Chapter 16

Jeok Leegeon stood beneath the moonlight.

He stood on the branch of a towering tree, straight as a spear.

The slender branch didn't bend in the slightest.

Jeok Leegeon gazed at the lights visible through the forest. Shadows of people flickered around the bonfires.

A serious expression unlike Jeok Leegeon. If Jeong Charyeon saw it, she would surely be surprised.

At that moment, a masked man flew up towards Jeok Leegeon.

He lightly kicked off the tree once, leaping up to the end of the branch where Jeok Leegeon stood. Carrying a large leather pouch, he was a middle-aged man nearing forty.

The branch bent slightly.

"Muyeong."

"Master."

The eyes of the man called Muyeong held a special affection for Jeok Leegeon and a loyalty that hadn't changed over many years.

Muyeong lowered his mask.

A typical Martial Artist's face with sharp angles and thick lines was revealed. His unshaven beard shone blue under the moonlight.

"You haven't shaved."

"I've been busy."

"Do it. You look old."

Muyeong gave an awkward smile.

Jeok Leegeon turned his gaze to the distant night view of Infinite.

"Splendid."

Muyeong's gaze quietly followed his.

"The night scenery always makes my heart flutter. I like the night more than the day. When I look at the sun, I feel strangely ashamed. I don't know why."

Muyeong didn't answer.

Jeok Leegeon looked down at the backs of his hands.

Conflicting tattoos with different atmospheres.

Jeok Leegeon glanced at Muyeong again.

"Is there some story I don't know about? Like I fell into a well when I was two and was trapped in the dark for three or four days?"

"Nothing like that happened. Even if it did..."

Muyeong smiled faintly.

"Master would have climbed out on his own."

Jeok Leegeon chuckled.

And then he became serious.

"Sometimes I hate that about myself."

Muyeong was taken aback. He was about to say that he didn't mean it that way, but then fell silent.

"Just kidding."

Jeok Leegeon grinned. His gaze once again took in the splendid night view of Infinite.

"Muyeong."

"Yes."

The night view was reflected in Jeok Leegeon's eyes.

"Those lights, can I have them all?"

"Who in this Jianghu is more capable than Master?"

It was a quiet but powerful answer.

"It's just beginning."

Muyeong looked at Jeok Leegeon with emotion.

"He's there. We must make him our ally."

"If it's Master, you can do it. Absolutely."

Muyeong handed the leather pouch he was carrying to Jeok Leegeon. Jeok Leegeon slung it over his shoulder.

"Be careful."

"Wait for me."

"Understood."

Jeok Leegeon took a step off the branch.

He seemed to take a few steps in the air,

Whoosh.

With the sound of a cool breeze, Jeok Leegeon cut through the night sky.

In an instant, Jeok Leegeon disappeared from Muyeong's sight.

Whir.

Jeok Leegeon landed in front of the lights in the forest he had been looking at earlier.

It was a logging camp.

Originally, large-scale logging camps were located near rivers. It was much easier to transport the cut trees by waterway than by land.

This was a small-scale logging camp. A place that cut trees and supplied materials to nearby woodworking shops or construction sites as civil engineering materials.

Jeok Leegeon slowly walked inside.

Two men were guarding the entrance, a small bonfire burning in front of them.

Jeok Leegeon said quietly.

"I've come to buy ironwood."

The man scanned Jeok Leegeon once more. His expression revealed his thought that he was too young to be here.

Jeok Leegeon took out two silver coins from his pocket and threw them to the two men.

Without a word, the men cleared the way.

"One hundred and fifty steps to the left, twenty steps to the right, then one hundred and thirty steps to the left again."

Jeok Leegeon passed them and walked the path as the man had instructed.

It was a dark and gloomy path where logs were piled up like a maze.

Finally, Jeok Leegeon arrived at his destination. There was an open space in front of a single-story building.

Around a large bonfire in the center of the space, about twenty men were sitting in groups of three or five. They were all Martial Artists equipped with weapons, and they all had fierce expressions.

The giggling of women could be faintly heard from inside the building.

Jeok Leegeon glanced at the men and turned towards the building.

One of the larger Martial Artists in the group grinned at Jeok Leegeon, revealing his yellowed teeth.

