The Predators of Hamnyeong
Thanks to the carriage running through the night without a single rest from Tongseong County, Unwol's group arrived in Hamnyeong, located in southeastern Hubei. The southern part of Hubei Province's Hamnyeong was directly adjacent to Hunan and Jiangxi, earning it the title of Hubei's southern gateway. The terrain here was mostly mountainous and hilly. Perhaps because of this, it was a notorious hotspot for bandits looking to plunder merchants traveling between Hubei and Jiangxi. The Taedo Bandit Camp, which had previously blocked Yeon So-o and Unwol's path, was also located near the borders of Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei, having settled there precisely because they understood this geographical advantage.
A moment later, Unwol and his companions were greeted by a voice that felt strangely familiar.
"Halt! You bastards have just trespassed into the territory of our Black Dog Camp!"
The voice and the lines were remarkably similar to those of the bandits they had encountered so far. On their way to Hamnyeong, excluding the Taedo Bandit Camp, they had already been accosted by two other bandit camps and wiped them out. Naturally, everyone's faces immediately contorted in mutual annoyance.
Unwol was privately wondering if there was some kind of academy for training bandits, given how they all used the exact same script.
"I do not understand how their words are always so identical. Does someone travel around teaching them to speak this way?" Unwol let out a dry chuckle along with a sigh.
The first couple of times had been somewhat novel and amusing, but by the fourth time, it was just a nuisance he wanted to sweep away as quickly as possible.
Sensing Unwol's discomfort and annoyance, Lee Hak subtly turned his head and gave a quiet nod to his Jiangshi subordinates following in the shadows. Upon receiving Lee Hak's command, the black-clad Jiangshis instantly surged from the darkness, swiftly slaughtering the bandits.
Slash. Squelch. Stab. Splat.
The sounds of flesh tearing and slicing echoed from outside the carriage. Along with them came the bandits' agonizing screams and harsh curses.
"Aaargh! What the hell are these things?!"
"Gaaah!"
"Kehk!"
"Ugh!"
Unwol, who still hadn't fully grown accustomed to the sounds of people screaming as they died, gently closed his eyes. On the other hand, Biwol, Lee Hak, and Yeon So-o had spent so much of their lives as martial artists that they were thoroughly desensitized to the sight and sound of people being butchered. Their expressions didn't change in the slightest.
Before long, the situation was resolved, and the bandits' screams gradually subsided. A moment later, one of Lee Hak's subordinates spoke from outside the carriage in an emotionless voice.
"We have eliminated all visible bandits. However, we have confirmed that their camp is located not too far from here."
Lee Hak replied immediately. "Bring back the heads of the chief and the deputy chief so we can claim the bounty from the local office."
"Understood."
Lee Hak then glanced at Yeon So-o. After confirming she was dozing off with her eyes closed, his red eyes gleamed as he sent a telepathic transmission to his Jiangshi.
"I'm feeling a bit peckish since we haven't eaten properly during this long journey. Bring back a few of them alive. Make sure to secure some for Lady Biwol and Lord Unwol as well."
Although they could satisfy their hunger to some extent with human food after becoming Blood Ghouls, the fundamental hunger of a Blood Ghoul could only be truly sated by absorbing the life force of a living human. This was why Lee Hak had given such an order.
"Understood. It shall be done."
Whoosh.
As soon as the command was given, the faint rustle of clothes fluttering in the wind sounded, and then all presence vanished.
Unwol marvelled once again at their incredible speed and efficiency. Although she was currently asleep, Yeon So-o, who had spent a long time in the martial world, had been even more astonished whenever she watched Lee Hak's subordinates subjugate the bandits. To her, Lee Hak's ability to freely command masters capable of sweeping away entire bandit camps as if they were merely sweeping a front yard felt truly awe-inspiring.
I must hold onto this connection no matter what...!
She had made this firm resolve when Lee Hak's subordinates wiped out the second bandit camp. Already, the heads of the chiefs and deputy chiefs from three different camps were packed into wooden boxes in the luggage compartment at the back of the carriage. Soon, another wooden box would be added to the pile.
Since they were obliterating every bandit camp they came across along the way, it was impossible for the other bandits to remain ignorant of the news, no matter how little contact they usually had with one another. Rumors about Unwol's group began to spread among them: "Did you hear who got wiped out this time?" "Wait, wasn't that place destroyed just a few days ago?"
This was their own way of surviving. In their line of work, bandits occasionally crossed paths with formidable masters casually strolling down mountain paths. If the first bandits to encounter such a master lacked the tact to handle them and were "unfortunate" enough to have their camp demolished, the neighboring bandits would quickly catch wind of the news and suspend their operations for a few days.
It was a rapid adaptation born of a cowardly, survivalist mindset—submissive to the strong, ruthless to the weak.
Living as a bandit in the mountains was no different from abandoning one's humanity to live like a wild beast. Indeed, martial artists, commoners, and even the government soldiers treated bandits exactly like wild predators encountered in the wilderness. One could throw them some bait (wealth) to pass safely, but what if the bait didn't work? The only options left were to fight to the death or kill.
