'Why make such a big deal over running into a little kid?'
This situation shouldn't have escalated like this. Hadn’t he already apologized?
He couldn’t understand the Murim Alliance’s response either.
To send a supervisory officer to censure him over such a trivial matter was unheard of.
The man with the bamboo hat gave a faint chuckle as he looked at Gwak Ga.
"You say you’re grateful, but your face says otherwise. Not happy with how things turned out?"
“No, it’s just…”
“Just what?”
“I don’t understand.”
“What don’t you understand?”
Gwak Ga finally vented his frustration.
“Even though the Pung medical family is well-known, it’s just one of many similar families. For such a minor issue…”
The man with the bamboo hat interrupted, cutting him off.
“They’re under the Alliance’s special protection.”
“What?”
“It seems you don’t know how hard the Alliance worked to recruit him. We had to give up just about everything to bring him in. It’s us who need him, not the other way around.”
“But why go to such lengths?”
The smile on the man’s lips deepened.
“I almost forgot to tell you something important.”
Ignoring Gwak Ga’s confused look, the man continued.
“Knowing your limits is important, but there are things even more crucial than that.”
"…?"
“Don’t bother yourself with unnecessary matters. Curiosity invites trouble, and greed hastens one’s demise.”
Hearing this, Gwak Ga flinched and bowed his head even lower.
The tone of the man in the bamboo hat remained calm and unhurried, but an unmistakable air of killing intent lingered beneath his words.
“Wouldn’t it be better to stop concerning yourself with trivial matters and focus on the task at hand?”
The man in the bamboo hat reached inside his robe, took out a piece of paper, and placed it on the tea table.
It was a wanted poster depicting the face of a certain individual.
“I assume you’re aware that we’re in the midst of hunting down the remnants of the Jang-Yeom Gang?”
Jang-Yeom Gang was a notorious group from the Unorthodox Faction, led by two of the Ten Great Evils—Jang Gok and Yeom Wi, also known as the Twin Demons of the Black Waters.
They had established themselves as a band of pirates ruling the Heilongjiang region, maintaining an independent territory apart from the River Gang Coalition, the alliance of river pirates. However, not long ago, Jang Gok and Yeom Wi were dealt a fatal blow by the Murim Alliance, never to return.
Their death scattered the remnants of their followers.
“It seems that Mil-eup, who has been missing, fled to this area. He’s gravely injured, so finding him shouldn’t be difficult.”
Mil-eup was the one who had overseen the finances and personnel management for Jang-Yeom Gang.
The man in the bamboo hat glanced at the bowed heads of the Passa Brigade members and smiled faintly.
“Then, I’ll leave it to you. I’ll make sure to relay the hardships you endure on the front lines to those above.”
With those words, the man in the bamboo hat departed.
Only after he had completely disappeared did someone murmur under their breath.
“If it’s such an easy task, why doesn’t he handle it himself?”
A few of the team members joined in with grumbling complaints.
“Damn it, what has the Murim Alliance ever done for us, anyway?”
“Exactly. It’s bad enough being dumped out here in the middle of nowhere, and now we have to put up with this kind of treatment too?”
“Then at least give us more manpower.”
“It’s always us who get the short end of the stick. Pushing us out to every dangerous place imaginable.”
While the team members were raising their voices in frustration, Gwak Ga slammed his hand hard on the tea table.
Crack!
The table splintered under the force, and tea splashed out in all directions.
“Enough.”
With just that one word, everyone fell silent.
Gwak Ga, visibly controlling his anger, looked around at his subordinates.
“Right now, we focus on finding him. We can’t afford to fall out ofthe higher-ups’ favor anymore.”
With those words, Gwak Ga suppressed his subordinates' discontent and stepped out of the inn.
Around twenty warriors of the Passa Brigade followed closely behind him. The fierce aura they emitted made the townspeople hastily move aside in fear.
Their eyes all held a chilling, ominous intensity.
* * *
Tweet!
“…?”
Hearing a whistle from somewhere, Dan Ak-seon turned his head.
