Chapter 85: It Wasn’t My Fault
An office shrouded in darkness, without its master.
A strange confrontation lingered between two men.
The Bandit Chief operated the Falling Flame Point Pupil to observe Jin Seong-un for a moment.
‘No qi?’
Even with the Falling Flame Point Pupil, which read the flow of all heaven and earth’s energies, nothing could be seen.
Even in someone who had never learned martial arts at all, faint traces of qi should have been visible.
He frowned slightly. The Falling Flame Point Pupil was not something that could be used without limit.
A subtle burning sensation was felt, and at the same time, his pupils darkened once more.
‘Just how much of an expert is he?’
In his life, he had never seen anyone suppress their qi so perfectly. It wasn’t as if this was his first time meeting a master.
On the other hand, Jin Seong-un also observed the Bandit Chief with curiosity. Though his inner qi was abundant and its flow was even, strangely enough, he did not feel like a master.
While both marveled at each other for similar yet distinctly different reasons—
“……”
In an instant, both men’s eyes changed.
As though prearranged, Jin Seong-un and the Bandit Chief moved at the same time.
Jin Seong-un reached out his hand.
But the man had already pulled back.
A wide desk stood between them.
“Where is the signboard?”
Jin Seong-un asked again.
From beneath his mask, the Bandit Chief’s face twisted in dread.
‘Why is he so obsessed with that damned signboard!’
Jin Seong-un’s attitude made it seem as if he had orchestrated all of this just for the sake of one signboard.
The Bandit Chief could not comprehend it.
Abruptly, he pointed to a corner of the wall.
Naturally, Jin Seong-un glanced that way. Nothing was there. In that moment, the Bandit Chief bolted.
Of course, such a trick would not work on Jin Seong-un.
Kwaaang—!
Struck by a burst of force, the Bandit Chief slammed into the wall.
It was nothing compared to the force Jin Seong-un had struck Elder Byeok with earlier. If one had to compare, it was like the difference between an adult’s punch and that of a newborn.
And yet, the Bandit Chief writhed on the ground in agony.
Jin Seong-un approached step by step and spoke again.
“The signboard.”
“……”
Now the Bandit Chief was seized by overwhelming fear. Childhood ghost stories came rushing back to him.
‘This isn’t “Give me back my leg,” but…’
Staggering, the Bandit Chief rose to his feet. Against Jin Seong-un, he saw no chance of victory.
At last, he drew something from his robe.
Jin Seong-un was about to unleash another strike but stopped when he saw it was only a piece of paper.
“What is this?”
Jin Seong-un asked, and the Bandit Chief pointed silently at the paper. Then, with eyes full of desperate pleading, he looked at Jin Seong-un.
Even Jin Seong-un, who usually had little concern for others’ emotions, could tell the man was begging for his life.
Looking closer, the paper was a map, marked with several symbols.
“You hid the signboard there?”
The Bandit Chief nodded frantically.
Then he even began rubbing his palms together in supplication.
“……”
Jin Seong-un’s expression turned baffled.
He had expected the Bandit Chief’s martial skill not to be outstanding, but he had never imagined the man would be like this.
With this level of skill, how had he ever dared to steal? It was nothing more than wagering his life every time.
The Bandit Chief pointed to himself, then at the door.
After a moment’s thought, Jin Seong-un interpreted.
“You want me to let you go?”
The Bandit Chief nodded again.
Jin Seong-un nodded back.
“Fine?”
“……”
In the same instant, the Bandit Chief shot forward.
His speed was extraordinary.
Jin Seong-un dared to say that, save for the Martial Gods, he had never seen anyone display such movement arts.
And he caught him.
“?”
Confusion flashed in the Bandit Chief’s eyes.
He had leapt when the opponent seemed off guard. This trick had never failed before.
Holding him by the collar, Jin Seong-un said,
“If you’ve done wrong, you must pay for it.”
The Bandit Chief’s face twisted in injustice.
Jin Seong-un let out an exasperated breath.
“You think there’s no crime just because no one was hurt and the stolen goods weren’t great?”
The Bandit Chief nodded.
Jin Seong-un nodded back.
“Nonsense.”
“……”
“Do you know the sense of loss when the signboard was stolen? The efforts of those who labored day and night to chase you?”
“……”
“Because of you, I was accused of being the thief and interrogated by the Beggars’ Union elder. Hwang the rich man’s Haetae Statue’s fang, the signboard of Sangwon Cloth Shop, the inkstone from the government office, the wild ginseng wine of Jingzhou’s merchants’ leader, even the stele in Yichang—all of these are treasures to someone.”
The Bandit Chief looked at Jin Seong-un in disbelief. Half of the things just mentioned weren’t even stolen by him.
