The dawn is breaking.
The filthy rats who feast on the trash of the night are hiding away, waiting for the darkness to fall again, but today is different from any other day.
“Search everyone boarding the ships!”
“What if you mess up the goods we need to sell?”
“If you don’t want to die, shut your mouth!”
The martial artists of the Do-mun check the color of people’s hair, poking at their luggage and causing all sorts of trouble, but no one dares to speak up against their fierce blades.
If the port opens, they’ll lose me from their territory. The Do-mun’s martial artists seem desperate.
“The ships will only sail with our permission today! Got it?”
What a mess.
How many of those Do-mun guys are there? For now, let’s move along the route given by the Tu-mun people. I have to get to where the ship is docked without being noticed.
“Bring all the black-haired bastards over here if you find them!”
How am I going to get through this?
Near where the ship is docked, I hid my body among the cargo and quietly watched the situation. If I make a sudden appearance, I’d feel like the bait surrounded by an army of ants.
“Hey! You there! What are you doing?!”
Is this as far as I go? I’ve been discovered.
Should I run? No. Trying to move carelessly here in the middle of enemy lines will only lead to a massacre.
“Are you talking to me?”
I revealed myself, unsure of why I was being called.
I had long since thrown away my mask, but thanks to the straw hat I’m wearing, my hair color and face wouldn’t be immediately recognized.
“Why the hell is this guy here? Who let him in?!”
“What’s the issue?”
The martial artist looked around, but there was no one who would admit to letting me through. I pretended to not know anything and took slow steps toward the docked ship.
“Hey! You! Take off the straw hat!”
“Who are you to make me take off my hat?”
I took a step back, pretending to be frightened. Of course, my walking direction was toward the ship.
“Are you deaf? Take it off already?!”
“Alright, alright.”
If I’m caught while trying to create some distance, a fight will break out right away. I slowly took off the straw hat.
“Black hair? Found him! This is the guy!”
Right. A suspicious black-haired person made it near the port. I’m the only suspect. Still, not all of the Do-mun’s guys should focus on me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just need to board the ship, so can you move aside?”
I tried to turn naturally toward the ship, but I was blocked by the martial artist’s voice behind me.
“Do you think we wouldn’t recognize you just because you were wearing a mask?”
That face looks familiar. I took a quick glance and saw that he was the guy standing in front of me when the Mary No.1 made its glorious sacrifice.
“I think there’s some misunderstanding.”
I took another step back.
“Ha ha ha. You little rat! I’ll make sure you know what you’ve done! Your antics end here!”
“Get in line before you get holes in your body!”
The Do-mun martial artists are approaching me.
Do they think the chase is over? I could see each of their faces flickering with joy, relief, and tension.
Almost there. My body is now right next to the docked ship. I can’t get tense. I need to quickly use the Small Wheel Mental Image Technique.
“It’s dawn and a bunch of thugs are drawing swords at the port.”
Though it was a low mumble, the enhanced volume was enough to catch everyone’s attention.
“What does a barbarian brat think he’s doing? Do you think we’re going to set sail once you board?”
“Ha ha ha. You idiot. What? The captain’s a barbarian, so let’s set off? You really think that?”
Did they notice I was doing everything to get near the docked ship? The Do-mun guys surrounding me chuckled.
It’s true. Just because I board doesn’t mean the ship will suddenly leave.
How can I cross the river?
My carefully prepared plan has fallen apart. The enemy’s pursuit is closing in like blades approaching.
If I’m in a fix, wouldn’t a straw hat wearing boatman suddenly shout, “You! Get on my boat!” But relying on luck is something only those without a plan would do.
Should I throw a log and climb aboard to cross the river? Or use the Floating on Water Technique to walk over it?
With my martial arts skills, that’s impossible.
The Do-mun martial artists are getting closer. But it doesn’t matter.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
My plan has already succeeded.
With a resonating sound echoing through the port, the movements of the martial artists froze.
“What the hell?”
The Do-mun guys looked up at the source of the angry voice coming from the ship.
The martial artists couldn’t help but be startled by the identities of the suddenly appeared figures.
Because…
“Constables? What the hell?!”
All the people on the ship were constables.
“There are official boats that regularly travel across the river for the officials.”
Did I really gather attention using the Small Wheel Mental Image Technique for nothing? That was something said for all the constables relaxing on the ship to hear.
“Ha! You think the constables are going to protect you? How dare you interfere with the martial world…”
“Are you not Ho Pil? We’ve been waiting for you.”
Descending from the ship with a friendly face was Constable Jung, a member of the Tea and Book Club.
“Thank you, Constable Jung, for coming early.”
“No, no. I heard news that The Shadowless Thief appeared at dawn, and I immediately began a probe. Such great enthusiasm!”
“As the appointed hunter for The Shadowless Thief, it’s only natural.”
“What the hell is this…?”
“Ho Pil! Come aboard! The official boat will be departing soon.”
When facing those with blades, there’s no need to draw my own blade.
I can simply play my best cards. Constables can’t capture martial artists, but martial artists can’t freely kill constables either.
