Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Jang Sam-tae, who returned to the manor, hurriedly ran to Dan Woo-hyun and explained what he had seen.

The current state of Yueyang did not seem ordinary, and since he was also directly or indirectly involved in the matter of the Black Dao Association, his pale face showed no sign of brightening.

“So such a thing happened.”

“Those Black Dao Association bastards will definitely not stay still. What should we do, boss?”

Jang Sam-tae stole a glance at Dan Woo-hyun's reaction.

If Dan Woo-hyun stepped forward, he could clearly chew up and spit out the likes of the Black Dao Association. While feeling relieved, his own situation of having to rely on Dan Woo-hyun felt bitter.

“What on earth are those guys called the Black Dao Association?”

“They are a group of vagrant martial artists.”

“Hong Won-chang also explained it that way.”

Dan Woo-hyun scowled deeply. It was incomprehensible to him that a mere pack of vagrants could run amok to this extent.

A vagrant was just a vagrant. Of course, it was not that there were no outstanding talents among them, but their limits were bound to be clear.

It was not strange for such fellows to form a group for their own safety, but it made no sense for them to expand their power to this degree.

“Explain in detail about the Black Dao Association.”

“T-There isn't really anything special to tell, boss. It is such a secretive place that what guys like us know is all pretty much the same.”

“Just tell me what you know.”

Jang Sam-tae nodded.

That much was not difficult. Thinking of the gossips who loved to talk, he began to unfurl the stories they had told exactly as they were.

“They say the Black Dao Association was founded about fifty years ago. I do not know who the leader is, but some say they crossed swords with the Nine Great Sects and One Gang, while others say it was founded by someone from the Demonic Cult.”

“Nothing is certain, then.”

“Yes, that is correct. In any case, no one cared at first, but they say the leader's skill was so outstanding that they quickly built up a force large enough to threaten the great sects.”

“It must have been an eyesore.”

Dan Woo-hyun smirked.

A force that appeared out of nowhere threatened them. From the perspective of the great sects or noble clans that pursued stability, nothing could be more annoying than that.

If so, there was no need to look at what followed.

“That is right, haha! In the end, under pressure from the Eight Great Noble Families, the Murim Alliance stepped in, and those who fled and hid from it are the current Black Dao Association.”

“The ways of the Jianghu are always similar.”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded with a look that said 'as expected.'

It was interesting.

It was said that the organization called the Murim Alliance was established by the main pillars of the orthodox factions. If he had hidden after escaping the pursuit of such people, that leader guy must have been a highly intelligent person.

‘If it were in the past, even that would have been impossible…’

The Martial World of the past and the Martial World of the present were different.

Although it was the same Martial World, it was now much more peaceful. The past was several times more turbulent and cruel than now. It was to the extent that when one walked the road, the corpses of the dead lay scattered here and there.

At that time, no system had been established in the Central Plains Martial World, so that aspect was even worse.

The Nine Great Sects and One Gang, the Eight Great Noble Families, the Demonic Cult, or the unorthodox groups.

Although each had their own path to walk, their identities were ambiguous, so they waged war every single day.

But mere vagrant martial artists formed an organization?

If such a story had spread in those days, the vagrant organization would have been miserably shattered and collapsed at that very moment.

There was no special reason. Those who loved to display their power would have wiped it out without leaving even a single blade of grass just for the sake of showing off.

In that sense, the current Martial World was far too peaceful.

It was dull and uninteresting.

It was not because he had grown accustomed to this manor life, but just from the stories he heard, he felt as if he was in a completely different world rather than the Martial World he knew.

“So… what will you do? The magistrate must be in quite a bind.”

“Leave it alone.”

“Yes? In the worst case, the damage could even reach the manor.”

Jang Sam-tae's words were not wrong.

Although he had made a promise not to utter a word about the name of Dan Woo-hyun until he went to the grave, if he was tortured, it would inevitably spill out.

Eventually, the Black Dao Association would swarm toward the manor.

