Chapter 264: Butting In (4)

Looking at a corpse never was a pleasant thing.

It would be even worse when said corpse belonged to a colleague they had been talking with and on a mission together.

Normally, the first emotion one would feel in this kind of situation would be 'rage.’ According to Cheon Tae-Hun's common sense and experience, he should be enraged to the point of losing his mind.

Surprisingly, though, he didn't feel any rage—all he could feel right now was fear and pure terror.

The terror paralyzed Cheon Tae-Hun. The terror of knowing that opening his mouth carelessly would also turn him into a headless corpse in the blink of an eye!

His shivering had stopped by now. The fear and terror in his heart reached their extremes, forcing his body to stop moving altogether. His paralyzed body now resembled a stiff log.

“Do you still not understand me?”

Understand him? Cheon Tae-Hun desperately racked his brain. Unfortunately, he still couldn't figure out what Kang Jin-Ho wanted. Thankfully, though, finding the correct reply wasn't his job. Kang Jin-Ho wasn't talking to him, after all.

“P-please wait! Give me a little bit of time!” Lee Jung-Geol responded animatedly, and his complexion was pale white. “If you give me a little bit of time, I shall find the answer you want. That’s why… a little more time!”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly stared at Lee Jung-Geol before briefly nodding. “Very well. Five minutes.”

“...!”

"In the meantime..." Kang Jin-Ho shifted his attention to Cheon Tae-Hun.

Cheon Tae-Hun nastily flinched when their eyes met. The cat toying around with rats had finally turned its attention to him! Unfortunately for him, Cheon Tae-Hun was also just another rat in Kang Jin-Ho's view.

“You.” Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes, and Cheon Tae-Hun responded by nodding animatedly. The latter’s body was now acting on its own at this point as he heard Kang Jin-Ho ask, “How did you notice that I’m a returner?”

Kang Jin-Ho's question contained so much information. Cheon Tae-Hun still had no idea of this young man’s might, but he managed to learn something important just then. This young man had no idea about all the influential factions residing in South Korea.

“Y-you're not a member of the Assembly nor affiliated with the Yeongnam Group, but you still interfered in this matter. Only a returner would do such a thing,” said Cheon Tae-Hun.

Kang Jin-Ho asked curiously, "As a group or as an individual?"

“B-both.”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned deeply. “It sounds like you have already analyzed the returners' faction, then?”

“Of course.”

"I see. Then, tell me more."

Cheon Tae-Hun couldn't understand why he had to explain such a thing. However, everything Kang Jin-Ho said felt like absolute orders that simply had to be obeyed no matter what. And that feeling started precisely when Kang Jin-Ho started addressing Cheon Tae-Hun specifically.

"Returners are different from regular martial artists. They maintain their own independent community, sir. However, this community's influence is not on par with either the Yeongnam Group or the Martial Assembly, and they prefer not doing anything flashy or noticeable."

“

Hmm...

” Kang Jin-Ho's eyes shone in the darkness as a look of genuine interest filled his face. “I see. And then?”

"This matter is... both the Assembly and the Yeongnam Group are involved in this matter, sir. As such, we thought the other smaller, minor factions wouldn't know about this matter. Even if they did, they wouldn't dare send anyone to butt in. And someone of your caliber wouldn't belong to those smaller entities… After eliminating all those possibilities, the only option remaining would be 'returners,’ sir."

Kang Jin-Ho contemplatively nodded.

'I knew it...'

It sounded like the returners were unable to live alongside the regular martial artists in this era. This seemed rather obvious in some ways. After all, Kang Jin-Ho still often found it tough to live among the people of this era despite all the efforts he had expanded to assimilate. However, other returners might not have a reason to assimilate similar to what Kang Jin-Ho had been doing, which meant they wouldn't need to spend any effort in doing so in the first place.

It wouldn't have mattered if the faction of the returners didn't exist and they didn't try to approach Kang Jin-Ho. However, they had already done that. Hadn't Kang Jin-Ho been approached by them when he had just returned to the modern era?

'Looks like I'll have to dig deeper into this...'

Unlike the information belonging to the... 'surface' world, which could be obtained rather easily through Jo Gyu-Min, the truths about the martial artists' world were not so easy to stumble upon. Kang Jin-Ho was again freshly reminded of this fact.

