Descent of the Demon Master

Chapter 641. Dealt With (1)

Live for around thirty years or so, and it'd become increasingly harder to experience new and unfamiliar emotions.

Emotions were like an automatic feedback mechanism of the human body designed to respond to external stimuli. And the longer you were alive, the more things you'd have experienced. As such, the emotions felt as one got older would only vary in their intensity.

However, Guo Liqin found himself no longer constrained by that simple truth of life.

What was this unfamiliar emotion? A feeling he had never once experienced before until today ruled over his entire being.

'What the hell is this?'

Fear? Yes, this emotion could be categorized under 'fear'. Even then, Guo Liqin felt deeply unfamiliar with this emotion simply because... This fear was on a whole other level than his previous experiences!

His body wasn't even shivering. And it didn't even feel like his death was just around the corner, either. In a way... How should he describe this? As if he was in a dream?

He realized something after a lengthy pondering. He was just standing there in stupefaction despite clearly being aware of things happening before his eyes. Why was that, though?

Was it because this situation no longer felt real?

Step, step...

The man who opened... No, destroyed the door wordlessly headed toward the bed. That was when Guo Liqin realized the intruder was younger than he thought. Which was odd, considering the intruder's face had never been covered and was fully visible since the beginning.

How should he describe this new feeling, then? Simply put... Despite having a clear view of the young man's facial features, Guo Liqin wasn't sure he'd remember even if they met again sometime in the future. It wasn't the case of the young man's facial features being unremarkable, but more like... The terrifying atmosphere oozing off of him was so overwhelming that it erased the memories of his looks from Guo Liqin's head!

A young man gushing out such an insane aura didn't even pay one iota of attention to Guo Liqin and headed to the bed instead. When Choi Yeon-Ha, trembling faintly on the bed, saw the young man, she hurriedly covered her messy face.

The young man saw her reaction and sighed softly. “I don't think that's what you should be worried about, Miss Yeon-Ha.”

Then, he carefully reached out to close up Choi Yeon-Ha's bathrobe. Only then did Choi Yeon-Ha reach out and tightly grab the young man's sleeve.

“Hey, you!”

“Yes?”

“Are you an actor?!” Choi Yeon-Ha shouted loudly.

“Of course not,” the young man tilted his head while replying.

“That's right! You're not an actor! I am! I am the actor between us, right? Right?! So why are you shooting a movie here!”

The young man stepped back a little as if he was flustered by that line of questioning. “N-no, that's not it, but...”

“Why did you have to show up at this exact timing?! Why! Did you get influenced by a film director?! Is that it!”

The young man, Kang Jin-Ho, tried to sound serious as he stood straight. “I don't watch a lot of movies, actually.”

Choi Yeon-Ha shot up to her feet, then angrily grabbed Kang Jin-Ho's collars to yank him closer. “I love Hollywood movies with jacked-up dudes blowing everything up! Who cares about close brushes when you can just destroy everything from the get-go! Am I right?!”

“I think you should calm down first before...”

“What I'm trying to say is this! Show up before it gets dangerous, okay! Before crap hits the fan, OKAY?!”

“M-my apologies,” Kang Jin-Ho urgently apologized before doing anything else. Even though he couldn't quite figure out what Choi Yeon-Ha was rambling about here, his gut feeling told him to keep apologizing when stuck in a situation like this one. Also... “Miss Yeon-Ha, are you alright?”

“...Do I look alright to you?”

“No, well...”

Choi Yeon-Ha glared sharply at Kang Jin-Ho. A hint of venomous energy quickly filled her messy, tearful face. “Stop uttering obvious things and say something helpful, okay! If not, do something helpful instead!”

“...” Kang Jin-Ho grimaced as cold sweat began trickling down his forehead. 'This isn't how it's supposed to be, so... Uh...'

Of course he accepted his portion of the blame. If he had been a minute late, something terrible would've happened to Choi Yeon-Ha. He knew he had no excuses to offer, even if she insulted him hundreds of times for it! Even then...

He might not have paid much attention to popular media's portrayal of scenes similar to this one, but at least he still knew the woman would tearfully jump into the man's embrace or profusely thank him for saving her, so this...

'Well, at least she's tearful, so there's that...'

Choi Yeon-Ha still couldn't control all the tears flooding down her eyes. Kang Jin-Ho never imagined he'd see her cry like this one day. She was the type to say, 'Get more work done instead of wasting time crying!' after all!

That was why Kang Jin-Ho's anger burned even fiercer. He swore to make the culprit for her tears pay for...!

