Namgung Clan’s Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal

5. My Own People.

Even saying it took as long as a cup of tea would be an exaggeration.

Including the Red Wolf of Hubei, the seven martial artists under the Stone Flower Sect leader were all dealt with in the blink of an eye.

“Ugh…”

“Spare me, please! Please, spare me!”

“Just kill me instead. Kill me!”

As Sun Wukong stretched, he looked over the groaning, sprawled-out martial artists.

“Aaah, now that’s more like it. My body finally feels warmed up.”

Normally, even the victors of a fight would show some signs of fatigue. But Sun Wukong looked nothing but refreshed. The meaning was clear: for him, this wasn’t even a fight—it was an overwhelming victory.

‘Sigh. This is just frustrating.’

Honestly, he didn’t even need to use his body. The real Sun Wukong could have turned them all to mush with a flick of his finger or a single breath.

But with most of his Heavenly Realm powers sealed, he had to move his body himself.

‘Well, I could just use a couple of spells if I really wanted to.’

The Finger Killing Water, one of the 72 Transformations Technique that Sun Wukong alone had fully mastered from Patriarch Subhuti, was a top-tier skill that few could rival, even in the Heavenly Realm.

With so much of his power sealed, he wasn’t sure he could use all of them smoothly now, but using such techniques on these guys would be like using an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken. Might as well just use his fists.

Meanwhile, Sideburns and Narrow-Eyed, who had watched Sun Wukong’s fight, were feeling two things.

First, satisfaction—seeing the troublesome Stone Flower Sect get smashed to pieces.

Second, relief.

‘Hey, Triangle.’

‘Yeah, boss?’

‘If we’d messed up, that could’ve been us, right?’

‘No kidding.’

‘Sheesh. Who’d have thought the foreigner we tried to rob would turn out to be a terrifying Martial Master? That’s the kind of thing you only read about in cheap storybooks.’

Sideburns let out a sigh. He’d even dragged such a monster into a fight on his own whim. His mouth was dry, and his blood felt like it was boiling.

‘Should I run for it now?’

No, not a chance. Even if he tried, he’d just get caught. Sideburns just squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for Buddha’s protection.

Jingle, jingle.

But what he heard wasn’t Sun Wukong’s angry voice, nor the sound of a devastating punch.

‘Jingle, jingle?’

Wait, isn’t that the sound of coins clinking?

Sideburns, who’d been bracing himself for the worst, cautiously opened his eyes.

“…”

Wait, is he… robbing them?

Not only had they lost, but now their pockets were being emptied too. What a humiliating sight for a martial artist.

As he stared blankly, Sun Wukong suddenly turned his head.

“Hey.”

“Eek! Y-yes, Great Hero! I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to drag you into this, I swear! I just admired you so much, I wanted you as our boss—”

“What are you babbling about? What are you two doing?”

“…Huh?”

“What are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to loot them?”

“Uh, what?”

“You said you had no money. You gotta eat, don’t you?”

“…”

Wait… isn’t he the Great Sage Equal to Heaven? A god from the Heavenly Realm? Why is someone like that picking pockets?

Those words almost burst out, but Sideburns and Narrow-Eyed quietly got to work.

“Seriously? Only after I tell you do you start moving? Are you really bandits? And there are only two of you in this whole mountain bandit camp? Does that even make sense?”

“We are… bandits.”

“Then you’ve got no sense of professionalism. You should be looting whenever you get the chance. How are you going to survive in this harsh world if you slack off like that?”

“Professionalism…”

Sideburns felt dizzy.

Sun Wukong straightened his shoulders and declared,

“I am a being without discrimination. Under the sky, upon the earth, within the embrace of the Great Sage, all humans are equal. How could I judge or discriminate based on profession?”

Something about that sounded off…

Sun Wukong diligently emptied their pockets—not just money, but anything that looked valuable. Sideburns couldn’t help but click his tongue at the thoroughness.

He was so enthusiastic about it that even Narrow-Eyed, who’d been watching, got fired up.

He’d never liked those Stone Flower Sect thugs anyway. How could it not be satisfying to loot their pockets like this?

“Money… This sword looks usable. Oh, what’s this trinket? Planning to give it to a girl, huh? This should fetch a good price too. Hm?”

In the middle of their gleeful looting, Narrow-Eyed tilted his head.

Among the decent-looking loot, a shabby sword fragment tumbled out.

It was so old and rusted, it looked more like a blunt hunk of metal. Oddly enough, the box it had been stored in looked quite fancy—the kind used for precious jewels or rare elixirs.

Narrow-Eyed, who’d been hoping for something valuable, was instantly deflated.

Just then—

“Y-you bastard! Put that down! Don’t touch that!”

The Red Wolf of Hubei, who’d been nearly unconscious, suddenly found the strength to shout.

His outburst caught Sun Wukong’s attention.

“What’s the big deal?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. It was wrapped up all fancy, so I thought it might be a treasure, but it’s just a rusty sword fragment.”

“You fool! Do you have any idea what that is? If you touch it, you’ll lose your hand!”

Sun Wukong was unimpressed.

“Come on, old man. Now you’re just making me more curious. You might as well beg me to take a look at it.”

It was, as described, a broken piece of a sword. So rusted it looked like nothing but scrap metal—worthless even as junk.

“These guys really carry all kinds of trash, Great Hero.”

“…”

“Great Hero?”

Sun Wukong didn’t answer. Sensing something strange, Narrow-Eyed cautiously watched his face.

“…”

Sun Wukong examined the sword fragment with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

After a moment, confusion flickered across his face, then suspicion, and finally, certainty.

