Righteous Spirit, Pure Rainbow Born
The journey from Nanyang in Henan Province, home of the Wulin Alliance, to Hebei Province was no short trip.
And since it included detours to all of Henan’s famous spots—Xuchang, Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, and more—it took even longer.
Finally, on a sweltering day under the harsh sun, Jeong Gwang and Baek Seung-mu arrived at their destination.
Anyang, the northernmost city in Henan, right on the border with Hebei.
Jeong Gwang climbed the mountainside, taking in the scenery.
Quaint and nice.
It was nothing compared to the towering Kunlun Mountain.
But its small scale gave it a charming intimacy that he quite liked.
He never would have sensed this vibe if they’d stuck to the original plan and hurried past.
Good call coming this way.
Credit went to the twenty-odd burly bandits leading the way ahead.
Jeong Gwang spoke in a cheerful tone.
“Nice mountain terrain, huh?”
“Hic, hic! We’re sorry!”
“We deserve death! Please forgive us!”
Jeong Gwang comforted the men trembling like aspen leaves.
“Hey, relax. Speak freely.”
His warm words did nothing to ease the terror in their eyes.
Baek Seung-mu, walking beside Jeong Gwang, shook his head faintly.
Beat ‘em black and blue, then tell ‘em to relax. Saje really takes it to the extreme.
The bandits’ faces were a patchwork of ugly bruises, beaten so thoroughly their entire visages had turned a uniform blue.
Some marks were Baek Seung-mu’s doing, of course, but compared to Jeong Gwang’s handiwork, it was like a pebble in a vast lake.
Their pitiful state might have stirred sympathy in anyone else, but Baek Seung-mu just felt a surge of anger.
Serves you right for blocking our path when we were just passing through.
The bandits had only been doing their jobs as mountain outlaws.
But they’d picked the wrong opponents.
Of all people, they’d tried barking at Jeong Gwang to cough up every last coin!
No one died, which is a miracle.
That was thanks to Baek Seung-mu’s shout right before Jeong Gwang made his move.
Show mercy! Don’t treat life so lightly!
Not some dusty old cliché.
Spare them and make ‘em guides! We gotta raid their hideout to cool off, right?
Spending time with Jeong Gwang had given him plenty of worldly experience.
At least it worked out.
Jeong Gwang had grumbled, “Saje, aren’t you too soft-hearted? How’ll you ever become a proper Taoist like that?” but he’d agreed.
Recalling those annoying words made Baek Seung-mu clench his fist.
How long do I have to keep doing this crap?
It wasn’t just today.
Along the arduous journey they had traversed so far, they had been ambushed not only by common bandits but also by ruthless water pirates and various black-path thugs from the lawless marketplaces—absolute tons of scum.
Why?
Jeong Gwang’s outfit was too flashy!
And his disguised face looked like some innocent young master!
He wore a sword, sure, but it gleamed with golden light—pure ostentation.
Anyone with half a brain could see Jeong Gwang as a naive rich heir and Baek Seung-mu as his greenhorn bodyguard.
Prime bait to make any thug salivate.
Did he disguise himself like that on purpose?
It wouldn’t be beneath Jeong Gwang.
He was still prying info on nearby evil dens from these bandits right now.
“Those guys have piled up a fortune, you say?”
“Of course! Real nasty bastards!”
“Ho. Guess we’ll swing by.”
“We’ll guide you!”
It happened so often it wasn’t even surprising anymore.
No, it felt inevitable—like it’d keep happening.
If this keeps up, it’ll never end… Hm?
Baek Seung-mu snapped out of his thoughts.
A presence stirred beyond the thicket ahead.
He immediately circulated his inner qi.
His senses sharpened, qi perception expanding.
…Eighty, ninety, a hundred… Way over a hundred.
He couldn’t pinpoint exactly, but the number was huge.
Jeong Gwang asked just then.
“Saje. How many?”