Jin Seong-un continued,
“……Had it not been for you, I would never have stolen them in the first place.”
The desperate wails of Oh Jeong-san, who had lost his wild ginseng wine, still rang in his ears.
With the intent of making an example, Jin Seong-un lightly struck the back of the Bandit Chief’s neck.
The man, lacking martial strength, collapsed limply.
Jin Seong-un planned to hand him over to the Murim Alliance or the authorities.
He slung the man over his shoulder and exited the office.
“……”
Outside, dozens of martial artists were waiting. At their head was Rising Dragon, Sima Hwi.
It seemed the warriors of the Sima Clan had been roused from sleep by the clash.
Sima Hwi’s brows twitched.
“Why are you coming out of there?”
He had already once accused Jin Seong-un of being the thief.
Not wishing for further misunderstanding, Jin Seong-un replied firmly,
“I caught the thief.”
He gestured to the man slung over his shoulder.
Sima Hwi’s eyes narrowed.
“How did you catch him?”
“I thought he might show up tonight.”
Of course, that had been Divine Thief’s advice.
His logic had been simple.
Find out what would be the hardest thing to steal in Yichang, and force the thief to come there.
As Jin Seong-un and the Bandit Chief’s contest of pride escalated, the difficulty of thefts had increased, until finally the Bandit Chief had no choice but to come to the Sima Clan’s fortress-like Wuhanzhuang.
“If you knew, why didn’t you tell me?”
Sima Hwi pressed, his tone sharp.
Jin Seong-un stared at him for a long moment before replying,
“Because last time, you made me lose him.”
He was referring to their first meeting. Remembering it, Sima Hwi’s face flushed slightly.
At this point, he had no choice but to acknowledge that the thief truly had been hiding in Wuhanzhuang that first night.
Even tonight, the man had broken through layers upon layers of formations.
But one question still lingered.
“Fine. I’ll believe everything you’ve said. But one thing. Just how did you get in here?”
Yes, the thief—it was his trade, so perhaps understandable.
But Jin Seong-un? He was supposedly the heir to the Divine Thief’s legacy, the one who had even defeated Elder Byeok, a master among masters.
‘How did he catch someone like that?’
Sima Hwi’s head was filled with nothing but questions. In truth, he had been in this state ever since the first day he met Jin Seong-un.
Jin Seong-un spoke calmly.
“I flew.”
“…What did you say?”
In reality, Jin Seong-un, unlike the Bandit Chief, had no eye for recognizing formations.
So, he simply avoided stepping on the formation altogether, walking forward by stepping on the air in succession.
The martial artists of the Sima Clan, including Sima Hwi, tried to understand the meaning of his words.
But none could grasp it. After all, it was beyond common sense for a man to walk forward while continuously treading upon empty air.
Of course, Jin Seong-un did not find his conversation with Sima Hwi pleasant. Sima Hwi was a different breed of troublemaker compared to Seomun Ak.
A presence that scraped at the deepest parts of a man’s nerves, provoking irritation in a subtle way.
Jin Seong-un, deeming him unworthy of any more response, simply strode forward.
Since the Sima Clan’s warriors had rushed in like this, the formations of life and death must have ceased their operation.
Watching Jin Seong-un’s indifferent back, Sima Hwi recalled the first day.
Even then, in their argument, Jin Seong-un had said what he wanted and disappeared as though the rest was beneath him.
As the first young master of the Sima Clan, as the Rising Dragon of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes, no one had ever treated him so.
Not even the aged masters of Murim.
Why? Because his grandfather was none other than Sima Baek, the Grand Strategist who commanded the Orthodox Murim.
“Arrogant bastard…”
Suddenly, Sima Hwi’s eyes sharpened.
He swiftly swept his hand through the air. At once, the life and death gates spread across the grounds came alive.
“……”
Jin Seong-un stared at the ground beneath his feet.
The sensation at his toes felt strange.
Suddenly, the whole world seemed to rise into the sky.
Or perhaps he himself was falling toward the ground.
It was hard to distinguish, as his senses reeled. But there was no real need to distinguish.
Sima Hwi’s lips curled upward as he watched Jin Seong-un trapped within the formation.
Even the Sima Clan’s martial artists nearby appeared greatly startled.
“Y-young master!”
“This is a matter of the clan’s pride. I deployed the formation to catch the thief, and that inn servant fool ran into it like a moth to flame. You all saw it, didn’t you?”
“……”
“I asked, did you see it?”
“Yes, we saw…”
And so, it became tacit agreement that Jin Seong-un had walked into the formation of his own will.
Jin Seong-un looked around.
