Thread’s End (2)

At midnight that night, Man Jongim, the Demon-Hating Wanderer and captain of the Twelfth Unit, was waiting with the Twelfth Unit’s First Squad members in the western woods for someone who was supposed to appear.

First-Squad Captain Do Mugon quietly spoke as he kept watch in all directions.

“This seems far too suspicious, Captain. If they know we’re pursuing the Blood Cultists, doesn’t that mean we’re completely exposed to them? I think the odds are high this is a trap.”

Man Jongim snorted and replied.

“Hmph! Are you afraid? And what if it is a trap? If so, it only means we’ve properly found those Blood-Cult bastards.”

Do Mugon barely managed to swallow the surge of anger at those words.

What an irresponsible thing to say.

What good was “properly finding” them like this?

If they died to them, it’s all for nothing.

Did he really think that, with just their current numbers, they could handle those subordinates said to include Giant Demon Jeo Ung-won—who supposedly had over ninety years of inner strength—and three pinnacle-masters?

Moreover, if the ones who called them out were truly Blood Cultists, then this wasn’t them finding their target—it was the other way around.

Do Mugon was deeply uneasy.

He bitterly regretted, anew, the fact that he had come with Man Jongim of all people.

Whether he understood Do Mugon’s feelings or not, Man Jongim was muttering to himself.

“It’s almost the third watch now, isn’t it? Where are they supposed to appear?”

In truth, even Man Jongim who said that was not at ease.

If they knew his unit was tailing the Giant Demon, he could not even guess who the other party might be.

If the ones coming were not really here to give information on the Giant Demon, then tonight would become very dangerous indeed.

“If they know our objective, it would have to be members of the Thirteenth or Eleventh Units. But it can’t be them. That leaves either the Martial Alliance or a band from the Blood Cult. If not, then people who bought information from the Hao Guild….”

Among those, Man Jongim actually believed the odds were highest that they were people who had obtained information from the Hao Guild.

But he could not admit that.

If he admitted it, responsibility would fall on him for having told the Hao Guild about the Giant Demon despite Do Mugon’s objections.

For the sake of his pride, that was absolutely impossible for Man Jongim to acknowledge.

They were watching all around despite their anxiety when it happened.

Suddenly, from one side of the forest came the sound of grass being brushed—ssr-ssr.

There were presences.

Martial artists—quite a number of them—seemed to be approaching.

Man Jongim whispered urgently.

“Twelfth Unit, prepare for combat!”

Sreung! Chang! Chang!

At his words, every member of the Twelfth Unit immediately drew their weapons.

Across from them, roughly thirty black-clad, masked men arrived.

It was quite a number for Man Jongim’s group to handle.

Man Jongim ground his teeth and called out in a low voice.

“Who goes there?!”

But no answer came to that.

A question came back instead.

“Are you the ones pursuing the Blood Cult’s demon lords?”

That question slightly damped Man Jongim’s hostility.

People who asked like that were very likely not Blood Cultists.

His voice softened a little as he asked again.

“We are. And who are you who know that?”

The masked men did not answer for a moment, as if thinking something over.

Then, after a short pause, the one at the very front took a step forward and removed his mask.

“If you’re the ones chasing the Blood Cult’s demon lords, I think we can trust you. I am Gu Yusang of the Righteous Chivalry Guild.”

Even in the dark of night, the face revealed under the mask looked bright—silver hair, a fair face, and strikingly handsome features.

On hearing the name, Man Jongim asked again in surprise.

“Gu Yusang? You mean Gu Yusang, the White-Jade Earth Dragon of the Righteous Chivalry Guild?”

The man smiled faintly and replied.

It was a handsome smile that seemed to shed light.

“There are, most flatteringly, some who call me that. Then, might the senior now reveal your identity as well?”

Gu Yusang, the White-Jade Earth Dragon of the Righteous Chivalry Guild, was not an exaggeration to call one of the most famous post-generation prodigies in Sichuan.

In his twenties he had reached the pinnacle realm and earned the title of “Dragon,” and thanks to his handsome looks he was called Sichuan’s Number-One Young Lord.

He was also known as the chief disciple of the Righteous Chivalry Guild Master, whose true identity had never been properly revealed.

