Chapter 271
Chapter 271
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 271
Chapter Title: The Reluctant Bandit
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Jang Bongtae was born in a remote mountain village, a place of no particular note, and never received a proper education.
Even so, he lived a life free of shame, diligently farming his small plot of land.
He couldn't always eat his fill, but his poverty never dragged him into true misery. With his modest means, he was the generous sort who would step forward from time to time to share food with his neighbors.
The village head took a liking to him and introduced his daughter. They married, and he enjoyed a happy life.
But all that everyday bliss faded in an instant.
Sudden raiders from the nearby mountains turned his world upside down.
Having set up base in the hills, they toyed with the villagers' lives for sport, seizing most of the harvest and squeezing the village to its breaking point.
Terrified, the villagers wanted to report them, but the orthodox sects were distant while fists were close at hand.
The bandits posted watchers in the village, ensuring no one could seek outside help.
In the end, driven to the brink of starvation by the bandits' extortion, they hatched one final plan.
And that plan was this.
—For the village's survival, I'm afraid you'll have to turn bandit yourself. I beg you.
It was the village head himself—his father-in-law—who made the request.
Naturally, Jang Bongtae knew nothing of martial arts.
Yet he was still young, strong from years of farming since childhood, and bore a rugged appearance.
In the end, he was the best man the village could put forward.
Paradoxically, the bandits' pillaging had forced him into banditry.
With the entire village's hopes riding on his shoulders, Jang Bongtae was filled with worry but stepped forward out of a heavy sense of duty.
'What should I carry?'
Even choosing a weapon—the basics of banditry—was a problem.
The village had no swords or spears, of course.
A sickle felt too pathetic, so after much deliberation, he tucked a single rusty kitchen knife into his bosom and set out.
Evading the eyes of the bandit watcher stationed in the village, he pretended to gather firewood and dashed toward a mountain path on the opposite side from the bandits' lair.
'Now what?'
Out on the path at last, Jang Bongtae had no idea how banditry actually worked.
So he decided to block the middle of the path and threaten anyone who passed by.
And that was his mistake.
Most bandits operated on the principle of preying on the weak.
Weak against the strong and strong against the weak, they paid special attention to gauging an opponent's level of cultivation.
They didn't reveal themselves on the path right away. Instead, they hid nearby, sized up their target, and then struck.
But oblivious to all this, Jang Bongtae committed to blocking the path from the start and accosting whoever came, strong or weak.
In a way, he was the most unlucky soul under heaven.
The very first people he ran into after deciding on banditry were the Heavenly Demon and the Sword Venerable.
Yet unaware of this, he mustered his courage and gave it a try.
"Capture me."
"...?"
His head went blank at the response.
'What? Is this how banditry works?'
With no experience as a bandit, Jang Bongtae struggled to make sense of the situation.
And before he could think further.
Step. Step.
The man ahead approached him as if inviting capture.
"Eek...!"
Seeing the man's impassive face drawing near, Jang Bongtae couldn't help letting out a whimper.
How had things come to this?
As the man closed in, Jang Bongtae ran through countless thoughts in a flash and reached a decision.
"Argh!"
Whirling around, he fled backward while shouting at Hyeok Mulin.
"Don't throw your life away so easily! And watch out—more bandits prowl nearby!"
Even in retreat, he worried for Hyeok Mulin and Cheon Su-myeong's safety. A clumsy bandit indeed.
Hyeok Mulin halted, gazing steadily at the man's retreating figure. Cheon Su-myeong stepped up beside him.
"I never knew you had such a merciful side."
The bandit clearly had no clue who he was facing, yet he'd shoved that kitchen knife right in the Heavenly Demon's face.
An immature fellow driven to banditry by hardship, no doubt. The situation called for exterminating him on the spot.
Yet Hyeok Mulin had chosen mercy.
"We haven't set foot in the Central Plains yet. Aren't these folk much like our cult followers?"
Still eyeing the spot where the man had vanished, Hyeok Mulin continued.
"The cult leader is one who listens to the hardships of the faithful."
Precisely because he was the Heavenly Demon, he spared the man.
Such a mindset was utterly incomprehensible to Cheon Su-myeong, who was no cult leader.
Cheon Su-myeong said nothing.
They stood in silence for a moment before resuming their journey.
While traversing the rugged mountains, Hyeok Mulin suddenly halted.
Standing there, he gazed ahead, then concealed all traces of his energy and strolled leisurely along the path.
Cheon Su-myeong followed wordlessly.
