Chapter 52, Walking on Water
A first-rate master could remain above water for a short moment.
However, remaining there for even three breaths would consume almost all their true qi.
Supporting the entire body's weight by releasing true qi through the Yongquan acupoints required enormous internal power.
Even for a first-rate master, running across water for three breaths would allow them to travel only around five jang.
A second-rate martial artist could not even properly keep their body above the water.
Only peak masters could walk or run over water for an extended period.
Even then, a peak master could remain above water for only around a quarter of an hour.
Because of that, everyone had been worried when Jaha moved onto the lake.
Even if he could walk over the water, they assumed he would exhaust himself faster than the Crow Sword and Saber.
However, the time when Jaha should have run out of qi and sunk had already passed.
Yet he was still running across the water.
That was the power of the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps.
Because the footwork had originally been created to move while barely touching the ground, it displayed its true strength over water.
While the Crow Sword and Saber slowed slightly as they struggled through the water, Jaha's arm suddenly bent at a bizarre angle and slipped toward one man's shoulder.
The Flowing Joint Art and Revolving Joint Formula were activated.
It looked almost as if Jaha's arm had detached, spun once in the air, then reattached itself.
Slice!
The sound of the shoulder being cut was so chilling that the surrounding martial artists flinched.
Splash!
The Crow Sword and Saber warrior's severed shoulder fell directly into the water.
Once the two lost their fighting spirit, Jaha's sword shot toward their necks.
For Jaha, killing people who had tried to kill him was natural.
He intended to cut off their heads and punish them for daring to covet the spiritual medicine.
However, just before his sword reached their necks, it stopped.
It was not Jaha's own decision.
What are you doing, Byeok Ho? These bastards need to die!
Jaha could not forgive men who had tried to kill him with a coordinated ambush.
But his hand refused to move.
If we let these bastards live, people will think we're easy prey! We need to kill them!
Jaha's killing intent did not fade.
When he tried forcing his arm forward, numbness began spreading throughout his body.
Byeok Ho's White Spirit was resisting strongly.
You idiot!
Jaha cursed Byeok Ho inwardly.
He could not understand why Byeok Ho wanted to spare people like these.
You're just a disciple from a countryside martial school. Are you trying to imitate some righteous hero now?
Jaha let out a long sigh and lowered his sword.
At times like this, the body responded on its own.
Then an evil smile slowly appeared on Jaha's face.
No one noticed.
To everyone else, it looked like a kind smile.
Wait. Thinking about it, there's no real need to kill them.
Jaha had briefly lost his reason because of anger.
Then he changed his thinking.
I can absorb their true qi using the Acupoint-Draining Claw Method.
With that thought, Jaha turned his back on the two men.
"Get lost!"
Jaha knew the habits of villains very well.
Villains did not honestly admit defeat and quietly retreat like righteous martial artists.
If someone exposed an opening like this right before their eyes, they would immediately attack.
Cowardice was almost instinctive for people like them.
As expected, the Crow Sword and Saber picked up their dropped weapons and tried stabbing Jaha in the back.
"What!"
"Watch out!"
The surrounding martial artists shouted in horror.
Jaha smiled inwardly.
Got you.
Just before the sword and saber pierced his back, Jaha's body suddenly slid backward.
Using the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps, he moved like a ghost.
Then he struck the numbing acupoints at the backs of both men's necks.
Thud! Thud!
The Crow Sword and Saber's eyes rolled upward.
They collapsed directly into the water.
Splash!
"Bastards like that deserve to die!"
"Kill them! Attacking someone from behind after he spared them!"
Angry voices erupted everywhere.
Jaha raised one hand.
"If I chose to spare them, then I should spare them until the end. That's what my master taught me."
Those words were entirely Jaha's own choice.
His right hand remained normal.
However, tiny goosebumps appeared across his left hand.
Byeok Ho's White Spirit had reacted to those words.
Jaha pulled the two men from the water.
Pretending to stop the bleeding from their shoulders, he used the Acupoint-Draining Claw Method and drew their true qi into his own dantian.
"As expected of Heavenly Demon Defying Sword!"
Once someone praised him, the others immediately joined in.
"What a rare righteous hero!"
"They tried to kill him, yet he still spared them. If it were me, I would've killed them."
"There's always a reason someone becomes famous!"
"I know a warrior from the Vermilion Bird Unit. He told me Heavenly Demon Defying Sword once protected him from Western Gorge Sect warriors attacking from behind. He kept praising Heavenly Demon Defying Sword until spit flew from his mouth. Now I understand why."
Hearing so many people praise him made Jaha's skin crawl.
There had been plenty of flatterers inside the Demon Cult.
However, hearing this many people sincerely praising him at once was difficult to endure.
Jaha wanted to tell all of them to get lost too.
Goeui, however, proudly raised his shoulders.
"That Heavenly Demon Defying Sword is also my successor."
Someone immediately asked,
"Who are you, Senior?"
"Me? What, you don't know who I am? People in the martial world call this old man Goeui."
"Oh!"
From that moment, people began gathering around Goeui instead.
Soon, Goeui was happily chatting away with them.
Thanks to him, Jaha gained enough time to settle the Crow Sword and Saber's true qi inside his dantian.
"Take these men away."
After absorbing roughly ninety years of internal power from the two men together, Jaha felt as if his lower abdomen might tear apart.
Still, this was not a moment when he could afford to waste even a strand of true qi.
