Fear of Dan Hyung-u had taken root so deeply in their minds that it could never be pulled out again. In a sense, the fact that Hyeong-pyo—who was in a similar position to them—had managed to overcome it so easily was itself remarkable.
"There's something I've been curious about for a while now. Why do you even sleep standing up?"
Hyeong-pyo's tone grew more relaxed. His expression softened as well. Sensing this, Dan Hyung-u allowed a faint smile to surface—so slight that no one could possibly notice it.
"Because it's comfortable."
It was the exact same answer as before. To most people, it was an incomprehensible reply. How could sleeping while standing possibly be comfortable?
For any normal person, lying down was obviously far more comfortable. But Hyeong-pyo grasped the real meaning hidden behind those words.
"I see. So that's what you mean by comfortable. Well… given the situation we're in, that really might be more comfortable."
At Hyeong-pyo's words, Dan Hyung-u looked back at him.
After that, Hyeong-pyo kept striking up conversations with Dan Hyung-u, talking about this and that, eventually drifting into stories about life in the wider world.
It was nothing more than a repetition of the talks they'd had before the escort mission began, but it would surely be of great help to Dan Hyung-u.
And so the night grew deep.
Prominent clans like the Tang family naturally maintained branch families in the provincial capitals of each province.
It was for the sake of efficient information gathering. And, naturally, all that information flowed back to the main family. Thus, in Xi'an—the provincial capital of Shaanxi—the Tang family also had a branch.
When the group arrived in Xi'an, they were met with shocking news.
"You're saying the Jo family estate has vanished?"
Hyeong-pyo exclaimed in disbelief. Tang Ho-gwan looked at him with faint pity and nodded.
"I'm still reeling from it myself. They say the Jo family estate was attacked and completely destroyed."
"T-Then who in the world could have done such a thing…?!"
"The culprit hasn't been identified. And as you already know, the Henan Escort Agency as well…"
Tang Ho-gwan couldn't finish his sentence, but Hyeong-pyo understood perfectly.
If the Jo family estate had disappeared, it would be stranger for the Henan Escort Agency to still exist. The Henan Escort Agency had effectively been half of the Jo family estate.
"T-Then… the survivors—"
At Hyeong-pyo's words, Tang Ho-gwan quietly shook his head. Strength drained from Hyeong-pyo's knees, but he didn't collapse. He grit his teeth and forced himself to stand.
"What will you do now? Even so, I'd like you to see this mission through to the end."
Tang Ho-gwan's words snapped Hyeong-pyo back to his senses. He nodded heavily.
"I'll see it through to the very end. Thank you for your consideration."
Hyeong-pyo bowed deeply to Tang Ho-gwan. Tang Ho-gwan nodded in response.
"There's no need to call it consideration. It's only natural."
Hyeong-pyo bowed again, deeply grateful.
This escort mission might well be the Henan Escort Agency's last. No—it would be the last. That was why he wanted to complete it no matter what. And do it properly.
"If there's no issue, I'd like to depart immediately."
Tang Ho-gwan readily agreed. It was what he wanted as well. They had rested long enough after reaching Xi'an.
Tang Cheol-gi had also calmed down and largely shaken off his inner demons, so there was no reason to delay further. Such dangerous goods needed to be brought deep into the Tang family's territory as soon as possible—the sooner, the better.
News of the escort agency's destruction was also shared with the wagon drivers. Tang Ho-gwan had suggested keeping it from them for the time being, but Hyeong-pyo insisted on telling them.
Every wagon driver mourned the loss, and like Hyeong-pyo, they resolved to bring this final escort mission to a fitting close.
And so the group departed from Xi'an.
As the mood grew heavier, their pace quickened. The wagon drivers truly wanted to finish this escort mission as quickly as possible. Hyeong-pyo felt the same.
Of course, once the mission ended, he would have to worry about how to make a living afterward—but that was for later.
Lost in such thoughts as he walked, Hyeong-pyo suddenly heard Tang Ho-gwan's voice transmitted directly into his mind.
[Killing intent.]
Startled, Hyeong-pyo looked toward Tang Ho-gwan. The Tang family warriors had already begun to slow their pace.
Hyeong-pyo hurriedly signaled the wagon drivers to stop. The escort came to a halt, and the wagon drivers gathered around the carts.
They looked at Dan Hyung-u with eyes filled with both fear and expectation. No matter what happened, they believed Dan Hyung-u would protect them.
