The Terrifying Pursuer (3)

“I greet the Admiral.”

Knowing that the princess usually wished to be treated as the Admiral, Cheong Yeon observed the etiquette due to the Eastern Depot Admiral.

“Welcome.”

Princess Jang-ok warmly received Cheong Yeon’s group. The reason she had called them was to see whether they had perhaps heard any news of Neung Je-gang. However, she was not so easygoing as to openly reveal that on the surface.

“I heard you undertook a dangerous mission last time. What was the result?”

“We do not yet know the definite result. As for us, this friend here was injured because of me, so we could not complete the mission and had to withdraw.”

“Oh my! Was he badly injured?”

“He has learned a peculiar martial art that hardens his body, so although he was struck by a blade, he was not seriously injured.”

Ma-jil still could not even open his mouth, and Cheong Yeon answered the princess’s questions. It was not very different from when they had faced Go Won-gi.

“This is serious. Winter will soon come, and yet this war does not seem likely to end easily……. Is there no good method? I discussed it with the Martial Alliance, but they also seemed to have no particularly sharp method.”

“From what I heard, they intend to fight in earnest next spring after winter passes.”

Cheong Yeon had been of the Eastern Depot. He could not hide from the princess the information he had heard from the Martial Alliance.

“I know that. The generals of the Imperial Guard all said it would be best to do so as well. They said that if the Mongols in the north calm down somewhat in the meantime, the army can be called back here. But it will be difficult to withdraw the army again. Not until the Mongols are completely annihilated.”

“That is true. Cheonghae Province here is important, but the Mongol movements are more dangerous after all. That side is close to the Forbidden City.”

“By the way, is there still no news of the Deputy Commissioner?”

Princess Jang-ok finally slipped out her original purpose. The conversation they had exchanged until now could be called the preparatory stage for bringing out these words right now. Cheong Yeon knew that as well and had played along.

“There is still no news.”

Since it was about Neung Je-gang, Je So-yeon and Ma-jil also listened closely just in case, but the conversation ended with that single question and answer. The princess had called them because she felt frustrated too, so there was nothing else to say.

“If only the Deputy Commissioner were here, he would have somehow resolved the current situation…….”

Princess Jang-ok had investigated many things about Neung Je-gang during this time. There was probably no one who had investigated Neung Je-gang as thoroughly as she had. Because of that, she had also come to know much about Neung Je-gang’s abilities.

The Neung Je-gang she had learned about through that investigation was an almost perfect person. So perfect that solving the treason incident that had occurred in Beijing last time seemed like nothing. She was pleased with herself, thinking she had done well to hold Neung Je-gang in the Eastern Depot.

“Is staying at the Martial Alliance uncomfortable?”

“It is all right. Fortunately, the Martial Alliance’s Investigation Unit Chief has made accommodations for us, so we are staying without great inconvenience.”

“Is that so? If you ever feel uncomfortable, move over to this side.”

“Understood.”

Cheong Yeon’s group returned to the Martial Alliance after that brief exchange of questions and answers.

When Go So-jeong heard the news that they had returned, she threw aside what she was doing and ran over in a hurry.

“Did you go see Her Highness the Princess?”

“That is so.”

“They say she is that pretty?”

It seemed Go So-jeong’s standard for judging people was, after all, the difference between being pretty and not.

However, Cheong Yeon could not answer those words at all. It was because he thought he did not have the right to dare comment on Her Highness the Princess’s beauty. To him, the Imperial Family were objects of loyalty, not objects of evaluation.

Cheong Yeon closed his mouth, but Je So-yeon did not know such things. Soon, she and Go So-jeong began chatting about Princess Jang-ok’s beauty, mixing together what they knew and did not know. Unable to endure the two girls’ chatter, Cheong Yeon and Ma-jil ended up leaving their quarters.

“Phew! What is this? If they are going to chat, they should go to their own lodging and talk there.”

Ma-jil came outside and grumbled.

“Haha! Since it has come to this, I suppose I should go train.”

