Chapter 59: Fate Is Unfathomable, and the World's Affairs Cannot Be Foreseen (3)

The sixtieth birthday celebration of Lee Sin-pung, Master of the Red Cliff Manor, was not merely a party. It was also a gathering of the numerous sects that made Gansu Province their home.

The number of prominent sects that had already arrived at the Red Cliff Manor exceeded twenty. The smaller, lesser-known organizations numbered at least twice that.

"Ha ha! It has been too long."

"Indeed. It must be three years, and the Sect Leader has not changed one bit."

"How could that be? Ho ho!"

Middle-aged martial artists exchanged pleasantries, while elsewhere, young martial artists introduced themselves and enjoyed the occasion.

"My, my! Remarkable."

A young man whistled at the sight.

He appeared to be in his late twenties, a strikingly handsome fellow. His black eyes gleamed like twin stars, the corners of his mouth curled slightly upward, and a mischievous air permeated his entire face.

The young man occupied one of the dozens of benches arranged in the vast martial grounds, watching the comings and goings of people.

While other benches were packed with people, strangely, no one approached the one where this young man sat.

Empty wine bottles lay scattered around his bench. He was the only one seated there.

Naturally, it was the young man himself who had been drinking. His face was flushed red.

Though he appeared drunk in broad daylight, nearby people merely clicked their tongues and kept their distance.

"Drinking like that in the middle of the day."

"Indeed. I do not know which sect he belongs to, but his prospects do not look promising."

Though he must have heard their murmurs, the young man's expression did not change. On the contrary, he called out to a passing servant.

"Might you bring me one more bottle of wine?"

"Sir, but you have already had quite a lot…"

When the servant looked troubled, the smile on the young man's lips deepened.

"What? Do I look drunk to you?"

"Not exactly, but…"

"'Life is not yours to own; it is the harmony of heaven and earth.' Thus spoke Master Lie in ancient times."

"Pardon?"

"Life is not your possession. It is entrusted by heaven and earth, a harmonious union. Do you understand the meaning of those words?"

"How could I…"

"Since human life and death are governed by heaven, it means we must faithfully enjoy this present moment. The sages of old said as much—how could I squander this present moment? There has never been a sage who did not drink wine, after all…"

"I-I will bring it right away."

Fearing the young man's sophistry would continue, the servant hastily cut him off and retreated. A short while later, he returned with a bottle of wine, handed it over, and disappeared.

Left alone once more, the young man smacked his lips and began to pour and drink.

"'Those who cannot walk the path with you do not know its ways.' If one does not walk the same road, even the truth will go unheeded. There is no one who walks my road. How lonely. Tch!"

After draining his cup, the young man looked around once more.

At that moment, a man whose appearance was markedly different from the surrounding scenery caught his eye. A man with black hair, wearing black robes. Upon closer inspection, he was limping slightly, and perhaps for that reason, no one had spoken to him.

The man looked about, as if searching for an empty seat. The young man waved to him.

"There is an empty seat here, brother."

He even flashed a broad smile.

From the young man's mouth drifted a potent scent of alcohol. Those nearby assumed he was making a drunken scene. They expected the man in black not to approach.

But contrary to their expectations, the man in black strode toward the young man's bench without hesitation.

The young man's eyes lit up. The man walking toward him was indeed limping.

The man who sat across from the young man was none other than Dam Ho.

The young man offered Dam Ho a cupped-fist salute.

"It is a pleasure. To share a seat like this is a remarkable fate. Let us exchange names. My name is Cho Yeon-woon."

The young man who identified himself as Cho Yeon-woon stared intently at Dam Ho. Though his face was flushed, his dark eyes betrayed not a trace of intoxication.

"Dam Ho."

Dam Ho offered only his name, briefly.

In an ordinary situation, one might have blushed at such curtness. But Cho Yeon-woon let out a hearty laugh.

"Ha ha! A fine name, Brother Dam."

Dam Ho merely nodded in silence.

Dam Ho's face, devoid of any emotion, might have been burdensome, but Cho Yeon-woon paid it no mind and offered Dam Ho a cup of wine.

"Have a cup."

"I do not drink."

"What a pity. To be unable to enjoy such a pleasure. Well, no matter. Each person has their own pursuits. Ha ha!"

Cho Yeon-woon wore a friendly smile.

Dam Ho regarded Cho Yeon-woon intently. Of all the people he had met since entering the world, Cho Yeon-woon was the most scatterbrained and talkative.

He seemed genuinely delighted that Dam Ho had taken a seat on his bench, and chattered on about one thing after another. Dam Ho did not let a single word slip past his ears.

After talking at length, Cho Yeon-woon scratched the back of his head under Dam Ho's intense gaze.

"I have been rambling too much about myself. By the way, Brother Dam, where are you from?"

"The outer territories."

"Beyond the Great Wall? My! You have come a long way. I envy you! I have always wanted to visit at least once. What are the landscapes beyond the wall like? Is it as barren as they say?"

"Perhaps."

"But you seem to be from the Central Plains. How did you come from the outer territories? Ah, you must have traveled with a merchant caravan. I have heard that more and more people have been making trips to the outer territories with trading companies lately."

