NOVEL WEB Chapter 88 - Qi Deviation (4)
Chapter 88. Qi Deviation (4)
“Lü Bu?”
Amid the chaotic situation, Unsam spotted Lü Bu rushing toward them from afar.
He stared at her, his mouth agape, and spoke again.
“W-What! Why are you here?!”
“Where is Unryong?”
Lü Bu ignored his question, inquiring first about Unryong’s whereabouts.
However, everyone, including Unsam, couldn’t understand why Lü Bu, who was supposed to be imprisoned, was here.
“You cannot pass.”
Naturally, they could only think she was here out of some petty desire for revenge.
In response, Lü Bu thumped her chest in frustration.
“You trash. I don’t care about you lot; just tell me where that bastard is if you don’t want to die.”
Her words only heightened their visible tension.
Lü Bu sighed deeply.
She couldn’t threaten these people here, and even she wondered why she was doing this.
In a softer tone, she spoke.
“…Just, just answer me. Whatever you’re worried about won’t happen.”
“…”
As Unsam gripped his sword’s hilt and took a defensive stance, Baekrang placed a hand on his shoulder.
“With our brother in danger, now is not the time to fight, Unsam. Forget your past grievances.”
“…Hah.”
Unsam scoffed and sheathed his sword at Baekrang’s words. He was right.
Facing Lü Bu here would only create more confusion on the battlefield.
In a fight they were already winning, there was no reason to let emotions take over.
“He’s gone east, chasing the enemy.”
“…What?!”
Lü Bu’s eyes widened in disbelief, her mouth agape.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. We also don’t know what’s going on.”
As much as she wished it were some out-of-season joke, the sight of the blue-haired girl over there made it clear that what they said was true.
Zhao Yun stood with her head hung low, her expression filled with sorrow.
Lü Bu ran her fingers roughly through her hair and grabbed her reins again.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Unsam asked, but Lü Bu moved her horse without answering.
Zhao Yun, who had been sulking, also mounted her horse and blocked Lü Bu’s path.
“With the state you’re in, do you think you can save him? Are you going to let your emotions lead you into that death trap? Or is it that his dying like a dog on the battlefield is exactly what he wanted?”
“…”
“That’s why I’ll go. From your perspective, I’m the one you want dead, right? I have no intention of living pathetically, either. So if you get it, don’t waste your energy.”
“…Why are you going so far? From your standpoint, isn’t Master your enemy?”
“Hah! That’s right. An enemy. But if he’s going to die, it should be by Lü Bu’s hands. Not because he went on a senseless rampage and killed himself.”
“…”
Hearing her words, Zhao Yun’s grip on her spear slackened.
Lü Bu didn’t miss that moment. She swung her halberd with a swoosh, pushing Zhao Yun aside.
Overwhelmed by Lü Bu’s force, Zhao Yun had no choice but to step aside, and Lü Bu calmly began striding toward the battlefield, where the flames roared.
As Lü Bu felt the cool breeze, she thought.
Is it that chivalry again? Am I doing something foolish because of that?
No, that couldn’t be it; it was too unnatural.
Unryong had a tendency to disregard his own safety, but only when his people were in danger.
He wasn’t someone who would throw his life away without reason.
And he wasn’t the type to be driven by emotion.
If he were, he would have killed Lü Bu long ago.
“Is this related to the qi deviation he mentioned?”
Lü Bu began to piece things together.
Unryong had explained that when the internal energy required to perform martial arts ran rampant, one would fall into qi deviation.
When that happened, the qi would erode one from within.
“So this ‘internal energy’ thing wasn’t just nonsense?”
Lü Bu gripped her halberd tightly.
Cold sweat trickled down her face.
The closer she got to Unryong, the harder her heart pounded.
It was certain.
This sensation was unmistakably different from anything she’d felt before.
This tingling feeling was murderous intent.
Lü Bu had killed Unryong’s subordinates, but she had never felt this kind of killing intent before.
Lü Bu knew.
Although he rambled on about martial arts and other oddities within his world, Unryong didn’t particularly enjoy killing people.
“What the hell is happening…?!”
Lü Bu tightened her grip on the reins.
The acrid smell of burning mixed with the sharp scent of blood stung her nose.
“…Unryong.”
– Thud!
He was barely keeping himself upright, stabbing his sword into a corpse.
Even from a distance, Unryong’s condition was horrific.
Dark red qi pierced through his skin, blood streamed down his body, his bones were exposed, and his clothes were torn.
His path was blocked by Sun Jian’s troops.
Or were they blocking him?
They looked no different from pigs led to a slaughterhouse.
