chapter 292

Even with Eyes, Unable to Recognize a Person (2)

“Pardon?”

Lee Cheong looked at Nam Jin-woon with a puzzled expression.

Until now, Nam Jin-woon hadn’t exchanged a single word with Lee Cheong. Jin-woon had ridden comfortably in the lead carriage, while Lee Cheong had ridden on horseback at the very rear.

Since they hadn’t exchanged a single word, it was somewhat bewildering to be addressed so abruptly.

“What did you just say?”

“I said your movements are clumsy. And isn’t it a nuisance to be training in a place where so many people are resting? Everyone needs to rest, but if you’re practicing martial arts, they can’t rest, can they? Do you even have any consideration?”

At Nam Jin-woon’s criticism, Lee Cheong was at a loss for words.

He didn’t know why, but there was blatant hostility in Nam Jin-woon’s eyes as he looked at him.

Since entering the Jianghu, it was the first time he’d met someone who displayed such blatant animosity without reason, so he was somewhat flustered. But Lee Cheong quickly regained his composure.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“You…”

A vein popped out on Nam Jin-woon’s forehead. This was because Lee Cheong had apologized so readily.

After a light bow to Jin-woon, Lee Cheong simply walked past him. It was a calm and composed response, uncharacteristic of someone so young.

Seeing this, Nam Jin-woon bit his lip slightly.

It takes two hands to clap. If one side avoids confrontation like this, there’s no response.

Moreover, there were many eyes watching. The bodyguards of the escort agency might refrain from spreading rumors out of consideration for Nam Jin-woon’s reputation, but the temporarily hired vagrants were different.

If he continued to pick a fight with Lee Cheong in an obvious manner, only his own reputation would suffer. While his reputation wasn’t great to begin with, having it publicly damaged was not what he wanted.

“Tch!”

With a scowl, Nam Jin-woon returned to the carriage.

Inside, Nam Woo-chang, the head of the Unsan Escort Agency and Jin-woon’s uncle, was waiting.

“So, did you greet him properly?”

“Yes,” Jin-woon replied curtly.

The only reason Jin-woon had sought out Lee Cheong was because of Woo-chang’s urging.

Looking out the window, Nam Woo-chang continued.

“You’re aware that the branch leader of the Hao Clan and I are close, aren’t you? He wouldn’t recommend someone lightly.  If he has recommended someone, that person must possess exceptional martial arts. You need to build a good relationship with such people. Moreover, his son is younger than you, so persuade him well and bring him under your command. A great leader should have many talented people under him.”

“Yes, yes!”

Nam Jin-woon replied half-heartedly.

A worried expression appeared on Nam Woo-chang’s face.

He had no heir.

When Nam Woo-chang died, his nephew Nam Jin-woon would have to inherit the Unsan Escort Agency.

He could not even imagine passing on the family business, which had lasted for 150 years, to someone not of the Nam family’s bloodline. Therefore, he always kept Nam Jin-woon by his side to teach him as much as possible and spared no advice.

The problem was that Nam Jin-woon found such teachings tiresome and listened half-heartedly.

The issue with Lee Cheong was the same.

If he could just suppress his temper a little and get along with Lee Cheong, it could be of great help in the future. Instead, his arrogance only created unnecessary conflict.

Sigh! They say raising a child is the hardest thing in the world, but who knew dealing with a nephew would be just as challenging?

Woo-chang’s soft sigh filled the carriage.

****

Lee Gwak patted Lee Cheong’s head and said.

“It seems we should train where others can’t see us.”

“Yes, Father.”

Lee Cheong nodded.

A little while ago, when Lee Cheong and Nam Jin-woon were conversing, Lee Gwak had been quite a distance away. But he had heard their conversation clearly. Nevertheless, he hadn’t intervened because he wanted to see how Lee Cheong would react.

Fortunately, Lee Cheong had responded wisely.

Lee Gwak smiled at him.

Lee Cheong also smiled slightly.

This level of provocation was not enough to set him off. He had endured a life of darkness in the White Light Sect. In comparison, Nam Jin-woon’s provocation was merely amusing.

“Let’s lie down now.”

“Yes!”

Lee Gwak and Lee Cheong lay down.

They slept on the cold ground, but neither of them felt greatly uncomfortable. Both of them wore loose overcoats as they tried to sleep, they drifted off to sleep.

