Nano Machine

In the early morning when they left, there were four people waiting for them. It was Ko Wanghur, Mun Ku, Sama Chak, and Che Takim. They were those who guarded the Lord as Palace Guards, so they too had prepared to leave.

‘We will guard you along the way!’

‘There are too many of you. I can’t have all of you go missing. It will blow the cover.’

Yeowun couldn’t scold them too much as they were doing this out of loyalty. He then decided to take one person and it was decided to be Mun Ku. Ko Wanghur was stronger, but his big body was too noticeable so he was erased from the list from the beginning.

‘M-my lord!’

‘No.’

Ko Wanghur regretted his large muscles for the first time in his life. He really wanted to go with Chun Yeowun ever since he heard Hou Sangwha had gone missing.

‘I will have all Six Swords go with me next time, so stay back.’

‘Yes, my lord.’

Yeowun ordered them to train hard while he was gone. And four of them then stopped by the Demonic Cult’s outposts to change horses and ride all the way there. Yeowun and Mun Ku had masks on their faces. Yeowun’s face was shown to the forces of justice at the party so he had to hide, and Mun Ku was just too beautiful so that her face needed to be covered to look indistinguishable.

‘Hmmm.’

Yang Danwa sighed and turned to Chun Yeowun.

“Master. If we cross the river, it is not the territory of the forces of justice. We have to pay attention as it might get dangerous.”

Ever since they left the castle, they didn’t refer Yeowun to be the Lord as they could blow their cover. But what Yang Danwa was saying was actually aimed at Hu Bong and Mun Ku who were excited ever since they left the castle.

‘It’s really interesting.’

Yang Danwa was surprised when he first saw Hu Bong. Hu Bong was lieutenant to the leader of Palace Guard Hou Jinchang. It was a position even higher than the leader of the six palace guards group, but Hu Bong’s power was only at the end stage of master level.

‘End stage of master level isn’t weak but…’

Considering that all lieutenants of the palace guards were at least super master level, it was weird that Yeowun, who considered power over everything, chose Hu Bong to be at such a place. But after looking at Hu Bong’s act of loyalty throughout their travel, Yang Danwa did acknowledge Hu Bong’s heart.

‘Well, I was surprised when I saw the Lord for the first time too.’

Yang Danwa saw Chun Yeowun for the first time when he finished the competition and was placed as the fourth Elder. He was shocked beyond imagination. He couldn’t believe that Chun Yeowun, a young man, dismantled half of six clans and saved the Demonic Cult from danger twice. And what was certain was that Yeowun was much stronger than Yang Danwa himself.

‘Our second Chun Ma.’

He heard that heroes were different from they were young. Yang Danwa thought he was lucky to be chosen to aid Chun Yeowun by his side this time. Maybe it was a chance to see the legend with his own eyes.

“If we go down there, there will be a small dock.”

Yang Danwa pointed down by the river. They had to go across the river, so they had to find a boat. The docks were crowded and there were a lot of boats.

“Master! It’s my first time riding a boat!”

“Heh… me too.”

‘Ugh…’

Yang Danwa was the only one frustrated at innocent reactions of the other two.

If they pass through the river, it would then be territory. Yeowun and his members went down the hill on their horses and waited for the boat. They needed at least two boats to pass the river with their horses.

“Master.”

When they got down, Hu Bong called to Yeowun with a serious look. Yeowun turned with a curious look and Hu Bong spoke.

“You have to be careful when you cross the river.”

It was reasonable. Yang Danwa sighed in relief as Hu Bong, a supposed guard, seemed to recognize the danger that might lie ahead across the river.

“I heard from the ‘Travels of Jianghu’ that there are bandits that learned martial art called ‘Eighteen Water Rows.’ I’m sure Master is stronger, but we are on the river against…”

“…Lieutenant Hu. I mean, Hu Bong.”

“Yes?”

“Bandit ships only attack merchant ships that travel along the river. They don’t attack small boats that go across the river.

Yang Danwa corrected Hu Bong’s wrong information and Hu Bong blushed with embarrassment.

“…Oh.”

It was a limitation of information learned through books. And after waiting for an hour, it was their turn to get on the boat. Hu Bong wished to see bandits as he read from the book, but that didn’t happen.

‘The river isn’t clear,’ Yeowun thought as he saw the river water in dirt color full of dirt.

‘Is this why it is called the Yellow River?’

The people living around the Yellow River had to remove the dirt and its taste to drink it, so they resorted to teas.

Boats went across the river and now they were at the Hobuk regions. It was the first time that Yeowun was stepping on grounds outside the territory of the Demonic Cult.

“Starting here, we don’t have our outposts so we will stop by towns to change horses while we move.”

The travel didn’t pose much of a problem as Yang Danwa was highly experienced in travel. They avoided going into large towns, so they didn’t meet with any of the Yulin clan members. After traveling five days without resting, they were now near Sword Creek, northwest of Hobuk Castle.

“It’s going to rain soon.”

It had been cloudy since the afternoon, but the sky was now dark with clouds. There were occasional thunders, which meant rain was going to fall soon. They then saw a small inn.

“Master, we should rest there today and move tomorrow morning. Let’s see if we can borrow a bamboo raincoat from there.”

Yang Danwa spoke and Yeowun nodded. They were told that Sword Creek was within the mountain peaks that they now could see. But they couldn’t dare to move into the harsh forest at night where the rain was heavy, so it was better to rest at the restaurant. They were also exhausted from camping for the last two nights.

[Inn – Danwen]

It was a small inn, but it had most of the necessities.

“There’s the barn. I’ll tie the horses there. Go in first, Master.”

“Thanks.”

Hu Bong took the horses to the barn and rest went into the building dining area. And as they walked in, they all flinched.

‘Ugh…’

Yang Danwa frowned. They moved carefully so they would never come across warriors from the forces of justice, but the dining area had a group of white-clothed warriors eating inside. They were warriors from the Mudan clan.