Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Severed Trail at Blood Gate Mountain
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"Please, come in."
A man stepped into the inn.
He was a hulking brute with a fiercely furrowed brow and a massive scar gouged into his cheek.
As he scanned the room, every gaze that had been fixed on him vanished in an instant.
The waiter hurried over to greet him.
Having spotted the sword at the man's waist in a flash, the waiter clasped his hands politely.
"I'm here to eat."
The waiter gave an awkward smile.
"Great hero, we're especially busy today. If sharing a table would be inconvenient, you might have to wait a bit..."
"I'll share one."
In the corner sat a small table where a lone man was downing drink after drink, without so much as a single side dish.
Anyone would have spared him a glance, yet strangely, no one paid him any mind.
It was as if he existed in some other world entirely, a bizarre sight.
"...May I join you?"
Gulp, gulp.
Only after knocking back several cups did the man finally nod wordlessly.
The brute carefully pulled out a chair and sat down.
As the man reached to refill his cup, the brute swiftly snatched the bottle.
"Allow me to pour you one."
The man silently extended his cup and accepted the drink.
As the brute poured respectfully, the man tossed it back with gusto and smacked his lips.
"What is it?"
The brute—Ho Myeong—cautiously broached the matter.
"...Dang Ha-ryeong's trail went cold near Blood Gate Mountain."
"You lost her."
His voice was barren, devoid of emotion.
A faint undercurrent of rage simmered in the low murmur.
The dozens of lanterns illuminating the inn flickered ominously.
"N-no, that's not it!"
Ho Myeong's face drained of color, his massive frame paling pathetically.
It was a far cry from the infamous stronghold leader of Green Forest Stronghold, whose notoriety had spread like wildfire lately.
The reason for Ho Myeong's deferential attitude toward this man was simple.
He was the benefactor who had elevated a mere bandit like him to stronghold leader of the Green Forest.
The man had slain the former leader in a single strike and handed the position to him.
Ho Myeong had witnessed firsthand just how dangerous this man was.
The thought of defying him never even crossed his mind.
Ho Myeong pleaded pitifully.
"She's definitely still around there. I'll turn Blood Gate Mountain upside down if I have to—I swear I'll find her!"
Ho Myeong's lips trembled.
Before a man who could crush him like a twig if he so chose, there was no room for pride.
Clink.
The man set down his cup, and Ho Myeong's mouth snapped shut.
"You're incompetent."
The man fiddled with his cup, eyes fixed on Ho Myeong.
"Was the information wrong?"
"N-no, sir."
It was certain that Dang Ha-ryeong had sustained internal injuries.
One could tell just from how she'd chosen flight over fight against mere bandits.
It was also clear she'd been moving alone.
Dang Ha-ryeong's skills were middling at best—peak mid-tier, generously speaking.
Without time to restock her prepared poisons or hidden weapons,
and with internal injuries to boot, he'd expected the bandits to handle her easily.
He'd even sent the deputy leader No Cheol as backup, in case she put up fierce resistance.
Even a peak master would struggle to face the Green Forest in the mountains while internally wounded.
Not Dang Ha-ryeong—even twice her age and twice as seasoned, it'd be no easy feat.
'What the hell happened?!'
If he didn't confirm the kill, he was dead.
And if Dang Ha-ryeong survived to testify about the ambush, the blame would fall squarely on the Green Forest.
The Sichuan Tang Family would unleash their fury on the bandits who'd dared touch their direct descendant—nay, on the entire Red Death Alliance.
The Green Forest wouldn't protect him.
They'd sooner offer him up to the Tang Family to appease their wrath.
No way would they go to war with the Tangs over a single stronghold leader.
Traces littered the passes, proving the pursuit had reached Blood Gate Mountain.
Yet Dang Ha-ryeong and her men had vanished like ghosts.
Someone had clearly intervened.
The problem was, he couldn't find a single clue to what—or who.
'Worst case, she walks away unscathed, subdues the entire Green Forest, and reports everything to the Murim Alliance.'
