Chapter 55
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Resolve to Live in the Martial World
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The dark sky began to take on a bluish tint.
As was my habit, I rose from my spot, fetched some water to wash my face, found a suitable place to sit, and began my Breath Adjustment and Meditation.
This damn Breath Adjustment and Meditation—if I skipped even a single day—left my body feeling unsettled, like the rice I'd eaten the night before hadn't digested properly and was stuck in my chest.
Once I finished my meditation and stepped out into the clearing, the merchants I'd met the previous night were already gone. All that remained were piles of horse dung and the charred remnants of branches.
As I left the clearing to head home, I spotted another group of merchants approaching from afar.
These traders were walking with loads on their backs far larger than their own bodies, and there had to be at least thirty of them.
"Man, they really work hard for a living."
Watching people like that sometimes made me wonder if my own worries and concerns weren't pointless.
I tore my gaze away from them and turned to leave, only to feel a chill creeping up my back.
It was a subtle yet brutal killing intent.
I spun around and scrutinized them again.
They were clearly peddlers wandering from place to place, selling their wares—sweat pouring down their faces like rain as they trudged along with their heavy packs.
But I clenched my fists tight anyway.
Rough as it was, that subtle intent prickling at my nerves was something I'd felt several times before.
These were definitely assassins who made their living selling lives for silver.
'No way they're after me, right? How would they even know I'm here?'
I'd been walking aimlessly, letting my feet carry me, but I wasn't so oblivious as to let assassins tail me without noticing.
Haa...
I let out a deflated sigh and unclenched my fists.
"Well, if it isn't you."
Pushing through the merchants with a beaming smile was Yi Sa-gwon, the leader of the Crimson Blood Gate.
"What brings you here?"
I responded indifferently, but Yi Sa-gwon seemed thrilled to see me.
"I've got business in Huanin County."
If it was assassin business, it had to be a hit.
But in Huanin County, the only worthwhile targets for a group this large would be the Seok Family or the Si Family.
No, even those two clans wouldn't warrant bringing along the sect leader himself.
"Did one of the Five Great Kings show up in Huanin County or something?"
Hahaha...
"We're heading to the Si Family. I'll just be observing—no part in the actual hit."
Come to think of it, most of the merchants wearing headscarves looked pretty young-faced.
They were probably novice assassins who hadn't been in the sect long.
"Then good luck."
I had no desire to get involved in Jianghu affairs, so I dropped the matter there.
As long as they didn't touch me, Gwang-u, or the Seok Family head, I didn't care what assassins got up to.
But Yi Sa-gwon seemed to have other ideas.
"If you're not in a rush, how about traveling with us?"
I gave him a puzzled look, and he continued.
"This hit involves those two brothers of yours."
"What are you talking about?"
"It seems the Si Family's acting patriarch, Si Wang-yu, has taken an interest in you and your brother."
Yi Sa-gwon and I walked side by side down the road.
"Once he learns the Seok Family escaped certain doom thanks to your help, he won't sit idly by. Even if he hears how formidable your martial arts are, it won't hit home until he sees it with his own eyes and feels that bone-deep terror. He'll hire out assassin sects or pull every connection he has to take you two down, no matter what."
"So other assassin sects know about me and Gwang-u too?"
"No. As far as I know, I'm still the only assassin aware of you two. The broker in Huanin County is a close acquaintance of mine, so I told him to keep his mouth shut."
"Appreciate it."
Hahaha...
"No need for thanks. It's just assassin survival instincts—nothing for you to be grateful for."
Yi Sa-gwon led me to the Feng Family Caravan, a merchant group in the village.
Huanin County had two caravans: the fairly large Mok Family Caravan and the smaller Feng Family one.
The Mok Family Caravan was tight with the Seok Family, always bustling with traders coming and going, while the Feng Family Caravan saw few visitors.
And for good reason—the Mok Family had ties to the Seok Family dating back to when they first settled in Huanin County, so the latecomer Feng Family faced stiff competition.
Even if the Seok Family head was a gentleman, he couldn't help giving extra attention to old allies—arms bend inward, after all.
I'd wandered the village plenty of times myself but had no idea the Feng Family Caravan even existed until Yi Sa-gwon showed me.
The Feng Family Caravan sprawled across a wide plot: two tiled-roof houses and five or six wooden structures. It looked utterly desolate at first glance.
The vast courtyard lacked even common trees, making the large tiled house facing it seem all the lonelier.
The man greeting the assassin-disguised merchants was an elderly fellow named Feng Yang-jo, and his first impression wasn't great.
Hahaha...
"Come on in, everyone."
His sly grin as he welcomed the merchants made him look like a man desperately flailing to revive his crumbling house.
"What've you brought? This... common herbs... This... salt-pickled mushrooms... Salted mushrooms aren't even selling well these days... You went through all that trouble for nothing. This might fetch... five silver taels, maybe."
Feng Yang-jo inspected each pack they unloaded, already lowballing the prices.
Yi Sa-gwon watched the proceedings with a smile.
