Wang Family Fortress (2)
Wang Yi Sam was the first to react to Yu So Un's words.
"What do you mean we can't go together?"
"Exactly what I said. I'll have to part ways here."
"Hah! Looks like you've got some big connections with the Wang family clan!"
Wang Yi Sam grumbled, clearly disappointed deep down.
Unlike him, Seo Baek asked calmly.
"What's going on?"
"I have no business with the Wang family clan itself. Just something in Wangga Ridge."
"Someone you're looking for in Wangga Ridge?"
"You can't fool Seo Baek, can you?"
Yu So Un meant he was heading to Wangga Ridge to find someone. Realizing his own misunderstanding, Wang Yi Sam asked again.
"Who is it? We can go with you."
"That's not possible."
Yu So Un shook his head as he replied.
"It's at least a week to Wangga Ridge, so round trip would take half a month. I can't burden Seo Baek with that."
"Urgh…"
Wang Yi Sam knew well that Seo Baek was in a hurry to reach Shaolin Temple. He couldn't complain further and just sighed.
"I don't even know if the person I'm looking for is in Wangga Ridge. I can't ask you all to come along for something so uncertain."
"The one who went to Yunnan first?"
"No, the person in Wangga Ridge is a sage who has grasped the truths of all things in the world. I vaguely recall hearing that Wangga Ridge is his hometown."
Yu So Un's explanation was clear, but Wang Yi Sam still couldn't shake his dissatisfaction.
"Hometown? You think a grown man would still be hanging around his hometown?"
"That's why I said I don't know if he's there."
"A sage? Some bookworm, then."
"A sage who practices Taoist arts."
"Taoist arts? Some wandering taoist must've rolled in from somewhere."
Wang Yi Sam crossed his arms and turned his head away.
Seo Baek and Yu So Un exchanged smiles.
They knew Wang Yi Sam was just reluctant to part with a comrade he cherished.
"I can't travel with you, but I'll head north right after finding the sage, so we'll meet at Shaolin Temple."
"If you find him quickly, we might even cross paths on the way."
"Even better."
Yu So Un slung his bow, quiver, and bundle over his shoulder from where they'd been set on the ground.
"When you reach the Jegal clan, mention my name and say you're taking on a mission for the Murim Alliance's First Young Master. They'll surely accommodate you."
"Understood."
At that moment, something occurred to Wang Yi Sam, and he spoke up.
"Hey! What about the silver?"
"Keep it safe and return it when we meet at Shaolin Temple."
"What if I spend it all before then?"
"I'll collect every single coin—with interest."
"You heartless bastard!"
For all his words, Wang Yi Sam's eyes still held that lingering regret.
"See you at Shaolin Temple, then."
"Take care."
After exchanging a final glance, Yu So Un turned briskly and vanished into the forest.
Watching his retreating figure, Wang Yi Sam turned his complaint on Seo Baek this time.
"Parting with a comrade we've traveled with from Sichuan—doesn't that bother the junior at all?"
"We'll meet again anyway. The real regret is in eternal farewells."
Seo Baek's voice came out stiffer than usual.
With that, he turned away, leaving Wang Yi Sam shrugging in confusion.
"Did I say something wrong?"
Seo Baek hadn't snapped at Wang Yi Sam out of anger. Shika Manor had simply flashed through his mind.
His master, his master's wife, his senior and junior brothers and sisters.
He would never see them again. An eternal farewell.
Gazing at the forest where Yu So Un had disappeared, Seo Baek thought.
'We'll meet again at Shaolin Temple. No matter what.'
Once the martial artists finished the wild boar meat, Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam extinguished the fire and followed them along the path.
The martial artists, who had briefly relaxed while eating, now resumed their vigilant stance.
One could never tell when or where a revenant might burst out.
In contrast, Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam strolled through the forest with perfect composure.
A martial artist from the Wang family clan noticed and asked Wang Yi Sam.
"Why are you so relaxed? This is revenant-infested territory—wouldn't be surprised if one jumped out right in front of us."
"No revenants around here."
"How do you know?"
"I just do."
In truth, Wang Yi Sam's calm came from Seo Baek.
If a revenant appeared, Seo Baek would sense it faster than anyone. With no tension from him, Wang Yi Sam felt secure.
The clueless martial artist mistook it for Wang Yi Sam's guts and tilted his head.
Then, glancing at Seo Baek, he added.
"Bringing a kid along on your jianghu travels must be tough."
"A kid? You don't know a thing. He's the strongest swordsman I've ever seen in my life."
"That little squirt? Pfft."
The martial artist snorted, refusing to believe it.
Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam arrived at the fortress about an hour after passing through the forest with the group.
"This is the Wang Family Fortress, built by the Wang family clan."
The Wang Family Fortress sat in a basin surrounded by cliffs on three sides.
Revenants didn't climb high places or traverse treacherous terrain on purpose. To approach, one had to pass through the unguarded entrance.
Logs were lined up there to form a tall barricade. Sharpened logs were also slanted and driven into the ground.
