A Face Like That
Their gazes met in the air.
Dan Yeop looked at Won Beom and spoke.
“I had no idea you were such a renowned figure, brother.”
“Famous? Don’t say things like that. It’s embarrassing if anyone hears. It’s just a nickname the other rogues gave me to boost each other up. Makes the pay go up a bit, and you feel like you’ve actually become someone. There’s no real substance to it.”
Seo Hwa agreed with that assessment.
“It’s just as Won Sohyeop says. It’s nothing more than frogs in a well giving each other nicknames and patting one another on the back. It doesn’t even qualify as one of the titles the Murim people use.”
Yet that was a modest statement. While it was true that only rogues knew the nickname, one could not earn even such a nickname without genuine skill.
By the time the three had sized one another up to some degree, the vanguard that had passed through the castle gate began to gradually pick up speed.
***
Around dusk.
Sixty mounted martial artists and two carriages slowly entered Jujihyeon at the foot of Jongnam Mountain. They were the investigation party from the Jinbo Merchant Guild that had departed from Chang’an Castle.
There was no inn large enough to accommodate sixty-six people, including the coachmen and cooks. Nor could they simply scatter the unruly rogues across multiple inns.
In the end, the head merchant Sin U decided they would camp outdoors. Since it was early summer, no one complained about sleeping under the stars.
Won Beom took the spot to Dan Yeop’s left, and Seo Hwa to his right. After getting acquainted in Chang’an Castle, the three naturally began traveling together.
After dinner, Won Beom lit a campfire. Two more men and women joined the gathering of three outstanding individuals who had naturally clustered together.
“I am Ja Yun.”
“I’m Chae Un.”
Ja Yun’s nickname was White Wolf, and Chae Un’s was Blood Touch. Among the five, only Dan Yeop had no nickname.
Dan Yeop was the youngest at nineteen, while Ja Yun was the oldest at twenty-five. Haomun and the rogues had one thing in common: they made friends quickly, but those friendships lacked depth.
After one shichen passed, Dan Yeop had become the youngest sibling and Ja Yun the eldest brother. Before the campfire died out, Ja Yun spoke.
“Little brothers and sisters, let’s help one another until we return to the Jinbo Merchant Guild. One hand cannot match ten. If the five of us stick together, at the very least we won’t die. You understand what I mean, right?”
In truth, he had joined this group precisely to make allies. Chae Un, who had come with the same purpose, answered first.
“Of course. We’ll trust and follow our big brother.”
Won Beom, Seo Hwa, and Dan Yeop all nodded.
“That works for me.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll only trust my brothers and sisters.”
As Dan Yeop finished speaking, the last flickering flame went out with a soft puff. The five men and women each spread out their own blankets on the spot.
Lying with his arms behind his head and gazing up at the night sky, Won Beom asked Dan Yeop,
“Kid, why did you become a rogue with a face like that?”
“What else am I supposed to do with this face?”
“You could walk straight into the Five Peaks Sword Sect or something.”
“Your face isn’t exactly ordinary either, brother.”
“I couldn’t even get near the place because I didn’t have the entrance fee.”
“I’m in a similar situation. I left home when I was young and wandered around.”
“How old were you when you left?”
“Four.”
“Precocious, weren’t you.”
Won Beom asked no further questions. It was relatively common for children from poor families to run away from home. Before long, one by one, they fell asleep.
Dan Yeop, who had been drifting off, suddenly snapped his eyes open at a chilling sensation. He felt a gaze watching him from far away in the darkness.
He expanded his senses. As expected, someone was out there among the mountain shadows. A familiar feeling, like an iron wall, pressed against him.
‘Could it be…’
Hong Jin’s face flashed through Dan Yeop’s mind.
‘Why would that man be here?’
Suddenly, the man’s final words came back to him.
— I’ll take my leave for today. If you oppose the Thousand Lotuses, I will return and kill you.
After that, Dan Yeop had left Chang’an Castle and was no longer investigating anything related to the Thousand Lotuses. Yet he could not understand why the man’s presence could be felt in the darkness.
In the end, Dan Yeop sat up from where he had been lying and stared toward the distant mountain silhouette. Hong Jin made no effort to conceal his distinctive presence, almost as if deliberately announcing that he was there. Whenever Dan Yeop tried to relax, the man sent out a chilling wave of energy. It was clearly the manifestation of Intent to Harm, the ability to wound someone with nothing but killing intent.
Only then did Dan Yeop realize that just as he had been tracking the Thousand Lotuses, they had also been watching him.
‘This is going to be troublesome.’
The thought of a powerful enemy following behind him was deeply unsettling. Moreover, the opponent was a master of the Thousand Lotuses, whose next move could never be predicted. Compared to Hong Jin’s danger, the Naphae Gate was nothing.
‘Should I just settle this tonight?’
The moment Dan Yeop hardened his resolve, the opponent’s energy vanished as if it had been a lie.
‘Huh? What was that?’
For an instant, Dan Yeop could not hide his bewilderment. The idea that the man had read his thoughts from such a distance sent a chill down his spine.
‘It must have been a coincidence.’
