NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
Chapter 74. The Black Flame Dragon Who Leaps over the Trial (2)
“…….”
“……Ahem.”
A strange silence settled over the room.
Not only we, who had entered with the child, but even Bang Du-chil’s gang, who had been making a racket, were all looking at Bang Du-chil with contempt for his utterly disrespectful behavior.
“I-I mean, I told you to tell the story obediently, did I not……?”
The old man had refused to speak, and Bang Du-chil had tried to hear the story, leading to this mess.
When I had met him, he had been bold and hearty, but I did not think he had been this ignorant.
“What does it matter to you whether someone else lives or dies…… Ugh.”
The old man, who had been passionately shouting in agitation, grabbed his waist and lowered his head.
“It is because of Twin Curtain Stronghold, is it not?”
“…….”
Deep worry settled over the old man’s face.
“Did Twin Curtain Stronghold perhaps drag away all the villagers?”
“…….”
The old man still said nothing.
Just as Bang Du-chil snorted hard again and tried to grab the old man by the collar, Baek So-ryeong approached the old man with a clear voice.
“Elder, my name is So-ryeong. It is a little embarrassing to suddenly say this, but my dear recently subjugated two mountain strongholds and secured two First Trial Tokens for the Murim Academy. So you may speak without being too afraid.”
At Baek So-ryeong’s words, the old man’s eyes shook violently.
Then his eyes met the child’s, and he let out a long sigh.
“As Twin Curtain Stronghold’s atrocities grew worse, the merchant alliance of Hangzhou tried to use wanderers to subjugate Twin Curtain Stronghold. But they failed every time, and each time they failed, the stronghold killed the villagers they had been using and hung their bodies in the village.”
The situation was more serious than I had expected, and none of us could open our mouths.
“Hunger and starvation are not things we have suffered only once or twice. We can endure that well enough. But I can no longer watch my child, or my friend’s child, return dead and hanging from a pole.”
Every time a subjugation force appeared, it was ultimately the villagers who suffered the harm.
With no one to protect them, they had been forced to defend their enemies for their own sake, a situation that made their hearts rot and crumble.
“Those rotten bastards deserve to die!”
Bang Du-chil shouted at the top of his lungs.
I asked calmly,
“What do they do after taking the villagers away? It is not as if they can take farmers and turn them into Green Forest bandits.”
“They say they include some of them among the Green Forest bandits, but most go there and do all kinds of odd jobs.”
It was not easy for close to a thousand people to scatter and live in a mountain.
Even just considering the amount of food consumed in a single day, it could not be compared to the villages around Mount Tianmu.
There was no way the violent and rough Green Forest bandits would cook their own meals, so those who were dragged away were said to be waiting on them while living lives less than human.
“Can they not run away?”
One of Bang Du-chil’s subordinates tilted his head and asked, and the old man shook his head.
“If there is someone who does not listen or tries to escape, they make an example by turning the village that person was dragged from into a wasteland. With all their families here, how could they dare resist?”
In short, they were holding hostages on both sides.
“I had heard that the Seventy-Two Green Forest Strongholds were rougher than ordinary mountain strongholds, but this goes far beyond the limit.”
Baek So-ryeong’s beautiful brow furrowed.
“……!”
Bang Du-chil rose from his seat without a word.
“Everyone, take your weapons.”
At Bang Du-chil’s subdued and solemn voice, the people with him also turned serious and began picking up their weapons.
“Did you not hear me say to do nothing?”
Bang Du-chil looked at the old man with emotionless eyes.
“Old man, is that child beside you your only remaining family?”
“…….”
“When the child grows up, Twin Curtain Stronghold will likely covet him. Will that be all right?”
The old man’s face twisted.
“If you stay still, you will keep suffering. That is the life of the weak. At the very least, you have to plant the idea that you are not easy prey if touched.”
“What are you trying to do?”
“I will go with my subordinates and settle matters with Twin Curtain Stronghold!”
“No!”
“Dear! That is impossible!”
The old man and Baek So-ryeong shouted at the same time.
It was the natural reaction of any sensible person.
“If you act recklessly, the families being held in the mountain stronghold and the villagers will all die! Can you take responsibility for that?”
“Dear! Twin Curtain Stronghold has five hundred people in each stronghold, for a total of one thousand. It is impossible with only us.”
Bang Du-chil’s expression crumpled deeply.
