Chapter 285
Chapter 285
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 285
>Chapter Title: Silk Road (2)
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They pressed westward across a barren desert where nothing but yellow filled their eyes, for what felt like an eternity.
After being forced to camp in the desert for two straight nights, it was only on the morning of the third day that they finally spotted a faint green expanse of land in the far distance.
With nothing but sand dunes blocking their view, it was visible to the naked eye but still nowhere near close.
Riding camels and pulling the cart with the box strapped to it, they traveled steadily for half a day before finally escaping the desert and entering the grasslands.
It was no lush meadow thick with brush, but a grassland dotted here and there with small clumps of bushes.
Still, with the open vista stretching out ahead in unbroken green, Il-mok let out a sigh of relief.
“Looks like we’ve gotten out of the desert somehow.”
No matter how close he had come to Transcending Demon, the desert had been grueling.
The relentless sand-laden winds meant sand kept seeping into every gap in his clothes, leaving an unpleasant gritty sensation.
Il-mok urged his camel forward toward Gu Yang-hyeok, who was leading at the front.
“Black Tiger Branch Leader.”
“Yes, Young Master Il-mok.”
“How about leaving a few to guard the box and spreading the rest of the unit out widely as we move? We don’t know when we’ll next find food, so this is a good chance to scout for water or hunt some game.”
They had stocked emergency rations from the guest ship, but they couldn’t afford to consume food and water recklessly.
Judging Il-mok’s suggestion reasonable, Gu Yang-hyeok nodded and issued orders to the Black Tiger members.
At Gu Yang-hyeok’s command, thirty out of the forty Black Tiger members paired off in groups of three and began fanning out widely.
They traveled on like that for a while, hoping to find a source of water or some game to roast.
Spotting a bird flying low in the distance, Il-mok turned to Jeong-hyeon.
“Jeong Sojeo.”
“Y-Yes, Young Master.”
“Think you can hit that bird?”
Jeong-hyeon gauged the distance to the bird Il-mok was pointing at, then drew an arrow and spoke.
“I’ll give it a try.”
She fell silent, focusing intently for a moment.
Twang.
With the crisp release of the bowstring, the arrow she loosed sliced through the air.
And soon after, the bird flying in the distance plummeted from the sky.
“Ooh! As expected, Jeong Sojeo’s archery is the finest in the Divine Cult!”
“Th-That’s too much praise.”
Jeong-hyeon blushed at Il-mok’s compliment.
To claim the bird meat, they drove their camels toward where it had fallen.
“Y-Young Master. S-Someone’s coming from the opposite side.”
Jeong-hyeon pointed ahead with a troubled expression, and the others all turned to look at Il-mok.
Their faces asked if they should prepare for battle.
“Don’t draw your weapons. But stay ready to strike at any moment.”
Just like them, the group approaching from the opposite side seemed to be conversing among themselves.
Before long, Il-mok and his companions reached the spot where the bird had fallen.
To their bewilderment, two arrows were embedded in the bird’s body.
“Jeong Sojeo. Did you fire two arrows?”
“N-No, I didn’t.”
From her answer, Il-mok had a rough idea of what was unfolding.
‘Sigh. This could get messy if luck’s not on our side.’
As if confirming Il-mok’s hunch, the approaching group from the other side began shouting something as they drew near.
“They’re claiming it’s the bird they hunted.”
Gu Yang-hyeok translated the words of the men, who were dressed in distinctive nomad garb.
“Black Tiger Branch Leader. Can you translate for us too?”
“Long sentences are tough, but I can manage simple words well enough.”
“Just tell them we shot an arrow too.”
As he spoke, Il-mok pointed at the two arrows stuck in the bird.
Using basic words and gestures, Gu Yang-hyeok conveyed their intent.
Spotting the two arrows, they huddled and whispered among themselves before a middle-aged man stepped forward and spoke in halting Central Plains tongue.
“Bow. Contest. Decide owner.”
At the man’s proposal, Il-mok glanced at Jeong-hyeon.
“Want to give it a shot?”
“I-I’ll try.”
Thanks to her experience working as an informal archery performer in Pingliang County, Jeong-hyeon accepted the challenge despite her stutter.
Il-mok then exchanged words with the man who spoke broken Central Plains tongue, managing to set some basic rules.
Just like with the bird they’d hit, representatives from each side would take turns shooting at distant animals with their bows, and the side that missed would lose.
A fierce-looking nomad armed with a bow stepped forward from their group and took aim at another bird flying far off.
Whoosh!
After he loosed his arrow, the flying bird began plummeting to the ground a moment later.
“Hmph.”
He shot Jeong-hyeon a smug look brimming with pride, and she flinched once before aiming her bow at another bird.
At a glance, it was a bit farther than the one the man had just shot.
“Sip. Hoo.”
After taking a deep breath with her bow drawn, Jeong-hyeon’s trembling body steadied.
Twang!
The clear ring of the bowstring echoed as the bird she’d aimed at fell.
“Hm?”
Surprised by her skill, the nomad representative twitched his eyebrows and began scanning the surroundings.
He then took aim at a bird flying in a spot that looked considerably farther away.
Unlike his previous relaxed expression, the man now looked deadly serious as he drew on the bird.
Whoosh!
The arrow he fired whistled through the air.
But perhaps due to the distance, the arrow lost momentum at the end, slowing down, and the bird dodged it with a light flap of its wings.
“Urgh.”
The man groaned, and the nomads let out disappointed sighs as they all turned to stare at Jeong-hyeon.
She was already aiming her bow at the bird he had failed to hit.
