Chapter 45: Chapter 45

It wasn’t too hard for Mang-ryang and me to sneak near the village.

*Woo-woong*

“I don’t sense any enemies.”

I expanded my Qi-Sense to detect any enemies or strong Qi presence. Thanks to my profound internal energy, I faced no difficulty in broadening my reach. I could even feel the slight movement of small animals eighty feet away. At least until we approached ten feet from the village, I detected no ambush.

From this position, the entrance stone of the village was visible. Staring at that stone, Mang-ryang was munching on some dried food.

“So, there’s no sign of any ambush from the Embroidered Uniform Guards or the warriors?”

He kept a distance of ten feet from me, following only when I signaled that it was safe. He was now hiding in the bushes.

“Indeed. If there’s a martial artist who can hide their presence from my senses, then honestly, there’s little we can do. Such a person would be standing at the pinnacle of the martial world.”

“Hmm… If there’s none by now, the operation has either already started or there’s no ambush planned.”

After a moment of deep thought, Mang-ryang spoke.

“Could you scout the area a bit more? I’ll prepare something here.”

“You have no martial skills, are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“Don’t worry. If needed, I have the skills to escape.”

“Understood. I’ll scout around within a 5-mile radius.”

*Shiiik!*

I swiftly stepped through the grass, meticulously checking every corner of the village. I wasn’t unfamiliar with the terrain, as I had explored it with Taoist Hyuncheon before. Though it had been years, memories flooded back as I moved. I even found the secret well entrance that we had once discovered together, which felt nostalgic.

Having briskly scoured the area for about an hour, I felt nothing amiss through my Qi or senses. Deciding that was sufficient, I returned to Mang-ryang. He was in the middle of measuring and dividing poison between flasks.

“Please wait a bit; I’m concentrating.”

After a while, Mang-ryang handed me one of the flasks.

“How did it go? Are you sure there are no enemies?”

“I believe there are none for now. The Embroidered Uniform Guards always move in tight-knit groups and tend to leave secret bases. I couldn’t find any such place nearby, and there was no sign of any people.”

“If you say so, it must be true. Let’s assume they haven’t started their ‘plan’ yet.”

“What’s with this flask? Why the need to divide the poison?”

Mang-ryang pointed at my flask and said,

“That flask is for when we need to subdue the village. I have a separate plan for this one.”

“What plan?”

“First, let’s observe the village. We can discuss it later.”

With that, I headed towards the secret well entrance at the back of the village with Mang-ryang. It seemed safer to infiltrate using this secret path rather than the main entrance. Looking at the secret entrance, Mang-ryang commented with interest,

“Intriguing. The clan who developed this must have amassed considerable wealth. The owner of this secret passage is probably the village’s chief landlord.”

“Is there a guarantee that it isn’t so?”

“No. This village is quite a distance from the river, and constructing a secret passage in such a place would require an enormous amount of money. Considering the costs of maintaining its secrecy and procuring the construction materials, it’s spine-chilling. It’s probably accurate.”

“Hmm.”

When I first sneaked in, I didn’t think much, but was it the secret passage of such a powerful figure? As I walked a little, I saw the exit ladder of the secret passage. Cautiously, I climbed up the ladder and used my listening skills to detect the sounds and movements outside.

Woong

There was a presence. I could hear someone who hadn’t mastered martial arts bustling around, boiling something, and making something. At the same time, I felt the hurried pace of their footsteps. Considering this place used to be a kitchen, it might be a servant employed by the mansion. I glanced at Mang-ryang and said,

“It’s not a fanatic. It seems like an ordinary servant is preparing dinner.”

Mang-ryang sighed in relief.

“I see. The village has not yet been subjugated by Embroidered Uniform Guards.”

“What should we do? Would it be better to take the servant by surprise and infiltrate?”

Mang-ryang shook his head.

“No. That might just complicate things. Let’s go back and visit the village head-on.”

Following Mang-ryang’s words, I exited the secret passage and put on the human-skin mask Mang-ryang had prepared. It wasn’t a perfect disguise, but I looked like an average traveler, so when I walked into the village directly, no one seemed suspicious. The villagers were dressed as farmers, and there were peddlers around as well. As I went further in, I saw lively buildings and temples.

“Just a typical village. Given that copper and iron are produced around here, maybe it’s prosperous because of that income?” Mang-ryang looked around and assessed.

‘I ran through these streets killing fanatics and sneaking around.’

Going further, a square-like area of the village appeared, and the tall temple where I had previously targeted the assassin with Hyeoncheondoin emerged. I gazed at the temple with nostalgia but felt the incongruity of the heinous acts committed here.

Children were laughing and running around.

“Kyahaha!”

“Hey, stop right there!”

It seemed they were playing tag. Next to them, a vendor was shouting while showing off clothes.

