Chapter 338

After the first crime, Qing realized that these bandits didn’t care at all about the people left behind.

Come to think of it, the guy who donated this shirt, Big Cheol from the Thirty-Seven Corps, also didn’t show up alone.

Let them fall behind if they want to.

If they don’t want to lag, they should just keep up on their own.

Usually, when it’s like this group project thing, don’t the ones at the back get some consideration?

As Qing briefly recalled his college group projects, he thought, well, I suppose it makes sense to just ditch the laggards.

Better leave out the seniors’ names too. Yeah, loyalty my foot.

So, it was super easy for Qing to twist the necks of the bandits.

It’s like playing “Mugunghwa Blossoms,” where the seeker never looks back—just sneak up and bang!

A miraculous meeting of the back of their heads and their spines!

In this world, there are only a handful of people who can experience this special moment, and those who did were so overwhelmed with emotion they completely lost it.

One by one, they departed from this realm, leaving just two left.

Bark! Bark!

Suddenly, a dog barks in the front.

Rustling through the bushes, a dog handler emerges and whispers cautiously.

“Shh, brother, I think I found them.”

“Oh? First, the one with the net.”

“……”

“What’s up with the net guy? Not answering?”

Cheonam frowned and turned his head.

And there was nobody.

Cheonam was dumbfounded.

These bastards slipped away like that!

They weren’t even moving that fast, yet they all lagged behind?

And then, he heard it.

The sound of leaves crunching got closer and closer, and finally, a limping figure appeared from the dimness.

“Damn it, even the lame are chasing after me. Hey, haven’t you seen the others?”

“Um, brother, actually, I, I haven’t seen them.”

Cheonam thought to himself.

This guy is going to get us into big trouble if he lies.

“Not speaking straight? What den are you hiding in? Should I gather everyone from above you to below me? How dare you lie to an elder of the Yangsan Park Corps?”

“Oh man. They, um, they said they were too tired and would take a rest before coming…”

“You little bastards! Who wants to sit around and do nothing? Where are they?”

“Well, they—cough, cough! They’re over there.”

“What? Where?”

“Brother, please understand my position…”

“What? You want me to consider your position? Should I take care of you while I’m at it? You little punk, get ready to face the consequences.”

“Brother, I’m just a sick patient…”

“A patient? What are you, five?”

With a scowl, Cheonam strode forward and raised his arm.

And like he always did, he tried to smack him, but the punk had the audacity to catch his own hand!

“Oh, blocking, huh?”

“Are you not going to block? I’ll send you to the underworld too. Your brothers will join you, all cozy together.”

Suddenly, a sweet, beautiful voice slipped out and caught Cheonam off guard for a moment.

But getting stunned in front of an enemy is a big no-no.

Cheonam’s arm bent awkwardly.

“Ugh.”

Forcing the air out of him turned into a scream, but his throat was cut off, so he had to settle for sucking it back down.

Qing, who had Cheonam by the throat, smiled slyly.

“Sorry to say, but the lame guy is the culprit, and the bald guy is a ghost.”

With a swift push, Qing sent Cheonam flying back.

A branch jutting out struck Cheonam right in the solar plexus.

Even after Qing let go, Cheonam remained impaled on the thick branch.

It didn’t pierce his heart, but still, it was a skewer, so he wouldn’t live long.

“Brother? Are you there?”

“Oh. There’s one more.”

As Qing turned his back from the tree where Cheonam was skewered, Cheonam couldn’t comprehend anything even as he was dying.

He got that the lame was the culprit.

But how the bald guy was considered a ghost? That part was lost on him.

However, Cheonam’s breath soon ceased, and understanding never came to him.

Qing was like a judge who meted out justice without error.

After punishing the dog handler for the same crime, Seomun Qing vanished into the forest.

And just like that, there was no one left.

—-

Qing busily killed all the bandits.

This was something he genuinely felt motivated to do, but even if he didn’t, it was unavoidable.

So, Qing continued to clean up the trash of Won Gagye, those ignorant thugs, carelessly throwing garbage into the forest.

Dressed like a Green Forest member, Qing was invincible.

Because this falls under one of the most despicable war crimes in the world.

In war, disguising as civilians or wearing the enemy’s uniform is considered a violation of international law.

But right now, in this primitive era where there wasn’t even a single international organization, it wasn’t exactly a major issue.

How many did he kill, though?

Finally, the steep cliffs gave way to a more manageable mountain slope.

Finally! The damn jungle was coming to an end!

Of course, from Qing’s perspective, it was a slope.

To an ordinary person, it was more like a cliff made of dirt and trees rather than actual terrain.

If he just climbed down the mountain, he’d be done, but that wouldn’t do.

He was now an enemy of the Green Forest, and considering the two masters of the Realm of Transformation, look at the number of men dispatched here.

Even if it’s a mix of third-rate and second-rate, they were more than five hundred troops quickly gathering here.

If he didn’t break their momentum as much as possible, they could become a lingering menace.

Not just to him, but also anyone around, so that was the most crucial factor.

Not just him, but at that time, Gunyongi was also there.

Even if it wasn’t Gunyongi, they could vent their anger on the local Chen merchants, and while they might not dare touch the Divine Maiden Sect.

But these foolish bastards definitely would regret their actions after causing trouble, so it was likely that if these bandits acted recklessly, anyone related to them would suffer a bloodbath, leaving an ugly stain behind.

