I asked the people who had been captured.
"Is there anyone among you who has enough energy to run and knows the geography of this area well?"
Fortunately, two n stepped forward, and I asked them to deliver the news of this place to the nearest Beggars' Sect branch or Martial Arts Alliance branch.
Then, I approached my senior brothers, who seed to have finally caught their breath.
"Are you all okay now?"
"Yes. We're fine."
Although he answered simply, there was a strange excitent in Senior Brother Uncheol's voice.
When I looked around at my senior brothers, they were all in a similar situation.
I let out a small laugh and asked, "How was it, fighting like this?"
"Fighting..."
My senior brothers looked at each other. Although they didn't say it, their thoughts must have been similar.
Senior Brother Uncheol spoke as if he were representing everyone.
"We were stronger than we thought."
At Senior Brother Uncheol's words, the other senior brothers all nodded.
And I also nodded along.
"That's right. You senior brothers are strong. But, you know you shouldn't be complacent just because of that, right? These guys are just weak Unorthodox Faction scum. When you officially enter the martial world, it will be even harder to find those who are weaker than them."
Perhaps because I spoke too firmly, the expressions of my senior brothers, who had been strangely excited, sank.
I wondered if I was discouraging them too much from the start, but it's much better than dying from complacency.
"Still, you did well. Let's just clean up and leave."
"Yes. We have a place to go."
Without even telling them, the people all cleaned up the arena, cleaned, removed the corpses, and checked if the living were properly bound.
It seed that everyone had a lot of things piled up here.
I looked at them and thought.
'This is a place where the Black Society is involved.'
The Black Society is a fairly large group for an Unorthodox Faction.
As much as it is large, there are also many masters.
And above all... they are the guys who were crushed by my hands.
If I were to pick the best thing I did in my past life, it would be that I didn't hesitate to crush and punish the bad guys.
If you ask why I did such a thing, there's only one answer I can give.
Because I didn't like those kinds of guys.
Perhaps because I had crawled up from the bottom?
I didn't like those who tornted people who didn't know martial arts and lived a bottom-of-the-barrel life.
And those kinds of guys are usually Unorthodox Faction guys.
I crushed the guys I could beat, and I ran away from the guys I couldn't beat, then ca back after building up my strength and crushed them again.
As I repeated such things, I naturally beca known as an orthodox master.
Although it's true that my nickna, the Self Taught Sword Master, has a mocking aning, it also had the aning of praise for , who had crushed the Unorthodox Faction guys alone and made a na for myself in the martial world with my own strength.
'Then what happens? Do I have to kill the guy I killed once again?'
Of course, I think I'll know what it feels like when I face that situation directly, but still, I have a feeling that it will feel bad.
No, in fact, even if I'm not killing the guy I killed again, I always felt bad when I killed people.
It's the sa now.
The captured people are cleaning up the corpses, and it doesn't feel good to see that.
When I often pondered my identity, the elder of the Beggars' Sect, ng Guang-gai, one of the few people who had treated favorably in my past life, had once told .
That because of my tendency to feel bad when an innocent person dies, I am a person of the orthodox faction.
In fact, I didn't have much of a sense of chivalry, nor did I ever draw my sword for justice.
The reason I ran away from the Un family in the first place was because I felt that if I lived in a naless rural family like this, I would waste my life in vain without being able to do anything.
In that situation, Elder ng Guang-gai's words held my center, and the center that was caught at that ti beca the driving force that made risk my life to stop those guys when the Demonic Cult invaded later.
Of course, I only ended up in a mutual destruction with soone like Mok Hwa-shin.
"You two, co here."
I called the only two standing among the Geoungbang mbers, that is, the ones who had drawn the winning lottery ticket.
The guys, as if my words were a heavenly command, rushed to .
"Look over there. Do you see those people?"
I pointed to the side where the kidnapped people were gathered, hugging each other and shedding tears.
"What do you see?"
"......"
"You're not going to answer?"
"I see people."
"Yes. You see people, right?"
The two of them nodded at the sa ti.
Perhaps because they were also human, they seed to feel a pang of conscience seeing the people who were genuinely happy to be released from the Geoungbang.
"Do you know what you've done?"
"......"
"If you don't answer one more ti, I'll make you kneel down there just like them."
"Ah, I know. I have committed a mortal sin."
"A mortal sin? Then do you want to die right now?"
"...Please spare ."
I was going to make him kneel if he didn't answer this ti either, but the answer ca out the mont my patience was about to run out.
"Yes. You have to answer well like that."
I patted their shoulders as if they were comndable.
Although I looked ten years younger, they accepted it very naturally.
What does age matter in the martial world? In this kind of wilderness, if you have a lot of money or strong martial arts, you're the big brother.
"I'll tell you a way to live."
"Please tell ."
"Check if all those people over there return ho safely. In a little while, whether it's the Martial Arts Alliance or the Beggars' Sect, soone will co and try to send the people ho. You check if that asure has been properly carried out. If every single one of them returns to where they should be, your job is done. It ans you're free."
As I spoke, I examined the expressions of the two.
Naturally, they have troubled expressions.
