Chapter 310

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

Five hundred bandits emerged behind Heavenly Axe.

But their overwhelming numbers weren’t the only reason Ju Hwaran’s face hardened.

Their momentum is different.

Those trying to cross the mountain and those blocking their way. Escort Bureaus and the Green Forest were inseparable.

An Escort Bureau couldn’t draw its swords every time it encountered bandits, so it would pay a set toll. The Green Forest, in turn, would accept a reasonable sum and withdraw, allowing both sides to save face. That had long been the custom.

But neither Heavenly Axe nor the bandits of Black Stone Stronghold showed any intention of backing down.

“You mean to spill blood after all…”

Heavenly Axe curled his lips at Ju Hwaran’s words.

“You’re pretty sharp for a little bitch. That’s right. Today, I intend to stain Black Stone Mountain with blood.”

“Little bitch?”

“What? Don’t like it? Would you rather I called you an old bitch?”

“I am the Young Bureau Head of the Yongbong Escort Bureau. Show me the same courtesy I’m showing you.”

Ju Hwaran’s beautiful, brush-painted eyebrows shot upward.

She was the bureau chief’s only child, but that didn’t mean she had been raised pampered and sheltered.

She had swung a sword since childhood until calluses formed across her palms. She had eaten and slept on the road alongside the escorts, watching and learning.

People fawned over Ju Hwaran as one of the Three Flowers of Jiangbei, but she was no hothouse flower.

“What a brazen little bitch. And what will you do if I refuse?”

“Then…”

Ju Hwaran—the Dagger Hidden Flower—continued with a frosty expression.

“You’ll have to die at the hands of this little bitch.”

“What? Huh… Hahahahaha!”

It took a while for Heavenly Axe’s wild laughter to subside.

“You’ve got more backbone than I expected. I like you.”

“Why would I care if some old bandit likes me?”

“You’ve got quite the sharp tongue. Aren’t you worried about what comes next?”

“Why are you doing this in the first place?”

“Why? A bandit says he intends to kill and rob you. Does he need some special reason?”

Ju Hwaran bit down hard on her lip at his brazen reply.

“If word of this gets out, it will put the Green Forest Alliance in a difficult position.”

“A difficult position?”

“The Yongbong Escort Bureau is part of the orthodox faction. The orthodox Murim won’t stand idly by.”

“Part of the orthodox faction, are you? Then I suppose that would be a problem.”

Heavenly Axe stroked his shaggy beard and continued.

“So I’ll do my best to make sure word never gets out. A secret can’t hurt anyone if it never leaks, can it?”

“…”

Silencing the witnesses.

Realizing what Heavenly Axe meant, Ju Hwaran tightened her grip on her sword hilt. Chief Escort Heo Jun stepped forward in her place and shouted, “One hundred silver nyang¹! Clear the road, and I’ll give you one hundred silver nyang¹. We’ll consider today’s matter closed, so let this end here!”

“Oh? One hundred nyang¹? Silver nyang¹, at that?”

“Of course. Have I ever made an empty promise?”

“No, you haven’t. This is hardly our first meeting. Brother Heo’s word can be trusted.”

Chief Escort Heo Jun had devoted nearly thirty years to the Yongbong Escort Bureau.

The Yongbong Escort Bureau was a major Escort Bureau based in Shaanxi. Heo Jun had successfully completed hundreds of escort journeys, large and small, and crossed Black Stone Mountain so often that he had become acquainted with the Green Forest’s Stronghold Lords. That included Heavenly Axe, who had taken command of Black Stone Stronghold five years earlier.

“That’s five times the usual toll. Enough of this nasty joke. Clear the road.”

“A nasty joke? Is that what this looked like?”

Heavenly Axe let out a hearty laugh. Then his face abruptly turned cold.

“There’s a limit to how much of a fool you can take me for. Brother Heo, if you want to bargain, offer a fair price.”

“A-A fair price?”

“Even the dogs in my stronghold know that the goods you’re transporting include a Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. We could sell it as stolen goods today and easily get several thousand silver nyang¹ for it. Isn’t that right?”

“…”

Several people’s eyelids began to twitch, including Ju Hwaran’s and Heo Jun’s.

A thousand-year snow ginseng was an elixir that could grant a full jiazi² of internal energy if completely digested.

The existence of the thousand-year snow ginseng, which had been secretly commissioned by the Zhongnan Sect, was a top-level secret known by only a handful of people within the Yongbong Escort Bureau.

How had word reached Heavenly Axe?

None of it was a coincidence.

The past four months of the escort journey flashed through Ju Hwaran’s mind.

