Chapter 29
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: The Price of Passage
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*What kind of damn highway robber is this guy…*
*He’s even worse than us!*
The two men, after cursing up a storm through telepathy, nodded simultaneously.
Seeing this, Beom Gye-wi cracked his knuckles.
“If you've got a problem, come at me…”
“We’ll give it to you.”
“Huh? This easily?”
Beom Gye-wi, who had been slowly warming up, was taken aback by Wang Yeom's immediate reply.
“I'll go get it right now.”
As Wang Yeom turned away, Wang Gyeol plopped down on the spot.
It was a sign that he would serve as a hostage until his brother returned.
Their overly compliant attitude made Beom Gye-wi even more suspicious.
“Wait!”
Beom Gye-wi muttered with a frown.
“What’s the deal? Why have these guys become so obedient?”
“Pardon? Are you asking us?”
At Wang Gyeol's question, Beom Gye-wi's expression turned menacing.
“Yeah. Why are you just handing over a spiritual herb like the Nine-Branched Immortal Leaf Herb? I heard it’s incredibly rare.”
“Because you asked for it as a gift…”
“So why just give it away? Is it the kind of thing you just hand over when someone asks?”
“No! You asked for it, so we're giving it to you!”
At the unwitting rise in Wang Gyeol's voice, Beom Gye-wi's eyes narrowed.
“Are you getting angry with me?”
“N-No, of course not. I've been a bit hard of hearing lately… My voice gets loud sometimes without me realizing it.”
Beom Gye-wi stared intently at the mumbling Wang Gyeol.
Just then, a telepathic message arrived.
*There’s something more important than the Nine-Branched Immortal Leaf Herb.*
It was Han Seol-hwa, watching from a distance.
Beom Gye-wi grinned.
“Alright. In that case, bring it over.”
The moment he finished speaking, Wang Yeom vanished.
A moment later.
Wang Yeom returned, a wooden box the length of a forearm resting in his hands.
Beom Gye-wi opened the box.
At that moment, another telepathic message from Han Seol-hwa arrived.
*The Nine-Branched Immortal Leaf Herb is said to have nine branches and leaves that hang down like threads.*
Beom Gye-wi nodded.
It matched Han Seol-hwa's description perfectly. Beom Gye-wi closed the lid and pushed the box aside.
Then he held out his hand again.
“One more.”
Wang Yeom's eyes filled with bewilderment.
“Not the Nine-Branched Immortal Leaf Herb. You have something else.”
“Something else?”
“Yeah, that.”
Wang Yeom's pupils trembled.
He had no idea how much Beom Gye-wi knew about their escorted goods.
“Even so, we can't give you that…”
Toward the hesitating Wang Yeom, Beom Gye-wi unleashed the full force of his killing intent.
“……!”
Wang Yeom and Wang Gyeol's faces instantly turned pale.
They had known from the start that their opponent was a monster.
After all, they had been beaten to within an inch of their lives before.
But the aura he was emitting now was on a completely different level.
Their bodies froze involuntarily before the overwhelming difference in presence.
“W-We’ll give it to you.”
This time, Wang Gyeol moved while Wang Yeom remained as the hostage.
A moment later, Wang Gyeol returned from the carriage carrying the goods and carefully placed a palm-sized box in front of Beom Gye-wi.
At Beom Gye-wi's nod, Wang Gyeol opened the box.
In that instant, a brilliant light illuminated the surroundings.
It was because of the Luminous Pearl inside the box.
One glance was enough to tell it was a treasure of immense value. Seeing Beom Gye-wi's satisfied expression, Wang Yeom carefully began to speak.
“Then, if you'll excuse us…”
In that moment, Wang Yeom and Wang Gyeol felt an ominous premonition rise in their chests.
Beom Gye-wi's smile had grown wider.
Sure enough.
“Just one more.”
*Damn it!*
*Blast it!*
After exchanging a brief telepathic message, fury slowly began to build on the two men's faces.
“Is this really the last time?”
Beom Gye-wi nodded.
“Have you ever seen me go back on my word?”
