Chapter 59

A pair of eyes watched Namgung Woo and his group from a considerable distance.

“Intense. Even Yi Ja-ryong would be scared.”

The uninvited guest secretly spying on them was a woman.

Yi Ja-ryong, who had caused the Beijing turmoil, had called her Samunryeong.

She wore a wide robe, underneath which was a tight-fitting martial outfit that revealed her curves. Without the robe, her attire would have been quite provocative. However, the rest of her clothing followed the style of a female Taoist priest.

Her appearance was a mix of a martial artist and a sorceress.

Samunryeong, as if to prove the latter, released her Far-Seeing Technique and clicked her tongue.

‘I wanted to see the one who killed Yi Ja-ryong at least once. It was definitely worth it.’

To think she traveled over two thousand li just out of curiosity—it was absurd, but to Samunryeong, distance was trivial.

She recalled her unpleasant past with Yi Ja-ryong in Beijing.

She had been wary of him until just before he caused the chaos, and in the end, she was the one who crushed his ambitions, just as he had feared.

Yi Ja-ryong called her an impurity, a rebel against heaven, but to Samunryeong, he wasn’t much different.

‘He was also a rebel who twisted the cycle of life and death and deceived the eyes of heaven.’

She had cooperated with him for her own gains and due to her master’s connections, but looking back, he was still a deeply unpleasant man.

Despite her seemingly reckless actions, Samunryeong was, in fact, a very orthodox successor of her Taoist lineage.

In fact, she even felt a vague sense of goodwill towards Namgung Woo, who had severed Yi Ja-ryong’s lifeline.

‘Should I keep watching?’

Her mind was already leaning one way, but Samunryeong pondered once more. She wasn’t pressed for time, but she didn’t have enough to waste it meaninglessly either.

“Huh?!”

She thought no one was around. Deep in thought, Samunryeong suddenly sensed an approaching presence and jumped up.

She had released her Far-Seeing Technique but had set up a barrier just in case, which was instantly destroyed.

The identity of the destroyer was obvious.

Namgung Woo.

He was heading straight towards her location.

“How? No, he’s too fast!”

At this rate, they would meet within minutes.

Perhaps she was already within his detection range. After all, he possessed eyes like no other in the world!

“Tch… no choice.”

Samunryeong took out a pill from her robe and chewed it immediately. As expected of a pill she made herself, the medicinal effects spread instantly.

She gathered the energy and directed it to the Tianzong acupoint near her shoulder blades. As the name suggests, this acupoint housed a divine spirit.

“Ling Nie Xuan Xu. Phoenix, carry me away.”

As she chanted the incantation, a red light emanated from her Tianzong acupoint near her shoulder blades.

The spell, manifested through a phoenix-wing-shaped talisman, enveloped her body.

Whoosh!

A sword energy, arriving with impeccable timing, sliced through the air where Samunryeong had been.

Moments later, Namgung Woo appeared, spreading his energy to sense any traces despite his Flying Sword Energy passing through.

Whether it was high-speed movement or spatial teleportation, hastily prepared spells had their limits.

Even Yi Ja-ryong, praised by Paeng Hu-sang as a top-tier sorcerer, could only perform such miracles after building an altar around the massive spiritual vein of Manse Mountain to make the area his domain.

No matter how skilled a sorcerer was, spells required extensive preparation, unlike martial arts. Unless, like a martial artist training their Three Dantians, they had turned their body into an altar.

“Not far. But are they flying?”

Namgung Woo, though moving almost in a straight line, had to dodge obstacles slightly. However, the target detected by his energy was moving away in a perfectly straight line.

‘If I really wanted to catch them, I could…’

At that speed, he could easily catch up to Thousand Miles Courtyard Steps.

But Namgung Woo decided against it.

The other party might be hiding more, and he didn’t want to stray too far from his group.

‘If they’re targeting me, they’ll come back. As for Cheongsu Gate… well, nothing I can do.’

Namgung Woo had no obligation to protect the people of Cheongsu Gate after the job was done.

If they were suffering unjustly before his eyes, he would help, but they weren’t close enough for him to follow or accompany them.

“Should I head back now? It’s about time for the watch shift.”

Namgung Woo smoothly sheathed his sword and turned away without hesitation.

§

The rest of the journey went smoothly.

Paeng Ha-ryeong, who had truly shown her skills, and the Yang Brothers all had smiles on their faces. For the latter, it might have been more due to the spoils than the fights.

