Chapter 1363: Northbound (3)

Descent of the Demon Master

Vroooooom…!

The jeep speeding precariously down the road finally slowed down a little. Chang Piljae did that to preserve the vehicle’s condition.

While gripping the steering wheel, he sneakily looked up at the rearview mirror to gauge Kang Jin-Ho’s mood.

Before their eyes could meet through the reflection, though, Chang Piljae hurriedly looked away.

Gulp!

He reflexively swallowed his saliva in nervousness.

Holy sh*t, man! Why! Why hasn’t anyone told me that I’d be dealing with a… a person like that!

Chang Piljae never imagined that a dude who couldn’t read the room and drooled after some cheap beef noodles was actually a monster!

Unsurprising for a man who had been deep undercover in China for years, Chang Piljae naturally had never heard of Kang Jin-Ho. Now that he got a crash course on who he was dealing with, though… He couldn’t stop his body from shivering all on its own.

No, wait! Describing what Kang Jin-Ho did like that was doing him a massive disservice.

Chang Piljae knew he’d never forget what he had witnessed today. Maybe he’d still remember it even after his death!

Driving the jeep was not easy, what with his hands unsteadily shaking around. Even so, Chang Piljae desperately gripped the steering wheel.

Lee Hyeon-Su glanced at the driver’s trembling hands. “Do you want to switch?”

“N-no. I’m fine,” said Chang Piljae.

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked softly while observing Chang Piljae’s state. Of course he knew why the Korean spy was behaving like this.

Yup, I’m sure he’s shocked to the core.

To an “ordinary” person, the spectacle of Kang Jin-Ho unleashing his powers must be as shocking as watching the world end. As a matter of fact, one could say Chang Piljae had demonstrated his mental toughness by staying sober like this.

“Mister Chang Piljae?”

“Y-yes? O-oh, yes, what is it?”

“Get a hold of yourself,” said Lee Hyeon-Su.

“S-sorry about that,” Chang Piljae nervously swallowed his saliva again. “I, uh, have never experienced anything like that before, you see?”

Having said that, Chang Piljae inwardly admitted that most people wouldn’t have experienced something that shocking, too.

Still, that brief chat had thawed the unbearable mood in the jeep. To thaw it even further, Chang Piljae cautiously asked a question to Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Uh, so… Is every martial artist like the Assembly Master?”

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled softly. “Of course not. This world would’ve been destroyed a long time ago if that were the case.”

Now there was something Chang Piljae could definitely agree on. Just a few incredible individuals like Kang Jin-Ho would’ve been enough to wreck this planet several times over, after all!

“No, our Assembly Master is a special case. There are a few others of the similar level as him, but no one in South Korea can compare to him, at least.”

In fact, there shouldn’t be that many who fit that description around the world, either!

“I see. Then, uh…”

Chang Piljae finally understood why Yi Jong-Wuk sounded so cautious on the phone. However, despite gaining a significant understanding of what was what, he still couldn’t figure something out.

“Then, the Assembly Master is…”

Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head. “Yes?”

“He must possess both the authority and incredible power, yes?”

“Yes, he does.”

“Then why…?”

“…”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s cheeks twitched ever so slightly just then. Because he, too, could clearly hear Kang Jin-Ho’s panicked voice coming from behind him.

“N-no, hold on. The situation was… Yes, of course. That is… I wasn’t trying to avoid calling you, but… I, I’m sorry. Yes, I… No, no, you’re right. I should have known better. Yes, ma’am.”

Lee Hyeon-Su sneakily turned his head away. “Mister Chang, just pretend that you are deaf for the time being.”

“…Of course.”

There was nothing anyone could do about this situation, though. Since time immemorial, even the tyrants wielding unimaginable power could not escape from the torture of nagging, after all!

Lee Hyeon-Su sighed. “Do you know why the human ‘Siddhartha Gautama’ became a Buddha?”

Chang Piljae tilted his head. “I… don’t know?”

“It’s because he got married.”

“…”

“I’m not planning to get married.”

“Yes, me too.”

The ‘Kang Jin-Ho’ who was chopping people up as if they were tofu, and this ‘Kang Jin-Ho’ busy sweating bullets while talking on the phone, didn’t seem like the same person at all!

Then again, Kang Jin-Ho was someone who nonchalantly hoovered up cheap beef noodles while his companions were busy chatting about an assassination. Rather obviously, he couldn’t be a normal person in that case!

Chang Piljae glanced at the rearview mirror again.

Is that… cold sweat?

He could see a glistening layer of moisture on Kang Jin-Ho’s forehead.

Chang Piljae cautiously resumed staring at the road ahead and focused his attention on the act of driving.

