Chapter 855

“Which son of a bitch set the fire?”

A low, weighty voice.

Hyuk Mujin swept the area with a gaze sharp as a blade, then shuddered with a gasp.

“Damn. Just thinking about that moment makes me feel like I’m going to piss myself! As expected of Great Hero Je—”

“Shut your mouth and sit down before I beat you so badly you piss and shit yourself.”

“Yes, sir.”

“That mouth of his never takes a break. Was he like this in Nanman, too?”

At Jeok Cheongang’s weary question, Ju Hwaran answered cautiously.

“Yes. Hyuk Mujin has always been like that.”

“I wish I had a muzzle for him. It’s enough to drive me mad that I can’t get one out here.”

Jeok Cheongang clicked his tongue and looked around, but no solution presented itself. They were traveling along a forest path surrounded by grass and trees.

They did encounter the occasional person, but what kind of lunatic would carry a muzzle fit for a human up a mountain?

“I have one. Would you like it?”

“…?”

There was such a lunatic.

And he was right beside him.

“Why on earth are you carrying something like that?”

At Jeok Cheongang’s bewildered question, Namho lowered his voice.

“Doesn’t everyone have at least one person they’d like to put a muzzle on?”

“…You’re quite something yourself.”

“Anyway, if you need it, just say the word. I won’t give it to you outright, of course. I’ll lend it to you for a little while. I need to use it myself as soon as I get the chance.”

Namho glanced meaningfully over his shoulder. Not far away, by a stream, Taishan was staring into the water, looking close to tears.

“Taishan can’t find it. Taishan needs old, smart Namho’s help.”

“Hm.”

No matter how much you disliked someone, you couldn’t spit in the face of a smile.

Namho had been ready to scold him the moment their eyes met, but his voice softened a little.

“I’m not sure I like that first part… Fine. What do you need help with?”

“Taishan is looking for meat, but can’t see any. Namho is smart, unlike Taishan.”

“You’ve said nothing but true things today. But what were you sitting there waiting to catch? Carp? Crucian carp?”

“Neither.”

“Then what?”

“Five-spice pork.”

“Fuck…!”

Namho snatched up a rock and charged at Taishan like a mad bison, but he didn’t get far.

At a glance from Jeok Cheongang, Sama Pyo and Song Ilseom appeared like streaks of light and seized his arms from either side.

“Let go! Let go of me! You brats are still wet behind the ears!”

“Calm down, Elder Namho.”

“We don’t want to do this either.”

“I’m going to count to three. It would be in your best interest to release this old man before something irreversible happens. Now. One, two, two and a half. Two and three-quarters…”

Namho never made it to three. As he was dragged into the undergrowth, Hyuk Mujin watched him go and murmured sadly,

“That’s a shame. I’d grown quite attached to him.”

“What are you talking about? Anyone listening would think we were actually going to kill him.”

“Wait, we aren’t? I thought Great Hero Jeok had already given the order.”

“…”

What kind of man did this idiot take him for?

Flustered by Jeok Cheongang’s blazing stare, Hyuk Mujin began to ramble.

“I mean, a few days ago, you cut down all those bandits. Every last one of them.”

“What am I, a butcher? ‘Cut them down’? And they weren’t all bandits. There were river pirates, too.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“They’re entirely different. Though that doesn’t change the fact that every one of them deserved to die.”

“Because they set the fire?”

“Of course… No. Because they harmed innocent people.”

Jeok Cheongang hurriedly corrected himself, but that only confirmed Hyuk Mujin’s suspicion.

It was because they set the fire. That’s why he killed them.

Strangely, of all the sins in the world, Jeok Cheongang considered arson the worst.

Perhaps that made sense. During the Great Faction War, he’d refused even Sword Saint Mae Jonghak’s request to join the orthodox faction. It was the Demonic Cult setting fires that had finally brought him out into the world.

The battle three days ago had been for exactly that reason.

Actually, it’s embarrassing to even call that a battle.

Hyuk Mujin revised his thought.

It hadn’t been a battle. It had been a massacre.

It was that one-sided, and that brutal.

Some three hundred bandits and river pirates had been wiped out in less than an hour.

Afterward, Hyuk Mujin and the others had left, barely listening to the trading company masters from Hubei thank them.

They’d taken the only merchant ship that had somehow survived the flames as payment for saving their lives.

Of course, they hadn’t asked for the other party’s consent. But anyway, that was what happened.

“Oh, come to think of it, those people must have reached Hubei by now, right?”

“Why are you suddenly changing the subject?”

“Those people. The ones we saved.”

“…Is that something a man who barely swung his sword a couple of times should say?”

“But I did swing it.”

The nerve of him.

Jeok Cheongang glared at Hyuk Mujin in disbelief, then shook his head.

From what he’d seen, every last member of the Fire Dragon Pavilion was out of his mind. If he thought too hard about them, the infirmities of old age he’d barely managed to cure might come back.

I suppose I should be grateful there’s at least one normal person among them.

Jeok Cheongang glanced to the side. There stood Ju Hwaran, the only person he could call sane in this madhouse.

The more I see her, the more I like her.

It had been seven days and nights since they’d left the Sichuan Tang Clan as though something were chasing them.

They’d traveled day and night, sticking to remote, rugged terrain to avoid attracting attention. Yet Ju Hwaran hadn’t complained once. She’d stayed cheerful throughout.

As the only woman in the group, she must have faced any number of difficulties.

She’s clearly kept up with her martial arts training, and her character is upright, too. The Escort King has himself one fine granddaughter.

