Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Yeom Jin-sang's True Identity
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“Huff... huff!”
Heuk Do-san, who had climbed onto the white sand beach, lay spread-eagled, gasping for breath. Tonight, the stars densely scattered across the sky all looked like grains of rice.
“If I could just eat one bowl of rice, that’d be all I wish for.”
He didn’t have time to lie around like this. After swimming for an entire hour in water as cold as ice, his bones felt frozen solid.
Not only had the sensation in his limbs vanished, but his fingers and toes felt like they’d all fallen off.
He barely managed to stand, shivering as he surveyed his surroundings. Even accounting for the low tide, the beach was wider than expected. At the edge of the sand stretched a dark forest.
“I never thought I’d be so glad to see a forest.”
He staggered across the beach as if he might collapse at any moment. At the boundary with the forest stood quite a few withered, twisted trees. He snapped them for firewood, piled them in a suitable spot, and stuffed dry leaves in between.
Then he pulled the bamboo pole from the plank he’d ridden in on and began untying the rope. His numb hands kept dropping the pole several times.
Once he’d finally untied all the rope, he removed the sailcloth. With those two things that had held it taut gone, the bamboo naturally splayed open.
In that instant, embers whisked away by the wind revealed the charred interior of the bamboo. At the tip clung a precarious tiny spark.
“I’m alive!”
He hurriedly transferred the ember to the leaves and blew on it desperately. After his head spun several times, a modest campfire finally took shape.
From then on, he thawed his hands and feet as if roasting them over the flames.
When cold reaches its peak, the fingers and toes—farthest from the heart—are the first to necrotize.
That’s why frostbite starts there. By the time he’d thawed his hands and feet somewhat, the fire had grown decently. That’s when he began wringing out his wet clothes in earnest to warm his body properly.
“Phew... Now I feel like I might survive.”
After catching his breath a bit, he peered out at the sea. The stars were so plentiful it seemed they might pour down, but the ocean remained pitch black.
To see the night sea, you needed a full moon. Wasn’t there a saying that ten bright stars couldn’t match a single crescent moon? Still, it’d be hard to see far.
“Are they still alive?”
Somewhere in that black sea, they were out there.
People he’d gone his whole life without knowing, only to meet for the first time as enemies and allies on that warship.
Having resolved to leave this tiresome battlefield behind, to Heuk Do-san, the righteous faction folks and the Demonic Cult members all looked like the same people.
Just like the ones he’d met at Bongrae Harbor back when he was a scholar at White Deer Academy.
“I hope they made it...”
They’d hit the midpoint and gotten caught in night, so who knew where or how they’d drifted.
If they were still alive, it’d be a miracle. Even if they were, there was no guarantee they could swim all the way here.
They’d all jumped into the sea the same way, but their paths afterward would differ wildly. To Heuk Do-san, born by the seaside, the ocean was a familiar playground.
Whether martial artist or not, he was confident no one could beat him at swimming.
He could read and utilize the water. Just as the warship had zigzagged against the headwind, he’d used the currents to orient himself and rationed his strength.
But those guys were different.
They’d rely solely on their internal energy and stamina to push forward.
He’d considered teaching them to use the currents at first. But mastering it enough to help in that short time was impossible.
They’d more likely ride the currents astray and drift off to nowhere.
“The ones who live, live. The ones who die, die.”
He tossed a few more logs onto the campfire. All he could do was build it up big to make it more visible.
About an hour passed like that?
A dark shadow emerged, parting the waves.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t Gong Cheon-ak, Hyeon-gak, or Dang Yak-ran. It was the bald, ugly Yeom Jin-sang.
Yeom Jin-sang sprang up before his plank even touched shore and splashed straight toward the campfire.
To have the strength to run after battling waves in ice-cold seawater for half a day...
‘What the hell is this guy?’
“Huff... huff... huff... Fuck, I thought I was gonna freeze to death.”
Yeom Jin-sang collapsed flat on his face and warmed himself by the fire.
At a time when no one knew if his mouth was still attached or if he was even alive, his pronunciation was surprisingly clear. This was nothing like the trembling mess he’d been at the ship’s rail.
‘He was hiding his martial arts.’
