Kang Sogun

As Kang Sogun was lost in thought, No Ichil drank alone.

Although he seemed to be enjoying drinking by himself while eating side dishes, his mind was complicated.

-The Heavenly Martial Faction's Heaven's Mandate Brigade and Black Horse Brigade were annihilated by one person!

The faction he belonged to was not small.

They had eyes and ears all over the world, and when the fight between the Heavenly Martial Faction and the Three Blade Sect broke out, they had deployed more personnel to carefully examine the situation.

No Ichil had gone out in the morning and had heard the report about yesterday's events.

Although the Three Blade Sect had been annihilated, the Heavenly Martial Faction had also suffered enormous losses.

The Heaven's Mandate Brigade Commander, Wu Wonsong, had died, and the Heaven's Mandate Brigade and the Black Horse Brigade had been shattered.

What was unbelievable was that it had all happened while facing one person.

No Ichil had asked the reporting eye and ear again and again, but the answer that it was certain had only returned.

He was a man who used a spear like a ghost, and he had suddenly turned his horse and headed for Xinyang.

The eye and ear said that the Heavenly Martial Faction had been stirring things up so much that they had not dared to get close and had only crossed the mountain at dawn.

From the eye and ear who had remained and guarded the Three Blade Sect, a carrier pigeon had come with the news that the three brothers of the Three Blade Sect, including Yeon Seongyeol, had fought a battle with the Heavenly Martial Faction Master, Gu Yeongang, and had all died.

'Something is not right.'

The annihilation of a small sect on the outskirts of Wuhan might not be a big deal in a way.

It was common in the martial world for sects to appear and disappear.

Nevertheless, No Ichil felt that something was not right.

He had an ominous premonition that the prelude to a great bloody battle had begun.

The death of the Yocheon Pavilion Master was causing a great stir in the martial world.

The Heavenly Martial Faction, the Great Righteous Martial Hall, and the Dragon Slaying Society, which had maintained a balance of power with the Yocheon Pavilion as the Four Great Powers of the world, were each moving busily.

But No Ichil was more interested in the fall of the Three Blade Sect and the appearance of a master whose identity was unknown.

A master who did not even have the Heavenly Martial Faction, one of the Four Great Powers of the world, in his sights. He had never heard of such a person.

'Could there really be a master who annihilated the Heaven's Mandate Brigade and the Black Horse Brigade single-handedly?'

Probably not, except for the ten great masters.

But the man in front of him was not one of the ten great masters.

Although No Ichil trusted his intuition, since the matter was what it was, he carefully examined Kang Sogun again.

From his pale complexion and the strong smell of golden sore medicine, he could tell that he had fought a fierce battle.

'Is it really this man?'

Suddenly, Kang Sogun raised the wine cup in front of him and slowly drank it.

Then he said to No Ichil, who was examining him.

"You are not an ordinary merchant."

A natural condescension.

No Ichil was a person who handled information.

From just one word, he could tell that he was a person of extremely high status.

No Ichil played dumb.

"Since I'm a traveling merchant, of course I can't be ordinary. I have to hurry and get a position..."

No Ichil raised the wine bottle and avoided Kang Sogun's gaze.

"Are there no other survivors of the Three Blade Sect?"

No Ichil was flustered for a moment.

He had been momentarily angered by the continuous condescension.

His true identity was not someone who could be condescended to by just anyone.

But he suppressed his pride for now.

"I heard that a few people escaped. They said they headed for the Yangtze River."

No Ichil's words also came out naturally and bluntly.

'A few people?'

Kang Sogun thought of Yeon Hwasim.

The Three Blade Sect Master, Yeon Seongyeol, whom he had seen, was a person who cherished his daughter more than his own life.

That was why he had refused the Heavenly Martial Faction's marriage proposal.

'He abandoned himself and saved his daughter.'

A map appeared in Kang Sogun's mind.

