Lost in the Gorges of the Central Plains (2)
Seo Baek's group had bypassed Shu Dao Pass, crossing the Long River Three Gorges instead, and arrived in the Central Plains far sooner than expected.
Yet the treacherous canyons of the Three Gorges showed no sign of ending.
They scaled a few sheer peaks, only to emerge briefly into open fields before another cliff face loomed ahead, blocking their path.
The group detoured around the cliffs.
But once they veered off course, the path kept twisting endlessly.
"Why does it feel like the gorges are multiplying the farther we go? We ain't heading back to Sichuan, are we?"
"We're heading toward the rising sun, so no. However..."
"However what?"
"I have no idea where we are right now."
After a full day lost in the labyrinth of canyons, Seo Baek had no choice but to admit the truth.
"It seems we've lost our way."
There was simply no telling where they were on the map.
"So what now?"
"What do you mean? We keep going."
Wang Yi Sam vented his frustration, but Yu So Un cut in.
"How? We don't even know the way."
"You wanna turn back? We can't after coming this far."
"Even if the sky falls, this guy's grinning."
"Don't you know there's always a way out, even if the sky crashes down?"
Yu So Un shot back with optimistic flair, and Wang Yi Sam just clicked his tongue.
Seo Baek wasn't as breezy as Yu So Un; he was the type to act only after cold calculation.
But right now, Yu So Un was spot on.
"It's too late to turn back."
Even if they did, the map was useless—they'd never figure out the right direction.
Changing course now might trap them in these canyons forever!
But a far graver problem than being lost plagued the group.
Food.
Water was plentiful along the canyon streams.
But food? Nothing but the occasional wild berry. The swift currents offered no fish.
The jerky Seo Baek had prepared for winter had swelled and molded after getting soaked.
Yu So Un's travel rations—dried rice cakes—had suffered the same fate.
Wang Yi Sam had no supplies of his own. And no one was gnawing on silver taels.
Seo Baek inspected the jerky closely but gave up.
"We have to toss this."
"Deer meat jerky, right? Tsk, what a waste."
"Even a body immune to all poisons would revolt—and you'd be shitting your guts out."
"Any bright ideas?"
Seeing Wang Yi Sam eye the jerky with regret, Yu So Un spoke up.
"It's not like there's no way."
"What way?"
"Try eating some. If it sits well, great. If not, chuck it."
"What? You want me to test it on my body?"
"Is it wrong to suggest that to a guy drooling over jerky?"
"You little shit! I'll shove it down your throat first!"
Having survived death together in the Three Gorges, their bickering carried a warmth like never before.
The surroundings were barren rock—no game in sight.
"Shoulda just swum the Three Gorges. At least we could've caught fish."
Wang Yi Sam grumbled, and Seo Baek and Yu So Un nodded in rare agreement.
In the end, they pushed on for two days and nights, bellies empty, bloated only from water.
Wang Yi Sam, trudging with head bowed, glanced at his feet. Pointing to his leather boots, he said,
"Think we could eat these? The hide came from a live cow. They say you eat every bit of a cow, right?"
"No."
"Boil 'em into soup? The broth'd have meat flavor, yeah?"
"Just your foot stink."
Clutching their starving guts, Seo Baek's group pressed on endlessly.
The Central Plains teemed with people—you could always hear voices anywhere. Coming from the Three Gorges, they should have spotted villages or merchant caravans by now.
But no trace of humanity.
Another curse of the revenant plague.
"How's there not a soul in sight?"
"Indeed."
On the third day of scraping by on hunger,
they rounded a cliff and entered a forest. Midway through, Seo Baek raised a fist.
The signal to halt.
"Revenants?"
"..."
Seo Baek shook his head silently.
No revenants, so no need to whisper. He'd signaled to conserve even the breath for speaking—hunger sapped their strength.
"Then what?"
"A trap."
"Trap?"
Wang Yi Sam and Yu So Un's eyes sharpened.
Pushing through the brush revealed a large trap beside a tree stump.
"Hunting trap!"
Wang Yi Sam charged with glee.
But at the trap, his shoulders slumped.
"Empty..."
The jaws were clamped shut—empty. The animal had escaped somehow.
"Damn it. Thought we'd eat."
"Lucky beast."
"What about our luck? Any worse and we'll starve!"
"What do you want me to do?"
Yu So Un shrugged as Wang Yi Sam barked.
While they bantered fondly, Seo Baek leaned in to examine the trap.
Odd.
"Junior, why stare at an empty trap?"
"It's not just empty. There's blood—and something strange caught with it."
"Who cares? The beast got away."
"No beast, but one thing's clear."
"What?"
"Someone set this trap. Means people nearby."
"...!"
Wang Yi Sam startled, but Yu So Un was already leaping into the trees.
He scaled to the top in a flash, scanning around.
