Chapter 24

"Ah, right. That's right! Jo Cheon-u, you cut off that guy's right arm from the shoulder with the first slash, and with the second slash, you lopped off his kicking right leg at the upper thigh. To cut off the right arm and right leg, creating an imbalance, you were too much."

Having seized another chance, Lee Jaryong of Kunlun added a few more words, looking excited.

"What do you mean, too much?"

"It's too much. The right arm and the right leg; if you cut off the same side like that, how can that person live with a crutch? If he holds the crutch with his left arm, the leg that steps forward should be the right leg. How can he hold a crutch with his left arm and step forward with his left leg? If you cut off the right arm, you should have cut off the opposite left leg. That way, the balance is right. To cut off the same side simultaneously, how is that different from telling him to be bedridden for life? You should have thought before you cut, tsk tsk tsk."

"What?"

Jo Cheon-u flared up, looking at Lee Jaryong who was clicking his tongue with a look of pity as if the one who suffered was pitiful. His anger seemed to have reached its peak. To bring down the anger that seemed about to explode, Namgung Sang stepped in to mediate.

"Hey, you two, don't fight. Calm down. What are we going to do fighting amongst ourselves?"

Namgung Sang separated the two, but Jo Cheon-u was still huffing and puffing as if his anger hadn't subsided, and Lee Jaryong was flicking his tongue. In this way or that, the two were working together to increase their lines.

"Still, it was a real relief that there were no casualties."

Namgung Sansan said quietly. That was a point she was also thankful for.

"But we saw a lot of blood."

Everyone nodded their heads as if agreeing with Geum Yeong-ho's words. They really did see a lot of blood. In the name of refraining from killing, they had cut off one of the four limbs of the guys who were charging in, relying only on their numbers. Just because they didn't kill them didn't mean they saw less blood. Since they had cut off one of the limbs, it was natural for blood to spurt out from the cross-section, and they had to be covered in it in the midst of the chaotic battle. All Baekseok-dong could do while listening to the incomprehensible conversations they were having among themselves was to make a bewildered expression and just listen silently.

The full story of the incident the Vermilion Bird members experienced was this.

They were accompanying the Jungyang Escort Bureau's escort mission to Nanchang, and in the mountains as they entered the border of Sichuan, a group of about 500 mountain bandits were waiting in ambush, as if they knew how. It was a well-known fact in the Green Forest that the Emei Sect was behind the Jungyang Escort Bureau. How could one be a bandit without knowing the ten great escort bureaus of the Central Plains? Seeing them attack like that even knowing this, it was certain that they had come with firm resolve. As if they knew how, the mountain bandits had found out their destination and were lying in ambush.

Since they were waiting to snatch the goods, they charged in like madmen, and while the Vermilion Bird members blocked them, the escorts rearranged their formation to protect the goods. But no one could break through the Vermilion Bird group's 16-person defensive line. Rather, they only ran away after losing one of their limbs. After making nearly half of them cripples like that, a guy who looked like their leader stepped forward. But the funny thing was, the man who was the master of a mountain fortress, and that, the leader of those who had tried to rob one of the ten great escort bureaus, had a bruised right eye and lips with scabs on them that looked particularly red and dirty, so they couldn't hold back their laughter.

Perhaps thinking that their laughter, which was out of sheer absurdity, was a sneer, the enraged bandit leader charged in, and Jo Cheon-u of Mount Hua stepped forward to face him. With Jo Cheon-u's two light sword slashes, the leader lost his right arm and right leg and was carried away by his subordinates, and the demoralized mountain bandits lost their momentum and retreated. The Vermilion Bird members had no injuries at all. Only a few escorts had suffered minor injuries.

"Fortunately, you were safe. It's truly a heavenly fortune. (Except for senior No Hak...)"

"What heavenly fortune? It's all skill."

It was No Hak, pouring cold water on the words of concern and spouting annoying words. 'That's why he's not respected,' Baekseok-dong thought to himself.

"But the second time was the bigger problem."

Hyeonun said, looking at Namgung Sang with a faint smile. His gaze held the meaning of the question, 'Right?'. Namgung Sang once again quietly nodded his head, and at the same time, all the Vermilion Bird members nodded their heads in agreement, meaning 'that's right.'

"Yes, the second time?"

Although he drew countless question marks in his head at Hyeonun's out-of-the-blue words, since Baekseok-dong himself was not a person who had directly experienced the incident, there was no other way but to silently listen to what the person involved in the incident was saying. The craving for information and the endless curiosity and questions seemed to prove that he himself was a disciple of the Beggars' Sect.

"There was one more, an attack."

His words trailing off, Geum Yeong-ho looked at the sky. That day, too, the weather was very clear, just like now.