A map that ordinary people would not even get to see in their lifetime was in his mind in detail.

'If they went to the Yangtze River, they would have taken a boat, right?'

He thought he could roughly guess where they would have gone. It also overlapped with his route to Nanjing.

After finishing his thoughts, Kang Sogun stood up from his seat and went into his room.

Kang Sogun disappeared without a word.

It was very rude.

But No Ichil did not care.

He let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.

'This...'

No Ichil felt a stream of sweat run down his spine.

He must have been tense without realizing it.

His body had reacted on its own to Kang Sogun's presence.

'This is the man.'

No Ichil decided to trust his intuition.

If so, there was a lot to do.

No Ichil looked at Jang Ung, who was slumped over the table, and then quietly stood up and went outside.

The sun set early in winter.

Around the time darkness fell, Kang Sogun came out of his room. He was dressed to leave.

He was even holding a spear in his hand.

The spear shaft, stained with blood, looked eerie in the darkness.

Old Man Jang, who was preparing dinner in the kitchen, saw Kang Sogun and asked with a puzzled expression.

"With that body..."

He was about to ask where he was going, but he closed his mouth. He realized that it was an impertinent question.

"Have dinner before you go."

Old Man Jang put the fried rice with meat and vegetables on a plate.

Jang Ung was slumped over the table where he had been drinking during the day, snoring and sleeping.

No Ichil's acupoint pressing technique was so exquisite that Jang Ung would not wake up until the middle of the night.

Kang Sogun stood his spear next to the table and ate his rice.

"Oh dear. I have to feed the horse too. If you're going on a night road, both man and horse have to eat well..."

Old Man Jang went to the stable.

The restaurant, with only one small lamp lit, was quiet.

Usually, there were three or four people who came to eat, but today, not a single person was seen.

Since Heavenly Martial Faction martial artists were stirring things up all over Xinyang with a murderous aura, everyone was cooped up in their own homes, being careful.

Creak.

A guest room door opened with a scream.

The young ronin came out, and he was also dressed to leave.

The ronin came into the restaurant, glanced at Kang Sogun once, and then went into the kitchen and put the fried rice that Old Man Jang had stir-fried on a plate himself.

The ronin, who had brought the fried rice on a plate, sat down at the table opposite Kang Sogun and ate.

The ronin's eyes were fixed on Kang Sogun. No, he was wary of the smell of blood that emanated from Kang Sogun.

Kang Sogun ate his fried rice without a word and stood up from his seat.

Just then, Old Man Jang came in. Old Man Jang saw the young ronin and tilted his head.

"Are you leaving too? Huh, what a strange day."

At a time when others were coming to the inn, guests were leaving one by one, so Old Man Jang thought it was a very strange day.

Kang Sogun stood up from his seat, took out a silver tael from his money pouch, and gave it to Old Man Jang.

"I'll have to give you change for this."

Kang Sogun waved his hand and went outside.

It meant he didn't need the change.

Old Man Jang hastily put the silver tael in his bosom and followed Kang Sogun out.

Kang Sogun went to the stable himself, untied his horse, and got on.

As he got on the horse's back, pressure was applied to the wound on his thigh, and a stabbing pain spread throughout his body.

He forcibly raised his internal energy.

'Will I be able to meet them?'

Kang Sogun was thinking of finding Yeon Hwasim's party.

Kang Sogun, without realizing it, felt a kind of debt towards Yeon Hwasim.

The moment he heard about the annihilation of the Three Blade Sect, the thought that if he hadn't killed Gu Yangun came to mind, and then he couldn't just stand by.

If you think about it, he had obtained the tracks of Jang Yeongyeong, whom he had been searching for so desperately, at the Three Blade Sect.

That fact alone made Kang Sogun feel a sense of duty to confirm Yeon Hwasim's safety.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

The sound of horse hooves with iron shoes echoed in the narrow, stone-paved alley.

