Chapter 235
Chapter 235
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 235
Chapter Title: Into Daedong
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Daedong, located at the northernmost tip of Shaanxi Province, was a key northern military stronghold designed to repel invasions from nomadic tribes.
Perhaps because of that.
Soldiers patrolled every street teeming with merchants eager to head beyond the border.
Clop-clop— Clop-clop—
A group of people and several wagons entered the streets of Daedong amid the sound of horse hooves.
And at that moment.
"...That flag?"
"It's the All Under Heaven Escort Agency!"
The merchants buzzed loudly upon spotting the All Under Heaven Escort Agency's symbolic flag fluttering atop the wagons surrounded by the escorts.
The All Under Heaven Merchant Group, the greatest trading house under heaven.
The appearance of their directly operated All Under Heaven Escort Agency was more than enough to draw the merchants' eyes and attention.
But that didn't last long.
"...Huh?"
"What's that...?"
It was because of the three shabby wagons trailing belatedly behind. The eyes of those who spotted them trembled violently, as if struck by an earthquake.
"Why are people pulling the wagons...?"
"Are they insane... Ack!"
The merchant who had been about to say "Are they crazy?" hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.
'Th-those are Mount Hua Sect robes?!'
The merchant, who belatedly noticed their robes, glanced sideways.
Not just him—all the other merchants had also spotted the Mount Hua Sect robes and stood frozen with mouths agape.
'Why are Mount Hua Sect Taoists pulling wagons?'
'What's going on here?'
They exchanged bewildered glances.
But the Spirit Squad paid no mind to the countless stares focused on them, continuing to pull the wagons.
No. To be precise, they had no spare moment to care about such gazes.
"Huff, huff."
"Wh-when did... it get this bad...?"
With every single step they took, their entire bodies screamed in agony.
Not only was their internal energy consumption severe, but their feet and the shoulders bearing the wagons tormented them with excruciating muscle pain.
'Ugh, ugh! I'm dying, dying!'
'Is this something a person should do?'
Their faces were already pale as death.
It had been seven days and nights since they started pulling the wagons.
The wagons, stuffed full of gold and treasures, were so heavy that it took all six of them using their movement techniques just to budge them.
What that meant was clear.
For seven days and nights straight, they had kept their movement techniques active to pull the wagons.
At first, they felt embarrassed, but after seven days and nights of wagon-pulling, such thoughts no longer crossed their minds.
They simply trudged forward.
Praying desperately for it all to end soon.
As they walked on in a half-dazed state.
"Halt!"
The Chief Escort shouted loudly.
At his voice, the Spirit Squad's faces lit up, and they flung off the ropes slung over their shoulders for pulling the wagons.
Then they collapsed flat on the ground.
It was the middle of a street where people passed by, but they had no hesitation in lying down.
"It's... finally over!"
"We're here!"
As they lay on the ground, joyfully thrusting both hands toward the sky.
Whoosh—
A shadow fell over them.
Cheonhwi, who had stepped out from one of the wagons, looked down at them sprawled on the ground with utter disdain.
"What is this? You're not Mount Hua Sect Taoists—you're practically beggars from the Beggars' Sect."
A few Spirit Squad members twitched at his words, but none bothered to get up.
Not even Cheonhyeong or Dan Mokrin.
They were simply too exhausted.
Cheonhwi shook his head as he gazed at those lying there with faces thick as steel plates.
I should let them rest a bit.
Cheonhwi turned his eyes away from them and approached Oh Chonggwan and the Chief Escort, who seemed to be exchanging serious words.
"Young hero."
The Chief Escort, who had been speaking with Oh Chonggwan, spotted Cheonhwi approaching and politely cupped his fists in greeting before speaking.
"We deeply thank you for your assistance with our escort caravan."
Cheonhwi shrugged his shoulders.
"It's not just empty words, right?"
The Chief Escort looked slightly surprised at Cheonhwi before bursting into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha! How could it be mere words?"
After laughing heartily for a while, the Chief Escort's eyes gleamed.
"If you ever need our agency's help, just contact any branch of the All Under Heaven Merchant Group. Or..."
