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 around fifty river bandits to the fish in five minutes.

But who was it?

Judging by the way he called Mu Song a Great Hero, he obviously isn’t in this line of work.

Mu Song’s subordinates called him Stronghold Lord or Chief, so that ruled them out. None of my companions, myself included, had said a word, so that ruled us out too.

That left…

The passengers who were attacked by the river bandits.

Everyone else had clearly reached the same conclusion.

My companions and I—even the river bandits of Water Dragon Stronghold. Every head turned in the same direction, toward the twenty passengers who had moved onto the swift ship when Hwang Tae-gu’s attack left their boat listing.

“Who is it? Step forward.”

At Mu Song’s fierce glare, his harpoon hanging low in one hand, his subordinates hurriedly cleared a path. A lone figure stood at the end of it.

“It was me.”

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

Twenty at most, if I’m being generous?

Boy suited him better than young man. Flustered by everyone’s attention, he hesitated, then awkwardly clasped his hands together.

“I-I’m Mungyeong.”

“Mungyeong?”

Mu Song frowned.

“Never heard the name. And from the look of you, you aren’t a martial artist.”

Mu Song had a good eye.

The boy, Mungyeong, had the aura of an ordinary commoner. Nothing more, nothing 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 of the righteous boatman on the Yangtze in Sichuan who keeps such a strict rein on bloodshed?”

Now that was some serious flattery.

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

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“Wealth comes and goes, but a man has only one life. Those who know how many lives were lost on the Yangtze until just a few years ago call you the Great Hero of Benevolence and Righteousness.”

“Ahem. There’s no need to go that far. Being called the Hero of the Yangtze is enough for me.”

What a load of horseshit…

Mu Song was reasonably sensible, but he was still a river bandit. Keeping his thuggery within reasonable bounds 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.”

“Good heavens.”

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. Though it goes against the League regulations, I understand how you feel. I’ll give you the chance.”

“You mean you’ll let me decide whether he lives or dies?”

“Of course.”

But Mungyeong’s answer defied 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 wish to avenge my parents, but I am a medical apprentice. How can one who deals in 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.”

“If we do as you ask, he’ll be taken to League headquarters. He deserves to die, but with all the connections he’s made over the years, he may manage to save his 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 often heard that, for a martial artist, losing one’s martial arts is the same as death. I may not have killed him, but would that not be as good as killing him? And…”

Mungyeong gazed at Hwang Tae-gu with clear eyes.

“This is not about personal revenge, but the greater good. If the Yangtze River Channel League punishes him itself, would that not serve as a warning to others who commit such slaughter?”

Not a trace of trembling remained in the boy’s resolute voice. His words held a conviction that made those listening nod along.

Exclamations rose from the crowd.

“Well, I’ll be. That young fellow is something else.”

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

“He’s remarkable in more ways than one. He’ll make a fine physician.”

Mu Song also seemed deeply impressed by Mungyeong’s well-reasoned argument. He nodded admiringly and stepped in front of Hwang Tae-gu.

“If your ears work, you heard him. 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 drove into the spot beneath Hwang Tae-gu’s navel—the place known as the dantian.

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

“Go ahead and survive, then. See if you can carry out your threat. With your dantian shattered, though, you’ll hardly be alive even if you live.”

With a sharp crack of displaced air, Mu Song’s foot lashed out and struck Hwang Tae-gu’s 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.

Qi streamed from his twitching seven apertures¹ and scattered 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 swear I’ll—!”

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

Hwang Tae-gu was now nothing more than a powerless man in his fifties. He kept shouting until Mu Song silenced him with a Pressure-Point Strike, leaving his entire body rigid.

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

“Yes.”

A bald, copper-skinned river bandit who looked like Diglett² hoisted Hwang Tae-gu onto his back and disappeared. For the moment, the matter was settled.

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

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

So a good bandit defeated a bad bandit?

In any case, the commoners whose lives had been saved by Water Dragon Stronghold bowed repeatedly.

“Oh, no, not at all. Without the Heroes of the Yangtze, we would have been done for.”

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

“Perhaps the Primordial Heavenly Venerable³ was watching over us. Not a single person died, so you needn’t worry.”

Huh? Not one person died?

At those words, I looked over the passengers.

It’s true.

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

Mu Song and I had arrived before the battle turned into a full-scale melee, but the river bandits had definitely fired arrows and harpoons at them from a distance.

How had a mere twenty commoners all survived?

It didn’t take long for me to get my answer.

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

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

The conversation I overheard went like this.

When the passengers spotted the approaching river bandits and panicked, Mungyeong stepped forward. He had them tear up the deck and use the planks as shields, then ordered them to break the mast.

Tearing up the deck is one thing, but breaking the mast?

An ordinary person would have thought first of rowing for their life and escaping. Mungyeong had done the opposite.

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 from a distance, the usual tactic was to close in and ram the other ship, or hook it with ropes and board it for close combat.

But if the target had completely lost the ability to steer and was spinning and pitching wildly, finding an opening wouldn’t be easy. That was how Mungyeong had bought them time.

Well, look at this guy.

Then there was his decision regarding Hwang Tae-gu. This was no ordinary clever boy.

Perhaps he felt my gaze. Mungyeong, who had been smiling awkwardly at all the praise directed his way, flinched.

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

“What would I need? Judging by your age, you could be my little brother. I was just looking at you because you did something impressive.”

“Th-That’s too much praise.”

“From what I heard, that was pretty bold. How did you come up with it?”

“Although I’m training to become a medical apprentice now, before my parents passed away, I used to 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 both his faint wariness of a stranger and a quiet sense of pride.

Seen this 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, activate 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…”

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I turned away from the bewildered Mungyeong.

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

“What was that about?”

“Nothing important. I just took a personal interest 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? Their original boat was listing too.”

“The others? Ah, my men will take them somewhere safe.”

Mu Song chuckled and added,

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

“……”

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

I was briefly struck speechless by this novel form of creative economics when—

“W-Wait a moment.”

“Hm?”

It was Mungyeong. Glancing around nervously, he fidgeted with his fingers before speaking.

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

“That’s right. Why?”

Mungyeong gasped, then spilled out his words in a rush.

“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.⁴

“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.