Try Living Well Without Me

“The Namgung family has three forms of punishment.”

“Fck, if you’re going to kill me anyway, can’t you at least make it quick…?”

“First, there is the demotion punishment for those who commit minor offenses.”

“Second, there is the banishment punishment for those who tarnish the family’s honor.”

“Third, there is the excessive punishment for those who insult the elders of the house.”

I don’t like stiff family relationships.

It may go against propriety a little, but I dislike distance. Even if my daughter behaves rudely, I usually let it slide.

But, this one…

I absolutely cannot forgive.

Swish–

“Ghhhh…!”

“He started coughing up blood.”

I began slicing open the chest of the possessed man with a nail-like sword energy.

“Your wife, because of you…”

“Wha… Wait a moment…!”

A practitioner of the Blood Meridian technique learns how to endure pain first. That’s why, even when I remembered seeing Hong Ryun and Master Guan tearing out ears and genitalia, it didn’t hurt that much.

But…

“Why, why does the pain feel so vivid… Aaaahh!”

Rip–

“It’s because I twisted your qi and blood, heightening your sense of pain and touch.”

More pain, the better.

There is a punishment called ‘excessive punishment’. Another name for it is lingchi, a method of execution that cuts a person into three thousand pieces.

Since it’s so intense and inhumane, under national law, it’s only applied to rebels.

But I am a martial artist. This person is also a martial artist. Therefore, I have no reservations.

Screech–

“Aaahhhh! Stop! Please stop!”

A scream comes from behind. It’s Iron Tiger Wanderer’s scream. He’s being tortured by a grand elder of the Martial Arts Alliance, spilling all the information he knows.

“It was me! I did it with this guy! We killed the head of the Cheolyang Trading Company!”

The price of being with the possessed man. He’s getting his rightful karmic retribution.

Rip–

I peel off layers of skin. One, two, three, four layers… So many sheets of paper-like skin come off. Maybe it’s because he’s overweight.

“Please, just end it… Even if he’s your younger brother’s body, isn’t this too much…?”

“…My younger brother is dead.”

“That wasn’t something I did! It was that fcking author who did it…!”

“My younger brother resented you. And he also asked me to kill you.”

“Fck… Did anyone even want to be possessed?”

If this guy hadn’t gone too far, I would have accepted it.

He knows he’s wronged, too. Though my younger brother died because of him, it was heaven’s punishment. This person had no malice.

“…After taking my younger brother’s body, you committed countless sins. Why are you so shameless? What’s the difference between you and the author?”

“…”

But, because of this, too much damage was done. Not just to me. Too much blood and tears have been shed.

Rip–

Almost all of the chest is cut away now. The possessed man’s face is distorted with pain.

“Uh, ughh…”

There’s nothing more to say. Since I’ve already seen all of his memories, there’s no more curiosity.

Rip–

The chest is next. I cut the central part of the body first so the other parts still feel pain. Cutting off the limbs first is the most painful.

Shiver–

The sound of insects fills the air. The sultry summer weather torments the possessed man. His face is beet-red.

Little beads of sweat roll down. In the burning pain, he lets out a groan.

The fallen flesh hits the scorching ground and slowly cooks. Since it’s not a pleasant sight, I’ve used Sam Mae Jin Hwa to burn away everything I’ve cut.

Whoosh–

“Fck… It hurts… It hurts, dammit…”

Pain breaks people. There are no exceptions. Even Iron Tiger Wanderer, tough as iron, broke miserably under the torture of the Brain Palace.

Rip–

The flowing blood is gradually forming a stream. The rivulets of blood follow the grooves in the possessed man’s body.

The floor is already soaked. Red blood spreads around.

The spectators are silent. Lingchi is just too cruel.

Rip–

All the flesh on the arm has been cut away. The bone, muscles, and veins are exposed under the sunlight.

Even a light breeze feels like a mountain of pain to the possessed man now. How painful is the foreign sensation transmitted to the tissues?

Rip–

Finally, at the sight of the completely exposed arm, a woman among the spectators closes her eyes. Then, she leaves.

“Even if it’s not me, you’ll die soon.”

“Ughh… B-but…”

“Iron Tiger Wanderer is testifying against you, and besides, you’ve mastered the Blood Meridian technique. The martial world won’t leave you be. Word of this trial will spread across the land, and you’ll become a public enemy of the martial world.”

“…”

“Chances are, you might end up in the underground prison of the Sacheon Tang family, leading a life worse than death. Dying by my hand will be better than that.”

“F*ck… Stop talking while cutting my flesh with sword energy…”

Lingchi is a very delicate punishment.

If you cut the wrong place, like a vein, death by excessive bleeding can come too quickly.

Of course, that doesn’t apply to me. The possessed man’s meridians are already sealed, and with my extensive knowledge of the twelve main meridians and the three hundred sixty-five minor ones, the chance of a mistake is minimal.

That means the possessed man will continue to endure this state, suffering for several hours before dying.

It might even take several days.

