Chapter 26
“I know you’re hiding there like a rat, so come out now!”
“……”
“Don’t try anything funny. If you don’t come out right away, I’ll start cutting from the closest one!”
Goyangseon drew his sword from his waistband as if he wasn’t just making threats. As the clear metallic sound rang with a clang, the bushes flanking the path rustled. Soon, dozens of people who had been hiding within the greenery started springing out one by one, blocking the road. The porters and warriors visibly tensed up.
One of the bandits, who had drawn his weapon clumsily to face Goyangseon, who stood firm with his unsheathed sword, squinted his eyes at the caravan and then panicked.
“Uh, oh, chief, that’s the crest of the Hwasan Sect!”
“What? Hwasan? Why would the Hwasan Sect come here?”
“Damn! Who was on watch?”
The bandits, frightened by the Hwasan Sect’s reputation, started backing away, turning the place into chaos. Cho Yun looked through the bamboo hat at the bandits with narrowed eyes. His gaze fell upon the emaciated and filthy bodies, the tattered clothes made from poorly tanned animal hides, the decaying black teeth, and the rusted, broken weapons.
In contrast, the man who easily quelled the commotion among the bandits and walked out unflustered seemed to have lived a well-fed, prosperous life.
“What brings the esteemed Taoists of Hwasan to this remote mountain village, looking for scraps?”
“Are you the leader of this gang?”
“Hah, such a young punk speaks so curtly. Doesn’t Hwasan teach respect for elders?”
The burly man laughed heartily while stroking his unkempt beard.
Seeing the bandits quivering just by hearing the name Hwasan, Yumyungwoo, who had been standing behind Goyangseon with his hands behind his back, stepped forward with a triumphant look.
“The Green Forest doesn’t deserve respect. Why should the grand Hwasan Sect care about those who scrape by committing plunder in remote mountains? I don’t want to see such filth anymore. Clear the way.”
“Oh, of course, we must. After all, you’re disciples of the great Hwasan Sect.”
Something seemed a bit off.
From the moment that man—referred to as “chief”—appeared, Cho Yun had been frowning slightly under his bamboo hat. His thick eyebrows, sparse hair, the luxurious sword not typical of a bandit, and the white tiger hide draped over one shoulder—all matched a person in Cho Yun’s memory.
Why is he here?
Just as Cho Yun was wondering in dismay.
Smack!
A loud smack echoed, and Yumyungwoo’s head whipped around. A red handprint appeared on his cheek, and his lips burst open. The hair that had been neatly tied and adorned beautifully went wild in a single blow.
Only three people in that group saw what exactly had happened in that instant.
“…What, what the…?”
“Damn…!”
Yumyungwoo wiped the blood from his lips with a look of astonishment. Goyangseon’s face turned pale; it was clear that the attack had come from the man, but he hadn’t been able to see, let alone detect the attack that came from three chapters away.
With just one move, he realized the difference in their levels.
‘A master!’
And a considerable one. A different calibre of ultimate master compared to himself, who was between second and first-class.
Knowing he couldn’t win even if he fought, Goyangseon gritted his teeth and took his stance with his sword. The man chuckled slyly, turned around, and waved his hand.
“Be careful. The birds these days have gotten so dangerous that you might get slapped by a blind flap. Since we can’t fight the Hwasan Sect, we’ll clear the way for now. Let’s move, guys!”
“Chief!”
When the man turned his back, Goyangseon let out the breath he had been holding. Even without facing his full momentum, cold sweat trickled down. However, he felt lucky that a fight had been avoided.
At that moment.
“…You lowly bandit, how dare you!”
“No, Yu!”
The humiliated Yumyungwoo drew his sword and dashed at the man’s back, an action unimaginable for someone from a prestigious orthodox sect.
The feeling of embarrassment soon turned into shock.
“…! How, how!”
“Tsk, seems like Hwasan has seen better days. To think they’re raising such brats as disciples.”
Yumyungwoo’s sword was already firmly grasped in the bare hand of the man, who had somehow turned around. Without any noticeable exertion, he broke the sword, causing Yumyungwoo to stumble backward and fall flat on his back.
“My, my sword… My sword.”
“Yu! Come here!”
No matter how much Yumyungwoo ranted, he couldn’t regain his composure. Eventually, Goyangseon rushed in, grabbed Yumyungwoo by the neck, and dragged him back to their original position.
All this happened while the man simply pondered without anyone intervening. Cho Yun, who had a rough idea of what the man was thinking, slowly led the children back into the midst of the porters.
This is bad.
They were about to witness something the children shouldn’t see.
