The Heavenly Demon Wants a Quiet Life

Chapter 66: Do You Know Who I Am

Yeon Harin fought as if possessed.

Even the Hubei Martial Alliance martial artists fighting alongside her felt overwhelmed.

One could only imagine how the giant facing Yeon Harin felt.

“I underestimated her too much.”

He had no choice but to admit it—he had taken Yeon Harin too lightly.

She was far superior to what he had expected.

Her martial arts were formidable, but what stood out more was her quick adaptability and sharp combat instincts.

She had already evaded danger several times by relying on such traits.

However, the giant didn’t doubt his victory. The outcome was already decided. The only question was how long it would take to reach that outcome.

The giant glanced around his surroundings.

This was a luxury he could afford, as he still held the upper hand.

It was also one of the two reasons he hadn’t yet dealt with Yeon Harin.

The Hubei Martial Alliance martial artists were holding their ground against the semi-reanimated corpses, though just barely.

But that wouldn’t last much longer.

There were still more semi-reanimated corpses on the other boats.

Once the ones on this boat fell, others from the nearby boats would cross over.

Thus, the number of semi-reanimated corpses remained constant, while the Hubei Martial Alliance martial artists were steadily wearing themselves out.

The giant looked further away this time.

The boat carrying the younger generation had safely reached the shore.

But that didn’t mean they had escaped danger.

There were plenty of semi-reanimated corpses onshore as well. They wouldn’t escape.

The important figures would be captured, while the rest would either die or rise again as semi-reanimated corpses.

The giant was confident about the situation onshore for a reason.

There was a true master waiting there.

Moreover, there were semi-reanimated corpses onshore that were far stronger than those here.

“I better wrap this up soon.”

The giant realized he needed to finish things on this side first. If not, his competence might be called into question.

“I wanted to get the spoils intact, but it seems that won’t be possible. Bear with the pain, will you?”

With those words, the giant swung his saber aggressively.

Sching!

A massive wave of saber energy surged forth, slamming into Yeon Harin’s sword.

Kwang!

The impact caused a powerful explosion, shaking the entire boat.

Yeon Harin fell backward, a thin stream of blood trickling down her lips.

Yet her determination remained unshaken.

If anything, she became even fiercer in her assault.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Despite being unable to fully block the giant’s overwhelming saber energy, she refused to back down.

Her instincts told her that retreating now would be the worst possible decision.

Yeon Harin narrowly deflected the saber energy with each move.

However, this rapidly drained her stamina and internal energy.

Her movements began to slow.

At that moment, a voice called out.

“Hey! You’re there!”

The giant was startled as if someone had shouted directly into his ear.

No, it was more than that—it felt as if the voice had been driven straight into his mind.

This wasn’t some typical technique of projecting sound with internal energy.

It was a far more advanced method.

The giant quickly stepped back, startled. He noticed Yeon Harin’s startled expression as well.

She had clearly heard the voice too.

The giant looked around, trying to locate the source of the voice.

Someone stood on the riverbank, looking in their direction.

It was Byeok Taesan.

Yeon Harin’s eyes widened when she saw him. She almost felt like crying.

But now wasn’t the time for tears. Tears would only hinder her in battle.

“You, pig.”

The giant blinked in disbelief as Byeok Taesan pointed a finger at him, his expression one of disdain.

“Is there anyone else here who fits that description? Stop asking stupid questions. It’s annoying.”

The giant snorted.

“Ha! You bastard, do you even know who I am to talk like that?”

“Do I need to? And you, do you know who I am?”

“I don’t, you bastard!”

Byeok Taesan smirked coldly. “Then you’ll have to die. Not knowing me—that’s a crime worth dying for, don’t you think?”

The giant stood his ground, glaring at Byeok Taesan.

“Oh yeah? You’re going to kill me? Then come and try it.”

The giant’s gaze shifted back to Yeon Harin.

“Before you even get here, I’ll show you exactly what I’ll do with her.”

He aimed his saber at Yeon Harin. A sinister energy began to ripple across the blade.

“If you’re going to die anyway, you might as well die now.”

The giant’s saber, infused with overwhelming energy, descended toward Yeon Harin.

Yeon Harin desperately tried to block it. But no matter how she calculated, there was no way to block or dodge it completely.

Still, she couldn’t just give up. Especially not when Byeok Taesan was here.

Clenching her teeth, Yeon Harin swung her sword.

Just as her sword and the giant’s saber were about to collide, something intervened.

Tang!

A crisp sound rang out, and the giant staggered back. Blood oozed from his torn grip.

