Chapter 346
To be honest, this operation is quite reckless.
Because we have to leak our information to the opponent, and we have to face the enemy without knowing the opponent's information.
Then the biggest problem is that we don't know what kind of enemy will come.
Ma Cheon-deuk might suddenly appear himself, or perhaps his senior brothers like Gal Ma-hyeok or Dokgo Ju-gwak might come with him.
We can't even rule out the possibility that the Evil Faction Alliance Leader might appear.
But, there is one reason why I was able to choose this simple and foolish method.
It was because I had confidence in my skills.
Thanks to my experiences so far and the enlightenment I had recently gained, my martial arts have advanced by one step, no, by several steps.
On top of that, I have almost completely digested the Divine Eye Art I obtained from the tomb of the Meteor King and the elixirs given to me by the Martial Alliance Leader.
Now, I don't think I'm that far off from the self-reliant swordsman of my prime.
It means that I am confident that I can win, whether it's Dokgo Ju-gwak or Ma Cheon-deuk, whoever comes.
'On top of that, my senior brothers' martial arts are also more outstanding than I thought.'
As expected, they were not the Five Swords of Wudang for nothing.
Although my room's senior brothers are also on the strong side, the Five Swords of Wudang were even more outstanding.
The strongest person in our room after me is Senior Brother Un Cheol, but Senior Brother Un-ji-hak is on par with Senior Brother Un Cheol, and Senior Brother Un-hwang and Un Gwang are much stronger than him.
With this level of martial arts, they can surely take care of their own lives without me having to worry about them separately.
The fact that there is no one to protect means that I can focus on my own fight, so whoever comes, I will be able to fight them with all my might.
"Let's go north. I have a place in mind."
I began to move, leading my senior brothers.
Before leaving the Eungnam Merchant Guild, I asked Wang Hyeon-seong for a few things.
The first was to roughly write down the Green Snake's hairstyle and appearance that I knew and to stealthily spread a rumor that I was holding the Green Snake.
Wang Hyeon-seong said he could grant that request right away.
He said that not only the Eungnam Merchant Guild but also many other merchant guilds were suffering. Since they had decided to cooperate with all of them, he asked me to leave that to him.
He was rather worried about me. He said that if this happened, I would surely become the target of the mountain bandits, and asked if I would be okay.
'I came down from Wudang Mountain to become a target. This is how things get resolved, right?'
Although I said this to reassure him, in fact, it was not that different from my true feelings.
And I asked him for one more thing.
It was a request to secretly send a letter somewhere.
Although Wang Hyeon-seong seemed a little surprised to hear the destination where the letter should go, he still answered that he would grant my request since it was my request.
Only after asking for those two things did I leave the Eungnam Merchant Guild.
With the thick bundle of silver that Wang Hyeon-seong had given me, saying that this was all he could do for me, in my bosom.
***
We went further north than Yangfan, where the Eungnam Merchant Guild was, and settled down at the Dan River, a huge river that starts in Henan Province and flows down to Hubei Province.
Below the Dan River, there is a place called Danjiang-gu. It literally means the mouth of the Dan River, and the reason it was given this name is because the shape of the terrain is concave downwards, like a mouth.
"Unhwi-ya. Are you really going to settle down here?"
When I took him there, Un Gwang said to me with a worried face.
When I asked him what the problem was, Un Gwang looked around and said, "This is a dead end. I don't think there will be any way to escape if the enemies attack. It's written in the art of war that you should never set up camp in a place like this..."
Un Gwang's worry was quite reasonable.
Because at a glance, it was to the point where I thought it might look like we were going into Danjiang-gu to die.
Because if the number of enemies is so large that we can't handle them, we will eventually be pushed back and have no choice but to fall into the river.
"Grand Senior Brother. But on the contrary, doesn't it mean that we don't have to block the enemies coming from all sides, but only have to block the enemies coming from one direction?"
"That's true, but..."
"For now, the opponent is a mountain bandit. They will probably be a large number of weaklings rather than a super strong person. And given the nature of mountain bandits, if we seize the initiative at the beginning, they will be so scared of dying that they won't be able to come forward properly."
In fact, when you think of a mountain bandit, many people think of a hero of the mountains with a bristly beard, a manly build, and a bold and brave personality.
But in fact, the existence of a mountain bandit is not that cool.
Most of the mountain bandits I think of are fugitives.
They are losers who couldn't endure farming, doing business, or other labor and eventually went into the mountains.
Although they might be quite strong and some might even know how to use martial arts, since they are losers in life who have decided to make a living by taking money and lives from other people with such abilities, I don't rate them that highly.
In fact, the mountain bandits I have experienced were generally without loyalty or courage, and they had no trust in each other.
So no matter how many of them come in a group, if you teach them that the one who takes the lead will surely die, they are gutless things that can't even rush forward while hesitating with each other.
"I see. For now, you must have a plan, so you're suggesting this, right?"
"Yes. That's right. Instead of bothering to look for the bastards and what not, wouldn't it be much better to just wait here?"
I, familiarly moving my steps, went inside Danjiang-gu.
In fact, this Danjiang-gu was a place that I, old man Maeng Gwang-gae, and old man Pa-wang-jang used as a base when we were active together in my past life.
Because if you set up camp in a place that is blocked by a waterway like this instead of a place that is open on all sides, you only have to watch one direction to see if the enemies are coming or not.
