The Beginning
Drunken shouts of rowdy patrons mixed with women's laughter.
It was a sweltering summer, the reek of alcohol tangled with the sour stench of sweat.
I'm going to die of heatstroke. I'd kill for some air conditioning.
Irritation had climbed so high that I'd already sworn to myself—if any drunk picked a fight with me today, I was spinning his jaw clean around—when something tapped my back.
Tap. Tap.
Perfect timing.
I clenched my fist and spun around—only to find a girl my own age, a mischievous smile plastered across her face, snickering at me.
"Gonna hit me? Were you about to throw a punch?"
It was Cheon Ryeonghwa.
She was one of the Haomun members who occasionally dropped by whenever I was stuck standing watch around the taverns. One of the few people I could actually talk to—a friend, I supposed.
"What are you doing here?"
"What, I'm not allowed? This whole neighborhood is ours."
"It's your sect's."
"I'm going to be the Haomun Leader someday, so just call it mine-in-the-future."
She grinned.
"Sure. We'll talk about that when you actually become Haomun Leader. So? What is it?"
"Your Bangju's about to call for you, so I came to give you a heads-up. He dragged someone into the back alley a little while ago."
"Got it. Thanks for the tip."
"When you're done, come by our shop. We got ice in."
"I'll think about it."
I waved her off and, with a long sigh, headed into the dark alley.
The noise that had been so loud only moments before fell away at once. I stepped into a narrow passage barely wide enough for one person. There was no moon tonight, so dark I couldn't even see my own feet—but I'd walked this route for years. I strode through it like I was pacing my own room.
Following the faint sensation at my fingertips, I pushed open a door and stepped inside. The familiar, grisly scene waited for me.
Blood splattered across the floor. One body sprawled out. And next to it, the Bangju sat with irritation written all over his face. The moment he saw me, he scowled.
"What? Why are you here?"
"I figured you'd have something for me, so I came early."
"You've always had a nose for this. Or did that Cheon girl tip you off again?"
"…"
He stood, pointed at the corpse sprawled on the floor, and said,
"Clean it up."
"Yes, sir."
"And one more thing…"
Whack.
He cracked me across the back of the head, then grabbed a fistful of my hair and shook me as he spoke.
"Thinking of running off to Haomun?"
"…No, sir. I'll stay with Heuksabang."
"Damn right you will. If you bolt, where am I supposed to find another slave who knows his place like you?"
He clapped my shoulder a couple times and walked out.
Ha. You bastard.
One of these days I'm really going to wreck you.
I swallowed the grumbling and pulled out the cleaning tools with practiced ease. At least there wasn't much blood today—that was something. Then, unbidden, the day I'd first fallen into this world came back to me.
Fuck. I finished a four-year degree for this…
I'd gone to sleep in my quiet little studio apartment. I woke up in the Jianghu.
I'd been dropped into a world that only existed in martial arts novels. At first I'd been thrilled—I even shouted for a status window, half-hoping some fortuitous encounter would drop into my lap. What I got was cold reality.
Someone offered free food. I thought, Ah, so this is the righteousness of the martial world, and followed. That was how I ended up in debt to this Bangju bastard. I tried sneaking out once. The guy who'd been brought in with me came back with a severed leg tendon, limping for the rest of his life. I gave up after that.
Word was they even loosed assassin squads on runaways. Of course—the first person I met after transmigrating had to be Unorthodox.
If the Orthodox were upright living types and the Demonic Cult were power-crazed maniacs, then the Unorthodox were people obsessed with money. I'd effectively been collared by a group that ran black markets and bought and sold everything under the sun—including people. There was no way out.
So for three years I lived something close to a slave's life under the Bangju. By now, among anyone who knew Heuksabang, I was the errand boy everyone recognized.
Even if I wanted to run, I've never learned a single martial art. There's no way I'd shake the pursuit squads.
I'd probably rot here for the rest of my life. Or the foul-tempered Heuksabang Bangju would die first.
I sighed and hauled up the poor bastard the Bangju had killed in a fit of temper—and something caught my eye.
