Chapter 333

“Great Hero Mu Song, the Ship-Fire Boy, could you wait a moment?”

I wanted to give the owner of that voice a standing ovation.

Think about it. Who could say something like that in a situation like this?

Especially when the person they were addressing was a river-bandit chief who had thrown more than fifty river bandits to the fish in five minutes.

But who was it?

Judging by the way he called him a Great Hero, he obviously isn’t from this line of work.

Mu Song’s subordinates called him Stronghold Lord or Chief, so they were excluded. None of my companions, myself included, had said a word, so they were out too.

That left…

The passengers who were attacked by the river bandits.

Everyone here had clearly arrived at the same conclusion as I had.

My companions and I. Even the river bandits of Water Dragon Stronghold. Everyone’s gaze turned in one direction—toward the twenty passengers who had moved onto the fast ship when their boat began to list under Hwang Tae-gu’s attack.

“Who is it? Step forward.”

At Mu Song’s fierce glare, his harpoon hanging low in one hand, his subordinates hurriedly cleared a path. There was one person at the end of it.

“It was me.”

I had guessed as much from the voice, but he was quite young. No, he even looked boyish.

Twenty at most, if I’m being generous?

The word boy suited him better than young man. Flustered by everyone’s attention, he hesitated, then awkwardly clasped both hands together.

“I-I’m Mungyeong.”

“Mungyeong?”

Mu Song frowned.

“That’s a name I’ve never heard before. And judging by your appearance, you’re not a martial artist either.”

Mu Song’s eye was accurate.

The aura surrounding the boy, Mungyeong, was that of an ordinary commoner. No more, no less.

Mungyeong swallowed nervously under our scrutiny and answered,

“T-That’s right. I’m merely a medical apprentice still in training. I have no connection to the Murim.”

“A medical apprentice? Then how do you know me?”

“How could I not know that there is a righteous boatman on the Yangtze in Sichuan who strictly punishes those who take lives?”

Talk about shameless flattery.

Mu Song’s mouth twitched as he went from a river-bandit chief who controlled the waterways of Sichuan and shook down travelers to a righteous boatman in the blink of an eye.

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“Wealth may come and go, but a life is something you have only once. Those who know how many lives disappeared on the Yangtze until just a few years ago call you the Great Hero of Benevolence and Righteousness.”

“Hem. There’s no need to go that far. I’m satisfied with being called the Hero of the Yangtze.”

What a load of horseshit…

Mu Song was reasonably sensible, but he was still a river bandit. Acting like a thug within reason didn’t make him a model citizen.

But the young medical apprentice seemed to see things differently.

“My parents died tragically on the Yangtze more than ten years ago. If Great Hero Mu Song hadn’t saved me, I would have met the same fate.”

“Oh, dear. That’s unfortunate. But if it was more than ten years ago…”

“That’s right.”

Mungyeong continued in a trembling voice.

“The man kneeling before you is my parents’ killer.”

“Huh.”

The river bandits and passengers who had been listening intently let out low groans. Mu Song nodded as if he understood and spoke.

“Now I understand why you asked me to stop. It may go against the rules of our League, but I can understand your feelings well enough. I’ll give you a chance.”

“You mean you’ll give me the right to decide whether he lives or dies?”

“Of course.”

But Mungyeong’s answer went beyond everyone’s expectations—including mine.

“Then… please let him live.”

“……!”

“……!”

Mu Song had been about to hand Mungyeong the harpoon he was holding. Even Hwang Tae-gu, who had already closed his eyes as though resigned to everything, snapped them open and stared at Mungyeong.

“W-What did you say?”

When Mu Song asked again in confusion, Mungyeong bowed at the waist.

“I desperately want to avenge my parents, but I am a medical apprentice. How can someone who deals with life bring about death? I beg you to cripple his martial arts and punish him according to strict law, so that he can never commit evil again.”

“By your own words, that bastard will be escorted to the League’s headquarters. He deserves to die, but with all the connections he’s built over the years, he might save his own life. Wouldn’t it be better to take your revenge with your own hands, right here?”

“I have no connection to the Murim, but I have heard that losing one’s martial arts is tantamount to death for a martial artist. I have not killed him, but would that not be the same as killing him already? And…”

Mungyeong looked straight at Hwang Tae-gu with clear eyes.

“This is not personal revenge, but a matter of the greater good. If the Yangtze River Channel League directly punishes him, wouldn’t it serve as a warning to others who commit slaughter?”

There was no trace of trembling left in the boy’s resolute voice. It held a strength that made everyone listening nod along.

Exclamations rose from the people watching.

“Goodness. What an extraordinary young fellow.”

“If it were me, I’d have shoved that harpoon straight into his chest.”

“He’s an impressive one. He’ll make a fine physician.”

Mu Song also seemed deeply moved by Mungyeong’s clear and orderly words. He nodded with admiration and walked over to Hwang Tae-gu.

“You heard him if your ears are working. What do you think?”

“I-I’ll survive, and I’ll tear every one of you apart!”

The killing intent flashing in Hwang Tae-gu’s eyes did not last long.

Thud!

“Guh!”

Mu Song’s toe had driven into the spot below Hwang Tae-gu’s navel—the place called the dantian.

Mu Song looked down coldly at Hwang Tae-gu, who toppled backward, vomiting blood.

“Go ahead and survive. Then do as you please. Your dantian is shattered, so even if you live, you won’t be much of a living man.”

With a sharp crack of air, the foot that had flown forward struck his dantian again.