While others gathered in small groups, chatting or tossing restlessly due to their discomfort, Lee Gwak and Lee Cheong were perfectly accustomed to sleeping outdoors.

Staying up all night chatting in vain was not conducive to conserving energy. They knew from experience that going to bed as early as possible and getting a good night’s sleep was the best way to conserve stamina.

No matter how much others talked or made noise, they fell into a deep sleep.

They woke up around dawn.

While others were sound asleep, the porters were already up checking the luggage.

Admiring their diligence, Lee Gwak and Lee Cheong packed up their belongings and stood up. Their luggage was merely small bundles, but they checked carefully to make sure nothing was missing.

By the time the two were ready to depart, others were also waking up one by one. Unlike the plentiful dinner, only a few pieces of jerky were provided for breakfast. Still, the bodyguards and mercenaries were grateful.

When sleeping outdoors like this, it was common to skip meals. Even being able to chew on some jerky like this could be considered a blessing.

Once everyone was up, the porters began to prepare for departure in earnest.

The wagons were unhooked, the large planks that had been sandwiched between them were retrieved and loaded onto the underside of the wagons. Then they connected the rested horses to the carriages.

The whole process took only about half an hour.

He had seen this scene yesterday, but it was still just as amazing.

Thanks to the makeshift fortress made from the carriages, they could rest comfortably without worrying about wild beasts or bandits. Since it was his first experience sleeping outdoors like this, he was simply grateful.

“Did you sleep well?”

He patted his horse’s neck and whispered. The horse, much bigger than him, neighed as if in response.

He pressed his face against the horse’s face and stood there for a while.

“Hehe!”

Only after fully communicating with the horse did he step back.

Meanwhile, the Unsan Escort Agency’s preparations for departure were complete.

“Let’s get on.”

“Yes!”

Lee Gwak and Lee Cheong mounted their horses.

“Did both of you sleep well?”

Riding his horse, Seol Cheon-bok approached them.

“Did you sleep well, sir?”

“Sleeping on that hard ground left my whole body aching. I’m getting old; my body isn’t what it used to be. Haha!”

“You still look energetic, though.”

“Only on the outside. Inside, everything’s falling apart.”

Seol Cheon-bok joked.

Despite his words, he looked healthier than most martial artists in their twenties.

Seol Cheon-bok’s gaze turned to Lee Cheong.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes! I slept soundly.”

“It’s good to be young. You adapt quickly.”

“Hehe!”

Lee Cheong smiled shyly and grabbed his reins.

At that moment, the head escort, Go Chang-seon, called out.

“Everyone, let’s move out.”

At his voice, the carriages that had been waiting began to move simultaneously.

Lee Gwak and the others followed the wagons from the rear.

The journey to the Nine Dragons Clan was smooth.

Because such a large group was moving together, bandits aiming for the cargo didn’t dare approach. Even so, the head of the agency, Nam Woo-chang, and the head escort, Go Chang-seon, did not relax their vigilance.

Even if you travel ninety li safely, failing in the last ten li would mean failure of the escort mission. Until they entered the front gate of the Nine Dragons Clan, they couldn’t let their guard down.

Go Chang-seon instructed the escorts to maintain strict control over the guards and the hired workers.

Because of that, even after traveling a long distance, the discipline of the Unsan Escort Agency did not falter at all. In some ways, it looked more like a military unit than an escort agency.

The only ones maintaining a somewhat relaxed atmosphere were the temporarily hired mercenaries. They chatted quietly while keeping watch on their surroundings.

Lee Gwak also guided his horse while conversing with Lee Cheong.

Lee Cheong had many questions, and Lee Gwak had extensive experience in the Jianghu. He shared his experiences generously, and Lee Cheong listened attentively.

Watching them from nearby, Seol Cheon-bok couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘He has more experience in the Jianghu than he appears. How could someone like him have remained unknown until now?’

He was tilting his head in puzzlement when it happened.

Boom!

Suddenly, a loud explosion erupted from the front of the procession.

“What is it?”

The bodyguards and vagrants at the rear took up defensive positions, and Lee Gwak and Seol Cheon-bok quickly spurred their horses forward.

“What the…?”

A look of bewilderment appeared on Seol Cheon-bok’s face.

One of the leading carriages had fallen into a large pit. The horses that had fallen with it were crying pitifully with broken legs, and the carriage was half-destroyed, with its cargo spilling out.

