Chapter 126

Chapter 126: Disaster Arrives Without Warning (1)

A man in his late forties named Jang Han sat atop a nine-story pagoda overlooking 岳yang, accompanied by over a dozen men.

"Heh heh! What a spectacle."

In the distance, a fierce battle was raging at Dongting Lake. A towering giant and a slender young woman were locked in a desperate fight against the warriors of the Namgung Family. From here, the battle looked vivid enough to touch.

The leader's name was Gwak Geo-chul. He was the Deputy Chieftain of the Black Water Fortress, one of the Eighteen Fortresses of the Green Forest—the highest rank in the fortress after the Chieftain himself, Jo Yun-san. Though he looked brutish and uncultured, he was in fact sharp-witted and skilled in stratagem. Jo Yun-san trusted him deeply.

But Jo Yun-san's trust was not entirely a blessing, for it meant that Gwak Geo-chul had to take on all manner of unpleasant tasks. He had entered 岳yang only a few days ago, and the very first thing he had done was visit Cheonsang Tower to bed the courtesans. The strongholds had their share of women, but none with the delicate, porcelain skin of Cheonsang Tower's courtesans. Gwak Geo-chul indulged himself with his subordinates, reveling in pleasure. He lost track of how much he drank. When he came to his senses, wine bottles littered the floor and naked courtesans lay sprawled about. That dreamlike time had ended only the day before.

"I should have eliminated that brute from the start," Gwak Geo-chul muttered, watching the giant display his terrifying martial might against the Namgung Family warriors. The giant was Muk Il-gwang, fighting desperately to protect Hwang Hye-ryeong.

It was Gwak Geo-chul who had informed the Namgung Family that Hwang Hye-ryeong was among them. His plan was to use the Namgung Family to eliminate her. So far, his scheme had been proceeding smoothly.

"The Deputy Chieftain is truly brilliant. How did you conceive such an ingenious plan?"

One of the men beside him rubbed his hands in flattery. His name was Gong So-chu. Though he looked scrawny, his hands were quick and his heart was vicious—he served as one of Gwak Geo-chul's useful pawns. Come to think of it, his association with Gong So-chu had already spanned over twenty years—as long as his relationship with Jo Yun-san.

Gwak Geo-chul smirked.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, So-chu."

"Heh heh! You think I'm doing this because I want something? These words come straight from my heart."

"Tch! You and your mouth."

"I have served the Chieftain and Deputy Chieftain for twenty years now. I know you like the back of my hand. Heh heh!"

Gong So-chu laughed easily. Gwak Geo-chul smiled faintly at his companion's genial manner and turned his gaze back to Dongting Lake.

Boom!

A pillar of water shot into the sky, and a thunderous roar reached them even from here—the aftermath of Muk Il-gwang unleashing his full-power technique. The Namgung Family warriors were seen retreating in disarray. Muk Il-gwang's martial might had left them visibly shaken. The encirclement had momentarily collapsed. Muk Il-gwang seized the opening, scooped up Hwang Hye-ryeong, and fled the Cloud Horse Ferry. Using his massive body to execute lightness martial arts over water, he reached shore and immediately employed qinggong to vanish from sight. By the time the Namgung Family warriors gave chase, the two had already disappeared.

"Blast it!"

Gwak Geo-chul shot to his feet.

"To think I couldn't even serve up a meal that was already on the table!"

He cursed in frustration.

"Deputy Chieftain?"

"Quickly track down that woman and that brute. If they escape 岳yang and rejoin the Overlord's Stronghold, things will become complicated."

"Understood."

"Useless fools! And they call themselves warriors of the Five Great Families? So-chu!"

"Yes!"

"Take the men and figure out their escape route."

"We handle it ourselves?"

"Why should we? Report it to the Namgung Family brats. If we are found to be involved, the Supreme Chieftain will make his move. He must not learn of this before the grand operation."

