Chapter 84. You Only Know When You Die (1)

Regret always comes too late.

Why couldn't I understand back then?

Qibidanhon recalled the words of the Branch Master of the Medicine King Sect.

"Do you know who guards the Young Master? The Golden Red Scholar, the Three Demon Suppressing Heroes, and the Wu Mountain Twin Heroes. But the one you should truly fear is the Young Master himself. You should have seen how obedient the Three Demon Suppressing Heroes and the Wu Mountain Twin Heroes are in front of the Young Master; it's a shame you didn't."

When pressed on why he was worried, the Branch Master had elaborated in this manner. At the time, it seemed like he was just rambling on and on...

His thoughts were cut short.

Thud, thud, thud.

The uncontrollable convulsions worsened.

His body twisted in increasingly rough and unpredictable directions, bringing immense pain.

"Ughhh..."

Even with the pile of earth pressing down on him, his body writhed as if trying to break free, causing his bones and muscles to twist endlessly. The pain was indescribable. It was a miracle that his bones hadn't broken.

In the midst of this, dirt was forced into his mouth, making it a muddy mess and adding to his misery.

How long had this gone on?

The convulsions gradually subsided.

As Qibidanhon, he could only accept the situation without understanding the reason. Not knowing why they started, he couldn't understand why they stopped.

By this time, it had been an hour (2 hours) since he was buried.

But to Qibidanhon, who felt like it had been much longer, it might have been a day or two.

And the situation was still dire.

The convulsions had stopped, but the problem was the sealed acupoints. His body, which had moved so well during the convulsions, was now completely immobile.

Did he have the strength to unblock the meridians?

He had none left.

Under normal circumstances, it would take about two hours to break through a sealed acupoint, but in this state, it was a dream.

What would happen now? Would he die like this?

If only someone could find him...

But they had even planted grass over him.

If a sudden downpour came and washed away the dirt, that would be nice...

But the weather had been clear and windless before he was buried, and it was expected to remain so for a month without any rain.

Moreover, this place was rarely visited by people.

Since he had chosen this location, he had dug his own deep grave.

"Damn... sob... sob..."

In the pitch-black darkness, Qibidanhon wept. If a great flood came later and he was discovered, it might be too late, and no one would recognize him. "Oh, oh... He's already rotted away, and no one can tell who he is." Such conversations might take place. Thinking about this, he felt absurd and tears welled up in his eyes.

What was the mission?

Life has its failures.

Regret welled up, but it quickly turned into resentment towards the Young Master. This wasn't a live burial, was it? A person shouldn't be treated like this. And what about the behavior of the young men from the Beggar Sect? Does the Beggar Sect Leader know that his disciples act like this? If this continues, the future of the Beggar Sect is worrying...

"Damn... Why am I worrying about this? Sob, sob, sob..."

In the complete darkness, Qibidanhon alternated between cursing, crying, and regretting, spending his time alone. He wished someone would interrupt his solitude, but no one did, leaving him feeling lonely.

How much more time passed?

Suddenly,

"Huh?"

A miracle happened.

His body was regaining control. For some reason, the meridians were gradually unblocking, and he could move, albeit weakly. Overjoyed, he opened his eyes, only to have dirt enter and irritate them, forcing him to close them again quickly.

But,

'I'm alive!'

Excitement surged. The ability to move was crucial. Escaping wouldn't be difficult.

Qibidanhon's heart raced as he frantically dug through the dirt, inching his way up.

Plop!

His hand broke through the earth, feeling the outside air, and he pulled his body out, revealing a dark night.

At that moment,

"Wow, this guy really came out."

"Check the time, it's accurate."

"Hey, what a mess."

Voices came from behind.

Qibidanhon's heart sank in shock.

'What? They were waiting?'

To bury him again? Surprised, he turned to look, and his eyes widened.

They were strangers.

Three men, in their mid-twenties to early thirties, wore smirks on their faces.

"Who, who are you?"

Already startled by the grass, he stammered at the sight of these men.

"Haha, look at this guy stammering. Are you scared?"

"Hehe, if you weren't scared, that would be stranger."

"Hey, what did you do to get buried? Did you take out a loan?"

"..."

Qibidanhon regained his composure as he listened.

As the initial shock subsided, he began to notice things he hadn't initially seen.

These men were not martial artists.

They were just ordinary thugs.

This meant they were,

errand boys.

"Did the Young Master of the Heavenly Flower Archive send you?"

The answer was in their words.

They said, "He really came out," and were surprised by the exact time.

This meant someone had sent them here to wait until this time.

Who could have known this place and the time he would come out?

