Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Having Entered the Central Plains, Yet Everything Feels Utterly Foreign (1)
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Jiayu Pass was one of the few gateways linking the outer reaches to the Central Plains. If Shanhai Pass was the representative route on the eastern end of the Great Wall, then Jiayu Pass held that distinction on the far west.
Anyone traveling to and from the Western Regions or trading with the nomadic tribes had to pass through here without exception. Though not overly crowded, a steady stream of visitors always came.
Given its strategic military and geographic importance, over four hundred soldiers were perpetually stationed here to guard it.
Today as well, more than twenty soldiers stood watch at the main gate of Jiayu Pass. They rigorously checked the identities of merchants seeking passage.
Those entering the Central Plains had to declare their identity and purpose, and the same went for those heading out.
Yu Un-cheong was the commander guarding Jiayu Pass. A warrior from the Zhongnan Sect, he had enlisted in the military with dreams of glory and risen swiftly through the ranks. But last year, he got caught in a political intrigue and ended up demoted to this post.
Time crawled by at Jiayu Pass. The border nomads had lost their strength and no longer raided the area, and the soldiers handled inspections, leaving him with little to do.
Though he trained daily out of sheer boredom, there was no spark in it. The monotonous routine wore him down, and now he drifted through his days stripped of most ambition.
Yu Un-cheong stood blankly before the gate, staring at the northern sky. Just one city wall away, yet it looked exceptionally wild and untamed.
With a sudden sigh, Yu Un-cheong murmured.
"If I'd known it would come to this, I might've been better off cultivating my arts back at the Zhongnan Sect."
He had been a promising talent there. With a bit more patience in honing his martial skills, he surely could have risen high in the sect.
Now regrets were pointless; there was no turning back, and he knew it. Still, as the years mounted, lingering attachments to the past held him back.
"Should I throw myself into the jianghu even now?"
The thought had plagued his sleep for days. The deeper the tedium, the fiercer the inner conflict.
Suddenly, a spark lit in Yu Un-cheong's eyes. Far off beyond the pass, two riders approached on horseback.
"Merchants?"
Yu Un-cheong shook his head.
Too few in number for merchants, and no visible cargo to suggest as much.
"Crossing the Gansu Corridor just the two of them?"
Curiosity flickered across his face.
As they drew near, their faces came into clear view.
A young man in his late twenties and a boy who looked about twelve or thirteen.
The young man had his face wrapped tightly in cloth against the dust, his long black hair trailing free. Clad in a black leather coat, he cut a strikingly intense figure.
In contrast, the plump boy in his early teens beamed with a pleasant smile. Like a tortoise, he bore a massive pack on his back.
"Halt."
The guarding soldiers shouted loudly, weapons at the ready. The pair reined in their horses.
"Where do you hail from? State your identities."
The soldiers' voices brimmed with edge. Right beside them stood Yu Un-cheong, holder of life and death over the Jiayu garrison.
Slacking on duty meant swift punishment. Unlike past commanders who had passed through, Yu Un-cheong brooked no negligence from his men.
Even with weapons trained on him, the all-black-clad young man's expression remained inscrutable—or rather, unreadable, his face swathed in cloth save for his eyes.
The reply came from the plump boy beside him.
"Hello, soldiers. You must have it rough. I'm Bang Jin-bo."
The beaming plump boy was Bang Jin-bo. The black-clad man next to him was Dam Ho.
Dam Ho silently gazed up at the towering walls of Jiayu Pass.
It had been twelve years since he last passed through. Back then, no such procedures were needed—likely thanks to the influence of the Wudang or Zhongnan Sects.
The massive wall loomed before him, blocking the way. Beyond it lay the Central Plains. One might expect excitement, but Dam Ho's eyes held no such stir.
The soldiers pressed again.
"Names and purpose. Why enter the Central Plains?"
"We're survivors from the Silver Lotus Merchant Group, who left through here a year ago."
"Silver Lotus Merchant Group?"
The soldiers whispered among themselves. One confirmed they had indeed exited via the pass.
"Really from Silver Lotus? Word was they numbered nearly a hundred. How come just you two?"
"Truth is, we were ambushed by bandits..."
Bang Jin-bo explained how the Blood Wolf Band had wiped out the Silver Lotus caravan. To the skeptical soldiers, he presented a sealed letter stamped with the personal mark of Crimson Scale Escort Chief Shim Su-myeong.
"General!"
The soldier hurried to Yu Un-cheong with the letter, deeming it beyond his authority.
He handed it over.
Yu Un-cheong glanced at the seal and nodded faintly. It was unmistakably Shim Su-myeong's.
The name of Crimson Scale Escort Chief Shim Su-myeong carried weight. No one stationed here was ignorant of it.
Especially a commander like him—any officer here had some tie to Shim Su-myeong. Some travelers crossing the corridor sought protection, and the Crimson Scale Escort provided it.
Jiayu Pass served as the vital link. Officially forbidden by law, such dealings happened covertly out of sheer necessity.
Weapons rusted, food was always short. Thus, pass commanders facilitated these connections for a fee.
The letter stated the Silver Lotus had been annihilated by bandits, and Shim Su-myeong vouched for the two men's identities.
"The Crimson Scale Chief vouches for you, eh?"