Upon Lü Bu’s appearance, the soldiers, terrified and demoralized, dropped their weapons.
They were likely surrendering already.
And Unryong was slaughtering every one of them.
There were no familiar faces among them, suggesting that the main forces had already retreated.
Yet Unryong continued to butcher the stragglers and tore through the corpses.
“Sigh…”
Indeed, this man wasn’t the Unryong she knew.
The Unryong Lü Bu knew wasn’t someone who would mock the dead so brazenly.
How many had he slain alone?
Even Lü Bu wouldn’t have been able to pile bodies as high as a fortress wall.
“Hey!”
Lü Bu dismounted and shouted. She twirled her halberd and slowly approached.
Unryong turned his head. His eyes were chilling, devoid of any hint of emotion, as if he were a soulless creature.
“What’s with that pathetic look?”
“…Shut up.”
Step by step.
Unryong limped forward, not even bothering to turn his back as he walked toward his next target.
“What do you think you can do in that state?”
“I will kill them.”
“Who exactly?”
Unryong gave no further reply. He simply and slowly beheaded the tear-streaked Sun Jian soldiers one by one.
“You’ve changed since the last time I saw you.”
Lü Bu approached him and grabbed his shoulder.
In that moment—
– Swoosh!
Unryong swung his sword like lightning.
Lü Bu stepped back slightly, narrowly avoiding the strike.
“You almost killed me there.”
“Are you also going to block my way?”
Unryong asked.
Lü Bu answered.
“Yes.”
It had always been this way.
Since meeting Unryong, Lü Bu had always tried to stand in his way.
Because doing so validated her own existence.
But right now—
“I can’t stand to see you die like this. It would ruin my own pride.”
– Clang!
Without answering, Unryong swung his sword again. Lü Bu blocked it with ease.
It was a feeble strike. He was clearly at his limit.
Realizing this, Lü Bu clicked her tongue in frustration.
“Why are you so eager to die? You said it yourself—the reason you wield your sword is for honor and justice. Those people care so much about you, so why are you needlessly walking into a deathtrap?”
“This is my path.”
“Dying alone in misery? Hah! So that’s it. The fool who spouted nonsense has finally become a real martial artist.”
– Clang!
Unryong swung his sword once more, and Lü Bu deflected it lightly again.
This time, Unryong couldn’t maintain his balance and fell to one knee.
But even then, he continued to swing his sword.
Lü Bu tilted her head.
In an instant, blood splattered from Lü Bu’s right arm.
The Phantom Sword of a Thousand Li.
But it was shallow.
Lü Bu brushed her shoulder and spoke in an irritated tone.
“You, right now, don’t even make me want to fight. You’ve become no different from the trash that roams the world. That’s why you can’t put any strength into it.”
“…”
Unryong’s shoulders slumped. He was panting, barely able to keep his grip on his sword.
“So stop being so stubborn and go back. This war is already over. The enemy has fled with their tails between their legs.”
Just as Lü Bu said, Sun Jian’s forces had lost their will to fight. With Sun Jian himself severely injured, they wouldn’t be able to push any further.
“Hey, didn’t you hear me?”
“…”
Unryong stood up.
And raised his sword.
It was infuriating.
Lü Bu kicked off the ground and quickly closed the distance between them.
Unryong instinctively twisted his body and tried to swing his sword, but Lü Bu, who was fully prepared, was faster.
She grabbed the hand holding his sword and seized his collar.
“Yeah, the world you want! You’re doing all this for that great cause, right?!”
Lü Bu’s hand gripping Unryong’s collar trembled. It was a mix of excitement and anger.
“But where the hell are you in that world? Where is the you who should live on to see that great cause fulfilled?!”
“Then where are you in that world? Where is the you who should live on and see your cause fulfilled?!”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“What? You bastard…”
– Thud!
Lü Bu’s eyes widened.
The man had pierced Lü Bu’s side with the edge of his hand.
Dark red qi flowed from his hand.
“I’m just making the world they wanted come true. That’s the promise I made to them.”
“…Ugh.”
– Splat!
When Unryong pulled his hand out, blood splattered.
Lü Bu clutched her side and staggered backward.
However, Unryong no longer attacked her.
Instead, he turned his back and continued to walk away.
“So don’t get in my way.”
Lü Bu laughed fiercely.
“You damn fool… you’re really going to do this, huh?”
Eventually, the dark red qi began to rise around Unryong.
Once again, the sky turned to ash-gray.
At the same time, Unryong’s body was struggling to hold its form.
How much longer could he keep this up?
Probably not even an hour.
Lü Bu raised her halberd.
She couldn’t help but reject the man’s path.
Because it never sat well with her.