Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Kunlun's Collusion
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She was one vicious bitch.
A Kunlun warrior, Baek Do-meng, fiddled with his swollen cheek.
It had been a beastly move. He'd taken a hit from an unexpected strike.
Me, a master from the main sect, getting smacked by some wench with no internal energy.
Baek Do-meng strode forward. He slapped the woman he was holding with all his might.
---Slap!!
Her head whipped around. But Baek Do-meng noticed his own hand was even redder than her face.
"What a freakish bitch..."
But that was it. Just freaky.
Even with her tough skin and brute strength, she didn't know martial arts, so she was easy to predict.
Baek Do-meng slammed the woman he was holding to the ground. After stomping on her struggling head as she grunted, he turned away.
"You saying you didn't get done in by this bitch?"
"Y-yes, sir! It was a man in black clothes!"
"What about the one who ran off earlier?"
"N-not him either! Completely different..."
Baek Do-meng crooked a finger. A bandit dressed as a commoner approached.
---Slap!
His slapped cheek smashed into the wall.
"Guh!"
"Come again."
A few more slaps followed. Fallen teeth stuck to the floor.
Baek Do-meng wiped the blood from his hand.
"This is the last time you lot get directly involved with us. Got it?"
"Y-yes... sir... I-I got it for sure..."
"You're late on this month's payment too."
"Th-that's... there were hardly any travelers this month..."
---Slap!
"Guh!"
"Should I have to worry about your excuses? Isn't figuring that out the reason you bastards are still breathing?"
"Y-yes, you're right!"
"If the money's short, make up the difference yourselves. Raid nearby villages, grab passersby and sell them, whatever. Just do it."
"......"
"I'll give you ten days. Bring this month's payment. Fail, and there'll be no reason to keep you alive."
"I-I'll get it, sir!"
"Good."
Baek Do-meng stood. The groveling bandit ventured a question.
"Uh... so what about this woman..."
"Once you start something, you see it through. I'm not letting them slip away half-assed. Use her as bait, and he'll crawl out from somewhere. They looked close, the one who ran and him. Bound to happen."
"......."
"Once the job's done, you can have the bitch as punishment. But don't forget to bring the promised amount separately."
"Yes, sir! I'll bring the payment along with it!"
"Hang her up in the marketplace. With a sign saying she's a bandit. Don't worry about the officials. I'll handle it."
Baek Do-meng lifted the head he'd been stomping. He spat on the woman's ruined face.
"Pretty face, but covered in dirt, so she doesn't even look worth eating."
"......."
"Blame your luck, you idiot..."
"Y-you bastard! Let my sister go!"
Baek Do-meng turned.
Beyond the broken door stood a man trembling as he gripped his sword.
He scanned around. But there was only one presence. He'd come alone.
"Where's the other one?"
"L-let her go, you dog!"
"Gotta see blood before you listen, huh..."
Baek Do-meng released the woman's hair he'd grabbed.
"What annoying bastards."
...
Dawn broke. I faced a sticky morning.
Truth be told, I didn't feel refreshed. It was because of Gwang-yang, who'd come to me twice last night.
My head was a mess. What had he been about to say?
Leave at first light...
Why?
I washed up simply. After cleaning myself, I put on my laundered clothes.
I packed my things. Prepared to leave. It was a city I'd planned to depart anyway, even without him.
But I still didn't know exactly what to do.
There were things to take care of before slipping away quietly.
And leaving felt a bit off in my gut.
For now, I moved to grab a simple breakfast. But whispers came from every table I passed.
"They say Kunlun's coming out personally for severe punishment."
"Those bandits? How?"
"They caught some bandits."
"About time they did something..."
"Saw on the way: there's a woman too."
"Looked like they were interrogating her. Hung up and all."
...A woman?
I set down my food. I left the inn and headed toward the thickest murmurs.
A crowd had gathered. So thick I couldn't see inside.
I pushed forward slowly, excusing myself through the throng until I could see what was ahead.
Two tied to a tree. And one warrior standing before them.
Blood dripped thickly from the club in the warrior's hand. Plenty more splattered around.
Na-rin.
And...
Gwang-yang, who'd told me to leave last night.
The warrior raised his club. Brought it down once more.
---Thwack!
A clean sound, and the two spewed blood.
"Name your accomplices! The ones who attacked innocent travelers-speak!"
"......"
"......"
"Speak up!"
Accomplices?
My eyes met Gwang-yang's as he was bound. He'd been silent, but he spat blood and opened his mouth.
He shook his head repeatedly. His eyes signaled me.
Leave now.
"From the start... I... did it... alone... didn't I... say...!"
"Even now you say that!"
"I...! I did it... alone...! It was... me... all by myself...!"
Gwang-yang convulsed, vomiting blood-mixed spit as he ranted.
"I... smashed the bastard... who attacked... our bandit lair...! Me! I broke that fucker's limbs... all of them!! The woman tied up there... she was just... someone I was gonna... have fun with...!"
"Gwang...yang...! N-no...! I did it...! I did it...! Me... all by myself...!"
---Thwack!
"Stop... stop hitting hiiiim!!"
Gwang-yang's head snapped back, his eye going dark for a moment.
His voice weakened. But even gasping in pain, his gaze on me held firm.