That made passage fine. Shim Su-myeong wasn't one for empty words.
But the final line nagged.
"Must?"
The letter emphasized they "must" be allowed through.
"Hmm."
Intrigue lit Yu Un-cheong's face. In dozens of prior dealings, this was a first.
"What now, sir?"
The soldier asked.
Yu Un-cheong pushed off the wall and approached Dam Ho and Bang Jin-bo.
Bang Jin-bo tensed as the plainly extraordinary man neared. Despite their shared ordeals, he was still just a boy in his early teens.
As Yu Un-cheong stopped before them, Bang Jin-bo swallowed hard.
"Silver Lotus wiped out by bandits? How'd you two survive?"
"Well..."
Bang Jin-bo glanced at Dam Ho. Yu Un-cheong's gaze naturally followed. But Dam Ho's eyes remained fixed on the pass.
"Hey, you."
Yu Un-cheong boldly called to Dam Ho. Yet he stared at the wall as if deaf to the voice.
"Hey, didn't you hear me?"
Yu Un-cheong seized Dam Ho's wrist—a masterful acupoint strike sealing the meridian in one go.
Any warrior would react. But Dam Ho showed none.
Yu Un-cheong's brows shot up. Outraged at the insolence, he channeled inner power into his gripping fingers.
Heaven-Earth Seizing Hand.
One of the Zhongnan Sect's signature arts. Once caught, no technique could break free—or so Yu Un-cheong believed. That belief shattered in the next instant.
"Let go of this hand."
Hearing the low voice, every hair on Yu Un-cheong's body stood on end. He couldn't explain it, but his body reacted on its own.
"This guy..."
Shock gripped him inwardly. No normal method could escape the Heaven-Earth Seizing Hand. Yet Dam Ho turned his head without a hint of strain.
Yu Un-cheong poured more power in. With the meridian sealed, anyone would scream under such pressure.
Then Dam Ho turned and met his eyes.
Bottomless dark depths, devoid of emotion, swallowed in thick shadow.
A chill raced up his spine.
Crack!
The fingers clutching Dam Ho's meridian ground bone against bone. An invisible force shoved them away.
Yu Un-cheong's eyes widened. He funneled every ounce of power, straining desperately.
Thwung!
"Urk!"
His fingers snapped free. His sleeve tore, blood welled, and his thumb and index twisted grotesquely.
Then Dam Ho's voice came.
"Touch my body without permission again, and you die."
"......"
The tone was utterly calm. Yet hearing it, Yu Un-cheong nodded frantically like a madman. He truly felt death loomed otherwise.
He prided himself on a rough military life, bolstered by the Zhongnan Sect's profound arts.
Fearless, he had thought the world tame. But Dam Ho's voice and gaze revealed how much a frog in a well he truly was.
Dam Ho hadn't moved, yet Yu Un-cheong was paralyzed. Overwhelmed by sheer presence. In decades of service, a first.
Dam Ho didn't even seem human.
Meanwhile, the soldiers blinked in confusion at Yu Un-cheong sweating and nodding alone.
That realization startled him further. Only he felt the direct brunt of Dam Ho's aura.
"A supreme master beyond my measure."
Yu Un-cheong rued his brashness.
If Dam Ho willed it, every soldier here would litter the ground as corpses. Numbers meant nothing to such a high master.
Then Dam Ho spoke again.
"Any issues?"
"None. You may pass."
Only then did Dam Ho avert his gaze. Without time for Yu Un-cheong's sigh of relief, he berated his men.
"Open the gate, now."
"But..."
"Pass them through quickly."
"Y-Yes, sir."
The soldiers hastily swung open the massive gates.
Beyond the yawning portal stretched the skies and earth of the Central Plains—after twelve long years.
Dam Ho urged Black Ghost through. Bang Jin-bo hurried after on his white steed.
Snort!
Black Ghost whinnied roughly, shaking its mane.
Just one wall crossed, yet the very air felt transformed. Glancing back, Dam Ho took in the scene.
Yu Un-cheong froze, thinking the gaze upon him. But it passed over.
Vast wastes, savage skies—the place where he'd spent much of his life. No attachments lingered.
Dam Ho's eyes turned forward to the Central Plains.
Clouds frozen in the blue sky suddenly raced onward.
"Let's go!"
Black Ghost bolted at his command.
"Wait up, brother!"
Bang Jin-bo's white horse chased after.
The pair soon shrank to dots, vanishing from sight.
The eldest-looking soldier approached Yu Un-cheong.
"General, just let them go like that?"
"And if not?"
"Pardon?"
The man, used to pocketing fees under "tips," felt the loss keenly.
"Tch."
Yu Un-cheong eyed him pitifully.
The soldier had no clue he'd brushed death's door.
Yu Un-cheong shook his head, sparing rebuke.
He'd been no different.
Bored with this life, he'd toyed with entering the jianghu. But meeting Dam Ho changed that.
"This place suits me."
Venturing out risked another encounter—and Dam Ho's blood-scent terrified him to the core.
No need to ask how they survived the bandits. A man like Dam Ho wouldn't spare those who crossed him.
"Come to think, I never got their names. The jianghu might writhe because of him."
In Yu Un-cheong's eyes, the Central Plains sky bled red.