Mercenary Black Mamba

Mu Ssang didn't think it was a big deal. He presumed it was either an infiltration team or a bad gang from the dark aura and pungent scent of blood he had detected.

"Do gang members live off roots in the mountains these days?"

A gang, not at a salon or a club, causing trouble at Wol Song San at night? It was a hilarious thought. Whether it was the infiltration team or some gang members, it was child's play compared to the events he had to endure in the ancient underground world and the Lakes of Ounianga.

He didn't want to ruin the mood because of a few violent people. Samedi was someone who had caught a living boar in Yu Hak Mountain within an hour. No matter what their reason was for walking around Wol Song San, they wouldn't be able to avoid Samedi's speed and senses.

"Ajussi, can you make soondae soup?"

"Of course. We can make the soondae fillings anytime. There's enough japchae, rice, green onion, ginger, garlic, tofu, and bean sprouts. As long as we have the seonji, there won't be a problem."

Mu Ssang's mouth started drooling. Every time he was abroad, he would think about the refreshing bowl of soup and hot stew. It was difficult to enjoy a well-made stew outside of Korea. Thailand's Tom Yam Kung, China's shark fin, and France's bouillabaisse were commonly cited as the top three soups in the world.

Tom Yam Kung was a type of shrimp soup, shark fin was a type of shark fin soup, and bouillabaisse was a type of fish and clam soup. He had eaten bouillabaisse several times in France. However, contrary to its popularity, the taste was lacking by two percent compared to various Korean stews. Bouillabaisse was at least similar to maeun-tang, but it was too mild for his taste.

What's the difference between soup and stew? There's none. It's just that by (Korean) pronunciation, stew sounded more elegant. Some people claimed that soup had to be eaten with rice and stew could be a meal on its own, but the claims were baseless. Soondae soup could be eaten as a meal substitute, but no one called it soondae stew. Gomtang, a stew, was eaten with rice, but no one called it a soup. Whatever their names were, Korean dishes came with either soup or stew to complete the meal.

Words couldn't describe how good a soondae made with fresh blood tasted. There was a specialty restaurant serving blood soup called Dae Duk Restaurant, located below the mountain in front of Daegu. There was a rumor that the restaurant carried out the wooden chopsticks used by the customers in carts.

Mu Ssang had frequented the place when he used to be a waiter at BOSS. It was cheap and also popular because they used fresh seonji[1]. The first requirement when cooking a dish was ingredients. Without proper handling of the ingredients, the restaurant would fail. He could almost see soondae bursting with seonji and seonji soup in front of him. Since fresh blood was prepared, it was perfect for making seonji soup and soondae.

The boar twitched.

Crack—

His palm landed lightly on the boar's head and fell. It was Ge Shan Da Niu used with resonance waves. The boar trembled, and its brain turned into mush.

"Hey, what do you think a boar soondae taste like?" Ou Soon, who had been listening in on Mu Ssang and Ha Dong Daek's conversation, asked.

"It shouldn't be much different from a pig. Bring me a kitchen knife and a large brass pot. That thing's big, so it should bleed a lot."

"You're going to take its head off, big sis?"

"Then, are you going to do it?"

Ou Soon flinched in surprise. That wasn't a pig but a really big boar. Her limbs trembled just by the sight of its red eyes.

"I can't. I'm too scared. Aren't you scared?"

As the youngest, Ou Soon grew up without much suffering thanks to her older sisters. She grew up finely, without having to help out with farming work or housework.

"I'm scared of losing hope. People can do anything when it comes to it."

"Why are you doing it, unni? Tell oppa to do it."

"Shut up, you're being really rude. Is oppa your servant?"

Ou Soon's neck retracted at Jin Soon's savagery.

"You're going to high school come spring, aren't you? You've been studying comfortably until now, and that's all thanks to oppa. Just because oppa's nice to you doesn't mean you can boss him around. Why have you grown up to be so rude? I'm going to call Mal Soon over."

When Jin Soon spoke harshly, a cold wind seemed to settle.

"No, unni!"

Ou Soon rubbed her hands together. Since there were five siblings, the older sibling had to be responsible for the younger sibling. If Mal Soon got scolded by their eldest sister, she would have to repeat her apologies the whole day.

"You're asking oppa to draw blood when he's just returned to his hometown for the first time in a long while? You should be letting him rest! You called oppa a pig in the temple too, didn't you? You're older now, why can't you tell the difference between being rude and polite? If you behave rudely one more time, I swear, none of your limbs will remain as they are."

"Ok, I won't do it again." The fierce questioning left Ou Soon crying.

