Chapter 7

Search.

Literally “to seek, to look for,” but in the Martial Alliance, a search wasn’t anything so {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} precise.

Well—strictly speaking, not the Martial Alliance as a whole, just our unit.

“Hey, idiot. You find anything?”

“Not at all, corrupt Captain.”

“Ha, can’t you search prope— ...what did you just say?”

“Nothing at all.”

Per the Daeju’s order, we split into squads and carved up the sectors.

West of Anhui lay a forest. That was where we arrived, combing the area.

But a search? It was nothing grand—just killing time, pretending to check for footprints or traces.

The Martial Alliance, said to safeguard the Central Plains.

If the people of the Central Plains knew this was the level of their work, what would they say?

They’d probably curse and demand their donations back.

No footprints. No traces. And really, why would a pinnacle martial artist leave traces in the first place?

If they wanted results, they should have sent someone of similar caliber. But in my squad, no such person existed.

Unless you counted Yeon So Cheon... or maybe—

“Senior, don’t you see anything?”

Maybe Yoo Hyungin.

“Hm... yeah, nothing here either.”

Yoo Hyungin said it with his usual easy smile.

As always, I was paired in the same squad as him.

If even Senior can’t see anything, then there really is no answer.

Yoo Hyungin. My direct senior, he was far more skilled than he looked.

We were both low-ranking Alliance agents, but qualitatively, we were different creatures.

I came in as a connections hire. Yoo Hyungin came in entirely on his own merit.

Both of us descendants of ruined noble families.

But unlike me, he had the skill.

He might even be stronger than our current captain.

Of course, compared to his ability, his temperament was too mild, and without backing he got treated almost as badly as me.

At least he doesn’t get beaten or cursed out directly.

I, on the other hand, get rolled around all day.

Not that I’m bitter. Someone like Yoo Hyungin doesn’t belong here.

I never asked his exact realm, but I guessed he was close to first-rate.

I asked him once, back then.

Why, with that ability, had he come to Anhui? Why not Henan, where the Alliance headquarters was?

He only smiled and said:

“I have a younger sister and widowed mother here.”

He couldn’t leave his family behind.

That was the kind of man Yoo Hyungin was.

I turned my gaze elsewhere.

Among the crowd, one figure stood out sharply—handsome face, tall build, infuriating presence.

Yeon So Cheon.

He was combing the surroundings, or at least looked like it, with others buzzing around him.

All of them clinging to him, hoping to catch a ride upward.

Naturally.

Our squad was the “slightly inferior” bunch.

Which only made it stranger that Yeon So Cheon had joined this squad.

He should’ve been attached directly to the Daeju.

...If he suddenly appeared here,

it had to mean Yeon So Cheon himself had worked some scheme.

And the reason for it—

Was it me?

I had the unpleasant feeling I was the cause.

Tch...

A damn troublesome entanglement.

Even now, Yeon So Cheon kept sneaking glances at me as he “worked.”

Bastard, just focus on your own job instead of staring.

Others were busting their asses to get in his good graces.

Wait—hold on. Does that mean I’m the only one not doing anything?

It... seemed like it.

Yes, definitely.

Aside from me, all seven squadmates were moving busily.

Hmm.

I had better at least pretend.

So I judged, and moved my body slightly.

I rustled through the underbrush, rolling my eyes.

Just for show, while inside I was praying nonstop.

...Don’t let anything appear. Please, nothing. If something must appear, let it be somewhere else.

I pushed aside some brush. Just casually, because it was in the way.

“...Oh.”

And froze at what I saw.

...Fuck?

Why is life always shit?

Even in my past life, my luck was never this rotten.

“Junior Bang? What’s wrong?”

Yoo Hyungin approached, maybe thinking I’d found something.

“Hm?”

He looked where I was looking and tilted his head.

Because he saw nothing.

But my eyes—

Damn it.

I saw differently.

That’s a spirit trace.

A patch of field, ordinary at first glance.

But faintly, something lingered above it.

My brows furrowed the moment I recognized it.

A spirit trace.

The mark of a slain soul. Specifically—

Someone killed by another person, but who vanished without turning into a ghost.

Which meant—someone had died here.

I scanned around.

No other signs met my eyes.

Spirit traces usually fade within seven days.

And yet this one lingered. Which meant it wasn’t old.

From its condition, not more than three days.

And still no other traces?

That meant the body was removed, and all signs erased.

In short—

This place is fucking dangerous.

Someone died here only days ago, yet nothing remains.

And this close to the Anhui Branch, with no report filed?

I need to run.

There’s something here.

Whatever it is, I need to get out.

If anyone should investigate, it’s First Unit, the combat division.

If it really was the Mountain Ghost, even more reason to retreat immediately.

