Chapter 28
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: A Simple Request
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“Those bastards, they sure have long lives.”
Cho Ak-ryang snorted at Beom Gye-wi's words.
“Still, they're big shots in the underworld, in their own way.”
“What are you talking about? They couldn't even last ten seconds against me.”
“That's because you're you. If you were to rank the top hundred masters in all of Jianghu, they'd surely be on the list, even if at the bottom.”
“Anyway, the fact that those guys are here means there's a high chance the Nine-Leaf Immortal Herb is in that shipment, right?”
“There could be other treasures, too. There's no rule saying there's only one item in the shipment.”
Beom Gye-wi pondered for a moment, then looked at Cho Ak-ryang.
“Would it be wrong to steal it?”
“Physician Dan would hate that.”
“Then what should we do?”
“I have a plan.”
“Ooh! As expected of Brother Cho!”
At Beom Gye-wi's praise, Cho Ak-ryang gave a slight smile and began to explain his plan.
“The fact that they're disguised as escorts means they're waiting for a chance to snatch the shipment. The moment they show their true colors will be our opportunity.”
The escorts alone wouldn't be enough to handle the Sam-mol Twin Fiend brothers.
“We'll intervene at the right moment and drive them off. In the chaos, we'll sneakily take the Nine-Leaf Immortal Herb and hide it.”
Beom Gye-wi let out a cry of admiration at Cho Ak-ryang's continued explanation.
“The escorts will check the shipment later, but they'll never suspect that we, their helpers, took it. They'll assume the fleeing Sam-mol Twin Fiends stole it. Then, after the escort group leaves, we'll 'coincidentally' find the Nine-Leaf Immortal Herb that the Sam-mol Twin Fiends dropped.”
Dan Ak-seon wouldn't suspect a thing with this plan.
It was then.
“Why don't we just ask for it?”
The two men turned their heads at Han Seol-hwa's sudden interjection.
At some point, Han Seol-hwa had gotten up and was listening to their conversation.
She looked so natural that it was almost baffling.
“You think that makes any sense?”
In response to Beom Gye-wi's rebuke, Han Seol-hwa looked at Cho Ak-ryang.
Just as she expected.
Surprisingly, Cho Ak-ryang nodded with an intrigued expression.
“That would be better.”
The moment the shipment falls into the hands of the Sam-mol Twin Fiends, the responsibility becomes theirs.
Since they wouldn't be the ones stealing it, there would be no need to lie to Dan Ak-seon.
“You think they'll just give it to us if we ask?”
Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa nodded at Beom Gye-wi's question.
“They'll hand it over without a complaint.”
“Especially if it's you they're dealing with.”
Only then did Beom Gye-wi nod in understanding.
He had forgotten a very obvious fact.
“Ah! That's right. I'm Mang Mountain's Thistle, aren't I?”
Beom Gye-wi grinned as he looked toward the escort group's campsite.
“Hehe. Good thing I let those guys live back then. If I'd known they'd be this useful, I wouldn't have beaten them up so much.”
In that moment, though there was no wind, Han Seol-hwa's veil fluttered lightly.
A laugh had escaped her without her realizing it.
But when Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi's gazes turned to her, she feigned ignorance as if nothing had happened.
Three days passed like that.
“What's with those bastards? How long are they just going to test the waters?”
Seeing the Sam-mol Twin Fiends focus solely on the escort mission for three straight days, disguised as guards, Beom Gye-wi's patience was reaching its limit.
At this rate, they would soon reach a fork in the road.
If their destinations diverged, they would have no reason to follow them.
“I know. They're not usually this cautious.”
Cho Ak-ryang couldn't shake his doubts either.
The Sam-mol Twin Fiends he knew weren't the type to invest so much time and effort with a treasure right in front of them.
“Things being as they are, let's just ambush them.”
“Don't be ridiculous. What would you tell Physician Dan?”
“So you're saying we should just keep waiting like this?”
As they struggled to make a decision, a familiar voice cut in.
“Could it be the other way around?”
