NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 10 - Episode 3: The Bet (1)
Chapter 10 – Episode 3: The Bet (1)
Naturally, no one understood his words right away.
“What?”
“Huh?”
Ma Jin-gwang furrowed his brow.
“Didn’t you hear me? You, become my disciple.”
Ma Jin-gwang looked at Im Jun-gyu as if sizing him up
Indeed, Im Jun-gyu had the exact physical attributes Ma Jin-gwang was looking for in an ideal disciple.
Short limbs, eyes that showed stubborn determination.
And above all else…
“The way you hold my great axe suits you quite well.”
Im Jun-gyu’s eyes wavered. He couldn’t understand why someone would want him as a disciple for such a trivial reason.
But he couldn’t bring himself to speak up.
Ma Jin-gwang was a Peak Realm master, and becoming his disciple wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.
This kind of offer was a heaven-sent if only Ma Jin-gwang wasn’t known to be eccentric even among the neutral factions or if Im Jun-gyu wasn’t already a secular disciple of the Qingcheng Sect and wasn’t the son of the head of an escort agency.
‘However.’
Refusal seemed equally daunting.
They had just finished an intense battle. If he refused to become his disciple and Ma Jin-gwang went berserk, that would be another mess they wouldn’t be able to handle.
Involuntarily, Im Jun-gyu’s gaze sought out a particular person.
‘Why is he looking at me?’
Zhuge Hyeonmong who had been passively observing the scene, stiffened under Im Jun-gyu’s sudden gaze.
It wasn’t just Im Jun-gyu.
Im Chung, Squad Leader Ha, and everyone from the escort agency turned to look at Zhuge Hyeonmong.
‘Perhaps Zhuge Hyeonmong might find a solution.’
Even if he wanted to pretend not to notice, he couldn’t.
Reluctantly, Zhuge Hyeonmong stepped forward under Ma Jin-gwang’s scrutinizing glare.
‘What’s with this guy?’
While everyone else appeared tense, this pale-faced scholar maintained a leisurely expression.
He looked like a scholar who knew nothing of martial arts, but that very demeanor made him stand out even more.
“May I ask, is there a right of refusal?”
“Why would you want to refuse becoming this one’s disciple?”
“I see.”
Zhuge Hyeonmong nodded.
Martial artists often lack empathy and tend to be self-centered.
While not all were like that, Ma Jin-gwang probably fell into that typical category. At that point, Zhuge Hyeonmong gave up on attempting rational persuasion.
“I have one more question. You don’t harbor any ill feelings toward us, do you?”
“You killed the thief who stole my great axe and even found me a promising disciple. Why would I?”
Zhuge Hyeonmong nodded.
That was exactly the answer he wanted to hear.
He then turned his gaze to Im Jun-gyu and spoke.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“Run.”
“What?”
Im Jun-gyu’s eyes widened momentarily before he spun around and bolted.
Thud-thud-thud!
As Im Jun-gyu bolted with surprising speed given his short legs, Ma Jin-gwang’s eyes widened before he erupted in manic laughter.
“Hahaha! How interesting! You think you can escape from me!?”
What an audacious act.
He hadn’t expected Im Jun-gyu to attempt to escape right in front of his eyes, so this unexpected move caught him off guard.
But it was futile anyway.
Ma Jin-gwang’s thighs tensed as he prepared to give chase. He intended to catch him right away.
However, just as he was about to take his first step, a voice held him back.
“Master Ma.”
“What?”
“Would you care to make a bet with me?”
“Oh? A bet?”
“Yes. Since we helped you eliminate the bandits and even presented you with a potential disciple. Surely you can indulge in a small wager.”
Ma Jin-gwang’s eyes narrowed.
Even during this exchange, Im Jun-gyu was getting further away. He knew Zhuge Hyeonmong was obviously stalling for time.
However, rather than immediately chasing Im Jun-gyu, he was curious about what Zhuge Hyeonmong had to say.
“What are you proposing?
“There isn’t much time until sunrise. If you fail to catch him before dawn, grant us one wish.”
“What scheme are you plotting?”
