Chapter 170 - Blood Sea Spreading in Sichuan (6)

Seungho Hall and Jin Sowoon's group finally arrived in Chengdu.

The personnel, including Seungho Hall and the Twelve Peaks and Castles, immediately went to rest to regroup.

However, not everyone could rest.

Nam Hwaseong, who was not included in that "everyone," suddenly shouted.

"What kind of nonsense is that!"

Nam Hwaseong's face crumpled in a deep frown.

He thought they would get to rest a little once they arrived in Chengdu, but when Jin Sowoon spouted the ridiculous notion of leaving immediately, Nam Hwaseong swelled with resentment.

"Seungho Hall and everyone else are resting for at least half a day before setting off. So why do we have to go first!"

Jin Sowoon replied as if it were nothing.

"We have to move with the goal of catching up to those at the very front. Where do you think we have the time to rest?"

Nam Hwaseong's lips trembled in rage,

but Jin Sowoon merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you perhaps hate the idea? If so, go back."

That damn bastard always had "go back, go back" hanging on his lips at the drop of a hat.

He was surely saying that knowing full well that Nam Hwaseong couldn't return alone while the rest of the Twelve Peaks and Castles remained here.

"... What if I collapse from moving like this."

At Nam Hwaseong's serious tone, Jin Sowoon tilted his chin up.

"Is Nam Hwaseong of the Samwon Sect only capable of this much?"

"... GRIND."

"Are you going or not."

If it were up to his own desires, he wanted to quit everything right now and return to the academy. But he couldn't do that.

After finding out last night that he would be moving with Jin Sowoon, Cheol Sunjik had secretly sent him a sound transmission.

-[Remember his every move. This incident will be what puts shackles on him.]

He didn't know what Cheol Sunjik was plotting, but it would definitely be something that benefited the Twelve Peaks and Castles.

Therefore, he had no choice but to follow.

"Lead the way!"

Watching Jin Sowoon smirk and turn his horse around, Nam Hwaseong ground his teeth.

'You must be sufficiently exhausted already too.'

He would hold out to the bitter end and make sure to crush Jin Sowoon's pride.

He might not know about internal energy, but when it came to physical stamina, he had never lost to anyone anywhere.

There was Cheol Sunjik's instruction to watch him, but more importantly, crushing that bastard's pride came first.

* * *

Even after leaving Chengdu and entering the main road leading to Padang, Jin Sowoon had been running for hours on end without showing any signs of fatigue.

Feeling as if his rear end wasn't just sore but on the verge of chafing raw, Nam Hwaseong finally couldn't hold back and opened his mouth again.

"... Hey, aren't we going to rest?"

"Are you tired already?"

Why did he have to phrase it like that...!

His brow furrowed deeply at Jin Sowoon's nerve-grating words.

"If we keep going like this, we'll definitely get exhausted soon!"

"I'm not exhausted."

"Then at least slow down. There's a Green Woods stronghold nearby!"

The road from Chengdu to Padang was connected to the largest road leading to the Western Regions.

As it was a route frequently traveled by merchants from the Central Plains and the Western Regions, it was only natural for a Green Woods stronghold to be located here instead of a regular bandit camp.

However, not a single speck of worry could be seen on Sowoon's face.

"Don't worry. I have a way to bypass them."

"... Are you actually out of your mind? You're going to just pass by three Green Woods strongholds blocking the official road?"

Nam Hwaseong doubted his own ears.

Those of the Green Woods strongholds were more sensitive to tolls than anyone else.

They were more sensitive to the money they hadn't received than the money they had.

"Nam Hwaseong, what did I say before we set off?"

That damn absolute obedience again...

It wasn't even wartime right now, so what reason was there to demand absolute obedience just because they were traveling together?

"If you have complaints, I don't care if you curse at me. I've never paid it any mind to begin with. But if you won't follow my orders, then go back even now."

"..."

"Cheol Sunjik probably told you to watch me, didn't he?"

Startled by the unexpected words, Nam Hwaseong flinched.

"Watch me well, and report exactly what you see. I don't care. But if you keep interfering with my business, I'll break both your legs so you can't follow me anymore."

