CH 331

“What just happened to us?” Choi Yeon-Ha asked in a trembling voice, having finally broken free of her previous panicked state. Considering her personality, she should be losing her mind to anger and screaming blue murder right now, but Choi Yeon-Ha didn't do any of that.

Actually, she looked genuinely frightened, which didn't suit the image she had built up until now.

'Then again, it is obvious that she would be, isn't it?'

This kind of incident was just another day in Kang Jin-Ho's life, but Choi Yeon-Ha had probably never experienced anything like it before. A civilian wouldn't be able to keep calm when facing a threat like that.

Kang Jin-Ho coolly replied, “It's nothing to worry about.”

“But, those people...” Choi Yeon-Ha suddenly stopped there.

Kang Jin-Ho liked this part about Choi Yeon-Ha. Even as a civilian with zero cultivation, she must've sensed something suspicious about those martial artists. Tonight would've been her first time being subjected to killing intent, after all. And from many scary-looking men at the same time, no less.

However, she chose to hold her tongue in the end since she hadn't experienced anything else. Choi Yeon-Ha understood that whining and raising a fuss over something vague and uncertain would only give birth to unnecessary conflict.

Her conversation partner would've said something if he thought it was necessary. If he was planning to tell her later, then all Choi Yeon-Ha had to do was wait. If he wasn't, then well... No matter what she said, Kang Jin-Ho wouldn't tell her the truth anyway. Choi Yeon-Ha wasn't a dummy, so she knew that frustrating fact all too well.

Fwhooooooosh-!

Kang Jin-Ho continued to pedal away on his Golden Elephant.

'Now isn't the right time.'

If Kang Jin-Ho had been alone, he'd not choose to withdraw. He could have simply swept the assailants aside, and that would be the end. However, the story would change with Choi Yeon-Ha in tow.

There was no guarantee that this new group of Yeongnam assailants didn't carry firearms. If that many people started firing indiscriminately again, Kang Jin-Ho would find protecting Choi Yeon-Ha from all the bullets rather a tall order.

'So, this is the difference between the modern era and Zhongyuan...'

Even back in the past, martial artists found dealing with well-armed soldiers a cumbersome affair. If ten thousand soldiers fired one arrow each, it'd translate into ten thousand arrows flying toward their target.

Ten thousand might not sound like a lot, but that many arrows could completely blanket the skies. Such a sight would be hard to imagine for those who had never witnessed it.

The top experts would have found a way, but those martial artists that hadn't reached a certain realm yet had no methods of defending against so many arrows blanketing the heavens. This was why the government never truly lost its ability to control and restrict Murim.

In the modern era, however, a single rifleman could do as much damage as a hundred archers. A martial artist hoping to protect a cultivation-less civilian from a hail of gunfire coming from everywhere would have to simultaneously defend every angle and direction.

The current Kang Jin-Ho had no trouble doing so... for himself. But even he couldn't guarantee a flawless job when Choi Yeon-Ha was included in the territory to be defended.

To make matters worse...

'If only I were carrying my Crimson Destiny...'

The modern era wasn't friendly toward Kang Jin-Ho's needs. Lugging around the Crimson Destiny all the time in the current era was next to impossible. Owning a sword in this day and age wasn't difficult as long as one had the permit issued by the government, but carrying around a sword with an actual deadly blade edge would stir up a huge problem. The odds of that happening were way too high for Kang Jin-Ho's liking. And that was one of the reasons why Kang Jin-Ho chose to flee for now.

It wasn't as if Kang Jin-Ho cared about his pride while running away. Those brain-dead 'No Retreat, No Surrender!' types might boast a strong, unyielding mindset, but that would also lead them to a strong, unyielding death.

Even before Kang Jin-Ho threw his lot in with the demon cult, he was branded gangho's number one enemy. Getting chased around by the righteous sect bastards was an almost daily occurrence to him back then. If he blindly chose to fight every single one of his pursuers, Kang Jin-Ho's second stab at life would have lasted maybe two decades at most.

So, choosing to flee left him with no regrets. It was just that...

Grit.

Kang Jin-Ho quietly gritted his teeth. Running away after encountering an opponent he couldn't win against, and running away because the situation didn't give him much choice despite his opponents being easy... These two felt quite different, no matter how he wanted to dress them up. Back in Zhongyuan, Kang Jin-Ho would never show his back and flee just because someone else might get in his way during the battle. That was what he was like, but now...!

Kang Jin-Ho gritted his teeth as this boiling feeling welled up from deep within his chest.

