novelraw Chapter 48 : Laughter of the People Fills the Mountains and Rivers
Chapter 48 : Laughter of the People Fills the Mountains and Rivers
Jin Sa-wol and Woo Jeong-bong, who were walking slowly along a clear stream, headed for a large inn built at the entrance of a mountain pass.
The three-story inn had a main building and a separate building, and the main building alone had over thirty rooms.
Jin Sa-wol, who looked up at the signboard that read 'Oksugwan', entered the inn, looked around the spacious interior, and then sat down in an empty seat.
Inside the inn, about twenty merchants and ten warriors who appeared to be bodyguards were sitting.
"They say the Nanchang branch master was found dead. I can't even sleep properly these days because of the assassins."
"You crazy bastard. Why would assassins kill you? Do they give you money if they kill you? Have you ever incurred resentment?"
"My ex-wife who ran away might have hired an assassin."
"Puhahahaha! She ran away, so why would she use an assassin! It would be different if the wife living next to you did that. Hahaha!"
Jin Sa-wol listened to the merchants' talk and sat silently, drinking tea.
Soon, a waiter approached.
"Shall I give you a guest room?"
"After the meal."
Jin Sa-wol spoke briefly and then ordered food from the waiter. As the waiter headed for the kitchen, Woo Jeong-bong asked.
"Are you going to sleep here?"
"If we cross the mountain now, we'll have to camp out at night, so we have to sleep here."
At Jin Sa-wol's answer, Woo Jeong-bong touched his waist. He had only camped out for three days, and his back hurt, so it was a relief.
The waiter approached, placed a dish of stir-fried lamb and vegetables, boiled chicken, and soup, and even brought a strong-scented liquor.
"It looks delicious."
Only after smelling the fragrance of the dishes on the table did Woo Jeong-bong pick up his chopsticks. Then he saw the wine bottle and asked.
"We didn't order wine."
When Woo Jeong-bong asked, the waiter who was turning his body flinched.
At that moment, Jin Sa-wol's gaze passed over the waiter and brushed past the steward and the wanderers who were sitting at the entrance.
Jin Sa-wol's gaze soon moved to the inn's kitchen, and then to the stairs leading up to the second floor.
A small spider was sitting on a pillar.
The spider was the size of a Go stone and was red.
"...Red Spider Sect."
The moment Jin Sa-wol's voice flowed out low, the waiter spun his body.
Shwik!
A dagger that came out of the waiter's sleeve stabbed at Jin Sa-wol's neck.
It was a sudden surprise attack that occurred at a distance of less than a foot, and no one could stop the waiter's action. It seemed so.
In that instant, Woo Jeong-bong's eyes widened.
Thwack!
The moment the waiter's dagger was about to reach Jin Sa-wol's neck, a sword came out of the back of the waiter's head.
Swish!
As the sword blade disappeared, the waiter fell to the ground helplessly.
Jin Sa-wol was holding a sword in his right hand in a sitting position.
"They're coming."
The moment Jin Sa-wol's words ended, the people who were sitting on the first floor of the inn took out their weapons and rushed in.
They swung their weapons at Jin Sa-wol and Woo Jeong-bong like angry beasts.
Clang! Clatter-clatter! Clang!
Jin Sa-wol stabbed his sword into the necks and foreheads of the two merchants who were swinging their sabers from the front and the left.
Thwack-thwack!
Jin Sa-wol's sword was so fast that its movement could not be seen properly.
But the enemies, without caring that their comrades were dying in front of them, stepped on the dead bodies and rushed in.
"Die! Uwaaap!"
Jin Sa-wol looked at the middle-aged man who was shouting and jumping up in front of him, stabbing his sword, with indifferent eyes.
Thwack!
The middle-aged man's head was bent back and spun once in the air. Since the sword had passed his face, blood splattered.
"Hap!"
From the left, another man's saber was already cutting at Jin Sa-wol's side.
Jin Sa-wol parried the soup bowl with his sword.
"Ugh!"
As the hot soup poured on his face, the man flinched, as if he were surprised. The problem was that his vision was completely blocked.
Thwack!
Jin Sa-wol's sword, which had pierced through the soup bowl, was stained with red blood.
Jin Sa-wol, who had pulled out his sword, glanced back at Woo Jeong-bong.
The sound of wind and a sharp metallic sound echoed around Woo Jeong-bong. His sword drew circles to the left and right as if it were dancing.
Clatter-clatter-clatter!
"Kraak!"
"Ack!"
