Chapter 315

There was nothing Tae Musang hadn’t done to survive.

He had begged, he had pickpocketed. And he had worked on a ship.

No job was ever kind to an orphan. Among them, the most grueling was working on a ship.

Not just the captain, but even the crew were hell-bent on exploiting an orphan who had nothing. They made Tae Musang do all their work for them.

Thanks to them, Tae Musang was treated like a slave for the entire time he was on the ship. Every day was like hell, and he lived with muscle aches and all sorts of illnesses. So, after three months on the ship, he tried to quit.

He felt like he would really die if he continued. But getting off the ship wasn’t easy either.

The captain had no intention of letting go of a slave he could easily command. He thought it would be foolish to release someone he could potentially work for free for a lifetime. He even tried to put Shackles on Tae Musang’s feet.

He intended to chain him to the ship to prevent his Escape.

Tae Musang finally realized he couldn’t get off the ship through normal means. So he secretly stole and hid a knife used for gutting fish. And when the captain let his guard down, he stabbed him.

This incident left the captain with a severe wound, and Tae Musang was branded by the sailors as a vicious bastard not to be trifled with.

As a result, he gained his freedom, but Tae Musang could never board a ship again. And he didn’t receive a single penny of the wages he had worked for.

Tae Musang, too, had no intention of ever getting on a ship again.

He never wanted to repeat the experience of being exploited on a ship. That’s how much it remained a memory he wanted to erase.

Still, if there was one good thing, it was that thanks to the harsh exploitation back then, he had learned everything about how to steer a ship. So proficiently, in fact, that he could operate a ship all by himself.

Tae Musang was steering the ship of the captain who had viciously exploited him. Of course, he wasn’t steering it with permission. He had secretly stolen it. Still, Tae Musang felt no guilt.

The cost of his exploitation was more than enough to buy a shabby ship like this.

Tae Musang adjusted the sail to catch the wind fully and looked ahead.

At the bow of the small boat stood a man and a woman.

It was Pyo Wol and Yul Ayeon.

Once Geom-yeon’s condition had recovered to some extent, Yul Ayeon had instructed Tae Musang to get a boat.

At the time, he didn’t know why she said that. But Tae Musang, who had fallen for Yul Ayeon, stole the ship of the captain who had exploited him without a word of complaint.

As they were waiting on the boat, Jin Yugeon’s party appeared at the port. Tae Musang recognized Jin Yugeon at a glance. The man with white hair that shone faintly under the moonlight was the only one of his kind in Haemun.

Jin Yugeon’s party, like Tae Musang, stole a fishing boat and headed straight out to sea.

Just as Tae Musang was at a loss for what to do, Pyo Wol appeared. He boarded the boat as if he had known Tae Musang would be waiting.

To Tae Musang, neither Yul Ayeon, who had told him to steal a boat and wait, nor Pyo Wol, who boarded as if he knew this would happen and ordered a Pursuit, seemed like ordinary humans.

‘Well, they’re definitely not ordinary humans.’

He had already witnessed Pyo Wol’s martial prowess with his own eyes, but he hadn’t known Yul Ayeon would be this exceptional as well.

Compared to them, he was truly nothing. Yet he had run rampant like a frog in a well, ignorant of how vast All Under Heaven was. How ridiculous must he have looked in their eyes?

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

Just then, Yul Ayeon’s voice was heard.

“The distance is widening. Go faster.”

“Yes!”

Tae Musang snapped to his senses and replied.

This was not the time to be wallowing in self-pity.

What was important was to follow the boat that was getting away.

Tae Musang meticulously adjusted the sails and increased their speed. As a result, the distance no longer widened, and they were able to chase the boat Jin Yugeon was on.

The boat carrying the three of them went out into the great sea.

Everything in sight was a dark, murky blue.

The sea, shrouded in deep darkness, presented an unknown terror. No one knew what dangers lurked in those deep shadows. For that reason, even experienced fishermen were afraid to take their boats out to sea at night.

