Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 645

“Did you say it was important why we brought this guy here?”

Bator shrugged and replied,

“I’ll answer one by one. First, you were curious why this guy is so stiff, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“The answer is simple. It’s because of pressure points.”

“Pressure points?”

Jang Da-jing’s eyes widened slightly.

“Did you say pressure points? The kind of pressure points from martial arts novels?”

“That’s right.”

“Is that actually possible?”

“It’s possible, that’s why this guy is like this. You don’t think he has a hobby of playing dead all night without moving a muscle, do you?”

“Of course not, but it’s such an absurd thing to say…”

“Imagination is based on reality in the first place.”

Bator’s voice was full of conviction.

“The reason why legends about dragons exist in both the West and the East is because they saw dinosaur bones. The existence of dinosaur fossils is the medium through which fantasy is added to create legends. Pressure points are the same. Although the specific techniques haven’t been passed down, people have witnessed their effects.

No matter how much you try to suppress it, what you’ve seen doesn’t disappear. It’s been passed down through stories and word of mouth.”

Bator shrugged and continued,

“Of course, it’s not something anyone can use like in the stories. To push energy into someone’s body and maintain it without it being absorbed requires tremendous energy and control. Most masters can only dream of it. Only those who have reached a certain level can use it.”

“Ah, then are you capable of it, Bator?”

“Ahem, the night air is getting chilly.”

Jang Da-jing, sensing the discomfort on Bator’s face, immediately changed the subject. He was a good subordinate who knew how to read his superior’s discomfort.

“Then…”

But the problem was that Bator was also a good superior.

“Just so you don’t misunderstand, it’s not that I can’t use pressure points because my level is low. It’s because my martial arts are about a billion light-years away from being delicate.”

“It seems so.”

“…It seems so?”

‘Oops!’

Jang Da-jing realized his mistake. But if you can fix any mistake, it’s not a mistake.

“I mean, it doesn’t seem like you would be interested in immobilizing someone, Bator.”

“Heh heh, Jang Da-jing.”

“Yes.”

“You’ll live a long life.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

Bator chuckled and said,

“At my level, I should naturally be able to use pressure points, but strangely, when I try, the other person’s body explodes. It might be because of my lack of control, but I think it’s because my energy itself is too overbearing. It would be good to experiment on this guy, but he can’t die. Tsk.”

Bator clicked his tongue.

‘Poor guy.’

Jang Da-jing couldn’t help but feel sorry for Guo Liqin. How must it feel to hear all this and not be able to move a single finger?

‘He should have known who to mess with.’

There’s a saying that you should look before you leap. Who did he think he was messing with when he touched Choi Yeon-ha? He was lucky not to be torn into hundreds of pieces and killed on the spot.

“But why did you bring him here? And what did you mean by saying it was important?”

“If the master had made up his mind, this guy wouldn’t be alive. And considering the master’s anger, it wouldn’t be strange if he had died a hundred times over. Yet, he was brought here unharmed, which probably means… they want to find out who’s behind him through this guy. Whether it’s through torture or whatever.”

“The mastermind, you mean?”

Jang Da-jing tilted his head.

“But Choi Yeon-ha isn’t that big of a deal. Why would there be a mastermind behind someone messing with a woman like her?”

“Who is Choi Yeon-ha?”

“She’s the woman that Kang Jin-ho went to… well, to do that thing.”

Why does this word stick so well?

It felt like it would pop out if he wasn’t careful.

Jang Da-jing resolved to be more careful with his words. It’s because Bator is so tough that he can get hit by Kang Jin-ho and be fine, but if he got hit, he would die on the spot.

If he went to the King of the Underworld and said, ‘I was talking about breeding in front of a madman and got killed in one blow,’ what kind of look would the King of the Underworld give him? If a person dies, they should at least die with some dignity.

“That’s not important.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s say your child was stung by a wasp while playing in the garden. Would you try to find out which wasp it was?”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

Jang Da-jing shook his head. That was impossible.

“Then what would you do?”

“…I’d catch all the wasps nearby. Or find the wasp nest and burn it down.”

“Right. The master has caught one wasp to guide him to the wasp nest.”

Jang Da-jing pursed his lips.

He understood what Bator was saying. But his way of thinking was still something he couldn’t accept.

“Humans and wasps can’t be the same. Wasps move according to instinct, but humans move according to reason.”

“Is that so?”

Bator chuckled.

“Then why would you find and eliminate a wasp nest that was just moving according to instinct? What did the wasps do wrong?”

“…Nothing.”

“They’re just eliminated because they caused harm. Right? And you’d eliminate them because they might cause harm in the future.”

“That’s right.”

Bator nodded quietly.

