Chapter 58: Reducing Stoves to Lure the Enemy (1)

Crackle— crackle— crackle—

A campfire burned.

A mouse was skewered on a vertically split bamboo strip.

Oh Ja-woon threw the skinned mouse pelt into the fire.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle……

The mouse meat turned golden brown in the flames, dripping drops of grease.

A gamy smell was spreading through the dark mountains.

“We will eat only this and move quickly. We must cross the next peak before the sun rises.”

Chui, who was next to him, spoke.

He pulled out a large centipede from the fire pit and chewed it with a calm expression.

Oh Ja-woon put his hand to his face.

“The mouse is one thing, but I cannot eat a centipede. It turns my stomach.”

“It is all just the same meat.”

“The same? A centipede is a bit…… too crunchy. No juice comes out either.”

“Surprisingly, it does.”

“Ugh……”

Chui ignored Oh Ja-woon’s grumbling and turned his head.

The mountain terrain soaked in the night darkness was visible.

This was a secret path in the mountains leading straight to Qinghai.

It was a hidden path where human footsteps rarely reached.

Since they had crossed the wall of Chu River County, the greatest obstacle, the plank path leading directly to the Tianshan Mountains was now right in front of them.

Because this mountain path led straight to Heartbreak Cliff where that plank path was, Oh Ja-woon’s steps were light.

“Once we cross this mountain range, it leads straight to the main headquarters of the Demonic Cult. The distance is far, but since there are no obstacles, in fact, only a long journey remains. From there, you will be able to go well enough on your own.”

At Chui’s words, Oh Ja-woon nodded and replied.

“But how do you know this path?”

“I have been here once before.”

“Before? When?”

“…….”

At Oh Ja-woon’s words, Chui shut his mouth.

Because even if he said that they had come here together in his past life before returning, there was no way he would believe it.

In the past. Oh Ja-woon was caught from behind by the pursuit party while following this mountain range.

And he closed his eyes with the secret path of the Tianshan Mountains leading to the main headquarters of the Demonic Cult right before him.

‘This time, it will not be like that.’

Chui tore down the hut made of gathered twigs and fallen leaves.

And he threw it into the campfire inside the pit.

Whoosh—

The firelight and smoke rising from the pit soared high into the sky.

Then. Oh Ja-woon asked.

“But why are you leaving traces so openly as we go?”

In a normal situation, a fugitive does their best to erase the traces of their escape.

Since fire leaves behind many byproducts such as smoke, light, smell, and ash, they avoid using it as much as possible, and they move carefully so as not to leave footprints or break tree branches as they pass.

But Chui did not care about such things.

He had lit a campfire at every place they stayed and left the remains here and there.

He did not erase footprints, and he just broke tree branches with a snap as he passed.

At times, he even threw wet fallen leaves into the campfire to purposely create smoke.

As if trying to notify the pursuit party of the route they traveled.

……That was not all.

Chui would leave behind water drawn in bamboo containers as it was, or catch and grill lizards only to leave them behind.

He was throwing away the food and drinking water he had painstakingly procured.

Oh Ja-woon scratched his head and spoke.

“Well, I’ll be. This is no different from shouting ‘I am here!’ to the pursuers as we travel.”

Furthermore, the intervals were growing shorter.

At first, Chui lit campfires and camped every time they crossed two mountain peaks, but gradually, he made a campsite every time they crossed one peak, and now, he was making two campsites every time they crossed a single peak.

It was the same this time.

Having crossed a single peak, Chui immediately made a place to sleep and lit another campfire nearby.

This was the third campsite made while crossing one peak.

Oh Ja-woon could only find it puzzling.

“It is also strange to rest so well when we are being chased. My stamina is overflowing too much. Since it has come to this, it would be perfect if we could eat some proper meat. Not mice or lizards.”

Right then, as if in response to Oh Ja-woon’s words, a loud noise was heard from beyond the bushes.

[Kwek— kwek!]

A huge wild boar revealed its form from beyond the fallen leaves and bushes.

Chui dusted his hands and stood up.

“You have finally come.”

The Spear Ghosts were seen hovering around the boar, snickering.

Of course, it was a sight visible only to Chui’s eyes.

[Kweeeeeeeek!]

This giant wild boar was the resident master that had lived in the nearby mountain peaks for a long time.

It was a wild beast with a history of surviving several times even after being caught by the great tiger called the Mountain Lord.

As proof, claw marks from a massive paw were carved like medals on its face and flank.

……However.

The boar, facing Chui’s gaze, soon felt that its thought was wrong.

Eyes glowing with the fire at his back.

That bright red energy.

It belonged to a tiger, or rather, a monster even more terrifying than that.

[Kweeeeeeeeeeeek!]

The boar pissed itself and backed away.

Though wild boars inherently cannot back up due to their physical structure, the fear of death made it possible.

However.

Thud!

The boar could not escape.

Squeeeeze……

Chui’s foot firmly pressed down on the boar’s tusk.

No matter how hard it twisted, it could not pull out the tusk stepped on by that foot.

Tremendous weight and intimidation.

A fear it had never felt even when its neck was bitten by the Mountain Lord.

The boar did not dare to even think of struggling and was trembling violently.

Soon, the unidentified crimson monster bared two fangs.

…Crunch! Thud!

Chui pulled out two awls and struck down on the boar’s skull with them.

