Chapter 44

Chapter 44: The Sandstorm Calls for Blood (1)

"Five more foals have been born today alone. A joyous occasion, a joyous occasion! Heh heh!"

"Damn it! Even the horses are having offspring, while I…"

"But you possess something no less impressive than a horse, don't you? Take pride in it."

"Pride? For something with no use…"

"Exactly! No use at all. Heaven is truly fair!"

"Hahaha! Stop teasing. You will make Chun-saeng cry."

The laborers, having finished their work, gathered together to drink. Though the "wine" was nothing more than cheap homebrewed liquor, they laughed heartily with genuine enjoyment.

They looked utterly happy.

Laughing, chatting, savoring the simple joys of daily life.

Life was harsh and grueling, but they found happiness in their own way.

Bang Jin-bo mingled among them, laughing as well. He had adapted so thoroughly that he seemed like a permanent member of the ranch.

The people adored him. They loved his cooking and enjoyed his company.

In particular, Geum So-hye was enamored of Bang Jin-bo. She followed him around all day long, like a little chick trailing its mother.

Bang Jin-bo, too, did not seem to mind their attention. When he was with them, a broad, genuine smile naturally surfaced on his face.

One of the laborers called out to Jin-bo.

"Jin-bo."

"Yes!"

"You said you were heading to Hunan Province, didn't you?"

"That is right. Specifically, to Dongting Lake."

"What is there to go all the way to Hunan for? Just stay here with us."

"Pardon?"

"Why bother making the difficult journey to Hunan? Just live here with us. It may look barren, but life here is not so bad. The water is good, the people are good, there is nothing to worry about. The only hardship is traveling to find grazing pastures, but once you adapt, it becomes manageable."

"That is right! Just watching the horses frolic across the wide open grasslands makes your heart soar. There is no need to live a complicated life out there. You can find plenty of happiness here, just like us."

Other laborers chimed in agreement.

Bang Jin-bo's expression turned momentarily wistful.

He genuinely liked it here. Living out his days cooking in this place did not seem like a bad life at all.

Master Geum Gwan-cheon doted on him, and So-hye followed him like a devoted little sister. Since losing his father, this was the first happiness he had known.

Honestly, he did not want to let go of this happiness. Yet somehow, a part of his heart felt empty.

Bang Jin-bo smiled. He tried to smile even more brightly.

He laughed and chatted with the others. Thus passed Bang Jin-bo's happy days.

"Hehe!"

Bang Jin-bo entered his room with a smile. Inside, he found Dam Ho sitting on the bed, gazing out the window.

"Hyung!"

"Have you returned?"

"Hehe! I am back."

Bang Jin-bo sat down beside Dam Ho.

"What are you doing?"

"Watching."

"Watching what?"

"Everything…"

Dam Ho answered calmly.

"What do you mean, everything? How can one watch everything?"

Bang Jin-bo opened his eyes wide and followed Dam Ho's gaze out the window.

It was a guesthouse far removed from the main building. From here, the entirety of the horse ranch was laid out before them.

Vast grasslands stretching to the horizon, horses galloping across them, and people. It was an ordinary scene, no different from any other day.

Dam Ho was watching that unremarkable, utterly familiar landscape.

*What does the world look like through hyung's eyes?*

The thought crossed his mind suddenly.

He wondered with what thoughts, with what heart, Dam Ho viewed the world.

"Jin-bo."

"Yes! Hyung!"

"We leave tomorrow."

"Already?"

Bang Jin-bo's eyes went wide.

Only then did Dam Ho turn to look at him.

"If you do not wish to go, you do not have to."

"What do you mean? I am going with you."

"Life here would not be so bad. There is no need to take a long journey."

This was the first time since meeting Jin-bo that Dam Ho had spoken at such length.

"Hyung?"

Tears welled in Bang Jin-bo's upturned eyes.

"You… you are not going to leave me behind, are you?"

"I am not leaving you."

"Hyung!"

"I thought this place might suit you."

"That makes no sense."

Bang Jin-bo shook his head vigorously. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

Then he suddenly sprang to his feet and began hurriedly packing his belongings.

"I am going too."

"Jin-bo."

"I am going with you. Do not try to stop me."

Dam Ho's gaze deepened.

During his time here these past days, he had confirmed something with certainty.

*This peace does not suit me.*

Like a drop of oil fallen upon water, he floated apart from it all. This world, this peaceful existence, was not where he belonged.

No matter how long he stayed, there was no place for him here.

If peace did not suit him, then all that remained was the chaos of the battlefield.