Choi Yeon-Ha loudly yelled and broke Kang Jin-Ho's train of thought.

“Why can't you do anything right when I ask you for a favor?!”

Kang Jin-Ho tried to sneakily retreat, but Choi Yeon-Ha clung to his sleeve and didn't let go.

She yelled again. “Sit down!”

“Yes, ma'am,” Kang Jin-Ho nodded and obediently sat on the edge of the bed.

Choi Yeon-Ha resumed yelling at him like an angry lioness. “This is why I told you to come here as soon as possible, didn't I?!”

“Yes, you have.”

“What would you have done if you were late!”

“I don't have any excuses to...”

“I! In! Such a! Faraway land!”

“...”

“Why should I have to suffer this crap! Why must I?!”

While listening, Kang Jin-Ho progressively shrunk back more and more. He usually didn't shrink like this even if Choi Yeon-Ha's nagged at him, but not today. At least for today, he couldn't say anything to defend himself. How could he do that in this situation, anyway? Even though Kang Jin-Ho was clearly not at fault here.

“How long are you planning to leave that bastard in my room!” Choi Yeon-Ha yelled while pointing at Guo Liqin.

Kang Jin-Ho slightly turned his head and glanced at the frozen Chinese martial artist. That was when Guo Liqin felt every drop of his blood grow cold with dread.

Those eyes! Eyes as cold as an Arctic winter storm that didn't match the slightly-bewildered attitude while chatting to Choi Yeon-Ha were now ruthlessly choking Guo Liqin!

However, that was only for a brief second. As if he saw no need to keep staring at Guo Liqin, Kang Jin-Ho quickly turned his head away to face Choi Yeon-Ha again.

That brief exchange of gazes was enough to sober Guo Liqin up.

'I... I gotta run!'

Fight that young man? Completely out of the question!

That man was not human. Even if he looked totally like a human being on the surface, he was definitely not!

But wasn't Guo Liqin also a martial artist? That was technically true. Just like how a dumb little kitten was a member of the cat species as much as a tiger was! Nᴇw chapters are publɪshed on N(o)vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.nᴇt

Actually, Guo Liqin didn't mind being a little kitten right now. At least a kitten fleeing at its full speed might be able to evade the tiger somehow! Whether that was climbing a tree or slipping in between tree roots!

The gap of strength between Guo Liqin and Kang Jin-Ho was so vast that the example of a cat and a tiger seemed like an unfunny joke.

This was not a movie. This was emphatically not the time for an idiot to make his ill-judged entrance and act like a half-baked thug while underestimating his opponent before getting utterly crushed out of existence!

Were there people like that in real life, though? Probably. Pieces of trash who couldn't even sense the superior power of their opponents figuratively littered the streets outside, after all!

However, at the very least... Guo Liqin was capable of sensing the strength of his opponent. So, what about the prospect of fighting this young man? Throwing his unguarded body at the freight train traveling at full steam to stop it dead in its tracks might have higher odds of success!

One shouldn't fight against an opponent they had zero hopes of surviving, never mind winning. The only faintest sliver of hope for Guo Liqin's survival in this situation was... To flee from this room as fast as he could!

Guo Liqin's eyes caught the sight of the massive window. Escaping through the corridor was not going to happen, not even in his dreams. The only possible escape route was through that window. However, this suite was located on the twentieth floor.

Even if Guo Liqin was a martial artist, if he were to run at full tilt and break through that window... There was nothing to grab outside, so he'd obviously free-fall to the unforgiving ground below. Although he wasn't sure he'd survive a fall from the height of the twentieth floor...

'At least there's a chance!'

If he jumped through that window, he might die. However, he would die for sure by staying here. Unless he was an idiot, this choice should be pretty easy to make. And so, Guo Liqin steeled his resolve.

This opening, while that monster wasn't paying attention to him... was Guo Liqin's only chance!

'Let's go!'

Every muscle in Guo Liqin's body tightened. There wasn't any discernible change on the surface, though. He was deliberately not showing any signs. If Guo Liqin carelessly revealed his intentions to flee, that monster would bare its fangs and claws and rip him into tiny little pieces in the blink of an eye!

Large sweat drops formed on Guo Liqin's forehead.

'...Now!'

Guo Liqin explosively shoved qi down to his lower torso and forced his legs to burst forth. However... His body didn't move an inch. No, more correctly, he couldn't move.

All color drained out of Guo Liqin's complexion.

'That's... not it!'

As it turned out, the monster was paying attention, after all! He only had his back turned to Guo Liqin because his priority wasn't on killing the Chinese martial artist but to speak to Choi Yeon-Ha and calm her down. That was because he... He had already captured Guo Liqin in the palm of his hand!

