A crowd of bandit groups rushed toward Rasa. At the forefront of the bandits, a conversation was happening between the leader and his subordinates.
“Boss, could that be true?”
“Even if it isn’t, what do we have to lose!”
“That’s true, but…”
The Trench Faction was attacking Podalap Palace!
Upon hearing the news, the bandit leader hurriedly made his way toward Rasa. Regardless of which side won, it would create a banquet of prey for them. Even if they didn’t win, the mere collision would scare off wandering nomads, so if they managed to catch just one group, they’d gain something.
Moreover, if the Trench Faction’s collision severely weakened Podalap Palace? They might even plunder Rasa.
The worst that could happen was wasting a trip; the opportunities to seize were plentiful, so how could they let this slip away?
“Boss! There’s someone over there! They might know something about Rasa, shouldn’t we ask them?”
“Let’s go!”
The bandit leader immediately changed direction. They were over twenty strong, mounted on horses, and some had even learned martial arts, so there was no reason to be scared of just three travelers.
In no time, the bandit group surrounded the three people.
“Hey! You guys are lucky. If you answer our questions honestly, we won’t kill you!”
“Of course, you’ll have to hand over everything you have!”
The bandits burst into laughter. But the three people, with their hoods pulled low, didn’t budge and asked instead.
“Are you from the Central Plains?”
The sudden question back made the bandits frown. It was often the case while engaging in banditry. These martial artists, unafraid of danger and fueled by hatred toward Central Plains folks!
“Just answer us!”
A bandit with a whip swung it mercilessly. If one of the three screamed and fell, the rest would surely grasp the situation this time!
However, things unfolded differently than the bandits had anticipated.
Instead of someone collapsing from the whip strike, one of them precisely caught the whip.
The sight sent chills down the spine of the bandits.
An expert!
And not just any low-level expert—they were facing someone at a level they would never encounter in their lifetime!
“Looks like the ones trained in martial arts are definitely from the Central Plains.”
“Even if not, wouldn’t it be easier to just take them away without a struggle?”
“Our numbers are sufficient.”
With each bandit muttering their thoughts, they finally recognized the identities of the three who drew out their weapons hidden behind their backs.
“C-Class…!”
Seeing the three Daoists draw their weapons and charge, the bandits panicked and kicked their horses’ sides, but the horses just pranced around in confusion, not willing to run.
“Geh!”
“Why are they acting like this!”
The reason their horses were disobeying was that the Daoists had released a deadly aura that restrained the horses’ movement.
Having spent years in the Trench Faction honing their skills to control their steeds like limbs, the Daoists used this technique expertly.
As the horses, agitated by the Daoists’ abilities, tried to throw off their riders, chaos reigned among the bandits who were quickly subdued by the trench faction’s Daoists.
After dealing with all the bandits, which numbered slightly over twenty, the Daoists checked their conditions and then sighed in relief.
“With this many, we’ve somewhat saved face.”
“Thankfully, it ended neatly with one group.”
The Daoists, binding the unconscious bandits atop their horses, recalled the words of Ho Cheon-an from yesterday.
[The current situation in Yunnan is dire. Countless bandit groups are plundering the common people.]
Ho Cheon-an was the first to sweep up the remnants of the Blood Sect in Yunnan.
It had been a while since the remnants of the Blood Sect had been cleared out, so Yunnan should have returned to some level of peace, but in reality, that hadn’t happened.
Not only were the martial artists in Yunnan dwindling, but the resurgence of Blood Sect remnants meant the martial artists were sparse, and even if the remnants were wiped out, where would new martial artists suddenly materialize from?
In a mountain without tigers, foxes take charge, so it was only natural that, without martial artists in Yunnan, the bandit groups would run rampant.
[Yunnan is suffering chaos due to bandit groups, and the Central Plains bandits are gallivanting around, so take the bandits back and deal with Yunnan’s bandit groups.]
[Draw the bandits to Yunnan and pretend to have poisoned them. Instant poison is hard to procure and prepare, so deceit is the better option. Since you’re the Daoists from the Trench Faction, if you acquire the notorious Odokmun’s vision with various drugs, they’ll easily be fooled. Still, those who resist should manage themselves.]
Then, Ho Cheon-an calmly recited fake recipes for poisons and antidotes, which were mostly common herbs and simple combinations that the Daoists could easily grasp.