"There was one more attack. This time, too, it was an ambush. For us, it was just a mystery how they knew so well. And the bigger problem was, this time, a group of 1000 people, almost twice the number of the Hogolchae last time, attacked us. At that time, it's true that I felt a bit hopeless. If a swarm of ants came at you like a black wave, wouldn't you feel the same? But we chuckled again this time. Why? Because it was so funny.

This time, you see, the guy who looked like the leader was fine, but the appearance of the bandit next to him, whose attire and appearance screamed 'I am the deputy chief,' was exactly the same as that of Paeho Jung-gwang, the chief of the Hogolchae we met last time. A bruised eye and scabby, red lips. There wasn't a single thing different. It looked exactly like he had been beaten by the same person. His bruised eye told the story. Considering its position, size, and color, it was certain that he had been beaten by the same person at the same time. Huh? But that's impossible, you say? If it were a mark from being beaten by the same person at the same time, the bruise should have already faded? You're saying there's no such thing as a bruise that lasts for over a month.

But there was. It's not that they weren't beaten at the same time, but they could have been beaten by the same person... Well, since people have two legs to walk around. But it was definitely at the same time. The guy we caught and tortured told us. The deputy chief, who had gone somewhere to play a month and a half ago, came back with a bruised eye and a busted lip and planned this attack. So it was definitely the same time. A bruise that doesn't fade even after a month and a half? The culprit must have used some renowned technique. Otherwise, it couldn't be.

Anyway, let's say that's that for the deputy chief, but the leader, the chief of that Yonggolchae, seemed to be a formidable guy. He was a guy named U-ak with the nickname Paeryong. He was an arrogant guy who used the character for 'dragon' despite being a mountain bandit. Still, as befitting a guy in charge of Yonggolchae, which, as you know, is at least in the middle of the 72 Fortresses of the Green Forest, he was quite strong. Well, that's when compared to the last time.

But, he was no match either. That guy named Paeryong, who charged in fearlessly, brandishing his Gwidu-do, had his Heaven, Earth, and Man vital points pierced simultaneously by three pebbles thrown by Tang Sam and went to the other world. It means his upper, middle, and lower dantian were pierced at the same time. It was natural that he died.

But this time, these mountain bandit bastards charged in recklessly even after their leader was cut down. We were a bit flustered. We thought they would all retreat on their own if we just sent the leader to the other side. But even after their leader was cut down, they charged in, saying they were getting revenge... We had no choice but to stop them again. But although our defensive line was not broken, guys who bypassed us to attack the goods kept appearing. We couldn't do anything about those guys either. We were short-handed just blocking the guys who were swarming in from the front. They were charging in as a group... It was hard just to maintain the defensive line. We barely managed to block them because it was a narrow mountain path. If they had attacked us on a plain, it would have been dangerous for us too. If that had happened, we might have been fine, but the goods and the escorts would have had a hard time being safe.

Well, but still, they showed that the name of the ten great escort bureaus of the Central Plains was not just an empty name. Bureau Chief Jang U-yang was swinging his sword as if to release his pent-up frustration. It seems he had a lot pent up. The ordinary escorts, fighting in teams of two, were not at a level where they would be killed by a low-ranking mountain bandit's sword. But still, those guys kept charging in, relying on their numbers. When the escort kids were in danger from time to time, Tang Sam would throw a hidden weapon to save them. If he hadn't, the damage would have been quite large. After saving the kids here and there, Tang Sam ran out of hidden weapons and picked up the pebbles scattered on the ground and threw them. But even with just one of those, they all fell down one by one. Well, even without hidden weapons, when he hit them with his bare hands, they couldn't even make a peep and just collapsed.

What? Why have I been saying Tang Sam, Tang Sam since a while ago? Ah, Tang Sam is Tang Cheol-yeong's nickname. We all call him Tang Sam. But don't you ever even dream of calling Cheol-yeong Tang Sam. You might find yourself on a journey to the other world without anyone knowing. We focused on finding and cutting down only the leadership. That deputy chief with the blue around his eye wasn't safe either. After we had cut down about half of them and made them half-crippled and disabled, the guys finally started to back off.

They were persistent bastards. It was a pretty tough fight. There were many injured among the escorts. But the fact that there was not a single casualty among the escorts was truly a miracle."

With the word 'miracle,' Geum Yeong-ho finished his long story.

"It was a bit chilly then, on my back."

Hyeonun said playfully, making an exaggerated expression.

"They just kept charging in, relying on their numbers, even as they were being helplessly defeated and falling."

No Hak said, frowning slightly.

"Many escorts were injured. It was a big blow to the escort bureau."

"These clothes were also dyed at that time."

Moyong Chwi said, showing a smile like the shadow of the moon. It was her monumental first line.

"I was short on hidden weapons, so I picked up and threw pebbles, but for guys like that, a single stone is enough."

