Chapter 58
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Black Wolf Brigade
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Seonwoyong suddenly stopped playing, and Han Sojung was the first to speak.
“Brother. What’s wrong?”
Seonwoyong raised his right index finger vertically and pressed it to his lips.
Han Sojung, of course, along with Jin Seolhwa and Moyong Cheong, now strained their ears in the darkness.
But Seonwoyong didn’t wait for their reactions and stood up.
“I have to go. Guests who come calling at this hour won’t be welcome ones. Especially out here on the open grassland.”
Seonwoyong leaped lightly down the hillside without waiting for a reply.
Guqin still in one hand.
Moyong Cheong and Jin Seolhwa, not understanding what was happening, followed behind with Han Sojung.
And only when they reached the caravan’s campsite did they finally understand.
The thunderous sound of countless horses’ hooves began reaching their ears.
The caravan’s escort warriors were already armed and lined up at the front.
Seonwoyong had returned at once and issued a warning to Sa Hongcheon.
Dogwang and Bangchung had risen from their spots and were peering into the darkness beyond.
Now the hoofbeats echoed from all directions, and moments later, black silhouettes revealed themselves under the starlight.
There were more than two hundred riders.
The resounding hoofbeats that had shaken the surroundings came to a halt, and beyond the caravan’s blazing campfires, they arrayed themselves in formation.
Towering Ironclad Gangpyo stepped forward first.
“Tell us who you are. It’s the dead of night, so we have little to offer by way of hospitality, but we can provide a few jars of liquor.”
Despite Gangpyo’s words, the riders in the darkness remained silent, though the occasional snort from a horse could be heard.
“We’ve heard tales of the Shenzhou Merchant Group’s boundless generosity from the western regions, but a mere few jars of liquor? What a letdown. Heh heh...”
A black horse advanced toward the flickering campfirelight.
Its rider was clad in a black leather cloak with upturned collar.
“You already know our caravan. Then get to the point. I am Towering Ironclad Gangpyo, in charge of the Shenzhou Merchant Group’s escort.”
Gangpyo shifted the iron club from his left hand to his right and took another step forward.
“Heh heh... Towering Ironclad, eh? Quite the imposing figure. But this is already the vast grassland. The grassland has its own laws. A puny iron club like that won’t get you far.”
It was a voice brimming with confidence, and it rang entirely true.
When a mounted force targeted a wagon train like this, it wasn’t a matter resolved by superior or inferior martial prowess alone.
That was precisely why the Mongol cavalry had been able to conquer the Central Plains and the very ends of the earth.
“State your business. This Gangmo will listen with all due respect.”
“No need for concern. If we’d set our sights on attacking your caravan, we’d have greeted you first with a hail of arrows.”
At that moment, Sa Hongcheon stepped forward.
Since the other side wanted to talk, there was no reason to simply listen from behind Gangpyo.
“I am Sa Hongcheon. I oversee this trade route, humble as my efforts may be. Might I first hear your esteemed name, good sir?”
“Ah, so you’re that famed Resolute Sword Guest. I am Chaepil, who makes his living on these grasslands alongside my brothers of the Black Wolf Brigade. The locals hereabouts call me the Black Wolf General, but it’s hardly a name known far and wide. What good am I for beyond boozing and whoring? Heh heh...”
But Sa Hongcheon’s expression hardened as he listened.
Contrary to the man’s self-deprecation, the Black Wolf Brigade was the supreme bandit gang that roamed the vast grasslands from Lanzhou to Dunhuang like their own backyard.
Sa Hongcheon had heard more than his ears could bear about them from the owner of the Takyoung Guest Inn, Wind Moon Divine Fist Seomunpyeong.
The fortunate part was their strict code of conduct: they rarely engaged in needless slaughter or plunder, and in most cases, a fixed toll sufficed to pass without incident.
Even now, hundreds of riders held their breath without a sound, their full attention fixed on every gesture of their leader, Chaepil.
It exuded the iron discipline one might expect only from the elite cavalry of the Great Ming Empire.
“Oh! So you’re the renowned hero Chaepil of the famed Black Wolf Brigade. What an honor to meet you. This Sa Hongcheon has long admired your great name.”
As Sa Hongcheon piled on the flattery, Chaepil burst into booming laughter.
“Kah hah... Elder, your tongue’s as smooth as silk. This Cha bows in admiration.”
“Come, no need to stand on ceremony—dismount and share a few jars with this old man. What fortune to encounter a rare hero like yourself in these wide-open grasslands. What are you lot waiting for? Stoke the fires higher and roast some dried meat!”
Sa Hongcheon fawned even more warmly over Chaepil, but the man was no pushover.
“No need to rush. True, after galloping through this vast grassland till dead of night, I did hope for a drink or two—but that comes after we’ve talked. Let’s wrap this up first.”
“Very well. Then this Sa shall open his ears wide and listen intently. Pray, bestow your wisdom—I shall obey as my abilities allow.”
“Nothing to it. It’s two thousand li from here to Dunhuang. The Black Wolf Brigade will escort your caravan the whole way. What say you?”
Sa Hongcheon was momentarily thrown.
The other’s intentions weren’t clear.
