Chapter 351
My senior brothers approached me as I held the fallen man.
My senior brothers couldn't hide their bewilderment.
"To think such a strong person would suddenly harm himself..."
"I never thought things would turn out this way."
"I know, right? I was a little... surprised too."
Senior Brother Un-hwang, after thinking for a moment, said to me, "Are you going to keep your promise?"
Although I don't know what kind of answer he wanted from me, I just answered according to my own convictions.
"Yes. I have to keep it."
"Even if the opponent is a villain?"
It seems he is asking that, remembering that I had said before that a promise with a villain is meaningless.
But it didn't feel like he was reprimanding me for my words and actions being different.
On the contrary, he looked confused now.
It seemed he was asking that because he was genuinely curious about how I would act in a situation like this.
"Yes. The Green Forest King, Ma Cheon-deuk, is definitely a villain. The mountain bandits are very bad people who live by preying on good people, and he is their leader. And in the process of uniting the Green Forest under the orders of the Evil Faction Alliance Leader, a great many people must have died. In the meantime, other good people might have been caught up in it and gotten hurt or died. Come to think of it, that's not all. It's the same this time, right? Because of his purpose of finding the Green Snake, how many merchants from various merchant guilds, including the Eungnam Merchant Guild, have died or been injured."
"Then why are you trying to keep your promise with him?"
"Because I'm not a perfect person either."
"What?"
Senior Brother Un-hwang, looking at me who was giving a completely different answer than he had expected, tilted his head.
I, giving him a chuckle, said, "Just. I don't know if he's a lover, a family member, or a friend, but I don't feel like killing a person who is willing to throw away all his pride, and even his martial arts as a martial artist, and everything he has achieved so far, for the sake of others. And anyway, even if I keep my promise, I'm not letting him go, but putting him in the Martial Alliance's prison, so it's not that big of a loss."
Just in case, I once again grabbed the fainted Ma Cheon-deuk's vital point and, after infusing my internal energy, treated his internal injury a little.
Now, he won't suddenly fall into a state of qi deviation because of this injury.
"And the mission we were given was to solve this situation, not to kill Ma Cheon-deuk, right? So even if we do this, the mission is still resolved."
"Yes. If you think so, then it is. And... rather than explaining everything with logic. Your words just now resonated with me more."
"Really? That's a relief."
Fortunately, Senior Brother Un-hwang's expression was not bad.
No, it would be more correct to say that it was good rather than not bad.
Because his expression, which had been stiff until now, felt a little softer now.
"Is it all over now?"
"No. It's about halfway over."
"Why? What else is left to do?"
"We have to break up the mountain bandits who had gathered around Ma Cheon-deuk again, and we have to take this person to the Martial Alliance. Only then will we have perfectly completed the mission to save the merchants from the threat of the mountain bandits, right?"
My senior brothers all nodded their heads at the same time.
Although they thought it was all over, it didn't seem like they were dissatisfied because it wasn't over.
It's just that their tension was about to be released, but they held it back again.
"Yes. I was a little excited because I had met a master. I thought this was the end."
"Then what should we do next?"
As I asked, my senior brothers fell into thought.
Then, Senior Brother Un Cheol was the first to open his mouth.
"Until now, we have been waiting for the enemies here... now we have to go."
"That's right. And what else?"
This time, Un Gwang opened his mouth.
"Should we split up and have one or two people take Ma Cheon-deuk to the Martial Alliance?"
"That could be a way, but it's not the best way I've thought of."
"Ah!"
Un Gwang, as if he had a good idea, clapped his hands and said, "Then let's do this. We can just send a letter to the Martial Alliance and call for people."
"To where?"
"We can call them to where we will be moving, and we can just go there at that time. Have you thought about which mountain fortress to go to first? If you have a place in mind, I was thinking of sending a letter to send people there."
I, looking at Un Gwang who was speaking confidently, smiled broadly.
"Well done. Correct. That's the correct answer."
"Really?"
Un Gwang, as if he were genuinely happy, smiled brightly and said, "Yes. I was thinking of doing exactly that. If we send a letter now saying that we have captured Ma Cheon-deuk... perhaps that person will come himself."
"That person?"
"If it's a matter of the Evil Faction Alliance at this point, he's a person who would come right away, putting aside all other matters. His martial arts are also amazing, so his movement technique is also incredibly fast. We don't need many people to come, just that one person is enough to solve everything...!"
"Who is that?"
"Who else? Of course, it's old man Maeng Gwang-gae."
My senior brothers opened their mouths at the same time as if they understood, and I hurriedly began to prepare to write a letter.
To be honest, if it's a martial artist of Ma Cheon-deuk's level, at least someone like old man Maeng Gwang-gae has to come for me to trust and entrust him.
I was the one who knew best in the world how to write a letter to lure him.
"Senior brothers, shall we start preparing to leave? Our first target is Henan Province. Let's go to Dabie Mountain in Henan Province."
"I see."
My senior brothers didn't even ask where Dabie Mountain was.
It seemed they thought they just had to follow me.
While they were immediately preparing to leave, I looked at the fallen Ma Cheon-deuk.