“So-ryeong, I will not lose to anyone. And old man, do not worry. I will bring back the families safely as well. I promise it on my name.”
Bang Du-chil was already not listening to anyone.
Perhaps because Baek So-ryeong knew Bang Du-chil’s personality, she merely shook her head, while the old man looked as if he might faint at any moment.
“I oppose it as well.”
“Hm?”
Bang Du-chil and his subordinates, who had been about to leave through the door, turned back.
“Who are you?”
——————
faqwiki.xyz
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“Me?”
I approached the child and held out my hand, and the child stared blankly before placing one silver tael on my palm.
“I am Jin So-un of the Taeul Sect, who has received a request from this child.”
“Jin So-un of the Taeul Sect……? You?”
Lately, I had begun to feel that more and more people recognized me.
As soon as Bang Du-chil’s subordinates heard my name, they began whispering among themselves.
“If it is Jin So-un…… Black Flame Dragon Jin So-un?”
“The rising star of the Black Path murim?!”
“The most underhanded Hidden Dragon?”
The problem was that rumors could not always spread the way I wanted.
I ignored the irritating words and continued speaking.
“No matter how strong you are, subjugating Twin Curtain Stronghold with a small number of people is impossible. Moreover, the enemy is even holding hostages.”
After hearing my words, Bang Du-chil nodded for the first time.
“As expected of the rising star of the Black Path murim, are you taking Twin Curtain Stronghold’s side?”
“…….”
I am not!
From the start, it was impossible to persuade someone who had complete faith in his own martial force.
I looked at Baek So-ryeong and said,
“Could you help me for a moment?”
“Yes? Me?”
“If I cannot persuade that man, I feel he will go to Twin Curtain Stronghold just like this. Then neither he nor the hostages being held there will be safe.”
“……Very well.”
After Baek So-ryeong nodded, I pulled her toward me with one hand.
“Oh my!”
Her body carried the same scent of violets as it had in my previous life.
At that, Bang Du-chil raised one eyebrow.
“……What are you doing?”
“Try saving her.”
“What?”
I lifted the Black Dragon Sword, still in its Sword Sheath, and placed it against Baek So-ryeong’s neck.
“I told you to try saving her.”
“…….”
The moment Bang Du-chil took one step forward with his fierce eyes,
I cut Baek So-ryeong’s neck.
“Oh!”
“She died once.”
“…….”
Bang Du-chil’s eyes turned cold, and he drew up his internal power.
Wooooong.
Wind began to swirl around his body.
Although the Gale Art Bang Du-chil had learned was an immortal Daoist-lineage cultivation, it was made in a way that forcibly gathered vast inner arts, so if used incorrectly, it had a high chance of making one fall into Qi Deviation or become an invalid.
However, for Bang Du-chil, whose otherworldly constitution called the Heavenly Dipper Limitless Body could perfectly compensate for the drawbacks of Qi Deviation, it became the greatest martial art for gathering and releasing inner arts faster than any other.
BOOM!
The suction force of the Gale Mad Demon Fist pulled Baek So-ryeong and me toward him.
I stepped with the Taeul Eighty-Thousand Divine Steps, left an illusion behind, avoided the Gale Mad Demon Fist, and cut Baek So-ryeong’s neck again.
“She died twice.”
“……You bastard!”
Bang Du-chil had developed the Gale Fist and Gale Kick, derived from the Gale Art, into his own unique martial arts.
The Gale Whirling Lotus Kick, which had not yet reached completion, exploded forth.
THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD!
Old furniture burst apart wildly, and Bang Du-chil’s feet exploded in every direction, but they only touched illusions.
Nothing reached Baek So-ryeong or me.
“She died three times.”
“……Damn it!”
Bang Du-chil, who was gradually becoming agitated, gathered True Qi in both hands.
He was trying to fire the Gale Divine Palm, which could use his inner arts in the most destructive way.
“……If you fire that, this young lady will be struck as well. Do you want to kill her directly with your own hands?”
“…….”
The broken debris on the floor resonated and trembled, then soon subsided.
The wind that had been swirling around him also vanished shortly after.
Although he was wrong, his face showed that he could not easily admit he was wrong.
“…….”
Silence also settled among Bang Du-chil’s party.
“When hostages are being held, you cannot act recklessly.”
Baek So-ryeong also nodded at my words.