Cheong Yeon left Ma-jil behind and went to the forest where he had trained last time. Ma-jil was left alone.

“Damn it! Then should I go train too?”

The place where Ma-jil trained was the temporarily constructed forge inside the encampment. It was the place with the most fire and metals, which were helpful to Ma-jil.

Like that, the Martial Alliance’s day was slowly drawing to a close.

Byeon Bong chose Seon-yeong over Kunlun. He had affection for Kunlun, but with the people remaining there, he had no confidence that he could stop the Black Alliance. It seemed better to join the great army in Seon-yeong instead.

In truth, there was nothing left at U-gak Hobong. He suspected the Soul Hunters’ betrayal, but that was not certain either, and moreover, he did not know the Soul Hunters’ secret residence.

Since he knew that the leader of the Soul Hunters was with the Necromancer Cult stationed in Seon-yeong, he decided to question that matter after arriving there.

It was impossible for a person to keep running without resting even briefly. No matter how much martial arts one had learned, if one neglected to eat and sleep, one’s body would break down.

Byeon Bong and his subordinates settled down in the mountains. Since they had brought the necessary things from the supplies, camping outdoors was not especially difficult. Fortunately, it was not winter yet, so even without pitching tents, a single campfire provided enough warmth.

After making and eating a simple meal, Byeon Bong watched his subordinates scatter, wrap themselves in blankets one by one, and fall asleep, then suddenly found himself pathetic.

“Damn it!”

He should have paid more attention. He had been too intoxicated by continuously driving back the Black Alliance. It was a victory based purely on the sacrifices of the Necromancer Cultists, yet he had mistaken it as if it had happened because he himself was so capable.

“It was also a mistake to trust the Soul Hunters too much.”

That was true. If he had made his subordinates stand guard as well and prepared in advance for an enemy surprise attack, things would not have reached this point.

“But just who was the bastard who set fire to the tents?”

Byeon Bong could not understand that. If the fire had broken out after the Black Alliance charged in, he would not have thought this way. But the fire broke out first, and then the Black Alliance surged in.

That meant someone had infiltrated first and made preparations in advance. If that was not the case, no matter how much of a fire there had been, it made no sense that only this many of his subordinates were left. There was no way people of Kunlun would fear fire.

“Then does that mean they were already dead before the fire broke out?”

He had not thought deeply while fleeing, but thinking about it now led him to that conclusion. Someone had infiltrated in advance and killed the Kunlun Taoists and Necromancer Cult warriors who were sleeping in the tents. That was why the Necromancer Cultists became scarecrows, and they ended up in this state from a single surprise attack.

“There may be a pursuer, so absolutely do not stand guard carelessly.”

Byeon Bong told the subordinates who were awake to keep a night watch, then lay down to sleep himself.

However, sleep did not come easily. It was not that his body was not tired. Yet he felt as though someone nearby might be waiting for him to fall asleep, so he could not fall asleep at ease. He could no longer trust his subordinates either. His subordinates looked too weak to defend against that unknown someone who had penetrated the midst of an army of hundreds of thousands and done everything he had set out to do.

Because of that, Byeon Bong could not fall asleep until the night watchmen woke the next people and changed shifts. He was awake during the shift after that as well. However, the body was honest, so he too gradually fell asleep. The last thing he felt before falling asleep was the sign of the night watchman putting new wood into the campfire.

Day broke. As soon as Byeon Bong opened his eyes, he looked around. Fortunately, there were no signs of anything. There was no intruder, and his subordinates said they had not sensed any presence either.

“Am I being too sensitive? Well, now that the Black Alliance has won, they will advance on Kunlun, so perhaps I am worrying for nothing.”

Thinking that he had lost sleep because he had made too much fuss, Byeon Bong roughly ate and ran toward Seon-yeong again. Even at this full sprint, it was a distant road that would take ten days.

However, there was something Byeon Bong did not know. That was the fact that there was one being searching for him, and that the being had not been nearby last night because he had stopped by U-gak Hobong first. And he also did not know that the being had now finally caught the tail of him, who was racing east.

