Chapter 39. What did you want to do, big brother?

Yeon Jikha, scratching his head and racking his memory, said,

"Oh, that? It's called Guryeongbeopshin. Simply put, it means nine dragons live in my body. It's about waking up each of the dragons in the Gyeongbalmok and the Sinpul. If you wake up all nine, it's said that you can achieve Fengyunzhohua."

Haso Baek's eyes widened.

"Oh! Fengyunzhohua? That sounds really terrifying. But what is the Sinpul?"

He knew about the Gyeongbalmok, but the Sinpul was something he had never heard of.

Yeon Jikha pointed to his forehead with his index finger.

"Uh, it's in your head, but even if I tell you, you won't understand. It governs things like the sixth sense."

"Ah, I see."

Haso Baek nodded absentmindedly.

Just thinking about the usual Yeon Jikha was overwhelming, but Fengyunzhohua? It was unimaginable. It made sense that the black-clad warriors had fallen silent and collapsed.

The competition continued intensely even as the two were talking.

The competition ended with the opponent being knocked down by the sword wielded by Gwangdoingun.

Around noon.

Although it was called the Green Forest Conference, each person had to take care of their own meals. The Wufeng Ten Heroes roughly satisfied their hunger with the dried meat and grains they had prepared.

Just before the Wufeng Ten Heroes were about to find some shade, Pungyeoncho said,

"I heard that the competition won't end until four days from now. That means we have to stay in Mansapyeong for the next four days. So, don't keep asking me when it will end, and just enjoy the show."

"Yes."

"Understood."

With that, the Wufeng Ten Heroes dispersed in groups of two or three.

Haso Baek followed Yeon Jikha, who was walking slowly as if on a stroll.

"Big brother, where are you going?"

"Uh, just for a walk."

"Then I'll go with you. I'm too scared to walk around alone."

Mansapyeong was a rather intimidating place for Haso Baek, who had almost been assaulted by men before.

"Sure."

Yeon Jikha, knowing about her past, did not refuse.

The two walked around Mansapyeong side by side.

About halfway through their walk, Haso Baek muttered,

"There seem to be more women than I thought."

"Indeed."

Yeon Jikha nodded in agreement.

They saw over a hundred women during their half-circle walk. Considering the rest would be similar, there were probably around two hundred women. Two hundred women out of a thousand! Come to think of it, the women in Wufeng Mountain were on the fewer side.

"Oh, those people are from Jisache, right? Is that correct?"

Haso Baek pointed somewhere.

Yeon Jikha glanced over and saw that it was indeed the bandits of Jisache gathered in one place.

Haso Baek and Yeon Jikha were not the only ones to notice Jisache. The Jisache bandits, who had just noticed Yeon Jikha, whispered to each other with stiff faces.

A moment later, the leader of Jisache, Tongcheonhyeolbu Hyukryeonhu, approached Yeon Jikha in a straight line.

"Oh, we're old acquaintances, aren't we? I thought you were a bounty hunter. Which brotherhood are you from?"

Haso Baek forced a smile and replied,

"We are from Wufeng Mountain in Henan Province. We just happened to travel together with the bounty hunters for a while."

"Ah! Now I see, you're from Wufeng Mountain. There are rules that mountain brotherhoods must follow... Why did you interfere with our Jisache's mountain expedition that day?"

Haso Baek, having nothing more to say, glanced at Yeon Jikha.

However, Yeon Jikha, the actual party involved, just stared blankly as if he didn't know what was happening.

Just as Hyukryeonhu, feeling his stomach churn at the sight, was about to say something,

"Can you just stand there when someone you don't know starts a quarrel and insults you?"

Yeon Jikha finally spoke.

Hyukryeonhu was momentarily speechless but didn't want to back down.

"No matter what..."

"If you're curious, try starting a quarrel with me again. See if I beat you or not. Back then, I gave you a lot of leeway because we were both Green Forest members. Today, I won't."

Yeon Jikha looked up at Hyukryeonhu with a face that said he was done talking.