Guo Liqin hadn't moved an inch since that man entered the suite. And he believed tension and nervousness were to blame. But he was wrong. He wasn't moving because... He couldn't!

He couldn't figure out how or why. The only thing he was certain of, though, was his body's refusal to move... Even though he tried so desperately to the point of tearing his muscles and his qi threatening to flow backwards! Eventually, Guo Liqin's face grew beet-red and puffed up.

'N-no! This can't be happening!'

This man, Kang Jin-Ho... He wasn't leaving Guo Liqin alone. It was more like he had no reason to monitor a prey already trapped inside a cage. Why should he care when he could take his time finishing what's more important to him first and then deal with Guo Liqin afterward?

Kang Jin-Ho had all the leeway and time in the world!

When Guo Liqin realized this, his heart began racing even faster to the point of exploding. That monster could kill him at any time. As a matter of fact, Guo Liqin could've been mangled to death the moment he locked eyes with Kang Jin-Ho if that was what the latter felt like doing!

As for why that monster spared Guo Liqin until now? That was so obvious. And that was making Guo Liqin's mind blank out from despair.

And then, Kang Jin-Ho slowly, oh-so-agonizingly-slowly... turned his head to look at Guo Liqin. His eyes now contained a different kind of light.

Guo Liqin felt all of his energy drain out of his system after looking into Kang Jin-Ho's glare containing subtle ridicule and contempt. That was because Kang Jin-Ho was implying he already knew everything.

As in... He already knew Guo Liqin was trying to flee. And that fleeing was impossible. Kang Jin-Ho was simply observing. Observing what a prey already stuck inside a trap but unaware of its situation would try next!

Those eyes, they...!

Choi Yeon-Ha loudly yelled, “Where are you looking?!”

“M-my apologies,” Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly turned his head to his front.

“Just how long are you gonna keep that bastard here? Just looking at that man's mug is giving me the creeps, you know!”

Kang Jin-Ho coolly nodded. “Understood. I'll get rid of him.”

“What will you do to him?”

“...Sorry?”

“I said, what will you do to him?!”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned as if he was pondering his reply, then cocked his head a little. “Don't worry. I will get rid of him without anyone finding out.”

Choi Yeon-Ha crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Anyone not finding out what exactly?”

“Of course, it’s his corp...”

“Are you crazy?!”

Kang Jin-Ho flinched and hurriedly lowered his head a little.

'Huh? Did I say something I shouldn't have?'

He quickly recalled his words but couldn't see anything wrong with what he said. And that made him feel a bit sad. As far as he could tell, he hadn't done anything wrong, yet Choi Yeon-Ha was still biting his head off. And the fact that he was timidly shrinking back depressed him somewhat.

He wasn't like this before, so what happened to him?

“You were thinking of killing him, weren't you!” Choi Yeon-Ha shot a sharp glare at Kang Jin-Ho.

“No!” Kang Jin-Ho firmly shook his head. He noticed Choi Yeon-Ha relax a little from his reply and finished the rest of his sentence in a cold voice. “I wasn't planning to let him taste death that easily. That would've been too gentle of a punishment.”

“...!” Choi Yeon-Ha's eyes trembled powerfully. She could tell that Kang Jin-Ho wasn't bluffing, judging from the light in his eyes and the coldness of his voice. “...Mister Jin-Ho?”

“Yes?”

“Fuu-woo...!” Choi Yeon-Ha sucked in a deep breath. “Will you agree that I want to rip this bastard apart more than you do?”

“Mm... I'm sure you do.”

“Then, will you also agree that, no matter how angry you are, it can't be more than my own anger?”

“Yes, I also agree.”

Although there was a slight difference in opinion, now seemed like a good time to agree, at least on the surface. So, that's what Kang Jin-Ho did.

“That's why I have to say this, Mister Jin-Ho. If you kill anyone and everyone just because you feel like it, no one will be left alive in this world. Yes, I want to beat the living sh*t out of this bastard, but...! We can't kill him, now can we? Don't you agree?”

“...?”

“Yes, I know I'm not making much sense. But...” Choi Yeon-Ha sighed deeply again. Then, she stared straight at Kang Jin-Ho, tears still visible near her eyes. “I know you're not an ordinary person. To you, an act of taking a life might not be something to lose sleep over. Even then, I... I don't want you to kill someone because of me. That is why, please don't do it.”

An unfamiliar emotion floated up on Kang Jin-Ho's expression as he listened. And it was 'perplexed'.