She wasn't scared of oppa, but she was scared of her eldest sister. The scolding didn't end there. Mal Soon, who had appeared out of nowhere, dragged her back into the house by her ears.

"Phew! Was I too harsh? Maybe, I've gone mad because of all the pent-up frustration!"

Jin Soon sighed. Her oppa headed to the battlefield for his business trip. She didn't know how much blood he'd seen on that business trip. Her desperate wish, which was for her oppa not to see blood during his trip, made her emotional. It was said that soldiers who saw blood on the battlefield became more lustful, but her wooden oppa wasn't like them.

Quick-Fist, who didn't expect the arrival of the grim reaper, was excited. The heavy impact running through his fists and feet, the crumpled face of the countryside b*stard, the brief screams, and how his body moved after such a long time made him happy.

"Ack!"

Quick-Fist, who had been beating Sang Chul up like a sandbag, grabbed his d*ck and collapsed. Sang Chul had kicked his balls while his guard was down and fled. He feared getting beaten to death while trying to fight.

"You damn b*stards, you're all dead now."

Sang Chul, who fled down toward the mountain path, paused, turned, and swore at them. Just over that path was Wol Song San. Mu Ssang always won in fights since he was little. Those b*stards who took apart Jin Bo ajussi's grave would have to repeat their apologies. Determined, Sang Chul turned around and continued running.

"That idiot, hey, grab that b*stard!" driver Kim shouted in surprise and flung his cigarette aside. Bullhead chased after Sang Chul. Even the members, who had been digging, ran after him.

"Ah, f***, that was embarrassing."

Humiliated, Quick-Fist took off fiercely with a shovel in hand. An absurd situation took place under the moonlight in which five men chased after a single person. Wol Song San was silent. It only watched the humans run about.

"Chicken feet, block the left. Quick-Fist, you b*stard, run faster! Run as fast as you can and surpass him!" Bullhead shouted at the top of his lungs.

Sang Chul's decision to take the mountain path was wise. If it were flat land, the gang members would have already caught up to him, but then again, they weren't familiar with the terrain.

Sang Chul, who was now sober, quickly fled like a chicken through rocks, rivers, and forest shades. Bullhead's group couldn't catch up to him despite their excellent stamina.

"Ugh, whatever, there's no choice."

Bullhead took out a throwing knife.

"Hey, the situation will be irreversible if you kill him."

"Well, what else can I do when he already saw our faces? Bro, are you going to take responsibility if I get caught by the police?"

"Ugh, f***!"

Driver Kim pressed his lips together. Bullhead was currently on probation for assault. It was difficult to say anything to a man who was on edge.

"Did that guy eat a whale's tendon or something?!"

Sang Chul ordered his feet to move faster, but he didn't gain any more distance. His legs swayed under the alcohol's influence. When he thought he'd put some distance between them, they had caught up to him.

The mountain behind Yeongok village was connected to Wol Song San. Once he crossed the border, he could see Wol Song San's big pine trees. Sang Chul felt slightly relieved. He could see the lights of the bridge village. He could escape from those b*stards, who were chasing him, in about 20 minutes. Sang Chul estimated his escape route. He would only twist his ankle if he ran toward the rock field in the dark.

Chance!

Bullhead took the opportunity the moment Sang Chul hesitated. The knife flashed.

Whoosh—

"Agh!"

The knife landed deep inside his shoulder. Sang Chul staggered forward, tripped, and rolled down the mountain slope.

"Ughh!"

His waist got caught on the side of a rock. He automatically gasped at the impact of his body's halt. It was only then that the burning sensation on his shoulder registered.

I'll die if they catch me.

Sang Chul covered his mouth and quickly crawled under a rock. It was a raccoon den, which he had discovered some time ago. He still remembered the time when he had lit a small fire before its entrance with Mu Ssang, guiding the smoke inside to draw the raccoons out.

"Find him!"

The gang members began to search.

The useful b*stard, no, Samedi the zombie rushed through Wol Song San at a fearsome speed. Mu Ssang and Samedi could read each other's intentions. He was racing excitedly because he could feel his master's animosity. Although his master had told him not to kill them, he didn't say he couldn't hit them.

Whoosh—

A man, who was 220-centimeters tall, scrambled through the mountain like a branch swaying in the wind.

Zombies could instinctively sense a human's life force. He could also detect a human's blood from several kilometers away. Samedi found Sang Chul hiding inside a raccoon den under a tree.

"Uwa, a…a goblin!"

Sang Chul's heart skipped a beat as he held his breath in the den. A shadow had fallen over the den. A pair of red eyes that were glaring at him floated in the dark. Except for his flashing eyes and white teeth, dark-skinned Samedi wasn't visible in the dark. Even the bravest person would have freaked out at the sight.

