Chapter 253: Strange Thing (1)

The night was dark.

On a rugged mountain road that was bordered by steep cliffs.

There were those who jumped over the foot of the mountains, a location that even the local herb makers would not be accustomed to.

A man whose golden eyes shone brightly in the dark alongside another man who used light footwork and traversed by stepping on grass and branches.

Anyone who witnessed this scene would be in awe. However, the faces of these two individuals, who displayed such a rare sight, were far from calm.

Instead, they appeared tense.

Swish!

Pak!

The middle-aged man, who was traversing on treetops, suddenly swatted away a peculiar, long, and thick arrow mid-flight.

"Haa... haa..."

Gasping heavily, the man turned his attention to the source of the arrow. He furrowed his brow and muttered under his breath.

"So many... They've pursued us this far already."

The man with golden eyes interjected.

"Now is not the time for conversation. Du Gong."

The person who blocked the arrows was none other than Du Gong. Seeing his scarred and haggard face made it easy to tell how exhausted he was.

"Hurry up!"

Pat!

The man with golden eyes, who was looking ahead, jumped forward. Du Gong, who was holding onto a branch, exhaled in annoyance and started moving again.

Du Gong caught up to him and asked.

"Just what kind of monster is this? I've been part of the Murim for over 40 years, and this is the first time I've seen someone reach this level of archery."

He had no idea who this man was who could push someone of the Eight Great Warriors to this extent. No matter his own skills, his martial arts were truly monstrous, even when compared to the Eight Great Warriors.

The man with golden eyes sprinted forward.

"He's the best."

"The best?"

He, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. Could it be because they were in similar situations?

The man with golden eyes continued to speak.

"There were three men who followed that man for a long time."

"Three men?"

"Chosa is someone who has mastered martial arts to the extent that he can hit a bird that is 6li away."

"W-what?"

Du Gong was shocked at this revelation. Even those who were considered the best archers, known for their exceptional shooting skills, could only shoot up to a range of 1 li. This was due to a limit on how much internal qi could be used for it.

If the range was 3 li, then one could only imagine how sharp their eyes were.

"It can't be that far now."

"It's not that surprising."

The night was thick, and their path was thick with bushes, which was unfortunate considering the circumstances, but it would have been even more astonishing if they were on an open plain. The man with the golden eyes remarked.

"But Chosa is a good match. Escaping will be impossible if the head of the three shows up."

"Why do you keep mentioning the three? Are they the subordinates of the man with the golden eye?"

"Chosa, Seol Baek, and Noi Jang... they are the three henchmen."

"No, it's not just them. There are still unknown individuals who are incredibly strong."

"Even in the past, no one was superior to them. However, from that point onwards, they were the ones excluded from the Eight Great Warriors. Let's not waste time discussing it further and just keep moving. Based on your stamina, I doubt you'll last much longer."

'What's happening? Someone who surpassed the Eight Great Warriors? What does this signify?'

He wanted to inquire further, but he couldn't ignore the truth of the man's words - they had been fleeing for several days.

The enemy remained unchanged, but oddly, they showed no signs of fatigue.

'Like him.'

Like the man with the golden eyes ahead of him.

Du Gong's stamina was almost exhausted, and now his stomach was growling with hunger. Even as one of the Eight Great Warriors, there was a limit to his strength.

Swish! Puak!

The man with the golden eyes and Du Gong simultaneously deflected the arrows, anticipating the direction they would come from.

To evade being hit, they continuously shifted their positions.

'So strange.'

Du Gong tilted his head.

Until an hour ago, he had pushed himself to the point where he wondered how many arrows were left. Goosebumps rose on his skin.

'Could it be a hunt?'

If that was the case, they shouldn't go in the direction the enemy wanted them to but instead should change their location to avoid being pursued.

At that moment, the man with golden eyes said something he couldn't understand and rushed ahead.

"We need to get ahead."

Pat!

"Wait!"

It all happened before he could stop the man.

The man with the golden eyes soared ten feet into the air, looking puzzled as if he had discovered something.

And then, he quickly spoke up.

[There is a valley close by...]

Paaah!

But before he could finish his sentence, a powerful force surged through the air, causing the space to appear distorted. The man with golden eyes was drenched in blood as if he had been struck with an axe.

"What is happening?"

Without hesitation, Du Gong rushed toward the falling man.

If he missed this man, everything he had done so far would be in vain.

'I need to catch him.'

Pat! Pat!

As he tried to catch the falling man,

Swish!

Flinch!

His body jerked as a sharp force came towards him. He couldn't stay alert anymore and disregarded his internal qi and footwork...

Kwang!