A wall of logs bristling like porcupine quills.
Preparation for a revenant horde assault.
The optimal fortress, leveraging the terrain!
Wang Yi Sam admired the barricade.
"Not as good as Shu Dao Pass, but pretty decent."
But Seo Baek quietly shook his head and countered.
"Well-built, but too weathered. Against a horde of tens of thousands like at Shu Dao Pass, it wouldn't hold—it'd collapse."
He pointed at spots along the barricade with his index finger.
"Untreated fresh wood, rotted in places from weather. A horde pushing would punch holes in half an hour."
"That so?"
"Entrance is well-defended, but not enough manpower to guard the whole barricade. Hard to spot a horde before it reaches."
"Tch. Yeah, now that you mention it."
"Even Shu Dao Pass fell. Thinking logs or stones can stop a revenant horde is a huge mistake."
"Damn it! How the hell do we even fight these revenants?"
Wang Yi Sam vented, but Seo Baek didn't reply aloud this time. He thought to himself.
'That's why we're heading to Shaolin Temple.'
As the martial artists approached, the guards at the entrance hoisted up the log gate vertically.
Clunk, clunk, clunk.
The first gate rose, but the fortress interior remained hidden. Another gate lay behind it.
The Wang Family Fortress entrance was double-layered.
Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam followed the martial artists inside the barricade. The first gate slammed shut behind them.
The Wang family clan martial artist briefly introduced Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam to the fortress folk.
The apparent entrance captain looked at them and said.
"Welcome to the Wang Family Fortress. It's a place where martial artists unite against revenant hordes, open to all regardless of sect."
But things took a turn contrary to his words.
The martial artists exchanged glances with the captain, then stepped aside toward the walls.
In the next instant, the fortress captain and warriors leveled their spears at Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam in unison.
Clack!
Not just spears. Warriors atop the watchtowers behind the barricade nocked arrows and took aim.
Ready to thrust spears and loose arrows at the slightest provocation.
With the sudden shift, Wang Yi Sam exploded in anger.
"You said you don't bar those who come— what's this outrage?"
The captain stepped forward.
"To enter the Wang Family Fortress, there's one condition. That is…"
"Proving you're not a revenant, right?"
A clear voice cut off the captain, echoing off the barricade. The warriors involuntarily turned their heads.
The voice belonged to Seo Baek.
"Let one revenant slip in, and the whole fortress gets infected. I understand."
"…"
The warriors stared blankly, struck at the core.
A boy who didn't even look twenty.
Yet he saw right through their revenant screening process…
Even the warriors who had first sneered at the greatsword-bearing youth now viewed him differently.
The captain crossed his arms and stepped back three paces.
"You know well. Then we'll confirm you're not revenants."
Wang Yi Sam, baffled, asked.
"What the hell do you want us to do?"
"Check for bite wounds. Take off your clothes."
"Take 'em off?"
"Of course."
"You messing with me? Right here? Buck naked?"
"Not a thread left. Strip completely."
Wang Yi Sam turned to Seo Baek in disbelief.
But Seo Baek was already removing his pack and shedding his windbreaker robe.
Something clicked for Wang Yi Sam.
'Come to think of it, the Yi Hyeol Bang guys did the same.'
He recalled when he first met Seo Baek in Sichuan—Jin Seok Pyeong and his Yi Hyeol Bang thugs stripping people to check for revenants.
"Junior, do we really have to?"
"Any other way?"
"…Nope."
Seo Baek's answer was firm.
Wang Yi Sam reluctantly began fumbling with his clothes, embarrassed.
Seo Baek, meanwhile, swiftly stripped off everything, thinking as he did.
Unlike Wang Yi Sam, he found the Wang Family Fortress rather impressive.
'They don't know about true revenants, but they've got decent precautions against blood ghosts.'
The spears the entrance guards held lacked steel tips—just sharpened wood.
Useless in martial duels, but effective against revenant hordes. No metal needed, cheap to mass-produce. Optimal cost-effective weapon against revenants.
'Fix the barricade, and it'd be a solid fortress.'
On the flip side, a decent fortress meant people feared revenants that much.
Meaning they were drawing closer to the capital where revenants raged!
As he stripped, Wang Yi Sam spoke up.
"Hold on. Women have to strip to enter too, right?"
"Probably."
"You go in first, junior. I'll wait outside for any women and enter later."
"Planning to peep?"
"Peep? What do you take me for! If it's the fortress rule, I can't unsee what's in front of me—I'm innocent, ahem!"
Wang Yi Sam coughed and dodged.
Seo Baek nodded toward the martial artists in the corner.
"That one over there looks like a woman. They'll check her separately when women arrive."
"Tch. So close."
Wang Yi Sam clicked his tongue, unable to hide his regret.
By then, Seo Baek had shed his outer and inner garments, standing fully nude.
"Ready. Check me."
In that moment, Wang Yi Sam and the fortress warriors alike gaped at Seo Baek's body, utterly stunned.