Chapter 353
After laying down the law to the mountain bandit leaders at Dabie Mountain and descending, Maeng Gwang-gae was waiting for me there.
Next to him was a bundle about the size of a person.
No, actually, it was a person. It was Ma Cheon-deuk, wrapped tightly in a blanket for Maeng Gwang-gae to take to the Martial Alliance.
"Unhwi-ya. What did they say they'd do?"
"Of course, they said they'd do as I said. Now it's the Elder's turn to help a little."
"Me? What?"
"Now that I've done my part yelling and persuading, shouldn't the Beggars' Sect monitor whether it's being carried out well? Since you're the best information organization in the Central Plains, I'd appreciate it if you could watch to see if road construction has started in the mountains across the Central Plains, and if the mountain bandits are collecting tolls fairly."
"Tsk. Do you think our Beggars' Sect is a place that does everything you ask?"
"You won't do everything, but I believe you'll do anything that benefits the martial world and is sufficiently reasonable."
"You insolent brat."
Maeng Gwang-gae clicked his tongue but smiled.
In fact, he still hadn't fully shaken off his dazed feeling.
He had returned to the Martial Alliance and had a long conversation with the Green Snake, and was just about to start using the information he got from her to look for the Evil Faction Alliance.
'Elder. I've caught Ma Cheon-deuk. Please send personnel to escort him.'
He had been thinking of Ma Cheon-deuk as his next target anyway.
But to suddenly get a message saying he had been caught.
He couldn't not come himself.
"Just tell me how you caught this guy. When I asked you to tell me earlier, didn't you say you had to go quickly while the mountain bandits were gathered?"
"It was urgent then. What happened earlier was..."
I told Maeng Gwang-gae everything that had happened earlier.
Then Maeng Gwang-gae sometimes laughed, and sometimes got angry, as he listened to my whole story.
"Kehaha! You're the only one who would lure and catch enemies like that."
"The important thing is that it's not over here. This time, I deliberately let the enemies know that I am Unhwi of the Wudang Sect, so someone will definitely come soon. It's highly likely to be Dokgo Ju-gwak."
"You think so?"
"Yes. From the information I heard, the Evil Faction's First Sword, Gal Ryeok-hyeok, has entered seclusion. He probably hasn't come out yet."
He nodded with a firm expression.
But his expression was not entirely clear.
"Why the long face? Are you worried about me and the Wudang Sect?"
"Worried? What's there to worry about! After traveling with you for so long, one thing I've learned for sure is that you're not someone I need to worry about. If I ask you to do one thing, you do ten, and if I ask for ten, you do the rest on your own. What's the point of me worrying about you?"
What Maeng Gwang-gae said was definitely a compliment.
But he has a knack for giving compliments that don't really sound like compliments.
"Well. So, do you have a next plan?"
"Yes. Of course, I do."
"What plan? Let's hear it."
I said to him with a determined expression.
"It's to train hard and become stronger."
"What? That's the plan?"
"Yes. Dokgo Ju-gwak will come looking for me soon. I don't know how he'll come... but I just have to catch him when he does. Then the only disciple left for the Evil Faction Alliance Leader will be Gal Ryeok-hyeok."
Although I said I had already caught three of his disciples, in fact, the real power of the Evil Faction Alliance is Dokgo Ju-gwak's Four Evils Alliance and Gal Ryeok-hyeok's Four Evils Heaven.
Although the Green Forest Bandits have many numbers and a large force, as I saw on Dabie Mountain just before, they are just a gathering of a disorderly mob.
They may be threatening to merchants or travelers who don't know martial arts, or who have learned it but not properly, but to orthodox martial artists, they are beings that can be wiped out at any time if they put their minds to it.
In contrast, the Four Evils Heaven and the Four Evils Alliance are threatening groups.
In about five years, they will each grow into a force that can face one of the Nine Sects One Union.
'Of course, it seems it will be hard for them to get that strong now.'