The escorts riding the carriage hurriedly covered the cargo with cloth, but Lee Gwak had already confirmed what it was.

‘Gold bars.’

The yellow rectangular objects, about the size of a child’s forearm, were clearly gold.

The cargo that the Unsan Escort Agency was transporting was gold bars. And an enormous amount at that.

This amount was enough to surpass the annual budget of the Jade Heaven Alliance.

‘Who on earth commissioned the transport of such an enormous amount of gold?’

There were countless sects in the world, but only a few had this level of financial power.

At that moment, the escorts approached and pushed back Lee Gwak and others.

“Please step back.”

Their faces were filled with killing intent.

They had never imagined that the identity of the cargo would be revealed in such a place. With such an amount of gold bars, even the hired mercenaries might turn against them out of greed.

Therefore, their nerves were on edge.

Lee Gwak and Seol Cheon-bok retreated obediently without resistance. There was no need to unnecessarily provoke the escorts any further.

Instead, Lee Gwak looked around.

The large pit where the carriage had crashed was definitely not naturally formed. Someone had deliberately dug a big hole and covered it by weaving reeds and fallen leaves to conceal it.

“Is someone targeting the cargo?”

At that moment.

Pew pew pew!

As if to confirm Lee Gwak’s suspicions, sharp piercing sounds echoed.

“Ugh!”

“A-an attack!”

Several escort guards were struck by hidden weapons and fell to the ground.

Even though they had been on guard, the hidden weapons were too small to be identified by the naked eye. Therefore, it was not easy to defend against them.

In an instant, three or four escort guards were incapacitated by the hidden weapons.

The faces of the escorts hit by the weapons turned black in an instant, and they soon vomited blood from their seven orifices and died.

“Poison!”

“The hidden weapons are coated with poison. Everyone, be careful!”

Those who belatedly realized that the weapons were poisoned shouted warnings.

“This can’t be!”

The beard of Nam Woo-chang, the head of Unsan Escort Agency, trembled.

He had expected that there might be an attack because the cargo was so valuable, but he never dreamed that they would even use poisoned hidden weapons.

“It’s dangerous, don’t leave the carriage.”

Go Chang-seon urged Nam Woo-chang, then drew his sword.

“Form a defensive formation and respond to the attack!”

The escorts and vagrants, who had been momentarily confused, quickly gathered around Go Chang-seon.

Swoosh!

At that moment, something soared into the sky and spread out wide.

Go Chang-seon’s eyes widened.

“It’s an iron net! Scatter!”

Filling the sky and falling down was a large net made of iron chains. Attached to various parts of the net were daggers about the size of a child’s finger. The tips of the daggers glistened with a green hue, clearly indicating they were poisoned.

“shit!”

“Dodge it!”

The escort guards and vagrants who had gathered together desperately scattered. But not all of them could avoid the iron net.

Several people who were slow in their movements were completely covered by the iron net, and the sharp daggers attached to the net pierced into their flesh.

“Aaah!”

“Ugh!”

They let out harrowing screams.

Just like those who had been hit by the hidden weapons moments before, their complexions quickly turned black, and they soon vomited blood from their seven orifices and died.

Even those who avoided the iron net weren’t safe for long. At that moment, about a hundred martial artists sprang out from both sides of the road and attacked.

“Uraaah!”

“Kill them all and take everything!”

They charged in, exuding murderous intent like ferocious wolves. The vicious momentum made the martial artists of Unsan Escort Agency flinch. They had already lost the upper hand due to the surprise attack using hidden weapons and the iron net.

Boom boom boom!

They overwhelmed the escort guards of Unsan Escort Agency like a storm.

The attackers and the escort guards became entangled, and in an instant, the main road turned into a scene of chaos.

“Block them!”

“Protect the cargo!”

Although they had lost the initial advantage, the escort guards of Unsan Escort Agency did not go down easily.

Under the command of Go Chang-seon, they fought bravely.

The vagrants hired by Unsan Escort Agency also joined the fight.

“Charge!”

As the vagrants joined in, the battle became even fiercer.

“Father!”

Lee Cheong looked at Lee Gwak with a puzzled expression.

Up until then, Lee Gwak had not joined the fight.

Lee Gwak’s gaze was fixed on the hill from which the attackers had jumped down.

There stood a man and a woman.

They were wearing black masks that completely covered their faces.

Lee Gwak began to walk toward them.