"The world's gotten better. Even kids are coming and going."

That was how young and innocent Jeok Leegeon looked. The perfect face to pick a fight with.

Jeok Leegeon walked in as if he hadn't heard, and the man's expression immediately turned fierce. He slowly rose from his seat.

"Do you even know where you've come?"

Jeok Leegeon stopped walking and replied.

"Black Dot."

As Jeok Leegeon said, this place was a Wanderer market called Black Dot.

It was a place where you could buy Wanderers, or become a Wanderer and get work. At Black Dot, they received a commission from both the Wanderer and the client for the brokerage.

Originally, Wanderers themselves were so rough and many were criminals, so the Black Dots in the Central Plains were operating secretly. This Black Dot's Hubei branch was also operating disguised as a logging camp.

They were all Wanderers. Since customers looking for Black Dot mainly used the night hours when there were few people, the Black Dot's full-scale operation could be said to start from now.

The man rose from his seat and sneered as he slowly walked over.

"How should I slice up this fishy little brat?"

Jeok Leegeon warned coldly.

"If I hear the word 'brat' from that mouth of yours one more time, you're dead."

But if he was the type to obediently accept a warning, he wouldn't have started a fight in the first place.

Suddenly.

The man grabbed Jeok Leegeon by the collar.

"I'm Gwangwoo. The Mad Bull who's torn apart thirty-nine brats like you who didn't listen."

Jeok Leegeon's eyes turned cold.

"You're proud of killing people?"

The moment those words ended,

Pow!

Jeok Leegeon's fist struck Gwangwoo's face head-on.

It wasn't a speed that could be dodged or anything.

Before he could even scream, the man rolled several times on the ground, breaking the bonfire as he fell.

The man's sunken face was so covered in blood that it was hard to recognize. He didn't move, whether he was dead or not.

The fire from the bonfire spread to his body. But he still didn't move. He had died the moment he was hit. Someone repeatedly cursed and put out the fire with a thick cloth.

Everyone's expression completely hardened.

Jeok Leegeon turned around, speaking quietly.

"Let's just say I saved the fortieth person."

At the same time, the four men who had been with Gwangwoo rose from their seats.

Jeok Leegeon stopped walking. Then he glanced back.

"Got more to brag about?"

The men cautiously surrounded Jeok Leegeon.

The man in the middle, who had been chewing on jerky, drew a ferocious expression.

"We were with him for those thirty-nine times. The fortieth would probably have been with us too."

A sneer formed on Jeok Leegeon's lips.

"Thank you."

At the man's question of what he meant, Jeok Leegeon replied coldly.

"Because now there's no reason for me not to kill you."

The man shouted.

"Slice him up!"

Starting with him, the four men charged at the same time.

Whoosh!

Jeok Leegeon lightly tilted his head to avoid the sword that flew at him first.

Swish!

Rotating his body, Jeok Leegeon's palm brushed against the ribs of the sword's owner as he approached the man's side.

Crack, crack, crack.

The sound of bones breaking rang out in succession. The man foamed at the mouth and collapsed on the spot.

The man's sword spun once in the air and then entered Jeok Leegeon's hand.

Thwack!

He mercilessly slammed the sword down on the instep of the man who charged from behind.

"Kuaaak!"

The man whose instep was struck sat down on the spot.

Stepping on the man's shoulder, Jeok Leegeon cut through the air.

Snap.

With his shoulder shattered, the man was slammed into the ground.

Jeok Leegeon, who had flown up, twisted and rotated his body.

Crack!

The jaw of the man charging at him was shattered by Jeok Leegeon's kick. The man, who had been spinning in the air like a windmill, collapsed.

The remaining man hesitated for a moment, and before he could even swing his sword, his arm was broken by Jeok Leegeon.

Snap, snap, snap.

His arm rotated backward, completely twisted.

Jeok Leegeon lightly rammed his torso into the man who was screaming that he was going to die.

Bang!

With a tremendous impact sound, the man's body flew away.

Crash.

The wood piled up in the corner collapsed.

The four men had fallen in an instant. None of them were moving.

A heavy silence fell in the area.

No one could meet Jeok Leegeon's gaze.

