Chapter 88 :

Chapter 88. Time to Hunt (2)

Crash!

Bang!

“……Ugh.”

Loud noises rang in his ears.

Song Baek tried to regain consciousness through the irritating commotion, then suddenly remembered that he had been confronting Jin Sowoon and the disciples of the Taeul Sect moments earlier.

He sprang to his feet.

“Young Master, are you all right?”

The face of the guard, who rarely showed emotion, was filled with worry and concern.

Song Baek touched the sticky, unpleasant sensation on his face and found blood on his hand.

“What happened……?”

“That madman ambushed you before we could react, Young Master……”

“……”

Wasn’t that what I hired you to prevent?

Song Baek could not bring himself to say it aloud.

The Martial Academy examination prohibited the use of first-rate warriors or above, so he had no choice but to hire men far less capable than the guards who usually accompanied him.

If he berated them now, he would merely disgrace himself further by admitting that he had failed to defend against a surprise attack from a mere Taeul Sect disciple.

“Those bastards…… Did they flee?”

“No…… The thing is……”

Song Baek turned in the direction indicated by his guard and found utter chaos.

Countless people who had held back out of consideration for the Huayang Escort Agency were now charging at Jin Sowoon.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

Jin Sowoon faced more than a dozen swords alone, yet he did not appear burdened.

Instead, his sword, which appeared and vanished amid a mixture of illusion and reality, looked profoundly mysterious.

Like a tightly closed flower bud blooming and withering again, his blue sword blade moved with such elegance that it stole everyone’s attention.

“Keuk!”

“Guh!”

“Urgh!”

And whenever the black flower bloomed, three or four warriors fell away with deep wounds.

‘Just how advanced are his martial arts……?’

Most of the warriors gathered in Suzhou were only second-rate.

Even among the examinees, many had yet to reach the first-rate level.

Even against opponents of that level, facing ten or twenty at once was no easy feat.

Yet Jin Sowoon was doing exactly that.

“His junior brothers…… Attack them first……”

Song Baek quickly searched for the Taeul Sect disciples, whose beggar-like appearances made them indistinguishable from Beggar Gang disciples.

According to the information gathered, their cultivation amounted to only around ten years.

If they could be subdued—

“They…… are not easy opponents either.”

“What?”

Beside Jin Sowoon, the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers were making strange noises.

Each held a sword in his right hand and food in his left.

‘Food?’

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Slurp.

Clang, clang!

The movements of the three brothers aligned perfectly, as though they were one person.

When the eldest-looking brother lowered his head to eat tofu with scallions, the second brother blocked the sword descending toward his back.

The youngest child attacked the opponent’s vital points with a blade even sharper than those of his brothers.

Once one enemy fell, the second brother lowered his head to eat twice-cooked pork.

During that time, the eldest protected his back while the youngest attacked.

They looked like a traveling street troupe performing a comedic play with perfectly coordinated movements.

The problem was that real warriors continued collapsing throughout the performance.

“All the warriors from Hanseong Martial Hall have been incapacitated.”

“The disciples of Gwantae Martial Hall have already been knocked unconscious as well.”

“What?”

The Huayang Escort Agency directly supported no fewer than twenty martial halls throughout Suzhou.

It had called in even those taking the Martial Academy examination in other regions.

Yet all of them still could not deal with a few disciples of the Taeul Sect?

“Where are the warriors of Yanghwa Martial Hall and Hahwa Martial Hall?”

“……”

The guard’s expression stiffened.

“Young Master, they were prepared specifically for you.”

No matter how many martial halls one possessed, differences in martial power overwhelmed mere numbers.

For that reason, the Huayang Escort Agency had selected its most capable escort warriors and operated sham martial halls, much like the secret warriors of other sects, all for Song Baek’s benefit.

“If we do not use them now, when will we?”

Thanks to them, Song Baek had passed the first and second checkpoints without difficulty.

He commanded nearly three times as many people as the others, so most opponents did not even dare approach him.

“If the Diancang Senior Brothers are disappointed in me because of this, entering the Martial Academy will bring me little benefit.”

People believed that everything ended once one entered the Martial Academy, but admission was only the beginning.

Inside, one had to align oneself with the right faction, receive high scores while working alongside them, secure an advantageous assignment, and obtain the support of seniors in order to rise to a desirable position within the Martial Alliance.

Only then could the Huayang Escort Agency rise from being one of the five largest escort agencies north of the Yangtze River to one of the top three.

Eventually, it could become the greatest escort agency of all.

“Understood.”

The guard placed his fingers in his mouth and released a long whistle.

The piercing sound made several people clutch their ears.

They soon sensed something ominous and stopped moving.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

Bang!

The door flew open as though it might shatter, and warriors poured inside.

“Eek!”

The innkeeper, who had been preparing food in the kitchen, trembled with the expression of someone who had finally seen the inevitable arrive.

Crash!

Crack!

The inn rapidly filled with countless warriors.

Even then, more continued pouring inside without pause.

When the entrance became blocked, a small window overlooking the outside rattled before shattering with a crash.

Soon, even the wooden wall was torn away, allowing more warriors to flood through.