Reflecting on this, it became clear that the unblocking of his meridians at this time was not a coincidence or a miracle, but intentional from the beginning, as planned by the Young Master.

"Heavenly Flower Archive?"

The man in blue frowned.

"What's that, you bastard! Did you come back from the dead and go crazy? What are you barking about?"

"..."

Qibidanhon was puzzled.

The man in blue continued.

"What's wrong with your head? Don't you remember who did this to you? You messed with the Beggar Sect."

"!"

"Thought you were someone important for pissing off Brother Yinyanggai, but you're just a lunatic. Do you want to be buried again?"

'Hmm... So that's how it is.'

Qibidanhon understood the situation.

To these low-level thugs, the Beggar Sect was absolute.

It was a religion.

And Yinyanggai was a god, a great calamity.

It was clear that Yinyanggai had given them this errand. But beyond that, who had given the order to Yinyanggai was obvious.

The Young Master of the Heavenly Flower Archive.

When did this start?

The picture of the current situation.

It might have started from the moment he blocked the carriage.

The live burial, the convulsions, the unblocking of the meridians, and the errand boys in front of him now. The process, carried out smoothly like flowing water, revealed a level of sophistication far beyond his own.

"Huff..."

Qibidanhon sighed, remembering the Young Master's words: "You only know when you die." This experience made him realize how arrogant he had been and how terrifying his opponent was.

He shook his head and spoke.

"Where should I go?"

The three thugs grinned.

"Hey, you're not completely stupid. Follow us."

***

Huangmuke Inn.

Deep into the night, past midnight.

Qibidanhon sat on the first floor of the inn.

He had already washed and changed his clothes, looking quite presentable. By his side, Yinyanggai, Xiaotiankai, and Miaobingbing were there to comfort him.

"Starting a new life! Congratulations on your resurrection! How was the air down there?"

"Senior Brother, I made a breathing hole. The air should have been fine. Right? The air flowed in smoothly, didn't it?"

Qibidanhon grimaced.

It was supposed to be a comforting session, but he couldn't find any comfort in it.

The "comfort" continued.

Miaobingbing asked coolly,

"But how did you convulse so well?"

"..."

Qibidanhon paused, raising his wine glass.

But Miaobingbing didn't care.

"I've never seen someone convulse so much while being sealed. I thought someone had sprinkled salt on you."

"We just sprinkled dirt," Miaobingbing concluded.

Qibidanhon felt a surge of anger at the memory but gave up and took a sip of wine.

He had no intention of arguing. He wasn't in a state to use his energy. Even while washing, he felt weak and almost collapsed. As for the convulsions, he was also puzzled.

Yinyanggai laughed and refilled his glass.

"That's what I said. The boss is a real piece of work. We didn't know he would really bury you. We were shocked. But what could we do? We're just underlings. If he says to bury, we bury."

"Right, if we didn't, we would have been buried too. The boss is scary."

Qibidanhon listened with one ear and let it go with the other.

But these three had been quite excited when they covered him with dirt. The suggestion to plant grass and the urgency in their voices were still vivid.

Yinyanggai continued,

"The problem was from the start. If I had flattered and coaxed you gently, the boss would have said, 'Let's try it, hehe,' and the atmosphere would have been good. But your attitude was almost like a kidnapper."

"Right. The boss is scary but a good person. He treated the Medicine King Sect with respect and was very polite."

"Polite?"

Qibidanhon showed interest.

Xiaotiankai quickly covered his mouth and whispered,

"There's such a thing. It's a secret."

At that moment, Songhua approached the group.

"The Young Master is calling you."

Qibidanhon stood up.

He had been expecting this.

As Qibidanhon entered the room, Hou Gong, standing by the window, gestured to a table.

"Sit there."

"..."

Qibidanhon stopped and glared.

He was bewildered.

'What? Why?'

He couldn't understand the reason.

It wasn't because the Young Master wasn't showing respect.

That didn't matter. They had already gone as far as they could.

And this matter started with his coercion, ended in complete defeat, and was not yet resolved.

The problem was,

'Damn...'

His body started to tremble. He wasn't afraid in his heart. The Young Master had already shown he didn't intend to kill him. Yet his body reacted involuntarily.

Hou Gong looked at him bluntly.

It was clear from a glance that Qibidanhon was affected by the fear. His body remembered the terror and reacted on its own. Even with the minimal fear technique applied, there was still pain.

"What's wrong? Why are you staring at me so fearfully and trembling? Planning to do it again?"

Hou Gong pretended to be angry, pretending not to notice.

This reaction gave Qibidanhon some leeway.

The tension in his body gradually subsided. He vaguely understood that this was the Young Master's consideration.

"No."

He answered respectfully.