Hyukryeonhu, feeling his temper rise but trying to control his emotions, was honestly unsure if he could withstand the young man's martial arts.

Hyukryeonhu, breathing heavily, turned and left without a word.

As the verbal spat ended anticlimactically, the bandits who had been watching from a distance lost interest.

A few of them muttered about the young bandit who had frozen Hyukryeonhu, but that was as far as it went. With no one recognizing Yeon Jikha, the matter was at a standstill.

"Big brother, will you be okay?"

Haso Baek was concerned about the last fiery look Hyukryeonhu had given. From experience, people who left like that usually caused trouble.

"Brother Tae once said, 'If you worry about everything, you can't make a living as a thief.'"

"Wow, that's profound."

"Don't worry. Does a swordsman who fears fighting eat?"

"Ah! I see. But, big brother, are you doing this because you like it?"

"This?"

Haso Baek blushed and explained,

"Working in the mountain."

"Oh, thievery?"

Yeon Jikha's straightforward question made Haso Baek giggle.

"Yes."

"No, I just do it to survive."

"Then what did you originally want to do?"

"Hmm, what did I want to do?"

Yeon Jikha looked at the distant mountains with a wistful gaze.

Before being locked in the warehouse, when he played fighting games with his half-brothers using branches, his role was a bandit. Back then, he was beaten mercilessly by the chivalrous heroes Yan Wubai, Yan Shengbai, and Yan Shuizhu.

He said, "I want to be a chivalrous hero," but his brothers never let him do it.

While locked in the warehouse, he just wanted to get out. He didn't even think about dreams or hopes. He just missed the wide courtyard and the market in Yunsai.

Looking back, it seemed he never had the chance to think about what he wanted to do.

Haso Baek urged him for an answer.

"Nothing?"

"Uh, what about you?"

"I wanted to open a small teahouse."

"Can you make a living with that?"

"Oh, big brother, you don't know how much money a dalu (teahouse) can make. Have you never been to one?"

"Uh, tea is free at restaurants. You pay for it?"

"The tea at inns is just cheap stuff. High-quality tea is both delicious and expensive."

"I see."

Yeon Jikha nodded absentmindedly.

Haso Baek clenched her small fist and said determinedly,

"I'll definitely open a dalu when I save enough money. I'll let big brother drink for free."

"Thank you."

As they chatted, they found themselves back at the Wufeng Ten Heroes' spot. Hanchae-yeon, sitting next to Lee Cheolsan, waved them over.

Yeon Jikha thought for the first time that it was nice to have people waiting for him.

***

The second day.

An unexpected event occurred at the Green Forest Conference. The rising new master from Daebieul Mountain, Chuhunhyeoldo Imujin, defeated the Twelfth Marshal, Jeokanchoogun.

The face of Pacheonmagun Seokmuhae, who was sitting in the VIP seat, slightly stiffened. However, he tried not to show his discomfort, thinking that giving up one position wouldn't be a problem.

However, the defeat of Jeokanchoogun was just the beginning.

By evening, the competition continued, and Hyeoncheonjin, Manshangshin, Sosuyurang, and Sayeongsulgun were eliminated, making a total of five out of the twelve marshals.

Seokmuhae, whose face had fallen, ended the day with a visibly angry expression.

***

The third day.

Two more of the Twelve Marshals were eliminated, leaving only five.

In total, seven of the Twelve Marshals were eliminated, and the survivors were Chuhunhyeoldo from Daebieul Mountain, Naemyeomgeomgwi from Samdo Mountain, Gwiyongdosal from Gwangbong, Talmyeonghyeoljang from Dongho Water, and Changjiang Yiguai from Changjiang Water.

Five of the Twelve Marshals and five bandits from other mountains.

As the bandits of Mansapyeong debated who the ultimate winner would be,

Seokmuhae suddenly declared the end of the competition.

