The Madman's Ashes
Jang Muhwi let out a deep breath as he stared down at the fallen madman.
His gaze lingered on the pile of ashes the madman had left behind.
Those ashes were the only trace of the ferocious battle that had just taken place.
Beside him, Galmu-ryang exhaled a long sigh.
“Did that bastard use a thunderbolt bomb at the very end?”
“It’s possible. Even I couldn’t see it clearly.”
Jang Muhwi gave a faint smile and clenched his left hand.
He casually moved that clenched fist toward his waist.
In that moment, Jang Muhwi secretly pocketed the traces the madman had left behind.
A fragment of the axe and the madman’s half-burned identity plaque were all that remained.
There was nothing else worth salvaging.
A madman radiating demonic energy?
Jang Muhwi quietly looked off into the distance.
Stretching out before him was a long main road.
At the road’s end lay the lands of Sichuan.
Sichuan was a region dominated by the orthodox factions.
The fact that the madman had come from Sichuan carried heavy implications.
It suggested this incident was likely connected to the orthodox sects.
If that was the case…
For the time being, there was no one he could truly trust.
Except for Galmu-ryang, whose face remained in his memories from his previous life.
Even so, he couldn’t reveal everything to Galmu-ryang just yet.
At that moment, a commotion rose from behind them.
“Over here!”
When he turned his head, he saw Jung-yong slowly approaching while leading the scattered warriors.
Upon reaching the battlefield, Jung-yong unconsciously gaped.
What filled his eyes was the utterly devastated terrain and, standing at its center, Jang Muhwi.
The image of the madman’s martial arts flashed through Jung-yong’s mind.
Behind him, murmurs spread among the other warriors.
The sight of Jang Muhwi standing tall amid the horrific scene made him look like a massive ancient tree.
Galmu-ryang stood beside him, but Jung-yong knew his martial prowess well.
His light footwork was decent, but he lacked the skill to confront a madman like that.
This had to be entirely Jang Muhwi’s doing.
What Jung-yong found hardest to understand was how Jang Muhwi had managed to defeat a madman whose body was nearly indestructible.
Even Jung-yong’s own ultimate techniques had failed to leave a mark.
Jung-yong bit his lip hard.
There were mountains of questions he wanted to ask, yet the words wouldn’t leave his mouth.
He was strangely overwhelmed by the devastation that Jang Muhwi and the madman had created.
After a moment of hesitation, Jung-yong finally spoke.
“Did you defeat the madman?”
“I was simply lucky.”
“Calling this luck…”
“If my luck had been any worse, I wouldn’t have survived that final exchange.”
When Jang Muhwi gestured at their surroundings, Jung-yong blinked rapidly.
Seeing it up close was enough to make one feel nauseous.
Jung-yong took a moment to steady his breathing before speaking again.
“Thank you, Protector Jang.”
“Pardon?”
“If not for Protector Jang, we would all have…”
“It was nothing.”
Jang Muhwi let out a soft chuckle.
It was the first smile he had shown since this escort mission began.
What had brought that smile to his face was none other than the title “Protector Jang.”
Protector?
It referred to the leader of an escort convoy.
Within the Murim Alliance, a protector held authority comparable to a military officer.
However, because Jung-yong was the most senior among the elite warriors of the Murim Alliance, he had secretly looked down on the younger Jang Muhwi.
Yet now, Jung-yong had been the first to address him as Protector.
Jang Muhwi tilted his head slightly.
He had seen Jung-yong collapse after exhausting his energy.
“Are you alright, Daoist Jung-yong?”
“Thanks to the emergency pill my sect provided, I barely managed to get back on my feet. Speaking of which…”
Jung-yong rummaged through his robes and pulled out a single medicinal pill.
He then handed it to Jang Muhwi without hesitation.
For a brief moment, Jang Muhwi’s eyes widened.
What Jung-yong had offered was none other than a Kunlun Sect recovery pill.
It was an internal injury medicine from the Kunlun Sect that could never be obtained on the open market.
A single dose could heal even torn internal organs within one hour.
Its name was the Xianling Restoration Pill.
To hand over something so priceless so casually!
Seeing Jang Muhwi’s surprise, Jung-yong explained.
“Direct disciples always carry one or two of these for emergencies. Don’t hesitate to take it.”
“Thank you.”
Jang Muhwi quickly accepted the pill and smiled awkwardly.
In truth, Jung-yong was lying.
The Xianling Restoration Pill he had given was only half a dose.
He had consumed the other half himself and passed the remainder to Jang Muhwi.
However, there was no need to mention that, and Jang Muhwi, though aware of the truth, chose not to comment.
Jang Muhwi tucked the Xianling Restoration Pill—which he didn’t need at the moment—into his robes.
Thanks to the consideration shown by Jung-yong and the other elite warriors, Jang Muhwi and Galmu-ryang were able to rest in a quiet spot.
It took quite some time to clean up the battlefield.
Jung-yong and the younger disciples meticulously gathered every possible clue from the scene.
Those clues were scheduled to be delivered to the Murim Alliance’s Sichuan branch.
While resting, Jang Muhwi noticed several lower-ranked warriors approaching.
One of them cautiously opened his mouth.
“Your skills are truly incredible, Protector!”
“Indeed. It’s a realm we could never even dream of reaching. If it’s not too rude, could we hear about your heroic exploits?”
It seemed they had finally gathered the courage now that the site had been roughly cleaned up.
Jang Muhwi turned his head.
There stood Galmu-ryang with a completely dazed expression.
