Chapter 549

I wasn’t a general leading an army of thousands.

Even counting me, the Fire Dragon Pavilion had only six members. Half an hour was enough to get everyone in one place.

“Everyone, listen up.”

I offered no greeting or honorifics. Sensing something unusual in my abrupt command, all five turned their attention to me. Even Hyuk Mujin, who had gone to summon them, still had no idea what was going on.

I looked from one questioning face to the next, then began.

“To get straight to the point… I’ve been given a mission.”

There was nothing to leave out and nothing to add. I told them exactly what I knew, and the briefing took less than fifteen minutes.

Afterward, everyone fell silent, lost in thought. Then one of them spoke.

“So,” said a familiar, composed voice.

Sama Pyo, Young Sect Leader of the Black Dragon Demon Gate, looked at me.

“We’re heading to Nanman.¹”

I nodded, with one small correction.

“To the Nanman Beast Palace, to be precise.”

The Nanman Beast Palace was a mysterious sect said to tame countless animals, including spiritual creatures and venomous beasts, and practice martial arts modeled on their movements.

I couldn’t tell whether they were an animal welfare society or a bunch of animal abusers. One thing, though, was certain.

Honglan. No—the Southern Heaven Demon Empress would be salivating over that place.

If a second rift opened, Dark Heaven would be hard-pressed to find a better location than the Nanman Beast Palace. It was an animal kingdom, teeming with more spiritual creatures and venomous beasts than anywhere else under heaven.

Song Ilseom had been listening with his willow-leaf saber held against his chest. He muttered, “We’re in for a rough trip.”

He had good reason to think so.

Nanman, where the Beast Palace stood, was also called Yunnan in the Central Plains. It lay directly south of Sichuan and bordered Guizhou and Guangxi. Put like that, it sounded merely far away. But…

The problem is, Nanman’s terrain and climate are unbelievably fucked.

I’d heard it was sweltering hot, with jungles that went on forever. There wasn’t a decent road to be found. Instead, it had full-grown predators and venomous insects that treated humans like food delivery.

And that’s just what I’ve heard…

I couldn’t imagine what it was like in person. I was beginning to understand why Nanman was considered part of the Outer Lands, despite having a perfectly respectable place on maps of the realm.

Though from a modern perspective, it really is a foreign country.

In the modern world, was Yunnan Vietnam or Myanmar? It had to be somewhere around there, but my memory was hazy because I’d spent world geography class sleeping my ass off.

While I was trying to dredge it up, Hyuk Mujin shot his hand into the air.

“Captain, I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Are we really going?”

“Would we be going fake?”

“It’s just… it sounds too dangerous.”

“So what? It’s always been dangerous.”

“…When you put it like that, I’ve got nothing to say.”

“Then shut up and pack.”

“When are we leaving?”

“Oh. Did I forget to mention that?”

That was important. The others must have been so focused on where we were going and why that it hadn’t occurred to them either.

I looked at each of them in turn and dropped the answer.

“Today. Right now.”

“……!”

“……!”

A ripple went through the group, especially Hyuk Mujin and Taishan, the Tiger Giant Child.

“You’re joking, right?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“That’s impossible. What about clothes and supplies? We’d have to pack everything right now.”

“It’s possible. Since when have we worried about having every little necessity? Just bring some fasting pills.”

Huff! Huff!

What the hell? Was that Scorching Yang Qi?

Taishan blew an astonishingly hot breath through his nose and leaped to his feet.

“No! Taishan! Eating meat tonight!”

“Meat? Meat sounds good.”

I turned to Hyuk Mujin. “You heard him. Bring jerky too.”

“Jerky! Tastes bad!”

“……Just shut up and eat whatever the hell you get.”

The guy looked capable of chewing up a pair of chopsticks, and he was picky?

Sama Pyo caught the look I gave him and shrugged.

“Taishan. You little rascal.”

“L-Lord.”

“How long do you intend to carry on like this? If you keep throwing tantrums…”

“Taishan. Won’t do it. Forgive Taishan, Lord.”

The enormous man looked so dejected that I actually felt sorry for him.

I’ll leave Taishan to Sama Pyo from now on.

I turned to Song Ilseom, who was frowning.

“What? You’ve got a problem with it too?”

“Of course. We’re going to Nanman, of all places.”

He clicked his tongue.

“But I’ll act as though I don’t. Unfortunately, I’ve already taken a hefty advance, and I can’t afford to pay a penalty ten times that amount.”

“You’re much more straightforward than I expected. I like it.”

“When I make a contract, I honor it. If I didn’t, I’d never have earned the name Soul-Chasing Guest.”

He said it with quiet conviction and pride, then continued matter-of-factly.

“Of course, the final decision isn’t mine. It’s my employer’s. Isn’t that right?”

Naturally, he wasn’t asking me.

Ju Hwaran, the Dagger Hidden Flower, had been silent and deep in thought the whole time. At last, she spoke.

“I think you already know my answer. Don’t you?”

