Chapter 39 : You Have a Bad Hobby
Jin Sohyun and Siu were obediently dragged away.
They had been walking for half a shichen, pushing through rough dirt paths and bushes that seemed to have rarely been touched by human feet.
Finally, a crudely made wooden fence appeared.
"It's me. Open the door."
At the leader's shout, the closed wooden door opened, and the scenery inside came into view.
There were three huts and a large bonfire in the center, and what looked like freshly caught animal meat was skewered and being cooked to perfection.
Around the fence were piled boxes and bundles that looked like they had been plundered.
"You stay here. You, follow me."
As the leader left Siu behind, her face turned pale.
"Young... older brother."
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen."
Jin Sohyun patted Siu's back and reassured her.
'Most of them are at a pathetic level. Is it because they are bandits?'
While coming to the mountain fortress, Jin Sohyun had been assessing the level of the bandits.
Their level was truly pathetic.
By Jin Sohyun's standards, they were riffraff who couldn't even be considered third-rate.
How bad must it have been for the pathetic next-generation talents of the Five Great Families to look like peak masters?
"If you stay quiet, nothing might happen."
The leader said this and giggled.
"Kekekeke!"
"Hahaha!"
The bandits began to laugh, revealing their yellow teeth.
Jin Sohyun contemplated and then followed the leader into the largest hut.
The inside of the hut was simple.
There were almost no furniture, and leftover food scraps and liquor bottles were scattered here and there.
In the center of the room, there was a large bed, which was unusual, and the bed made of soft animal hide looked the most luxurious in this mountain fortress.
The leader took Jin Sohyun to the side where the bed was and then grabbed his chin.
"To think there was such a handsome guy in Shanxi. He'll sell for a high price to those with unique tastes. I'll have to get rid of him quickly before the General Fortress Master finds out."
"Is there a separate General Fortress Master?"
"Yes."
"Then the plundering in Shanxi must be the order of the person called the General Fortress Master, right?"
"Yes! That's the reason we're doing this damn thing!"
"Aha! Then can you take me to the person called the General Fortress Master?"
"What? Hahaha! You crazy bastard!"
The leader thrust his fist into Jin Sohyun's abdomen.
Whoosh—!
But the leader's ambitious punch cut through the empty air.
"Huh?"
The startled leader's eyes widened as Jin Sohyun disappeared from in front of him.
"Is the General Fortress Master far away?"
At Jin Sohyun's voice coming from right next to him, the leader was startled.
"Wh-What! You! How did you do that?"
"What?"
"How did you dodge it!"
"If I got hit by such a slow punch, I'd be scolded by Master Bi. I might even have to be dragged back to the mountain and train in footwork again."
How terrible would that be?
While Jin Sohyun was trembling in fear just from the thought, the enraged leader extended his hand.
"You bastard!!"
But no matter how much he extended his hand, he couldn't catch Jin Sohyun.
The leader, who had repeatedly missed Jin Sohyun by a hair's breadth, could no longer bear it and drew his internal energy.
"How dare you use petty tricks!?"
As the leader took out a broadsword from his waistband and swung it, Jin Sohyun's brow furrowed.
"That's dangerous!"
Jin Sohyun opened his palm and strongly slapped the leader's back.
Slap—!
"Kkeuaak!!"
At the intense pain he felt in his back, the leader even dropped the broadsword he was holding and rolled on the floor.
It was as hot as if his back were on fire.
"Kkeu..."
The leader, who was tearing up, looked up at Jin Sohyun with a face that said he couldn't understand.
"You, you! What are you!"
Jin Sohyun picked up the leader's broadsword that had fallen on the floor and threw it at the wall.
Swoosh—!
The broadsword, which had flown at a lightning-fast speed, was deeply embedded in the wall.
The leader, who had been watching this blankly, trembled as he saw the approaching Jin Sohyun.
"Who are you?"
Jin Sohyun placed both hands on his waist and said confidently.
"A passing, benevolent merchant. So, will you take me to the General Fortress Master? I have a lot to say."
'A master... and an incredibly strong one at that!!'
Only then did the leader realize that this handsome man he had brought was an incredible master.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me quickly. I'm starting to get annoyed."
A sense of boredom could be felt on Jin Sohyun's face.
'What happens if he gets annoyed!? Is he going to kill me!'
There was no killing intent in Jin Sohyun's pupils. But that part made the leader even more afraid.
"Please just spare my life!"
"What? Why would I kill you, mister? By the way, what's your name, mister?"
"P-Palbong."
"Alright, Mister Palbong. According to what you said, the bandits are harassing the benevolent merchants of Shanxi under the order of the General Fortress Master, right?"
