Chapter 22

Chapter 22

One might think it was absolutely impossible for sturdy bandits to be unable to defeat a single woman.

But what if that woman had made a name for herself in the Jianghu and held an important position in the Murim Alliance?

Furthermore, what if she belonged to the Namgung Clan, one of the Eight Great Families?

No matter how in their prime the bandits were, there was no way they could win.

Swish-!

"Aaargh!"

Numerous bandits fell in an instant.

Having cleared the area, the woman flicked the blood off her sword.

"You were lucky. If it weren't for me, you would have been in big trouble."

"……"

Dan Woo-hyun said nothing.

Was he spellbound by the woman's outstanding beauty?

It was no exaggeration to say that the woman's beauty was indeed rare.

However, Dan Woo-hyun had never once felt his heart stir despite seeing countless women in his life. There was no way such a man would have his heart swayed at a mere first meeting.

If so, what was the reason?

After staring at the woman's sword for a moment, Dan Woo-hyun muttered.

"That was impressive swordsmanship."

"I hear that a lot."

The woman shrugged.

She was quite confident in her swordsmanship. She was also a woman filled with pride in the name of the Namgung Clan. When someone praised her clan's swordsmanship, she could not help but feel pleased.

Meanwhile, a sudden rustling sound brought her back to her senses. Wondering what it was, she turned her head and saw Dan Woo-hyun rummaging through the pockets of the fallen bandits.

"What… are you doing?"

"Can't you tell by looking?"

"I'm asking because I don't know."

"I am collecting money."

'But why?!'

She barely held back the question that rose to the top of her throat in annoyance. This was because she did not want to get angry at someone who possessed the discernment to praise her clan's swordsmanship.

Still, wasn't his behavior too strange?

"Their money must have been stolen from someone else."

"That's true."

"So, I am just picking it up."

What kind of nonsense was this, and what did he mean by picking it up? It was clearly robbery.

The woman pinched the bridge of her nose as she felt a headache coming on. For some reason, she felt like she had saved the wrong person.

"Even if they are bandits, I don't think it's right to rob them of their money."

Dan Woo-hyun silently pulled out a silver coin from the bandit's pocket. He then tossed it lightly toward the woman, and the silver coin drew an arc through the air before landing with a plop on her hand.

"What is this?"

"Payment for your trouble."

'Is this person for real?'

The woman had grown up wanting for nothing. The great Namgung Clan was called the pillar of the Eight Great Families, so she had never lacked anything.

Perhaps that was why receiving a single silver coin like this made her feel somewhat indignant.

Was it a case of the bear performing the tricks while someone else took the money?

It felt a bit like that.

"Give me more."

"That was all they had."

He was a very good liar.

She had just seen him pocketing a considerable amount of silver. It looked to be dozens of coins rather than just one or two, but Dan Woo-hyun had no intention of giving any of it up.

The woman let out a hollow laugh and returned the silver coin.

"You don't need it? You must be well-fed."

"I've never been hungry before."

"I see. Is that why your sword is filled with arrogance?"

"What did you say?"

The woman scowled deeply and glared at Dan Woo-hyun.

At that moment.

A gust of wind suddenly swept through. She tightly shut her eyes against the strong gale that forced her to frown.

After a short while, the wind died down, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"H-He's gone?"

The man was nowhere to be seen.

The man who should have been right in front of her had vanished.

Since it made no sense, she pinched her cheek. Finding that she felt pain, this situation was definitely real, but why did it feel so much like a dream?

The woman calmed her pounding heart.

She looked around several times, but she could find no trace of Dan Woo-hyun ever being there. It was as if she had been possessed by a ghost.

"W-What on earth was that…"

The woman muttered with a bewildered expression.

* * *

Hunan, Tianzi Mountain.

Speaking of Tianzi Mountain, although it was not counted among the Five Sacred Mountains of the Central Plains, it was a mountain beautiful enough to compare to them.

Not to mention the rugged terrain, the scenic views spread out everywhere were enough to make even the herb gatherers who made their living scaling the high mountain ranges shake their heads in awe.

However, there was one fatal flaw: anyone who entered could not come out alive.

For this reason, Tianzi Mountain was also called the Mountain of Death.

Thus, even the villagers living near the mountain only frequented the entrance and did not go deep inside.

"What a strange village."

The one who entered the village was Dan Woo-hyun.

It was a smaller place than expected. The population seemed to be two hundred people at most, and although buildings stood here and there, they did not seem to serve much purpose other than as houses.

At least there was a small tavern on one side, and behind it, brothels were lined up.

It was simply surprising that a brothel existed in such a small village.

As he walked slowly and looked around the village, the wind blowing from the direction of the brothels stimulated his nose. The scent of women's makeup was quite overwhelming.

Dan Woo-hyun frowned.

He did not like this kind of smell.

Dan Woo-hyun turned his head to the east. Past the tavern, the brothels came into view, and he noticed the courtesans sitting by the windows.

'Their eyes are dead…'

That meant their hearts were empty.

Although the plight of courtesans was similar everywhere, those women seemed to have given up to a strange, excessive degree.

And he was not ignorant of the reason.

Dan Woo-hyun walked slowly and entered the tavern. The moment he opened the door, he felt gazes upon him from all directions. It was impossible to tell whether they were wary of a stranger or staring out of curiosity.