"Understood. I will relay the intelligence only."

"Go quickly."

"Yes!"

Gong So-chu took several men and descended the pagoda. The men he brought were all skilled trackers within the Black Water Fortress—capable of finding a needle hidden among fallen leaves. With their abilities, locating Hwang Hye-ryeong and Muk Il-gwang would not be difficult.

"Tch! I should have killed that woman back then. Then none of this troublesome business would have arisen."

Gwak Geo-chul bit his lip.

***

Wuhan was the capital of Hubei Province. To the south, the Yangtze River and other waterways were well developed, and to the north, roads were well maintained, making it a famous transportation hub since ancient times. Hubei Province was home to many large lakes, and so despite being an inland region, the area boasted an impressive variety of fish cuisine.

"Waah!"

The first thing Bang Jin-bo did upon entering Wuhan was head straight for the market. Stalls lined the street in dense rows, displaying a variety of fish caught from the nearby Yangtze River and East Lake. Bang Jin-bo wandered the market with excitement. Dam Ho, on the other hand, surveyed his surroundings with an expression devoid of interest. Though his face maintained its usual impassive air, his mind was turning.

'Eum Yu-gyeong.'

That she was from the Demonic Cult was an established fact—they had met at the Heavenly Silver Demon Fortress, and she had admitted it herself. Eum Yu-gyeong's martial brother, Sin Mu-wol, was also unmistakably a member of the Demonic Cult.

'Then what about the Golden Demon Lion?'

Sin Mu-wol had told Eum Yu-gyeong via transmission that they had lost the Golden Demon Lion. The Golden Demon Lion had declared himself a member of the Demonic Cult. The three of them should have been allies on the same side. Yet there was hostility toward the Golden Demon Lion in Sin Mu-wol's tone.

'Eum Yu-gyeong was searching for the sacred artifact.' He had never heard any story about a sacred artifact belonging to the Demonic Cult. He could not even guess what it might be. Dam Ho suspected that affairs within the Demonic Cult were quite complex, but he did not dwell on it. With limited information, there was only so much he could deduce. There was no need to overthink it from the start.

'When the time comes, we will meet again.' No matter how vast the Murim, their paths would cross eventually. The threads of karma that sustained the martial world were tenacious and sticky—once woven, they could not easily be unwound. Dam Ho and they had already formed bonds of karma. As long as they drew breath, they would meet again.

As he walked, Dam Ho's eyes fell upon a shabby old bookshop. The musty smell unique to old bookshops wafted from its depths. He told Bang Jin-bo he would be in the bookshop and went inside. The interior was packed with books stacked so high that there was barely room to step. The owner was an old man who appeared to be over seventy, dozing in his seat.

Dam Ho picked up a book from the shelf where martial arts manuals were kept. It was called the Wind and Cloud Divine Fist. The grandiose title made his eyebrow twitch, but upon opening it, the contents were nothing impressive. Other books were the same—titles like the Dragon Tiger Fist and the Thunderbolt Divine Fist sounded impressive, but there were no proper martial arts manuals among them.

Dam Ho was not disappointed. He had not expected to find anything of value here. He flipped through the martial arts manuals at remarkable speed. In an instant, twenty volumes had passed through his hands. As he idly turned the pages, his hand suddenly stopped. A particular phrase had caught his eye.

[A lone wanderer alone stands tall beneath heaven.]

The unexpected phrase seized Dam Ho's attention. It was not a martial arts formula, nor did it carry any special meaning. But that single line shook his entire being.

Dam Ho closed his eyes. Lone wanderer… the Solitary Path… and himself… His thoughts spread their wings without limit. Thought begot thought, and his imagination extended without end. Dam Ho's shoulders trembled slightly.

Hooong!

In that instant, the Dark Soul Heart Method stirred. A stream of internal energy arose and began to circulate rapidly throughout his body. Dam Ho was not consciously aware of the Dark Soul Heart Method—he was not even able to be. In the darkness, he felt infinite freedom. Lone wanderer—in those three characters lay everything Dam Ho had ever desired.

