Chapter 416

Chapter 416 – Though Gathered in One Place, They Dream Different Dreams (1)

Dam Ho opened his eyes.

The moment his bottomless, pitch-black pupils were revealed, the Namgung brothers' bodies froze solid. All their muscles stiffened, and their hearts pounded as if they might burst at any moment. They had to forcibly suppress the screams and urine that threatened to burst out.

"Brother!"

If Bang Jin-bo hadn't appeared just then, their trouser legs would have been soaked.

On the shoulder of Bang Jin-bo approaching Dam Ho hung a young wild boar that seemed to have just been caught, and the cloth bundle at his waist was filled to the brim with unknown medicinal herbs.

Bang Jin-bo ran toward Dam Ho carrying the wild boar.

"How are your internal injuries?"

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

At Bang Jin-bo's continued questioning, Dam Ho nodded. At this, Bang Jin-bo showed a disappointed expression.

"I was going to make some food to restore your vitality before you woke up. Please wait a moment, brother. I'll make it right away."

"Mm!"

As soon as he heard Dam Ho's answer, Bang Jin-bo put the wild boar down on the ground and began preparing it.

It was a young wild boar he had specially caught to avoid burdening Dam Ho's stomach. Its meat was tender and perfectly nutritious.

Scrape! Scrape!

Every time Bang Jin-bo moved his knife, the hide was peeled away and meat and bone were separated. Having dismantled the wild boar in an instant, Bang Jin-bo gathered the organs separately and boiled them together with medicinal herbs and rice.

While he was at it, he also stir-fried the meat with several vegetables.

Sizzle!

The delicious smell of cooking meat spread through the unknown mountain.

Bang Jin-bo offered Dam Ho the porridge made from organs.

"Brother, please eat. It will be easier on your stomach and help restore your vitality."

"Thank you."

"Hehe! Please eat a lot and recover quickly."

"Mm!"

Dam Ho nodded and took the porridge made from organs.

He hadn't eaten anything since the heavenly net was spread. Therefore, his stomach had been empty for a long time. In this state, if he ate a lot of food at once or ate food that was difficult to digest, it would certainly cause problems. But eating in porridge form like this would make digestion easier and reduce the burden on his stomach.

Bang Jin-bo had made the organ porridge considering this point. Dam Ho ate the porridge with gratitude for Bang Jin-bo's such consideration.

Confirming that Dam Ho was eating the porridge well, Bang Jin-bo served the stir-fried wild boar to the Namgung brothers.

"You guys eat this."

"Thank you."

"We'll eat well."

The Namgung brothers expressed their thanks and ate the food Bang Jin-bo had made. Bang Jin-bo watched them eat with a smile for a moment.

'Thank goodness.'

The wounds Dam Ho had sustained were by no means light. They were serious wounds that would have killed an ordinary person several times over. Even if they were lucky enough to treat the wounds, such severe injuries would inevitably leave aftereffects, yet Dam Ho had recovered like a phoenix once again. It was truly miraculous recovery power that could only be called wondrous.

After moving to this place, Dam Ho had devoted himself almost entirely to energy circulation for seven days and nights. During that short period of time, Dam Ho's external wounds had almost healed. Scabs had formed over the gaping wounds, and the broken bones had begun to mend. Perhaps if a few more days passed like this, there would be no problem moving around.

Dam Ho silently ate the porridge Bang Jin-bo had made with all his heart. As warm food entered his body after a long time, his whole body began to regain vitality.

Confirming that color had returned to Dam Ho's face, Bang Jin-bo finally began to eat.

Bang Jin-bo thought he was fortunate to be able to help Dam Ho in this way.

Dam Ho's meal took longer than usual. Since his body was severely damaged, he ate the food as slowly as possible to reduce the burden on his stomach.

After finishing his meal, Dam Ho sat leaning against a large nearby rock. Only then did the surrounding scenery come into view.

Dense forests and a large lake visible below the mountain – it was an unfamiliar landscape in many ways.

"Where is this?"

"It's a place called Mount Han near Sohon."

"Mount Han? Are we still inside Anhui Province?"

Dam Ho frowned slightly.