“Over a hundred—that’s all I got.”
“Not bad. Ready?”
Baek Seung-mu sighed inwardly and drew his sword.
After so many repeats, the routine felt natural now.
“Yes, saje.”
“Good. You lot ready too?”
The bandits, freshly schooled by Jeong Gwang’s fists, replied with desperate resolve.
“Yes, young master!”
“Alright. Let’s head through here first.”
They pushed through the brush into a clearing.
Crude huts dotted the area, bustling with plenty of people—all vicious-looking bandits.
Jeong Gwang pointed and shouted.
“Go on! For the sake of justice!”
“Waaaaah!”
The guide bandits charged with screams like war cries.
The startled bandits grabbed their weapons, only to gape in confusion.
They’d braced for imperial troops, not their own rushing them!
The door of the largest hut burst open. A massive man leaped out wielding a great cleaver.
“You idiots! What the hell after your raiding trip? Gone mad?”
He was the stronghold chief, ruling his men through brute strength and cruelty.
But against Jeong Gwang, he was a firefly to the sun.
The twenty-odd guides bared their teeth and attacked.
“Yeah! We’re mad!”
“Die! It’s you or us!”
The chief swung his cleaver in fury.
“You dare! Die!”
But his real foe had other plans.
Baek Seung-mu swooped like a falcon, unleashing a single strike.
Clang!
“Guh! Who the hell are you?!”
The chief staggered, stunned at nearly toppling from one blow.
Baek Seung-mu opened his mouth, but Jeong Gwang beat him to it.
“Golden Sword Hero Baek Seung-mu.”
Not the first time, but veins bulged on Baek Seung-mu’s forehead.
“Saje! Why keep embarrassing me?!”
“What’s shameful about heroic deeds? Get to it, saje.”
Baek Seung-mu was already on it, even without the prompt.
Three more strikes sent the chief tumbling. Then, like a gale, he swept through the bandits.
Precise forms tailored to foes and terrain.
Keen awareness of surroundings, bold decisions.
Jeong Gwang nodded, pleased.
Growing faster than expected. Wet nurse would be thrilled.
Heo Yeo-min might weep at her sweet boy turning so ruthless, but that’s how Jeong Gwang saw it.
Everyone’s giving it their all.
The twenty-odd converted bandits charged their hundred-plus former comrades like demons.
Time for my part.
Jeong Gwang leaped onto the roof of the chief’s hut.
Reclining at an angle, he surveyed the chaos below.
Not bad for a minor bandit nest—not even one of the Green Forest Seventy-Two Strongholds.
The bandits had some superficial martial training.
The fallen chief could’ve been a decent player anywhere.
Still, doesn’t matter.
The converts fought like their lives depended on it—which they did.
Even a hundred-plus bandits couldn’t overwhelm them easily.
And rampaging amid the flock like a crane among chickens—no, a tiger—was Baek Seung-mu.
But he still won’t fix that habit, no matter how many times I tell him.
Jeong Gwang would’ve used the converts as shields on one flank, picking off the rest.
Let them attrition each other, then mop up leisurely.
Easy.
But not Baek Seung-mu.
He rushed to aid converts in peril, toppling foes along the way.
Really wants to be the great hero, huh.
Only possible now because his skills far outstripped the bandits’.
Wrong foes, though, and that mindset would land him in the underworld.
Guess I’ll train him harder—no dying allowed.
Baek Seung-mu would beg for death if he heard that.
Anyway, wrapping up soon.
Sure enough.
With Baek Seung-mu’s exploits crushing their morale, bandits fled every which way.
Jeong Gwang’s cue!
He fished a handful of iron coins from a looted pouch.
And hurled them.
Whiiiiiish—
The coins whistled ear-splittingly, scattering everywhere.
Struck bandits crumpled with agonized screams.
“Aaaagh!”
“Gaaack!”
Late escapers froze.
No one wanted that fate.