Tae Musang didn’t have much experience being out on the night sea either. He had even less experience steering a boat himself. So he was even more nervous.

With his eyes wide open, Tae Musang chased the boat Jin Yugeon was on. Fortunately, Jin Yugeon’s boat was sailing with a torch hung on its bow. That made it not too difficult to follow.

Pyo Wol stood at the bow, watching Jin Yugeon’s boat.

Jin Yugeon’s boat was heading straight forward without changing direction. It was going directly toward its destination. This was proof that they hadn’t yet noticed Pyo Wol’s boat was tracking them.

Yul Ayeon silently watched Pyo Wol’s profile.

‘A strange person.’

She herself had deduced through rational inference that they might return to the port. After all, the only place they could escape from was the port.

Pyo Wol, on the other hand, had chased them all the way to the Sea Dragon Clan. He wouldn’t have had the leisure to think separately.

Her maternal grandfather, Tarha, had been held back by them and couldn’t come, yet Pyo Wol had boarded the boat as naturally as if he knew she would be waiting.

Pyo Wol’s actions felt strange to Yul Ayeon.

At least among the people she had known until now, no one like Pyo Wol existed.

As if sensing Yul Ayeon’s gaze, Pyo Wol turned his head and looked at her.

“Why?”

“It’s nothing.”

Yul Ayeon shook her head slightly.

It was then.

“Oh, their boat is slowing down. I think they’ve reached their destination.”

Tae Musang said in a loud voice.

Pyo Wol and Yul Ayeon hurriedly looked at Jin Yugeon’s boat. Just as Tae Musang said, the speed of his boat was noticeably decreasing.

A small island came into view where the boat carrying Jin Yugeon was heading. The island, which had been hidden in the darkness, faintly revealed its form.

Pyo Wol said.

“From now on, approach the island slowly.”

“Yes!”

Tae Musang replied and slowed the boat down.

The boat carrying Jin Yugeon was seen going around to the back of the island.

Tae Musang also steered the boat, following their wake.

As they got closer to the island, the waves became quite rough. The small boat rocked as if it would capsize at any moment.

Tae Musang had to use all his strength to stabilize the boat. The boat barely managed to cut through the waves and approach the back of the island.

“Ah!”

“Ugh!”

The moment they arrived at the back of the island, Yul Ayeon and Tae Musang let out groans at the same time.

A large ship was anchored at the back of the island.

“What the?”

Yul Ayeon blinked her eyes in surprise.

She was someone who had come all the way from the Western Regions to this place by boat.

Because she had to sail thousands of li of sea routes, the ship was naturally large. But the ship now before her eyes looked at least twice as big.

Even in the port of Haemun, where countless ships gathered, she had never seen a ship of this size.

It was truly like a small mountain was floating there.

Compared to that ship, the one they were on was nothing more than a tiny leaf.

Jin Yugeon’s party pulled their small fishing boat alongside the huge ship and transferred over.

Crack!

The masterless fishing boat drifted on the sea for a moment before being swept away by the strong waves, crashing against a reef, and breaking apart.

In an instant, the fishing boat disappeared into the sea.

Pyo Wol said to Tae Musang.

“Can you get closer to that ship?”

“I can’t. The waves are too rough. Even if we get close, we’ll be swept away and smashed on the reefs.”

Tae Musang shook his head.

Although Tae Musang prided himself on having considerable nerve, approaching the vicinity of a ship in such turbulent waves at night was not easy. And to do so without being caught, no less.

Pyo Wol said to Tae Musang.

“Then you wait here.”

“Pardon?”

The moment Tae Musang made a puzzled face, Pyo Wol launched himself toward the island.

The small boat rocked violently from the impact of his leap.

In that instant, Yul Ayeon also launched herself after Pyo Wol.

“Ah! Let’s go together.”

The two of them flew through the night air and landed on the island.

They used their Lightness Art to cross the island.

When they reached the top of a cliff, they could see the huge ship anchored below.

