On the Road to Shaolin Temple (2)
Wang Yi Sam swallowed hard, his tension mounting.
Song Hyeon was right.
Chang'an, Luoyang, Kaifeng.
These were among the most populous cities in the Central Plains. If the people living there had all turned into revenants, their numbers would be beyond imagining.
Wang Yi Sam had spent the last decade or so roaming mainly around the south of the Yangtze and Sichuan regions. In the process, he'd completely overlooked the dire state at the heart of the Central Plains.
And the even bigger problem was that Shaolin Temple lay right in the middle of it all.
Shaolin Temple stood atop Xiao Shi Peak on Song Mountain.
Song Mountain—the dead center of Henan Province!
The realization hit him like a thunderbolt, and a curse slipped out unbidden.
"Damn those bald-headed monks! With all the mountains in the Central Plains, why the hell did they have to build their temple there of all places?"
Song Hyeon replied indifferently.
"Shaolin is the pillar of the Murim world, the great ancestral mountain of the martial arts. It's only natural for it to stand at the center of the Central Plains."
"Yeah, but..."
Wang Yi Sam trailed off, stealing a glance at Seo Baek. He harbored a faint hope that the young man might change his mind and scrap the trip to Shaolin altogether.
But that hope was dashed in an instant.
"Passing through the border regions would be impossible. We'll have to find another way."
"......"
Seo Baek's curt words left Wang Yi Sam with no room to argue. He couldn't even muster a protest, reduced instead to silent inner groaning.
"Conveniently, there's a place nearby that I know of."
"A source of information on reaching Shaolin while avoiding the revenants?"
Song Hyeon nodded wordlessly in response to Seo Baek's question, then took the lead.
As Seo Baek and Song Hyeon set off, Wang Yi Sam found his feet rooted to the spot—but with no choice, he dragged himself after them. His steps were as heavy as a condemned man's march to the execution ground.
Sigh. He's not the type to listen just because a senior tells him not to go.
Once he'd given up, his mind eased a little.
Travelers typically walked by day and slept by night.
Seo Baek's group did the opposite.
When the sun hung high at midday, they sought shady spots to sleep. They rose only as dusk fell, then moved under cover of darkness.
Revenants were more active at night than during the day.
Falling asleep at night only to wake surrounded by a revenant horde would spell doom. Better to sleep by day and travel by night.
There were ways to sleep at night, of course—taking turns standing watch.
But the issue was the need for a fire.
"Blood Ghosts don't react to firelight, but who knows what might happen? Better to play it safe from the start."
In a situation where they might stumble upon a massive revenant horde at any moment, anywhere, Seo Baek had chosen the safest path.
Song Hyeon nodded quietly in approval of the decision.
Wang Yi Sam followed without a word.
No point saying anything. I'd just get a lecture on asking foolish questions and getting wise answers.
He was spot on.
After three days and nights of this inverted travel, signs of human habitation finally appeared.
But there were no people to be found. Everyone had fled, leaving streets and homes alike eerily empty.
"This way."
Song Hyeon led the group into a narrow alley.
After a long walk, they emerged on the opposite side of the village.
Yet Song Hyeon didn't stop.
He halted only in a secluded clearing deep in the woods.
The village had been a ghost town, utterly lifeless, but strangely, this clearing glowed with firelight.
In that moment, Wang Yi Sam realized what Song Hyeon had brought them to.
This is a black market spot!
Black spots—hidden gatherings where outlaws traded information and manpower away from prying eyes.
Wang Yi Sam had worked one in the past.
But black market jobs usually involved dishonorably taking lives, which didn't suit his temperament at all. He'd chosen the path of sword-for-hire instead.
Black spots weren't easy to find, even if you wanted to.
They were often remote inns standing alone in desolate areas. Enter one without being part of the black path crowd, and you'd be lucky to leave with your head still on your shoulders.
Or, like this one, tucked away in an isolated woods near a village.
These markets didn't open just anytime, either.
Black path groups convened secretly at prearranged times—once a month, every three months, or even once a year, depending.
Which meant Song Hyeon finding one now implied he had sharp eyes on the black path's dealings.
Or else...
He's the boss of the black path crews himself!
The thought sent cold sweat trickling down Wang Yi Sam's back.
He whispered urgently to Seo Baek.
"Junior, you know what this place is?"
"Looks like a black spot."
Seo Baek, who had only recently left Shika Manor for the Central Plains, seemed to know everything.
"Then you know what a black spot is. Can we trust that guy? Something about him rubs me the wrong way."
"A senior who doesn't fear revenant hordes, scared of this?"
"It's a black spot, damn it! I don't wanna end up as human dumplings!"
"Don't worry. It'd cost them a fortune to make dumplings out of you and me."
As Seo Baek strode forward confidently, Wang Yi Sam shook his head and followed with a sigh.
Crossing the clearing brought them to an abandoned house opposite, light leaking from within.
A bonfire blazed in the courtyard, surrounded by black path ruffians lounging about.
Even in this chaos, these black market scum are still doing business.
Wang Yi Sam was equal parts exasperated and impressed.
Song Hyeon approached a man clad head to toe in black robes, an eyepatch over his left eye, and spoke.
"Looking for a box."
"What shape?"
"Square."