Hyeong-pyo cautiously scanned the surroundings, but with his abilities, he could detect nothing—feel nothing.
The Tang family warriors regrouped. Tang Ho-gwan and Tang Cheol-gi scanned their surroundings with tense expressions.
After a long moment, someone slowly emerged from the bushes.
"I didn't expect to be discovered. Looks like the old man's skills are better than I thought, huh?"
The man wore a mask. His voice was a deep baritone—clearly male—but it was hard to guess his age.
The faint aura leaking from his body made Tang Ho-gwan's chest feel stifled.
'A master.'
Tang Ho-gwan instantly realized the man was stronger than himself. He tried to brush aside the man's pressure, but it wasn't easy.
"Who are you, to emit such killing intent? Do you even know who we are?"
Tang Cheol-gi shouted boldly. He felt none of the man's pressure, which gave him the confidence to step forward.
But the man's eyes were filled with nothing but contempt as he looked at Tang Cheol-gi.
"Asking a masked man who he is—what a stupid bastard. I heard there was a mongrel dog in the Tang family. Guess that's you. Heh heh heh."
Tang Cheol-gi's face flushed red with rage.
"How dare you!"
Tang Cheol-gi hurled himself forward. His movements were lightning-fast, and a faint blue glow shimmered around the dagger now in his hand.
Screeech!
The dagger tore through the air. Tang Cheol-gi's eyes widened in shock.
He twisted his body midair and aborted his charge, landing on the ground and staring at the man. In the man's hand, the dagger Tang Cheol-gi had just thrown was spinning idly.
"With skills this pathetic, you dare say 'how dare you'? A mongrel really is just a mongrel."
Tang Cheol-gi's face twitched, but this time he couldn't rashly respond. That single move had been more than enough to freeze him in place.
A bead of cold sweat slid down his forehead.
"Now then, I'll give you a chance to live. Leave the wagons and the cargo behind and get lost. If you run, I won't bother chasing you."
Tang Ho-gwan's expression hardened. As expected, they were after the cargo. His senses picked up numerous presences.
There were already more of them than the combined number of Tang family warriors and wagon drivers. They had come fully prepared.
"Everyone, steel yourselves and get ready."
Tang Ho-gwan spoke heavily. The Tang family warriors regulated their inner energy and prepared for battle. Seeing this, the masked man's eyes gleamed coldly.
"To treat your lives so cheaply. How unfortunate."
The man raised his hand.
At that moment, countless figures burst out of the surrounding bushes. They too were all wearing masks.
They were clad in blood-red garments bordering on black. Combined with their vicious aura, it sent chills down the spine.
As the masked figures in blood-red charged forward with drawn blades, the wagon drivers froze stiff.
Most of the attackers rushed toward the Tang family warriors. Only three charged at the wagon drivers—but they believed those three were more than enough to butcher them.
Three bolts of lightning fell.
And three corpses appeared.
Relief and terror filled the wagon drivers' eyes at the same time. No matter how many times one experienced it, watching people split apart after being struck by lightning was horrifying beyond measure.
Dan Hyung-u swept his gaze over the wagon drivers once, then turned to look at the Tang family warriors.
They were fighting fiercely.
The Tang family warriors were strong, but the masked attackers in black were no pushovers. In an instant, the Tang warriors were driven into danger.
Dan Hyung-u's gaze shifted to Hyeong-pyo.
The moment their eyes met, Hyeong-pyo nodded unconsciously.
And in that instant, Dan Hyung-u's figure vanished.
Tang Cheol-gi barely dodged the blade flying toward his throat. But he couldn't evade the sword tip that pierced toward his chest at the exact same moment.
'So this is the end.'
A faint sense of despair washed over Tang Cheol-gi's face. Living in the martial world, he did not fear death. But failing his mission and bringing shame upon his clan—that was truly regrettable.
He felt the sword sink into his chest.
And then his vision flared white.
Flash!
For a long while, he couldn't regain consciousness.
'So this is death. It's not as bad as I thought.'
With that thought, Tang Cheol-gi slowly let go.
Tang Ho-gwan gently caught Tang Cheol-gi as he fell. Then, with heavy eyes, he looked toward Dan Hyung-u.
Dan Hyung-u stood boldly before nearly twenty Tang family warriors. All of them stared at him in stunned disbelief.
Now they understood for certain.
It wasn't Tang Ho-gwan who had mastered Thousand Thunders .
It was Dan Hyung-u—the one who had called down lightning and saved them all.
