Banner soldiers, the lower-ranking warriors were flung in all directions, blood spattering like they’d been hit by a bomb.

Pwahah!

“Kraaaah!”

“Gwaaaaah!”

“Guhhh!”

In an instant, a void formed around the squad leader.

But that was only the beginning.

The squad leader now began charging straight toward Gakjeokhyo. Like a charging tiger, he swept through the lower-ranking warriors around him, sending them flying helplessly like pebbles caught in a storm.

It looked like a storm was bearing down.

Kwaaak! Kwaaak! Kwaaak! Kwaaak! Kwaaak!

“Gaaaah!”

“Gaaaah!”

It was overwhelmingly brutal.

A faint red light seeped through his closed eyelids, catching his eye.

“What… what is that?! That bastard?!”

Startled by the squad leader charging toward him in an instant, Gakgi Hyo raised his spear, fixing his gaze on the squad leader.

At that moment, I chuckled and threw the dagger while running.

It was Dong Pae-gyeong’s black sword.

Whoosh!

The dagger, thrown with all my strength, seemed poised to pierce him as it closed in. Startled by the sudden ambush, the man hastily swung his wheel to deflect the projectile.

Clang!

At that instant, the squad leader charged at the enemy.

“Haahhh!”

The squad leader’s spinning kick slammed into Gakgihyo’s upper body.

“Ugh!”

Gak Gihyo clenched his teeth and hurriedly defended, but a massive downward strike exploded onto his twin wheels.

Kwaaaaang!

“Guhhhhh!”

The tremendous impact sent him reeling from the wheel kick, driving him ankle-deep into the ground.

That alone would have been a devastating blow, but unfortunately for him, the squad leader’s Beast Fist was most formidable in its chain strikes.

Riding the force Gakgihyo blocked, Jo Jang instantly spun in the opposite direction and this time lashed out at Gakgihyo with a horizontal strike.

Gak Gihyo gasped in horror, barely managing to block it with his wheel.

Thud!

But as if waiting for this moment, Jo Jang seized Gak Gihyo’s wheel, yanked it back, and with his free hand, delivered a straight punch to Gak Gihyo’s face.

A punch with the force of a cannonball flew toward him, threatening to pierce his head.

Shu-hak!

Gak Gihyo’s face was now ashen.

But he too was a seasoned master at the peak of his art. This time, he twisted his head just in time to narrowly evade the blow.

Then, releasing the wheel he held, he pushed off the ground with all his might and flew backward.

He seemed desperate to escape the captain’s range of attack.

That was the moment.

In an instant, four long iron spikes shot out from the captain’s arm guard like projectiles.

He then pulled his arm inward, drawing them.

Shhhhhhh!

The crimson energy enveloping the steel wires blazed through the air, leaving a blood-red afterimage like a rainbow.

It was a vivid red light, as if mixed with real blood.

Gakgi Hyo, who had stepped back, twitched his lips.

But with four deep gashes carved into his face, he could not utter a sound.

Soon, blood gushed from the four gashes on his face, and he died instantly.

This happened because, though he had escaped the reach of the squad leader’s arm, he had not escaped the reach of the Tiger Squad.

The Black Fang members nearby were now overcome with terror at this unbelievable turn of events that unfolded in an instant.

“Whaaaah?! Lord Yi Ho-beop!”

“Master Yi Ho-beop defeated by such a young upstart?!”

“And so easily?!”

When the squad leader shot a predatory glare at the surrounding warriors, they hastily retreated, their faces frozen in terror.

Even as he stood defenseless, sheathing his Mighty Tiger Sword, no one dared even think of approaching.

Just then, I landed beside him and called out cheerfully.

“Captain!”

The squad leader smiled brightly and said to me.

“Sorry I’m late, Jin.”

Kuh, showing up at just the right moment to save the day like that, and then apologizing for being late?

Is it even fair for someone that cool to be humble too?

I wondered how anyone could be this perfect.

Except for his fear of women, of course.

