The last embers of Fire-Venom Sect's outpost were still cooling when Baek Sun-Ho rejoined the group. Cloak folded, mask hidden, no one else around.
"So…" Ma-Rok leaned closer. "Did Musang Oje say anything about me this time?"
Sun-Ho didn't miss a beat. "He said your head shines bright enough to guide lost spirits."
Ma-Rok's hand flew to his bald scalp. "That… that's either an insult or a promotion."
So-Ri smirked. "Both, probably."
Yul-Rin giggled. "Let's move before his ego starts glowing too."
Master Jang stood up and stretched his back with a satisfying kwak. "The outpost's down, but this won't end here. Fire-Venom's retaliation will be fast."
Sun-Ho's gaze swept the eastern ridge. "Then we won't be here when it comes."
Wheeee. The morning wind danced with ash, curling around their camp as they packed up.
---
[Later That Day – Mountain Pass]
The road twisted through jagged rocks and overgrown shrubs. The group hiked in loose formation, with So-Ri leading, Sun-Ho just behind, and Yeon trailing silently as ever.
"So," Yul-Rin chirped, "we flattened an alchemy sect, stole their drugs, humiliated their lieutenant, and left behind a flaming warning."
"Don't forget Ma-Rok heroically carried two soup bowls down a burning hallway," So-Ri added.
"I was shielding the noodles!" he declared. "With my life."
Sun-Ho grinned. "Let the Murim world record the tale: Ma-Rok the Invincible… and mildly edible."
Everyone laughed—except Yeon, who blinked at the sky. A rare upward glance.
Master Jang chuckled. "Enjoy the moment. It won't last long."
---
[That Night – Forest Clearing]
Their camp was quiet. Yeon sat beside the fire, staring into the flames, brows knit.
Sun-Ho approached and sat beside him.
"You're thinking too loud," he said.
Yeon flinched but didn't speak.
"Want to hear a story?"
The boy hesitated… then nodded.
"There was once a boy who thought strength would earn him respect," Sun-Ho began. "He trained until his muscles tore, his bones cracked. But no one respected him. They feared him. That was all."
"…what happened to him?" Yeon finally asked.
Sun-Ho smiled softly. "He met someone younger. A student. Gave him all the advice he wished someone had given him."
Yeon looked up.
"And?"
"He died. But the boy he mentored lived. Changed things."
"…is this a true story?"
"Is any story not true, in some way?"
The boy lowered his eyes, thinking. Then whispered, "Thank you."
---
[Next Morning – Path to the Eastern Gorge]
Their goal was a known hideout — a neutral border town called Yujeong Crossing. A place between sect borders, where no major power dared fully claim territory.
Sun-Ho walked beside Master Jang, who was oddly quiet.
"You feel it too?" Sun-Ho finally asked.
The old man nodded. "We're being watched."
Sun-Ho stopped. The rest paused too, instinctively falling into alert stances.
So-Ri tilted her head. "What is it?"
"Three... maybe four auras," Sun-Ho murmured. "High Inner Core. Concealed, but sloppily."
Yeon pointed silently to the cliff ridge. His hand trembled.
Then— swssssh!
Arrows rained down from the trees.
Thunk! Thump! Tsss! Several embedded into rocks and tree trunks.
Ma-Rok stepped forward, arms crossed.
Crack! The arrow shattered against his bare skin.
"Annoying," he grumbled.
"Surrounding pattern—sect-trained," So-Ri called out.
Sun-Ho's voice dropped. "Spread and counter. Don't reveal full strength."
The ambushers leapt from the trees — black-sashed figures with bone-white claws on their shoulders.
"Clawshade Assassins," Master Jang muttered. "Mercs used by the corrupt clans."
One charged at Yul-Rin with twin daggers — clank! — parried by her poison thread whip.
"You're too flashy to be sneaky!" she sang.
Another tried flanking Ma-Rok — wham! The giant spun, grabbing the attacker by the face and slamming him into a boulder.
Boom!
Sun-Ho ducked a blade, swept the leg, and tapped the attacker's pressure point — snap! — paralysis struck.
So-Ri's palm strike sent another into the tree — crack! The trunk snapped.
"Only six of them?" she asked, panting.
"No," Sun-Ho said grimly. "They were just bait."
Fwooooosh!
The forest behind them erupted in flames — green fire licking at the branches.
A tall figure walked out, dressed in crimson-black robes, hands behind his back. His aura pressed like molten lead.
"Baek Sun-Ho," the man said calmly. "You've made quite a mess."
Sun-Ho's eyes narrowed. "And you are?"
"Mu-Jin of the Crimson Gorge. I'm here to reclaim what was stolen… and make an example."
His palm lifted — whmmm — the fire twisted unnaturally.
Sun-Ho turned to So-Ri. "Protect the others. This one's mine."
So-Ri clenched her fists. "Be careful."
---
[Duel Begins – Sun-Ho vs Mu-Jin]
Boom! They collided midair — fist vs flame.
Mu-Jin spun, slashing the air. Blades of Qi sliced toward Sun-Ho — shhk! shhk!
He dodged, weaved, landed with a thud.
Fwooosh! Fire spiraled around Mu-Jin's limbs, forming claws.
"You use fire like a beast," Sun-Ho muttered. "Do you even feel it breathe?"
Mu-Jin sneered. "Fire is power. Nothing more."
Sun-Ho exhaled slowly. Wheeee. The wind picked up.
He raised his hand — and the wind stilled.
Flame shimmered across his palm.
Not red. Not orange.
But white.
A single speck of white flame hovered, swirling with golden trails.
Mu-Jin's expression faltered. "What…?"
Boooom!
The impact shattered the ridge. Rocks flew, trees cracked, smoke bellowed.
When it cleared — Mu-Jin lay face-down, unconscious.
Sun-Ho stood over him, eyes calm.
"You never asked what fire wants."
---
[Aftermath – Camp that Night]
Yeon sat quietly again. This time, next to Ma-Rok, who offered him a large rice dumpling.
"You'll grow muscles like mine," he said seriously. "If you eat two dozen a day."
Yeon took one.
So-Ri leaned against Sun-Ho, whispering, "You alright?"
"A bit bruised. A bit thoughtful."
"About?"
"That white flame…"
She looked at him. "Scary."
"No. Familiar."
Master Jang approached, yawning.
"Tomorrow, we head for Yujeong Crossing," he said. "Rumors say the next major alchemy shipment is moving through there."
Yul-Rin added, "Also, there's a festival. Maybe Yeon can win a melon-eating contest and become social."
Ma-Rok raised his bowl. "To Yeon the Melon King!"
Yeon blinked, but for a moment — he smiled.
---
[Elsewhere – Crimson Gorge Sect Hall]
Mu-Jin woke up chained.
A shadowed figure stepped forward. "You failed. And revealed too much."
Mu-Jin looked up in panic. "He had something… some flame."
The figure turned away. "Then we'll burn it out of him."
A red fan snapped open.
The war had only begun.
---
[End of Chapter - 23]