Including this one we have five chapters left!

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Hongjoong was out of it for merely a day. He felt guilty for not being able to help saving Hehetmon from complete destruction and while he felt triumph about having caught San, the sadness about the people who died was much worse.

San had been difficult. He had stayed to get Yeosang out of the building instead of fleeing with the other bandits. He had done it for Wooyoung who was thankfully out with Yongguk at that time but it made his morals too gray for Hongjoong to actually curse him. So he had let it slide, allowing Yunho to take both men under his wing and by now they were lying in his sick bay with many horrible burns marring their bodies.

There had been multiple victims in the fire. Some could escape the hungry flames through the back door but some could not and within those there was a mother with a child, their local farrier and also Jae, the man Hongjoong mistook as a scarecrow the first time they met because he looked so ragged standing on that field of his. There were two more bodies found and when doing a headcount they had noticed Seonghwa and another woman missing. While the bodies were burnt so badly they could impossibly be identified anymore the numbers were fitting.

It was only six people of several hundred but for a village this size it was a remarkable loss. The people were bitter and easily riled up. Finding out San had been one of the bandits made them suspicious of each other and Hongjoong had to put out an official order to stay at home to keep some peace.

Hongjoong himself lost every bit of patience he still had.

Having discovered San being an enemy too and Seonghwa dying before he could even question him had riled him up enough that he ignored his health in order to take his revenge on them. And now there were actually people going to help.

"I will join you."

It was Jongho who said it first, the man actually walking around in normal clothes and Hongjoong nearly mistook him as someone else at first. Hongjoong had looked up at him where he had just adjusted the bandages around his body and lifted a cool brow.

"I can only take you if I can be sure you won't betray me."

"You don't have to trust me. Get me in so I can rip a few of these bastards apart, shoot me if you have to. I don't care anymore."

Jongho was just as fed up with everything as he was and Hongjoong suspected some deeper connection to one of the people involved being his excuse but he would not question it. Oddly enough Jongho's presence was calming.

Yeosang too asked him to come, but Hongjoong refused. He was in too bad of a condition.

Wooyoung wanted to stay with Yeosang and San, barely leaving their sides and deep circles marking his eyes while he watched their discolored and wrecked bodies. Yunho guarded them all.

Hongjoong was so furious.

It might have had to do with Seonghwa's death, with the odd relationship he had built with that man that was now ripped away from him. Maybe it was also Yongguk's cold eyes telling him to end it already.

Hongjoong by now knew enough. He could erase these bastards from the face of earth first and then search for the remaining complices. Doing it the other way around had obviously not worked.

They mounted their horses two days after and rode away through the plains. By now it was Hongjoong himself, Jongho with a stormy expression and dark clothes, Jaebeom who looked incredibly tired as usual and another girl who usually worked with the wild bulls by the name of Venus.

They all were determined to fight and put either bullets or shackles on these bandits.

When Hongjoong later asked Venus about her motivation to join she simply told him that the woman with the child who died had been her sister she deeply loved. She was bitter and angry about the killings and what the bandits had done to Hongjoong, doing her best to alleviate his pain.

Hongjoong wanted Seonghwa back. Wanted to make sure he was innocent and let the man care for him with his sweet gestures. The frustration about his unexpected death was probably the think that got Hongjoong the most agitated.

By nightfall they had gathered around their campfire and were discussing plans. They needed a solid solution to wipe these guys out without giving them too much room and time for an escape but it also had to be manageable enough for them to act out and live through.

After some thinking of closing up their entrances or poisoning their drinking water the final decision was made by Jaebeom.

"There is a river flowing inside those mines. They were actually abandoned after the dam broke once and killed many workers. We rebuild it before leaving there but the risk of it breaking is still high at all times. Especially when it rains."

They had collectively looked up into the sky at that, at the dark clouds obscuring the stars from view.

"So we will break the dam?"

"Yeah. However, I don't know whether they rebuilt their channel systems. It might be too sturdy now at the places we knew of. So we will split up in twos and search for the more easier one. The only problem is our own escape. These rivers flow deep down in the mountain so we will also be pretty far and trapped." Jaebeom drew his brows together, looking pensive.

"We could go in with ropes already attached?", Venus carefully asked, playing with some twigs in the flames.

"But if a bandit finds us then they will cut it off. However, I know of a entrance further up the mountain. While the bandits will try to flee through the normal one they will be flooded much earlier. So if we just let the water keep pushing us up there will be a good chance to live." Hongjoong ignored the curious glances around him, instead receiving a firm nod from Jaebeom.

"Alright. Then we will be twos, Venus you will come with me. We can help each other out."

