I Became an Outcast the Martial Arts Masters are Obsessed With – Chapter 52

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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Black Cat and I safely returned to Sacheon.

Given Black Cat’s personality, I thought she would immediately pester me to go on another extraordinary encounter hunt, but contrary to my expectations, she seemed to be deeply pondering something since we left the secret cave.

Was she perhaps the type to savor delicious things sparingly?

“Ho Cheon-an, it’s a designated request.”

“What?”

“A designated request has come in from the Sacheon Tang family.”

As soon as we returned to the Outcast Inn, Yu Sa-yeon looked at me with eyes that seemed to ask what trouble I had caused this time and said:

“They’ve requested to send the ‘Brother Ya’ who’s said to be the best gambler among the Sacheon outcasts.”

What’s this about now?

I’m being summoned to the Tang family compound?

This is a summons disguised as a request.

“Hmm.”

“You’re not thinking of refusing, are you?”

“Well, I don’t really have a choice.”

There was no particular reason to refuse this request.

Being from the Tang family, the request fee would be more than ample, even overflowing.

Although the reason for calling me wasn’t very clear, which was a bit uncomfortable, it didn’t seem dangerous.

“Well, with Tang Do-gyeong there, what could go wrong?”

“That’s true.”

It was highly likely that Tang Do-gyeong hadn’t received a severe punishment.

The fact that the details of his punishment hadn’t spread outside was proof of that.

They were keeping it quiet because they had given him a slap on the wrist.

He had brought a new martial art and gained family love, so they were probably just confining him inside the Tang family compound and making him train in martial arts.

It was highly likely that my being called was related to the martial art Tang Do-gyeong had created.

“But this time, you have to go alone. Only you were specified, so Black Cat can’t go with you.”

“Hmm?”

“Didn’t you try to talk about it a bit?”

“Of course, I tried as much as I could, but they said it was absolutely impossible.”

Yu Sa-yeon shook her head.

Well, bringing a Sacheon outcast into the Tang family compound was an unusual event in itself.

But is it okay to leave Black Cat behind?

No, I wonder if Black Cat will even stay behind.

It’s obvious she’d be curious about the internal affairs of the Sacheon Tang family…

“It’s alright, Senior. I seem to have some business to take care of as well.”

“Huh?”

“Well, even if you just show your face at the Tang family and come back, it will take quite some time, right? In the meantime, I’ll take care of some business too.”

“Hmm… alright.”

Yu Sa-yeon clapped her hands.

“Okay, then it’s settled? Ho Cheon-an, you should go quickly.”

“No, I just got back. I’ll leave tomorrow morning after recovering from the travel fatigue.”

It had been a 5-night, 6-day journey, and the current time was just past noon.

There was a need to relieve the body’s fatigue accumulated over nearly a week.

“There’s a person and a carriage sent by the Tang family waiting outside.”

“Tsk.”

Forced by Yu Sa-yeon’s urging, I reluctantly went outside, and in the alley, a familiar person was waiting with a carriage.

“This is our first introduction. Outcast Ya. I’m Tang Do-yeon, who visited the Outcast Inn last time.”

“Ah, I see. Please understand that as a Sacheon outcast, I cannot reveal my name.”

Tang Do-yeon smiled gently and gestured towards the carriage.

Was this carriage made by the Tang family?

In this Murim Cheonha, I had only seen carriages that made me wonder if they would disintegrate in mid-air if they hit even a small rock while running at high speed, but this one looked quite sturdy.

“Well then, Black Cat, I’m off. You take care of your business and come back too.”

“Yes, Senior. It would have been quite interesting to follow you to the Tang family compound, but it can’t be helped.”

Receiving Black Cat’s send-off, I entered the carriage and saw seats.

Similar to modern train or bus seats, there were single seats with armrests, backrests, and even headrests.

“Then we’ll depart.”

Click.

Hearing a strange sound, I tried to open the door, but it was locked. Was that earlier sound the door locking?

“Miss Tang Do-yeon?”

“Ah, this is one of the functions of this Flying Heaven Carriage, so don’t worry about it. It’s designed for the safety of the passengers inside, so the doors lock when the wheels start turning.”

To think they had implemented a safety locking function, the Tang family’s technology was impressive.

Since I had already stood up, I waved to Black Cat, who was waving goodbye.

Does a foreign car have the effect of intimidating people wherever it goes?

As the Tang family’s high-speed carriage, comparable to a Lamborghini in modern terms, started moving, people and carriages quickly made way.

Even though there were no visible Tang family markings, seeing people make way like this made me think that money really is king everywhere.

The Tang family is an incredibly wealthy group.

Among the martial arts sects, there’s probably no group as wealthy as the Tang family in the world.