The bandits and nameless wandering martial artists who had attacked them as if they were mortal enemies.

They had fought dozens of battles, large and small, and suffered terrible losses—all because information about the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng had leaked.

Who was it?

The thought had occurred to her before, but she had forced her suspicions down.

What had kept her going through the misfortunes that had piled upon her over the past two years was the people around her.

They were the greatest inheritance her grandfather had passed to her father, and her father to her.

Even as the Yongbong Escort Bureau lost its former glory and gradually declined, they had stayed. Despite her repeated failures, they had continued to show her unstinting trust and support.

That was why she hadn’t wanted to suspect them. Why she had refused to doubt them.

But now…

Ju Hwaran swept an empty gaze over her surroundings.

Chief Escort Heo Jun stood frozen, looking as betrayed as she felt. Then she saw the other three people who knew about the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.

They were the three outstanding escort captains who represented the Yongbong Escort Bureau—the men collectively known as the Dragon-Phoenix Three Escorts.

Seokchil. Noh Piljung.

Ju Hwaran’s gaze passed over the two middle-aged escort captains, both nearing forty, then turned to the last man.

Song Ilseom.

Unlike the other two members of the Dragon-Phoenix Three Escorts, Song Ilseom was tall and strikingly handsome.

Barely past thirty, he had joined the Yongbong Escort Bureau as an escort ten years earlier and risen rapidly through the ranks.

Though he occasionally revealed his rough temper, his outstanding martial arts had led numerous escort journeys to success. That was why, despite his youth, he had earned a place among the Dragon-Phoenix Three Escorts.

But Song Ilseom was also the subject of endless gossip.

“They say he used to be a wandering martial artist. A fixer, no less.”

“Apparently, there was nothing he wouldn’t do as long as he got paid.”

“That’s not all. Everyone says he’s deeply in love with the Young Lady. Mihyang told me that whenever he gets the chance, he slips into the inner courtyard and wanders around the garden.”

“I heard he joined the Escort Bureau because of the Young Lady… Everyone knows the Chief wanted an escort as his son-in-law, after all.”

Ju Hwaran knew the rumors surrounding Song Ilseom.

She also knew that most of them were true.

Song Ilseom’s blatant stares had made her uncomfortable more than once. Indeed, that was why she had agonized over whether to bring him on this escort journey.

But surely Captain Song wouldn’t…

The moment Ju Hwaran’s gaze settled on Song Ilseom’s face, his thick, fierce-looking eyebrows shot upward.

Flash—whoosh!

“Hwaran!”

Three things happened at once.

A dagger shot from Song Ilseom’s sleeve.

At the same time, Chief Escort Heo Jun hurriedly stepped in front of Ju Hwaran.

And finally—

Thud!

“Ghk… Grrrk.”

More than twenty jang³ away, a Black Stone Stronghold bandit collapsed with the dagger buried in his throat.

Bloody foam spilled from the bandit’s mouth. He convulsed, then went still.

“…”

A frigid silence descended over the scene. It seemed as though it might last forever, until Song Ilseom shattered it with a single shout.

“No more talking! Fight as if your lives depend on it!”

His fierce cry carried far on the night wind.

Ju Hwaran, Heo Jun, and everyone else from the Yongbong Escort Bureau realized the same thing.

Negotiations were over.

Now they would have to fight to the death against hundreds of enemies who had suffered an unexpected opening attack.

“Song Ilseom! What have you done?”

At Chief Escort Heo Jun’s furious shout, Song Ilseom raised his willow-leaf saber and rested it across his shoulder.

“What do you think? It’s a little late to ask that now, isn’t it?”

“You bastard…”

“He’s right.”

Ju Hwaran spoke calmly as she gripped her sword hilt.

Unfortunately, Song Ilseom was telling the truth.

Heavenly Axe was already advancing toward them, radiating a terrifying aura.

He had lost one of his men without having time to do anything. Flames poured from his bulging eyes.

“I’ll slaughter every last one of you.”

Hissssss!

Red qi writhed along the blade of his lowered axe.

The Green Forest Alliance had countless members, but Heavenly Axe ranked twentieth among them—a Peak master.

Buoyed by their leader’s aura, the five hundred Green Forest bandits growled like wild beasts.

“Kill them all!”

“This will be your grave!”

Listening to their furious cries, Ju Hwaran looked up at the star-studded night sky.

This may be my last escort journey.

Of the seventy-odd people who remained, barely forty were escorts once the caravan porters were excluded.

Everyone was exhausted from the long escort journey. The conditions were far too harsh for them to face Heavenly Axe and five hundred Green Forest bandits.

Can I do this?

Thud, thud, thud.

