Chapter 81

When his interrupted consciousness returned, he found himself neatly lying on a bed. Rin-rin was quietly coiled on his chest, flicking its tongue. After absentmindedly stroking Rin-rin, Cheong-ra sighed dejectedly.

"Hah..."

Apart from a slight throbbing pain at the pressure point where he had been struck, it was surprisingly clean work. However, if he was going to knock him out, he could have at least said something. Pretending as if he was going to give him a sleeping poison without side effects and then suddenly knocking him out was truly spiteful behavior.

At any rate, it was fortunate that he had safely made it through the night. But that thought was short-lived, as the color drained from Cheong-ra's face again after he finished his small circulation exercise. He had tried chewing the herb Wi Je-ho had given him and taking deep breaths, but the seasickness began to return.

It seemed worse on an empty stomach, but he couldn't eat anything. At least with an empty stomach, there would be nothing to throw up...

He lay in bed, suffering the whole time, waiting to adapt to the ship's rocking. Not eating at all left him without energy, making him look completely like an invalid, which was terribly undignified.

Would he stop getting seasick if his martial arts level increased even more? But there was no chance of suddenly gaining enlightenment and ascending to a higher level right now, so he could only bury his head under the blanket and endure.

In this situation, there was no way he could sleep properly, and after two days, Cheong-ra had become gaunt. Even in this state, he was worried about his appearance and didn't forget to groom himself, frequently checking in the mirror. As he was consoling himself for the misery of seasickness by fiddling with his small jade rabbit figurine, someone rang a gong and shouted in a resounding voice.

"River bandits! River bandits are here!"

Because Dang Ran-yeong hadn't raised the "owner" flag, they were now receiving a visit from river bandits. Unable to cowardly avoid the situation just because of seasickness, Cheong-ra gripped his sword tightly and immediately rushed out of the cabin.

Having never ridden a merchant ship before, this was also his first experience with river bandits. According to Head Guard Yang, the Yellow River's current was rough, making the river bandits here stronger and more violent than those on the Yangtze River. Despite feeling terribly nauseous, Cheong-ra sharpened his senses.

Soon, a ship approaching them came into view. It appeared to be a merchant ship that had been stolen and modified, with a dark red flag fluttering. Another flag had "Sea Dragon" written in large characters. Was it because the Yellow River flowed directly into the sea? He couldn't understand why they were calling themselves the king of the sea while on a river.

"Haha! The Sea Dragon King has arrived! Everyone, bow your heads!"

A man wrapped in an enormous fur shouted in a thunderous voice from the ship. However, both sides were still only on guard, not yet drawing their weapons.

In Cheong-ra's experience, even when encountering mountain bandits, it didn't always end in bloodshed. Especially when dealing with merchant groups, they often had a kind of symbiotic relationship. In many cases, it ended with just paying a passage fee, and if the other side seemed to be a master, they wouldn't even pick a fight. The mountain bandits Cheong-ra had eradicated were those who had excessively oppressed civilians and earned widespread resentment.

River bandits seemed similar to mountain bandits. Normally, they would probably just pay a passage fee and be on their way. However, unlike usual, Dang Ran-yeong was on this ship. Given Dang Ran-yeong's temperament, there was no way he would allow a ship flying the flags of the Sichuan Tang Clan and the White Jade Merchant Group to meekly pay a passage fee and pass by.

"Hey! Didn't I say the Sea Dragon King has arrived!"

Seeing a different reaction than usual, the so-called Sea Dragon King, the leader of the river bandits, looked puzzled.

Soon, Dang Ran-yeong walked forward with a nonchalant, almost swaggering gait. He didn't draw a weapon. He merely took something out of his bosom and threw it towards the bow of the ship. Though it seemed to be thrown lightly, the unidentified object flew far and fell into the river with a splash.

"What did you just do?"

While the Sea Dragon King was bewildered, screams erupted from various places as river bandits hiding underwater jumped out. They were writhing in pain, with a bluish poisoned energy rising over their skin.

"Aaaagh! My whole body, my whole body is burning!"

"Boss, save us!"

"Boss! It's poison! They've released poison into the river!"

As the poisoned subordinates screamed in agony, the Sea Dragon King's expression immediately changed.

"You crazy bastard! Are you saying there's a poison user on board?"

Though they were flying the Tang Clan's flag, until now, no one from the Tang Clan had ever ridden on a White Jade Merchant Group ship. This was because the flag was only flown because the owner of the merchant group was a Tang Clan member, but it wasn't a merchant group that properly cooperated with the Tang Clan.

"That means... could it be...! The Green-Eyed Poison Dragon! Retreat! Retreat!"

The Sea Dragon King, guessing that Dang Ran-yeong was on the opposing ship, immediately made a wise decision. However, Dang Ran-yeong's face, already gleaming with excitement, showed no intention of letting the other side go.

"Where are you running off to when I was just getting bored?"