Job consciousness as a Martial Alliance agent?

Fuck that. My life matters more.

“Junior?”

I forced calm.

“It’s nothing. I’ll check another area—”

“Wait.”

“Sen—!”

Ignoring me, Yoo Hyungin walked forward and studied the ground.

“....”

His expression tightened, as if he’d found something.

“Captain.”

At his low call, everyone rushed over.

“What is it?”

He scooped dirt and sniffed.

“...Blood. There’s blood mixed in.”

At those words, the squad’s mood dropped.

Especially mine, but for a different reason.

Bullshit. What blood? Days have passed—how could it still smell?

What, were masters’ noses as sharp as hounds? Ridiculous.

But I was the only one who thought so.

The captain, face stiff, asked,

“Could it be an animal?”

“No. There are no animal traces, not even signs of wildlife.”

Yoo Hyungin’s face was grim, stripped of its usual smile.

“There are no other traces at all.”

The captain nodded.

“Indeed. Which makes it deliberate.”

Deliberate? Deliberate what? It’s just a forest. Just leave it at that!

But instead—

“Something’s off here.”

“We’ll concentrate the search around this area. Song Yeok! Go to headquarters and report this at once!”

“Yes, sir!”

“C-Captain, shouldn’t the rookie like me go—”

“You’re too damn slow! Shut it and do your job!”

My attempt at sneaking away failed.

Fucked.

Before I could speak, the story had moved on.

And now it looked like I was the one who found something.

“Well done, junior! You’ve uncovered a major lead!”

“No... Senior, that’s not—”

“No, truly! Amazing, Junior Bang. How did you know? Ghostly work, this is.”

“...Yeah. Feels like I really should hold a funeral dirge.”

Grit.

I ground my teeth and swallowed a sigh.

...Why the hell did I have to stumble onto it?

If only I’d turned away immediately. But the squad was already fired up, thinking we’d struck gold.

And Yeon So Cheon was staring at me with a strange look.

As if to say: I knew it.

I tried to speak quickly—

“This was just coincidence—”

“Hey! Idiot! Move your ass!”

Damn it.

No time to explain, forced forward by the captain’s bark.

Fine. Since it’s come to this—

I’ll pretend to search, then slip away. Hide for a while, then stroll back later.

Whether this was truly the Mountain Ghost’s doing or not, the ominous dread was the same.

But hey, I’d already “found” something—my position was secure enough.

So I moved.

Started my “search.”

Eyes darting, weaving left and right.

Not there. Not there either.

I aimed only for areas without spirit traces.

Those felt safer.

But the more I moved—

There’s one there... another here... and another?

It grew strange.

Why so many?

Every step, another spirit trace.

Here, there, everywhere.

Soon I’d counted more than ten.

“....”

I froze, cold sweat dripping.

The further I went, the clearer the traces became.

Clear traces meant recent death.

When they looked only a day old, I finally understood.

...Something’s wrong.

Terribly, catastrophically wrong.

****

My eyes shook as I looked to the side.

So clear—spirit traces from last night, maybe even dawn today.

What had happened here, that so many remained?

And worse—

They lead straight to—

I raised my head and saw it.

A cave.

So well hidden in the western forest I’d never known it was there.

The moment I saw it, I knew.

“Damn...”

Just my luck.

I’d found something.

****

A strange cave.

Naturally, the first thing I did was alert the others.

“Was there ever a cave here in the western woods?”

“Never seen it before.”

Even those stationed here for five or six years had never heard of it.

Not surprising—they didn’t patrol deeply. But still, unheard of? Odd.

No, not odd.

Wrong.

This cave appearing now of all times—

While others were searching for any trace, desperate to find something—

Tch...

And here I was, staring at the clearest proof of all.

Spirit traces. Fresh.

No more than five hours old.

Meaning someone had just been killed.

Right at the entrance.

I can feel it.

The stench of misfortune.

That chilling, goddamn sense crawling over my skin.

“Hm... it’ll take at least an hour before reinforcements from Headquarters arrive.”

Fifteen minutes to come, another twenty to muster men.

That was the captain’s estimate. Everyone agreed.

“Captain, what should we do?”

What do you mean, what?

It’s dangerous as hell.

Obviously we withdraw, regroup, and come back with support.

We were only eight men.

And the runner we sent didn’t even know the cave’s location well.

Best choice: retreat, prepare, return.

But—

“We go in.”

The captain’s order was infuriatingly bold.

“...What?”

I blurted before I could stop myself.

“We’re going in there?”

He turned on me.

“Idiot. Did you just raise your voice at me?”

“Then what, should I whisper in this situation? Captain, are you insane?”

“You little—”

His face twisted.

For once, I actually trembled.

His eyes were burning with something else.

