053 - Shameless, But
A group of rough men burst through the underbrush, panting heavily.
Bearded and sunburned, some even draped in animal hides despite the sweltering heat.
Yeon Jeokhwa let out a soft chuckle.
"Oh my! Bandits? What should we do?"
Including the ones groaning in the back from the earlier explosion, there were about twenty in total.
No trace of internal energy from any of them—they looked like a band from some minor mountain stronghold out on a group raid.
"Aigoo! Good sirs of the mountains! You've had a hard journey!"
Go Seokchu hopped down from the cart and approached the bandits.
'Come on, pick a fight. You bastards.'
He wasn't just some pushover—he'd learned a few martial techniques himself, though suppressed by Jin Muhon.
Of course, taking on nearly twenty at once would be tough, but didn't he have the unbreakable Jin Muhon backing him up?
The thought of thrashing these bandits soon made the corners of Go Seokchu's mouth creep upward.
"Well, well? Look at this punk smirking. Boss! This guy's laughing at us!"
"Heh heh heh. What's the matter? It's just my natural face."
"Shut your trap! Get on your knees right now!"
"Well... my knees aren't so good."
"......"
The bandits exchanged dumbfounded glances.
Two patients loaded on a rickety cart, one delicate-faced woman, one man with a strange aura, and this rat-faced creep grinning right in front of them.
'What the hell are these guys?'
With years of banditry under their belts, they could usually size up travelers by their looks alone.
But no matter how they scrutinized Jin Muhon's group, nothing clicked.
Still, ignorance breeds courage.
One bandit stepped forward, jabbing a finger at Jin Muhon.
"You there! You two on horseback! Yeah, you! Get off those horses now!"
"Aw, come on, don't do that. You might end up dead."
Go Seokchu waved exaggeratedly to hold them back.
"What? What'd you just mutter?"
"I'm saying this for your own good, sirs. Don't get cocky and overreach, or that guy on the horse might take your heads. You saw that explosion just now? That was him casually flicking a Earth Finger Skill."
"Earth... Finger?"
The bandit's eyes bulged.
"Yeah! So just drop what you've got and back off. I'll talk nice and save your skins."
"......"
"......"
They'd robbed plenty of mountain travelers, but this was a first.
The bandits trying to get pickpocketed?
"Ha. Ha. Ha... hahahahaha!"
"Kekeke! Drop our stuff?"
"Aigoo, scary. We might all die if we're not careful."
"Hahaha!"
As usual, the weak couldn't spot a hidden master.
Jin Muhon sat silently, which felt ominous, but Go Seokchu's antics eased their guard.
Above all, Yeon Jeokhwa's beauty—her black hair whipping in the wind, looking somewhat pained—stole their breaths.
'Damn, what a babe.'
'That fresh face... I'd die happy just holding her once.'
Before leaving Yunnan, Yeon Jeokhwa had dyed her red hair black to evade any potential Tang Clan pursuit.
She couldn't change her face, and after losing her internal energy and enduring hardships, a delicate pallor clung to her features.
It ignited the bandits' lustful fires.
"Ahem! Can't pass this up. This lord's got business, but no need to ignore the pastry right here. Hey! You rat-faced punk!"
The apparent leader called out to Go Seokchu.
Go Seokchu beamed back.
"Yes?"
"When I say nice, you drop everything and scram. Leave the woman, of course. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll spare your lives."
"Pardon? Leave her behind? Heh... you'll regret that."
The leader's eyes narrowed furiously.
"You bastard! Do as you're told! What's with all the yapping?!"
"No, but listen—your words are getting pretty harsh."
Thwack!
"Gahk!"
Just as Go Seokchu finished speaking.
The leader let out a short scream and toppled backward with a thud.
"Huh? Boss?"
"Boss!"
Rumble!
The bandits rushed in panic to check him.
The unconscious leader's forehead was swollen huge—who knew what hit him.
His eyes rolled back white, blood gushing from his brow like a waterfall.
"......"
Go Seokchu slowly turned, eyes wide in shock.
Jin Muhon toyed with a tiny stone fragment between his fingers.
"Uh... family head? If you do that out of nowhere, they'll think I did it—"
As Go Seokchu stammered in panic, Jin Muhon jerked his chin forward.
"Watch your back."
"......!"
Go Seokchu whipped around.
The enraged bandits drew swords and axes one by one.
"You coward! Sneak attack?!"
"You're dead today, punk!"
"Stick your neck out!"
Go Seokchu flinched and stepped back.
"W-wait! Normally, don't you back off when you realize there's a master here?!"
"Shut it, rat!"
"Kill you, save me!"
"Beat this bastard!"
The twenty-odd bandits charged at Go Seokchu en masse.
"Uwaaaah!!"
Go Seokchu frantically drew his sword and swung wildly.
Clang! Clang! Chaaang! Cling cling cling!
"W-wait! Calm down a bit!"
"Screw that!"
Cling cling cling cling cling!
The once-quiet forest erupted with the clash of weapons.
Startled beasts fled, birds flapped up from the trees.
At the sudden brawl, Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong sat up.
"Hahaha! Fight well, Go Seokchu! Hang in there!"
"No! Damn it! Don't yell my name!"
True to Haomen's security-first ethos, Go Seokchu reacted more sharply to his real name slipping than the crisis itself.
Jin Baek apologized.
"Casual speech?"
"Not 'what do I do'! Help me! I'll die like this! Uwaaa!!"