He couldn’t tell the exact direction, but it wasn’t far. Still, he resumed walking.
Now was not the time to get distracted.
‘I need to hurry.’
The sun was already dipping toward the western hills. Even if he started now, he would only arrive in the middle of the night. Tightening the herb-filled bag on his back, Dan Ak-seon quickened his pace.
‘This shortcut will do.’
Between the walls of two buildings.
A man squeezed his body through a narrow gap, just wide enough for one person to slip through.
He chose this shortcut because taking the main market road would require a much longer detour.
But suddenly—
“Hm?”
Dan Ak-seon stopped in his tracks.
‘I’m sure I heard something…’
As he looked around, he heard it.
"Uh…"
A faint groan echoed softly.
Following the sound, Dan Ak-seon moved further down the narrow path. Soon, he saw someone.
A man was leaning against the wall, almost collapsed.
He looked to be in his mid-forties.
His face was covered with scars, both large and small, hinting at a rough life.
Dan Ak-seon quickly approached him.
“Are you all right?”
The man couldn’t respond.
His face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and his entire body was soaked in blood.
‘The bleeding is too severe!’
Blood had pooled under the wall where the man was leaning, forming a small puddle.
His breathing was faint, as if he might lose his life at any moment.
Dan Ak-seon set down his bag and pulled out a box of needles from his pocket. Then he began inserting the needles into the man’s acupressure points.
Fortunately, the bleeding began to stop shortly.
However, the patient’s breathing was still faint and unsteady.
To save him, the treatment needed to continue urgently.
Just then, a figure approached from behind Dan Ak-seon.
Suddenly.
Someone grabbed Dan Ak-seon’s wrist firmly and lifted him abruptly.
“Agh!”
A scream burst from Dan Ak-seon’s mouth.
It was a rough and overpowering grip.
Dan Ak-seon was so shocked that he couldn’t collect himself. But even this was nothing compared to what followed.
The figure who had seized Dan Ak-seon’s wrist brought his other hand to his waist.
Shing.
With a cold sound, a sharp blade flashed into view.
Thud.
“……!”
Dan Ak-seon’s eyes widened.
The man who had restrained him—
He stretched out his hand and drove the knife straight into the heart of the patient who had been lying helpless.
“No!”
A horrified cry, almost like a scream, escaped from Dan Ak-seon’s mouth.
It was a patient who could have been saved with time and effort. But right before his eyes, that life was senselessly snuffed out.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
Dang Ak-seon, hanging precariously in midair, shouted in anger.
“Is it you again?”
Only then did Dang Ak-seon recognize his opponent’s face. The eerie voice was unmistakable.
Of course.
“You’re…?”
Dang Ak-seon’s eyes wavered. There was no worse ill-fated encounter than this. The martial artist from the Murim Alliance, who he had clashed with Pung Jin-seong not long ago, was standing before him.
It was none other than Gwak Ga, the head of the Passa Brigade group, who had introduced himself then.
“What’s your relationship with him?”
A deadly aura emanated from Gwak Ga.
Dang Ak-seon did not answer. He simply felt pity for the man who had died before him.
Gwak Ga smirked ominously.
Anyone aiding a wanted criminal under the Death Warrant of the Murim Alliance was immediately considered an enemy. Depending on the circumstances, they could even face summary execution.
‘If I play my cards right…’
If he could make good use of this situation, he might be able to escape this desolate place.
‘I might even be able to entrap that man Pung Jin-seong.’
As someone respected by the Murim Alliance leadership, he surely had that much influence.
“Answer me. What is your connection to Mil-eup?”
Dang Ak-seon still remained silent.
“You’ll tell me everything.”
Gwak Ga drew his sword from the corpse.
Blood from the corpse splattered across Dan Ak-seon’s face.
* * *
Han Seol-hwa’s face showed a hint of puzzlement.
Beom Gye-wi, who had been running alongside her, suddenly came to a halt. Lost in thought for a moment, he abruptly spoke up.
“Hold on. I need to stop by the village.”
— All of a sudden?
Beom Gye-wi flashed a grin.
