Chapter 337 – The Wheel of Blood Begins to Turn (3)

Read it only at Utoon.net!
Discord

“It’s cheap distilled spirits, but there’s nothing better for camping out like this. One glass will loosen your body a bit,” Nam Woo-saeng said as he poured the drink.

As he said, a distinctive burning alcohol scent wafted from the bottle’s opening.

Dam-ho received the bottle.

“Drink well.”

“Spirits taste best when shared.”

Nam Woo-saeng produced another bottle and extended it toward Dam-ho. Dam-ho gently clinked his bottle against Nam Woo-saeng’s.

Ding!

A clear sound echoed out, and the two drank deeply from their bottles.

The cheap distilled spirits burned fiercely down the throat. Most people would vomit the moment such strong liquor entered their stomachs.

Yet the two men drank it like water, gulping it down heavily.

Nearby escort porters and hired workers watched the two with exasperated expressions. Though they prided themselves on being decent drinkers, they couldn’t drink distilled spirits like water the way Dam-ho and Nam Woo-saeng did.

Dam-ho asked:

“You know who I am.”

“Yes, I do.”

Nam Woo-saeng readily admitted it. When Dam-ho stared at him intently, he quickly continued:

“How could I not? Because of the Fist Demon Dam, all of Guizhou Province was turned upside down.”

His words were true.

When they first met, Dam-ho left before they could build any rapport. So Nam Woo-saeng couldn’t have recognized his identity then. But his presence was too intense to fade from one’s memory.

Later, when he heard news of Black Martial Hall’s annihilation and learned that Dam-ho was the one responsible, Nam Woo-saeng finally realized that the man he had accidentally met was the famous Fist Demon.

Though he belonged to an escort agency, he too was a martial artist with training. Naturally, he came to respect Dam-ho.

“So that guy is the Fist Demon?”

“My goodness! The Fist Demon!”

The escort porters and hired workers who overheard their conversation began murmuring. Admiration appeared on many faces.

Escort agencies differed from sects with roots in the martial world.

Martial artists belonging to prestigious sects essentially didn’t need to worry about livelihood. Their sects provided basic necessities. They looked down on martial artists who sold their martial prowess for survival. They believed martial artists who learned martial arts should use them for righteous causes, not for survival. Yet such martial artists who could comfortably learn without livelihood concerns were extremely rare.

Most martial artists had to worry about survival. So many martial artists worked for escort agencies or merchant groups, selling their martial prowess for food. Some called them boundary martial artists.

Those standing at the boundary between the martial world and the merchant world.

Neither completely martial artists nor completely merchants, they were treated as outsiders by society. Yet that didn’t mean they lacked passion or interest in the martial world. Rather, they showed more interest in martial world affairs than ordinary martial artists.

To them too, the Fist Demon was an object of admiration.

Dam-ho, standing at the martial world’s pinnacle with only his two fists, was an appearance they yearned for even in dreams.

Nam Woo-saeng spoke:

“Thank you.”

At his unexpected words, Dam-ho stared at him silently.

“For being our hope.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Working as an escort, I travel to many places and see many things. I’ve never seen the world as chaotic as this. With demonic sects rampant and orthodox sects retreating, I see many people suffering. Truly a hellish world. Do you know what people desire in such times?”

“……”

“Hope. The hope that someday this war will end, that someone will end this suffering.”

“……”

“People saw that light of hope in a hero like you.”

“I’m not a hero. And I’m certainly not someone who provides hope.”

“In this world exist many martial artists, but how many are truly worthy of being called heroes? I believe Dam, you truly are a hero. Because you walk the path of the Hero Among Demons.”

Sincerity flowed from Nam Woo-saeng’s words. He spoke freely what he had held in his heart.

“I’m no Hero Among Demons.”

“You may think so, but people don’t. They believe you willingly throw yourself into the demonic path and walk a thorny road. And seeing your progress, they hold onto a thread of hope. I believe that alone is enough. The hope to live in this hellish world.”