But the calm demeanor of Ho Cheon-an left the Daoists in shock.
It wasn’t the concoction of poison that was the issue; it was the content Ho Cheon-an spoke of.
Double-death and antidote.
He intended to use the bandits in the Central Plains as scapegoats to deal with the Yunnan trouble. The method to control those bandits was fake poison, and if it didn’t work, they’d just chop them down.
Though he left it up to them, what method could be more threatening than the threat of poisoning against the rough Central Plains bandits?
Given the rumors and the way he handled situations, the Daoists had judged Ho Cheon-an’s personality to be of a certain complexity, intensifying their shock.
[For you as well, this shouldn’t be a pointless struggle. By winning over the hearts of the people in Yunnan, it’ll serve as a solid foundation when rebuilding the sect.]
[When I dealt with Sabok Seol, it was because of this. It’d be better for the people of Yunnan to live alongside the outcast martial artists than to be exposed to the bandits who wouldn’t hesitate to take their lives and all their wealth.]
[So please, do your best. If you fail to smooth things over in Yunnan, I will have to come up with new plans, and I wouldn’t need to spare you.]
His words were practically a threat; the subordinates smirked and asked if he wasn’t a character of the righteous faction. Ho Cheon-an, claiming he was just a humble elder wishing for peace, dismissively ignored that.
“Could he really change the Huang Nation’s will?”
“There’s certainly a possibility.”
The Daoist binding the bandits on the horses nodded.
The Outcast faction was known to use wicked schemes, but at the same time, the way they protected Podalap Palace and the lives of Sabok Seol had shown that they had a side of honor, making it difficult to define them clearly.
That was why the Daoists found it easy to trust Thunder Name Zhonja.
“There probably won’t be anyone like him in the world.”
The Daoists thought of their leader, Sabok Seol. Thunder Name Zhonja had sensed Sabok Seol’s heart was wavering, so there was no way they would’ve missed it either.
They just hadn’t had the means to restore that wavering heart.
“So, then… wouldn’t it be possible to restore Sabok Seol’s heart as well?” The Daoist hesitated to voice those words because it felt disrespectful, but the other Daoists understood each other’s sentiment.
They were all having the same notion.
“Alright! Let’s get moving! We have a long way to go!”
The Daoists nodded and set off on their horses. It was a long journey to Yunnan, so they needed to hurry.
As the bandit groups flocked together after hearing about the clash between Podalap Palace and the Trench Faction, they began to get caught in the hands of the Trench Faction’s Daoists, being transported toward the Central Plains.
And at that moment, Sabok Seol, who was leading the bandit groups back to the Central Plains, was elbow-deep in handling his karmic retribution.
Sabok Seol clenched and relaxed his fist. It was his own habit of gauging his state through his internal power.
Feeling the mediocre sensation rising from his palm, Sabok Seol reminded himself of his condition again.
His dantian was filled with energy, but during the moment he lost consciousness, Ho Cheon-an’s sealing spell meant he couldn’t harness any external energy; he couldn’t even use one-hundredth of his internal power. He had tried to break the seal, but despite his attempts, he couldn’t even scratch the holes allowed to breathe, feeling only more self-loathing.
Sabok Seol let out a small sigh and extended his hand.
Grasping the handle, Sabok Seol stretched his arm forward.
Scrape!
The cooking utensils stuck at the bottom of the pot were scraped off.
But despite the pleasant sounds, the stuck ingredients showed no signs of coming off, leading Sabok Seol to exhale deeply once more.
“Can’t I even scrub a pot properly?”
Immediately, a nagging voice flew at him from behind, causing Sabok Seol to scowl.
Ra Mo, the rumored leader of Podalap Palace, laughed at Sabok Seol’s reaction and teased him. Sabok Seol’s hands trembled with frustration, but there was no way he could win against Ra Mo, who was aiming for peak stage martial arts; all Sabok Seol could do was scrub the pot in angry silence.
“Can’t even scrub one pot without turning red! Pathetic!”
In the end, Sabok Seol exploded.
“Damn it! That’s so pathetic! Pathetic! Can’t you stop already!!”
“Pathetic! If you don’t want to hear that word, then you’d better hurry and clean!”
“Uuaaaah!!”
Filled with rage, Sabok Seol swung the scrub brush furiously, much to Ra Mo’s amusement.