“This shouldn’t be here.”

Sun Wukong pressed his eyebrows together, looking troubled.

“You. Do you even know what this is?”

The Red Wolf of Hubei clamped his mouth shut, as if to say, ‘Like I’d tell you.’

But the moment he met Sun Wukong’s eyes, he suddenly began to tremble. He could barely breathe, shaking all over.

“Guh… guh!”

The sly look vanished from his face. His lips went pale, his eyes blazed like molten lava, and his pupils flashed with a brilliant golden light, as if they would devour him whole.

He felt as if his entire being was being stripped bare, every secret exposed.

No, it wasn’t just a feeling.

Through gritted teeth, Sun Wukong spoke, each word slow and deliberate.

“Tell me the truth. If you lie or dodge the question, I’ll make it clear: I’ll kill you and personally toss your soul into every corner of every hell.”

With the Flaming Golden Eyes, able to discern truth from lies and see through all things, the Red Wolf of Hubei was nothing but a helpless mortal.

“I-I don’t know what it is. O-one day, someone put out a bounty for it across the entire Black Path.”

“A bounty?”

“They said anyone who found it would get a huge reward…”

A slow, sharp smile crept across Sun Wukong’s lips. His white fangs glinted.

In a realm invisible to mortals, Sun Wukong peered directly into the Red Wolf’s soul. He wasn’t lying.

So, there was someone out there collecting these sword fragments. Someone who wanted to gather them all.

“Which means there’s someone who knows what this is.”

And that someone… is human. Human.

Sun Wukong smiled faintly. Despite countless battles and endless struggles, he knew exactly why he’d come this far.

Instinct. The instinct of a born Great Demon.

Sun Wukong sensed inevitability.

‘Of all times, right after Tang Sanzang’s soul vanished, a Heavenly Realm artifact appears in the Mortal World, and now there’s a human searching for it here.’

Sun Wukong asked the Red Wolf of Hubei,

“Who is it? Who are you meeting?”

“B-blood-Iron Fiend.”

Naturally, Sun Wukong didn’t react to the nickname—he’d never heard it before. But Sideburns, listening from behind, let out a shriek.

“B-blood-Iron Fiend!”

“You know him?”

“He’s been declared a public enemy of Murim for over five years, but he’s still on the loose. He’s infamous.”

Sun Wukong shrugged.

“So, he’s a bad guy, right?”

“Uh, y-yeah. He killed seven Shaolin Arhats, five Beggar’s Sect members, and even survived after killing a Namgung Clan blood relative during the Great War of Righteousness and Evil. On top of that, it’s said he’s killed dozens of ordinary people…”

Suddenly, Sun Wukong wailed dramatically.

“Oh, what a tragedy!”

“…”

What’s with the sudden mood swing?

“As the Great Sage of Heaven, how could I just stand by while such a villain commits murder? Don’t you agree?”

“…”

A chill ran down Sideburns’ spine.

“With humans suffering like this, how could I, Sun Wukong, a celestial being, turn a blind eye? Let’s go. Let’s catch this Blood-Iron Fiend or whoever he is.”

When the words he’d dreaded finally came out, Sideburns jumped in protest.

“A-aren’t we supposed to be heading to the Namgung Clan?”

“It’ll just take a moment.”

“B-but if you change our plans like this…”

“Boss, boss! All the docks just got locked down. No ships are allowed to leave.”

“What?”

“The Murim Alliance asked the authorities to do it. Since there’s evidence of a public enemy, they want all ships grounded until Murim’s warriors arrive.”

Sideburns’ face darkened as if he’d bitten into something foul. Sun Wukong shrugged.

“So we can’t get a boat until that guy’s caught? Well, what can you do?”

With Sun Wukong’s easygoing tone, Sideburns shook his head vigorously.

“Let’s just wait. The Murim Alliance will send warriors to catch him, right?”

“Trying to steal my prey, are you?”

Sun Wukong laughed lightly, his eyebrows arching mischievously, his face full of playful energy.

*

The meeting place between the Red Wolf of Hubei and the Blood-Iron Fiend was a tavern.

When Sideburns heard the name of the tavern, his face soured.

“You know the place?”

“I’ve been kicked out of there for drinking before.”

“Must’ve been a real piece of work to get thrown out of a tavern. Tsk tsk.”

Sideburns looked like he wanted to say something, but just sighed and led the way.

The tavern was close to the docks.

Apparently, Sideburns really had been a troublesome customer—the doorman’s eyes went wide when he spotted him.

“Well, well! What brings the famous Monk of Hayeon Mountain here? Planning to cause trouble again?”

“Cut the sarcasm. I’m here to meet someone. Step aside.”

“Screw you.”

The doorman spat out a curse and swung his fist. The two were clearly close, and the attack was so sudden, aiming for a vital spot, that Sideburns couldn’t dodge.

But Sun Wukong, watching from a distance, suddenly appeared and grabbed the doorman’s hand.

Crack!

He twisted the wrist in an instant, and before the man could even scream, drove his fist straight into his face.

Crunch!

The doorman’s nose broke, his face caved in, and he collapsed, unconscious, from a single blow.

As Sideburns stared in shock, Sun Wukong grinned.

“How could the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, leader of the Hayeon Mountain Bandit Camp, just stand by while one of his own gets attacked?”

Sideburns’ expression turned complicated.

Sun Wukong chuckled, clearly amused, and strode confidently into the tavern.

Then, with a booming voice, he shouted,

“Customer’s here, you bastards!”

Like he was the most important guest in the world.