Chapter – 38
Yi Je-min’s Proposal.
“How about hiring the Black Curtain?”
Gon Man-wook of the Myeonghwa Guild wanted revenge on the Sword Spirit who had killed his son.
At first he thought little of it, but after seeing the Sword Spirit—who possessed the Hyeon Tae-ryeong state—show his prowess, Gon could not bring the Myeonghwa Sword Guard out.
Many people say a single hand cannot beat many hands, but facing someone with the Hyeon Tae-ryeong state and a Sword Spirit who had even cut off the man’s ear, Gon did not think his guard could win.
Even if they did win, the casualties to the Myeonghwa Sword Guard would certainly be enormous.
He had invested enormous funds to build the Myeonghwa Sword Guard. If that armed group suffered losses, it would be a loss for him.
Judging his son’s case from a cost–benefit perspective showed Gon’s merchant nature.
There were many ways to kill him without mobilizing his force, the Myeonghwa Sword Guard.
“That’s not good. Soon we’ll check whether the Black Curtain has learned magic martial arts or not.”
They agreed it would be better for the Sado League, rather than the Martial Alliance, to handle the Black Curtain’s business.
Besides, if the Black Curtain weren’t a band of deaf people, they would have heard the rumors about Hyeon Tae-ryeong and the Sword Spirit — so hiring them wasn’t a good idea.
“If you don’t want assassins, what about using ronin?”
“Ronin?”
Coastal provinces like Guangdong and Fujian suffered frequent pirate incursions.
To fill gaps in the military, authorities sometimes hired ronin, and this led to the formation of a ronin market in Guangdong.
“Could they kill him?”
Hyeon Tae-ryeong was one of the top one hundred martial experts. Even if many ronin attacked, how could they defeat the Sword Spirit who had beaten such a man?
“They may not kill him, but they can wear him down.”
His eyes gleamed.
“If so…”
“If the ronin tire him out, the Myeonghwa Sword Guard will finish him. That way we won’t suffer major losses. If we hire a hundred ronin, it should be enough to kill the man.”
Gon Man-wook nodded.
“Right — facing someone who’s lost strength isn’t that hard.”
Late at night, Yi Je-min came to see the Sword Spirit. Leng Yeo-seol and Jeok Hwa-myeong were there too.
“Is what you said true?”
Yi asked directly.
He looked very different from the time he’d dismissed the Sword Spirit as a reckless kid.
There weren’t many who could meet Hyeon Tae-ryeong, one of the top one hundred experts, blade-to-blade. Even at most, under a hundred.
Yi had come to recognize the Sword Spirit.
“What are you talking about?” the Sword Spirit asked.
“About Hyun Jin-myung and Gon Hong-gi having learned magic martial arts.”
As Yi spoke he looked into the Sword Spirit’s eyes, trying to read his thoughts.
“Of course. I have no special grudge against them, no reason to insult them. I have no reason to lie. They did learn magic martial arts, and many lives were lost by their hands.”
He answered truthfully, eyes steady. There was no reason to lie, so he spoke proudly.
“So what you said before must also be true.”
Yi meant the annihilation at Bulsan Cliff.
“Yes. People just did not believe me, but there was not a shred of falsehood in what I said.”
Their gazes met in the air.
Like a contest of wills, the two stared without blinking.
Leng Yeo-seol and Jeok Hwa-myeong tensed at the brief silence.
“You are more ruthless than you look.”
Yi was the first to speak.
“I haven’t cultivated my heart enough to spare someone who tried to kill me,” the Sword Spirit replied.
Yi nodded.
His broad forehead and tightly pressed lips showed his stubbornness.
“Judging from what you said, it seems magic martial books have spread all over Central Plains, and people have learned magic martial arts. Am I right?”
“Yes.”
“Doesn’t it seem too quiet?”
“If those who learned magic martial arts weren’t fools, they wouldn’t leave traces. The reason Gon Hong-gi left traces this time was because someone named Gae Bang-do saw him using magic martial arts.”
“Gae Bang-do?”
“Yes. That’s why he couldn’t dispose of the corpse cleanly and chased after Gae Bang-do.”
He spoke as if recalling the situation exactly.
“Then Gae Bang-do, who was with Gon Hong-gi’s corpse, was assaulted by Gon Hong-gi.”
The Sword Spirit nodded.
“Those who learned magic martial arts probably preyed on ordinary civilians rather than martial people. That’s why the martial world didn’t find out.”
For someone who had lived only in the Heukam Do (Black Darkness Sect), his reasoning about the incidents was impressively astute.
“How do you know so well?”
“My teacher told me, when you think, don’t think only from your own standpoint; put yourself in the other person’s place. I’m not saying I know for certain, but hypothesizing—if I had learned magic martial arts—this is how I’d think.”
Leng Yeo-seol and Jeok Hwa-myeong, who had been listening, nodded in agreement at the Sword Spirit’s reasoning.
“Not thinking from your own angle but from the opponent’s… that’s a good teaching.”
Yi paused, then spoke again.
“So I’ll say this. The heads of Cheonmyeong Mountain Manor or the Myeonghwa Guild will never leave you be.”
His tone softened somewhat. He wasn’t particularly concerned for the Sword Spirit, but he showed a courtesy as to a junior.
“As you said, they will try to kill you for revenge for their sons.”
The Sword Spirit also knew that.
If they tried to harm him, he would simply kill them in return.
