The Road to Shu Dao Pass (2)
Wang Yi Sam and Jang Wu Myeong doubted their ears.
A way to avoid revenants? Did something like that even exist in the world?
Jang Wu Myeong cried out in disbelief.
"Avoid the revenants? What kind of nonsense is that...?"
"Keep your voice down. The revenants can hear you."
"...!"
Jang Wu Myeong flinched and clamped his mouth shut.
In truth, Seo Baek's warning was a lie.
Revenants couldn't detect humans no matter what they said or how loudly they shouted.
He'd deliberately scared Jang Wu Myeong quiet because there was no time to waste.
'This place will soon be crawling with revenants.'
Even Wang Yi Sam raised a question to Seo Baek.
"You mean we keep going by avoiding the revenants? That's impossible."
"Then what do you suggest, senior? Turn the cart around now?"
"... ."
"Even if we take a detour, it's too late. The revenants from the path we already passed will have revived by now. And in the dead of night, finding another side road is out of the question."
Seo Baek's words were so logical there was no room for argument.
"To avoid revenants, there are three rules everyone must follow."
Seo Baek began his explanation.
"First, hold your breath in front of a revenant."
"Hold our breath? Why?"
"Revenants sense the breath of the living. But if you stop breathing, they'll mistake you for one of their own—a dead one."
"You expect us to believe that? Ridiculous."
Seo Baek ignored Jang Wu Myeong's interruption and continued.
"Second, don't bleed. Revenants smell blood like ghosts and swarm to it. Just like sand sharks in the sea."
Wang Yi Sam had a question at that.
"Those three men died earlier. Won't the blood smell on us draw them?"
"We didn't bleed ourselves, so it should be fine. Unless the smell soaked into our clothes badly..."
"And if it did?"
"Then we're out of luck."
"So bad luck means we're dead meat."
Before they knew it, Wang Yi Sam and Jang Wu Myeong were listening to Seo Baek's explanation as if entranced.
"Third, the hardest rule: in front of a revenant, show no emotions—no joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure."
"Joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure?"
"Any feelings like happiness, rage, sadness, or delight. Revenants are sensitive to changes in a living person's expression. Don't make a single face in front of them. Even a twitch of your eyebrow, and they'll notice you're there."
"... ."
It was hard to believe, so Wang Yi Sam and Jang Wu Myeong fell deep into thought.
Wang Yi Sam still looked half-skeptical, but Jang Wu Myeong made it obvious he was dismissing it as a joke.
Seo Baek didn't care.
In the cutthroat Central Plains martial world, if someone wouldn't open their mouth even when fed, you couldn't force it down their throat.
"Fortunately, there only seem to be blood ghosts here. Follow those three rules, and we'll get through safely."
With that, Seo Baek turned around.
Jang Wu Myeong swallowed hard and asked Wang Yi Sam,
"That kid's seriously planning to push through the forest?"
"Yeah. He doesn't waste words."
Wang Yi Sam spat coldly, then prepared to follow Seo Baek.
Watching them, Jang Wu Myeong trembled with anxiety.
Three ways to avoid revenants? Would that crazy nonsense really fool them?
'That kid's insane. Yeah, definitely crazy.'
Crushed by unease, Jang Wu Myeong comforted himself that way.
Wang Yi Sam glanced sidelong at him.
'That fool's gonna cause big trouble if he keeps it up.'
Greenhorns from prestigious sects or famous clans—raised softly practicing martial arts since childhood and heading out into the jianghu for the first time—were always like that.
Cocky at first, they flailed when they realized death could strike anytime, unable to use even their basic skills.
Some even went mad from terror.
That's exactly how Jang Wu Myeong looked.
And his swordsmanship was so poor he hadn't even made the cut among the twenty Tang Clan recruits.
Suddenly, he was a headache of a burden.
'Should've left him like Seo Baek said.'
Wang Yi Sam regretted it inwardly.
But the water was spilled.
Seo Baek took the sword from his back and said,
"I'll take point. Please handle the cart, seniors."
Seo Baek led the way into the darkness.
Wang Yi Sam and Jang Wu Myeong each gripped their broad dao and sword.
Wang Yi Sam pulled their cart after Seo Baek, and Jang Wu Myeong followed with uneasy steps.
Jang Wu Myeong would rather have sprinted through the forest to escape faster. But Seo Baek was walking slowly for some reason, so he couldn't.
His impatience made his body react. Tense, Jang Wu Myeong felt goosebumps rise all over, his mouth parched dry.
Feeling Jang Wu Myeong's piercing gaze on his back, Seo Baek thought,
'Hold it together. Panic in front of a revenant, and you're dead.'
Rushing made it hard to hold your breath when facing one. Your face would crumple involuntarily too.
That's why Seo Baek walked slowly on purpose.
Soon they approached the abandoned cart.
Seo Baek scanned the area carefully.
The two warriors who'd been driving it were gone.
No revenants either.
The two donkeys were still harnessed to the cart, and the black cloth covered the chest atop it unchanged.
A cart standing alone in the dark forest path.
Any stranger would think it a ghost cart and shiver.
Confirming it safe, Seo Baek approached. At least the donkeys hadn't bolted in panic—small mercy.
Seo Baek gave a wry smile.