The boar, whose skull was punctured, rolled its eyes back and died instantly on the spot.

Oh Ja-woon’s reaction to this was quite simple.

“Oh. Great. We can eat meat.”

However, Chui seemed more interested in something other than the boar’s meat.

…Stab!

The awl lodged into the boar’s neck.

Chui pulled out the awl and drew out red blood.

And he splattered that blood on the ground several times.

Splash—

Blood spilled near the campfire.

Beside it, the jerky and water containers to be abandoned were placed.

Instantly, Oh Ja-woon slapped his knee.

“Aha! It was such a vicious scheme!”

He finally realized the intention behind the strange things Chui had been doing until now.

* * *

Cuckoo— cuckoo—

In the mountains where the cuckoo cried.

Several shadows parted the bushes, cutting through the darkness.

Daoist Master Nangwa, Bi Mu-geuk, leading the pursuit squad of the Martial Alliance.

And Sword Flower Namgung Yul, leading the Purple Moon Special Task Force of the Namgung Clan.

They were currently chasing the Death Plum Blossom and the Three Calls of the Yellow Springs.

“There are traces of a campfire lit here!”

The scout running ahead reported.

Namgung Yul looked back at Bi Mu-geuk and spoke.

“If we go south just a bit from here, there is the Kongtong Sect. Shall we stop by and request cooperation?”

“That is the path of retreat. It is impossible.”

Instead of requesting help, Bi Mu-geuk spurred his steps.

He was anxious.

“Once we pass the prefecture of Chu River County, there is no place where vigilance is particularly tight. It is all blocked by rugged mountains, so surveillance is rare. That means as long as one has the ability to overcome the rugged mountain terrain, they can cross the gates as much as they want.”

Actually, the mountain path the pursuit squad was climbing right now was winding and bending in an extremely steep and rugged shape.

Bi Mu-geuk gritted his teeth.

“In such rugged terrain, the moment we lose the traces, it is over forever. Even if it just rains once, all the clues will be washed away.”

At those words, Namgung Yul also nodded.

Bi Mu-geuk held a tremendous conviction in pursuing the Death Plum Blossom.

Was it the determination to wash away the stigma of Mount Hua with his own hands?

His eyes were burning even more peculiarly as the traces of the Death Plum Blossom grew closer.

Soon, Bi Mu-geuk found the traces of a campsite.

Footprints scattered around the remaining ash after burning.

Bi Mu-geuk’s sharp gaze inspected the area around where the campfire had been.

Half-burned twigs, fallen leaves, and ash.

And the abandoned lizard meat and bamboo water container.

Bi Mu-geuk touched the lizard meat half-buried by the campfire with his hand.

“It is well-dried. At this rate, it wouldn’t have been bad to carry, yet he went out of his way to abandon it……”

Next was the bamboo container.

Bi Mu-geuk picked up the bamboo container and shook it a few times.

Feeling it quite heavy, it was felt that water filled the inside.

Namgung Yul tilted her head.

“Why did they just leave behind the meat they painstakingly caught and the water they drew?”

“Why else.”

Bi Mu-geuk replied.

“The fellow must be weakened due to the long pursuit and the battle with the Hegemon Society. Having taken such a rugged mountain path as an escape route in the midst of that, his energy must be highly depleted. By that point, the food and water he is carrying would feel like a burden.”

“No way. Even so, would they abandon food and water?”

“I suspect his physical condition has deteriorated to the extent that even those feel heavy.”

Right at that moment, the warriors of the Martial Alliance searching the opposite side discovered something.

“It is bloodstains!”

“……!”

Bi Mu-geuk hurriedly ran over there.

Sure enough, a wide bloodstain was seen dried on the ground.

“If it is this much vomiting of blood, it seems the internal injury is severe.”

Bi Mu-geuk scooped up the blood clot smeared on a blade of grass with his finger.

A fishy smell wafted from the fresh blood that smeared stickily.

“It is not even completely hardened yet. It has not been long since it spilled.”

The eyes of the hunting dogs lit up at those words.

Abandoned food, traces of vomiting blood.

It meant the prey was gradually weakening.

Bi Mu-geuk shouted.

“The fellow has become so weak that he cannot even carry food and water! And he is in an exhausted state to the point where he had to rest three times while crossing a single peak! Seeing that he has even vomited blood like this, he surely will not live long even if left alone! But can we let the villain who raped and killed his junior sister and fled die in such peace!?”

“No! We must find and kill him!”

The pursuit squad of the Martial Alliance shouted, drawing their swords.

Bi Mu-geuk continued once again.

“The fellow is weakened! He must be in a state where it is hard to even take the blade of a single one of us!”

He was confident.

It was a fact that could be known by looking at the blood that had not yet hardened and the ash that still retained heat.

“The fellow is surely not far from here! From now on, disperse and search!”

At those words, the eyes of the pursuers lit up.

A dying prey.

An opponent so weak that their breath would cease even if just left alone.

Isn’t such an opponent finders keepers for whoever picks them up first?

“The one who takes the head of the Death Plum Blossom Oh Ja-woon will be crowned as the top contributor of this pursuit!”

Bi Mu-geuk drove the wedge in.

Clang— clang! Shhhk……

The blades drawn from their scabbards flashed, catching the moonlight.

The hunting dogs each ran into the forest.

Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish—

Each with their sharp teeth bared.

Unrivaled Spear Ghost