Chapter 337 – The Wheel of Blood Begins to Turn (3)

"It's cheap distilled spirits, but there's nothing better for camping out like this. One glass will loosen your body a bit," Nam Woo-saeng said as he poured the drink.

As he said, a distinctive burning alcohol scent wafted from the bottle's opening.

Dam Ho received the bottle.

"Drink well."

"Spirits taste best when shared."

Nam Woo-saeng produced another bottle and extended it toward Dam Ho. Dam Ho gently clinked his bottle against Nam Woo-saeng's.

Ding!

A clear sound echoed out, and the two drank deeply from their bottles.

The cheap distilled spirits burned fiercely down the throat. Most people would vomit the moment such strong liquor entered their stomachs.

Yet the two men drank it like water, gulping it down heavily.

Nearby escort porters and hired workers watched the two with exasperated expressions. Though they prided themselves on being decent drinkers, they couldn't drink distilled spirits like water the way Dam Ho and Nam Woo-saeng did.

Dam Ho asked:

"You know who I am."

"Yes, I do."

Nam Woo-saeng readily admitted it. When Dam Ho stared at him intently, he quickly continued:

"How could I not? Because of the Fist Demon Dam, all of Guizhou Province was turned upside down."

His words were true.

When they first met, Dam Ho left before they could build any rapport. So Nam Woo-saeng couldn't have recognized his identity then. But his presence was too intense to fade from one's memory.

Later, when he heard news of Black Martial Hall's annihilation and learned that Dam Ho was the one responsible, Nam Woo-saeng finally realized that the man he had accidentally met was the famous Fist Demon.

Though he belonged to an escort agency, he too was a martial artist with training. Naturally, he came to respect Dam Ho.

"So that guy is the Fist Demon?"

"My goodness! The Fist Demon!"

The escort porters and hired workers who overheard their conversation began murmuring. Admiration appeared on many faces.

Escort agencies differed from sects with roots in the martial world.

Martial artists belonging to prestigious sects essentially didn't need to worry about livelihood. Their sects provided basic necessities. They looked down on martial artists who sold their martial prowess for survival. They believed martial artists who learned martial arts should use them for righteous causes, not for survival. Yet such martial artists who could comfortably learn without livelihood concerns were extremely rare.

Most martial artists had to worry about survival. So many martial artists worked for escort agencies or merchant groups, selling their martial prowess for food. Some called them boundary martial artists.

Those standing at the boundary between the martial world and the merchant world.

Neither completely martial artists nor completely merchants, they were treated as outsiders by society. Yet that didn't mean they lacked passion or interest in the martial world. Rather, they showed more interest in martial world affairs than ordinary martial artists.

To them too, the Fist Demon was an object of admiration.

Dam Ho, standing at the martial world's pinnacle with only his two fists, was an appearance they yearned for even in dreams.

Nam Woo-saeng spoke:

"Thank you."

At his unexpected words, Dam Ho stared at him silently.

"For being our hope."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Working as an escort, I travel to many places and see many things. I've never seen the world as chaotic as this. With demonic sects rampant and orthodox sects retreating, I see many people suffering. Truly a hellish world. Do you know what people desire in such times?"

"……"

"Hope. The hope that someday this war will end, that someone will end this suffering."

"……"

"People saw that light of hope in a hero like you."

"I'm not a hero. And I'm certainly not someone who provides hope."

"In this world exist many martial artists, but how many are truly worthy of being called heroes? I believe Dam, you truly are a hero. Because you walk the path of the Hero Among Demons."

Sincerity flowed from Nam Woo-saeng's words. He spoke freely what he had held in his heart.

"I'm no Hero Among Demons."

"You may think so, but people don't. They believe you willingly throw yourself into the demonic path and walk a thorny road. And seeing your progress, they hold onto a thread of hope. I believe that alone is enough. The hope to live in this hellish world."

Dam Ho brought the bottle to his lips.

The cheap distilled spirits once again burned fiercely down his throat.

Nam Woo-saeng's words felt awkward to hear.

He was no Hero Among Demons.

He had no desire to walk the path of a hero. The path he walked was the way of the tyrant.

Proving everything through strength and living within struggle, walking the martial artist's path. But Dam Ho chose not to speak such thoughts.

Dam Ho drank again. Overwhelmed by his atmosphere, Nam Woo-saeng also brought the bottle to his lips.

For a while, the two drank in silence.

When the bottle was nearly empty, Nam Woo-saeng spoke again:

"I'm sorry. I made the atmosphere heavy because of me. Just think of it as the rambling of a busybody escort and forgive me generously. When escort work is long, I can't help but speak. Haha!"