The ground trembled beneath hundreds of footsteps. The battle she had tried to avoid but could no longer escape was about to begin.

All we can do now is fight to the very end.

She had to get at least one person out alive.

Just as Ju Hwaran was about to face forward again, she noticed a star she had never seen before.

Among the countless stars embroidered across the pitch-black sky, one shone brighter than all the rest. It cast its radiance for the briefest moment, then vanished.

And in the next instant, something no one could have expected happened.

“Don’t fight, everyone! No matter how badly you get along, something terrible will happen if you fight!”

At the sudden shout, everyone stopped dead. Hundreds of heads whipped toward the source of the voice.

The world lay submerged in darkness.

Four figures stood atop a hill, faintly illuminated by the moonlight.

Soon, quiet voices drifted down.

“What are they?”

“They look like bandits. The people on the other side seem to be from an Escort Bureau.”

“No, I can see they’re bandits. I’m asking why they’re fighting out here in the middle of the night. We’re already busy enough to drop dead.”

“They look busier than we are.”

“Mujin, has it been long since you were hit?”

“No. About half an hour.”

Smack!

“Gibang, do you know who they are?”

“Of course.”

“Help me out, Speed Beggar.”

“Judging by the flag, they’re from the Yongbong Escort Bureau. The other side is Black Stone Stronghold, led by Heavenly Axe.”

“Never heard of either one. But for some reason, Heavenly Axe sounds familiar.”

“The Yongbong Escort Bureau was once counted among the Ten Great Escort Bureaus of the martial world, and Heavenly Axe is a Peak master ranked among the Green Forest Alliance’s top twenty. He wields a single axe like a demon…”

“No, wait. You don’t mean that Heavenly Axe, do you?”

“You know Heavenly Axe?”

“I definitely killed him… Did he catch the reincarnation bus or something? Wait here. I’m going to get a look at his face.”

“Benefactor! What’s a reincarnation bus?”

“Try crossing a crosswalk the next time you’re bored.”

The utterly incomprehensible conversation ended there.

Then a large shadow came trudging down the hill.

Only when it drew closer, one step at a time, could everyone make out what it was.

What is that?

He’s just a young punk. Why is he carrying a pack frame on his back?

It was a truly bizarre sight.

Hundreds of people facing one another in the darkness, weapons in hand.

And through their midst came a young man carrying a pack frame, strolling beneath the moonlight as if he were out for a walk.

Step, step. Stop.

“Sorry to interrupt when you’re so busy.”

The young man finally stopped and slowly turned his head.

He frowned at the grimy bandits. When his gaze reached Ju Hwaran, he suddenly began fidgeting awkwardly. Finally, he gave Heavenly Axe a quick once-over and tossed out a single remark.

“This isn’t the bastard.”

“…”

“…”

Hundreds of pairs of eyes widened at the bombshell.

He had just called Heavenly Axe—a Peak master counted among the Green Forest Alliance’s foremost experts—a bastard.

While everyone was still doubting their ears, the second bomb dropped.

“Oh, you’re that guy. The real Heavenly Axe. No wonder something seemed off. But you don’t look as impressive as the rumors made you sound either.”

Heavenly Axe finally came to his senses, his eyes blazing like fire.

“Y-You lunatic!”

The next instant, the axe in his hand crashed down toward the crown of the young man’s head.

Whoosh—crash!

Condensed qi collided.

A flexible sword intercepted the axe blade, which shimmered with red qi.

Ju Hwaran’s wrist trembled as she desperately blocked the blow.

She, too, was a swordswoman who had reached the Peak. But Heavenly Axe possessed both tremendous natural strength and far greater experience. She was nowhere near strong enough to withstand him.

“Ghk! Young Hero, hurry and run—!”

“You little bitch, how dare you!”

Clang, clang, clang!

The two blades locked together, sending sparks flying.

The enormous axe slowly bore down on her.

Just as Heo Jun and Song Ilseom charged forward to help Ju Hwaran, the lips of the young man standing as still as stone parted.

“Say one thing for me.”

“…What?”

“Help me. Just say those words.”

Is he out of his mind?

The thought flashed through Ju Hwaran’s head.

The young man had not even been able to react to Heavenly Axe’s attack. If she had not blocked it with her flexible sword, he would have been cut in half and killed without a chance.

But regardless of what she thought, the words were already leaving her mouth.

“Help me!”

Then she saw it.

The faint smile forming at the corner of the young man’s lips.

A voice so quiet that only she could hear it reached her ears.

“Quest accepted.”

Whoosh!

A scorching wind erupted without warning.

And Ju Hwaran felt an endless warmth.