'The Tang Clan thought of the donkeys.'
Donkeys were famous for their stubbornness.
Stubborn meant bold and tenacious in human terms. Tales even said they grazed calmly by the road amid slaughter.
Horses, on the other hand, were sensitive. The mere smell of blood—not even revenants—made them go mad.
So using donkeys instead of horses was thorough preparation by the Tang Clan.
Slower than horses by far, but crossing a revenant-infested area? Insensitive donkeys were a hundred times better.
Of course, horses had their uses too.
So sensitive they sensed revenants before humans sometimes.
Once in the Central Plains, fast horses would be needed to break through infested zones.
But that was for later.
First priority: survive and escape the forest!
Wang Yi Sam, who'd caught up, asked Seo Baek,
"How's it look?"
"Not good."
Seo Baek pointed at the cart with his sword and answered.
"Just the cart's here alone. No sign of those two warriors. No revenants, no fight traces, no bloodstains."
Jang Wu Myeong cut in.
"No revenants? That's good, right? The warriors probably ditched the cart and ran."
"No."
Seo Baek shook his head.
"Warriors who risk their lives for Tang Clan pay to haul cargo wouldn't abandon the cart and flee."
"Then where'd they go?"
"They became revenants."
"...!"
Jang Wu Myeong paled, but Seo Baek ignored him and told Wang Yi Sam,
"I'll take this cart. Senior, you handle ours."
"Fine. Hell, might as well haul an extra cart and pocket the pay."
At that, Jang Wu Myeong burst out.
"Our lives are on the line, and you're worried about money?!"
Seo Baek and Wang Yi Sam turned to him in unison.
"Donkeys pull the cart—what's to worry? You won't have to drive it yourself."
"... ."
Speechless at Seo Baek's firm words, Jang Wu Myeong fell silent.
"Let's go, senior."
"Yeah."
Seo Baek took the lead pulling the cart, Wang Yi Sam followed, and the two carts crept through the darkness.
The donkeys were quieter than expected. The cart wheels grated annoyingly loud instead.
Screeech. Creak, creak, creak.
Whenever a wheel hit a rock and jolted, their hearts leaped too.
Time for a cup of tea passed. The forest remained deathly still—no revenants.
Jang Wu Myeong, tension easing, muttered,
"What? Not even a rat around."
Then, rustling came from the forest beside the path.
"What? Didn't you hear that?"
"I heard."
Seo Baek gripped his sword tighter and said,
"Don't forget those three rules."
"... ."
As Jang Wu Myeong swallowed, a figure emerged from the left-side forest.
Thud, thud, thud...
The figure walked weakly, exhausted from ordeal. Arms dangled limp, head bowed low.
But Jang Wu Myeong peered and said,
"Wait... I know that guy. Warrior from the martial hall and inn. Yeah, no doubt!"
"Step back. Now."
Seo Baek warned, but it was useless.
"I'm Jang Wu Myeong, third young master of the Jang Clan. What the hell happened?"
"... ."
The figure said nothing. But clad in black robes and wielding a black staff, he was clearly a warrior.
Confidence surging, Jang Wu Myeong—who'd had a rigid face moments ago—grinned at him.
"Where are your companions?"
"... ."
The figure slightly raised his head, as if straining to hear.
"Didn't hear? Where are the others...?"
"Grrrrowl."
The warrior twisted his face ferociously, growling like a dog. Saliva-dripping fangs gleamed between curled lips.
"...What?"
By the time Jang Wu Myeong realized something was wrong, it was too late.
The revenant roared and lunged, seizing Jang Wu Myeong's throat with both hands.
Crack. Gurrrk.
"Guh! Let go!"
Jang Wu Myeong twisted his torso, shoving his hands between the revenant's grip. Then he spun the other way, drawing a semicircle with his arm.
Golden Crow Hand—to release a collar gripped by an enemy.
Jang Wu Myeong had learned it from a master his clan head father hired at great expense since childhood. His swordplay was mediocre, but the basics of Golden Crow Hand were ingrained.
Clunk.
The revenant's wrists twisted sideways, dislocated.
A scene that would've pleased his father—no wasted money.
But Seo Baek shook his head coldly.
'Pointless.'
Revenants felt no pain. Even dislocated, their arms bent unnaturally to move.
Already dead corpses.
The revenant gaped its jaw wide and sank teeth into Jang Wu Myeong's hand. Then wrenched its head sideways.
Crunch. Rip.
Two fingers and half his palm tore away, marked with bite wounds.
"...Aaaah! My hand!"
Staring blankly at his mangled hand, Jang Wu Myeong screamed in frenzy.
"You idiot!"
Wang Yi Sam raised his broad dao to save him.
But just as he charged, Seo Baek laid his sword flat to block him?
"Too late."
The revenant piled onto Jang Wu Myeong; they tumbled to the ground entangled. It gnawed greedily at his nape, over and over.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Jang Wu Myeong shrieked like a beast in slaughter.
"Gaaaaah!"
Even for a ragtag mercenary, being eaten alive was too gruesome to watch.
Wang Yi Sam aimed to behead both.
"Move your sword. At least let him die quick...!"
"That's too late too."
"...!"
As Seo Baek spoke, dozens of revenants abruptly emerged from the forest.