Episode 59
Along the mansion’s corridors, the employees carrying food toward the table groaned. They all felt the heat burning from the room where their Master sat with a guest.
“Shall we go back? It feels dangerous.”
The general manager restrained the rest as he wiped heat from his brow.
“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”
The head employee was also a hunter belonging to the Red Dragon Society. Therefore, he was used to sudden increases in temperature.
It couldn’t be helped. They worked for the Yang family, who had the Ignition Psy in their blood. Fluctuations in the family members’ mood could cause disasters. Therefore, every member of the Yang family, including their Vice Lord Yang Biyeon, had been taught incredible Aura control.
On top of that, the Yang family members wore customized fireproof clothing.
Except for the Master, Yang Jeong-cheon.
A person couldn’t always suppress their emotions, but Yang Jeong-cheon could overcome his feelings through strong willpower and solid Aura control. However, this time… the heat coming from the room could not be ignored.
“Father!” Yang Biyeon rose from her seat.
She had no clue about what the men in front of her were talking about, but she knew that whatever Yoo-seong said angered her father. She immediately turned towards Yoo-seong to warn him.
“Coat your body with Aura. You’ll feel better.”
Yoo-seong stared at him blankly.
He watched her lips move, but strangely, he couldn’t hear her. However, he could hear the old man clearly.
“What you just said…” Yang Jeong-cheon growled. “Can you repeat it?”
‘Sound Penetration Tech,’ Yoo-seong realized.
Yoo-seong’s auditory nerves were still damaged, but Yang Jeong-cheon had always been able to communicate with him.
There was an urban legend among Korean hunters that Chinese masters are so advanced in terms of Aura control that they can use it for some sort of wireless communication. Yoo-seong had realized that he has been experiencing it firsthand.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"}) “Once again,” Yoo-seong could hear the old man’s voice clearly. “Tell me. What you just said.”
The old man’s Aura stretches through his ears, beyond the damaged nerves, to create something that his nervous system could recognize as sound. The Aura thread that Yang Jeong-cheon was sending him all this time must be finer than hair, Yoo-seong thought. Despite that, the old man was also able to fill the spacious room they were in with burning heat.
‘Yang Jeong-cheon can burn off my nervous system if he wanted to,’ Yoo-seong realized.
He closed his eyes. His face was drenched with sweat.
Yang Biyeon kept on talking, but he couldn’t hear her. Yoo-seong stared back at Yang Jeong-cheon before repeating his answer.
“Perhaps you were expecting a different answer. I’m sorry. But the things you are offering… it doesn’t seem that much to me.”
“This arrogant guy!” Yang Jeong-cheon exclaimed.
This was why the room reached a boiling temperature. Yang Jeong-cheon’s offer had been rejected.
It was unthinkable for him to offer a stranger from a faraway land the future of his family.
However, he did, because this was a precious opportunity.
But what did this arrogant guy do?
“It’s not worth it for you? This place? The whole Red Dragon Society? How dare…”
“Is this it?”
Yang Jeong-cheon’s eyes widened. Yoo-seong’s voice sounded deeper and more resonant than before.
It was as if… he was speaking directly from within him.
“I couldn’t believe that this really existed, but… it’s simpler than I thought,” Yoo-seong said.
The temperature in the room dropped in an instant. Yang Jeong-cheon stared at Yoo-seong with disbelief on his face.
His daughter, Yang Biyeon, had been trained for it since childhood, but she was still in the process of understanding its principle.
Sound Penetration Tech.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"}) This was the process of converting Aura into sound and accurately sending it to another person’s nervous system.
“I learned a technique with the same principle,” Yoo-seong added.
The Parasitic Bee.
This was the ability to control balls of energy with a very fine thread of Aura. It had the same principle.
After a couple of attempts, Yoo-seong became successful in doing Sound Penetration. The reason why Yoo-seong had been drenched in sweat was not because of Yang Jeong-cheon’s heat.
It was all from concentration. Now, he had threads of energy in Yang Jeong-cheon’s head, just as Yang Jeong-cheon had inside his.
“If you do something to me… you’ll get the same.”
“Calm down,” Yang Jeong-cheon said with pure admiration in his tone.
The ability to copy his technique in that short while was astounding enough, but the ability to keep his concentration in this situation was even more remarkable.
“I think you were born in the wrong era. Being a warrior suits you better than being a hunter,” Yang Jeong-cheon remarked.
“It doesn’t sound very good to me,” Yoo-seong responded, then rose from his seat.
“Are you leaving?
“I have refused your offer. I don’t think it’s acceptable for me to sit here and eat with you.”
A new emotion rose within Yang Jeong-cheon.
“It’s been a while since I left the front lines…”
“I will refuse your challenge,” Yoo-seong cut him off.
He read through the old man’s words. Yang Jeong-cheon was asking him for a duel.
“Why,” Yang Jeong-cheon’s voice was clearly provocative. “Are you afraid?”
His blood was boiling.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"}) He had lived in peace for over half a century. Even though there was a wide gap between their strengths, the young man could perhaps entertain him.
Yang Jeong-cheon thought he had no fire left in him, but he could clearly feel it burning within him at this moment.
“You won’t die if you try your best,” he told Yoo-seong with a smile.