His massive saber wobbled in his hands, unable to steady itself after the impact.

Panicked, the giant looked for the source of the strike.

“A pebble?”

A small stone had landed nearby.

“Don’t recklessly use your energy. I didn’t bring physicians, so I can’t save you. It wouldn’t be fun if you died too easily, would it?”

The giant stared at Byeok Taesan, who spoke leisurely from the riverbank, his expression one of disbelief.

Did he really throw that pebble from over there and deliver such a devastating blow?

“Is that even possible?”

The giant muttered in shock as he collapsed to his knees.

He had just unleashed a massive surge of internal energy, but the pebble had disrupted it, causing the energy to rebound.

Ironically, that backlash had kept his body intact.

When his qi pathways were disrupted, the energy that should have erupted outward instead pooled within his body.

However, he was now in no condition to fight.

As the giant fell, Yeon Harin turned her attention to helping the Hubei Martial Alliance fight the semi-reanimated corpses.

Even as she fought, she kept glancing toward Byeok Taesan.

Before long, Cheon Kyungwan and Yoo Seoyeon arrived, standing behind Byeok Taesan.

Yeon Harin felt strangely relieved, though it was definitely not the kind of situation to feel at ease.

Byeok Taesan stood by the riverbank, gauging the distance.

He was trying to determine whether he could leap onto the ship in a single bound. The distance was slightly tricky.

The bandits had deliberately conducted their activities far from the shore, fearing that someone might attempt to flee by jumping into the water.

“Ha, back in the day, this would’ve been less than a half-step for me. Really, how did I end up like this?”

Muttering to himself, Byeok Taesan began looking around for anything he could use as a foothold.

If he placed a few wooden planks in between, it would be enough to get him onto the ship.

At that moment, the Owner of the Golden Jade Pavilion arrived.

She came holding an armful of wooden planks.

“Impressive.”

Byeok Taesan praised her as he took the planks and tossed them onto the river.

Though it seemed like he was throwing them carelessly, the planks landed with precise spacing, forming a makeshift bridge to the ship.

However, the flowing water caused the planks to drift slightly.

“Follow me if you can.”

Leaving those words behind, Byeok Taesan leaped forward.

He landed precisely on the first plank, then jumped again.

Amazingly, the plank only wobbled slightly on the water but didn’t move much. It merely drifted along with the current.

Stepping on a few more planks, he quickly reached the nearest ship and leaped aboard.

In that instant, all the semi-reanimated corpses aboard the ship collapsed.

“Hmm. This, too, belongs to me.”

The ship was filled with pure spiritual energy. The portion of energy that matched Byeok Taesan’s resonance seeped into his body.

Having done this once before, his absorption speed was noticeably faster this time.

With the semi-reanimated corpses defeated, only the regular bandits, who were unscathed humans, remained aboard.

With a flick of his finger, Byeok Taesan motioned for the bandits. Trembling, they scrambled to their knees before him.

Byeok Taesan then raised his finger, pointing towards Cheon Kyungwan and Yoo Seoyeon, who stood by the riverbank.

Though he said nothing, the bandits immediately understood his intent.

Waving his hand in annoyance, Byeok Taesan suddenly triggered several of their pressure points, blocking them completely.

“You’re under restriction. Try to run, and… boom. Got it?”

The bandits’ faces turned pale.

Byeok Taesan leaped effortlessly onto another nearby ship.

Afterward, the bandits, steering their ship, obediently moved toward the riverbank.

Once there, they knelt before Cheon Kyungwan and Yoo Seoyeon.

They even earnestly answered the Owner of the Golden Jade Pavilion’s questions, hoping to save their lives.

It was their desperate attempt at survival.

The last ship Byeok Taesan boarded was the one Yeon Harin was on.

It was only natural since her ship was on the farthest side.

By the time Byeok Taesan climbed aboard, Yeon Harin and the Hubei Martial Alliance warriors had already dealt with the semi-reanimated corpses.

With Byeok Taesan clearing out the semi-reanimated corpses on the other ships, reinforcements hadn’t been able to reach Yeon Harin’s location.

Byeok Taesan glanced around the ship with a slightly regretful expression.

Though he had consumed plenty of elixirs so far, more was always better. Regret was still regret.

“Young Master…”

Yeon Harin approached him slowly, tears glistening in her eyes.

Reaching out his hand, Byeok Taesan firmly declared, “If you’re going to cry, go cry somewhere else. I can’t stand it.”

Her tears vanished instantly.

Yeon Harin stared at Byeok Taesan, slightly dazed. She felt that he hadn’t acted this way in the past, yet his recent words and actions seemed to fit him perfectly.