Meeting such a Gu Yusang, Man Jongim’s doubts vanished completely.

He was a renowned orthodox prodigy of the Righteous Chivalry Guild, and from the look of it he too was pursuing the Blood Cult, just like Man Jongim.

Someone like that seemed fully trustworthy.

“Oho! To meet an orthodox post-generation prodigy in a place like this! A pleasure! I am Man Jongim, serving as captain of the Flying Dragon Twelfth Unit!”

First-Squad Captain Do Mugon started and tried to stop him.

“Captain!”

But it was already too late.

The White-Jade Earth Dragon Gu Yusang asked with an intrigued glint in his eye.

“Oh? Then you are indeed Senior Man Jongim, the Demon-Hating Wanderer of the Twelfth Flying Dragon Unit?”

“That’s right. I am that Man Jongim. I’ve come this far chasing the Blood-Cult demon lord, the Giant Demon.”

Gu Yusang beamed and answered.

“As I thought. Truly worthy of the Demon-Hating Wanderer’s fame.”

Pleased by the praise, Man Jongim cleared his throat and asked,

“Hrm, hrm. It’s but an empty reputation. Anyway—do you truly have information on them?”

Gu Yusang nodded with a keen look.

“Yes. While investigating the Un Clan not long ago, we learned that unknown experts entered the estate. There was even testimony that they felt demonic energy from those people, so we were digging deeper. If it’s as you say, Senior, that would be the Giant Demon’s party.”

Man Jongim’s eyes flashed at those words.

“Is that true?! Those bastards went into the Un Clan?!”

“Yes. Witnesses said they were led by a very large, burly man—so it’s surely them.”

Hearing Gu Yusang, Man Jongim’s face grew the brightest it had been in days.

“Ohoho! We’ve finally found them! Wahaha! See, Mugon! Didn’t I say it would be the Un Clan?!”

But Do Mugon, his suspicious gaze still unchanged, asked Gu Yusang,

“Forgive me, but how are we to trust your word, Young Lord? And may I ask how you obtained information on us?”

Gu Yusang answered with a confident smile.

“Ah, your information came from the Hao Guild. As it happened, I also had reason to use the Hao Guild at that time. You might call it fate. And… as for proof of my claim, the very fact that I have pursued the Blood Cultists here should serve; but if you still find it lacking, shall we go verify it together? As soon as an opportunity presents itself, I intend to strike while continuing the pursuit of the Blood-Cult demon lord. Move with us. What say you, Senior?”

Gu Yusang made the proposal while looking not at Do Mugon, but at Man Jongim.

Now completely free of doubt and looking at him with open favor, Man Jongim had no reason to refuse.

“Why would I not?! In fact, it’s something I’d like to ask of you! Wahahahaha!”

Do Mugon wore a pained expression, but sadly, the decision was not his to make.

The wanderer quarter of the Mountain Sword Sect.

Someone suddenly addressed Hae Cheong-yeon as she was with the party.

“Lady Yeon! Might you spare this humble one a moment?!”

The tone was nothing if not brazen.

And to dare ask Heavenly Beauty Yeon-ha to spare him time.

All the wanderers’ gazes snapped to him, stunned by that unrestrained statement.

What their turned eyes saw was some smooth-looking fop.

A rather handsome face, expensive-looking clothes, and a very arrogant expression—he left an impression.

Naturally, the wanderers’ looks were not kind.

They had been watching from afar for days, and now this fellow suddenly turned up and dared ask her to spare him time?

It was enough to beggar belief.

Yet though their faces said “are you kidding me,” the wanderers still looked uneasily at Hae Cheong-yeon—just in case.

What if that obnoxious-looking fellow was granted time by her?

Hae Cheong-yeon, who had glanced at him with a blank face, answered as if it were the most natural thing.

“No.”

At that firm answer, the wanderers snorted, as if to say “of course,” and burst into little laughs.

The man’s face flushed red and green, then, stiff-faced, he spoke again.

“Lady, it seems you do not know who I am; I am the nephew of Sect Leader Heo Gyeong, Master of this very Mountain Sword Sect!”

But Hae Cheong-yeon still looked at him expressionlessly for a moment before asking again.

“And?”