He shook his head with a smile and replied.

“You’re not late at all. Didn’t you come out just now to look cool?”

That was when it happened.

Go Ju-yong’s furious roar echoed.

“How dare you, Gak I-je! You bastards! I won’t let any of you live! Catch them all! Kill them all!”

Shouting thus, Go Ju-yong led the charge, leaping madly down the cliff.

Seeing this, the squad leader said.

“We’ll discuss the details later. Let’s go.”

And so we began fleeing once more.

But the direction wasn’t the one I had intended to take.

“This way!”

Guided by the squad leader, we ran further north.

And shortly after, I realized why the squad leader had led us this way.

“Come on in! Good work, Jin!”

“Sa-young!”

Biseyoung was waiting for us in front of a river that looked about ten fathoms wide.

It seemed Biseyoung and the squad leader had met earlier.

Moreover, Biseyoung was holding one end of a rope tied to the opposite bank.

He pulled the rope taut and said.

“We’ll exchange greetings after crossing over. Go first!”

Glancing suddenly at the river, the current seemed quite strong. Even for martial artists, swimming across didn’t look easy.

Therefore, if we crossed first using the rope, we could surely shake off the pursuit for a while.

But a sudden worry struck me.

If we crossed, how would Bisea-yeong cross?

I asked him in a worried tone.

“Once we’re all across, what about you, Sa-yeong?”

He grinned confidently, pointed his thumb at himself, and countered.

“You’re not seriously worried about the Grand Disciple of the Biseong Sect, are you?”

His confident demeanor made me chuckle.

“Alright. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

With that, he climbed onto the rope, carrying the Life and Death Rope, and swiftly crossed to the opposite bank.

After I crossed, Captain Seolpung also crossed the river in an instant.

But it seemed we’d already wasted quite a bit of time getting this far.

Behind us, Go Ju-yong and the other Black Saber members were seen charging toward us, shouting.

“Catch him! Don’t let him escape!”

“Just try to catch us! We’ll chew you up and spit you out!”

Go Ju-yong and his third sworn brother, Han Jeok-sam, looked like fire was about to shoot out of their eyes even at a glance. I had thought they were merely bound by contract, but it seemed there was still some bond of sworn brothers between them.

Worried, he shouted to Bi Sa-yeong.

“Sae-yeong! Hurry across!”

Bisaeng glanced at them, grinned, and began pulling hard on the rope he’d tied.

Then, using the very elasticity of the rope he’d been pulling, he propelled himself forward in an instant, leaping like a bird right before the river.

Thud!

Bisaeng’s agility was truly astonishing.

He soared into the air as lightly as a bird, leaping a full five zhang in one bound.

But even so, he hadn’t crossed half the river’s width.

His body was losing momentum and about to fall into the raging river.

“Sayeong!”

We shouted his name in concern.

But the next moment, we were stunned, our mouths agape.

Just as his body began to fall, Biseyoung, who had let go of the rope he was holding, stepped on the rope dangling limply in midair and propelled himself upward again.

Whoosh!

“There, there!”

It was such an astonishing display of agility that it startled not only us watching, but even Go Ju-yong’s group chasing from behind.

After that, Biseoyoung stepped on the falling rope several more times, making short leaps, and succeeded in landing beside us in an instant.

We cheered in amazement.

“Wow, Sayoung! What just happened?!”

“I thought Young Master Seonwoo’s divine technique was already impressive for his age, but this is truly incredible! An astonishing divine technique!”

“That’s incredible, Sayoung? If you push just a little further, could you even master the Void-Piercing Technique?”

He then swept his hair back coolly and replied.

“Heh, as the top disciple of the Flying Sword Sect, I should at least be able to do this much. Reaching the level of a Flying Sword Master might be a stretch, but someday I should be able to reach the level of a Flying Sword Expert, right?”

I didn’t scold him for his cockiness like usual; instead, I watched him with a satisfied smile.