The Sword Spirit’s teachers—who had once dominated an era—were the likes of Godok Maya, the Ghost Demon Lord, and Imo. The martial world’s life was one of survival of the fittest regardless of age. If you could make the stronger believe they could not touch you, they would bow their heads—and the Sword Spirit understood that.
“I expect it. My teacher told me that once you come out into the martial world, you can never be free from grievances. If that is the way of the world, then so be it.”
“Don’t take it lightly.”
“I know. But what’s done is done. I’ll watch and deal with things; there’s little else I can do.”
“Hmm…”
Yi admitted he would likely do the same.
“Then I have a proposition for you.”
“What kind of proposition…?”
“Go to the Martial Alliance and repeat to them what you told me. We’ll escort you on the way there.”
Hearing ‘go to the Martial Alliance,’ the Sword Spirit narrowed his eyes. He could go to the Martial Alliance without them.
Though they said they’d protect him, they could also become a liability. If their presence on the way to the Martial Alliance was known, shouldn’t the enemy prepare against them? That would be dangerous.
Given that, they could be as much a burden as help.
“Sir Sword Spirit, do it,” Leng Yeo-seol said.
If the Sinchang’s people did this, Cheonmyeong Mountain Manor and Myeonghwa Guild would not easily harm him; the Martial Alliance would protect him, so it would be comparatively safe — that was Leng’s recommendation.
The Sword Spirit didn’t answer and looked at Jeok Hwa-myeong.
“That’s a good plan,” Jeok Hwa-myeong said.
He thought it best to go along since Jeok Hwa-myeong would accompany him.
“All right. But I won’t be responsible for any harm incurred on the way to the Martial Alliance.”
The Sword Spirit wanted the responsibility clearly defined.
“Don’t worry. Our Sinchang’s Hyunryong Dan (presented here as Hyunryong Order) isn’t that weak.”
“We won’t go directly to the Martial Alliance either.”
“What do you mean?”
“We won’t go straight there because something might happen along the way; I plan to take care of my own matters en route.”
“Do as you wish.”
Yi left, and the three remained. Jin A-seol slept so deeply she might not be carried away.
“You chose well. With Hyunryong Dan, neither Cheonmyeong nor Myeonghwa would try to touch you.”
That was fortunate, but they would still go after him.
“That reduces needless sacrifice. Still, they won’t sit idle.”
“But with Hyunryong Dan as escort, they won’t attack easily.”
“Money can hire even ghosts. They might hire assassins or ronin to attack us. And if they become confident, they’ll rush in.”
It wasn’t impossible.
“Then we mustn’t take it lightly.”
“But we don’t need to be overly worried. Things won’t change drastically either way.”
“Sounds like you’re saying you’ll kill them all.”
“Whenever someone tries to take my life, I always remember that I, too, might lose my life. So those who come after me should worry for their own lives as well.”
“Are you always like this?” Leng asked.
“What—?”
“You can show mercy to those who want you dead?”
“A half-hearted mercy or tolerance could bring greater danger to me and those connected to me. I’m still young; I can’t afford to spare someone who wants me dead.”
“You are strong.”
“…”
“You can be too strong. Strong things break. Sometimes you must be useful, sometimes weak. If you’re only strong, no one stays by your side.”
The Sword Spirit thought of someone at Leng’s words.
—Being strong isn’t always the best way. But being weak and failing to protect those beside you is worse than being strong.
Those were the words of someone who’d once moved the world alone.
He had been so strong that no one could stay with him. So he called himself Godok Maya and wandered the world.
“I know. But I think it’s better to be strong so I can protect those with me than to be weak and bring them harm.”
“Hmm…”
Leng Yeo-seol pictured a man from long ago who he had glimpsed once as a child when he looked at the Sword Spirit.
“In any case, you should soften a bit.”
“I will try.”
Morning came.
“Be careful.”
Leng took Jin A-seol and planned to return to Wol-yeong Gate. Because of his dealings with the Sword Spirit, A-seol might be in danger; there were things to check at their sect.
“Please take care of the Sword Spirit. Guide him well.”
“Rest assured.”
“Still, with you by his side I feel more at ease.”
Jeok Hwa-myeong smiled awkwardly.
He could not precisely gauge the Sword Spirit’s prowess, but from the way he had blocked Hyeon Tae-ryeong’s blade, it was clear he was above Jeok Hwa-myeong’s own level.
“Be careful returning. Hyeon Tae-ryeong or Gon Man-wook might try to involve the Grandmaster Taesang.”
“Understood. I’ll be careful. Even with Hyunryong Dan escorting us, we can’t easily stop enemies hiding in the dark.”
Leng genuinely worried for the Sword Spirit.
“Don’t worry.”
“A-seol! When you get to Wol-yeong Gate, you must practice hard.”
“I’ll become stronger than you, so don’t worry! If someone teases you later, A-seol will punish them.”
“Even if you call me brother.”
“Pfft!”
“Go now. If Hyeon Tae-ryeong knows, he’ll follow at once.”
“All right. Contact our gate before the fifteenth of every month. That will let us rest easier.”
They parted quickly — it was better to say goodbye fast when they expected to meet again.
Early in the morning, Leng Yeo-seol and Jin A-seol left Sinchang.
When the two left for Wol-yeong Gate, the remaining two felt a little sad.
“Why not go to the Martial Alliance first, then Wol-yeong Gate?”
“That’s good, but there’s somewhere I must stop first.”
“Where?”
“Chunggyung.”
“Chunggyung?”
“Yes. I have something to deliver there.”