He endured the pain.
Meanwhile, Goeui was still loudly chatting with the surrounding people.
Apparently, all the rumors about Goeui having a strange and difficult personality were lies.
Jaha looked at the blood flowing from the Crow Sword and Saber's wounds.
The lake water around him was turning red.
He was about to leave the water when a sudden thought struck him.
Jaha stared into the lake for a long time.
Maybe there is a way to fight Hwancheonma after all.
A slow smile appeared on Jaha's face.
On the way to Willow Flower Water Garden, he had been deeply troubled because he had no way to deal with Hwancheonma.
At the Beggar Sect safe house, he had been able to trap Hwancheonma with the Heavenly Prison Formation.
But because Hwancheonma had chosen a lake as the meeting place, Jaha could not use his greatest strength, formations.
He was also worried because there was no guarantee Hwancheonma would actually release Ha Seonbaek, Jo Unryong, and Han Seol after receiving the spiritual medicine.
If things went badly, Jaha might have to fight Hwancheonma directly.
Until now, he had no method of doing that.
Once he discovered a possible solution, even the unpleasant feeling from being forced by Byeok Ho to spare the Crow Sword and Saber disappeared.
Even if he could not kill Hwancheonma, he had at least found a method to avoid dying at his hands.
A short while later, Hwancheonma's guards returned carrying a small boat.
It was barely large enough for three or four people.
Even the size had clearly been calculated to prevent Jaha from bringing too many people.
"If you want to protect the spiritual medicine, you'll need to guard me."
At Jaha's words, Hwancheonma's guards hurriedly surrounded him.
They would kill anyone who rushed forward to steal the spiritual medicine without hesitation.
That meant Jaha no longer needed to worry about the greedy martial artists.
"What do I do next?"
One guard answered,
"Take the boat to the stone island."
Goeui stepped forward.
"What nonsense is that? How can Heavenly Demon Defying Sword go alone? I'm coming too."
The guard responded,
"Do whatever you want."
The reason Hwancheonma's guards could say something like that so casually was their deep trust in Hwancheonma.
Their attitude clearly said that even if someone like Goeui came along, it would not affect anything.
Jaha stepped onto the boat.
"I'll go alone. Senior, wait here."
"I'm going too."
Goeui sounded like a stubborn child.
Jaha smiled.
"I already have a plan. Don't worry."
"Really?"
Even Goeui could not feel at ease this time.
They would be standing in the middle of a lake.
Jaha could not use formations there.
Schemes would also be difficult.
"You'll get to enjoy watching everything unfold."
Goeui burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! That's right! That's how Heavenly Demon Defying Sword should act."
Goeui had started attaching the name Heavenly Demon Defying Sword to nearly everything he said.
It seemed Goeui liked Jaha's nickname even more than Jaha himself did.
One of Hwancheonma's guards became annoyed.
"Hurry."
Jaha exchanged a look with Goeui and began rowing.
Hundreds of eyes around the lakeside focused on the tiny boat.
Once the boat moved farther into the lake, Goeui shook his head.
Then he suddenly leaped.
"Let's go together, brat!"
Goeui lightly landed on the back of the boat.
He grinned at Jaha, who was frowning.
Jaha spoke coldly.
"You should go back. You might die if things go wrong."
Goeui raised his eyebrows.
"If I die, then I die. That's still better than leaving you to die alone."
"You're really overdoing it. If you die, don't blame me."
Jaha continued rowing.
"Throughout my entire life, I've never acted this much like a martial artist before. Until now, I lived mostly as a physician. But ever since meeting you, I've started living like a martial artist again. And it's surprisingly fun."
Long ago, Goeui challenged Jagang and lost.
After that defeat, he had distanced himself from the life of a martial artist.
He had spent decades developing the Flowing Joint Art and Revolving Joint Formula, yet they still failed to surpass Jagang.
That feeling of helplessness had remained buried inside him.
Then he met Jaha.
As they faced powerful enemies and fought together, Goeui's sleeping fighting spirit slowly raised its head like a snake.
Once awakened, it refused to go back down.
After several battles, Goeui felt as though he had become young again.
A martial artist's fighting spirit and passion had awakened the warrior sleeping inside him.
Jaha was secretly grateful.
However, his words remained rough.
"People really are frightening when they discover a new passion late in life."
"You brat! If you're grateful, say thank you! Stop complaining!"
Goeui looked strangely happy for a man heading toward a dangerous battle.
Shinbi watched Jaha's boat approaching the stone island and muttered,
"Fearless bastard. He doesn't even know this place will become his grave."
This time, Shinbi absolutely intended to kill Jaha.
How perfect. He must have been shocked when he learned the meeting place was Willow Flower Water Garden. My only regret is that I didn't get to see his face at that moment.
Just remembering everything Jaha had done to him made Shinbi grind his teeth.
That formation art he's so proud of is useless over water. There's nothing you can do here. Even I have to admit that choosing this place was brilliant.
Looking at all the martial artists gathered around the lakeside because of the spiritual medicine filled Shinbi with victory.
With this, I can regain Father's trust.
Shinbi could already tell his father's gaze toward him had softened.
We'll take the spiritual medicine here, escape directly into the Yangtze River, and finish everything perfectly. Maybe this will even become a legendary story about how I humiliated that bastard with the ridiculous nickname Heavenly Demon Defying Sword.
Filled with dreams of victory, Shinbi watched Jaha's boat approach the stone island.
