The Long River Three Gorges Waterway Gang (1)
Having wrapped up all his business, Seo Baek called a map to mind.
'To reach the hermitage, this way should be fastest.'
Instead of backtracking the way he'd come, Seo Baek turned toward the forest.
Crossing diagonally through the woods would take him straight to the marked hermitage on the map.
It was a shortcut that saved precious time.
But just as he was about to step off, Seo Baek froze in place.
'Wait. I can't just leave like this.'
The forest around here was thick with the colorless, odorless poison that Sichuan Tang Clan's Dang Hong had scattered.
Soon, the procession led by Ami Faction's Jeong Su Sa Tae would pass through these woods after departing Shu Dao Pass.
'If they go this way, they'll all be poisoned.'
Jeong Su Sa Tae, with her profound inner energy, would sense the toxin in her body the moment it took hold and evade before suffering a fatal blow.
But the others? No chance.
The Ami Faction disciples were mostly young nuns, and the non-martial soldiers were ordinary folk who had never cultivated any inner arts.
'What to do?'
Seo Baek paused, weighing his options.
'Go back and warn Jeong Su Sa Tae?'
Too time-consuming.
Then, as he glanced around absentmindedly, something caught his eye.
'Perfect. That'll do it.'
It was the corpse of Sichuan Tang Clan's Dang Hong, rolling on the ground.
About half a shichen later.
Ami Faction's Jeong Su Sa Tae appeared on the forest path, leading her procession.
Hundreds of Ami Faction disciples and soldiers trailed wearily behind her.
Shu Dao Pass, Sichuan's sole bastion, had fallen to the revenant horde.
A bitter defeat for Jeong Su Sa Tae.
Yet she refused to yield. She had resolved herself.
'Rendezvous with our main force at Mount Ami, regroup, then hunt down the scattered revenants one by one.'
That's when Jeong Su Sa Tae spotted something on the path and shouted.
"Halt!"
Hundreds stopped in unison at her command.
'What is that?'
One disciple trailing behind asked.
"Sect Leader, what's the matter?"
"Stay here, all of you. I'll check it out."
Jeong Su Sa Tae approached cautiously, step by step.
'This is...'
The moment she realized what lay on the path, she recoiled in shock. Dismembered corpses of black-clad martial artists!
But their arrangement was bizarre.
The severed parts weren't just scattered haphazardly—they formed a deliberate shape.
'Did someone do this on purpose?'
Jeong Su Sa Tae examined the remains closely.
No need for close inspection; the shape was obvious at a glance.
Two arms, a torso, and legs aligned in a gentle leftward curve. The line pointed obliquely to the left.
Her martial prowess matched her sharp mind, and she grasped the meaning instantly.
'Go around?'
Jeong Su Sa Tae carefully stepped past the remains. Her instincts as a master halted her.
'Poison.'
To the naked eye, this stretch of path looked no different from the rest. She inhaled cautiously—no scent.
Yet the air felt heavier against her skin, as if something permeated it entirely...
'Colorless, odorless poison.'
Holding her breath, she backed away beyond the remains. The toxic presence faded.
Stay behind the remains, and you're safe.
Now she understood the macabre warning: go straight ahead, and you'll hit the poison!
Jeong Su Sa Tae called over a senior disciple.
"What lies that way?"
She pointed in the direction the remains indicated.
"The forest ends at a cliff, Sect Leader. But I hear there's an old cliffside path there."
"A cliffside path..."
Then, something on a severed hand's palm glinted in the light.
'What's that?'
Leaning down, Jeong Su Sa Tae gasped.
A jade command token from Shu Dao Pass lay in the corpse's palm!
She picked it up, then swallowed hard in fresh shock. The cuts on the remains were perfectly straight, like slicing paper with scissors.
Even she, a pinnacle expert in Ami Faction swordsmanship, couldn't achieve such precision.
An unfathomable master!
Jeong Su Sa Tae hesitated no longer.
This mysterious expert was warning her of poison and urging a detour. Ignoring it would be foolish, not principled.
She instructed her disciple.
"Walk beside me and guide us to the cliffside path."
"Understood."
"We'll detour via the cliffside path. Everyone, follow the person ahead closely—no straggling."
Infusing her voice with inner energy, Jeong Su Sa Tae addressed the entire procession, then took the lead. The column curved in a wide arc toward the path.
Tucking the jade token away, she thought.
'Truly heavenly fortune. An unnamed master aids Ami Faction.'
But who could it be?
'Cheongsong Faction's Mu Heo Ja? Didn't he perish when Shu Dao Pass fell? And his skills fall short of mine anyway.'
Jeong Su Sa Tae pondered the hidden expert.
Among the martial artists who'd brought wagons, there was a black-clad figure who seemed skilled—but not beyond her level.
'Could it be...'
A sudden realization.
That boy who'd raced across the walls like the wind, cutting down revenants like falling leaves?
The youth with a greatsword as big as himself, wielding it like lightning—enough for an Ami disciple to blurt 'Sword Ghost'.
