Chapter 62
Dok Go-ryong frowned for a moment, then tilted his head.
“…Who are you?”
The man who had been full of confidence suddenly stumbled back, dumbfounded.
“It’s me! Me, I said! Wind Wraith—Pungnyang! The guy who teamed up with you five years ago!”
When Dok Go-ryong furrowed his brow even more, the Wind Wraith—no, Pungnyang—looked completely shocked.
“We were in the same squad during the White Bone Gang extermination mission! You seriously don’t remember me?”
“…Ah.”
Dok Go-ryong clapped his hands together. Pungnyang’s face brightened.
“You remember now?!”
“Three seconds.”
“…Huh?”
“You’re the guy I beat in three moves, right?”
“…”
Pungnyang’s smiling face froze.
Meanwhile, Dok Go-ryong rubbed his forehead as if he’d finally recalled something and looked genuinely pleased.
“Wow, it’s been a while. You look like you’ve had a full-body makeover—I didn’t recognize you at first. Seems like your skills have improved a bit?”
“…‘A bit’? Who was the guy that just lost his sword to me a moment ago?”
“If I hadn’t stopped, your head would be rolling on the ground.”
“That mouth of yours… Even if I threw you in a river, your mouth would keep floating.”
“Hmm… I swear I’ve heard that one before.”
Still confused, Dok Go-ryong grinned and reached out his hand to Pungnyang.
“Anyway, good to see you.”
“Same here. You’ve become a real monster.”
They firmly shook hands.
While the two caught up and chatted casually, Mukhyang Guild’s messenger crept over hesitantly.
“Um… Wind Wraith-nim…?”
Pungnyang, who had been smiling at Dok Go-ryong, turned to the man with a cold expression.
“The guild master’s request—”
“Hey.”
“Y-Yes?”
“You think you’re in any position to give me orders?”
“No, it’s just…”
The messenger gulped hard and bowed deeply. Just Pungnyang’s presence alone made it feel like the pressure would crush him.
“I received a favor from the Mukhyang guild master, not a commission. Whether I accept it or not is up to me, got it?”
“Y-Yes, understood…!”
“If you get it, then scram. And tell your dull-witted boss this too—don’t mess with the Yookok merchant group while that guy is around. No one in Heuksigok could take him on.”
The messenger gulped again and glanced nervously at Dok Go-ryong behind Pungnyang.
Having seen his skills firsthand, he didn’t doubt the warning.
The moonlight shone down on Dok Go-ryong’s face, and for a moment, his eyes seemed to flicker blood-red.
Maybe it was the blood from the earlier battle. Or maybe just a hallucination caused by fear. The messenger didn’t know.
All he knew was that he had to get out of there.
He hurriedly dragged his wounded companion away and ran.
Only when the two disappeared into the distance did Pungnyang turn around with a kind smile.
“Well, now that we’ve cleared that up—let’s talk about what we’ve missed.”
“So you’re called Wind Wraith now? All you did was tack on a ‘Wraith’ to your nickname.”
“…How many times do I have to tell you—you have to become one of the Five Wraiths to use that title!”
“Oh wow, how impressive.”
Dok Go-ryong snorted. Pungnyang’s neck turned red with frustration, though he kept his smile.
They bickered, but it was clear the two were close.
Apparently, they’d worked together for about a year on missions, and this was the first time they’d met in five years.
Eun Sowol, having never seen anyone treat Dok Go-ryong so casually since Lee Jicheol, found the whole thing fascinating.
“But how did you recognize me?” Dok Go-ryong asked.
Pungnyang, sipping water from his canteen, turned his gaze.
“Well, I know your face, obviously.”
“Still, you seemed to sense something even before you saw me.”
“Oh, that? Haha.”
Pungnyang chuckled and nodded toward Dok Go-ryong’s broken sword and the new axe.
“What kind of martial artist doesn’t repair his weapon, doesn’t flinch when it breaks, and then handles a new one like it’s his favorite? There’s no way there are two people like that in the world.”
“That was enough for you to recognize me?”
“Enough?! I’ve never seen anyone like you—no attachment to any weapon, but handles all of them like extensions of your body. Back when we fought the White Bone Gang, they even called you Baekbyeongwi—the Ghost of a Hundred Weapons!”
