Chapter 33: One Tail Chasing Another. -02
At the skillful hand movements, the man instinctively knew.
That the opponent was by no means a novice.
At the same time, a question arose.
No matter how he thought about it, there was nowhere that would have reason to grab him like this.
“Don’t roll your eyes around. The only thing you need to do is answer what I ask.”
“Mmngh!”
At Ban Hojin’s words, spoken for the first time, the man wriggled his lips as if trying to speak.
He wondered if the mute acupoint had been released.
But unfortunately, no voice came out.
Ban Hojin had only said what he needed to say.
“Wait. What’s the rush? The night is long, and there’s plenty of time.”
Just as he said, in the pitch-dark forest where there was nothing at all, only Ban Hojin’s voice eerily sliced through the empty air.
The only light was the moonlight, and perhaps because a crescent moon was hanging in the sky, Ban Hojin’s figure was even harder to see.
With a face mask, a headcloth, and his entire body wrapped tightly in black night garments, the only thing visible to the man was a pair of cold eyes.
“Uuuh….”
As Ban Hojin rummaged through his bosom with an indifferent, emotionless voice, the man’s body trembled.
It was because he knew all too well what intent lay behind searching his clothes.
“Just as I thought—completely broke.”
All he had was a money pouch.
Though there was a fairly large amount inside, unlike someone living in a hut, it was of no use whatsoever to Ban Hojin.
So Ban Hojin used his fingers to release the mute acupoint, making sure the man understood.
“W-who are you?”
“I told you already. I ask the questions. The only thing you can do is answer. Ah, of course, you don’t have to. In that case, your body will suffer. By the way, are you familiar with torture?”
“Guhhk!”
He jabbed casually, again and again, yet it was unbearably painful.
It was nothing more than being poked with a finger, but the pain felt as if his body were being pierced straight through, and the man screamed.
However, since this was a remote wild hillside far from any homes, no matter how much he screamed, it only echoed back, and there was absolutely no chance anyone would come to help him.
Even if someone did come, unless they were at the level of the leaders of the Four Tyrants of the World, there was no one who could save him.
“Looks like you’re finally ready to have a conversation.”
“Ugh….”
Even at the sight of the man hanging limply, letting out only faint groans, Ban Hojin’s gaze remained icy.
In the war against the Four Tyrants of the World, it wasn’t only martial artists who died.
Women of martial families, children, and even household members who had not learned a single move of martial arts had their heads cut off simply for being part of a family.
Ban Hojin was the one who had seen that more than anyone else, and so not even a trace of pity arose for this man.
“Stop pretending to be pitiful, you traitor. Did you have nowhere else to latch onto, so you crawled to the Ironblood Fortress?”
Flinch!
The man, who had been silently bowing his head, jolted.
It was the shock of hearing a voice filled not with doubt, but with certainty.
“Since when did you become a spy for the Ironblood Fortress?”
“…….”
The man rolled his eyes.
But since his head was lowered, Ban Hojin couldn’t see it.
However, the man knew one thing and not two.
Tap.
When no answer came immediately, Ban Hojin casually nudged the man lightly with the tip of his foot.
At that moment, the man twisted his entire body and let out a horrific scream.
“Kyaaaagh!”
It was a simple touch, yet the result was different.
The man screamed nonstop as if his entire body were being butchered.
He had lost his senses, experiencing for the first time in his life the agony of bone-severing and tendon-twisting.
“What, so you’re not someone who received professional training?”
Seeing the man show no sign of enduring the pain, Ban Hojin tilted his head instead.
He was far too different from the agents he had captured in the past.
Back then as well, there had been Central Plains natives among the agents he captured, but none of them had screamed like this.
That was why he had killed them without interrogating them one by one.
“Guhhhk!”
“Since when?”
“I-it’s been since the beginning of this year….”
“Talk about your superior.”
“I don’t know. I only pass along letters to those who come to find me. I never go to them myself. It’s true, I swear!”
It hadn’t even been half a quarter-hour, but in that time, the man—who had experienced hell—poured out words without stopping.
He told everything he knew.
However, there was not a single piece of information that could be called substantial.
“When do they come? There must be some kind of cycle.”
“It’s random. They just come to me.”
“The location?”
“My hut. That’s why I can’t stay anywhere else. But I have one request—”
As the man rattled on like rapid-fire, the focus in his eyes gradually scattered.
The moment the word “request” came out, Ban Hojin pressed a death acupoint.
He knew exactly what the man was about to ask, so Ban Hojin killed him without hesitation.
It didn’t look like he knew anything more anyway.
“So this is all I got.”
After giving the cooling corpse a brief glance, Ban Hojin took out a book.
It was the very book the man had been writing in at his hut.
However, it was written in cipher, so its contents couldn’t be understood.
“Still, it’s better than nothing. If things like this pile up little by little, something will eventually come into view.”
Glancing at the man, a mere spy who didn’t even have bone-melting powder, Ban Hojin swung his hand.
The ground beside the corpse caved in, forming a pit, and Ban Hojin used a technique to pull the body through the air, placed it inside, and covered it back up with dirt.
Whooosh!
After burying the corpse in an instant, Ban Hojin took one last look around and then launched his body away.
Soon, a bleak wind swept through the spot where he had just been.
Even after returning, Ban Hojin didn’t sleep for even a moment and sat down on a chair, staring at the book.
But contrary to his gaze, other thoughts repeatedly surfaced and vanished in Ban Hojin’s mind.
“To think they already have spies planted in the Central Plains.”
The more he thought about it, the more shocking it became.