Even while riding a horse so intensely, Jin Sowoon's voice was endlessly calm.

Hearing that calm voice, Nam Hwaseong felt a chilling goosebump rise on his skin.

'Wh-What is this?'

He definitely hadn't exuded any killing intent, yet it felt as terrifying as if someone had thrust a blade beneath his throat.

Nam Hwaseong felt his head bowing down without him even realizing it.

Above him, a resolute voice rang out.

"What will it be? Will you follow? Or will you go back?"

Turning back out of anger, or tucking his tail and following—both would hurt his pride.

That damn bastard.

Nam Hwaseong felt like he had been grinding his teeth a lot since meeting this guy.

However, with the overwhelming presence exuding from him, there was no other option.

"I'll follow."

At Nam Hwaseong's heavy reply, Jin Sowoon smiled and nodded.

"Good. I hear the Samwon Sect's Deer Horn Wind Cloud Steps are quite impressive?"

Indeed, the Samwon Sect's Deer Horn Wind Cloud Steps were considered one of the absolute supreme arts of Jianghu.

But why was he suddenly bringing that up?

Nam Hwaseong was engulfed in an inexplicable sense of unease.

"From here on, we abandon the horses."

"... Are you saying we're going to cut straight through?"

His unease soon became reality.

"Yeah."

Nam Hwaseong freaked out.

"Didn't you just say we were bypassing the Green Woods strongholds!"

The Green Woods strongholds were much more sensitive to entities approaching from the mountains than from the official road.

Those arriving via the official road were highly likely to be customers, whereas those approaching through the mountains were highly likely to be enemies of the Green Woods.

"We are bypassing them."

Jin Sowoon looked at Nam Hwaseong and flashed a grin.

"Though it might be a little rough."

"..."

A little?

Nam Hwaseong felt his legs buckle for no reason.

* * *

FWEEEEET!

The sharp sound of a whistle echoed through the mountains and streams.

A Green Woods stronghold situated on the mountain ridge grew turbulent, looking as if they had received the signal and were already fully prepared to deploy.

"We've been spotted."

At Jin Sowoon's nonchalant words, Nam Hwaseong spewed curses inwardly.

'Of course we'd get spotted, you idiot!'

In broad daylight, under the watch of watchtowers set up by bandits all over the mountain, two martial artists not even wearing stealth clothing were seen scaling the mountain.

At this rate, even an ordinary herb gatherer would have spotted them.

"Let's speed up."

"... What?"

Hadn't they been running at full speed all this time?

Regardless of whether the bewildered Nam Hwaseong answered or not, Jin Sowoon surged forward.

However, his direction was a bit strange.

"Hey, hey, hey! Where are you going!"

Forgetting that they were supposed to avoid the gaze of the Green Woods, Nam Hwaseong shouted at Jin Sowoon.

Jin Sowoon was sprinting straight toward a watchtower in the mountains.

"Th-That crazy bastard..."

Running up the steep mountain path as if going downhill, Jin Sowoon threw a punch directly at the watchtower.

With a single punch, a dozen fist-shaped qi forms manifested around him and slammed fiercely into the watchtower's support legs.

CRASH!

"AAAGH!"

"Intruders!"

"It's an attack!"

As the watchtower collapsed, thick dust billowed out in all directions.

"C-Crazy!"

Seeing the dust, the bandits standing guard all over the area began to flock toward the watchtower.

When Nam Hwaseong belatedly approached the vicinity of the watchtower, Jin Sowoon was running in his direction.

"We're heading down just like this."

"What?"

"Now that we've drawn their attention, we have to break through their encirclement."

"What the hell..."

"Haven't you learned about the 'East Flash West Strike' operation?"

Just because you slap the word 'operation' onto 'flashing east and striking west,' does it make it a real operation?!

However, Nam Hwaseong couldn't object to Jin Sowoon's bullshit.

Because with the watchtower destroyed, the Green Woods bandits were charging at them with eyes blazing.

Nam Hwaseong desperately utilized the Deer Horn Wind Cloud Steps to barely keep pace with him.

"God fucking damn it, I knew it from the moment you gave it such a bullshit name!"