“To the master, this guy and the people behind him are worth that much.”

“That’s a bit…”

“Don’t you think so?”

Jang Da-jing couldn’t bring himself to answer.

“When people catch mosquitoes, they don’t think about the mosquito’s position. Even if they know that mosquitoes are looking for blood to breed, they don’t try to spare them. The master is just a human too.”

“But normal people don’t do that kind of thing.”

“It’s not that normal people don’t do that kind of thing, it’s that normal people don’t have the power to do it. Do I really need to lecture you on how many people powerful humans have killed? History books are enough for that, aren’t they?”

Jang Da-jing closed his mouth.

Bator’s words were not wrong.

“Compared to the number of people dictators have killed, the master and I are quite innocent. Even at this moment, there are dictators who have killed thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of people and are still enjoying their power. So, talking about humans is ridiculous.”

Jang Da-jing didn’t answer. This was a protest.

He couldn’t win with logic, but it was a protest that he didn’t accept until the end. Bator, seeing his awkward silence, smiled.

“Right. Trying to pursue what’s right until the end is also proof that you’re human. You’re not wrong.”

“…Bator.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry to say this, but whenever you say such intellectual things, it doesn’t really suit you.”

Bator’s face contorted.

“What, you punk?”

“It’s the truth, what can I do?”

Bator, having received Jang Da-jing’s petty revenge, laughed in a hollow manner.

“Whatever. But there’s one thing you should know.”

“Yes?”

Bator looked at Jang Da-jing with a meaningful expression.

“You might have hoped to return to China quietly without any trouble, but now that the master has caught this guy, your dream is over. That will never happen.”

“This guy is a nobody. But you know it too, the martial arts world in China.”

“I do.”

He knew it better than anyone.

The martial arts world in China was different from that of Korea. The Korean martial arts world was a system where power was divided within a single unified sect, but the Chinese martial arts world was a mess of numerous sects. They were all intertwined, creating huge factions.

“That means…”

“It means that if we start digging into this guy, we don’t know where it will lead.”

“That’s right. If we stop at a reasonable point, it might be okay, but if we really dig to the end, the Red King might come out. Or the Blue King.”

Jang Da-jing grabbed his mouth as if he was suffocating.

‘No way!’

That madman would go all the way. While others would create a reasonable compromise to avoid going all the way for their own safety, Kang Jin-ho didn’t know what compromise was. He would just keep moving forward until he got what he wanted.

The fact that he was still alive was what made Kang Jin-ho so amazing.

What if that kind of person dug into this guy and the name Red King came out?

‘Absolutely not.’

Jang Da-jing had no intention of dying here. Kang Jin-ho probably didn’t either, but no matter how he thought about it, Kang Jin-ho was the kind of guy who could do anything.

“W-what should we do?”

“Ask the question properly.”

“I don’t want that kind of situation. It’s impossible to completely stop that guy, but is there any way to stop him at a reasonable point? For example…”

Jang Da-jing’s gaze turned to Guo Liqin.

“Like getting rid of this guy.”

His sympathy for Guo Liqin had long disappeared. I need to live first.

“That’s not a bad idea, but the master told us to protect this guy well. If we disobey the master’s orders and kill him, we’ll have to face the master’s wrath. The reason the master caught this guy in the first place was because he was angry, wasn’t it? That’s just a way to die a little earlier, isn’t it?”

It was very fortunate news for Guo Liqin. But it was devastating news for Jang Da-jing.

“T-then what should we do?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not the kind of person who suits intellectual conversations.”

“…Subtly.”

“What?”

“If you can’t find the solution, Bator, who else can? You are the only wise person in the world who can find the solution.”

“You’ll really live a long life.”

Bator chuckled.

“Everything in the world has a key. The master says it’s not, but the reason the master came to China is to stop by here, right?”

“No doubt about it.”

The demons?

If that was urgent, he would have gone there first. It seemed like they didn’t even know where the demons were gathered right now. If the goal was clear, they would have gotten information before leaving. Seeing that they came to China without a plan, the conclusion was obvious.

“Then that Choi… Choi here…”

“Choi Yeon-ha.”

“Right. That woman has a huge influence on the master. Then it’s good to try to target her.”

“Oh!”

Jang Da-jing clenched his fist. He finally found a clue.

Bator smiled bitterly as he watched Jang Da-jing rejoice.

‘Not yet.’

Kang Jin-ho might think this is disloyalty. But true loyalty is not just following the master’s words. It’s about leading the master on the right path, even if it means going against his will.

That’s why Bator didn’t waver at all.

“However…”

“Yes?”

“If you mess with it carelessly, the master will beat you to death. Think carefully.”

“……”

Jang Da-jing fell into deep thought again.