"Where is this escort headed?"

"To Henan."

"Henan?"

"Precisely, Mount Song."

"Shaolin Temple?"

"Yes. We're heading to Shaolin Temple on behalf of the Great Origin Merchant Group."

The Great Origin Merchant Group was one of the world's ten great merchant groups. There was a saying that the gold and silver treasures they possessed formed small hills, showing their tremendous wealth.

"Is the Great Origin Merchant Group supporting the Martial Alliance?"

"Precisely, they're supporting Shaolin Temple. Now that the Chenghuo Merchant Group's true role as the Demon Cult's supporter has been revealed, they had no choice but to make their position clear."

At that moment, Dam Ho's gaze sank deeply.

'So it was true.'

Though Nam Woo-saeng didn't know, Dam Ho had traveled with the Chenghuo Merchant Group several times. Even then, he had sensed something unusual about Won Seol-hwa.

Most importantly, Won Seol-hwa had deployed against Dam Ho a demonic technique called the Complete Brain Demon Capture Method. Had Dam Ho's internal energy or mental strength been even slightly weaker, he might have fallen victim to her technique. So he had thought she might be related to the Demon Cult, and his suspicion had proven true.

The fact that the Chenghuo Merchant Group was the Demon Cult's Outer Garden delivered enormous shock to the merchant world. Because the world's greatest demonic force gaining the support of the world's greatest financial power would lead to endless consequences.

Therefore, many merchant groups secretly supported Shaolin Temple. For those who opposed the Chenghuo Merchant Group, it was an unavoidable choice.

The Great Origin Merchant Group was no exception. With many overlapping business territories with the Chenghuo Merchant Group, they had no choice but to support Shaolin and the Martial Alliance.

The war between the Demon Cult and the martial world wasn't merely a clash between martial forces. Too much was at stake in their conflict.

Dam Ho swallowed a mouthful of spirits. This time, the alcohol's aroma lingered particularly long in his mouth.

Night deepened.

Most of the escort porters and hired workers had gone to sleep. Only a few escorts remained to inspect the goods. Guarding and inspecting cargo was the escorts' role.

Dam Ho remained awake.

After drinking and lying down, strangely sleep wouldn't come. He lay in place, gazing blankly at the flickering firelight.

That's when it happened.

"Phew! Having to transport so much treasure all the way to Shaolin Temple. Probably in Azure Sky Escort Agency's entire history, this is the first time we're transporting such an enormous amount of goods."

"My heart is trembling. Will we really be able to safely transport this much cargo to Mount Song?"

"We have to. This isn't just any cargo but goods that will greatly help Shaolin and the Martial Alliance."

"Aren't you afraid? We might clash with the Demon Cult."

"Afraid? Terrified out of my mind."

The escorts' voices drifted over as they chatted. The young escorts on watch were having a conversation.

Among the escorts, they were the youngest. So they stood out in Dam Ho's memory.

"Hehe! Should I ask to withdraw from this escort right now? The head escort might allow it."

"Then you'd risk punishment? With the head escort's personality, if you quit mid-journey, he'd never let you hear the end of it."

"That's true…"

"And most of all, I don't want to. Though my strength is meager, I want to do something for the world."

The young escort's eyes shone like a star even in the darkness.

He was merely one among Azure Sky Escort Agency's countless escorts. Yet he possessed justice stronger than anyone. Sometimes his sense of justice was so strong he rushed headlong without thought.

His fellow escort patted the young escort's shoulder.

"It's late. Let's wake the others and get some sleep. We need some rest to have strength tomorrow."

"Right!"

The two soon woke the other escorts, established watch duty, and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, Dam Ho rose. Seeing him, the young escort's eyes widened.

"Oh, you're already awake? Aren't you tired?"

"It's fine."

"Of course, since Dam the Great Hero is an incredible master, you probably don't feel tired. A single instance of energy movement solves everything, doesn't it?"

The young escort scratched his head awkwardly. He was the same escort who had been chatting with his fellow that late night. Despite going to sleep late, he was the first to wake and was inspecting the cargo.

"Oh right! My name is Jo Su-gwang."

"……"

"I just wanted to let you know. I'm sorry."

"I'll remember."

"Really?"

When Dam Ho silently nodded, Jo Su-gwang's expression became moved. For an ordinary escort like him to introduce his name to Dam Ho required tremendous courage.

It could have been dismissed, but Dam Ho said he would remember the name. For Jo Su-gwang, it was the greatest reward.

"Ah, wait a moment please. I'll bring you food soon."