Yet, just like most beasts, they could be tamed if fed enough. In that sense, bandits had actually become somewhat reasonable by accepting the "bait" from merchants and local residents. Of course, on the rare occasion a far more powerful predator (a martial arts master) appeared, they had no choice but to tuck their tails and run. Because of this, the bandits had established a bare-minimum information network among themselves to react swiftly to matters directly affecting their survival.
From that perspective, the bandits' response this time was rather disappointing. The fact that they only went into hiding after four camps had already been destroyed meant they were incredibly slow.
However, one had to look at it from the bandits' perspective as well; they had a right to feel a bit aggrieved. Normally, a camp being destroyed meant the chief and deputy chief had walked hand-in-hand into the afterlife, an event that would typically cause a massive commotion impossible to miss in the quiet mountains.
But how had Unwol's group gone about their subjugation? When they took down the Taedo Bandit Camp, there had been a slight disturbance, but that was only because the chief, Ung Cheol, possessed the formidable strength of the Transcendent Realm, allowing him to hold out even for a moment. Most chiefs were, at best, in the Peak Realm, and it was incredibly common for them to be merely First-class or Second-class. In fact, most of the bandit chiefs in this vicinity were only at the First-class level.
When Lee Hak's terrifying White Jiangshis, Heavenly Jiangshis, and Diamond Jiangshis—all possessing power equivalent to the Peak and Transcendent Realms—invaded such places, they slaughtered the lackeys and decapitated the chiefs and deputy chiefs in the blink of an eye. How could any news possibly escape? The speed of the subjugation was simply too fast. To wipe out bandits at this rate, it would normally require a professional assassination guild to mobilize.
But why would an assassination guild, which certainly wasn't a bunch of idle layabouts, bother hunting down mere bandits? Thus, because the bandits had never experienced being annihilated at such a speed, their response had been delayed. If anything, they deserved praise for catching on after only four camps had been destroyed.
A moment later, a wooden box landed in the luggage compartment of Unwol's carriage with a heavy thud. The sound of two round objects colliding echoed from inside the box, and its handle was stained with fresh, crimson blood.
"Lord Unwol, we have arrived at the town," Biwol whispered softly to me as I rested with my eyes closed.
I slowly opened my eyes and replied, "We are finally here."
I turned my gaze outside to appreciate the scenery. Instead of dense forests, a bustling town with houses nestled below the hills came into view.
"Where are we?"
"This is a southern town belonging to Tongseong County in Hamnyeong, Hubei. Since it is closest to Jiangxi and Hunan, trade is highly active, making the town quite large with a well-developed commercial district. If there is anything you require, I shall search for it."
Lee Hak, who had been listening from the side, chimed in. "There is no need to go through the trouble of searching. It just so happens that I have a branch office here."
Biwol tilted her head in curiosity. "Does the Jeokcheon Merchant Group have a branch even here?"
"Yes. Since Hubei is home to the Wudang Sect and the Zhuge Clan, Tongseong County serves as a vital gateway, so I established one here."
Biwol gave a small nod, and after a brief moment of thought, I spoke.
"I do not need anything immediately, so I would like to walk around and sightsee first. What about you, Lady So-o? If your schedule is not too tight, why don't we stay here for the day?"
"That sounds fine. It won't take very long to get from Hubei to Henan, so I think we can afford to take it easy and rest a bit."
In truth, Yeon So-o had been traveling without a proper rest, and she had already been thinking that she needed to set aside a day to recuperate. She had spent the entire journey dozing off while sitting up, constantly surrounded by others, which prevented her from relaxing completely. She desperately wanted to lie down in a proper room.
Furthermore, hadn't Lee Hak—the head of the Jeokcheon Merchant Group, also known as the Wealthy Tycoon of Ten Thousand Gold—just mentioned that his branch was here? Her white martial robes had been stained with blood and slightly torn during the battles with the bandits, so she needed to get a new set of clothes anyway. She hoped to receive some assistance.
If she showed up looking disheveled at the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering, where all the orthodox rising stars and seniors would be assembled, she would bring shame upon her sect's name. Moreover, she was still a young woman, and she naturally cared about her appearance. Although she had never properly learned how to apply heavy makeup, she made sure to at least dress neatly.
A short while later, the carriage entered the center of the town and arrived at the Jeokcheon Merchant Group's branch office. Upon spotting the merchant group's emblem on the carriage, a guide rushed out to greet them.
Clack, clack.
The carriage soon came to a halt in the front yard of the branch office. Even before the carriage door opened, the guide was visibly trembling with tension. It was only natural; the carriage was exceptionally luxurious, leading him to suspect that a high-ranking administrator of the merchant group had arrived. Although he hadn't received any word of an impending visit today, it wasn't uncommon for high-ranking executives to conduct surprise inspections or stop by briefly while traveling to their destinations.
A moment later, black-clad men appeared out of nowhere and opened the carriage door. When the guide saw the figure inside, his eyes widened to the size of saucers, and his head bowed in an automatic reflex.
It wasn't some "mere" high-ranking administrator. It was the master of the Jeokcheon Merchant Group himself—the greatest merchant in the Central Plains, the Wealthy Tycoon of Ten Thousand Gold, Lee Hak.
"I pay my respects to the Master!"