Chapter 15 Escape

Chapter 15: Escape

“Run!”

Yi Dang-pal carried Cheng Xiaoshao on his back and sprinted straight ahead.

Danun brought up the rear, I led the front, while Yongmasan and Yanggang covered the left and right flanks.

Thud-thud-thud.

Not long after our desperate escape began, the surroundings grew chaotic.

The aura released during our fight with the Amjong scum had alerted the masters stationed at the checkpoint.

‘It’s not like they have metal detectors or anything.’

“Over there!”

A shout rang out from somewhere, and I felt multiple gazes and killing intent descend.

We had to run as fast as possible to gain even a little distance.

“Faster!”

The main gate was almost in sight.

Yes. We were determined to boldly dash straight for the main gate.

“You bastards!”

“Think you can escape?”

The guards we’d seen earlier drew their swords and shouted.

Classic extra dialogue.

Thwack.

I summoned my ki, sending vibrations coursing through my entire body.

Then, concentrating that vibration into my toes and pushing off, an immense recoil propelled my body forward.

The essence of the Jeonwangbo technique.

Thud.

Startled by my sudden appearance, the men swung their swords wildly, but my fists and strikes were faster.

Whack! Crack.

The one struck by my strike had his chest shattered, spewing blood. The other, hit by my fist, had his neck snapped.

This was the Dragon-Slaying Thirteen Strikes (Bokryong Sipsamtu), honed to death over nine years at the Ascension Pavilion.

“Quick! “

As we burst through the door and charged straight ahead, countless enemies poured out after us.

Yongmasan, covering the left flank, choked out.

”What do we do now?!“

”If we go there now, they’ll be ready for us!“

”Who doesn’t know that? The question is what we do after that!”

“How should I know?! We run first and figure it out later!”

“You’re insane!”

Do you think I want to do this?

But I can’t think of any other way. What else can we do?

As we charged straight ahead, an ominous sound came from somewhere.

Sssshhh! Thud. Thud.

Arrows flying from behind began raining down on us.

“Huh!”

Then, Yongmasan suddenly leaped up, brandishing his long spear.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

The arrows bounced off the spinning spear, and I couldn’t help but be stunned.

‘That crappy spear was a rare item?!’

It smelled musty, so I thought he’d just picked it up by the riverbank.

If I’d known, I should’ve offered to wash it and swapped it out. If caught, I’d just say I got confused.

After all, in this world, there’s no crime of embezzlement by misappropriation of property.

“Run faster!”

Several arrow attacks followed, but all were blocked by Yongmasan’s cloak.

We seized the moment and kept running.

But only for a moment.

A group of warriors burst out from among the enemies.

They looked formidable, every last one of them.

‘Dark Clan!’

As they began unleashing their divine arts in earnest, the distance closed instantly.

No wonder—carrying the cleaning station on a cart meant we couldn’t go very fast.

Danun, covering our rear, turned with a grim expression. It seemed to buy time.

‘This madman!?’

A strategic choice where one sacrifice saves many—it was true there was no better move in this situation.

The problem was.

He couldn’t just leave them behind like that.

Not out of affection, but because if the Qinglong Sect’s ace and the sect master’s disciple died on a mission he’d requested, things would clearly get serious.

Serious enough that abandoning the Qinglong Sect might be preferable.

“Dammit!”

Resolved, I sprinted from the front to the rear, my voice strained.

“Keep running!”

Standing beside Danun, who radiated a murderous aura, he murmured.

“Seeing those bastards makes your blood boil, huh? Jinmujin.”

“Dammit, you lunatic.”

“Short on words?”

Is being short on words the problem? Huh?!

I wanted to grab him by the collar right then, but I desperately suppressed the urge and said.

“Cut the chatter and swing your sword!”

Because the dark-clad bastards were closing in.

Just before the collision.

One strange thing caught my eye.

‘What is it?’

Sweat was pouring down their faces like rain.

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For reference, I borrowed this from North Palace Baek after giving him twenty bottles of Jukyeop Cheongju.

‘Yeah, gear really makes a difference.’

The moment I deflected the Xie Feng Sword, I lunged at the bastard’s full force and unleashed the Park Ryong Thirteen Piercings.

Thud.

Five strikes crushed every rib in his chest. Just as I was searching for the next target.

Poo-wuk! Splatter!

