New Threat (2)
The group now understood why the Five Families Alliance fortress blocked the path to Shaolin Temple.
No sooner had they left the fortress than revenant hordes began appearing everywhere.
Especially after the cliffs gave way to open plains, the number of revenants visibly swelled.
The Five Families Alliance's scheme of building their fortress in a treacherous gorge that revenants couldn't approach wasn't in vain.
Of course, Namgung Jin's shallow ploy had ruined everything.
The silver lining was that the revenants were mindless Blood Ghosts who had lost their souls.
If there had been a Commander like So Samnak, manipulating the Blood Ghosts to encircle the group would have been child's play.
Most of the revenant hordes seemed to have been farmers or merchants in life. Occasionally, there were clusters that looked like bandit riffraff.
Luoyang, Kaifeng, Chang'an.
The heart of the Central Plains, clustered with some of the greatest cities.
With revenants rampant in such places, anyone who couldn't flee had turned into one.
Proving this, the occasional villages they passed were eerily desolate—not a sign of life, not even a human shadow.
Gazing at the barren village, Wang Yi Sam let out a heavy sigh.
"Not a single rat in sight. Back in Sichuan, there were at least traces of people hanging on."
"Means we're heading deeper into the revenant outbreak's epicenter," Seo Baek said in a firm voice.
Wang Yi Sam, meanwhile, was inwardly worried sick.
'Should've spoken up to the junior and bailed early.'
But with Shaolin Temple practically around the corner, turning back felt like a waste.
Even detouring would be a nightmare. They'd fought through hordes to cross the Central Plains—how was he supposed to make it back alone?
Wang Yi Sam regretted it now, but the water was spilled.
At least one good thing: riding horses let them move faster than before.
The group bypassed any spotted revenant hordes, swinging wide. Horses made it feasible.
Scattered clusters prevented a straight shot, but their pace didn't lag much.
When they ran into small groups, Seo Baek and Song Hyeon dispatched them swiftly and pushed through.
Thus, their speed was faster than ever.
Song Hyeon proved pivotal.
A former escort agent, he knew Henan Province like his own backyard. He'd even visited Shaolin once, so he could navigate without a map.
Day after day, they pressed toward Shaolin Temple.
It was after several days of dodging hordes like this.
The terrain grew increasingly rugged until a towering mountain loomed ahead, blocking their path.
"Here we go again. Mountains and rivers are getting old, man."
Wang Yi Sam sighed.
They rode as high as possible where horses could manage.
Then the vast plains of Henan unfurled before them.
The problem: those plains were blanketed in writhing black blotches everywhere.
Revenant hordes wandering in packs.
"You might be sick of mountains and rivers, but no choice. Can't cross those plains like that."
"World this big, and every spot in sight's a revenant fest. Unreal."
Wang Yi Sam clucked his tongue, and Song Hyeon replied.
"From here, follow the ridgeline—it connects to Song Mountain."
With plains overrun, they opted to follow Song Hyeon's lead.
They unsaddled their horses and set them free. The terrain ahead would be too sheer for riding.
"They'll be okay loose like that?"
"Beasts have stronger vitality than people. Instinct'll keep 'em from revenants—they'll head south to inhabited lands safely."
As the horses prepared to leave, Chorang poked its head from Joo Eun-ri's sleeve and let out a sharp kyang! It was fascinating, like the animals were communicating.
The horses neighed once at the group and Chorang, then galloped south.
Wang Yi Sam watched, muttering.
"Tch, still feels like a waste."
Escort agents had a habit of eating horses when fights stalled and mounts weren't needed.
With rations long gone and resupply uncertain, stocking up on anything preserved strength—and life.
"Could've jerked 'em into jerky. Decent eating."
"Got jerky right here."
Joo Eun-ri pulled out strips from the inn, apparently amused by Wang Yi Sam's lament.
He took them shamelessly and chewed.
"Lady Joo's handiwork lives up to the hype! How's dried meat this flavorful?"
"They say in the Central Plains, anything with four legs is fair game—except tables."
"Wise words! Wahahaha!"
Wang Yi Sam roared with laughter, oblivious to her sly jab.
Without horses, they shouldered their packs. It drained stamina and slowed them down.
But it freed them up too—no beasts meant scaling ridgelines and cliffs at will.
High ground had fewer revenants, a plus.
They camped at night, moved at dawn, and didn't stop till dusk.