“Even the extra income is this substantial… Boss, didn’t I pick an amazing job?”

Yang Kwae shook the Bokmang Association’s token in his hand, making it jingle.

True to their reputation as martial outlaws, the Bokmang Association had bounties on their heads. Especially for specific members like the Blood-Blind Elder, there were additional rewards.

“But why hasn’t the Bokmang Association been eradicated? With bounties like that, bounty hunters should be after them.”

“They have their uses.”

“I see. They disguise themselves as the Bokmang Association to attack hostile forces. Both sides’ leaders.”

“That’s right. And the Bokmang Association only preys on those weaker than themselves. They don’t touch major factions.”

“If you mess with such a place, you could really get rooted out.”

So, the Bokmang Association operated on the principle of the strong preying on the weak, targeting only minor factions with little backlash, while major factions used them as puppets for covert assassinations, so there was no need to eliminate them.

“Moreover, the Bokmang Association is composed of people with decent martial skills. The sects and factions they harmed tried to band together to eradicate them but failed repeatedly.”

“Outlaws tend to have long lives. They’re incredibly stingy with their own lives.”

“True. So, this incident will probably greatly boost Changcheon Pavilion’s reputation.”

While the Yang Brothers and Paeng Ha-ryeong discussed the Bokmang Association and their achievements, Namgung Woo thought about the person he had missed.

‘Are they from the Bokmang Association?’

Given the use of spells, it seemed possible.

After all, the tokens carried by Bokmang Association members were enchanted.

‘The Bokmang Association is a typical cell organization. To unite such people, spells would be essential. Even if not the leadership, they must be part of the operational side.’

Namgung Woo’s thoughts ended there.

The current Namgung Woo was a wanderer, not a hero. He had no goal of completely eradicating the Bokmang Association.

After much travel, the group finally arrived at their destination, Gyeonghyeon.

From afar, the faint sound of metal being struck could be heard.

“We’ve arrived… finally.”

Wi Ji-ryang muttered with emotion.

It had been a journey where they had nearly lost their lives twice. Although the second time wasn’t really a crisis. If they hadn’t hired Namgung Woo’s group, they would have surely died.

‘And the Dragon Eye Wood would have been taken.’

Thinking this, his worries seemed trivial.

At the entrance of Gyeonghyeon, Wi Ji-ryang called Namgung Woo.

“Nam Hero.”

“Hmm?”

“Here, the promised reward of ten taels of silver.”

Namgung Woo accepted the silver ingot from Wi Ji-ryang. A tael was a unit of weight, not the number of coins. With his superhuman senses, Namgung Woo immediately noticed the ingot was slightly over ten taels.

“It’s a bit much. I’ll give you the change.”

“No need. It’s refined, but there might be some impurities. Just take it.”

“If you say so.”

The difference was less than a tael anyway.

After receiving the reward, Yang Kwae called them over, saying the inspection was done.

Gyeonghyeon was a small village.

Old buildings blended with newly constructed ones, showing the passage of time. A tall tower and a large shrine marked the center of the town. Following the clear stream, the sound of metal striking grew louder.

Passing a bridge with a small red pavilion emitting a strong tea aroma, they entered the village.

“Is that a tea pavilion?”

“Hongru Bridge… it says.”

Paeng Ha-ryeong and Wi Seong-ha, being fellow women, chatted while pointing around Gyeonghyeon.

At first, Paeng Ha-ryeong seemed quite wary, but seeing things going well, Namgung Woo smiled faintly.

“Boss? Should we head to Guyajang first?”

“It’s not the opening day yet.”

“Well, if we go early, they might think more favorably of us. It’s a small town, so finding lodging should be easy.”

Yang Kwae’s argument was countered by Yi Gong-seo.

“The Four Seasons Brew only opens on the day itself. Going early would just be a waste of effort.”

“Ahem, cough… you could have mentioned that earlier.”

“Let’s find lodging first.”

Namgung Woo chuckled at Yang Kwae’s grumbling and called Paeng Ha-ryeong and Wi Seong-ha, who were walking ahead.

A few days passed.

Finally, the day of the opening arrived.

“In celebration of the opening, we will accept external orders!”

The Four Seasons Brew, the opening brew, had begun.

And by then.

The Jegal Family had not yet arrived in Gyeonghyeon.