#111. Black Path Night March
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Seong Moran slammed her fists into the dirt. Each swing sent clumps of earth flying, blood streaming from her knuckles, but neither Namgung Seonhwa nor Chu Mubin could bring themselves to stop her.
"Damn it."
Everyone knew the only way to vent her explosive rage was to let her hurt herself, so they waited in silence.
"Huuu...."
Those who had heard Yong So-a's tale shared Seong Moran's anguish. Being treated like disposable trash was a wound no one could escape unscathed.
"Haa...."
Seong Moran, her hands lacerated and raw, sat dazed, catching her breath.
"Young Master Jin."
"Yes."
"I'm staying here."
"......"
She pulled a small pouch from her bosom that jingled faintly.
"I knew you'd been pushing yourself too hard. So don't feel guilty about leaving me behind."
With that, Seong Moran buried her face between her knees. No one could point fingers and call her irresponsible.
Geum Pyo exchanged glances with Eunho and Dongryong, nodded, and stepped forward.
"Senior Brother, I think we've come far enough."
Geum Pyo placed their entry badges at Jin Sowoon's feet and turned away.
"......"
Namgung Seonhwa gazed steadily at Jin Sowoon.
"I don't want it to end like this."
Dang Seohee's emotionless words echoed in her ears.
—It's no surprise if they drop dead right now.
The helplessness of having nothing to offer good people weighed on her, but the guilt of having held him back all this time crushed her even more.
"Young Master Jin."
"......"
Jin Sowoon's expression remained unreadable.
"You could make it to the Murim Academy alone, right?"
His miraculous movement technique. If it was that incredible lightness skill even the Namgung family had only witnessed once, maybe he could?
She clung to the hope.
"Could you go without borrowing the power of the Dragon-Phoenix Conference?"
She couldn't finish the unreasonable sentence even to herself and placed her entry badge at his feet.
"......"
A silence colder than ice enveloped them.
They all waited only for the exam to end.
Once it did, they had vowed to sleep for a week straight, eat for another, and get blackout drunk for a third.
But even knowing the exam was over, no one showed joy. No one had wanted an ending like this.
Namgung Seonhwa turned to sit beside Seong Moran.
"Why's everyone giving up so easily?"
"......!"
Their heads snapped around involuntarily.
Jin Sowoon kicked the pile of entry badges at his feet.
"Did you all come this far just to see a result like this?"
"......"
"I'm not going with Yong So-a."
"......"
"And I'm not going alone either."
"......"
Namgung Seonhwa felt her heart race. His words sank deep into her chest.
Choices she would have made without hesitation, he rejected as if they were nothing.
Those actions brought a selfish wave of relief, a comforting warmth. Even in a situation where collapse seemed imminent, they gave her strength.
"......Stop being so stubborn."
Seong Moran lifted her head, eyes swollen like ripe peaches.
"You know this isn't something willpower or effort can overcome."
Namgung Seonhwa nodded in agreement. Emotions were one thing; reason demanded she speak the truth.
"More than that, they say your condition is bad. If Senior Sister Seohee said it, we have to assume it's even worse."
Jin Sowoon looked around before speaking.
"......So you want to give up?"
"......"
"I'm asking if you want to stop here and call it quits."
His flat tone made Seong Moran erupt.
"Who said anything about wanting to quit? After all this shit, this treatment—who the hell wants to quit?! I want to go too! I want to shove those damn examinees aside, push past the hijackers, and smear the Dragon-Phoenix Conference's name!"
In the end, Seong Moran couldn't hide her tears and burst into sobs.
"......Hic."
She roughly wiped them away, pretending it was nothing.
And to her, Jin Sowoon said flatly,
"Then let's go."
"......Haa. Seriously."
Seong Moran glared at him sharply.
"I told you....... It's not about willpower now......."
"I'm telling you because there's another way."
"......"
"One way."
Jin Sowoon raised a single finger.
"One method remains. A way for all of us to reach the Murim Academy safely."
"Trading with the bastards who've been chasing us? You think they'll accept us now? All the Nine Great Sects......."
"No. Of course not trading with them. Nor with the Dragon-Phoenix Conference."
"......"
"......"
"......"
Not just Seong Moran—everyone stared blankly at Jin Sowoon.