The onlooking wanderers could no longer hold back their laughter.

They now began to chuckle aloud, as if they were dying of amusement, and the man, now angry, shouted in a loud voice.

“You are but a wanderer, while I am the sect leader’s nephew! If you wish to get on well here in the Mountain Sword Sect, you must not slight me, Heo Yungu! Must I spell it out for you to understand?!”

At that, the wanderers shook their heads and muttered.

“I thought he was a little crazy; turns out he’s a lot crazy.”

“A guy like that being the sect leader’s nephew—maybe this place really is doomed?”

Their gazes turned to near-contempt, and Hae Cheong-yeon, wearing a bored look, was about to reply when someone cut in and answered in her stead.

“Then if Lady Yeon-ha leaves the Mountain Sword Sect, everything would be resolved.”

Startled, Heo Yungu demanded of the man who had suddenly butted in,

“W-what?! Who are you to interfere in my conversation with the lady?!”

The man did not answer; grinning, he simply continued saying what he wanted to say.

“Hm. I hear the Righteous Chivalry Guild is sending three pinnacle-masters and a thousand troops back toward Guizhou to avenge the last battle. By contrast, it seems the Mountain Sword Sect still hasn’t received the reinforcements promised by the Un Clan. But in the middle of this, if—because of the sect leader’s lecherous nephew—the Five Eagle Siblings, who made the greatest contribution last time, announce they’re leaving the Mountain Sword Sect….”

He looked around at the surrounding wanderers and went on.

“I’d wager more than half the wanderers gathered here came to see Lady Yeon-ha. The rest probably came for the fame of the Five Eagle Siblings. So if the Five Eagle Siblings say they’re leaving, wouldn’t at least half the wanderers here vanish? Maybe all of them. Well? Still all right with that?”

“W-what?”

Heo Yungu was completely flustered.

He had not thought that far.

The man then looked at the now-pale Heo Yungu and smiled meaningfully.

“On the eve of a battle that will decide the Mountain Sword Sect’s fate, because of a nephew chasing women, the wanderers depart en masse? If I were Sect Leader Heo Gyeong, I’d likely quarter that nephew’s body and beg Lady Yeon-ha’s pardon. So then—what are your thoughts, dear nephew?”

At that, Heo Yungu’s face turned not just white but downright blue.

“I, I….”

Stammering, at a loss for words, Heo Yungu suddenly turned and bolted.

As if his life depended on it.

At that ridiculous sight, all the wanderers burst out laughing.

“Pwahahaha! Would you look at that!”

“Hey! Sect leader’s dear nephew! Where are you running off to in such a hurry?! Weren’t you going to converse with Lady Yeon-ha?!”

“Lady, please spare me some time! Ah, I see—that ‘time’ was time to run! Khahahahaha!”

The man who had chased him off with just a few words watched the retreating figure with a faint smile.

Hae Cheong-yeon spoke to him.

“Thank you for the help. You spin a tale better than I expected.”

Je Wonyeong—wanderer from Zhejiang who’d come with the Five Eagle Siblings and known as “the Sword Tiger of Diancang,” the Gwaesan Swordsman’s youngest—grinned and replied.

“Not as sharp as you or Young Lord Seonu, but my head isn’t so bad. And… when it’s for something I truly mean, I’m even better.”

At his meaningful words, Hae Cheong-yeon asked with a puzzled look,

“Something you truly mean?”

Je Wonyeong gazed at her for a moment with deep eyes, then smiled and turned away.

“Such things exist. You’ll probably understand soon.”

It was a cryptic remark.

But Hae Cheong-yeon felt she could more or less guess what he meant.

She wasn’t especially good with people’s emotions, but she had received eyes like that more than enough.

Soon she turned her attention from him and began to think about something else.

Now, merely hearing the name Heavenly Beauty “Yeon-ha” was enough that wanderers flocked like clouds.

The Blood Cult’s bands must surely have heard the rumors about her as well.

Hae Cheong-yeon went to her squadmates and said,

“We’ve scattered the chum and spread the scent plenty. Shall we cast the bait now?”

At her words, Seol Pung and the others rose to their feet.

It was time to fish.

The Five Eagle Siblings and the Gwaesan Swordsman went out for the evening together.

