The Ashes of Green Forest Fortress
The morning after the tragedy dawned bright and clear. Chief Jeong had come all the way out past the main gate to see us off, which made the situation feel rather burdensome.
“Chief Jeong, we’ll be on our way now.”
“Aigoo, leaving so soon… It truly pains me. Please convey my gratitude to the sect leader for everything.”
“Of course.”
It was formal, but my senior brother exchanged proper farewells with Chief Jeong. After that, the main gate swung wide open. And so, the three of us—me, Mu Yeong, and Yoo Seong-ho—set out on the road.
Step. Step.
Not long after we began walking, Mu Yeong spoke up casually.
“By the way, we marched out all bold and confident, but where exactly are my junior brother and I supposed to link up with the others?”
“…Right?”
Yoo Seong-ho answered with a question of his own, sounding so bewildered that it felt almost surreal.
I turned to him. “Wait, Yoo Seong-ho. If even you don’t know, then who the hell is supposed to?”
“Uh, well… Now that I think about it, heading straight into territory where the Jongnam Sect’s forces are gathering would be pretty reckless.”
“……”
He wasn’t wrong. Just as he said, if the two of us—senior disciple and second disciple of Mount Hua, the arch-rivals of the Jongnam Sect—joined their ranks, the backlash and internal conflict would be beyond words.
In fact, Yoo Seong-ho himself was a rare case, being a Jongnam disciple yet remaining close to us. Knowing that, neither I nor my senior brother could really blame him.
“Hmm, what should we do? It’s not like I can just go back to my sect alone.”
“……”
Mu Yeong fell silent. It seemed even he agreed that splitting up here wasn’t ideal.
When my senior brother furrowed his brow, clearly deep in thought, I let out a long sigh and offered a suggestion.
“I have a good idea.”
“…What?”
“Among my acquaintances, there’s someone who knows the geography and situation around Unhaeng Mountain like the back of his hand.”
“Ooh…!”
“If we go see him, I’m sure we can figure something out. I’ve never met anyone so well-versed in the region of Unhaeng Mountain.”
“You really managed to secure an informant like that,” Mu Yeong said with a short, impressed whistle. Beside him, Yoo Seong-ho nodded in agreement.
I watched their reactions for a moment, then swallowed dryly and began leading the way.
I’ve been to Unhaeng Mountain once before, so I remember the path well enough.
It took us a full half-day to reach the vicinity of Unhaeng Mountain. Since both my senior brother and I, as well as Yoo Seong-ho, were martial artists with considerable skill in light footwork, traveling nonstop to Unhaeng Mountain wasn’t particularly difficult.
Tap. Tap.
We continued leaping from ground to air, brushing past the endless tree trunks that covered the mountain. Just then—
“We should be almost there, right?”
“…I think so.”
When Mu Yeong asked, I couldn’t answer with any certainty. The reason was simple: the complete absence of any human presence felt strangely ominous.
Normally, by the time you get this close to the Green Forest Fortress where the chief lives, you’d sense the presence of his bandit subordinates.
I tilted my head in confusion. The last time I’d used the chief’s knowledge was when I was searching for the location of the Heavenly Dullard and the hidden grounds of the Heavenly Sword Gate. As I’d said before, he was so familiar with the local geography that he could be called the greatest living encyclopedia of Unhaeng Mountain.
That was why I’d planned to meet the chief with Mu Yeong and Yoo Seong-ho to ask about the whereabouts of the Demonic Cult experts. But now that the chief seemed to have vanished, we’d clearly need to revise our plans.
Just as I was pondering this—
I smell something burning.
Hmm… Something must have happened.
After hearing the sound transmissions from Yoo Seong-ho and Mu Yeong, I gave a single nod and leaped high into the air from the forest, heading straight for the mountain fortress where the chief resided.
Whoosh—
In an instant, I soared more than ten zhang into the air, high enough to overlook the entire fortress in one glance. From that height, I couldn’t help but notice something was terribly wrong.
“What the…?”
