Chronicles of the Northern Heavens Chapter 113 - The Identity of the Bandits
“What do you mean? Taoists?”
“The ones we saw at the inn.”
“...Pardon?”
Yuksoon’s eyes widened like saucers. Their outfits and faces were worlds apart from those Taoists at the inn.
Yeon-hoo furrowed his brow.
“You’ve been slacking on your training. Your focus is clearly slipping.”
“...”
“You can cover your face with a mask, swap clothes in a heartbeat. But weapons? Not so easy. Your life hangs on them.”
“...I didn’t get a look at their swords back at the inn. That said, Wudang Sect Taoists have a reputation for righteousness. Why would they stoop to banditry?”
Yeon-hoo shared the same doubt.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh!
A chilling surge of energy hurtled in from right behind them.
Yeon-hoo merely twisted his waist, deflecting the incoming strike before thrusting his right hand into the void.
Thud!
“Guh!”
Crunch!
Bones shattered as his attacker tumbled to the ground.
Splat!
Yeon-hoo called out calmly toward the woods.
“Hey. We’ve got nothing to do with the Golden Merchant Group. Don’t waste your effort on us—head over there.”
Did his words get through? Or had they felt fear from that single exchange? Either way, the presences beyond the trees swiftly shifted toward the carriages.
“Shouldn’t helping the Golden Merchant Group here make selling those gems easier later?”
“Rescues shine brightest in the nick of time. Let’s wait a bit more.”
“Ah, yes, sir.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
Screams erupted from the lead carriage in rapid succession. Two Golden Merchant Group warriors sprayed blood as they collapsed, while one bandit met a gruesome end—his upper and lower body cleaved apart by a swordsman in azure robes.
Kaboom!
A second carriage exploded in a pillar of flame. Several Golden Merchant Group warriors were flung skyward, engulfed in fire, just as the azure-robed swordsman leaped into the woods.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“Argh!”
“Nngh!”
Flashes lit the forest amid a chorus of screams.
That was when it happened.
With the azure-robed man gone, bandits burst from the woods on the right. They mercilessly assaulted the Golden Merchant Group warriors, who had formed a defensive line. What seemed an ironclad formation cracked in moments, leading straight to death.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Kaaagh!”
“Argh!”
The tide turned in the bandits’ favor in the blink of an eye. The absence of the azure-robed swordsman had sealed it.
“Now seems like the perfect moment.”
“Wait a little longer.”
Flash!
A single burst of sword energy from the left woods severed a bandit’s head. The azure-robed swordsman emerged, eyes blazing with killing intent laced thick with bewilderment.
As he stepped forward, the bandits halted their assault and retreated to the ridgeline behind the woods.
Whoosh!
The second carriage, wreathed in flames, toppled with a roar. Fire leaped to the azure-robed man’s robes, but he ignored it, glaring fiercely at the bandits.
“Now I see. It’s not the cargo you’re after—you want something else.”
“The cargo? We couldn’t care less.”
“Then what do you want?!”
“The Golden Merchant Group’s downfall.”
“...What?”
“Your ugly true faces will soon be laid bare for all the world. When that happens, you’ll walk the path to ruin on your own.”
“You fools. Do you even know what we’ve done for the nearby cities? And you spout this nonsense?”
“Handing out rice and coin to the poor, building bridges, even inns like this for travelers. But that doesn’t cover up the heinous crime of child trafficking—the outrage against humanity.”
Tremble...
The azure-robed man’s face twisted in a way unlike before. Yeon-hoo’s gaze naturally shifted to the bandit who’d dropped the bombshell.
It was the kind of claim no one could believe, even hearing it clear as day. The Golden Merchant Group, with wealth rivaling a nation, accumulating it through that? Absurd.
That was when it happened.
The bandits vanished into the woods as one. The azure-robed man barked orders not to pursue, ending the bloody clash.
Yeon-hoo stared at him. Their eyes met across the distance, locking in the air.
In that instant, Yeon-hoo saw it: the thick, viscous killing intent pooling in the man’s pupils.
‘He’ll kill us to bury the secret... So that bandit’s claim was true.’
If not, there’d be no reason for a massacre.
Something feels off about how this is heading... What do we do? Fighting here could screw up selling the Dragon’s Eye Stones.
“I quite like silencing witnesses myself.”
“...Pardon?”
“We were never here.”
“Ah... Yes, sir.”
