Without the tension of life and death or the excitement of battle, the young man grabbed the necks of his opponents and twisted them in a way that wouldn’t kill them.
Crack—
Then he grabbed the next one and twisted his joints.
Crack—
“Aaaagh, monster, he’s a monster!”
Meanwhile, Jin Cheonhee thought as he sent the bandits flying:
What? Why are they so weak?
In wuxia novels, aren’t there always hidden masters beyond the central lands?
Is it because they’re just ordinary bandits?
That was a misjudgment.
Blood-Wind Sand Faction was counted among the most notorious bandit groups in the region. They were famous for having martial arts superior to most central plains mountain stronghold bandits and for their cruel methods.
As a bandit tried to flee belatedly, Jin Cheonhee flicked his finger at him.
Snap!
With a sound like something exploding, the man’s comrades collapsed like frogs.
Thud—
Yamta, who understood the Central Plains language, immediately grasped what the young man was saying.
“Oh, this will be difficult to reset even with chiropractic. You shouldn’t do any heavy labor from now on.”
Pop, crack!
While twisting a jaw in a grotesque direction, the young man also said:
“Reflect on your life and just eat porridge from now on.”
To the Chief who was begging for his life, the young man gently replied:
“I’ll hand you over to the authorities for trial. A physician… won’t be necessary. This can’t be fixed.”
Bang!
He calmly spoke while shattering the Chief’s danjeon.
No one died, no one bled.
But there was no mercy either.
After finishing the cleanup, the young man said:
“Hwanggu, is the meat still okay?”
Woof!
“It’s fine? You can smell that it’s fine? Right. I trust your nose, Hwanggu. Oh, thank goodness.”
He seemed a bit… unhinged.
Jin Cheonhee crouched in front of Yamta.
“Do you understand Central Plains language? Or should I use body language?”
Yamta couldn’t understand what “body language” meant, but he understood the rest of the words well enough.
Jin Cheonhee cracked his fingers.
“At times like this, poking painful acupoints usually instills good manners. Everyone becomes polite after that. Since we’re dealing with a language barrier and need to communicate through body language, we’ll need mutual respect, right?”
Saying this, he grabbed the hollow inner side of Yamta’s elbow.
Just as Jin Cheonhee was about to inject health and manners into him—
Yamta hurriedly shouted in Central Plains language:
“I understand! Great hero! I understand!”
“Oh, so you do understand. I thought those from beyond the central lands couldn’t understand our language. And I especially thought it would be difficult to converse with people who kill others and sell them as slaves.”
Jin Cheonhee was pleased to discover that Yamta already had manners installed, even before he could poke any acupoints.
“Sp-speak, great hero. I’ll a-answer!”
“It’s nothing much. Where’s your mountain stronghold? Oh, you’re not mountain bandits. Since you’re desert bandits, should I call it a desert stronghold? Anyway, the place where you keep kidnapped slaves and hoard money.”
Revealing that would mean the end of Yamta’s life.
“…”
When Yamta hesitated, Jin Cheonhee moved to twist his arm in the opposite direction to encourage more honest dialogue.
“Ack, aagh! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!”
“Oh…”
The pain hadn’t even started, yet his lips were looser than expected.
That was fortunate.
***
Jin Cheonhee quickly returned and completed the pit cooking.
When the pit-roasted meat—perfectly cooked by the bonfire and steam—was revealed, not only the escort agents but even the captured bandits seemed driven mad by the aroma.
“I made plenty, so take your time eating.”
Perhaps it was the scent of firewood.
The meat, with both the aroma of grilling and the tenderness of steaming, drove people crazy.
Combined with sweet corn and savory potatoes, they lost track of time.
“Indeed… White-Robed M—Dragon…”
Though it wasn’t clear what word came between “White-Robed” and “Dragon,” he definitely heard a sound starting with “M.”
“Hey you! Can’t you keep your mouth shut? Are you looking for trouble later?”
“These days, no one uses it in a bad way. Some even think having ‘mad’ (狂) in one’s title makes it cooler.”
“Still, show some respect. It’s Divine Dragon, got it? Divine Dragon!”
Jin Cheonhee heard the escort agents whispering as he chewed his meat.
Well, there are some people who think extreme titles are cool.
Considering how Tang Ah had loved her title of Blood Whip Queen, people with a taste for the maniacal could be found everywhere.
They seemed particularly shocked that he had subdued the bandits without killing a single one, while injecting a bit of… courtesy.
And the sad part was…
It’s unfortunate that I have to fix what I’ve broken.
They needed to be handed over to the authorities, so it couldn’t be helped.
From what he’d gathered, these bandits were taking advantage of an administrative vacuum. Leaving them in the desert wouldn’t help the common people.
Even if he completely wiped out these bandits, a new Fifth Raiding Party would just take their place.
They would commit the same atrocities against innocent people.
Ultimately, the best solution was to hand over these bandits along with the information Jin Cheonhee had obtained, to help reduce the administrative vacuum.
At that moment, the Chief Escort approached.
“Great hero, you’re truly amazing. Even martial arts masters struggle against desert bandits…”
Their mobility using horses combined with terrain attacks using the desert made them especially formidable.
“It was nothing.”
But even that was futile in the face of overwhelming strength.
