Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Mission 4
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Not long after Baek Moo-jin and Seo Moon-geuk had left with Bong Yoo-hak, a skinny man dressed in gray martial robes stepped into the West Light Branch. The branch members immediately blocked the unfamiliar man.
"Who are you?"
The man politely cupped his fists in greeting.
"I am Ban Go-yeong of the Cloud Mountain Sect."
The two branch members who had blocked him tilted their heads in confusion.
"What brings someone from the Cloud Mountain Sect here?"
Ban Go-yeong was no disciple of the Cloud Mountain Sect—he was an elite of the Iron Blood Gang. Mak So-gwang, with whom he was supposed to rendezvous at the Yongjeong Pavilion after completing their missions, had failed to show. He'd asked around with the courtesans and tracked his way here to the West Light Branch. He'd heard they were practically overrun, but Ban Go-yeong was a man brimming with confidence in his lightness skill, so he hadn't given the branch a second thought.
The branch members eyed him up and down, but since he carried neither sword nor saber, they couldn't just chase him off.
Ban Go-yeong, who looked clean-cut like a young noble, spoke in a courteous tone.
"Nothing urgent. I heard my junior brother came to the West Light Branch, so I stopped by just to see his face."
The branch members' expressions hardened unnecessarily as they cautiously asked,
"Ah, is that so? And your junior brother's name is...?"
At that moment, an irritated voice came from behind the main hall.
"Where do we dump this?"
"Just toss it off the Nara Cliff, even if it's a hassle."
"Ah, that's such a trek."
"It's the safest. No one will ever find it."
The two branch members emerged carrying Mak So-gwang's corpse and froze upon spotting the stranger.
Ban Go-yeong's gaze shifted to the foot protruding from the straw mat. He strode over briskly, lifted the mat, and stared silently at Mak So-gwang. The clear marks of a blunt weapon's blow to the head were evident.
'Mak So-gwang! Hit by a club?'
"What is this?"
"Who are you?"
Ignoring them, Ban Go-yeong scanned his surroundings before boldly entering the main hall, brushing past the others. Mak So-gwang appeared to have been struck by some blunt weapon, yet everyone here wielded swords.
The men rushed after him with a clamor.
"Who are you?"
"Stop right there."
"You, go fetch the Deputy Branch Chief."
As Ban Go-yeong examined the bloodstains on the main hall floor, his tone shifted dramatically to polite speech.
"Who killed that man here?"
No matter how Ban Go-yeong puzzled it out, Mak So-gwang wasn't the type to die at the hands of such ragtag fools.
One cautious branch member, buying time until the Deputy Branch Chief arrived, replied,
"That man's from the Iron Blood Gang... The Iron Blood Gang and Cloud Mountain Sect have no connection, do they?"
Ban Go-yeong shook his head, then switched to blunt speech.
"That's none of your business."
"What did you say?!"
The West Light Branch members drew their swords in unison. Ban Go-yeong tilted his head, surveying the gathered men.
"No, it wasn't you lot. You all use swords, don't you? Your skills look sloppy too, and where's the blunt weapon? Where's the West Light Branch Chief?"
Ban Go-yeong asked after the blunt weapon as if it were a person's name. Just then, Deputy Branch Chief Jeong In-hyeok rushed out.
"What's going on?"
The moment Ban Go-yeong spotted Jeong In-hyeok, who at least looked strong, he drew the flexible sword coiled around his waist and approached.
"Doesn't seem like you either..."
2.
Limbs severed corpses littered the main hall floor, and Jeong In-hyeok lay there, blood streaming from his face, glaring up at Ban Go-yeong. When Ban Go-yeong had brutally slaughtered his subordinates, Jeong In-hyeok had deliberately revealed Baek Moo-jin's appearance and whereabouts, hoping Ban Go-yeong would chase after him and die. But Ban Go-yeong refused to believe it. His thin flexible sword had already pierced Jeong In-hyeok's limbs several times.
Ban Go-yeong wiped the blood from his blade on Jeong In-hyeok's clothes and asked,
"...You're not lying, are you?"
Jeong In-hyeok, who'd been about to speak but instead spat out a gush of blood from his mouth, shook his head. Ban Go-yeong shook his own head in response.
"So you are lying."
Instead of answering, Jeong In-hyeok spat a glob of blood-mixed saliva at Ban Go-yeong.
"Ptoo!"
Ban Go-yeong easily dodged the spit, then pressed his flexible sword to Jeong In-hyeok's throat.
"Look at you lot. You couldn't even nick my collar before dying, and you're saying two North Heaven Alliance guys killed Mak So-gwang? He could've taken trash like you without breaking a sweat. And calling this a North Heaven Alliance branch? It's a joke. Time to shut it down."
With that, Ban Go-yeong thrust his flexible sword into Jeong In-hyeok's throat, muttering in a eerily calm, mad tone.
"Receive my sword."
As Ban Go-yeong stepped outside, he spotted around thirty branch members returning from patrol duty at the entrance. He quietly circled back behind the main hall.
'Whoa, that's a lot.'
Ban Go-yeong soundlessly leaped onto the roof, then descended to the ground, recoiling his flexible sword around his waist as he muttered,
"White martial robes and a fan, huh..."