After Biseoyoung reached the first-rate realm, his divine technique cultivation had also risen significantly.

Seeing my friend, who had never even broken out of the second-rate realm in his past life before saving me and dying, now growing so rapidly like this—I couldn’t help but feel deeply gratified.

Suddenly, I wondered if this was what it felt like to raise a disciple.

Glancing across the river at Go Ju-yong, who had reached the opposite bank but now stood helplessly staring at the raging current like a dog that had chased a chicken to no avail, I finally found some breathing room. I introduced my companions to the Life-and-Death Demon.

“Ah, Elder. This friend is the one I mentioned earlier who saved Maeng-un and Yong-ji. And this gentleman is our squad leader, in charge of the Seventh Squad within the Biyong Thirteen.”

“Oh! So you’re the ones who saved our children. Thank you, truly, thank you!”

“Ah, well, that was just following what Sunwoojin told us to do. I didn’t really do much…”

“It’s an honor to meet you. And I’m relieved you’re safe, Senior.”

We exchanged brief greetings and set off again.

The Black Shadows were still busily searching for a place to cross the river.

But once they were out of sight, I stopped walking again.

“Team Leader, where do you think they’ll cross?”

After a moment’s thought, the squad leader answered my question.

“About a jang upstream, there’s a spot where the river narrows. They’ll probably cross there. The current speed is similar whether upstream or downstream. So that’s the only option. But why do you ask?”

He answered with a sly grin.

“I intend to cross back over to the other side. In that case, it would be best for us to cross downstream.”

Everyone looked puzzled at my words.

Among them, Biseyoung asked first.

“You’re not just escaping like this? It seems like you wouldn’t get caught if you just slipped away like this?”

The squad leader and Saengsaegwe also nodded.

“That’s what I think too. Just running like this should be enough to escape.”

“I agree, Jin.”

Of course it was.

There was no problem with just slipping away like this.

But that wasn’t what I wanted.

“Of course we could escape like this. But then, won’t those bastards keep tormenting the old man forever? And since we weren’t masked, they might even figure out who we are.”

And while it felt awkward to say this, since they’d seen my Moolrang Sword, they’d soon realize we’d raided their vault too.

So, in many ways, slipping away like this would leave us with future troubles.

The squad leader nodded slightly, as if he understood.

“Jin, you mean we should stay here and torment them some more. Are you suggesting we keep hiding in the woods and ambushing them like we are now?”

That was certainly a viable option.

But I shook my head with a smile.

“No. There’s no need for that.”

“Huh? You say it’s not even necessary?”

“Because soon, those who want the Elder’s life-saving pill will flock here. Even without us lifting a finger, Go Ju-yong and Heuk Sang-bang will meet their end right here. So all we need to do is keep people believing the Elder hasn’t been rescued yet.”

Biseaeng gaped in astonishment at my words.

“Wow, you wicked bastard. Planning a hit-and-run like this? Even the Blood Cult wouldn’t be as evil as you.”

“Don’t make such a big deal. My principle is to do good deeds for the good and evil deeds for the wicked.”

While Biseaeng and I were bantering like that, Squad Leader Seolpung, who had been lost in thought for a moment, suddenly frowned and spoke up.

“I understand your reasoning well. It does seem like a good plan. However… I’m a bit worried we might not have enough time. After all, we only have three days left of our vacation.”

The squad leader’s point was perfectly valid.

Four days of our week-long vacation had already passed.

So, excluding travel time, we had to resolve this within two days at the very most.

But I grinned and answered confidently.

“We’ll definitely have it sorted within two days. Don’t worry.”

The team leader looked skeptical at my confident words, but eventually nodded.

Truthfully, it was only natural not to believe it.

Even if the process was feasible, the outcome depended entirely on fate. Unless you were a prophet, how could you possibly guarantee when something would come to pass?

In that sense, it was incredibly gratifying to have earned enough trust from those around me that they would believe in something bordering on prophecy.

This life seemed to be going quite well.

And my prophecy came true the very next day.