There was an old martial proverb: hide thirty percent of your skill.
But Yeom Jin-sang seemed to have hidden more than that. Probably, when he first awoke to find the righteous faction folks’ auras far from ordinary, he’d concealed his full power in case of emergency. That way, he could land a decisive surprise strike.
‘He’s just like me...’
Somehow, it felt like looking in a mirror. Like battlefield grunts who’d do anything to survive, he too had hidden his strength to make it through.
Come to think of it, they were the only two from the ranks of lowly footsoldiers. Heuk Do-san felt a strange kinship with Yeom Jin-sang.
“You made it somehow.”
“Don’t even ask. On the way, a huge wave flipped my plank, and I nearly ended up fish food.”
“You were the first one out, and now you’re whining?”
“Ha ha, was I?”
“What about the others?”
“No idea. It was too dark to see a thing.”
“Wring out the water from your clothes first. Warming your body matters, but staying in wet clothes can lead to serious trouble.”
“You think so? Alright.”
Yeom Jin-sang scooted right up to the fire and wrung out his clothes here and there. Water streamed down.
“You seem used to the water.”
“Grew up by the sea as a kid.”
“Which seaside?”
“Some backwater village in Shandong Province.”
“Oh? I’m from Shandong too. We might even be from the same area. Where in Shandong did you live?”
‘Why’s this guy prying so much?’
Yeom Jin-sang felt a chill. He didn’t know what the scheme was, but dragging out the conversation wouldn’t end well.
He should name someplace the guy wouldn’t know. Yeah, that’d work.
“You wouldn’t know it. Bongrae Harbor...”
“Bongrae Harbor? The one famous for White Deer Academy?”
“Nearby, in Lai Prefecture...”
“Lai Prefecture? Can’t leave out the courtesans of Falling Flower Village. I lost my virginity there to an old courtesan named Ah-eung.”
“About ten li from there, Dongyeon...”
‘What the hell is this bastard doing?’
Heuk Do-san paused while adding wood to the fire and gave him a flat stare. His voice turned icy.
“So where are you from?”
“Dongyeon.”
“Dongyeon?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you must know Huanxi Tower.”
“Eh...”
“What about Biyan Tower? Famous for its gambling dens.”
‘What the fuck?’
“Eh...”
“Oh? Then surely you know Ha-geuk-sang of the Mountain-Cleaving Great Axe. You can’t call yourself from Dongyeon without knowing that...”
“You mean the gate leader of Sea Dragon Gate?”
“So you do know. Right. Leader of Sea Dragon Gate. Real name Ha-gok-sang, but after betraying his superiors seven times to become leader, everyone calls him Ha-geuk-sang. The ultimate traitor, you could say.”
Yeom Jin-sang paled.
Out of all the people in the world, why did he have to run into someone here who knew Sea Dragon Gate and Ha-geuk-sang? The coincidence was too uncanny.
“A nobody like me wouldn’t have ties to some random gate leader, but I’ve heard the tales of the Mountain-Cleaving Great Axe. They say he’s bold and free-spirited, respected among the black path folk.”
“Respected? That bastard’s trash.”
“Trash...?”
“Scams, prostitution, gambling, loan sharking, begging, human trafficking—he’s got his hands in every filthy, sordid business.”
“Not human trafficking!”
Yeom Jin-sang shot to his feet yelling. But realizing his slip, he quietly sat back down.
A chilly silence fell. Heuk Do-san stared piercingly at Yeom Jin-sang.
‘Look at this guy.’
“Sorry. My cousin’s uncle was in Sea Dragon Gate, so I got carried away... But I don’t think he did human trafficking.”
“Is that so? Fine, whatever.”
Yeom Jin-sang’s lips trembled.
Heuk Do-san thought.
‘He’s hiding something...’
Time to probe more.
“That guy’s not even from Dongyeon originally. He was a gigolo wandering pleasure quarters in Shanxi Province, taking payments for courtesans. Then by chance he saved a wandering warrior’s life and learned a few axe moves.”
Using those skills as capital, Ha-gok-sang joined Sea Dragon Gate in Dongyeon.
Just then, their gate leader met a sudden death.
