The Return of the Sw Chapter 32 : One Thing Leading to Another. -01

Chapter 32: One Thing Leading to Another. -01

Ban Hojin, who was not easily startled by most things, found his mind going blank now.

That was how shocking the mark of the Ironblood Fortress was.

During the war, most of the marks used by the Four Tyrants of the World had been exposed, so they could not be used so openly like this.

But now, since there would be no one who recognized it, it seed they had revealed it without concern.

‘All of the Four Tyrants of the World. Or perhaps only the Ironblood Fortress is observing the movents of the Central Plains. If not that, then two places, or maybe three.’

Ban Hojin regained his composure.

He could not remain shocked forever.

Moreover, since there could be agents of the Ironblood Fortress nearby, Ban Hojin turned his body as naturally as possible.

Instead of moving away all at once, he behaved like a sightseer admiring other graffiti.

“There was so graffiti like this in Taigu County too.”

“Right? There was so in the village below Shaolin as well.”

“Shaolin, huh. That’s a place I’ll be going to soon too.”

In contrast to the gravity filling Ban Hojin’s mind, Seo Joun was puffing out his cheeks and chewing busily.

Perhaps because he had not been able to eat properly while suffering from the Nine Yang Severed ridians, Seo Joun had a surprisingly hearty appetite.

‘To think the Ironblood Fortress is already moving. No, was it sothing I simply didn’t know in my previous life?’

In his past life, Ban Hojin could count on one hand the number of tis he had left Shaolin.

So there was no way he could have known the state of Murim.

‘I’ll find out once I check.’

Just because he had returned to the past did not an he knew everything.

Ban Hojin was reminded of that fact once again.

“Big Brother, would you like to try this too? It’s duck skewers, and the seasoning is incredible. It’s familiar, but sohow makes you keep reaching for more. The harmony of sweet and salty is killer.”

“You eat a lot.”

“This is a flavor you can’t get anywhere else.”

Seo Joun carefully urged him again.

It really was that delicious.

“Just how good is it for you to be like this?”

“Hyung, try it just once.”

“Alright. I’ll try it once.”

Knowing that Seo Joun was unexpectedly picky about food despite his appearance, Seonwu Bang accepted a duck skewer with a curious expression and tore off a piece to eat.

But the mont his jaw muscles twitched, Seonwu Bang’s pupils shook.

With just one chew, he understood why Seo Joun had insisted so strongly.

“……It’s good.”

“This is the kind of taste no one would dislike.”

“Agreed. Try one. You won’t regret it.”

Seonwu Bang, who had already swallowed his bite, urged him just like Seo Joun had.

At those words, Ban Hojin finally accepted a duck skewer.

But he could not taste it.

His mind was completely filled with the mark of the Ironblood Fortress.

“Told you there are hidden masters.”

“Agreed.”

“Hyung, why didn’t you know?”

“It’s not like I’m always snacking. But I wanted to ask yesterday too—why am I ‘hyung,’ but Hojin is ‘big brother’?”

Walking naturally alongside Seo Joun, Seonwu Bang asked.

They were friends and the sa age, so he was curious why the forms of address were different.

“Hyung is hyung, but big brother is special to . I received life-saving grace, so shouldn’t I naturally serve him as big brother? From now on, the only person who can be called big brother by

is Hojin big brother.”

“Ah, that’s what it ant?”

“Yes!”

“I’m jealous.”

Seonwu Bang showed a genuinely envious expression.

At the sa ti, he could understand it.

If he had been struck by a terminal illness and soone had saved him, he was sure he would have acted just like Seo Joun.

“Still, hyung is both big brother and friend, right? As far as I know, you only have one friend.”

“That’s true. Even the Four Dragons were all brushed off by Hojin.”

Seonwu Bang still did not understand.

He was certain that rising juniors and won from the Five Great Families and even the Ten Great Families had all asked to et Ban Hojin.

But as far as Seonwu Bang knew, Ban Hojin had t none of them.

