Chapter 74 - The Black Flame Dragon Who Surpasses the Gate (2)

"..."

"... Ahem."

A bizarre silence hung in the room.

Not only us who had entered with the kid, but also Bang Duchil's boisterous gang were all glaring coldly at him for his disrespectful behavior.

"Well, that's why I told you to just tell me... didn't I."

The old man had refused to speak, and Bang Duchil had tried to force him to talk, which caused this mess.

When I met him in my past life, he had a hearty side, but I didn't think he had such an ignorant side.

"Whether someone lives or dies, what does it matter to you... Ugh."

The old man, who had been excitedly pouring out his words, grabbed his waist and lowered his head.

"It really is because of the Ssangmak Stronghold, isn't it?"

"..."

The worry deepened on the old man's face.

"Did the Ssangmak Stronghold perhaps drag away all the villagers?"

"..."

The old man still remained silent.

Just as Bang Duchil was puffing air from his nose and about to grab the old man by the collar again.

Baek Soryeong approached the old man with a clear voice.

"Elder, my name is Soryeong. I'm a bit embarrassed to say this all of a sudden, but my darling recently wiped out two bandit strongholds and secured two Murim Academy First Gate tokens. So you don't need to be too afraid and can go ahead and speak."

The old man's eyes shook violently at Baek Soryeong's words. Then, he met the kid's eyes and let out a long sigh.

"As the Ssangmak Stronghold's atrocities became too severe, the merchant alliance in Hangzhou tried to wipe them out using wanderers. However, they failed every time, and each time, they killed the villagers they had put to work and hung them in the village."

None of us could open our mouths at the situation that was much more serious than expected.

"Being starved and hungry is not something I've only experienced for a year or two. I can endure that enough. But I can no longer bear the sight of my child, or my friend's child, returning dead and hung on a pole."

Whenever an expedition force appeared, it was the villagers who ultimately suffered the damage. With no one to protect them, they had to go through the heart-rotting ordeal of defending their enemies for the sake of their own survival.

"These rotten bastards!"

Bang Duchil yelled at the top of his lungs.

I calmly asked.

"What do they do after taking the villagers? It's not like they take farmers and turn them into Green Woods bandits."

"They do incorporate some as Green Woods bandits, but I heard most go and do all sorts of chores."

It is no easy feat for nearly a thousand people to spread out and live on a mountain. Even just considering the amount of food consumed in a single day, it is incomparable to the villages around Mount Cheonmok.

Fierce and rough Green Woods bandits wouldn't be cooking their own meals, so the abducted people are said to be living subhuman lives while waiting on them hand and foot.

"Can't they run away?"

One of Bang Duchil's subordinates tilted his head and asked, and the old man shook his head.

"If anyone disobeys or runs away, they make an example of them by turning the village they were taken from into a wasteland. With all their family members here, how could they dare to resist?"

In short, they had hostages on both sides.

"I've heard that the Seventy-Two Strongholds of the Green Woods are rougher than normal bandit strongholds, but this crosses the line."

Baek Soryeong's beautiful brow furrowed.

"...!"

Bang Duchil silently stood up from his seat.

"Boys, grab your weapons."

At Bang Duchil's heavily sunken, solemn voice, those who were with him also changed their expressions to a serious one and began to pick up their weapons.

"Did you not hear me say not to do anything!"

Bang Duchil looked at the old man with apathetic eyes.

"Old man, is that kid next to you your only remaining family?"

"..."

"When the kid grows up, I think the Ssangmak Stronghold will covet him. Will you be okay with that?"

The old man's face contorted.

"If you stay still, you'll just keep getting trampled on; that is the life of the weak. At the very least, you have to instill the thought that you won't be easy if they mess with you."

"What are you trying to do!"

"I'm going to settle this with the Ssangmak Stronghold together with my subordinates!"

"No!"

"Darling! That's too much!"

The old man and Baek Soryeong shouted at the same time.

A natural reaction for a person with common sense.

"If you act recklessly, the families held in the stronghold and all the villagers will die! Can you take responsibility for that?"

"Darling! The Ssangmak Stronghold has five hundred men each, totaling a thousand. It's impossible with just us."

Bang Duchil's face scrunched up heavily.

