Seon Do-mu's underlings swung their blades fiercely, as if to break through in a single breath. The guards protecting the Crouching Dragon Hall were also formidable. They did not yield easily to the brutal attacks, moving in pairs and responding with agility.
Their cooperation and coordination between the teams were quite skillful. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, as if they had trained together extensively. It was a sight more reminiscent of soldiers than men of the dark path.
It was clear they were the elites Bok Ha-gyu had handpicked. After watching for a moment, I left the window and ran to the bedroom. There was no reason for me to jump into that fray and fight Seon Do-mu.
My concern was not for Bok Ha-gyu's men, nor for the Crouching Dragon Hall. It was only for Jeok Chu-yeong. Jeok Chu-yeong was still unconscious and defenseless.
In his prime, he had been a great master, one who had overpowered both Seon Do-mu and Im Ja-gyeon, forcing them to their knees and taking them as his underlings. But now, he was nothing more than a frail patient who could be killed even by the hands of a snot-nosed child.
If I left to fight Seon Do-mu and someone snuck in while I was away, it would be the end.
“Master Jeok. I don't know if you can hear me, but Seon Do-mu is here to kill you. Let's get out of here first.”
After a brief apology, I pulled back the covers. I carefully lifted Jeok Chu-yeong's upper body. His head lolled forward limply.
I pulled his arms over my shoulders and stood up, carrying him on my back. Jeok Chu-yeong's body, clad in a dark blue robe, was chillingly light. He had lost so much weight that I could feel the sharp bones of his back and waist with every touch.
Jeok Chu-yeong's shallow breath on the side of my neck felt as cool as a ghost's. Even though he had just been under the covers, I could feel almost no warmth from him. How had he managed to survive for two years in this state? It wouldn't be surprising if he died right now, let alone in a year.
I reached back to secure the limp form of Jeok Chu-yeong tightly and left the bedroom. With every movement, his slender arms, draped over my shoulders, swayed from side to side. The servants must have been evacuated in advance, as there was no one else in the pavilion.
I passed through the kitchen, opened the back door, and went out. The sounds of fighting from the front of the building were deafening. I had to get out of the Black Night Gang's headquarters while Bok Ha-gyu's men were holding them off.
The outer wall was higher than the roof of my own house. Even using inner energy, it would be impossible to jump over it while carrying Jeok Chu-yeong. The best option was to use the escape route Bok Ha-gyu had told me about.
Had he been planning for a situation like this since he built the Black Night Gang's base in the Western Village? The path behind the Crouching Dragon Hall was cleverly woven between the wall and the buildings. Looking up at the moon, it seemed about half an hour had passed since the hour of the Ox began.
A carriage from the Underworld Information Clan should be waiting at the back door by now. Once I got out of the Black Night Gang's territory, I wouldn't have to worry about the rest.
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A sharp whistle blew from somewhere above my head. I stopped running and turned my eyes in the direction of the sound. It was from the roof of a three-story building a short distance away.
I set Jeok Chu-yeong down to one side and quickly drew and threw the dagger from my ankle. The startled man of the dark path quickly dropped flat on the roof. The dagger hit the roof's ridge and ricocheted off.
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The bastard kept blowing his whistle. If I left him, every swordsman around would flock to this spot. I ran, keeping my guard up.
Being a three-story building, the eaves of the roof were too high. It would take too long to open the first-floor door and go up the stairs. A carriage parked below caught my eye.
I gauged the height of the wooden boxes piled high in the cargo bed and the roof, then drew inner energy from my energy core. The inner energy spread rapidly through my limbs, following the path of circulation. Using my inner energy, which was as precious as blood, made me grind my teeth in frustration.
I clenched my fists, steadying my resolve. This was not the time to conserve inner energy. Inner energy could be replenished as long as I could find spiritual herbs.
To find Sister Soso's family, I had to get Jeok Chu-yeong out of here alive. Just as I had practiced at home, I focused my inner energy on the soles of my feet and kicked off the ground.
Thwump!
I stepped on top of the high pile of boxes and leaped to the roof. The moment my feet touched the tiles, I charged forward like a predator. The man's mouth fell open, clearly not expecting me to get to the roof so quickly.
