Chapter 5 ….
The masked man didn’t answer and instead glanced around.
Was the boy perhaps not alone?
Fortunately, he seemed to be by himself.
But still—this wasn’t someone he could approach lightly.
It felt as if every cell in his body was screaming at him not to get any closer.
Goosebumps prickled all over his skin.
Jeok Wi-gang stepped forward.
The masked man instinctively stepped back.
It was pure instinct—
The instinct to survive.
For some strange reason, the eight-year-old child in front of him looked like a massive predator.
“I asked you a question. Are you from the Gui-pung Sect?”
“N-no.”
“Then? The Divine Gate Sect?”
“No.”
“The Iron Fist Sect?”
The masked man shook his head.
Jeok Wi-gang grinned.
“Well, I didn’t think you’d talk easily anyway.”
He clenched his tiny fist.
It was small and round, like a pebble—
The kind of fist that made one think, Even if he hits me, how bad could it be?
And then—
Jeok Wi-gang’s figure vanished and reappeared right in front of the masked man’s nose.
“Let’s start with a punch. You’ll probably remember something after getting hit.”
It was a universal truth.
Even the old Sichuan Demon had been that way—
At first, he resisted fiercely,
But after a few punches, he became obedient.
Truly, the fist was the way of truth.
And now, Jeok Wi-gang was practicing that truth.
The masked man had only a moment to think as the boy’s fist came flying toward him.
That little punch… it probably won’t even hurt.
With that thought, he moved to dodge—
And immediately felt embarrassed for avoiding the fist of an eight-year-old.
Then—
BOOOOM!
RUMBLEEEE—!
The ground quaked, a thunderous explosion roared through the air.
He turned around in shock.
The once-dense forest now had a straight, open path carved through it—
And at the end of that path, a massive boulder stood with a perfectly round hole punched clean through it.
The masked man’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Am I dreaming?
He was seeing it with his own eyes, and yet it was impossible to believe.
If he hadn’t dodged just now…
He swallowed dryly.
There was no internal energy—none at all.
“I figured you’d dodge.”
He figured?
“A-and if I hadn’t dodged?”
The masked man couldn’t help but speak respectfully, his voice trembling.
“Then there’s nothing to be done. A shame, but you’d have died before I even learned who you were.”
What kind of madman… thinks so little of human life?
More than that—what was this creature?
Was he an old master who had regained youth through reverse aging?
No, there wasn’t a trace of internal energy.
Then again, maybe he was too far above him to even sense it.
“Still don’t feel like talking?”
The masked man hesitated.
To die, or to confess and live?
If he confessed, he’d be dead anyway once he returned to his organization.
Better to die with some dignity now.
Besides, judging from the boy’s power, he’d be dead before he could even feel pain.
Yes.
He’d die honorably.
With resolve in his eyes, he declared:
“You will hear nothing from my lips!”
“Really? Okay then.”
The boy’s fist moved again.
Or rather—it seemed to move.
He saw it—
And the next instant, pain exploded in his abdomen.
“Gahk!”
The masked man crumpled to his knees.
The shock started in his gut and rippled through his entire body like a wave.
Though struck in the stomach, his lungs contracted and his spine shuddered violently.
It wasn’t his skin tearing—it was the insides of his body being ripped apart.
A metallic taste filled his mouth as something rose up his throat.
He looked down, half-convinced his stomach had been blown away.
Fortunately, it was still there—though the pain said otherwise.
He didn’t know then that this was only a preview of the pain to come.
WHAM!
This time, the right side of his face exploded in pain.
It felt like his head had been knocked clean off.
The world spun as his body floated in midair.
WHAM!
Another hit—this time from the left.
The pain snapped his fading consciousness back awake,
only for it to start slipping again—
WHAM! WHAM!
Each blow felt like a massive iron hammer smashing his cheekbones.
He had long since lost his sense of balance—
He couldn’t tell up from down.
He only knew his body was being flung around,
bouncing left and right violently—
because Jeok Wi-gang was striking him faster than the eye could see.
“Damn it, this is annoying. I’m too short—I have to jump to hit you properly. I’d better grow taller soon.”
Even through the pain, the masked man heard the boy’s irritated muttering.
Then came one last impact against his skull,
and his consciousness was swallowed by darkness.
How much time passed, he didn’t know.
When he woke, Jeok Wi-gang was sitting nearby, absorbed in something else.
He seemed to be… constructing something?
“Was it in this order? Can’t quite remember.”
Jeok Wi-gang scratched his head and focused again.
He was close—well within the reach of the Three-Step Death Sword,
a killing technique said to strike fatally at anything within three steps.
This is it.
A heaven-sent opportunity.
The masked man gathered all his focus.
When the boy let his guard down completely,
he drew his dagger and lunged for the back of his neck.
Thunk—
The dagger struck flesh—
but didn’t penetrate.
“Huh?”
“What are you doing?”
“I… Is that the Diamond Body Technique?”