He paused briefly, his gaze shifting to Oh Chonggwan, who stood a step back.
"Contact Chief Manager Oh."
Cheonhwi nodded.
"Got it."
The Chief Escort then moved to greet the Plum Blossom Sword Guards.
And it wasn't just him.
The escorts and carriers also approached the Plum Blossom Sword Guards to exchange greetings.
A few escorts and carriers even came to Cheonhwi to express their gratitude.
"Thanks to you, young hero, we survived."
"We will surely repay this favor."
"If you ever need this lowly one's help in the future, please let us know."
Cheonhwi responded halfheartedly to their repeated thanks with "Sure" and "Pay me back later."
But they retreated with satisfied expressions all the same.
Once all the greetings were done.
Oh Chonggwan approached the Chief Escort, who was about to mount his horse to wrap up the escort.
"Please take good care of the rest."
"Don't worry."
The Chief Escort cupped his fists and smiled.
"I'll deliver it with my life on the line."
As he faced Oh Chonggwan, he took a deep breath while gazing at the Great Wall visible before him.
Then he turned back and said.
"Is everyone prepared?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the tense-faced escorts and carriers moved in perfect unison, forming ranks.
The Chief Escort gave them a satisfied look, bowed his head once toward Cheonhwi, then tugged the reins.
"Depart."
Soon after they left, only Cheonhwi, Oh Chonggwan, and the Spirit Squad and Dan Mokrin lying on the ground remained.
Cheonhwi looked at the Spirit Squad and said.
"Then let's head back to Mount Hua."
But at his words, the Spirit Squad members showed no sign of moving, as if their bodies were glued to the ground.
Only Cheonhyeong and Dan Mokrin barely managed to rise with great effort.
"Le... let's go."
Cheonhyeong said in an exhausted voice, but.
"......"
The others kept their eyes shut, not twitching a muscle.
'Well, well?'
Cheonhwi eyed those brazenly slacking off, then drew his sword sheath.
"You want to train in martial arts right here, right now?"
Flinch!
Knowing full well that "martial arts training" was code for one-sided beatings, the Spirit Squad members' eyebrows twitched violently.
Just thinking about it was painful.
But they squeezed their eyes shut tight.
'If we give in here, we'll have to keep pulling that thing.'
'Which sect does training like this?'
They had made their resolve.
No matter how much they wanted to grow stronger, they'd reached their limit.
Look at you.
Cheonhwi's eyes narrowed.
These guys who'd been doing well until now were suddenly rebelling.
A glance showed even Cheonhyeong looking flustered.
'Is that how it is?'
At that moment, Cheonhwi's lips curled up.
"The Escort Agency."
As everyone puzzled over the sudden remark, Cheonhwi continued.
"They left behind the horses they originally meant to give us. But we needed twelve horses to pull the wagons, so it was awkward. Well, I can just ride in the wagon, so exclude me. That leaves six horses..."
Cheonhwi raised his hand, wiggling five fingers before slowly folding his thumb down, murmuring lowly.
"The first junior brother and sister to move should take them, right? Then we're down to four horses..."
Only then did the Spirit Squad realize what those fingers meant.
And in that instant, they scrambled to their feet without regard for who went first.
"I-I moved first!"
"Martial Uncle!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Murim Alliance Shaanxi Branch.
The place, which had been idle for decades with nothing to do, was now busier than ever.
"Hurry and lock these ones in the prison!"
"C-careful!"
The prison wardens in charge of the Shaanxi Branch's dungeon led the bound prisoners without letting their guard down for even a moment.
These weren't ordinary folk, after all.
They were the Black Shadow Corps, the Evil-Black Alliance's elite strike force.
A group capable of wiping out even mid-sized sects overnight without leaving a single blade of grass behind.
"This is maddening."
Kang Inhyo, the branch chief of the Shaanxi Branch, watched from the window as the Black Shadow Corps was herded into the prison, his head spinning.
'What in the world is going on?'
It had been over forty years since the era of the Nine Provinces Three Evils began.