They all agreed and resumed with eating before going to sleep. Hongjoong kept waiting for that bandit of his to appear, tossing and turning fitfully with sleep constantly dodging him. In the morning he felt not rested at all but the anger spurred him on still.

He took them on the route Bastard had showed him last time, leaving their horses behind some scrubs. Just like last time scaling the mountain was an exhausting task, making them all complain and groan when nobody was truly that bothered by it.

When they did finally get to the entrance they took a second to breathe before they took off in their groups. Hongjoong and Jongho went left, Jaebeom and Venus right. Their goal was simply to follow the rush of the water deeper inside and locate a place to let the water in. Optimal was also not getting caught meanwhile.

Jongho kept quiet, uncharacteristically so. Hongjoong had gotten to know him as a person not shy of a joke here and there or at least some quiet remarks but now he seemed very reserved. Hongjoong guessed it was the trauma.

It was the same thing as last time he was here. They slipped into the shadows, avoiding longer trails with no options to hide and managed fairly well. However, Hongjoong noticed less guards going around and those who were checked less throughoutly. Their steps were quick and distracted, their losses obviously concerning them too and Hongjoong nearly felt sympathy.

He might have actually shot Yunho's lover back then who knew. Maybe some people here lost loved ones too.

He had also gotten some information on that bandit leader though. It was exactly that main boss Mingi had mentioned and also the one who had been incredibly difficult when dealing with Jaebeom earlier. By his long hair it had to be the man named Youjin and Hongjoong was quite keen on seeing to his death himself.

After that there seemed to be three bosses who gave orders to the rest of the group directly. One of them was Bastard, San had been another one. The third was only known to be a woman, there was not much intel gathered on her.

Hongjoong questioningly stared up at Jongho's blank face the next time they had to hide.

"How good have you known Mingi? I heard you fought with him.", he whispered quietly, checking on the person walking further away from them sometimes.

"Yeah, he was behaving strangely. Was oddly close to San for a while, became strange. I fought him because he started closing off, making stupid decisions. He seemed to hate not only the town after a while but also Yunho. He did not deserve it. Fought him for that."

"Did you have feelings for Yunho?"

"Nah. For Mingi. Part of why I did not approve. When he disappeared I started hating him. But before San corrupted him he was a very sweet and clumsy person."

Hongjoong wanted to tell him that he had not lost the clumsy part but he kept silent, just nodding. He prayed that they would not meet Mingi here, were not distracted by his sudden appearance.

After a few minutes of waiting Hongjoong led Jongho further down, in the distance finally water to be heard. It sounded powerful, like a big stream nourishing everything inside of the mountain and it would be enough to kill for sure. It would crush the bandits' bodies against the rough stones and rip their limbs apart, leave them gasping for air while they slowly drowned.

Hongjoong trusted his senses with it, feeling the air grow colder the deeper they went and here the tunnels were completely dark, no guards showing up at all. The rushing of the stream only got louder and grew nearer, the dusty walls switching to wet, slippery stone that had little plants growing on it.

They somewhen reached a dead end where a barricade had been build into the wall. There was a constant trickle of water sounding where they got their water from a little hole in the wood. They never had to suffer from a drought before for sure, everything here was full of barrels filled with the freshest water in the whole of Texas probably.

Hongjoong cracked his knuckles.

"Well then. Let's get this. Can you take on these big pillars at the sides? I think the water will do most of our job here."

"Yeah sure." Jongho rolled up his sleeves, stepping closer to one and getting a feel of the wood first before spanning his hands around it. He nodded at Hongjoong briefly. "I'm ready."

Hongjoong copied him, stepping to the right one also but getting interrupted by a low chuckle before he could try to find the most comfortable position for his shoulder. He casted a quick glance over his shoulder, finding Youjin standing in the room behind them with a lantern in his hand.

The man was completely demasked, showing his unfamiliar features for the first time and Hongjoong remembered them as good as possible. If he lived and they lived he would get a better wanted poster for this scum.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Sheriff? It will kill you."

"And it will also kill you. We came here ready to die for the safety of our people. You tortured them long enough.", Hongjoong spit back, his shoulder throbbing in a reminder of exactly that.

They had narcotized the wound with some herbs so he did not have to feel its pain but he was still quite aware of the uncomfortable pull of it.

Youjin gave a little laugh, irritatingly calmly sipping at the tea he had brought.

"What a strong spirit you have. I'd have loved to break it or at least make it mine if you had let me. The enemy is not necessarily in the wrong, you know? We also just want to live."

"Yeah, you do. But you do so by killing and plundering. Try doing your work yourself next time. You already had the water to build and grow things."

When Hongjoong noticed himself grow agitated he quickly nodded at Jongho. No time for long monologues.

And they pulled.