If word got out that he'd orchestrated the ambush on Dang Ha-ryeong...
It could turn every righteous faction into his enemy—a catastrophe.
"Then it seems some unforeseen element got involved."
"P-please, kill me!"
Ho Myeong's voice echoed through the bustling inn.
The place was packed and noisy as hell, but a outright shout like that was impossible to miss.
Yet not a single gaze turned their way, nor did anyone so much as glance over.
No wary side-eyes, nothing—they just kept laughing, drinking, and chattering as if all was normal.
Ho Myeong shuddered violently.
He couldn't even guess at the level of the technique unfolding before him.
"You failed your duty and now you seek comfort?"
The man clicked his tongue.
With a flick of his finger, Ho Myeong began gasping for air.
"Huff, huff!"
His breaths grew ragged, and he clawed at his own throat.
The man poured himself a drink and swirled the cup lightly.
"The righteous call her a phoenix, but she's just a third-rate orthodox girl playing with poisons and darts."
"Keh-heh, keh-hek!"
Anyone witnessing the brute strangling himself in a desperate bid for air would have been horrified.
The man chided him lightly.
"Catching a bird that can't even fly properly. Can't you handle even this?"
"M-mer-cy!"
Liquids streamed from Ho Myeong's eyes, nose, and mouth.
His gasping eyes rolled back as he choked.
Foam bubbled at his lips as he collapsed—but then his hands fell from his throat.
Ho Myeong pawed at his swollen red neck, sprawled on the floor.
Confirming his head was still attached, he prostrated himself flat.
The man spared him no further glance.
He simply refilled his cup and issued his command.
"Find Dang Ha-ryeong. Kill her if she's alive. Bring her corpse if she's dead."
"...I will get it done!"
The man filled the now-empty cup to the brim.
It brimmed with liquor.
As he picked it up, the liquid gradually turned a deep crimson.
"Drink."
Ho Myeong took the trembling cup in shaking hands and cautiously poured it down his throat.
Gag!
The instant he swallowed, veins bulged across his face and body.
Agonizing pain tore through him, but Ho Myeong clamped his mouth shut and stifled his groans.
"Hah, hah."
Ho Myeong staggered to his feet on wobbly legs.
His face was deathly pale, on the verge of fainting—as if he'd collapse again any second.
Yet the venomous glint in his eyes burned clearer than ever.
"I will get it done."
"You had better."
The man murmured softly.
"The martial world has been too peaceful lately."
Dang Ha-ryeong's death would set it ablaze once more.
For blood to flood the jianghu, she had to die.
Lee Seon clutched his throbbing head and groaned.
"My head... feels like it's splitting open."
Had he ever drunk like this before?
Even when that old geezer forced drinks on him as a drinking buddy now and then, it hadn't been this bad.
Forcing shots down each other's throats to see who could hold out longer—his guts felt completely rotten.
Dang Ha-ryeong, who'd started off drinking like it was nothing, had long since passed out.
She lay sprawled on the floor, boldly exposing her chest.
"Does Shedding Mortal Body and Exchanging Bones make everyone this good with booze?"
Maybe her tolerance had spiked during the bodily reconstruction.
"Ugh, the smell of liquor..."
Lee Seon hoisted her up.
At that moment, Dang Ha-ryeong flung her arms around his neck.
"Up close, you look pretty decent...!"
Her sweet breath washed over him from point-blank range.
Dang Ha-ryeong smiled flirtatiously.
"Urk."
Then her head lolled limply.
Feeling the soft sensation pressing against him, Lee Seon squeezed his eyes shut.
Liquor was truly terrifying.
To make someone do things sober them would never dream of, without a second thought.
He wriggled free of Dang Ha-ryeong's clinging grasp and carefully laid her on the floor.
He tossed a blanket over her and finally caught his breath.
Click-clack, click-clack.
In that instant, the sharp clatter of wooden pieces colliding rang out loudly.
One of the intricate traps he'd set around the dwelling had triggered.
"This is..."
Lee Seon glared at the swaying marker.
Someone was approaching the dwelling.