Darkness fell again. It was time to rest their exhausted bodies once more.

“We will camp here. Prepare.”

Just like the previous night, they lit a campfire and made simple food. They could have forced themselves to chew dry food, but once they lit a fire, that desire disappeared. When there was fire, was there any need to chew dry food?

They threw this and that together and made food that did not taste very good but was still edible.

Those who had been excluded from last night’s watch were today’s night watch. Still, just in case, Byeon Bong warned them once more, took a good spot beside the campfire, and lay down.

Was it because they had passed the day safely? Unlike the previous night, Byeon Bong was able to fall asleep easily.

Once again, a new day broke. The campfire had already gone out. Byeon Bong felt the chill and frowned. As soon as he opened his eyes, he intended to scold the night watchmen. If the campfire had gone out, he could only think that they had fallen asleep while standing watch.

“You bastards!”

At Byeon Bong’s shout, the sleeping subordinates sprang to their feet.

Clang, clang, clang.

Thinking that perhaps an enemy had attacked, each of them drew their weapons at top speed and began watching in all directions. However, what greeted them was only Byeon Bong’s grave face.

Byeon Bong grew serious. Though all his subordinates had woken at his shout, the two who had stood night watch did not wake up.

He placed his hand on the necks of those who had not woken. Their pulses were beating. Byeon Bong was startled and released their sleep points. Then he slapped their cheeks several times.

The two woke with bewildered expressions, then soon seemed to sense something, and their faces turned deathly pale as they sprang up.

“What happened?”

“I-I do not know. I think I simply dozed off for a moment.”

“You did not doze off. Your sleep points were pressed, and you fell asleep. Did you not sense any sign before that?”

“Sleep points?”

The two became even more bewildered. They had not even felt their acupoints being pressed. Naturally, there was no way they would have pressed their own points, so someone must have come here and gone.

“It seems someone came by during the night. But this is strange. If it was an enemy, there would have been no reason to leave us alive…….”

As Byeon Bong said, if the unknown visitor had been an enemy, those who had been sleeping would already be dead. Byeon Bong himself was a master capable of sensing a presence even while asleep.

He had spent decades learning martial arts under Deung Gak, the strongest master of Kunlun. Though he had not told others, he had even learned hidden martial arts that Deung Gak did not know. In a one-on-one duel, he was confident he would not lose to anyone.

And yet last night, he had felt absolutely no presence. Even though there had been a being who pressed the sleep points of the two night watchmen and leisurely disappeared. For a martial artist, encountering such a being was a fatal event. Unless he had a spare life, he could no longer be confident that his life belonged to him.

“Clean up.”

But right now, there was no particular method. The emotion called fear burrowed into the hearts of Byeon Bong and the Kunlun Taoists. As long as they could not confirm the being’s existence, that fear would not disappear easily.

“This is terrible!”

One Taoist who was cleaning up the surroundings shouted.

“What is it?”

“The food has disappeared.”

“What?”

The other things had not changed. But the things to eat had disappeared.

Byeon Bong searched for the dried meat he kept in his clothes. Fortunately, the dried meat in his clothes had not disappeared.

“Check your emergency rations.”

His subordinates also searched for the emergency rations each of them carried. When setting out on a journey like this, each person had to carry food in preparation for unexpected situations.

Fortunately, what each of them had in their clothes had not disappeared. But even if all of it was gathered, it was only enough to endure for about a day.

“It cannot be helped. We will hunt on the way.”

Byeon Bong decided so and prepared to set out again.

‘Did they simply need food? Or are they trying to starve us?’

It was certain that someone was nearby. Though the reason was unclear, they had eliminated the group’s food. It did not seem like they were trying to give them the pain of hunger. In any case, wild animals were scattered in every direction. They could sufficiently procure food just by hunting.

‘Then was it simply to instill fear?’

If that had been the intent, it could be said to have succeeded completely. Though he did not show it outwardly, fear toward the unknown being had arisen even in his own heart. So there was no need to even mention his subordinates. In particular, the two whose sleep points had been pressed while standing night watch became completely terrified once they realized that they could have died depending on the other party’s thoughts.

