Shadow Pursuit (2)
We encountered more stragglers.
"Damn it...."
But it wasn't a joyful reunion.
"What the hell is going on...."
All three academy students we found had been discovered as corpses.
"Brother Baek!"
The Jeongdo Council members, who had joined us earlier and seemed to know him, rushed to the bodies, their faces pale.
"What happened! How the hell....!"
But none of them could even attempt first aid.
The corpses had all been savagely torn apart.
I approached the bodies, examined their wounds, and checked the Red Phoenix Pills.
"...."
There was no reaction from the Red Phoenix Pills.
'Guess that's a relief.'
Even Seong Moran, who had previously captured the Jeongdo Council members, wore a worried expression.
"Who the hell would do this...."
"Demonic beasts."
"Demonic beasts?"
They looked incredulous.
Which made sense.
Murim Academy students were generally outstanding talents who could hold their own against peers their age. After all, they were prodigies crafted with the full investment of their sects and families.
Moreover, since entering the Mukrim, our group hadn't stopped hunting demonic beasts.
So it was hard to believe they'd fallen to those same beasts.
"There are spotted marks on their arms. Looks like they were poisoned."
"Poison...."
It probably wasn't a particularly potent toxin. Warriors with deep inner energy could easily overcome the venom of mere insects.
But their dire circumstances had ultimately led to their doom.
"After falling behind the main group, they wandered exhausted until poisoned, then got ambushed by the beasts."
Inner energy cultivation grants the power to endure extreme situations, but it can also worsen them.
Their swift legs would have made them circle the same area repeatedly, and their strong bodies would have given them false confidence to push through instead of hunkering down to conserve strength.
In the end, excessive self-assurance had led them to their deaths.
This was likely what Yang Japyeong had been wary of throughout their time in the Mukrim.
"We need to move faster."
I had no idea how many we'd already left behind.
One misstep, and we could have mass casualties.
Our pace naturally quickened.
"Representative. We should head back from here."
Yang Japyeong spoke, eyeing the massive natural formation ahead.
I looked to the tracking dog instead of answering.
"Truth is, we've already covered two days' distance, so the scent's fading."
No time to turn back.
I glanced behind us.
Our numbers had swelled to nearly fifty.
I couldn't guarantee they'd all pass through the formation safely.
"We should split the group, leave some behind, find the others, and come back...."
I ignored the tracker and stepped forward.
Leave them behind?
Logically, yes, in this situation.
But....
"...."
Something told me they wouldn't be alive when I returned for them.
Rumble rumble rumble.
A massive tremor stirred in my palm.
I'd been conserving energy for pointless tasks given the environment.
No choice.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, the natural formation blocking our path vanished completely.
I turned, shrugged at the group.
"Let's go. It'll be a pain carrying corpses back. Better to bring 'em while they're still breathing, right?"
"...."
No one replied.
#
The deeper we ventured into the Magyeong, the wider the natural formations became.
But the tracker's scent kept leading straight through them, and as a result....
"Jin Gongja. Stop. You'll collapse first at this rate."
I downed the cold water Eunseollan offered in one gulp.
Indeed, the stamina drain was extreme compared to inner energy consumption.
If I was feeling it this much, the others must be worse.
"I'm fine. I've been circulating qi during breaks."
Though the expenditure outpaced recovery, that was the issue.
"Gongja-nim. Just give the word from now on. We can pool our strength to break the formations."
Namgung Seonhwa approached, towing a few Jeongdo Council members.
The council members avoided my eyes sheepishly but....
"Uh.... If you tire out, we'll be lost in the woods too. Ahem, no other reason."
Muttered seriously, faces flushed.
I glanced at Namgung Seonhwa, who had spurred them on, and smiled faintly.
She had more backbone than expected.
"Got it."
I nodded readily.
Blindly exhausting myself wasn't the answer.
But as we pressed on, negative signs outnumbered the positive.
Half a shichen later, the stragglers we found were also cold corpses.
"....Dead. And they weren't poisoned."
"...."
Five more bodies.
The Red Phoenix Pills didn't react, but the wounds felt off.
'Definitely claw marks....'
They looked torn like beast attacks, but with unnaturally clean cuts.
"These weren't demonic beasts."
"Pardon? What do you...."
I pointed to another corpse's chest.
"Similar to the previous claw marks, but the wound edges are too clean."
"You're right...."
The listening Jeongdo Council members fumed.
"Who dares! To us....!"
Whether they raged or not, my mind raced.
"Dae-sa-hyung."
Eunho approached, face etched with the same unease.
I asked him.
"What do you think?"
"One question's been nagging me."
"What?"
"The signal flares."
"...!"
Academy students had been issued three signal flares each for emergencies in the Mukrim: green for lost, yellow for injured, and....
"In this situation, shouldn't red flares have gone up?"
"Yeah."
Eunho handed over flares recovered from the bodies.
"But none were used."
"....They couldn't use them."
"Yes."
In a standoff or under watch, they'd have fired them.
Academy students could create that opening, no matter the foe's strength.
But none were fired.
"Ambush, then."
"It's a forbidden zone, so they wouldn't expect anyone but us."
"Even if someone appeared, they'd assume rescue or fellow students."
"Exploiting lax vigilance."
I stood quickly.
"We need to hurry."
"Yes. Best to link up with the main group soon. Instructors will be there."
Eunho was right.
No academy student had prepared for this.
None had foreseen it.
Even now, the Jeongdo Council raged at the deaths before them, blind to what lay ahead.
I gazed into the endless dark forest.
"Moving out again."
Something was happening in the Mukrim.
#
"Jong-hyung. We just gonna keep following like this?"
"...."