Tang Cheol-yeong said. He was also one of the people who had played an active part at that time. If he hadn't been there, there would have been a considerable number of casualties in the Jungyang Escort Bureau.

"Half were cut down, half ran away. It would be about 500 each."

Hyeonun said in a tone as if he had counted them one by one. The more he heard, the more Baekseok-dong couldn't help but be surprised. If he wasn't surprised now, it would be a failure to meet their expectations. Fortunately, he did not disappoint them, and so Baekseok-dong was now sufficiently surprised. As proof, his mouth was now wide open as if his jaw would fall off.

"You mean you fought and won against 1000 people? With just 16 people..."

"What 1000 people? It was 500. The ones we knocked down, I mean. And it wasn't 16 people. There were over 100 people from the escort bureau too."

Geum Yeong-ho said as if it were no big deal.

"But what did those guys rely on to attack like that? How were they going to handle the aftermath? It might be one thing for now, but there's the aftermath, isn't there? Even for them, the 72 Fortresses of the Green Forest, making an enemy of the Emei Sect would be an unpleasant thing, wouldn't it?"

For Baekseok-dong, it was a natural suspicion. No matter how strong the power of the 72 Fortresses of the Green Forest was, there was a sense that it was insufficient to make an enemy of the Emei Sect. This was because facing the Emei Sect did not mean facing a single sect, but meant a fight with the Emei Sect and all the forces that sympathized with it.

"Ah, about that, the attack was said to be an independent action by Hogolchae and Yonggolchae. We caught a few guys and asked them."

No Hak said, as if chiming in. It was he himself who had caught and tortured a few guys. When he handled them appropriately, the opponent willingly sang like a bird. Although the standard of that 'appropriately' was quite vague...

"What? Then it makes even less sense. Did they boil and eat a tiger's liver? How could they even think of facing the Jungyang Escort Bureau, one of the ten great escort bureaus of the Central Plains, and the Emei Sect that stands firmly behind it? With just a single mountain fortress, without the background of the 72 Fortresses of the Green Forest. It's as clear as day that they would get into a fight with the Emei Sect. If they were trying to die, they did it in a really dirty way."

"Ah, for them, it was said to be their last job."

Geum Yeong-ho said, as if explaining.

"What?"

"They were going to wash their hands of it after that one. Quit being mountain bandits. It seems they were planning to divide the goods after robbing them and then disappear. Because this job was so big, if they succeeded in this one thing, they would be guaranteed for life. That's why they brought all their personnel and charged in. Even the personnel who were guarding the mountain fortress."

"How can that be? Was such a great item being transported? Enough to stake the fate of a mountain fortress?"

"Yeah, I heard later too, what was it called... Brought from the far east, yes, Goryeo celadon. Originally it's Goryeo inlaid something celadon, but they call it Goryeo celadon for short. They were transporting three of them. I heard that if you sell one of them, it's a valuable item worth enough to buy a castle. Especially the one they were transporting this time was said to be a top-grade item among Goryeo celadon. That's worth staking your fate on. If you could have it, you could play and eat for the rest of your life."

"Jjeok."

Baekseok-dong's mouth fell open. The value of a single piece of pottery, which he had only thought of as a place to put alcohol or a simple decoration, was worth a castle. When would a beggar like him have ever seen or heard of such a thing? He was just amazed.

"Hey, your mouth is going to tear. And your breath stinks, so close your mouth."

No Hak rebuked Baekseok-dong, who was standing with his mouth wide open, revealing to the whole world how many cavities he had, and Geum Yeong-ho continued to speak.

"That's the problem. The ambush is nothing compared to this. The problem is why they were lying in ambush with all their personnel. All their personnel... And that, without even leaving anyone to guard the mountain fortress. Those guys knew what we, no, what the Jungyang Escort Bureau was transporting. Those guys knew what even we didn't know. That's why they mobilized all their personnel and thought of staking everything on the mountain fortress and attacking. And that, not just one group, but two."

Geum Yeong-ho, who was falling into thought with a face that said he couldn't understand at all, could only vaguely feel that there was something, but it was very blurry and faint.

"The Bureau Chief must have pushed this matter in top secret. But still, to find out and attack, staking the life and death of the mountain fortress..."

It was Geum Yeong-ho, who still couldn't understand.

"How did they know?"

Looking at Baekseok-dong, who was staring with a terribly curious expression, Geum Yeong-ho smiled.

"I'd like to know that too."

Geum Yeong-ho quietly looked at the sky. The sky was endlessly high with a blue light that blessed their return, and the sun shining down from the clear, cloudless sky was particularly warm today. From inside the main gate, a bustling noise could be heard, and hundreds of people were rushing out to see them. Looking at those people, they realized that they had really returned. To this Cheonmu Academy... It was truly a miracle.