Perhaps thankfully, Kang Jin-Ho didn’t have the mental leeway to mind other things right now.

—How could you abandon your companions in the middle of China and forget about us?! Is that something a human being should do?!

“M-my apologies.”

—What about you!

“Sorry?”

—I want to know if you’ve been injured or not!

“Oh, that. No, I’m fine.”

—You better not even get a scratch, okay?! Or Imma rip all your hair out!

“…”

Since Kang Jin-Ho didn’t want to become a baldy anytime soon, he sneakily scanned his body, just in case. He was perfectly fine.

“Yes, I’m not hurt.”

—Then why didn’t you call me sooner?!

Wow… How did we get here from there? Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t think of a way to extricate himself from this situation.

The angry huffing and panting coming from the phone’s speaker eventually died down. What came out of the phone next was a much calmer voice of Choi Yeon-Ha.

—You are not lying about being fine, right?

“Yes, I’m not. I’m unhurt.”

—Mister Jin-Ho.

“Yes?”

—Don’t worry about me because the folks from the other night are protecting us. Our lodging is great, and the food is… Well, we haven’t tried their food yet, so I can’t say anything about that, but… I’m sure it’ll be excellent, too.

As Kang Jin-Ho had anticipated, the Crimson King was protecting Choi Yeon-Ha. Despite having a strong hunch, knowing it had really happened put his mind at ease.

—Yes, these people seem a bit out of their minds, but they are still trying to be as polite as possible. So, you can stop worrying about us. Do you understand what that means, don’t you?

“Yes, I do.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded.

—They told us something big happened in Korea.

“It’s difficult to explain, but I assure you, things will settle down soon enough.”

Kang Jin-Ho replied, his expression growing cold.

He anticipated that Cai Kechang would send Choi Yeon-Ha and Han Eun-Sol back to South Korea. But those two potentially becoming hostages by the enemies in Korea didn’t cross his mind until now. This was something he should thank Cai Kechang for.

—I’m not telling you to resolve this quickly, though. If it’s too dangerous, please step back. Don’t do it. I don’t mind living in China permanently, anyway. Chinese cuisine can be surprisingly good, you know? And there are plenty of sights and sounds to enjoy in this country, too.

Kang Jin-Ho listened while closing his eyes.

—Besides, I have plenty of work scheduled in China, you know? So staying here for a few years won’t be a problem for me. And I have plenty of money too. In that case, what’s there to worry about? What I’m trying to say is… Don’t push yourself. And get injured in the process.

“I understand. You don’t have to worry.”

—I know I’m being too nosy, but… But I can’t help but worry, okay?

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. Who was worrying about who here?

“Thank you. You won’t have to wait for long. I’ll wrap this up soon.”

—I told you, didn’t I! You don’t have to act recklessly! Are you deaf?!

“…I’ll take my time, then.”

—Good! And promise me that you won’t get injured. Promise me!

“I promise.” Kang Jin-Ho replied, then glanced at the front. “I need to hang up now. I’ll call you again later.”

—Okay. Be safe.

After ending the call, Kang Jin-Ho briefly closed his eyes again.How long had it been? Since he last felt this something boiling deep inside his chest?

Lee Hyeon-Su turned around in his seat. “Sir? Is the Crimson King protecting Miss Choi?”

“Yes, it sounds that way.”

“I’ll be honest, sir. I kinda understand it, but at the same time? I don’t get it.”

“I’m not surprised.”

The Crimson King’s mindset differed significantly from that of a modern era person. In fact, it’d be far closer to how the people of Zhongyuan used to think way back when.

A noble warrior of the people in this day and age? What a laughable notion that was. Then again, the person embodying that laughable notion was making Kang Jin-Ho’s situation easier to deal with.

Lee Hyeon-Su. “They must be having a tough time.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded gravely. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“I didn’t mean Miss Choi, though. I’m talking about Cai Kechang, sir.”

“…?”

Huh? That’s… Mm? Well…? Sounds likely?

Kang Jin-Ho had a feeling that he was supposed to get angry or at least say Lee Hyeon-Su was wrong, but couldn’t do that for some strange reason!

While feeling a bit sheepish now, Kang Jin-Ho asked Chang Piljae. “What’s the plan now?”

“We’ll cross the border and enter Vladivostok, sir.”

“We’re heading to Russia?”

“Yes, sir,” Chang Piljae hurriedly nodded. “Going to the Yellow Sea to find a ship is too dangerous for us. In that case, our best bet is the East Sea. I have a contact in Vladivostok, so I figured we’d go there and… Mm?”