"Soryeong, I will not lose to anyone. And old man, do not worry. I will bring all the families back safely. I promise on my name."

Bang Duchil was already not listening to anyone. Baek Soryeong simply shook her head, as if she knew his personality, and the old man looked like he was about to faint at any moment.

"I am opposed as well."

"Huh?"

Bang Duchil and his subordinates, who had been about to head out the door, turned around.

"Who are you?"

"Are you asking me?"

I approached the kid and held out my hand, and the kid stared blankly before placing a silver coin in my hand.

"I am Jin Sowoon of the Taiyi Sect, who received a request from this kid."

* * *

"Jin Sowoon of the Taiyi Sect...? You?"

I thought to myself that there were getting to be quite a few people who recognized me these days.

As soon as they heard my name, Bang Duchil's subordinates also whispered among themselves.

"If it's Jin Sowoon... the Black Flame Dragon, Jin Sowoon?"

"The rising star of the Underworld Murim?!"

"The most despicable hidden dragon?"

The problem was that rumors couldn't always spread exactly the way I wanted them to.

I ignored the annoying talk and continued speaking.

"No matter how strong you are, it is impossible to wipe out the Ssangmak Stronghold with a small number of people. Furthermore, the opponent is even holding hostages."

Hearing my words, Bang Duchil nodded for the first time.

"As expected of the rising star of the Underworld Murim, are you taking the side of the Ssangmak Stronghold?"

"..."

No, I'm not!

In the first place, persuading someone who had absolute confidence in their own martial prowess was an impossible task.

I looked at Baek Soryeong and spoke.

"Could you help me for a moment?"

"Yes? Me?"

"If I can't persuade him, I feel like he will just head straight to the Ssangmak Stronghold. If so, neither he nor the hostages held there will be safe."

"... Alright."

After Baek Soryeong nodded, I pulled her toward me with one hand.

"Oh my!"

Her body gave off the same violet scent as in my past life.

At that, Bang Duchil raised one eyebrow.

"... What are you doing?"

"Try saving this person."

"What?"

I lifted the Black Dragon Sword, scabbard and all, and placed it against Baek Soryeong's neck.

"I said try to save her."

"..."

The moment Bang Duchil took a step forward with his fierce eyes.

I slashed Baek Soryeong's neck.

"Ah!"

"She died once."

"..."

Bang Duchil's eyes turned cold, and he raised his internal energy.

WOOOSH.

Wind began to swirl around his body.

The Gale Art that Bang Duchil had learned, despite being a Daoist lineage cultivation method, was created in a way that forcefully gathered a vast amount of internal energy; if done incorrectly, there was a high chance of falling into qi deviation or becoming a mute.

However, for Bang Duchil, who could perfectly compensate for the drawback of qi deviation with his otherworldly Heavenly Dipper Limitless Body constitution, it became the greatest martial art capable of gathering and radiating internal energy faster than any other martial art.

BOOM!

The suction force of the Gale Crazy Demon Fist pulled my and Baek Soryeong's bodies in.

I stepped with the Taiyi Eighty Thousand Divine Steps, leaving behind an afterimage, and evaded the Gale Crazy Demon Fist while slashing Baek Soryeong's neck again.

"She died twice."

"... You bastard!!"

Bang Duchil had evolved the Gale Fist and Gale Kick derived from the Gale Art into his own unique martial arts.

The Gale Whirling Kick, which had not yet reached completion, exploded forth.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

Old furniture burst apart wildly as Bang Duchil's kicks exploded in all directions, but they only hit afterimages. Nothing touched my or Baek Soryeong's bodies.

"She died three times."

"... Damn it!"

Bang Duchil, who was slowly starting to get worked up, gathered true qi fully into both hands.

He was about to unleash the Gale Divine Palm, which could use Bang Duchil's internal energy in the most destructive way.

"... If you shoot that, this lady will be hit as well. Do you want to kill her with your own hands?"

"..."

The broken debris on the floor resonated and trembled violently before soon subsiding.

The wind that had been swirling around him also soon disappeared entirely.

Even though he was wrong, his face showed that he could not easily admit he was wrong.

"..."

Silence hung among Bang Duchil's group as well.

"In a situation where hostages are held, you cannot act recklessly."

Baek Soryeong also nodded at my words.