Although he is a villain and an enemy, Ma Cheon-deuk is almost the first one I've taken a liking to.
Perhaps it's because he is a person who follows the universal values I pursue to some extent.
That is, things like righteousness, love, and friendship...
Just look at this time.
He's a bastard who threw everything away for love.
"Tsk. Try to cooperate well and survive until the end."
Somehow, I even thought that I would like this guy to change his mind, completely turn to our side, and survive until later.
***
Dabie Fortress, a mountain fortress at the top of Dabie Mountain. The situation there was very chaotic right now.
The reason was one.
Their leader and master, Ma Cheon-deuk.
Because after Ma Cheon-deuk had taken the four strongest of his subordinates and went to find the person who knew the whereabouts of the Green Snake, all contact had been lost.
"Does anyone know what happened?"
"Isn't it because no one knows that everyone is just wringing their hands like this? Even you, Lord Yeo-ung, don't know anything."
"Lord Jin-mi! Are you picking a fight with me right now?"
"It's not a fight, it's the truth, isn't it? Everyone here is in a similar situation, so you're not the only one who can get angry."
"Lord Jin-mi!"
The two strong men growled at each other as if they would fight at any moment.
They were the masters of the mountain fortresses of Jinmi Fortress and Yeo-ung Fortress on different mountains.
To be precise, it would be more correct to say that they were masters in the past.
Because the master of that mountain fortress now was Ma Cheon-deuk.
"Now, now. Both of you, please stop."
"Lord Dabie, aren't you frustrated with this situation? You've been telling us to calm down like that since a while ago. I can't tell what you're thinking."
"What do you mean, what am I thinking? I'm just hoping that nothing has happened. It seems like you two are fighting as if something has to happen...?"
At the words of the Lord of Dabie Fortress, the Lord of Jinmi Fortress and the Lord of Yeo-ung Fortress became like dumb people who had eaten honey.
Although it was by no means that they wanted something to happen as he said, to be precise, it was because they were almost certain that something had happened.
Because otherwise, there was no way Ma Cheon-deuk would have been out of contact for so many days.
"The ones who were sent to find out what happened at that riverbank have just returned."
"Oh! Did they find out anything?"
"Hmm... unfortunately, it is said that there was nothing there."
"Nothing? What do you mean?"
"Literally. It is said that not only the Green Forest King but also those arrogant people who called him were not there. They had completely disappeared from there."
"Where on earth did they go?"
"I don't know that either. But I was able to find out one thing. Whether it was the Green Forest King or those people... anyway, someone must have died."
Although they said that to each other, they thought that the one who had died was the Green Forest King.
Because if he had won, there was no reason for him not to show himself yet.
"Then what should we do now?"
"It's one of two things."
"What is it?"
"Either we wait here for the Green Forest King to come... or we each go our own way to survive. There's no other way, is there?"
"Hmm..."
The two who had been fighting continuously suddenly stopped fighting and began to pretend to be thinking about something.
To be more honest, they might actually be hoping that the Green Forest King is dead.
Come to think of it, it's inevitable.
Although the Green Forest King was called the Green Forest King, in fact, he was no different from an enemy who had oppressed them, who had lived like kings in their respective mountain fortresses, and had usurped their power.
If the Green Forest King had died like this, they could take back control of their respective mountain fortresses.
"Then I should go back to Jinmi Fortress for now. Just in case the Green Forest King has met with a misfortune, shouldn't I make sure my subordinates are not in chaos?"
"Come to think of it, I think I should do that too. For now, isn't it most important to prevent chaos in our Green Forest?"
The Lord of Dabie Fortress, seeing them who had shamelessly changed their attitude so suddenly, frowned without realizing it.
It wasn't that he was a particularly loyal person.
But, those two were people who made him think that they were too much.
When he, who couldn't stand it any longer, was about to say a word to them.
"Even if you say that mountain bandits have no loyalty, if you have submitted and decided to serve him as your lord, shouldn't you at least show that you are trying to find him until the end?"
Since it was a meeting of fortress lords, it was a place where only quite old people were gathered, but it was the voice of a considerably young man.
Everyone there, surprised, turned their heads to the side where the voice had come from, and on the window frame, a young man who looked to be about twenty years old, fitting the voice, was sitting.
While everyone was dumbfounded, not knowing who he was, or when and from where he had appeared.
The young man opened his mouth again.
"Ma Cheon-deuk is dead. I killed him with my own hands. So if you want to live, go back to your respective mountain fortresses and live quietly. Don't catch merchants like you're catching rats like you're doing now, just live by taking a moderate amount of tolls like you used to. Got it?"
While everyone was unable to answer the unrealistic words.
The Lord of Dabie Fortress, who had barely come to his senses, said, "W-who are you...?"
Then the young man said in a confident voice, "Me? I'm Unhwi of the Wudang Sect. If there is anyone who has a connection with the Evil Faction Alliance Leader, tell him clearly. That the Green Forest King, Ma Cheon-deuk, died at the hands of me, Unhwi of the Wudang Sect."
(End of Chapter)