The two of them launched themselves toward the ship at the same time.

＊＊＊

The ship Jin Yugeon boarded was truly massive.

Built to sail safely for long periods even in the distant seas where house-sized waves raged, the ship was a floating fortress in itself.

As if to prove that fact, the ship floated stably even in the huge, fierce waves that crashed around the island.

“Welcome back, Captain!”

As soon as Jin Yugeon climbed onto the ship, a middle-aged sailor approached and asked.

He was the deck chief, responsible for security on the deck.

Jin Yugeon nodded and asked.

“Where is the captain?”

“He is waiting inside.”

“I’ll go see him myself. And post guards on the deck.”

“Pardon?”

“There was a clash in Haemun. Post guards and keep a close watch, just in case.”

“Understood.”

The deck chief bowed his head and replied.

Jin Yugeon passed him and went inside the cabin.

From behind, he could hear the deck chief’s voice giving orders to the sailors.

“Get a move on.”

“Keep a sharp eye out for any suspicious boats approaching.”

All the sailors on this ship were Martial Artists who had learned Martial Arts. And they were highly trained elites at that.

Martial Artists trained to exert maximum power on both land and sea.

There were over two hundred such Martial Artists on the ship.

Jin Yugeon walked down the ship’s inner corridor.

Numerous cabins lined both sides of the narrow corridor. And in the deepest part was the captain’s quarters.

Knock, knock!

“It is your Subordinate, Jin Yugeon. May I enter?”

Jin Yugeon said as he knocked on the door.

A moment later, a rough, murky voice was heard.

“Come in!”

It was a chilling voice, like fingernails scratching on a steel plate.

Jin Yugeon carefully opened the door and went inside.

In the center of the cabin, which was at least three times larger than the other cabins, was a large table, and a man sat in front of it.

The man’s face was completely wrapped in white cloth. Only his eyes and mouth were exposed, but just looking at him exuded a chilling aura.

He was the captain of this ship.

The moment he saw the captain, Jin Yugeon knelt on one knee and bowed.

“Your Subordinate, Jin Yugeon, has returned from the mainland as commanded.”

“The item?”

“It has all been recovered.”

Jin Yugeon took out the Treasure Map from his waist and placed it on the table.

The captain picked up the Treasure Map with a hand wrapped in pure white cloth.

He examined the Treasure Map from all angles and said.

“Good work.”

“There were casualties during the recovery process.”

“Casualties?”

“We encountered an old monster. Seeing as he knew about the Treasure Map, he seems to be from the Mara Dharma Hall.”

“The Mara Dharma Hall tracked us down?”

“It seems so.”

“To track us all the way here, are they that skilled? Or was there an information leak on our side?”

“I will look into it.”

Jin Yugeon felt a cold sweat run down his spine.

Though he had spent his entire life on the battlefield, whenever he stood before the captain, he was like a mouse before a snake, unable to move.

He didn’t know the captain’s face, or even his name. But he knew well what a terrifying being he was.

Until now, no one who had become the captain’s target had ever survived.

The Alias given to him for seeping in like a shadow and killing without a trace was Traceless Killing Ghost.

Even in the Jianghu, few knew his Alias, but he was infamous for leaving not a single blade of grass where he had passed.

Jin Yugeon had a notorious reputation of his own, but he couldn’t dare compare himself to the Traceless Killing Ghost.

The Traceless Killing Ghost placed the Treasure Map in a storage box next to him.

“I will keep the Treasure Map until it is sent to the main headquarters.”

“Understood.”

The safest place on this ship was the Traceless Killing Ghost’s quarters. If it had been stored here last time, the one who escaped would not have dared to steal the Treasure Map.

“What should we do with him?”

“Throw him to the Gyo Fish as feed.”

“I will do so.”

The reason Jin Yugeon had gone to the trouble of catching the escapee was to make him pay the price.

This area was teeming with Gyo Fish.

That bastard had to die a miserable death in the agony of being eaten alive.