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| Chapter 315 |
Taemu Sang never hesitated to do anything to survive.
He begged and pickpocketed, and even rode on ships.
No job was friendly to orphans, and the worst of them all was working on the ship.
The captain, as well as the crew, were obsessed with exploiting orphans who had nothing. They made Taemu Sang do everything they were supposed to do.
As a result, Taemu Sang was treated like a slave throughout the ship work. Every day was like hell, and he lived with muscle pain and all kinds of illnesses. So he wanted to quit after only three months on board.
It was because he thought he would really die if he continued like this. But getting off the ship wasn't easy either.
The captain had no intention of releasing a slave that could be easily controlled. He thought it would be foolish to release someone who could work for free for life. He even tried to put shackles on Taemu Sang's feet.
He wanted to tie him up on the ship so that he couldn't escape.
Taemu Sang eventually realized that he couldn't get off the ship in a normal way. So he secretly took a knife used for cutting fish and hid it. And he used it to stab the captain when he was off guard.
As a result of this incident, the captain was seriously injured, and Taemu Sang was branded as a violent person who couldn't be trusted by the crew.
As a result, he gained his freedom, but Taemu Sang could never board a ship again. He didn't even get paid for the work he had done so far.
Taemu Sang also had no intention of boarding a ship again.
"I didn't want to experience being exploited on a ship again. It remained as a memory he wanted to erase.
But one good thing was that he had learned how to handle a ship proficiently after suffering from the brutal exploitation. He could navigate a ship alone with ease.
Tae Mu-sang was steering the ship of the captain who had exploited him cruelly. Of course, he didn't have permission to sail it. He stole it secretly. However, Tae Mu-sang didn't feel guilty.
He could buy many ships with the money he was exploited for.
Tae Mu-sang adjusted the sail to catch the wind and looked ahead.
A man and a woman were standing on the small boat's deck.
It was Pyo Wol and Yoo Ra-yeon.
Yoo Ra-yeon ordered Tae Mu-sang to get a ship for her once her Sword Energy was restored to a certain extent.
At that time, he didn't know why she said that. But Tae Mu-sang, who had fallen in love with Yoo Ra-yeon, stole the ship of the captain who had exploited him without any hesitation.
When they were waiting on the ship, Jin Yoo-gun's group appeared in the harbor. Tae Mu-sang recognized Jin Yoo-gun at once. There was only one man with white hair that shimmered under the moonlight in Haemun.
Jin Yoo-gun's group stole a boat like Tae Mu-sang and headed out to sea.
While Tae Mu-sang was wondering what to do, Pyo Wol appeared. He climbed aboard the ship as if he knew Tae Mu-sang was waiting for him.
Neither Yoo Ra-yeon, who told Tae Mu-sang to steal a ship and wait, nor Pyo Wol, who told him to get on the ship and chase them, looked like ordinary humans.
'But then again, ordinary humans are never just ordinary.'"
Although Tae Mu-sang had already witnessed Yoo Ah-yeon's martial prowess with his own eyes, he had not expected her to be this exceptional compared to them. He felt like he was nothing in comparison to them. Yet, he had recklessly acted as if the world was small and had probably seemed foolish in their eyes.
The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to bury his head in a mouse hole in shame.
Then, Yoo Ah-yeon's voice reached him. "We're losing distance. Speed up."
"Yes!" Tae Mu-sang quickly regained his composure and answered.
This wasn't the time for self-doubt. It was important to keep up with the retreating ship.
Tae Mu-sang adjusted the sails precisely and increased their speed. As a result, they no longer lost distance and were able to continue chasing Jin Yu-gun's ship.
The ship they were chasing had set sail on the open sea. Everything visible was a deep blue. The dark sea, shrouded in mystery, gave rise to an unidentifiable fear. No one knew what kind of danger lurked in the depths of that darkness. That was why even experienced fishermen were afraid to venture out into the sea at night.
Tae Mu-sang didn't have much experience with night sailing, let alone steering a ship himself. That made him even more nervous.
With wide-open eyes, Tae Mu-sang chased after Jin Yu-gun's ship. Fortunately, Jin Yu-gun's ship had a lantern hanging from the front, making it easy to follow.
Pyo Wol stood at the bow of the ship, staring at Jin Yu-gun's vessel.
Jin Yu-gun's ship was sailing straight towards their destination without changing direction. It was evidence that they hadn't realized they were being pursued.
Yoo Ah-yeon silently gazed at Pyo Wol's profile.
"What an interesting person," she thought to herself.
Yoo Ah-yeon had made a rational judgment that they might return to the harbor. After all, the only place they could escape was outside the harbor. In contrast, Pyo Wol had chased after them all the way to Haeryongbang without giving it much thought.
Although being stopped by Taru and others, Taemu couldn't come to the boat. However, as if he knew that his grandmother was waiting for him, he naturally boarded the boat.
Such behavior from Pyowol seemed fascinating to Yura-yeon. As far as she knew, she had never encountered anyone like Pyowol before.
Perhaps sensing Yura-yeon's gaze, Pyowol turned his head to look at her.
"Why?" he asked.
"It's nothing," Yura-yeon replied, slightly tilting her head.
That was when Taemu-sang spoke up in a loud voice, "Hey, the boat they're on is slowing down. It looks like they've reached their destination."