Zhuge Hyeonmong simply narrowed his eyes and smiled, his hand rising lazily to cover his mouth—a gesture overflowing with calculated ease
A truly leisurely appearance.
To Ma Jin-gwang, it resembled the sly grin of a fox.
“Of course I have a scheme. But what gambler reveals their cards before playing?”
“Fair point.”
Ma Jin-gwang nodded.
“I quite like you, kid. Very well. Then if I win this bet, I’ll take you along with that fellow as my disciples.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I could use another trickster like you.”
“…”
Zhuge Hyeonmong cursed both Im Jun-gyu and Ma Jin-gwang internally, but his face remained placid.
“What an honor. It would be wonderful to serve a hero like Master Ma.”
“Is that so? Well then, now that we’ve wasted enough time…”
Ma Jin-gwang’s eyes gleamed.
“Let’s go catch my disciple.”
Whoosh!
Ma Jin-gwang launched himself in the direction where Im Jun-gyu had disappeared.
True to his reputation as a master, he moved as swiftly across the rough mountain path as if it were flat ground before vanishing from sight.
After he disappeared, Im Chung approached Zhuge Hyeonmong.
“Will this work?”
“Probably. But first—who is that man?”
“You don’t know Ma Jin-gwang?”
“No.”
Im Chung looked at Zhuge Hyeonmong with disbelief. He belatedly remembered that Zhuge Hyeonmong’s life was far removed from the hubbub of the Jianghu.
While they occasionally had him accompany them on missions for contract purposes, he was strictly employed as a scholar.
“He is Ma Jin-gwang, known as the Tyrannical Strength Great Axe (巨力覇斧). He’s the leader of the Iron Flame Gang (鐵火幇), a Peak Realm master.”
“Peak Realm!”
Zhuge Hyeonmong clicked his tongue, having sensed something extraordinary about the man.
A Peak Realm master was a level of expert rarely encountered.
“Wouldn’t it be good to become the disciple of such a master?”
“That would be true… if he wasn’t so infamous as a bandit.”
“A bandit?”
Well, anyone could tell he looked like a mountain bandit.
“While he’s certainly different from common bandits… to put it simply, he built a fortress and roads in the mountains, then confiscated all the cargo from merchant groups who passed through without permission.”
“That seems reasonable, considering they didn’t have permission.”
“Just for using a road? Besides, when people see a road in the mountains, they naturally assume it’s built by the government. Who would think a bandit built it? They’d obviously think it’s just an excuse bandits use to rob people.”
Im Chung shook his head after saying that.
This wasn’t the time for such discussions.
“So, is there really no plan at all?”
“It’s not that we have no options.”
“What is it?”
“I told Im… Escort Im to enter the Bewildering Maze Formation.”
“Ah, I see!”
Im Chung nodded.
Perhaps that mystical, perception-disrupting secret technique of the Zhuge Family could even work against Ma Jin-gwang.
But Zhuge Hyeonmong’s expression was far from optimistic.
“However, I’m not sure if it will work against a Peak Realm master.”
He had heard that martial artists, especially Peak Realm masters, were those who had reached the limits of human capability.
Moreover, they could perceive their surroundings not just through their senses but also through qi perception, so they might be able to detect the unusual flow of energy created by the Formation.
Furthermore, the current Bewildering Maze Formation wasn’t a perfect Formation.
‘If he rampages and breaks the Formation, it’s over.’
That’s why he had deliberately lured the bandits through the Life Gate during their earlier confrontation.
(In a nutshell, the reason why Hyeonmong lured the bandits into the Life Gate instead of the Death Gate is that the Formation itself is incomplete and not stable. Bandits, pouring into and rampaging inside the Death Gate could lead to the collapse of the Formation.)
Zhuge Hyeonmong sighed deeply and looked at Im Chung.
“I expect to be generously compensated.”
“Of course! You’re the pillar of our agency!”
Though he never considered himself a pillar, Zhuge Hyeonmong simply nodded.
“Then please prepare. I should go too.”
“Prepare? Go where?”
