Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: A Certain Fierce Outlaw
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Heh heh...
"This old man is Kang Seok-hyeon of the Murim Alliance, serving as the martial arts instructor for the Tenth Squad."
Instructor Kang revealed his identity with a hearty laugh.
The reason he laughed so openly was that he could clearly read the thoughts of this young monk named Yeong-gak.
'The young hero must find this surprising. I was the same way once.'
As Instructor Kang had guessed, Yeong-gak was dying of curiosity about Se Yeong's identity.
The Shaolin elders had once evaluated that among those of similar age to Yeong-gak, there were only a handful who could match him.
He hadn't taken their assessment too much to heart, but he had lived with a quiet sense of pride nonetheless.
Yet here he was, barely out in the martial world, facing someone his own age whom he hadn't even sensed approaching.
Even if the distance had been a bit far, it was a massive shock to Yeong-gak—enough to make his soul fly out of his body.
"What is your honorable name, young hero?"
Yeong-gak asked cautiously, his expression polite.
His face was strikingly handsome—even another man would admit as much—but his fierce eyes hinted at a temper far from ordinary.
'What an odd fellow to butt in like this.'
Se Yeong simply stared at Yeong-gak's face.
In response, the monk rubbed his shaved head and chuckled.
Haha...
"Has something gotten on this monk's face?"
His sparkling eyes and sly grin made it clear he was no ordinary cheeky sort.
"Han Se Yeong."
At Se Yeong's reply, Yeong-gak quickly pretended to know him.
"Ah... so you're from the Han Family. Which branch of the Han Family, if I may ask?"
"What does it matter to you?"
Se Yeong's voice turned sharp, and Yeong-gak clasped his hands together, bowing his head deeply.
"Om mani padme hum."
Paeng Se Gi couldn't stand the way he was fawning over Se Yeong.
"He's my brother, so get lost already."
At his words, Yeong-gak lifted his head and glanced back and forth between Se Yeong and Paeng Se Gi.
"Brother... you mean half-brothers...?"
It was a reasonable suspicion from Yeong-gak's perspective, but to Se Yeong and Paeng Se Gi, it crossed a line by a mile.
"You... you bastard."
Whoosh...
Before Paeng Se Gi could even finish cursing, Se Yeong—who had been sitting—vanished from his spot.
Thwack...!
Guh...! Crash...!
Yeong-gak took a fist straight to the face and tumbled backward.
'As expected, a master beyond my level.'
Even amid the bone-crushing pain, Yeong-gak managed a smile.
He had glimpsed the fist coming but had no time to dodge.
Springing back up, he clasped his hands in a formal salute.
"This monk has been terribly rude."
As this commotion unfolded, the innkeeper glanced warily and brought out rice and meat.
The meat was seasoned lamb ribs.
As Se Yeong sat back down, Yeong-gak quickly squeezed in beside the squad members.
Haha...
"Truly, lamb is the king of meats."
The squad members shook their heads at his brazenness.
But their expressions weren't all that displeased.
Se Yeong didn't scold him either.
His shameless cheek was annoying, but Se Yeong could tell he wasn't some wicked sort.
"Do monks like meat too?"
Hahaha...
"Monks in the temple generally avoid killing, but we happily eat meat others have already slaughtered."
"That's incredibly selfish."
Crunch crunch...
"Om mani padme hum."
"We couldn't find them, Strategist."
The warrior's report made the strategist raise his voice.
"It's only been two days since the Tenth Squad left the Murim Alliance—how could you fail to track them down?"
Two days after the Tenth Squad had departed the Murim Alliance—even if they moved at top speed, they couldn't have gone more than 150 li.
And since they were surely heading to Sabaek Village, searching the roads leading there should have turned them up easily.
"We've deployed the Patrol Squad warriors to comb every inch within 200 li, Strategist."
"Tell them to search again, thoroughly."
"Understood, Strategist."
Dismissing the warrior, the strategist vented his rage.
"How can they be so oblivious to my intentions? How?!"
He was doing everything in his power right now to keep the Tenth Squad alive.
Yet the squad members, blind to his efforts, had slipped out of the Murim Alliance in secret.
"May heaven strike them down... No, there's no need to get this angry."
As his fury poured out, it suddenly hit him what he'd overlooked.
If they were definitely heading to Sabaek Village, he could just rush there ahead of them and wait nearby.
"Is no one outside?"
At his shout, a warrior waiting outside hurried in.
"You called for me, Strategist?"
"Select our swiftest warriors right now and send them to Sabaek Village. Have them wait near there for the Tenth Squad and bring them back."
"Understood, Strategist."
Yi Cheon Yeong, having finished circulating his qi first, carefully rose to his feet.
By the time he gathered branches for firewood, the other squad members had also completed their meditation.
Yi Cheon Yeong lit the branches and pulled out dried meat from his travel pack.
"Here you go."
He handed some to Instructor Kang first, then to Se Yeong.
As Yi Cheon Yeong sat down, Yeong-gak—who had been chewing on dried meat from his own pack—asked,
"Why are you all pushing so hard, like your lives depend on it?"
Yi Cheon Yeong smirked at the question.
"And why are you following us?"
"Because something fun seems to be going on."
Yeong-gak had been traveling with the Tenth Squad for two full days now, keeping pace just like the others.