With no absolute powerhouse to lead, Sea Dragon Gate faced seven rebellions in a single year.
Each time, Ha-gok-sang sided with the rebels. Of course, the last time it was him.
“Isn’t strength the essence of the black path? The strong becoming leader is only natural—why condemn it?”
“Black path my ass, it was just gangsters fighting over turf. And he killed seven leaders. Even gangsters don’t flip sides like that for personal gain—it’s inhuman.”
“...”
“But his luck ran out when Blood Sea Gang ambushed the group holding Bongrae Harbor. Ha-geuk-sang ordered a full assault from his men, then fled alone. Coward to the end.”
“...”
“Guess I got chatty meeting a fellow Shandong man after so long. Don’t mind me. Still, he must be famous. How’d a guy like that outshine Huanxi Tower and Biyan Tower to become Dongyeon’s claim to fame?”
Heuk Do-san tossed out the words and slyly watched Yeom Jin-sang’s face. As expected, it flushed red then purple, rotting with fury. He looked ready to spew fire.
“How long have you known?”
Yeom Jin-sang’s speech turned formal. His voice sank lower than ever.
‘Just who the hell is this guy?’
“Since I first saw you.”
“Why pretend not to know?”
“It’s none of my business.”
“Then why bring it up now?”
“First, why’d you hide it?”
“As you said, Sea Dragon Gate was ambushed by Blood Sea Gang. It was so sudden there was no time to react. Less than an hour in, the battle was lost. I had two choices: die a pointless death with my men, or survive alone and avenge them.”
“...!”
“I chose the latter.”
“You... you’re Ha-geuk-sang?”
“Weren’t you asking knowing that?”
“How would I know who you are?”
“Then why say all that?”
“You got pissed, so I kept poking.”
“...!”
“...!”
“You son of a bitch!”
Yeom Jin-sang flew across the campfire. He’d chosen a surprise strike at point-blank range.
In his thrusting hand gleamed a black skewer.
In that instant, a burning log fell from above.
Thwack!
With a heavy thud, Yeom Jin-sang’s face plunged into the campfire. The logs collapsed in a heap, sparks flying everywhere.
“Ow, hot!”
Yeom Jin-sang leaped up in shock. Heuk Do-san shot out his left hand like lightning, grabbed his hair, and slammed his face into the fire again.
“Argh!”
Yeom Jin-sang desperately lifted his head and charged like an ox goring a tiger with its horns, shoving Heuk Do-san. It was a frantic bid to escape the flames.
Not wanting to cook him fully, Heuk Do-san yielded two steps pretending to falter. He kept a firm grip on the hair, though.
After two face-plants into the fire, how could he even open his eyes?
But Yeom Jin-sang was tenacious. Amid it all, he precisely thrust the skewer at Heuk Do-san’s heart.
He’d gauged the heart’s position from the hand gripping his hair.
‘Not bad.’
Heuk Do-san countered by smashing the burning log in his left hand against the man’s wrist.
At the same time, he yanked the hair back sharply. Yeom Jin-sang’s chest, belly, and side lay exposed. The burning log struck true.
Boom boom boom boom thwack!
Heuk Do-san followed with his left foot, raking the shin then kicking the back of the knee, before stomping down on the head.
After blows to the upper body like clubbing, plus shin and knee hits, no sinews could endure.
Yeom Jin-sang crumpled to his knees. Heuk Do-san finished with a strike to the back of the head using the half-burnt log.
Thwack!
The charred end snapped off and flew away.
Yeom Jin-sang toppled over.
The whole debacle unfolded in a blink.
Heuk Do-san flicked away the broken log and toed the man over with his instep.
Yeom Jin-sang lay spread-eagled toward the sky, a pitiful sight.
His face was smeared with ash, his upper body covered in black burns from the logs.
Yet he still gasped raggedly, mind intact.
Heuk Do-san’s eyes widened. Face in the fire, clubbed seven times on chest, belly, and side, then back of the head smashed. It’d fell an ox. Yet he was still conscious?
‘Human or sandbag?’
Only then did he notice the skewer still clutched in the man’s hand. It wasn’t an ordinary skewer—it was iron.
“What’s this now?”