Chapter 660
“They’ve all been subdued. I’ve struck their [sleep acupoints], so they won’t regain consciousness for at least a full day.”
“…Good work.”
Hearing his subordinate’s report, Chief Jang nodded heavily. His eyes lingered on the sight of Song Ilseom and Hyuk Mujin, both lying unconscious and motionless.
“Keep close watch on them. We’ll rest for two hours before moving again.”
“Does that mean…”
“Yes. We’ll be moving with them.”
“Forgive my rudeness, Chief, but wouldn’t it be better to assign a few men to escort the prisoners directly to the Inner Palace?”
The soldier who had dared to ask quickly regretted it when Chief Jang turned to fix him with a silent stare.
“I’ll follow your orders.”
As the man retreated, Jang let out a sigh. The contents of the message he had received through carrier hawk replayed in his mind.
“Chiefs Heukung and Yohee are missing, and the Yoseo Tribe has been annihilated. The culprit has been identified as Jin Taekyung.”
He’d read it over and over, unwilling to believe it. But no matter how many times he looked, the words on the page didn’t change. There was only one choice left to him.
“I’m sorry, everyone.”
The apology never to be spoken escaped him inwardly. But soon, they would understand. In the current situation, this was the best he could do.
“This is a carefully crafted scheme. He’s simply been caught in it.”
Jang didn’t believe the report.
Jin Taekyung’s conduct up to now had been nothing short of that of a true hero. Without his courage in the Blood Lake, hundreds of Southern warriors would never have returned home to their families.
Among those saved were his own tribesmen—his kin.
“And beyond the debt we owe him, there isn’t even a valid reason for this accusation.”
While it was true that relations between the Southern Barbarians and the Central Plains had soured since the Great War of Righteousness and Evil, it was one-sided resentment born of enormous loss.
Why, then, would Jin Taekyung—representative of the Murim Alliance—commit such an atrocity?
“Unless he intended to make enemies of both the Dark Heaven and the South…”
But there was no helping it. The matter was already in Baek Sang’s hands and those of his faction.
Still, the Beast King had secretly sent his own instructions through the same hawk.
“Detain the Han outsiders in the scouting unit, but do not bring them to the Inner Palace.”
Jang had understood the meaning immediately.
“If they’re taken there, they’ll become hostages without a doubt.”
Fortunately, Chief Go—who led the scouts alongside him—was also loyal to the Beast King and shared his thinking. Together, they had their men subdue the three Han warriors.
Not as prisoners, but to protect them—by keeping them within reach.
The timing was convenient. Since their unit was already mobilized under the pretext of guarding against the Blood Monk, even if Baek Sang learned of it, he couldn’t easily accuse them of wrongdoing.
“Just endure a little longer. Until this all resolves…”
Murmuring inwardly, Jang approached the unconscious pair being carried off by his warriors. He intended to loosen their bindings, at least slightly, as a small gesture of apology.
“Stop for a moment. Isn’t that rope tied too tightly?”
“Chief! Please don’t!”
“It’s fine. I just—”
Rustle.
Ignoring their protests, Jang reached toward Hyuk Mujin’s back—then froze, frowning.
“What the…?”
Something wet. Sticky.
And then the stench hit him.
“Uh… Chief, there’s… some waste on his back.”
“That’s what we were trying to warn you about…”
Their voices trailed off as Jang stared in silence at his soiled hand, then at Hyuk Mujin.
“…Tighten the ropes. If this one can still soil himself, he might be capable of escape.”
—
In modern times, I was the model of a law-abiding citizen.
Up through middle school, I raised my hand while crossing at the green light. As a Hunter, I paid every tax and insurance premium on time—no evasion, no delay.
I even refrained from complaining about the miserable pension I’d never live long enough to enjoy.
“In other words, prison was never part of my life.”
And yet, here in the Murim world, I seemed to be developing a strange familiarity with prisons despite never having committed a crime.
In the Taewon Jin Clan, I’d been confined in what was essentially a training chamber. In the Sichuan Tang Clan, I’d stayed several days to help treat Jeok Cheon-Gang.
This time, though, things were different.
Unlike before, I was imprisoned by force.
And when you’ve got steel shackles and iron balls weighing over a thousand geun chained to every limb, you start to think differently.