"Oh. Nice shoes."
Better leather than I'd expected. The straw sandals I'd been wearing were falling apart, and these looked about my size. I was just deciding to keep them when—
"Hm?"
Something felt off in the sole. I prodded and pressed, and a single sheet of paper slipped free.
Paper?
Some kind of secret document, probably. The problem was, since falling into this world I had never learned to read. I couldn't make out a word.
Secret document or something like it, I guess.
By the rules I should report this to the Bangju…
Then I remembered the free smack to the back of the head. Maybe I'd sit on it and hand it over later. By the time I finished cleaning and swung by the shop Cheon Ryeonghwa ran, the Bangju would already be asleep.
Without much thought, I stepped outside.
The price of that careless act came a few days later.
"Hey. Get up. Now."
"Mmm?"
I opened my eyes in the middle of the night to find Cheon Ryeonghwa right in front of me. She was pretty enough, sure, but pretty enough to show up in my dreams? I was still processing that when she slapped my cheek.
"What—okay, not a dream."
"Yeah, figured. You with me now?"
"Yeah, but…"
This was definitely my room. I frowned. Cheon Ryeonghwa arched a brow like she could read exactly what I was thinking.
"You lunatic. I came to save your life, so don't get any weird ideas."
"Save my life?"
"Your Bangju is pissed."
"He's always pissed."
"No—really pissed. He's gearing up to destroy you."
"Me? Why?"
"The paper in the shoe sole. It ended up in his hands."
The moment she said it, I understood.
"…I was going to bring it to him soon. I just forgot. What's the big deal?"
"Did you even know what it was when you took it?"
"No? I didn't even mean to take it."
"It's an invitation to Cheonmu Academy. He thinks you were trying to run. He's raving about cutting your legs off."
Cheonmu Academy—the place that accepted anyone, Orthodox, Unorthodox, or Demonic. The coincidence was enough to make my head ache.
"…What if I go apologize right now?"
"Want to be a cripple? Pack your things."
She grabbed my hand and hauled me up.
"Pack for what?"
"You're running."
"For real?"
"With his personality, he will cut your legs. So just bolt while you can."
She held out a familiar sheet of paper.
"That's why I brought this too."
"…I thought our dear Bangju had it."
"I stole it."
She winked and smiled.
"You're not going to rot here forever, right? Take the invitation and go learn martial arts for once. You used to go around saying you wanted to."
Then she pressed a pouch into my hands.
"There's some money in there. Just get yourself to Cheonmu Academy however you can. Once you're inside, Heuksabang won't be able to touch you. Stay there until the Bangju dies—or come back and kill him yourself."
The pouch was surprisingly heavy.
"Where'd you get this?"
"…I was given it."
"By who?"
She didn't answer at first, then laughed awkwardly.
"I had some saved up."
"You stole from the shop."
"Hehe."
So that was a yes.
"Unlike you, I'm pretty well-liked by our Leader. I'll probably just get a few smacks on the rear and that'll be it."
"That's not something to say lightly."
"I know."
She laid her hand over the pouch in mine.
"Make sure you run all the way to Cheonmu Academy. My rear is expensive."
"…Yeah."
I got up and stepped outside. Cheon Ryeonghwa pointed me the way.
"Go out the back and head for the mountains. Don't stick to the roads—avoid the official routes as much as you can. Make for Sichuan."
"Okay."
"If we can meet again, we will."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
I snorted and shot back,
"Just say we'll meet again."
"Whatever. Just go already."
She waved. I waved back and started walking.
It was still summer; even at night the humid wind did nothing to cool my face.
I don't know how long I walked, careful the whole way, half-expecting someone on my heels. When I finally reached the hills and caught my breath, Cheongpyeong County spread out below me at a glance.
I'd always wondered if a day of freedom would ever come. I never imagined it would start like this.
I thought they had dedicated slave-catchers. Turns out that was all talk.
Then, between the alleys of Cheongpyeong County, lights flared to life and began to move.
Ah, fuck.
Pursuers.