Chapter 106: The Sea of Death (2)
Unable to finish his tirade, Gwa-pyeong pressed forward.
Mao’s mind was in turmoil. He had always thought his own life was fairly miserable. Born a bastard, oppressed day after day, losing the people around him.
But now he wasn’t so sure.
He had never imagined such a hell existed beyond Cheonsan.
“Do you pity them?”
He turned his head at the voice beside him.
“Jang I-seo…”
It was him. At his question, Mao stopped walking and fell into thought. His feelings were complicated.
“I don’t know.”
When Mao answered honestly with a somber face, Jang I-seo smiled gently.
He considered it growing pains.
The process of Mao, who had lived like a troublemaker brat, gradually becoming an adult.
And Jang I-seo hoped that process would be a meaningful one.
For his sake, and for the sake of the world.
“They are evil to us. They kidnapped Maeng Hwi, sold Soul-Befuddling Powder, and must have harmed countless others. They are not objects of sympathy.”
“I suppose…”
“But to everyone else, we were the greater evil. The cult’s doing was undoubtedly the biggest reason they couldn’t settle in the north and had to wander.”
“Ugh… both are the worst.”
Jang I-seo nodded. You didn’t know until you saw it from inside. But step back even one pace and look at the Demonic Cult, and you could see just how deeply rooted in evil it was.
Especially now, those who couldn’t tolerate the current peace and committed atrocities openly and covertly were beyond counting.
Even most of those who supported Cheon Mu-gi or Mu Han-seong desperately wanted a blood-soaked war.
If not for the Heavenly Demon, they would have erupted long ago like an active volcano, dyeing the world red.
“They must hate us enough to kill.”
“Yes. But they can’t. Because the cult is strong.”
“Then do they just… live like that? Resenting where they were born?”
How admirable. He could even think such things.
Jang I-seo smiled warmly. Then, as he passed by, he spoke.
“Then change it, Seventh Young Master.”
*Me? Mao flustered and matched his pace. Then Jang I-seo’s voice continued.
“I mean, so that people like them never appear again. Change the cult, Seventh Young Master.”
“No way… can that even happen?”
“It can. When you ascend to the position of Supreme. Then you can change it.”
“Su…preme!”
That was right. The Demonic Cult was a place where everything was governed solely by power.
That was precisely why the current peace of the Central Plains could be maintained.
Therefore…
“Please become the Supreme.”
“Huh…?”
Jang I-seo said with a broad smile. Mao froze at those words and stopped walking.
Thump, thump.
Become the Supreme, he said. Why on earth did his heart race so at those words?
He wanted to do it. No, he wanted to become it.
So he could make Jang I-seo. Make everyone smile.
Could he do it? Yeah. He could.
He was a genius. And he wasn’t alone anymore.
Mao gazed at Jang I-seo’s back with a gentle smile.
‘Alright…! I’ll do it.’
It was the moment a grand goal took root in Mao’s heart for the first time. Though he didn’t know when that would be.
“Uwahaha! Let’s go together!”
Mao beamed and ran after Jang I-seo.
And.
‘What an entertaining bunch, I tell you.’
So-o, watching from the rear, also cracked a smile.
*
FWEEE!
Half a day had already passed since they entered the Tarim Basin.
The sun at its zenith had begun to dip, and the wind grew fiercer.
Then, Gwa-pyeong, who had been leading, dismounted and spoke.
“We walk from here.”
He struck his horse’s hindquarters and sent it far away.
It meant their destination was close. And that riding wasn’t an option.
FWEEE!
The wind struck again, filling their vision with sand grains. It was like a semi-transparent yellow curtain had been drawn.
There was no way the ponies could endure this level of sandstorm.
After sending the horses off, the group proceeded on foot.
Before long, the sandstorm intensified until they couldn’t see even fifteen meters ahead.
They had finally reached the Sea of Death.
The desert where storms raged year-round.
“Welcome to the Sea of Death! For the next shi, the sandstorm will grow worse. And after that time passes, it will calm down for exactly one quarter-shi. So we need to get inside before it gets worse!”
Gwa-pyeong at the front shouted loudly. Mao yelled back.
“What?!”
FWEEE!
The blade-like wind howled ceaselessly, drowning out every word.
Gwa-pyeong tried explaining a few more times before giving up with a shrug and a short shout.
“Follow me!”
“Okay!”
This time, everyone seemed to understand, nodding and following faithfully. After another long stretch, the group arrived at a ruin with shattered walls.
Gwa-pyeong fought through the fierce wind and threw open a door hidden in the floor.
THUNK!
Stairs leading down. The safe house.
Gwa-pyeong gestured for them to enter, and they filed in one by one. Finally, he slipped inside himself and closed the door.
Only then did the surroundings fall quiet.
“Phew. Almost died. Do you guys actually live here? You didn’t bring us here to kill us, did you?”
Mao pulled down the cloth covering his face and let out a sigh.
At first, he had wondered why they wrapped cloth around themselves when it was so hot. But without it, they would have been stuffed with sand in their ears and mouths.
“I’m too valuable to die with you.”
Gwa-pyeong snorted and shook the sand from his clothes.