"Do you know what's scary about kids? They don't know when to stop."

Jeok Leegeon's eyes flickered in the bonfire.

The men stepped back in surprise.

"But you know, kids eventually stop when they meet a good person. They're easily moved as easily as they act up. It's the adults who don't know when to stop. Adults who have lost their sense of wonder."

Clatter.

The door of the building behind them opened roughly.

Seven men walked out, holding red swords that looked like they were about to drip blood.

The resounding voice of the man standing in the center split the open space.

"Which dog bastard with no sense of fear is causing a ruckus?"

His resounding voice echoed through the area.

Jeok Leegeon shouted without turning around.

"It's me! You son of a bitch!"

Whoooong!

Jeok Leegeon's voice became a force that shook the surroundings and the building.

The seven men were intimidated by the force and flinched back. One of the weaker Wanderers sat down on the spot.

Swish, swish, swish.

A murderous aura surged from Jeok Leegeon's body.

Jeok Leegeon looked at the Wanderers and said quietly.

"If you don't want to die, get lost!"

The Wanderers stepped back and ran away.

Jeok Leegeon slowly turned around.

And grinned at the seven men.

"Business is closed for today."

The seven men were masters of the unorthodox faction called Enemy Sword Seven Killers. Seven red swords that made the viewers' blood run cold. They were sworn brothers, and after coming out into the world ten years ago, they were already notorious in the unorthodox faction for their ruthlessness and wickedness.

The seven brothers sensed that Jeok Leegeon, who was looking at them from the middle of the yard, was no ordinary opponent.

Of course, they weren't scared. Killing a few Wanderer thugs was easy for them too.

The problem was the confidence in Jeok Leegeon's provocative eyes.

Ilsa, the leader of the group, asked calmly.

"Who are you?"

"I was just a customer until those guys started a fight."

"And now?"

"Now I'm a special customer, I guess?"

Ilsa's eyes narrowed. He was definitely no ordinary guy.

"Who did you come to buy?"

"I'm not going to talk about that with a dog tied to the gate."

The seven's expressions immediately turned fierce.

Ilsa raised his hand to stop Osa, the most hot-tempered of them, from rushing out.

"You're a bold one."

Jeok Leegeon didn't respond. Instead, he shouted loudly.

"Hey, owner--! Show your face! Stop sending out the dogs!"

His resounding voice echoed.

There was no answer from inside the building. Instead, Ilsa took a step forward, lowering his sword diagonally.

Behind him, the remaining Yuksa walked out in a unified manner. It was clear at a glance that they used a very powerful combined attack technique.

Jeok Leegeon said calmly.

"This time is very important to me. It's the day I take my first step towards the future. So I have no choice but to be determined."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

The scar on Osa's lip twisted.

On the other hand, Jeok Leegeon was calm.

"What I mean is, I'm going to kill even the guys I'd usually let go today. Isn't it true that in this Jianghu, if you can't recognize people properly, you have no one to blame even if you die? Take a good look while you have the chance."

This time, Yuksa stepped forward. He once again proved that he was the second most hot-tempered of the seven.

"Brother, I've never seen a light-mouthed guy with a heavy sword."

Samsa and Sasa nodded in agreement.

Again, Jeok Leegeon's appearance was reinforcing that belief.

Only about sixteen or seventeen years old. And a pretty innocent face.

Jeok Leegeon sighed lightly.

"I know. You guys never understand when you're told nicely."

"Then you'll find out how well this sword pierces!"

Shouting, Osa flew forward.

Closing the distance in an instant, Osa brought his red sword down on Jeok Leegeon's head. Since it was an attack from above the stairs, the speed was even faster.

Whoosh!

The sound of a rough wind echoed. The sound the other brothers were expecting wasn't heard. Instead, the sound that was heard was miserable.

Snap.

Osa, whose neck was grabbed by Jeok Leegeon's hand, was trembling all over. His neck bones were already half dislocated.

"Brother!"

Surprised, Yuksa flew in. He swung his sword even faster and stronger. He charged, aiming for Jeok Leegeon's left shoulder, the opposite side of where Osa was grabbed.

The sound they had been expecting was heard.

Thud.