“Let us depart.”

They roughly settled breakfast with the dried meat in their clothes. There were not many dishes one could make with dried meat. It would be a little better if roasted over fire, but that would take time.

They ran toward Seon-yeong again. Perhaps because of fear, their speed became even faster. In their hearts, the thoughts that they did not want to die and that they could live if they only reached Seon-yeong alternated, forcing them to run even faster.

Darkness slowly pushed in again. In their hearts, they wanted to run without even sleeping, but the aftereffects of running quickly began to show. In order from those with weaker inner power, they were feeling their true energy being depleted. Even if they did not sleep, they had to recover the inner power they had consumed through energy circulation.

“We will camp here.”

In the end, Byeon Bong chose to camp. He could not show his subordinates that even he was afraid now. He knew that only if he showed a composed appearance could his subordinates also shake off their fear.

“A few of you go hunt. Do not scatter; move together. If you sense anything suspicious, send a signal.”

“Yes.”

A few among them who were less exhausted went out to hunt. The rest broke branches and lit a fire. Then each of them sat near the fire and circulated their energy.

Until his subordinates finished circulating their energy, Byeon Bong had to guard them. Fortunately, nothing particular happened while they were circulating their energy. Since all of them were experts capable of handling sword qi, they recovered their vigor quickly with only a brief energy circulation.

The men who had gone hunting caught several beasts and brought them back. The Taoists who had recovered their strength took them and went to find water. They could eat the meat of the hunted beasts as it was, but they did not want to let the stench of blood spread around their sleeping place.

And it was time to sleep again.

“The night watch will stand in groups of four. The shifts will also change once every half hour. It will be troublesome, but we will do so until we arrive at Seon-yeong.”

“Understood.”

If four people stood at night watch, even if it was an unknown enemy, they would not be able to approach easily. They believed so.

Shiver, shiver.

It was cold, and he was trembling. Byeon Bong waved his arm around, searching for his blanket. Autumn nights were surprisingly quite chilly.

But the blanket that should have been lying beside him did not come into his hand. Now that he thought about it, the place where he had been sleeping was right beside the campfire, but he felt no warmth at all.

Flash.

The moment he realized that, Byeon Bong’s mind snapped awake. His eyes opened by themselves. He could see stars sparkling in the sky. The night had not yet fully passed.

Byeon Bong looked around. But what was this? His subordinates could not be seen. No, it was not only his subordinates that could not be seen, but even the traces of the campfire were gone. It was not that his subordinates had disappeared; he himself had come to a completely wrong place.

Clang.

Byeon Bong drew his sword.

“Who is it? What bastard are you? Who are you, playing this kind of prank? What do you want?”

Byeon Bong shouted.

“Uwaah! Come out, I said come out!”

Byeon Bong poured qi into his sword and wildly sent it flying in all directions. Even just seeing him shoot out sword qi made it possible to guess his martial skill.

“Come out!”

Byeon Bong’s shout merely drifted through the air.

“Territory Lord!”

Perhaps they had heard his shout, for signs of people could be felt from one side. Byeon Bong withdrew his sword. Those who approached were his subordinates. They too were swiftly approaching with weapons in hand.

“What is going on?”

Someone asked, but Byeon Bong could not answer. It felt as if he had become a complete fool. A master like himself had been moved to a strange place without knowing it. He could not know who the unknown being was, but one thing was clear. It was a being they could do nothing about.

“Heh heh heh!”

Neung Je-gang was laughing from afar as he watched Byeon Bong rampage in a frenzy. He did not want to kill him with a single slash. Little by little, very little by very little, he wanted to plant fear in him, then kill him while making him realize why he had to die like that.

He would engrave into Byeon Bong’s heart, one by one, the resentment and grief of his family and all the villagers who had died unjustly, and make him die like that.

There was still a very long road left until Seon-yeong, and as much as that, Neung Je-gang had plenty of time.