“I need to buy something tasty for our Doctor Dan.”
Without waiting for Han Seol-hwa’s response, he turned toward the village. In no time, he reached the nearest inn.
“I’ll take your most expensive and delicious dish, to go!”
The innkeeper looked troubled.
“Sir, our high-end dishes require special serving bowls, so they’re difficult to pack for takeaway.”
“Then just sell me the bowl too, can’t you?”
“Well, technically yes, but in that case, the bowl would cost more than the food itself.”
“I don’t care. Just hurry up and pack it.”
A moment later…
The dish was served, steaming hot, in an ornate porcelain pot.
The aroma alone was enough to make anyone’s mouth water—it was a truly exquisite dish.
And with the matching lid, carrying it seemed easy enough.
Beom Gye-wi took the dish and turned to leave.
Startled, the innkeeper shouted out after him.
“Sir! You need to pay for that!”
"Ah, right."
Beom Gye-wi turned his head to look at Han Seol-hwa.
"She’s going to pay for it."
— ...!
Han Seol-hwa glared at Beom Gye-wi.
Unfazed, Beom Gye-wi had already darted off. Left with no choice, Han Seol-hwa paid for the food and dishes. As she left the inn, she started using her qinggong to catch up to Beom Gye-wi, who was walking ahead in the distance.
"Hehe. Our Doctor Dan is going to be thrilled, don’t you think?"
For some reason, Beom Gye-wi kept grinning from ear to ear.
To Han Seol-hwa, his behavior felt utterly strange and unsettling.
'Is this guy really treating someone so warmly?'
At that moment, Beom Gye-wi opened up his waistband.
— What are you doing?
"If we go on like this, the food will get cold."
— Are you insane...!
She wanted to hurl a string of curses, but restrained herself.
The last "gift" Beom Gye-wi had handed her flashed through her mind—a dumpling. Just thinking about it made her feel nauseated again.
— You’re going to put that expensive Buddha Jumps Over the Wall dish in such a smelly place?
Beom Gye-wi scratched his crotch with his hand, then sniffed it up close.
"It doesn’t smell."
Looking disgusted, Han Seol-hwa watched as Beom Gye-wi commented.
"I took a bath last time, remember?"
— When?
“When I’m fighting with you.”
— This filthy…
Han Seol-hwa, who was about to get annoyed, sighed internally.
— How are you planning to run with that between your legs?
“Maybe if I just hop along? Like the Jiangshi Hall guys.”
The Shanxi Jiangshi Hall, known for having one of the most unique martial arts walking techniques in the world.
Their exclusive technique, gaero-bo, involved hopping with both feet together.
— The food’s all going to spill, you know?
Beom Gye-wi paused. He thought the point was valid but soon came up with an alternative.
“Then I’ll just do this.”
Beom Gye-wi summoned his inner energy.
In his hands, which were supporting the bowl, flames flickered, and the cooling dish quickly reheated.
— Are you seriously using Reversal of the Three Yang True Energy Gi just to warm food?
“Reversal of the what?”
Han Seol-hwa was genuinely baffled.
— You don’t even know the name of the martial art you’re using?
“What does it matter? It’s mine anyway. It’s not like it disappears if I don’t know the name.”
Among the countless internal cultivation techniques scattered across the world, Reversal of the Three Yang True Energy Gi was the most celebrated extreme yang technique.
How in the world did this peerless technique end up in the hands of such an idiot?
The person who created Reversal of the Three Yang True Energy Gi would be rolling in their grave.
And then Beom Gye-wi asked her, “Haven’t you ever frozen food with your martial arts to keep it preserved?”
― That’s...!
Han Seol-hwa fell silent.
"We’re here!"
At Beom Gye-wi’s exclamation, Han Seol-hwa looked ahead. Amidst the bickering, it seemed they had finally reached their destination.
In the distance, the entrance of a valley nestled gracefully between sweeping ridgelines came into her view.
"Doctor Dan!"
As they entered Shinmagok, Beom Gye-wi called out to Dan Ak-seon in a voice that echoed across the mountains.