“Baekbyeongwi”—a ghost who fights with a hundred weapons.
In chaotic brawls, Dok Go-ryong would constantly switch weapons—if his sword broke, he used a blade; if he threw that blade into someone’s head, he grabbed a spear; if the spear snapped, he’d grab an axe.
Anyone else would’ve hesitated after losing a weapon, but not him. Not for even a second.
“But you don’t walk around with swords and spears strapped to your back anymore, huh?”
“Back then, I broke weapons a lot ‘cause I didn’t know how to control my strength. I only carried extras out of necessity. Now it’s better to just carry one.”
“Still doesn’t look like you treat them with much care…”
Pungnyang glanced at the broken sword and shook his head. Dok Go-ryong just snorted again.
“Weapons are just tools. No need to baby them.”
Eun Sowol listened curiously to this part of Gwangma’s past she’d never heard before.
‘Uncle Jicheol said something like that too…’
Apparently, when they first met, Dok Go-ryong had shown up with tons of weapons strapped to his back.
Now it all made sense.
“Anyway! What brings a guy who usually stays in Hanan all the way out here? Not only did you take a request from some Heuksigok bigshot, but you’re also dragging around baggage.”
When he said “baggage,” his smiling eyes scanned Eun Sowol and Dang Jin-ak in the distance.
“That kid—he’s from the Dang clan, isn’t he? Why are you with someone from a righteous sect?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Does that ‘complicated’ include babysitting?”
Pungnyang’s gaze dropped to Dok Go-ryong’s chest.
Eun Sowol had followed them when they moved aside and was now confidently sitting on Dok Go-ryong’s lap, happily chewing on sweets.
Even though Lee Jae-ha, Lee Mu-gul, and even Dang Jin-ak were wary of Pungnyang, Eun Sowol wasn’t afraid at all.
Most kids cried just from looking at him, but she was acting like he was nothing.
“What are you staring at, mister? Is there something on my cheek?”
She poked her own cheek as if annoyed.
Pungnyang chuckled.
“You called him uncle, so you must be his niece. Why are you tagging along with him?”
“I told you, it’s complicated. Anyway, I’m on a job, so I can’t let this slide. You planning to mess with my client?”
Pungnyang glanced at Lee Jae-ha and Lee Mu-gul, who were nervously hovering near Dang Jin-ak. Both men flinched under his gaze.
“Nah. If I was going to, I’d have done it already. Didn’t you see me chase off those Mukhyang guys earlier?”
“Weren’t they your lackeys?”
“Lackeys? No way… The Five Wraiths are neutral mediators in Heuksigok. We’re forbidden from joining factions or growing our own power.”
“Then why were you hanging out with them?”
“Uh, well… they bought me some really good booze. I was just returning the favor…”
Dok Go-ryong and Eun Sowol both gave him the exact same look, like they weren’t surprised at all.
“Ha… And here I thought Mukhyang had taken over Heuksigok and that you joined them.”
“Who’s spreading that nonsense?”
Pungnyang looked genuinely confused. Something felt off to Eun Sowol.
“Hmm… But I heard it! That Mukhyang controls seventy percent of Heuksigok now. They’ve monopolized the markets and are super bad guys.”
If even a fallen merchant like Dang Jin-ak had heard of it, how could a famous figure in Heuksigok not know?
“Ahh, that’s what you meant.”
Pungnyang slapped his thigh as if he finally understood.
“They might’ve taken over the markets, but not Heuksigok itself.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Nope. Just because you control a market doesn’t mean you own the whole city. Heuksigok’s famous for its black market, sure—but people live here too.”
“Oh…!”
So Heuksigok wasn’t just the name of a black market—it was the name of the town itself.
“No matter how strong Mukhyang or anyone else gets, they’ll never rule Heuksigok. We won’t allow it.”
“Sounds like there’s someone at the top after all.”
At Dok Go-ryong’s mutter, Pungnyang’s smile faded. After sipping his drink, he finally said:
“…The Sado Alliance. It’s not well known, but Heuksigok has always belonged to them.”
