Chapter 338

One of the campaign force warriors standing watch atop the fortress shouted.

“Someone’s running down the mountain path!”

Taoist Hyeonam, who had been standing behind Uncheon Zhenren, stepped forward and called out.

“Lookouts, fire flare arrows! Confirm exactly who it is and report!”

FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

Flames sprang up at scattered points along the fortress walls, and balls of fire immediately streaked one after another into the night sky.

—WHIIIISTLE! WHIIIISTLE! WHIIIISTLE!

Flare arrows were whistling signal arrows fitted with torches, allowing the surrounding area to be seen in the dark.

The warriors keeping watch atop the fortress all stared in the direction the arrows had flown.

One of them shouted.

“He’s wearing Taoist robes!”

Another immediately called out.

“There’s a Taiji emblem on his sleeve!”

Uncheon Zhenren assumed it must be the Wudang disciple he had sent down the mountain returning.

Why is he coming back himself instead of sending a carrier pigeon?

Just as the question occurred to him—

“Ah! It’s Senior Uncle Hyeongong!”

One of the Wudang disciples among the sentries shouted at the top of his lungs.

“His steps are unsteady. He looks badly wounded!”

Uncheon Zhenren immediately turned to Taoist Hyeonam.

“Hyeonam, go out at once and bring Hyeongong in.”

“Understood!”

Taoist Hyeonam immediately acknowledged the commander’s order and raced toward the fortress gate.

*****

As they left the horse market, Hu Gae grumbled.

“Kwak, if you’d told me beforehand that we were going to meet Chief Protector Kang, you could’ve saved me a lot of worrying.”

Ever since leaving Jin Cheongha behind in the cavern of the Great Demon Prison, Hu Gae had worried more than anyone.

The dried rations they had left behind were nowhere near enough to feed nine people, Jin Cheongha included.

Kwak Yeon had simply told him not to worry, leaving Hu Gae frustrated all this time.

Well, he could understand why.

There had always been a chance Chief Protector Kang might fail to keep his promise.

“Wait. What were you going to do if Chief Protector Kang hadn’t been here?”

“I never considered that possibility.”

“I’m saying, what if something had happened to him?”

“......”

“Were you planning to send me back there?”

“......”

“Good lord...! You were going to make me, Hu Gae of the Beggar Clan, wait hand and foot on the greatest demons under heaven?”

“There wasn’t anyone else I could trust with it.”

“......!”

That was, unfortunately, true.

It was not as though Taoist Cheongmu could handle something like that.

“Brother, it’s all in the past now. Let it go.”

Hu Gae nodded at Kwak Yeon’s words, then asked,

“So what now?”

“We’ll wait until the docks open at dawn, then leave on the fast boat.”

Traveling by water along the Yellow River was far faster than taking the harsh overland roads through the lands north of the Gobi.

Besides, they had already chartered a fast boat, so the answer was obvious.

Of course, that was not what Hu Gae had been asking.

“I mean, what are we going to do about travel money?”

Kwak Yeon asked blankly,

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Why do you think? Because we don’t have any.”

Hu Gae stared at him in disbelief.

Who was it that had handed his entire money pouch over to Chief Protector Kang...?

Seeing Hu Gae’s expression, Kwak Yeon let out a soft exclamation.

“Ah.”

The two of them practically understood each other without a word.

Hu Gae instantly knew what that “ah” meant.

“Don’t tell me you thought I had another purse tucked away somewhere.”

Kwak Yeon nodded.

“You always do.”

Hu Gae’s face reddened.

“I didn’t this time because I knew you’d give me that look.”

“......”

When Kwak Yeon merely stared at him, Hu Gae’s face crumpled.

“Damn it. Fine. There’s a Beggar Clan Branch in Huangzhou County, a little farther down from here. I’ll get us some travel money there.”

His master, Beggar Clan Leader Yongdu, would probably fly into a rage when he heard Hu Gae had shaken down a Branch for money, but what else could he do when matters were urgent?

“Brother, I’m sorry to put you through the trouble.”

“You’ve got nothing to apologize for. It’s my fault for not keeping a second purse.”

Hu Gae left the rest unsaid—that he should have known better when Kwak Yeon cared so little about money to begin with.

“Anyway, we’ll be penniless until Huangzhou County, so I should go to the Watermen’s Guild and make sure our chartered fast boat is still there.”

They had chartered it from the most reputable shipping guild in Chang’an, so naturally it should still be waiting for them.

Still, there was no harm in checking.

“I’ll go on ahead. You and Taoist Cheongmu take your time coming to the south gate where the Watermen’s Guild is.”

Carefree as ever, Taoist Cheongmu kept falling behind to look at everything around him.

As a result, he was slowing the entire group down.

“Please do.”

Hu Gae started ahead, then suddenly added,

“Once we reach Huangzhou County, we can use Beggar Clan carrier pigeons to send word straight to the Martial Alliance. So don’t get impatient. The Alliance Leader will see to stopping the campaign.”

Hu Gae soon vanished into the darkness.

*****

Taoist Hyeongong was a ghastly sight when Taoist Hyeonam half-carried him into the fortress.

His Taoist robes were so filthy that not a trace of white remained, and they had been torn to shreds. Wounds covered his entire body.

The worst injury was his left arm, severed at the shoulder.

Because both his wrists had been shackled, the severed left arm was still cuffed and tethered beside his right wrist.

The detached arm was so badly mangled that it was obvious Hyeongong had dragged it along the ground like a piece of timber.

The one fortunate thing was that the bleeding from his severed shoulder had stopped.

Even in such desperate circumstances, he seemed to have found enough time to seal the necessary points properly.