“The other way around?”
“What if they weren't hired, but were the ones who hired the escorts?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“They're the original owners who commissioned the shipment. They're just disguised as escorts to guard it themselves.”
“Right! That could be it. As expected of our Physician Dan... Huh?”
Belatedly, a startled Beom Gye-wi ducked his head.
Dan Ak-seon, whom he thought was asleep, was looking up at him with wide-awake eyes.
“Uh, how long have you been listening?”
“Since 'What's with those bastards?'”
“...!”
It meant he had heard everything from the beginning.
A flustered Beom Gye-wi looked at Cho Ak-ryang. Cho Ak-ryang let out a soft sigh and asked Dan Ak-seon.
“How did you know?”
“How could I not know? We've been together for three days straight.”
Dan Ak-seon said, sitting up from his blanket with a tousled look.
“I was curious this morning and asked Mister Beom. He said those people are famous villains, right?”
As Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa glared at him, Beom Gye-wi jumped.
“I didn't tell him we were going to take what they stole!”
Han Seol-hwa gave him a look of pity.
“You just did. Now.”
Cho Ak-ryang felt the same.
“Even thieves need to be in sync to get anything done.”
Faced with criticism from all sides, Beom Gye-wi looked wronged.
But that was only for a moment.
They all began to gauge Dan Ak-seon's reaction.
The Dan Ak-seon they knew would surely have stopped their plans.
But something unexpected happened.
“I think it's a very good plan.”
“...!”
The three of them stared at Dan Ak-seon in surprise at his unexpected response.
However, Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi couldn't hide their disappointment at Dan Ak-seon's next words.
They had hoped for something different, but it was just as they'd expected.
“If those people steal the shipment, we can return it to the owner. Then there might be some room for negotiation, don't you think?”
“What if they're the ones who hired the escorts?”
At Cho Ak-ryang's question, Dan Ak-seon looked troubled.
“Then there's nothing we can do. It's an item that's not fated to be ours, so we'll have to give up.”
Though he said that, Dan Ak-seon still stared at the carriage carrying the shipment with a look of longing.
Watching him, Cho Ak-ryang nodded.
“Alright. Then let's first confirm who commissioned the shipment.”
“Is there a way?”
Confidentiality was the iron rule of the escort business.
“We'll just bring them here and ask.”
“What?”
Dan Ak-seon couldn't hide his bewilderment at Beom Gye-wi's words. It was such an unconventional method of inquiry.
But an even more absurd situation followed.
“A good method.”
Cho Ak-ryang, whom he had expected to object, readily nodded in agreement.
Moreover...
“That's the surest way.”
Even Han Seol-hwa agreed with the idea.
“If those guys are the owners, things might actually be easier.”
Cho Ak-ryang began, then continued.
“In Jianghu, people will give away items even more precious than that as gifts if the friendship is deep enough.”
“With nothing in return?”
“Didn't you do the same for us?”
“Will those people do that too?”
“That's why we're going to ask them directly. Whether we're close or not.”
Cho Ak-ryang, Beom Gye-wi, and Han Seol-hwa met each other's eyes, exchanging a meaningful look.
Cho Ak-ryang grinned and said to Dan Ak-seon.
“Those guys will definitely give it. They're very close with Beom Gye-wi.”
Beom Gye-wi also smiled and nodded.
“To them, I am their savior.”
He had only stopped trying to kill them because it was a hassle, but letting them live was still letting them live, so it wasn't exactly a lie.
* * *
In the dead of night, around the hour of the Rat.
The Sam-mol Twin Fiends, Wang Yeom and Wang Gyeol, rose to their feet almost simultaneously.
The clamorous chirping of insects that had filled the night had suddenly stopped.
With their guard fully raised, the two scanned their surroundings. They saw the escorts standing guard, surrounding the carriage with the shipment.
So far, they couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
But at some point, both of their gazes simultaneously landed on the same spot. Beyond the deep darkness, they had spotted a figure approaching them.
“See. I told you they seemed unusual.”
