Is that bastard laughing right now?
024 Is that bastard laughing right now?
“This can’t be… My lord, what on earth…”
Having followed the last traces of Chen Lizhongxiang to this place, she could not find the figure of her lord, whom she had longed for even in her dreams.
‘My lord… where on earth have you gone, leaving me behind?’
Is this a trial sent by the heavens?
If not…
She raised her other hand to check the Cheonri Chujonghyang she had hidden from “others.”
She had checked repeatedly on the way here, but it was clear the two had traveled together.
Surely not?
“That woman would dare…”
No. It’s not certain yet, is it?
As if someone had deliberately erased the scent, the Thousand-Mile Tracking Scent vanished right by the riverbank.
‘I’ll have to search this area first.’
And then I made up my mind.
Once this is over, I’ll make sure she can never run away again.
*
*
*
We continued talking while sharing the meat skewers we’d bought at the tavern earlier.
“I think we’ve seen most of the village now. Aren’t you going to check outside the village?”
May, who had been munching on the meat, put on a stern expression and said,
“It’s dangerous in the mountains; bandits might appear. Bandits are truly heartless beasts with no mercy."
“We won’t go far—can’t we just look around this area?”
May stared intently at me.
Her beady eyes and long, thick eyelashes were truly captivating.
“I’m confident in my martial arts skills, so if anything happens, just trust me.”
“Hmm…”
His confident, reliable demeanor, his chiseled features, those captivating blue eyes…
When he looks at me with such an intense gaze,
it becomes hard to refuse.
‘It’ll be fine if we just take a quick look around, right?’
He’s a reliable man. It felt like I’d be able to return safely even if something happened.
And if we were alone together, wouldn’t he do something…?
Thump, thump
My heart is racing.
I shake my head to calm myself down, but I can’t help my gaze drifting to his luscious lips.
Gulp
His glossy, lustrous lips looked so delicious.
'W-what am I thinking!'
Am I going crazy?
I’ve always been a bit of a nymphomaniac, but…
For some reason, I just can’t control myself when I look at him.
“Miss Mei?”
Did he catch me staring at his lips?
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
'It’s n-not weird. It’s just something you’d look at, right!'
I rationalized it to myself and waited for his next words.
“Will you show me around outside the village too?”
Sigh… I guess I’m not in the clear after all.
“Eh? Oh, sure! I’ll go take a quick look and be right back!”
***********
“There’s nothing much here.”
I expected as much, but there really is nothing here.
At my words, she clapped her hands together and looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Well then, there’s a spring over here that only I know about! I’ll let you know about it, Mr. Ki-hu!”
With that, Mei strode briskly up the path along the mountainside.
She climbed without hesitation—it seemed this wasn’t just a place she’d visited once or twice.
Was it because the village was nestled against the mountains?
The small pond we arrived at was filled with crystal-clear water.
It was surprisingly close to the village, but the fact that Mei had confidently claimed she was the only one who knew about it was likely due to the dense thickets.
May’s face lit up with a broad smile.
“Hehehe… What do you think? Do you like it?”
A spring of just the right size, sunlight filtering through above, and patches of green foliage beneath the scattered trees—
it was the quintessential image of a forest retreat.
“Miss May, thanks to you, I get to visit a place like this. There are even pretty flowers like this.”
“No, it’s thanks to you, Mr. Ki-hu… Oh! That’s a Moonbell Flower!!”
The way she picked up the flower I’d pointed out—the Moonbell Flower—and hopped around excitedly was incredibly captivating.
Seeing May rejoice like a child at the sight of a medicinal herb was truly infuriating.
But this is an entirely normal reaction.
I’m a healthy adult man—haven’t I been cooped up in the communal quarters for months, doing nothing but training?
The only people in the communal quarters were So-hye in her coffin, my master, and that dangerous-looking girl in chains…
Of course, falling asleep from exhaustion after training played a part too.
Isn’t it actually quite humane that I’m not tearing her clothes off and taking her right this moment?
“Ki-hoo, please wait a moment!”