Ostensibly, it was to stroll Inhoe’s night streets and get a meal. Many wanderers looked like they wanted to tag along, but the murderous look in Bae Jonggwan’s eyes as he swept them kept them from doing so.

So once outside, when at last only they remained, Cheon Jueun stretched like she was feeling refreshed and cried out.

“Ahh! I can finally breathe!”

Na Seoyu looked at her with eyes that said she was unbearably cute—the way she stretched her arms, still not even as tall as an average man.

“Why? Was it stifling? You used to say you wanted to make a name for yourself.”

Cheon Jueun shook her head.

“Wow, I never imagined people’s gazes could feel this suffocating. I even find myself worrying about changing my facial expression.”

Patting the shivering Cheon Jueun—who even trembled as if horrified—Na Seoyu said,

“Still, it’s better than for Young Lord Seonu or Young Lord Bi, who have to stay hidden, right?”

“Huh? Ah, hehe. That’s true.”

Seonu Jin and Bi Sayoung—plus Sag Muhun.

The three were still moving covertly, circling the party from the outskirts.

Within the Mountain Sword Sect’s compound they had taken turns hiding one at a time, but when outside like this, all three followed at set distances.

With a mischievous face, Cheon Jueun bowed in the direction where the three would be hidden.

“My apologies for complaining when I’ve got it easy.”

Je Wonyeong, who had been smiling at their antics, spoke to Hae Cheong-yeon.

“Are you all right, Lady? In truth, most of the gazes were fixed on you.”

Hae Cheong-yeon looked at his face for a moment.

From earlier, he had been pretending not to, but he had hovered by her side, focusing only on her.

She could easily guess the reason, but she chose to answer first.

“I’m somewhat used to this. After I started wearing my bangs down, I stayed out of that sort of thing for a good while, so I can endure it for a bit.”

Je Wonyeong smiled as if he understood.

“Well, with your beauty, I expect so. It must have been hard.”

“No. Thanks to my parents and sisters, not that much.”

Her tone was flat.

A timid man might have lost his nerve and retreated just hearing that chill in her voice.

But Je Wonyeong was not timid at all.

He grinned and spoke again.

“Since your parents and sisters aren’t here now, you’ll need others. I’ll do my utmost so that you won’t be uncomfortable.”

It was a loaded statement.

Hae Cheong-yeon gazed at his face in silence for a moment.

Most men, when she stared at them like this, would get self-conscious and avert their eyes.

Je Wonyeong, however, only smiled more broadly and boldly met her gaze.

His eyes felt even more straightforward and intense than his words.

He was, truly, a man overflowing with confidence.

In the end, Hae Cheong-yeon was the first to speak.

“May I ask what you meant by those words just now?”

Je Wonyeong answered,

“Exactly what I said. That I will do my best to guard you, to keep you from discomfort.”

Hae Cheong-yeon thought to press him for his reasons as well, then let it go.

Je Wonyeong was a man like the Four-One Sword Method he had mastered.

Direct, frank, and intense.

With such a nature, it was only natural he didn’t get along with Ma Yugyeom, who seemed to have a few snakes coiled inside.

Under that forthright, piercing gaze, Hae Cheong-yeon ended up looking away first.

The gaze was so intense it made her feel strange.

She had met the eyes of countless men who showed her favor, but this was a first.

Looking at him, she suddenly thought of Seonu Jin, who would be following behind in hiding.

A man who gave a completely opposite feeling to Je Wonyeong—a man who still treated her like a pure friend even after seeing her real face.

Hae Cheong-yeon felt she had to admit it now.

Perhaps she had been arrogant….

She had thought that, as with most men, once Seonu Jin saw her true face he would be unable to look away—that it might even become a nuisance.

But he was nothing like that.

Not even the beauty that had left everyone else she had met unable to think straight—none of it ever changed his attitude.

Her heart grew complicated.

Just then—

Kudang-tang-tang!

“Kyaaa!”

“Whoops!”

From a tavern nearby came the sound of something breaking, along with screams.

“You dare sell me something this lousy and then demand money?!”

A rough-looking wanderer was smashing tables and chairs while bellowing.

A single glance was enough to tell what was going on.