“Hmm… I shouldn’t kill, but it seems I could… Should I kill, or should I spare?”
The man murmured while clenching and unclenching his hand, causing Yumyungwoo to hide behind the caravan’s client, Nam Wijeong, in shock. Contrary to his apparent status as a merchant, Wijeong appeared calm and composed.
“…It seems Yu isn’t in a position to offer an apology, so let me apologize on his behalf. I’m sorry. We’ll be reprimanded when we return, so excuse us this one time.”
Once again, it was Goyangseon who spoke up. He sheathed his drawn sword and bowed his head respectfully. It was an evident display of politeness.
And from a distance, Cho Yun was secretly rooting for Goyangseon. He hoped the situation could be resolved peacefully without any bloodshed. After all, this kind of incident was not within what Cho Yun had anticipated.
However, things always seemed to go in the direction Cho Yun least desired.
“Hand over that trembling brat, and I’ll step aside willingly.”
“Gasp!”
“…Yu is a rightful member of the Hwasan Sect. Touching him wouldn’t be good for you.”
“Several people saw him stab someone who was merely walking away. If this gets out, your high-ranking folks at Hwasan will expel him themselves. Won’t they?”
“No way! Hwasan wouldn’t abandon me!”
“Then all of you will die here.”
The man chuckled, revealing his yellow teeth. Goyangseon, caught in a dilemma, started to sweat profusely.
At that moment, Wijeong, who had been merely observing, whispered to Goyangseon.
“⎯We may have a chance.”
“What?”
Goyangseon was startled and turned around. The man stood with his arms crossed, seemingly willing to wait until their discussion was over. Wijeong continued quickly in a low voice.
“The warrior next to me, Jo Musa, is a top-tier mercenary I brought at a great expense. If we combine his strength with that of the three Hwasan Sect members, don’t you think we have a chance?”
“But…”
“The porters will be protected by our guards, so you needn’t worry about anyone other than the chief bandit. If we sacrifice a Taoist from the Hwasan Sect here, we won’t be able to conduct business in Shaanxi Province anymore. In that case, we might as well die together.”
“…”
What a preposterous plan. Even if ten top-tier warriors attacked, it wouldn’t guarantee a victory against an ultimate master.
But it was also hard to dismiss Wijeong’s suggestion outright. If they handed over Yumyungwoo and survived, it would tarnish the Hwasan Sect’s reputation by selling out one of their fellow disciples.
The intense deliberation flickered in Goyangseon’s serious eyes. Eventually, he reached out to raise the seated Yumyungwoo and called forth Lee Yeon, who had been hiding behind. It seemed he had made up his mind.
For Cho Yun, who had been listening to the entire conversation, this was exasperating.
‘Why on earth is Nam Wijeong suddenly…!!!’
As he fought to keep his frustration in check, his mouth twitched. Cheon-oh, standing beside him, looked curiously into the bamboo hat. Cho Yun grabbed the child’s hand, led the siblings into the midst of the porters, and sent the same telepathic message to the three of them.
[When things go south…]
What should he do?
Tell them to fight? Tell them to close their eyes?
These children were more than capable of handling mere bandits. But could he really ask children aged fifteen, thirteen, and eleven to take up swords and fight?
Certainly, from a martial arts perspective, they were of the age where it could be expected, but Cho Yun was not an ordinary martial artist.
[Stay calm and maintain a cool head. Don’t act recklessly and stay close to me.]
In the end, it was a compromise. The armed bandits slowly spread out, encircling the caravan. It seemed the chief had vaguely guessed the content of their discussion.
Still unsure if this was the right decision, Cho Yun gathered the anxious porters tightly and glanced towards Goyangseon’s group.
As he was just timing his move, a telepathic message came through.
[Master, can’t you just take them down?]
“……”
It was a naive question from Cheon-oh. Cho Yun started to speak, then bit his lip.
‘Of course I can. But…’
It was hard to explain.
He had crushed the pride of a martial arts sect two decades ago, resulting in significant losses for this very caravan. And now, having finally resurfaced, entangling with the same person was frustrating. Plus, his conspicuous white hair, distinctive of his character, would make it easy to be identified once he removed the bamboo hat.
Moreover, he knew the chief bandit, Baek Ho-cheol, an underling of the corrupted parts of the Baek Hyeob Alliance, would soon spread rumors all over the central plains about Cheon-oh and his three disciples, turning the situation into a major hassle.
Stifling his thoughts and turbulent emotions without being able to resolve the child’s question or his own complicated thoughts.
Clang⎯!
The sound of a full-blown fight erupted not far away.