"What's your complaint?"

"Why are we executing this guaranteed-to-fail operation!"

The number of bandits rushing up with great sabers and massive axes in front of them was too many to count.

"What are you talking about? It's not a failure if we break through."

You crazy bastard, you said we were bypassing them!

SHING.

Drawing his sword, Jin Sowoon lunged straight into a group of ten bandits.

The bandits' momentum was not to be underestimated either.

"Kill him!"

"You bastards, where do you think you are!"

"Corner them!"

In the face of the bandits charging from all directions to block his path, Jin Sowoon cut them down at a speed at least twice as fast as theirs.

"Keugh!"

"Gah!"

"So fast..."

In the blink of an eye, Jin Sowoon was running again, creating an unrealistic sight where the bandits only collapsed in his wake moments after he passed.

'What the hell is this?'

Just him winning the bout against Ilgak had caused a massive uproar within the Murim Academy.

But the movement he just displayed was on a completely different level from back then.

It was almost unbelievable that he had improved so much in just two months that he felt like a completely different person.

"Nam Hwaseong, snap out of it!"

Snapping his gaze forward at Jin Sowoon's sharp shout, he saw four bandits bringing their great sabers down on him simultaneously.

Nam Hwaseong wildly swung his gauntlet-clad fists.

BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!

Fierce qi exploded in all directions, sending the bandits flying like skipping stones.

Then, a dissatisfied voice erupted from Jin Sowoon.

"How stupid. If you make so much noise, doesn't it render the East Flash West Strike operation meaningless?"

"No, your whole start to this was doomed from the beginning..."

Without even properly listening to Nam Hwaseong's words, Jin Sowoon set off first and said,

"Let's go. Since the operation is ruined because of you..."

His icy glare shot over and pierced him.

"You'd better run properly."

You crazy bastard, it wasn't ruined because of me!

Jin Sowoon threw something toward the bandits rushing down from the watchtower's direction and began to run.

'A flower bud?'

The brass-colored flower bud that fell among the bandits began to bloom with a CLICK sound.

WHIRRRR.

The metal flower bloomed and spun wildly in place.

Nam Hwaseong, who had been staring blankly at the rather fascinating sight, suddenly stiffened his face.

"KAAAGH!"

"Keugh!"

"AAAGHHH!"

Dozens of bandits charging down the ridge simultaneously grabbed their faces and necks and began collapsing to the ground.

"Nam Hwaseong, aren't you going!"

It was definitely related to the flower bud Jin Sowoon had thrown.

But he couldn't even begin to guess what it was.

-[A metal flower bloomed, and dozens of Green Woods bandits collapsed simultaneously.]

If he were to report this to Cheol Sunjik, what kind of expression would he make?

Would he even believe it in the first place?

"Even I wouldn't believe it."

Somehow, Nam Hwaseong felt like he wouldn't be able to report this.

"Nam Hwaseong!"

"I'm going, I'm going, you jerk! They'll all hear us because of your loud voice!"

Nam Hwaseong pushed his legs to their limits again and barely caught up to Jin Sowoon.

"If we're going to do this, couldn't we have just taken the official road?"

It was already twice as exhausting having to climb all the way to the top of the mountain and then back down.

"Don't worry. We'll definitely bypass them this time."

"..."

"Why are you making that face? Don't you trust me?"

How could I trust you?

Nam Hwaseong couldn't understand why Jin Sowoon was so confident.

But before he knew it, he was chasing right after him.

* * *

'Hmm... Was I not someone destined to belong to the White Path Council in the first place?'

Stopping while carrying a tray of food, Moyong Jaehwa tilted his head.

He was undoubtedly a direct descendant of the Five Great Noble Clans, and though he lacked some qualifications, he was the successor destined to lead the next Moyong Noble Clan.

He had a slightly odd personality, but he was the one and only grandson of Wind God Breaking Sword, one of the absolute supreme experts of Jianghu.

To put it bluntly, if he hadn't chosen to follow Senior Brother Jin Sowoon, he would have long since joined the White Path Council and easily snagged an officer position.

'Hmm... But what is this?'