"Darling, Young Master Jin's words are right."

"... Even so, we can't just stand by and watch."

"I'm not saying to just stand by and watch. I'm saying we need a different plan."

"Do you have a different plan?"

Bang Duchil's group, as well as the three Geum-eun-dong brothers, looked at me with expectant eyes.

"Yes. Of course I do."

"What is it?"

CRASH!

Just as I was about to continue speaking, the sound of a building being smashed came from outside the door.

All of us, including Bang Duchil, headed out of the dining area all at once.

"Kyahahahaha!"

"Smash it! Break it down!"

"You! You're coming with us to the Hwamak Stronghold."

A little over twenty bandits had surrounded a house, dragging out the family members, smashing the building, and setting it on fire.

Bang Duchil and his group looked ready to spring out at any moment.

"If you step forward now, you won't be able to save the hostages properly."

At my words, Bang Duchil flinched and glared at me with wide-open eyes.

"As long as they don't die, we can bring them back alive. But if we step forward now, we'll have to fight while hostages are held."

"..."

The sound of grinding teeth could be heard. Bang Duchil wanted to spring out right that instant and smash those bastards' heads in.

Perhaps sensing that presence, some of the bandit group approached our side.

"What is it? Who are you bastards? What are you glaring at?"

I quickly left Bang Duchil behind and stepped forward.

"Hello. I am Jin Sowoon of the Taiyi Sect."

"Jin Sowoon of the Taiyi Sect?"

"Oho... the Black Flame Dragon..."

Despite being bandits staying in a stronghold, they seemed quite well-informed about Murim affairs, as they looked at me with marveling eyes.

"What business brings you to this village?"

"Ah, I don't know if you've heard. Hasn't our Taiyi Sect recently taken over the Cangqiong Merchant Group? So, we were thinking of teaming up with an escort agency for merchant travel, and we were just trying to check the route to nearby Hangzhou first."

"Hmm... to get to Hangzhou, you have to go through Mount Cheonmok. Why haven't we heard anything about this?"

The bandit with a heavy saber slung over his shoulder glared at us while faintly emitting killing intent. He was asking why we hadn't paid them a toll.

"Ah, of course, we were just about to pay our respects. Haha."

I shook a pouch containing a few silver coins, approached them, and politely handed it over.

"I've heard that originally, for an escort agency or merchant group to pass through a route for the first time, they must pay a proper toll. Please tell the Stronghold Boss that we will come visit him soon."

"Oh, you have good sense, so it seems you'll do well in business."

"Don't mention it. Thank you."

"By the way, who's that bastard, and why is he glaring at us like that?"

The bandit holding the heavy saber pointed at Bang Duchil with his blade.

"Ah, they are our escort warriors, but it's because it hasn't been long since they turned from wanderers into escort warriors. I ask for your understanding."

"Hmph! How dare he give such a look to the Hwamak Stronghold."

The bandit holding the heavy saber strode over to Bang Duchil.

He looked up at Bang Duchil, who was a head taller than him, and spoke.

"Lower your eyes, you bastard!"

"..."

The corners of Bang Duchil's mouth twitched.

His flushed red face looked like it would burst at any second.

-*If you cause a scene now, we won't be able to save the hostages. *

At my sound transmission, Bang Duchil looked at me as if I were his mortal enemy, but then deeply bowed his head.

"... I'm sorry."

"... Hmph! You're nothing special."

The bandit who turned around didn't even know that Bang Duchil was glaring at him from behind as if he wanted to kill him.

After the bandits of the Hwamak Stronghold left, Bang Duchil strode over to me and gripped one of my shoulders as if to break it.

"You will have to take responsibility for your words!"

"Of course."

"... If you can't do that."

Bang Duchil looked at me with deeply resentful eyes.

"You will have to deal with me as well as the Ssangmak Stronghold."

"I will take responsibility."

"..."

Bang Duchil went back inside the dining area with his group, and only Baek Soryeong was left.

"Thank you. Young Master Jin. Thanks to you, I was able to stop my darling."

"I'm the one who should apologize for being so discourteous earlier."

"Oh my, what are you saying! Being embraced by an unfamiliar man after a long time wasn't so bad."

Baek Soryeong went inside the dining area with a bright smile like a canola flower.