As I watched her back while she excitedly gathered herbs, I could feel my junior slowly reacting.
Her curvaceous figure and wide hips, visible even through her clothes, made it clear that grabbing her waist and thrusting into her would feel absolutely amazing.
Her smooth calves, visible as she moved, and the glimpse of her voluptuous thighs were testing my patience.
'Should I just… go for it?'
Of course, raping a woman who had been a victim of domestic violence was something only a beast would do.
I’d have to seduce her gently here.
Just as Ki-hoo was having that thought, from somewhere…
“No, who is it now, seriously?”
My senses detected about five people. When I expanded my senses further, didn’t I detect dozens of people?
It’s near the village, but there’s no way a group would come out for a picnic in these mountains.
The suspects are, as expected, those guys.
Judging by the aura I sense, they’re clearly just small-time thugs. Do I really need to run or hide because of guys like this?
“Mei-ssi.”
Mei, who had been frantically digging for Moonlight Grass, looked up at me.
“Huh? Mr. Ki-hu, is something wrong?”
“It looks like bandits are coming this way. This is going to be a hassle, so let’s head back to the village.”
“Bandits? Oh, what should we do?”
“I promised you! Don’t worry, just follow me.”
I took her hand and walked down the path without hesitation.
Before long, a group of five appeared.
“Hey, you there! Stop right there!”
“Heh heh heh, if you don’t want to die, hand over everything you’ve got.”
Oh man, such a cliché third-rate villain line… It’s so deflating.
The outcome was bound to be the same.
The one who looked like the leader of the group scanned Mei from head to toe and spoke up.
“Whoa, this girl’s top-notch, isn’t she? Looks like it’s going to be a really exciting night!”
“Ooh! Lady Chae will love this! Once you're done, we'll get to... hehe...”
At the bandits' words, Mei trembled and clutched my sleeve tightly, looking anxious.
These bastards are trying to do something I haven't even tried yet...
How dare they.
“Miss Mei, hop on my back.”
“Huh? What? No way!! I’ll just get in the way…”
“No! Don’t worry, just hop on!”
When I spoke firmly, Mei jumped onto my back with a thud.
“Keep your eyes tightly shut.”
“What the hell are you guys doing? We’re about to fall...”
“Shut up. Seriously, there are always kids like this who can’t read the room. Can’t you see we’re talking right now?”
At my words, the bandit opened his mouth as if he couldn’t believe it.
“You brat. You look like some kid who’s picked up a few martial arts moves—do five of us look funny to you?”
“Ugh, I still have to mess around with idiots like this… Is this why I learned martial arts? I feel so ashamed and miserable.”
“This bastard really… Guys, attack!”
The moment the five bandits moved,
Bam──!
In an instant.
It took only a split second for all five of their testicles to burst. The five distinct screams that followed echoed through the mountains.
Ki-hu had simply gathered his Ilwol Ki and fired it.
But a master who had reached the pinnacle of his art could no longer be considered an ordinary person.
“Gg... Ggaaaah!!!!!!”
“Grrrrr…”
“…Guh, ugh…”
The five men screamed, each foaming at the mouth.
‘You have to taste it to know it’s shit, don’t you? You morons.’
If it were me, I would’ve run away without looking back.
I heard Mei’s breath and worried voice from behind my neck.
“…Ki-hu, you’re really strong. But they must be a scouting party. That’s how it’s always been… Let’s hurry back to the village before the bandits swarm in!”
“It’s okay.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
The reason I didn’t kill the bandits in one go but crippled them instead
These guys will serve as bait to draw the bandits in
“Let’s wait a moment.”
I covered Mei’s eyes with a cloth.
Just as I expected, the bandits gathered in an instant.
Reassuring Mei on my back, I addressed the bandits.
“Are you all here?”
From among them, a man wrapped in animal hide—who looked like the leader at a glance—stepped forward.
Hmm… A subtle level. Perhaps the very beginning of the first-rate tier.
At that level, even I before I met my master could probably beat him, right?
The guy wrapped in animal hide opened his mouth with an air of arrogance.
“What on earth gives you that confidence?”
