Chapter 77. Accumulated Evil and Residual Misfortune (2)

“Aaaaaah!”

The instructor of Fengyun Martial Hall screamed as if he had just witnessed an Outer God, his mind seemingly collapsing.

In contrast, I felt myself becoming even more calm as I watched him.

‘What should I do?’

I had just set the fire, and it hadn’t fully spread to the building yet. I had intended to cause a commotion to draw attention, but it was too early to let others know about the fire.

I still needed more time.

‘There’s no other way...!’

I had to suppress him.

I adjusted my grip on the wooden sword in my right hand and infused my inner strength into my legs, then quickly charged at him.

“Eeeeh!”

As I charged at him in nothing but my underwear, the instructor screamed in shock.

“N-no, don’t come!! Don’t come!!!”

He frantically drew his sword, swinging it wildly. He seemed to be in a state of severe confusion, his grip on the sword completely disordered.

I smiled inwardly.

‘Such a rookie.’

This could be considered the limitation of rural instructors who had only practiced martial arts in the dojo without experiencing real combat.

In real combat, all sorts of unexpected things happen! One must have the mental fortitude to remain calm in any bizarre situation to survive in this martial world.

‘How foolish.’

If it were me, I would have fled without looking back.

Why draw a sword when a crazy guy in his underwear is charging at you? You should run for your life.

‘The head is the most vulnerable...!’

This was a lesson I learned from my previous battle with Yang Jinpo. When holding a real sword, the wooden sword, which relies on its weight, is the most difficult to handle.

If you knew how to use sword qi, it might be different, but this is just a matter of mass, and there’s no way to defend against it.

Of course, in a normal situation where one can remain calm, a real sword would naturally be advantageous. However, if you can’t easily cut through a wooden sword with sword qi and the opponent is swinging wildly, it’s hard to handle a wooden sword.

“Aaaaaah!!!”

*Thud!*

I quickly brought down the wooden sword and struck the instructor’s head. I held back to ensure he wouldn’t die. With my powerful blow, he fainted on the spot.

“Phew.”

I exhaled to calm my breath and then moved towards my discarded clothes.

‘I need to put on clothes first.’

Aside from the cold, if I didn’t, my first nickname would be "Pervert."

I laid the unconscious Instructor A down and hurried to put on my clothes.

“Grunn...”

I bent down to pick up my clothes. That’s when it happened.

“I heard Instructor Zhang’s voice...”

“Huh? Why is he here... Ugh, ugh!!! What is that guy?!!”

Suddenly, voices from behind sounded as if they had seen something they shouldn’t have. I turned my head to see two men in white martial uniforms with Fengyun Martial Hall’s emblem, staring at me in shock.

“T-that... that guy! He’s naked...!!”

“Moreover, he’s deliberately showing us his ass!”

“Shut up, damn it!”

No, it’s not true.

Damn it...

I stood up again without putting on my clothes. In front of me were two shocked instructors from Fengyun Martial Hall.

‘Do I have to shed more blood again?’

When will this path of carnage (修羅道) end?

I suppressed my regret over this futile fight and slowly raised my wooden sword. I made a calm judgment.

‘Head-on... it’s difficult with two.’

I could have taken one by surprise, but with two, I needed to be more cautious.

‘No choice. I’ll give up on the clothes.’

I instinctively felt that there was no time to put on clothes again and decided to destroy the evidence. I kicked the clothes I had laid out into the fire.

These nightclothes were expensive...

The oil-soaked clothes quickly caught fire and burned fiercely.

*Whoosh!*

No Retreat in Battle, Burn the Boats

臨戰無退 破釜沈舟

There was no turning back now.

I burned the clothes with a heavy heart, like Zhuge Liang cutting the ropes to the boats, and prepared for the fight.

‘As long as I don’t get caught.’

As long as I don’t get caught by Wei Jiyan and Beigong Lin, it’s fine. Fortunately, the horn I needed for the operation was still hanging around my neck.

And this was an unexpected realization: the thought of covering my face gave me a surge of courage, as if I had become a different being, a hero of justice.

I lowered my voice and shouted at them.

“Accumulated Evil and Residual Misfortune (積惡餘殃), the price of sin will come, though it may be delayed!”

“What, what?”

“What are you talking about?!”

The instructors, tense and trembling, focused on my voice. I raised my wooden sword and pointed it at them.

“I have come to punish the evil deeds of Fengyun Martial Hall’s Instructor Zhao Chashi!”

As I shouted in a deep voice, one of the older-looking instructors pointed at my crotch and said.