A fart sound and a foul stench wafted from the fallen enemy.

And it wasn’t just him.

“Jinmu-jeon! Something’s wrong with them!”

“I saw it too!”

The Dark Clan members were all shivering violently and farting without exception.

“…?”

And then, in that instant.

I saw it.

A popping sound, followed by brown liquid flowing out of their pants legs.

‘What the hell?’

I had no idea why this was happening suddenly, but it was the perfect chance to run.

I was also scared it might splash on my clothes.

“First, let’s get out of here!”

“Ah, got it.”

As we fled, glancing back, I saw not only the dark-clad men but also a significant number of enemies following behind, clutching their stomachs.

Pushing my running technique to its maximum speed, I quickly caught up to the group.

Immediately following, Lee Dang-pal’s explanation revealed the cause of what had just happened.

“…Just in case, I laced the vegetables with a laxative.”

“When?!”

“…When I…made the food.”

So today’s MVP was right here.

Rushing to the prearranged spot, I saw the horses Yu So-pyeong had secured.

I immediately asked the cleaner.

“Do you know how to ride a horse?!”

“Not very well, but I’ve ridden a few times.”

“Then that’ll do.”

Starting by lifting her onto the horse, we began galloping out of the city.

“Jin-hyeong! What about the escape route?!”

“Secured! Just follow me!”

Ha Jin-hyeong spurred his horse forward, and we all followed him.

Just as we were about to exit the city gate, Ha Jin-hyeong shouted.

“This way!”

Immediately after exiting the gate, we turned right onto a small path.

“Go ahead!”

As Ha Jin-hyeong stopped his horse, he flipped a sack over his head and swung it. A large number of iron nails spilled out.

After riding a short distance, the trees disappeared, and a barren plain greeted us. From inside the castle gates, the sound of commotion reached us.

It seemed those who had dealt with the urgent matter were now chasing us.

‘The area around the bunker must be covered in shit.’

If it was the Tang Family’s diarrhea antidote, the finest pharmaceutical company of this era, it would have made us vomit up even what we ate three days ago.

In a world without bidets, let alone wet wipes or toilet paper, it was nothing short of horrifying.

Thud thud thud thud.

With Ha Jin-hyeong arriving just in time to join us, we immediately raced southward.

***

Day 0 of Escape.

The ones caught in the trap couldn’t pursue us immediately; they only began to appear as time passed.

Each time, Dan-un stepped forward and dealt with them ruthlessly, so no one pursued us further.

Day 1 of Escape.

We kept racing across the desolate plains.

Unlike when we came in hiding, we weren’t cautious this time and just ran flat out, so I worried someone might spot us even from afar.

Day 2 of Escape.

No unusual signs had appeared yet.

However, since we hadn’t slept and kept running, I was worried about the key factor: the janitor’s stamina.

Day 3 of Escape.

We spotted passing merchants.

Just in case, we kept a safe distance while running, but I worried about the ten-horse pursuit.

Well, we weren’t the only ones riding horses in Gansu Province, so what could happen?

Day 4 of Escape.

Finally, the escort collapsed.

Without proper food or sleep, her physical limits had been reached.

A high fever struck her early that morning. I hoisted her onto my back and secured her tightly with a rope.

Something soft pressed against my back.

It felt like riding a horse.

“Cover her with this. It has insulation properties; it should help.”

I also stripped off my stinking cloak and draped it over her.

I’m not giving it back.

Day 5 of Escape.

Cheongso-so’s strength had recovered somewhat.

Surprised by her faster-than-expected recovery, she explained she’d learned a little martial arts.

The reason her condition had been poor was because she hadn’t healed the internal injuries sustained when captured by the Ten Demons.

Thanks to that, she could now get off my back.

I felt a bit disappointed.

Day 6 of Escape.

The horses were all exhausted.

After six days of nonstop riding without rest, it was only natural.

Yoo So-pyeong asked about the plan moving forward.

“What do we do now?”

“We’ll have to walk. They haven’t shown up yet, so they must have given up the chase. Surely, nothing could happen, right?”

“True, we have to cross the Joint Mountain anyway, so we can’t keep riding the horses.”

So we released the horses and climbed Gongdong Mountain, carrying only our provisions.

Day 7 of Escape.

The unexpected caught us off guard.

Squeak. Squeak. CRACK!

