Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Part 4: What Empties Fills Naturally (1)
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Damho and Bang Jinbo walked slowly, each holding the reins of their horses.
Atop the horses, Hwang Hye-ryeong and Muk Ilgwang were each circulating their energy.
The internal injuries they had suffered were far from minor.
Muk Ilgwang's in particular were extremely severe.
The silver lining was that the internal art he cultivated was stable enough to allow circulation even while riding on a jostling horse, so he had been able to perform self-treatment the entire journey.
Thanks to that, Muk Ilgwang's condition was improving rapidly.
Hwang Hye-ryeong's expression had also eased considerably compared to before.
She gazed down at Damho from atop Black Ghost.
The back of Damho, walking silently along the road with the reins in hand, felt reliably solid.
She didn't know why, but looking at him warmed her heart and filled her with a sense of security, as if she were being protected.
This was the first time she had felt this way, so it wasn't without some bewilderment.
But even that bewildering feeling wasn't unpleasant.
Whether he sensed Hwang Hye-ryeong's gaze or not, Damho continued walking in silence.
After walking like that for a long while, Damho suddenly stopped.
It was because of a man standing in the middle of the mountain path they were taking.
"Hyung!"
Bang Jinbo immediately broke into a bright smile.
"You porker! You've gotten even fatter since last time."
The man teasing Bang Jinbo with a grin was none other than Cho Yeonun.
"Tch! Where'd I get fatter? I've only lost weight."
"Heh heh! Porker, do you have any idea how plump your cheeks are? Go look in a mirror before you talk."
"Seriously, we're meeting after so long and this is how you greet me?"
"It's because I'm happy to see you."
Cho Yeonun roughly ruffled Bang Jinbo's hair before approaching Damho.
Damho asked,
"How did you find us?"
"The path a friend takes is obvious. A little brainpower and I knew right away."
"Is that so?"
"No need to worry. There won't be any more pursuers."
"Why?"
"There's been absolute chaos. The commotion you caused is nothing in comparison..."
"..."
"The Demonic Cult has finally stepped out in full force. Three hundred warriors sent to track you down were massacred by a single man."
"Three hundred?"
"Yeah! Everyone within ten li was killed. By one person."
Damho's eyebrow twitched.
It was hard to believe.
"Massacred by a single man?"
"Hard to believe, I know, but it's true. The opponent was a sonic arts master. Three hundred caught off guard by his unexpected sonic attack were wiped out in an instant."
"Sonic arts..."
"A truly terrifying master. Not a soul within ten li survived."
Just as he had appeared, So Cheonsan vanished without a trace.
But right before he disappeared, a warrior who had been ten li away and thus escaped the calamity witnessed it.
So Cheonsan, smiling, revealed his identity to the man.
It was the leisure of a supreme expert, but to the Murim Alliance, it was as good as an insult.
"That's why the Murim Alliance is in an uproar. The entire alliance was toyed with by one man."
Damho's eyes darkened deeply.
It reminded him of the sound-transmission conversation between Eum Yu-gyeong and Sin Mu-wol.
The name So Cheonsan had definitely been mentioned.
'They said they had to stop the Cult Leader's solo act. Does that mean there's internal strife in the Demonic Cult?'
It wasn't certain yet.
"The Murim Alliance has recalled all the tracking squads sent after you. With the Demonic Cult's invasion becoming reality, they won't have the bandwidth to bother with you for a while."
"Is that so?"
"It's a relief. For you, and for the alliance."
In truth, the one in the most trouble had been Cho Yeonun.
The twenty-odd tracking squads formed to pursue Damho.
Regardless of his own wishes, Cho Yeonun had been assigned to lead one of them.
When over ten of those squads were massacred by So Cheonsan, he had been merely a few hundred paces away.
If he had been even a little closer, he too would have taken heavy damage from the sonic arts.
He had saved his life, but the shock he received was no light matter.
The fact that people he had just been breathing and talking with moments ago were annihilated by a single sonic blast instilled great fear in him as well.
