The Yangtze.
As its name suggested, the Yangtze was immense. In terms of length especially, few rivers on the continent could compare.
It crossed five provinces in all—Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Anhui, and finally Jiangsu. As a vital hub of waterborne transportation, it would occupy a large portion of our journey.
“Our current plan is to follow one of the Yangtze’s tributaries to Hubei, then disembark and continue overland to Henan.”
After finishing his brief explanation, Jin Wikyung slowly looked over the group, including me.
“Does anyone have any questions?”
Whoosh!
The instant he finished speaking, one hand shot into the air.
Judging by how fast it went up, its owner could have been a model student bursting with academic enthusiasm. In reality, the hand belonged to a Supreme Peak master notorious throughout Murim as a thug on a national scale.
“There’s something this old man has been wondering for a while.”
“I’m all ears, Great Hero Jeok.”
“So what you’re saying is…”
Jeok Cheongang continued with a deeply sour expression.
“It sounds like you’re telling us to grow old and die on this damn Yangtze. Am I mistaken?”
That was the Fire King for you. He really knew how to bring the heat.
Jin Wikyung swallowed hard at Jeok Cheongang’s way of speaking, which came crashing forward like an eight-ton truck1 with a broken steering wheel.
“How could that be, Great Hero Jeok? This is simply the itinerary decided upon at the meeting.”
“A meeting? What kind of lunatics came up with this schedule? Even at the fastest pace, it’ll take seven days and nights just to reach Hubei!”
“At the top, we have Great Hero Sword Saint Mae Jonghak, and beneath him, the Nine Sects and One Gang2 and the Five Great Families…”
“That’s enough. I don’t need to hear any more.”
“Pardon?”
“The Nine Sects and One Gang2 and the Five Great Families are all idiots with nothing but shit in their heads, so forget about them. I’ll explain things properly to Mae Jonghak myself. Change the itinerary while there’s still time. Staring at water all day is going to give me qi deviation.”
In short, he was telling them to do their worst.
It was the kind of unreasonable demand only Jeok Cheongang could get away with. Not a single person here dared object to him.
Ah. There was one person who could.
Jeok Cheongang must have had the same thought, because he subtly turned his head.
His gaze met Mungyeong’s in midair.
Mungyeong looked back at him with an expression that clearly said pathetic.
Jeok Cheongang stared at him, then tossed out a single remark.
“Hey. What are you looking at me like that for?”
“…”
“You little punk, you’re still wet behind the ears. I ought to poke your eyes out and squeeze all the ink from them.”
He was openly laying into him now.
Mungyeong’s fist trembled.
As someone who knew his true identity, I found the sight chilling. To everyone else, however, it looked entirely different.
Hyuk Mujin and Gung Gibang, who had been languishing from the aftereffects of sampling the Yangtze, spoke in faint, faltering voices.
“Why are you picking on the boy? Just look at Mungyeong shaking. He’s such a gentle soul…”
“I may eat stray yellow dogs, but Mungyeong couldn’t kill an ant.”
“…”
He probably killed people during the time it took to kill an ant.
I had heard that more than a thousand people were officially known to have died at the hands of the Slaughter Saint.
Even if he went around smearing Madecassol healing ointment on his sword, he still wasn’t the sort of person anyone could call gentle.
“You lot… No. Forget it. Just keep living like that.”
Jeok Cheongang looked ready to say something, but let out a deep sigh instead. Then he abruptly turned toward me.
“Why are you saying nothing?”
“About what?”
“What else? Do you really want to keep floating around on this miserable water?”
“Oh, that.”
I scratched my chin and thought for a moment before answering.
“I don’t mind it.”
“What!”
“Little Brother!”
Jeok Cheongang and Jin Wikyung’s reactions were polar opposites. But I hadn’t said it to help Jin Wikyung. I meant it.
“There must be a reason the people in charge decided on this route. Besides, the scenery is nice.”
This was a world without environmental pollution. At dawn, a hazy mist blanketed the river, and the sight of the clear water stretching endlessly into the distance made my chest feel wide open.