Shortly after, what he brought was leftover congee from the day before. Though it had cooled and hardened, it was still edible.

Dam Ho ate the congee he was given with apparent enjoyment. At this, Jo Su-gwang smiled happily.

Though unspoken, Dam Ho was his idol.

Though currently bound to the escort agency, his dream was to become strong like Dam Ho and someday travel the martial world.

Seeing Dam Ho eat enjoyably, Jo Su-gwang attended to others as well. He fairly distributed the remaining congee to the awakened escorts and hired workers and prepared to depart.

After finishing preparations to leave, Nam Woo-saeng spoke to Dam Ho:

"Then we'll depart first. I hope good fortune follows Dam the Great Hero on your journey."

"We hope good fortune follows Dam the Great Hero on your journey."

Jo Su-gwang and the other escorts, hired workers, and porters all spoke in unison. Then they departed.

Dam Ho stood silently, watching them leave.

The Azure Sky Escort Agency used waterways, he was told. Going a bit further from here would reveal a large river where transport boats regularly traveled. From the agency's perspective, using boats was far more advantageous.

In contrast, Dam Ho chose to use the land route on Black Ghost. He wanted to give Black Ghost more freedom.

Dam Ho rode Black Ghost and set out on the journey.

The official road was desolate.

No matter how far he traveled, people were nowhere to be seen. Only bird calls filled the air. Nameless flowers bloomed abundantly along the roadside, and white clouds flowed like waves across the sky.

Then water sounds were heard from somewhere. Walking along the road, he naturally arrived at a point where it merged with a river.

Upon reaching the river, Dam Ho's brow furrowed deeply. Because of the objects drifting downstream.

Wreckage of broken boats, large cargo, and corpses bleeding as they floated downstream. Apparently, fierce combat had occurred upstream. And the faces of the corpses looked familiar.

'Azure Sky Escort Agency.'

The corpses drifting downstream were surely from the Azure Sky Escort Agency's workers.

Dam Ho kicked Black Ghost's flank. Black Ghost immediately galloped toward the upstream at terrifying speed.

Before long, a large transport boat, broken in half and wedged on the riverbank, came into view. Around the transport boat, Azure Sky Escort Agency martial artists formed a defensive formation, clashing with masked assailants.

"Dammit!"

"Hyaaaaah!"

They resisted with all their strength.

The man asked back.

“You mean they stockpiled medicinal materials?”

“It seems so.”

But the man felt puzzled and tilted his head.

“Why? Why would they stockpile medicinal materials when there wasn’t even a plague?”

The man summarized what Jin Ja-gang had said.

“So basically, the Ningbo merchants supplied plague medicines to Iron Umbrella Sect, and Iron Umbrella Sect gave salt in return.”

“That’s right.”

“We were so focused on analyzing the loopholes in the ledgers that we didn’t think that far. If what you say is true, we should find out what it means.”

There was nothing more to discover from the ledgers.

Jin Ja-gang asked the man.

“Ah, there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“How is So-so doing? If you don’t know her current situation, could you look into it for me?”

The man tensed up, then smiled and answered.

“I know So-so too. She’s doing well. She’s so capable that she takes care of all the Shandong brothers’ household affairs. Everyone’s already saying they’ll take her when she grows up.”

“I see. Thank you.”

“Not at all. Well then, I’ll be going.”

After the man left, Jin Ja-gang thought more about the medicinal materials but couldn’t figure it out.

The Ningbo merchants could avoid enormous taxes through salt smuggling.

But what profit could Iron Umbrella Sect gain in exchange for buying medicinal materials?

Salt smuggling was a serious crime, but mobilizing even the Northern Heaven Unorthodox Sects to destroy all evidence seemed excessive.

If so, it must be related to the medicinal materials…

They weren’t antidotes related to poison, but ordinary plague medicines.

Spreading plague?

It was impossible to arbitrarily spread plague.

When plague spreads, villages and roads are immediately sealed to prevent contagion. So even if it spreads, it’s only in some regions.

Therefore, they couldn’t deliberately cause plague outbreaks, and unless they completely monopolized medicinal materials, how much profit could they make by causing plague in some regions?

* * *

Since he was out, Jin Ja-gang looked for a blacksmith shop to repair Soul Seizing Thread.

Perhaps because Wuhan was Zhuge family territory, surprisingly few Yangtze River Sword Sect emblems were visible on the streets.

Jin Ja-gang visited several blacksmith shops, but they all referred him elsewhere.

After going around in circles several times.

After a long while, he finally arrived at a blacksmith shop tucked away in a corner.

