CH 330

'Did I let my guard down?'

Kang Jin-Ho quietly bit down on his lips. No matter what was happening at the time, he should've noticed if this many martial artists had surrounded him. He had to admit that he made a mistake.

Something like this wouldn't have happened in the past, but it has happened, and now he had to deal with it.

'Who are they?'

Two groups currently held animosity toward Kang Jin-Ho. One was the Yeongnam Group, and the other one was the Japanese. From what Kang Jin-Ho sensed from the ninjas the last time, though, the aura they possessed, their qi, was noticeably different from his. Such a difference was undoubtedly the result of mastering a totally different type of martial arts from Kang Jin-Ho.

Right now, Kang Jin-Ho didn't sense the disharmony he felt while facing off against the ninjas. This meant this group must be either Koreans or dispatched from China...

The Chinese shouldn't have a reason to send such a large group of assailants just to deal with Kang Jin-Ho, which left only the...

“...The Yeongnam Group, is it?”

No one responded to Kang Jin-Ho's hushed call. But that silence was already a good enough answer for him.

'This is rather familiar...'

How many times had he confronted the Yeongnam Group's assailants by now?

A martial artist emitted a particular aura unique to the martial technique they mastered. This meant Kang Jin-Ho found the act of differentiating the modern era martial artists rather simple to pull off.

In the past, martial artists would devote their time to their own techniques even though they were affiliated with one school or a sect. Unlike them, however, the modern-era martial artists learned the unified techniques of their affiliated groups.

In the distant past, being under the same group's banner didn't prevent various martial arts with disparate cultivation techniques from co-existing together. However, it felt like having the same affiliation meant one had to learn basically the same technique as their peers in modern times.

This way of doing things must be the result of seeking a cultivation and training technique boasting the highest probability of evolution and advancement. The ease of controlling the group must've been considered, as well.

Neither way could be called better than the other one, at least in Kang Jin-Ho's opinion. Regardless of what, though, he was certain of sensing the distinctive aura unique to the Yeongnam Group martial artists.

“Who are those people, Mister Jin-Ho?” Choi Yeon-Ha nervously asked while looking around when the martial artists began revealing themselves one by one as the encircling net closed in on her and Kang Jin-Ho.

Their current location was a part of the riverside that saw little to no foot traffic. While traveling on the riverside, Kang Jin-Ho could no longer endure Choi Yeon-Ha's hair-pulling torture and stopped his bicycle at this particular place to vent his anger.

In other words, there shouldn't be this many people in this area.

The sight of a group of men kitted out in jet-black business suits slowly emerging from the darkness was too much for Choi Yeon-Ha to handle.

“M-Mister Jin-Ho?” Choi Yeon-Ha whispered, her voice trembling in fear.

Kang Jin-Ho responded nonchalantly. “Don't forget, don't grab my hair.”

“I'm sorry?”

“As long as you don't grab my hair, everything will be fine. Keep holding onto my waist, okay?”

“...Okay.” Choi Yeon-Ha nodded. Although she couldn't understand what was happening, what choice did she have other than believe Kang Jin-Ho? He said it'd be fine, did he not?

Choi Yeon-Ha had experienced over a decade of the Korean entertainment industry's cutthroat dog-eat-dog environment. Of course she could tell something suspicious was about to unfold here.

“Damn. He's so short-tempered, isn't he?” Kang Jin-Ho groaned loudly.

It hadn't been all that long ago when Kim Seok-Il showed up out of the blue, asking to band together against the common enemy, yet he sent all these people to kill Kang Jin-Ho so soon.

Kim Seok-Il could be described in simple terms as a driven, focused man of action who didn't hesitate. Or, a man with a short fuse, a hot head. Up until now, his impatient streak had helped him rise up to his current position. On the other hand, it was also true that his short temper had put him at odds with Kang Jin-Ho.

If he had his ways, Kang Jin-Ho would've turned all these martial artists surrounding him into bloody pulps, but... He glanced behind him.

He knew he couldn't do that when Choi Yeon-Ha was holding onto his waist while shivering away like a wet dog. He didn't care what she would think about him, but what about her mental trauma? If Choi Yeon-Ha, a powerless civilian, witnessed the battle, she might end up needing help from mental health professionals to recover from the trauma.

'Hmm...?'

That was when Kang Jin-Ho suddenly felt this strange disharmony within himself. Since when did he start thinking about the mental trauma of people who weren't even his family members?

