Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Setting Out into the Martial World
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Se Yeong knew neither the location of the Murim Alliance nor the procedures for entering it.
But his grandfather, with his vast experience in the martial world, surely wouldn't be wrong.
"On your way out, release the bandits too."
Se Yeong tilted his head in confusion.
The bandits captured in the stronghold beyond the mountains were no ordinary thugs.
"If you let those guys go, they'll cause big trouble."
Kekekeke...
His grandfather burst into hearty laughter.
"That's exactly why I'm telling you to release them. So you can pin the crimes on them and execute them all."
Hahaha...
He'd never intended to keep the bandits locked up for years anyway.
But his father's fierce opposition had prevented him from killing them until now.
Walking along a wide mountain path, Se Yeong suddenly veered left around a large tree.
After heading left, he switched right, and the vanished path reappeared before him.
This path leading into the village was protected by a formation array.
It was a deceptively simple array, yet not easily broken.
Crossing the ridge along the broad path, Se Yeong stopped and gazed down at the cluster of thatched huts below.
Those huts had been built by the bandits when they tried to establish a stronghold here.
About three years ago, the bandits had swarmed into these mountains and started raiding nearby villages before even setting up their base.
When the villagers resisted to protect their food, the bandits made examples of them by chopping off heads and limbs.
Unable to stand by, Se Yeong had grabbed his iron rod and charged down the mountain, slaughtering the bandits.
But his father had appeared out of nowhere, so he'd spared about half.
"If they settle here, farm the land, and live like that, their greedy and wicked hearts will fade away. Guiding evil toward the righteous path is far nobler than simply executing it, wouldn't you say?"
That was the first time Se Yeong had rebelled—in his own way.
"I'm no gentleman, Father. Saving the good by eradicating evil outright seems far better than trying to reform it."
His father had listened, face stiffening, then quietly withdrawn.
Se Yeong hadn't killed any more bandits after that.
'I wonder if they've really changed as Father hoped?'
U Bal Cho was a green forest bandit.
Not just any nameless crook—he was a renowned master known as the Green Earth Twin Axes.
But now, he lived as a farmer tending sheep and tilling fields.
Whew...
"Damn it... A green forest hero reduced to farming..."
U Bal Cho tossed aside the sickle in his hand and sighed.
He had commanded five of the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds and had come to Yellow Gate Mountain to expand his forces by opening a new base.
With a stronghold here, he could even challenge for the position of chief of the green forest bandits.
He'd sent his sharpest subordinates ahead to set it up.
But after half a year with no word from Yellow Gate Mountain, he'd stormed here in a rage—only to fall straight into hell.
How could that kid's martial arts be so monstrously strong?
He'd been beaten so badly back then that he never wanted to face him again.
"Chief... Is something wrong?"
One of the bandits tilling the field approached cautiously.
U Bal Cho's face twisted into an ugly scowl.
"When have I ever been in a good mood?"
"S-Sorry!"
The terrified bandit bowed deeply and backed away.
Then another voice whispered into U Bal Cho's ear.
"Something bad happen?"
"Who the hell—!"
Fury boiled over as U Bal Cho leaped to his feet, unleashing his killing intent.
But the murderous aura vanished in an instant, as if it had never been.
Replaced by sheer terror.
"Y-You've come, young master?"
U Bal Cho prostrated himself flat on the ground.
The other nearby bandits followed suit, kowtowing frantically.
In three years, his arms had broken three times, his legs four.
And it wasn't just limbs.
His head had been cracked open six times.
Maybe that's why his hair was now patchy and thin.
His already fierce face looked even more savage with the sparse hair.
His one consolation was finally perfecting the Crimson Earth Twin Axes Technique.
Despite obsessing over it daily, he'd made no progress until coming to this mountain.
That made it all the more infuriating.
Se Yeong sat on a rock, looking down at the kowtowing bandits.
"You all been well?"
A hasty reply shot from U Bal Cho's mouth.
"Thanks to you, young master, we've been doing great."
Se Yeong's brow furrowed slightly at the response.
"Sounds kinda sarcastic..."
Thud! Thud!
U Bal Cho slammed his head into the dirt.
"No way! Absolutely not, young master."
Hmm...
Se Yeong scanned the bandits and U Bal Cho with a skeptical glare.
"I'm here to release you all today..."
"...Pardon?"
U Bal Cho and the bandits snapped their heads up, staring in disbelief.
"What? Don't want to?"
"N-No... Thank you, young master. If you let us go, we'll... never forget this grace, even in death."
Tears streamed down the bandits' faces in overwhelming gratitude.
"You'll live good lives once you leave here, right?"
"Of course... After descending the mountain, we'll farm, raise livestock, and live righteously."