He couldn't fathom why someone like him was attending an event led by the Orthodox Council, rather than the White Path Council, and doing menial chores.

SCRATCH, SCRATCH.

"Hey! What are you doing! The elder says he's hungry!"

At the voice calling for him, Moyong Jaehwa scurried over, saying, "Yes, yes!" and delivered the food.

He had handed over the food with a smile, suppressing his rising questions, but the disciple of the Mount Cangshan Sect who received it scowled deeply.

"What is this! The food is completely cold!"

"We're in a high-altitude area, and it's a forest, isn't it? It cools down quickly."

Moyong Jaehwa tried to placate him reasonably, but the Mount Cangshan Sect disciple threw the food down and yelled.

"You bastard, can't you even do what you're told properly! You actually thought about serving this kind of food to the elder?"

Moyong Jaehwa blankly stared at the food rolling on the ground.

And the Mount Cangshan Sect disciple who was threatening him.

This was weird. Something was weird.

"But why am I doing these menial errands?"

Moyong Jaehwa asked, tilting his head.

"What?"

"I'm the eldest son of the Moyong Noble Clan, a direct descendant, and the grandson of Elder Breaking Sword. Why am I doing this."

"... You said you'd do it!"

"I did?"

"Yeah! Didn't you say you'd do it instead of Eun Seollan!"

Only then coming to his senses, Moyong Jaehwa rapped his own head with his knuckles several times.

"Ah! Ahh! Ah! Right! That's right! Yeah. I did do that."

The moment he had returned from searching and was about to get some sleep, he saw Eun Seollan acting as a servant, went wide-eyed with outrage, and snatched the plates away.

"Go prepare it again! If you mess up this time too..."

"Hey."

The atmosphere sank in an instant. The Mount Cangshan Sect disciple furrowed his brow, wondering if he had heard wrong.

"Did you just say 'hey' to me?"

"Are you someone important or what?"

"... What?"

"I asked if you're someone important. Are you slated to inherit the Mount Cangshan Sect?"

"..."

Compared to Jin Sowoon, these guys had entered without even taking a proper exam.

He already thought the way they looked down on Jin Sowoon was pathetic.

And now they were throwing their weight around like a fox borrowing a tiger's majesty, completely unaware of their place.

Feeling an itch at his fingertips, Moyong Jaehwa clenched and unclenched his fists.

"You're not, right? I might end up inheriting my noble clan, even if I don't want to. Are you going to just live in the academy and then live in seclusion from Jianghu forever? Do you have the confidence to act so high and mighty in front of the Moyong Noble Clan?"

"..."

"You don't, right? So stop acting up all the time."

"..."

The Mount Cangshan Sect disciple kept opening and closing his mouth as if to say something, but eventually went to the cooking personnel himself.

Moyong Jaehwa's cold gaze followed him from behind.

'Sleep... I need sleep...'

He couldn't even remember how many days it had been since he had slept properly.

Even when he was sleeping, he felt awake, and even when he was awake, he felt like he was sleeping.

'Damn it, if I knew it would be like this, I would have just followed them to Yueyang...'

If he had, at least he wouldn't be suffering all the way out here.

"I'm sorry, Young Master Moyong. I could have just done it."

When he returned to his seat, Eun Seollan wore an apologetic expression.

Those guys were the ones at fault, so why was Eun Seollan feeling guilty?

"No, it's not. Bringing food to the elders of their own sect is something those guys should be doing. But Lady Eun, aren't you cold?"

Since entering the high-altitude area, the others couldn't withstand the cold and were wearing two or three layers of blankets and outer clothing.

"I'm fine. My hometown is originally cold, and the martial arts I've learned have a strong yin energy."

"Ah, you said you were from the North Sea, right."

Now, even the things he already knew weren't coming to mind properly.

"But are you okay?"

"Yes? About what?"

Eun Seollan looked worriedly at Moyong Jaehwa, whose eyes were bloodshot from burst blood vessels.

"You look extremely tired..."

"Me? I'm not."

He said that, but Moyong Jaehwa's appearance was dreadful.

Because he had been tossing and turning at night and continuously doing reconnaissance work, he hadn't been able to eat properly, let alone sleep.