If the Beggars' Sect or the Martial Arts Alliance cos, they will be treated the sa as the Geoungbang mbers who are kneeling now.
If they are sent to the Martial Arts Alliance, if they are lucky, they will be locked up in a prison and co out after living for several years, and if they are unlucky, they will be executed.
"Of course, I'm not telling you to greet them as you are. Wait here for a mont."
I left them standing and approached the survivors.
Among them, there was a man who looked the oldest, and that man seed to be naturally taking on the role of the leader of these people.
I bowed to him and said, "Is your body hurt or in pain anywhere?"
"Ah...! Taoist master."
He, as if he was not originally a person related to the martial world, bowed to politely, knowing the etiquette.
His body was sturdy, and his muscles were well-developed, so he seed to be a person who mainly did physical work.
"Thanks to you, I'm fine. I am Mok-woo, who used to run a blacksmith's shop in the Huainan region."
"You were a blacksmith. As I said before, I am Unhwi of the Wudang Sect."
"Thanks to Taoist Master Unhwi, we all survived. The reason we have no injuries is... because those demons killed and buried all the injured and sick people. Only those who were useful could survive."
He was so angry that even as he said that, he glared at the kneeling people and ground his teeth.
"Do you know who those two standing over there are?"
"Those two are... two of the central squad's martial artists."
"You know them."
"Because we who were captured lived in the sa pavilion as them."
"Then is there anyone among those two who was particularly an to people or harassed won?"
"Hmm..."
He looked at the two carefully and then opened his mouth.
"No. The two were low-ranking mbers of the central squad. They were not particularly bad-tempered, so I don't have any bad mories of them. Of course, since they are Geoungbang mbers, I think they are the sa kind of people..."
I nodded.
Still, this is a pass. It's not giving a chance to a terrible villain, but giving a chance to a less evil person.
"Can you do one favor?"
"It's a favor from my benefactor, so if it's sothing I can do, I'll do anything."
"You must be curious why only those two are standing and the rest are kneeling. I promised to save them and give them a chance."
"A chance...?"
"Yes. A chance to live a new life."
"Then the favor you're asking of is...?"
"Those two will wear ordinary clothes and mix in with you. At that ti, can you guarantee their identity, sir? If you just say that they were people who worked with you at the ironworks, the rest they will do on their own."
"Hmm..."
He frowned as if he was troubled.
But, he soon nodded.
As if he was a person of a magnanimous nature, he said to , "It's not such a difficult thing. Surely, even if they are human, they won't betray the grace of saving their lives and harm us."
"I'll speak to them well about that. It must have been a difficult decision, but thank you for listening."
"Not at all. Don't worry about it. If you ever happen to stop by near Huainan, please visit the Mok-woo Ironworks. I was a blacksmith who was recognized for my skills in the neighborhood. Thanks to that, I was kidnapped by the Geoungbang master and made swords here..."
He made a bitter expression and then continued.
"So I want to make you a fine sword. If I return ho safely, I will imdiately make a sword that suits the Taoist master, so please be sure to stop by anyti."
"Thank you for just your words. If fate allows, we will et again."
I exchanged a brief greeting with him and then approached the two who were standing with tense expressions and told them the story I had with Mok-woo.
Finally, a flush of color began to return to their faces.
They really felt that they had survived.
"But... if you ever bully those people, or live a similar life again, or if even one of them doesn't return ho and you run away..."
Kka-deuk—
I deliberately clenched my fist so that the sound of my bones cracking echoed and said, "I'll chase you to the ends of the Central Plains and tear you to pieces. You don't think I can do it? Then try once."
"N-Never. That will never happen."
"Actually, I wanted to quit this Unorthodox Faction a long ti ago. I just couldn't say I would quit because I was afraid of the Geoungbang master."
"It's a similar situation for . I will live diligently. I will not waste the new life you have given !"
The two said desperately.
Although their thoughts might change in the future, it seed that they were speaking sincerely for now.
"What are your nas?"
"I am Jo Yeong-dal."
"And you?"
"Jang Pal-san."
"Good. Jo Yeong-dal, Jang Pal-san. I hope I only hear your nas for good things from now on. I'm serious."
"I will keep that in mind."
I pointed to the side where the people were gathered and said, "Go and change into clothes similar to what those people are wearing, and mix in quietly."
"Yes, great hero."
The two who had run to the pavilion for a mont appeared wearing shabby clothes and mixed in with the people, but no one was flustered.
Because Mok-woo had already explained everything to everyone.
If there were people who had been directly hard by those guys, at least one of them would have protested, but it seed that there was really no one who had been directly tornted.
I watched them for a while and then approached my senior brothers.
All four of them seed to have regained their energy.
The reason my senior brothers were tired was not really because they lacked stamina, but because of ntal fatigue.
"Everyone's eyes look fine. Let's get going now. We've wasted too much ti. My master will be waiting."
"Yes. Let's move."
"Is everyone okay?"
"Of course. We're fine. It feels like we've just finished our morning training."
"That's right. If you tell to fight like this, I feel like I can do it for several more hours."
My senior brothers said bravely and stood up.
Still, perhaps because they had crossed the line of death once, they all seed to have beco more manly sowhere.
(End of Chapter)
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