The trail into Silverpine Province twisted like a serpent, flanked by towering evergreens and faint wisps of mist that clung to the roots. It was the kind of path that made even seasoned martial artists tread carefully—not from fear of ambush, but reverence.
The forest had memory.
And memories could bite.
"So," Ji-Mun muttered, brushing a pine needle from his hair, "remind me again why we're chasing some maybe-dead legend through spooky woods?"
"Because if Gwan Cheol-Rang is alive, he's either a friend worth finding… or a threat worth stopping," Sun-Ho replied.
Ma-Rok cracked his knuckles. Kwak.
"I'd prefer if he's a legend who wants to retire peacefully. I'm tired of hitting things that explode."
"I like the part where you hit things," Yul-Rin said cheerfully. "You keep the poison off my robes."
Yeon, quiet as ever, walked near the middle of the group, his eyes flitting from tree to tree like he was counting them. So-Ri walked beside him, giving him occasional glances—not motherly, but protective in the way a fox guards its den. Sun-Ho noticed and smiled to himself.
The Wandering Scholars kept their distance but moved smoothly in parallel. Cho Ran had explained they preferred to observe before committing to deeper ties. Information first. Blades later.
"Clever," Jang Cheol-Oh had commented. "That's how you survive in Murim without joining the pigs."
They paused near a wide stream where the path dipped into a natural basin. As the group made camp, So-Ri and Yul-Rin took charge of gathering herbs. Ji-Mun attempted—again—to teach Yeon how to whistle with a reed. Ma-Rok fell asleep with his back to a rock, snoring like a thunderstorm in a barrel.
---
The Legendary Meal
As the fire crackled and their temporary camp began to take shape, Ma-Rok emerged from the forest triumphantly holding a rabbit and several wild mushrooms.
"I caught dinner," he declared. "We feast like sect lords tonight!"
Ji-Mun glanced at the strange, dark-green mushrooms. "Did that one just blink at me?"
Ma-Rok frowned. "They're mushrooms, not demons."
Yul-Rin sniffed one. "Actually… this one is poisonous. Only mildly. Might make your ears twitch uncontrollably."
Ma-Rok looked betrayed. "I tested them on a squirrel earlier and it ran fine!"
"It also tried to climb a tree upside down," So-Ri added.
Sun-Ho coughed to cover his laughter. "Let's not poison our party right before entering legendary danger zones."
Yul-Rin handed Ma-Rok a packet of dried herbs. "Here. Let me handle the stew. You can sit there and look brave."
Ma-Rok grunted and dropped the rabbit near her. "I am brave."
"Bravely bad at cooking," she said sweetly.
From the corner, Yeon slowly raised his hand. "Can I… stir it?"
Everyone paused.
Ji-Mun blinked. "You can cook?"
Yeon nodded. "A little."
Yul-Rin handed him the spoon with dramatic reverence. "Then stir, oh Silent Flame."
Sun-Ho chuckled as the others gathered around the bubbling pot. It was a ridiculous scene—a would-be leader of Murim, a former assassin, a poison expert, a snoring tank, a mute prodigy, and a runaway princess…
And yet it felt right.
For the first time in days, there was no pressure, no shadow of enemies—just the aroma of rabbit stew and the warmth of shared laughter.
---
Sun-Ho sat on a moss-covered log, studying the worn pages of the salvaged book Cho Ran had given him.
Its topic was obscure—battle formations of the third era—but it wasn't the content that intrigued him. It was the notes in the margins. Someone had annotated the entire book with counter-strategies, predictions… even poetic commentary on the flaws of ego in warfare.
"True strength commands silence. False strength demands applause."
He turned the page. That phrase had been written in familiar script.
"Master," Sun-Ho called softly.
Jang Cheol-Oh approached and sat beside him.
"Did you write in this?"
The old man chuckled. "Long time ago. Before I took my current name. Seems the scholars preserved more than I expected."
Sun-Ho shook his head. "You really do show up in the strangest places."
Jang gave a toothy grin. "You think I'm strange now, wait until you see the Swamp of Su-Bong."
Ji-Mun's head popped up from the stream where he was trying to catch fish barehanded. "What swamp?"
"Let's not," Yul-Rin said immediately. "I've read about it. You don't want leeches that know pressure points."
Wheee.
A cold wind passed through the camp suddenly. Everyone stopped. Even the fire crackled more quietly. The forest had changed.
Cho Ran appeared from the shadows like a ghost. "We're being watched."
She wasn't wrong.
So-Ri stood, a blade already half-drawn. Yeon's eyes glowed faintly. Jang's expression didn't change, but his presence flared like a hidden storm.
Sun-Ho rose and looked toward the edge of the clearing. "They're not moving. But they want us to know they're there."
Cho Ran nodded. "I suspect it's a test."
"Of what?" Ji-Mun asked.
"Our resolve."
Sun-Ho walked forward, calmly, until he stood at the very edge of the tree line. He spoke, not raising his voice.
"If this is the way of the forgotten legends, we accept. Come, or leave. But do not linger like cowards."
The forest answered with silence. Then—
Step. Step. Crunch.
A figure emerged from the mist. Cloaked, tall, and wearing no mask. But the moment Sun-Ho saw his stance, he knew: this man could kill three people before they blinked.
But he didn't draw a weapon. Instead, he bowed.
"I heard a child of fire was coming. I came to see if the flames still burn."
Sun-Ho returned the bow.
"They do. And they light the path for others."
The man straightened. His eyes gleamed like moonlit steel. "Then I will walk beside you. For now."
---
That night, no one slept easily.
Not because of fear—but anticipation.
They were no longer just wandering. No longer just resisting. With each step, they drew closer to the eye of the storm—where the Five Clans watched and plotted, where legends returned from the dead, and where Baek Sun-Ho's two lives would soon blur in the chaos to come.
---
End of Chapter 55