Soon, grim-faced men appeared ahead, blocking their way.
"Heh heh heh, how long's it been since we saw travelers?"
"Of all paths, they pick this one."
"What rotten luck."
Snickering at Hyeok Mulin and Cheon Su-myeong, these were genuine bandits, unlike the clumsy fellow from before.
True bandits who cultivated martial arts, exuded killing intent, and knew how to intimidate foes.
Sensing no inner energy from Hyeok Mulin and Cheon Su-myeong, they discussed how to deal with them.
At that moment, Hyeok Mulin spoke up.
"Do you operate around here?"
"Yeah, what's it to you?"
He knew their method firsthand: hiding along paths to rob passersby.
So then.
"Do you raid nearby villages too?"
"What kinda stupid question is that? You think we can survive skinning the rare traveler who comes by like beans in a drought?"
"I see."
Hyeok Mulin nodded at their answer.
As the bandits looked puzzled, Cheon Su-myeong murmured beside him.
"Didn't you just say you're here to hear the woes of the faithful?"
"These aren't faithful. They're the culprits causing our faithful to suffer. So they don't count."
"Ho. So that's how it works."
The Sword Venerable nodded in understanding.
Moments later, Hyeok Mulin posed his final question.
"Where's your lair?"
"Our lair?"
The bandits exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
They sneered mockingly.
"What, you gonna do with that info?"
"Gonna fetch escorts later for revenge?"
"Dream on. We weren't planning to let you live anyw—"
Shing—
The last man's words never finished.
His head hit the ground first.
"...Huh?"
The remaining two bandits' eyes darted to the severed head on the dirt.
Slowly lifting their gazes, they saw the old man had drawn his sword without them noticing.
Their eyes trembled. Their shoulders shook. Their whole bodies quivered.
And then, without a word.
"Gaaah!"
"Run!"
Shoving at each other, they fled.
The one who fell behind tumbled flat, glaring up resentfully.
But his companion abandoned him without hesitation and bolted away.
"You trash bastard!"
Step. Step.
Cheon Su-myeong reached the fallen man.
As the bandit looked back, trembling.
Slash.
A red line traced across his neck.
Only one bandit remained, but he'd focused solely on fleeing from the start, already putting over fifty jang between them.
Glancing back, he gauged the distance to the old man and relaxed.
'This far, they can't catch up.'
Just ordinary travelers, he'd thought. Who knew they hid such skill?
He'd sacrificed his comrades to survive, but as long as he lived, that was enough.
He'd made it.
The thought dominated his mind.
Right up until his head hit the ground, never realizing he'd died.
As the Sword Venerable sheathed his blade after sweeping away the bandits with ease, Hyeok Mulin spoke.
"Didn't expect you to move first."
"Listening to them irritated me."
With that, they dashed off together.
Spreading their senses across the mountains, they located a gathering of martial artists and headed straight there.
"Wh-who the hell are you...?"
Before the bandits could even hear their story, the Sword Venerable drew his sword.
Just once.
A single horizontal sweep.
Shiiiing—
The lair split clean in half lengthwise. Every bandit inside was bisected at the waist.
Thus, the bandits who had ruled the area met a pathetic end, wiped out in one stroke.
The Sword Venerable sheathed his sword without a change in expression and returned to Hyeok Mulin.
Gazing at the blood-soaked lair, sliced perfectly without a single flaw, Hyeok Mulin indifferently shifted his eyes away.
"Let's get going again."
"Right."
Before leaving Sin Gang Province, Cheon Su-myeong had left this final mark. He himself didn't know why.
Normally, he'd have cut down that first bandit and moved on. Why volunteer for this hassle?
He still didn't know. But somehow, he felt that traveling further with Hyeok Mulin would reveal the reason.
Soon after, they set foot in the Central Plains and raced toward their destination.
For both, this was the first time moving so swiftly alongside someone else.
No need to moderate their pace for subordinates, as they always had before.
Traveling at full speed, they covered in a fraction of the time it would take ordinary carriages or martial artists, arriving at their goal.
But.
"...You."
Stepping into the destination at last, Cheon Su-myeong slowly raised his head.
Gazing at the rugged peaks filling his view, he continued.
"Is this truly our destination?"
Even the Sword Venerable couldn't hide his disbelief.
And small wonder.
What he now beheld, where his feet had landed.
Mount Hua.
The Western Peak among the Central Plains' Five Sacred Mountains, located in Huayin County, Shaanxi Province. Heartland of the Nine Great Orthodox Sects and the Murim Alliance.