He dropped down soon after. Seo Baek asked,
"Where?"
"Si direction—south-southeast."
Archer Yu So Un. Pinpointing distant targets demanded keen eyesight.
Seo Baek bolted that way without question.
Yu So Un followed; baffled, Wang Yi Sam called,
"Where the hell we going?"
"Saw tents in a clearing yonder."
"Tents?"
"Means hunters nearby."
"Hunters? Then food!"
Wang Yi Sam perked up at last.
Forgetting hunger, they raced through the forest.
It soon gave way to a wide clearing with several makeshift tents.
As Seo Baek's group approached, two sentries spotted them and shouted,
"Halt!"
A sharp whistle pierced the air.
Dozen warriors burst from cover, encircling them in seconds.
Seo Baek scanned them quickly.
Yellow turbans, yellow robes.
Uniform and neat—righteous sect, likely. But hard to pinpoint the faction from attire alone.
Shing. Swords drawn in unison.
"Who are you?"
"Suspicious. Revenants?"
Seo Baek countered,
"Not revenants. No bite marks."
"..."
The warriors eyed them steadily.
Seo Baek's group looked ragged from starvation.
But after drying their clothes post-Gorges plunge, not a bloodstain marred them.
A clear voice rang from behind the warriors.
"They don't look like revenants."
The men parted. Their leader stepped forward.
A man in his mid-thirties. Too young for a gang leader, with a gentle face to boot.
He wore yellow turban and robe, but nobility graced his features and bearing.
One warrior bowed and reported,
"Gang leader, they approached camp suddenly."
"I said not to call me that before outsiders."
"Yes, gang leader. Er..."
The warrior trailed off, but the man chuckled, letting it slide. He clasped hands in salute to Seo Baek's group.
"I am Cheon Ri Hyeong of the Iron Palm Gang."
"...!"
Iron Palm Gang.
Not among the Nine Great Sects or Five Clans, but a gang swiftly expanding its power.
The man before them was none other than acting leader Cheon Ri Hyeong. His admonition to his subordinate hinted at complications.
Wang Yi Sam and Yu So Un exchanged sighs and glances.
"Ended up at Iron Palm Mountain after all."
"Seems so."
Seo Baek's group had aimed east—toward sunrise—for Yongzhong.
But endless detours around cliffs had veered them south. Straight to southeastern Iron Palm Mountain.
"Damn! We took the long way around!"
Wang Yi Sam griped; Seo Baek replied calmly,
"What's done is done. Forget it."
"Must be nice being so chill, junior!"
"Life's hard enough without dwelling on the past."
Yu So Un grinned cheekily.
"Seo Baek's the only real adult here."
"Tch, as if!"
Wang Yi Sam pouted at the jab, then turned to Cheon Ri Hyeong.
"I know your deputy, Son Il Seo. Where's he at?"
Cheon Ri Hyeong exchanged looks with his men before answering.
"The deputy was lost to a revenant horde."
"Ah... that's rough..."
Wang Yi Sam trailed off with feigned sympathy.
Yu So Un and Seo Baek whispered sidelong,
"Sad for the man or the lost connection?"
"Both, but I'd bet on the latter if money's on it."
Cheon Ri Hyeong asked again,
"Which sect do you hail from?"
"We're unaffiliated wanderers. Lost after crossing the Three Gorges, we stumbled upon you."
Seo Baek returned the salute formally.
The Iron Palm men's eyes turned icy.
They glared down with disdain!
No sect? Drifters?
With revenants rampant, even sectless scum call themselves murim warriors!
"This area's under Iron Palm Mountain's sway—Iron Palm Gang territory. What business here?"
Even Cheon Ri Hyeong's mild tone carried subtle contempt.
"Not here for the Iron Palm Gang."
"Then?"
"We crossed the Three Gorges under guidance from Ami Faction leader Jeong Su Sa Tae out of Sichuan."
"Ami Faction? You met their leader?"
"Yes."
Cheon Ri Hyeong flinched.
Sure enough, his men gulped and exchanged wide-eyed looks.
Prestigious Ami Faction among the righteous.
Claiming to have met—and been guided by—their leader shifted their gaze entirely.
The shock didn't end there.
"Now we're rushing to meet Shaolin Temple's abbot."
"...!"
Three sectless wanderers met Ami leader and were off to see Shaolin's abbot?
The Iron Palm men recovered, dismissing it as bluff.
Then Seo Baek drew out a map and unfurled it.
"The map from Ami Faction's Jeong Su Sa Tae got soaked. We took a wrong turn—ended up at Iron Palm Mountain."
Ink-smeared and faded.
But the bold red seal at the top was unmistakable.
Ami Faction seal!
The Iron Palm men's eyes changed in an instant.
Seo Baek, oblivious or indifferent, studied the map impassively.