Chapter – 37
Conspiracy
“Just what were you thinking when you stepped forward?”
Back in the annex, Naeng Yeoseol pressed Geomryeong for an explanation.
He was scolding him to be careful with his words — Geomryeong could easily have lost his life.
“I didn’t say anything false, did I? And even if Gon Manyuk didn’t know, Hyeon Taeryeong certainly knew that Hyeon Jinmyeong had learned the demonic art.”
“Not this again.”
“It’s a fact, isn’t it? I think hiding your son’s crime while persecuting an innocent person is not something a righteous sect should do — am I wrong?”
Naeng Yeoseol tried to calm Geomryeong, but could not easily bend his stubbornness.
“Uncle, did you cause trouble again?”
“Trouble? I only said what needed to be said.”
Geomryeong patted Jin Aseol’s head and spoke.
“Because of this, your name will probably become somewhat known in the martial world.”
When he had fought Hyeon Taeryeong, Chwi Geom Yudong from the Gaebang had also been present. There was no way he wouldn’t have reported Geomryeong to the Gaebang — that was why Geomryeong said this.
“How on earth could you stop Hyeon Jangju’s sword wave?”
In fact, Jeok Hwamyeong still found it hard to believe Geomryeong had actually blocked the sword wave.
Simply having blocked the sword wave proved he was a superior expert — someone of a higher rank than themselves.
“It wasn’t that difficult.”
Geomryeong said casually. The two lifelong warriors’ eyes brightened at his words.
“The sword-wave technique of the Sword-Wave Sword Formula creates a strong qi and then shatters it finely into fragments to fling at the opponent.”
Up to that point, the two also understood.
“Because the result is a strong qi, its effect is nonetheless significantly reduced. To make it easier to understand, imagine the power of a sword qi shrinking into the power of a plain internal qi.”
They silently nodded. Even if it’s sword qi, stopping it is by no means easy.
“If you produce a strong internal qi and collide it against the sword wave, you can block all of the sword-wave fragments that come toward you. That’s the easiest way.”
“Do you mean to block a weakened sword-wave like that?”
“But there aren’t many experts who can use internal sword-strength.”
The two objected to Geomryeong’s casual claim.
“Yes, which is to say how formidable the Sword-Wave Sword Formula is.”
“But you didn’t create an internal sword-strength; you only extended your sword forward. Even so, the fragments of sword-strength scattered in all directions.”
Geomryeong smiled.
“I only mixed in the subtleties of Grandfather Godok’s blunt-sword technique.”
“Blunt-sword?”
“Yes — it’s a method that redirects external pressure intact to another place; you can think of it simply as the Ihwa-Jeopmok (the technique of diverting/transmuting pressure). Of course, it’s more complicated than that.”
Naeng Yeoseol and Jeok Hwamyeong looked at each other.
It sounded simple, “diverting/transmuting,” but it was a fairly difficult technique. Moreover, Ihwa-Jeopmok had one drawback.
The practitioner’s inner energy had to be higher than the opponent’s.
Hyeon Taeryeong was strong enough to be counted among the world’s top one hundred masters, so his inner energy could not be ignored.
Given that, it was strange by ordinary reasoning that Geomryeong’s inner energy would be higher than his.
“Did you take a lot of elixirs as a child?”
“My grandparents fed me all kinds of strange things, but I don’t know whether they were true elixirs or not. They simply told me they were good for my body. Ah — there was one thing I ate a lot of.”
“What was that?”
“The Hongjeok Samgu Yeongcho.”
They stared at each other. They’d heard many names of elixirs, but this one was unfamiliar.
“There’s an herb that blooms nine red flowers in three shades of red. Grandma said the Hongjeok Samgu Yeongcho is a poisonous herb so rare it exists only twice in the world.”
“Not an elixir but a poisonous herb?”
“Yes! It’s said to have the second-strongest poison among poisons.”
“Second-strongest? Then what’s the first?”
“The first is called ‘indok’ — the human poison. That’s the poison that exists inside a human body.”
“There’s poison inside people?”
Curious, Jin Aseol asked.
“Of course. As people consume food or are exposed to bad qi, tiny amounts accumulate in the body. The quantity is so minute that it’s not noticeable.”
Even if indok could be considered the king of poisons, it couldn’t compare — ultimately the king of poisons in their eyes was the Hongjeok Samgu Yeongcho.
“What about Muyoungjidok?”
Jin Aseol had heard of it and asked.
“Muyoungjidok is a manufactured poison, so it’s hard to compare. But it’s certainly terrifying.”
Naeng Yeoseol felt Geomryeong’s account made theoretical sense. He simply didn’t know about the Hongjeok Samgu Yeongcho and could not comment further.
“So you ate that poisonous herb in place of elixirs?”
“My grandmother called poisonous herbs elixirs. She said if you develop resistance to poison, you’d be able to withstand not only a hundred poisons but even a thousand. So at the time I ate a lot.”
In fact, Geomryeong had surpassed mere resistance to a hundred poisons; he was immune to a thousand poisons.
He had been raised with extreme care by the three who vied for greatness in the martial world.
Sword-and-blade impenetrable, water-and-fire impenetrable, a thousand-poison impenetrable!
To survive in the martial world, such qualities might almost be considered essential.
Somehow the conversation drifted into stories about Geomryeong. After a long while, Naeng Yeoseol steered things back to the original subject.