He had clearly told Bang Jin-bo to take the Namgung brothers and flee outside Anhui Province.

"I'm sorry for disobeying your words. But I had no choice. How could we flee outside Anhui Province leaving you behind? You can scold me as much as you want. But please don't tell me I was wrong."

"You did nothing wrong."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

Bang Jin-bo was now a proper martial artist. If he had made such a choice, there must have been a good reason for it. Dam Ho thought so.

"What about pursuers?"

"I completely erased our traces. No one has tracked us so far."

"Well done."

"Hehe!"

Bang Jin-bo smiled awkwardly at Dam Ho's praise.

"We need to go down the mountain."

"I thought you'd say that as soon as you woke up, so I've already prepared. Hehe!"

Bang Jin-bo prided himself on knowing Dam Ho better than anyone. He had already made full preparations to descend the mountain.

When Bang Jin-bo whistled long, Black Ghost appeared from somewhere. Black Ghost rubbed his face against Dam Ho happily in greeting.

Dam Ho patted Black Ghost's thick neck with his hand, sharing body warmth before mounting him.

Whinny!

"Let's go."

"Yes!"

Bang Jin-bo and the Namgung brothers followed behind Dam Ho.

Namgung Yeong-hwi rode on Bang Jin-bo's horse, while Namgung Seon-hwi followed behind using lightness skill. Namgung Seon-hwi's vow was still being kept firmly.

Namgung Seon-hwi ran with gritted teeth. Following a galloping horse with lightness skill was extremely arduous and difficult work, but he never gave up.

Around sunset, they were able to arrive at a small village.

The streets were quieter than expected. And people's expressions also seemed much more relaxed.

Village people could be seen gathered in an open space, chattering.

"Oh my, what's this about? Why have all those who clung to the Demon Cult run away?"

"That's right. Those who did all kinds of evil deeds with the Demon Cult at their back have all gone somewhere – not a single one is visible."

Their faces were full of puzzlement.

After the Demon Cult took control of Anhui Province, this place had also fallen into their hands. Those who followed the Demon Cult had taken control of the village and committed all kinds of evil deeds. Because of this, many people had been harmed.

Rather than the Demon Cult itself, those who used them as backing to commit evil deeds were even more frightening. They had used every means to torment village people who didn't believe in the Demon Cult.

It had gotten so bad that people even began leaving the village to avoid them. But those who had tormented the village people like that had all disappeared overnight. The village people were very curious about the reason.

Then a man in his mid-forties named Jang Han, who had been silent until now, cautiously spoke up.

"It's all because of Fist Demon Dam, the great hero."

"Fist Demon?"

"Speak so we can understand. What do you mean because of Hero Dam?"

People's attention focused on Jang Han.

"A while ago, the Demon Cult forces that had taken control of Anhui Province clashed with Fist Demon Dam, the great hero."

"Demon Cult forces? Then that must have been tremendously many?"

"That's right. At least over a thousand masters were mobilized to catch one Fist Demon."

"What? A thousand people……"

Disbelief appeared on people's faces.

A thousand people mobilized to face just one person? And all of them martial artists who had learned martial arts. By their common sense, it was an unprecedented event impossible to even fathom.

Perhaps frustrated that people didn't believe his words, Jang Han raised his voice.

"Whether my words are true or not, you'll find out if you check later. At the place where the Demon Cult and Hero Dam clashed, corpses that still haven't been cleared away are still scattered everywhere."

"Then it's really true?"

"That's right. Hundreds died or were injured, and high-ranking Demon Cult officials also lost their lives. Because of this, the Demon Cult suffered great damage and retreated to the outskirts of Anhui Province, according to rumors."

"He killed that many people alone?"

"Yes! That's why the Demon Cult is in chaos. They thought Anhui Province was their world after annihilating the Namgung Family, but they suffered such great damage. I hear that among those killed by Hero Dam were people in really high positions in the Demon Cult. That's why the Demon Cult followers were also greatly shocked and retreated."

"How could this be!"

People were dumbfounded, their mouths agape at the news they were hearing for the first time.

To the people who lived in Anhui Province, the Namgung Family was like heaven itself. It was precisely the Demon Cult that had annihilated such heaven.