“Are all you losers gathered here?”
“Hahaha… Are you crazy? Even if you’re a top-tier master, do you think you can handle this many of us?”
A considerable number of bandits—nearly a hundred—had gathered.
Their weapons and armor aren’t half bad, either.
With numbers like this, it would be tough to handle them even in a large village.
Judging by the fact that there are a few second- and third-rate martial artists mixed in, even though they’re bandits, this is definitely not a group to be taken lightly.
‘Well, that’s probably why they’ve been raiding villages for over half a year.’
And with a group this size, that Chae Ju guy must be quite the force to be reckoned with.
Still, I wasn’t the least bit afraid. A bunch of rag-tag misfits like this—what good are they when they band together?
I grinned and said,
“Hey. If you guys surrender now, I’ll spare your lives.”
“You crazy bastard, is that supposed to be a joke? Can’t you see how many of us there are?”
“Master Bu-chae-ju, that guy’s laughing right now.”
“He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t get the situation.”
Bu-chae-ju laughed loudly at my words.
“Hahahahaha! Is this bastard trying to mess with me?”
“He seems to have lost his mind seeing how many of us there are.”
“He turned my men into half-wits—he won’t die a peaceful death.”
I even gave him one last chance…
Am I really a man of integrity?
If it were anyone else, they would’ve attacked those thieving bastards without listening to a word…
“Fine. Goodbye, you idiots!”
I held a sword wrapped in the Sun-Moon Banner in one hand and activated the Four Stars of the Wind God.
Thwack!
“Huh?”
“What, what is this!”
Splatter───.
Thud, thud, thud──.
Red blood splatters through the air.
Every time his footsteps sounded, five or six heads danced.
A performance art piece expressing the final dance of life through decapitation.
A ball rolling back and forth in front of a bandit…
That ball was the head of the Fan Master.
"S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S
“He’s a master of the highest order!!!”
“W-we can’t beat him!”
“You idiots! If you run now, we’ll all die!!”
“I-I don’t care! If you want to fight, you fight him yourself!!”
The moment their leader died, the ragtag band of bandits scattered in an instant.
Up until now, they’d probably just been harassing the villagers in mobs.
They likely hadn’t had much experience being hunted like this.
“Who said you could run?”
The Wind God’s Step was a technique even martial artists of the same caliber would struggle to keep up with, so catching these lowly thugs was a piece of cake.
Thwack!
“W-what the hell!!!”
“How did the guy who was right behind us just a moment ago—”
Whoosh—.
“Gaaah!”
“Guh, gah!”
The sword, adorned with the Sun-Moon Insignia, sliced through the bandits as smoothly as a peerless masterpiece.
As the bandits in the front were sent to the underworld in an instant,
the ones fleeing belatedly began begging me.
“P-please spare me, sir… I had no choice!!”
“At home, my eighty-year-old mother is waiting for me…”
These excuses sound familiar, don’t they?
Whoosh
Clang…
“Then you should have said that earlier.”
Isn’t it strange to want to make a living by brandishing a sword at others in the first place?
With that, I had dealt with all the fleeing bandits.
When I looked back, the bandits, who had numbered nearly a hundred, were now down to just five.
They lay flat on the ground, begging for my mercy.
“P-please spare our lives, noble sir!”
“If you spare our lives, we’ll do anything you ask!!”
‘What should I do with these guys?’
They had already lost any will to flee or resist.
Killing them wouldn’t be difficult, but since I need to know the bandits’ location, it’s probably best to spare them, right?
‘Are they here?’
As I thought that and turned around,
a group of nearly thirty beggars had gathered.
It would be strange if they didn’t come, given all the commotion and screaming near the village.
“Huh, huh…”
“Isn’t that the Fan Master?”
They gasped at the sight of corpses strewn here and there and severed heads rolling about.
Then, I could feel their gazes naturally converging on me in the center.
‘Oh man, I wasn’t trying to show off.’
Among them, the beggars who approached me were that burly beggar I’d seen earlier and Juta.
“Young, young hero. You didn’t take down all these people by yourself, did you?”