The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

Yi-gang followed Dam Hyun to a place that turned out to be someone else’s guest room.

There, standing still, at Dam Hyun’s feet, lay a corpse. It seemed to be the room’s owner.

The reason for the uncertainty was that the face of the corpse had been skinned.

“It wasn’t me!”

Dam Hyun hastily waved his hands, seemingly asserting that he hadn’t skinned and killed the person.

“Really, it wasn’t me!”

Emphasizing his point, Yi-gang calmed down for a moment and began to analyze the situation.

The dark energy in Dam Hyun’s mind, which had driven him mad, was mostly gone.

But that didn’t mean Dam Hyun was now normal.

Thanks to Yi-gang’s “corrective therapy,” he hadn’t acted out, but this place was outside of the Azure Forest. And having drunk a bit of alcohol in the evening, his usual cruel nature might have surfaced.

Yi-gang glanced at the corpse.

Moreover, there had been an issue with the owner of this room and his party at the inn’s dining hall earlier.

It had almost led to a fight.

So, could that have led to this incident?

Dam Hyun, having drunk alcohol, might have let his suppressed nature emerge and fought with the room’s owner.

Ultimately, it was Yi-gang’s senior brother who, unable to contain his anger, tore off the room owner’s face.

“Then who else could have done it, if not you, Senior Brother?”

“How would I know! When I came in here, he was already like this!”

“Then why did you enter someone else’s room?”

“…Well, that is…”

Dam Hyun stuttered in response.

Yi-gang’s face crumpled in frustration as he took a step closer.

“Tell the truth now. It was Senior Brother who did it, wasn’t it?”

“Uh, uh… No, no!”

Yi-gang and Dam Hyun had been getting along fairly well for almost a year. However, that didn’t erase the terrifying memories Dam Hyun had.

Dam Hyun stood frozen, shivering.

Soon, a voice audible only to Yi-gang resonated from his ring,「Hehe. He’s totally scared. Look at that expression.」

Yi-gang had made a ring with the Blue Eye Gem in which the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon resided. She, not having as much spiritual energy as the Immortal Divine Sword, mostly dwelt inside the ring.

「Still, he wouldn’t have done that. If he had, he would’ve admitted it.」

Having spent time with Dam Hyun, the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon defended him.

‘I know that too.’

「You know? Then why keep questioning?」

‘It’s ridiculous.’

「Puhaha—」

The Blue-Eyed Mad Demon laughed heartily.

Yi-gang also stopped bothering his senior brother any further.

“That’s true. Thinking about it, Senior Brother wouldn’t have done such a thing. Master would be so sad if he knew.”

“R-riight. Of course.”

Dam Hyun vigorously nodded his head when Yu Jeong-shin, the Grand Library Master, was mentioned.

“Look, the window is open. And there are footprints too. Looks like the culprit fled through there.”

Those born with meridian blockage disease were astute. Moreover, the sensitive perception of the Great Yin Meridian Blockage informed Yi-gang of many things.

Every time lightning struck, the scattered raindrops on the ground revealed clear outlines.

The footprints, not yet erased, led to the window. The perpetrator who had skinned the face must have escaped that way.

Looking outside from the window, the three-story height seemed daunting.

“It must be a martial artist. Jumping down from here to escape.”

“This guy must have been skilled, not just an ordinary person.”

“Let’s get out of here for now. It’s not good to get involved unnecessarily.”

If someone realized Yi-gang and Dam Hyun were here, it could get quite troublesome.

The footprints in the rainwater on the floor were disappearing in real time, and since Yi-gang and Dam Hyun, who had a confrontation with the room owner earlier, were inside.

Just as Dam Hyun, understanding the situation, was about to leave with Yi-gang.

“Did young masters enter that person’s room? Why would they do that?”

“How would I know?”

“Well… Let’s have a look.”

There were several noises from outside.

Without a chance to react, the door creaked open and someone poked their head in.

“Young Master Baek. These people, they’re looking for you, Young Master…”

The man, who had been following Yi-gang, calling him young master, had a sly appearance.

If Jin Ri-yeon’s party had recognized him, they would have been surprised.

“Young Master…”

The middle-aged man lowering his gaze was a bandit from the Dragon Alliance Fort, who had been first subdued by Jin Ri-yeon’s party about a month ago.

He was Seo Saeng-won, known as the Vice Fort Leader, who had flattered next to Fort Leader Kwak Du-yong and was the first to run away.

