“What carriage should we choose?”
Mak Chung and Gongbae held a strategy meeting. Gongbae knew that his leader’s heart had been stolen by the golden carriage.
“Surprisingly, there may not be anything special inside that golden carriage.”
“It’s a disguise?”
“Couldn’t they have made us focus on that carriage while hiding the precious treasures somewhere else?”
Now that he heard it, it sounded plausible, but he could not forget that vivid dream of the golden whale.
Geom Mugeuk came over beside Mak Chung and said,
“Now, take your time looking around, and choose the one that gives you that feeling.”
Why was this bastard so excited when his own belongings were being taken?
Mak Chung guessed the reason in his own way. Ah, he’s so terrified that he’s acting like this.
After all, when people were truly terrified, they tended to pretend to be this calm. Thinking that, he felt a little sorry for the fellow.
“The carriage, of course, and everything and everyone inside it will belong to our Hero Mak.”
Mak Chung walked off together with Geom Mugeuk.
The first carriage was Geom Mugeuk’s carriage.
Mak Chung glanced at Geom Mugeuk’s carriage without much thought, then was startled.
“Good heavens!”
At the unexpected image, Mak Chung let out a cry.
“Damn it! What is this!”
He was so shocked that a curse burst from his mouth.
The face of the Heavenly Demon Soul was painted on the carriage.
At the sight, drawn so vividly, Mak Chung was horrified.
“Isn’t it magnificent?”
Mak Chung asked cautiously, just in case.
“Do you even know what this painting is?”
“It’s the symbol of the Demon Cult, isn’t it? Since I go around with this painted on, wicked people don’t dare think of attacking.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Mak Chung was dumbfounded. Is this man insane? Or is he just lacking in the head?
“I’m not the sort of person who says things like this.”
And he had even had such a good dream.
“If you go around carelessly painting something like this, you’ll be in serious trouble.”
At that, Geom Mugeuk instead spoke proudly.
“I heard the person who painted this was a truly famous artist. And the person who made this carriage was also an extremely renowned craftsman. So even judging the carriage itself, it is an incredible work of art. It’s just hard to find a buyer, but you probably couldn’t put a price on its value.”
Because Geom Mugeuk had gotten out earlier, the carriage door was open, and beside the carriage seat lay a large leather bag.
“If you choose this carriage, you will gain that leather bag as well. It’s a bag that has everything. It contains many truly precious things. If you choose this carriage, you’ll turn your life around!”
But Mak Chung’s steps were already heading toward the next carriage.
“You must be planning to have me impersonate the Demon Cult and get me killed. You’ve used your head quite a bit, but I’m not that much of a fool.”
“Ah, how unfortunate that you don’t understand my sincerity.”
Mak Chung flinched again at the next carriage.
It was a carriage painted entirely white. Even the curtains drawn over the windows were white.
So there was another madman here. To make a carriage this white.
“The owner of this carriage is someone who loves white very much.”
“Even if they love it, this is too much.”
“It is the carriage of someone with an unbelievably charming smiling gaze. You will not regret choosing it. For reference, almost no one has ever seen that person’s smiling eyes.”
Mak Chung asked with a curious expression.
“Why has no one seen it?”
Because everyone who saw it died.
“Well, as for that reason, open the carriage door and confirm it for yourself!”
Mak Chung stared at the snow-white carriage for a moment.
“Will smiling eyes put food on my table?”
Having thus shaken off the temptation of the god of death, Mak Chung moved on again. From inside the carriage, a faint sound of the Cheonhwa Pavilion Lord’s laughter leaked out.
At the next carriage, Mak Chung frowned.
There was another one. A madman. No, a mad carriage.
All kinds of patterns like graffiti. The dizzying, complicated swirls painted on the carriage made him feel lightheaded just by looking at them.
“What kind of lunatic drew pictures like these?”
The moment he said that, Mak Chung felt even dizzier. It truly seemed as though the whirlpools painted on the carriage were spinning and pulling him in.