When Jeok Cheongang had been unconscious, none of it had moved me at all, but…
In any case, I needed to set aside my impatience for a while and take the time to reflect and collect myself.
And there are things I need to investigate.
The mysterious patterns and symbols discovered in both worlds.
I had to find out whether my suspicions about them were correct. To do that, I had a lot to take care of while going back and forth between Murim and the modern world. If we traveled overland, the time available for that would be drastically reduced.
I tried to gently coax Jeok Cheongang around.
“It’s only a difference of a few days. Old Master—no, Master, you need to think about your health too. It hasn’t been long since you pushed yourself so hard.”
“What do you mean, pushed myself? Do you think this old man is on his deathbed?”
“Then what? Are you sixteen and in the prime of youth? A fresh-faced eighteen-year-old?”
“You little bastard!”
The instant Jeok Cheongang’s eyes flared, I hurriedly spoke.
“Martial arts! I need instruction in martial arts!”
The hand that had risen as though to smack me stopped in midair.
I didn’t miss the opening and continued.
“I’ve gained some insight recently. If we travel overland, there won’t be enough time for you to teach me.”
“Instruction…”
“There are parts I could never understand on my own, no matter how hard I rack my brain—even if I died and came back to life.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes. It’s precious instruction that only one person in all the world can give me—my master.”
Jeok Cheongang narrowed his eyes.
“If we use our movement techniques to the fullest overland, we could reach Henan several days earlier.”
“What does that have to do with receiving instruction?”
“It has everything to do with it. Didn’t you say before that you thought Sword Saint Mae Jonghak might be stronger than this old man? By your logic, shouldn’t you reach Henan as quickly as possible and ask the Sword Saint?”
I had tossed that out to tease him, but he actually remembered it.
I pretended not to know what he was talking about.
“You must have heard me wrong. Was I drunk out of my mind that day?”
“What a load of drunken bullshit.”
“To me, Master, you’re always the best.”
“Is that so?”
Jeok Cheongang glanced sideways at Mungyeong before asking,
“Then how do I compare to the Slaughter Saint?”
“What?”
“The Slaughter Saint. The one among the Three Saints whom no one can match when it comes to killing people. How do I compare to him?”
I could feel the people around me waiting with interest for my answer.
And I could also feel someone discreetly leaking killing intent.
Ah, fuck it. I don’t know.
I swallowed hard and opened my mouth.
“He’s a total fucking pushover.”
“Hm. Perhaps this boy knows what he’s talking about.”
“I know my martial arts, don’t I? I can size someone up at a glance.”
“Ahem. Did you grease your tongue? You’re showering me with flattery when you never do anything of the sort. Do you think this old man will fall for such a shallow trick?”
“…Then why are you smiling?”
Was he Murim’s Joker?
Jeok Cheongang’s grin had stretched all the way to his ears, but he immediately schooled his expression. He couldn’t quite hide the corners of his mouth twitching as he fought back a smile.
“When did I smile?”
“You didn’t. Anyway, let’s just keep going like this.”
Jeok Cheongang already knew that I had opened my Middle Dantian. He considered it for a moment, then smacked his lips.
“Damn it. Even so, I hate water. Looks like this old man will be suffering in his twilight years.”
“…”
Had he been a Fire Pokémon in his previous life?
At this point, maybe he should change his sobriquet from the Fire King to Charizard.
“What’s with that disrespectful look?”
“Me? When?”
“Forget it. It isn’t the first or second time, anyway. It was my mistake for expecting manners from an uncouth little brat like you.”
Jeok Cheongang clicked his tongue and turned toward Jin Wikyung.
“You heard everything, didn’t you?”
“Yes. We will see to it that you suffer no inconvenience.”
“So what are you planning to do after taking this miserable Yangtze to Hubei? There must be a reason worth enduring all this trouble.”
“We have an important matter to attend to.”
“An important matter?”
“Would it be all right if I told you later?”
Jeok Cheongang narrowed his eyes, but that was all.
If Jin Wikyung was speaking that way, it meant the matter was confidential—something better discussed with fewer ears around.