Although one might ask if they could attack by swimming or taking a boat through the waterway if they put their mind to it, water makes a sound when it moves.
If a person swims or a boat moves, a different water sound is bound to be heard, and it is rather more convenient to defend.
According to old man Maeng Gwang-gae, the old Yangtze River Waterway Fortress had a technique to move a boat without making a sound, so it was difficult to face them at the waterside, but since we are not fighting them now.
"I think we can set up camp over there. For now, let's prepare for camping and also light a fire. I'll go get the firewood."
"I see. I'll set up the tent."
"Then shall I dig the ground? The fire won't go out easily if we light it in the ground."
"Yes. Please do that."
It seems that Un Gwang, Un-hwang, and Un-ji-hak are secretly enjoying this situation.
Come to think of it, it's understandable.
Although they have received minor missions from time to time, it is the first time they are performing a proper mission like this under the name of the Five Swords of Wudang.
"This place... is the same. No, to be precise, it would be more correct to say that it has been the same since then."
One of the reasons I chose this Danjiang-gu was that it was easy to get firewood.
If you go down the river a little, there is a place where dead trees are piled up.
It seems a whole forest has dried up and died, and although I don't know why this place dried up or since when it has been like this, anyway, I just have to cut these trees little by little.
Despite being by the river, it is well-dried, and it is a place with so many dead trees that you can't use them all even if you use them for a lifetime.
As I was cutting the wood and moving it, old memories came to mind.
At that time, I was in charge of all kinds of miscellaneous chores.
First of all, the age difference was too big, and Maeng Gwang-gae was the type to be okay with sleeping cold without a fire, and old man Pa-wang-jang had never done such a thing since he was young, so it took him a long time if I asked him to do it, so I, who was frustrated, was in charge of the miscellaneous chores.
"Unhwi-ya. You're here? We've prepared everything so that we just need to light the fire. Come quickly so we can light the fire and eat."
"How did you do it so quickly?"
"We just have to do this much since you've come all the way here."
Un Gwang answered with a grin.
In our campsite, a tent that could sufficiently block the wind was sturdily set up, and the ingredients were already taken out, ready to cook.
This life feels very different. I didn't know that being taken care of by someone would be this good.
"Yes. Let's just light the fire quickly."
I, deliberately speaking bluntly, put down the firewood and went to them.
***
About ten days have passed since we settled down here.
In the meantime, what we did was not much different from when we were at the Wudang Sect.
Just training, training, and training again.
"Haa. There was a part that I couldn't break through, but maybe because I did it while looking at the water at the waterside? I feel like the training is going better."
"Senior brother. Me too. Is it because the environment has changed? I think we should come out and train like this sometimes."
My senior brothers seemed to be enjoying this situation enough.
In fact, it wasn't like this from the beginning.
They were all somewhat nervous at the thought of being on a mission, and they felt impatient at having to just wait.
But as expected, time is the best medicine.
I suggested to them that what we had to do was to wait for the enemies to come while maintaining our physical condition at its best, and to do that, we should just continue the same training we usually did.
My senior brothers, on the contrary, regained their composure as soon as they started training.
"Hwi-ya. People are coming from that way."
When I had just finished my training and had even washed my body at the waterside, Senior Brother Un Cheol, who was on guard, came this way and said.
Although he had said it to me, since he had said it so that everyone could hear, everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered in one place.
"How many are there? Do you know who they are?"
"I don't know all their faces. But judging from their appearance, they seem to be mountain bandits."
"They're finally here."
"Yes."
I, after checking that the Red Dragon Sword at my waist was properly hung, said to my senior brothers, "They're finally here. Are you all ready to fight?"
Everyone nodded their heads at the same time.
It's not that we just trained for the past week.
I had continuously made my senior brothers aware that they could fight at any time, and it seems their mental armament is just right now.
"Now. Then shall we go and see who has come?"
I naturally started walking at the forefront, and we reached a place where we could see the guests who had come to find us.
"Wow. There are so many. It seems all these people have moved because of the five of us."
The number of mountain bandits was quite large. Even at a rough estimate, it seems there are about a hundred.
I looked at the person at the very front of the mountain bandits.
He was a giant with a huge build and a shaved head, and in his hand, he was lightly holding a huge crescent blade that other people would have to hold with both hands.
Moreover, judging from the considerable energy he had, it seemed he was their leader.
"Is it true that you know the whereabouts of Lady Green Snake?"
From that one sentence, I was able to deduce a few things.
First of all, that person is not Ma Cheon-deuk.
Because if he were Ma Cheon-deuk, he would be the Green Snake's senior brother, so he wouldn't say 'Lady Green Snake'.
And the Evil Faction Alliance definitely doesn't know that Maeng Gwang-gae has the Green Snake.
Because if they knew that, there would be no need to confirm with me.
"I'm not really interested in small fry. Tell Ma Cheon-deuk to come out."
"What...? You look young, but a puppy that doesn't know how scary a tiger is..."
He, while trying to say something in anger, was cut off.
Because the sword qi I had thrown at that moment had torn his earlobe.
When he was surprised by the secret and precise sword qi, I, clicking my tongue, said, "Tsk. I missed. I was originally aiming for that noisy mouth."
(End of Chapter)