For a moment, the whistling stopped. He stared in shock as if he had seen a ghost, then hastily reached for the blade at his waist. Before he could even grasp the hilt, my long blade pierced through his chest.
When I pulled the blade out, he collapsed. I wiped the blood from my long blade, sheathed it, and retrieved my dagger. As I examined the man, I paused.
The whistle was hanging around his neck. It was tied securely with a string to prevent it from being lost. A sense of foreboding filled my mind.
If you were to search a hundred martial artists on the road, you might find one with sensual paintings, but never one with a whistle. Whistles were tools used by patrolmen. It was not something a martial artist would normally carry.
It was no different for a member of the dark path. I went to where the man had been standing and looked down. It was a position with a clear view of the secret passage leading from the Crouching Dragon Hall to the back door of the Black Night Gang's headquarters.
Could this be a coincidence? The situation was too unsettling to simply turn away, thinking the threat was eliminated. I lowered my posture and silently climbed the sloped roof.
Peeking my head over the ridge, I carefully scanned the buildings scattered around the back path. Thanks to the moonlight and the flames, the rooftops were quite bright. Just as I thought.
There was more than one black-clad man lying flat on the roofs. I could see at least three.
"Seon Do-mu. You son of a bitch..."
This wasn't a hastily improvised encirclement thrown together after the Five Phoenix Pavilion burned down and they realized Bok Ha-gyu's plan. They were carrying whistles and had flawlessly positioned their men along all the secret back paths the master might use to escape. It was clear they had been thoroughly preparing to strike the Crouching Dragon Hall soon.
They might have even formed a separate pursuit squad. If I hadn't pushed Bok Ha-gyu to act first, Jeok Chu-yeong would have likely been stabbed to death within a day or two. And if Im Ja-gyeon had joined in, Bok Ha-gyu would have fought a desperate battle before meeting his end.
Jumping from roof to roof to eliminate them one by one was too much trouble. I didn't know how many more were hiding, and my inner energy was precious. I went to the other side of the roof and looked down into the Black Night Gang's compound.
Having heard the whistle, men were running from the burning Five Phoenix Pavilion. The escape route Jin Seok-man had told me about was too far. There was no guarantee it was safe either.
I couldn't leave Jeok Chu-yeong out in the early winter cold for long. There was no choice but to use my inner energy and break through as quickly as possible. Just as I made up my mind and was about to get down from the roof, someone crossed the wide open space between the buildings.
It was a man dressed like a servant. He had no weapon, but he carried a large bundle on his back. As if that wasn't enough, his hands were also full of luggage.
He hurried his steps, anxiously looking around. For some reason, his face was a welcome sight. I quickly stepped on the boxes in the cargo bed and jumped down.
Startled by the sudden appearance of a martial artist with a blade, the man fell on his backside. He looked up at me with wide eyes and desperately tried to make an excuse.
"I... I was ordered by the squad master to call for people..."
"Jin Seok-man, it's me. Jeong Dae-cheon."
When I called his name, he finally recognized my face and let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew, it was Great Hero Jeong."
"Are you done with your business?"
"Yes. Well... it's not bad, all things considered."
It was obvious he had made off with a hefty haul, but Jin Seok-man was tight-lipped. He quickly got up and picked up his luggage. He seemed wary and on guard, afraid that I would take the wealth he had worked so hard to obtain.
"Are you leaving now?"
"I have to."
"Are you taking the escape route you told me about before?"
"No. The men of the dark path are watching it."
"Then?"
"I found a rat hole while I was looting earlier. It's perfect."
"Let's go together."
"Would you? I'd be glad to."
Jin Seok-man was relieved that I was accompanying him. He had managed to loot and get this far, but he had no blade and didn't know how to fight. If he ran into a member of the dark path, he would be a dead man.
He seemed to have decided it was better to be safe, even if it meant giving me a share of what he had.
"Wait a moment."
When I returned with Jeok Chu-yeong on my back, Jin Seok-man looked at me with curious eyes. He probably thought I had made a big score like him, and couldn't understand why I had gone through all this trouble for just one person. Jeok Chu-yeong looked so wretched that Jin Seok-man didn't even recognize who he was.