With a hand pressed to his chest, he lay back down on his blanket. The sleeping spot was comfortable, yet sleep refused to come easily. Had Hong Jin stirred some change in his state of mind? Or had the man come because he had business with him? Whichever it was, he needed to resolve the matter quickly, or he would not be able to endure this any longer.
Dawn broke.
As Dan Yeop was folding up his bedding, Won Beom remarked,
“You look tired, kid. What’s wrong with your face?”
“The sleeping arrangements changed, that’s all. I’ll get used to it soon.”
“Right. Adapt quickly.”
“Yes.”
Dan Yeop rolled up his blanket and the Wonryong Robe he had used as a cover and stuffed them into his travel pack. In the morning light, the mountains looked even farther away. The fact that the man had sent killing intent from such a distance was astonishing.
‘They say the world is vast and full of eccentrics…’
Dan Yeop stood there with a complicated expression before shaking off his thoughts. Just then, the cooks who had finished preparing breakfast struck the iron pots with their ladles. Dan Yeop approached the carriages together with the four men and women he had newly befriended.
More than ten rogues were already lined up in front of the carriages. When Dan Yeop took his place at the end of the line, another dozen or so rogues lined up behind him. The line ahead of him gradually shortened. Then a man with a menacing face suddenly cut in front of Dan Yeop.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
At Dan Yeop’s sharp question, the man grinned.
“Can’t you tell? I’m getting in line.”
108. Don’t Do Something You’ll Regret
The menacing man, Pae Gang the Fiendish God (Xiongshen) from Hadongdo, had disliked the pretty-boy youth from the very beginning. It was not only his face; his behavior was even more irritating. White Wolf, Blood Touch, Ghost Blade, and Beautiful Fox were rising experts fairly well-known among the rogues, and Pae Gang had been keeping an eye on them. He had planned to build some rapport with them on the way to the Baekwol Kingdom and perhaps form an alliance, but an unknown brat had ruined everything. While he had been seething in silence, unable to say anything to anyone, the sight of the youth made his body move on its own. When he impulsively cut in front of him, the youth spoke sharply.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
In that moment, Pae Gang thanked the heavens. He had worried the pretty boy might get scared and stay quiet, but the youth had taken the bait.
“Can’t you tell? I’m getting in line.”
At the slightly edged exchange, Ja Yun, Chae Un, Won Beom, and Seo Hwa all turned around. Tension flickered in their eyes when they saw the man. He was Pae Gang, known as the of Hadongdo. Though the four were concerned for Dan Yeop, they did not intervene. Even the rogue world had its basic rules. One of them was that “you must clean up your own mess.” Unless Pae Gang’s group ganged up on Dan Yeop, it would be excessive for outsiders to interfere in a one-on-one situation. Moreover, doing so might give the other rogues the wrong impression that Dan Yeop was weak. Not all four shared the exact same thought. Ja Yun, in particular, saw this as the perfect opportunity to gauge Dan Yeop’s martial prowess as a member of their group. He hoped Dan Yeop had reached a certain level as well. Otherwise, there would be no point in forming a group. Objectively speaking, however, Dan Yeop was no match for Pae Gang. He was unknown, and his build was only half the size of Pae Gang’s. Just as Ja Yun thought Dan Yeop might avoid the confrontation, the youth opened his mouth.
“Are you blind? Or has the smell of food turned you into a dog so you can’t see anything? Acting like that is exactly why people call rogues dogs.”
Common folk did often compare rogues to dogs. The moment they made eye contact, they would bare their teeth and growl. Stunned by the crude insult, Pae Gang blinked for a moment. Then blood rushed to his head and the thread of his reason snapped.
“Did you just call me a dog, you son of a bitch?”
With the curse, Pae Gang’s fist flew toward Dan Yeop’s face. Dan Yeop caught the incoming fist with his left hand and pulled lightly. Pae Gang’s upper body lost balance and pitched forward. In that instant, Dan Yeop’s left hand lashed out like lightning.
Smack—!
With a crisp sound, Pae Gang’s body flew sideways. It all happened in the blink of an eye. For a moment, the surroundings fell silent. The line ahead had shortened, and finally it was Dan Yeop’s turn. Receiving the tray from the cook, Dan Yeop squatted down at a suitable spot and began eating. By the time Dan Yeop finished his meal, Pae Gang, who had only just regained consciousness, came charging at him like a wild boar, screaming.
“I’ll kill you, you son of a bitch—!”
His twisted face and gleaming eyes perfectly matched his nickname of Fiendish God (Xiongshen). Yet with a dull thud, Pae Gang’s body collapsed on the spot. Ja Yun, who had been watching Dan Yeop closely since earlier, tilted his head. He had expected the two to fight with sophisticated techniques, but that was not the case. Like a fool, Pae Gang kept offering his own face to Dan Yeop’s fists. Of course he got beaten. Unable to watch any longer, Ja Yun muttered without realizing it.
“Pae Gang’s acting strange.”
Chae Un agreed.
“He really is. It’s like he’s deliberately putting his face in the way so he can get hit.”
Thus ended the strange fight between Dan Yeop and Pae Gang. One gak later, after the meal, the head merchant I Jin and the guild escorts began moving again. Pae Gang’s subordinate Yang Hak shook the unconscious Pae Gang awake.
“Ugh! That son of a… huh?”
Pa<|eos|>