Chapter 147
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: Heavenly Annihilation Division (2)
I don't know what Sa-gyeol is. I don't even know how to cultivate it. But I feel like I know a fair bit about the man called Four Thousand Four. No, I know for certain.
Four Thousand Four is lonely. Yet he doesn't perceive his loneliness as such. He's adrift in the world all alone, but he never feels solitary. He's always busy. So busy that he hasn't a moment to ponder what loneliness or solitude even means.
Four Thousand Four isn't accustomed to living among people.
He's grown so used to being alone, to the life of an outcast, that solitude feels more comfortable to him.
So where is Four Thousand Four right now?
Somewhere by himself. Picking his way along some mountain path. Seeking out places untouched by any other soul.
There's no way to track down Four Thousand Four.
Finding him in this vast world would be quicker than searching for a needle in the ocean depths.
But it's not entirely impossible.
It might be out of reach for others, but someone familiar with the nature of mountain paths could manage it.
'If it's Four Thousand Four...'
Among countless trails, there's one tied to him by fate.
The path linked to Four Thousand Four would be one that eases the heart of a man with his temperament.
In a word... a path where a killer can walk at ease.
Even in wide-open terrain, if you know the man and the path fate connects you to, you can find him.
A figure approaches.
The man hops nimbly along the streambed, traversing spots without any proper trail.
The man isn't in a hurry. He glances around, breathes in the air deeply, even crouches to drink from the stream.
He looks utterly at ease.
Fox muttered to himself.
"Found you!"
"How did you know I'd come here...?"
"Surprised, huh?"
"Yeah! You really caught me off guard. What's going on here?"
"I was waiting for you."
"Cut the jokes."
"Huh? It's not a joke. I really came here to meet you and waited."
"Alright, got it. Thanks."
Four Thousand Four absently patted Fox on the head.
"I haven't heard anything about Zhuge Soso dying. Looks like you saved her good."
"Who saved who? That woman's not the type to be saved just because I try. I can't keep up with her mind, and my martial arts aren't even a match for her Death Shadow Palm. I just watched from the sidelines."
"Sure you did, just watched."
Fox pouted his lips.
"But did you really wait for me? How'd you know I'd come this way?"
"Your moves are predictable no matter what. I know exactly how you'll act."
"You're right about that."
Four Thousand Four shook his head in genuine surprise.
Fox grinned, pleased by the reaction, whether it was real or not.
"Anyone chasing us?"
"That's the weird part. No one's on our tail at all. But those guys under Sobul aren't the type to just let it go."
Vanguard, Hanbi, and Jaja are holding their pledges. They don't resist them. When death is decreed in the main text, they accept it calmly without complaint. In fact, they nearly died by Sobul's hand before.
It's the same now. One word from the main text—"Die!"—and they'd off themselves without hesitation.
Yet they're being left alone.
Their movements must have already reached the main text's ears. So it's not like they don't know.
"You haven't eaten, right?"
Fox held out some rice cakes wrapped in paper.
"Mm! They smell like pine needles. Delicious."
Four Thousand Four said as he ate the cakes.
"I steamed them myself. For you."
"Hey, anyone overhearing might think you really steamed them just for me. You've gotten way better at jokes."
"Hahaha! Figured you'd at least laugh at a time like this."
Fox laughed along with him.
But... it was sincere. Not knowing when they'd meet, he'd worried Four Thousand Four might be going hungry without a bite to eat, so he made rice cakes every day. Lined with pine needles to infuse them with scent.
But he couldn't say that.
Saying it for real might shatter what little friendship remained. Four Thousand Four sees him as a man... And just recently, he'd learned something unbelievable: Zhuge Soso had wormed her way into Four Thousand Four's heart.
Four Thousand Four had even staked his life for Zhuge Soso.
She probably had no idea. Despite being able to escape safely, she'd returned to the poison-infested forest. All for Zhuge Soso.
Sacrificing your life for someone else isn't easy.
Four Thousand Four had done it nonchalantly. Almost instinctively.
That meant Zhuge Soso's image was deeply etched in his mind.
No sweet words or affections would reach a man like that. No signs of yearning would show.
It was time to let go of his feelings for Four Thousand Four.
He knew. He'd told himself a hundred, a thousand times to release him. But he couldn't. The more he thought he should, the deeper he sank.
Walking and laughing together like this felt so good.
'Yeah. This is enough. I'm satisfied with this much. As long as we're both safe and can smile wide.'
"Got some liquor too."
"What's with you today? Calling you Fox is making you act the part. How'd you know exactly what I wanted to eat and drink?"
"I'm always like that. So treat me nice. Here."
Fox pulled a gourd flask from his belt and handed it over.
Nodong was a small village.
The place called Nodong Township housed around a hundred households and even had a modest market. But stray just a bit from the township, and vast, empty wilderness stretched out.
Open plains in all four directions.
From a slightly elevated spot, you could see clearly who came and went.
Someone was approaching now.
