Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Eve of the Storm
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The moment I heard Mun Seok's words, I shot up from my seat.
The sun hadn't fully risen yet, leaving the surroundings dim, but I didn't care about that.
And just as I was about to head out...
"W-Wait a second...!"
"......"
"What's this? Where are you going at this ungodly hour...?"
...Maybe I'd made too much noise, because Yu So-myung, who had woken up as well, called out to me with a puzzled look on her face.
Normally, I might have at least answered her, but...
Paat.
"Hey! Wait-!"
With no time to spare, I shot forward using lightness skill without a word.
She chased after me with her own lightness skill, but she couldn't keep up with my speed and soon vanished from sight behind me.
'Please.'
How long had it been since I'd run like this, pouring my heart into it?
But right now, I had no time for such thoughts. I channeled all my focus into pouring internal energy into my feet.
Paat-!
I'd never placed much emphasis on lightness skill before. But with a constant stream of internal energy into my feet, I was moving faster than I'd expected.
'Almost there.'
I'd set out before dawn, but the sun was already up, and birdsong filled the air around me.
Considering it took half a day from Hounam city to our mountain path, I'd made incredibly good time—but even so, I couldn't shake the anxiety gnawing at me.
We're almost there.
I prayed silently in my mind.
When I arrived, I hoped the merchants would be lined up as always, waiting for their passes. And that Bang Sam-i would look dumbfounded at my sudden appearance.
But...
"......"
...When I got there, no one was around. The pavilion we'd so carefully built was half-destroyed, turned into a scene of carnage.
I stayed calm and surveyed the surroundings first.
Signs of battle were everywhere. Someone had fought here, and blood stained the ground.
From the footprints left behind, I could piece together what had happened recently.
The owner of these footprints... Bang Sam-i.
At first, Bang Sam-i had faced the enemy one-on-one.
His opponent wasn't a pushover either... They started off evenly matched...
Chwaak-!
Then Bang Sam-i seized an opening and slashed the enemy's side.
Panicked, the others jumped into the fray... Outnumbered, Bang Sam-i lost.
After that, there were traces of him being subdued and dragged away.
"For now... he's alive...."
I muttered with a slight sense of relief when—
"Huff... huff... Oh."
Having pushed herself to catch up to me, Yu So-myung arrived, drenched in sweat.
She looked around in alarm.
"Here... why...?"
"......"
"...Did some other group of black path bandits raid them or something?"
I almost snorted at her words.
As if another black path group would trash us like this. We'd already cleared out all the bandits around here under Dong Ryong's command.
I didn't bother satisfying her curiosity and started down the path.
"W-Wait, come on."
Seeing that, Yu So-myung hurried after me.
I headed toward the next pavilion along the path. Thanks to lightness skill, I got there quickly.
The second pavilion was also a mess, but this time, there was one difference from the first.
It was...
"Ah...."
"......"
...The few corpses scattered around.
The moment she saw them, Yu So-myung rushed over and checked the pulses of every fallen body.
Anyone could see they were dead, but she was checking just in case any were alive.
"All of them... dead."
"......"
I approached too and examined their faces.
I didn't know their names. But... these were definitely guys I'd seen coming and going.
They seemed to have decent salesmanship and business savvy for bandits, so I'd stationed them at the front pavilion...
"Fuck."
...I knew it wasn't my fault, but it still pissed me off.
Feeling that shitty emotion, I glanced to the side. Surprisingly, the corpses nearby weren't our bandit underlings... They looked like merchants.
That's when it happened.
Seuk-.
"...!"
A rustle from the bushes nearby caught my ear. I dashed over and grabbed the culprit.
"Eek-!"
"What are you?"
"P-Please spare me...!"
At least he wasn't a martial artist. No trained energy came from him, and his clothes screamed merchant.
"I-I was just passing through the opposite entrance, heading out of Hounam Province...."
Our mountain path had two entrances. One connected to Gwiju Province, the other to Hobuk Province.
He must have come from Gwiju, through Hounam, and been headed for Hobuk.
"Did you see what happened here?"
"I-I just hid far away and watched...."
"Tell me anyway."
I released his collar and asked. He hesitated, then spoke.
"Just as I was about to reach that pavilion... I saw martial artists in Murim Alliance uniforms occupying it from afar. I got a bad feeling and hid in the bushes right away...."
"And then?"
"...A guy who looked like the leader stepped forward and killed all the subdued guides. And then..."
The merchant squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to relive the next part.
"...For some reason, he killed the other merchants who were already using the pavilion too."
"...No way."
Yu So-myung reacted first to the merchant's words. She murmured in confusion the moment he finished.
"A Murim Alliance martial artist killed civilians...? Why...?"
"......"
Yeah, why.
No matter how I racked my brain, I couldn't figure out the reason. Then the merchant frowned, as if something had occurred to him.
"Um... I might be mistaken, but... when that leader was killing people... he seemed to be smiling."
"...Some personal sick hobby, huh."
Hearing the merchant's story made it even worse. I turned to head down the path when—
Tak-.
...Yu So-myung grabbed my sleeve.
Looking down, her face was stiff.
She must not believe what's happening.
"Maybe... it's a misunderstanding...? Even if we meet them, don't kill them right away.... We need to get to the bottom of this...."
"So-myung, this is entirely plausible."
"......"
I could have ignored her, but I gently pried her hand off my sleeve and spoke slowly.
"Not everyone in the world is like you. There are vermin everywhere who kill for fun."
"But... Murim Alliance martial artists uphold justice and chivalry..."
"Do you know how great a shield that 'justice and chivalry' bullshit is for those vermin?"
"...What?"
Seeing she didn't get it, I clapped the merchant on the shoulder and continued.
"If not for this guy, would we even know a Murim Alliance martial artist killed civilians? From their side, they can just report it as killing bandit underlings, and it's done. Who's gonna speak up against the Murim Alliance's power?"
"......"
"Has nothing like this ever happened in hundreds of years? Has there never been a psycho like this in the Alliance for centuries?"
Maybe, maybe not.
But one thing's for sure: the Murim Alliance has had the power to cover up facts like this for centuries.
The Murim Alliance is a massive ancient tree that's lived for hundreds of years.
Whoever planted it must have done so with noble intentions, and it grew tall and strong for centuries.
But its roots are rotting. Filthy parasites have gathered in the shadows, unfit for such a tree.
This is something Yu So-myung, who's only ever seen the beautiful view from its high branches, will never know in her lifetime.
I left her dazed expression behind and stood.
From here, the path splits. I asked the merchant,
"Which way did they go?"
"They... split in two. One group down the left path, the other right."
...Split here, huh.
I had to think. After a brief moment, I headed left.
The right path led to the Wuak Mountain bandit stronghold.
With this much commotion, Dong Ryong or the others would notice and come handle it. So I'd leave the right path to the underlings.
'Can Dong Ryong handle them...?'
He's the strongest in our stronghold after me, but... he's still not fully reliable.
If I tossed him into the Central Plains like this, there'd be plenty stronger than him.
I worried a bit, but...
Jeobuk-.
Still, I had no choice but to go left.
No matter what, he's our band's deputy leader. He has to take responsibility for his position.
The moment I entered the left path, I sensed them moving with my energy perception.
I used lightness skill to pursue...
"...Huh?"
...And within a gak of time, I spotted the backs of their heads.