"......Of course, you might not like it......."
As Jin Sowoon continued, mouths slowly gaped open.
"......"
And in the end, they hung wide like saucers, unable to close.
"......You crazy bastard......."
Namgung Seonhwa jumped at the curse from Seong Moran's lips.
She'd said "crazy" or "out of his mind" plenty, but never "crazy bastard."
"......"
But thinking back on what she'd just heard, it felt right.
"......Crazy person."
And she softly echoed, a milder version.
#
"It reeks."
Crunch.
So Je-ho, his eyes bloodshot like a raccoon's, ground his teeth.
"Talk from a distance."
Dang Seohee pinched her nose and waved him off.
'You're the one who made me like this!' So Je-ho swallowed his rage.
Causing another scene here might mean shitting blood the whole way with the Dragon-Phoenix group.
"They're on the move again."
Yong So-a tilted his head at So Je-ho's words.
"Really?"
"That arrogant prick's pride is something else, huh? Hahaha."
So Je-ho laughed imagining Jin Sowoon's grim future, but no one joined in. Not that there was anyone to— just Yong So-a and Dang Seohee.
"Direction?"
"What does direction matter? Wherever they go, enemies block the way. Four sides surrounded by foes, like sabyeongchoga."
"Stinky boy's using idioms now."
Glare at the sudden interruption all he wanted; Dang Seohee ignored him completely.
Yong So-a asked again.
"Direction?"
"Shifted southeast again. Probably avoiding Wudang."
"Southeast...... Daebyeol Mountain?"
"Dodging the tiger straight into the serpent's jaws."
"Request tracking."
"Should've listened to us sooner...... Huh?"
"On Jin Sowoon's group."
"Stinky boy's gone deaf too."
"I'm serious! Why track them? They're done for anyway."
"Curious where their entry badges are headed."
"......Fine."
So Je-ho sighed faintly at Yong So-a's words and turned away.
Once he was gone, only Yong So-a and Dang Seohee remained.
Both naturally taciturn, silence was the norm when alone.
Yet Dang Seohee spoke first, unusually.
"Our grandfather acknowledged you."
Even hearing he'd been recognized by the Poison King Dang Hyeokje, Yong So-a's face didn't change.
"That's why I'm moving with your will."
"......"
"But seeing Jin Sowoon changes my mind. Is what you're trying to achieve really the way to save the most people?"
Her flat, emotionless words hit their equally impassive target.
Doubted though he was, the impassive one showed no ripple.
"Yes."
"Then why does Jin Sowoon want to go with everyone, while you only want to save him?"
"He chases vain dreams; I pursue reality."
Dang Seohee's brow furrowed.
Her small stature and youthful look made even the scowl seem like a cute pout.
But no one here reacted emotionally to it.
"He seems to save dozens now, but he's missing the chance to save tens of thousands—maybe millions."
Dang Seohee nodded along to Yong So-a's words, then murmured.
"That's a big problem."
"No matter. What will happen will happen."
"No, that's not what I mean."
Yong So-a gazed steadily at her.
"If Jin Sowoon leads all his people to the Murim Academy, won't that be a problem for you?"
"......"
"It proves your words wrong in the end."
A man who'd never frowned in his life seemed to do it often lately.
"Impossible."
"How can you be so confident?"
"Even if I entered that boat now, leading them all to Muhwan is impossible."
Dang Seohee drew her tiny white hand from her sleeve, resting it on her chin, nodding.
"Hm, hmm, hmmm. Perhaps...... the rumors in the jianghu are true."
As she muttered to herself, Yong So-a asked.
"What are you thinking?"
"If Jin Sowoon reaches the Murim Academy with his crew, it proves the jianghu rumors: the Black Flame Dragon far surpasses Yong So-a."
"......What I can't do......"
"He already proved it once at Ma-ryeong Plateau."
"......"
"What you couldn't, Jin Sowoon did."
#
"Run! Run! Don't look back—just run!"
Gang Seopyo, Chu Mubin, and Baek Woneok led the charge, sprinting madly.
"If you can't keep up, give up and go home! We don't need you anymore!"
"If anyone's desperate for badges and gets themselves killed, let 'em! Don't die making a fool of yourself!"
"This isn't war! No need to risk your lives!"
The three captains shouted in turn, but no warriors fell behind.