If it was Kang Jin-Ho of the past, he'd resolve this situation in his preferred method whether Choi Yeon-Ha was watching or not. Those who dared to attack him would be punished with fair and equal... death. That was Kang Jin-Ho's philosophy and Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor's mantra.

But now, Kang Jin-Ho was thinking about how to avoid as much bloodshed as possible. Without being conscious about it, too.

'I can't figure it out.'

Did this side of him come about during the process of Kang Jin-Ho trying to be closer to others and be more considerate toward their needs? Or was it because he didn't see Choi Yeon-Ha as just another acquaintance, barely above a total stranger? He couldn't figure it out.

Kang Jin-Ho signed softly when his thoughts became a little more complicated. Choi Yeon-Ha behind him sensed his unease and bravely piped up. “Shall I call the police?”

The police, was it...? Kang Jin-Ho chuckled at that. Actually, he got kind of curious. What would happen if someone called the police in this sort of situation?

The odds of the Yeongnam Group having done something to stop the cops from mobilizing were pretty high. However, if the cops did show up now, what would the Yeongnam Group assailants do?

'It might be quite funny if they choose to flee.'

After imagining how these martial artists would have to run away when a bunch of cops showed up, Kang Jin-Ho began chuckling without even meaning to. These martial artists were strong enough to deal with the cops using nothing more than their fingers, so how could he not laugh at the imagery of them high-tailing it out of here?

As funny as that would be... It also demonstrated the stark limitation of the modern-era martial artists. The situation now was too different from back in Zhongyuan when the government and the people of Murim didn't interfere in each other's business. Most modern-era cops didn't even know martial artists existed, to begin with!

“No, it'll be fine. Don't call them,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Although they might get to see a funny skit by calling the cops now, the aftermath would be Kang Jin-Ho's and Choi Yeon-Ha's to deal with. And Kang Jin-Ho did not have the hobby of inviting unnecessary hardship for himself.

No, his real hobby was...

Kang Jin-Ho smirked softly. “Hold on tight, okay?”

“I'm sorry?”

...Was his bicycle, whether it was back then or now!

Kwaaaaaaahhhk!

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“Kkyaaaaahk!”

When Kang Jin-Ho powerfully stepped down on the specially-made pedals, the Golden Elephant screeched noisily and exploded forward. And Choi Yeon-Ha started screaming at the top of her lungs at this unbelievable speed.

Kang Jin-Ho's bicycle charged forward with an acceleration that not even a superbike could replicate.

“Huh?!”

“What the f*ck?!”

When Kang Jin-Ho on a bicycle charged straight at them, the martial artists trying to close the encirclement immediately fell into panic.

Of course, they had heard all the explanations and information regarding who, or what, Kang Jin-Ho was. And that also included how dangerous he was. They heard so much about him that they might start bleeding from their ears at this point!

Lee Hyeon-Su's earnest request gifted the Yeongnam Group's assailants with prudence and nervousness at the same time. Even though they were the ones exerting pressure in this situation, they themselves had been feeling a great deal of pressure in return.

However, when Kang Jin-Ho riding a bicycle suddenly started charging right at them, their nervousness instantly transformed into a fluster.

Even though a sizable contingent had been dispatched, they were forming an encirclement, which meant only three or four martial artists could fight against Kang Jin-Ho at any given time.

Screeeeech!

The wheels spinning around at a high velocity produced bizarre, goosebumps-inducing noises as they rubbed against the road surface. The martial artists blocking the way watched the bicycle close the distance at a scarcely-believable speed and fell into a momentary dilemma.

They needed to stop Kang Jin-Ho, didn't they?

Based on Lee Hyeon-Su's explanation, trying to stop Kang Jin-Ho this way was akin to committing suicide. However, letting him break through the encirclement was also committing suicide.

The enraged duo of Lee Hyeon-Su and Kim Seok-Il would never let these martial artists off the hook. Sometimes, allies could be more frightening than the enemies. Since they knew this unfortunate fact all too well, there was only one option available when stuck in this kind of situation.

“Kill him!”

Clang! Clang!

The noises of swords being yanked out of their scabbards rang across the dark night sky. Even so, Kang Jin-Ho and his withdrawn eyes continued to charge forward.

“Uwaaaaht!”

The martial artists failed to endure the pressure of the bicycle charging at them and tried to charge right back at Kang Jin-Ho instead. Kang Jin-Ho strengthened his pedaling rather than backing off, however.

