Chapter 149

“I’ll take you to the back door.”
“You’re trying to convince yourself that your memories have returned.”
Black Ho shook his head and turned to face me. His unwavering gaze made me want to avert my gaze.
“This body has finally become useful. They’re going to use me to get to you, the Grand Duke, and the Zheng Sect.”
“You’ve always been useful, don’t lower yourself all of a sudden. And you should say it right, they just want to kill you.”
“Please allow me to repay the favor that …… has given me.”
I was about to make a comment about what kind of grace invocation this was, but then I realized that this was not a moment for a playful response and sighed.
“The child is alive, and this is not an open secret; I learned of it through the imperial family’s intelligence network.”
She must be about the age of the Namgung Byeok now. Black Lake’s daughter would be alive. Black Lake paused at the words.
“If your father is so irresponsible, I have no intention of being friends with him.”
I meant it, and knowing better than anyone that I meant it, Black Ho bit his lower lip before he spoke.
“I just want to see it with my own eyes.”
Halt.
I stop speaking and look at him.
“On the day I saw it, I saw the child’s breathing stop, and I slaughtered thirty people on the spot, the Salmak’s Salsoo, and deliberately wiped my memory, forgetting how to use my ears, fearing that my habit of being a Salsoo would creep in.”
I listened in silence, for in those words was the story of Black Ho’s entire life.
“Yeonhee died in front of my eyes, and my daughter died. What could I have done, I wanted to drop everything and die, and it’s only because of you that I’m here today, so please allow me to do so.”
I shook my head at Black Ho’s determination, then walked over and kicked him in the shin.
Pfft!
“Spit in my mouth before you speak.”
“Big…….”
“It doesn’t even hurt that much.”
“Why, why are you doing that?”
I pointed out the inflection in Black Lake’s words.
“You’re going to immortalize yourself if you keep going.”
“Oh, no…….”
“No? Of course not, otherwise you’d be in the Deep Mountain Valley, or hanging yourself, but you’ve killed more than thirty people, and you’re still trying to survive by playing dumb. What does that mean?”
“…….”
“You survived on instinct. You wanted to survive, and you waited for the right moment.”
[ I will kill you, Salwang, I will tear you apart and grind you to bones. ]
I can feel the killing intent in Black Lake’s body. Toward someone.
When he returns from a life of forgetfulness, the painful memories he’s been living with come back to haunt him.
There is only one thing that keeps his feet on the ground. To get revenge for the harm done to his family.
“And yet you didn’t jump in there, which means you didn’t want to be a moth to the flame. You wanted someone to catch you, so you wouldn’t die in vain. So.”
I shook my head at Black Lake’s words.
“Don’t make the same choice you made in the past. I’ll get you.”
“…….”
Even as I said this, Black Tiger’s killing intent didn’t fade. The blood flavor in his veins only deepened, and I sighed at the sight.
“Black Tiger.”
“…….”
“I don’t want you to die. And I believe in you.”
The trust that builds between people is not in words, but in actions, and time and again, Black Ho showed me that. With many actions to me.
“So I’m going to leave you with one thing, so you do the same.”
Not to be consumed by revenge.
And lest the shadows before him grow darker.
“Trust me.”
“Of course.”
So I thought about giving him an unreasonable command.
“Well, you’re going to have to use that dirty word again.”
* * *
“All the fancy tricks in the world won’t do you any good in the face of blood. This is why I don’t make families.”
The hunchback chuckles and smirks. When the man from before comes to the camp, he’s puzzled by the strange method of suicide.
However, when the man in front of him dared to dive in front of the flesh-colored sunbursts, he briefly expressed his admiration for the fact that he had been cut to pieces.
“What can I do about it, anyway? My king wants to kill you like a chimney, but I can’t.”
Hae-pyo’s dagger touches the bottom of Guo-chu’s chin at the corner of his eyes.
Juruk.
A trickle of blood leaks out.
“This one, the one called King Sal. I think you’re bluffing, you’re so good at provocation.”
“Next time, you’ll be decapitated.”
“Giggle. My neck or yours?”
A rounded scythe, held in the grasp of a snarling dog, closed around Hapyo’s neck.
Mm, mm, mm!
“I see. You’re quite a sight to behold. I wish you’d stayed a little longer. I didn’t enjoy it as much before because I was drinking, and this time I’m not even there.”
The person who approached with the sound of applause was Zhu Tae-hwa, who had chosen to go against the Hwang family, who called him the heavenly master.
As Zhu Tiehua approached, Hai Pyo put away the fleshlight he had been smoking and took a step back.
“I’m afraid I’m more interested in this than you two.”
Zhu Tae-hwa looked at the captive man.
“I got here on my own two feet.”
“…….”
“Is he mute?”
“I came on my own feet.”
“To die?”
“I know my daughter is alive.”
Zhu Tae-hwa turns to look at Hae-pyo. When he doesn’t meet her gaze, Guo Qiu opens his mouth with an annoyed expression.
“I wish you’d talk to me calmly, especially since there’s a bug cub in the room, the loner you’ve been bragging about. You shouldn’t keep your mouth shut like that. He’s come a long way, he deserves some respect.”
“……is alive.”
“Oh.”
He looked back and forth between the man and Joo Tae-hwa. Tae-hwa nods for him to continue, and Gyok-chu crouches down to look at the man.