Except for Murong Heesu and Zhuge Hye-jeong, who had used him to arrange a eting.

“As expected of our big brother!”

“But it seems like he has sothing on his mind?”

“I felt that too.”

The two walking side by side whispered quietly.

At the sa ti, they subtly turned their gaze backward.

It was to check on Ban Hojin.

However, Ban Hojin did not notice them looking at him, as if his attention was elsewhere.

At a dead hour when everyone was asleep, Ban Hojin left the room.

He slipped outside silently through the window.

But his attire was different from usual.

Like an assassin, he wore black night clothes, covered his face with a mask, and firmly concealed his hair with a headcloth.

Ssssh!

After secretly leaving the Seonwu Family, Ban Hojin headed toward the marketplace he had visited in the morning.

More precisely, he moved to the place where he had seen the mark of the Ironblood Fortress.

However, he did not go right up to it like he had in the morning.

Instead, he landed on the roof of a nearby building that overlooked the wall where the mark had been left at a glance.

Whoooosh.

Even though he had not specifically learned stealth techniques, Ban Hojin concealed his presence with remarkable skill.

It was the natural manifestation of experience from his previous life.

Perhaps because of that, Ban Hojin’s gaze was colder and sharper than ever.

‘He’s here.’

Amid the cold night wind swirling about, Ban Hojin, who had been staring at the wall without moving like a statue, let his eyes gleam.

It was because he sensed a faint presence in the empty alley.

Even though pitch-black darkness covered everything, the shadow that appeared from the alley carefully scanned the surroundings as it moved slowly.

Straight toward the wall with the mark.

Swish.

Then it passed by the wall as if brushing past it.

As if it had no interest at all.

But Ban Hojin saw it.

For an instant, but clearly—the man’s eyes sweeping over the mark.

‘Don’t expect too much.’

Ban Hojin followed the man.

However, he did not have high expectations.

That was because he knew that the information organization of the Four Tyrants of the World was operated as a cell-based network.

Today, he rely placed significance on the fact that he had discovered a trail.

‘It would be nice if I t a mid-level handler, but the likelihood of that being today is slim.’

Since it was operated as a cell-based network, there were clearly mid-level handlers.

Of course, even a mid-level handler did not know that much.

What mattered, however, was that they knew at least a little more than the lowest-level operatives.

And by digging into a mid-level handler, it was possible to naturally grasp the upper line above them.

Sssk!

Ban Hojin, who had been following Jang Han without great expectations, suddenly made his eyes gleam.

That was because Jang Han, who had been checking all directions until the very end despite there being no one around, entered a small private house without a single light.

It was not very far from the marketplace, but the important point was that it was not an empty place.

‘A rendezvous?’

The distance was considerable, but it was not a level that could escape Ban Hojin’s sensory perception.

Moreover, the person inside the house was a martial artist.

And not just any martial artist, but a top-tier first-rate warrior standing right on the brink of the Peak Realm.

‘I’m lucky.’

As he climbed onto the roof of the private house, Ban Hojin smiled inwardly.

It felt like he had cast his fishing rod with an empty mind and hooked a big fish.

“Thorough. You move without making a sound.”

“Hahaha, once it becos part of daily life, you get used to it.”

“I see. Report.”

“There’s nothing particularly special. People say Chengdu, but those who co to Jiangsu Province mostly go to Suzhou, don’t they? Or they cross over to nearby Taihu Lake. Because of that, there are no special matters. Ah, the Shaolin Divine Dragon appeared at the marketplace this morning. Together with the Young Lord of the Seonwu Family.”

“Shaolin Divine Dragon, huh.”

Although all the windows were shut, every word of their conversation reached Ban Hojin’s ears.

Then, when his own na ca up, the corners of Ban Hojin’s eyes twitched slightly.

“They say he’s friends with the Young Lord of the Seonwu Family.”

“That’s a mismatch in status.”

“It could be that the Young Lord is the one clinging to him.”

“There’s really nothing else to report?”