If Jin Sa-wol's sword had many straight thrusts, Woo Jeong-bong was using his sword in a variety of ways.
Shwik!
Woo Jeong-bong struck the opponent's sword, which was aiming for his neck, with the flat of his sword.
Clang!
As the assassin's sword shook, Woo Jeong-bong pushed his sword forward and drew a circle.
A slender silver light passed the opponent's neck. After that, Woo Jeong-bong struck the shoulders and legs of the stabbing men as if he were cutting them with the flat of his sword.
Thwack-thwack!
"Keuk!"
"Ugh!"
As the men who had attacked first let out groans and retreated, the men who had jumped over their heads aimed for Woo Jeong-bong's head and shoulders.
Woo Jeong-bong parried their weapons with his sword energy.
Clatter-clatter-clatter! Clang!
"Kraak!"
The long-extended sword energy passed the assassins' weapons and cut their chests.
As blood splattered from their chests, the men who had retreated due to injury attacked Woo Jeong-bong in a chain.
Jin Sa-wol's sword was fast. His sword pierced the heads of those who were making a chain attack.
Thwack-thwack!
As blood splattered, Woo Jeong-bong frowned. It felt like he was unnecessarily killing people.
The men whose chests had just been cut had let out screams, but they were only seriously injured, not dead.
Jin Sa-wol raised his head and looked at the second floor.
Rumble-rumble!
With the sound of footsteps, many men were running out.
"Kill them for sure. Otherwise, you'll die."
"Alright."
Jin Sa-wol, who had heard Woo Jeong-bong's answer, kicked the ground and flew back as the men who were standing right in front of him attacked.
Crash!
Jin Sa-wol broke through the wooden wall of the inn and ran without looking back.
"Huh?"
Jin Sa-wol had run away.
Woo Jeong-bong, who was startled, shouted and chased after him.
"You should have said something before you left!"
Papapat!
As even Woo Jeong-bong ran out of that place, the men who filled the inn also all came outside.
"Chase them! You must kill them!"
Rumble-rumble!
The sound of the assassins' footsteps chasing them filled the earth.
Jin Sa-wol moved his steps silently.
Since there were too many enemies, he couldn't deal with all of them in the small inn. If he were alone, it wouldn't matter, but since Woo Jeong-bong was there, he couldn't do that.
As Woo Jeong-bong approached, Jin Sa-wol jumped into the air and said.
"Water."
At Jin Sa-wol's words, Woo Jeong-bong nodded. He also knew that a stream was flowing not far away.
Papapat!
The two's figures entered the forest and then fell into the stream.
Splash! Splash!
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
Many men, as many as fifty, gathered around the stream, holding swords and sabers.
"Chase them! They couldn't have gone far!"
As a loud voice erupted from the darkness, the men all jumped into the stream at once.
Jin Sa-wol and Woo Jeong-bong, who had climbed a low mountain ridge, looked at the river flowing in the distance.
The sun, which was hanging on the western mountain, was still emitting a bright light. It would still be about half an hour before night fell.
"Hoo..."
Woo Jeong-bong let out a deep sigh and calmed his chest. The events at the inn vividly brushed past his mind.
"What kind of bastards are they?"
Woo Jeong-bong asked, shaking his head, and then collapsed on the ground.
Jin Sa-wol, after observing the area around the river and confirming that the enemies had spread out in three directions along the mountain range, finally sat down.
"Red Spider Sect. They are assassins."
"I also know that they are an assassin group. The question is, why are they attacking us? It seems they have a lot of resentment towards you. Is there anything you've done to incur resentment?"
"A lot."
At Jin Sa-wol's answer, Woo Jeong-bong nodded as if his own thoughts were correct.
"What a hassle this is because of you."
Woo Jeong-bong clicked his tongue and frowned.
Jin Sa-wol said.
"It's not me."
"What?"
"The person they are aiming for is not me, but you."
"What kind of bullshit is that? Me?"
Woo Jeong-bong looked at Jin Sa-wol with an absurd expression and then chuckled.
It was a ridiculous statement.
He had never incurred such a great resentment that someone would hire assassins to kill him in his life so far.
Suddenly, he recalled the memory of drinking all the wine on credit at a tavern at the entrance of the Wudang Sect and running away.
"Don't tell me it's because I didn't pay my debt?"
Woo Jeong-bong looked at Jin Sa-wol with a serious expression.
Jin Sa-wol had no answer.
Woo Jeong-bong soon said, as if he were grumbling.
"That can't be. It must be you."
But Jin Sa-wol said the same thing again.