The bandits whispered, "Did he end it because he was afraid five more marshals would be eliminated?" However, no one dared to say such a thing in front of Seokmuhae, whose name was always included when listing the Ten Great Martial Artists of the world.

Seokmuhae appointed the remaining five of the Twelve Marshals as enforcers and the other five as patrollers, thus binding the Green Forest into one large organization.

On the last night of the Green Forest Conference, a drinking party was held in Mansapyeong.

The mountains and waters that produced the five new masters were in a festive mood.

The leaders of the mountains and waters were already moving around to familiarize themselves with the five new masters.

The Twelve Marshals, being direct disciples of Seokmuhae, were difficult to approach, but the five patrollers were different. The leaders expected that by showing a little interest, they could achieve the desired results, given the weaker backing of the patrollers.

In contrast to the noisy outside, Seokmuhae's tent was quiet.

Seokmuhae and the Twelve Marshals were seated in a circle, but no one spoke first.

Jeokanchoogun, who had been eliminated first, opened his mouth with a dejected face.

"Chief, I'm ashamed. I didn't know that Chuhunhyeoldo's power was so high. If he was such a master, I should have known... I don't understand."

The excuses of the other eliminated marshals were similar.

The five masters seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, like they had dropped from the sky. It was strange that such masters had not made a name for themselves in the Green Forest until now.

For the Twelve Marshals, who had been the best in the Green Forest for over a decade and had even mastered the legendary martial art, Amcheon Surajinjing, it was a matter of ghosts weeping.

Yunfengmiaojun, with an uncertain face, muttered,

"Yeon Jikha from Wufeng Mountain suddenly appeared, but since we don't know his past, I can understand that... But weren't Chuhunhyeoldo, Naemyeomgeomgwi, Gwiyongdosal, Talmyeonghyeoljang, and Changjiang Yiguai just ordinary people? They were at most city-level masters, but they were incredible this time."

The other marshals nodded.

Seokmuhae, who had been thinking deeply, frowned and said,

"You're right. For them to defeat you, they must have mastered a martial art more advanced than Amcheon Surajinjing over the past decade. However, I haven't heard of such a martial art appearing in the martial world. So, where did their outstanding internal power come from?"

Xueqianjin, who had also been defeated, cautiously added,

"Even though I lost, I have nothing to say. I didn't find anything outstanding in their martial arts techniques. They must have mastered special internal power, just like us. When I faced Naemyeomgeomgwi's sword, I felt a shock that made my dantian tremble."

"I felt the same. Chuhunhyeoldo's sword technique was ordinary, but the sword qi was terrifyingly destructive."

"Me too..."

The defeated marshals added their comments.

Seokmuhae, listening to his disciples, sighed.

"Ha! The only martial arts more advanced than Amcheon Surajinjing are the Dharma Sutra of Shaolin and the True Martial Sutra of Wudang. Are you saying those five appeared in five different places? That's absurd. This is not something to be taken lightly. You need to secretly investigate the backgrounds of those five."

Yunfengmiaojun cautiously asked,

"Then what about Yeon Jikha from Wufeng Mountain?"

"Was there any similarity in the martial arts of Yeon Jikha and the five patrollers?"

After a moment's thought, Yunfengmiaojun shook his head.

"I think they are somewhat different. He was as excellent in his palm techniques as in his internal power. His subtle movements completely sealed my Yunfeng Baegulcho."

"Hmm! Not long ago, Jisache came to complain about the Wufeng Ten Heroes. I think we should meet. Have him come here."

"Yes."

After that, Seokmuhae gave a few more instructions to the Twelve Marshals.

A short while later, the Twelve Marshals left Seokmuhae's tent.

***

Around midnight, Yeon Jikha arrived at Seokmuhae's tent with Yunfengmiaojun.

"You can wait outside."

Following Seokmuhae's order, Yunfengmiaojun bowed and left.

Seokmuhae and Yeon Jikha were left alone in the tent.

A strange silence filled the air between the chief of the Green Forest, Seokmuhae, and the bandit from Wufeng Mountain, Yeon Jikha.