He had worn that same vacant look ever since the battle ended.
If anyone saw him now, they might mistake him for the madman.
Of course, the word “madman” was something Jang Muhwi never wanted to hear again.
If he hadn’t obtained that Giyan earlier, he too would have become one of the victims.
With a glint in his eyes, Jang Muhwi turned back to the lower-ranked warriors.
“This wasn’t something I accomplished alone.”
“Then who else could have done it?”
“I handled it together with my younger brother here. Without his help, it would have been impossible.”
The person Jang Muhwi pointed to as his “younger brother” was Galmu-ryang.
In truth, half of what Jang Muhwi said was sincere.
In his previous life, Galmu-ryang had been a true hero.
Judging from the earlier situation, even if Galmu-ryang had lost an arm, he would never have abandoned the mission.
If Galmu-ryang had dodged quickly instead?
The madman might have turned back toward Jung-yong and the Murim Alliance warriors.
It wasn’t mere speculation.
What the madman desired was spiritual medicine.
To gather extreme yang energy, he had clearly been instinctively seeking out spiritual herbs.
The cargo they were escorting was undoubtedly a spiritual medicine.
Had he missed it, the madman would have targeted the Small Wheel Pill that Jung-yong carried.
It was the same principle as releasing hunting dogs to track down prey.
At Jang Muhwi’s words, the warriors turned their gazes toward Galmu-ryang.
When Galmu-ryang scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, Jang Muhwi spoke again.
“Why don’t you tell them about your heroic deeds, younger brother?”
“What did I even do…”
“Who doesn’t know that you were the one who protected the cargo and lured the madman away, Brother Gal?”
Jang Muhwi looked at the lower-ranked warriors.
In that instant, their eyes changed.
They now gazed at Galmu-ryang with clear reverence.
Having passed the opportunity to speak to Galmu-ryang, Jang Muhwi quietly assumed a lotus position.
He began slowly organizing his thoughts.
In his previous life, he hadn’t realized it, but this incident had revealed a connection to the Demonic Cult.
The discovery of Demonic Cult traces within the Murim Alliance’s jurisdiction meant one thing.
Even now—before the great war between the orthodox and demonic factions—the Demonic Cult’s influence was already spreading through the Murim world.
It was possible that some factions had already formed secret alliances with them.
If that were true…
It would also explain why so many disciples and heirs of prestigious orthodox sects were missing during the final battle.
Therefore, one more task had been added to Jang Muhwi’s list.
He needed to verify whether his deduction was correct.
But before that, there was a prerequisite.
He had to become far stronger than he was now.
Investigating the Demonic Cult’s traces?
If his head was severed first, he wouldn’t even get the chance to try.
The next morning, they finally emerged from Paryun Valley.
As they left the valley, vitality returned to their faces.
During the journey, Jang Muhwi did his best to encourage the warriors.
Jung-yong, who could still be called an elite, was relatively fine, but the lower-ranked warriors were barely dragging their trembling legs to complete the mission.
As for Galmu-ryang, who had faced the madman directly and nearly lost his life, he walked in a daze for a long time, staring straight ahead.
Each time, Jang Muhwi praised him.
And those words of praise were sincere.
Even in front of the madman’s axe, Galmu-ryang had refused to abandon the cargo.
Even after witnessing the battle between Jang Muhwi and the madman, he hadn’t fled. Instead, he had tried to help.
Helping one’s comrade in the face of an overwhelmingly powerful enemy was no easy feat.
He had seen countless people turn tail and run the moment they saw blood.
But Galmu-ryang had not run.
Jang Muhwi valued that quality highly.
For that reason, he had slightly embellished Galmu-ryang’s contributions when speaking to the other warriors.
Each time, Galmu-ryang would shake his head, but it was to no avail.
Thanks to Jang Muhwi’s consideration, Galmu-ryang was finally able to collect himself.
After listening to Jang Muhwi’s stories, he began to feel that he really had been somewhat helpful.
Of course, Galmu-ryang was no fool.
He knew full well that everything was due to Jang Muhwi’s deliberate care.
Galmu-ryang stopped explaining and fell into quiet thought for a moment.
The fierce battle against the madman flashed through his mind once more.
“One day…”
He swallowed the rest of his words.
Although today Galmu-ryang had nearly died, something good had come from it.
He now had a goal.
That goal was Jang Muhwi.
He wanted to emulate everything about him—his character, his martial arts, all of it.
At that moment, Jung-yong asked,
“You stopped explaining midway. What are you thinking about so deeply?”
“Protector Jang’s sword won’t leave my mind.”
“I’d like to see it myself someday.”
“You’ll fall for it the moment you do, Daoist.”
“Haha. I only fall for women, my friend.”
“Even you can make jokes, Daoist.”
“Today, I want to forget everything, even if it’s through jokes. By the way…”
“Please speak.”
“I didn’t fall for him, but I have grown to like Protector Jang.”
“Haha. Is that another joke?”
“That one was not a joke.”
After finishing his words, Jung-yong turned to look at Jang Muhwi.
Galmu-ryang did the same.
The look in both men’s eyes was strangely similar.
In fact, the same was true for all the other warriors.
At that moment, the first light of dawn began to faintly illuminate the earth.
As the day brightened, Jang Muhwi slowly stepped forward.
“We don’t have much farther to go. Everyone, keep up your strength.”
A unified shout erupted at once.
“As you command!”
By now, they had all become one, fully acknowledging Jang Muhwi as their protector.