Chapter 206
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Last Mission (5)
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The Shaanxi Four Evils.
They were the representative masters of Shaanxi's unorthodox paths, each wielding symbols of rain, thunder, wind, and mist. These four were what people called nationwide celebrities—their infamous reputations had spread far beyond Shaanxi, across the entire Central Plains.
And the Thunder Fiend that A Jeok-gang had mentioned was the one corresponding to "thunder."
For reference, the leader of the Yellow Worm Group, the Wild Wind White Horse Lantern, had been the Wind Fiend. His sword strikes carried the wind, and his footsteps were as elusive as the breeze itself, earning him that name.
'Oh, right. Just like the Wind Fiend is the chief of those horse bandits, the Thunder Fiend leads an elite band of robbers. Yeah, the Red Fingernail Brotherhood—that's what they called them.'
Flying Tiger realized with a start.
The day before yesterday, he'd asked the Western Bureau for a book compiling major incidents from Shaanxi's martial world and read through it. It was to dig into events tied to Face Chaser, and naturally, it included records on the Shaanxi Four Evils, which he now recalled.
The "Red Fingernail Brotherhood," led by the Thunder Fiend, had appeared in the martial world about a decade ago.
They'd made a splash from the very start.
They'd slaughtered every last livestock from the mid-tier sect Silver Flower Hall, then burned it all to ashes. Afterward, they hung a flag bearing their red fingernail emblem on the charred main gate, brazenly announcing their atrocity to the world.
According to the book, this was the official debut of the Red Fingernail Brotherhood, though it speculated they'd likely been active in other forms before that.
Their debut act was too bold, cruel, meticulous, and clean for first-timers. As the saying goes, it takes a veteran to appreciate good meat—this was no amateurs' handiwork.
Extermination and arson.
And leaving behind their red fingernail mark.
This was the signature method of the Red Fingernail Brotherhood, the bandit group that drenched Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and Hubei Provinces in blood over the next seven years.
They struck two or three times a year, appearing when least expected, wiping out an entire clan or sect before vanishing without a trace. Their targets were always third-rate has-beens in the martial world—places rumored to hold unique martial manuals or treasured swords.
Naturally, the Red Fingernail Brotherhood made the martial world's public enemy list within a year of debuting. Centered around Mount Hua Sect, whose territory overlapped their main hunting grounds, a subjugation force was formed.
But the bandits' activities were sporadic, their appearances unpredictable. Their range was vast, their movements ghostly, and often there were no survivors from their bloodbaths.
Tracking them was no easy feat.
Still, after years of relentless pursuit, the subjugation force achieved some success. Exactly three years ago, they managed to kill a handful of the Brotherhood by sheer luck.
But coldly speaking, it was a failed operation.
The Brotherhood numbered nearly thirty at the time, and their resistance was fierce, their skills formidable. Even pushing with all they had, the subjugation force only took down a dozen or so.
Thanks to that, though, the Red Fingernail Brotherhood vanished from the martial world. No one knew when they'd resurface, but they hadn't as of yet.
Until now—when Ilgak-su Mo Ak-chu, said to be the Brotherhood's third brother, had shown up disguised as a member of Gap Team.
So who was the Thunder Fiend?
While many Brotherhood members, like Mo Ak-chu, had their identities and pasts exposed, nothing was known about their leader, the Thunder Fiend.
The only clues were the divine prowess he'd displayed breaking through the subjugation force's encirclement, and the atrocities committed under his lead—enough to crown him the top of Shaanxi's unorthodox paths as one of the Four Evils.
Then why was the Wind Fiend, another of the Four Evils, on the Face Pursuit Squad's roster while the Thunder Fiend wasn't?
Like the other two Evils, Rain and Mist, the Thunder Fiend had gone quiet in recent years. Whether in hiding or biding his time, there were no solid leads.
In terms of villainy, the Thunder Fiend and Wind Fiend were much the same—the difference was just that one had been caught red-handed, the other not.
Jin Ga-yong responded to A Jeok-gang's words.
"We're investigating all possibilities right now. The deputy commander asked for two days' grace."
"But the fire's already at our feet—we can't just sit around waiting, can we?"
"True. That's why we're setting out as soon as the meeting ends. We'll receive updates on this through the messenger birds from the merchant groups we'll contact."
In the end, they needed intel on Gap Team to gauge the mission's difficulty.
Ye Dok-du groaned, "Just when I thought it might go easy for once... tch." Everyone nodded in agreement. Not even knowing who they had to fight was unsettling the team members.
At that moment, Flying Tiger suddenly recalled the massacre the fake Face Chaser had committed at High Stone Manor.
It was a far cry from the deeds he'd done while posing as Face Chaser so far. But thinking back now, didn't it bear a striking resemblance to the Red Fingernail Brotherhood's infamous brutality?