After days of mountain trekking, they reached Song Mountain.
"Song Mountain."
Song Hyeon, who knew Henan like home, confirmed.
"Finally! So where's Shaolin Temple?"
"Still far."
"Far? You just said we reached Song Mountain."
Wang Yi Sam blinked in confusion, and Song Hyeon explained.
"Song Mountain has three major peaks. East is Tai Shi Peak, central is Jun Ji Peak, west is Xiao Shi Peak. Shaolin's on Xiao Shi Peak."
"Hold up. We're coming from the east, so..."
"Right. This is Tai Shi Peak."
"...!"
Wang Yi Sam gaped as the implication hit.
They were at the eastern edge of Song Mountain—barely started.
Meaning mountains ahead like a sea.
Frustrated by Song Hyeon's nonchalance, Wang Yi Sam whispered to Seo Baek.
"Junior, you ever been to Shaolin?"
"No. First time in my life."
"Right. Anyway, we're on Song Mountain—one, two days tops to Shaolin?"
"Beats me."
Song Hyeon overheard and answered.
With their inner energy, whispers sounded like shouts to Seo Baek and Song Hyeon.
"Song Mountain, Central Peak of the Five Great Mountains, comprises seventy-two peaks spanning a hundred li east to west."
"A—a hundred li?"
"Yes."
Wang Yi Sam gaped again.
A hundred li meant days more of travel.
"Xiao Shi Peak's on the western far side—a hundred li from here. Song Mountain's terrain is notoriously rugged, so expect slower going than usual."
"... "
Wang Yi Sam was speechless.
Song Hyeon explained clearly enough, but hearing it left him wishing he hadn't asked.
He'd thought the end was near; now a hundred li of brutal peaks loomed. His steam fizzled.
'Better off ignorant from the start.'
Grumbling inwardly, he couldn't voice it.
Whining about distance was kid stuff.
"Resuming march."
Oblivious or not to Wang Yi Sam's mood, Seo Baek urged the halted group onward.
They plunged into a dense forest of thick underbrush and towering trees.
About an hour in.
Seo Baek froze, raising his arm vertically in a clenched fist.
Halt signal.
Wang Yi Sam, right behind, startled to a stop and scanned around.
Nothing—no revenants anywhere.
He whispered.
"Junior, no revenant in sight. Why stop?"
"Shh."
Seo Baek pressed a finger to his lips.
Wang Yi Sam turned, puzzled, to see Song Hyeon with a frosty face, hand on his sword hilt.
Joo Eun-ri's eyes sharpened too; Chorang peeked from her sleeve and barked a sharp kyang!
Wang Yi Sam gulped, finally sensing trouble.
Seo Baek and Song Hyeon detected approaches far sooner than him.
Expected at their level.
But as Shaolin neared, hordes thickened, so he'd caught their howls or presence easily lately.
Now? No revenants visible, no barking echoes. He was baffled.
Unable to hold back, he asked again.
"Junior, where's the revenant?"
"Not revenants."
"Then?"
"Human presence."
"Humans? People?"
Wang Yi Sam's eyes widened; he scanned again.
Still nothing.
Waist-high grass from last night's rain blanketed everything—no people.
"Just grass. Where're the people? Floating? Underground?"
Seo Baek nodded gravely.
"Spot on."
"Huh? Spot on...?"
"Underground, looks like. That's proof."
Seo Baek pointed.
Wang Yi Sam followed—and groaned in realization.
"Bamboo?"
"Yes. Not natural—planted deliberately."
"...!"
Looking closer, the bamboo was deeply embedded, tops neatly sliced.
Not storm-broken—swordsman work!
Even slow-on-the-uptake Wang Yi Sam got it.
"Breathing holes in the ground!"
Bamboo tubes, hollowed top to bottom.
In his escort days, fleeing faction infighting, he'd hidden underwater, biting a bamboo tube with the end out for air.
This was the same—air shafts to underground.
"Who the hell hides underground? Moles?"
Before he finished muttering, grass rustled.
Mysterious shadows emerged.
Like sprouting from the earth.
"...!"
Wang Yi Sam jolted, gripping his broad dao.
Seo Baek twirled his fist in signals.
The group moved swiftly on cue.
Seo Baek and Song Hyeon to north and south—front and rear.
Wang Yi Sam and Joo Eun-ri to east and west.
Back-to-back, guarding all four directions.
Shadows closed from all sides.
The group was surrounded.