Chapter 167: Merchant Escort Journey
According to Uncle Baek Jin-seong’s explanation, in the aftermath of the recent movements of the Nine Great Sects and the Green Forest, there were many bastards running around with swords between autumn and winter of last year.
Thanks to that, from the perspective of the escort agencies, a clear distinction was made based on the level of skill, and for skilled escort agencies, requests actually increased, leading to a phenomenon where people tried to hire them even by paying a premium.
He said that after such a storm swept through, a quiet situation like the calm before a storm was continuing.
Perhaps due to that influence, the journey continued without any particular problems.
‘Is it that there are none, or that they were made to disappear?’
However, Uncle Baek Jin-seong’s words could not be entirely accepted.
This was because a gentleman named Han Yeong and someone named Seol Yeong, who seemed to follow Sister Seol-ah more than Uncle Baek Jin-seong, occasionally fell away from the group.
As if stimulated by that, the demons moving around Old Man Jong also occasionally separated from the group to scout the surroundings and return.
The demons following Old Man Jong were also no ordinary beings.
Although their affiliations were all over the place since they were a gathering of those claiming neutrality, it was said that among the members was a warrior from the Heavenly Demon’s Personal Guard, which was known as one of the strongest elites of the Demonic Cult.
Since they were nurtured to serve and protect the Heavenly Demon at his side, they were geniuses and experts into whom all the resources of the Demonic Cult had been invested.
Naturally, they were also existences tightly bound by absolute loyalty to the Heavenly Demon and infinite hatred for the Heavenly Demon’s enemies.
That is why it could be more of a problem.
No matter how many experts were on this side, picking a fight in a situation where all the forces of the Green Forest were concentrated was a bad move.
The problem was the reaction when our group arrived at Mount Tianzi.
Even if one were not an idiot, one could easily guess that we would not receive a warm welcome.
I was confident enough to stake my grandfather’s honor that even the bastards who sent the invitation would react with, ‘They really came? Are they crazy?’ and do something stupid.
I had a premonition that quite a few people would die after that, but anyway.
I calmed my mind internally.
‘I am already sick and tired of that kind of treatment anyway, and if I just endure it a little, things can be wrapped up well.’
Master Heavenly Demon in heaven said there was something I needed to obtain here.
Although I did not know what I had to obtain, it was clear that it was something extraordinary, given that Master Zhang Sanfeng also said he could not talk for long because a large amount of karma had been consumed.
I would obtain something good for myself, and the Baek Family Escort would grasp the justification and initiative to sway the escort agencies of Hubei.
If it ended like that, everyone would be happy.
‘Tsk! Why am I suddenly thinking of that guy Yin Si-hoo.’
Perhaps because I was thinking that I was sick and tired of being bullied, Yin Si-hoo, who was said to have disappeared somewhere, came to mind.
Thinking about it now, rather than being bullied and mocked by Yin Si-hoo at the time, it seemed that having no one on my side on Mount Wudang had been more difficult and painful.
‘He must be going through that as well.’
He was a fellow who had fled the Wudang Sect under the cover of night.
Now that the protection of the Defeng Yin Clan, which he used to brandish like a family heirloom, had also vanished, there was no place for Yin Si-hoo to lean on.
On the contrary, if he was known as a survivor of the Defeng Yin Clan, he would be treated as a public enemy, being a beast in human skin and a remnant of the Blood Cult.
Since there was no reason to care about him after my skills clearly set us apart upon meeting Master Zhang Sanfeng, it seemed that seeing him in this situation inevitably brought a sense of relief to one corner of my chest.
***
As our destination drew near without any particular incidents, Uncle Baek Jin-seong’s clear voice, standing at the head of the group, rang out.
“You all know we did not come here to play, right? From now on, we do not know when a troublesome matter will occur, so steady your minds!”
I wondered why he said that, but starting from a certain boundary, the surrounding landscape changed completely.
Serving as that boundary was a large tree from which something was hanging in clusters.
“One, two, three… Oh, dammit! How many are there?”
The bandits of the Seventy-Two Green Forest Fortresses engrave the mark of their fortresses at the entrance of the mountain path as an expression of confidence that they fear no intruders.
Those marks were hanging in clusters.
The sight of dozens of marks hanging was enough to give off a gloomy, eerie, and even shamanic feeling.
“Wow… chills!”
In contrast, Baek Mu-ho shivered all over, as if in genuine shock and horror.
As the saying goes, one fears what one knows; from the perspective of an escort agency that maintained a relationship of keeping at a respectful distance with the Green Forest bandits, it was indeed a sight to trigger a fit.
“At that rate, the public security around here must be completely ruined.”
“Of course. With thousands of bandit bastards, how could it be normal?”
It was a situation where bandits were gathered in large numbers.
Of course, they lived in the uninhabited mountains, but if bandits numbering over thousands and approaching ten thousand were gathered, it would be strange if there were no wild fools running amok.
To make matters worse, despite such a large number of bandits gathered, the army was not moving.
Whether it was because of instructions from above or due to the terrifying numbers, it was unknown, but the thoughtless bandit bastards would assume it was the latter and cheer.
For now, they were staying quietly (?) on Mount Tianzi, but there was no telling when they would come down the mountain and raid neighboring villages or cities.
“Man, holding a flag in a place like this is just being a living, breathing target…”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. When you think of bandits, you usually think of axes or broadswords, but proper fortresses always train guys who can shoot arrows separately.”
“That must certainly be the case.”
In fact, I had personally experienced the annoyance of horse archers in Hwaseong Village near Mount Hua.
It was clear that I would have suffered a great setback if I had not unleashed Master Heavenly Demon’s power.
In the same sense, for an escort agency that had targets to protect, attacks fired from a distance were bound to be troublesome.