The Nine Provinces Three Evils hadn't exactly ignored each other during that time. But there had been no major clashes—most incidents were settled through agreements, cooling tensions.
But this.
Kang Inhyo whipped his head around.
"Young hero. What happened?"
Cheon Igae met Kang Inhyo's gaze and downed his tea in one gulp.
"Just as I said—the Black Shadow Corps moved to annihilate Mount Hua Sect."
"Hah."
Kang Inhyo pressed his forehead.
'So it really is true.'
His head throbbed.
He'd heard from his subordinates beforehand, but he'd asked anyway just in case.
Biting his lip, Kang Inhyo said.
"And there were bandits too."
"That's right."
"...Did they join hands?"
Cheon Igae nodded.
"The Great Silver Merchant Group joined them as well."
"The Great Silver Merchant Group?!"
Kang Inhyo's eyes widened.
He'd somewhat grasped the covert movements of the bandits and Evil-Black Alliance, but the Great Silver Merchant Group was completely unexpected.
"You didn't know?"
Cheon Igae scolded him.
The All Under Heaven Merchant Group had stepped in personally after sensing something off with the Great Silver Merchant Group and bandits—yet the Murim Alliance branch chief was clueless.
Kang Inhyo gave a wry smile.
"With so many incidents popping up lately, we were slow to catch on."
He could only sigh.
In just a year, how many events had erupted?
Starting with the destruction of White Ghost Castle, the clash between Moonlit Gate and New Spear Yang Clan, the government conflict over Ancient Dragon Gang, and the Shaanxi showdown between righteous and evil factions.
Not to mention the smaller ones—too many to count on fingers.
Cheon Igae slammed the table as he watched Kang Inhyo deep in thought.
Bam!
"You reported this to the Murim Alliance headquarters, right?"
"We did."
"Their response?"
Kang Inhyo shook his head.
"Nothing yet."
"Damn it!"
Cheon Igae added anxiously.
"Before this blows up even more..."
But before he could finish spilling his urgent words.
"Aaaagh!"
"Gahk!"
Sudden screams echoed.
"What?!"
"What's happening?!"
Startled by the screams growing closer, Kang Inhyo and Cheon Igae jumped to their feet.
And the moment they looked out the window.
"......"
The approaching screams cut off abruptly.
As chilling silence descended, anxiety rising, a fishy metallic scent carried on the wind assaulted their noses.
Their pupils shook violently.
"This is..."
"The smell of blood?"
As the two swallowed hard amid growing dread at the impossible thought.
Creeeak—
The closed main gate slowly swung open.
And someone strode in boldly through the gap.
A middle-aged man with a relaxed expression.
His long hair, streaked with occasional white, hung loose, giving him the air of a wild beast as he scanned his surroundings.
Even amid that, his firmly pursed lips forming a straight line and the upward-curling ends of his eyebrows hinted at his temperament.
"......!"
"Th-that man is..."
As the two gaped in shock at the middle-aged man, his closed lips parted.
"Where's the branch chief?"
His deep, resonant voice, like it echoed from the underworld, hung heavily in the air.
The branch warriors, who had rushed over at the screams, were overwhelmed by the voice and held their breath, unable to respond.
"Does the Murim Alliance only hire mutes?"
As the middle-aged man glanced around.
Shiver—
The warriors whose eyes met his trembled and averted their gazes.
At that moment.
"What is this about?"
Kang Inhyo appeared before him.
"Are you the branch chief?"
"Y-yes."
The middle-aged man's gaze pierced Kang Inhyo.
"...Hng!"
Kang Inhyo's vision blurred.
It felt as if a sharp sword had gouged out his eyes.
'Th-this presence...'
As he shuddered.
"That's enough."
Cheon Igae stepped between them.
"You..."
The middle-aged man's lips slowly curved up.
"It's been a while."
Facing the middle-aged man, Cheon Igae broke into a cold sweat.
Just standing before him drained his mental energy due to the overwhelming presence.
"Yes, it's been a long time."
With those words, Cheon Igae forced his reluctant lips apart, staring straight into the eyes of the man looking down at him.
"Green Forest Great Bandit King."