“Even in this complicated painting, there is order, and life is contained within it. I used to utterly hate this painting too, but now I have grown fond of it.”
At those words, the whirlpool stopped, and a gentle energy flowed out from the carriage.
“If you ride in this carriage, our Hero Mak will be able to see things he could never see while alive. Somewhere like hell, for instance. When else would you get to look around such a place?”
Mak Chung looked at Geom Mugeuk. What nonsense had he been spouting since earlier? He must be trying to confuse me so I can’t choose the carriage with valuables in it. It won’t work, you bastard!
At last, it was the golden carriage’s turn.
After examining the carriage closely, Mak Chung shouted,
“This is it!”
It truly was a carriage plated in gold. It was not crudely plated, but properly gilded. Thinking that the carriage alone would be worth a considerable sum, Mak Chung’s face brightened on its own.
“I happen to like gold.”
“Ah, then you’ll get along well with the owner of this carriage. That person is absolutely mad about gold.”
Flutter.
At that moment, the curtain over the golden carriage’s window fluttered. A cold energy flowed out from within.
Swoooosh!
Press!
Geom Mugeuk secretly released his energy and pushed that energy back into the carriage.
“Then will you choose this carriage filled with desire and greed?”
Swoooooosh!
Preeeess!
“Still, let’s look at the last carriage.”
Mak Chung approached the final carriage. From the carriage, which was longer than the others, the scent of liquor wafted thickly.
“This is a liquor carriage!”
An impostor carriage, a white carriage, a graffiti carriage, a golden carriage, and even a liquor carriage! Truly, to think he would see such a variety of carriages all at once.
“That’s right! There is so much precious liquor that you won’t regret choosing it. It should be full of liquor you truly couldn’t obtain even with money.”
“No matter how expensive liquor is, it’s still just liquor.”
At that, a hand suddenly emerged through the curtains of the liquor carriage’s window.
In the hand was a wine cup. It meant for him to try a sip.
“Have a taste and decide.”
Of course, Mak Chung did not drink it.
“No need. How would I drink when I don’t know what might be in that liquor?”
“Our Hero Mak keeps making regrettable choices. This is a chance to drink a famed liquor of the world.”
Geom Mugeuk went over instead, accepted the wine cup, and drank it.
“Kyaa, the taste is incredible.”
Mak Chung, who liked liquor, felt a slight tug of temptation, but he was not the sort to fall for such a trick.
Just then, Mak Chung’s gaze turned to the warriors of the Ghost Shadow Unit standing a little distance away from the last carriage.
The assassin women of the Third Squad had deliberately fallen all the way to the back, so they were not visible to Mak Chung.
You must absolutely not stand out!
In order to follow Geom Mugeuk’s command, the warriors of the Ghost Shadow Unit and the escort warriors stood there with deliberately dispirited expressions, not revealing their presence. They lowered their heads on purpose, trying not to meet anyone’s eyes. They looked perfectly frightened.
Even so, as Mak Chung looked at them, he felt a strange sense of incongruity. What is it? What is this unpleasant feeling?
At that moment, Gongbae came over and said quietly to Mak Chung,
“The carriages you just saw are obviously carriages people ride in, no matter who looks at them. Would it not be better to choose two of those large carriages over there? If you choose one loaded with silk or treasure!”
But Mak Chung could not give up on the golden carriage.
When he hesitated, Gongbae said,
“You can choose two, so open that large carriage first. Then decide whether or not to choose this golden carriage.”
“That is a good idea.”
Mak Chung and Gongbae walked toward the large carriage.
“The most precious goods will be loaded in the carriage at the very back.”
“Why?”
“Would they not have placed the most precious goods closest to themselves?”
“A good idea!”
Following Gongbae’s advice, Mak Chung walked to the large carriage right in front of Geom Mugeuk’s carriage.
What could be inside? Please be a carriage full of gold and jewels, porcelain and paintings!
Mak Chung opened the carriage door.
Just as he looked inside the carriage with a face full of anticipation!
“!”
Inside the carriage, about twenty demon soldiers were seated in two rows on the left and right. Jang Ho, who had hurriedly climbed aboard, was also in that carriage.