He groaned and shook his head. “Is five minutes over yet?”

“N-no, not yet...”

"This is getting boring. Speak now since I don't have any more patience to spare for you."

Lee Jung-Geol nervously swallowed. This 'brat' before him was quite arrogant. Considering his age, he shouldn't be allowed to behave this way. However, if he was indeed a returner, then... it would be impossible to determine the true age of the young man through his appearance alone. Returners who looked outwardly young but had lived for centuries were not unheard of, after all!

"I, I... can provide you with the Martial Assembly's full support!"

“Support, you say?”

"Yes. It's not possible for me to understand what you truly want. However, you must want something, and that's why you accepted Hyeon-Ju's request. Am I wrong? I swear in the name of the Assembly Master that I would give you whatever you want."

Kang Jin-Ho silently stared at Lee Jung-Geol before sagging in the chair. “Such boring and predictable words. You lost my interest.”

Lee Jung-Geol's complexion went ashen. From the get-go, it was impossible to make an offer the other side could be satisfied with when their demands were unknown. From his perspective, he had basically offered everything in his powers. Even then, the other party displayed a negative response. In that case, what else could he do?

Kang Jin-Ho lazily turned his head and stared at Cheon Tae-Hun. “Now, talk.”

“I'm sorry?” Cheon Tae-Hun blinked his eyes. What did this returner want to hear from him?

Kang Jin-Ho cackled ominously. “

Hah.

With these idiots fighting over the leadership position, I can already imagine what it's like with this Martial Assembly or whatever.”

“...!”

“Let's see... You need to kill that old man to take over the Martial Assembly. So, tell me. What will you give me if I turn a blind eye to that?”

Cheon Tae-Hun's eyes opened incredibly wide. The smiling Kang Jin-Ho looked so much like an insidious but powerful devil to him.

***

Lee Hyeon-Ju worriedly stared at the residence. It had been some time since Kang Jin-Ho went inside, but there wasn’t any change even now. She couldn't hear the sounds of fighting as well. She had heard occasional faint scream-like noises, but those had stopped some time ago. In addition, she couldn't tell whether they were genuine screams or her desperate mind was just making her mishear things.

'How long am I supposed to wait?'

If the situation had been different, Lee Hyeon-Ju wanted to listen to Kang Jin-Ho. However, her anxiety level was too high for her to stay here obediently. Her mind was too occupied with the thoughts of the worst-case scenario where both Kang Jin-Ho and her grandfather were no longer residents of this world.

“

Fuu-woo...!

”

She let out a long sigh to steel her resolve. With a determined look on her face, Lee Hyeon-Ju glared at the residence.

Maybe she could mess up things about to be resolved by foolishly entering the building. Even though such thoughts swirled in her head, Lee Hyeon-Ju still approached the building with a stiff expression.

Her cautious steps led her to the front of the building, then she stared hesitantly at the entrance, fear building up quickly in her.

'...Is it open?'

She cautiously reached out and grabbed the door handle.

Creeeak...

The door handle issued a low squeak and turned. Lee Hyeon-Ju sucked in several deep breaths to calm herself, then opened the door as her heart trembled.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

This residence belonged to her grandfather. It was his home. So, she knew its interior layout like the back of her hand. If she opened this door, the first thing she would see would be the living room. And that living room was where...

Lee Hyeon-Ju opened the door and tried to scan the living room, but her eyes narrowed to slits. It was too dark inside.

The lights were off, and nothing could be seen. However, she still picked on something rather prominent pretty quickly. It was the… acrid stench of blood.

Since she was practically blind right now, the stench of blood seemed much more vivid to her senses. It was unbelievably thick and overwhelming. The disgusting stench rushed into her lungs, forcing a round of curses to escape from her mouth—along with the contents of her stomach rising up her throat.

'W-what is going on in here?'

She could feel that something serious had gone down in this place. However, that didn't mean she should back off now that she was here. Lee Hyeon-Ju forcibly stopped her legs from trembling and forced them to walk inside. She supported herself against the wall while cautiously sneaking past the front entrance and felt around the wall with her shaking hand to find the light switch.

But when she turned it on...

“

Bleeeeeergh!

”

Lee Hyeon-Ju toppled over like a shrimp toward the floor and retched uncontrollably. Since she hadn't eaten anything, only stomach acid rushed up her pipe, but her retching was powerful enough as if it would dislodge her insides for her to spit out of her mouth.