This is because they’ve been professionally devising ways to make money to fund the development of new technologies for manufacturing assassination weapons and developing new poisons.

After this request is over, a considerable sum of money will come in, so where should I invest and roll it?

Until now, I had just been pouring money into gambling like a bottomless pit, but now that I had mastered gambling, request fees were steadily accumulating.

I also needed to consider how to dispose of the Jade Wine Command Pill.

Since I had decided to somehow surpass my realm limit anyway, it wasn’t a bad choice to carry an elixir in my bosom, but if I could get a proper price for it, it wouldn’t be bad to sell it and use it as seed money.

I should also consider selling the Jade Wine Command Pill to the Tang family.

Clop, clop-

As I was lost in these thoughts, I realized we had already left Sacheon.

Is this the majesty of a high-class carriage?

To be able to leave the crowded and complex interior of Sacheon so quickly.

All the noisy sounds disappeared, and only the regular sound of horse hooves echoed softly.

Being a high-class carriage, the seats were extremely comfortable.

Hard on the inside and soft on the outside, just right for seats.

The soft seats I was experiencing after a long time made my body naturally relax.

As I was sinking into random thoughts and gradually closing my eyes, I heard Tang Do-yeon’s voice.

“Outcast, please fasten your seatbelt.”

“…Pardon?”

“If you look at the upper right of the seat, there’s a seatbelt. You can pass it through the loop at the lower left and fasten it.”

Wow, there’s even a seatbelt?

Is this the majesty of the master craftsman family, the Tang family?

I inwardly marveled as I pulled my consciousness back from nearly falling asleep and fastened the seatbelt.

“Then there will be a brief introduction to the Flying Heaven Carriage, our family’s fastest mode of transportation.”

Somehow, I was feeling that the speed of movement was gradually increasing.

“Um… Miss Tang?”

Clatter, clatter!

“Our family’s pride, the Flying Heaven Carriage, boasts about half the weight of a normal 4-person, 4-horse carriage, and with the Tang family’s advanced technology concentrated in it, the burden on the horses pulling the carriage has been significantly reduced. It’s the epitome of the latest technology.”

“No, I mean, Miss Tang, the current speed…”

A carriage is not something that can be pulled while horses are running.

To begin with, the roads in the Central Plains are incredibly bumpy, and they’re not managed like modern roads.

There might be tree roots sticking out, stones lying around, or the ground might be deeply sunken or protruding.

Such occurrences are so common that there’s no need to give examples.

If horses run fast, it wouldn’t be strange for the carriage to overturn at any time.

“We plan to make a direct high-speed journey from Sacheon to the Tang family compound at more than 10 times the speed of a normal carriage. However, we’ll have to drive at low speed at night when we can’t see ahead, so we should arrive at the Tang family compound around noon tomorrow.”

Boom!!

Along with the sound of hooves fiercely stamping the ground, the scenery rushed by, and the carriage shook and rattled!

“If the passenger feels uneasy, you can hold onto the handles above the carriage. Oh, by the way, since this is a carriage that incorporates the Tang family’s best technology, even if the horses overturn at top speed, you’ll be perfectly safe as long as you’re wearing the seatbelt. External guests tend to be quite anxious though!”

“Save me! There’s a person in the carriage!”

“Hoho, it’s alright, Outcast Ya.”

Tang Do-yeon showed her face through the hole used to communicate with the coachman and smiled.

Though it was a beautiful smile given her good looks, to my eyes right now, it looked like the smile of a grim reaper.

“Look! Look at the front!”

“As Outcast Ya might have guessed, I am a supreme master. You know about the Tang family’s eye techniques, right? I’ve already checked for all variables that could overturn the carriage from the high coachman’s seat.”

“I understand, so please look at the front!!”

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!!

It was almost the same speed as a horse running at full speed.

“No! Miss Tang! Didn’t you say we’d travel through the night? Can the horses endure this? Please slow down!”

“It’s fine. The sun will set in about two or three shichen anyway. At that time, we plan to operate at a walk or trot for the passenger’s safety.”

“If you’re considering the passenger’s safety, shouldn’t we go slowly from now?!”

“Hoho, Outcast, really. If we do that, we won’t be able to arrive on time.”

Why are you looking at me as if you’ve heard an interesting joke while waving your hand!

Look at the front! The front!

“Help! The Tang family is killing people! There’s a person in this carriage!”

“Don’t be like that and listen to the explanation. You might feel anxious due to the high speed, but I’ll continue the introduction to the Flying Heaven Carriage that was interrupted earlier. The Flying Heaven Carriage is a venerable vehicle that has been in operation for over five years. Research on fast modes of transportation has continued along with the Tang family’s history, but it was five years ago that a carriage named ‘Flying Heaven’ was developed.”

In the bouncing carriage, I could barely maintain my sanity by firmly grasping the handle fixed to the ceiling.