Old Man Jang stood in front of the Huayang Inn and watched the back of the departing Kang Sogun.

He felt an inexplicable sense of desperation from the back of Kang Sogun, who was riding with a blood-red long spear slung across his horse's rump.

Kang Sogun disappeared into the darkness at the end of the alley.

Old Man Jang suddenly thought about the path he had never taken.

He had also thought of leaving Xinyang in his youth when he was full of vigor.

He had even imagined himself joining the army and making a name for himself on the frontier.

But reality had not given him a chance.

Old Man Jang looked up at the old sign of the Huayang Inn.

There was a spider web in one corner.

"Ahem."

Old Man Jang cleared his tight throat with a loud cough and then swept away the spider web with the broom that was standing by the door.

It was a spider web that he had swept away countless times over the past few decades.

If you look away for a moment, it appears again, so you have no choice but to sweep it away every time you see it.

"Have you finished eating already?"

The young ronin just bowed his head at Old Man Jang's words and handed him a silver tael.

"Why is everyone like this today? I'm short on change."

The young ronin also waved his hand and entered the alley.

The young ronin walked in the direction that Kang Sogun had gone.

He too soon disappeared into the darkness.

Old Man Jang stood with his broom and looked at the alley for a long time.

***

He entered the main road, but the road was dark and there were no passersby.

Although there were lamps hanging here and there, they were far from enough to drive away the darkness.

The windows of the buildings on both sides of the main road were firmly closed. Even though it was early evening, everyone was cooped up in their homes.

Meow.

A cat that was under a street stall cart ran away like an arrow.

Drip, drip.

A winter rain began to fall.

The street near the city gate was at least flickering with light. It was a place where inns, taverns, and restaurants were gathered.

The taverns and restaurants were firmly closed. Only the lamps hanging in front of each house were swaying in the winter wind.

Torches were lit at the city gate. In a large brazier on one side, firewood was burning.

Among the guards guarding the city gate, those who looked like veterans were warming themselves around the brazier.

Half of the city gate was closed, and there were no passersby.

Clip-clop. Clip-clop.

As Kang Sogun's horse appeared, a few guards looked over.

Seeing the spear on the horse's back, the guards looked away, pretending not to see.

It was forbidden by national law for commoners to possess weapons such as long spears.

But high-ranking officials and martial artists carried weapons without hesitation, and the guards turned a blind eye.

They did not get involved at all because they could lose their lives trying to enforce the national law.

This was especially true on a suspicious day like today.

The guards gathered around the brazier whispered and looked back and forth between Kang Sogun and the outside of the city.

One side of the foot-thick city gate was closed, and the other side was also only half open.

One of the guards approached and asked Kang Sogun.

"Where are you going at this time of night?"

"I have a long way to go, so I'm going on a night road."

Kang Sogun answered obediently.

After finishing the perfunctory question, the guard made way.

Creak.

As Kang Sogun went out, the city gate closed.

It was not a time of war, but it was a rare thing for the gate to close before the hour of Hai.

Kang Sogun did not care.

The main road outside the city shone under the moonlight. There were no lamps on the street, and it was desolate.

Killing intent arose from the alleys on both sides of the main road and under the dark eaves.

The gleam that was faintly reflected in the moonlight was clearly the light reflected from swords or sabers.

As Kang Sogun had thought, the Heavenly Martial Faction was guarding the entrance and exit of Xinyang City.

He could not tell exactly how many were ambushing.

Judging by the presence, it seemed there were at least a few dozen.

The Heavenly Martial Faction did not even care about the authorities. Although it was outside the city gate, they openly revealed their killing intent on the main road.

"Hah!"

Kang Sogun struck the horse's back.

The horse neighed loudly and ran out like an arrow.

Then, from the darkness on all sides, figures in black martial arts attire jumped out and followed behind.

At the same time, a whistle sounded, and a firework shot up.

(End of Chapter)