I savored the stunned gazes of the Do-mun guys as I confidently boarded the official boat.
*
“Are you saying you’ve been living together with Kang Yoon-ho? You weren’t hidden in the Ki-mun?”
In the blood-soaked room of Gi-ru, Do-mun Hyang-joo wiped off the blood from her sword with a nonchalant demeanor.
“Yes. I’m sure! The black-haired hunter came by sometimes!”
Amid countless corpses, the only surviving courtesan trembled as she replied.
“Damn those bastards! They ended up sticking together until the end.”
Do-mun Hyang-joo laughed bitterly, feeling like a complete fool.
He had not been one to take a spin through a scamming game once or twice. But feeling like such a fool was something new.
Although he always revealed countless scams and ultimately cut off the limbs of the conmen, today the conmen who deceived him were not present in front of him.
To calm his dirty feelings, Dan Wan-gwi lifted up his sword, which looked like a cleaver.
“Please spare me. Please! I’ve told you everything I know!”
The courtesan, sensing her impending doom, begged passionately until her limbs were raw.
“Isn’t living longer than the others all that matters?”
Dan Wan-gwi beheaded the courtesan, whose face was stained with tears, to somewhat relieve his unquenchable anger.
“What about Ki-mun Hyang-joo?”
Do-mun Hyang-joo asked his subordinate, who was waiting behind him while wiping the sword once more.
“She has disappeared. The main forces of Ki-mun are also nowhere to be seen. It will be difficult to track their whereabouts as the sun rises.”
“That crafty woman has some amazing instincts. That fake Shadowless Thief, Kang Yoon-ho, what happened to him?”
He would relish seeing her grasping at her own pants, crying out loud. Do-mun Hyang-joo thought to himself, but he was not the type who couldn’t differentiate order from chaos.
“The barbarian has some exquisite skills in escaping, so they’re having a hard time.”
“That guy is definitely practicing the Shadowless Body Technique. Did that courtesan tell them? Or was it really something handed down from the previous generation?”
“It should be the latter if the Tu-mun recognized it as an official title.”
The loyalty of the Tu-mun executives to the previous Tu-mun Hyang-joo is well-known. If the black-haired barbarian was indeed a fake, the Tu-mun would never acknowledge Kang Yoon-ho.
Do-mun knew it had to thoroughly understand the Tu-mun, as they needed the support of the vanished Tu-mun Hyang-joo.
“I thought they were just sleeping together. Did they entrust themselves to their father’s title from the start?”
“Do-mun Hyang-joo!”
As Dan Wan-gwi began to comprehend the situation, a subordinate responsible for pursuing the fake Shadowless Thief rushed in through the door looking nervous.
“Did you catch him?”
“That is…”
“That is? C’mon, stop stuttering! Is it my imagination or are you over here to tell me something good?”
“He boarded a ship operated by the government…” Ghh!
Do-mun Hyang-joo’s furious kick sent the subordinate crashing against the wall.
“Has that been your view all this time?!”
“Because the soldiers who disembarked from the official ship were directly protecting the black-haired hunter, we couldn’t do anything!”
The subordinate knelt desperately, not wanting to face the same fate as the corpses in the room.
“Are you going to tell me you’ll accept that sword plunging into your belly?”
“I’m sorry! I’ve sent a pursuit team right away; we’ll catch him!”
“What if you don’t? What will happen then?”
“I-I will do my best!”
“Do I have some kind of karmic debt with that barbarian? Why can’t he stop interfering every single step of the way?”
Kang Yoon-ho. That damn name. Just as much as Kang Yoon-ho thinks about Do-mun Hyang-joo, the latter’s teeth grind at the mere mention of Kang Yoon-ho.
“The dawn is breaking. Hyang-joo.”
The dirty deeds should be done when no one is watching.
If a civil war breaks out in broad daylight, the neutral factions watching won’t simply stand by. Do-mun Hyang-joo’s subordinate cautiously suggested without provoking his boss further.
“I know! I know! Damn barbarian! Send this courtesan’s neck to Ki-mun Hyang-joo as a ‘Hey, how are you?’ gift. From now on, if you interfere with our business, I’ll take you down first.”
“Are you planning to target Im Ha-yeon? That’s a place where both factions are involved. Moving carelessly…”
If Kang Yoon-ho has returned to the mansion where he lived, it complicates matters. The youngest daughter of the Jeongal family lives there, protecting the Man Geum Battlefield.
If they lay hands on it, it would provoke both factions simultaneously.
“Gather those who have no concerns about dying. I’ll give them as much money as they want.”
“Hyang-joo! You can’t be serious?!”
“If I can clean all the chips off the table, I’d resent my bad luck if I lost to a single hand, right?”
Do-mun Hyang-joo was also taking a gamble. The moment he waves the white flag, everything will be lost. The gambling madness in Dan Wan-gwi’s eyes was already shining.
“I’ll prepare.”
“Alright. Let’s see this through.”
To win everything or lose it all. There’s no option to give up halfway now.
The madness of one who has wagered their life for the game is far from over.
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