But one of his men came running with bad news. The hostages had disappeared. That enraged the leader even further, and now he wanted the loose-skinned lord dead more than ever.
When Han went off the cliff he had gone down head first, spinning as he fell, boring into the water like a drill into soft ground. The real danger had been of crashing into the bottom with the full force of that huge drop. He managed to slow himself. But then something began to pull him deeper, and once again he sank like a stone.
The current carried him for a long time. Eventually he was swept into a cave on the other side.
After that brutal fight he only wanted to rest. But his heart began to react to the energy of something nearby. It was pulling him forward, and he soon realised what it was.
The Virgin Ginseng.
He swam deeper into the cave, and what he saw shocked him. Directly in front of him was the Virgin Ginseng, giving off a strong aura. He was so happy that he almost cried. Then he remembered the beggar's words, that it would be easy to find. If he ever met that man again he would burn him for that lie.
He did not waste a second. He ran and pulled the ginseng up out of the ground with his bare hands. This was the truly legendary Virgin Ginseng, and now it was his.
He checked all around him, in case it was some kind of prank. But nothing happened. So he happily started to eat the ginseng. The surge of spiritual energy began instantly. The feeling was so good that he kept eating without stopping. Then he sat down and cultivated.
It was a thrill to finally rise above all of them. Everyone who had thought him small would see it.
Back in the village, Han's vassal was trying to track him down. But Han had used a false name, so there was no trace of him to get.
Why was the vassal even here? Because of the fat man's furious father. The vassal had been asleep in the clan leader's mansion when they broke down the door and came in shouting. Finding him lying there asleep, the patriarch began beating him and told him he would be put to sleep for good. That was why the vassal was out here in the village, hunting for Han.
A little later he found the fat man's horse and asked a boy desperately where its owner had gone. When he heard that Han had gone up Pagoda Mountain, where the bandits lived, he started crying even harder. Just imagining his master being beaten by criminals. He ran off in a panic.
Somewhere else, to survive the rain in the forest, the villagers were hurrying quickly towards the nearest village. Somebody was hiding nearby, waiting for them. It was the same guide who had brought Han here. Now he was the one showing them the way. The woman thanked him for his help.
The old man asked her whether she had seen a young man wrapped in bandages. He meant her saviour, and she knew that he was determined to face the mountain bandits alone. She waited for him.
Near the waterfall the bandits were furious, because the loose-skinned man still had not been found. Then one of them pointed towards the falls. A man was coming out of the water, and he said that he had very nearly drowned.
The bandits could not understand how he had got out of the waterfall. But the man said that they had saved him a good deal of hard work. He was going to come looking for them anyway.
None of them knew this man. Who was he? He swept his hair to the side and asked whether they had not been looking for him.
Still they stared blankly. Han's appearance had changed so much that he could not be recognised. They could not even tell that he was the loose-skinned man.
Cool as anything, Han told one of them to give him his clothes. When they refused, he kicked a man straight in the head. He went down with a single shot, and Han did not even admit to what he had used.
The rest of them froze, trembling with fear, while Han complained that his new clothes were already dirty and he needed more. He was looking at them while he said it, and they knew what was going to happen. Soon one of them stood shivering in his underwear.
Han took up his new weapon. Then he decided to test it.
The trembling bandits knew what was coming and it did them no good. One head at a time went cleanly into the air. Han asked with a smile whether the man was really just going to stand there and wait to die.
He started apologising at once. But Han refused it. He had already promised that he would take every one of their lives.
He ran in terror, but it was too late. The hunt had begun. That day everyone under the mountain was finished. Nobody was saved from Han.
Later he noticed that his clothes had got dirty again, so he went down to the riverbank to wash them. Then he saw his own reflection in the water and was stunned.
The loose-skinned man had disappeared. Now he looked unbelievably handsome.
He realised quickly that the Virgin Ginseng had changed him this much. He was happy to see his new face, and embarrassed by it too. Now he looked as beautiful as his sister.
Then a scream cut into it. It came from the mountain top.
Up there the old guide was being tortured by bandits. The survivors had been caught again. The guide refused to tell them anything about the loose-skinned man, and they were about to whip him once more.
Then a bandit noticed something and asked why that man was standing in the snow, watching them.
Han bent down and made a strange motion. The bandits wondered what he was doing. Picking up snow by hand? Perhaps he wanted to play.
His snowball landed like a bomb. Several bandits went down together. Just from snowballs. Whatever else came at him he cut down at blinding speed.
The bandits could not even follow him with their eyes when he went up above them. Then he came back down through the middle of them and passed straight through. The one who survived the first attack was finished by the Moon Destroyer Strike.
Only one man was left alive. Han asked whether he was frightened of him. But nobody here knew who he was any more.
The old guide was coughing with the pain, remembering the kindness of the man he had shown up the mountain.
Han burned with anger. He asked whether this man had done it, and the survivor lied quickly. Han answered with a swing of the spear and cut him into two pieces.
The other survivors begged Han to let them go, but he had not come for them. He had come to save that one man, and now he helped him. The guide finally realised who was standing in front of him.
Han told them all to go back to the village. The guide could not even speak after what he had seen. Han sent his spiritual energy into the old man's body and closed the wound. It was rough treatment, but it was all he could do right now.
He asked whether anyone could carry the guide. Then he ordered them to head for the village.