"At the inn, the one they were aiming for was not me, but you. Think carefully."
Woo Jeong-bong let out a deep sigh and tried to recall the events at the inn.
The first assassin's attack was aimed at Jin Sa-wol, but most of them had attacked him.
Woo Jeong-bong, who was recalling the sight of people rushing towards where he was standing like a pack of dogs, touched his chin and said, as if he were muttering.
"For what reason on earth are they trying to kill me..."
Woo Jeong-bong was silent, as if he were in deep thought.
Then he glanced at Jin Sa-wol, but Jin Sa-wol was just observing the surroundings and kept his mouth shut.
"Do you know, by any chance?"
In the end, he asked Jin Sa-wol again.
"I don't know."
Jin Sa-wol's answer was short.
However, there was something he was thinking. As Jin Sa-wol knew well, it seemed certain that the assassins had been instigated by the Namgung family.
But there was no need to say that. For now, there was only a suspicion, but no evidence.
Jin Sa-wol said.
"We'll have to catch two or three of them and find out. Who ordered it."
"Torture? I've never done it..."
"A conversation. I mean, let's have a conversation."
Jin Sa-wol, seeing Woo Jeong-bong with a difficult expression, shook his head and stood up.
"They're coming."
Woo Jeong-bong also stood up and gripped his sword firmly.
* * *
If there is a beginning, there is also an end.
Clang! Clang! Thwack!
The cheerful metallic sound that echoed in the darkness spread through the forest on the thick smell of blood.
Woo Jeong-bong, who was fighting with his back to a tree, had a face full of annoyance.
Rustle!
A man who had jumped out, parting the bushes, stabbed at Woo Jeong-bong's shoulder with a face full of killing intent.
Woo Jeong-bong pressed the opponent's sword with the flat of his sword, then drew a circle, cut his wrist, and continuously cut his waist and legs.
"Keok!"
As the opponent lost his balance and collapsed, Woo Jeong-bong's sword brushed past the man's neck.
Paaat!
Blood splattered and stained Woo Jeong-bong's clothes. But there was no time to grumble about the bloodstains. There were still many enemies hiding in the forest.
"Heok! Heok!"
Gasping for breath, Woo Jeong-bong looked for Jin Sa-wol with his eyes. He was definitely behind him.
The two had been dealing with the enemy, divided in front and behind with a tree in the middle, but at some point, Jin Sa-wol's figure had disappeared.
"Where did this bastard go, leaving me alone!"
Although Woo Jeong-bong shouted with a face full of annoyance, the only sound that came back was an echo, and Jin Sa-wol was nowhere to be found.
"Did I kill them all?"
Woo Jeong-bong muttered as there were no more attacks and lowered his sword. But he had not let go of his tension.
The night was long.
Night.
Night was a world that was too familiar to Jin Sa-wol.
He especially liked the forest full of darkness.
The forest had many scents. The scent of plants and the gamey smell of beasts, as well as the smell of filth, stimulated his nose in a variety of ways.
Rustle!
As the sound of rustling leaves reached his ear, a dagger flew from the hand of Jin Sa-wol, who was on a tree.
Thwack!
There was no scream. With a dull sound of impact, a middle-aged man in merchant's clothes collapsed.
"Find him!"
The men who were standing around him shouted and climbed up the trees. They had come out to hunt, but they were in a position to be hunted.
Jin Sa-wol was like a person who was clearly seeing the movements of the enemies in the darkness as if it were broad daylight.
Jin Sa-wol threw a dagger into the darkness.
Thwack-thwack!
"Kraak!"
With a scream, two men fell to the ground.
Jin Sa-wol jumped over the trees like the wind, stabbed the necks of the remaining two with his sword, and then retreated.
In Jin Sa-wol's indifferent eyes, he saw the two fallen men. They were the ones who had fallen from the trees, and they were no longer moving.
Jin Sa-wol stabbed the leg of one of the men with his sword.
"Aack!"
A loud scream erupted. It was the one who had screamed when he had fallen from the tree to the ground.
The man appeared to be in his early twenties, and he looked up at Jin Sa-wol with a sweat-soaked face.
The man had not yet given up on his own life.
The man moved his hand, grabbed a handful of dirt, and then quickly threw it at Jin Sa-wol.
Papapat!
As the dirt flew into the air, the man who had collapsed jumped up and moved.
Although it was a struggle to live, it did not last long.
Thump! The man, who felt a heavy pain on the back of his head, lost consciousness as he was.
(End of Chapter)