I scanned the surroundings.
Making sure even the neighbor from next door was sweeping far off in the distance.
Good enough.
My steps were always light on the way to check the money I'd buried.
That's how I made my way under the persimmon tree.
It was the tree my mother had planted on the day I was born, all those years ago.
Morning sunlight filtered through the persimmon leaves, making the swaying foliage sparkle in the breeze.
My mood lifted right along with it.
Heart pounding with excitement, I started digging into the earth.
"It better still be there... my entire fortune."
I clawed through the dirt with my hands, then used a wooden stick to dig deeper.
But then.
"...Huh?"
The texture at my fingertips felt off.
Something soft and smooth that had no business being buried in the soil.
Carefully brushing away more dirt revealed a patch of fabric that gleamed like fine silk.
My heart skipped a beat.
Did someone steal my money and bury this weird thing instead?
I yanked the silk cloth free right away.
And... ah!
There it was.
My money.
91 nyang in silver.
I thought I was having a heart attack.
Do you know how hard I worked for this?
Once the shock wore off, my eyes drifted back to the yellowed silk.
It was wrapped around something small.
Wary, I picked it up.
Slowly, I unwrapped the silk...
"Gah! The latter half of the 32 Rogue Arts...!!!"
I stood frozen, staring at it unblinking for what felt like ages.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
What is this?
What the hell?
Half a day had passed.
I'd reburied the money safely under the persimmon tree.
And spent the rest of the half-day in my room, staring holes into the latter half of the 32 Rogue Arts manual.
How the hell did this end up there?
No matter how I racked my brain, there was only one answer.
Ever since that neighbor moved in, nothing but weird stuff has been happening.
Sure, all good things, but I still had to check it out.
I tucked the 32 Rogue Arts latter manual into my bosom and stepped outside.
Hm... there's the neighbor.
Far off, not sweeping with a broom anymore, but swinging a sickle.
Under the blazing sun, he was hacking away at the weeds that blanketed the entire village.
Like I said before, it'd take half a year to clear all that.
No, a few months from now it'd be winter, and there wouldn't even be weeds to cut.
Come spring, they'd sprout back thick as ever.
An endless cycle.
Should I tell him to stop?
No.
Weeds weren't the priority right now.
Time to confirm.
This manual!
The neighbor must've...
Whoops!
Eye contact.
The neighbor spotted me and waved with a bright grin.
"Hey, village chief! Eaten yet?"
What kinda timing is this for food talk?
Ah!
I haven't eaten.
Whatever.
Time to ask.
About the 32 Rogue Arts latter manual.
Today, I'd get the truth, no matter wha—huh?
"Hey! Jin Muhyeon!"
Not the neighbor.
Someone behind me calling my name.
No one ever comes to our village.
Aside from the neighbor moving in a few years back, not a single visitor.
Who could it be?
I turned around.
Not one, but four.
All familiar faces.
Rogues I often saw at the western rogue market in Chang'an.
Green Snake Blade O Makeong.
Wang Dal.
Yin-Yang Monk.
Dog Nose Mak Chil.
That said, I'd never worked with them once.
Same rogues or not, they never took risky jobs.
That's why they sat out the Horizontal Mountain Seven Blood Demons dragnet too.
Some called them cowards, mocked how they'd ever make money that way.
Eh, I didn't care.
Everyone lives their own life.
"Jin Muhyeon. You're alive? Weren't you in One-Eyed Wolf Yeo Yeop's crew chasing the Horizontal Mountain Seven Blood Demons?"
"Yeah."
"Huh? Heard that whole crew got wiped out. How're you still breathing?"
"Luck... I guess."
Green Snake Blade O Makeong was a second-rate rogue.
Wang Dal, Yin-Yang Monk, Mak Chil, and me—we were all third-rate.
Different leagues.
Anyway, when I said it was luck, O Makeong smirked.
The others too.
Open mockery.
"You ran, huh? Kid, who cares? Happens."
I didn't argue.
Hell, even I couldn't explain it—better they misunderstand like that.
Saves me the hassle.
"But aren't you worried wandering around like this? They catch the Seven Blood Demons yet?"
"Huh? You didn't hear?"
"Hear what?"
"The Seven Blood Demons slipped the net. Vanished like ghosts. No one knows where. No traces either. The dragnet disbanded yesterday."
Ah!
What the...?
What happened to them?
I subtly turned, glancing at the neighbor still hacking weeds in the distance.
No way he really...?
"Who's that guy?"
"Some pioneer, I guess. Says he's clearing land to farm."
"Ha! What a nutjob. How's he gonna clear this? Just the weeds'll take a year."
