Boat Trip
Nak Pung-hyeon blinked at Yi Jinpyeong, wondering if he was still unconscious. He shook his head side to side to clear his mind before asking in return.
"You're going to wipe out the Dongjeong Waterway Stronghold? Right now? Immediately?"
"Yeah. They came at us first, so we've got plenty of justification, right? Looks like they threw in a decent force too. Better to clean them all out while we have the chance, before the other factions around here catch wind or make a move."
Yi Jinpyeong paused, running his tongue over his lips.
"Those bastards must have a nice pile of loot stashed at their main base, huh? The kind of dirty money you can swallow without a hitch. They've been gorging themselves plenty up till now."
Yi Jinpyeong revealed his dark intentions without a shred of shame. Nak Pung-hyeon stared at him in disbelief.
"Repelling an attack from the Dongjeong Waterway Stronghold is one thing—raiding their main base is a whole different beast. Why do you think they've never been wiped out before? To reach their headquarters, you have to navigate a long, narrow waterway deep into the marshes. It's only accessible by water, and the reed thickets are so dense there are hiding spots everywhere. Even a top expert wouldn't find it easy fighting in there."
"So, you're sitting this one out?"
"...Of course I'm going."
Nak Pung-hyeon shot to his feet.
"If you're going, then so am I."
Yi Jinpyeong grinned.
"That's the spirit."
Yi Jinpyeong and Nak Pung-hyeon started walking together, leaving the bisected corpse of Jjak-gwi behind them. The battle was nearing its end by now.
Buried deep in the heart of the enemy lines, Yi Jingang and Yi Jinun were holding their own with nothing but their scabbards—yet the bandits couldn't lay a finger on them. After suffering heavy losses trying to surround the brothers, the bandits finally gave up and turned on the rest of the group.
But things weren't any better on that front. Leading the charge for the Yi Family and Chwi Hwa Bang alliance was the hairy brute Gang Ryong. Just moments ago, he'd been laid out like a corpse from Jjak-gwi's fierce poison, but strangely, he seemed to grow stronger as time passed. It was downright terrifying to watch his swollen face and bluish skin recover bit by bit before their eyes.
Directing the Yi Family and Chwi Hwa Bang warriors was the Yi Family's short-statured supervisor, Seo Dal. Drawing on his vast experience as a seasoned fighter, he orchestrated the battle using the combined formation he'd developed with Chwi Hwa Bang's leader, Nak Pung-hyeon. Without any central command, the bandit horde had no way to hold out any longer.
As Yi Jinpyeong and Nak Pung-hyeon walked side by side, word spread that their leader Jjak-gwi was dead. The bandits began a chaotic retreat.
"We don't have to kill them all? If we're wiping them out anyway—"
"Let 'em run. We need guides to lead us back to their base."
"Fair point."
They walked slowly, leisurely on purpose.
"Raaagh! Kill 'em! Fight!"
Gang Ryong, oblivious to the retreat, was still flailing his fists and feet, spittle flying everywhere. Yi Jinpyeong poked his side as he passed, and Gang Ryong went rigid before crashing to the ground with a thud. His eyes rolled around wildly as Yi Jinpyeong said,
"You'll get yourself killed like that. You've done enough—rest now."
The hairy warrior grinned broadly at Yi Jinpyeong's words, then closed his eyes and promptly started snoring.
Nak Pung-hyeon clicked his tongue at the sight.
"What a monster."
Yi Jinpyeong burst out laughing. Ever since Gang Ryong had ditched his sword for pure fist and foot techniques, every aspect of his physical prowess had blossomed even further. Especially his freakish durability and recovery—now bordering on superhuman—which meant the detox treatment Nak Pung-hyeon had given him wasn't even strictly necessary. He just needed time to rest.
Yi Jinpyeong and Nak Pung-hyeon soon reached Yi Jingang and Yi Jinun, who had stopped fighting and were standing there blankly, watching the bandits flee in panic.
They'd been following Yi Jinpyeong with lightness skills, but when they blinked, they were suddenly in the thick of a life-or-death melee.
"Little brother... what in the world..."
"You got some real combat experience out of it, didn't you? Come on, let's go."
"Go where?"
"We have to loot the Dongjeong Waterway Stronghold. Didn't we decide to start building real wealth and power?"
"...!"
Yi Jingang and Yi Jinun hurriedly followed behind him.
Seo Dal the supervisor, the Three Guests of Chwi Hwa Bang, and the other warriors had chased the bandits all the way to the Dongjeong Lake shoreline. The bandits didn't even glance back as they scrambled onto their small, narrow skiffs and frantically rowed toward the center of the lake, abandoning their wounded and dead comrades without a care.
A few hot-headed warriors couldn't contain their rage and moved for the abandoned boats, but Gwak Yeonyong the chief steward barked at them sharply.
"Don't get on recklessly! We can't beat them on the water!"
He was right. The reason the Dongjeong Waterway Stronghold had never been eradicated was their unmatched expertise in water combat. They could hold their breath underwater for several gak—entire intervals—and their ranks were full of such experts. They'd punch holes in the hulls of pursuing boats, drag the sinking foes underwater, and fight. No matter how supreme a master you were on land, matching that underwater mobility was no easy feat.
