Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Chongqing
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Dang Mujin found himself facing an unexpected situation.
To be honest, after Hong Geolgae pulled that idiotic stunt of jumping into the Yangtze River on a rainy day, he'd expected the favor to be something trivial when he finally brought it up.
Like asking for another set of new clothes, or saying he wanted a decent sword of his own. Something on that level.
But what Hong Geolgae proposed was storming into some water bandit den called Changshang Stronghold. And without any backup—just the two of them.
Naturally, Dang Mujin thought it was a joke, but Hong Geolgae's expression was deadly serious.
"You must have some plan good enough to make me slap my knee on the spot if you brought it up like that, right?"
"No. I've never even been there, so what plan..."
There was no confidence in Hong Geolgae's voice.
Dang Mujin narrowed his eyes. What on earth was this guy thinking, suggesting something like that?
But it was too late now to pretend he hadn't heard. Backing out right after agreeing to help would be way too pathetic.
Besides, having already heard that story about the girl named Little Ship made it an even bigger problem.
If he hadn't known, it would just be ignorance, but knowing and ignoring it would be a sin.
"...Let's head to the inn first."
All the items Dang Mujin had made at the forge were at the New Moon Inn, not the Feng Family Forge.
If he left things at the Feng Family Forge, the greedy blacksmiths would sneak in and steal them.
The blacksmiths wouldn't even wait for the items to be finished.
Half-forged lumps of iron, roughly hammered thin iron plates, crude practice swords made to loosen up the shoulders—they stole everything without discrimination.
They even remembered to leave a few silver coins in the corner of the forge. As if they were properly buying the items.
Because of these petty sabotage tactics, Dang Mujin didn't have many items made in Chongqing.
A sword for the strange man, some spare needles, and a metal case for storing herbs. The only thing useful for rescuing Little Ship was the sword.
Dang Mujin was about to grab just the sword and go, but after a moment's hesitation, he packed everything.
Not just the things he'd made himself, but even the odds and ends from his hometown.
"Why are you packing the junk?"
"If things go south, we might not make it back to the inn and have to flee."
Success was the best outcome. But judging coldly, the odds of rescuing Little Ship were low.
If luck wasn't too bad, they could at least escape with their lives even if they failed.
However, fleeing and then returning to Chongqing was out of the question.
Especially after hearing that the Beggars' Sect and the water bandits weren't on bad terms.
Who knew if the Beggars' Sect disciples would try to capture Dang Mujin to avoid friction with the bandits.
Hong Geolgae didn't nag about Dang Mujin's heavy load. He was grateful enough that Dang Mujin was cooperating.
"Let's go."
The two headed downstream along the Yangtze.
The bandits' lair was called Changshang Stronghold, but that name came from its position in the upper reaches of the Yangtze.
Relative to Chongqing, situated at the very edge of the upper Yangtze, Changshang Stronghold was farther downstream.
Changshang Stronghold was nestled between two hills along the riverbank.
Whether boats came down from upstream or went up from downstream, it was a spot where they could dash out and rob them.
It was a nightmare location for boat owners, but conversely, perfect for Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae to scout the stronghold.
The two talked while looking down at Changshang Stronghold from atop the hills.
"Those guys live in pretty shabby conditions. I figured they'd have made a fortune."
"Wouldn't it be weirder if water bandits lived in some fancy setup?"
"Yeah, fair point."
The buildings that caught their eyes numbered four. They all looked sturdy, but far from stylish. It was impossible to tell if they were living quarters or storage sheds.
Fortunately, the timing was good. Just like the Beggars' Sect disciples who had been busy building embankments, the water bandits of Changshang Stronghold were also diligently piling up dirt for their own embankment.
The only difference was that the bandits seemed far more frantic about it.
The Beggars' Sect's ferry house was positioned on a relatively high spot along the riverbank for a good view, but the bandits had set up their base low so they could hop on boats anytime.
From ankle-deep water at the bandits' feet as they built the embankment along the riverbank, it was clear how dire things were.
"At this rate, wouldn't it make more sense for them to just abandon the base and run?"
"They can't abandon their base. Unlike regular folk, they can't blend into Chongqing city."
"I guess... Anyway, what now?"
Hong Geolgae said this while looking at Dang Mujin. What was with this brazen attitude, dragging him here but expecting him to come up with the plan?
Before devising a plan, Dang Mujin threw out an important question.
"Just to be sure, you're not thinking we can wipe out all those bandits, right?"
"Of course not."
"Good thing you're thinking straight. We just need to find Little Ship and bolt. The biggest issue is not knowing where she is."
The two huddled behind trees on the rainy hillside, pondering.
The downpour masked their presence, but barging into all four buildings to search was absurd.
There were at least forty or fifty bandits building the embankment alone—if even five or six of them approached Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae, it was over.
"Should I sneak in and scout?"
Dang Mujin clicked his tongue at Hong Geolgae's instinctive suggestion.
"You idiot. Even with the rain hiding us, wandering around those ragged bandits in expensive traveler's robes? Yeah, that won't draw attention at all."
