Chapter 245
Before my regression, while observing the Black Lotus Sect Master interrogating captured Green Forest bandits, I happened to pick up various bits of information about their mountain strongholds.
The one I remembered that was closest happened to be astonishingly near—barely two shichen (four hours) away from the Tang Family's base in Chengdu.
"Cheon Hwi. Do you really think there’s one this close? I mean, I don’t mind wasting a little time, but..."
Seol Lihyang trailed off and glanced back. There stood Seo Mun-Hwarin, grinning blankly—not even chewing on sweets this time.
Lately, we had been frequently sparring to help restore the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art, and since she’d scored a win last night, she’d kept that smile on.
But that was only natural. Seo Mun-Hwarin had studied and practiced her clan’s martial arts for much longer than I had. Up until now, she’d simply lacked an in-depth understanding of the sword. I imagine her win rate will keep rising steadily from now on.
Of course, that doesn't mean she’ll defeat me every time. I’m helping her train to cover those rare slip-ups.
Though Seo Mun-Hwarin’s glee was the most noticeable, what Seol Lihyang had actually been trying to refer to were likely the people following behind her.
Seven Tang warriors in green martial robes, keeping a short distance behind us.
However, unlike before, these seven hadn’t been pulled from the Blood Venom Unit or the Dark Soul Unit. Their divisions didn’t matter—whether they belonged to the Blood Venom Unit, Dark Soul Unit, or even the internal guard that didn't usually operate outside the Tang estate.
What did matter was that they were all at least first-class martial artists. I had asked the Tang Family elders to select those who, with more real-world experience, could aim for even higher realms.
Each of them looked toward me with bright, expectant eyes, which made Seol Lihyang’s voice soften slightly.
“They’ve all come because they heard your name, Cheon Hwi. Their expectations must be high… If they just stumble around and go back empty-handed, that’d be kind of sad.”
“Don’t worry. You know the saying, ‘It’s darkest under the lamp.’ I’ve heard that these bastards picked this location for exactly that reason.”
They’d sneak in disguised as guards for a merchant caravan, then poison the group subtly so that they would collapse halfway up the mountain.
Then they’d kill every last one of them and bury the bodies—making it possible for them to commit banditry right under everyone’s noses without getting caught.
And since there was no one left to report the crime, it took quite a while for anyone to realize something was wrong. Once merchant groups began noticing the pattern, the bandits would simply abandon the base and disappear.
Then, once things settled down, they’d return—or do the same thing elsewhere.
Even if the one we're headed to now turns out empty, they’re likely holed up somewhere nearby. I still remember the general layout and patterns of these mountain bases.
As I grow older, I’ve become better at making practical use of my past life’s memories. So even if I don’t know about all their hideouts, I’m confident I can eliminate at least this one operating in the area.
I spoke casually, trying not to make a big deal out of it.
“If they’re not here, they’ll be at the next one.”
“And if they’re not there either?”
“Then they’ll be at the one after that.”
“Ugh..."
Seol Lihyang grimaced, clearly frustrated, but I simply shrugged.
“That won’t happen. But if it does, I’ll personally evaluate each of them one by one before we return. That should keep anyone from feeling like they wasted their time.”
“Oh, right. You’re a supreme master, aren’t you?”
Seol Lihyang widened her eyes, like she’d genuinely forgotten.
I hadn’t made a show of it around people like Tang Sowol, Seol Lihyang, or Seo Mun-Hwarin… but had she really forgotten? Or maybe she was just teasing me.
Seeing the mirth dancing in her eyes, I flicked her forehead and grinned as she flinched.
“Ow!”
“Anyway, we’ll see soon enough. Just be patient.”
“How long?”
Seol Lihyang pouted and rubbed her forehead. I gave her a playful smile.
“Like you said—about two shichen. In the meantime, go change into the disguise outfits so we’re not recognized.”
***
Exactly two shichen later, we found a mountain stronghold on our very first try.
While there were clear signs that people had lived here recently, there wasn’t a single Green Forest bandit in sight.
Instead, we found several corpses—recent ones.
Though winter was coming to an end, the air was still cold. Yet these bodies had hardly a shred of clothing left on them.
Their skeletal frames and long-healed scars gave away their identities.
“Civilians from nearby?”
“Looks like they used to farm here. Probably slash-and-burn farmers.”
Seo Mun-Hwarin frowned and surveyed the area.
She wasn’t the only one. Seol Lihyang and the Tang warriors all looked grim.
After all, who would be happy standing among corpses?
Seol Lihyang looked down at the bodies of a man and woman clinging to each other and murmured softly.
“Do you think they found out we were coming? Maybe they cleared out everything and fled in advance?”
“Unlikely. We left only two shichen ago. We changed out of Tang uniforms midway to avoid drawing attention. And after entering the mountain, we deliberately kept our distance so they wouldn’t get spooked.”
We had moved in groups of two or three, spread out to stay within my sensory range.
Those most recognizable—myself, Seol Lihyang, and Seo Mun-Hwarin—had covered our faces.
