Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Facial Telepathy
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Clop-clop.
Clop-clop.
Silent Wolf had brought two horses, just like last time.
One for him and one for me.
But I was riding a horse from our village.
It ran beautifully.
The phrase "cuts through the wind" seemed made for the horse I was on right now.
Silent Wolf whipped his mount desperately to keep up beside me, stealing envious glances every so often.
And finally...
"You've become a first-rate rogue, and it looks like you picked up a fine horse in the meantime?"
In truth, I was holding back, moderating my speed.
Suppressing the full gallop instinct of the horse beneath me as much as possible.
Meanwhile, Silent Wolf was constantly urging his own horse on with cries of "Hyah! Hyah!" just barely managing to match my pace.
No wonder he was jealous.
"Do I look like I have the money to buy a horse? A while back, wild horses rampaged through the village fields and ruined them all. Our neighbor caught this one by sheer luck."
"Whoa! Even at a glance, that looks like a top-notch horse... What incredible luck."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Haha!"
I'd left O Makeong, Wang Dal, and the Yin-Yang Monk back at my place.
I'd even told them they could stay a few days if they wanted.
As long as they didn't dig up the ground under the persimmon tree.
This commission wasn't a summons from Wi Yeon or Yi Boreong.
It was from the Three Absolutes Martial Rogue, Ha Jeokhan.
The pay was good, sure, but I also wanted to test myself against the three ultimate techniques of the latter clauses.
More than that, though, you couldn't refuse a summons from Ha Jeokhan.
You shouldn't refuse.
He was the leader of the Western Rogue Market in Chang'an—like a grand patriarch.
"Truth be told, the group to purge the Lowborn Bandits was already assembled, and we should've mobilized long ago."
"And?"
"But Hero Wi Yeon and Lady Yi Boreong strongly recommended you to Hero Ha Jeokhan."
"Ah! So everyone's waiting right now because of me?"
"Yes. But don't feel too burdened. Setting out sooner doesn't mean we'll spot the Lowborn Bandits any faster."
"Ah... Got it."
Still felt burdensome.
I wanted to ride faster, but Silent Wolf's horse couldn't keep up, so I maintained the same speed we'd been going.
The outskirts of western Chang'an.
There, the Western Rogue Market's force to purge the Lowborn Bandits had gathered.
All of them waiting for me.
As Silent Wolf and I rode up, every eye turned our way.
Three special-grade rogues.
Eleven first-rate rogues.
Thirty-four second-rate rogues.
No third-rates in sight.
Even so, this had to be half the Western Rogue Market's total strength.
Special-grades were that rare.
I dismounted immediately upon arrival.
Ha Jeokhan was someone I'd never exchanged words with, only seen from afar.
I strode up to him and gave a crisp salute with clasped hands.
"I'm Jin Muhyeon!"
No reply.
He just looked at me for a moment and nodded—that was it.
And then...
"We move out!"
"Yes, sir!"
At his command, our group spurred their horses into full gallop.
Thanks to that, I could only manage a quick nod with Wi Yeon and Yi Boreong.
Clop-clop.
Clop-clop.
-Have you heard the rough details of the commission from Silent Wolf?-
Yi Boreong sent me a telepathic message as we rode.
A bit awkward, but I still didn't know how to do telepathy.
The 32 Rogue Arts' latter clauses didn't mention sound transmission either.
No master to teach me.
Anyway, it was embarrassing.
A first-rate rogue who couldn't even telepath.
I needed to learn soon somehow.
-You still can't do telepathy?-
I nodded with a pitiful expression.
Yi Boreong looked baffled.
I dialed up the pitifulness even more.
This was my one-of-a-kind method.
Rivaling transmiting sound over 1000 miles, Earthen Ki Resonance, Six Harmonies Voice, Insight Heart Whisper...
Facial Telepathy.
-You should learn it quick. Even outside commissions, sound transmission gets used a ton in the martial world.
I nodded vigorously with a determined face.
-Chang'an's martial folk are in an uproar over the Azure Heaven Sword Lord's visit. The Hundred-Li Clan was especially frantic. They even assigned the Hundred-Li Sword Cavalry to their young master, Baek Ri-gyeongjun, to purge the Lowborn Bandits.
I nodded intently, face focused.
-That's not all. Top rogues from our Western Rogue Market, plus the Eastern, Northern, and Southern markets, are all out hunting Lowborn Bandits right now. We're handling the villages west of Chang'an. If they show up elsewhere, we can't touch them. That's the agreement Hero Ha Jeokhan made with the other market leaders.
My face said: 'So whether we purge them or not is pure luck, huh?'
Yi Boreong seemed to read my Facial Telepathy perfectly.
-We can only hope they hit the western villages. The payout is massive, and market pride's on the line too. We've mobilized around three hundred third-rates. They're already hiding out in villages everywhere, keeping watch. If Lowborn Bandits show, they'll light a signal fire to alert us.