But Dan Woo-hyun did not care.

As he sat down to make himself comfortable, the waiter rushed over.

"Hehe, hello! Is this your first time in this village?"

"It is."

"It's such a remote place that people rarely visit, so hosting guests is a rare event. Hehehe, more importantly, what would you like to eat?"

The waiter approached him with quite a friendly attitude.

There was nothing much to choose. He wasn't very hungry, and he had only come to have a light meal.

Dan Woo-hyun spoke with a calm gaze.

"A bowl of wheat noodles."

"Hehe, alright. I'll bring it right out."

The waiter grinned widely and stepped away.

Dan Woo-hyun leaned back in his chair and glanced around.

Inside the tavern were people who appeared to be villagers.

While eating their food with awkward postures and expressions, they did not forget to steal glances at Dan Woo-hyun. They looked highly suspicious.

Dan Woo-hyun finished his noodles and stood up.

He felt no further need to stay in this tavern.

"Hehe, goodbye!"

He turned around, hearing the waiter's shout behind him. And the moment he was a bit far from the tavern, he spat on the ground.

The spit was dark red.

It was a color that looked as though it were mixed with poison or drugs.

The waiter, or someone else, had clearly played a trick.

Yet, despite the trick, he could not sense anyone following him or even watching him.

Perhaps it was because they knew that with that dose, he wouldn't be able to escape this village.

Dan Woo-hyun smirked and resumed walking. He passed by the residential area, taking in the scenery piece by piece.

Occasionally, he saw the worried faces of old women.

Although a few children could be seen, their numbers were small. On the other hand, quite a few sturdy men were visible.

The number of women was also extremely small, enough to count as he walked by.

And most of the women were old or seemed to be lacking in some way. If there were any who seemed somewhat young, most of them were plain-looking or limping on one limb.

Also, shriveled people lay scattered on the streets like mummies. It was impossible to tell if they were dead or alive.

The odor emanating from their bodies was truly foul. Whether it was because they hadn't bathed for a long time or because their wounds weren't properly treated and were teeming with maggots, a pungent, nauseating smell carried on the wind, piercing his nose.

The next place Dan Woo-hyun headed was where the brothels were located.

Of course, it wasn't because he wanted to hold a woman or drink alcohol.

The moment he entered the brothel area, he saw a man. He had a somewhat awkward posture, as if he were tucking something into his clothes.

He was walking quickly toward somewhere, and Dan Woo-hyun's gaze naturally followed the man.

Then, at a certain moment, he stared at a man guarding the front of the brothel and shouted loudly.

"You bastards, die!"

"W-Why, you little!"

The man wildly swung his sword, trying to kill the guard.

However, the gatekeeper, who dodged the blade by a paper's breadth, swung his fist violently and struck the man.

Thud! Thud!

"Has this crazy bastard lost his mind and wants to die!"

"Kill me! Go ahead, kill me! You ruined our village and dragged away our wives and daughters to a brothel, cough!"

The beaten man's body flew up into the air. The gatekeeper's fist was just that powerful.

Soon, sturdy men poured out from inside, and the man began to get beaten up without even being able to put up any proper resistance.

"D-Darling!"

A woman's voice was heard from above the brothel. The tearful woman's gaze looked down at the man being beaten.

Just then, a man's arm suddenly reached out from behind, grabbed the woman's hair, and dragged her back inside.

It was a sight that was by no means normal.

The onlookers all turned their heads away. Not a single person stepped forward to save the man. They had already become chronic to this kind of occurrence, and it seemed they could no longer even dare to resist.

As expected, this village was strange.

It could not be considered a normal village.

Although ruffians causing trouble happened everywhere, they could not act so triumphantly and without any restraint like this.

Dan Woo-hyun sighed.

"T-That entire village belongs to the B-Black Dao Society."

The voice of Bang Chu-gok echoed in his mind.

At first, he had wondered if it was just a simple joke or a lie to trick him.

But now that he was actually here, it wasn't the case. Just as the man had said, this village seemed to be completely under the control of the Black Dao Society.

The moment that brief thought flashed through his mind, what he needed to do was already decided.

Dan Woo-hyun kicked a pebble lying on the ground.

With a light kick, the pebble shattered into pieces and flew in all directions. No one noticed it, and no one realized that something was flying toward them.

Thud, thud, thud!

"Aaargh!"

"Urgh!"

Screams rang out.

They were the screams bursting from the mouths of the ruffians who were beating the man.

The struck men collapsed right where they stood and began to vomit. Vomit mixed with blood and food drenched the ground.

"W-What?"

"Who is it!"

Startled, they shouted loudly. Seeing their companions suddenly collapse, other ruffians also began to appear one by one.

Before long, the surrounding area was packed with so many ruffians that it would not be an exaggeration to describe them as a black swarm.

"Is it you?"

Curses and threats flew from all directions.

But Dan Woo-hyun looked around at them without replying and muttered quietly.

"I've changed my mind."

Yet, there was no one who did not hear those words.

The internal energy carried in his voice struck their ears, and one after another, people clutched their ears and shrieked in pain.

"I'll be taking one of your limbs."

His chilling words echoed in the wind.