Chapter 54, Facing Hwancheonma on the Water
Splash. Splash. Splash.
Hwancheonma walked toward Jaha.
The lakeside suddenly became completely silent.
Even the murmuring stopped.
Every martial artist focused entirely on Jaha and Hwancheonma.
A battle seemed about to begin in the middle of the lake.
Naturally, everyone watched with intense curiosity.
"Ah! If I'd known this would happen, I would've trained my internal power more. I can barely see them."
Martial artists with weaker internal energy did not possess strong enough eyesight to clearly see the two men from this distance.
They could only make out vague figures.
Naturally, they became frustrated.
A battle between Jaha and Hwancheonma on top of a lake was something they might never witness again in their entire lives.
They deeply regretted being unable to see it clearly.
Some people even began describing what was happening for those with weaker eyesight.
Hwancheonma stopped within three jang of Jaha.
"You're quite impressive for such a young man."
Simply being able to stand on water was enough to call Jaha a powerful martial artist.
Hwancheonma's pride also benefited from knowing the opponent who had caused him so much trouble was not some completely weak fool.
"To show this much courage against this seat. It's a waste to kill you. Come under me. If you do, I'll give you authority beyond anything you can imagine."
Despite his anger toward Jaha, Hwancheonma also felt a desire to possess such talent.
Jaha answered irritably,
"Stop talking nonsense and take the spiritual medicine."
There was no chance polite words would come from Jaha's mouth.
Hwancheonma was one of the people responsible for driving his former self to the edge of death.
The memory still cut through Jaha's mind.
However, he was not stupid enough to reveal that.
"You really are the kind of bastard who won't regret anything until you meet the King of Hell. What a shame."
Hwancheonma treated Jaha's attitude like the tantrum of a child.
Because of that, his heart felt surprisingly relaxed.
The spiritual medicine was right before him.
That made him generous.
More importantly, Jaha had actually brought the medicine obediently.
If Hwancheonma were in Jaha's position, even if his wife, children, or parents were held hostage, he would never have brought such a precious treasure.
Because of that, some of his hatred toward Jaha had strangely transformed into pity.
However, even if Hwancheonma felt temporary pity, he had no intention of sparing Jaha.
He wanted to kill him and completely erase every humiliation Jaha had inflicted upon him.
To Hwancheonma, that desire existed separately from pity.
There was nothing shameful about feeling pity toward someone who was about to die.
The longer Jaha delayed, the more advantageous things became.
If Hwancheonma continued standing on the water and exhausting his true qi, Jaha's chances would increase.
Jaha never expected Hwancheonma to simply receive the spiritual medicine and leave peacefully.
He'll definitely try to kill me.
The Hwancheonma Jaha knew had never spared someone who insulted him.
Jaha had humiliated him several times already.
There was no chance Hwancheonma would allow him to live.
He'll probably attack when his true qi is close to being exhausted. If I can endure until then, I'll have my opportunity.
Jaha had already prepared a decisive move for the moment Hwancheonma's true qi ran low.
You probably couldn't imagine it even in your dreams. Because we're over water, you think there's nothing to worry about. That carelessness will be what kills you.
Hwancheonma spoke.
"Enough. Hand over the spiritual medicine."
Jaha pulled the silver box from his clothes and opened it.
Click!
A deep fragrance immediately spread in every direction.
Calling it simply sharp or fragrant was not enough.
Hwancheonma's smile widened as he stared at the medicine still releasing such powerful fragrance.
Once I consume that, I can become the Great Heavenly Demon.
Because his internal power was weaker than the others, Hwancheonma had always been treated as one of the lowest-ranked Seven Heavenly Demons.
This single pill could reverse that position instantly.
"If I hand it to you, you could later claim you never received it. No one else has properly seen the medicine."
Hwancheonma replied,
"Don't worry about that. I already confirmed it through the fragrance."
Jaha shook his head.
"No. That's not enough. I want all the martial artists gathered here to confirm the medicine. They need to know that I truly handed it to Hwancheonma."
Hwancheonma's eyebrow twitched.
His half-white eyebrows looked like pale silkworms beneath his similarly graying hair.
"Are you saying this seat would lie?"
"None of the martial artists here know whether the silver box actually contains genuine medicine. So I'll show it to them. That way, no one will bother me about it afterward."
Jaha's slight stubbornness was merely part of his psychological battle to waste time.
"How do you plan to prove it?"
As soon as Hwancheonma finished asking, Jaha began unwrapping the round object inside the silver box.
After removing four layers of silver foil, a dark red pill about the size of a thumbnail appeared.
Jaha threw the silver foil and the silver box into the lake.
The silver box floated away across the surface until it disappeared from sight.
Hwancheonma's eyes remained fixed on the pill between Jaha's thumb and index finger.
Simply looking at it made saliva gather in his mouth.
A great sound of amazement came from the martial artists around the lake.
"Ooooooh!"
From the distance, they could see the pill in Jaha's hand.
The sound they made was somewhere between admiration and longing.
One pill could supposedly increase a martial artist's internal power by sixty years.
Naturally, every martial artist desired it.
"Only by showing the spiritual pill directly will everyone believe I truly handed it over to you."
Hwancheonma laughed.
"You're still young. You worry about meaningless details."
"No. If I give it to you and later you claim you didn't receive it, I'll be the one suffering."
Hwancheonma stepped forward.
"Wait."
"What now?"
"Say loudly enough that everyone here can hear that Hwancheonma received the spiritual pill properly."
"Why should this seat do something like that?"
"If you refuse, I'll drop it into the water."
Hwancheonma's lips twitched as he struggled to suppress his killing intent.
This will be the reason you become fish food.
Hwancheonma swore he would definitely kill Jaha.
"This seat has received the spiritual pill properly!"
He shouted with true qi.
His voice echoed across Willow Flower Water Garden.
"Are you satisfied? Give it to me!"
Jaha stared at the pill for a moment.
Then he suddenly broke it in half.
"What are you doing?!"
Jaha threw one half toward Hwancheonma.
Hwancheonma hurriedly caught it.
His hands even trembled.
Afraid he might drop it, he immediately placed it inside his sleeve.
"What about the other half?"
"Put my master and fellow disciples on a boat and send them away. Then I'll give you the rest."
Hwancheonma grinned.
"You really are suspicious."
Then he shouted toward the Right Protector.
"Put them on a boat and send them away!"
Shinbi was flustered because the hostages were being released earlier than expected.
He approached them, planning to secretly feed them poison.
However, the Right Protector grabbed Shinbi's wrist with his remaining hand.
"Young Heavenly Demon."
The Right Protector deliberately called Shinbi by a title he liked.