Yuksoon’s saucer eyes narrowed as he grasped Yeon-hoo’s intent. He subtly raised the hand resting on his sword hilt, mimicking a casual wave through the air.
At the same moment, the azure-robed man charged.
Boom!
Dust erupted where he’d stood, and in the span of a single blink, a sword gleaming with blue energy hovered before Yeon-hoo’s eyes.
Their gazes locked once more in that split second.
“You heard what you shouldn’t have. Don’t blame me.”
Yeon-hoo smirked.
“You picked the wrong opponent.”
His right hand swept past the azure-robed man’s blade.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Flesh and bone clashed against sword energy in a shower of sparks and eerie metallic shrieks.
In that instant, the azure-robed man’s eyes bulged wide.
Thud!
“Gack!”
Yeon-hoo’s hand clamped around his throat.
Crunch!
The man’s eyes bulged out with a gush of blood.
“Pick your foes wisely before drawing that sword. Right?”
Splat!
“Krrgh!”
“Guh!”
As the azure-robed man crumpled lifelessly, the surviving Golden Merchant Group warriors clutched their throats, staggering. One by one, they collapsed, and soon not a soul stood on their own two feet.
Yuksoon’s poison arts were that terrifying.
“Didn’t bring it for this...”
Yuksoon muttered, face twisted in annoyance. That poison was among the deadliest—reserved for foes far stronger than these Golden Merchant Group warriors.
To him, it felt like butchering a chicken with a cattle knife.
“How long you gonna lurk and watch?”
“Pardon?”
Yuksoon glanced at Yeon-hoo, then shifted to the left woods—where Yeon-hoo stared.
Rustle.
Two bandits emerged from the brush.
“Who... who are you?”
“Just travelers passing by.”
“You killed them without even knowing who they were?”
“Who doesn’t recognize the Golden Merchant Group banner under heaven?”
“...”
“Playing vigilantes is fine, but if you’re disguising yourselves, do it right. What if we’d been your Wudang foes?”
The bandits flinched, drawing their swords with a shing!
“If you heard me earlier, sheath those blades. I hate swords drawn in my presence.”
With that, Yeon-hoo mounted his horse. Yuksoon followed suit.
The bandits stood frozen, swords half-drawn, staring helplessly.
As he passed, Yeon-hoo tossed over his shoulder indifferently.
“We saw nothing. Neither did you.”
Towering thirty-zhang walls. Beyond them, massive halls and even taller watchtowers pierced the sky.
“Unbelievable. Just... unbelievable.”
Yuksoon shook his head at the Golden Merchant Group’s headquarters—so vast it bordered on absurd.
Even Yeon-hoo was stunned. He’d heard the rumors, but never imagined this scale.
“These bastards kidnapping kids for trafficking? Makes my blood boil. Can you believe... Huh?”
Mid-sentence, Yuksoon whipped his horse around. Yeon-hoo’s mount trotted ahead without him.
“Where to, sir?”
“Find lodgings first.”
“Not heading straight in?”
“We’ll learn more about the Golden Merchant Group before entering.”
“...Understood. I’ll secure an inn.”
No need to go far. A massive market rivaling a city sprawled nearby, lined with inns along the roads. Throngs of people bustled about—merchants from the west, natives, every race mingled freely.
“Now I get why they call this the center of the world. Whoa! Check out that western woman. Those... Aiyoo.”
Snap!
A flick of energy smacked Yuksoon’s head.
“Find us an inn.”
“Yes, sir!”
Yeon-hoo trailed slowly behind the dashing Yuksoon, scanning the surroundings. The diversity surprised him, but the endless caravan queue toward the main gate was truly awe-inspiring.
If anything could rival the White Night Cartel, it was the Golden Merchant Group. No one knew the true might born of their colossal wealth. Rumors persisted that if they entered the martial world, they’d seize the White Night Cartel and establish a two-pole hegemony overnight.
Word had it they harbored experts from the western lands, India, even across the sea from Dongyeong—thousands at minimum. Unverified, but plausible for them.
‘The kingdom of money ghosts...’
Yeon-hoo tamped down the ambition budding deep in his chest and strode into the market’s heart.
About thirty zhang in, Yuksoon waved from ahead.
Yeon-hoo eyed the sign above him: a seven-story inn. No—two identical ones side by side.
Twin Dragon Tower.
True to its name, a soaring dragon carving crested the roof, reaching for the heavens.
‘This should get interesting.’