“Even if you’re greedy for merit—this is too much!”

First discoverer. Traces.

And his promotion exam was coming up.

Of course he was blinded by the chance at results.

“We’re a search squad! Not a combat unit!”

“And searching means going inside. What’s the problem?”

“We’ve searched enough! We found this much, now it’s First Unit’s job! If the Mountain Ghost is inside, can we even win?”

It wasn’t a matter of win or lose.

Coming this far, the correct choice was to stop.

What had this bastard learned in Alliance training? Forgotten everything?

Or was he pretending ignorance?

I guessed the latter.

Even if the Mountain Ghost wasn’t inside, the spirit traces and dread told me not to enter.

“I’m not going. I’ll return to headquarters and report.”

“What?”

His face warped further.

“Idiot. You mean to defy a superior’s order?”

Even with Yeon So Cheon present, he called me “idiot.” His rage was at its peak.

“It’s not disobedience. It’s following Alliance protocol and rules.”

With my life at stake, I didn’t yield.

“You’re the one breaking protocol. Ignoring Branch orders. Then I’ll take my punishment as disobedience. Fuck it, I’ll eat the fine and demotion.”

Better a cut paycheck than a cut throat.

Life over money. Always.

Screw it. I’d survive. No matter what merit was at stake.

I trusted my instincts.

I turned to leave.

“Hah. Even the First Unit captain sneered at me. And now some worthless bastard dares defy me?”

His voice was suddenly close.

“Captain—that’s—!”

Yoo Hyungin shouted, but too late.

Grab—!

The captain’s hand clamped the back of my neck.

“What—?”

“Don’t want to go in? Then I’ll send you myself.”

“Wait—!”

As a second-rate martial artist, his strength was more than enough.

He flung me straight into the cave.

Whoosh—!

By the time I realized, my body was airborne.

Through the tilt of my vision, I saw his sneering face.

I tried to spit a curse—

“You son of a—!”

Thud—!

“Gah!”

I hit the ground, tumbling hard.

The cave sloped downward.

Not steep, but enough.

My body rolled helplessly down.

Tumble tumble—thunk—!

Finally I stopped.

“Cough.”

I spat dirt, pushing myself up.

“Pteh—!”

Grit between my teeth.

He just threw me?

A lunatic.

Did he not care if I died down here?

Is he even human?

I wanted to scream, but bit it back.

I’d already yelled once, and I had no idea what lurked here.

Darkness.

Nothing but pitch-black.

I steadied my breath, nerves taut.

Would my eyes adjust?

Even the faintest sound made me twitch.

Damp.

The cave was moist.

Soil clung wet to my clothes.

Was there water flowing somewhere?

And—

What’s this stench?

A reek, fishy and metallic, assaulted me.

So strong my nose burned.

I grimaced, body taut.

Thunk! Thud—!

Others dropped in behind me.

My squadmates.

“Junior! Are you—”

“Ha, see? Idiot. Nothing here after a—”

“Ugh—”

They cut off mid-sentence, faces struck with horror.

What the hell?

Their gazes fixed forward.

The captain waved a hand.

One agent pulled a stick and stones, sparking a fire.

Crack—fwoosh—!

Light spread, revealing the cave’s insides.

And then—

“...!!”

My guts lurched.

The cave was filled with corpses.

Some rotting, some fresher.

Which meant—

...Shit.

The damp soil was soaked with their blood.

The reek was the stench of it.

Bile rose. My body reacted on its own.

Hand over my mouth, I forced myself to look at the clothes.

Uniforms. All the same.

Blue cloth, gray embroidery.

And the crest embroidered—too famous to miss.

...Namgung?

The Namgung Clan.

One of the Five Great Clans, guardians of Anhui.

Every corpse here belonged to them.

“This is impossible...!”

Someone cried out.

Yeon So Cheon.

His eyes were disbelief itself.

An odd reaction, but I couldn’t care now.

Danger. Real danger.

I forced strength into trembling legs.

I had to move.

Escape, before anything else.

“Captain... we need to get out—”

“Ah, so you’ve come in after all.”

“...!”

A strange voice.

Whoosh.

Wind. I didn’t understand—

Slash—!

Thump. Roll—

Something severed fell at my feet.

“—!”

I looked. My eyes widened.

A human head.

My senior, Dong Baekwoo.

His head.

Thud—!

His headless body collapsed beside it.

“This wasn’t in the plan, but...”

From the shadows, someone stepped forward.

A man carrying a great saber across his shoulder.

One eye covered by a patch, a scar raking across his face.

And—

Death itself, draped across his hulking frame.

I named him.

“...Mountain Ghost.”

A Heretical Path outlaw.

The one who must have created this slaughter.

Unluckily, it seems I’ve ended up encountering him after all.