A pile of undismantled weapons lay beside him.
"We're heading to Sabaek Village, so fall back already."
"Om mani padme hum. Life and death are all the Buddha's will."
Paeng Se Gi tried threatening him, but Yeong-gak wouldn't budge.
"Ah... that damn bald bastard."
His sly deflections left even the hot-tempered Paeng Se Gi at a loss.
"So why are you going to Sabaek Village anyway?"
Yeong-gak's questions never ended, but Yi Cheon Yeong didn't seem bothered.
"Someone there invited us."
"Ah... then you won't die after all. So what's with the desperate rush?"
Yi Cheon Yeong glanced at Se Yeong.
Se Yeong nodded, and only then did he answer.
"It's a huge boost to our internal energy."
"Really?"
Yeong-gak asked in surprise.
He and the squad members alike had never heard of such a thing.
If it were possible, Shaolin would surely know about it.
At Yeong-gak's doubt, Paeng Se Gi finally seized his chance and exploded.
"You doubting my brother's word? Perfect, you bastard. Get up!"
He swallowed his dried meat and stood, advancing on Yeong-gak.
But Yeong-gak remained utterly composed.
"It was your brother who spoke. This monk has committed a grave offense. Om mani padme hum."
His response left the raging Paeng Se Gi flustered once more.
"Ugh... you slippery weasel bastard."
Ignoring him, Yeong-gak looked around at the squad.
"By the way, what's with those bulging things on your arms and legs?"
Paeng Se Gi, already furious, bellowed in response.
"Rocks! Heavy rocks!"
"Ah... I see. Thank you truly, Young Hero Paeng."
Hahaha...
Heh heh heh...
Se Yeong and Instructor Kang watched the squad and chuckled.
Paeng Se Gi was trying to throw his weight around in his own way.
But it wasn't working at all, leaving him to fume like this.
"I've been to this area before. If we take that path, we'll probably reach a large village called Yeongcheon County soon."
As Se Yeong spoke, Paeng Se Gi—face flushed—quietly returned to his seat.
"When were you here last?"
Instructor Kang, already curious about Se Yeong's past, jumped in.
"My fifth time wandering the martial world, so about three years ago."
Se Yeong had always lived without regrets, and that mindset hadn't changed.
But everyone has regrets at some point.
"What brought you here back then?"
"I just went wherever my feet took me—no real purpose. Passing through Yeongcheon County, I ended up in a tiny village without even a name. That's where I learned about a man called the Netherworld Ghost Lord."
The squad members exchanged shocked glances at the nickname from Se Yeong's lips.
"Brother, did you say Netherworld Ghost Lord just now?"
"Yes. The Netherworld Ghost Lord."
The Netherworld Ghost Lord had been the worst of the fierce outlaws terrorizing Shanxi and Shandong a dozen years back.
His atrocities were so vile that people trembled at the mere mention of his moniker.
Plunder, murder, arson, rape.
He committed every heinous act imaginable until, a dozen years ago, he vanished without a trace.
Pursuers—including martial world masters and the Murim Alliance—couldn't find him anywhere.
"How did you track him down, brother?"
In fact, the Paeng Family had sent out their own retainers to hunt for the Netherworld Ghost Lord.
"Pure chance. I didn't even know who he was. Wandering aimlessly, I came upon a tiny hamlet with maybe ten thatched huts. Stomach growling, I figured I'd buy some rice there. Well, paying with silver makes it buying, not freeloading."
He hadn't expected much from such a remote village.
A bowl of rough rice with some wild greens would suffice.
Wandering the village, he spotted a frail woman sitting in the yard, basking in the sun.
"If it's not too much trouble, might I buy a bowl of rice? I'll pay generously."
The woman rose and bowed politely.
"Please, come in."
Se Yeong entered the yard and sat on the weathered bench where she'd been.
She soon emerged from the house with a small tray: a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, and a dish of greens.
Not a feast, but neatly prepared.
"Thank you."
Se Yeong picked up his chopsticks and began eating.
As he neared the end of his meal, a middle-aged man entered the yard, back loaded with firewood.
The man startled at the sight of Se Yeong eating on the bench.
Se Yeong, though eating, was sizing up the man's appearance.
"You worked hard, dear."
The woman helped him unload the wood to one side of the yard.
Setting it down, the man approached Se Yeong and bowed.
"You seem like a martial world wanderer. What brings you here?"
"Just a traveler."
Se Yeong finished eating and offered a silver tael.
But the middle-aged man firmly refused it.
"It was just a humble bowl of rice."
"Take it anyway."
Se Yeong left the silver on the bench and departed.
The middle-aged man watched him covertly until he left the village.
"Suspicious."
Se Yeong, having exited, turned back and slipped into the village.
Whoosh...
Leaping silently onto the roof, he overheard voices inside.
"I was once a brutal bandit known in the martial world as the Netherworld Ghost Lord. I killed people like it was nothing. Meeting you freed me from that demonic life. When that young martial artist showed up, I thought he'd come to capture me. Every day without you feels unbearable, every day unhappy. Losing you terrifies me more than death. I'm sorry, dear. Truly sorry."
"No, dear. Meeting you made me happy too."
Hearing their conversation, Se Yeong fell deep into thought.
What should he do?