All eyes turned to Jeong Gwang on the roof.
He flashed a bright smile, urging them on.
“Go down fighting like men.”
Despair darkened the bandits’ eyes.
The fight didn’t last long.
Converted or not, bandits littered the ground, groaning.
Difference? Converts collapsed from exhaustion; others from broken bones or severed meridians.
Even with treatment, hard lives awaited.
Jeong Gwang clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Saje, too cruel.”
“...Pardon?”
“What’ll they do like that? Better to kill ‘em clean.”
“...”
“Want me to put ‘em out of their misery?”
At his words, downed bandits sprang up, kneeling despite gushing blood.
Their unified plea was tragic, almost poetic.
“Please spare us!”
“Just once! We beg you!”
The chief bellowed loudest, his words a spectacle.
“We didn’t know the Great King had come! Take it all—just spare us!”
Baek Seung-mu’s brows shot up.
Great King? Take it all?
Treating him like some arch-bandit!
The least battered bandits sensed his ire and surged up righteously.
They mobbed their chief, pummeling him.
“You fool! How dare you spout such nonsense to a great hero!”
“Die! Scum like you ain’t good for the world!”
The chief soon lost his grip.
Jeong Gwang scratched his head, disappointed.
“Saje, manage your face. Made an easy job hard.”
“Hoo. Don’t worry, saje. This is routine for me.”
Baek Seung-mu entered the chief’s hut.
He wrinkled his nose at the stench but nodded after scanning inside.
Pillaged goods everywhere—valuable stuff.
If it looks this good…
Hidden stashes were always bigger.
He stomped the floor deliberately until a hollow sound stopped him.
Here.
Traveling with Jeong Gwang had taught him: bosses hid loot predictably.
Craaack!
Smashing the floor revealed the trove—more than expected.
Jeong Gwang, who’d slipped in, nodded.
“Worth the stop. Pack it up.”
“Yes, saje.”
Baek Seung-mu swept the loot into his growing bundle—several times bulkier than at the Alliance start.
Jeong Gwang eyed it, muttering.
“Way too much now.”
Baek Seung-mu brightened.
“Exactly, saje. Now no one’ll bother us—we can just pass by.”
“Can’t do that.”
“...Pardon?”
“You dreamed of being a great hero, right? Quitting heroic deeds?”
“...Is this heroic?”
Baek Seung-mu was dumbfounded, but so was Jeong Gwang.
“Obviously. Know Xiaoke Haeng? Poem by Li Bai, Tang poet and Poet Immortal.”
Who didn’t?
Few poems were that famous.
It praised xia heroes’ valor and spirit from the Spring and Autumn Warring States era.
That made Baek Seung-mu more confused.
“...What’s that got to do with now?”
“Didn’t study poetry, huh? Surprising.”
Jeong Gwang closed his eyes, murmuring.
“Ten paces slays one man, a thousand li leaves no trace.”
He hadn’t killed—just beaten—but they’d come far, over a thousand li.
“Matter done, shake robes and go; deep hide body and name.”
The xia’s way: do good, vanish without fanfare.
They’d looted and bolted quick enough.
“Eye flowers, ear hot after drink; righteous spirit, pure rainbow born.”
“Ah. No booze yet.”
“...”
Jeong Gwang grinned brightly.
“Let’s finish the heroic journey with some drinks.”
Boiled down: time for booze.
The heroic journey paused only upon entering Hebei Province.
Not Jeong Gwang’s whim.
Hebei housed the capital, Yanjing, seat of the Son of Heaven.
Its ironclad security made bandit encounters rare.
Jeong Gwang marveled at the vast manor before them.
Whoa. Bigger than I thought.
Size didn’t guarantee skill, but it didn’t hurt.
He stroked the jade plaque from Jade Qilin Hu Wei-jin, smiling.
Wonder how far this’ll get me.
This was the clan of smiths who tamed iron like ghosts.
Iron Blood Manor.