Where Are We Going?

Gyo-ha’s face, which had turned blue, was gradually darkening.
Even so, his kicks didn’t stop.
Kwang! Kwang!

“Euheok!”

In the end, Jeokyang Mok was the one who let go.
Jeokyang Mok had fought battles on the edge of life and death before, but every opponent had been worthy of such a fight.
Naturally, he had always faced death with dignity.
He had never fought an ugly brawl like this.
But Gyo-ha was different.
He had to do whatever it took to survive.

“S-stop.”

Jeokyang Mok forced the words out.
Kkulleong.
Blood spilled from his mouth. Not only was his nose broken, several of his teeth were missing.
His blood-soaked face was filled with fear.
Who could look at him now and think of the Black Sword?
It was not death itself that frightened him.

‘…I can’t die like this.’

He absolutely couldn’t die this way.
He too was someone who lived in the Murim.
He had always been prepared for death.
But he had never imagined a death like this.
Even Black Path thugs on the street wouldn’t fight like this.
But his words could not stop Gyo-ha.

“Hoo, hooo.”

Gyo-ha breathed heavily.
His nose was broken as well, forcing him to breathe through his mouth.
Even that was difficult. Drops of blood sprayed out with every breath.
The difference between him and Jeokyang Mok was that Gyo-ha was smiling with delight.
As though he were enjoying this moment more than anything.
So.

‘I should finish what I started.’

Once his breathing recovered somewhat, strength returned to his body.
Gyo-ha’s foot moved again.
Kwang!
The force was different from before.
Jeokyang Mok felt his consciousness fading.
Even so, he instinctively flailed his hand, trying to grab Gyo-ha’s throat again.
But Gyo-ha didn’t simply watch.
Kkwaak. He bit down on the approaching hand.
Then his foot came down.
Kwang!
This time, not just his head but his entire body convulsed.
It was a seizure.
Foam gathered at his mouth.
And then.
Kwajik!
The next kick brought all movement to a stop.
Gyo-ha staggered to his feet.

“Haa.”

He let out a deep breath.
There was no need to check. Heretical Qi was flowing out of Jeokyang Mok.
There was an extraordinary amount of it.
Those watching from the front of the estate held their breath.
Jeokyang Mok, their lord and one of the foremost masters under Heaven, was dead.
Killed by a young man who looked barely twenty.
Of course, the circumstances had not been normal.
It was a terrible matchup. Just as Mystic Qi and Dharma Qi repelled Heretical Qi or Demonic Qi, Gyo-ha devoured their Heretical Qi.
Even accounting for that, what had happened was astonishing.
Perhaps they were witnessing the beginning of a new legend.
The martial artists exchanged glances.
Their opponent was already exhausted. He was practically a wreck.
If they were going to act, now was their only chance.
But while they hesitated, someone moved first.
It was Third Elder, who had concealed himself among the martial artists.

‘If I kill him now…’

With both the Patriarch and First Elder dead.
He could become the new master of the Jeokyang Clan.
Seureureung.
Third Elder drew his sword.
Even the other martial artists failed to notice Third Elder as he drew his sword and approached Gyo-ha.
His movements were that stealthy.
Just as he was about to swing.
Gyo-ha turned his head.
His face was smeared with blood, but his golden eyes were fixed on Third Elder.
The gaze of a predator staring at prey.
They were eyes that seemed to say he had been waiting.
The moment he saw them, Third Elder realized his judgment had been wrong.
But it was already too late to stop his sword.
The instant the blade thrust toward Gyo-ha.
Gyo-ha’s foot moved.
Kwang!
It was so fast that no one saw the movement.
His leg slowly folded back in midair.
At the same time, the sword passed beside Gyo-ha.
A perfect Nether Yin Flash.
Yet the head of the man who had used it was nowhere to be seen.
Red droplets sprayed through the air.
Third Elder, still extended from the thrust, slowly collapsed.
Teolsseok.
After bringing down Third Elder, Gyo-ha slowly looked around.
Flinch.
The martial artists unconsciously stepped back.
Gyo-ha smacked his lips at the sight.