If it were Dan Woo-hyun alone, he would not care much, but Hwa So-mi was here. In the worst case, the child could fall into a dangerous situation.

Even so, Dan Woo-hyun shook his head.

“A wind is something that flows naturally. Since we cannot force it to bend, we must leave everything to flow according to the natural order.”

Jang Sam-tae stared at Dan Woo-hyun with a blank expression.

For a brief moment, he felt a feeling so distant that he lost his mind to Dan Woo-hyun.

It was as if he was facing an existence that did not seem human, one that would scatter like a delusion if he reached out to touch it.

Jang Sam-tae turned his head with a reverent heart and muttered.

‘Crazy bastard.’

He did not know what kind of nonsense he was talking about all of a sudden.

* * *

A look of tension was clear on Hong Won-chang's face.

It was a matter of escorting the members of the Black Dao Association and handing them over to the imperial court. Since he was not ignorant of their ways, he thought that an incident would definitely break out.

Hong Won-chang bit his nails nervously out of anxiety.

He hoped that the Prince's Mansion would send troops, but the Prince did not seem inclined to go that far. The fact that the Prince's Mansion was on the way up to Beijing also played a part.

“If only I could make a request to that grand hero…”

Growing anxious, Hong Won-chang thought of Dan Woo-hyun.

If he were by his side, nothing would be more reassuring. He could be confident that there would not be a single thing to worry about, even if the Demonic Cult attacked, let alone the Black Dao Association.

However, making a request was not easy either.

Strangely, whenever he faced Dan Woo-hyun, a peculiar fear was felt. It was already uncomfortable, and with such feelings added, it was only natural that he was agonizing like this now.

Hong Won-chang let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair.

What should he do about this matter?

At that moment.

Srrrk!

Something sharp touched Hong Won-chang's neck.

“Heh!”

“Hong Won-chang, right?”

An extremely eerie voice was heard from behind. It sounded more like a grim reaper's than a human's. At the same time that goosebumps broke out all over his body, his heart sank heavily.

Hong Won-chang realized at once who they were.

“The Black… Dao Association.”

“You guessed well.”

Hong Won-chang was flustered.

The constables mobilized this time were far more numerous than usual. They were keeping a guard so fierce that not even a single ant could infiltrate, so how could they reach this place without even a single whistle sounding?

Hong Won-chang tried his best to hide his fear and issued a warning.

“Y-You bastards! Do you think you will be safe after this?”

“We will be perfectly fine. Since the ones you were supposed to take away must have had their breath cut off by now. Once you die too, who would know what happened here?”

Swish, swish!

At the same time as the man's words ended, several individuals appeared in the room. Although their faces were not visible due to the black masks they wore, their eyes were freezing cold enough to give him goosebumps.

Gulp.

Hong Won-chang swallowed hard.

In the end, it had come to this.

The worst-case situation had arrived.

“Let us drag him away.”

The men sealed Hong Won-chang's acupoints.

Hong Won-chang, who had become unable to even utter words, let alone move, had no choice but to be handled by them.

They wrapped Hong Won-chang tightly in a black cloth.

And the moment he was slung over someone's back, Hong Won-chang felt a speed fast enough to make him motion sick.

Though he did not know where or how they were going, they did not get caught by even a single constable.

While he wished for someone to help, he also hoped that no one would step forward. Because there was no one in the government office who could deal with them.

Only meaningless corpses would be seen.

Thud!

And at some point, he was set down on the ground.

The cloth wrapped tightly around his body was removed, and his vision was revealed. It was a wild mountain of unknown location.

What was visible was only the cold gazes of the men wearing black masks and the blade-like momentum felt from them.

At that moment, along with a freezing wind, a man revealed himself.

Unlike the ones in front of him, he was someone who had an somehow foreign feeling. Just by locking eyes with him, his entire body trembled, forcing Hong Won-chang to bow his head before he knew it.