Wang Yeom nodded at Wang Gyeol's words.
“It doesn't matter. If they reveal themselves early, it's all the better for us.”
The scholar and the child they had encountered three days ago, in the early evening.
This person was clearly part of their group.
To prevent any unforeseen incidents, they had placed scouts among the escorts in various locations. Thanks to their reports, the two already had a clear grasp of the other party's situation.
“But that guy... his vibe is a little strange, isn't it?”
A note of confusion was present in Wang Gyeol's voice.
Wang Yeom also stared at the approaching figure with a bewildered expression.
Instead of approaching stealthily under the cover of darkness, he was walking straight toward them with heavy steps. There were only two reasons for someone to reveal their presence so openly.
Either they were confident in their martial arts, or they were a fool blinded by greed.
Coincidentally, Beom Gye-wi fit both descriptions, but the Sam-mol Twin Fiends had yet to realize his identity.
*Clink.*
Wang Yeom and Wang Gyeol stealthily gripped their weapons.
His aura was extraordinary, but the man had chosen the wrong opponents.
It was when the distance between them closed to about ten feet.
Just as the two were about to strike.
The man grinned.
It was a smile that sent an odd chill down their spines.
“Hey, Skinny and Shorty. Long time no see.”
Wang Yeom and Wang Gyeol's faces contorted.
“You two seem to have been well. You're looking good.”
“You crazy bastard!”
Just as Wang Gyeol was about to lunge forward, Wang Yeom quickly grabbed his brother's arm.
“What's wrong?”
To Wang Gyeol's irritated question, Wang Yeom muttered with a pale face.
“This voice...”
“What?”
“There's only one person who calls us that.”
Belatedly realizing something, Wang Gyeol's fleshy body trembled.
“D-Don't tell me...”
Wang Gyeol muttered with eyes full of disbelief.
“Mang Mountain's Thistle?”
“Huh? How'd you know? I disguised myself perfectly.”
At the response, the Sam-mol Twin Fiends' faces turned ashen.
“Fuck...”
“Of all people...”
Beom Gye-wi grinned at the dumbfounded pair.
“Just the two of you. Follow me quietly.”
Leaving those words behind, Beom Gye-wi turned away.
“What do we do, brother?”
“Dammit! What rotten luck!”
If they could, they would have turned and fled immediately. But they couldn't abandon the shipment that was as precious as their own lives. As they hesitated, Beom Gye-wi, who was walking ahead, tossed a single phrase over his shoulder.
“Wanna die?”
At his words, the two men went pale.
With expressions like they were about to burst into tears, the two hurriedly followed Beom Gye-wi.
A short while later.
Having gone far off the main road and into a secluded forest, Beom Gye-wi came to a halt.
Wang Yeom and Wang Gyeol, who had been following Beom Gye-wi like cows being led to a slaughterhouse, also stopped in their tracks.
—*Could it really be Mang Mountain's Thistle?*
Wang Yeom gave a faint nod in response to Wang Gyeol's mental message.
—*Probably.*
Otherwise, this overwhelming presence couldn't be explained.
—*Why did that crazy bastard have to show up here?*
—*How should I know?*
—*I heard the guys from the Martial Alliance are hell-bent on finding him. What the hell are they doing!*
—*Why don't you ask them yourself?*
As they exchanged mental messages, Wang Gyeol glared at the back of Beom Gye-wi's head.
—*Should we just fight him here and now?*
—*Don't be stupid. How could we fight a monster like that! Even ten of us wouldn't be a match for him.*
—*Then what should we do?*
—*Let's just hear what he has to say first. We can figure something out after that.*
Just then, Beom Gye-wi turned around and spoke.
“The Nine-Leaf Immortal Herb, is it yours?”
“Gasp! How did you know!”
Beom Gye-wi offered a gentle smile to the gasping Wang Yeom.
“Just as I thought.”
Beom Gye-wi said with a satisfied expression.
“Give it to me as a gift. Then I'll leave quietly.”
It was an incredibly bold request.