Yi Boreong briefed me on key details as we traveled.
"Halt!"
Ha Jeokhan, leading the way, reined in his horse.
We were at the entrance to Gye-ryeong Village, the largest in western Chang'an.
He issued orders at once.
"Split into three teams. Wi Yeon, take the north. Yi Boreong, take the south. I'll handle the Gye-ryeong area."
Luckily, I was on Yi Boreong's team.
Our team.
One special-grade rogue: Yi Boreong.
Three first-rates, including me.
Twelve second-rates.
We raced south from Gye-ryeong Village.
We left the horses there and moved stealthily.
Ah!
It felt grimy.
Third day without washing, holed up in dense underbrush at the mountain base.
Well, this was rogue life.
Still didn't get used to it.
I wanted a bath, fresh clothes, hot soup instead of dried meat.
No sign of the Lowborn Bandits after three days.
No recall order, so probably nowhere else either.
When would they show?
Why the Lowborn Bandits could raze villages around Chang'an without getting caught.
Not because they were experts.
It was their ghostly escape skills.
So we stayed hidden, immobile...
-Hey, Jin Muhyeon. Your turn.
Veteran first-rate Hand-seop signaled the shift change.
Watching for signal fires.
Shift time anyway.
I quietly took up the watch position.
Ah!
Mountains are mountains, waters are waters.
Villages looked so peaceful, no matter how many times I scanned.
No signal fires, not even a wisp from village thatch chimneys... Huh?
Signal fire.
Whoosh!
I shot my hand up.
Yi Boreong and the others rushed to my position.
And soon.
Yi Boreong sent a group telepathic command.
Everyone nodded firmly, faces resolute.
Everyone nodded big again.
Then we moved out.
Yi Boreong naturally took point, and regrettably, I brought up the rear.
"Kuaaaagh!"
"Ugh! Spare me!"
"Kyaaagh!"
The village was called Many-Tea Village for its tea production.
By the time we closed in...
Their plundering, arson, assaults, murders, and rapes had already begun.
We reached the village entrance.
"Cut them all down!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Yi Boreong was already swinging her sword at the Lowborn Bandit horde, issuing the command.
The rest of us rogues plunged into their midst.
Swoosh!
Slash!
Slash! Slash!
Clang-clang!
Swish-swish-swish!
Slash-slash-slash-slash-slash!
"Argh! It's the purge squad! Run, everyone!"
"Run! Kyaak!"
"Everyone run! Run... urk!"
The Lowborn Bandits numbered over two hundred.
But they were all riffraff.
A few seemed decent with blades, but against our special, first, and second-rates? Impossible.
Before they even shouted to flee, we'd already cut down over forty.
Then their full retreat began.
Scattering every which way—east, west, south, north.
In the chaos, we sliced down another thirty or so.
"Scatter and pursue! Don't let a single one escape!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
We followed the plan Yi Boreong and the veterans had devised over three days.
I chased eleven in my direction at full speed.
Ah!
My speed, my movement technique.
Monstrous.
The eleven fled one way, then split into four directions.
I beheaded the six in two of those groups.
Now wheeling to pursue the remaining five.
I could see them.
They'd gotten far ahead, but my ridiculous speed closed the gap fast.
"Scatter!"
The leader shouted, and the four behind split into four directions again.
Smart plan, in theory.
But only against someone it worked on.
Swoooosh!
Slash! Slash!
I took the heads of the two fleeing right.
Then pivoted sharply, chasing the two going opposite.
But these guys.
They had some martial arts training.
Already far off... Nah, doesn't work on me.
Swoooosh!
Slash! Slash!
The last two heads fell.
I didn't pause, unleashing my movement technique at full power again.
Apart from running fast, I hadn't even broken a sweat.
Inner energy still brimming.
But.
Huh?
This bastard... where'd he go?
I lost him.
Truth be told, I'd been hoping.
The five I'd chased to the end.
This one was different—decently trained, unlike the rest.
From the start, he'd only cared for his own skin, ruthlessly ordering others to bait.
And they obeyed him absolutely.
So maybe...
Maybe he was the Lowborn Heavenly King, their boss.
That's why I'd chased so fiercely.
Ah!
Can't see him.
Five nyang gold tael on his head... such a waste.
Too bad... Wait!
I spotted traces of his flight.
Full sprint again.
No wonder he was an escape expert—clever route change.
Tracks leading over that ridge.
Tatata-tat!
Swoosh!
Slash!
I flew over the ridge at insane speed.
Leaped high at the peak, crested it, landed beyond the ridgeline... lin... e... Ack!!
"Come any closer, and this wench dies!"
Why was a woman—alone, no less—in these deep mountain wilds?
Washing her feet in the valley stream or something?
"I said I'll kill her! Back off! Get back, I said!"
The bandit menaced me, blade to her throat.
What to do?
Five nyang gold...
But this woman.
Why wasn't she screaming?
She had to be shocked and terrified.