If I think about it carefully, the reason they were able to become such a strong sect in such a short time in my past life was probably thanks to the money Go Mun-tak collected from the brothels and inns of Wuhan, the Green Snake from various gambling houses, and finally Ma Cheon-deuk from the Green Forest.
But now that I've caught all three of them and cut off their money supply, I wonder if their growth will be quite slowed down.
"Tsk. What are you going to do if the Four Evils Heaven bastards try to assassinate you?"
"Then that's actually a relief. I just need to be on my guard at all times, right?"
"You brat. Really..."
Maeng Gwang-gae let out a hollow laugh as if he were dumbfounded.
My attitude, as if I were welcoming an assassin, must have seemed absurd.
"And no matter how much of a Dokgo Ju-gwak he is, he won't be able to start a fight with our Wudang Sect head-on right now."
"Why do you think so?"
"Although his Four Evils Heaven seems to be doing quite well in Sichuan, if he were to face the Wudang Sect head-on, if he's lucky, it would be a mutual destruction. If he's unlucky, his sect might be annihilated. The Evil Faction Alliance Leader is planning to raise them to strike the entire martial world, but if they are annihilated before they have even grown to their target, how regrettable would that be for the Evil Faction Alliance Leader?"
"So in the end, the only methods the Evil Faction Alliance Leader can choose are to assassinate you, or to send Dokgo Ju-gwak to beat you one-on-one."
"That's exactly it. And when I return to the Wudang Sect, I'm thinking of deliberately taking on another mission to act separately from the Wudang Sect. To make it easier for them to target me."
Maeng Gwang-gae, as if he were dumbfounded again, clicked his tongue.
"Do you have no fear?"
"Yes? I have a lot of fear. It's because I have a lot of fear that I'm doing all this."
"Tsk. Nonsense. From what I see, you've got guts of steel. Otherwise, there's no way you could make such a reckless plan."
"However, I don't seem to be very scared of the things I have to face and experience myself."
"A little while ago, you said you had no fear?"
"That's not me..."
I, after pausing for a moment, continued.
"I'm scared that the people around me will get hurt because of what I've done. So when I make a plan with someone, I think I try to choose the safest method possible. After all, I can always get away if something happens, but my senior brothers can't."
I, feeling awkward about the suddenly serious atmosphere, forced a smile and said, "Anyway, I won't take up any more of your time. You have to take that guy and interrogate him as soon as possible. It would be even better if you could find out the identity of the Evil Faction Alliance Leader or his location."
"Tsk. It probably won't be easy. I tried hard to get that out of the Green Snake, but it seems some kind of prohibition was placed on her, as she becomes a fool whenever she tries to talk about the Evil Faction Alliance Leader."
"To place such a prohibition even on his disciples... he's a very vicious person."
"That's what I'm saying. Anyway, you should get going too. Go back to the Wudang Sect safely."
"Yes, elder."
"Then see you next time."
Maeng Gwang-gae, after a brief farewell with me, started running north with Ma Cheon-deuk on his back.
Because now is the time to return to the Wudang Sect as soon as possible, receive the next mission, and concentrate on training.
Last time I fought Dokgo Ju-gwak, I barely won by mobilizing both the turtle shell and the flexible sword.
Although I have improved a lot compared to then, I should never be careless.
'This time, I'll crush him with skill, not luck.'
Whether it's Dokgo Ju-gwak or anyone else, I have to crush and overcome them to be able to handle the next stage smoothly.
I, hardening my will, began to descend to where my senior brothers were waiting.
'Hmm... since I've come this far, should I take my senior brothers to the Martial Alliance?'
From Dabie Mountain to Kaifeng, where the Martial Alliance is, it takes only three days by movement technique.
Since I had come this far, I thought of showing my senior brothers around the Martial Alliance, and also greeting the Alliance Leader myself.
'Since this job ended sooner than I thought.'
I decided to go up to Kaifeng.