"Kuek!"

His body was struck by the powerful qi rushing through the air.

Only after breaking through three trees did his body finally manage to stop.

"Cough... cough..."

Blood coughed from the mouth of Du Gong, who had sustained internal wounds.

'What is this strength? Is this even real?'

Du Gong raised his head and peered through the cracked trees to see a man with a bamboo hat and a black robe walking towards the golden-eyed man who lay in a pool of blood.

But what caught his attention was...

'The wound?'

The wounds on the golden-eyed man's body were slowly healing, much to his own astonishment.

But the man with the bamboo hat swiftly pressed his foot onto the recovering man's shoulder.

"You escaped Gun Bang."

'He knows him.'

The man with the bamboo hat recognized the golden-eyed man's name. Could he be a companion of Chosa, the one who shot the arrows?

At that moment, the man with the bamboo hat turned towards him, and upon seeing that face, Du Gong murmured.

"The other... eye!"

Du Gong could distinctly see it.

One of his eyes gleamed with a golden light, peeking through the gaps of the bamboo hat.

Fixing his gaze on Du Gong, the man with the bamboo hat spoke.

"This man had intruded."

'Kuak!'

It was a catastrophe.

It appeared to be a creature even more formidable than he had anticipated. He wasn't certain if he could handle this unfamiliar adversary.

However, he realized that the bamboo hat's eyes were looking in a different direction, not at him.

At that moment,

Swish!

The sound of something whizzing through the air filled Du Gong's ears. The bamboo hat man, standing on the man with golden eyes, raised his hand slightly.

As a tearing sound echoed in front of him, four iron marbles spun in the air.

'...!!'

Du Gong glanced back.

Tuk! Tuk!

Something sticky fell down, and it was blood from a severed arm.

In the dark forest, a man with a long appearance walked, his one arm holding a long arrow.

"Chak!"

It was Sima Chak, the Wicked Moon Sword.

Sima Chak's eyes were fixed on the bamboo hat man who had stopped the metal marbles.

Three days had passed since I left the county. The sun was setting, and darkness spreading.

Seeing that there were no people around, it became clear that there were no inns or places to stay.

"We need to get ready."

All eyes turned toward me upon hearing my words.

With everyone's extensive experience, it was simple to determine what needed to be done.

The twins took it upon themselves to gather firewood while Jang Mun-ryang set out to find branches as kindling.

Ah Song unpacked the cooking items from the bundle of luggage he carried. Sima Young instinctively grabbed the water bottle and began washing the dishes.

"And Short Sword, it's your turn."

-Hurrayy!

Upon hearing my words, Short Sword brimmed with excitement and leaped out of her sheath, soaring through the air while the other swords muttered.

-Ahh. I can rest here today.

-Being greedy is beneath us.

-Let's not fight. Everyone will have their turn.

It was a daily occurrence for True Evil Sword and Blood Demon Sword to engage in a fierce battle, their iron swords clashing. Thanks to the fifth star, I now had the ability to see what the swords saw, making things convenient.

As I now shared their sight, I could instantly detect when someone was approaching from a higher vantage point.

-Human, remember that tomorrow is my turn.

Yes, yes. It would indeed be your turn.

They all experienced the sensation of flying through the air. And with the idea of improving my skills, I willingly allowed them to go out. It was like achieving two goals at once.

While tending to the chickens, Sima Young smiled and winked.

"Hmhm."

She did this for a simple reason. It was because we stayed at a guesthouse yesterday.

-If that monstrous human knew, he would surely kill you. I made sure to warn you clearly.

-Originally, men were beasts. We are becoming more and more disciplined in...

I made the decision to silence them. If they were left alone, they would persist in teasing me.

This was the only unpleasant part of listening to the swords. It felt like I was exposing my entire personal life to everyone.

-I don't have the time either.

...Iron Sword, should I silence you as well?

He was the one who slyly threw out his words and burdened me.

Every time he uttered such words, I couldn't help but feel that Iron Sword's delusions were becoming even stranger.

"Phew."

I released a sigh and retrieved the map from the chest. I acquired it from Hongho, and it depicted the region of Hubei.

Observing the map, it appeared that we would reach the tomb in approximately four days.

-After we make our stop there, we'll proceed to the alliance. Wonhwi.

Right.

-Are you certain?

Well, I was still not sure.

-Regarding our support for the next alliance leader, should we lend a hand to Baek Hyang-muk since he is currently in disgrace?

'Hmm.'

That was indeed a valid point, but there was definitely some doubt surrounding him.

Blood Demon Sword had already informed me about this.

