Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Suspicious Mountain Dwellers
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If I chug booze like this one more time, I'm no better than a dog.
Lee Seon squeezed his eyes shut.
He clutched his throbbing head and barely managed to stand.
People approaching the area near Blood Gate Mountain was nothing new.
A place teeming with poisons also meant it was a natural treasure trove where all sorts of flora thrived.
That was why fools who forgot the dangers occasionally wandered in.
Or it could have been some large beast stirring things up.
But just recently, he'd found Dang Ha-ryeong in a spot he'd grudgingly trekked to despite the hassle.
He couldn't just ignore her.
Lee Seon took a slow, deep breath.
A clear droplet formed at the tip of his finger on his dangling arm and fell away.
He was expelling the alcohol from his system for smoother movement.
'This crazy bastard! Not content with wolfing down that precious liquor on your own, now you're committing the blunder of purging it from your body!'
I hadn't planned to do that either, but what can you do when the world won't leave me alone?
He shook his hand in the air and stood up.
'So, what's the problem this time?'
With the hangover wiped clean, Lee Seon's eyes gleamed sharply.
"Search every inch!"
Ho Myeong had brought every last man under his command and was combing Blood Gate Mountain.
From the moment he'd tried to kill Dang Ha-ryeong, his fate was all but sealed.
If he didn't kill her, he'd be the one to die—so he had no choice but to stake his life on ending her.
Even if she was already dead, he needed proof to bring back to that man.
"There are too many poisons!"
"Bugs! I've been bitten by bugs!"
"Help! Someone, help! It's a snake!"
Ho Myeong ground his teeth.
What kind of godforsaken mountain is this?!
He'd heard the rumors about Blood Gate Mountain.
But rumors were just rumors.
Tales of people vanishing and monsters lurking were scary, sure.
But that man was far more terrifying!
His life was too precious to back off out of fear!
How had he even climbed to this position?
He should have ended up as a mere mountain bandit.
Yet heaven hadn't been entirely heartless, letting him become a proper stronghold leader.
'If I wrap this up, I can climb even higher!'
Messing with Dang Ha-ryeong, a direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Family, was utter madness.
Even if he succeeded, he'd be hunted for life—why take on such a job?
'Kill Dang Ha-ryeong.'
Ho Myeong, who always put his own safety first, had tearfully accepted the order for good reason.
Refuse, and he'd end up like the previous leader—body exploding in a single blow.
'Finish this, and I'll reward you.'
The man whose identity, name, and affiliation were all mysteries.
But he never spoke empty words.
If Ho Myeong just handled this properly...
He might even achieve his dream.
If he could boost his martial arts a bit more.
If he could grow stronger, recruit more men, expand his territory...
The dream of every bandit.
To become the leader of one of the 72 Green Forest strongholds.
Opportunity dangled right before him.
"You idiots! What's there to fear from mere poisons?!"
Resentful glares turned his way.
And who could blame them? Ho Myeong wasn't risking himself—he was just ordering them around like tyrants.
"Something here!"
Hidden weapons embedded in trees, broken branches.
Proof that a fight had broken out.
"Good work!"
Ho Myeong brightened and examined the traces closely.
Surviving in the mountains demanded keen eyes and cunning deduction.
From the weapon's embedding, Ho Myeong furrowed his brow.
'A desperate jab. They must have been low on hidden weapons from the start—practically a tantrum. And the depth shows it lacked real power.'
"Found another one here!"
Deep footprints sunk in the mud.
Too small in stride and width for a man—definitely Dang Ha-ryeong's.
She couldn't even lighten her body, meaning internal injuries had wrecked her lightness skill.
"There must be more nearby! Search everywhere!"
Ho Myeong bellowed, eyes blazing.
But hours of searching yielded nothing substantial.
Just a few hidden weapons and torn cloth scraps.
Not even traces of the men he'd sent here before.
Clang!
One man finally hurled his weapon to the ground.
"Want to die?"
Ho Cheol bared his killing intent.
Another stepped forward with a complaint.
"Leader, I've been a bandit for over ten years, but this is the shittiest mountain I've ever seen. The terrain's brutal enough, but it's humid and sweltering too. And with poisons everywhere like this, no way corpses stick around."
"Shut it! It's been how long, and not even a single bone?!"
The other bandits grumbled.
"Then search yourself!"
"Why's the leader doing jack shit?!"
"You little... "
Ho Myeong flinched.
His own men, but treacherous snakes who might stab him in the back anytime.
They weren't pushovers he could cow with a show of strength.
They'd hidden in these mountains to save their own skins, after all.
Prick their tempers, and they'd draw blades in mutiny without a second thought.
Rustle.
Then, the bushes shook right nearby.
The bandits whipped out weapons in panic.
"Something's coming again!"
They'd been hounded by sudden poison beast attacks since arriving.
Jumpy at every little noise was natural.
Ho Myeong drew his sword, going on guard.
But out of the bushes came no beast— a person.
"Hello?"
A boy with shaggy hair covering his eyes.
"Who are you?!"
"As you can see, just an ordinary local."
'Doesn't look ordinary at all!'
Every bandit's shared thought.
A boy who looked barely twenty facing down dozens of armed men without flinching? Unlikely.
The bandits whispered.
"Can anyone even live in a place like this?"
"No way."
"Super suspicious."
"Hey, you. Don't go badmouthing someone else's home."
The bandits shrugged indifferently.
"No good reason to sugarcoat it."
Ho Myeong felt much the same.
He nodded, then snapped to and questioned.
"Who the hell are you?"
A boy living in this poison-infested, rarely visited mountain?
Suspicious as hell.
The boy answered calmly.
"I live here."
"Brat like you using informal speech?"
"You lot are informal with me too—want me to use honorifics?"
The bandits were speechless.
"Lost? I can help you out of here. Otherwise, you got business? This mountain's no stroll for just anyone."
The bandits didn't hide their absurdity.
"Idiot. Do we look lost?"
The boy eyed them over and nodded.
"Yeah."
Ho Myeong's face twisted menacingly.
The boy didn't care.
"Scruffy like you haven't bathed in days. The stench wafts from several paces away on the wind. Eyes bloodshot, desperately hunting something. So I figured you were lost. Wrong?"
Bandits' pride stung, they bellowed.
"We climb mountains like pros!"
"Nobody knows 'em better than us!"
"Pipsqueak! Daring to call mountain heroes scruffy?!"
Ho Myeong felt the jab too.
'...Should I just kill him?'
He'd seen them operating here—wiping them out was inevitable anyway.
But a sleazier grin crept onto Ho Myeong's lips.
Something better than killing occurred to him.
"Kid, you said you live here. So you know everything that goes down, right?"
The boy affirmed.
"Not everything, but pretty much."
"One question. Someone came here recently. Know where they went?"
"For free?"
"......"
Ho Myeong pulled a few coins from his pocket.
"Our comrades were here not long ago. Then poof—radio silence. Know anything? Spill, and I'll reward you properly."
But the boy's reaction missed the mark.
His gaze flicked to the coins in Ho Myeong's hand.
Lee Seon smirked crookedly.
"Self-proclaimed mountain heroes being this stingy? While you're at it, why not up the ante a bit?"