The World’s Greatest is Dead

Several days had passed since they had started their journey to Sichuan.

The carriage had barely made it out of Anhui and was now winding through a dense forest path.

No matter which way one looked, all they could see were thick forests, and the scenery changed rapidly.

Despite the considerable speed and rough path, the inside of the carriage was surprisingly peaceful, much to everyone’s relief.

How could this be?

Even to someone like me who knew nothing about carriages, this road was a complete mess.

The reason for this could be attributed to the person driving the carriage at that moment.

“Neighhhh-!”

“Hyah-!”

An old man, with only one arm, skillfully handled the reins.

Amazingly, the horse moved naturally under the old man’s guidance.

‘… He wasn’t lying.’

The old man, Chu Dong, had bragged about his carriage-driving skills, and he wasn’t kidding.

He was truly exceptional.

‘Incredible.’

It was astonishing. Despite having only one arm, he handled the horse with incredible skill.

Watching him inspired awe.

While I quietly admired the scene, “How are you feeling?”

Chu Dong, from outside, peeked into the carriage and struck up a conversation.

Neither Do Hyung nor Chun Uijin, who were inside, responded to his question.

Seeing that, I muttered a curse under my breath and then spoke up.

“Yes, we’re very comfortable. Thank you, elder. You’ve made our journey so pleasant that we couldn’t be happier.”

“Hahaha. Thank you for saying so.”

“Hahaha. It’s nothing.”

I responded to Chu Dong with a forced smile. Damn it, I felt like my face was going to cramp.

Engaging in conversation with Chu Dong and forcing a smile was exhausting. On top of that, he kept directing all his questions to me, so I had to carry the entire conversation.

At first, Chun Uijin and Do Hyung also participated in the chat, but now they had practically abandoned it to me.

‘… Damn it.’

As if I wasn’t already feeling enough pressure, this made things even harder.

“And please, stop being so formal. It makes this old man very uncomfortable. Feel free to speak casually.”

“… No, I couldn’t possibly do that.”

Speaking casually to the Sword Emperor? I would be inviting trouble.

No way.

‘Seriously, what’s this old man’s goal?’

It was riddled with questions.

It had been puzzling me for days. Every time I saw the Sword Emperor, I couldn’t help but wonder.

‘Is this really just about escorting and monitoring?’

Why would such a high-level martial artist like the Sword Emperor take on the role of a coachman and bow his head to me?

And more puzzlingly, ‘Why has the Sword Emperor, who suddenly disappeared, reappeared here acting like this?’

No matter how you looked at it, it was absurd, but there was no way to investigate it.

Honestly, the fact that I had someone I could ask made me think I could figure it out soon.

But I had overlooked the most crucial point.

『Hehehe.』

That point was that the person I could ask wasn’t exactly normal.

Yu Chun-gil, who sat in the empty seat beside me, chuckled.

I had to frown as I looked at him.

‘Stop laughing and give me some explanations.’

Since getting on the carriage, Yu Chun-gil maintained that same expression.

A wide grin, full of amusement.

Constantly mocking me with his expression and voice.

It couldn’t be more infuriating, but what was even more annoying was…

‘Why isn’t he explaining?’

Clearly, Yu Chun-gil recognized the Sword Emperor the moment he saw him, yet he refused to explain anything, no matter how much I asked.

What did he say initially?

‘He said he didn’t know yet and would find out.’

Could it be that he already figured everything out and just wasn’t telling me?

Seeing his demeanor made me think that.

‘No, he wouldn’t do that.’

He couldn’t just ignore his request to investigate his own death and now refuses to explain for his amusement.

‘It’s driving me crazy.’

Even though he tried to believe it wasn’t true, he couldn’t help but think, “What if?”

Because if it were that old man, he could definitely pull something like this.

The only thing he had informed me about was that the old man was indeed the Sword Emperor.

Just that, nothing more.

The amount of information Yu Chun-gil had provided ended there. So,

‘Right now, the old man’s intent is ultimately…’

Though the coachman was the Sword Emperor, nobody had a clue about his intentions or reasons, and everyone just kept watching him warily.

That was roughly the implied meaning.

‘Damn it.’

It was impossible not to curse.

“The weather is especially gloomy today”, he said.

“Haha… Yes, indeed it is”, I replied.

In such an awkward and uncomfortable situation, having to watch out for the Sword Emperor’s mood was too much.

‘Come on, you guys, say something.’

I stared at Do Hyung and Chun Uijin, but nothing changed.

Do Hyung had always been a quiet person, so he didn’t say much.

Chun Uijin, for some unknown reason, just stared blankly out the window, looking utterly lost.

In other words, ‘There’s no one else but me to respond to the Sword Emperor.’

Since the two who didn’t know that Chu Dong was the Sword Emperor were in that state, it ultimately meant that I was the only one who could handle it.

‘Damn it…’

As a result, for several days, I established an uncomfortable rapport with Chu Dong.

“It looks like we’ll have to camp after crossing the mountain path today. Is that alright with you, young heroes?”

Since there was no one else but me among the “young heroes”, I quickly nodded my head.

“Yes. Please proceed as you find convenient, sir. We are all fine with it.”

I answered swiftly without adding a single objection.