“…Hehe, I’ll be off then.”

“Wait a moment.”

Seeing the corpse, he tried to flee quickly but was caught by Yi-gang.

Yi-gang grabbed Seo Saeng-won by the nape and slammed the door shut.

“Eeeek! Please, spare my life.”

“It wasn’t us.”

“The face skin!”

“We didn’t do it!”

As the door suddenly locked, someone from outside started pounding on it.

But Yi-gang locked the door more firmly and twisted Seo Saeng-won’s collar.

“Calm down, and tell me, how many people are outside?”

“Th-three.”

“Everyone’s gathered then.”

“No, Young Master. Why is that person so…”

“We don’t know either. Why, should we call the guards?”

Seo Saeng-won clamped his mouth shut.

Once a bandit, he was now loyally following Yi-gang and Dam Hyun, but if the guards came, it was an inevitable beheading for him.

“Didn’t you say last time? That you will serve me with your life.”

“T-that’s true.”

Seo Saeng-won nodded his head hesitantly.

“Then, you shouldn’t try to escape alone.”

Zzzz-Boom-!

Lightning struck, casting shadows on Yi-gang and Dam Hyun’s faces.

To Seo Saeng-won’s eyes, they looked more terrifying than guards or even demons.

“Yes, ah, I understand.”

The journey that led Yi-gang and Dam Hyun to meet the bandit Seo Saeng-won and come to this place—

It was a truly bizarre and intricate tale.

As the third-generation disciples deduced, Yi-gang and Dam Hyun started their journey to Kaifeng comfortably.

Because the Daehwa Merchant Group left first, they missed the opportunity to subdue the bandits together.

In fact, the reason behind this was the concern of the sect elders, worried that Dam Hyun and Yi-gang might cause trouble.

Nevertheless, Yi-gang and Dam Hyun received enough travel funds to rent a carriage. Still, it wasn’t a generous amount of money.

The reason Yi-gang could rent a sturdy two-horse carriage with well-bred horses was solely because he was wealthy.

The pocket money he occasionally received from his clan over four years had accumulated significantly. Moreover, there was also the money from Moyong Tak’s Golden Ruler Merchant Group.

With enough money to make the third-generation disciples swallow their tears, Yi-gang comfortably rode the carriage to Kaifeng.

This seemed like a journey befitting rich young masters, adding to Yi-gang’s misfortune.

No, more precisely, it was the misfortune of the bandits who targeted Yi-gang and Dam Hyun.

“They’ll be coming soon,” Seo Saeng-won, the Vice Fort Leader of the Dragon Alliance Fort, said while hiding in the bushes.

Beside him, smelly bandits were also concealing themselves. All were remnants of the Dragon Alliance Fort.

Having been subdued by Jin Ri-yeon’s party and fled, they had come to this place, further away from the Azure Forest.

“Don’t forget the promise, Vice Fort Leader.”

“Tch, are you still on about that? Just wait.”

Even though their leader was taken to the government office and beheaded, these bandits hadn’t changed their ways.

Especially those who could no longer return to being ordinary people were preparing for one last big score around Seo Saeng-won, the Vice Fort Leader.

“Because you never know when you might have to make a quick escape.”

“There’s nothing you won’t say to the Vice Fort Leader.”

“Heh, even Kang Ho-gul has been killed, what’s a Vice Fort Leader?”

However, it didn’t seem like the bandits were truly loyal to Seo Saeng-won. Seo Saeng-won himself couldn’t say anything about his subordinate’s attitude.

Originally, the bandits followed Kang Ho-gul, not Seo Saeng-won, who was small in stature and unimpressive in martial arts.

But now, there was only one reason they nominally followed Seo Saeng-won.

“If the leader didn’t hide any money, I’ll twist your neck.”

“…”

Kang Ho-gul, who was to suffer capital punishment, had hidden his wealth in Kaifeng’s money exchange.

They planned to go there together and divide the loot. However, to secretly enter Kaifeng, they needed to bribe the gatekeeper, so they decided to gather that money first before heading to Kaifeng.

Since it was Seo Saeng-won, the confidant of the leader, who suggested this, it seemed plausible.

They hid quietly for a long time until they found easy prey.

It was a pair in a luxurious-looking carriage. A bandit who had been on watch reported that they seemed like rich young masters on a trip.

Such types always carried plenty of money.

“Shh, here they come.”

Soon, a carriage appeared on the road below.