Despite his grave wounds, Hyeongong remained fully conscious.

The moment he saw Uncheon Zhenren, he pushed Taoist Hyeonam away and dropped to his knees.

“Martial Uncle Uncheon, I have committed a sin worthy of death.”

Even Uncheon Zhenren could not bring himself to vent his anger at the sight of Hyeongong in such a state.

Whatever crime he had committed, saving his life came first.

The details could wait until afterward.

Uncheon Zhenren spoke coldly.

“Martial Nephew Hyeongong, have your wounds treated first.”

“Martial Uncle Uncheon, there is no time.”

Hyeongong hurriedly raised his head.

“You must catch the fiends of the Gathering Demons Division at once and annihilate them. I risked my life to return so that you would know their true strength and weakness.”

Uncheon Zhenren could not simply ignore him when he was refusing treatment despite wounds this severe.

“Tell me exactly what happened.”

“At around yesterday afternoon, when the Martial Alliance campaign force drew close to Sword Demon Valley, I heard that the Gathering Demons Division leadership realized the situation had turned against them and decided to abandon the valley. A jailer said they were taking the prisoners with them as hostages and shackled my wrists as well. While they were dragging us along the mountain road, I managed to escape under cover of darkness. Several of their fiends came after me, and I had to sacrifice one arm to stop a sword. Fortunately, that gave me the chance to seize the man’s weapon. I used it to fight off the rest and preserve this wretched life.”

Having recounted the entire sequence in one breath, Hyeongong lowered his head as tears streamed down his face.

“Martial Uncle Uncheon, I wanted to take my own life immediately, but I thought I had to tell you where they had gone first... Forgive me.”

“......”

Uncheon Zhenren stared at Hyeongong with a troubled expression and said nothing.

The impatient Clan Master of the Hebei Peng Family, Peng Cheon-hwi, spoke up.

“Taoist Hyeongong, which route did they take?”

“They are heading for the Valley of Dark Mourning, a shortcut into Guanzhong. I heard them say that once they entered Guanzhong, they would scatter, head for the Yin Mountains north of the Gobi, and establish a new base there.”

Peng Cheon-hwi’s expression immediately darkened.

If the Gathering Demons Division established a new base in the Yin Mountains north of the Gobi, the Hebei Peng Family would find itself in a truly difficult position.

That would place them far closer to Beiping Prefecture, where the Peng Family was based.

It would be like coming to cut away one tumor only to end up growing another inside one’s own belly.

“Hmm! Then we must catch them before they pass through the Valley of Dark Mourning.”

Peng Cheon-hwi looked toward the Clan Master of the Shandong Yue Family for agreement.

“Wouldn’t you say so, Clan Master Yue?”

Instead of answering Peng Cheon-hwi, Yue Gun-yeong turned to Hyeongong.

“Taoist Hyeongong, how large was their force?”

“There were roughly two hundred demonic-path practitioners retreating. I overheard their rank-and-file muttering that they had suffered heavy losses after repeatedly being defeated in ambushes. It appears that was true.”

“Only two hundred!”

Yue Gun-yeong looked at Uncheon Zhenren with satisfaction.

“Commander, now I understand why they packed up in such a panic and fled.”

“......”

When Uncheon Zhenren remained silent, Hyeongong hurriedly added,

“Clan Master Yue, you must not underestimate them just because there are only two hundred. Every one of them is a formidable demonic master. In particular, the Nether-Heaven Unit, the personal guard of the Gathering Demons Division’s Deputy Lord, the Nether-Heaven Demon Lord, is said to consist entirely of masters at the Transcendent stage—”

His strength seemed to give out from speaking too urgently.

Hyeongong broke off with a choking groan and coughed up blood.

Uncheon Zhenren looked at his deathly pale face.

“That is enough. Martial Nephew Hyeongong, withdraw and focus on your treatment. Your wrongdoing will be addressed separately once we return to the main mountain.”

Hyeongong bowed his head so sharply it nearly folded forward.

“Martial Uncle Uncheon! ...I am deeply sorry.”

Seeing Hyeongong wounded and utterly dejected, Uncheon Zhenren felt a trace of pity.

But Hyeongong had violated the strict rules of their sect several times already. Uncheon could not allow personal feeling to dictate how he dealt with him.

“Martial Nephew Hyeonam, take Martial Nephew Hyeongong to the medical station.”

“Understood.”

Once Taoist Hyeonam had helped Hyeongong away, the deeply anxious Peng Cheon-hwi immediately spoke.

“Commander, now that we know their escape route and the size of their force, let us pursue them at once.”

Yue Gun-yeong backed him up.

“Commander, we must also rescue the prisoners from the various martial sects immediately. If those men learn that Taoist Hyeongong escaped and harm the hostages, our entire campaign force will earn the resentment of their sects.”

“......”

Still, Uncheon Zhenren said nothing.

Peng Cheon-hwi raised his voice.

“Commander, what are you hesitating over this time? Surely you do not distrust the report of a disciple from your own sect?”

Yue Gun-yeong cut in.

“Ha ha, Clan Master Peng, surely the Commander would never do such a thing. The man ran all the way here even at death’s door.”

Though the two Clan Masters had become so blinded by the prospect of military merit that they were speaking rudely, Uncheon Zhenren remained calm.

“The reason I hesitate is that the Valley of Dark Mourning is exceptionally treacherous. Both of you experienced its natural defenses during the Eight Desolations Upheaval. Surely you remember them well?”

An icy silence settled over the gathering.

During the Eight Desolations Upheaval, no place had claimed more dead and wounded among the orthodox martial world than the Valley of Dark Mourning.