“Come on, it’s cheap! Cotton clothes! Selling cotton clothes!”

“High-quality farming tools available! Get one now!”

Chatter

“……”

Feeling the noise of the central village street, I became dazed and stopped in my tracks. Mang-ryang, walking ahead, felt something amiss and looked back at me.

“Baek-woong? What’s wrong?”

“It’s that person over there.”

Mang-ryang followed my gaze to a guesthouse on the ground floor selling alcohol. There, a middle-aged man was leisurely picking at what looked like a chicken leg from the kitchen. Mang-ryang tilted his head.

“Why him?”

Knowing his face, I replied with a shaky voice,

“… No, nevermind.”

“Hmm, he seems mundane.”

I just couldn’t say it.

“……”

In the past, when I infiltrated this village with a fellow agent, I saw something devouring human flesh in a back alley. I kicked it hard, bursting its innards, and then smashed the fanatic’s head with my weapon, ensuring he couldn’t scream.

That very man is now casually eating chicken legs.

It’s been years, but the memory from that time is so vivid that I recognize his face. Back then, I believed the fanatics weren’t human, so I dealt with them ruthlessly. And now, here I was, confronting one of them.

Suddenly, a wave of emotion hit me. He looked like any ordinary man, just another face lost in the daily life of the village, yet he faced a tragic end simply because he became a target of the Embroidered Uniform Guards and the sorcerer.

*Whoosh*

A woman swiftly passed by me. Without realizing it, I let out a sigh.

“Oh.”

Her face wasn’t particularly pretty nor ugly, but I definitely remembered her. She had been presented as a human sacrifice during a ritual. With a vacant look in her eyes, she had almost had her heart torn out by the sorcerer’s knife.

A thick, pungent smell filled my nostrils.

The scent of blood seemed like a hallucination, briefly enveloping me.

‘Ugh…’

Standing in the middle of the square, I felt as if I was reliving the bloody past. The hallucinatory scent tormented my mind, overlaying the peaceful bustling square with the horrifying scene of the blood-soaked altar.

I have witnessed the fate of everyone here once—a fate of utter despair and misery, leading them to a frenzied death. No, if I don’t intervene, it will surely happen again.

But why?

Why must everyone here meet such an end?

A burning question I hadn’t considered before surged in my mind. And the face of Captain Ryu, who once laughed at the prospect of earning 20 gold coins and a jade stick for this mission, flashed before me. No matter how I looked at it, these two memories didn’t fit together.

Seeing the faces of those who would be the direct victims had a profound impact on me. Exhausted, I staggered to a tree and sat down. Beside me, concerned, sat my companion.

“Why are you like this? Did you overexert yourself earlier?”

“No… It’s not that. Just leave me be for a moment.”

“Hmm.”

I leaned against a tree, lost in thought. I believed I had mentally prepared myself before coming here, but being on site made me realize otherwise.

‘Dammit…’

Only now did I realize the tremendous psychological impact that incident had on me. Up until now, the only grievances in my life were being bullied by the village chief’s family and leading a tough life as a bounty hunter. Facing sudden and immense tragedy had been a mental shock.

Just then, a passing girl spoke to me.

“Hey, why the long face?”

I glanced up. She was a girl in her early teens, dressed like an average villager. She was fairly pretty, and I could see her growing into a beautiful woman. I was taken aback by her casual tone, but then realized that I currently looked around her age.

My companion chuckled beside me, teasing.

“This friend here, suddenly has a headache~ That’s why he’s making that constipated face.”

What is he on about?

I glared at him, making him turn away. Knowing his playful nature, I wasn’t really mad. The girl, who had been intently observing my face, offered me what she held in her hand with a bright smile.

“Hey! Eat this!”

“Huh?”

“Eating it will make all the pain go away, got it?”

She suddenly handed me a skewer with chicken meat on it and then hurried away. It looked like something she’d bought from the downtown vendors and then decided to give to me. As I gazed blankly at the girl’s retreating figure, Mang-ryang burst into laughter.

“Ha ha ha… That must be tasty. Is its only flaw that it’s undercooked?”

“……”

“I mean the chicken, the chicken.”

I dismissed Mang-ryang’s joke and looked at the chicken skewer thoughtfully.

Then I said,

“Mang-ryang.”

“Huh? Feeling a bit better now?”

I took a bite of the skewer and asked,

“You might die if this plan fails, so why did you follow me?”

“You’re asking that now? Should’ve asked earlier.”

Mang-ryang chuckled and replied,

“I just do what my heart believes is right. If I die, so be it. Why live in constant scrutiny? If I live by breaking my heart and will, I feel I’d have nothing left. That’s why I followed you here.”

He probably wouldn’t blame me even if he were brutally tortured and killed in this place. He’d chosen to come of his own volition.