Seo Saeng-won, with his deep insights, recognized it immediately.

That’s a rented carriage from the stable. Among the two-horse carriages, it’s a luxury one, requiring a significant amount of silver to rent.

The report about them being rich young masters seemed correct.

As the saying goes, “once bitten, twice shy”; they had been worried that the passengers might be martial artists, but they seemed not to be.

If someone from a significant sect were to ride a carriage, they would use their sect’s carriage. Otherwise, they could rent one with money, but it was rare to rent such a luxury carriage.

Above all, the guy sitting in the driver’s seat looked frail and didn’t seem like a martial artist at all.

“Get ready…”

Originally, they would have blocked the road and demanded money.

But now, they were short on men and didn’t have time for such tactics.

“Fire!”

At Seo Saeng-won’s signal, an arrow flew.

The targets were the horse and the guy in the driver’s seat. Selling the horse would be profitable, but they didn’t have the luxury to do that now.

How great could the bandits’ archery skills be?

Only two of the numerous arrows hit the right white horse of the carriage.

Heeheeiiing!

But that was enough.

One horse tumbled to the ground, causing the carriage to tip over.

Simultaneously, the bandits shouted and jumped out.

“You rascals! Kneel down immediately!”

“Haha, got you!”

The bandits ran, shouting as if to avenge their past humiliations.

Seo Saeng-won also jumped out, a bit excited.

The high-quality carriage from the stable had silver decorations on its wheel axles. He thought of discreetly stealing them without the other bandits noticing.

Usually, seeing bandits charging would freeze most people in fear.

However, Dam Hyun, the frail young man sitting in the driver’s seat, paid no attention to the bandits.

He just held the fallen white horse in his arms, exhaling ragged breaths and screaming.

“Whiteyaaaa!”

The charging bandits thought he had gone mad from fear.

But even as Seo Saeng-won ran, he felt something was off.

‘Did he jump off?’

There was no sign of injury, even though the running carriage had overturned.

While he was thinking this, the fastest bandit grabbed Dam Hyun by the shoulder.

“This brat doesn’t understand the situation… ack!”

What happened next was unclear. Only that the bandit who grabbed Dam Hyun’s shoulder made a choking sound and collapsed.

Another bandit, who hadn’t grasped the situation, drew his axe and was about to shout something.

“You, what the… ack!”

He also fell.

Now it was clear.

Dam Hyun, who had been wailing over the dead white horse, had suddenly swung a forearm-sized dagger.

The bandit with the axe grabbed his neck, spurting blood, and died on the spot.

The charging bandits abruptly stopped in their tracks.

Dam Hyun, standing with blood splattered on his face, looked like a ghost.

Boom!

Just then, the overturned carriage’s door burst open, and someone leaped out.

A young man paler than Dam Hyun, who had been sitting in the driver’s seat, appeared. He looked like a rich young master to anyone who saw him, wielding a long, dark-bladed sword.

Naturally, it was Yi-gang.

“What’s all this about?”

His voice sounded more incredulous than surprised.

If it hadn’t been for a month ago, when they were absurdly subdued by the Azure Forest’s young experts, they wouldn’t have recognized him.

Even if they were close, it wasn’t easy to spot the two small embroidered flowers on the corner of a garment’s hem.

But someone recognized it and shouted, “It’s, it’s the Azure Forest!”

“Aaaargh!”

The bandits immediately turned and started to flee.

It was a scene reminiscent of when the Demon Cult had surged in power.

Just like commoners fleeing from demon cultists, Seo Saeng-won also turned and ran away.

“Crazy fools, if you come to be bandits, be bandits. Why kill an innocent horse.”

Yet, Yi-gang’s voice was heard distinctly.

“Aaagh!”

“Argh!”

The screams of his fleeing subordinates echoed from behind.

Seo Saeng-won ran as fast as he could.

He was confident in escaping, but this time he wasn’t fast enough.

Unlike Jin Ri-yeon, who showed mercy after subduing the leader, Yi-gang and Dam Hyun showed no mercy.

While running, Seo Saeng-won suddenly felt his body lifted off the ground.

Someone had grabbed his collar and was smashing him down to the earth.

As the ground seemed to rush up to his face.

Crash!

His nose broke with pain, and stars flashed before his eyes.

“Are you the leader?”

Yi-gang asked in a voice still tinged with youthfulness.

Seo Saeng-won replied in a pathetic voice.

“I, I’m just a vice leader…”

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