“No. Nothing like that. I was just born a little tough, that’s all.”
A little?
He had stabbed with all his strength!
“Wait… you just tried to attack me?”
“Th-that… I saw an opening and, um… I couldn’t help myself…”
Jeok Wi-gang grinned.
That grin alone made the masked man’s blood run cold.
His body was still wracked with pain.
“It’s my first time hitting someone with this eight-year-old body. I’m still bad at controlling my strength.”
“Y-you’re really eight years old?”
“Of course. How old do I look?”
“A-about that age…”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I thought maybe you were an old master reborn in a child’s body…”
“Nope. Just a regular eight-year-old still learning about the world.”
But that voice and that way of speaking—
They were anything but childlike.
“Now then, talk.”
The masked man flicked his tongue along his teeth, searching for his poison capsule.
If he couldn’t escape alive, he’d at least die by his own hand.
But the capsule wasn’t there.
“Looking for this?”
“Huh?”
Jeok Wi-gang was holding something between his fingers—
the poison pill that should’ve been in his mouth.
“How did you—?”
“My little brother told me assassins usually use these to kill themselves.”
Little brother?
If he remembered correctly, Jeok Wi-gang had a brother two years younger.
A six-year-old told him that?
This entire family was insane.
He looked down at the boy’s small, delicate hand.
It looked cute—yet that same hand had delivered pain worse than death.
He’d rather jump into fire than feel that again.
“Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll give this back.”
“Huh?”
“Answer me honestly, and then you can kill yourself.”
Who even thinks like that?
Did this boy have no blood or tears?
Realizing there was no escape, the masked man bowed his head.
“I… was ordered by the Lord of the Hao Sect to watch over you, Young Master.”
“The Lord of Hao Sect?”
“Yes. The old man you met yesterday—the one from the Jinmu Sect’s enemy base—that was the Hao Sect’s Lord.”
“Oh, really? Then why is he spying on me?”
“I don’t know. I merely follow orders.”
“Hmm. Guess I’ll have to meet this Hao Sect Lord myself.”
“Wh-what?”
“What are you so surprised for? Ah, right. I’m still too young right now. I’ll wait until I’m older. It’s inconvenient being small.”
Jeok Wi-gang wanted to be a good son—
one who didn’t cause his parents unnecessary worry.
That was why he moved only after everyone had gone to sleep.
Tae-cheon, his loyal guardian, always stood watch long after Jeok had gone to bed.
Simple, faithful, and reliable—Jeok liked that about him.
Even if it meant acting at this late hour, it was fine.
Once I grow stronger, I’ll show Tae-cheon my true power,
he thought.
Then I’ll be freer to move.
Not yet. The time wasn’t right.
Jeok Wi-gang turned back to the masked man.
“Take it off.”
The man removed his mask, revealing a face swollen and battered beyond recognition.
His lips were split and bleeding, his eyes barely open.
“Talk on your own.”
“Y-yes! My name is Mil-yeong. I’m twenty-three years old.”
“Put the mask back on.”
“Thank you.”
“Keep watching me.”
“Huh?”
“Keep spying on me. But in your reports, just… make something up.”
“Ah… understood.”
“Heh. Now that’s more like it.”
“A-are you sparing me?”
“Why? You want to die?”
Jeok Wi-gang raised his fist.
Mil-yeong quickly shook his head.
He definitely didn’t want to die in pain.
“N-no, sir!”
“Then prove your usefulness.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And don’t even think about running. I’ve got a good nose—I can find you even if you flee a thousand li.”
He’s not human…
“W-wait. You found me earlier by scent?”
“Yeah. I smelled something unusual, checked it out, and there you were.”
He wasn’t lying.
Finding people by smell—what kind of monster was this?
And from that distance?
“Oh, and I’ve got good eyes too.”
What kind of human says that so casually?!
“If you try to run, I won’t kill you.”
…How merciful.
“But I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life lying down—only able to eat porridge that others feed you.”
Just kill me instead…
Tears welled in Mil-yeong’s eyes.
He had only followed orders—
And yet, of all people, he’d been caught by a demon like this.
Maybe he could still run, if he got far enough…
That’s when Jeok Wi-gang held something out.
“Eat this.”
“What is it?”
“Ten-Thousand-Li Tracking Fragrance. Once you eat it, I can smell you from ten thousand li away.”
“T-Tracking Fragrance?! There’s an edible version?”
“Yeah. The kind you apply can be masked by other scents, so I had my little brother make an ingestible version.”
Just what kind of little brother is that?!
Apparently, the younger one from the Jinmu Sect was also a monster—
a child who could make anything.
But why invent something so horrifying?
“My little brothers kept trying to run away, you see. Once, I barely caught them. So I had him make something to keep track of them wherever they go.”
Brothers?
Running away?
He must mean someone else—not the Jinmu Sect’s second young master.
Mil-yeong stopped trying to make sense of it.
Thinking about this family was simply too much.
