Chapter 151:

Chapter 151:

Black Market

Mu-jin watched as the men, who had come after them, fought among themselves.

Swish.

“Please, spare me...”

The weakest members of the former Great Tiger Village bandits were being cut down like falling leaves.

Of course, Mu-jin, who had no sympathy for these scoundrels who coveted others’ money, remained indifferent.

“Nooo!!”

Suddenly, Mu-gung shouted and charged into the chaotic battlefield.

“How dare you harm my brothers!!”

Mu-gung, filled with burning rage as he saw his followers being torn apart, began attacking the North Wind Escort Agency’s guards with explosive fists.

‘What’s with that overacting guy?’

Mu-jin smirked at the absurd sight for a moment.

“Ook! Ook ook!”

“Well done, Ling-ling!”

As if it were a playground, Mu-yul also joined the fray with Ling-ling, blending into the chaos with the North Wind Escort Agency guards.

‘Why are you smiling while hitting people, Mu-yul?’

Previously unnoticed, Mu-yul, now in bandit attire, seemed like a lunatic. Next to the crazed Mu-yul and Ling-ling was:

“Hahaha. It seems there’s no end to the fights when we’re with you, Duou-nim!”

The members of Cheongsu Dojang also wielded their swords with insane smiles, as if enjoying the madness.

“Move a bit faster, Duou-nim! You can definitely do it!”

Cheongsu Dojang, seemingly having adapted to the opponent’s martial arts, even cheered them on.

What about the future blood monk Mu-gyeong, who should have been the original lunatic?

‘Are you studying for an exam?’

Mu-gyeong was like a martial scholar, admiring the martial arts of the fake escort guards from North Wind Escort Agency as he fought them.

‘Stop copying, you madman.’

Unlike the Yongbongji Conference, where he had to be mindful of others, Mu-gyeong freely stole the guards’ martial arts techniques.

However, despite the four fighting the North Wind Escort Agency guards, the battle wasn’t entirely in their favor.

The former Great Tiger Village bandits were still falling dead, and only the former chief of Great Tiger Village, Cheolsang-gwi, was barely holding off an escort’s attack.

As for the new bandits who had come to attack Mu-jin’s group:

“Hm. These bandits are quite skilled.”

Although the ten bandits couldn’t match the North Wind Escort Agency guards individually, they managed to hold off one guard per two or three bandits.

A bearded bandit, who seemed to be at a similar level to Mu-gung or Mu-yul, was fighting an escort on equal footing.

Finally, the most skilled bandit was:

“Deputy chief! What are you doing?!”

being overwhelmed by the man who seemed to be the leader of the North Wind Escort Agency.

It wasn’t that the bandit lacked skill; he seemed to be on par with the North Wind Escort Agency’s chief, Jang Won-sang, from their previous encounter.

But his opponent was formidable.

‘As expected, is he a sort of manager?’

The North Wind Escort Agency leader seemed comparable to the half-bald old man, Black Claw Blood Demon, they had faced previously.

In other words, unless Mu-jin revealed his full power, victory wasn’t assured.

“I’m sorry, chief! Please hold on a bit longer!”

It seemed the bearded bandit was the deputy chief, shouting to the bandit fighting the leader.

At first glance, it sounded like a desperate plea to help his leader.

‘Ah, as expected, bandits are bandits.’

Mu-jin didn’t miss the fleeting smile on the bearded bandit’s face.

It seemed he was using this opportunity to kill his leader and take over.

But unfortunately for the bearded bandit:

Whoosh!

Mu-jin leaped towards the leader of the North Wind Escort Agency, attacking from behind.

His move wasn’t to save the bandit leader but to conceal his own skills.

“Damn bandits!”

The leader, caught in a pincer attack, roared and swung his sword, sending icy sword energy in all directions.

Mu-jin evaded and parried the sword energy with his fists, while the bandit leader twirled his axes like a firework display.

“Huff, huff.”

Despite revealing openings due to using a large martial technique, Mu-jin didn’t recklessly charge in.

‘No way that bandit leader would help if I charge in.’

With his ugly face and wide eyes, it was somehow unappealing.

Whack.

Mu-jin hit the back of Kang Il’s head and asked.

“Why are you so surprised? Is Geumwang Village that famous?”

“Yes! Geumwang Village is one of the top ten bandit villages in the green forest... But of course, they’re nothing compared to you, deputy leader!”

Even after being hit, Kang Il didn’t show any displeasure and flattered Mu-jin.

“Ho. One of the top ten, huh?”

“Haha. The youngest said so to boast, but it actually means they’re tenth.”

“Still, it’s a notable bandit village, isn’t it?”

“Exactly! Oh, come to think of it, their village is closer to Gyerim than ours. These guys might know about the black market in Gyerim!”

“Really? Hey, rat.”

“Yes, deputy leader!”

“Do you know about the black market in Gyerim?”

The former deputy leader of Geumwang Village eagerly explained everything he knew about the black market in Gyerim.

Thanks to him, Mu-jin learned the exact location and timing of the black market, and how often it opened.

He also obtained several other pieces of information, though they were not as critical.

After interrogating the Geumwang Village members, Mu-jin moved to question the captured escort leader.

‘It’s a good thing I brought the Simnyeong Pill.’

Knowing that torture wouldn’t work, Mu-jin readily fed the Simnyeong Pill to the escort leader.

He had a few from the Sichuan Tang Clan, but they were limited and not to be used lightly.

“So, the item known as the Dragon Scale Thread was supposed to be delivered to the person called Chil Dae-ju?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. Do you know the identity of this Chil Dae-ju?”

“No.”

“How many people hold the title of Dae-ju?”

“Seven. Recently, one died, and one more was added.”

“So, there should be eight, but since one died, there are seven?”

“Yes.”

Mu-jin pondered the escort leader’s answers.

‘Although he said he didn’t know, Chil Dae-ju is likely the Wolf King. If one died recently, it must be the Head of Unhyangwon.’

In other words, the strength of those holding the title of Dae-ju was similar to the Seven Kings, and there were seven of them left.

But it didn’t mean there were seven warriors as powerful as the Seven Kings in hiding.

Since one of them would eventually become known as the Wolf King in a few years, some might already be recognized as the Seven Kings.

“Do you know the names or identities of the other Dae-ju?”

“No.”

“Then, who is above the Dae-ju? There must be someone higher up.”

“I don’t know.”

Mu-jin sighed as the escort leader kept shaking his head in response.

‘These crazy bastards. How far do they go to keep their secrets?’

Most of the answers to his questions were “I don’t know.”

When asked about how they communicated with the organization, the escort leader only pointed to specific sects or agencies in nearby or neighboring towns.

Direct communication with the main organization involved occasional visits from a contact person.

It seemed the only way to get more information was to capture a higher-up and feed them a Simnyeong Pill.

* * *

“Hehehehe. So, the item that should have come to me is now missing?”

“Yes.”

“And because of some lowly bandits?”

“Yes.”

“Hahahaha.”

The middle-aged man, dressed like a savage, laughed loudly at the emotionless response of the black-clad man kneeling before him.

But the laughter didn’t last long.

“It seems I’ll have to step in personally.”

Suddenly stopping his laughter, the man picked up a bloodstained saber that had been lying nearby and stood up.

“The first chance to make a name for myself is against bandit scum and escort guards. Truly a pitiful fate.”

The saber exuded a strong scent of blood.