Having received confirmation, Wang Yeom stood up and started walking toward the carriage.
As the situation unfolded, Beom Gye-wi also began to find it strange.
“Wait.”
Beom Gye-wi called out to stop Wang Yeom.
“Are you really going to get it?”
“You asked for it, didn't you?”
In that moment, the smile vanished from Beom Gye-wi's face.
Seeing the glint of madness in Beom Gye-wi's eyes, the Sam-mol Twin Fiends' expressions hardened. Beom Gye-wi might seem ridiculous at times due to his slightly off-kilter words and actions, but no one who knew his true nature did not fear him.
He was the Northern Mang Mountain itself.
The very entrance to the underworld.
“You two, where are you headed?”
“What?”
“I'm asking where you're going, carrying all these precious treasures.”
The Sam-mol Twin Fiends exchanged glances and looked at Beom Gye-wi with somber expressions.
“We have to survive, don't we?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Not long ago, the Martial Alliance declared a subjugation of the Hundred Great Villains.”
“The Hundred Great Villains? Not the Ten Great Villains?”
“Yes. They announced they would eliminate one hundred villains, newly selected by their own standards.”
“And you two are among that hundred?”
“That’s right.”
“Look how far you've come.”
The two bristled.
“Even before the Martial Alliance branded us as part of the Hundred Great Villains, we were already listed among the hundred greatest masters of the martial world.”
“In the unorthodox world, we're considered top-tier.”
Beom Gye-wi scoffed.
“So? Where are you great masters seeking refuge from the Martial Alliance?”
“That alone, we cannot say.”
Beom Gye-wi unleashed his killing intent once more.
This time, however, the Sam-mol Twin Fiends gritted their teeth and endured it. Cold sweat poured down their pale faces, but they refused to speak.
Seeing this, Beom Gye-wi reached behind his back.
The Sam-mol Twin Fiends flinched and gripped their weapons.
The outcome was obvious, but they couldn't just stand by and be slaughtered. A true martial artist had to swing their blade at least once, even if it meant dying.
At that moment, Beom Gye-wi picked something up and threw it at them.
The Sam-mol Twin Fiends, who had absentmindedly caught the thrown object, were startled.
It was the box containing the Luminous Pearl.
“Why are you giving this back to us?”
“Use it for your travel expenses.”
“Huh?”
“You're running for your lives, right? As your senior, I can't be so heartless as to send you off empty-handed.”
“Th-Thank you.”
After bowing their thanks in a daze, the two men watched Beom Gye-wi warily as they backed away. Once they were a safe distance, they turned and fled in a hurry.
*Wait! Didn't we give this to him in the first place?*
*Still, getting it back after it was taken… I kind of feel grateful?*
*Alright, let's use that trick next time.*
Exchanging such telepathic thoughts, the two vanished into the darkness.
And a moment later.
*Neigh!*
The sound of a horse's neigh echoed in the dead of night.
They had decided to press on through the night to put as much distance as possible between themselves and Beom Gye-wi. As the escort group led by the Sam-mol Twin Fiends disappeared, Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa approached Beom Gye-wi's side.
Han Seol-hwa stared in the direction the Sam-mol Twin Fiends had vanished, and Cho Ak-ryang, following her gaze, suddenly spoke.
“What could they be keeping quiet about, even at the risk of their lives?”
“That's what I'm saying. They were never this tight-lipped before.”
“It seems like there's some central figure gathering them all.”
Beom Gye-wi replied nonchalantly to Cho Ak-ryang's words.
“Well, it's none of our business, is it?”
“That's true.”
As he casually started walking, Beom Gye-wi wore a puzzled expression.
He had belatedly noticed the killing intent simmering in Cho Ak-ryang's eyes.
It wasn't hard to guess the reason.
It was because of the Martial Alliance's increasingly outrageous actions.
“While we're at it, how about we go and turn the Martial Alliance headquarters upside down?”
Cho Ak-ryang frowned at Beom Gye-wi's suggestive remark.
“Are you trying to make Physician Dan a public enemy of the martial world?”