"That's right!"
"Then it'll be over if we just catch the General Fortress Master."
"That's true, but."
"Then please guide me."
At Jin Sohyun's request to guide him to the Fortress Master, Palbong's pupils shook from side to side.
"That is..."
"Why?"
"Then we'll both die. The Fortress Master is stronger than you think, Young Hero."
"Fortress Master?"
"It's another name for the General Fortress Master."
"Is that person that strong?"
"Yes! It's not for nothing that he became the General Fortress Master of the Seventy-Two Fortresses of the Green Forest!"
"Seventy-Two Fortresses of the Green Forest?"
Surprisingly, Jin Sohyun did not know about the Seventy-Two Fortresses of the Green Forest, the prestigious name of the bandits that any merchant would know.
As he tilted his head, Palbong blinked.
"D-Don't you know about the Green Forest?"
"No!"
"Huh... the Green Forest refers to the largest group of bandits in the Central Plains, which has seventy-two mountain fortresses. We are one of them, the Palbong Fortress."
"Palbong Fortress?"
Jin Sohyun frowned one of his eyebrows.
"Do you usually name the mountain fortress after yourself?"
Palbong scratched the back of his neck with an embarrassed face.
"It's not like that, but..."
"Anyway, hurry up and guide me to the person called the Fortress Master or the General Fortress Master."
"Th..."
As Palbong hesitated, Jin Sohyun's eyes widened.
He had tried to threaten him in his own way.
At his bulging gaze, Palbong sighed and slowly got up.
"Hoo... don't regret it."
'If he's incredibly strong, I'll have to run away immediately.'
Jin Sohyun stuck close behind Palbong and said in a rather serious voice.
"If you deceive me, I won't leave you alone."
"I understand. But there is one condition."
"A condition? What is it?"
"It has to look like I'm dragging you to the Fortress Master. To get to the Fortress Master, we have to pass through a mountain fortress called Gangseong Fortress."
"Alright."
As Palbong, who had nodded, sighed and came out of the hut, Jin Sohyun stuck close behind him.
"Why are you sticking so close? Doesn't it look strange?"
At Palbong's whispering, Jin Sohyun whispered quietly.
"This way we can talk to each other."
"Can't you just send a telepathic message?"
"A telepathic message? What's that?"
Palbong stared at Jin Sohyun with a face that said he couldn't understand.
Not a single trace of falsehood could be felt on his innocent face.
'A strange brat.'
To think that a master whom he couldn't even dare to look at didn't know how to use telepathy.
It was an incomprehensible thing, but for now, he had to match Jin Sohyun's demands, even to live with his limbs intact.
"We're going to the Fortress Master."
"What? We're going to the Fortress Master!?"
The bandits of Palbong Fortress blinked in surprise.
Siu, who had been squatting in front of the bonfire and tearing at the meat, shot up and came to Jin Sohyun.
"Older brother!"
"Are you alright?"
"Yes! I said I wanted to eat my fill and die before I died, so they gave me meat."
Whether she was brazen or confident.
Jin Sohyun, who stood behind Palbong with Siu, who had snatched meat from the bandits, whispered softly.
"Let's go."
"I under... w-well then! Make way! We're going to the Fortress Master."
"I understand."
As the fortress master's order was given, the bandits of Palbong Fortress obediently made way.
"Ah! We have to take that box too."
As Jin Sohyun pointed to the box on the cart and said, Palbong let out a light sigh and had two bandits of Palbong Fortress carry the box.
"Let's go."
Palbong, Jin Sohyun, Siu, and the two bandits of Palbong Fortress climbed the mountain again.
After walking for about an hour, a mountain fortress that looked like it had been built not long ago appeared.
"This is Gangseong Fortress."
As they arrived at Gangseong Fortress, a thin and tearing voice was heard from inside.
"Who is it?"
"It's Palbong."
"Palbong?"
The gate of the mountain fortress opened, and from inside, a withered man with a bent back scratched his thinning hair and asked with a puzzled expression.
"Why are you here? And what's with the riffraff behind you?"
"We have to go to the Fortress Master, so make way."
"Why to the Fortress Master?"
"Don't ask, just open the way."
"Kik? Kikikikik!"
The withered man staggered over, took out a curved saber, and held it to Palbong's neck.
"You bastard, you want to die... tell me the truth before I cut off your tongue. Why are you trying to see the Fortress Master?"
"Don't do something you'll regret, Ajeok."
Although he spoke strongly, Palbong intentionally made way for Ajeok and let Jin Sohyun step forward.
'If things go wrong, let's attack together with Ajeok. If I go to the Fortress Master like this, I'll die!'