"Square boxes are still seaworthy."
"Where can I find one?"
"Four days on four legs to the east, a week on two."
With that, Song Hyeon tossed a piece of silver to the man and turned away.
Wang Yi Sam, having overheard, was baffled.
The exchange was in black talk, the coded slang of black spots—a dialect Wang Yi Sam knew well.
But even so, he couldn't make heads or tails of it.
He hurried to Song Hyeon.
"What the hell was that about? A square box?"
But it was the usually silent Seo Baek who spoke up first, as if realization had dawned.
"A square box means a barge!"
"Exactly."
Song Hyeon nodded calmly, which only piqued Wang Yi Sam's curiosity further.
"A barge? What're you talking about?"
"Bangju—it's shaped like a box and carries loads of cargo and people, so yeah, like a box."
"...Tch, got it."
Unable to argue, Wang Yi Sam clicked his tongue.
Then a thought struck him.
"Hold on! You saying we take another boat? I rode enough damn boats in the Three Gorges to last a lifetime."
Wang Yi Sam had nearly drowned crossing the Three Gorges from Sichuan to the Central Plains. Small wonder he hated boats.
"The Three Gorges are infamous for their rapids."
"Damn right! I swore never to set foot on water again!"
"No water this time. The current will be like a pond compared to the Gorges."
"Hmph, a river like that in the Central Plains?"
"There is. The Grand Canal."
"......!"
Only then did Wang Yi Sam catch on.
The Central Plains were bisected by the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, making east-west travel easy but north-south treks a slog.
During the Sui Dynasty, the Grand Canal had been dug to link north and south.
The Sui had bankrupted themselves on the project and collapsed, but the canal endured as the lifeline connecting the realms.
Song Hyeon's "square box"—the barge—was perfect for the canal: slow but steady, boxy enough to haul massive loads of goods and passengers.
"Take a barge from a Yangtze tributary, pass through Yang Province where the canal begins, and head north. It runs all the way to Luoyang, so it's the only way to Shaolin without tangling with revenant hordes."
Wang Yi Sam, well-versed in Central Plains geography, traced the route in his mind.
His jaw dropped.
"Wait! That loops halfway around the Central Plains!"
"Got a better idea?"
"......"
Song Hyeon's retort shut Wang Yi Sam down cold.
"Not the best route, but a solid second choice. A barge on the canal will be several times faster than walking."
True enough.
Wang Yi Sam reconsidered: hiking through Hubei and Henan versus boating the long way around—the time difference wouldn't be that great.
In the end, he was convinced by their logic.
"Fine. I swore off boats, but a barge ain't a boat, right? Anyway, what was that four legs, two legs bit?"
He had one last question, but Seo Baek answered first this time.
"Four legs means four days on horseback from the dock; two legs, a week on foot."
"Ah......"
Four legs for a horse, two for walking.
He got the black talk now, but losing to Seo Baek again left Wang Yi Sam glum and silent.
Noticing his downcast mood, Seo Baek offered reassurance.
"It'll delay us by at least half a month, but we'll avoid the hordes and get there safe. As the old saying goes—when in a hurry, take the long way."
"Tch, more of that 'fool asks, sage answers' crap."
Wang Yi Sam grumbled, but true to his optimistic nature, his anger had already faded.
The group bought three horses at the black spot and set off.
Wang Yi Sam, who carried the silver taels, handled the payment.
It was their shared funds, really, but he acted like it was coming straight from his pocket.
"This is hard-earned coin."
"Not all yours, Senior. There's my share and Brother So Un's too."
"I know, I know. Just hurts to spend it."
Song Hyeon, riding ahead, turned his horse and asked.
"Did you say So Un just now?"
"Yes."
"What kind of man?"
"Around thirty, wore light blue robes, face pale and delicate as a woman's."
Wang Yi Sam chimed in.
"Guy's arrows were something else."
Song Hyeon's eye gleamed.
"Surname Yu, given name So Un. Yu So Un?"
"That's him. You know him?"
"I do."
"Brother So Un was heading back from Yunnan after Murim Alliance business, looking for someone. We met him in Sichuan. Was the one he sought in Yunnan..."
"Me, most likely."
Song Hyeon nodded affirmatively.
Even the usually composed Seo Baek's mouth fell open slightly as he turned to Wang Yi Sam—who gaped in outright shock.
"What? So the guy's path crossed again?"
"Crossed? What do you mean?"
"He was coming with us to Shaolin but split off to find someone else."
"When?"
"Before we went to the Jegal family... Argh! If he'd gone with us to Jegal, you'd have met!"
"Calling him directionally challenged confirms it's So Un."
Song Hyeon nodded impassively, then asked.
"But who was this 'someone else'?"
"Said he was seeking a sage who grasped the world's truths. Headed to Wang Family Ridge."
"I see. But the sage won't be there."
"He's not?"
"The sage's hometown is Wang Family Ridge, but he never retired there. Far as I know, he's elsewhere."
Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam exchanged glances and sighed again.
"That directionless fool's circling the whole Central Plains for nothing."
"Couldn't find a single soul."
As the two stood dumbfounded, Song Hyeon tossed out a casual line and spurred his horse ahead.
"So Un will head to Shaolin too. We'll all meet again."