Chapter 1001

We ended up traveling with the Zhongnan Sect almost before I knew it.

Their Sect Leader, the Wind-and-Cloud Sword Lord, proposed it, and while I was still thinking it over, Jeok Cheongang cut in and accepted.

“Traveling together? That wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Old—no, Master.”

“What are you standing around for? Get your subordinates ready. And you too, Wind-and-Cloud Sword Lord—start by kicking those lazy disciples of yours in the ass.”

Just like that, the preparations were over.

Our party, now a little over a thousand if I rounded generously, set off toward Gansu. The Roaring Fury Swordsman and the Taeeul Merciless Sword came along too, neither looking pleased about it.

“Those two have looked downright miserable for a while now. If we’d met them exactly six months earlier, I’d have punched them in the jaw first thing.”

Jeok Cheongang smacked his lips. I clicked my tongue.

“If you didn’t want to look at them, you shouldn’t have accepted.”

“Is that why your lips are sticking out three inches?”

“Who says my lips are sticking out?”

“Correction. They’re sticking out four inches now.”

I shook my head at his teasing.

We’d taken the rear, a good thirty jang¹ behind the Zhongnan Sect. Being far enough away to talk openly was about the only advantage I could see.

“Yes, I’m annoyed. Happy?”

“I can never quite figure you out. Why make up with them if it was only for show?”

Only for show.

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

I’d already guessed Jeok Cheongang had heard everything we’d said through Sound Transmission, so I answered without surprise.

“Well, obviously…”

“Because you need to?”

“Yes.”

“You make peace because you need to, and smile as if the old grudges are behind you… You’ve grown up.”

There was something odd about his tone.

I couldn’t tell whether that was praise or a rebuke. When I stared at him without answering, he gave a quiet laugh.

“Don’t overthink it. I’m glad to see you’ve grown, whichever direction it may be in.”

“Do you think it might be the wrong direction?”

“Who knows? What matters is the outcome.”

“Don’t people usually say the process matters just as much? Sometimes more?”

“The first is what narrow-minded fools say. The second is bullshit from people who’ve thoroughly botched the outcome.”

Jeok Cheongang answered with cutting certainty, then went on.

“If I thought you’d done wrong, I’d have given you a proper scolding. So far, though, you haven’t done too badly. Besides, driving those lazy bastards all the way to Gansu like cattle has its appeal.”

He wasn’t wrong. Even now, the Zhongnan Sect Disciples were running their asses off, thanks to the declaration Jeok Cheongang had made before we set out and he’d claimed the rear for himself.

“From now until we reach Gansu, anyone who falls even a little behind or tries to slack off gets a private meeting with this old man.”

A private lesson with an elder who’d reached a distant realm would be a fortuitous encounter anyone would pray for—unless the teacher was the Fire King. In that case, there was a good chance you’d become a dead man.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Have you ever seen hyenas racing for their lives along a mountainside? Or rather, Zhongnan Sect Disciples?

I have.

Jeok Cheongang watched them sprint with every last bit of strength they had, looking thoroughly satisfied. Then he suddenly kicked off the ground.

Boom! Whoooosh!

A sharp boom rang out. His figure shot forward, leaving an afterimage behind.

Jeok Cheongang’s afterimage seemed to remain behind as he rapidly closed in. The Zhongnan Sect Disciples sucked in their breath, and panicked shouts rang out among them.

“Run!”

“If he catches us, we’re finished!”

“S-Senior Brother, I can’t go on. Don’t worry about this useless Junior Brother. Just go…”

“No! Don’t give up! You can make it!”

“……”

My thoughts on the scene were brief.

You’re all making a damn spectacle of yourselves.

“Anyone would think Dark Heaven had shown up or someth—huh?”

I was clicking my tongue at the Zhongnan Sect Disciples fleeing like locusts from a wildfire when I spotted something and narrowed my eyes.

Then I understood why Jeok Cheongang had suddenly sped ahead.

What’s that?

We had come out of the narrow mountain path, and a hill opened up the view ahead. In the distance stood a small village, its hundred or so thatched cottages huddled together. A crowd had gathered around it.

There had to be several hundred people.

Hyuk Mujin spotted the crowd at the village entrance a moment after I did. His eyes widened.

“Captain. Could that be…”

I could hear the urgency in his voice. Before he could finish, I said, “Don’t panic. They don’t look like enemies.”

“Huh? Then…”

“They’re all civilians.”

I thought for a moment and added, “At least, from what I can see.”

I wasn’t completely sure. Judging by our route, we were somewhere on the border between Shaanxi and Gansu. Dark Heaven had the dark art known as the Moving Formation, so running into its people disguised as civilians here wouldn’t be all that surprising.

They’d already disguised themselves as government troops in Sichuan once.

If something had happened in Gansu, word would’ve reached us by now. So what are that many people doing in a tiny mountain village? Is Dark Heaven preparing an ambush with a Moving Formation?