“W-what's wrong, Mister Jin-Ho?” Choi Yeon-Ha cautiously asked him, seemingly indicating that she heard his teeth gritting just now.

Her voice sucked out all the coiled strength from Kang Jin-Ho's tense shoulders.

'No, that's not it.'

Kang Jin-Ho briefly shook his head. He wasn't fleeing because Choi Yeon-Ha might get in his way. No, he had to run because he wasn't strong enough to protect Choi Yeon-Ha while fighting the assailants. That was all.

If he was still Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor, why would he show his back to his enemies and flee? Whether Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor would fight while protecting Choi Yeon-Ha was beside the point, but still!

'Before blaming someone else, blame my shortcomings first!'

Kang Jin-Ho coldly analyzed the situation, then gradually slowed down.

Squeeze...!

Only then did he finally sense 'it'; Choi Yeon-Ha was desperately clinging onto his waist with everything she had. Despite the bicycle moving at a speed that would have terrified a calm person, she hadn't asked him to slow down once. No, she... Choi Yeon-Ha did her best to hold on until her lips had turned blue.

“Fuu-woo...” Kang Jin-Ho let out a quiet little sigh. It seemed too much blood had rushed up to his head. He couldn't even see his surroundings properly.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Choi Yeon-Ha and gently spoke. “You can relax now.”

However, Choi Yeon-Ha didn't loosen up. She continued to shiver away quietly behind him.

“It's okay now, so you can relax a little. If you keep holding on like this, you might injure yourself instead.”

Choi Yeon-Ha nodded slightly after sensing that the bicycle wasn't traveling at the previous breakneck pace. Her arm strength gradually weakened. However, she must've been holding on for too long and too hard. Even Kang Jin-Ho could sense her hands weakly creaking.

'I've ended up with tunnel vision, huh.'

Even though the person he was with was frightened out of her wits, Kang Jin-Ho hadn't noticed it until now. That seemed like a good indicator of what Kang Jin-Ho's mindset was like currently. He believed he had developed enough as a person to be able to care about people around him but seemed to revert back to his old self the moment something even remotely stressful happened in his life.

Creak...

Kang Jin-Ho stopped the Golden Elephant, then carefully picked Choi Yeon-Ha off the bicycle. She was startled when a pair of arms suddenly slid under her armpits but soon calmed down after Kang Jin-Ho put her down on solid ground. She cautiously scanned their current surroundings, still not saying anything.

“Can you show me your hands, Miss Choi?”

“Sorry?”

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“Your hands.”

“Oh…” Choi Yeon-Ha didn't resist and pushed her hands forward. Kang Jin-Ho injected qi into his fingertips and carefully began massaging her offered hands.

“Ah!” Choi Yeon-Ha gasped when a warm yet refreshing sensation traveled through her hands to the rest of her arms. Feelings began returning to her previously-numb arms.

'Looks like there aren't any issues.'

After unblocking her clogged energy pathways, Kang Jin-Ho let her hands go. “It's nothing serious, so you don't have to worry too much.”

“...Thank you,” Choi Yeon-Ha muttered quietly, her head faltering lower.

'Maybe I was being too unreasonable...'

Choi Yeon-Ha couldn't stop thinking that if she hadn't shown up tonight, Kang Jin-Ho wouldn't have come this way. Although the truth was not like that, Choi Yeon-Ha had no way of knowing the circumstances of this situation and could only think this way.

Meanwhile, Kang Jin-Ho was thinking about something else.

'They are coming out pretty strongly.'

Kang Jin-Ho did expect the Yeongnam Group to do whatever it took to kill him. However, he also expected them to be a little more prudent now that the Japanese had been added to the picture. Judging from tonight, though, it seemed Kim Seok-Il chose to definitely eliminate Kang Jin-Ho first instead - precisely because of the Japanese's involvement.

'Makes sense if you think about it.'

If Kang Jin-Ho was in Kim Seok-Il's shoes, he'd also have chosen to quickly dispose of the troublesome opponent and take over the Martial Assembly right away. That would be the most formulaic way to deal with this situation. And also the most effective one.

“...Running wild as he sees fit, is that it?” Kang Jin-Ho quietly muttered.

“I'm sorry?” Choi Yeon-Ha tilted her head.

“No, don't worry about it.” Kang Jin-Ho climbed up his Golden Elephant again. “Get on.”

“...Again?”

A cramped smile floated up on Kang Jin-Ho's face. “Don't worry, I won't go as fast as before.”