"You, what's your name?"

"Sa… Sang Chul. My name is Kim Sang Chul."

Sang Chul, who answered without a second thought, pounded his chest.

"Aigo, I'm dead now."

It was said that one who foolishly gave away their name to the goblin would have their soul taken away. It was best to call out the name of someone they disliked, but at that moment, he had forgotten.

Samedi fell into a contemplation of his own. That was a very weak human. Why did his master ask him to tie up that human, who wasn't much of a threat? It was like a very difficult high school math question for Samedi to solve.

"Kim Sang Chul, my master told me to tie you up. Do you want a beating before you're tied up, or will you comply?"

"What kind of goblin-lie are you making up? I won't be fooled anymore."

It seemed as though the goblin was planning to tie him up and eat his soul. Sang Chul's face grew dark as he nudged his body closer into the den.

"Kim-Sang-Chul, there will be trouble if I get mad."

"Uuu, Buddha, Jesus, Allah, Gods, please save this kind Sang Chul. I went to the red-light district last week after getting drunk. I did something with Miss Yoon at the Flower House yesterday. I've done nothing wrong except have s*x without my wife knowing. If you save me, I promise I won't have s*x with anyone else anymore."

"Kekeke!" Samedi giggled.

It was fun to act like his master. He liked Miss Edel, but she wasn't very fun. Staying next to his master was fun. Moreover, there were plenty of women.

"Chicken feet, guys, I heard something from over there! Run over now!" Bullhead shouted.

"Mr. Kim, it's this way."

The sound of gang members moving about and the leaves rustling could be heard from above. Sang Chul resigned to his fate. Those b*stards were people who didn't hesitate to throw knives at others. His left shoulder, where the knife had landed, became a problem. He couldn't pull out the knife because of the bleeding. A goblin was standing before the den, so running wasn't an option either. He'd gone overboard when he could have simply passed the information to Mu Ssang.

"Father, it seems like today marks the end of our clan. I'm sorry for only leaving behind a daughter."

"Kim Sang Chul, wait here and don't move. If you move, I'll pull off your head."

The being with floating red eyes warned before disappearing.

"Ah, f***! I must've gone mad. Why did I act like some hero of justice?"

Regret washed over Sang Chul. There was no way to escape no matter how many times he considered the situation. There were three kinds of people who dug out graves. Firstly, those who stole accessories that were buried along with the corpse. Secondly, those who dug out graves to bury their parents on legitimate land, and lastly, those who tried to dishonor the customs by destroying graves.

The worst of all three were the third group of people. They usually killed off any witnesses despite doing things that deserved their own burial. He'd already been stabbed by a knife, and a goblin had appeared, threatening to pull off his head. Sang Chul kept sighing in the small raccoon den.

Quick-Fist ran in the direction of the sound, scrambling through the grass that was taller than him and the honey chestnut shrubs. Blood dripped off his face where the branches had snagged, and his hands suffered a few scratches after a few falls. Still, he sprinted to the best of his abilities. Bullhead would kill him if he didn't catch the b*stard.

"Ugh!"

Something black popped out of nowhere in front of him.

Whoosh—

Unable to slow down, Quick-Fist bounced off the thing as though he had run into a car.

"The f***?"

Quick-Fist's eyes widened like a flashlight. A large shadow with floating red eyes stood before him.

"Do you want to get beaten and then tied up or just tied up?"

"G…ghost!"

"Damn b*stard, I'm not a ghost. I'm Samedi."

Ghost was a word that Samedi hated the most. The meaning behind the word "ghost" annoyed the man, no, the zombie.

Crack—

"Agh!"

A heavy impact and a brief scream sounded. Quick-Fist's head flopped to the side after receiving a smack from his bear-like palm. Quick-Fist, who flew away like a grain of straw, landed on the ground loudly.

Splat—

Quick-Fist's neck tilted at an eerie angle on his front. Samedi grabbed the back of his head with one hand and picked him up. Light fizzled out of Quick-Fist's eyes. Quick-Fist, who liked to land a punch first, died in the hands of Samedi's quick fist. If Quick-Fist was a car with 0.7 millimeters of thin plate, Samedi was an SUV with 200 millimeters of armor. The physical differences led to an unexpected catastrophe.

"Why is this human so weak? Damn, I'm in trouble. Master might yell at me."

Samedi scratched the back of his head. He behaved just like Mu Ssang. Now that he thought about it, it was time to consume blood. He had to consume pure blood to live, and human blood was tastier than animal blood. Although he couldn't kill the living, dead people were food to him.

[1] Seonji is the blood of an animal that is cooled and hardened.