Dam-ho brought the bottle to his lips.

The cheap distilled spirits once again burned fiercely down his throat.

Nam Woo-saeng’s words felt awkward to hear.

He was no Hero Among Demons.

He had no desire to walk the path of a hero. The path he walked was the way of the tyrant.

Proving everything through strength and living within struggle, walking the martial artist’s path. But Dam-ho chose not to speak such thoughts.

Dam-ho drank again. Overwhelmed by his atmosphere, Nam Woo-saeng also brought the bottle to his lips.

For a while, the two drank in silence.

When the bottle was nearly empty, Nam Woo-saeng spoke again:

“I’m sorry. I made the atmosphere heavy because of me. Just think of it as the rambling of a busybody escort and forgive me generously. When escort work is long, I can’t help but speak. Haha!”

“Where is this escort headed?”

“To Henan.”

“Henan?”

“Precisely, Mount Song.”

“Shaolin Temple?”

“Yes. We’re heading to Shaolin Temple on behalf of the Great Origin Merchant Group.”

The Great Origin Merchant Group was one of the world’s ten great merchant groups. There was a saying that the gold and silver treasures they possessed formed small hills, showing their tremendous wealth.

“Is the Great Origin Merchant Group supporting the Martial Alliance?”

“Precisely, they’re supporting Shaolin Temple. Now that the Chenghuo Merchant Group’s true role as the Demon Cult’s supporter has been revealed, they had no choice but to make their position clear.”

At that moment, Dam-ho’s gaze sank deeply.

‘So it was true.’

Though Nam Woo-saeng didn’t know, Dam-ho had traveled with the Chenghuo Merchant Group several times. Even then, he had sensed something unusual about Won Seol-hwa.

Most importantly, Won Seol-hwa had deployed against Dam-ho a demonic technique called the Complete Brain Demon Capture Method. Had Dam-ho’s internal energy or mental strength been even slightly weaker, he might have fallen victim to her technique. So he had thought she might be related to the Demon Cult, and his suspicion had proven true.

The fact that the Chenghuo Merchant Group was the Demon Cult’s Outer Garden delivered enormous shock to the merchant world. Because the world’s greatest demonic force gaining the support of the world’s greatest financial power would lead to endless consequences.

Therefore, many merchant groups secretly supported Shaolin Temple. For those who opposed the Chenghuo Merchant Group, it was an unavoidable choice.

The Great Origin Merchant Group was no exception. With many overlapping business territories with the Chenghuo Merchant Group, they had no choice but to support Shaolin and the Martial Alliance.

The war between the Demon Cult and the martial world wasn’t merely a clash between martial forces. Too much was at stake in their conflict.

Dam-ho swallowed a mouthful of spirits. This time, the alcohol’s aroma lingered particularly long in his mouth.

Night deepened.

Most of the escort porters and hired workers had gone to sleep. Only a few escorts remained to inspect the goods. Guarding and inspecting cargo was the escorts’ role.

Dam-ho remained awake.

After drinking and lying down, strangely sleep wouldn’t come. He lay in place, gazing blankly at the flickering firelight.

That’s when it happened.

“Phew! Having to transport so much treasure all the way to Shaolin Temple. Probably in Azure Sky Escort Agency’s entire history, this is the first time we’re transporting such an enormous amount of goods.”

“My heart is trembling. Will we really be able to safely transport this much cargo to Mount Song?”

“We have to. This isn’t just any cargo but goods that will greatly help Shaolin and the Martial Alliance.”

“Aren’t you afraid? We might clash with the Demon Cult.”

“Afraid? Terrified out of my mind.”

The escorts’ voices drifted over as they chatted. The young escorts on watch were having a conversation.

Among the escorts, they were the youngest. So they stood out in Dam-ho’s memory.

“Hehe! Should I ask to withdraw from this escort right now? The head escort might allow it.”