At the sound of her clear, gentle voice, I let out a quiet laugh. Song Ilseom sighed.

“I knew it. Damn it, Nanman.”

“I trust I don’t need to remind you of the terms of our contract, Great Hero Song.”

Leaving him to groan, Ju Hwaran turned her gaze on me.

My face was reflected in her dark blue eyes. They held a mysterious light. From this close, they looked almost…

“Great Hero Jin?”

“Ah, yes.”

What was that? Did I doze off for a second?

Her voice brought me back to my senses.

No. I can’t do that.

Not now. With what lay ahead, I needed to keep a clear head at all times.

I told myself that a few more times, pulled myself together, and spoke as calmly as I could.

“Good. There’s something I wanted to ask you. Specifically…”

“The fastest route to Nanman and what we’ll need? All right.”

“Pardon?”

“Was I wrong?”

“No. It’s not that.”

Quite the opposite. She’d guessed so precisely that she’d startled me.

What the hell? Can she read minds? Is that some kind of mind-reading technique?

I could only blink at her. Ju Hwaran smiled.

“There’s no need to be surprised. I’ve been thinking about what I can do to help.”

“Oh.”

“I’m officially a member of the Fire Dragon Pavilion now. As I said before, I ought to do my share.”

Tap. Tap-tap.

Her pale, rough fingers drummed steadily on the table, a reminder that she was a swordswoman too.

“First, as you said, Great Hero Jin, we should keep supplies to a minimum. We won’t need extra clothing, and two days’ worth of dry rations should be enough.”

“Dry rations? Please! Anything but that! Taishan will die!”

Ju Hwaran quickly added, “And jerky, of course.”

“What the hell is his guardian doing? Ah, Young Lady Ju, please go on.”

“Of course. Now…”

With the interruption dealt with, Ju Hwaran continued without a pause. She covered everything from the supplies we’d need to the fastest route to Nanman.

Fortunately, she had traveled there on an escort assignment several years ago. She also knew the terrain and hidden roads in various places from the records her grandfather, the Escort King, had left behind.

Even Song Ilseom, who had roamed the realm as a wandering martial artist since he was a snot-nosed kid, was surprised.

“There’s a road like that?”

Ju Hwaran nodded with confidence.

“Of course. According to my grandfather’s records, it’s definitely there.”

“I spent about a year there myself. But as far as I know…”

“According to my grandfather’s records, it’s definitely there.”

“Yes, I know. What I’m saying is—”

“My grandfather’s records.”

“Would you let me finish?”

“The Escort King.”

“……I believe you. I believe you, so please continue.”

And who was the Escort King? The legend among legends who had completed his legendary Ten-Thousand-Li Journey² while a hundred thousand Demonic Cultists covered the realm.

Ju P. Hwaran³ had inherited the will of that very P-King. Like the Going Merry⁴ on open water, she sailed ahead without a hitch. Before half an hour had passed, she’d planned every leg of our route to Nanman.

“Whew. That’s everything for now. Any questions?”

Whoosh!

An arm thick enough to make me suspect it belonged to a Troll shot up.

“Yes? Ask away.”

Tiger Giant Child Taishan opened his mouth with a stiff expression.

“Taishan. Understood nothing after jerky.”

“……”

“……”

Which bastard brought a kid into a no-kids zone?

I glared at Sama Pyo.

“Hey, guardian.”

“My apologies.”

Smack.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

Sama Pyo clamped a hand over Taishan’s mouth at once, then gave Ju Hwaran a small nod.

“My apologies.”

“…It’s all right.”

Her tone was calm, but she could not hide the lowered voice that accompanied it. Given the circumstances, it could not be helped.

No, it was only natural.

Even if it was a political marriage, they were engaged.

Maybe those big-nosed Hollywood bastards, supposedly as cool as ice magic, could shrug off something like that. But the Korea I’d lived in and Murim were both full of Confucian girls and Confucian boys.

It was awkward even for me to watch. How much worse must it have been for Ju Hwaran?

And I don’t even know what happened between them.

The thought left me feeling strange. Suddenly, the fabric against my skin irritated me, as if someone I couldn’t see were pricking me over and over with a tiny, thin needle.

“Captain?”

“Hm?”

Hyuk Mujin’s voice broke through my thoughts. I didn’t need to turn my head to know the others were staring at me.

I pulled myself together and tried to sound casual.

“All right. We’ll follow the plan we’ve discussed. Minimal supplies. As for how long we have…”

Ju Hwaran answered when I looked at her.

“Half a shichen.⁵ Even allowing extra time, that should be enough. We need to arrange the horses and carriages without attracting attention.”

“Where should we gather?”

“Hmm. What do you think, Great Hero Jin?”

This wasn’t a public mission. We had to move as quickly as possible, but discreetly too. To slip away from this crowded area unnoticed, we would first have to split up and choose a second meeting point.

“Mount Daebyeol. We’ll meet there.”

“Good idea.”

Ju Hwaran and the others nodded at the answer I had settled on after careful thought.