Pyowol and Yura-yeon quickly turned to look at the boat Jin-yugeon was on. As Taemu-sang had said, the boat's speed was noticeably decreasing.
In the direction the boat was heading, they could see a small island appearing faintly in the darkness.
Pyowol said, "From now on, approach the island slowly."
"Yes!" Taemu-sang replied, and slowed down the boat's speed.
As the boat approached the island, the waves became quite rough. The small boat swayed as if it could capsize at any moment.
Taemu-sang had to exert all his strength to stabilize the boat. Finally, they managed to navigate through the waves and approached the back of the island.
"Ah!"
"Umm!"
Upon arriving behind the island, both Yura Yeon and Tae Mu-sang let out a sigh of amazement. A large ship was anchored behind the island.
"What?"
Yura Yeon blinked in surprise.
She had come all the way here on a boat from Seoyeok. Given the thousands of miles she had to travel across the sea, it was only natural that the boat would be large. But the ship before her now looked at least twice as big as hers.
Even in the port of Haemun, where many ships gathered, she had never seen a ship of this size. It looked like a small mountain floating on the water.
Compared to that ship, the boat they were on was like a tiny leaf.
Jin Yoo-geon and his companions approached the giant ship on a small fishing boat.
Creak!
The boat, now ownerless, floated for a moment before being swept away by the strong waves and crashing into the rocks. In an instant, the boat disappeared into the sea.
Pyowol asked Tae Mu-sang, "Can we get closer to the ship?"
"No. The waves are too strong. We'll be swept away and crash into the rocks if we get any closer," replied Tae Mu-sang, shaking his head.
Tae Mu-sang was quite confident in his abilities, but approaching a ship surrounded by such rough waves at night was not easy. And without getting caught, no less.
Pyowol told Tae Mu-sang, "Then you wait here."
"What?"
As Tae Mu-sang looked at Pyowol with a puzzled expression, Pyowol leaped towards the island, causing their small boat to rock violently.
In that moment, Yura Yeon followed Pyowol's lead and jumped off the boat as well.
"Oops! Let's go together," she exclaimed.
Both of them flew through the night sky and landed on the island.
They spread out their wings and crossed the island.
When they arrived at the cliff, they saw a giant ship anchored below.
Without hesitation, they both flew towards the ship at the same time.
Meanwhile.
Jin Yu-geon's ship was truly enormous.
The ship, which was built to sail safely for a long time even in the distant ocean where waves only hit the side of the ship, was like a fortress floating on its own.
As if to prove this fact, the ship remained stable even in the massive waves that raged around the island.
"Have you returned, Lord Daechu?" asked a middle-aged crew member as Jin Yu-geon boarded the ship.
He was the deck manager responsible for the ship's boundaries.
Jin Yu-geon nodded his head and asked, "Where is the captain?"
"He is waiting inside."
"I will go see him myself. And set up a watch on deck."
"Excuse me?"
"There was a collision in Haemun. Set up a watch and keep a close eye out in case anything happens."
"Understood."
The deck manager replied with a bow.
Jin Yu-geon walked past him and went into the cabin.
The narrow corridor was lined with numerous cabins on both sides. And right at the very back was the captain's quarters.
Knock, knock!
"This is subordinate Jin Yu-geon. May I come in?"
After a moment, a rough and hoarse voice responded.
"Come in!"
It was a chilling voice that sounded like scraping metal with fingernails.
Jin Yu-geon cautiously opened the door and went in.
The central room was at least three times larger than any other cabin, and there was a large table in front of it, with a man sitting in front of it.
The man's face was completely wrapped in white cloth, with only his eyes and mouth visible, but just looking at him gave off an eerie feeling.
He was the captain of this ship."
The moment the captain appeared, Jin Yu-geon kneeled and greeted him.
"Your subordinate Jin Yu-geon has returned from the mission, sir."
"And the goods?"
"I've retrieved all of them."
Jin Yu-geon took out the report from his waist and placed it on the table.
The captain took the report with his white-gloved hand and examined it closely.
"Well done," he said.
"However, there was a casualty during the retrieval process."
"A casualty?"
"I encountered an old monster who seemed to be from the Mara sect. Judging from what he knew about the report, he was most likely sent to track us."
"Sent by the Mara sect to track us all the way here? Do they have such formidable skills, or was there a leak of information from our side?"
"I'll look into it."
Jin Yu-geon felt a cold sweat running down his spine.
He was a tough veteran with thick bones who had survived countless battles, but in front of the captain, he couldn't move a muscle like a mouse facing a snake.
He didn't even know the captain's name, let alone his face, but he knew how fearsome he was.
No one had ever survived being the captain's target.
He was called the "Untraceable Killer" because he would sneak in like a shadow and kill without leaving a trace.
Although Jin Yu-geon had his own reputation, he couldn't compare himself to the Untraceable Killer.
The captain put the report in the adjacent storage box.
"I'll keep the report until it's sent to the headquarters."
"Understood."
On this boat, the safest place was the abode of Muhunsalgui(Unhealed Ghost). If they had stored it here last time too, the escapee would not have dared to steal the newspaper.
"What should we do about him?"
"Throw him to the sharks."
"I'll do that."
Jin Yugun caught the escapee's to make him pay for his actions.
There were plenty of sharks in the area.
The scoundrel had to suffer a miserable death being eaten alive by the sharks.
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