Screech! Screeeeeech!

The Golden Elephant was originally a racing bicycle designed to go fast. Even then, it couldn't withstand Kang Jin-Ho's physical strength and broke down in various spots over the years. Despite being strengthened and repaired many times, the bicycle frame still issued scream-like creaks when Kang Jin-Ho started pedaling a little harder than usual.

When he did that...!

“Here we go!” Kang Jin-Ho kicked the ground, forcing the bicycle to fly up in the air.

“Kyaaaaaaaahk!” Choi Yeon-Ha screamed loudly while desperately clutching onto Kang Jin-Ho's waist. She stupidly had to open her eyes a little when the sudden sensation of weightlessness surprised her, and that made her realize that she was actually airborne now. No wonder she started screaming in fright!

“Huh...”

The martial artists charging at Kang Jin-Ho could only stand still and dazedly stare at the bicycle flying well over their heads, their jaws hitting the proverbial floor.

Humans based their lives on common sense. Which hunter trying to catch rabbits would assume their prey might suddenly start flying in the air?

If such a thing really happened, even the most experienced hunters would have no way of responding at that moment. This situation was basically that.

These martial artists fully understood how dangerous Kang Jin-Ho was. Even so, a bicycle was supposed to run on the ground. It could travel really quickly depending on who was riding it, sure. But flying in the air? Physically not possible. And that accepted common sense had caught them with their pants down.

The correct thing to do in this case was to attack the airborne bicycle, but these martial artists were too flabbergasted to respond. They just stood there with their mouths agape, dazedly staring at this unfolding sight.

The flying bicycle eventually descended toward the ground as the moon shone right behind it.

Bang! Bang!

After landing safely on the solid earth, Kang Jin-Ho spun the bicycle around to face his assailants.

“...!”

The martial artists looking into Kang Jin-Ho's withdrawn eyes flinched grandly. Whatever his reason was, Kang Jin-Ho chose to flee. That fact would not change. However, the look in his eyes did not belong to someone trying to run away.

A caged tiger wouldn't morph into a different animal because of its enclosure. And just like that, Kang Jin-Ho remained who he was. Despite trying to flee, he still held enough terrifying power to paralyze these martial artists with nothing but his glare.

'What were the big shots thinking of while sending us here?'

If they surrounded Kang Jin-Ho without the variable called the bicycle in the mix, would they still be able to defeat him, which was a 'part' of their plan?

'Nope, not f*cking possible.'

Rabbits would always be rabbits no matter how many showed up. They would never be able to fight against a tiger no matter what.

Kang Jin-Ho suddenly spoke up and broke the uneasy silence. “Go and deliver this message.”

“...?”

“Your boss doesn't need to be in a hurry since I'll pay him a visit soon.” Kang Jin-Ho slowly licked his lips. “Even I'm getting impatient about this, you see? So, you lot will see me soon enough. That I promise you. It won't be long, so until then…”

‘Enjoy what little time you have. Because once I'm there, you lot will not be able to have any fun.’

Kang Jin-Ho glared at the group before turning the bicycle around. He then leisurely pedaled away, leaving the martial artists behind. If they decided to give chase, catching up to Kang Jin-Ho would've been easy since they obviously wouldn't be slower than a bicycle. However, none of them dared to move a muscle and do that.

However, it'd be more correct to say...

“Hey, we were supposed to lead him in that direction in the first place, right?”

“Mhm, right. That direction leads to the tunnel, after all.”

“Urgh, f*cking hell! Did you see that look in his eyes? I was getting chills, man!”

“...Don't even bring that up, dude. I might wet my pants at this rate.” One of the assailants chuckled jokingly before getting more serious. “This reminds me of when I was unlucky enough to meet the Fallen some time ago... Gee whiz, I got all sorts of creepy chills back then, but the Fallen is just a mere homeless bum compared to that guy.”

The martial artist shuddered slightly, then smirked while looking in the direction where Kang Jin-Ho had disappeared to.

“You don't kill a beast by overpowering it but by herding it to a dead end. Make the prey think it's escaping, but in reality, we're gradually leading it toward the heart of a trap we've prepared beforehand. That's the ticket.”

“Hey, call the others and let them know that our target is heading in the expected direction.”

“Okay!”

The martial artist stared at the distant Kang Jin-Ho under the moonlight.

'...If we fail to kill him, we'll be the ones to die. And in the cruelest way imaginable, too.'

A wounded beast was much more dangerous, after all.