She'd noted his exceptional swordsmanship and lightness skill for a boy not even in his twenties. But this level of mastery?
'If that boy truly helped Ami Faction...'
An unprecedented prodigy capable of reshaping Central Plains martial society had emerged into the jianghu.
Wang Yi Sam and Yu So Un waited for Seo Baek at a small hermitage on the forest path.
"Where the hell is this kid?"
"It'll be about one shichen soon."
Yu So Un said, eyeing the drifting clouds.
"Didn't Seo Baek say to go ahead if he wasn't back by then?"
"He did."
"So what now? Keep waiting?"
Wang Yi Sam snapped without thinking.
"Of course we wait! You saying we should just leave?"
"Just curious. You got the eight silver ingots anyway—no loss if we go."
"True, but..."
Flustered, Wang Yi Sam barked again.
"I'm a man who knows his sums. Eight ingots split three ways means 153 taels to Seo Baek, so we wait. If you're leaving, go alone!"
"I need my 153 taels back too, so no."
Yu So Un shrugged and added,
"We have to wait the full shichen anyway."
"Why?"
"Seo Baek has the boat key."
"Oh..."
Wang Yi Sam realized Yu So Un was teasing him.
But as he opened his mouth to yell again, Seo Baek popped out—not from the path, but from an unexpected thicket.
"You, why from there...?"
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Took a shortcut since I was late."
Seo Baek had scaled a steep forest slope, yet his breath was steady.
Wang Yi Sam stared blankly, so Seo Baek asked,
"Something on my face?"
"No... why so damn late?"
"Tied up some loose ends."
"If you're gonna be this late, don't come at all!"
He spun away in a huff, still grumbling.
"Damn it, should've left earlier. Thought I'd pocket some free silver, but nah, all ruined."
Seo Baek murmured to Yu So Un,
"Something bad happen?"
"Dunno. Clouds say rain's coming. Bad weather sours moods sometimes."
"I see."
"What're you lot doing? Quit yapping and let's move!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Seo Baek and Yu So Un exchanged smirks and followed Wang Yi Sam.
Leaving the hermitage, the group navigated by map.
The Ami Faction's boat dock didn't look far on paper.
But reality differed.
Sichuan's terrain: sky-piercing peaks and sheer thousand-chi cliffs arrayed like folding screens!
They couldn't go straight—endless detours around impassable spots.
They camped two nights in the mountains.
At least no Central Plains revenants in this rugged area.
After three days of wandering, they found the dock.
Wang Yi Sam whistled in awe.
"Whew, a paradise straight out of legend."
A valley where towering peaks layered like folds, a single river threading through. A scene fit for immortals cultivating the Way—the sight lifted their spirits.
They descended the cliff face to the dock.
It was more a humble ferry point than a proper dock. One boat was moored there.
Not large, and weathered with age.
But Yu So Un's inspection eased their minds.
"Old, but she'll float fine. Crafted solid by a skilled boatwright."
The mast stood straight, seams tight and sturdy.
Seo Baek, who'd spent his life at mountaintop Shika Manor, saw a boat for the first time. Even he could tell it was seaworthy.
A thatched hut stood by the ferry. Out came an old man with disheveled hair.
Seo Baek handed him the key.
"Jeong Su Sa Tae of Ami Faction said we could use the boat."
"Ami Faction key checks out."
The old man was the ferryman hired by Ami Faction. He lived in the hut, maintaining the boat for quick trips to the Central Plains.
"How far you headed?"
"As close to the Central Plains as possible."
"Ever gone down the Long River Three Gorges?"
"No."
"Rapids are fierce, reefs everywhere—dangerous."
"Doesn't matter. Take us."
The group boarded with the ferryman.
A padlock secured the anchor rope. He unlocked it, hauled up the chain.
Soon, the heavy iron anchor emerged from the depths.
Freed from the riverbed, the boat caught the current and surged forward.
A full day on the boat.
The group slept deeply for the first time in ages.
Rapids rocked it endlessly, but flat deck beat rocky ground.
They rose at high noon. The ferryman caught fish; they grilled them over a fire for breakfast.
"Could sail like this year-round."
"Can't. Need to reach the Central Plains ASAP."
"Hey, you're young—what's the rush?"
Wang Yi Sam joked, picking his teeth.
Thud. The boat lurched violently.
"What the—?"
Seo Baek's group leaned over the rail, scanning the water.
The ferryman at the stern called back.
"First gorge of the Long River Three Gorges—Gudang Gorge—nearing. Current's picking up, but don't worry. Dams tame it here."
"Sure?"
"Doubt my word? Sixty years up and down these gorges..."
The ferryman trailed off, swallowing hard as he stared somewhere.
The group followed his gaze and froze. The log boom meant to check the flow lay shattered, mere remnants!
A roar swelled; the current accelerated.
Rumble...
The ferryman cried out in horror.
"Whirlpool!"
A massive vortex spun ferociously at the river's heart.
Their boat accelerated wildly, inexorably drawn toward it.