Whooooom! Crack!

“Guh! N-No!”

By the time Hwang Tae-gu’s scream echoed hollowly across the deck, everything was already over.

Ssshhh.

I can feel it.

The writhing qi flowing from his seven apertures was scattering into the air.

When a cup holding water breaks, the water spills out. The moment his qi-sea acupoint was destroyed, the internal energy stored in his dantian disappeared.

“You bastards, I’ll definitely—!”

The Peak master who had once ruled the Yangtze in Sichuan while commanding countless ships no longer existed.

Hwang Tae-gu had become nothing more than a powerless man in his fifties. He continued shouting without pause until Mu Song’s Pressure-Point Strike left him rigid.

“What a noisy bastard. Throw him somewhere out of the way. We’ll escort him to headquarters later.”

“Yes, Stronghold Lord.”

A bald, copper-skinned river bandit who looked like Diglett hoisted Hwang Tae-gu onto his back and disappeared, bringing the incident to an end for the time being.

Mu Song scratched the back of his head and looked around.

“Well, this is awkward. I’ve shown you all an ugly sight. To everyone who suffered because of this incident, I offer my sincere apologies.”

So a good bandit defeated a bad bandit?

In any case, the commoners who had been saved by Water Dragon Stronghold’s arrival bowed repeatedly.

“Oh, no, not at all. Without the Heroes of the Yangtze, we would have died without a chance.”

“We don’t know how we could ever repay this debt…”

“Perhaps the Primordial Heavenly Venerable was watching over us. Not a single person died, so you needn’t worry.”

Huh? Not a single person died?

At those words, I looked over the passengers.

It’s true.

There were injured people here and there, but no corpses.

I and Mu Song had arrived before the fighting became a full-scale melee, but arrows and harpoons had definitely been fired from a distance.

How had a mere twenty commoners all survived?

The question that occurred to me was answered soon enough.

“If that young medical apprentice over there hadn’t been here, we might all have died.”

“That’s right. How could anyone remain so calm in a situation like that? He’s truly remarkable.”

The conversation I overheard went like this.

When the people spotted the approaching river bandits and fell into confusion, Mungyeong stepped forward. He had them tear up the deck and use the boards as shields, then had them break the mast.

The deck is one thing, but he had them break the mast?

An ordinary person would have thought first of rowing for their lives and escaping. Mungyeong was different.

He broke the sails and left the boat’s fate to the violent current of the Yangtze, which heaved and rolled like a whirlpool.

And it worked.

I knew roughly how naval battles worked.

After firing at one another from a distance, the usual tactic was to close in and ram the other boat, or throw ropes across and attempt to board for close combat.

But if the target had completely lost the ability to steer and was spinning and pitching wildly, it would be difficult to find an opening. Mungyeong had bought them time.

Well, look at this guy.

His decision regarding Hwang Tae-gu was impressive, too. He was no ordinary clever boy.

Perhaps he felt my gaze. Mungyeong, who had been smiling awkwardly at the praise directed toward him, flinched.

“Y-Young Hero. Did you need something from me?”

“What do you mean, need something? Judging by your age, you’re young enough to be my little brother. I was just thinking you’d done something really impressive.”

“Th-That’s too much praise.”

“I heard you were pretty bold. How did you come up with that?”

“Although I’m walking the path of a medical apprentice now, before my parents passed away, I read all kinds of miscellaneous books.”

“Miscellaneous books?”

“Yes. Believe it or not, my family comes from a humble military household. My grandfather was also a military officer who received a stipend from the court.”

He was trying to hide a faint wariness toward a stranger, along with a quiet sense of pride.

Seen that way, he wasn’t much different from any other boy his age.

But something about him didn’t sit right.

I studied Mungyeong carefully and muttered inwardly,

Skill, use Qi Sense.

Ding.

Along with the familiar chime, information about him rose into the air.

System Lv. 6 Mungyeong

“I guessed wrong.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Stay healthy, eat well, and grow up strong.”

“Y-Yes…”

I clicked my tongue inwardly and turned away from the bewildered Mungyeong.

Mu Song, who had been watching, spoke to me quietly.

“What is it?”

“Nothing important. I just became a little interested in him.”

“Junior, do you happen to have a taste for men?”

You fucking bastard…

When he saw my expression, Mu Song cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“Ahem. In any case, we should continue on our way. The current is rough, but the wind is favorable, so we should reach Xi’an soon.”

“What about the others? The boat they were originally on was listing, too.”

“The others? Ah, my men will move them safely to somewhere secure.”

Mu Song chuckled and added,

“Of course, we’ll accept a small token of their appreciation.”

“……”

Saving their lives and shaking them down for money. Was that clever or stupid?

I was momentarily speechless at this novel form of creative economics when—

“W-Wait a moment.”

“Hm?”

It was Mungyeong. He glanced around nervously, fidgeted with his fingers, and opened his mouth.

“Um, did you say you were going to Xi’an?”

“That’s right. Why?”

Mungyeong gasped and rapidly spilled out his words.

“The thing is, I happen to be on my way to Xi’an too. If you would give me a ride just this once, I’ll repay this kindness even beyond the grave, remember it to my very bones, and even if this body dies and dies, dies a thousand times over and turns to white bones, I will never forget—”

What is this?

I let out a long sigh at the Jeong Mong-ju villain.¹

“Fine. Get on.”

“Thank you!”

As Mungyeong hurried off to gather his luggage, Mu Song muttered under his breath,

“Wait, this is my ship…”

Yeah. No.