“You said you killed those two people, so Hyeon Taeryeong Jangju or Gon Manyuk Sangdanju won’t stand still.”
“Because I told the truth.”
“But did those two really learn the demonic arts?”
Naeng Yeoseol asked again.
“Yes. Both of them died by my hand. And the reason I knew the Amplified Demonic Art was because I’d seen two other demonic arts — the Fire-Demon Jade-Form Art and the Asura Violent-Heavens Art.”
Naeng Yeoseol and Jeok Hwamyeong exchanged glances.
“You saw the demonic manuals?”
“Yes — you both saw them. You saw me look at the boosted demonic art….”
Recalling the past, Naeng Yeoseol nodded.
“In any case, you’ve made enemies of those two, so you must be careful.”
“I can’t help it. It would be better for them to part ways from me. If they stay with me they might be harmed because of me.”
If you have power, some parent would not leave unpunished the person who killed their child. Geomryeong was speaking with that truth in mind.
Naeng Yeoseol looked at Jeok Hwamyeong.
“I will go with Geomryeong. Lord Taesang, perhaps you should return to the Wolyeong Sect?”
Naeng Yeoseol paused then nodded. He could manage by himself, but there was Jin Aseol as well.
“I was going to go with you, sorry about that.”
“No. I’ve already received great kindness from you.”
“Master! So does this mean we have to part ways with Uncle?”
Jin Aseol sounded disappointed.
“No. We’re only apart for a while. If Aseol trains at Wolyeong Sect, your brother will come find you.”
“Really? You have to come see me, brother.”
“Yes. Train hard while I’m gone, understand?”
Jin Aseol nodded.
On her young face there were traces of sadness, disappointment, and longing, but her pressed lips showed she was trying to be brave.
Geomryeong smiled brightly as he stroked her head.
“Train hard. If you don’t, your brother will come and tease you again.”
“Pft!”
“Brother! What will you do? Will you just sit there and watch?”
Hyeon Taeryeong, the Jangju of Cheonmyeong Manor, remained motionless in the annex he’d been given by the Sinchang household. He hadn’t moved at all.
He felt ashamed enough that his son’s learning of a demonic art had been found out, but what was even harder to bear was that, despite performing his top technique against that brat, he could not win.
Seeing him silent, his younger brother and chief elder of Cheonmyeong Manor, Hyeon Taeji, said in frustration.
Contrary to what Hyeon Taeji hoped, Hyeon Taeryeong answered nothing.
“Brother!”
Annoyed, Taeji called again.
“Taiji!”
At that, a low voice finally came from Hyeon Taeryeong.
“That kid blocked my sword wave.”
“It must have been luck. Isn’t your martial skill recognized across the world?”
“If luck could block my sword wave, I wouldn’t be among the top hundred masters.”
“Brother!”
Hyeon Taeryeong was head of a family. If he faltered, the whole clan would be affected.
“What are you thinking so deeply about? Think of Jinmyeong. His organs have all been destroyed — how much pain must he have suffered?”
“That’s the price of learning the demonic art.”
Both Hyeon Taeryeong and Hyeon Taeji knew Hyeon Jinmyeong had learned the art.
Taeji had accidentally seen Jinmyeong learn it and had told Taeryeong.
“But he’s my son. Whether he learned the demonic art or not, he’s still my son.”
Taeji emphasized the word ‘son’.
Hyeon Taeryeong fell silent for a moment. That silence made the air in the room heavy.
From Hyeon Taeryeong’s expression it looked as though he was going to decide, so Hyeon Taeji waited without speaking.
About half a quarter of an hour passed, then Hyeon Taeryeong opened his mouth.
“Yes. You’re right. Jinmyeong is my son. If I don’t avenge my son, who will?”
“That’s right, brother!”
“Contact the main house and mobilize the entire Assassin Sword Corps to kill that brat.”
Hyeon Taeji’s eyes widened.
A righteous sect didn’t only do righteous deeds. Every organization has its light and its darkness.
If Geomcheondae was the light of Cheonmyeong Manor, the Assassin Sword Corps (Salgeom-dan) was the darkness.
The Salgeom-dan were a group of hidden killers secretly raised by Cheonmyeong Manor; there were only twenty of them, but they were by no means inferior to the assassins of the underworld.
“All of them?”
“Anything that gets in the way.”
“What’s in the way?”
“That kid said he knew my master and mentioned ‘grandmother’.”
Hyeon Taeji had also been trained by Yi So-han of Cheongpa Sword, so he understood what Hyeon Taeryeong meant.
“Then….”
“If he said grandmother, it is not Jeonmo Yakbing but rather Sword Marquis Cheong Yang-ryeo. Jeonmo Yakbing disappeared fifty years ago, so it must be the Sword Marquis’s grandson.”
If he were a disciple he would have said ‘master’ instead of ‘grandmother’, which was why Taeryeong concluded as he did.
If he were a disciple of the Sword Marquis, it would be dangerous to act rashly.
“All right. Mobilize the entire Assassin Sword Corps. Also put a contract out to the Naeng Family Valley.”
If Cheonmyeong Manor had shadows in Guangdong Province, in Fujian Province there was the Naeng Family Valley (Naenggagok).
Naenggagok was also a band of killers; it was the most powerful sect in Fujian Province whose strength the righteous sect feared.
“Do that. Don’t make mistakes. Also encourage Gon Manyuk of the Minghwa Trading Company so they can move as well.”
“Will do, brother!