Harboring ambition and putting it into action were clearly two very different things.
That was why Ban Hojin felt fear along with surprise.
It felt as though he had caught a small glimpse of why the Central Plains Murim had been helplessly overwhelmed.
“At least ten years.”
Ten years was the time it took for landscapes to change.
And that was only the minimum—it could have been eleven years, or even fifteen.
The Four Tyrants of the World had been steadily carrying out their plans over that span of time.
Along with that, it became somewhat understandable why the Central Plains Murim had fractured and collapsed in an instant.
“No wonder we were pushed back. And I know far too little. I grasp the broad framework, but that can change at any time.”
Ban Hojin’s mind spun rapidly.
For now, yesterday’s incident would serve as a minor obstruction, but it wouldn’t amount to a serious blow.
And because of that, the Ironblood Fortress wouldn’t think much of it either.
There were no traces left behind, and aside from the man, there were no other casualties.
“A battle of wits and nerves, huh. It’d be really convenient if I had people who could serve as my hands and feet.”
Knock knock knock.
The more he thought about it, the more sighs escaped him.
That said, he couldn’t exactly tell others to help him just because he knew the future.
The moment he said that, everyone would surely treat him like a madman.
Just then, along with a familiar presence, there came the sound of knocking on the door.
“It’s me, big brother!”
“I know. Come in.”
“Good morning! Huh? You didn’t sleep?”
Perhaps because it was morning, Seo Joun entered the room with an energetic face and widened his eyes.
For some reason, he felt that Ban Hojin looked more tired than usual.
“I had something to think about.”
“Do you have worries?”
“If you call it worries, then I suppose they are.”
“Are you planning to get even stronger? If you get strong too fast, it’ll be hard to catch up.”
Seo Joun blurted out what was on his mind without realizing it.
He knew as well how enormous the gap between them already was.
Still, he thought he was catching up in his own way, since a beginner’s growth was bound to be steep—but if Ban Hojin suddenly became much stronger here, the gap would only widen further.
“Stop talking nonsense and go out and polish your basics first. You haven’t even worn down the calluses on your hands yet.”
“I don’t think calluses and realms are necessarily proportional. For example, there’s Bone Transformation and Rebirth. But big brother, have you experienced Bone Transformation and Rebirth? I looked it up, and they say it’s best to do it while you’re young. They say aging stops at the age when you undergo Bone Transformation and Rebirth.”
“Not yet, for me. And not everyone can do it. There are people who can, and people who can’t.”
“I’m aiming for twenty. That way, I can support you with a vigorous body, big brother!”
Even though there were less than three years left by the count of time, Seo Joun boasted confidently.
And yet, it wasn’t necessarily impossible.
If he perfectly mastered and controlled the overflowing Extreme Yang Energy and built up even more strength than now, it seemed possible even in Ban Hojin’s eyes.
“Alright, work hard. If you’re making the effort, there’s nothing bad in it for me.”
“Shouldn’t you also take care of your health, big brother? You’re still young, but you should prepare for the future in advance—”
Knock.
Seo Joun’s words were cut off midway.
Someone had knocked on the door.
“Um….”
“Yes, please come in.”
Creeeak.
The door opened cautiously, and a servant who still looked youthful revealed himself.
He seemed to be about Seo Joun’s age, and whether it was because of Ban Hojin’s epithet or because he was friends with Seonwu Bang, the Young Lord, he was clearly being careful with his words and behavior.
“A guest has come looking for Young Master Ban. Young Lord Seonwu Bang is guiding him right now, and he asked me to inform you in advance.”
“For me?”
Ban Hojin tilted his head.
He hadn’t particularly made it known that he was staying at the Seonwu Family, so he found it strange that someone had come looking for him.
And judging by the way Seo Joun also widened his eyes, he seemed to feel the same.
“I wasn’t told the detailed circumstances, but I did hear that they came from the Geum Family Estate.”
“Ah.”
At the words “Geum Family Estate,” Ban Hojin let out a soft chuckle.
He could already guess who it was.
Seo Joun likewise let out a hollow laugh with a dumbfounded expression.
“Big Brother, at this point, isn’t that obsession?”
“There is a reason it might be.”
“Their objective is recruitment, right? Trying to make you their own?”
“Probably.”
Ban Hojin answered in a nonchalant tone.
There was no need to spell it out.
He could clearly see what they were thinking.
But even so, he had no intention of moving according to their wishes.
‘Though I do want the Geum Family Estate’s influence over the Central Plains Commercial World.’
Ban Hojin smacked his lips inwardly.
He was reminded of what had happened at dawn.
If he had possessed an information organization he could personally operate, the outcome would have been very different.
“They sure dream big. That Second Young Lord of the Geum Family Estate, trying to take you in. Even I wouldn’t dare.”
“I don’t plan on belonging anywhere. Unless I were to raise a clan of my own.”
“That actually sounds fun.”
“You could do it too.”
“I’ll think about it after I first build up my own clan.”
Knock knock knock.
As the servant stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do amid the two’s conversation, the sound of knocking came again.
At the same time, Seonwu Bang’s voice was heard.
“It’s me. I’m coming in?”
“Alright.”
Since he had already been informed, Seonwu Bang opened the door without hesitation.
A moment later, Seonwu Bang and Geum Hoyeon slowly entered the room.
“Hahaha, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“It has. This is the first time since we met at the Seo Family Estate.”
“To be clear in advance, this time I didn’t just happen to drop by while passing nearby. I came because I have something to say to Young Master Ban.”
“Something to say to me.”
“You could call it a proposal, or perhaps a request.”