A middle-aged man with a thin build was sitting in front, polishing newly made farming tools, when he looked up at Jin Ja-gang. He also noticed Jin Ja-gang limping slightly.

“Follow me.”

The middle-aged man stood up. But he was only half of Jin Ja-gang’s height.

His legs were cut off below his thighs. The middle-aged man dragged his short legs and went inside.

Jin Ja-gang followed him inside. From the outside, it was indeed a blacksmith shop that made and repaired farming tools, but there was more space inside.

The inner space had even more tools than outside. Rather than farming tools, there were several unidentifiable metal pieces.

“This isn’t a blacksmith shop.”

“I was originally at the Tang family. There I made hidden weapons and mechanical weapons for the Tang family.”

“Did the Tang family let you go willingly?”

The middle-aged man pointed to his legs.

“Why do you think my legs became like this? It was the price for freedom. Others say I’m fortunate not to have died, but I actually nearly died and survived.”

There was even anger in the middle-aged man’s voice.

“If I hadn’t entrusted myself to Yangtze River Sword Sect, I would have been dead long ago.”

Jin Ja-gang said.

“I understand why the others referred me here.”

The middle-aged man smiled with a bitter feeling.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. You burned Tang family members and captured that family’s daughter? Hearing that story, I felt as refreshed as if I had done it myself.”

“It was something I did to survive.”

“It doesn’t matter. I enjoyed it. Now let’s see the item.”

Jin Ja-gang presented the broken Soul Seizing Thread.

The middle-aged man recognized it immediately. His hands trembled slightly.

“Soul Seizing Thread. It’s something that doesn’t break easily. May I ask how this happened?”

Craftsmen usually don’t ask about weapons’ purposes. They deliberately avoid being curious. If they learn about things they don’t need to know, secret matters, their lives could be lost.

But the middle-aged man seemed very interested in the martial world and didn’t care.

“It was cut by Funeral Parlor Yeong Hyeon-sa’s bone claws.”

“I’ve never seen them, but I’ve heard rumors. Yeong Hyeon-sa’s bone claws are specially tempered so his finger bones rival precious swords.”

“He’s dead now.”

The middle-aged man grinned.

“Excellent. The owner of Soul Seizing Thread, Poison Dragon. I’ll improve it to be much more amazing than before.”

“How is that possible?”

The middle-aged man explained.

“I can make Soul Seizing Thread’s threads completely invisible. In bright daylight, they’ll be transparent and not reflect light, and at night they’ll be pitch black and completely invisible. How’s that?”

Jin Ja-gang thought briefly. Then he shook his head and said.

“Make half visible and half invisible.”

At Jin Ja-gang’s words, the middle-aged man looked blank for a moment.

“I never thought of that.”

“Is it possible?”

The middle-aged man closed his eyes and muttered something to himself, then said.

“I’ll make the Soul Seizing Thread rings thinner than now and create two. One ring with visible thread attached, another ring with invisible thread attached. How’s that?”

“That’s sufficient.”

The middle-aged man looked at Jin Ja-gang again.

“I can see how you’ve survived this long. You’re a frightening person.”

Rather than something blindly invisible, something invisible behind something visible was more deadly.

Even in small things, he embedded psychology that would terrifyingly shake opponents.

The middle-aged man suddenly made a proposal, thinking of something.

“Don’t you need anything else? Originally my specialty is bladed weapons.”

“If so, I’d like to request two sickles.”

“Sickles? Understood. Surely not for cutting grass.”

“What can I do in return?”

The middle-aged man said seriously.

“Cut off the legs of the one who made my legs like this, the same way. With that Soul Seizing Thread.”

“The name?”

“Tang Sang-yul! Master of Soul Seizing Hall!”

Jin Ja-gang had heard that name before. He had even met him once.

“As you can see from the name, Soul Seizing Thread was originally Soul Seizing Hall Master Tang Sang-yul’s signature weapon. He’s also the one who made my legs like this.”

“What’s your name?”

At those words, the middle-aged man trembled with joy. Asking for his name wasn’t simply meaning to get revenge for him. It meant he would truly carry out proper revenge with his resentment!

“My, my, my name is Beon-woo.”

“Understood. Soul Seizing Hall Master Tang Sang-yul will face his final moments in this world together with that name.”

Beon-woo was overwhelmed and immediately prostrated himself right there.

“Thank you. Thank you!”

Jin Ja-gang helped Beon-woo to his feet. But Beon-woo couldn’t compose his emotions for a while.

* * *

Jin Ja-gang returned to the inn.