Unlike the burly, brute-force bandits, Go Seokchu had some internal energy, plus years of experience trailing Jin Muhon.
He held his own decently.
"Family head. Should I help a bit?"
"No. You'll get hurt."
"Oh! Worried about me? I'm touched!"
Yeon Jeokhwa's eyes sparkled as she gazed at Jin Muhon's profile.
Jin Muhon, meanwhile, focused solely on the fight's flow.
Fate Soul Heaven Sacrificing Scripture...
The incantation etched in his mind from Dan Ri-ye.
Added to his original grasp of Ma-seon's insights, it elevated Cloud Peak Demon Sea another step.
'Those must be... souls.'
Above the frenzied bandits' heads, faint, cloudy veils wafted like smoke.
Each varied in shape and size.
The souls' differing qualities manifested thus.
'Will it work?'
At its core, Fate Soul Heaven Sacrificing Scripture manipulated souls.
Harvest them for energy like Dan Ri-ye, or wield them like limbs via will like Jin Muhon.
Then surely he could extend Sword Intent to the souls of the living.
'Why not try.'
Jin Muhon unleashed Sword Intent toward the bandits and clapped his hands sharply.
Clap!
"Die, you rat—urk?!"
"Mmph!"
"Guhk!"
"......!"
The bandits charging with eyes rolled back collapsed like felled rice sheaves.
"H-heck! What the—?!"
Thud!
Go Seokchu, terrified, fell on his ass.
"Oh my!"
"Gasp!"
"......!"
The three division leaders were just as stunned.
Jin Muhon leaped down from his horse and strode among the fallen bandits.
All alive.
Just frozen stiff, eyes wide like ice statues.
"Family head! That just now—was that you?!"
Go Seokchu yelled, spitting in shock.
These weaklings weren't even a meal for Jin Muhon. One sword swing would decapitate them all.
But rendering them combat-ineffective with a single clap? Another matter entirely.
'F-first time seeing this. No way! From that fortuitous encounter in Poison Dragon Valley?'
Ever the Haomen branch chief, Go Seokchu quickly calculated the info's value.
He swallowed hard and asked cautiously.
"Uh... family head. What's that technique called?"
All complaints vanished.
Hands clasped forward, he bowed as deferentially as possible.
Understanding Go Seokchu's motive, Jin Muhon improvised a flashy name.
"Point Soul."
It fit—striking not meridians, but souls, to seal them.
Go Seokchu muttered the name, nodding eagerly.
"How's that? Worth a good price?"
"Huh? Oh! C-can I tie it to your moniker when I sell...?"
"No."
"Mm. Then it'll be 'the hidden prowess of Yunbong Jin family head.'"
Go Seokchu wiggled his fingers, tallying fast.
Sword Demon rumors sold themselves, but who cared about an obscure family head?
No buyers, no value.
"Well, at least cart-money."
Jin Muhon smirked.
"Soft-bellied rat."
"Heh heh. Gotta do business right."
Jin Muhon clapped again.
Clap!
"Ughhh..."
"Aigoo... my head."
The bandits stirred one by one.
"Gasp!"
Go Seokchu scurried back to the cart.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
The bonfire blazed.
Summer's heat waning, a cool breeze swept from the foothills as the sun set.
"Come on, hurry! Family head needs to rest!"
"Boss! What should we do?!"
"You idiot! Quiet down! You'll wake the family head! You lot pick night watch and stand guard! Don't let a single rat through!"
"Got it!"
The bandits bustled noisily everywhere.
Asking why they clustered, they were en route to the Green Forest Eighteen Strongholds assembly.
Not one of the top eighteen strongest, but heading to the main base for the rare nationwide gathering, if only to gawk.
"Assembly... trouble with the chief stronghold lord?"
Jin Muhon stared into the fire, a nagging unease from Dan Ri-ye's tales stirring within.
Himself targeted, something with Cheonma too. Poison King dead either way, Tang Clan nearly wiped out.
Tracing back, it all stemmed from the Four Emperors' deaths.
Was that entity Dan Ri-ye mentioned truly behind it all?
Now every major murim incident sparked suspicion.
"Family head. Something wrong?"
The fierce-faced bandit leader forced a gentle smile and bowed deeply.
"No. Rest."
"Yes. Call anytime if you need anything."
"Sure."
At least tonight, with bandits on watch, Go Seokchu could sleep easy.
Snore— snore— snore—
Already out cold.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
As Jin Muhon turned back to the fire.
Yeon Jeokhwa approached calmly.
"Family head."
"Sit."
Yeon Jeokhwa, Jin Baek, and Jin Jaryeong had huddled right after setting camp, skipping meals to whisper.
He could've eavesdropped easily but didn't.
And now their talk seemed done.
"I have something to say."
She sat beside him, face slightly tense.
Like they'd debated hard, but hesitation lingered.
Glancing over, Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong—eyes sparkling childlike—quickly looked away.
"......"
What could make these fearless division leaders so nervous?
Jin Muhon's curiosity piqued.
"Speak."
"Well..."
Yeon Jeokhwa dropped to her knees.
"......?"
"I know it's shameless... but for us..."
She paused, swallowing hard.
Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong's heartbeats seemed audible from afar.
Jin Muhon watched silently.
Eyes squeezed shut, Yeon Jeokhwa spoke.
"Could you teach us your martial arts?"
"......"
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
In the odd silence.
Only the bonfire's quiet crackle rose.