They all turned their heads at once and looked at Mak Chung.
Thud!
The moment their eyes met, Mak Chung reflexively shut the door.
Even if a sword had truly flown toward his face, he would not have reacted this quickly.
Because he opened and shut it so quickly, Gongbae, who was standing behind him, did not see what was inside.
“What was in there?”
At Gongbae’s question, Mak Chung gulped. That was what he wanted to ask.
‘What were all those?’
There was no way a transport carriage like this would be packed with warriors, was there? And men that huge at that. He had never seen such large people before.
‘Ah! Were they perhaps statues of warriors?’
When Gongbae tried to open the door,
“Don’t open it!”
At Mak Chung’s shout, Gongbae flinched and stepped back.
Statues, his foot! It had only been a fleeting instant, but they had clearly looked at him. It had been truly terrifying. He felt he would never forget the eyes of those massive men for the rest of his life.
Even so, Mak Chung pretended he had not seen inside. If he said he had seen them, it felt as though that carriage door would open and they would come bursting out.
“I didn’t see inside, so we should say I haven’t chosen yet.”
Mak Chung began insisting to Geom Mugeuk.
“My mind changed at the last moment. If you are a true man, shouldn’t you acknowledge at least this much?”
Even though he was being so unreasonable, Geom Mugeuk was all smiles, as though he found it delightful.
“That’s right. Even I would have trouble deciding. Goodness, how could anyone choose this in one go? Now, choose again.”
“Thank you.”
Mak Chung did not dare think of choosing a large carriage again, and returned to the golden carriage. His legs trembled so badly he felt he might collapse.
‘Yes, let’s quickly choose one and leave.’
The reason he could not leave despite seeing the scene inside the large carriage was greed. Normally, he should have left at once, but he could not leave that golden carriage behind. Yes, let’s just think of them as statues. They were all statues!
‘The mistake was choosing something else over this in the first place.’
Mak Chung stood before the golden carriage and declared proudly,
“I will choose this!”
Then he carefully opened the door of the golden carriage.
Inside the carriage, Mabul was sitting with his eyes closed.
The moment he saw him, Mak Chung shouted,
“A golden Buddha statue!”
Mak Chung was truly overjoyed, as though he might fly. Today, he kept seeing illusions.
“See? Was my choice not correct?”
Gongbae looked behind Mak Chung with a startled face.
“Ch-Chief. The Buddha statue has opened its eyes!”
“What?”
Mak Chung turned around in shock, and saw Mabul looking at him with his eyes open.
As though a Blood Buddha had manifested, red energy flowed from his two eyes.
“Uwaaak!”
So startled that he stumbled backward, Mak Chung fell flat on his backside.
When Mabul flicked his hand, the carriage door closed. He sent Geom Mugeuk a look that seemed to say, Are you going to keep bothering me like this?
Geom Mugeuk opened the door again with the Void-Seizing technique.
“Now, you have been chosen!”
Mabul looked at Geom Mugeuk with an incredulous expression.
“Our Hero Mak should ride in the carriage.”
Feeling the faint golden killing intent flowing from Mabul’s body, Mak Chung waved his hands frantically.
“I will say I did not choose it.”
“That won’t do. Did we not promise that you would definitely take the carriage you chose? Since he is someone who likes gold, if you speak together, you will get along well.”
But Mak Chung’s survival instinct told him that if he got into a carriage with that man emitting golden light, something terrible would happen.
“If you keep forcing me, that rock will fall on your head.”
Geom Mugeuk returned Mak Chung’s threat in a low tone.
“Then I will catch it with one hand and hand it to our Hero Mak.”
In that instant, Mak Chung flinched. He imagined the scene. The man before him catching that great boulder with one hand and throwing it to him, saying, Please accept it. He imagined himself beneath that boulder, going splat and turning into a bloody pulp.
Geom Mugeuk smiled and came to his side.
“It was a joke, a joke. How could I catch such a huge boulder with one hand? With two hands, perhaps. Ah, you still have to choose one more carriage, don’t you?”