“Eldest Senior Brother! They keep coming!”

“What do we do?”

“……At least put down the food before saying something like that.”

No matter how powerful an opponent was, no one could withstand endless numbers.

The three brothers of the traveling troupe finally put down their food and roughly wiped their grease-stained left hands on their clothes.

“Come with us quietly.”

Song Baek spoke while wiping the blood from his nose and mouth with his silk robe.

“I heard the Huayang Escort Agency created sham martial halls to cheat in the examination.”

“Ah, should I ask my Senior Brothers from Diancang for help?”

“What are you doing? Subdue them immediately.”

“Take all their checkpoint plaques as well.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

The voices of the warriors thundered through the enormous inn.

The Taeul Sect disciples were driven toward one side until there was barely room to stand.

Then the martial uniform of Jin Sowoon, who stood at the very front, swelled as though it might burst.

The approaching warriors flinched and stopped.

How much internal energy did he possess to release such a powerful current of energy?

The moment Jin Sowoon extended his left hand,

the warriors instinctively raised both arms to protect their heads.

Then words Song Baek had never expected came from Jin Sowoon’s mouth.

Only a few people within the Huayang Escort Agency knew this secret.

How could Jin Sowoon possibly know?

Song Baek composed his expression so no one would notice his surprise.

“I do not know what you are talking about.”

“The Martial Academy itself encourages examinees to cooperate.”

“That applies only to cooperation.”

“Directly commanding them clearly constitutes cheating through the employment of more warriors than permitted.”

“……I have no desire to deny such absurd accusations.”

“If you insist on deciding who is right and wrong, come with me.”

“But is it really acceptable to waste such valuable personnel merely because of us?”

“What do you mean……?”

“You should know that the third checkpoint contains something even more important than the examination itself.”

“That is not your concern.”

Nothing happened.

Embarrassed, the warriors prepared to rush forward, as though there was no reason to delay any longer.

Crack, crack, crunch!

The pillars supporting the second floor broke one after another.

All the people waiting upstairs came crashing down at once.

“Aaargh!”

“Move!”

“Ugh!”

The inn, already filled with warriors, became complete pandemonium.

Jin Sowoon swung his hand toward the ceiling, blasting a massive hole through it.

The three brothers grabbed different parts of Jin Sowoon’s body.

A long thread then shot from his hand toward the ceiling.

“Thanks for the meal!”

“Ah, and we’ll put this to good use!”

Jin Sowoon shook a golden pouch and looked upward.

The four Taeul Sect brothers shot through the ceiling as though climbing a spider’s thread.

It was a bizarre spectacle rarely seen even among traveling street performers.

Song Baek stood there blankly for a moment.

Then he suddenly remembered the pouch Jin Sowoon had been waving.

He frantically searched inside his clothes.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

Everything was gone!

His banknotes and money pouch were missing, along with the most important golden pouch.

How had he failed to notice that the inside of his clothing had become completely empty?

“What is wrong, Young Master?”

“Th-That bastard……”

“Pardon?”

“Capture him! He stole the checkpoint plaques!”

After breaking through the inn’s ceiling with the Flying Dragon Claw, Eunho released a quiet sigh.

“At this rate, won’t people look at the Taeul Sect and call us a traveling troupe?”

Did he not realize that coordinating a sword formation while eating had looked even more like a traveling performance?

I had seen many performances by traveling troupes, but I had never seen anyone coordinate their movements as comically and perfectly as those three had just done.

“Is that important right now?”

“We have to leave Suzhou, don’t we?”

“Was that not always the plan?”

“Ugh…… I thought we might finally get to rest.”

Below the building, warriors of the Huayang Escort Agency and the martial halls under its command were shouting while pursuing us.

“Oh! That’s the waiter from earlier.”

“It looks like he has returned from his errand.”

The waiter whom we had asked to prepare bathwater and purchase clothes was running toward us with a bundle, unaware of how drastically the situation had changed.

I dropped to the ground.

“Gasp! You startled me.”

“Is that ours?”

“Ah…… It was you, Young Master.”

“Yes. I bought four sets of black martial uniforms.”

“Thank you. Take this.”

I handed him the pouch I had stolen from Song Baek.

The waiter jumped in surprise at its weight.

The pouch clearly contained far too much money for a simple errand fee.

“There is no need for this.”

“If you are truly pleased, one silver nyang would be more than enough.”

“Keep three silver nyang for yourself and give the rest to the innkeeper.”

“Pardon?”

“You’ll understand when you return.”

“There they are!”

“Oops. Then we’ll meet again another time.”

Leaving the bewildered waiter behind, I fired the Flying Dragon Claw and returned to the rooftops.

“Senior Brother, you stole something from that Song Baek or Hong Baek, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Otherwise, there is no explanation for why they are risking their lives to chase us.”

When I looked back, several escort warriors of the Huayang Escort Agency had leaped onto the rooftops and were pursuing us.

Perhaps because they were professional escorts, their movement techniques were exceptional.

I shook the golden pouch for them to see.

“Why are you unnecessarily creating more enemies?”

“I am not creating more enemies.”

“I merely gave a reason to those who would have become our enemies anyway.”