The blood flowing through Dam Ho's veins, his very nature, whispered this truth.

These days here had been a time of confirming that fact. That was why he was leaving.

"It may be dangerous."

"That is fine. Besides, you promised. You promised to take me to the Greatest Under Heaven Academy."

"I did."

"Then keep your promise."

"I will."

Dam Ho nodded.

He would keep it.

It was the first promise he had made since coming out into the world.

***

"A horse ranch?"

Joy lit up Shim Ok's eyes.

She had fled here in desperation without even knowing what lay ahead. She had simply employed her movement arts without direction and arrived here by chance.

*If I can obtain a horse here, I can make it.*

Once she had a horse and crossed Jiayu Pass, she could shake off her pursuers. After that, she had to find a way to contact the Blood Forest Assassination Bureau.

She had only managed to slow her pursuers, and she knew better than anyone that it would not last long.

The military strength of Seocheon Mountain Villa, as she had witnessed with her own eyes, was truly terrifying. Even the Blood Forest Assassination Bureau's forces could not guarantee they could stop it.

Eun Ha-seong's martial prowess was particularly horrifying. Even Heuk-no, on whom she relied most, had been no match for him.

If Eun Ha-seong obtained the Blood Demon's ultimate technique, no one in Xinjiang would be able to stop him.

The only place with any hope of checking Eun Ha-seong and Seocheon Mountain Villa was the Blood Forest Assassination Bureau. The sects of the Central Plains had no interest in events beyond their borders.

*That means I must be ruthless.*

It appeared a feast had been held the previous night, as laborers lay scattered throughout the ranch, sleeping soundly.

Shim Ok vaulted the ranch's wooden fence without hesitation. The laborers were ordinary people—they could never detect her presence.

Shim Ok's sharp gaze swept the ranch.

Her eyes settled on a single horse standing alone. Among the countless horses in the ranch, this black horse radiated an unmistakable presence.

Having practically lived on horseback since childhood, Shim Ok recognized at once that the black horse was a heavenly steed.

"If I could have that one…"

Joy lit up Shim Ok's face.

A horse of that caliber could easily cover a thousand li in a single day. With such a mount, she would no longer need to worry about pursuit.

Shim Ok did not hesitate. She launched herself toward the black horse.

*Tap! Tap!*

With just two pushes off the ground, she was already near the black horse.

Though this strange outsider had appeared suddenly, the black horse did not so much as flinch. Its gaze, as though looking down from a great height, made Shim Ok bite her lip for a moment—the horse's demeanor seemed to mock her for having sneaked in like a thief.

"It is for a greater cause."

Even as she spoke, she felt the absurdity of it. She was making excuses to a mere animal.

"Let us go."

Shim Ok grabbed the reins and pulled. But the black horse did not move.

"What?"

Shim Ok glared at the horse, but it remained utterly unmoved.

*Snort!*

It even tossed its head and stepped back, pulling her along with it.

Shim Ok realized the black horse was rejecting her.

"Do not be like this. The fate of Xinjiang hangs on this."

She pleaded, but the black horse paid no heed. Its arrogance frustrated her, but she could not afford to waste any more time here.

Just as she was about to seize the reins again…

"Who are you?"

One of the laborers had been awakened by the sound. Others began to stir as well.

"Oh no!"

Shim Ok's expression turned flustered.

A laborer stared blankly at Shim Ok holding the horse's reins, then suddenly shouted:

"Thief!"

"Thief?"

At the cry, other laborers scrambled to their feet.

Having been suddenly branded a thief, Shim Ok gritted her teeth. Since it had come to this, she would have to be brazen.

Shim Ok vaulted onto the black horse's back.

"Let us go!"

She kicked the horse's flanks. Ordinary horses would have bolted at that. But the black horse she rode was different.

*Snort!*

It planted its feet and refused to budge.

The black horse was Heuk-gwi itself.

"Damnable horse."

In the end, Shim Ok cursed and abandoned Heuk-gwi, searching for another horse.

"Thief!"

"A horse thief!"

The laborers shouted and charged, but she paid them no mind.

Injured as she was, her skills were far beyond what ordinary laborers could contend with.

*I do not have time to explain or purchase a horse. Compensation can come later. Escaping this place is the priority.*

She employed her movement arts, vaulted onto the nearest horse—a mount far inferior to Heuk-gwi, but beggars could not be choosers at a time like this.

"Let us go."

As she was about to kick the horse's flanks…

"Halt."

Someone blocked her path.