Plenty of young people mistook recklessness for a virtue.

And not just street thugs. Even among the disciples of great sects hailed as young prodigies, fools were everywhere.

They relied on their natural talent instead of working hard, then strutted around trading on their sects’ prestige.

Jeok Cheongang had seen so many of them that he was sick of the type. It only made Ju Hwaran more admirable in his eyes.

Though he couldn’t claim he was entirely without an ulterior motive.

Even the ones swaggering around as Elders and Sect Leaders of the Nine Sects and One Gang now were a whole basket of no-good brats when they were young. Compared to them, Hwaran is more than Jin Taekyung deserves… No. What’s he lacking? He’s handsome, well-built, and there’s no need to mention his martial arts.

A fierce battle raged in his head.

He was already slurping noodle broth before anyone had even thought of offering him a rice cake¹ when a voice startled him out of it.

“Great Hero Jeok, are you all right?”

“Hm? What?”

“You looked troubled, so I was wondering…”

“Ah. Ahem.”

Jeok Cheongang had nearly answered without thinking. He hurriedly cleared his throat instead.

The girl wasn’t merely young enough to be his granddaughter. She was young enough to be his great-granddaughter. He didn’t want her catching him indulging an old man’s foolish notions.

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking about how far we have left to Jiangsu.”

“Oh. At our current pace, we’ll arrive within five days. Even if something delays us, I’d expect it to take about seven days.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I came through this area on an escort mission two years ago. I brought a map that’s been passed down from my grandfather’s time, too.”

“Ho. Impressive. Very impressive.”

“Thank you. But I’m not worthy of such high praise from you, Great Hero Jeok.”

They said she’d led the Escort Bureau for several years in place of her father, who had been bedridden until recently. Her answer was every bit as crisp as he’d expect.

Ju Hwaran seemed unsure what to do with the sudden praise, and Jeok Cheongang smiled fondly.

“You’ve thought everything through. So capable, unlike that brat.”

“Pardon? What do you mean…?”

“I was just talking to myself. Still, the more I hear you address me that way, the more stiff it sounds. From now on, you can just call me Grandpa—”

Jeok Cheongang glanced at Ju Hwaran and changed course.

Even he had to admit that Grandfather was too soon. Relationships had to begin slowly, one step at a time.

If he got ahead of himself and made Ju Hwaran wary, it would surely affect her relationship with his one and only Disciple, too.

“…No. Call me Old Master.”

“Really?”

The only people who called Jeok Cheongang that were those who had known his predecessors, or the heads of the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Families.

Ju Hwaran’s eyes widened at the unexpected offer. Hyuk Mujin, who’d been listening, broke into a broad smile and chimed in.

“Thank you, Old Master. I thought the same thing—that the way I address you is too stiff…”

“Would you rather be hit by this old man’s fist, which is harder than a rock, or keep your mouth shut?”

“…”

“You may not call me that. Don’t even dream of it.”

Jeok Cheongang fixed Hyuk Mujin with a fierce glare. He had never been more emphatic.

“Come on. Why are you picking on the poor kid?”

The voice came from far away, yet sounded as clear as if the speaker stood right before them.

But Jeok Cheongang had known who it was before he heard a word.

A faint footstep and the sound of breathing—too subtle for even a Peak master with deep internal energy to hear. That alone had told him.

It wouldn’t have mattered if he weren’t known as the Fire King, or if he weren’t a Supreme Peak master.

A master always knew his one and only disciple.

“Hmph. Look at that slowpoke.”

Jeok Cheongang frowned out of habit, hiding his delight as best he could. He made sure his voice was gruff, too—a far cry from how he’d spoken to Ju Hwaran.

“What took you so long? Why are you only crawling back now? I’ve been waiting half a day because of you.”

“Half a day?”

Hyuk Mujin rushed toward Jin Taekyung shouting, “Captain!” Taekyung kicked him hard in the shin and gave a disbelieving laugh.

“That’s a bit much. Half a day? It’s been half an hour at most. Right?”

The Divine Physician followed behind him, carrying a bundle stuffed with needles and medicinal herbs. He answered with composure.

“I’ll refrain from commenting, Young Hero Jin.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious? There’s no point answering when there’s no reasoning with him anyway…”

“Wow. So you’re not called the Divine Physician just for your medical skills. You’ve got insight, too.”

“You’re too kind. It’s simply something anyone would learn from experience.”

“…What the fuck is wrong with you two?”

Jeok Cheongang eyed them both. Instead of laying into them, he clicked his tongue.

One way or another, that rude young brat was his one and only Disciple, whom he couldn’t bring himself to hate. And the old man right beside him was a physician who’d agreed to travel a long way to treat that young brat.

What more could he say?

All he could do was pretend nothing was wrong, hide his worry, and ask this:

How are you feeling?

Jin Taekyung heard Jeok Cheongang’s Sound Transmission and gave a quiet laugh as he nodded.

Jeok Cheongang couldn’t tell whether Taekyung truly felt all right or was only pretending. But if what the Divine Physician had said earlier was true, there had to have been at least some improvement.

He’s all right for now. I don’t know when he’ll hit a wall, but… I’ll do everything I can to find a way.

Noticing Jeok Cheongang had fallen silent, Jin Taekyung gave a faint, rueful smile. He stretched his stiff body and spoke.

“How much farther? Three days? Four?”

Ju Hwaran answered as though she’d been waiting for him to ask.

“About three days.”

“Three days… There’s still time before the first of the month, but it’s going to be close.”

Jin Taekyung looked somewhere to the east.

“Let’s cut that down to two days.”