“Wouldn’t you feel wronged if you were pursued for no reason?”

We could have been overwhelmed and subdued by the crowd inside the inn.

I gradually increased my speed.

The Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers temporarily stopped their energy circulation and began matching my pace.

Dongryong, who was running at the rear, failed to adjust his speed properly and repeatedly muttered something.

“……When you are pursued without reason, give them a reason.”

“When you are pursued without reason, give them a reason.”

“When you are pursued without reason, give them a reason.”

“When you are pursued without reason, give them a reason.”

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t have any writing materials right now.”

“I’m repeating it so I won’t forget.”

Geumpyo and Eunho sighed simultaneously.

“We should leave the city first, right?”

“We cannot completely shake them off while we remain inside.”

Even though the government and the murim world did not interfere in each other’s affairs, the government office would inevitably intervene if people began fighting with swords inside the city.

When neither side could kill, the group with fewer people was at an even greater disadvantage.

If they made a single mistake—

Crossing rooftops was certainly much faster than weaving through crowds.

After several escort warriors pursuing closely behind us were knocked down by a few flying swords, no one remained to chase us either above or below.

By the time the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers began struggling as their internal energy ran low,

the city gate came into view.

Had it been night, we could have simply crossed the wall.

However, with the sun high in the sky, we had to leave through the gate properly.

“Eldest Senior Brother, there are too many people ahead.”

In the open area near the city gate, dozens of people and carts stood in a long line facing the entrance.

The moment I landed, I questioned a porter who appeared to be traveling with an escort caravan.

“Sir, is the line normally this long?”

“Of course not. Since when have those bastards carefully inspected people entering and leaving the city?”

Suzhou was a highly commercial city where an extraordinary amount of goods gathered even by the standards of Jiangsu Province.

Such strict inspections usually drew resentment from many people.

“Are they hoping for bribes?”

“How would I know? I’m busy, so stop asking questions!”

The porter did not seem busy at all.

I quickly took out a silver coin and handed it to him.

“Ahem. Since you appear to understand proper manners, I will tell you.”

“Earlier, the leader of the Geonjang Trading Company tried bribing the constables and was beaten to a pulp.”

Nothing made sense.

There had been no inspection when we entered Suzhou.

“I heard the Huayang Escort Agency requested stricter inspections of anyone leaving for the next few days.”

“Isn’t the newly appointed county magistrate in Suzhou a former renowned escort warrior from the Huayang Escort Agency?”

Only then did the pieces fit together.

The Huayang Escort Agency had turned the entire city of Suzhou into one massive encirclement.

“Are the other gates the same?”

“This road to the north gate is the least strict.”

“The constable captain there is an indescribable thug.”

“He might be persuaded if you give him enough money.”

At that moment, a commotion began in the distance.

The Huayang Escort Agency and the warriors gathered in Suzhou were approaching.

“Should we hide somewhere else first?”

“Let’s move.”

We immediately headed toward the east gate, only to stop.

A group emerged from an alley as though they had been waiting and blocked our path.

When we moved toward the south gate, the escort warriors pursuing us arrived.

At the west gate, the people summoned earlier by the Huayang Escort Agency’s whistle appeared.

‘They intended to capture us among the constables from the beginning.’

Because the area lay near an inspection post, the open ground was broad.

Nearby constables remained tense, ready to intervene at any moment.

They would certainly act if anyone was killed.

Even if the battle merely intensified, they would intervene under the pretext of protecting civilians.

The trap had already been completed before we ever entered Suzhou.

“What do you think of the trap I designed?”

Song Baek walked out from among the Huayang Escort Agency’s warriors.

The anxiety he had shown after losing the checkpoint plaques was completely gone.

He looked triumphant, like someone declaring checkmate in a game of janggi.

“Your talent is wasted beneath the Diancang Sect.”

That was my honest impression.

Even if I had been the heir to the Huayang Escort Agency, I would have constructed the same encirclement.

“But do you think we will surrender the checkpoint plaques merely because we fear killing someone?”

“……We will find out soon enough.”

Song Baek looked toward the top of the city gate.

A man who appeared to be the county magistrate waved a flag.

Archers on the city wall began nocking their arrows.

“No wonder you were willing to cheat your way into the Martial Academy’s official examination.”

“Now, return them quietly.”

Song Baek extended his hand.

I looked toward the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers.

Every one of them shook his head slightly.

Noticing the intentions of my junior brothers, Song Baek added,

“My Senior Brothers only wanted Young Master Jin from the beginning.”

“They do not care what happens to your junior brothers.”

Song Baek growled through gritted teeth.

I was about to reach inside my clothes without hesitation when—

“Wait!”

A clear, high-pitched voice rang across the open ground.

Everyone hurriedly looked around for its source.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

A faint vibration shook the earth.

Then one hundred and fifty mounted warriors appeared, radiating the imposing spirit of dragons.

Their magnificent appearance made even the county magistrate and constables atop the wall flinch.

“Young Master Jin!”

“Young Master Jin!”

The appearance of completely unexpected people made me forget even to watch Song Baek.

“Young Lady Seong Moran…… Young Lady Namgung Seonhwa?”