“Hah hah. How could a mere caravan like ours impose such trouble on Brigade Leader Cha? We’re grateful for the kind words, but we’ll humbly accept the sentiment alone. Of course, to express our thanks, this Sa will offer ample compensation.”
Traveling day and night for dozens of days alongside hundreds of unknown brigands was a peril beyond measure.
It was only natural for Sa Hongcheon to refuse so tactfully.
“Kah hah... Elder, are you truly so obtuse? The streets of Lanzhou are already buzzing with rumors. Word that the Shenzhou Merchant Group is hauling tens of thousands of bolts of silk and cartloads of azure-white porcelain toward Dunhuang.”
There was some exaggeration, but the rumor wasn’t far off the mark.
The real issue was that it had spread so widely.
For a bandit gang like the Black Wolf Brigade to come charging in as if lying in wait was no ordinary affair.
‘Damn it. Those Huashan wretches again...’
Sa Hongcheon ground his teeth inwardly.
Moreover, this was a land ruled by bandit packs utterly unlike the Green Forest crews—and beyond the reach of either Chief Patrol Bangchung or the Great Ming’s laws.
With such rumors afloat, the danger was dire indeed.
Sa Hongcheon had no choice but to fall silent as if his mouth were glued shut.
Chaepil scanned the entire caravan and continued.
“It’s not as if I’m making this offer out of any special fondness for your lot. But with me here, I can’t very well let other scum lick their chops over you. So what’ll it be? Cross the grassland like this?”
Sa Hongcheon’s calculations concluded in an instant.
“You make a compelling point. Then I’d like to hear the details of Brigade Leader Cha’s proposal. Surely we can’t host so many men and horses on mere words alone...”
“Simple enough. Two thousand bolts of silk. Hand them over the moment you reach Dunhuang.”
“Urk.”
Sa Hongcheon instinctively clenched his molars.
Two thousand bolts in Dunhuang would fetch no less than a thousand taels in gold— a king’s ransom.
At this rate, the entire venture would end in ruin.
“Brigade Leader Cha, that’s simply too much. Please show some mercy. Two thousand bolts...”
“Hah... I’d call this plenty merciful already. If you balk like this, it puts this Cha in a real bind. What’ll my brothers think now? Kah hah...”
It was a veiled threat.
Sweat began beading on Sa Hongcheon’s forehead.
There was no way to shake them off or drive them away in this grassland.
Even if he wouldn’t stoop to it, defeating them in open combat with martial arts wouldn’t help—they’d simply wheel their horses away to a safe distance, then strike at any lapse in vigilance with arrows or fire arrows.
Unless he commanded mounted troops of equal mobility, there was no countering them on open grassland.
As Sa Hongcheon floundered wordlessly, Bangchung finally stepped forward.
Sa Hongcheon had signaled him with a glance, all but imperceptibly.
“You’ve had it rough. Brother Chaepil. I am Bangchung.”
Bangchung offered a greeting while simultaneously hurling the bronze plaque in his hand at Chaepil.
Infused with precisely measured inner force, it flew arrow-straight at Chaepil—but he snatched it effortlessly from the air.
He glanced at it briefly, then tossed it back to Bangchung.
It was a casual flick of the wrist, yet Bangchung’s brows furrowed as he caught it.
‘This is no ordinary bandit chief’s skill. Inner strength that could match the elders of a major sect.’
Amazed inwardly, Bangchung scrutinized Chaepil’s demeanor closely.
But the campfire’s flicker offered little glimpse of the face beneath the deeply hooded cowl.
“What brings a Green Forest elder out to the great grassland? And playing caravan guard to boot. Kah hah...”
Bangchung was a silver-tongued devil who’d never met his match, but even he faltered, at a loss for a ready retort.
“On the grand scale, aren’t you grassland brothers just like the Yangtze River water family—all one big clan with us? As Chief Patrol of the Green Forest, I’ve had no dealings with you folk till now, so I came along for the sake of it.”
“Fish thrive in water, wolves on the steppe—so what kinship with you forest bandits?”
It was a flat dismissal of Bangchung.
‘Tch... No intention of giving me face, eh. Now what? Even a scrap with that bastard offers no sure victory.’
Bangchung could muster no proper reply and stood there nonplussed.
“How long do you plan to keep our brothers standing like this? Give us your decision.”
Chaepil bellowed at Sa Hongcheon.
Sa Hongcheon stared blankly at Bangchung’s back, then turned toward Dogwang.
Even Dogwang, ever eager to butt in, now clamped his mouth shut and poked at the campfire in silence.
The only one left to rely on was Seonwoyong.
But what sharp ploy could even Seonwoyong have?
This wasn’t a problem for martial arts.
Sa Hongcheon let out a deep sigh before finally addressing Chaepil.
“My apologies, but I can’t decide on the spot. Two thousand bolts is far too great a sum. Besides, this trade route isn’t just our Shenzhou Merchant Group—other caravans are traveling with us...”
Chaepil’s demeanor turned savage at Sa Hongcheon’s response.
“Hmph. Some folk only cry when the coffin slams shut. Fine. I’ll teach you just how steep that price is starting tomorrow...”
“But why’s a mere wolf so damn chatty?”