“No, of course not. We can't do that.”
In any case, the three of them, having safely secured the Nine-Branched Immortal Leaf Herb, hurried back to their campsite.
They wanted to see the look on Dan Ak-seon's face when he received the spiritual herb he had longed for.
The destination of the Sam-mol Twin Fiends was already the last thing on their minds.
* * *
As expected, Dan Ak-seon was overjoyed upon receiving the Nine-Branched Immortal Leaf Herb.
Cho Ak-ryang, Beom Gye-wi, and Han Seol-hwa were the same.
Until now, they had only ever received things from Dan Ak-seon.
It had always weighed on their minds, but this incident felt like they had finally lifted a burden.
For the rest of the journey, Dan Ak-seon never let the box containing the Nine-Branched Immortal Leaf Herb out of his sight.
He even slept clutching the box.
“Is he really that happy?”
Cho Ak-ryang gazed down at the sleeping Dan Ak-seon with a pleased smile.
“He looks like he owns every spiritual herb in the world.”
At Han Seol-hwa's words, Beom Gye-wi's eyes flashed.
“That’s it!”
Beom Gye-wi continued, speaking to the two baffled onlookers.
“We'll make Physician Dan the richest man in the world when it comes to spiritual herbs!”
Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa stared at Beom Gye-wi in surprise.
It made a lot of sense, now that they thought about it. Dan Ak-seon had almost no material desires. Whenever he came into a large sum of money, he would squander it on medicinal ingredients, spending almost nothing on himself.
The only time he ever showed any greed was when he encountered a spiritual herb.
Even then, he used it for his patients.
“But how?”
“Huh?”
Flustered by Han Seol-hwa's question, Beom Gye-wi looked at Cho Ak-ryang. He hadn't thought that far ahead.
“Where there's a will, there's a way.”
Cho Ak-ryang began, then continued.
“It is said that where there is a will, there is a way. Now that we've agreed on the goal, we can slowly figure out the method.”
With no immediate solution, Han Seol-hwa and Beom Gye-wi reluctantly nodded.
And so, they continued their journey.
Fifteen days later.
They arrived at their first destination, Lanzhou.
They headed straight for Howon Pavilion, one of Lanzhou's famous landmarks.
It was the place where they had arranged to meet up with Pung Jin-seong, who had departed earlier.
“Wow!”
Dan Ak-seon exclaimed as he stepped inside Howon Pavilion.
He was first taken aback by its enormous scale.
The space was large enough to hold a banquet, with four pillars, and around those pillars were arranged four Eight Immortals Tables.
Since each table could seat up to eight people, a single floor could accommodate over one hundred and twenty people.
“This is incredible.”
Cho Ak-ryang nodded at Dan Ak-seon's words.
“In terms of size alone, it's one of the top three in all of Gansu Province. Plus, the chefs here are all famous for their exceptional cooking skills.”
The prices were just as considerable, but he deliberately didn't mention it.
He didn't want to spoil Pung Jin-seong's thoughtful gesture for Dan Ak-seon.
“So that's why there are so many customers.”
Cho Ak-ryang looked around with a puzzled expression. Just as Dan Ak-seon had said, there was only one table left.
It was strange.
No matter how famous Howon Pavilion was, it was now mid-afternoon, well past lunchtime. It was rare for the place to be this crowded at such a quiet time of day.
There was something else suspicious.
Despite the large crowd, there was no boisterous laughter or lively atmosphere to be found.
Most importantly, all of their gazes were fixed on them.
Every one of them had a cold glint in their eyes, sharp with intent.
‘A trap?’
The empty table, too, was coincidentally located right in the center.
*It's the Martial Alliance kids.*
At Han Seol-hwa's telepathic message, killing intent surged within Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi. But they didn't show it. If there was some scheme afoot, it wouldn't be too late to act after figuring it out.
“Let's sit down first.”
Led by Cho Ak-ryang, the other three also took a side of the table.
While they waited for their food after ordering from a waiter, Beom Gye-wi sent a telepathic message.
*Looks like they weren't waiting for us.*