Chapter 38
Chapter 38
“W-What did you just say……?”
The Water Bandit roughly blew on the finger he had been digging into his ear, as if annoyed.
“I said we need five more nyang of silver.”
Unable to endure such an outrageous demand, one of the passengers stood up and shouted.
“What kind of nonsense is that! With one nyang of silver, an ordinary household can live for an entire month! We already gave you five nyang, and now you’re demanding five more!”
“This is too much!”
“That’s right!”
Bang!
Apparently irritated by the chattering, the Water Bandit viciously scowled and slammed his harpoon downward.
“If you don’t want to pay, then don’t. Instead…… you know what we’ll demand, don’t you?”
The Water Bandit grinned cruelly, clearly anticipating the massacre that was about to unfold.
At that moment, someone spoke from the corner of the ship.
“You’re really talking shit.”
The Water Bandit’s movement halted for an instant. The others, their tension evident, turned toward the source of the voice.
Those who looked at Youngho with pale faces wore expressions of utter ruin.
In the end, he had done it. That rich family’s son had finally done it.
Youngho stepped forward and spoke.
“This is why Master told me to deal with the Yangtze River first. I really don’t like this.”
Tap.
Youngho stood directly in front of the Water Bandit and said,
“It makes me want to kill you.”
Seeing Youngho’s bold and upright gaze, the Water Bandit let out an involuntary scoff.
“Kid. Seems like you want to become some kind of chivalrous hero. But if you step forward, the ones who’ll suffer won’t be you.”
“I know. But don’t worry. That only happens to people who run away without taking responsibility. I’ll take responsibility.”
The moment the Water Bandit was about to say something—
Slash!
With a speed so fast that pain could not even register, Youngho severed the Water Bandit’s neck and gave a chilling smile.
“And starting today, things like this won’t happen anymore.”
Boom—!
Youngho stomped on the deck with such force that the entire ship lurched, then leapt upward.
Startled by the tremendous crash, the Water Bandits on the opposite ship leaned out onto the deck to see what had happened.
Slash.
The heads of the Water Bandits on deck shot into the air. Moving at a speed none could perceive, Youngho severed their necks and began cutting down every Water Bandit aboard the ship.
To the onlookers, it simply appeared as if the bandits’ heads suddenly soared into the air.
Seeing Youngho leap onto the bandits’ ship, Horyeung also boarded with Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon to assist him.
Thud!
But by the time Horyeung landed on the bandits’ ship, only Youngho and the ship’s owner remained alive.
He had been far too fast. In that fleeting instant, the vessel had been drenched in blood, reeking with the Scent of Blood.
At the sight, Kang Hosan unconsciously clenched his fists tightly, while Kang Chowon stood still with an expressionless face.
Just as Kang Hosan was about to ask something at the unusually detached look on her face, he saw it—his younger sister’s hands were trembling violently.
Watching them, Horyeung wore a sorrowful expression.
Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon were still young. No matter that they were members of the Unorthodox Faction, it was too early for them to face the revulsion of corpses and the terror of death. It was simply that Youngho himself was extraordinary.
And through this incident, Horyeung realized just how harshly Youngho would push Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon from now on.
If they failed to endure the process of growth, it would become poison. But if they overcame it, they would grow immensely—both physically and mentally.
Horyeung lightly patted their backs. It carried comfort, but also a message to look carefully.
This was the world they would have to live in. The world they were living in.
With deeply sunken eyes, Horyeung looked at Youngho. That not-so-broad back seemed slightly larger today.
Though he felt Horyeung’s gaze, Youngho did not turn around. Instead, he asked the stronghold leader of this ship,
“Take me to your Chief Stronghold Leader.”
Youngho’s tone, devoid of any emotion, was so calm it was hard to believe he had just killed so many people.
Manjeok, the stronghold leader of Taeryong Stronghold, could not control his trembling hands as he looked at Youngho.
Shiver—!
As if a massive sword were aimed directly at him, Manjeok could only swallow dryly, unable to speak.
“What are you doing? I said take me.”
When those utterly emotionless eyes—eyes like a boundless abyss—stared at him, Manjeok spoke in a quivering voice.
“If I do… will you spare me?”
“I’ll think about it. Even if you don’t guide me, I can still go. I’ve already been there before.”
“…Pardon?”
Then why ask for a guide?
Manjeok looked at Youngho with confusion, but Youngho simply stared at him silently with those same eyes.
Manjeok had seen eyes like that before. No—if one lived in the Jianghu, they were eyes one saw more often than expected.
But those who possessed such eyes shared one common trait—they were extremely dangerous. That was why Manjeok had always avoided associating with people like that as much as possible.
His life would be at risk otherwise. Yet in the end, he had encountered one.
‘A killing fiend!’
The moment he saw Youngho—who did not regard people as people, who handled others without the slightest consideration for their feelings as if they were mere dolls—Manjeok became certain.
This man was insane. If he did not obey, he would die without question.
“I-I will guide you!”
“A good choice. Take me to where your Chief Stronghold Leader is. If I think you’re heading somewhere strange, even a little, I’ll kill you.”
“……Yes.”
Manjeok could say nothing and simply obey Youngho’s command. His opponent was so strong that he was not even worth being called an opponent.
That killing fiend who did not even seem to have reached Coming-of-Age had likely killed as casually as one ate meals… no, as casually as one breathed.
Otherwise, such a feat would have been impossible. The Killing Intent carried within Youngho’s sword had been that horrific and terrifying.