'But there's no way Heavenly Thousand Spear Ye Hui is the Thunder Fiend, one of the Four Evils. Ten-odd years ago, she'd have been barely into her twenties—how could she have rallied scoundrels scattered across the Central Plains? Plus, as the sect master's disciple, she wouldn't have had the circumstances to mingle with such riffraff. So the Thunder Fiend exists separately, and grown-up Ye Hui just happened to join the Brotherhood by chance? ...Tch. None of this sits right.'
Flying Tiger felt frustrated by the endless chain of assumptions.
Maybe all these hypotheses were pointless. A remnant of the disbanded Red Fingernail Brotherhood might have simply drifted into the Gap Team led by Ye Hui.
So he stopped speculating and instinctively stroked the hilt of his Overgold Blade, as was his habit. In this uncertain situation, the one thing he could always rely on was the single blade at his waist.
But A-hu, sitting in the corner, watched this with cold eyes.
'Overgold Blade? That guy's got Master's keepsake?'
At that point, Jin Ga-yong was briefly explaining the Kim Clan they'd be visiting.
Jin Ga-yong added that he'd only heard about it through his youngest martial brother, Geum Yu-bong, and never visited himself.
The Kim family had originally been a small martial house based in Shaanxi Province. But Geum Yu-bong's grandfather had disbanded it and led the clan away—over thirty years ago now.
They'd settled in a small mountain village midway up Mount Giyeon, which back then had only about fifty households.
Fortunately, the Kims were welcomed by the locals and integrated well into the new home. For instance, Geum Yu-bong's father, a bachelor at the time, married the village elder's granddaughter and became family.
Thus rooted, at some point Geum Yu-bong's grandfather took charge of the village's self-defense militia—his skills being the strongest among the adults.
Years later, teaching martial arts to the village men and leading the militia naturally fell to the grown Geum Yu-bong's father. And now, thirty years on, the Kim Clan's influence in the village was immense.
With disciples of Kim-style martial arts in nearly every other household, it was an inevitable outcome.
Around then, the mountain village had grown to over a hundred households.
In that sense, the village itself was aligned with the Kim Clan. Even without counting individual skill levels, they could muster over a hundred fighters—a formidable force in itself.
At the very least, they wouldn't be a hindrance; they'd be helpful.
"The problem is, the Kim Clan head—Geum Ban-san, Geum Yu-bong's father—is bedridden with illness, leaving the village in disarray."
"Could that be why Leader Jin's martial brother returned to his hometown?"
"Exactly. Various circumstances aligned, including that one."
Flying Tiger nodded in understanding at Jin Ga-yong's reply. Then Jang Il-wook from Eul Team asked,
"But Leader Jin, why would that Face Chaser crew target your martial brother's clan, the Kims? They have no ties left to Shaanxi's martial world, and the place is pretty remote."
"To get at me. They'd figure wrecking the place would force me to show up. And they were right."
"So Face Chaser is doing this to target you personally?"
"Probably."
As Jin Ga-yong answered readily, Flying Tiger cut in with displeasure. A fine line between "ah" and "eo"—this question could breed misunderstandings, and it rubbed him the wrong way.
"That's not it."
"......?"
"Hey, Warrior Jang Il-wook. The question's off-base."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"We're the Face Pursuit Squad, and Face Chaser is our top target. Didn't you know?"
"Of course I... "
"Right. So Face Chaser targets the Face Pursuit Squad's Jeong Unit leader? How could that be personal?"
"......"
"Even if Face Chaser went after Leader Jin, what would the martial world say? You gonna rush in every time yelling, 'Don't misunderstand! It's just a personal grudge between us two'? Think they'll buy that?"
Jang Il-wook flushed red, a few chuckled, and Ye Dok-du laughed loudest.
Flying Tiger looked around sternly.
"Get your heads in the game, everyone. This is our fight. Face Chaser was always the Face Pursuit Squad's prey. So let's focus. It won't be easy, as always, but like always, we'll take down that arrogant bastard with our own hands!"
There was power in Flying Tiger's words.
A Jeok-gang raised his clenched fist in response, and many nodded.
It was a battle they had to fight anyway.
And as always, momentum was key in battle.
So why start by nitpicking and sapping morale?
A few more questions followed, and the meeting wrapped up around then.
Thus, the advance team departed from Face Pursuit Headquarters. There were thirteen in total, as follows:
Unbenevolent Sword Jin Ga-yong
Golden Eye Na Baek
Black Sand Snake Won Gap
Little Soldier Flying Tiger
No Use A Jeok-gang
One-Legged Tiger So Myeong-rang
Iron Arm Ye Dok-du
Iron Seal Craftsman Dan Geum
Dog Nose Na Mok
Fourth Meow of the Ten Meows
Eul Team's Dae-san
Eul Team's Jang Il-wook
Great Hound A-hu