Heo Mujeong’s knees hit the floor.
“P-Please, save my child! If you do, I’ll repay this crime with my life.”
“You can’t repay it with your life.”
“Pardon?”
“You’ll repay it by working hard for the merchant company from now on.”
“M-Merchant Master...”
“Come on. We need to get moving. The sooner we go, the less your child will suffer. Right?”
“Th-Thank you. I will repay this kindness until the day I die!”
“Good. Work hard until the day you die, then.”
*****
Treating a simple poisoning was easier than child’s play for Jeok Wigang.
Once Jeok Wigang completely cured his poisoned child, Heo Mujeong’s loyalty toward him became absolute.
“I will send them false information this time. I’ll tell them we’ll be taking a different route. Then they’ll set up elsewhere and wait for us there.”
When Heo Mujeong said he would send false information about the trading run to the Heavenly Flower Merchant Company, Jeok Wigang shook his head.
“No. Send them the correct information.”
“What? But then they’ll be waiting for us.”
“Of course they should be waiting. We’re going there to catch them. We can’t send them somewhere else.”
“They are strong. A-Are you sure this is all right?”
Jeok Wigang grinned at Heo Mujeong’s concern.
“If you say that, the people behind us might get offended.”
When Heo Mujeong turned around, he found a crowd of fierce-looking men glaring at him as though they truly had taken offense.
They looked capable of killing a man with a glare alone.
“W-Who are they?”
“The escort guards we recruited this time.”
Those people who looked ready to murder someone were escort guards?
He would have believed they were bandits.
“They’re all strong, so you don’t need to worry.”
“The Tang Family stands behind the Heavenly Flower Merchant Company.”
“Should we fear people so weak they have to rely on poison? Our people are stronger. Don’t worry.”
Just from their faces alone, they certainly looked stronger than the Tang Family.
“Anyone who gets beaten by the Tang Family dies by my hand...”
At Jeok Wigang’s quiet words, everyone stiffened before answering in booming voices.
“Yes, sir!”
“All right, let’s go. At this rate, it’ll be night before we leave.”
“You truly intend to give them the correct information?”
“Mm. Give them every detail. How many people we have, what goods we’re carrying, when we leave, when we arrive. Everything.”
“Understood.”
*****
Black Blood Gate was one of the Central Plains’ three great assassin organizations.
Its Gate Master, Wi Garyang, took the commission letter and snorted.
“These people really are persistent. Even after being hit so many times, they still don’t know when to quit.”
“The True Martial Merchant Company again?”
“Take a look.”
The person who accepted the commission letter was Muk Jin, Black Blood Gate’s second-in-command and the strategist known as the Blood-Haired Strategist.
He was the strategist responsible for handling all major and minor affairs of Black Blood Gate.
“Hmm. They have more cargo than before, but fewer people. It seems they squeezed every last bit out of their remaining manpower and are trying again.”
“That’s what it looks like, right? That’s why they’re impressive. Chengdu may be prosperous, but is it worth staking their lives on it like this? The Central Plains are vast. They could simply develop another route.”
“Pride, perhaps.”
“I’ve seen plenty of people die because of pride.”
As Wi Garyang spoke as though he found them pathetic, Muk Jin smirked.
“Thanks to that, we make money from easy commissions like this.”
“Is that so? Then this time, take only the goods and send them back unharmed.”
Muk Jin grinned.
“If nobody gets hurt, they’ll challenge us again.”
“Exactly. Tell the client as usual that we injured every one of them before sending them back.”
“Understood.”
“Since they all need to return in one piece, send the Blood Rain Unit and the Blood Trace Division.”
“True. Sending them back uninjured is harder than wounding them badly enough that they cannot move. It would be better to send them than some mediocre people.”
The Blood Rain Unit consisted of Black Blood Gate’s finest elite assassins, while the Blood Trace Division was led by one of Black Blood Gate’s Four Great Assassins.
They were sending only the best of the best.
“I wish we could make money this easily every day.”
At Wi Garyang’s words, Muk Jin smiled and bowed.
“I will prepare the men for deployment.”
“Yeah. Go on. Good work.”
*****
To reach Chengdu, also known as Shu, one had to cross the cliffside plank roads called the Shu Roads.
The mountain containing those roads was Sword Gate Mountain.
The group traveling along Sword Gate Mountain’s plank road was the True Martial Merchant Company.
“This is practically begging to be ambushed.”
Jeok Wigang muttered as he looked around. Ye Yahyeon nodded.
“Most martial artists would never have fought in terrain like this, so they would panic. If the enemy were skilled at climbing cliffs, fighting them would be even more difficult.”
Then he looked back.
“But the people brought along this time are specialists at climbing cliffs, so there is no need to worry.”
Jeok Wigang gave a faint laugh.
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
Then he looked in one direction.
“They’re waiting in formation over there.”
Ye Yahyeon pitied the enemy.
Of all people, they had to face Jeok Wigang.
After silently offering prayers for their souls in advance, he addressed the escort guards.
“It seems we will soon engage the enemy. Prepare yourselves.”
At Ye Yahyeon’s words, everyone smiled as though they had been waiting for this and drew their weapons.
Ye Yahyeon shook his head after seeing the escort guards’ expressions.
Looking at them, it felt as though they were the villains.
Gathering only men who looked that frightening was a talent in itself.
As they moved forward, something strange entered the escort guards’ sight.
They tilted their heads in confusion.
“What is that? That’s what assassins use when they disguise themselves.”
“Are those bastards assassins?”
Jeok Wigang, having overheard them, asked,
“That’s a trait of assassins?”
“Yes.”