“Yes, he’s alive, but what can we do about it?”
Gyokchu chuckled at the man’s fiery glow.
An enemy who cannot be killed.
Mutual enemies.
The sight of the two of them fighting so hard to stop each other from eating each other made Guo Qiu’s stomach turn.
They say that watching fights is the second most enjoyable thing after crippling, but that’s a lie.
“Watching fights is the most fun, by the way.”
Glancing at Hae-pyo, Guo-chu opened his mouth.
“Tearing open flesh and keeping people in pain forever. You talk the talk, but do nothing.”
“Shut up.”
Having silenced Guo Qiu with his words, Hai Pao pulled out a small vial from his bosom.
“I won’t kill you gently.”
With that, the vial containing the wriggling little bug opened.
The man’s eyes widened in horror, and all he could do was let out a soundless scream. Here, in the presence of Unnai, Chu, and Hae-Taek, he felt the horrible sensation of the worms crawling down his throat, as he was immobilized by their injected mucus.
“Whoop! Whoop!”
“Well, well, well, it crawls in. I wonder if it recognizes who my master is. No, not my master.”
The chuckling voice of the dog echoed.
* * *
The man’s limp body sagged, and his white eyes sank as he looked at Black Lake.
The plains of the four seas, and the ten thousand miles of the Yangtze.
Even the Great Shadow’s Guan Chu, Salmak’s Haemen, and Zhu Taihua, the leader of the Red Army, all focused their gazes on him from their respective positions.
“Bring him in.”
At Hai Pyo’s words, a shadow flickered and disappeared. A moment later, the shadow reappeared with a swaddling bag slung over his shoulder.
Salsoo saw the swaddling bag and gave a short knee to his shoulder.
“So that’s his daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s good. They’re a bunch of sneaky bastards. They should have killed her right away, but they kept her alive to use her some day.”
Gopchu sneered.
“Guo Chu.”
Galpyeong’s sour expression takes over.
“Ah. You’re always getting on my nerves. Am I the only one who thinks that? I’m lonely. I just want to fuck a bunch of bitches. Aah.”
When the hunchback had had enough, he stepped back and flopped down on the ground, shivering, and Salsu dropped the wrapper to the ground.
And then, as soon as she’d unwrapped it,
“…….”
Zhu Tiehua clicked his tongue, and all of Zhu Tiehua’s guards around him turned to face him.
In-young, who emerged from the swaddling clothes, was covered in blood. His mouth was parched as if he hadn’t eaten a bowl of blood porridge, and his whole body was so thin that it was easy to believe he was fifteen years old instead of ten, which made the captive Black Tiger’s eyes widen.
After taking one look at her, Hai Pyo forced the corners of the girl’s mouth open and opened the glass bottle in her left hand.
“Oof! Oof!”
The captive Black Ho’s body shook. Tears and snot dripping down its face, it slowly closed the distance.
The squirming bug didn’t stop, but it seemed to have found its way to the girl’s mouth.
“You fed your daughter solitude. If she dies, you die, and if she dies, you die.”
The black tiger’s eyes went blank at the flavorless words.
Then, in front of him, Haepyo grabbed the girl by the throat and pulled her closer, releasing the pain in his heart.
“Where is the princess, and how is she traveling?”
“…….”
“Is there anything you want to say?”
“…….”
“I can’t hear you very well.”
“Kill ……. I will kill it.”
The corners of Happo’s mouth curled up at the words. He shuddered at the sight.
“Creepy. Ew.”
* * *
Dag-dag, dag-dag.
The sound of hooves shook the earth. The bandits of the Green Forest rattled their reins, increasing the tension.
The closer the hooves came, the more their hearts pounded.
“I’m sure this is a good idea.”
“What’s the matter, we’re just rolling rocks from here.”
Rolling rocks down the canyon. It’s not something to scare away those who have done far worse.
“Ha, but!”
But.
“That’s her, that’s her in the carriage, she’s a princess!”
The people they raided were of a different order, of a higher status.
To target a princess who was of the emperor’s blood, let alone the backbone of the common people, was bordering on insanity.
If anything were to go wrong, everything would go wrong.
A bandit’s jaw clenches as another bandit bites his lower lip bloody.
Pursuit.
The bandit’s head cracks open. Once again, the headless corpse sagged and drooped.
“Choose.”
The voice was firm, and of the three men who commanded the many bandits in the canyon, the one who showed no mercy was the Black Hero.
At the same time, Qing Shui emerged from the opposite canyon, and Zhao Weng looked down at the carriage.
The powers of the Green Forest were revealed. At the same time, countless boulders, iron nets, crossbows, and crossaxes were prepared above the canyon.
Cheng Wong looks back at Black Wong and Zhao Rong.
“Are you sure they’re coming this way?”
“I’m sure.”
Ch’iung replies, instead of asking how he can be so sure.
“I’m sure.”
He looks at the group at the bottom of the canyon and shows his teeth.
“Thunderblade Castle……. Ah, no, they’re called the Thunderbolt Kingdom now?”
Qing Shui and Zhao Weng’s spirits rose as a familiar face appeared among the men guarding the carriage.
Black Woong clenched his fists tightly, and then he charged forward.
Kwao!