“Dear, Young Master Jin is right.”
“……That does not mean we can simply stand by and watch.”
“I am not saying we should simply stand by and watch. I am saying we need a different operation.”
“Do you have another operation?”
Bang Du-chil’s party and the Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers looked at me with eyes full of expectation.
“Yes. Of course I do.”
“What is it?”
CRASH!
Just as I was about to continue speaking, the sound of a building breaking came from outside the door.
Bang Du-chil and all of us headed outside the dining hall at once.
“Kahahahahaha!”
“Break it! Smash it to pieces!”
“You! You are going to our Fire Curtain Stronghold.”
Around twenty bandits were surrounding a house, dragging out a family while breaking the building and setting it on fire.
Bang Du-chil and his party looked ready to rush out at any moment.
“If you step out now, you will not be able to save the hostages properly.”
At my words, Bang Du-chil flinched and glared at me with wide eyes.
“As long as they do not die, we can bring them back alive. But if we step out now, we will have to fight while hostages are being held.”
“…….”
I heard the sound of grinding teeth.
Bang Du-chil wanted to rush out at any moment and smash those bastards’ heads in.
Perhaps they sensed that, because some of the bandits approached this way.
“What? Who are you bastards? Why are you glaring at us?”
I quickly put Bang Du-chil behind me and stepped forward.
“Greetings. I am Jin So-un of the Taeul Sect.”
“Jin So-un of the Taeul Sect?”
“Ohh…… Black Flame Dragon……”
Even though they were bandits staying in a mountain stronghold, they seemed fairly well-informed about the affairs of the murim, and they looked at me with curious eyes.
“What business brings you to this village?”
“Ah, I am not sure whether you have heard. Recently, our Taeul Sect acquired the Azure Sky Merchant Guild, did it not? So we were thinking of conducting merchant runs in connection with an Escort Agency, and we were first checking the road to nearby Hangzhou.”
“Hmm…… If you want to go to Hangzhou, you will have to pass through Mount Tianmu. Then why have we heard nothing?”
The bandit who had slung a Great Chopping Saber over his shoulder glared at me while subtly releasing killing intent.
He was asking why we had not paid our respects to them.
“Ah, of course, we were just about to greet you. Haha.”
I shook a pouch containing a few silver coins, approached them, and politely handed over the pouch.
“I heard that when an Escort Agency or merchant guild passes along that road for the first time, they must properly pay their introductory respects. Please tell the Stronghold Master that we will soon pay him a visit.”
“Oh, you have good eyes. You seem like you will do well in business.”
“You flatter me. Thank you.”
“By the way, what is with that bastard glaring at us like that?”
The bandit holding the Great Chopping Saber pointed at Bang Du-chil with his sword.
“Ah, they are our Escorts. It has not been long since they became Escorts after being wanderers, so they are like that. I ask for your understanding.”
“Hmph! To dare show such eyes to Fire Curtain Stronghold.”
The bandit with the Great Chopping Saber strode toward Bang Du-chil.
He looked up at Bang Du-chil, who was a head taller than him, and said,
“Lower your eyes, you bastard!”
“…….”
The corners of Bang Du-chil’s mouth twitched.
His face, flushed red, looked as if it would explode at any moment.
-If you cause trouble now, we will not be able to save the hostages.
At my Sound Transmission, Bang Du-chil looked at me as if I were his mortal enemy, then soon lowered his head deeply.
“……I apologize.”
“……Hmph! You are nothing.”
The bandit who turned away did not know that Bang Du-chil was glaring at him from behind as if he wanted to kill him.
After the bandits of Fire Curtain Stronghold left, Bang Du-chil strode toward me and gripped one of my shoulders as if he would break it.
“You will have to take responsibility for your words.”
“Of course.”
“……If you cannot.”
Bang Du-chil looked at me with eyes full of resentment.
“You will have to deal not only with Twin Curtain Stronghold, but me as well.”
“I will take responsibility.”
“…….”
Bang Du-chil went back into the dining hall with his party, and only Baek So-ryeong remained.
“Thank you, Young Master Jin. Thanks to you, I was able to stop my dear.”
“I was the one who was terribly rude earlier.”
“Oh my, what are you saying? It was not bad to be held in a strange man’s arms after so long.”
With a smile as bright as rapeseed blossoms, Baek So-ryeong entered the dining hall.