Sand had penetrated even his undergarments, and a light dusting covered the floor.
“Heard of it, but it’s my first time actually coming. The Sea of Death. It certainly deserves to be called the Sea of Death. Stand still and you’d be buried alive.”
Even So-o, who rarely batted an eye at anything, shook his head in genuine astonishment this time.
How he had managed to follow while wearing sand-covered tinted glasses was a mystery.
“When the storm gets worse here, you simply can’t breathe and die. Deafness is also common.”
At Gwa-pyeong’s words, Mao felt a chill.
If he hadn’t experienced it, he would have scoffed and called it nonsense. But not now.
The wind had been so loud that at the end, his ears truly felt like they had gone deaf. He had even heard the phantom sound of metal scraping.
That was how inhospitable the Sea of Death was. It was nature’s curse, a reminder of just how insignificant human beings were.
He still couldn’t believe the Iron Horse Bandits lived here.
“This is what it takes to stay hidden. No one can push through a sandstorm of this magnitude.”
He found himself nodding. At this level, he could understand why the Flying Dragon Hall had lost track of Maeng Hwi.
“Still, it’s better where the Nine Dragon Fortress is, so you can relax.”
“Nine Dragon Fortress?”
Jang I-seo asked.
“Our fortress tower.”
“How much further?”
“We’re here. Roughly five hundred paces?”
Not far now. Jang I-seo’s expression darkened. So-o, the first to notice, asked in a low whisper.
“What’s with the face, Adjutant Jang?”
“I have something to say before we go up.”
FWEEE!
The wind raged overhead. It had died down considerably. There wasn’t much time left before the storm calmed.
“What. Getting scared now that we’re actually going in? Heh.”
As if.
It was just…
“The Flying Dragon Hall might already be nearby. They already knew the stronghold was in the Sea of Death.”
“That’s impossible!”
Gwa-pyeong bristled and shouted at Jang I-seo’s statement. But the words that followed left him unable to argue.
“From the moment the Sixth Young Master was kidnapped, the Flying Dragon Hall was already tracking them. They must have tried to find your stronghold then, but they probably didn’t expect the sandstorm to hit.”
“Wait. Then they used Maeng Hwi as bait?”
Mao trembled with a sense of betrayal he could hardly believe. But it was true.
“The reason the Hall Master attacked me was because I figured that out. To hide their own failure.”
“Insane! Does that even make sense?”
It made sense. It had already happened.
Everyone was stunned. It was that big a shock.
“The Hall Master was in Jipha Village to track you, Gwa-pyeong. They already knew about you. But my appearance complicated things.”
Gwa-pyeong scowled deeply. His trail had been too long. He had kept visiting the Bumun Inn to find new buyers.
However.
“Why are you only telling us this now?!”
The answer was inevitable.
“If I had told you earlier, you wouldn’t have come here.”
“You used me!”
Jang I-seo nodded.
“I had no choice. As you said, there was no time to save the Sixth Young Master.”
“Damn it!”
Slam! Gwa-pyeong stomped the floor.
But getting angry was meaningless. Since the Sea of Death had already been discovered, the Demonic Cult would have found the stronghold one way or another.
Now the group exhaled hollow sighs, as if all the pieces had finally clicked into place.
It was truly absurd.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. But I’ll make sure the damage to your side is minimized.”
“Damn bastard…”
Gwa-pyeong gritted his teeth and muttered. An apology would have been better than nothing.
“Forget it. Once we’re inside the fortress, it’s over. No one in the Sea of Death can defeat the Captain.”
“Then that’s good.”
Jang I-seo nodded. If so, all that remained was to safely enter the Nine Dragon Fortress within one quarter-shi.
And at that moment, the relentless wind finally fell silent.
The sandstorm had stopped.
Everyone’s eyes flashed, and they exchanged nods.
“Let’s go.”
Once again, Gwa-pyeong took the lead and ascended the stairs.
THUNK!
They opened the door in the ceiling and emerged onto the first floor of the ruined house. The sand that had filled their vision was gone, and the full landscape of the Sea of Death, where they hadn’t been able to see an inch ahead, lay before their eyes.
“This was a village?!”
Mao cried out in astonishment. He was right. Through the shattered walls of the ruins, what lay beyond was a village.
A dead village with countless ruins spread out, one where thousands must have once lived.
“Then over there is…”
Mao muttered, pointing into the distance. At his fingertips stood a single towering fortress.
A monstrous tower built by layering planks and wood over its exterior.
“Yes. That’s the Nine Dragon Fortress where we stay. And it’s also where the boy you’re looking for is imprisoned.”
Light gleamed in Jang I-seo’s eyes. They had finally arrived. Where Maeng Hwi was.
“Hurry. Once one quarter-shi passes, the sandstorm will start again. The only time the gates of the Nine Dragon Fortress are open is now. Miss this and you’ll have to wait outside in the sand for a whole shi.”
At Gwa-pyeong’s words, everyone quickened their pace.
The sandy, loose floor made walking less than swift. But only about a hundred paces remained. A quarter-shi was more than enough time.
Provided there was no interference, of course.
DUDUDUDU!
“Hm?!”
Right at that moment, a heavy tremor began to rumble from the ground.