"Then strip and infiltrate?"
"How about thinking before you speak?"
"Then what?"
"We'll figure it out now."
Unable to advance or retreat, as they watched the bandits, a rustling sound came from behind.
With the dense trees on the hill, he thought it might be rain-soaked animals, but soon voices followed.
"Damn it, might as well build the embankment. Climbing hills in this rain ain't human work."
"You're lucky you at least got to rotate shifts. I'm covering for Number Seven."
Water bandits.
Dang Mujin had assumed rootless bandits like them wouldn't bother with patrols, but they seemed surprisingly organized.
The problem was that the bandits were heading straight toward Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae's position.
Hong Geolgae and Dang Mujin glanced at each other, then awkwardly crawled apart to the sides and quietly hid in the underbrush.
No words were needed. Dang Mujin smiled in satisfaction.
'I thought he was dumb, but he's quick on the uptake in situations like this.'
Fighting the bandits here would be the worst of the worst options.
Even if the noise was drowned by the rain, if these bandits didn't return on time, the others would notice something was wrong.
That would tighten security, slashing their chances of rescuing Little Ship.
The two hid in the underbrush, waiting for the bandits to pass.
At least, that's what Dang Mujin thought.
The problem was that only Dang Mujin thought that.
The moment the bandits came right up beside them, Hong Geolgae suddenly sprang up. Dang Mujin's eyes went wide at the abrupt move.
Then came Hong Geolgae's staff swing.
"Rod Strikes Twin Dogs!"
The two bandits hastily backed away, dodging Hong Geolgae's attack.
Contrary to the technique name—striking two dogs at once with a rod—not a single bandit was hit by the staff. It was surely due to Hong Geolgae's idiotic habit of shouting the technique name mid-attack.
"Hey! What are you waiting for? Get up!"
Hong Geolgae yelled at Dang Mujin, his voice full of indignation.
Of course, the truly indignant one was Dang Mujin. He scrambled up and drew his sword.
"You idiot, why get up when we were hiding fine?"
"What? Weren't we supposed to ambush them when the chance came?"
"Then why talk about sneaking in? We should've just stayed hidden till they passed!"
"No, I naturally assumed we were gonna attack..."
Exactly. Perfect coordination without words was not something that applied to Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae.
The two faced the bandits, feeling a mix of grievance, disappointment, and massive frustration toward each other.
'I want to beat Hong Geolgae before the bandits.'
The bandits tensed at the sudden ambush but relaxed upon hearing Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae's exchange. Their conversation practically screamed that they were small fry.
The bandits drew their curved swords and spoke.
"Brats who can't even grow a proper beard, blocking elders' path?"
"You two look like you've got some coin. Let's see what you're carrying."
Now Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae tensed up. The sight of the two armed men overlapped with memories of the Ja-yang Twin Killers.
Hong Geolgae's fear was especially great. Hadn't Ma Jeon-gae nearly died in their last fight with the Ja-yang Twin Killers?
The bandits kept taunting them.
"Don't know what possessed you to come here, but if you want to live, drop your weapons and grovel. We're short-handed for the embankment anyway."
"Act meek, and we might take you on as grunts in Changshang Stronghold!"
It was scary, but surrender was a separate issue.
No guarantee they'd be spared even if they surrendered.
Better to resist than hand their fates to these guys by dropping weapons. If it really looked hopeless, they could consider surrendering then.
Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae's eyes met. The next moment, they signaled each other toward the bandits. They gripped their weapons tightly.
This time, their thoughts aligned. Without missing a beat, both charged the two bandits.
"Insolent whelps!"
A bandit's curved sword swung horizontally.
In the past, Dang Mujin might have shut his eyes in fear, but today he stared wide-eyed at the incoming blade.
Even after repeated defeats, the sparring he'd done for over a month on the way to Chongqing wasn't for nothing.
The sword's trajectory was familiar. How many times had he been whacked by wooden swords swung like that?
Knowing the attack well, he knew how to dodge. Dang Mujin's body reflexively lowered into a crouch. The blade whistled over his head.
From evasion flowed instinctive counterattack, honed by repetition.
From the low stance, he slashed upward vertically to force the opponent back, following with a thrust at the heart. Sparrow Bee, one of the Heart-Piercing Sword's basic forms. As Dang Mujin swung his sword up, he shouted inwardly.
'Please land!'
But Dang Mujin's technique didn't complete.
The opponent should have retreated from the upward slash, allowing the thrust to finish—but instead, he failed to dodge and got his throat slit.
"Huh...?"
The bandit with the slashed throat was shocked, but so was Dang Mujin—no end like that!
As Dang Mujin crouched low, the bandit's blood poured down onto his head.
The bandit dropped his sword and clutched his throat with both hands.
With an incredulous look down at Dang Mujin, he rasped through bubbling blood.
"W-Why is an expert like you here..."
The nameless bandit collapsed in a heap, twitched a couple times, then went limp.
Flustered, Dang Mujin froze in place, unable to move.