With his back to the Tang family warriors, Dan Hyung-u slowly swept his gaze across the masked men in black. His eyes remained utterly indifferent.
With Dan Hyung-u's appearance, the battle briefly entered a lull. The Tang family warriors and the masked men in black split into two camps, doing nothing but hurling killing intent at each other.
"So you had something to rely on after all."
The masked man who had stepped forward first muttered as he glared at Dan Hyung-u.
Unlike the others, his black garb bore an embroidered character on the forehead of his mask: 蛇—snake.
The man felt a slight tension, but no fear. He had seen lightning fall and kill his comrades, but that was all. He was confident that such lightning would not strike him.
'Could it be the Thunder Blade ?'
The thought crossed his mind, but he quickly shook his head.
The Thunder Blade was a martial art of the Paeng family. And even within the Paeng family, it had already become legend. To wield something like that with a sword was impossible.
Still, his opponent was clearly using lightning qi . It wasn't the Thunder Blade, but it was undeniably a sword art on a similar level.
"Even so, you can't defeat me."
The man slightly raised his sword.
Dan Hyung-u gazed at him quietly, then suddenly turned his head to look somewhere else. At Dan Hyung-u's abrupt action, everyone's eyes shifted in the same direction.
But they found nothing. There was only brush and trees.
"We need to hurry."
Dan Hyung-u muttered to himself. Then he turned his head back and looked at the man again.
"Hk!"
The man was startled. The instant his eyes met Dan Hyung-u's, an indescribable sense of dread flooded his entire body. It felt as though something had wrapped itself tightly around him. With his sword half-raised, he found himself unable to move.
Dan Hyung-u took a single step forward.
And in that very instant, he vanished as if extinguished from existence.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
Rumble—!
Dozens of bolts of lightning fell at once. A low, rolling thunder followed.
The Tang family warriors stared, mouths agape. What unfolded before their eyes was unmistakably Thousand Thunders—not unleashed by Tang Ho-gwan's hand, but created by Dan Hyung-u's sword.
Thud—thud—thud!
The masked men in black collapsed onto the ground like rotting logs split in two. Not a single one survived. The marks on their bodies looked as if a violent bolt of lightning had pierced through their crowns and cleaved them apart.
Dan Hyung-u stood calmly at the center of it all.
Just as the Tang family warriors were beginning to regain their senses, Dan Hyung-u's gaze shifted toward the place he had looked earlier—an empty spot.
With a single step, he vanished once more.
Tang Ho-gwan stared at the place where Dan Hyung-u had been standing only moments ago, then shouted,
"What are you all standing around for?! Clean this up, now!"
At Tang Ho-gwan's shout, the Tang family warriors and the wagon drivers moved at once.
They hurriedly dealt with the corpses scattered across the ground. This time, there was no choice but to dig pits and bury them. The sun had not yet reached its peak. They needed to dispose of the bodies and resume their march as quickly as possible.
Watching everyone work frantically, Tang Ho-gwan wore a grave expression.
'Just where did he disappear to this time…?'
In any case, they couldn't depart until Dan Hyung-u returned. Now they had a clear idea of who was attacking them.
"Urgh!"
"Uncle!"
At Jo Seol-yeon's urgent cry, Sama Cheol waved his hand sharply.
"Don't stop!"
But Jo Seol-yeon couldn't heed his words. This was the uncle who had saved her life again and again. No matter how close to death he might be, she couldn't flee on her own.
"That's far enough!"
A shout filled with inner power rang out. A man descended from above, bringing his sword down in a crushing arc.
Clang!
"Kuh—!"
Sama Cheol barely blocked the blow and spat out blood. His internal injuries were too severe—he couldn't move anymore. His sword slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.
Clatter!
Even so, Sama Cheol did not collapse. He glared at the man with eyes filled with fierce resolve.
A small dagger was embedded in Sama Cheol's back. Seeing it, Jo Seol-yeon clamped a hand over her mouth.
"How impressive. Is that girl really so important? Important enough to take a blade for her?"
At the man's words, Jo Seol-yeon's eyes widened in horror, then quickly filled with tears.
"U-Uncle…"
"So it ends like this after all…"
Sama Cheol couldn't finish his sentence. He had tried to save Jo Seol-yeon and Jo In at all costs—but now, even that seemed to be over. All he could do was hope the Martial Alliance would avenge them.
Behind the man who stood watching coldly, numerous figures arrived one after another.