Book 18 Chapter 12

Any Death

—Cleaning

The man was climbing the mountain with quick steps.

The man's surname was Wang (王), his given name Pil (弼). He was from Huayin County, Sichuan Province. A Xuanxue scholar from the Wei Jin period. He died young at the age of twenty-four, fiercely debating topics such as existence and non-existence, whether there was non-existence before existence, or if there was something even before non-existence, or if even that was non-existent, and what exactly the non-existence of non-existence was. Although his name was the same as the genius boy Wang Pil, a person's existence is not defined solely by their name, so even if he searched his lineage up to his fifteenth great-grandfather, he had not even a single thread of relation.

Nevertheless, this man lived with pride, actively participating in a series of attribute transformation processes that activate the Wood element according to the principle of the five elements' mutual generation. In other words, to put it simply, he was a woodcutter. Through his diligence, sincerity, hardship, and effort, wood is transformed into fire, burning itself or being cremally burned, thereby benefiting humans.

He was on his way up the mountain today to actively participate in this process. If he skipped a day, he would go hungry for a day, so he could not rest. It was a mountain he always climbed, so it did not feel particularly difficult. His steps were as light as if he were walking on flat ground. This was possible due to his familiarity with it.

Perhaps that's why? He could sense the anomaly more quickly than anyone else. The man stopped walking. His body refused to move forward. An unpleasant silence filled the surroundings. Unlike yesterday, a strange energy filled the space. The entire mountain seemed to have fallen silent.

'What's going on?'

He cautiously climbed the mountain. The smell tickling his nose grew stronger. A fishy smell he couldn't detect yesterday. An ominous premonition overwhelmed him.

'Should I just go back?'

It was certainly a tempting offer, but he couldn't. Although he was not a famous or learned scholar or thinker, he knew who the mother of fear was.

If he turned back without even grasping a clue as to what had happened, the fear born of ignorance would grow and hold him back. He didn't have the confidence to climb this mountain again tomorrow if he went down now. Then he would have to go hungry for another day. Moreover, the firewood here was of good quality. It would be very difficult to find such a place elsewhere.

One might retort, "What's so different about firewood?" but that would be ignorance. Wood rent (木賃), the cost of wood, accounts for almost half of the lodging expenses. Frankly, it's more expensive than food.

There is a clear hierarchy among firewood. The wood cut today is not sold tomorrow. There is a difference in how freshly chopped wood, still moist, is treated compared to firewood that has been dried in advance. The difference in heating power is evident, so the price is also set differently. It's best to dry it thoroughly in the sun for at least ten days.

He did not want to lose his livelihood without knowing why. He was scared, but he continued to climb the path. A sense of crisis propelled his feet forward. He didn't want to starve. He couldn't stop. For tomorrow's meal, he moved desperately.

Wang Pil closed his eyes tightly and ran up the mountain along the path of his heart. It was a path he had climbed up and down hundreds, no, thousands of times. Even with his eyes closed, he wouldn't bump into anything or trip.

However, something soft and yielding was under his feet. He almost fell. As he regained his balance, a foul odor attacked him as if it had been waiting.

He was so scared he couldn't open his eyes. Instead, he started running wildly. But the unpleasant, fishy smell only stimulated his nose more intensely. The futile run finally stopped when he had no strength left to run any further.

Wang Pil cautiously opened his eyes, which he had kept closed. Then he saw.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

A piercing scream echoed through the mountain.

Blood! Blood! Blood! Corpses! Corpses! Corpses!

Blood and corpses, he was standing in the midst of a sea of blood and corpses. The surroundings were completely covered with gruesome bodies. Some of them were scattered with fragments detached from their torsos. There were clear signs of being torn apart by sharp teeth.

It looked like they had been attacked by monsters. This mark, he remembered it. Two swords piercing a tiger. It was the crest of 'Salhochae,' the largest mountain stronghold in the vicinity. They say man-eating monsters come out in these deep mountains… could this be…

At that moment, a giant shadow suddenly loomed behind him like a mountain. Hot wind swept past his neck. Goosebumps covered his entire body. The wind was hot, but his body turned ice cold. With a shiver, Wang Pil, who turned to look behind him, froze as if turned to stone. He had seen it. It was enough to steal away a person's ability to think in an instant.

Not even a scream escaped him. The mountain fell. Mount Tai crushed him.

And then came darkness.

Wang Pil fainted on the spot.

***

"We've found a trace, Chief Blood Mark!"

Hyeolpyo first punched his subordinate hard in the stomach.

Thwack!

A loud drumming sound echoed, and the subordinate let out a groan.

"Chief… Senior… Officer!"

Hyeolpyo kindly and gently corrected his subordinate's mistake.

"Kuh—oof!"

Still holding his fist in his stomach, the subordinate admitted his mistake with a unique sound effect. He couldn't open his mouth carelessly, for fear that his insides would come out if he spoke.

"Report again!"

Only then did Hyeolpyo remove his fist.

"Cough, cough! Yes, I report to Chief Senior Officer Hyeolpyo! We have just discovered the target's trace!"

"Good, they didn't get far. After all, even with the children's efforts, there's a limit."

Hyeolpyo nodded with a satisfied expression. The fact that he found the two children before the commander made him even more excited.

"I didn't expect them to run to Amipa, though."

They had naturally assumed they would go to Amipa, completely blocking the routes in that direction, only to come up completely empty-handed. Hyeolpyo, who was left looking at the roof like a dog that missed its chicken, hurriedly reorganized his team and began the pursuit.

"Well, I was truly surprised when they returned to the Silver Pavilion."

He was also shocked when he learned that the team members left behind to clean up had been wiped out for an unknown reason. He couldn't understand who, why, or how they could have been so cleanly annihilated. However, his mind quickly turned in another direction. Regardless, the commander would bear the responsibility for the mission's failure. Although he was the second-in-command, he was not in a position to be held responsible. If the commander lost his position because of that incident, the next commander would be himself. In other words, it was very good news. If he could achieve a great feat on this occasion, that position would naturally be his. Therefore, the person who should succeed in this mission should be himself, not the commander. Thus, he reorganized his team with uncharacteristic speed and set out in pursuit.

The secret passage was discovered a whopping three hundred *jang* away from the Azure Dragon Silver Pavilion. However, perhaps because they were still young, there were countless traces left behind. And they were experts in pursuit. Capture was a sure thing.

"Alright! Initiate close pursuit!"

"Yes, Chief!"

Thwack!

Once again, the drumming sound echoed cheerfully. And then, a yellow something made a peculiar sound as it emerged into the world from a place where something usually goes in.