episode_0027

Cheongun spun around and landed lightly.

In the pitch-black darkness.

Only his face shimmered above the campfire, Cheongun’s eyes, fixed on the bandits, gleamed particularly bright.

His eyes swept across the bandits from left to right, then formed an arc.

“I knew this would happen. What? Taking hostages? Anyway. You guys are hopeless. Just die.”

He had roughly guessed it from the first time he saw them.

Even if ancient Zhongyuan was an era synonymous with barbarity and uncivilized ways, it wasn’t an era completely devoid of morality and ethics. At least a basic moral compass existed in that era, but these men were utterly devoid of it.

“Great Hero! It’s a misunderstanding!”

“What misunderstanding? I heard it clearly.”

Qi perception isn’t just about sensing the flow of Qi well. Just as Qi flows between heaven and earth, sound too is a wave that flows along with Qi. Cheongun had poured nearly 20,000 achievement points into Qi perception when creating his character, so his hearing could be said to be beyond human level.

“I, I will explain everything!”

“Explain? Are you daring to try and teach me now?”

“No, no! I will clarify everything!”

“I have no intention of listening. Just die.”

*Shing—!*

Cheongun drew his sword.

Thin threads of lightning crisscrossed and gathered at the tip of his sword. Electric light, writhing as if alive, flowed down the blade.

And then.

*Crack—!*

Thunderbolts, emitting a stark blue light, flashed and tore through the air.

At the murderous sight, Yang Hogeol trembled. He didn’t know what kind of martial art it was, but he at least knew that if he was cut, he’d die instantly.

Yang Hogeol, who had involuntarily collapsed, bellowed.

“I, I am Yang Hogeol, the Chieftain of Iron Gate Fortress, one of the Green Forest Eighteen Strongholds!”

It was essentially his last desperate effort. No matter how much he begged, that madman wouldn’t listen, so this was his only option.

Cheongun stopped moving for a moment.

“You’re the Chieftain?”

“Yes! If you kill me, the Green Forest won’t stand idly by!”

“Ah, the Green Forest is a bit troublesome.”

At his words, Yang Hogeol momentarily gained hope. Anyone who knew the might of the Green Forest would be able to easily resolve this surprisingly tangled situation.

Cheongun stood still, gazing at them. And then uttered something incomprehensible.

“Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know, and I know.”

“…?”

“Do you know what that means?”

“O-Of course!”

Yang Hogeol nodded desperately. No matter how uneducated a mountain bandit he was, he knew that saying. It meant that from now on, there would be no secrets between them, and he should live uprightly with that in mind, right?

But at Cheongun’s next words, his complexion turned ashen.

“Heaven and Earth have no mouths.”

“What?”

“So, if I just kill you guys who have mouths, the Green Forest and I won’t get entangled.”

Ah, killing to silence. This madman!

“G-Great Hero, aren’t you a martial artist who walks the path of righteousness?”

“The path I walk is the path of righteousness.”

“What kind of dog-like… Don’t you fear Heaven!”

“I am that Heaven.”

“M-Madman…”

Yang Hogeol was speechless. Of all people to run into, it had to be this lunatic.

“Now, then, let’s really die.”

Cheongun dragged his sword along the ground as he approached. Honestly, he felt uneasy letting those guys go as they were, so he followed them – a decision he was glad he made. He also happened to want to test the new level he had reached. What better performance test could there be than killing these villains?

Just then, Yang Hogeol exchanged glances with the subordinates around him. What other foolish stunt were they planning?

As Cheongun watched them calmly.

“Attack!”

*Whoosh—!*

At that command, the bandits who had been trembling just moments ago rushed at Cheongun from all directions. Yang Hogeol, on the other hand, left them behind and fled, holding his breath, using his light-foot technique. He fled with such exertion that his vital energy was not just hot but throbbing. Occasionally, there would be a flash as if lightning had struck behind him, followed by a *Boom!* and scattered, tearing screams.

But Yang Hogeol never looked back.

“*Huff… puff…*”

The sounds gradually faded. Still, he couldn’t feel safe, so he continued to draw on his inner energy and use his footwork at full speed. After running for almost half an hour, he finally arrived at the fortress entrance.

“Hah… you motherfucker…”

He barely managed to catch his breath, feeling a wave of relief that he had survived.

“*Hah, haah…*”

Damn, I survived. A smile slowly crept onto his face. Still, those guys seemed to have bought him a good amount of time.