Se Yeong didn't buy their oath.
"Don't lie."
"It's true, young master. Please... believe us."
U Bal Cho begged through sobs.
But Se Yeong's voice came out colder than frost.
"I don't care if you kill martial artists. Just don't massacre or plunder the common folk."
"Understood. We won't touch civilians even a little from now on."
'Really... can they pull it off?'
Se Yeong eyed the bandits doubtfully.
'Should I just wipe them all out?'
He desperately wanted to slaughter them right then.
"You've got one hour to pack."
"Thank you! Truly, thank you!"
U Bal Cho and the bandits sprang up and rushed into the huts to prepare.
"What about the chickens and sheep we're raising?"
U Bal Cho seemed indifferent, but the bandits' eyes brimmed with regret.
"Take 'em if you want."
Leaving them would just mean the villagers butchering them for a feast.
The bandits grabbed only the easier-to-carry chickens.
Cluck! Cluuuck...!
As the nimble chickens scattered, making them hard to catch, U Bal Cho bellowed at the spectacle.
"Who cares about those damn chickens! Get out here now...!"
He wanted to flee this place as fast as possible, chickens for food be damned.
Once ready, Se Yeong led U Bal Cho and his twenty-odd bandits out of the stronghold.
After a long descent, a dilapidated old house came into view, on the verge of collapse.
Beyond it stretched a wide official road bustling with travelers.
Haa...
Sighting the road, a long sigh escaped U Bal Cho.
Finally... finally free from this hellish stronghold.
He'd tried escaping before.
But he'd always been caught by that kid before even reaching here.
And then came the broken arms, legs, cracked skulls.
Each time, his men had said the same thing through the agony.
"Give up, Chief. We've tried running more than once or twice. Somehow, he always finds us like a ghost before we can escape the mountain."
He'd dismissed their words at first, but eventually realized they were right.
"Don't let me see you again."
U Bal Cho snapped back to reality at Se Yeong's voice.
"Thank you. I'll never forget this grace, even in death."
"Thank you for sparing us."
U Bal Cho and the bandits bowed deeply.
They glanced around warily for a moment, then bolted down toward the base of the mountain.
Woooah...!
Some even whooped in joy.
As the bandits vanished, Se Yeong raised his hand skyward.
"Head back."
The Blue Fox, circling overhead until then, swooped toward the abandoned stronghold.
Probably to snatch up the leftover chickens for a meal.
Turning to the old house, Se Yeong walked toward it.
Creeeak...
The door groaned loudly as it opened, revealing a dust-shrouded room.
A rickety table sat inside.
Up until eleven years ago, a box of silver coins had appeared on that table once a year.
Each time, the Blue Fox would swoop in, screeching noisily, while Grandfather left the house with a pleased smile.
Creeeak... Click.
Closing the door, Se Yeong set off toward the distant official road.
'Should I head to Healing Forest first?'
Se Yeong shifted south, his form blurring into motion.
Whoosh...
Trees and rocks ahead rushed toward him in a blur, then vanished behind.
After days of lightfoot skill at full speed, Se Yeong slowed only upon entering Hubei Province.
"Where's Healing Forest?"
He grabbed some passing merchants and asked; they pointed behind them.
"Three hundred li from here."
"Thanks."
As the merchants receded, Se Yeong unleashed his lightfoot skill again.
Whoosh...
Gliding like the wind, he halted upon spotting a shabby, weathered building.
A faded cloth banner fluttered atop it, signaling an inn.
Heading for the inn, Se Yeong paused and slung his iron rod over his shoulder.
'Some fight between martial masters?'
Boom!
The inn's door exploded as people fled in panic.
Among those bursting out, one clutched a severed arm, blood gushing.
"Aaaagh!"
"Help... somebody!"
Boom...!
The screams drowned in the crash of the inn's wall shattering.
Corpses spraying blood and warriors tumbled out through the breach.
The warriors gripped massive sabers, one per hand.
"You're next to die, Blood Ghost Mother!"
Their furious killing intent reached even Se Yeong, watching from afar.
Kekekekeke...!
A eerie laugh answered as a young, stunning woman sauntered through the gaping hole in the wall.
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
Beneath slender, dark brows, seductive eyes sparkled; below a pert nose sat cherry-red lips.
She teasingly exposed a glimpse of pale cleavage, stirring men's hearts.
Shaking her bosom lightly, she raised her longsword toward the warriors.
"Acting all tough just 'cause you're men."
The warriors' killing intent surged.
"Kill her...!"
The eight warriors charged as one.
The woman met them without hesitation, her form flashing forward.
Though the warriors moved first, she had already slipped past them.