“Well, shouldn’t we escape quickly too? Even though we made a bet, we don’t know when he might go back on his word. His subordinates might come too. We should run away while they still don’t know much about our identities.”
Im Chung nodded at Zhuge Hyeonmong’s words.
So much had happened, and with his mind preoccupied with his son’s situation, he hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“Then where will you go?”
“I’ll take Escort Im and return. Please leave two horses for us.”
Zhuge Hyeonmong bowed and slowly walked towards the direction Im Jun-gyu and Ma Jin-gwang had gone, his scholar’s robes fluttering behind him.
‘My body feels as heavy as lead.’
His body felt heavy, physically and mentally drained from all that happen. However, the escorts interpreted his slow movements differently. In a situation where they needed to move as quickly as possible, his slow movements gave off an air of composure.
‘How can he be so composed?’
‘Could it be… that everything is under his control? Even this situation?’
Someone couldn’t help but speak their thoughts aloud.
“Truly worthy of being the descendant of Marquis of Wu.”
* * *
Zhuge Hyeonmong observed the Bewildering Maze Formation.
‘It was good that we set it up over a wide area.’
Even though Im Jun-gyu and Ma Jin-gwang were inside, they were far apart.
But it probably wouldn’t last long.
Despite knowing nothing about the Formation, Ma Jin-gwang seemed to sense something was off, as he had closed his eyes and was expanding his qi perception.
Worse, dawn approached. Daylight would sharpen awareness, eroding the Formation’s potency.
Im Jun-gyu was tightly gripping the great axe while looking around nervously.
Zhuge Hyeonmong sighed and revealed himself to Im Jun-gyu.
“Zhuge!”
“Shh, lower your voice.”
While the Bewildering Maze Formation interfered with perception, he couldn’t guarantee it would block sound from reaching Ma Jin-gwang.
“Di-did you come to save me?”
“The others are escaping too. Let’s quickly prepare to run.”
“Ah, and trap the Tyrannical Strength Great Axe in this formation?”
Zhuge Hyeonmong nodded.
That’s when they heard it.
“Khuhu, you’re doing something interesting. What kind of sorcery is this?”
“…”
Ma Jin-gwang’s voice rang out.
“Let’s see, it should be around here…”
‘This is bad.’
Zhuge Hyeonmong looked at Im Jun-gyu.
“He’s moving.”
“Are-are we running away?”
“Before that, let’s make the Formation more complex.”
As he said this, Zhuge Hyeonmong began interfering with the Formation’s construction.
He projected mana into the Formation’s nodes and as he twisted the flow of mana in different directions, strange phenomena began to occur.
Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
The forest shifted—trees sliding sideways without sound, leaves rustling as if blown by invisible winds.
“W-What’s happening?!”
“A simple trick.”
“This is?”
Zhuge Hyeonmong had no time to humor Im Jun-gyu’s amazement.
‘Just interfering with perception isn’t enough.’
He had to use every trick he could.
‘There’s moisture on the ground. If I use that spell in conjunction with the Formation…’
The spell he uses for drying books. Adding this spell to the Formation’s equation, The moisture on the ground began to evaporate, creating a faint mist that he then manipulated with the wind, filling the entire space with fog.
“F-fog? What’s this?”
“It wouldn’t be strange for morning fog to appear around now, would it?”
‘Is that so?’
But this felt deliberate.
But for Im Jun-gyu, who was in a life-or-death situation, that wasn’t particularly important.
“Escort Im. You said he’s known as the Tyrannical Strength Great Axe? Does he rely on brute strength over wit?”
Im Jun-gyu briefly looked at Zhuge Hyeonmong as if he were looking at a dead man for casually insulting a Peak Realm master, then nodded.
While the expression was problematic, it was fitting.
“The Formation is maintained by its components, which are the physical objects placed within it, so there’s a good chance the Formation could be broken.”
“Th-that’s bad, isn’t it?”
“Yes, so we need objects that won’t break… hmm.”
Zhuge Hyeonmong’s gaze turned to the great axe that Im Jun-gyu was still clutching tightly even in this situation.