"Young Master Jaehwa. Do you really need to work so hard? The others were just pretending to scout."

"... Still, you never know... right."

While speaking, Moyong Jaehwa began to nod off.

But he soon snapped his eyes wide open and sat up.

"... Young Master Jaehwa."

"... Haha."

Moyong Jaehwa scratched the back of his head in embarrassment before speaking carefully.

"Is it alright if I sleep just a little bit?"

"Yes. Go ahead."

Eun Seollan quickly draped the blanket she had received as her share over Moyong Jaehwa and tossed more firewood into the fire.

"Thank... you..."

Moyong Jaehwa fell asleep the moment the words left his mouth.

"... You really were tired."

Eun Seollan looked at Moyong Jaehwa with pity.

They had been forcefully dragged to the Orthodox Council's event, but there was actually nothing special about this so-called event.

The advance party composed mainly of the Mount Cangshan Sect and the Shaolin Sect.

Their attention was solely focused on how well the subordinate sects entertained them.

They claimed they came out to investigate the incident during the standard exam, but they hadn't even gone anywhere near the area.

'What a pathetic sight.'

Her mind was full of thoughts about wanting to return quickly and complete the Sosu Divine Art.

After gaining enlightenment inside the Soul-Extinguishing Array, she had found a new path for the Sosu Divine Art, but she was still far from being able to unleash power like in the legends.

'I should seek out Brother Jin for a consultation.'

With those thoughts in mind, she stared blankly at the campfire.

"Is it... a bit cold?"

The temperature in the mountains was dropping rapidly.

Perhaps because of that, the academy students, who had been chattering non-stop as if they were on a trip, had all fallen asleep by the campfires, wrapped tightly in their blankets.

Piercing through the silence in the freezing cold.

SLITHER.

A red centipede passed by the campfire.

She saw the disgusting centipede, but Eun Seollan stared at it blankly before becoming puzzled.

'Don't centipedes live in hot and humid places?'

The snow in this area hadn't even fully melted yet, and there wasn't a single fallen leaf rolling around on the hard ground.

"Huh?"

The centipedes crawling out of the hard ground slowly began heading toward the vicinity of the academy students.

SLITHER, SLITHER, SLITHER, SLITHER.

Another one.

Then another one.

Dozens of red centipedes appeared from somewhere and began approaching the people.

Startled, Eun Seollan tried to stand up to catch the centipedes, but her body wouldn't budge an inch.

'Huh?'

As Eun Seollan lowered her gaze, the centipedes that had somehow covered her entire body entered her sight.

Ah— Agh— Agh—

She opened her mouth and tried to scream, but no sound came out. Instead, the red centipedes began burrowing wildly into her mouth, nose, and ears.

At the moment she was trembling from the horrific sensation.

-[...lan, ...dy, ...kay.]

An urgent but warm voice could be heard from somewhere.

The moment she felt like bursting into tears from the situation where she wanted to answer but couldn't.

"Lady Seollan!"

Eun Seollan jolted awake from the dream and abruptly came to her senses.

Right in front of her, Moyong Jaehwa, who had woken up at some point, was looking at her with worried eyes.

Remembering the red centipedes that had covered her body, Eun Seollan jumped up from her seat and brushed off her whole body.

"AHH!"

"Are you okay?"

"Pant! Pant! Pant!"

There were definitely countless red centipedes enough to cover her entire body.

'H-Huh? They're gone?'

The centipedes had vanished without a trace.

RRRRING—

At the sharp sound piercing the inside of her head like a needle, Eun Seollan quickly covered her ears, but the unpleasant noise continued to stab into her mind, unaffected by her actions.

"Recite the Demon-Subduing Mantra! Lady Seollan!"

At Moyong Jaehwa's voice, Eun Seollan quickly began muttering the Demon-Subduing Mantra.

Then, miraculously, the pain piercing the inside of her head began to fade.

However, a bizarre sound began to reach her ears once again.

JINGLE. JINGLE.

"Th-This is?"

"I think... it's an enemy."

"An enemy?"

JINGLE. JINGLE.

An eerie bell ringing was echoing all around them.