I wanted to ask Jin Seok-man to carry him, but if I told him to abandon his bundle, he would surely run away mid-journey. His steps would be slow anyway, so it was better for me to carry him.
"This way."
Following Jin Seok-man's lead, I squeezed into a narrow space between warehouses. The Black Night Gang's headquarters was too large to be a mere village gang. There were many pavilions and buildings, and the internal structure was complex.
Even as I moved, tense and alert, I couldn't quite understand it. Just how much income did they generate from the Western Village?
"Who goes there!"
As we crossed an open area between buildings, we came face to face with three men of the dark path who looked like roadside bandits.
"Out of the way."
Jin Seok-man hastily stepped aside. I drew my long blade and charged. I supported Jeok Chu-yeong's lower body with my left hand and swung the long blade with my right.
It was the continuous slash I favored most from the first eighteen forms of the Heavenly Steel Saber Technique. Even with one hand, the power was terrifying, as it was imbued with inner energy.
"Kuaaack!"
Like a raging bear descending upon them, the three men were sliced apart at once, with no time to react. Blades broke, arms and heads were severed, and torsos were nearly cut in half. Even though I was the one who did it, it was absurdly brutal.
"Damn it..."
I cursed involuntarily as I checked my energy core. In the heat of the moment, I had used too much inner energy. I sheathed my long blade and leaped over the strewn corpses.
Jin Seok-man was nowhere to be seen. I looked back and saw him frozen in place, his face pale.
"What are you doing? Not coming? You want to die here?"
"Huh? Yes! I'm coming!"
Jin Seok-man, finally snapping out of it, hurriedly took the lead. The rest of the way was easy. It seemed everyone was off doing something else in some other place; we didn't see a single soul, let alone a member of the dark path.
It seemed even Seon Do-mu hadn't anticipated that there might be another escape route. We arrived safely at the grain warehouse. When I pushed open the door, a musty smell filled the air.
Two eyes glinted from atop a pile of rice sacks. I gripped my long blade and glared. A cat with a mouse in its mouth quickly disappeared onto a crossbeam.
"There's a passage here?"
"Yes. I'm sure of it."
In response to my skeptical question, Jin Seok-man boasted confidently and went to the innermost corner. As he said, there was a fist-sized hole in the wooden wall, gnawed by rats. Jin Seok-man put down the luggage in his hands and kicked the wall.
The old wooden wall was tougher and more resilient than it looked. No matter how hard he kicked, only small splinters flew off; it just wouldn't break. It seemed difficult to break it with bare hands without a tool like an axe.
"Huh? Why isn't this breaking?"
"Move."
I tapped the flustered Jin Seok-man on the shoulder and stepped forward. A few kicks imbued with inner energy, and a large chunk of the rotten wooden wall broke away. We squeezed through in a crouched position and came out.
After passing through a narrow back alley where weeds and discarded straw mats were rotting, my eyes widened. Jin Seok-man pointed to what I was looking at.
"See, I was right, wasn't I? It's over there. Right there."
His voice was thick with the thrill and emotion of final success. A strangely shaped building that curved around one side of the wall. If we just passed through there, we would reach the back door that Bok Ha-gyu had opened for me when I entered the Black Night Gang's headquarters earlier.
We're almost there. I let out a quiet sigh and nodded. Since we had agreed to escape on our own, there was no need to wait for the others.
Suddenly, a cold sensation spread from my lower back. I reached back and found a faint energy stirring from somewhere on Jeok Chu-yeong's body, which was pressed against mine. As I fumbled for the location, I was startled.
It was his energy core. I remembered what I had heard before. Could the Hidden Force be reacting to my inner energy? ...
When the internal arts master hired by Bok Ha-gyu had infused Jeok Chu-yeong with inner energy through direct transmission, the Hidden Force had gone berserk. If the Hidden Force acted up again here, I couldn't guarantee Jeok Chu-yeong's life.
As I withdrew the minimal inner energy I was circulating in preparation for a surprise attack, a faint, ghost-like voice drifted into my ear.
"Who... are... you..."
In a thrill that felt like my breath was stopping, I slowly turned my head. Two unfocused, hazy, and empty eyes were looking at me. The moonlight glinted on his pupils.
Blinking with effort, Jeok Chu-yeong asked again.