“Yes.”

Jang Han, who had led Ban Hojin here, answered respectfully.

And the conversation ended right there.

The man who had been speaking in a slow tone, as if lost in thought, closed his mouth.

At the sa ti, Ban Hojin’s mind began spinning rapidly.

‘Do I take him now?’

Jang Han, whom Ban Hojin had followed, was clearly a low-level operative.

The lowest of the low, one who did not even know who his fellow organization mbers were.

On the other hand, the man who had been waiting in the private house appeared to be in a position that managed operatives.

Moreover, if he was a martial artist who had reached the top-tier first-rate realm, he was absolutely not ordinary.

Only major sects or prestigious families had many martial artists who had reached that level; minor sects were a different story.

Furthermore, he was not just any top-tier first-rate warrior, but one standing on the threshold of the Peak Realm.

“I’ll be going now. If there’s a need to call you separately, I’ll leave a mark.”

“Ah, understood. Then I’ll take my leave.”

While Ban Hojin was deliberating, Jang Han, who had guided him this far, left the room.

However, Ban Hojin did not follow him.

There was no longer any need to follow Jang Han.

Instead, after waiting a short while following Jang Han’s departure, Ban Hojin secretly tailed the man who left the private house.

Whiiik!

Unlike Jang Han, who had not learned martial arts, the man imdiately deployed his lightness skill the mont he left the house.

Perhaps he had properly learned stealth movent, as he sliced through the night air swiftly without making a single sound.

But it was not enough to shake off Ban Hojin.

‘A safe house set up in the slums. He used his head a bit, huh?’

Ban Hojin nodded as he pursued the man.

Certainly, the slums were suitable for hiding, with many people coming and going.

Of course, there were more people who died than those who escaped the lower class.

‘What should I do.’

As he glanced at the man settling into a familiar pit house, Ban Hojin sat atop a nearby tree branch.

Various options surfaced in his mind.

‘If only there were people who specialized in this kind of work, it would be so convenient.’

Staring at the pit house the man had entered, Ban Hojin furrowed his brow.

The more he thought about it, the more regretful he felt.

If he had an information organization of decent scale, even if not as large as the Beggars’ Sect, he could have taken the long view and tracked the body rather than just the tail.

But that was impossible for Ban Hojin.

Swish.

In that case, there was only one choice Ban Hojin could make.

He did plan to stay in Nanjing for the ti being, but that did not an he could watch the man all day long.

It would also be a waste of ti.

Tap.

At the mont his thoughts reached that point, Ban Hojin moved.

The instant he made his decision, he stealthily entered the pit house.

Yet the man, who had been writing sothing in a book, did not notice it at all.

As a result, without knowing anything, the man had his paralysis and mute acupoints sealed.

Flinch!

As his body stiffened, the man’s pupils dilated.

Being a martial artist, he imdiately realized what kind of situation he was in.

However, all he could do was roll his eyes.

Buuung.

After easily sealing the man’s acupoints, Ban Hojin began rummaging through the pit house with void-grasping.

He used void-grasping to leave not even the slightest trace.

“Mmmpf!”

At the sight, the man was horrified.

To use void-grasping, one’s martial scriptures had to be at least at the Peak Realm.

Moreover, to lift multiple objects simultaneously like this and place them back silently was impossible without an exceptional realm.

Thus, the man trembled as he sensed death approaching.

Whiiik!

Because the pit house was small, there were not many items.

And just as expected, aside from the book he was currently writing, there was nothing that seed particularly important, so Ban Hojin did not hesitate. He slung the man over his shoulder and moved to a distant wild mountain.

Thud!

“Ughk!”

“Such an exaggeration.”

When Ban Hojin roughly threw the man down upon arriving at a wild mountain far from the slums, the man groaned with his eyes wide open, apparently having landed tailbone-first.

But Ban Hojin did not care whether the man was in pain or not and calmly checked inside his mouth.

He was checking whether there was a poison capsule hidden between his teeth.

Brrrrr!