"So what brings you guys here?"
"Perfect timing. You know So Ok-hyang from Jade Water Manor? Drop-dead gorgeous."
"Yeah. Famous."
"She ran off."
"Ah..."
"With this pretty-boy gisaeng called Baek Jun. Caught feelings, eloped. So the manor lord hired us to drag her back. Hired a bunch of other rogues too, but whatever."
"And?"
"Been searching since yesterday, but we suck at the local terrain. Come with."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Don't you live here?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"One nyang silver upfront! Another on success."
Jade Water Manor's only daughter.
And one of Chang'an's famed beauties.
The amount O Makeong was offering was surely the skimmed version of the manor's posted reward and success fee.
Though, truth be told, that was the realistic limit for third-rate rogues like us.
"Heard she headed to some Dogless Village, but can't find the damn place."
"Uh... this is Dogless Village."
"Here? Nothing but weeds and two houses—this a village?"
"Used to be lively. Now just me and that old man. I'm mostly in Chang'an too, only come back now and then to rest."
They didn't seem interested in my story.
"Whatever. Guide us."
"I'm not feeling great..."
"You punk! One nyang! Plus one more on success! You turning that down? You crazy?"
O Makeong had a point.
No danger, just nab a runaway girl for two nyang? Jackpot.
But was I in any shape to chase runaways right now?
Hadn't even glanced at the first page of the 32 Rogue Arts latter manual.
"I really am si—"
"Namu Amida Butsu. Hold up! You're hiding something, aren't you?"
The Yin-Yang Monk.
Also called Yin-Yang Priest, but obviously a fake monk.
Third-rate rogue by trade, mad for booze, meat, and women—but damn if he didn't have sharp instincts sometimes.
"Hiding what?"
"Then why say no?"
"I really feel sick..."
"Punk. Seven Blood Demons bailed Shaanxi ages ago. Nothing to fear."
"Hm..."
"Or are you really hiding som—"
"Fine. I'll do it. Happy? Can't even afford to die on an empty stomach without that one nyang. What'm I hiding?"
If word got out I had the 32 Rogue Arts latter manual?
I'd be dead meat.
Bad guys would keep coming to kill me and steal it.
No choice—I had to guide them.
Before leaving the village, they grilled the neighbor, but got nothing.
Unlike me, they didn't suspect him one bit.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Huff! Huff huff!"
Sweat poured like rain.
Me, who should be training the 32 Rogue Arts latter half right now.
Why the hell was I sprinting full-tilt up some godforsaken mountain path?
"Shh!"
One of the four: Dog Nose, the one they called Dog Snout.
Third-rate rogue like me, but specialized in tracking, true to his nickname.
That's why his pay was second-rate levels.
Guess you gotta have some kinda skill.
"Found her?"
"Yeah. This way. Definitely a woman's scent."
"Oh! Fuck yeah! We might actually snag her!"
"But, Brother O Makeong. Woman's scent for sure, but... more than one."
"One or more, who gives a shit? We just need So Ok-hyang!"
"But there's blood too..."
"Tch! Keep dawdlin' and someone else'll grab her first. Move! Full speed!"
"Got it!"
We picked up the pace even more.
Dog Nose's nose grew more certain by the second.
After a full incense stick's worth of sprinting.
"Right ahead! Woman's scent, and men's too—definite, brother!"
"Charge! Grab those eloping bastards!"
Tatata tatat!
Tatata tatat!
Must've put a fat success bounty on it at Jade Water Manor.
O Makeong, Yin-Yang Monk, Wang Dal, even Dog Nose—all hyped and charging.
We rushed toward the elopers... ah!
Dog Nose's nose doesn't lie.
Not just one.
Thirteen women, So Ok-hyang included.
Problem was.
Six men—not just the gisaeng pretty boy Baek Jun, but five more.
All gripping bloody-dripping blades.
And on the ground ahead? Nine familiar rogues, puking blood, sprawled dead.
Hired by Jade Water Manor to nab So Ok-hyang, no doubt.
The moment we burst in.
Their apparent leader scowled and spat.
"Ah! Fuck. What kinda day is this? Kill 'em all!"
"Yes, sir!"
With that, all five lunged at us, blades flashing.
Their looks.
The vibe.
All murderous as hell.
O Makeong and the rest, here to nab a runaway—frozen in panic, shock, fear, swords still sheathed.
I was shocked and scared too... but wait?
Why do these guys look so slow?
They're going all-out to kill us, but to my eyes, they moved like turtles crawling.
At this rate... I could take all five myself.
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