Yang Hogeol just lay flat on the ground, spread-eagled. The night sky was clear. He had no energy to move, so he just lay there blankly when—

“…?”

Suddenly, a shadow fell over him. He turned his eyes, and Cheongun’s eyes slowly came into view in one corner of his vision.

“……”

“……”

Cheongun’s eyes drew closer and closer. Yang Hogeol couldn’t move a muscle until those eyes came to a stop right in front of him.

And a moment later.

Cheongun grinned and opened his lips.

“You should die, shouldn’t you?”

“……”

*Gurgle.*

Yang Hogeol lost consciousness.

****

Iron Gate Fortress.

Buildings lined the left and right, centered around the main hall, and at the very back were the treasury and the Chieftain’s quarters.

Cheongun dragged the tightly bound Yang Hogeol around as he asked.

“Open the treasury.”

“…Yes.”

Yang Hogeol seemed to have lost all will, as he obediently opened the treasury.

“Oh. There’s a lot, isn’t there?”

Bandits engage in plunder. Meaning they hoard a lot of money. As expected, a considerable amount of gold ingots was hoarded inside the treasury. And that wasn’t all. From spirit medicines to gold ingots, and all sorts of supplies presumed to have been extorted from merchant caravans. The name ‘Green Forest Eighteen Strongholds’ was no exaggeration; for a single fortress, their pockets were quite full.

Moreover, this was ownerless money. Which meant, ultimately, that the first one to take it owned it.

“A bonanza, indeed.”

Cheongun, with his hands behind his back, thoroughly emptied every corner. The night wind was cool. The moonlight was tranquil, and his pockets were bulging—truly a poetic night.

He was walking around feeling pleased when—

“Hmm?”

Cheongun saw something. He had simply entered a particularly secluded room, but various things were hanging on its walls. Blood-soaked weapons and clothes were hanging, along with things that looked like wigs, but judging by the dangling crimson flesh, they seemed to have been peeled off with the scalp. Furthermore, all sorts of bladed tools and even a torture rack were set up.

Cheongun clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“What are you?”

“……”

“I thought you were just an ordinary piece of trash, but you’re just proper waste, aren’t you?”

Cheongun dragged the man back out. Then, after making him kneel on the ground, he raised a finger and pricked his pressure points.

There was no need to delve into good or evil. In the Jianghu, there may be no law, but there is always propriety. It would be widely beneficial for the world if such waste died and returned to dust as quickly as possible.

Sensing his killing intent, Yang Hogeol trembled and shed tears.

“S-Save me…”

“Shut up. Just die.”

Cheongun drew his sword. He was about to separate the man’s head from his body when—

“Young Hero.”

“!!!”

Cheongun turned his head in surprise. The person who suddenly appeared was a bald monk with a shiny head, wearing a yellow kasaya, smiling benignly. The monk abruptly looked back and forth between Cheongun and Yang Hogeol, then laughed *ho ho* and pressed his palms together in greeting.

“Please, put away your sword.”

Cheongun was dumbfounded. Who is this bald man? Judging by his manner of speech and appearance, he seemed to be a person from Shaolin, but the problem was that the aura and presence the monk exuded clearly indicated he was a master.

Ah, this is annoying. The monks of the orthodox faction, especially those from Shaolin, are all a stubborn bunch who cannot be reasoned with.

Cheongun said with an irritated voice.

“This guy is a villain.”

“I know.”

“He’s trash who has killed countless people.”

“Buddha-nature is inherent in all beings. How about giving him a chance to be guided under Buddha’s teachings and atone for his evil deeds?”

Look now. Even though he was just about to kill a piece of trash, this monk was persistently interfering with talk of guidance and so on, wasn’t he?

“Guidance, you say.”

Cheongun muttered with a sigh. While pondering the monk’s words for a long time, Cheongun suddenly fiddled with the scabbard at his waist.

*Shing—*

A faint hum of the sword echoed. The sword slid out half an inch, then went back in. The movement was so fast that the monk only saw flashes of electric currents from the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi Art around the scabbard.

A moment of silence.

And then—

“…?”

A faint red line appeared on Yang Hogeol’s neck. Blood beaded along the line, and finally, his neck began to detach at that boundary.

“!!!”

The monk belatedly realized the situation and tried to intervene, but—

*Thump!*

Yang Hogeol’s neck already dropped, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

As the monk looked at Yang Hogeol’s falling head with a look of dismay.

Cheongun threw out a single, emotionless remark.

“My apologies. I tend not to listen to bald men.”

“……”