“No… if we continue, all the secrets that the Red Dragon Society had will be gone,” Yoo-seong groaned.
Before Yang Jeong-cheon could say anything, Yoo-seong continued.
“I got into trouble with the person whom you know as someone behind Tenz because I learned Pacheonma Geukki in a battle.”
Yoo-seong re-arranged his crutches. Then, he continued.
“But of course, if it’s okay for you for a stranger to learn all your techniques, then a duel would be a good experience.”
Yang Jeong-cheon remained silent.
“Shall we try it?” Yoo-seong asked him.
He raised a hand and shook it as if to say that he changed his mind.
“All right, then.”
“Goodbye,” Yang Jeong-cheon dismissed him.
The old man raised a teacup to his lips and listened to the sound of crutches and heavy footsteps leaving the room.
“Father…”
“That person said he did not want to take over the Red Dragon.”
Biyeon nodded. Even if she didn’t understand the conversation, she could read through the situation.
She wasn’t an idiot. At this point, her shoulders had dropped in disappointment. Her father looked at her with a sad expression on his face.
“But… I don’t know,” her father said.
“What?”
“Even if he’s not interested in the Red Dragon… if you were in a relationship with him…”
Yang Biyeon’s eyes widened. His father watched her expression and smiled.
“I want you to go ahead and try your best,” he said. Upon hearing this, Yang Biyeon stood and turned away, embarrassed.
“Where are you going?” her father asked.
“I have to drive him back!” Biyeon cried out.
Then, she began running away, almost colliding against the employees that were bringing in their food. Yang Jeong-cheon sighed and took another sip of tea.
“Get me some alcohol,” he told the employees. He had a faint smile on his lips.
“It wouldn’t be too bad if they fall in love,” he muttered.
“Of course, it’s up to them.”
…
On the ride back to the hospital, Yoo-seong suddenly raised his hand. Biyeon immediately stopped the vehicle.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
Then, realizing that Yoo-seong could not hear her, she hurriedly pulled her phone out. Yoo-seong bent towards her.
“Huh?” She felt Yoo-seong’s thumb gently press down her lower lip.
Yoo-seong left a fine thread of Aura over her lips before pulling his finger away.
“It would be better to talk while listening to each other’s voices,” he said.
He wanted to try out the new trick he learned from the crazy meeting he had with her father. Biyeon quickly understood.
“Can you hear me?” she asked him.
“Yes. Your voice sounds pretty,” he remarked.
Biyeon didn’t know how to react.
“Let’s get out of the car,” Yoo-seong added.
“Yes?”
“We didn’t have lunch. I’m hungry.”
Biyeon looked outside and smiled brightly as she understood.
The reason why Yoo-seong asked her to stop the car was because of a food stall across the street. The said stall was selling lamb skewers and rice.
“Let’s go!” she said as she went out, her footsteps light.
However, as she approached the stall and began to order, her eyebrows furrowed.
“You don’t take credit cards?”
“Don’t worry,” Yoo-seong spoke behind her.
He brought some cash. As he reached out to give her the money, he threw a little joke.
“Don’t burn it, okay?” he said with a smile.
He instantly regretted it as he watched Biyeon’s face turned red. Fortunately, she was wearing her usual fireproof clothes from home.
The other customers eating nearby felt something strange.
“Why is it suddenly so hot here?” one of them said out loud while fanning himself.
Yoo-seong smiled at Yang Biyeon, as if telling her it was okay. Soon, they found a table and began eating rice and lamb skewers.
Passersby stop at the sight of the supercar parked near a humble food stall. However, Yoo-seong and Yang Biyeon didn’t mind. They dug into their food right away.
After a while, Yang Biyeon felt Yoo-seong watching her.
“Yes?”
“My ideal type,” he hesitated for a while before continuing, “A girl who eats well.”
Biyeon blushed again as she realized that her cheeks were filled with food.
‘Honestly,’ Yoo-seong thought, ’she’s cute.’
He was turning thirty this year. Over the past year, he had concentrated on hunting and training.
He did not experience any pleasant feelings toward someone of the opposite gender for a long time. Watching Biyeon down food with such gusto, a foolish feeling took over him, even just for a moment.
She stared at him with eyes wide open.
Then, she pointed at the bowls on their table. There were two bowls filled with food.
“You have to finish this!” she said, with her cheeks full like a squirrel’s.
Yoo-seong then began laughing.
Biyeon lowered her head for a moment and finished chewing, then lifted it up again with a smile. They held each other’s gazes for a while.
However, there was a sudden change in the atmosphere.
Yoo-seong didn’t hear it, but felt the goosebumps on his skin. It was the same feeling he had a year ago when he first received the button.
The feeling of a crack opening.
‘A sudden rift?’
Before Yoo-seong could even speak…
Pang-!!
A terrible pressure hit the streets. Windows broke, and people screamed in panic.
“Damn it!” Yoo-seong yelled as he looked up at the sky.
A crack of about 300-meters wide was beginning to form.
‘Please,’ he prayed earnestly, ’let there be no monsters coming from it.’
However, Yoo-seong was out of luck. Shanghai was about to experience the worst civilian disaster since the early days of Chinese history.
And this was just the beginning.