‘They’re not coming?’

What a shame.
Had Jeokyang Mok still been alive, Third Elder’s judgment would have been correct.
No, he should have moved immediately after Jeokyang Mok died.
He should not have given Gyo-ha any time.
Gyo-ha’s body had partially recovered after absorbing Jeokyang Mok’s Heretical Qi.
Now he was absorbing Third Elder’s Heretical Qi as well.
But even that was not enough.
His body was in that terrible a state. That was why part of him actually hoped the others would attack.
But after both Jeokyang Mok and Third Elder had died, none of the martial artists dared to come at him.
Gyo-ha staggered away, then abruptly stopped.
His body was covered in wounds, and his upper garment was nowhere to be seen.
Naturally, the money pouch he had kept in it was gone as well.
He wondered if he should search the Patriarch and Third Elder’s bodies, but then his eyes met those of one of the watching martial artists.
The martial artist flinched.
Was Gyo-ha planning to continue fighting? The others tensed and placed their hands on their swords.
But Gyo-ha was thinking about something entirely different.

‘Right. Even so, I shouldn’t rummage through them in front of their subordinates.’

Gyo-ha knew proper manners too.

“Um, could I get some travel money?”
“Huh?”

The martial artist doubted his own ears. So did everyone beside him.
Then one quick-witted martial artist stepped forward.

“…Money! He means money.”

He pulled a pouch from his clothes. The others followed suit and gathered theirs together.
Rather than handing them to Gyo-ha, they placed them on the ground and scattered to either side.
They looked afraid that he might charge at them.
It looked like they were throwing food to a wild beast.

“Thank you.”

Gyo-ha hooked two large pouches with his toes and walked away.
No one tried to stop him.
Even after Gyo-ha left, the Jeokyang Clan martial artists remained frozen in place for a long time.
They could not even bring themselves to consider pursuing him.
If anything, they were afraid he might come back.
Deep fear had already taken root in their minds.
Their spirits had been broken.
Unfathomable.
A monster that devoured their qi.
Even the Patriarch and First Elder had fallen before him.
He was no longer someone they could dismiss as a younger-generation martial artist.
They had surrendered to fear. Once broken, their resolve would not easily return.
One of the Evil Heaven Alliance’s Seven Powers and one of the Four Great Houses.
As of today, the Jeokyang Clan had fallen from that position.

Despite having enough presence of mind to secure travel money, Gyo-ha himself was reaching his limit.
That was how difficult the battle had been.
Which was why he couldn’t stop here.

‘If I fall asleep now, I won’t wake up for days.’

He had a vague sense of his own condition.
He had passed out countless times before. They were letting him leave for now, but he had no idea what they might do if they realized he had lost consciousness.
That was why he gritted his teeth and kept walking.
In truth, the survivors had no intention of doing anything at all, but Gyo-ha had no way of knowing that.
Fortunately, his body had recovered by about half.
Of course, even that left him severely injured by ordinary standards. Blood dripped from him with every step.
A carriage came into Gyo-ha’s sight.
But he soon shook his head.
Horses were afraid of Gyo-ha. There was no way they would travel properly with him aboard.
Then Gyo-ha caught the scent of water.
A river.
With his consciousness fading, Gyo-ha moved as though entranced.
After climbing the mountain, a river came into view.
A river connected to several waterways.
Both goods and people moved busily between boats and the shore.
Gyo-ha hurried to descend the mountain, only to miss his footing and start rolling down.
Thanks to that, however, he reached his destination quickly.

“U-um…”

A merchant loading cargo at the docks jumped in surprise when Gyo-ha suddenly appeared.

“Euheok!”

It was a wonder he didn’t fall over.
Covered in dirt and blood, Gyo-ha looked anything but well.
But one could not survive as a merchant without being perceptive.

“W-what can I do for you, sir martial artist?”

The other man’s physique, the nature of his wounds, and the lower garment that, though torn, still retained its original form.
The merchant realized Gyo-ha was a martial artist.

“How… far are you going?”

His voice sounded nearly dead, but not so faint that the merchant could not understand him.

“Jeongan.”