"Jong-hyung!"
Jong Chuoak shook off the hand gripping his shoulder.
"You just gonna trail behind?!"
"Then what?!"
"We gotta recover the bodies...."
"Jin Sowoon said we'd do it later!"
The man's face hardened at Jong Chuoak's retort.
"Obeying Jin Sowoon? The Cheongsung faction seniors will love hearing...."
"Shut your mouth."
"...!"
Jong Chuoak ground his teeth, seized the man's collar roughly.
"Then you tell him. To Jin Sowoon."
"...."
"What, you can't?"
Of course not.
The ones clearing the path ahead, fighting beasts, were the Jin Sowoon crew he'd always despised.
Jong Chuoak released his grip indifferently.
'What the hell are they up to.'
The harsh environment had made martial arts harder to use since entering the Mukrim.
Falling behind the main group, bitten by venomous bugs—recovery hadn't helped much.
He'd trained brutally, rivaling any Cheongsung disciple, yet here he seemed utterly powerless, like he'd never touched martial arts.
Looking ahead, he saw a sturdy back.
'Jin Sowoon....'
Unlike him, that crew moved as actively as ever—more so.
Hunting beasts, checking the wounded, leading from front and rear.
Seeing it constantly convinced him: don't stray from this group.
"If you can't, then shut up and follow. Nothing we can do right now."
Infuriating, but true.
An inexplicable anxiety had gripped him since falling behind.
Following Jin Sowoon eased it somewhat.
"Tch! The great Jong Chuoak reduced to this."
The other Jeongdo Council members' jeers didn't grate.
Survival was priority.
Then.
"...Hup!"
The jeering man froze, staring into the brush.
"D-Demonic beast...."
Prey had become predator, eyeing their throats.
"What are you doing! Run—"
Before Jong Chuoak's shout, the beast lunged first.
Rawr!
But the massive serpent aiming to swallow the man's head whole....
Stab!
Failed as a sword pierced its own skull.
"...This isn't even a demonic beast. Get it together! Weak as you are, it's still manageable."
"...Uh, uh...."
The man who'd just cursed Jin Sowoon couldn't even stand from shock.
Jin Sowoon eyed Jong Chuoak.
"Horse Nose. You got this guy?"
Jong Chuoak finally spoke.
"...Why go this far?"
"Huh?"
He glanced ahead.
Narrow steps, but three zhang away.
Jin Sowoon must've burned considerable inner energy dashing here.
Hence the question.
Everyone was struggling—Jin Sowoon included.
"What's the point protecting even us?"
He could've ignored them.
No blame if any died.
Yet here he was, overexerting.
"What's your angle...."
"Don't you wanna live?"
"Huh?"
"You followed 'cause you wanna survive, right?"
"...."
Jin Sowoon sheathed his sword casually.
"So as long as I can, I'll protect you lot. That's it."
"...."
"Answer your question? Now grab this guy."
He hoisted the fallen man over his shoulder and walked ahead.
Jong Chuoak watched his retreating back.
'...Was he always that big?'
A presence dwarfing Mount Tai loomed before him.
#
Sunset came swiftly in the Mukrim.
And the quick dusk plunged the surroundings into darkness.
'Not even moonlight penetrates.'
Dense trees blocked it all; it felt like plunging into abyss.
Torches helped, but visibility barely reached one zhang.
That's why they'd avoided night travel.
Now, no choice but to push on.
Wounded clustered in the center; one carried two.
Otherwise, couldn't protect the group while advancing.
"Representative, maybe rest now? I'll take point."
Yang Japyeong offered, but no.
Couldn't put him up front with beasts lurking.
I still had reserves.
"I'm good. Almost there, no worries."
The tracker said the two-day gap to the stragglers had shrunk to half a day.
Accounting for our day, the main group hadn't budged.
Linking with instructors would make escaping the Mukrim far easier.
"Al-most there."
The tracker reported, and our full group sighed in relief.
Main group meant basic safety.
Parting the brush revealed a small clearing.
Those resting there jumped up, swords drawn.
Shing shing shing.
Main group was prepared, as expected.
I shouted hastily.
"Murim Academy representative Jin Sowoon!"
"Jin... Sowoon? Jin Sowoon?"
"Yeah."
I held the torch to my face and approached.
Dozens in the clearing rose one by one.
I asked them.
"Where are the instructors? You must've noticed things are off, right?"
Abandoning stragglers for spirit hunts—we'd address that later.
First: what was happening here, how to prepare.
"...."
No answer.
"Where are the instructors?!"
"Gone...."
"What? Isn't this the main group? With these numbers, anyone'd think so."
"That's true, but...."
What was this uneasy vibe?
Not the usual hostile Jeongdo Council types.
They looked drained, listless.
"Instructors headed to the outpost first."
"...."
Did I get poisoned en route? Hallucinating nonsense?
"What bullshit is that. Instructors left first...."
"Told us to wait. Said they'd bring back others...."
Something's wrong.
Then what about our guiding tracker?
We followed the scent here.
"H-Hyungnim!"
The tracker, following the Cheonri Chujonghyang, spotted a body and crawled over, bursting into sobs.
Beside him: over ten academy student corpses.
"What the fu...."
Dizziness hit.
Ominous dread surged.
Why this familiar displeasure from my past life?
Then.
Piiiing!
A sharp whistle sliced the air.
Bang!
Red light flashed from the dense brush.
"Dae-sa-hyung!"
Northeast—toward the outpost.
Before I could speak, another flare.
Piiiing—Bang!
Southeast this time.
But it didn't end.
Piiiing Bang! Piiiing Bang!
Ominous red flares relentlessly dyed the Mukrim crimson.