“Then you’d risk punishment? With the head escort’s personality, if you quit mid-journey, he’d never let you hear the end of it.”

“That’s true…”

“And most of all, I don’t want to. Though my strength is meager, I want to do something for the world.”

The young escort’s eyes shone like a star even in the darkness.

He was merely one among Azure Sky Escort Agency’s countless escorts. Yet he possessed justice stronger than anyone. Sometimes his sense of justice was so strong he rushed headlong without thought.

His fellow escort patted the young escort’s shoulder.

“It’s late. Let’s wake the others and get some sleep. We need some rest to have strength tomorrow.”

“Right!”

The two soon woke the other escorts, established watch duty, and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, Dam-ho rose. Seeing him, the young escort’s eyes widened.

“Oh, you’re already awake? Aren’t you tired?”

“It’s fine.”

“Of course, since Dam the Great Hero is an incredible master, you probably don’t feel tired. A single instance of energy movement solves everything, doesn’t it?”

The young escort scratched his head awkwardly. He was the same escort who had been chatting with his fellow that late night. Despite going to sleep late, he was the first to wake and was inspecting the cargo.

“Oh right! My name is Jo Su-gwang.”

“……”

“I just wanted to let you know. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll remember.”

“Really?”

When Dam-ho silently nodded, Jo Su-gwang’s expression became moved. For an ordinary escort like him to introduce his name to Dam-ho required tremendous courage.

It could have been dismissed, but Dam-ho said he would remember the name. For Jo Su-gwang, it was the greatest reward.

“Ah, wait a moment please. I’ll bring you food soon.”

Shortly after, what he brought was leftover congee from the day before. Though it had cooled and hardened, it was still edible.

Dam-ho ate the congee he was given with apparent enjoyment. At this, Jo Su-gwang smiled happily.

Though unspoken, Dam-ho was his idol.

Though currently bound to the escort agency, his dream was to become strong like Dam-ho and someday travel the martial world.

Seeing Dam-ho eat enjoyably, Jo Su-gwang attended to others as well. He fairly distributed the remaining congee to the awakened escorts and hired workers and prepared to depart.

After finishing preparations to leave, Nam Woo-saeng spoke to Dam-ho:

“Then we’ll depart first. I hope good fortune follows Dam the Great Hero on your journey.”

“We hope good fortune follows Dam the Great Hero on your journey.”

Jo Su-gwang and the other escorts, hired workers, and porters all spoke in unison. Then they departed.

Dam-ho stood silently, watching them leave.

The Azure Sky Escort Agency used waterways, he was told. Going a bit further from here would reveal a large river where transport boats regularly traveled. From the agency’s perspective, using boats was far more advantageous.

In contrast, Dam-ho chose to use the land route on Black Ghost. He wanted to give Black Ghost more freedom.

Dam-ho rode Black Ghost and set out on the journey.

The official road was desolate.

No matter how far he traveled, people were nowhere to be seen. Only bird calls filled the air. Nameless flowers bloomed abundantly along the roadside, and white clouds flowed like waves across the sky.

Then water sounds were heard from somewhere. Walking along the road, he naturally arrived at a point where it merged with a river.

Upon reaching the river, Dam-ho’s brow furrowed deeply. Because of the objects drifting downstream.

Wreckage of broken boats, large cargo, and corpses bleeding as they floated downstream. Apparently, fierce combat had occurred upstream. And the faces of the corpses looked familiar.

‘Azure Sky Escort Agency.’

The corpses drifting downstream were surely from the Azure Sky Escort Agency’s workers.

Dam-ho kicked Black Ghost’s flank. Black Ghost immediately galloped toward the upstream at terrifying speed.

Before long, a large transport boat, broken in half and wedged on the riverbank, came into view. Around the transport boat, Azure Sky Escort Agency martial artists formed a defensive formation, clashing with masked assailants.

“Dammit!”

“Hyaaaaah!”

They resisted with all their strength.