Saying this with a smile, Dang Ran-yeong grabbed one of the river bandits who was crawling onto the White Jade Merchant Group's ship, suffering from the poison, by the collar and lifted him up. The bandit's body was equipped with iron chains and harpoons for boarding ships. After slamming the bandit to the floor and knocking him unconscious, Dang Ran-yeong took these items, spun the iron chain a few times, and threw it with fierce speed.

"Aagh!"

The Sea Dragon King gasped as the harpoon grazed past his face. Surprisingly, the harpoon wrapped tightly around the thick mast of the pirate ship far away and lodged firmly. Dang Ran-yeong didn't miss this opportunity and pulled with all his might.

"Th-that, that madman!"

The Sea Dragon King pointed at Dang Ran-yeong and shouted. Cheong-ra was equally surprised. Unbelievably, as Dang Ran-yeong pulled on the iron chain, the sleeves of both his arms seemed to swell as if filled with wind, and soon the bows of the two ships began to tilt and draw closer.

A level of strength that was hard to believe was human!

Cheong-ra momentarily forgot his seasickness. Head Guard Yang, who had been watching the scene in a daze, finally came to his senses and changed the ship's direction to assist his superior. The Sea Dragon King struck the iron chain several times to break it, but by then the distance had already become too close. Unable to do anything else, the Sea Dragon King gritted his teeth, gave up on retreating, and shouted.

"I'll take your head today!"

In the Sea Dragon King's hand was a huge harpoon about the length of a spear. Soon, iron hooks were attached between the ships, and the river bandits began to cross over with battle cries.

"The porters are in the way, have them all retreat."

After saying this to Head Guard Yang, Dang Ran-yeong, ignoring the river bandits completely, leaped across to the enemy ship in one bound. Head Guard Yang, well aware of the merchant group owner's martial arts skills, quickly had the porters hide below deck. As Dang Ran-yeong crossed over to his ship, perhaps thinking it was now his territory, the Sea Dragon King shouted loudly.

"Green-Eyed Poison Dragon! It's a battle between dragons! Let's see who wins!"

"Haa, why can't we just go peacefully? How troublesome."

Wi Je-ho, who had somehow approached, sighed after watching everything unfold. Surprisingly, instead of drawing his sword, he shrugged as if to say "handle it yourself" and nonchalantly went into the cabin. Nam Gang-ryong chanted, "Namu Amitabha."

"It seems Lord Owner Dang won't be satisfied until he dyes this Yellow River with blood. This humble monk should step in to reduce this meaningless killing."

As he said this, blue veins stood out clearly on his thick forearms as he clenched them. It seemed he was about to teach Buddha's compassion with his fists. Cheong-ra drew his sword, worrying if he could fight properly while suffering from such severe seasickness.

Already highly sensitive due to seasickness, the appearance of the river bandits was another ordeal for him. They were just as dirty and shabby-looking as mountain bandits. Cheong-ra was inwardly shocked.

'How can they be so dirty and smelly even after going in and out of water! How can they stay so filthy when the river is right there!'

Even though the Yellow River was muddy, it was unbelievable. As the river bandits approached, his seasickness worsened and he felt dizzy.

Having rushed out upon hearing news of the river bandit attack, Cheong-ra wasn't wearing his veil today, fully exposing his face. Even though he had become gaunt from seasickness, his appearance was still strikingly handsome. Rather, with his hair fluttering in the river wind and his face pale to the point of being ghostly white, he looked poignantly beautiful, and admiration showed on the faces of the river bandits.

When Cheong-ra covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve to suppress his nausea, the river bandits sneered, thinking he was scared.

"Pretty face, but it's funny to see you trembling in fear."

"Kneel and surrender before your face gets hurt! Then we'll sell you to a good place..."

"D-don't come any closer!"

As an indescribably fishy smell wafted over, Cheong-ra, his stomach churning violently, shouted urgently. Did these guys not have noses? How could they not think of washing when their bodies smelled like that...

His hesitation due to their filthiness led to a greater misunderstanding. Even though Cheong-ra was holding a sword, one of the river bandits approached excitedly, not even being cautious.

"Hehehe! A pretty-faced boy, more exciting than a girl! You'll probably cry even when stripped. Come here...!"

As the river bandit started to harass him, Cheong-ra, unable to bear it any longer, held his breath completely. His eyes, filled with anger beyond irritation, flashed as he swung his sword. In an instant, the river bandit who had been mocking Cheong-ra fell, bleeding.

"Aaaagh!"

"Y-you bastard!"

They seemed to think they still had the upper hand even after seeing their comrade fall in an instant. Cheong-ra then slashed the ankle of the next one who rushed at him, making him crawl on the floor. After that, when he breathed out, the smell of blood mixed in, making it even harder to endure his seasickness than before.

"Ugh..."

As he turned his head away, trying to suppress his nausea, a river bandit somehow interpreted this and shouted.

"He was just lucky, he's a weakling! If we all attack together, we have a chance!"

"Those fools, really...!"

Cheong-ra muttered through gritted teeth.