Chapter 15 – A Dangerous Journey Begins

Early in the morning, the group set out on their escort mission. About fifteen people were involved, each taking their assigned place. Some were chosen as guards, others to carry goods. Their destination was a place four days away—a good distance for a test.

Naturally, Goo Yang-cheol was chosen as the leader of this mission. He led the group with three large wagons—two for the goods and one with food and supplies for the journey. The wagons were heavy, and some of the men struggled to push them. The guards rode horses, wearing the Luoyang Jin Family uniform, looking quite proud.

At the back of the group, an examiner from the Jin Family silently followed. He wouldn’t interfere no matter what happened. This gave Goo Yang-cheol a chance to prove his team’s strength.

Suddenly, he heard some men joking and fighting. These were street thugs who had joined the group for the job, and he clearly didn’t like them. He stared them down, and they quickly went silent.

Goo Yang-cheol turned to Chul-gyun, his assistant leader.

“Check the map.”
“Yes, sir.”

The map showed their destination as a mountain, not a village as expected. Still, it was likely part of the test.

They started moving quickly, but soon faced intense heat. The sun was strong, everyone was sweating and exhausted. They decided to take a short break to rest and eat.

Goo Yang-cheol ordered the thugs to build a fire and prepare food. The leader of the thugs grumbled and mocked Goo Yang-cheol but obeyed. However, he made a serious mistake—he started the fire too close to the wagons.

“Are you crazy?! Why are you lighting a fire in front of the wagon!?” Goo Yang-cheol shouted.

Frightened, the thug tried to stomp it out, but sparks flew, and one of the wagons caught fire. That wagon held all the food and supplies for the four-day trip. It was too late to save it.

Now they had lost all their food.

“Chul-gyun! Is there a village nearby?”
“No, sir. Nothing for two days.”

Goo Yang-cheol was furious, but there was no choice. They had to continue with no food.

That Evening

By the second night, everyone was worn out. With no food and no nearby village, they were starving. Hunting wasn’t successful because the noisy thugs scared away animals. All they could eat was some wild grass—which wasn’t enough for so many people.

Goo Yang-cheol kept the little food they found for himself and his team. Others complained, but he didn’t care. To him, only his team had any real chance of passing this test.

Suddenly, a team member ran over.

“Sir! Some of the thugs ran off with the goods!”

Goo Yang-cheol rushed over. One of the wagons had been raided. Some small wooden boxes were missing, and they had left behind a disgusting smell. Inside one jar, he found a rotting animal corpse. The smell must have scared the thieves away.

Still, he gave the order:

“Chase them! Get back what they stole!”

His team moved quickly—but before they could get far…

Awooooo!

A wolf howled nearby. The smell of blood had attracted a pack of wolves—at least twenty. Yellow eyes appeared in the darkness. Goo Yang-cheol drew his sword.

“Seriously… Nothing’s going right!”

Meanwhile…

A man named Gu Gun-baek was calmly riding in a special cart made for mountain roads. A messenger bird landed on his shoulder. It carried a note updating him on the escort group’s situation. He smiled after reading it.

“They’re playing with wolves now.”

His assistant was shocked.

“Those wolves? The ones from the large pack?”
“Yes. The escort team had to pass through their territory.”

Gu Gun-baek and his group had purposely thrown meat into the area, attracting the hungry wolves there. The escort team had no food, was tired, and now faced a powerful wolf pack. It was all a trap.

“They’ll have to fight hard. Maybe some will die, but that’s fine. In fact, if they manage to defeat the wolves, it helps us.”

His assistant asked why they didn’t go help.

“We could, but then we’d lose people. Don’t underestimate the wolves.”

He turned away, satisfied. If the escort team survived, they’d be doing the Jin Family a favor by killing those wolves. If not, it was their own fault for walking into a trap.

“When they realize they walked into the tiger’s den… they’ll die.”

He calmly touched his sword. In the past, he had been the hunted. But now, he was the hunter.