Dam Ho finally realized his own essence. 'I was alone from the very beginning.' His thoughts extended further. In the distance, he saw a light—a light as black as the abyss. A light shining in endless darkness. As Dam Ho reached toward it—

—No, Ho-ya.

Suddenly, a voice shook his thoughts to their foundations.

'Master.'

Dam Ho turned around. There stood a vision of his master—the Sage Hyeon-so he had yearned for even in dreams, gazing back at him.

'Master!'

The vision of Sage Hyeon-so wore the same appearance he had twelve years ago. Sage Hyeon-so shook his head and spoke.

—No.

'Master!'

—Not yet, Ho-ya.

Dam Ho looked behind him. The dark light was gradually fading. If he reached out, he could still grasp it.

—Ho-ya!

At that moment, Sage Hyeon-so's voice rang out once more. Dam Ho turned to find Sage Hyeon-so smiling gently as he continued.

—Ho-ya, protect yourself.

'Master, I…'

Dam Ho abandoned the dark light and walked toward Sage Hyeon-so. His master's form was growing fainter by the moment. Dam Ho reached out to him, but his hand passed through empty air. Sage Hyeon-so's vision vanished like a dream, and Dam Ho was left alone.

Dam Ho opened his eyes. In that instant, an enormous burst of divine light erupted from him before fading. Having returned to his normal gaze, Dam Ho looked around and was slightly startled. The bookshelves around him had collapsed in disarray, and books lay scattered in every direction. In one corner, the elderly bookshop owner trembled in terror.

Only then did Dam Ho realize what had happened to him. 'Did I fall into the Heart Devil realm?'

The Dark Soul Heart Method was the product of the Mount Hua Sect's Heavy Heaven Heart Method, the miscellaneous heart methods of the Demonic Cult, and Dam Ho's own enlightenment, all fused together. The Heavy Heaven Heart Method had served as a sturdy pillar, keeping him from falling into the Heart Devil realm until now. But without warning, the phrase "lone wanderer" had drawn him in, causing the entire Dark Soul Heart Method to quake. The Dark Soul Heart Method had moved on its own to perfect itself, but it had gone too far. What should have been walked and run, it had tried to fly—and in doing so, fractures had appeared throughout.

What if he had grasped the black light? Dam Ho shook his head. He had narrowly avoided going berserk. Had he truly fallen into the Heart Devil realm, it would not have ended with the destruction of a single bookshop. Still, it had not been a complete loss. Though he had nearly gone berserk, his Dark Soul Heart Method had grown more solid. Stopping in time had made the difference.

"Master."

A faint look of longing appeared in Dam Ho's eyes when—

"D-Dam… Dam Daehyeop?"

Someone called to him from the bookshop entrance. Dam Ho looked up to see a man in shabby clothes staring at him with eyes full of fear.

"Who are you?"

"I… I am Jang So-chul of the Haowu Gate's Wuhan branch."

"Haowu Gate?"

"Yes! A dispatch arrived from the 岳yang branch, so…"

Jang So-chul's voice trembled involuntarily. The moment Dam Ho had entered Wuhan, the Haowu Gate had tracked his whereabouts. He was a person of interest. As soon as the letter arrived from the 岳yang branch, they had been able to locate him immediately. When Jang So-chul entered the bookshop to deliver the letter, what he had witnessed was truly nightmarish. A dark vortex swirled around Dam Ho, as though a great beast were spreading its black wings. The killing intent and madness mingled within that dark aura had given Jang So-chul the sensation that his heart would stop. He had seen countless martial artists in his time, but never had he witnessed anything so overwhelming.

Jang So-chul held out the letter with both hands in respect. Dam Ho tore open the envelope and read.

"Jo Yun-san… Black Water Fortress…"