Palbong planned to attack Jin Sohyun together with Ajeok.
"Hmph!"
As the man called Ajeok came over, snorting, Palbong cheered him on inwardly.
'Move quickly, Ajeok! Hurry up and draw this brat's attention with that dog-like temper of yours!'
As if he had noticed Palbong's heart, Ajeok's millet-like eyes glared at Jin Sohyun.
"And what are you?"
"Ajeok! Wait..."
Palbong pretended to stop Ajeok and pushed his back.
Ajeok, who had been pushed into facing Jin Sohyun up close, had his face contort.
"What's this handsome bastard? So unlucky."
Ajeok brought the curved saber he was holding under Jin Sohyun's neck.
"I get so pissed off whenever I see a handsome guy like you. And then I just grab anyone and kill them."
"You have a bad hobby."
"Kikikik! Especially those eyes... I don't like your eyes!"
Ajeok's curved saber stabbed in, aiming for Jin Sohyun's left eye without any warning.
It was a fast and skillful move.
"Kyaak!"
While the startled Siu closed her eyes tightly, Palbong clenched his fist.
'First, when that brat deals with Ajeok, I'll attack from behind!'
While Palbong was preparing a follow-up attack, Jin Sohyun, who had lightly dodged Ajeok's curved saber, strongly slapped his face.
It was a fist strike imbued with internal energy.
Thwack—!!!
Ajeok, who had been sent flying with a loud sound of breaking bones, rolled on the floor.
"Kkeureuk..."
"Ah, I didn't mean to hit him that hard. So why did you suddenly attack? You startled me."
Jin Sohyun, who had reflexively sent Ajeok flying, frowned at the feeling of breaking bones left in his hand.
"What the hell!"
As the bandits of the mountain fortress, who had been startled by the loud sound, came running out, Palbong hurriedly stepped forward and shouted.
"Stop! If you don't want to die, stay still!"
At Palbong's shout, the bandits stopped in their tracks and looked at Ajeok, who was sprawled in the center of the mountain fortress.
They were not fools either.
Having seen the fortress master get knocked out in one blow in front of their eyes, no one foolishly charged in.
'Damn it! I almost died!'
Although his personality was terrible, Ajeok's skills were outstanding enough for Palbong to give him a handicap.
In particular, Ajeok's saber technique, performed with a curved saber, had taken the lives of many martial artists.
But such a Gangseong Fortress Master, Ajeok, had been brutally shattered in a single blow.
'How strong is he?'
Ajeok's face, which he had briefly examined, was completely caved in.
His nose had lost its shape and was crushed, and most of his teeth were shattered.
At the sight of Ajeok, who would have to live on porridge, let alone meat, for the rest of his life, Palbong swallowed dryly.
"This is hell..."
Palbong hadn't even seen Jin Sohyun's fist strike that had hit Ajeok.
Feeling the gap between himself and Jin Sohyun once again, Palbong swallowed dryly.
'They say there are many reclusive masters and experts in Shanxi because of the Jin Family, so I've run into the wrong one!'
"Mister Palbong."
"Yes!?"
In front of the inexplicably polite Palbong, Jin Sohyun glared at him with a cold face.
"Are all bandits like this?"
At his question, Palbong couldn't decide what to answer.
To deny it would be to deny the very existence of bandits, and to admit it would make him end up like Ajeok.
"There are bandits like that... and there are bandits who are not."
Jin Sohyun was silently enraged.
Why did these people take human life so lightly?
Even though he had disfigured the bandit's face, Jin Sohyun did not feel any guilt.
It was the price for the karma he had accumulated.
"Let's go for now. I think I need to meet the person called the Fortress Master."
"Y-Yes!"
As Palbong walked ahead, Jin Sohyun, Siu, and the two bandits of Palbong Fortress followed behind him.
"That person... did you do that to him, older brother?"
At the question of Siu, who had not seen the situation properly because she had closed her eyes, Jin Sohyun nodded.
"Yes."
"Wow! To beat up a bad guy like that... it seems the Young Master really did learn martial arts!"
"Of course! Thanks to someone, I was trapped on a mountain and had to learn martial arts while being exploited for labor."
"Hehe..."
"Young Master."
Palbong, who had at some point started calling Jin Sohyun 'Young Master', bowed with a forced smile.
"If you go straight up this road, you will find the place where the General Fortress Master is. But Young Master... are you really going?"
Palbong, who was in a predicament, looked at Jin Sohyun with a pitiful face.
"Yes!"
Recalling the disfigured appearance of Ajeok from the sight of Jin Sohyun nodding confidently, Palbong looked up at the temporary main mountain of the Green Forest with an anxious gaze.
"Haa…”