Chang Piljae stopped talking there and faltered a little.

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked after figuring out what Chang Piljae wanted to say and spoke up first. “So, you want us to smuggle ourselves into Korea?”

“Well, yes…”

Koreans needing to smuggle themselves into the country of their birth? What a tricky situation to comprehend, then. Chang Piljae certainly was not keen on stoking the ire of his guests at this stage.

“Smuggling ourselves in, is it…?”

Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t help chuckle bitterly. He entered China with a fake identity, but must do the same while going back home?

“Isn’t this something most international spies don’t even get to experience?”

“It’s a nice experience, alright,” Kang Jin-Ho coldly muttered, his eyes withdrawn. “As such, we should let them experience something just as nice.”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded. “I agree, sir.”

Chang Piljae kept his mouth resolutely shut, since he had a pretty good idea of who these two were talking about.

Just as the conversation reached this point…

“…? Huh?!”

Lee Hyeon-Su gasped out in surprise, then urgently pulled out his phone. He even tapped on the green icon without a moment’s delay before shouting loudly.

“Master!”

—Where’s my lord?

“He’s here with me. Unhurt.”

—Now that’s great news.

“What about you? What happened?”

The call came from Wiggins, who had been unreachable for a while. Lee Hyeon-Su sank into his seat as relief washed over.

—We were being imprisoned for a while, so to speak. But we’re on our way back to South Korea right now. In fact, we’ve almost reached our destination.

“Imprisoned? Who would imprison you, sir?”

—Not sure how to describe them. Even I can’t give you a straight answer. Naval vessels without their country of origin flags surrounded us. Thankfully, they didn’t do anything besides that. But that meant we couldn’t do much either, other than wait.

“They didn’t attack you?”

—Yes. It seemed their intention wasn’t to fight us, but simply to keep us where we were. We thought about fighting them off, but… Engaging them on an open sea didn’t seem wise, so we backed off.

“You made the right call, sir.”

—In any case, I’m glad to hear that my lord is unhurt. I’m sure you’ve already guessed the situation, Mister Lee.

“Yes, I have,” said Lee Hyeon-Su, his expression hardening.

—Considering that the navy didn’t attack us, the situation might not be as bad as we think. It’s possible that a few individuals were responsible instead.

“Are we going to assume that those ships belong to the Korean navy?”

—Mm… I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Anybody can come and go as they please in international waters, after all. However, considering no one was visible on the deck of those ships… Don’t you think that’s rather odd?

“Yes, that… sounds odd.”

—What are your coordinates?

“Uh… We’re currently north of Beijing. The idea is to go to Vladivostok via Heilongjiang. We’ll try to slip into Korea from there.”[1]

—I don’t recommend it.

“Sir?”

—We had the navy on the Yellow Sea. That means there could be more naval presence in the East Sea, too. Unlike how the situation was with us, however… The ship carrying my lord won’t be spared from their bombardment. The ones responsible will most likely go that far to achieve their objective.

Lee Hyeon-Su bit his lip. He had to agree that Wiggins had a point.

Kang Jin-Ho was powerful. However, no matter how strong he was… Who knew what might happen once he fell into the wide open sea?

“Then… What do you suggest, sir?”

—The sea route is simply too risky. In the end, there’s no choice but to stick to land routes. How many people are with you?

“We are a group of three at the moment.”

—Good to hear that you have a collaborator with you. Unfortunately, someone like that can be a hindrance sometimes. The maximum teleport range for an incomplete magic circle is around one hundred kilometers for three people.

“That means…”

—You’ll have to be at least within a hundred kilometers to the Korean border. I’m sure you know what that means, don’t you?

Of course Lee Hyeon-Su knew. How could he not? However, wasn’t that a bit…

“Master, you are not seriously suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, are you?”

—Of course I’m serious. In a way, this is ideal, don’t you think? South Korea exerts precisely zero influence in that place. Even China can’t carelessly deploy its troops there, either. And you don’t even have to worry about the pesky presence of CCTV cameras tracking your every move, too. Isn’t this perhaps the best escape route available?

When Wiggins put it like that, yes, his suggestion sounded pretty logical. However…

Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t hide his dismay. “Okay, so… Are you seriously telling us to enter North Korea?!”

The eyes of Kang Jin-Ho and Chang Piljae opened wider simultaneously.

“North Korea?”

“North Korea?!”

Lee Hyeon-Su squeezed his eyes shut as the stereo-effect cries of shock entered his hearing.

Yup, my master is just as insane as everybody else!

1. Heilongjiang isn’t a random collection of letters, but a province in northeast China that borders Russia. Its capital city is Harbin. ☜