Half of it was due to not daring to refuse. The other half was because Chu Dong did things well enough that there was no need to point out anything.

Or maybe, to be honest, the former accounted for about 70 percent.

‘… The weather is gloomy anyway, so we can’t go much further.’

No matter how well Chu Dong handled the horse, if it rained now, things would get difficult, so this was the right decision.

Watching the ever-changing scenery outside the window, I pondered.

‘How much farther do we have to go?’

How much was left until Sichuan? Probably, there was still a long way to go.

‘Then, it means I have to endure this miserable time for much longer.’

My expression naturally crumpled.

‘With a mountain of concerns already on my mind…’

Struggling to think as I did something every day, I didn’t want to waste mental energy on this unnecessary issue.

‘Sigh…’

I sighed inwardly and squinted my eyes.

At first, I looked up at the sky. It was just past noon, but it looked dark and dreary due to the thick clouds.

Seeing that, I bit my lips.

This was the weather I hated the most.

‘Too much Yin energy.’

The clouds obscuring the midday sun created even more Yin energy than during the night.

Because the originally present energy had disappeared, it was replaced with something else.

Because of that,

‘The surroundings are filled with spirits.’

Amidst the scenery, things that shouldn’t be visible were seen.

‘Damn it.’

Just looking at it made me feel bitter.

To exaggerate, I even felt nauseated.

This was why I usually avoided going out in rainy or cloudy weather.

Today was especially severe among such days.

‘It’s fortunate they can’t come closer.’

Normally, I wouldn’t be surprised if troublesome incidents occurred, but I had talismans with me.

I turned my gaze to Do Hyung.

‘As expected. The Guardian Spirit is the solution.’

A brilliant light spiraled around the expressionless Do Hyung.

As long as that was there, low-level spirits couldn’t dare come near.

So, it was somewhat of a relief.

‘I still wonder what it is.’

I couldn’t help but be curious about Do Hyung’s Guardian Spirit.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s a mountain god-level Guardian Spirit.

What could have happened to Do Hyung for such a Guardian Spirit to attach itself to him?

‘Does that man have something too?’

Or the secret of a bloodline only he knew.

Could there be something like that?

Thinking so, I nodded my head.

‘Then, I must never delve into it.’

It looked bothersome and tiring just by looking at it.

I just needed to keep it beside me like a talisman and quietly move away when the task was done.

‘For now, I’ll keep it by my side.’

Keep it because it was necessary, but don’t delve deeper than necessary.

That was the core principle I set when dealing with this matter.

* * *

As the dark clouds thickened, turning the whole world gray.

We barely managed to get off the mountain path.

“Young heroes, as we have passed the mountain path, I will lower the speed.”

Dr-r-r-r-r-!

Chu Dong spoke as he lowered the speed of the carriage.

This meant that we would arrive at our target campsite soon.

Maybe after a little while, we would come across a field nice for resting?

According to Chu Dong, there was a small village nearby.

But there was no need to stay in such a place during a top-secret mission, so we decided to pass by.

Thus, while reducing speed and riding the carriage.

-Please…….

-Anyone……! Listen to my words……!

“Hmm…….”

Hearing these pleas painfully started giving me a headache.

‘Slowing down makes it worse.’

Earlier, it was bearable because the speed was fast, but the moment we slowed down, problems arose.

Things that were barely heard and seen now became clear.

It was not at a problematic level. It just made my head hurt a bit, and as always, it was just a matter of ignoring it.

The frequency increased because of the dark clouds, but it wasn’t actually dangerous.

As I said earlier, ignoring it was sufficient.

‘As long as it’s not something like Yu Chun-gil’s case, there’s nothing that can’t be dealt with.’

Ignoring ghosts was not difficult for me.

And this time was no exception.

‘Just endure a bit.’

Headaches and whatever, just endure it. Making a fuss would only create problems, so it was best to just endure it for a while. Thinking that way, he barely acted like it was nothing.

-Please…… Please. Please save me……!

A particularly bothersome voice was heard.

It wasn’t as murky as the other spirits, rather it was much clearer.

To the point where it could be mistaken for a living person instead of a ghost.

-Please……. Just once. Just save me once……!!

I fixed my gaze straight ahead and assessed.

It appeared to be a ghost, but there was a reason for the misconception.

‘It’s a living spirit (生靈).’

A living spirit is a spirit that hadn’t yet died but was about to.

Technically, it was no different from a ghost, but if there was a distinction…

‘It doesn’t realize that it has died.’

It was a situation where the ghost didn’t recognize its own death.

This was the spirit of a woman.

After understanding this, he averted his gaze.

‘Interfering would be troublesome.’

Once it became a living spirit, it was already too late.

-Please…… Please.

It was effectively the same as being dead, so in these weather conditions, there was no reason to stop the carriage to do anything.

-Please……. If this continues…… If this continues…….

So, he just needed to ignore it and proceed.

-My child will die……! Please save my child……!!!

“Stop the carriage.”

“What?”

Chu Dong, startled, stopped the carriage.

Bang-!

“Young master Bang……!?”

Bang Sung-Yun immediately jumped out of the carriage.

TL’s Corner:

Fooking cliff.