"Mm! Looks like it's time for us to make up our minds too. Speak."
Vanguard said in his heavy voice.
The three-story teahouse they sat in was the tallest spot in Nodong. From there, you could survey everything within ten li at a glance.
Far off, two tiny dots appeared. They grew larger as time passed.
It was Four Thousand Four and Fox.
Too distant to confirm for sure... but instinct told them so.
"I... can't go."
Jaja said.
Hanbi clamped his mouth shut.
Acting with Four Thousand Four meant disregarding the life-or-death pledge recorded in the main text. That would allow free movement. Even attacking the main text might be possible.
That's what Four Thousand Four was doing.
His stance was easy enough to guess. His pledge was his master, called the Green Death, held hostage by the Heavenly Annihilation Division's main text. Any misstep, and the master dies instantly.
Yet Four Thousand Four knew that and moved anyway.
No telling what he was thinking, but he acted as if his master's life meant nothing.
Jaja couldn't do the same.
"Hanbi, decide."
Vanguard urged.
"What about you, Vanguard?"
"Heh! Hehehe!"
Vanguard laughed instead of answering.
"My pledge... is my daughter. My son-in-law's in the Ministry of Personnel as a low-ranking clerk. Haha! Living well. Hehehe!"
Hanbi and Jaja frowned at Vanguard's words.
A position in the Ministry of Personnel was a proper fifth-rank post. Not some provincial office, but central government.
But it was all smoke and mirrors.
The Heavenly Annihilation Division's influence had likely placed Vanguard's son-in-law there.
Such positions could crumble overnight.
The problem was, when they toppled someone in central office, they did it thoroughly—no coming back. Like framing for treason, for example.
His daughter's life could plummet to ruin in an instant.
She might face a world where living was worse than dying.
Vanguard had traded his wife for his daughter. She'd given birth and then closed her eyes forever.
In common parlance, he'd raised his daughter alone on borrowed milk.
How precious she must be. How he'd doted on her. No wonder he'd arranged adoption before she was old enough to understand, just to keep her from the martial world.
That didn't mean Vanguard had forgotten his daughter.
He'd wandered the jianghu, but his eyes always stayed fixed on her.
To Vanguard, she was his life.
Moving with Four Thousand Four meant her death. Or worse—turning her life into a human hell. Selling her to a brothel, chopping off limbs to make her live like a worm. The Heavenly Annihilation Division could do anything.
A clean beheading might actually bring more peace.
Vanguard stared at the two approaching dots in the distance.
"Gonna step out for a bit. I'll give my answer after."
"Vanguard!"
Hanbi grabbed him.
Vanguard spoke without looking back.
"Got this thought. My pledge... it won't end with me. A spot like Ministry of Personnel clerk is prime real estate—why plant someone there and leave 'em? Makes me think... maybe even the son-in-law's one of the main text's people."
"No way..."
"And that guy."
Vanguard glared at Four Thousand Four.
"Isn't it strange? That he broke through the Asura Blood Path. Escaped Sobul. Forced away the Path Leader and Sword Immortal. Lured out Zhuge Soso. Hehehe! Any of us could pull off even one of those?"
"You're thinking of joining him."
"Gotta squeeze that bastard for my girl's life debt."
"Can he even pay it?"
"He'll pay, or else."
Hanbi released Vanguard's collar.
"He can't pay your daughter's life debt. If you join him... you're choosing a dog's death."
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The two men climbed to the third floor of the teahouse.
The first and second floors bustled with crowds. Barely room to stand. Yet the third floor hung in eerie emptiness.
No one around, just scorching sunlight sweeping through.
"Huh? Where'd everyone go?"
Fox looked around as he spoke.
The third floor of the teahouse belonged to the Heavenly Annihilation Division. Only their members could use it, after showing their tokens.
Now, it was deserted.
At a window table sat teacups and a pot, as if used moments ago. But no people.
"We were supposed to meet here?"
"They were all here earlier. Sit. They'll come soon. Let's wet our throats first."
But Four Thousand Four didn't sit. He walked to the wooden pillar in the center and examined the crudely carved graffiti.
"You really don't listen. I saw that too. Was gonna check after a drink. What's the rush to look first?"
Fox stood from the table and walked over.
"Vanguard left it."
Fox said offhandedly.
"Says to stay here seven days and nights?"
Four Thousand Four nodded, as if he'd deciphered Vanguard's code too.
"What's going on? Orders from the main text? These guys don't budge unless it's to use the privy."
"Sit."
Four Thousand Four sat at the window table.
Fox took the seat opposite.
The two sat there, silently staring out at the vast expanse of land. Not exchanging a word.
This place was practically a branch hall of the Heavenly Annihilation Division. The first and second floors weren't exclusive, but the third was only for their people. Yet Vanguard had left a code message visible only to ribs.
A code only ribs could see.
A secret message declaring he wouldn't even tell the main text of the Heavenly Annihilation Division.
What were these people up to?
For Four Thousand Four and Fox, worry outweighed curiosity.