Invitation from the Jegal Clan (1)
Wang Yi Sam scratched his head as he followed Seo Baek and the blue-robed man.
Are those two really meeting for the first time?
Judging by their ages, they could have been senior and junior brothers from the same sect.
Moreover, they shared several striking similarities.
A way of speaking that pierced straight to the heart.
A demeanor so detached it bordered on the bizarre.
And above all, minds that turned like lightning!
Wang Yi Sam shook his head, banishing the idle thoughts that had crept in.
Whether they resemble each other or not, what do I care?
One truth he'd learned from years in the murim: the stronger the martial artist, the more eccentric they tended to be!
The group moved toward the center of the fortress, far from the barricades.
The grand central tent, which had embodied the Wang Family Fortress's authority just a few hours ago, now stood empty, unguarded by a single warrior.
It was bitterly amusing that Wang Chung and his cohorts—who had sworn not to discriminate by sect or affiliation—had fled in the dead of night to save their own skins.
The people settled into spots inside and around the tent, huddling close. With everyone crammed together, it felt as crowded as a marketplace.
Yet far from rowdy, the silence was so profound you could hear a pin drop.
The thought that revenants might lurk beyond the barricades had them holding even their swallows of fear.
Thus passed a tense stretch of time.
Before long, the sun climbed to midday.
Seo Baek stood and spoke.
"It's time to go."
The blue-robed man gave a slight nod in silent agreement.
Wang Yi Sam, however, wondered why Seo Baek was suggesting departure now.
"With revenants prowling out there, you want to leave already?"
"There are no revenants outside the fortress right now."
Seo Baek answered Wang Yi Sam, then scanned the group watching him and explained further.
"But as time passes and night falls, the revenant horde will sense the presence of the living and return to the fortress."
People exchanged uneasy glances and murmured.
"Which means this is our last chance to leave the fortress."
"……!"
Those words sealed it.
After Seo Baek had stepped in to manage the crisis following the Wang Family's flight, no one could doubt his claim of a final opportunity.
"Let's leave the fortress first and head north. Once we reach Yongzhong, we can seek the Jegal Clan's protection."
The anxious crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief.
The Jegal Clan, descendants of Shu's famed chancellor Zhuge Liang.
As one of the Central Plains' premier righteous sects, they could surely guarantee safety.
Yes, the Jegal Clan is trustworthy.
Hope lit their faces with the same thought.
Just half a day after betrayal by the Wang Family, they pinned their faith on another prestigious sect.
An outsider might have scoffed at them as fools.
But Seo Baek dismissed it impassively.
In uncertain times, crowds clung to something—anything—to believe in.
"Then let's head out."
As Seo Baek took the lead, the others followed.
They soon reached the barricades.
Seo Baek began turning the mechanism to open the fortress's double gates.
A few martial artists stepped forward to assist, but when he operated it alone as effortlessly as before, they watched with bated breath, swallowing hard.
Clunk, clunk, clunk.
Some warriors harbored other thoughts.
That boy clearly knows the mechanism's secret.
How else could a device that hadn't budged for multiple men spin like a waterwheel in a strong current?
Their mistaken assumption stemmed from meager skill and experience.
With the Wang Family taking their guards and fleeing, most left in the fortress were third-rate warriors.
While discrimination by sect was off-limits, their limitations prevented them from grasping Seo Baek's true prowess.
Soon, Seo Baek fully opened the double gates.
As the outside world came into view, the group involuntarily gulped, tensing.
Could a revenant be hiding somewhere out there?
Fortunately, none appeared.
Seo Baek and the blue-robed man strode out boldly.
Seo Baek turned and called to Wang Yi Sam.
"What are you waiting for?"
"R-right, coming…."
Wang Yi Sam, frozen in a daze, startled and hurried after him.
The others began to move, one by one.
Moments later, hundreds of martial artists and refugees streamed out and set off.
Seo Baek consulted the map and addressed the blue-robed man.
"To reach Yongzhong, where the Jegal Clan is, this seems the fastest route. What do you think?"
"Agreed."
The blue-robed man's reply was curt and detached.
"I'll take the vanguard."
"I'll handle the rear."
As the blue-robed man moved to the front, Seo Baek took the opposite position at the back, guarding the rear as they walked.
Wang Yi Sam clicked his tongue inwardly at the sight.
Hah, they've practically formed their own Murim Alliance.
He grumbled half in jest, but viewing it that way, Seo Baek and the blue-robed man truly seemed like the alliance's core figures.
Yet the group's pace refused to quicken.
Trailing at the rear with Seo Baek, Wang Yi Sam grew antsy.
"Who's the slacker holding up our escape?"
Standing on tiptoe to peer ahead, he spotted the cause: the blue-robed man at the front was strolling at a leisurely pace.