Although my heart was beating as violently as the fiercely shaking carriage, I still had a faint rationality left to listen to Tang Do-yeon’s calmly unfolding explanation.

“First, let me tell you about the operating regulations of the Flying Heaven Carriage. Every time the Flying Heaven Carriage is operated and returned to the Tang family, it undergoes thorough inspection and repair by the Tang family’s carriage craftsmen, and the coachman cannot drive the Flying Heaven Carriage unless they pass a test according to strict regulations within the Tang family. Only a peak master skilled in riding techniques who has learned horsemanship can pass the level.”

As Tang Do-yeon calmly explained, my heart began to settle down.

Huh, right.

It’s a carriage driven by a supreme master. On top of that, they’ve mastered horse-handling techniques, so it should be fine to run at this speed.

“Oh, a good opportunity has come to experience why the Flying Heaven Carriage is called the Flying Heaven Carriage.”

Just as I was feeling reassured, the carriage started to tilt slightly.

It seemed we were going up a hill.

“Hills can be considered an enemy to carriages. When going up, the horse has to pull laboriously, and when going down, it’s common for people to get off to slow down the speed to prevent overspeeding.”

No way…

“Haha, no way. Haha, come on~ Miss Tang Do-yeon, you’re joking, right? You’re going to say there’s a deceleration device for downhill, right?”

“Oh, you know about the existence of deceleration devices? It seems Outcast Ya is quite knowledgeable about vehicles.”

The tilt of the carriage that had inclined returned to level.

“But you see. Deceleration devices are enemies to speed. How can we not explode that power, gathered by straining the legs and horses as we climbed the uphill, once speed has been gained? It would be a sin.”

Was it my imagination that Tang Do-yeon’s eloquence seemed to be gradually heating up?

“This explosive speed that can only be felt on downhills! The thrill of that moment when you break free from the bonds of the force pulling you to the ground!”

The carriage tilted slightly.

At the news that we were entering a downhill, I instinctively grasped the handles with both hands.

“The sense of speed unique to vehicles that can’t be felt with lightness techniques! The culmination of Tang family technology that maximizes this is the Flying Heaven Carriage!”

“Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!”

The carriage shook madly.

Literally madly.

The scenery rushing past outside the window seemed to whisper to me, ‘Hehe, you’re dead now.’

Bump!

The carriage that couldn’t withstand this insane speed finally jumped up.

At the same time as all the body hair stood on end, my bottom lifted slightly off the seat.

While airborne, the only thing I could grab onto was the sturdy-looking metal handle.

I clung to the handle with all my might, squeezing out even the strength I used to suckle milk.

As the body of the carriage was gradually tilting forward, I had no choice but to rely on a single seatbelt and the handle to overcome the fear of falling.

Ah, Ho Cheon-an in his 8th year of life.

Despite trying so hard to live, you’re going to die as a traffic accident victim at the hands of the Tang family.

If I open my eyes and find myself back in modern times, I swear I’ll immediately turn on Murim Cheonha and destroy the whole Tang bloodline.

“The reason why the Flying Heaven Carriage is called the Flying Heaven Carriage! It’s because of the air posture control function that concentrates the Tang family’s cutting-edge technology!”

Along with the fleeting thoughts of my life flashing before my eyes, Tang Do-yeon’s voice filled with elation reached my ears as I was half giving up on life.

And at that moment, the center of the carriage, which had tilted more than sixty degrees forward, began to recover.

Judging from the scenery visible outside, it was at an incline almost identical to the slope of the downhill.

Boom! Thud! Boom!!

The carriage bounced in the air twice more before landing.

With each rebound that made me think the carriage might shatter, my heart sank, but while I wasn’t sure if my heart had shattered, I could clearly tell that this Flying Heaven Carriage I was riding in had safely descended the downhill and was now running fiercely again.

“Kiyaaaayahooo! Wasn’t that thrilling? This heavy pleasure that can only be felt in a vehicle! I really wanted to let Outcast Ya, who helped my brother Do-gyeong so much, experience this feeling. Fortunately, the Feng Ying Hall Master allowed the use of this Flying Heaven Carriage!”

“Sa…”

“The permission to use the Flying Heaven Carriage rarely comes out unless it’s a really urgent matter, so Outcast Ya is very lucky!”

“Save me! Help! A speed maniac is killing people! There’s a person in this carriage!”

I’m going to die!

I’ll really die at the next hill!

Even if the carriage doesn’t overturn, I’ll die of a heart attack!

“Ahahahaha! Once Outcast Ya experiences this a couple more times, you’ll understand the charm of the Flying Heaven Carriage!”

“I don’t need it! Let me off!”

“Hahahaha!”

The Flying Heaven Carriage continued to run without stopping.

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