“Magistrate Hong Won-chang?”

“Y-Yes.”

“There is no need to introduce who we are…”

Wind-Drifting Squadron Leader Bang Chu-gok.

He drew a dagger from his bosom.

Shhhring!

The sound of the sharp blade sliding out was fierce.

For an instant, Hong Won-chang felt goosebumps rise all over his body, a sensation that even made his fine hairs stand on end. The sound of Bang Chu-gok's footsteps approaching quietly was also terrifying.

“I brought you here because there is something I want to ask you.”

Those words meant that if there was nothing to ask, he would have made him a corpse long ago. Indeed, these men possessed enough power to do so.

Hong Won-chang asked in a trembling voice.

“W-What is it?”

“No matter how much I think about it, I cannot understand. Even putting aside Jang Baek-san and the black market merchant, the fact that a branch of our Black Dao Association was struck by mere fellows like you makes no sense in itself.”

“…!”

“In the end, it means there is someone behind you. Now, will you open your mouth quietly? Or must I force it open?”

“I-I know nothing.”

If he opened his mouth, it would become comfortable.

If he confessed everything, perhaps they would kill him in a painless way. However, he also knew he had to keep his promise to Dan Woo-hyun.

Indeed, it was also a fact that Dan Woo-hyun's name felt much heavier than the people in front of him.

‘I promised to take the secret to my grave! As a man, how could I go back on my word?’

He had to keep this no matter what. If it had not been for Dan Woo-hyun in the first place, he was destined to die at the hands of Jang Baek-san. Since his living like this was entirely thanks to him, his life was already as good as gone.

“How long will you keep your mouth shut…?”

However, Bang Chu-gok was a man skilled in torture. He was someone who had learned the methods of opening someone's mouth since childhood. That was why he had been sent, and there was no failure in his missions.

Should he gouge out his eyes first? Or cut off his wrists?

Slicing off his flesh piece by piece also seemed like it would be fun, but since he was someone without even internal energy and had not received mental training, he could not do to him exactly what he did to Martial World people.

Although Hong Won-chang looked firm, he was a man of weak spirit.

Having made that judgment, an easy method came to mind.

“Do you know what this is?”

Bang Chu-gok took out a snow-white powder from his bosom and showed it. In a way, it felt like simple medicine, but there was no way he would take out medicine in this situation.

Hong Won-chang wore a puzzled expression.

“It is a truth serum.”

It was a drug that caused severe hallucinations. Naturally, a person would open their mouth without realizing it within those hallucinations.

It was also a drug he was confident could make even the Murim Alliance Leader open his mouth in less than a quarter-hour if his internal energy was completely sealed and the drug was administered.

The moment Hong Won-chang's face turned pale, Bang Chu-gok blew it.

Whoosh-

The snow-white powder covered Hong Won-chang's face. In that short moment of inhaling, it was sucked into his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth in an instant.

There was not even time to cope.

As a short time passed, Hong Won-chang's body began to shiver.

“Does it work well? Actually, since it is still a prototype, I was not confident.”

“It is a drug made by that old monster. His skill is at a level where even the Tang Family sticks out their tongues in admiration, so there is no way it would not work.”

Bang Chu-gok grinned and stared intently at Hong Won-chang's complexion. Indeed, not even a quarter-hour had passed, but his body was shaking like an aspen leaf, and foam was rising from his mouth and nose.

He would not die.

Nor would he become an idiot.

The one who made this drug was one of the best in the world. Since such a person had assured that he would not die or become an idiot even if the drug was used, it must be true.

Of course, there could be exceptions, but even so, the opponent's spirit was too weak to perform ruthless torture. He did not want to create unnecessary variables.

Bang Chu-gok approached Hong Won-chang, who was trembling all over and foaming at the mouth. Then he slowly reached out, grabbed his hair, and spoke in a low voice.

“Remember well. Who is the one who backed you? And where is that person?”

Bang Chu-gok's low voice spread out quietly.