Choi Yeon-Ha remained nervous and scanned the surroundings again.

'Should I just... grab a taxi now?'

The prospect of riding that bicycle again unleashed another tidal wave of nervousness inside Choi Yeon-Ha's mind. Just recalling the bicycle's incredible velocity just now made her legs quiver from fear. The scenery was literally a blur while they were seemingly breaking through the space-time continuum, wasn't it!

There was an app for basically everything nowadays, so calling for a taxi wouldn't be difficult even if she happened to be in a deserted area. Her thoughts ended there, and then...

Choi Yeon-Ha climbed on Kang Jin-Ho's bicycle without any complaints.

“Okay, let's go,” said Choi Yeon-Ha.

Calling for a taxi was indeed not hard. However, leaving in a taxi meant Kang Jin-Ho would have to ride his bicycle alone. Since going back the way they came from was out of the question, he would have to take a longer route back home, and Choi Yeon-Ha realized she couldn't bear to see that.

It might be seen as a nuisance to keep riding on the back of his bicycle, but Kang Jin-Ho insisted on it, so the correct thing was to accompany him the rest of the way.

“H-however, please take your time and go slowly! I almost had an accident in my trousers, you know!”

“...Got it. Slowly it is.” Kang Jin-Ho nodded, thinking he also didn't want that kind of crisis happening right behind him.

After confirming that Choi Yeon-Ha was secure in the back saddle, Kang Jin-Ho carefully stepped on the Golden Elephant's pedals. Even though he was extra cautious, the bicycle still shot forward like a bullet.

Trying to maintain a speed that wouldn't frighten Choi Yeon-Ha turned out to be tougher than he thought.

Choi Yeon-Ha cautiously called out to him. “...Mister Jin-Ho?”

“Yes?”

“Something... feels off today.”

“Are you talking about me?”

“Yes,” Choi Yeon-Ha whispered, then slowly nodded. “Normally, you... You don't come across this way, but today, you feel distant. So much so that I'm wondering if you're really Kang Jin-Ho that I know.”

Kang Jin-Ho didn't say anything. Maybe, she might have noticed it. Well, Choi Yeon-Ha was a top actress, wasn't she? She might have realized that the facade of 'regular' Kang Jin-Ho was only possible because he had vigorously suppressed so many facets of himself first.

“There's no need to be alarmed. I'm not any different, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“I see. Then, it's fine.” Choi Yeon-Ha cautiously leaned her head against Kang Jin-Ho's back. “I... Let me borrow your back for a little while. I'm just a little rattled and listless, you see?”

Kang Jin-Ho didn't try to stop her or push her back. Even if he was a dullard, he could tell that a powerless civilian like Choi Yeon-Ha would have a hard time processing what happened tonight.

'I need to be more cautious.'

If the Yeongnam Group was prepared to cross lines regularly like this, it'd pose a significant hurdle to Kang Jin-Ho's everyday life. The people around him would surely get caught up if the Yeongnam Group charged at him without any regard for collateral damage.

'Maybe I should just...!'

Kang Jin-Ho's eyes became withdrawn once more. Getting one-sidedly attacked and responding after the fact wasn't really his style. No, his preferred method was usually about nipping the trouble in the buds before it could affect him.

While thinking about contacting Bang Jin-Hun as soon as he safely got Choi Yeon-Ha home, Kang Jin-Ho quietly pedaled away on his Golden Elephant.

Choi Yeon-Ha whispered another question. "Is it okay to travel on a street meant for cars?"

“Well, there are no other cars, so it should be fine.”

“But, it might get dangerous, you know?”

“...Understood. Only until we pass that area, then.”

Choi Yeon-Ha raised her head to look ahead. She could see a tunnel lit in orange light ahead of the street they were traveling on. “Ah, I see what you mean.”

The tunnel did have sidewalks on either side, but they were too narrow. If someone happened to be coming the other way, Kang Jin-Ho would have to pick up the bicycle and carry it above his head.

He chuckled slightly. “We'll pass through the tunnel in no time at all, so don't be too nervous.”

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-Ho shook his head to get rid of all the complicated, distracting thoughts.

'For now... I'll talk to Bang Jin-Hun first and then decide.'

He wouldn't have minded charging straight into the Yeongnam Group's HQ and slaughtering every single annoying fly hiding in there, but the aftermath would be too much of a headache to deal with.

So, for now...

Kang Jin-Ho flinched, and his eyes shot open wide suddenly. He hurriedly looked up, and right at that moment...!

KA-BOOOOOOOM!