“I’m not crying!”

Pouting her lips, Yeon Harin protested as Byeok Taesan approached a large man collapsed on the deck.

“Tsk. He’s already half-dead. I don’t even need to kill him.”

“If you’re going to mock me, just kill me,” the man groaned.

Byeok Taesan didn’t bother replying to the comment.

Instead, he turned his gaze toward the opposite riverbank.

The fierce battle raged on, which meant there were still many semi-reanimated corpses left over there.

“Still some elixirs left.”

Murmuring to himself, Byeok Taesan scanned the ship for remaining bandits but found none.

Yeon Harin had already taken care of them earlier.

Turning naturally to the remaining people—the Hubei Martial Alliance warriors—Byeok Taesan gave them a command.

“Move toward the riverbank. Steer the ship over there.”

At his words, the warriors bustled into action.

Some of them had prior experience steering ships, so the task was completed more smoothly than expected.

The ship they were on quickly began heading toward the riverbank.

When they were close enough, Byeok Taesan leaped off the ship.

Though the distance was considerable, Yeon Harin and the warriors remained on board.

They didn’t need to jump off, nor did they feel the need.

Instead, they witnessed something incredible.

As Byeok Taesan passed through, the semi-reanimated corpses, who had been wildly swinging their swords, collapsed powerlessly, one by one.

Despite their relentless attacks, the semi-reanimated corpses fell to the ground as quickly as they charged.

Standing amidst the fallen semi-reanimated corpses, Byeok Taesan quietly closed his eyes.

Everyone around him stared in awe at the scene.

Thus ended the assault on the bandits and semi-reanimated corpses stationed at the stronghold.

While Byeok Taesan absorbed the Soul Essence expelled by the semi-reanimated corpses, the Hubei Martial Alliance warriors, as well as the clans involved, busied themselves with cleanup.

They dug large pits to bury the corpses and set them on fire, gathering the captured bandits together in one place.

Most of the ships remained intact, so they used them to bring the bandits from the opposite riverbank over to their side.

Once the cleanup was complete, they decided to transport everyone, including the bandits, to the Hubei Martial Alliance headquarters by ship.

As this was underway, the Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master arrived with reinforcements from the Hubei Martial Alliance.

The Owner of Golden Jade Pavilion had relayed the information to the Hubei Martial Alliance, prompting them to mobilize their warriors in haste.

The Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master, having heard that Byeok Taesan had headed this way, rushed to the scene in shock.

Upon discovering that the situation was already resolved, they sighed in relief. Then, with expressions that seemed to say, “Of course,” they looked toward Byeok Taesan.

Just as they arrived, Byeok Taesan opened his eyes.

“Young Master, are you all right?”

The Heavenly Divine Healer cautiously asked.

Byeok Taesan responded by gesturing with his chin toward the large man who had been leading the bandits.

“Save him.”

The Heavenly Divine Healer promptly replied, “He’s as good as saved already.”

With those words, the Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master rushed over to the man.

Though his Qi pathways were tangled from a backlash caused by an explosion of latent energy, the Needle Master resolved the issue with a single needle.

The surging latent energy was then pacified by the Heavenly Divine Healer using another needle.

The Heavenly Divine Healer glanced at Byeok Taesan and the Needle Master with a triumphant expression.

“So, what do you think? Isn’t my acupuncture better than yours now?”

“Cut the nonsense already,” the Needle Master retorted.

“There you go with that vulgar tone again. How many times have I told you to speak properly? Words shape character, you know. What will you do if you end up being shunned in your old age?”

The Needle Master ignored him, shaking his head, and approached Byeok Taesan.

“He’s been saved.”

“Well done,” Byeok Taesan said.

The Needle Master’s face froze for a moment in disbelief before he quickly lowered his head in acknowledgment. A faint smile crept onto his lips.

Seeing this, the Heavenly Divine Healer hurried over with an eager, puppy-like expression, looking expectantly at Byeok Taesan.

Byeok Taesan frowned but ultimately muttered, “You did well, too.”

The Heavenly Divine Healer let out an odd laugh. “Hehehehehe.”

Byeok Taesan immediately stepped back, clearly uncomfortable.

Scanning his surroundings, Byeok Taesan looked for Yeon Harin.

After all, while his primary goal in coming here was to obtain elixirs, Yeon Harin played a significant part in his decision.

And he still needed to investigate the peculiar sense of familiarity he had felt earlier.

He spotted Yeon Harin some distance away, conversing with the elder they had planned with earlier.

Byeok Taesan began walking toward her at a leisurely pace.