Woon-jeong was waiting in his room. Seeing Jin Ja-gang, Woon-jeong scratched his head.

“I…”

Woon-jeong sighed and said.

“I want to apologize to Poison Dragon for what happened earlier.”

Jin Ja-gang silently listened to Woon-jeong’s words.

“It’s not that Poison Dragon did anything wrong, but I was angry that a civilian got involved. But thinking about it, on the ship before, it was Poison Dragon who took care of the merchants. I didn’t do anything. This time too, I did nothing while shifting responsibility to Poison Dragon.”

Woon-jeong bowed his head deeply.

“I’m sorry!”

In front of such Woon-jeong, Jin Ja-gang extended his hand. A fresh and sweet smell made Woon-jeong’s nose tingle.

“Huh? This is…”

“Candied fruit made from hawthorn berries.”

He had remembered that Woon-jeong had enjoyed eating it last time.

Woon-jeong’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Poison Dragon…”

While eating the candied fruit, Woon-jeong asked Jin Ja-gang.

“But where did you go?”

“I met someone from Shandong Unorthodox Sects.”

“What? Shandong Unorthodox Sects?”

“Aren’t you curious how So-so is doing?”

Woon-jeong’s eyes sparkled.

“Of course I’m curious!”

Jin Ja-gang relayed what he had heard from the Shandong Unorthodox Sects man. Woon-jeong felt both sorry and relieved hearing news of So-so.

“Ah, that’s good. So-so is settling in well in Shandong.”

“If you miss her that much, why don’t you send a letter?”

“Sh-should I? But sending a letter out of the blue is a bit…”

Jin Ja-gang found Woon-jeong’s blushing face cute. He was smiling when Woon-jeong asked him with a serious expression.

“Poison Dragon.”

“Yes.”

“How did you win Lady Tang Ha-ran’s heart?”

“…”

Jin Ja-gang was slightly flustered by Woon-jeong’s words while recalling memories with Tang Ha-ran.

“I think my wife asked me to take her away.”

Woon-jeong’s expression soured.

“No, not that. Before that. There must have been some occasion when you became close through conversation. The most vivid memory.”

“Hmm…”

Jin Ja-gang thought seriously.

“My wife was once imprisoned in Tang family’s dungeon because of me.”

“Oho!”

Woon-jeong’s eyes sparkled.

“And then?”

“I went to find her.”

“To rescue her?”

“I said if she was thinking of dying, I would kill her.”

Woon-jeong’s expression soured again.

“You went all the way there just to say you’d kill her?”

“No. I said if she was thinking of dying, I would kill her. I didn’t go to kill her.”

“Um… to me that sounds like the same thing?”

Jin Ja-gang threatened Woon-jeong.

“Do you not want to hear more?”

“Ah, yes yes… And then?”

“She cried.”

Woon-jeong stared at Jin Ja-gang incredulously.

“No, of course she’d cry if you say you’ll kill her!”

Jin Ja-gang smiled somewhat awkwardly.

“But she said she didn’t want to die.”

“That’s also obvious!”

Jin Ja-gang closed his mouth and turned his head. He seemed to be thinking of something else to talk about.

“Try to recall more memories.”

“Hmm.”

Jin Ja-gang thought for a long time and answered.

“I remember. It was about what happened at Qingcheng Mountain.”

“Ooo!”

“Come to think of it, I was trying to kill my wife then too.”

“…”

Woon-jeong thought Jin Ja-gang’s experience was completely unhelpful. He seriously thought he didn’t need to hear more.

“Um, sorry, but isn’t there anything besides killing? Even something trivial?”

“Master Bok-cheon stopped us so we stopped fighting, then my wife suddenly asked me to take her in.”

“…”

Woon-jeong was so dumbfounded he opened his mouth and couldn’t close it.

Then he couldn’t hold back anymore and shouted.

“You’re both strange! Just listening to Poison Dragon, Lady Tang seems like a really strange person too!”

“It’s not exactly like that.”

“What’s not exactly like that! Poison Dragon charges in saying he’ll kill her, and in the midst of that Lady Tang asks to be taken in! What kind of strange relationship is that!”

“If there’s more I remember…”

Woon-jeong shook his head vigorously.

“No. I think I was wrong to consult Poison Dragon. I’m not a strange person like Poison Dragon, so I can’t just go around saying I’ll kill people.”

Jin Ja-gang shrugged. Even Jin Ja-gang felt embarrassed thinking about it now.

Woon-jeong sighed and said.

“I’d rather just ask about her current situation naturally. Like writing that there was a lot of snow in Qinghai this year, so be careful of possible floods in Shandong.”