“

Heuh-uhhh! Bleeeergh! Blergh!

”

She tried to control herself, but her wits just didn't want to come back to her. However, that was understandable because the 'spectacle' before her eyes... easily exceeded her worst nightmare, after all!

The entire world seemed as if it were dyed in crimson. From the floor to the walls, then even the ceiling... Everything was so crimson that she couldn't even guess what their original hues could have been. And there was no need to even elaborate on what caused all that crimson coloration. However, this wasn’t the end of the spectacle…

“

A-ah?! Ah...!

”

In the middle of vomiting, Lee Hyeon-Ju finally became conscious of the object rolling around on the floor near her feet. When she recognized what it was—Lee Hyeon-Ju stumbled back before falling on her butt. She hurriedly scrambled back in pure shock.

What... What on Earth had happened in here?!

With the lights on, the sight of the living room vividly etched itself on Lee Hyeon-Ju's retina. Thick blood had pooled in several spots like puddles. More blood trickling toward the front entrance was dripping down the hump to wet the shoes she was wearing, then... chunks of chopped-up human flesh and limbs resembling meat were laying in those blood puddles.

Lee Hyeon-Ju couldn't keep her eyes open anymore as she hurriedly squeezed them shut.

'Insane!'

Indeed, he couldn't have killed all these people in this manner unless he was utterly insane. And... and Lee Hyeon-Ju could very well be the person responsible for creating this catastrophe. Still…

'...I’ve invited a devil in, haven't I?!'

Lee Hyeon-Ju had finally figured it out. She had finally figured out how Kang Jin-Ho's fear-inducing atmosphere was born.

Kang Jin-Ho wasn't the type to overtly threaten his opponents. He would simply act and turn a person into chunks of bloody meat in the blink of an eye. He was capable of instilling fear in anyone because he viewed his opponents as nothing more than temporary amusement or toys he could tear apart at any time.

Lee Hyeon-Ju suddenly had another thought. What if she had acted a little too haughtily or overboard during her first encounter with Kang Jin-Ho? She could have ended up in this tragic state, too. Realizing that, she found herself unable to move her legs anymore.

Lee Hyeon-Ju was even relieved that she didn’t wet herself. This sight was mercilessly teaching her what it felt like to lose strength in every fiber of her being.

'I... No, I need to get a hold of myself!'

There was no time to waste like this. The devil-like bastard should have reached Lee Hyeon-Ju's grandfather by now. If things had gone well, she should have heard something from them.

In other words, her grandfather could be in a standoff against Kang Jin-Ho right at this moment!

Lee Hyeon-Ju forced herself to stand back up. Her legs were quivering, but she still willed them to move. Her grandfather should be on the second floor, and the devil should be in the same place as him.

Her trembling steps took her up the stairs and eventually, to the corridor with a half-open doorway at the end. Light was leaking out from the door gap.

'He said his compensation hasn't been decided yet.'

So Lee Hyeon-Ju shouldn't be thankful that he came, said Kang Jin-Ho. When she heard that, she initially didn't understand what he meant. After seeing the massacre downstairs, though? A new thought powerfully announced itself in her mind: Kang Jin-Ho didn't come here to help her out.

Clearly recognizing that fact allowed her to figure out what she had to do right now. The 'compensation' hadn't been decided yet. In other words, Kang Jin-Ho might not help Lee Hyeon-Ju and her grandfather out if the offer on the table wasn’t to his liking. In that case, why did he even come here?

The answer was simple—there was another party involved in this event, wasn't there?

If the offered compensation weren't to his liking, Kang Jin-Ho would simply demand what he 'wanted' from the other side instead. He could do something like that.

Lee Hyeon-Ju bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood. Her new job was to make a deal with a scary devil. Only by satisfying the devil would Lee Hyeon-Ju and her grandfather survive tonight.

To stop herself from getting crushed by this insane and cruel situation, Lee Hyeon-Ju grabbed and squeezed her thigh hard. This was the first time she encountered a situation like this!

As her nails dug into her thighs, stinging pain spread throughout her body. It felt like her mind had cleared up a little.

Lee Hyeon-Ju sucked in a deep breath before walking toward the open doorway at the end of the corridor.