Meanwhile, Jeong In-hyeok, left in the main hall, breathed his last while praying Ban Go-yeong would catch up to Baek Moo-jin.
3.
The evening of the second day since departing the West Light Branch.
If Baek Moo-jin were alone, he wouldn't need rest. But Bong Yoo-hak had tired first, and even Seo Moon-geuk grumbled.
"This feels like we're marching to our deaths... No one's been tailing us so far. Can't we rest one night? The Branch Chief didn't say anything, but he looked like he was at his limit."
Baek Moo-jin nodded.
"Let's do that."
Baek Moo-jin, Seo Moon-geuk, and Bong Yoo-hak entered a place called Dae Myeong Inn, planning to rest one night and depart at dawn. After a simple dinner, the other two headed upstairs early, leaving Baek Moo-jin alone on the first floor to order liquor.
Dae Myeong Inn was a popular spot for escorts and wanderers, a four-story building with over sixty guest rooms.
Baek Moo-jin quietly drank while occasionally scanning the newcomers.
With his stamina fully intact, he planned to pass the late night waiting for any potential pursuers.
Each time someone entered, Baek Moo-jin's eyes gleamed as he gauged their prowess from their outward aura and presence alone—distinguishing masters from novices.
Of course, Baek Moo-jin didn't know the general standards of the jianghu's experts. So he judged by his own scale.
He divided upper, middle, and lower into finer upper-middle-lower tiers.
For instance, a staggering drunk was obviously bottom-bottom tier.
A jianghu man who maintained a sharp aura despite drinking earned bottom-upper.
Yet most didn't escape the bottom tier. Big build, fierce face, fine clothes—no matter. They fell between bottom-upper and bottom-bottom.
Baek Moo-jin downed a cup and let out a low sigh.
'Pointless. Even in a crowded place like this...'
As Baek Moo-jin felt his aura-judging game was futile,
a skinny man entered with slow steps and took an empty seat.
Baek Moo-jin glanced at him and his eyes lit up.
'Not bottom-tier...'
The skinny man was, of course, Ban Go-yeong, who had tracked and caught up to Baek Moo-jin's group. How had he overtaken them in just a day and a half? Simple—his lightness skill outpaced Bong Yoo-hak's, and Baek Moo-jin and Seo Moon-geuk had matched the Branch Chief's pace.
Ban Go-yeong ordered liquor and snacks from a server, scanned the room, and spotted Baek Moo-jin.
Baek Moo-jin and Ban Go-yeong's eyes met briefly.
"............"
Ban Go-yeong called back the server wiping a nearby table.
"Take the liquor there."
"Pardon?"
Without further explanation, Ban Go-yeong stood and sat directly across from Baek Moo-jin.
"If you're alone, mind sharing a drink?"
As if Baek Moo-jin were the only one worth talking to here...
The inn's patrons glanced at Ban Go-yeong and Baek Moo-jin before resuming their chatter.
Baek Moo-jin addressed the stranger.
"Sure."
As Baek Moo-jin replied impassively, Ban Go-yeong's gaze lingered on the white long sword atop the table.
Staring at the sword, Ban Go-yeong asked Baek Moo-jin,
"Traveling with companions?"
Baek Moo-jin shook his head.
"No."
Ban Go-yeong nodded and, from his seated position, cupped his fists in introduction.
"Ban Go-yeong of the Cloud Mountain Sect."
"Baek Moo-jin."
"I see. And your sect?"
"Snow Mountain Baek Family."
Ban Go-yeong nodded.
'Snow, what? Where's that again?'
Ban Go-yeong's face was expressionless, emitting no hostility. Baek Moo-jin was the same. No matter how hard Ban Go-yeong scrutinized him, he couldn't read Baek Moo-jin's aura or even his thoughts. Moreover, Baek Moo-jin didn't seem like someone in a hurry.
Ban Go-yeong thought,
'Hmm, maybe not this guy? If only the fan guy were here...'
Eying Baek Moo-jin's liquor bottle, Ban Go-yeong held out his empty cup.
"My order will arrive soon, but I'm thirsty. Pour me one from yours first, Brother Baek."
Baek Moo-jin nodded, lifted the bottle, and poured with a trickle.
"Here."
The two raised their cups, clinked eyes, and downed them simultaneously. Ban Go-yeong set down his empty cup.
"Good stuff. My turn to pour."
"Alright."
As Baek Moo-jin handed over the bottle, Ban Go-yeong pretended to take it but grabbed Baek Moo-jin's hand and abruptly injected internal energy.
But when Ban Go-yeong channeled his energy, Baek Moo-jin just blinked at him. He even spoke calmly.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The server, arriving with Ban Go-yeong's drinks, froze at the bizarre scene.
The skinny man was gripping the young man's hand, his face flushing red!
The server's eyes widened in horror.
'What the... a lunatic's here...'
The server set down the liquor and snacks and fled. But undeterred, Ban Go-yeong sweated profusely, relentlessly pouring energy into Baek Moo-jin's hand.
'Damn it!'
Taking Ban Go-yeong's resolute gaze as a challenge, Baek Moo-jin nodded.
"Want to go for it?"