He said it with his eyes.
"I... did it... alone..."
Get out of here. Over and over.
"......."
Bandit lair attack. The bandit whose limbs I'd broken. A warrior bearing Kunlun's emblem on his back.
Gwang-yang trying to shut his mouth. Na-rin shedding tears.
And finally...
A man leaning on a staff, a step apart from the crowd.
The whole situation was clear at a glance.
That man leaning on the staff was a bandit. If my eyes weren't lying, he was the one I'd crippled myself.
But now Kunlun was siding with that bandit.
Why?
...Getting played?
Or in cahoots?
One way to check. And I didn't like this situation anyway.
Gwang-yang's words last night. His attitude toward me now.
Even Na-rin, only just noticing me, desperately averted her eyes.
The intent was obvious.
They were protecting me, even with their lives on the line. From Kunlun.
Repaying a favor...?
"...Hah."
Time to decide.
I stepped forward toward them.
"What's going on here?"
"Mmph... mmph...!"
"N-no...!"
Beyond the two shaking their heads urgently, the warrior turned.
His eyes swept over me once.
"Scar... black clothes... you? One of their gang?"
Gang.
That's what I'd been agonizing over. But after seeing this, no choice.
I'd suspected, but now I knew for sure.
At least that these guys had solid character.
"That's right."
"...What?"
"I said yes. Anything else you need?"
"...So you're admitting you're bandits now?"
"I'm no bandit. Neither are those two behind me."
"Ha? The victims are right there-gonna deny it?"
"As I recall, those two are roadkeepers. They maintain the paths and live off that."
"What nonsense are you..."
"I'm a Murim Alliance warrior. I can prove my identity."
I pulled out the token.
It'd been hidden so long the luster had faded. The token the First Demon had managed, then passed to me, gleamed in the sunlight.
The token I'd received right before leaving the Murim Alliance.
The Kunlun warrior flinched.
"Murim Alliance...? A Murim Alliance warrior?"
"Check it yourself."
"...This is definitely... a genuine Murim Alliance warrior token."
The warrior spun it around, eyes narrowing. The bandit caught in his gaze panicked.
"I-I didn't know! B-but those two aren't! Sir! I know them! Those bitches have a den around here for sure! We gotta catch them!"
That one line confirmed it.
All three in cahoots.
The emblem on his uniform was Kunlun's. One of the Nine Great Sects colluding with bandits...
I let out a hollow laugh without realizing.
Misreading my laugh, the Kunlun warrior shrugged.
"...Murim Alliance, huh. Alright. Guess I misunderstood."
"If you've cleared up your misunderstanding, I'm satisfied."
"Pass on. Can't hold up official business."
"What about those two?"
"They're no roadkeepers. You must've been mistaken. They're bandits. I saw it with my own eyes. Your bad."
A veiled warning under his words.
Don't cross the line.
But I strode forward. Passed him and untied the two.
"S-sir..."
"J-just go..."
The Kunlun warrior's eyebrow twitched.
"Told you to pass. Ignoring Kunlun's word in Kunlun territory?"
"Didn't I say they're my companions?"
"You're lying. Searched them-no proof of identity. Witnesses too. They're bandits."
"Roadkeepers."
"...Gonna be stubborn?"
"Who's being stubborn here?"
I dropped the ropes. Turned, pointing around.
"The one I beat yesterday was definitely a bandit. But look, he's standing fine. In commoner disguise."
"...Saying I'm lying?"
"Their stories don't match, so someone's lying, right?"
"You punk! Think being Murim Alliance means your word's law?!"
"Nah. Never acted like that even with the name on my back."
I pulled the two behind me. Turned to the warrior discarding his club and drawing his sword.
Killing intent surged. Ominous energy flowed from the blade tip.
Sword aura. The real deal. An expert.
"I'm Baek Do-meng! Disciple of Great Kunlun! Accusing me of lies?! You've got guts!"
"Kunlun draws swords first when things go south?"
"Insult my honor, pay the price!"
"Price, huh..."
I placed my hand on my sword.
Sheathed it over my shoulder as is.
"I only spoke truth-why pay a price?"
"You weeeench!!"
In an instant, the enemy lunged. A single stroke.
Aimed at my arm. To sever it clean.
I lowered my stance. Swung the sheathed sword without drawing.
---Boom!!
Exploding pressure. Dust erupted everywhere in the air.
Screams from the crowd. The disguised bandit staggered back.
Dust cleared, force clashing at the end.
The sheath against his sword trembled. I turned to Na-rin.
"He's fleeing. Catch him. Can't let him go."
"......!"
Na-rin burst out, tumbling with the fleeing bandit. Confirming that, I poured more strength into my sword grip.
---Crunch!!
His sword slowly gave. Baek Do-meng's upward slash ground back relentlessly.
Sword aura flared in resistance, but only for a flash.
Baek Do-meng's one knee buckled.
"Wh-what?!"
"Drew your sword but no power behind it, just greed..."
I pushed harder.
Not just one knee-both legs slammed into the ground, his sword shaking.
"St-stop..."
---Boom!!
Dust flew. Baek Do-meng, embedded in the earth, vomited blood.
I cleanly shook his blood from my sheath.
"Don't call yourself a warrior. Makes me sick."