They chased desperately.
"Fuck, who calls this leading."
"If something happens to the young lady, whose neck gets wrung?"
"Better to drop dead chasing than that."
Of course, they muttered under their breaths.
Not just the warriors endlessly grumbling—Moyong Jaehwa couldn't stop either.
"If I go back to the clan, I'm dead."
Namgung Seonhwa, running beside him, offered comfort.
"Still, your grandfather likes eccentricities, so there might be leniency. But me? I might get struck from the family register."
Moyong Jaehwa reacted fiercely to her "comfort."
"Sister. Don't say that. I've been struck off since picking up this bow."
"Who picks up a bow? Exactly—train with the family sword properly. Why waste time?"
"Wow...... You were thrilled I bought you two hours of sleep thanks to me....... I'm so disappointed. Disappointed! Sister!"
Daebyeol Mountain loomed gradually at the road's end.
Cross it, and Hubei Province. But along the Hubei road, large groups flickered into view.
"You two got energy left? Take point."
"......"
"......"
They clamped their mouths at Seong Moran's sharp words.
"This is the end for me too. Our clan’s doomed because of me and that idiot brother."
"......"
"Should've run when we started this madness."
Regret always comes too late.
Once on the tiger's back, you can't jump off at will.
"Incoming!"
The frontrunners signaled imminent clash.
The enemy slowed, readying for battle.
"Speed up!"
People aren't horses—no urging sped them up, yet strangely, Jin Sowoon's group all accelerated bit by bit.
The moment massive force met small.
Dozens of sword fragments scattered; screams echoed everywhere.
Clangclangclangclangclangclang.
Tae-eul Gate swung desperately, while Huashan and Jeomcheong warriors held sword formations effortlessly.
Elite passers predetermined for the academy versus wounded beasts sleepless for weeks.
"Change direction!!"
Jin Sowoon's voice boomed.
Warriors facing the formation veered toward Daemang County.
Clangclangclangclang.
Knowing Huashan and Jeomcheong blocked the Hubei path, the blockers hesitated.
"Run!"
And knowing Daemang was home to three black path sects, their hesitation grew.
They seized the gap, running for their lives.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Elites were elites. Flying swords pierced the brief opening, drawing blood.
"Kugh!"
"You okay?!"
"F-Fine!"
"Not fine? Fall back!"
"No way, you bastard!"
The fleeting gap's final chance.
Namgung Seonhwa, Moyong Jaehwa, Seong Moran, the gold-silver-bronze brothers—all cast aside worries, squeezing every last drop of soul-deep energy toward their goal.
"Huh?"
"Grab 'em!"
"Pursue!"
Elite warriors reacted late, chasing like lightning.
Their legs felt agonizingly slow, but all they could do was not look back and run.
Blind running meant even a pebble could trip you.
Thud.
Thump thump thump.
Namgung Seonhwa tumbled, covered in dirt, but even Namgung warriors couldn't stop—the momentum was too great.
"Go! Just go!"
As Huashan warriors closed in to swarm her.
Shrrrrrr.
Jin Sowoon leaped back, fanning out the Black Dragon Sword like a peacock's tail.
Dozens of swords bloomed everywhere; Huashan warriors unleashed hundreds of plum blossoms.
Each blossom touched an illusory sword, which vanished helplessly.
The sword shadows filling the air disappeared in an instant, hundreds of blossoms now aiming to engulf Namgung Seonhwa.
"Kyaaak—!"
Splat splat splat splat.
With the sound of blood and flesh bursting, Namgung Seonhwa felt her body lift.
And saw Jin Sowoon, bleeding, holding her.
Her chest swelled at the sight; words failed, so she blurted anything.
"I said just go."
"......Coming in's your call; leaving isn't."
Jin Sowoon's body swayed several times.
His speed wasn't what it was.
Still far from Huashan reach.
"You mad bastards! That's a black path sect—archenemy of the righteous!"
"Wh-What? They all crazy?"
"Hey! You'll all die!"
Huashan warriors screamed desperately behind.
"Let's go."
Catching up to the group, Jin Sowoon took point and smashed through the gates of Sahwangbong, one of black path's strongest sects.
Boom.
Righteous sect warriors gaped at Jin Sowoon's group.
"Crazy......"