“By the way, did you forget who is holding the escort agency’s flag right now?”
“Huh?”
As someone had said, Uncle Baek Jin-seong, who had suddenly become a living target, was looking back with an extremely uncomfortable expression.
“Uh…”
It was Baek Mu-ho, who had suddenly ended up looking like an unfilial son.
“My son, it seems you want to inherit the position of the Chief of the Baek Family Escort quickly?”
“No! Of course not!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!”
“That is a relief. Here!”
Uncle Baek Jin-seong handed the Baek Family Escort flag to Baek Mu-ho.
Baek Mu-ho’s face stiffened.
“…Father?”
“Run to the front quickly, son. If I stay close to you, will your father not become a target as well?”
He was certainly skilled at handling Baek Mu-ho.
“What an interesting boy.”
Looking at the scene, the Divine Monk smiled and commented on Baek Mu-ho.
Nine times out of ten, Baek Mu-ho would be called an unfilial son, yet the Divine Monk spoke as if he had noticed something.
I turned to the Divine Monk and place my index finger on my lips.
“If you notice too much, he dislikes it. Please pretend not to know to a moderate degree.”
“Haha! So that is his personality. Oh, then does Chief Baek also…?”
“He surely knows.”
“What an interesting father and son. Haha. Sadhu, sadhu… Amitabha.”
As Baek Mu-ho, who had taken the flag, grumbled and led the way, the Divine Monk smiled and softly chanted a Buddhist prayer.
***
It must have been from the moment we crossed the boundary where the marks were hung. Gazes could be felt from all directions.
They were practically swarming.
“This is like, half people and half trees.”
Such was the assessment of Baek Mu-ho at the front.
Although it was mixed with exaggeration, considering the presences felt around, it was hard to say he was entirely wrong.
Whispering voices could be heard from among the presences.
“They really came?”
“Are they crazy? Coming here?”
“Are they not just guys passing through without knowing anything?”
“Idiot! They must have seen all the marks on their way up. That is an escort flag, how could they not know that!”
Fortunately, my grandfather’s honor was preserved.
Listening to what they were saying, it seemed instructions had indeed been passed down that a guest from an escort agency might come.
Seeing that there was no bandit activity despite the escort flag flying, it seemed they intended to treat us as guests in their own way.
Well, it felt more like they were watching a strange spectacle than that, though.
Even so, since I had expected it to be roughly like this, I could endure it.
However, the displeasure could not be erased.
I could tolerate them badmouthing me, but mocking the people around me was hard to bear.
“They have foul mouths.”
In particular, the vulgar talk about Sister Seol-ah and Yi Hwa was difficult to tolerate.
And the vulgar talk gradually escalated and developed into sexual harassment.
“Wow, that chick…”
“Hey, I dibs that one first…”
“With the number of people gathered here… can she… take it all…”
This crossed the line.
Crack!
My body moved on instinct.
The sound of cleanly shattering a jawbone echoed through the mountains.
“Kuek!!”
From the mouth that had been spewing disgusting words until a moment ago, a pleasing sound flowed out.
‘Good! That is enough. At this point, holding back any further would make me a fool.’
I could feel the Clear Brightness Mind Method working hard.
My reason, as clear as a cloudless sky, listened to the words from that mouth and made a judgment.
So, this was by no means an impulsive move.
It seemed everyone shared the same thoughts.
With the guy whose jawbone I shattered as the center, the bastards around him collapsed one after another, foaming at the mouth with blood.
They were all ones who had dirty mouths.
For instance, a stone flying from somewhere swept away their teeth.
For instance, a flagpole falling like lightning smashed their heads.
For instance, fist qi unleashed by God knows who turned their faces into a bloody mess.
“These bastards struck first?”
“Did only you guys hold back? We held back too, you bastards!!”
As if they had been waiting, the Green Forest bandits filling the surroundings raised their weapons.
They were confident, relying on their numbers. They were certain they could easily trample over us.
“Hey! Kill them all—!?”
Until a true presence was revealed.
Kuoooo!!
Killing intent burst forth and energy surged.
In particular, the momentum emitted by the Divine Monk was extraordinary.
It was the momentum of a martial artist who had reached the pinnacle of the martial world. It was not something worthless trash with only mouths could endure.
“Fuck, what is this!”
They fell on their backsides as if they had pissed themselves.
Judging by the smell of urine rising nearby, it seemed some had literally pissed themselves.
At the very least, it was no longer an atmosphere where they could babble nonsense.
‘If I am to take action, I will do it thoroughly.’
“Jong-geuk.”
Normally, I would have addressed him as Old Man Jong, but I called him directly by his full name.
Old Man Jong stood by my side with a satisfied expression.
“I retract all my words telling you to hold back. Once the battle begins, kill them all.”
“As you command.”
Following the Divine Monk, Old Man Jong released his energy.
Kwaaaaaaa!!
Although Old Man Jong possessed a serious character unlike a typical demonic practitioner, his inherent energy was demonic qi based on demonic arts.
When it came to instilling instinctive fear, he was a cut above the Divine Monk.
“Hieek!”
“What is this! Crazy! What on earth is this!”
Seized by fear, they crawled like bugs to hurriedly widen the distance.
In an instant, Mount Tianzi became a scene of chaos.
Only then did those who could at least withstand the momentum of the two giants step to the front.
“If you came having been invited as guests, behave like guests! What kind of tyranny is this!!”
Despite having waited for us to lose our temper at their provocation, what they said was as awkward as their stiffened expressions.
It was painfully obvious they had not expected us to have experts of this caliber.
“Is this how the Green Forest treats guests?”
Naturally, having no intention of holding back, we did not spare our words either.