There were rumors that he had knowledge about the workings of the Blood Demon's martial arts. Baek Hyang-muk discovered this martial art, and it seemed he secretly acquired it without anyone's knowledge.

-Do you believe he is concealing something?

I wouldn't care if he stumbled upon it while drunk, but he was a leader in the Justice Faction. And even though he was removed from power, he still held influence there. It bothered me that someone aligned with justice would practice a martial art they detested.

'For now, instead of hasty decisions, I need to assess the situation and determine which side to support.'

No matter what I chose, I would be the subordinate. All I had to do was align myself with the side that benefited me the most.

Pssss!

At that moment, Song Jwa-baek and Son Woo-hyun trudged along, carrying a heavy load of firewood.

They had always been skilled at this kind of task.

"How peculiar."

Song Jwa-baek tilted his head, his curiosity piqued.

"What's the matter?"

Sima Young asked him this as Song Jwa-baek gently placed the firewood down at the campsite and gestured upwards.

There, the starry expanse of the night sky was illuminated by a half moon, with not a single cloud in sight.

"And...?"

In response to my query, this time he pointed northwards and said,

"Not much, but it's a beautiful day. However, the other side of the forest is covered in fog."

"Covered in fog?"

What did he mean?

What kind of fog was there on a nice day like this?

There was no intense energy, and the forest seemed unusually clean.

"Are you sure about that?"

Sima Young asked, and he stomped his foot in frustration before replying.

"What! Why would I lie! Woo-hyun saw it too."

"I... I saw it too. It was difficult to see clearly... because of the fog..."

It couldn't be a lie if the two of them saw it. Concentrating my mind, I spoke to Short Sword.

'Short Sword. They said that there was fog on the north side. Do you see it?'

-Checking.

Short Sword, moving gracefully like a fish in water, turned to the north.

And my view, shared with her, changed.

'Uh?'

But, unlike what Song Jwa-baek said, I saw no fog in the forest. Rather, the sight felt so clear to me.

'Is he messing around on purpose?'

There was even a fairly large lake nearby. And next to the lake, the scenery was breathtaking, with a guesthouse and several small boats.

'What's going on?'

The guesthouse wasn't far away, so why didn't I sense anything?

At first, I thought he was joking, but something felt off. Since I crossed the wall, my senses had heightened, and it was normal for me to detect the presence of ordinary people from a distance.

-There's even a boat in the middle of the lake.

As Short Sword mentioned, there was a boat positioned in the center. On the boat, there were two figures present.

One figure sported long hair and appeared to be a woman. She was resting her legs on a man, who seemed to be quite content with the situation.

'Why? Why didn't I sense anything?'

It felt extremely peculiar.

Nevertheless, there was no point in remaining homeless in this frigid winter when there was a guesthouse nearby.

-Should I explore the surroundings?

No.

If there was no fog, we could proceed straight ahead. That's what I informed the rest.

"Looks like there's a place to stay in that supposedly foggy forest. How about we go in and rest?"

"No, it's foggy. Why don't you believe..."

As Song Jwa-baek grumbled about this unfair treatment, Sima Young became excited.

"Ah! Really? That's incredible!"

Hmm. You probably shouldn't be behaving like that here.

Song Jwa-baek glanced at the two of us and grumbled.

"Look at the two of you. Ughh."

Clank!

On the other hand, Ah Song, who had unpacked all the stuff and was preparing to cook something, looked at me sadly.

It couldn't be helped.

Pack it up.

I gave him a look, and he started packing while he sulked. Short Sword then said,

-Since you're going to stay up all night again, can I just fly around?

Do whatever you want.

-Yahoo! That's so nice... uh?

She suddenly sounded shocked.

-This... why is this?

It was then.

Pak!

'...!?'

Short Sword's vision that I shared suddenly turned. It was as if she was struggling against the pull of an unknown force.

'Short Sword! Short Sword!'

With her swaying so much, our vision kept changing, but even so, I could tell one thing for sure - she was being pulled toward the lake.

As I tried to comprehend what was happening, I noticed that someone was holding Short Sword.

'Short Sword! What is going on?'

She didn't respond to me; her vision was being shared, but I couldn't understand what had gone wrong.

This was the first time something like this had happened. However, even that shared vision was becoming blurred.

The scene was gradually darkening as if the connection was being severed. Then, I heard a voice.

"What is that?"

"Hmm, it's quite different from a sword."

In that fading vision, I heard the voice and saw a man with long hair and a pale face.

What the hell was going on here?

Could it be that this man pulled Short Sword from so far away?

Soon, our shared vision was cut off.

"Damn it!"

Without even considering anything, I flew straight toward the northern side of the forest.