Despite all eyes on her, her face remained utterly calm in her extreme focus.
It was far fewer spectators than during her days performing as the Jade Sword Young Lady.
Perhaps taking his failure as a lesson, a powerful aura began surging around her.
Bang!!
With a sharp whoosh, the arrow she fired tore through the air toward the bird.
“Ooooo!!”
Before long, the bird she’d targeted plummeted from the sky.
Right after, the man who had competed against Jeong-hyeon started shouting something.
Just as Il-mok wondered if he was refusing to accept the result, the man who spoke halting Central Plains tongue translated.
“Admits defeat. Teach bow.”
Seeing him acknowledge the loss without excuses, he seemed a rather magnanimous fellow.
“If you tell us where to find water, I can teach you a little.”
When Il-mok made the offer on Jeong-hyeon’s behalf, the interpreter nodded.
“Teach bow. Guest.”
It seemed they would treat them as guests.
Il-mok accepted the proposal, and Gu Yang-hyeok promptly signaled.
The Black Tiger members who had spread out returned, and they set off following the nomads.
“Doesn’t seem like they’re Huihui Cultists.”
Gu Yang-hyeok, traveling alongside, nodded at Il-mok’s words.
The lands west and north beyond the Shin River had originally been nomad territory.
Divided into various tribes with no real nations to speak of, it felt odd to call them territories, but it was where the nomads lived.
Further beyond this area, the Huihui faith had begun spreading from the distant west, and lately, the nomads were split between those who believed and those who didn’t.
Like the ones who had ambushed the Demonic Path Academy back then, some still clung to nomad customs while worshiping Allah, while others like these continued their traditions, believing in ancestor spirits or Tengri.
This was information Il-mok had learned from Gu Yang-hyeok while preparing to depart for the Western Regions.
Staying vigilant for any eventualities, they followed the nomads for a while.
In the distance, they spotted what looked like tents, and behind them, the glint of a river flowing.
Around the tents, sheep and horses grazed sporadically on the grass or drank from the river, tended by nomads in their distinctive garb.
One of the nomads who had guided Il-mok and his group stepped forward and spoke to those near the tents.
Soon after, someone approached carrying a jug of water, while others in the back began lighting a fire.
“Guest, meal.”
At the man’s words, Il-mok turned to Gu Yang-hyeok.
“They seem to be planning to grill meat anyway. How about throwing in what we caught too?”
“Not a bad idea, Young Master.”
And so, the nomads and Black Tiger members set about grilling meat and preparing dinner together.
Various animal meats were laid out on the table, and the nomads poured a thick white liquid into cups and offered it around.
No telling if it was mare’s milk or sheep’s milk.
Meanwhile, Jeong-hyeon had gone pale as she was hounded by the nomads.
She had become their impromptu archery instructor.
“I-I’ll explain, so p-please step b-back.”
She could handle the stares well enough by now, but crowds pressing in were still too much.
Thanks to Jeong-hyeon’s archery prowess and their hospitality, the mood had warmed considerably.
Here and there, nomads and Black Tiger members who couldn’t communicate verbally conversed through gestures.
The one man who spoke Central Plains tongue approached Il-mok.
“Stay night.”
He pointed at several of their tents.
“Truly grateful.”
Il-mok expressed his thanks with a clasped-hand bow, then casually posed a question.
“But I’ve heard the Huihui Cult is prevalent around here. Don’t you believe in it?”
That was the main reason Il-mok had kept talking to them and accepted the silly bet.
To gather local information from the natives.
At Il-mok’s question, the man’s face inexplicably drained of color.
“Hui-Huihui Cult. Scary bastards. Don’t believe Allah, kill everyone. Kidnap women, kids, do evil things.”
“……”
Il-mok’s expression turned deadly serious at the man’s trembling voice.
That night.
At their invitation, Il-mok and his group settled down to sleep inside the tents.
To guard their belongings, the Black Tiger members would stand watch in shifts of ten, each for one hourglass.
As he lay in the tent preparing to sleep, Jin Ha-yeon spoke up.
“Young Master, I’m not sure trading with those people is truly the right thing to do.”
“Bothered by what we just heard?”
“They say they kill anyone who doesn’t believe in their god. Will they really agree to trade with us?”
“For now, it’s Master’s order, so we have to make contact. Besides, Central Plains merchants have traded with them, so they’re probably not just mindless killers.”
Even with Il-mok’s explanation, Jin Ha-yeon seemed oddly dissatisfied for some reason.
Il-mok gazed at her curiously, then a thought struck him.
“You find trading with them distasteful? Because of their actions?”
“…Trading with people who kidnap women and children and commit atrocities just for not believing in their god… Honestly, it feels like it goes against our Divine Cult’s doctrines.”
It seemed confusing, with the Heavenly Demon they revered as a god issuing an order that clashed with the Cult’s teachings.
“Not everyone’s like that, maybe. Central Plains non-believers misunderstand our Divine Cult as bloodthirsty madmen too, right? So how about we decide after making contact?”
Il-mok soothed her just enough to keep her from falling into heart demons, then lay back down and closed his eyes.
Though he shut his eyes, sleep didn’t come right away.
After tossing and turning a while, lost in thoughts of the journey ahead.
A Black Tiger member on watch shouted from outside the tent.
“Attack!!”
Immediately after, a familiar shout rang out that he hadn’t heard in a year and a half.
“Allahu Akbar!!”
At the unwelcome cry, Il-mok sighed, rose, and stepped out of the tent.
The Rising Heaven Sword was already in his hand.