Geom Mugeuk grabbed Mak Chung and dragged him along.
“No, I’m fine. I don’t have to choose. Please, just let me go!”
“That won’t do. You said you would choose two, so you must choose.”
“I’ll pay the protection fee. Please let me go!”
But Geom Mugeuk dragged him along with a grip he could not resist.
“Hurry now.”
It was not the same guileless gaze from before. Now he knew for certain. Things had gone wrong, terribly wrong.
From the Drunken Demon’s carriage, a wine cup emerged once more between the curtains. It was a signal telling him to choose him. And that was exactly what made it so frightening to choose.
Mak Chung’s gaze turned toward the pure white carriage.
He had been about to choose it, but changed his mind at the last moment. He chose the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable’s carriage instead.
“I’ll choose that one.”
Its exterior was chaotic, but he hoped there might be something unexpectedly calm inside.
Please! And luckily, his premonition proved right.
Clack.
When the door opened, a woman with a strange air about her was seated inside the carriage.
The woman looked this way and smiled faintly. Mak Chung thought she was smiling at him, but of course, the one that smile was directed at was Geom Mugeuk, who stood beside him.
Geom Mugeuk said with a regretful expression,
“I’ll give you a chance to change!”
He’s letting me change? This is it! This carriage is my way to live!
“No.”
Mak Chung ran over and climbed into the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable’s carriage as he pleased.
“I’ve decided on this carriage! So don’t make me ride in that golden carriage!”
“No, that one is even scarier……”
At that moment, the door of the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable’s carriage closed.
Clack.
And immediately, the carriage door opened again. The Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable was still seated there, but Mak Chung had vanished without a trace.
“Chief!”
Gongbae shouted, but Mak Chung did not appear.
“Who the hell are you people? If you lay a hand on us, every Green Forest bandit in the Central Plains will rise up!”
Geom Mugeuk said with a smile,
“If they find out who we are, they’ll all sit back down.”
Gongbae looked up toward the top of the valley. If he gave the signal, the attack would begin. A rain of arrows would fall, and those boulders would all come rolling down at once.
But Gongbae did not dare give such an order. He felt that he must not.
Gongbae dropped flat to the ground where he stood.
“Please spare us!”
The Green Forest bandits who had been watching from far behind, gauging the mood, all prostrated themselves at once as well.
Clack.
The door of the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable’s carriage opened again.
Mak Chung, who had disappeared, was seated in his original place.
Sitting there with his soul drained from him, Mak Chung let out a scream and leapt out of the carriage.
“Aaaaaagh!”
Terrified, he rolled across the ground. Truly, as if he had seen hell itself and returned, Mak Chung was consumed by fear.
The Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable had not killed him. She had judged that the Young Cult Leader would not kill them. The Young Cult Leader was not the sort of person to toy with someone he intended to kill.
Now, the aura Geom Mugeuk gave off as he stood before the two men had changed.
“Hero Mak.”
“Yes! No, I’m no hero! Please spare me!”
Mak Chung, terrified, begged for his life.
Since he had finished playing with him, it seemed like he would strike him down with a palm and kill him, but Geom Mugeuk spoke in the same gentle tone as before.
“I’m busy, so let’s choose the carriage when I return. Be sure to wait here!”
Mak Chung instinctively understood. Those words meant that if he was still living as a Green Forest bandit when they returned, they would all die. The dream of the golden whale had been a dream meant to change his life. In a direction he had never imagined at all, but still.
“Now then, we set off again!”
The carriages and horses started moving once more.
The Ghost Shadow Squad warriors, who had been cowed earlier, revealed their own auras as they passed before the two men. Among those following on horseback, not a single one seemed easy to deal with.
And so the golden carriage gradually grew distant, like a golden whale swimming away.
Watching that sight, Gongbae voiced his belated resentment.
“That is why I told you we should choose the large carriage, didn’t I?”
Mak Chung let out a long sigh and answered,
“That’s because you didn’t see what was inside.”