If only he had captured and killed all the punks trying to escape when dealing with Young Master.

Yeah, just like back at Blackspots, I should have shouted, “I am Unyeonjeong from Jinju, Hebei!”

Qing regretted that moment too late.

The thoughts he had just seconds ago didn’t even cross his mind, so she definitely wouldn’t have been the type to think, “Foolish bastards will always regret after causing trouble,” in the first place.

And so, the reason Qing was wandering down the slopes wasn’t out of fear.

With eight bandit dens popping up around, he decided he needed to wipe out about half of them.

So off Qing went down the mountain.

The slope was a bit steeper than the one he’d come down from Luyue Peak, but while it was tricky to descend, going back up felt easy.

Being on a dirt cliff made it convenient to dig his hands and feet in, and the densely grown trees supported the muddy slope, allowing him to climb higher and higher with a good grip.

Then, around Seven Peaks Ridge, the fog thickened to the point that his visibility barely reached three feet.

This wasn’t anything unusual.

After all, the Zhangjiajie region’s climate is known for its frequent low-lying fog in the highlands, with 251 days of fog throughout the year.

With the fog revealing the rocky faces, Qing maneuvered around and uncovered a hidden fort lurking behind a peak.

Hmm. But where is this den situated?

Do I even need to know?

There would likely be bandits in the den anyway.

And in this den, only bandits exist.

No matter how fierce a bandit, humans don’t inhabit such rugged mountains.

Even the most diligent bandits can only find coins and jewels; they can’t sustain themselves with food and cooking supplies that spontaneously appear at every meal.

Thus, in order for bandits to build and live in sizable groups on the mountain, they’d have to regularly transport provisions every day or every two days.

That’s a wildly inefficient and laborious way to do things.

So what do they do?

Bandits set up their homes in villages below the mountains.

Moreover, bandits have families, so those villages below are vital for them to live in.

So, at the bottom of the mountain, in secluded spots without proper roads, are fortified settlements or bandit villages.

It’s rarely the case that outsiders are welcomed into well-fortified villages, and even if they are, they’ll be met with suspicious glares and strict surveillance.

However, if a village welcomes outsiders and even sets a feast for them, it’s likely a den of bandits, and you should run for your life.

So when speaking of the Green Forest’s den, it isn’t a living quarter, but a workplace shared by them.

In a bandit’s workplace, there are only employed bandits, so Qing could easily wipe them all out as they came across him.

As Qing approached the fortress-like den, he looked up at its walls.

The fog obscured the height, but from what he could tell, it was a grand thick wall made of trees standing at least ten feet high.

Those bandit brats sure take their safety seriously.

But what does a wooden wall mean in front of a supreme martial artist?

With a quick pull of his Sword Aura, he sliced through and made an opening in no time.

This means Qing now stepped into the bandit den, where only the useless remained, as all the main forces had escaped.

In professional terms, this is called “empty house looting” or “dropping the main base.”

And thus, Qing was rampaging uncontrollably.

No one could stop him.

Qing was the Heaven’s Kill.

The remaining denizens were mainly those with talent in facility management rather than combat.

Qing executed the Black Shadow Stealth move, leading up to a grand performance without making a sound.

Even if someone saw him, they’d have trouble telling whether he was a person or a ghost.

And with the thick fog adding to the confusion, nobody even discovered him until they were on the verge of death.

As Qing shuffled through the den, accumulating good deeds, he spotted smoke billowing from a separate building.

When he approached, he saw white steam rising continuously from a window about head height.

Oh, no way. Here?

Qing silently leaped up to grab the window and peeked inside.

A rush of hot steam hit his face.

And the sound of water splashing.

There was already someone inside, but judging by their figure, is it a woman? A female bandit? Now that I think about it, have I ever seen a female bandit? Well, women can be bandits too.

From her skills, she appeared to be quite an experienced bandit.

But more than that, a bathtub! A bathtub!

Qing’s eyes lit up.

Soaking in a bubbling hot bathtub is one of Qing’s all-time favorite activities.

It’s a luxury that can usually be enjoyed in the high-end taverns of big cities, and it can get costly too, as it includes wood and labor costs for the water to be heated, but it was his only true indulgence besides cooking.

All the humidity and mustiness would fade away in a hot bath; wouldn’t that be heavenly?

Just like a sparrow wouldn’t ignore a grain mill, Qing couldn’t skip past the bathtub.

With a covetous gleam in his eye, Qing crept around the outside of the building.

There was one guard at the entrance.

Whether it could really be called guarding or not, they were slumped against the wall, ax blade sunk into the ground, hands crossed over the handle, forehead resting on their arms as they snored away.

There was something almost pitifully exhausting about their posture, but if a bad guy gets tired, it’s probably because they were up to no good in the first place.

Sleeping outside like this could lead to mouth-swinging, so Qing decided to make sure they wouldn’t wake up.

Having gained the lesson that sleeping outside without precaution could lead to death, their journey to the underworld wouldn’t be so unjust to them.

So, Qing carefully opened the bathhouse door, checked that no one else was inside, and peered further past the changing room.

How many guests are there? Just one.

This bathhouse was too well-designed for a bandit’s den.

First, he headed towards a side door, where he noticed half-burnt logs piled beside the firepit.

Qing grabbed logs from the pile, shoving them into the pit to considerably boost the firepower.

And just like that, I’m ready for a bath!

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