In the end, even the Yi Family warriors could only line up along the shore, hurling stones and curses at the fleeing foes.
"You cowards! Love watching you run!"
"You bastards! Half your comrades died here, and you're just leaving them?"
"Don't you ever show your faces here again!"
Cursing wouldn't fully vent their fury, of course. But they were the survivors, the victors. Chwi Hwa Bang—ranked in the thirties among Dongjeong factions—and the Yi Family—in the nineties—had banded together to crush the tenth-ranked Dongjeong Waterway Stronghold head-on. Their chests swelled with pride.
Even if Chwi Hwa Bang had taken heavy losses...
"We won! Victory!"
"We beat the Dongjeong Waterway Stronghold!"
"Raaagh!"
They were reveling in simply repelling the invasion when, despite Gwak Yeonyong's vehement warnings, a few at the lakeside clambered onto a ferryboat.
The bucktoothed steward snapped irritably.
"Hey! Didn't you hear me? You wanna die?"
"Who's dying?"
One of the men already aboard shot back. He waved his hand through the air, and without anyone rowing, the boat pulled away from shore, chasing the bandits.
Only then did the warriors realize who was on board: the Yi Family brothers and Nak Pung-hyeon. Their jaws dropped.
"B-Bangju-nim!!"
"Young masters! Where are you going?!"
Nak Pung-hyeon, Yi Jingang, and Yi Jinun said nothing. Only Yi Jinpyeong replied calmly.
"Boat trip."
"B-Boat... trip?"
"Yeah. You lot take care of the wounded."
Their figures vanished into the thick mist rising over Dongjeong Lake. From beyond came Yi Jinpyeong's faint humming.
The boats used by the Dongjeong Waterway Stronghold bandits were tiny skiffs that could barely hold ten men. Long and narrow, they rocked wildly with the slightest movement, sitting so low that you could touch the water by reaching out.
That's why Yi Jingang and Yi Jinun sat smack in the middle, clinging to each other and shivering.
"You two look so close."
"Brothers... what a sight."
Yi Jinpyeong and Nak Pung-hyeon each chimed in, but the pair didn't budge. Their faces were paler than during the fight, frozen stiff.
"W-We... can't swim."
"Then why'd you come?"
"Jinpyeong said to go..."
"Didn't think we'd end up on a boat."
Nak Pung-hyeon shook his head.
Now he finally had a chance to properly look over Yi Jinpyeong and his brothers. He himself was a mess from the fierce battle, but the Yi brothers' clothes were a sight—especially the top expert among them, Yi Jinpyeong, whose garb was torn to rags in places, hinting at the ordeals they'd endured.
"For coming back from a Dongbeonhoe event, you all look like hell. Did you pick a fight with the Beggar Clan or something?"
Nak Pung-hyeon thought it was a decent joke. But Yi Jingang and Yi Jinun's eyes went wide, as if wondering how he'd known.
"Rumors reached here already?"
"...You actually fought them? The Beggar Clan?"
"What, you think we'd fake it? Sparring matches, killing, the works."
"Whoa."
Yi Jinpyeong gave Nak Pung-hyeon a quick rundown of the Dongbeonhoe event. He skipped the Ma-gyo stuff to keep it short, but even the rest was enough to stun him.
"Damn... damn! Damn!"
Nak Pung-hyeon gaped, regretting he'd missed the chaotic mess. But realizing Chwi Hwa Bang's territory might have been wiped out without him there, he ground his teeth in renewed fury.
"Those damn scum... You're right. Time to uproot the Dongjeong Waterway Stronghold once and for all. Though I'm not sure charging in with just us is the best call."
"Outfits like this fall apart quick if you nab the top brass. Better than mobilizing everyone and making a mess—slip in with a small elite team, and it'll be easier than you think."
The brothers' eyes wavered at Yi Jinpyeong's words. Small elite team? Did that include them? They'd followed on impulse, but now on this rocking boat, they couldn't even stand.
Without them, it'd just be Yi Jinpyeong and Nak Pung-hyeon. Could two people really take down the stronghold?
"Little brother, maybe—"
"Shh."
Yi Jinpyeong pressed a finger to his lips. Through the swirling mist ahead, the bandits' rear guard came into view—they'd caught up.
Yi Jingang clamped his mouth shut. Yi Jinpyeong, who had been standing at the stern whipping up wind, crouched down and handed the oar to Nak Pung-hyeon in a low voice.
"From here on, we pretend we're with them. Row like they do so we don't raise suspicion."
"Smart. But why hand it to me?"
"Want me to do it?"
"..."
"You've had it easy riding my coattails till now. Look at your brothers."
Nak Pung-hyeon reluctantly took the oar from Yi Jinpyeong. The leader of the thirtieth-ranked Chwi Hwa Bang, oldest among them, reduced to errand boy rowing the boat.
He kept pace with the bandits—not too close, not too far—adjusting the gap carefully. Soon, they entered the marshlands where the Dongjeong Waterway Stronghold's main base lay.