Even now, whenever he blinked, he recalled Youngho’s sword—the blade that allowed not even the slightest deviation, nor the slightest mercy.
He would likely die here today. The being before him was more than capable of that. He could not even entertain the thought of a final desperate struggle.
In the end, Manjeok gritted his teeth and had no choice but to guide him to the waterway stronghold where the Chief Stronghold Leader resided.
Just as Manjeok was about to maneuver the ship—
Bang!
A woman with her face veiled in cloth—no, Hwangbo Nyeong—boarded the ship and spoke.
“Let me come along.”
Hearing that, Youngho broke into a wide grin.
“Are you crazy? Trying to start an Orthodox–Unorthodox War?”
At some point, emotion had returned to Youngho’s eyes. He looked extremely irritated.
“…….”
He was right. Judging from what Youngho had said, he was clearly going to meet the Chief Stronghold Leader of the Eighteen Strongholds of the Yangtze Waterways.
It was unlikely to be a friendly visit. After killing this many Water Bandits, it would be laughable if the Chief Stronghold Leader did nothing.
But what if someone from the Orthodox Sect, not the Unorthodox Faction, interfered there? And not just anyone, but a member of the Hwangbo Clan, one of the Five Great Families?
If that happened, the Unorthodox Faction—already desiring war—would seize upon it. And the Orthodox Sect, already enraged by the Unorthodox Faction, would likewise use righteousness as justification to ignite a war.
Given the current situation, that would be inevitable.
There was no way Hwangbo Nyeong did not understand such obvious logic. Yet despite that, the reason she acted so desperately could only be one thing.
Youngho shook his head inwardly.
‘All this over dodging one attack.’
To Hwangbo Nyeong, Youngho’s technique had been incomprehensible—something utterly beyond understanding, almost mystical.
In truth, it was not that difficult.
‘Now that I think about it, since she met me, hasn’t the future already changed?’
Originally, the enlightenment she was meant to gain within the Unorthodox Alliance might have vanished because of Youngho’s existence.
Perhaps his very presence had crushed the budding potential of the future Fist Queen.
With that thought, Youngho glanced subtly at Hwangbo Nyeong.
‘Should I take her along?’
When masters who had reached high realms fought, merely watching could bring enlightenment.
Having devised a good idea, Youngho grinned inwardly.
“You’re from the Orthodox Sect. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then you also know what will happen if you interfere in this matter?”
What would happen—it surely meant the Orthodox–Unorthodox War. Realizing Youngho’s intent, Hwangbo Nyeong smiled at him.
“I am aware.”
“Then who are you?”
“I am Hwang Dal, Sect Leader of a single-successor sect.”
“Good. No member of the Orthodox Sect interfered in this matter. You are neither Orthodox nor Unorthodox, nor do you walk the Demonic path. You are the Sect Leader of a mysterious sect. Make up a name for it.”
After saying that, Youngho turned sharply and spoke.
“Let’s go.”
At Youngho’s order, Manjeok began steering the ship, while Horyeung could not hide his puzzled expression as he watched.
Quietly, Horyeung sent a Voice Transmission to Youngho.
—Why are you taking that child with us?
If asked so directly, there was little he could say. If he claimed that she was the future Fist Queen, things would only grow stranger.
Not only would Horyeung refuse to believe him, he must not believe him. If he did, Horyeung would kill Hwangbo Nyeong immediately.
Think about it. If a future Fist Queen who might one day kill him stood before him in a very weak state, what member of the Unorthodox Faction would let such an opportunity slip by?
And if he said it was to stand against the Demonic Cult…
‘They’d really think I’ve gone insane.’
After much deliberation, Youngho cautiously replied.
—Doesn’t it seem interesting?
He meant it. As things stood, if he trained for about four more years, he could reclaim the realm he had possessed before Regression.
Until now, he had merely been walking a path he had already traversed once, which allowed him to advance quickly. But once he reached his former realm again, he would be stepping onto a path unknown even to himself.
If unlucky, he could suffer Qi Deviation and die. But if fate favored him, he might shatter the wall of the Transformation Realm and reach a level comparable to the Heavenly Demon—or perhaps even beyond.
At the very least, he intended to become stronger than he had been before Regression.
‘But I can’t do it alone.’
Though the Unorthodox Faction currently stood slightly stronger than the Orthodox Sect, the latter’s Junior Disciples would become absurdly powerful in the future—strong enough to more than contend with the Unorthodox Alliance.
‘What if those bastards grow even stronger?’
If they held firm conviction and truly walked the path of the Righteous Path?
There was nothing to consider. The world would become peaceful, and they would help block those damned Demonic Cult bastards more effectively.
If that happened, Youngho could retire in peace. And take a disciple—
The thought of a disciple made him give a bitter smile.
Meanwhile, Horyeung pondered deeply after hearing Youngho’s answer.
‘I cannot tell whether that is the truth.’
It felt as though Youngho had brushed the matter aside. Yet judging by his expression, it did not seem like a lie either.
If Youngho had spoken only the truth, Horyeung would normally say that arrogance was unwise. But he knew that Youngho was not someone who acted recklessly without thought.
Especially when it came to showing future events to that woman—who, despite her youth, seemed to possess tremendous skill. He would know it could be a grave misstep.
‘I cannot tell.’
He wanted to call it arrogance, yet Youngho had the skill to back it up. Was not arrogance from the capable simply called confidence?
‘I truly do not know.’
And so the ship slowly made its way toward the waterway stronghold of the Chief Stronghold Leader.