Clang.
“…Damn it. Heavy as hell.”
I muttered curses under my breath. The massive chains and iron spheres restraining me were absurdly heavy—so much so that even my strength, far beyond human limits, barely sufficed to move.
“If I could just use my [Inner Power], I might come up with something… Shouldn’t have punched him, maybe.”
Regret flickered briefly, but if Baek Sang were the kind of man to be shaken by one punch, I’d be in a cushioned room, not a dungeon.
Even after I broke his nose cleanly, he hadn’t flinched. He’d bound me himself and issued the command:
“Imprison the Han, Jin Taekyung, in the dungeon, and bind him with iron chains weighing ten thousand geun.”
And here I was.
Locked in the deepest cell of the Southern Barbarian Palace, my body forcibly subdued by a special pill that sealed my [Inner Power] for days.
“At least they didn’t seal my meridians.”
There was a reason for that.
They couldn’t.
Because my body rejected it on its own.
My [Heavenly Martial Body]—recognized by Jeok Cheon-Gang himself—kept restoring itself each time they tried.
Even so, every attempt to awaken my energy ended in failure.
“Urgh.”
I focused on my dantian, taking deep breaths, gathering the threads of energy as I’d done countless times before—
Beep!
[Golden Sealing Pill] suppresses your dantian!
[Inner Power] cannot be used!
“…Ah. Again.”
I’d lost count of how many times this had happened—must’ve been over fifty.
“…Bloody hell.”
With a sigh, I let my body relax. Just then, footsteps echoed from afar.
Step, step.
A soft squelch with each pace on the damp stone floor.
I couldn’t use energy, but my physical senses were still sharp.
Lifting my head, I looked toward the dim outline of the corridor beyond the bars.
Splash.
The footsteps stopped before my cell, splashing the stagnant water on the floor.
Even without light, my vision—sharp as any beast’s—made out the figure.
“What, a new guard?”
“No manners, huh? You splash me with filth, won’t even say hello?”
The silent visitor stared down at me, then finally spoke in a calm, cold voice.
“A lot of whining for a prisoner.”
“Well, to be fair, this is me being polite.”
I tried to shrug, but the chains clanked under the iron’s weight.
“Someone had their nose broken and still managed to stand tall. Impressive, right?”
Baek Sang’s brows furrowed in the shadows. The bandage around his sharp nose caught my eye.
“That must’ve hurt like hell. I’m surprised you didn’t cry after sending me here.”
But his reply came, steady as ever.
“It only tickled. I could feel your fear in that punch.”
“What?”
“There was no [Inner Power] in it, nor was it full strength. It was the swing of a frightened child. I understand. You were afraid. You knew that if you’d gone all out, neither you nor your subordinates would have survived.”
Tch. Talk about rubbing salt in it.
He’d hit the mark perfectly. I kept my mouth shut.
Baek Sang’s gaze stayed cool and unwavering.
“Why didn’t you run? If you’d fled alone, you could’ve escaped with your life.”
I stared at him blankly.
“You said you’d spread the [Heaven’s Net], didn’t you, bastard?”
“And I would have. But there was still a chance. The Palace Lord wouldn’t have chased you—he might even have helped.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Knowing the Beast King, he might’ve indeed covered for me.
But admitting that would only tighten Baek Sang’s suspicion toward him.
“Who knows. We’re not exactly friends.”
“Clever. But still far from mature.”
“Believe what you want. Just be glad my master isn’t here. In a few months, your head would be rolling on this floor.”
“A reckless child, still bound by temper.”
I laughed.
“Your mouth stinks worse than the dungeon. Keep sucking on Dark Heaven’s filth if you like. I’m here because I’m protecting my people. Come on, Baek Sang. You know damn well what you’re doing.”
This time, he said nothing.
Of course he didn’t. He knew. Cooperating with the Dark Heaven meant selling out the South to the Heavenly Demon himself.
“You’ve betrayed the sworn brother you fought beside for decades. You’ve deceived thirty tribal chiefs and countless Southerners. Nothing justifies that.”
Baek Sang’s quiet eyes finally shifted.
“Two days.”
“…What?”
“Two days from now, at noon. You’ll be executed before everyone’s eyes.”