Not necessarily for myself, but because I thought seeing a big city and experiencing the Martial Alliance would definitely be good for my senior brothers' development.
***
Maeng Gwang-gae, who was continuing to go north with Ma Cheon-deuk on his back.
He recalled Unhwi, with whom he had just had a conversation.
'He really is an amazing guy.'
To be honest, if his personality had been a little better, he would have cherished Unhwi a little more.
But he was clumsy at expressing his emotions, and he even had a personality of being blunt to good people.
'I should tell the Alliance Leader about this and ask him to give Unhwi a reward. Whether it's a secret manual or an elixir.'
Although their sects were different, he hoped that Unhwi would develop more than he was now.
He also hoped that he would develop more, become stronger, and become the center of the martial world in the future.
The masters who are supporting the martial world now are all old.
Someday, there will have to be a generational change, and he hoped that Unhwi would be at the center of it, and he probably would be.
He became a streak of wind and ran at a tremendous speed.
Even though he was carrying a grown man on his back, his speed was not much different from when he usually ran.
Just from that, one could get a glimpse of how profound his internal energy was.
But Maeng Gwang-gae, who had been running well in a straight line, suddenly turned to the side, and to control that force, he spun around and landed lightly on the ground.
A sword was stuck in the path where Maeng Gwang-gae had been running.
Someone had thrown a sword at the running Maeng Gwang-gae, and Maeng Gwang-gae had dodged it without even realizing it.
"Who is it!"
Maeng Gwang-gae shouted sharply.
Until just before the sword flew, he had not felt any presence or energy from the direction the sword had come from.
And it's the same now.
Although it was clear that someone had attacked him, he couldn't feel who it was, or how many there were.
To think that even with Maeng Gwang-gae's level of qi sense, he couldn't feel anything.
He was clearly a considerable master.
Maeng Gwang-gae turned his head this way and that, and turned his eyes, to grasp the surrounding terrain.
And in an instant, he made the best choice he could.
He suddenly kicked the ground hard and shot up.
The place where he had been standing had many places to hide his body in the surrounding trees and rocks, and many places to dodge attacks.
But, if you go up into the trees, the places to hide disappear.
Although you could say that you can attack from below, if you ride the treetops well, the trees themselves become a screen and block the attacks.
'It's not time to fight.'
Maeng Gwang-gae's hands were in an inconvenient state because he was carrying Ma Cheon-deuk.
If he fought while carrying Ma Cheon-deuk on one shoulder, he could use one hand, but it is natural that it is difficult to exert his full strength if he fights so uncomfortably.
So Maeng Gwang-gae, stepping only on the treetops, began to run at full speed using his movement technique.
Although he was curious about who the opponent was and why he was attacking him, if he tried to solve his curiosity, he might lose Ma Cheon-deuk, whom he had caught with great difficulty, or his own life might be in danger.
Although Maeng Gwang-gae sometimes seems reckless, when it comes to missions, he is thorough and cool-headed.
He chose practical benefits over curiosity.
He began to deploy his movement technique at a much faster speed than before.
Although his internal energy was decreasing at a very fast rate, he was getting closer to Kaifeng at that much of a fast rate.
'Come and get me if you can.'
Maeng Gwang-gae was confident.
Because he thought that no matter who came, they wouldn't be able to chase him.
However.
Maeng Gwang-gae, feeling a chill from behind, quickly bent his waist.
A desolate sword qi grazed right above Ma Cheon-deuk.
At some point, a strange person had caught up behind Maeng Gwang-gae.
'His movement technique is faster than mine?'
While Maeng Gwang-gae was thinking that, the strange person prepared to swing his sword again.
This time, Maeng Gwang-gae jumped down from the tree at the speed he was running.
Sword qi poured down on the place where he had been, and a quite thick tree trunk was cut down helplessly.
'What on earth is that guy?'
Maeng Gwang-gae couldn't hide his bewilderment.
The opponent was a much stronger person than he had thought.
(End of Chapter)