Jeok Cheongang might not care what other people thought, but that didn’t mean he was oblivious.
“Understood. Then are we finished here?”
Jin Wikyung politely clasped his hands.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
But one person was dissatisfied with the outcome of this brief meeting.
“W-wait a moment. Are you saying you intend to take our Water Dragon Stronghold’s swift ship all the way to Hubei?”
Jin Wikyung was about to answer the ship’s owner, Mu Song, when Jeok Cheongang stepped between them.
“Is there a problem?”
“G-Great Hero Jeok, Hubei is much too far. Even with a favorable wind, it will take more than seven days and nights…”
“You can’t leave the stronghold empty for that long?”
“Yes, yes! Exactly!”
“A body is no good if the torso and limbs are intact but the head is missing. That would be a problem.”
“Does that mean…?”
“Go as far as Sichuan.”
Mu Song’s face brightened.
“Thank you!”
“Leave the ship behind.”
“What?”
“Do you expect this old man to continue in a skiff? We can find sailors along the way. Leave this swift ship or whatever it’s called, then go back.”
Mu Song fell silent for a moment before managing to speak.
“Well…”
“What?”
“Now that I think about it, it would be better for my subordinates and me to escort you and see to your every need.”
“Good heavens, there’s really no need. I already feel bad about burning one of your ships. I’m not sure whether I should impose upon you like this.”
“…Please don’t set anything else on fire.”
“That depends on how you behave.”
Was this the tyranny of a major corporation?
In all my life, this was the first time I had ever felt sorry for a river bandit.
Mu Song clasped his hands and withdrew with a sorrowful expression. Cheongpung quietly approached him and held out the dumpling in his hand.
Just how much had he stuffed down his throat in the meantime? Both cheeks were already on the verge of bursting.
“’Ave one.”
“…Are you telling me to eat it? Are you giving it to me?”
“Yeah!”
Feeling the warmth of human kindness for the first time in ages, Mu Song’s eyes grew misty.
“Thank you, Young Hero Cheongpung.”
Then he stuffed the cold dumpling into his mouth in one bite.
Cheongpung swallowed what he had been chewing and smiled brightly.
“Tasty, right?”
“It truly is. It’s the best dumpling I’ve had lately. I’ll have to get some from you now and then.”
“That was the last one.”
“What? You gave me the last dumpling? Young Hero Cheongpung, you…”
“My grandpa told me that when you have something good, you should share it with other people.”
Considering how much he had eaten by himself until now, it sounded like complete bullshit. But Mu Song didn’t know that, and he was deeply moved.
“Thank you, Young Hero Cheongpung. We’ve barely even spoken, yet you’ve gone out of your way to do this for me. I didn’t know that… Sniff.”
Mu Song’s gratitude did not last long.
“My grandpa told me something else too. Whoever eats the last dumpling has to buy the next batch!”
“…”
“…”
“If we travel for one more day, we’ll reach a place called Guang’an. The dumplings sold in the market there are really good. When I traveled around the world for a year, I stayed there for a whole month because of those dumplings. Ah, no, that’s not what I meant. Grandpa said we absolutely had to stop there! He said whoever ate the last dumpling had to buy a whole bunch more!”
“…”
“…”
What a terrifying little bastard.
Now he was even selling out his grandfather to get more dumplings.
Gung Gibang, who had been watching the scene, muttered that Cheongpung would make an excellent Beggars’ Sect disciple.
Mu Song, now doomed to stop at the famous dumpling shop in Guang’an, answered with every last scrap of trust in humanity drained from his face.
“Understood.”
“Yay! Grandpa will be happy!”
Was that even human?
I was still horrified by the bottomless depths of his character when—
“You don’t look well. May I examine you for a moment?”
Fucking pushover—no, Mungyeong was looking at me with concern.
He had a large acupuncture needle hidden in one hand, pressed right against my waist.
“Uh, no. No, I’m fine. I’m not feeling—”
“You don’t look well. May I examine you for a moment?”
“I’m really fi—”
“You don’t look well. May I examine you for a moment?”
“…”
It was humiliating, but I think I just pissed myself a little.
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