"Even during the Demonic Cult's first invasion decades ago, the one who inflicted the most damage on the Righteous Alliance was a monster who cultivated sonic arts. That Ten Li No Life probably mastered the same sonic arts."
"..."
"Anyway, I need to head back now."
"You're going to fight the Demonic Cult?"
"I'm a disciple of the Hundred Battles Sect. My master is probably already leading the disciples toward the Murim Alliance by now."
Mount Jangil's hatred for the Demonic Cult was ferocious beyond measure.
The moment he heard the Demonic Cult had appeared, he had raised the Hundred Battles Victory Flag and marched south.
Once the Hundred Battles Victory Flag was unfurled in the world, all disciples of the Hundred Battles Sect were duty-bound to gather under it.
Even Soju successor Cho Yeonun was no exception.
Damho gazed at Cho Yeonun wordlessly.
Cho Yeonun chuckled wryly.
"Man, that look in your eyes is intense."
"..."
"Be careful! The Demonic Cult has diverted a lot of attention from you, but you're still a public enemy of murim."
Genuine concern filled Cho Yeonun's face.
Damho nodded.
"I will."
"Take care."
"You too."
For a moment, Cho Yeonun's eyes widened round.
He never expected to hear Damho tell him to be careful.
"Haha! Don't worry about me. I'm Cho Yeonun."
Cho Yeonun thumped his chest confidently.
Damho stared fixedly at him.
"Then goodbye. Porker, take care of yourself too."
"I'm not a porker!"
"Haha!"
Cho Yeonun waved as he walked away.
Damho and Bang Jinbo watched his receding figure in silence.
Once Cho Yeonun was finally out of sight, Hwang Hye-ryeong spoke.
"He seems like a really good person."
"Yeah!"
Damho nodded.
Though they hadn't known each other long, Cho Yeonun had always treated him sincerely.
Such people were rare in the jianghu.
'Friend...'
Damho didn't move for a long while after that.
As Cho Yeonun had said, there were no more pursuers.
Bang Jinbo felt relieved.
No more people would die by Damho's hand, and that eased his mind.
No matter how accustomed Bang Jinbo had grown to Damho, watching people die before his eyes one after another was no easy thing.
"Heh heh!"
Bang Jinbo unwittingly smiled as he walked.
After parting with Cho Yeonun, Damho, Bang Jinbo, and the others quickly traversed the wild mountains and finally entered Hubei Province.
The first rumor they heard upon entering Hubei was, predictably, about the Demonic Cult.
The shock left by Ten Li No Life So Cheonsan was immense.
Because of that one man, the central plains folk truly felt the terror of the Demonic Cult.
Wherever one went in the central plains, talk turned to the Demonic Cult, and people lived in fear of when the full invasion would come.
"The Demonic Cult..."
Hwang Hye-ryeong shook her head.
Though young, she knew well how fearsome the Demonic Cult was.
Hwang Gyeongmun had drilled it into her ears from childhood.
Even Hwang Gyeongmun, who feared nothing in the world, would unwittingly show fear at the mention of the Demonic Cult.
That image had been so striking that dread had taken root in Hwang Hye-ryeong's heart as well.
'How many people will die this time?'
Just imagining it filled her chest with despair.
As Hwang Hye-ryeong unwittingly let out a sigh,
"Let's camp here tonight."
Damho's voice rang in her ears.
Regaining her senses, Hwang Hye-ryeong looked around.
The spot where Damho had stopped was an open area near a reed bed by an unnamed riverbank.
The reeds encircled the area, making it seem quite cozy.
With camping decided, Bang Jinbo approached Muk Ilgwang.
"Hyung!"
"Hm?"
Muk Ilgwang blinked, uncomprehending.
Just looking at him, Muk Ilgwang had a fierce face.
An ordinary person would wet themselves at the sight of it, yet Bang Jinbo treated him so casually.
'Am I not scary to this kid?'
The question arose in his mind.