One question led to another.

Then, all of a sudden, I heard a chilling sound.

Shing.

At the sudden sound of a blade being drawn, I turned. Sama Pyo had drawn the Black Dragon Saber, the weapon that shared its name with his sobriquet.

“Whoever they are, it won’t hurt to be prepared. Wouldn’t you agree, Pavilion Master?”

His voice was calm, but his eyes were dark and intent. The closer we’d come to Gansu, the more somber Sama Pyo had grown.

I nodded and urged my horse on.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

My grassland horse’s hooves pounded the ground.

I didn’t know who the people ahead of us were, but I was sure of one thing.

Even if Dark Heaven prepared an ambush, all we have to do is trample them and keep going.

We might be riding into a fierce battle. My heartbeat didn’t change.

I’d grown far too strong to be stopped in a mountain valley like this.

In the end, the disaster I’d feared never happened.

No. Let me correct that.

It never happened to our side.

“They’re here! Those bastards are here!”

“Aaaah!”

“E-Everyone, get out of the way!”

The shouts and screams were only natural. Close to a thousand suspicious people had come pouring over the steep hill like water through a broken embankment, and some already had blades in their hands.

To the hundreds gathered at the little village entrance, it must have looked like a catastrophe.

Their terror was impossible to fake. The Wind-and-Cloud Sword Lord, racing at the front alongside Jeok Cheongang, shouted like thunder.

“Enough! Everyone, stop!”

Whoosh!

It was an order from the Sect Leader himself. His voice carried internal energy, and the Zhongnan Sect Disciples quickly slowed to a halt.

But there are always exceptions.

Whoosh.

A faint sound of air being cut, distinct from the rest.

Two figures kept shooting forward like the wind, ignoring the Wind-and-Cloud Sword Lord’s command. I’d been slowing with the Zhongnan Sect Disciples, but at the sight of their backs, I clicked my tongue to myself.

Yeah. I had a feeling they’d do that.

Old habits die hard.

The Roaring Fury Swordsman and the Taeeul Merciless Sword.

Sect Leader or not, the Wind-and-Cloud Sword Lord was their Junior Brother. Those two old dogs ignored his order and kept going.

I kicked off the ground after them.

Whoosh!

A gale wrapped around me as I crossed dozens of jang¹ in an instant. The two old Daoists drew closer. So did the civilians’ screams.

Then a voice reached every ear, including mine.

“Stop.”

“……!”

“……!”

It was quiet—not a forceful shout, and it carried no particular internal energy.

One word was enough to stop the Roaring Fury Swordsman and the Taeeul Merciless Sword in their tracks. More important than the word itself was the man who’d said it.

“Are you deaf? Those ears don’t seem much use. Want me to rip one off?”

The Roaring Fury Swordsman had stopped only a few steps away from a civilian who stood frozen with his eyes squeezed shut. His face stiff, he began to speak.

“Senior, I was only trying to make sure…”

“Answer the question. Should I rip it off or not?”

“……”

“I thought you were just deaf, but now it seems your mouth’s sealed shut too. Fine. You answer for your ailing Senior Brother.”

Fire flickered in Jeok Cheongang’s eyes. The Taeeul Merciless Sword met his gaze and bowed his head slightly.

“I only wanted to confirm who they were. I had no other intention. If my rash action upset you, Great Hero Jeok…”

“You didn’t upset me. You just made an even bigger mess.”

“I apologize.”

“At least one of you has a working mouth.”

Jeok Cheongang frowned at him and let out a small sigh.

“Save your apologies for the people you scared half to death.”

He was right. Unlike the few who’d been quick enough to flee, the civilians still standing there were trembling. One man who looked somewhat less shaken than the others hurriedly waved his hands.

“Oh, it’s all right, sir. It happened so suddenly that we were startled, but…”

He glanced at the Roaring Fury Swordsman and the Taeeul Merciless Sword, letting the sentence trail off, then looked at Jeok Cheongang and me.

“Y-You’re from the Murim Alliance, aren’t you? The heroes?”

Calling ourselves heroes after the commotion we’d caused was embarrassing, but I nodded. The man relaxed, and so did the civilians around him.

“Good grief. That took ten years off my life.”

“The Murim Alliance… Isn’t that the group fighting those wicked foreign invaders?”

“That’s right. There’s been a little misunderstanding.”

“Damn it. I thought we were going to die.”

Sighs of relief rose all around us. The first man’s face brightened, and he spoke again.

“To think you’re the Murim Alliance heroes we’ve heard so much about! What a relief. When we saw a bunch of strange fellows coming, we thought you were them… Oh, listen to me. Calling you strange fellows!”

He hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth, but neither Jeok Cheongang nor I cared about the slip. We had looked strange enough, and he’d said something far more important.

“Who did you think they were?”

The man answered without hesitation.

“Who else? That vicious gang of mounted bandits.”

What?