Ten enemy soldiers were lying in wait right at the entrance to Gongdong Mountain.

Danun’s sword flashed a cold blue light, and one soldier’s head flew high into the sky.

Shush! Shush!

Ha Jin-hyeong moved chaotically, drawing their attention, while Yongma Mountain restricted the enemies’ movements. In that opening, Yang Gang’s iron balls exploded.

Thwack! Thwack!

The enemies’ skulls were smashed by the 3kg iron balls flying at 200km/h.

If any tried to dodge the iron balls and counterattack, Lee Dang-pal actively suppressed them by throwing his dagger.

This was Formation B, developed through practice before departure.

For reference, Formation A requires me to be present to be complete.

And Yu So-pyeong…

“You fools who don’t even know the principles of Confucius and Mencius! Daring to kidnap a powerless woman. Don’t you fear heaven! Your parents must be wailing in the underworld!”

He just fired off some Confucian-style insults from behind me.

Honestly, it didn’t seem to have much effect, but having someone covering your back versus having no one there is a huge difference.

Crack!

Now I only had to deal with the front.

Using the Park Ryong-sip-tu’s joint-breaking technique, I snapped one guy’s neck vertebrae while simultaneously using the Jeonwangbo to move to another guy’s side.

“Huh!”

The startled guy gasped and thrust his dagger at me, but.

“Too late, you bastard.”

Thwack! Crack.

His lightning-fast thrust shattered every one of the bastard’s ribs.

Looking up to survey the area, only three remained.

Even those three were soon swept away by Dan-un’s Blue Wind Sword Technique.

“Huff…”

The sight of him taking a deep breath and wiping the blood from his sword was eerie enough.

‘How do I apply for a long-term assignment again…’

I seriously contemplated volunteering for the Jianchang Mountain Front.

Of course, that was for later.

The urgent matter right now was how to break through this crisis.

“If we keep going like this, those Amjong bastards will definitely chase us down.”

I nodded in agreement with Yoo So-pyeong’s assertion.

Truthfully, I’d only thought about running away; I hadn’t considered covering our tracks at all.

I’d underestimated the pigeons known as Jeonseogu, this world’s ultra-high-speed communication network.

Still, there was one hopeful point.

“This place is practically the border with Guryongseong, so they won’t be able to mobilize large numbers. I think we can break through and pass.”

He was right.

However, once time passed and the top-tier masters of the Dark Clan arrived, there was no guarantee how things would turn out.

Ultimately, crossing the Joint Mountains as quickly as possible was the only solution.

The problem was.

“I’ll try to follow you somehow.”

It was Cheongso-so.

While they had somehow managed to hold off the previous ambush, there was no guarantee they could do so again.

Moreover, her flying technique was abysmal; crossing the Joint Mountains quickly was out of the question.

‘What should I do?’

As she stood at the crossroads of choice, hesitating for a moment.

“How about this method instead?”

Cheongso-so began to voice her opinion.

“I’ll stay behind alone while you all cross the Joint Mountains. Once you retreat from the Ten Demon Alliance, please come find me.”

“Everyone here came this far to rescue you, Young Lady. But to leave you behind? That’s absurd.”

“Just hide well on your own.”

“Speak sensibly. How could Young Master…”

In an instant, the Sweeper vanished.

Then, he appeared beside me.

“I can deploy the Silver Thread Technique.”

Everyone was speechless at the ghostly Silver Thread Technique.

But no matter what, I couldn’t follow the Sweeper’s suggestion.

No matter how excellent the Silver Thread Technique was, this was like betting my entire fortune on a single-digit probability.

Moreover, the one making that gamble was me—the most hopeless of the hopeless.

‘I’d rather go to Kangwon Land.’

“Still, it won’t work. Crossing the mountain together has a higher chance of success.”

“…Then let’s do this. Nearby, there’s a hideout my grandfather built. It’s hidden so deep, no one’s ever found it. Just one of you hides there with me. Once the pursuit stops, then we cross the mountain. How about it?”

‘Good idea. It seems realistic too.’

If the group draws attention while crossing the mountain, we can use that opportunity to move to the hideout.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

So, the group decided to cross the mountain without me.

“We need to go as fast as possible, so hop on my back.”

Carrying the sweeper on my back, I felt that familiar sensation of being carried once more.