No matter how skilled the Green Forest were at fleeing, they couldn’t have gotten wind of us that fast. More importantly…
“These corpses aren’t decomposing yet, but they weren’t killed just now either. I’d say they’ve been dead less than three days.”
Seo Mun-Hwarin was right. That meant they probably hadn’t left the region entirely.
As I mentally sifted through remembered locations, I spoke.
“Let’s bury them first.”
Everyone nodded in silence.
***
Those with identifiable identities were respectfully gathered and laid together. The others were buried as best as we could manage.
With martial artists doing the digging, the task didn’t take long. The problem was that no matter where we dug, old bones kept surfacing.
We buried them for now and decided to send someone back later for proper recovery.
After descending the mountain, since we were so close to Chengdu, I sent a letter to the Tang Family rather than the local authorities, requesting help retrieving the corpses, and we quickly moved on.
We weren’t trying to track them by footprints or traces—we had no one capable of that.
Instead, I just followed the order of remembered hideouts from past interrogations, starting with the closest.
The first was a bust, the second had old traces, and the third—at last—we found them.
After half a day of running around, we finally located them just after sunset.
Turns out, these Green Forest bastards don’t just abandon and rebuild mountain strongholds over and over.
They do abandon compromised bases without a second glance. But when they relocate proactively without being discovered, they preserve the old base as much as possible—so they can return later and reuse it with minimal effort.
Makes sense. They’re a long-lived organization that’s managed to root themselves in mountains all across the central plains.
Decades ago, they were known to clear paths through mountains and chase off beasts, taxing travelers modestly and keeping to themselves.
But now, they’ve turned into something else—people who don’t hesitate to kill.
Those who weren’t yet at the Peak Stage were clearly exhausted from a full day of climbing.
Still, when they sensed the Green Forest was close, their determination reignited.
I addressed the group.
“Just like I said before. You all remember, right?”
The Tang warriors nodded quietly, then began splitting up into pairs and spreading out.
Seol Lihyang and I would move together. Seo Mun-Hwarin took the opposite side. The two Flowering Stage martial artists would use our sensory perception to form a wide perimeter around the stronghold.
We couldn’t issue real-time orders using voice transmission with this much distance and terrain in the way, but—
For Flowering Stage martial artists, the range of their senses equaled the range of their aura.
So we each moved into position, adjusting using prearranged signals via aura, then rapidly closed in to form a surround.
It was only after that the enemies inside finally sensed our presence and began reaching for their weapons.
But whether they stood and fought or tried to flee, the Tang warriors would intercept them.
Even if some managed to slip through, they’d soon be caught again—by me or Seo Mun-Hwarin.
With wide sensory range and fast movement, that was more than doable.
And it wasn’t just one Flowering Stage martial artist—we had two.
As we prepared to launch the ambush and focused on the directions they might flee—
“Do we really need to make this so complicated?”
Seol Lihyang tilted her head, gathered her internal energy, and leapt out ahead of schedule.
“Wait, hold on a sec!”
“I’m telling you—it won’t take long.”
Ignoring my panicked voice, she kicked off the wall and soared into the sky.
As soon as she locked onto the Green Forest bandits’ location, her lips parted and a beautiful melody drifted out.
It wasn’t quite a song—more like a hummed tune. But the cold embedded in her voice was on an entirely different level from the lingering winds of late winter.
The temperature plummeted, as if we had been transported to the North Sea.
A faint blue energy began forming around Seol Lihyang.
Then—
The moment her feet touched the ground again, she flew straight at the largest of the Green Forest warriors.
“This little—!”
The brute, gritting his teeth, swung a massive axe at the oncoming cold.
The blade, though dull in color, was clearly infused with sword energy. As expected from Green Forest martial arts, it packed quite a punch.
But it wasn’t enough to withstand Seol Lihyang’s Glacial True Qi.
Slice—
The cold she unleashed cut the axe clean in two.
Then the compressed cold inside erupted outward.
Crack!
Though the axe’s blade remained intact, the shaft instantly froze over, along with the man’s hands gripping it.
No—it didn’t stop there. Since he took the attack head-on, his face froze solid, frozen in a smug sneer. His upper body was soon coated in frost as well.
And the frost Seol Lihyang conjured didn’t stop at freezing half his body—it kept spreading.
It didn’t take long for him to become a pure-white statue of ice.
The sword energy clinging to the axe flickered once, then faded. He must’ve died right then and there.
“…Whoa.”
I knew Seol Lihyang had grown stronger in the North Sea. She’d properly learned cold-based internal arts, drastically boosted her energy reserves, and gained experience handling massive cold energy.
Still, I hadn’t expected her to take down a Peak Stage opponent this easily.
The mountain base fell into silence. And then—
“The Chief’s down! Everyone run!”
The Green Forest bandits scattered in the opposite direction from Seol Lihyang, in a panicked stampede.
Watching their retreating backs, Seol Lihyang cried out in disbelief:
“Seriously?! They’re running just because I took down one guy?!”
Well… If I were one of those bandits, I’d be running too.