It was an ordinary neighborhood. Houses, alleys, shops, and walls crisscrossed in a maze.
“What kind of formation is this?”
It seemed quite different from the one he had seen at the Four Dragons River Gang.
Then, countless sharp blades had floated perilously in the air.
But here, it was quiet. It even seemed peaceful.
Jin Seong-un began to walk.
The scenery was so vivid it felt as though he had arrived in a new city, exploring its streets.
Then, the Bandit Chief, who had been slung over his shoulder like a sack, groaned and woke.
“Ugh, what is this…”
Jin Seong-un’s brow twitched.
So, you can talk.
He set the Bandit Chief down and suddenly yanked off the mask.
“……”
“……”
For a moment, silence stretched.
As the mask came away, crimson silk-like hair cascaded down to her waist.
“A woman?”
“…That’s right.”
The Bandit Chief nodded.
She was even of his own age.
Jin Seong-un narrowed his eyes at her. The Bandit Chief sat on the ground, hands pressed to the floor, and said,
“Just this once, let me go. From now on, I’ll live honestly. I won’t steal anymore. And there really was a reason, you know. It wasn’t ordinary thievery…”
Her expression carried a trace of sorrow, her eyes even glistening with moisture.
She knew her appearance was striking, and that young men were often weak against beauty and tears.
But she did not know that her opponent was Jin Seong-un.
“I could knock you out again.”
The woman instantly sprang to her feet as if nothing had happened and then accused him,
“Isn’t it dirty to impersonate me?”
“You impersonated the successor of the Divine Thief.”
“That wasn’t a nickname I gave myself. Not that I minded hearing it…”
Jin Seong-un let out a small sigh.
For now, escaping this formation was the priority.
“Can you break the formation?”
Since she had infiltrated Wuhanzhuang, he hoped she might be able to.
She widened her eyes and looked around.
“This is a formation?”
“Yes. I caught you, but the Sima Clan’s young master trapped us both inside.”
“That bastard’s insane.”
Jin Seong-un nodded in agreement.
With crimson eyes scanning the surroundings, she examined carefully.
Her expression slowly twisted.
“…This formation has no life gate.”
“Then how do we leave?”
“This formation wasn’t made to trap or threaten people.”
“Then?”
“Either those inside dry up and die. Or those maintaining it outside give up first.”
As Jin Seong-un glanced around in disbelief, her words continued.
“…There must be many formation experts in the Sima Clan?”
“Yes.”
“Then they’ll take turns maintaining it. Until we starve or dry up inside. There is no way out.”
With that, she sank to the ground.
Whenever she stole, she had risked her life.
But she had never imagined dying a withering death inside such a formation.
Her face pale, she said,
“Sorry. Because of me, you got dragged into this mess with that lunatic…”
She feared death.
She still had unfulfilled goals.
But what hurt more was that, because of her, even this fake thief, this inn servant, would die.
Though she resented his impersonation, it was not a crime worthy of death.
She had been the one to steal first and cause this in the end.
As she hung her head in anguish, Jin Seong-un walked forward.
He entered the first shop in sight.
It was a smithy.
Inside were all sorts of swords, spears, and farming tools strewn about in disorder.
It was proof of how meticulously this formation had been crafted.
Originally, it was arranged so that when demonic practitioners were trapped, they would kill each other within.
Jin Seong-un grasped a sword.
He swung it through the air a few times, then infused it with qi.
Scarlet flames wrapped around the blade.
Whether it was an illusory sword or a real one, he did not know. But as long as flames could cling to it, it served its purpose.
That was enough.
Jin Seong-un stepped out of the smithy with the sword in hand.
The woman, who had been despairing, looked at him with puzzled eyes.
Then Jin Seong-un spoke into the empty air.
“Sima So-hyeop. If you’ve deployed this formation to prevent the thief from escaping, you may release it now. There will be no escape.”
Naturally, no response came.
The woman exclaimed at him, bewildered,
“Do you think that was a mistake? Of course it was on purpose. He’s the Rising Dragon! If he were going to let us out for words like that, he wouldn’t have trapped us at all.”
“Is that so.”
Jin Seong-un scratched his head.
Of course, he knew.
But he wanted it stated clearly.
“Then now—this isn’t my fault.”
Saying so, Jin Seong-un raised the sword.
Suddenly, scarlet flames surged along the iron blade.
Entranced by the immense blaze, the woman instinctively activated the Falling Flame Point Pupil.
Her eyes widened in shock.
‘What is this…’
Even to the naked eye, the flames were immense.
But when viewed through the Falling Flame Point Pupil, their true nature was revealed.
It was as though all the energies of heaven and earth had been gathered into that single sword.