“...In that state?”

“Damn it.”

I thought even Zhao Chashi wouldn’t want to be punished by such a guy.

I decided it would be a loss to continue talking, so I used my lightness skill to speed up and charge at them.

“A pervert is coming!!”

“Guh!”

Only then did they regain their senses. They frantically tried to draw their swords, but it was too late. I was almost upon them.

*Clang!*

“Guh!”

My wooden sword drew a beautiful arc and struck one instructor’s head precisely. After confirming he was foaming at the mouth, I simultaneously spun and delivered a rolling sweep to the other instructor.

*Thud!*

“Guh...”

However, things didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. The first instructor was easy to take down by surprise, but the second managed to twist his body and avoid the vital points.

“No, this is bad.”

“This, this pervert...!”

The instructor I had knocked down with the wooden sword was in a lower position. The one hit by the rolling sweep, despite being kicked in the stomach, managed to regain his composure and jumped back to create distance.

*Clang!*

The sharp sound of a sword being drawn rang out.

After years of eating the martial world’s rice, I could roughly gauge the opponent’s skill just by the sound of the sword being drawn. This opponent seemed to be no ordinary fighter.

‘He’s a bit above my level.’

From the stance alone, it seemed he was at a level that could surpass the second tier.

The tension between me and the instructor was palpable. A strong wind blew, and the sand on the ground swirled like a dragon.

‘I’ll run.’

I immediately threw the wooden sword at the instructor and turned to flee. The instructor, who had been waiting for me to attack, seemed bewildered and shouted from behind.

“No, where are you running to! You pervert!”

“──Can you catch me?”

“Guh!”

After I provoked him, the instructor began to chase me, spitting out blood.

However, as Beigong Lin had said, the instructors of Fengyun Martial Hall were not very skilled in lightness techniques. Despite my own lack of proficiency, they couldn’t easily close the distance.

“Huh, stop, stop there!!”

“No!”

The instructor, excited, was breathing heavily. As he failed to catch me, he began to increase his speed, but I also used my inner strength to increase my speed.

*Thud, thud, thud*

“Y-you...!”

The opponent began to put in more effort to chase me. Indeed, his efforts were not in vain, as he gradually began to close the distance.

“J-just a little...!”

I felt the opponent was almost at the back of my head. At the critical moment when I might be caught, I smiled.

—Everything was going according to plan.

‘Now!’

At that moment, I concentrated my inner strength in my feet and forced a stop.

*Whoosh!*

The sudden stop caused the sand to rise like a fog. I almost tumbled to a stop due to the sudden deceleration.

“Wh-what?!”

Unlike me, the instructor couldn’t stop—

*Boom*

As I suddenly stopped, the instructor, who was chasing me, tripped over my body and flew through the air.

“Wh-what?!”

The instructor’s body was spinning in the air, a perfect target. I quickly stood up and kicked him as he fell.

*Thud!*

“Guh...”

After spinning in the air and being kicked, the instructor flew and fell, foaming at the mouth and fainting.

“Phew... It went according to plan.”

The sudden stop had almost worn out the soles of my shoes, but the plan was successful. I began to slowly undress the unconscious instructor.

No, to avoid any misunderstanding, I’m not doing anything weird; I just need to put on clothes. A person needs to be properly dressed to be a person.

“Why did you tie the strings so tightly?”

But this guy had tied the strings of his martial uniform so tightly that I couldn’t untie them properly. As I struggled to take off his clothes, I suddenly heard a shocked voice from a distance.

“T-that...! A pervert! He’s trying to assault Instructor Jiu!!”

“...”

I don’t want to live.

Really.

***

I quickly blew the horn to signal that the job was done and fled as fast as I could. Despite the soles of my shoes flapping, I managed to escape from the instructors before my shoes completely fell apart.

“Phew...”

After a long battle, I couldn’t return to the group.

‘I need to find clothes.’

If I returned in this state, my social life and reputation would be over. I sneaked to the rendezvous point and, fortunately, I was the first to arrive.

I broke a few branches to leave a mark.

*Safe escape. Temporary problem. Will return soon.*

I left a mark that only the Baiyun Escort Agency people could understand and hid in the bushes.

‘Where should I go to find clothes?’

As the cold wind wrapped around me, I felt frustrated. I couldn’t return to the inn now, as it was a busy time.

I knew Sima Yu’s place, but that wouldn’t work. I had no idea where to go.

‘I can’t go to the escort agency either.’

At that moment, I suddenly felt lonely, realizing that the