While the seasoned Ho Cheon-an and Rano Sara easily forgave Sabok Seol, Ra Mo had no intention of letting the leader who had long troubled Rasa relax in Podalap Palace.
“Pathetic! Pathetic!”
Thus, Ra Mo played the part of the tormentor in charge of keeping an eye on Sabok Seol. Ho Cheon-an and Rano Sara, watching from a distance, couldn’t help but smile wryly.
“I’m deeply sorry for my daughter’s foolishness.”
“No, it’s a pretty merciful treatment.”
If Podalap Palace were a group of practitioners abiding by strict rules, Sabok Seol would have surely lost his head by now. Sabok Seol was well aware of that, which was why he gritted his teeth and continued scrubbing.
“What’s the movement of the Trench Faction?”
“There have been numerous eyewitness accounts of bandits being dragged away while bound to horses, so it seems they’ve decided to follow the Elder’s wishes.”
“Indeed.”
As Sabok Seol observed Ho Cheon-an’s expression, Sara spoke up.
“Are you planning to leave?”
“…After watching the situation for a few days, I think I will.”
“I see.”
Sara’s gaze shifted to Nab-in, who was diligently punching the air. Perhaps it was because Nab-in had been brought by Ho Cheon-an or because he was simply youthful, but Sara found herself drawn to him.
“Will you visit Podalap Palace again someday?”
“If the matters in Huang Nation get resolved, I’ll come back to visit with Nab-in once more.”
At those words, Sara subtly rolled her eyes. Somehow, Ho Cheon-an’s words felt like a promise without a timeframe.
Everyone knew that Ho Cheon-an’s goal to change Huang Nation’s intentions wouldn’t be achieved easily, so there was no reason to expect a definite answer.
“It’s truly thoughtless of you.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
Looking at Ho Cheon-an, who was sweating coldly under her reprimand, Sara sighed. What good was expressing such sentiments to him?
If she wanted to see Nab-in again soon, she would need to focus on gaining Nab-in’s favor, not Ho Cheon-an.
“Haahh! Phew!”
As Nab-in practiced his chaotic martial arts on the first day of training, a smile formed on Sara’s face. She had come up with a clever scheme to capture Nab-in’s heart.
‘I need to hurry.’
Receiving a questioning glance from Ho Cheon-an, Sara stood up. Not much time was left until Nab-in and Ho Cheon-an would depart, so she had to make her move quickly to catch up with the timeline.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave now.”
Ho Cheon-an watched as Sara vanished and muttered while petting Seo Gong.
“Could it be that she’s angry?”
Creeeak.
With the sound of Seo Gong’s sigh mingling with a cry, time flowed swiftly. Eyewitness accounts of the bandits heading toward the Central Plains continued, Nab-in’s martial training was slowly but steadily improving, Ra Mo wore a satisfied expression, and Sabok Seol’s face remained shadowed.
“Nab-in, it’s time to pack up.”
“…Yes! Master!”
Ho Cheon-an, wearing a sad expression, ruffled Nab-in’s head, who responded energetically despite his forced enthusiasm. Just as Ho Cheon-an began gathering the entities and sorting through the traces left over the last three months, Sara barged in.
“Are you leaving?”
“Now we must take our leave.”
“Still, could you spare us today? I want to make good memories for Nab-in.”
Upon Sara’s suggestion, Ho Cheon-an nodded. Today wasn’t necessarily set as a departure day, so it wouldn’t be a problem to leave tomorrow as well.
“Well then, lead the way.”
Thinking they might be planning a feast, Ho Cheon-an looked at Sara and Ra Mo walking ahead, but his thoughts completely missed the mark.
Sara and Ra Mo led Ho Cheon-an and Nab-in straight to Podalap Palace’s main gate.
“Where are we going?”
Nab-in questioned, filled with curiosity, and Ra Mo answered while lightly slapping his cheek.
“We’re going to make unforgettable memories.”
A mischievous glint appeared on Ra Mo’s face, raising questions on Nab-in’s face. Just as Ho Cheon-an and Nab-in were caught in confusion, the main gate of Podalap Palace opened, revealing the landscape of Rasa lying below.
“Ah….”
And the moment he saw the scenery, Ho Cheon-an understood what Sara and Ra Mo were up to.
In the once-empty southern square of Rasa, there stood a dazzling colorful tent… along with a multitude of people gathered together.
Sara held Nab-in’s hand and spoke.
“Let’s go see the magic performance.”