The Demon Cult was absolute terror and an impregnable iron fortress. They had become more frightening than decades ago and possessed tremendous power.

They couldn't imagine a picture of the Demon Cult collapsing. The Demon Cult had such overwhelming power. The kind of power that could dominate the world.

That was the village people's thinking until just moments ago. But their concepts were being shattered by Jang Han's words.

"Really…… is what you're saying really true?"

"Why would I lie? You know well that I learned martial arts at a martial hall in Hefei when I was young? This is what a fellow student from that martial hall told me."

"Hmm!"

"Actually, my fellow student was also mobilized for the heavenly net the Demon Cult spread. He didn't want to go, but he couldn't disobey the command of the hall master who had converted to the Demon Cult. So he participated, but……"

"But what?"

"Hell…… he saw hell."

Jang Han's voice naturally trembled. He shook his body as if he had experienced it directly himself.

"Every time Hero Dam threw a punch, dozens died, but no one could block even one of his punches. Even the hall master who learned martial arts with me couldn't block Hero Dam's single punch and died, and the sight was so gruesome that my fellow student fled without looking back. But my fellow student wasn't the only one who fled like that. Countless people fled to avoid Hero Dam. Those people said Hero Dam was…… not human."

"……"

People held their breath.

Not one person dared breathe loudly as they listened intently to Jang Han's words. They were that absorbed in what Jang Han was saying.

"In the end, all the external martial artists mobilized for the heavenly net fled, and only the Demon Cult's forces remained to clash with Hero Dam."

"So…… so what happened?"

"My fellow student watched from over ten li away, and he said the ground shook and the sky cried for a whole day."

"Is that really true?"

"Not a single word is false. It was so frightening that my fellow student could only go to the place where Hero Dam fought after a day had passed. And there he saw true hell."

"H-hell?"

"Yes! So many died that ravens and wild dogs gorged themselves, and blood flowed like a river. The devastation was so terrible that people who saw it once still can't sleep properly."

"Mm!"

"Anyway, the Demon Cult Group leader who led the heavenly net at that time also died miserably at Hero Dam's hands, and the Demon Cult forces that had taken control of Anhui Province were completely destroyed. Naturally, those who had clung to the Demon Cult's side had no place to stand either. That's why both Gok-seong and Eon-gwang fled in haste."

Yeon Gok-seong and Ju Eon-gwang that Jang Han mentioned were all village people who had sided with the Demon Cult. As the saying goes that those you know are worse, they had tormented the village people to an extreme degree and committed all kinds of evil deeds.

More than ten village women had been violated by them alone. Because of this, the village people harbored great resentment toward them.

"I can't believe it. That one person killed so many and saved Anhui Province from the Demon Cult's hands."

"If that's really true, wouldn't Hero Dam be a true hero who could save Central Plains?"

"That's right. Though he's called Fist Demon because his methods are harsh, he's actually worthy of being called a hero. Speaking of which, what achievements has the Martial Alliance made against the Demon Cult? Is there anything more than just clinging to Shaolin Temple? On the other hand, hasn't Hero Dam fought countless battles against the Demon Cult? Where else would you find such a torch in these troubled times? Though my martial arts are weak, if Hero Dam calls, I, Yun Ju-gyeong, am prepared to run anywhere."

Jang Han pounded his chest and made bold declarations, and the village people responded with thunderous applause. But the village people were so absorbed in Jang Han that they failed to notice a group passing behind them.

The man Dam Ho on a giant black horse, Bang Jin-bo and the others.

They had no idea that the protagonist of the heroic tale they were so enthusiastic about had just entered the village.

Though such enthusiasm from people might be burdensome, there was no change whatsoever in Dam Ho's expression. To him, all this cheering and enthusiasm felt as detached as someone else's business.

On the other hand, Bang Jin-bo's face was flushed red as if it might burst at any moment.

His fists clenched with strength.

His chest swelled with emotion.

'That person is my brother. The brother I most respect and follow.'

He wanted to shout that toward the people. But Bang Jin-bo suppressed such desires and asked Dam Ho:

"Brother, but where are we going now?"

"Hao Sect."

Dam Ho's indifferent answer came back. ​