"Guys like that are perfect marks—moths to a flame for silver. I've only heard stories about him until now; this is my first time seeing it firsthand."
"Does he know your true identities, then?"
"Nah, he thinks we're just merchants."
I chatted with Yi Sa-gwon while observing Feng Yang-jo's antics.
The greedy fool had no clue he was letting assassins use his caravan as a rest stop.
Then someone caught my eye.
A young woman standing silently behind Feng Yang-jo. Her face was quite beautiful, but her eyes held a cold frostiness.
"Who's that woman?"
I nodded toward her, and Yi Sa-gwon answered what he knew.
"Feng Yang-jo's daughter. Name's Ja-yeong—not much known about her."
As I looked at her, she looked back at me.
We stared at each other in silence.
She broke eye contact first, and I looked away too.
"That building over there is the dining hall. Food and drink are ready—go refresh yourselves and wait."
Feng Yang-jo pointed to a wooden building on the right side of the courtyard.
"Thank you."
The young merchants gathered their travel packs and headed inside.
"We're resting here for the day and moving out at dawn tomorrow."
I blended in with the young merchants and entered the dining hall with Yi Sa-gwon.
The young ones might've been curious about who I was with their leader, but they didn't spare me a glance.
Inside, five or six tables were lined up, topped with roasted chickens and bottles of liquor.
The merchants sat across from each other at the tables, tearing into meat and sharing drinks.
I sat across from Yi Sa-gwon and raised my cup.
As late evening set in, Feng Yang-jo arrived at the rooms where the merchants were resting, accompanied by three or four household hands.
He opened a fat pouch and began distributing silver to the merchants.
"I'm paying top dollar here, so do business with the Feng Family Caravan next time too. It's getting dark already—rest easy tonight and head out at dawn. No charge for food or rooms, so sleep well."
"Thank you so much."
"Coming to the Feng Family was the right call."
The young merchants bowed repeatedly, clutching their silver and expressing endless gratitude.
Hahaha...
"Of course. No caravan around here pays better than Feng Family."
With a grand, magnanimous grin, Feng Yang-jo left the room, and the merchants lay down on the floor using their packs as pillows.
"Let's go."
Yi Sa-gwon and I, lying on the floor, slipped out of the rundown warehouse, vaulted the fence, and left.
"Where to?"
"There's a spot with a great view. You'll love it."
In this village, nothing beat the scenery near my house—except whatever Yi Sa-gwon was boasting about.
After walking some distance, a long wall enclosing a manor came into view.
That's when I caught on to his plan.
"You're treating me to quite the sight."
"You won't be disappointed."
Torchlight flickering beyond the wall suggested tight security.
Yi Sa-gwon watched the patrols' movements for a moment, then lightly kicked off the ground, landing atop the wall.
His silhouette leaped again, settling on the roof of a nearby pavilion.
I followed, landing beside him on the roof.
We sat shoulder to shoulder, peering down.
Guards with torches patrolled the walls, hunting for intruders.
But it was all show—most were nodding off mid-round.
Yi Sa-gwon pulled a bottle of liquor and cups from his robe.
"Have some."
I took a cup and savored the liquor slowly while overlooking the Si Family manor.
After downing a few cups as time passed, black shadows began slipping over the wall.
Short swords, about two feet long, flashed past, swiftly severing the throats of the patrolling guards.
Kguruk... Kkuk...
With gurgling rattles, the guards collapsed in unison.
It was dark dawn, but the bright red blood pouring from their necks stood out vividly.
I sipped my liquor and watched them die.
Whether from the booze or the thrill, my chest pounded fiercely.
The assassins silently dispatched the guards and scattered into the manor's buildings.
"No better real-world practice for green assassins than this."
Kraaak! Kraak!
Crash! Crack!
Guards asleep inside smashed through doors and rushed out.
But the pursuing assassins stabbed the napes of their necks, sending them tumbling to the ground.
"As expected from lack of experience—a bit noisy."
Listening to Yi Sa-gwon's chatter, I found myself smiling unwittingly.
"S... spare... please... mercy..."
Then a young man in white silk robes, now stained red with blood, staggered out.
"That must be the acting patriarch, Si Wang-yu."
Slash. Thunk.
No sooner had Yi Sa-gwon spoken than short swords sliced his throat and plunged into his chest.
Having finished off the acting patriarch, the assassins retreated over the wall in perfect order, vanishing into the darkness just as they'd come.
"How was the view?"
"Truly... spectacular. But why show me your hit specifically?"
Yi Sa-gwon, who'd been chatty till now, hesitated to answer.
"Don't wanna say? Fine, don't."
Haha...
He stood on the roof, leaped to the wall, then dropped outside.
My silhouette landed beside him almost simultaneously.
"As the years pile on, you get an eye for people—and more thoughts crowding your head. I've got a son about your age. He joined this hit too. I want the Crimson Blood Gate intact ten, twenty, thirty years from now."
His earnestness struck a chord in me.
Even an assassin who took lives for silver was just an ordinary father.
"What's your son's name?"
"Gwi-jong."