But Muk Ilgwang didn't know.
How thick-skinned Bang Jinbo had become following Damho around.
No matter how fierce the appearance, it paled next to Damho's terror.
Damho was the scariest person Bang Jinbo knew, and at the same time, the most trustworthy.
No matter how scary Muk Ilgwang was, he couldn't compare to Damho.
Thus, Bang Jinbo could act freely even before him.
"You know how to make a campfire, right?"
"Of course!"
"Good. Hyung, make us a campfire then."
"And you?"
"I'm going to catch dinner."
"Dinner?"
"Yeah! The river's big, so there should be plenty of decent fish."
Bang Jinbo planned to fish.
Back in Eoyang, he had bought suitable thread and hooks for fishing.
Bang Jinbo found a long stick, attached the thread and hook.
In the village they passed before arriving, he had bought pork lard, smeared it on grain, and baited the hook.
Hwang Hye-ryeong watched Bang Jinbo prepare with fascination.
"Can I come fish with you?"
"Sure!"
Bang Jinbo nodded readily.
The two headed to the riverbank together.
Suddenly left alone with Damho, Muk Ilgwang's expression turned awkward.
As a warrior of the Dragon Ascent Squad, he had feared nothing.
But Damho was different from any warrior he had ever seen.
He was the only one who made Muk Ilgwang feel fear.
Muk Ilgwang cautiously spoke.
"H-Hyungnim."
Damho stared at him silently.
Eyes black as night, bottomlessly deep.
Not a shred of emotion lurked within.
"I-I'll go gather some firewood real quick."
Muk Ilgwang stammered unwittingly.
Damho nodded, and Muk Ilgwang sighed in relief before hurrying off.
Left alone, Damho gazed toward the riverbank.
He could see Bang Jinbo and Hwang Hye-ryeong chatting as they fished.
A flicker of emotion rose in Damho's eyes.
It had been nearly twenty years since he last saw his little sister.
But she didn't even know he existed.
Perhaps that was only natural.
When they had parted, Hwang Hye-ryeong had been merely two or three years old.
It was natural she remembered neither him nor even their parents' faces.
But Damho remembered Hwang Hye-ryeong clearly.
And how dearly their mother and father had cherished her.
Their father had always said to Damho, while telling him to take good care of her.
'If I'm not around, you're the man of the house. Uhahaha!'
Their father had always said that.
Now, too much time had passed, and their father's face didn't come to mind clearly.
But his hearty laughter and the scent of sweat mingled with his body odor remained vividly in his memory, strangely enough.
He had no intention of revealing himself as her big brother now.
Their lives had diverged too far for that.
Just as before, he hoped they would each live their lives well from here on.
'Hayeong.'
Damga-ryeong, now living as Hwang Hye-ryeong.
She probably had no need for a stranger of a big brother.
As Damho sorted his thoughts thus, Muk Ilgwang returned, arms full of branches.
Muk Ilgwang skillfully lit the branches.
When Muk Ilgwang had the campfire going, Bang Jinbo returned with Hwang Hye-ryeong.
In Bang Jinbo's hand dangled a fairly large carp.
He scaled it right there by the river, gutted it, and scraped out the innards.
"Tonight it's grilled carp."
Bang Jinbo said as he set the carp down.
He stuffed its belly tight with various spices and dried grains.
Then he scraped mud from the riverbank, thickly coated the surface, and placed it over the campfire.
Bang Jinbo wasted no time.
While waiting for the grilled carp to cook, he boiled porridge with grain flour.
Hwang Hye-ryeong and Muk Ilgwang gaped at the meal coming together in an instant.
"You're a true genius, little brother."
Muk Ilgwang gave a thumbs up.
Hwang Hye-ryeong nodded in agreement.
Saliva pooled in both their mouths.
Moments later, exclamations echoed through the reed bed.
"Wow! This is incredible."
"Delicious."
Damho chewed on the grilled carp, silently watching Hwang Hye-ryeong's blissful face.