“I see.”

I felt I understood why I unconsciously followed Mang-ryang. His mindset and way of life, in contrast to my repetitive reincarnations, seemed enviable. All I wanted was to live life boldly without hesitation.

To move in the direction my heart tells me.

Could it be the reason the Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries gave me the ability to counteract?

“Why ask now? Trying to be strong all of a sudden won’t work.”

I chuckled in return.

Finally, I felt a bit relieved.

“I must also give my best.”

I will not fail. I will surely prevent a tragedy from their hands.

Until now, my actions were merely to resolve my guilty conscience. But now, I had a definite resolution. Even if I had to fight with the enemies and struggle throughout this lifetime, it was a resolution close to a firm belief.

Mang-ryang and I headed straight to the largest mansion in the village. Judging by its location, it seemed to be the mansion where the secret passage was located. As expected of the most powerful household, there were four gatekeepers at the main gate, one of whom exuded the aura of a first-rate martial artist.

From a distance, Mang-ryang looked at the mansion and said, “I think we’ve scouted enough. Let’s go find a place to stay.”

“Understood.”

A memory of when Mang-ryang first shared the operation plan at his shack popped into my mind.

“Now I’ll explain my plan in detail.”

“I’m all ears.”

“You proposed to ambush the village and either capture or kill the Grand Sorcerer. But that’s not a good strategy. Because even if you succeed, the Embroidered Uniform Guards will chase you to the ends of the continent, even to the gates of hell. Living a life constantly on the run isn’t very pleasant.”

“Wouldn’t it be fine as long as we don’t get caught?”

Mang-ryang gave a bitter smile.

“The Embroidered Uniform Guards isn’t such a sloppy organization. If we’re going to do this, we need to eradicate them completely, leaving no potential threats behind. Remember, we’re dealing with a group formed by the best martial artists on the continent, trained as lethal weapons, with full backing from the imperial palace.”

“Hmm. Still, if we eliminate the shaman, won’t the imperial palace’s human sacrifice plan be halted?”

“It’s detrimental to interpret things only in a way that benefits us. If they’ve deciphered the content of the Nameless Ritual Sacrifice Rites, won’t they eventually attempt to perform the ritual without the shaman?”

Mang-ryang paused to gaze at the sky.

“We shouldn’t just target the shaman. Let’s go after the entire Embroidered Uniform Guards. Making both the shaman and the Embroidered Uniform Guards disappear, either by annihilation or kidnapping… That alone could break the will of the imperial palace. It would also minimize future repercussions.”

“Break the will of the imperial palace!”

With an audacious statement, Mang-ryang continued.

“If your master was with us, we could’ve gone by your plan. But since that’s not the case, we have to opt for Plan B.”

“And what’s Plan B?”

“Swift attack and total annihilation. Control the situation so quickly that even if they pursue, they can’t catch up. Assuming we eradicate at least one unit of the Embroidered Uniform Guards upon arrival.”

“… Even if we assume that’s possible, how do you plan on executing it?”

“Simple. Set the village on fire. As soon as the Embroidered Uniform Guards or the sorcerer appear!”

“Set it on fire!”

Mang-ryang, with a surprising plan, continued.

“I’ll take care of setting the fire. I can ignite it precisely, encircling the village. Since this area is surrounded by forests, it will burn intensely. While they’re in panic, Taoist Hyuncheon will secure the sorcerer, and you’ll annihilate a unit of the Embroidered Uniform Guards.”

The absurdity of being asked to eradicate a unit of the Embroidered Uniform Guards wasn’t my concern. The very premise of arson was too outrageous.

“Wait, if we set a fire, everything will be burned to the ground. What are you even saying?”

“I have the ability to transform the burning battlefield into an absolutely advantageous terrain. Neither us nor the villagers will get hurt.”

“Is it some kind of mystic art?”

“That’s part of it. But let’s discuss it once we arrive there.”

Ever since I withheld information about the Embroidered Uniform Guards, Mang-ryang had been somewhat wary of me. Knowing this, I refrained from pressing him further. After all, it was clear that his knowledge and wisdom surpassed mine, so I chose to trust him.

As time passed, we arrived here.

I looked at Mang-ryang, waiting to hear about this ‘ability’. Sensing my curiosity, he slowly lifted his fan.

“This Five Fires-Seven Birds Divine Fan has the power to control the influence and direction of flames. It can even prevent the spread of fire. If I use this fan in a fiery area, I can provide you with solid support.”

“……!!”

It was a deceitful power. The ability to control fire – it was a domain that transcended human abilities. There were martial arts that harnessed flame control or dual-element forces, which were powerful, but nowhere was there a level capable of controlling fire at the scale of a village, like Mang-ryang’s Five Fires-Seven Birds Divine Fan. To display such a capacity through martial arts, one would probably have to be a sage.