Ye Yahyeon answered,
“It seems they hired an assassin organization instead of coming personally. Thinking about it, they would not send people without specialized experience into terrain this dangerous.”
“We’ll know once we catch them and ask.”
“Shall we take them?”
“When they move.”
“Understood.”
*****
They’re coming. Get ready.
At one assassin’s voice transmission, everyone fixed their attention on the True Martial Merchant Company.
Poor bastards. They must have suffered because they picked the wrong master.
Poor? They’re lucky. We were told to send every one of them back unharmed.
Is that so? Then this won’t be much fun. No cutting them down.
Heh-heh. Exactly. It was fun watching them suffer. What a shame.
Enough chatter. Focus. Anyone who fails to do this properly will return and have a meeting with me.
The Blood Trace Division’s leader, who commanded them, warned the assassins in a chilling voice. They immediately tensed.
Now! Take them all!
At the Blood Trace Division leader’s command, the assassins cast off their disguises and charged the True Martial Merchant Company all at once.
They all believed this would be an easy task.
But the moment they saw their opponents’ faces, the assassins faltered.
“W-What the hell?”
“Why do they all look so murderous?”
“Did they gather every mean-looking bastard in the Central Plains?”
“What are you doing? Move! Take them!”
The assassins, who had hesitated, began moving again.
Then the True Martial Merchant Company’s escort guards grinned and drew their weapons.
Their faces did not show tension.
They looked like they were enjoying themselves.
What is this?
An unfamiliar sense of unease crept over them.
But they could not stop now.
CLANG—.
The assassins and the True Martial Merchant Company’s escort guards clashed, and the assassins froze.
That single exchange had allowed them to gauge their opponents’ strength.
“W-What?”
The assassins were shaken.
In contrast, despite being ambushed, the True Martial Merchant Company’s escort guards continued smiling as though they were having fun.
From a distance, it looked as though the assassins were the ones being attacked.
Then the Blood Trace Division leader’s furious voice rang out.
“What are you doing? Fight properly!”
“These people are not ordinary!”
At one assassin’s cry, veins bulged on the Blood Trace Division leader’s forehead.
“You worthless fools! You dare make such weak excuses while fighting mere escort guards? When you return, you will undergo hellish training!”
The assassins were frustrated because he refused to believe them.
“Ha-ha. What’s wrong? The man above you doesn’t believe you?”
“Frustrating, isn’t it? We understand.”
“The people above never understand the hardships of those beneath them.”
The escort guards spoke to them with absurd calmness.
The assassins attacked again.
CLANG— CLANG-CLANG—!
The assassins were losing their minds.
How could men who blocked all their attacks so casually possibly be ordinary escort guards?
They were supposed to capture these people alive?
That was ridiculous.
Even if they attacked with everything they had, they were not sure they could capture them.
No, one moment of carelessness, and they would be the ones defeated.
Only then did the Blood Trace Division leader realize something was wrong.
“What is this?”
Those were not the movements of ordinary escort guards.
How should he describe it?
They felt less like escort guards and more like people in the same profession.
Then something flashed through his mind.
“Damn it! They hired assassins too!”
At the Blood Trace Division leader’s shout, the assassins stiffened.
“Go all out! They disguised assassins as escort guards!”
At his cry, the aura of Black Blood Gate’s assassins changed in an instant.
The escort guards’ expressions brightened even further as they felt the surging killing intent.
“Now this is some real killing intent! How long has it been?”
“Good! This is good!”
“HAHAHA! Now I finally feel alive!”
“What are you waiting for? Enjoy yourselves!”
“WAAAH!”
They had released killing intent to intimidate their enemies, but instead, their opponents became even more excited and began rampaging.
They even started overwhelming Black Blood Gate’s assassins.
The Blood Trace Division leader realized something had gone terribly wrong.
“W-What the hell are those people?”
Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
“An assassin should not panic so easily in a situation like this. Isn’t responding to unexpected variables an assassin’s first principle?”
Startled, he spun around.
A bearded middle-aged man stood there, grinning.
“W-When did you—?”
As the Blood Trace Division leader stared in shock, the middle-aged man shook his head.
“You did not even notice when your enemy took your rear. You do not have the basics of an assassin.”
The instant he finished speaking, blue throwing weapons flew toward the middle-aged man’s face.
PA-PA-PAT—.
The hidden weapons flew past him and lodged in the ground.
“You seem fairly skilled with hidden weapons.”
The voice came from behind him again.
The Blood Trace Division leader immediately threw himself away.
He stared at the middle-aged man with wide eyes.
He could not believe this situation.
He had come out feeling as though he were simply taking a leisurely stroll.
Instead, it felt as though he had fallen into an inescapable trap.
“W-Who are you?”
“Me? I’m Go Jin, an escort captain of the True Martial Merchant Company.”
“An escort captain?”
“Why?”
“You are not an assassin?”
“An assassin? What about me looks like an assassin? Don’t I obviously look like an escort captain?”
He obviously looked like an assassin.
Go Jin looked the Blood Trace Division leader over and gave a faint laugh.
“Judging by your killing intent, you are not from some ordinary assassin group... And an assassin organization that has someone of your level...”
The Blood Trace Division leader smirked.
How many assassin organizations existed in the Central Plains?
There was no way he could guess.
“Black Blood Gate. Right?”
“What are you talking about? You’re wrong.”
“Wrong? Strange. No organization other than Black Blood Gate should have an assassin of your level.”
“Black Blood Gate is not the only assassin organization. There is the Ghost Killer Corps and Nameless Hall as well.”
Go Jin smirked at the Blood Trace Division leader’s answer.
“Then it really is Black Blood Gate.”
The Blood Trace Division leader was dumbfounded.
What on earth made him so certain?