Rip–

A glaring red light covers the possessed man. Deep despair rises in the possessed man’s face.

That’s why I’m happy.

Because this person, who I’ve hated every single moment, is suffering.

Right now, I’m feeling an unparalleled sense of exhilaration.

—

A thin blade slices into Bin Namgung’s flesh like carving.

Experiencing amplified touch, Bin Namgung thinks about biting his tongue to die.

‘Pfft… That isn’t going to work…’

Even if he bit his tongue, Cheol Bin would find a way to save himself, then kill him slowly, causing maximum pain.

When meat is cooked, the more it’s pained, the better it tastes, but he’s already burning into ashes as soon as his flesh is cut.

It’s pitiful. His situation. Though it’s not the body inherited from his parents, it’s the body he’s lived with for fourteen years after all. Strange how he’s developed affection for it.

That body is now being peeled away. Even though he once complained it would never change, it’s natural to develop some bond with it.

Rip–

Just moments ago, both legs were completely peeled. Not just the skin, but the flesh itself was torn away, exposing the embarrassing inner muscles and bones.

Still, blood doesn’t gush out but flows steadily, proof of Cheol Bin’s supreme control of bloodflow.

Whooosh–

“Aaahhhhhh!!”

Every time a breeze passes, it feels like his muscles are being forcibly torn. The pain clouds Bin Namgung’s mind despite his clenched teeth.

“Does it hurt?”

Byul Rak asks Bin Namgung, who is enduring such agony, in a low voice.

“No, are… are you teasing me? Of course it hurts! It hurts like hell…!”

“Good. I was worried it didn’t hurt. Still, I hope you feel even more pain.”

Crack!

Byul Rak suddenly swings his left hand and strikes Bin Namgung’s flayed back.

“……..!!”

In an instant, the intense pain makes blood rush back up and violently gush out through Bin Namgung’s nose.

Bin Namgung’s eyes roll back. At this point, he should have gone into shock from the pain, but there’s no sign of that happening.

“Don’t worry. You won’t die easily. Until your soul itself is tempered by suffering, I’ll keep reviving you with my essence while cutting you.”

“……!!”

“…Why couldn’t you have just messed with me? Then I would have simply ended your life.”

“Ughh… Grrr…”

“Still, I’ll leave your soul intact. You should be able to reincarnate. Consider it my last mercy.”

“Please, just… end it quickly…”

Even losing consciousness is impossible. The continuous input of pure energy keeps his mind clear.

Rip–

There’s no way to gauge how many days he’ll have to endure like this. Though Bin Namgung has a strong will, at this moment, he wants to shed a bucketful of tears.

Rip–

The pain never ends. Every time the cold blade cuts into his flesh, his whole body trembles. He’s endured this process tens of thousands of times.

Rip–

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!!”

He screams. Thousands of times. The only scream possible in the face of such pain, but there are few who listen. Most are just spectators.

Rip–

The limbs that have already stopped functioning aren’t within his control anymore. Though there are many people around, none are on Bin Namgung’s side.

“Isn’t that a bit too cruel? Even if he sinned…”

“Preposterous! How dare you say that after hearing about Sword Sage’s wrongful accusation!”

“Because of bastards like him, the hero who saved the martial world was banished from his family…”

“With faces like that, how can we face the ancestors of the Namgung family? Tsk tsk.”

“Such people should have their registration erased and no ancestral rites should be performed for them.”

In the bitterly hostile gazes, Bin Namgung feels a deep loneliness. Is this the retribution for daring to ruin the story’s conclusion?

Rip–

Somehow gathering his strength, Bin Namgung lifts his head with difficulty and scans the crowd.

There are many familiar faces. Including the pink-haired woman who’s primarily responsible for his current state.

Rip–

Among the monks, Hong Ryun, Jade Flower, and numerous martial artists… everyone wishes for his death wholeheartedly.

Receiving all their murderous intent directly,

Bin Namgung endures the pain with intermittent screams. It’s an arduous trial.

That way,

Rip, Rip, Rip–

For a few periods,

Rip, Rip, Rip–

For a few hours,

Rip, Rip, Rip–

For a few days.

Rip, Rip, Rip–

Until he’s spent his last ounce of strength,

All of his innate life energy was forcibly extracted by now. There’s no energy left to extract. His once abundant flesh has all turned to ashes and disappeared.

The lifeless Bin Namgung has become a dried-up mummy.

“…Congratulations. Finally, you can die.”

Byul Rak gazes at the sight for a moment, then

He thrusts his sword energy toward the heart he’s saved until the end.

Puuuuh!

The human’s most crucial organ splits open. The vaporized blood no longer spreads. There are no screams, no groans.

Only a single soul that lost its life. A foolish soul that held an excessive purpose.

Thud.

Like an oil lamp whose wick has burned out, it quietly extinguishes.

That way, Bin Namgung died.

—

“Ah, finally opened your eyes, huh? How was it? Was life in the martial world somewhat livable?”

---