I muttered in shock. The area where the fortress once stood had been reduced to nothing but ashes, as if a hellish inferno had swept through. There wasn’t a single trace of life. No presence of any living being could be felt.
After observing the scene from above, I descended back into the forest where my companions waited.
“We should head into the fortress and search for any remaining signs of life.”
Whoosh—
A heavy rush of wind swept past our ears. Without even having time to marvel at the height of the light footwork I’d just displayed, Yoo Seong-ho and Mu Yeong began racing toward the fortress alongside me.
Tap-tap-tap—
Once we entered the fortress, we were forced to witness a sight that defied belief.
“…It’s a living hell.”
“……”
Mu Yeong spoke with a hint of despair, while Yoo Seong-ho stood beside him, seemingly lost in thought. Unlike the two of them, I continued searching for any lingering presence within the fortress. Finally, I detected a faint sign of someone still alive.
He’s barely clinging to life.
Swish—
I spun around so quickly that both Yoo Seong-ho and Mu Yeong turned to look at me, then hurried toward the source.
Step. Step.
After a brief search of the area, I discovered someone buried beneath a pile of ashes that looked worse than an abandoned ruin.
“…Chief?”
“……”
There was indeed a living human among the ashes. It was a large, burly man with half-closed eyes, still silent. I felt a familiar presence from him. Though he looked somewhat gaunt now, there was no doubt—this was the chief of the Green Forest Fortress.
“Chief. What on earth happened that you’re lying here catching the cold wind like this?”
“Ugh…”
Only then did he seem to notice my presence. The chief let out a groan and slowly opened his half-lidded eyes. I clicked my tongue and swept away the ashes covering him with a single motion.
Whoosh—
Using a bit of inner energy to roughly dig through the ground sent clouds of dust flying in every direction.
“Cough, cough.”
“Are you alright?”
“Ugh… Does this look alright to you?”
The chief spoke with a bitter expression. I scratched the side of my head with my index finger. After helping him up and pulling him free from the ashes of the ruined fortress, the chief, still wearing a gloomy face, spoke to me.
“First, thank you. To be rescued like this… It must be heaven’s will.”
“Mm.”
“By the way, what brings you all the way out here?”
“Well…”
It was a long story. Thinking that, I gave an awkward smile and answered.
“Do you remember the boy from a few years ago who was looking for a cave full of yin energy?”
“…A cave?”
“Back then, I even left you with a considerable sum of silver to have your men search for it. I’m sure you remember.”
“Ah, aah. That boy looking for a valley overflowing with yin energy… Could it be?”
The chief, who had been hanging his head weakly, suddenly whipped his head around to stare at me. His gaze felt a bit burdensome, so I handed him off to Yoo Seong-ho, who had been watching the chief’s body with curious eyes.
Swish—
Suddenly finding himself supporting the chief, Yoo Seong-ho asked me, “Wait… Isn’t this the little brat who, after fighting me over something or other, made me search for some weird place?”
“You remember well. That’s right.”
“How did you end up coming all the way here?”
When I asked that, the chief—who had been looking at me with interest—once again wore a pained expression and spoke.
“…Not long ago, highly skilled experts from the Demonic Cult attacked us.”
“……!”
“They seemed to be searching for something. They came to me with questions, but when I couldn’t answer, they immediately raided the fortress. They plundered every valuable item and took all the women.”
“They’re complete bandits.”
“Anyway, that’s how it went. All my subordinates except me were either killed or captured. I was lucky enough to escape the massacre by burying myself in the ashes and holding my breath for several days.”
“Mm.”
“Whatever the reason you came looking for me, if you’re here hoping to get something out of me, you should give up. I’m so exhausted I feel like killing myself right here.”
“……”
At the chief’s gloomy words, Mu Yeong, Yoo Seong-ho, and I fell silent for a moment. But soon after, Mu Yeong asked him a question.
“Do you know the route or direction those Demonic Cult experts took after attacking the fortress?”
“…What?”
“We came all the way here to crush those Demonic Cult bastards in the first place. Shouldn’t we make those shameless dogs reap what they’ve sown?”
“……!”