I did not doubt the ability of Mang-ryang’s Five Fires-Seven Birds Divine Fan. If those words were false, Mang-ryang would not have risked his life coming here in the first place. Instead, I asked him:

“Now, please tell me. That object must be a treasure, a precious artifact, to exhibit such capabilities, how did you come to possess it? And what is your relationship with Esteemed Monk Mang-ryang?”

“Hoo… I guess I have no choice but to tell.”

Mang-ryang sighed and sat down on a wooden stool, then began to speak.

“Master Mang-ryang, the greatest sorcerer of the Unorthodox factions, is my teacher. And he expelled me, saying he could no longer teach me.”

“……!!”

“The reason, as you can see, is because, regardless of my academic prowess, I lacked divine power. My teacher, deeming that I couldn’t achieve great success as a sorcerer, ceased my lessons. As I was about to lose my position in the Royal Observatory to my kin and become insignificant, I thought it was a blessing in disguise and descended to the common world.”

His past was complicated.

He was born into a family of diviners, studied astrology and sorcery, and had Master Mang-ryang as his teacher. However, despite his excellent academic prowess, he lacked the talent for sorcery. Therefore, Mang-ryang had left the Royal Observatory and was living in Jinrang Valley, taking advantage of his teacher’s name.

Astonished, I remarked,

“But, aren’t you close enough to seek help from your teacher, and don’t you even possess the Five Fires-Seven Birds Divine Fan, the treasure of your teacher? Yet, you’re saying you’re cast out, almost like an exile?”

“Neither my teacher nor I harbor ill feelings toward each other. But to pass down the superior spell casting techniques, one needs a prodigy rather than an incompetent. Thus, the relationship as humans and the relationship as master and disciple must be distinguished.”

He stretched out the Five Fires-Seven Birds Divine Fan and continued, “My teacher, feeling sorry for me, gave me the Five Fires-Seven Birds Divine Fan. Even afterward, he periodically assists me. That’s enough for me.”

“So… are you suggesting that the real Esteemed Monk Mang-ryang has another disciple?”

“Yes, a sorcerer incomparably superior to me.”

Mang-ryang concluded his words with a sense of solitude.

“For someone as inept as me to use the Five Fires-Seven Birds Divine Fan properly, I need to set up a geomantic formation, throughout the village. Let’s spend our remaining time doing that.”

I quickly responded,

“Wait. There’s something important you haven’t mentioned.”

“What are you referring to?”

“No matter how much you help with your flames, it’s tough for me to handle a mere group of the Embroidered Uniform Guards on my own. Just a few of them gathering is enough to stand against the Taoist Hyuncheon, so how am I to deal with as many as ten?”

At this, Mang-ryang patted my shoulder and said, “You sometimes tend to overestimate your enemies.”

“Huh?”

“You’ll surely win. And you’re not alone. Trust me.”

Without laying out any further plans, he began to move around the village discreetly, setting up the formation of the ‘Qi Pattern Armor’ for the usage of the ‘Five Elements Golden Needle’. Even though it was referred to as a ‘formation’, it merely involved placing light markings, so it didn’t seem suspicious to the villagers.

“……”

How should I handle this?

The next day, I went to the Taejong Hall’s Taoist Hyuncheon to explain the overall plan and requested him to lay in ambush with me in the village. The Taoist Hyuncheon readily nodded and said,

“Don’t worry! Since I often visit that village, the people won’t suspect me. Rather, it’s an excellent plan. We can finish it before the reinforcements arrive.”

“Reinforcements?”

“I immediately requested support from the main mountain yesterday. Probably within seven days, disciples from the main mountain of the Wudang Sect will arrive to help us. You don’t need to doubt their skills.”

“I see. Thank you.”

“If it’s Esteemed Monk Mang-ryang’s words, they’re trustworthy. I’ll do my best for justice.”

Having the Taoist Hyuncheon join was an unexpectedly significant force. He successfully solicited support from the main mountain of the Wudang Sect using his status. And if the elites of the Wudang Sect were to arrive, the task would become much easier.

‘Did Mang-ryang foresee even this?’

From the time he roped in the Taoist Hyuncheon, he might have considered the possibility of the Wudang Sect’s participation.

Until our preparations were complete, I kept watch near the village with the Taoist Hyuncheon, trying to detect any appearance of the Embroidered Uniform Guards or the sorcerers. It was clear they would soon venture out for investigation and exploration.

Moreover, in my spare time, I continued to cultivate my inner strength, integrating all the martial arts I had learned. As the Taoist Hyuncheon, who acted alongside me, occasionally supervised my swordsmanship training, I felt a slight improvement in my skills.

And then, the day of the decisive battle dawned.