The merchant named the destination, but of course Gyo-ha had no idea where it was.
Gyo-ha gave a vague nod and flicked two pouches up with his toes.
The merchant’s eyes widened at the feat of lifting two pouches with one foot.
He couldn’t even begin to guess where those pouches had come from.

“Please… take me with you.”

With that, Gyo-ha collapsed.
He had finally reached his limit.
The merchant stared at him in bewilderment before speaking.

“…My ship is a cargo vessel though.”

A cargo ship.
Unlike a passenger vessel, it carried goods rather than people.
It only traveled short distances, so there were not even cabins for the crew to stay in.
And it was already filled with cargo.
But Gyo-ha had already lost consciousness.
He seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep and did not move at all.
Only the faint sound of his breathing showed that he was still alive.
The merchant hesitated for a moment.
Gyo-ha probably wouldn’t even know if he took the money and left.
The pouches were quite heavy.
And he knew that getting involved with martial artists rarely ended well.
Gyo-ha’s wounds had not even begun to close.
That meant there had been a fight somewhere nearby.
After hesitating, the merchant shook his head.

“Ah, damn it. Whatever.”

It looked as though Gyo-ha would die if he left him there.

‘Though he might die even if I take him aboard.’

If things went badly, he might end up having to dispose of a corpse.
The merchant turned his head.

“Unload one piece of cargo. We’re taking a passenger.”

Then he hoisted Gyo-ha onto his back in place of the cargo and boarded the ship.
With the amount of money Gyo-ha had given him, he could unload half the cargo aboard and still not take a loss.

Ttuk, ttuk, ttuk.
Gyo-ha opened his eyes to the sound of dripping water.
How long had he been asleep?
He felt himself swaying slightly. It didn’t take long to realize that it was not his body moving, but the floor beneath him.

‘Am I still on the ship?’

Apparently, he had not been asleep for very long.
As soon as he woke, pain began surging through him.
There was nowhere on his body that did not hurt.

“Gyaaa!”

A scream escaped him before he realized it.
It had been a long time since Gyo-ha had actually screamed from pain.
That alone showed how severe his injuries were.

“You’re awake?”

Gyo-ha turned toward the sudden voice.
An unfamiliar man was looking at him.
Only after a moment did Gyo-ha realize that this was the merchant he had seen before passing out.
He had failed to recognize him immediately because the man looked so different.
His hair and clothes were unchanged, but dark circles hung beneath his eyes and his cheeks had become hollow.
He looked utterly dejected.
He seemed like a different man from the merchant Gyo-ha had seen before losing consciousness.

“…Huh? Did something happen?”

The merchant gave a bitter smile and glanced toward his legs.
His legs were bound with rope.
Gyo-ha blinked. Come to think of it, the merchant was not alone.
Fewer than ten people were gathered in the cramped space.
Their expressions were no different from his.
When Gyo-ha looked up, he saw wooden bars surrounding them.
This was no ordinary room. It looked like a prison.

“We were captured by river bandits.”
“Ah.”

Only then did Gyo-ha understand what had happened.
An ordinary ship would never have a prison like this.

“I’m sorry, sir.”
Gyo-ha shook his head at the merchant’s apology.

“What do you have to apologize for?”

It was not as though he had gotten captured on purpose.
When Gyo-ha sat up, he noticed something binding his own feet as well.
Chwareureuk.
The sound of metal rattling.
It was a chain, fastened to the wall.
Gyo-ha knew metal well after making iron balls countless times.
Iron was by no means cheap.
They had gone to the trouble of chaining him because he was a martial artist.
That raised a question in Gyo-ha’s mind.

‘Why?’

It would have been simpler to kill him.
They could have thrown him into the river and been done with it. There was no need to chain him like this.
The merchant supplied the answer.

“They were about to throw you into the river, so I told them I was transporting you for money.”
“Ah.”

In other words, they had spared him because they believed he had value as merchandise.
It was rare, but not unheard of.
Gyo-ha was impressed by the merchant’s quick thinking.

“Then where is this ship going?”

The place he had heard before passing out had been Jeong… something.