Wang Yi Sam's short fuse ignited.
"Should I go give him a piece of my mind? This isn't a pleasure stroll—why so damn slow?"
Seo Baek's response was astonishing.
"This pace is ideal."
"What? Even a slug could outpace us."
"Moving faster roughens your breathing. Martial artists can hold or suppress it briefly, but refugees can't."
"True…."
"At this speed, even they won't pant. It minimizes the risk of revenants detecting living breath."
"……!"
Wang Yi Sam finally grasped Seo Baek's intent.
During the Shu Dao Pass trek, after Jang Wu Myeong's gang attacked, hadn't Seo Baek deliberately slowed them through the revenant field?
Having stuck his neck out needlessly, Wang Yi Sam smacked his lips and trudged on.
An hour had passed since leaving the fortress.
Wang Yi Sam had fretted over revenants, but with no sign, he blustered.
"Not a revenant—or even its grandfather—in sight. Why the hell did the Wang Family run?"
"That was at dawn."
"So the horde moved on by then?"
"Yes."
"Our half-day standoff at the fortress paid off."
Seo Baek corrected him.
"Not half a day—a full day."
"Why?"
"From last night, it adds up to twenty-four hours."
"Last night?"
"When we heard the horses neighing, I predicted the Wang Family would bolt."
"You knew that bastard would run, just like that? Then why not wake me and warn them beforehand…."
Suddenly, a realization struck Wang Yi Sam mid-sentence, and he trailed off.
"Junior, don't tell me…."
"Yes. Both the blue-robed man and I waited deliberately."
"……!"
"Simple stratagem."
Chills raced down Wang Yi Sam's spine.
Seo Baek and the blue-robed man had sensed the Wang Family's flight plans since last night. Yet they'd feigned ignorance and lingered until afternoon.
In effect, they'd used the Wang Family as bait, luring the horde away!
With all the horses taken, the revenants' attention would follow.
The Wang Family had betrayed everyone for their own hides.
But Seo Baek and the blue-robed man had turned them into bait to divert the horde.
A classic lure-and-draw tactic.
Wang Yi Sam, well-versed in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, knew it as theory.
But predicting a real flight and letting it happen? That was no normal thinking!
Yet two abnormal figures were in their midst: Seo Baek and the blue-robed man.
"Shouldn't you have warned the Wang Family sooner?"
For once, Seo Baek's impassive mask cracked with a faint smile.
"Would sectless wanderers' words sway them?"
"……."
He was right.
Just yesterday, hadn't Wang Chung and the others dismissed the blue-robed man's advice outright?
Wang Yi Sam gulped at Seo Baek's chilling ruthlessness.
His curiosity deepened about the blue-robed man, who had effectively co-led the operation.
The group traveled without rest through the day, camping in the fields at night.
People draped clothes or cloth over their heads to fend off dew and forced sleep.
"What if revenants come at night?"
"Don't worry. The horde passed through here—they won't return soon."
With tens of thousands drawn after the Wang Family, it should be safe. Still, Wang Yi Sam tossed fitfully.
His fears proved unfounded; no revenants appeared.
Seo Baek's predictions held true.
Following the map, the group pressed toward Yongzhong and the Jegal Clan.
After three days and nights of field camping, they finally arrived.
It happened as they crested a hill.
At the village entrance in the distance fluttered a flag atop a long pole.
A banner embroidered with white feathers.
Shu's chancellor Zhuge Liang had famously carried a feather fan. The Jegal Clan honored this with feathers as their crest.
"Yongzhong."
"Right, where the Shu Emperor thrice visited a thatched hut."
Though Jegal clansmen thrived across the Central Plains, Yongzhong—as their origin—stirred fresh awe in Seo Baek.
Yet upon reaching the banner, the village seemed deserted, devoid of life.
Wang Yi Sam sighed.
"Everyone fled here too, huh."
"No dust on the flag. Someone cleans it daily—Jegal Clan members are surely here."
Undeterred, Seo Baek led them onward.
Following the central path, they emerged into a small clearing.
A stone platform like a go board held an iron-cast lion statue facing the road.
Its glare evoked majestic vigilance over the Central Plains.
Then, a clear voice rang from the lion.
"Who are you?"
The group, relaxed upon arrival, jolted and stared at the statue.
Wang Yi Sam, appraising its value while circling, fell on his rear in shock.
"What? The lion's talking?!"
Seo Baek stepped forward, cupping his fists in salute toward the statue.
"We are survivors from the Wang Family Fortress in the south, fled from the revenant horde, seeking the Jegal Clan's aid."
"……."
"I am Seo Baek of Shika Manor in Sichuan, en route to Shaolin Temple by my master's command."
"……."
The statue remained silent despite his introduction.
After a pause, the voice returned.
"Welcome to the Jegal Clan."