“Not at all. Thanks to you, our escort mission will end safely without anyone getting injured. Plus, this meal is something I’ll never forget.”
The chewy taste of the meat and the dipping sauce Jin Cheonhee had made for them.
With hot potatoes, corn, onions, and sweet potatoes added, the desert night had reached its peak.
Pant, pant, pant!
“Want more?”
Woof!
Even Hwanggu wagged his tail excitedly.
The Chief Escort still couldn’t get used to Hwanggu.
He looked like a muscular wolf, but somehow acted like a dog… a regular mutt, at that.
After seeing how the beast fought against the bandits, he was even more confused.
There was clearly martial skill in his improvised body slams. No ordinary wolf could fight so powerfully and bravely.
Squeak!
“Yes, Noe-jin, go to sleep.”
Noe-jin crawled into Jin Cheonhee’s medicine box and fell asleep.
After checking his surroundings and finishing every last piece of meat, Jin Cheonhee flopped down, satisfied and full.
The moon happened to be dim, making the desert night sky seem ready to shower stars.
Over there, the escort agents were tying up the bandits like dried pollack.
They were also rounding up the horses the bandits had ridden.
True to their livelihood, all the horses were large and magnificent.
“As you know, when attackers come on horseback, even those with profound internal energy find it challenging. You truly are the White-Robed Divine Dragon. I can see that your victory at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering wasn’t for nothing.”
The Chief Escort, who had been eagerly praising Jin Cheonhee, quickly added:
“By the way, the bandits and all the horses are your spoils of war… would it be alright if we disposed of them for you? We’ll give you a generous price.”
So that was his aim.
Horses were valuable assets in any era.
It was natural that they would be traded at high prices.
Since Jin Cheonhee had defeated almost all of them single-handedly, the bounty on the bandit group, their weapons, and horses were all rightfully his.
Since escort agencies often operated alongside merchant caravans, a greedy Chief Escort might have tried to undercut him or skim money off the top.
However, the Chief Escort before Jin Cheonhee wasn’t that type.
Especially since it wasn’t easy to try to deceive a master who had just sent bandits flying like pebbles right before his eyes.
Even more so if that master was the successor of the White Dragon Medical Pavilion.
“That would be helpful. I can’t take all these horses with me anyway.”
Woof, growl! Woof!
Beside him, Hwanggu was earnestly trying to make his case.
He confidently showed that with his abilities, he could herd the horses like sheep.
However, Jin Cheonhee deliberately ignored Hwanggu’s plea.
It’s too much trouble to haggle in a kingdom where I don’t speak the language.
It was better business to dispose of them here, exchange them for money, and buy something delicious to eat.
And from Jin Cheonhee’s perspective, this Chief Escort, who was now showing even more respect than before, seemed somehow trustworthy.
Whine—
“Sorry, sorry. I’ll make something delicious for you again later.”
Woof!
While scratching under Hwanggu’s chin—
In the distance, sand dust rose.
For dust to be visible at night, they must be approaching quickly.
Focusing his internal energy on his eyesight, he could see a group of mounted people riding toward them.
Their attire looks like imperial military uniforms…
A border area. Even for a small unit, why would cavalry like this be coming here all at once?
Though he guessed they weren’t allied with the bandits he’d just captured, you never know.
“Chief Escort. A new group is approaching, so please be on guard. They’re wearing imperial military uniforms, but… bandits could have stolen clothes, right?”
“Ah, understood. Hey!”
The Chief Escort quickly called out to his escort agents.
After forming a defensive formation and waiting briefly, the military approached and stopped.
The imposing presence created by the large war horses was incomparable to the band of bandits.
“Hmm, a caravan?”
A man with a Captain’s insignia looked down at them arrogantly without dismounting.
The Chief Escort hurriedly said:
“Ah, we are an escort party from the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency!”
“I don’t believe it. Show me your identification.”
Can’t they see we’re not bandits just by looking?
Tired escort agents and luggage for the escort mission.
The bonfire and the smell of a recently finished meal.
Despite nothing about them resembling bandits, the Captain continued to pressure the Chief Escort.
The Chief Escort took out his identification token and handed it over with something attached underneath.
It was a silver coin.
So he was asking for a bribe.
He’d heard that the failure to capture bandit groups was simply due to an administrative vacuum, but it seemed there were indeed ulterior motives.
The Captain, pretending to examine the identification while pocketing the silver coin, cleared his throat.
“Ahem, so it’s true.”
“We are honest escort agents who just barely managed to repel some bandits. We’ve tied them all up with ropes to report to the authorities.”
“What?”
The Captain’s eyes widened at those words.
Sure enough, behind the tents, all the bandits were tied up.
“Well done. Then I’ll take these criminals away.”
Saying this, he ordered his subordinates to take them all. The Chief Escort urgently said:
“W-what? But then the bounty—!”
“Hahaha, don’t worry, I’ll take care of it for you. Take all those horses tied up over there too!”
“Yes, Captain!”
The Chief Escort desperately tried to hold back the Captain, making a metallic sound.
“B-but…”
“But what? Do you have any complaints?”
When the Captain glared at the Chief Escort with bulging eyes, the Chief Escort flinched and clamped his mouth shut like a clam.
Watching this, Jin Cheonhee was appalled.
He intends to steal the credit.
And he was planning to take all the horses and weapons too.