Cho Yeon-woon answered his own question.

He seemed to be a born chatterbox. He spoke without pause, and it was remarkable that his voice did not grow hoarse.

As Cho Yeon-woon continued to prattle on—

"It is the Tongsu Sect. Martial artists from the Tongsu Sect have arrived."

Suddenly, the crowd began to buzz. Their voices carried an excitement that could not be concealed.

"The Tongsu Sect has sent a congratulatory delegation as well. The great hero Lee Sin-pung is truly remarkable."

"Need you say more? He is one of the two great powers of Gansu Province, together with the Tongsu Sect. In terms of tradition, the Tongsu Sect may be older, but in terms of current prestige, the Red Cliff Manor is in no way inferior."

The murmur of the crowd reached the ears of Cho Yeon-woon and Dam Ho.

Interest flickered across Cho Yeon-woon's face at once.

"Oh! At last we are to see those lazy Taoists of the Tongsu Sect."

He watched with keen interest as the figures parted the crowd and approached.

A dozen or so Taoists strode forward with dignified bearing. Each of them exuded a calm yet extraordinary presence.

They were the congratulatory delegation sent by the Tongsu Sect.

As one of the Nine Great Sects, the Tongsu Sect had polished these men like fine swords. The razor-sharp aura they emanated was so formidable that no one dared meet their gaze.

Among them, one figure stood out with a particularly intense presence.

Large, well-defined features, a stature of seven chi, a body that looked as though it had been carved from steel, and eyes that radiated both intensity and arrogance.

He gazed down upon the world as though it lay at his feet. The bearing suited him perfectly.

"It is Nam-hak, the Young Hero."

"Wow! So that is the Thunder Martial Hero?"

"To think we would see the Thunder Martial Hero, one of the Nine Martial Dragons, here. We have truly been blessed with great fortune."

The crowd murmured as they looked upon him. Their faces were alight with excitement.

"The Thunder Martial Hero, Nam-hak."

A playful smile curled Cho Yeon-woon's lips.

His gaze suddenly turned to Dam Ho.

Despite Nam-hak's arrival, Dam Ho's eyes remained deep and unwavering. As though he did not even know who Nam-hak was.

Cho Yeon-woon asked.

"Do you perhaps not know that fellow?"

Dam Ho turned to look at Cho Yeon-woon.

His gaze was devoid of emotion, yet somehow Cho Yeon-woon understood the language hidden within it.

"You do not know! Ha! There exists a person under heaven who does not know the Nine Martial Dragons."

Cho Yeon-woon slapped his forehead.

Dam Ho stared at him.

"Must I know?"

"No! Not necessarily. But it is better to know than not. By the way, why do you speak so informally upon first meeting?"

Only then did Cho Yeon-woon seem to realize, and he glared at Dam Ho. But Dam Ho spoke as though it were nothing.

"If you do not like it, speak informally as well."

"Ah! Then that will work. Damn it!"

Cho Yeon-woon's expression crumpled like a sheet of paper.

He glared at Dam Ho. But there was no malice to be found anywhere on his face.

"Very well! Then I shall explain from the beginning. Do you know of the Nine Martial Dragons?"

"…"

"I thought as much. You must be new to the Murim. Well, no matter. Everyone starts somewhere. The Nine Martial Dragons are the top young talents of the current Murim."

As Cho Yeon-woon explained, the Nine Martial Dragons were indeed composed of the finest young talents of the current Murim. But their achievements were by no means light enough to be dismissed as merely "young talents."

Their martial prowess was already on par with the elders of the Nine Great Sects. The problem was that they were not yet fully developed.

Given their age, there remained enormous room for growth. In fact, even at this very moment, they were growing terrifyingly stronger.

The first was Mu SSang-geom of the Wudang Sect, hailed as the prodigy who would lead the sect for the next century. His talent with the sword was nothing short of genius, such that even the elders of the Wudang were said to bow a measure of respect.

So much so that his epithet was the Peerless Sword—no one who could match him.

The second was Myeong Gyeong of the Mount Hua Sect, the Lone Sword of Mount Hua.

A prodigy of the ages nurtured by Sage Hyeon-geom of the Mount Hua Sect. Few had seen his face, but his renown had already resounded throughout the world.

The third was Pyo Seo-un of the Rushing Wind Yama.

Unusually, he was an outer disciple of the Jeomchang Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects. To be precise, he was the young lord of the Unchang Escort Agency, an affiliate of the Jeomchang Sect, and his talent was nothing short of genius.

The fourth was Eom Tae-cheon of the Shadowless Divine Dragon.

He was a martial artist from the Shinguji School of the Kunlun Sect.

True to his epithet, he traversed the Murim without leaving a trace, and very few knew his true face.

"The fifth of the Nine Martial Dragons is Cheong-un. His epithet is the Star of Sichuan. He hails from the Cheongseong Sect. The three pillars of Sichuan—the Cheongseong Sect, the Dang Family, and the Ami Sect—are notgenerous in their praise of one another. But not a single doubt has ever been cast upon Cheong-un's talent. Hence the ridiculous epithet: the Lone Star of Sichuan."

The sixth was a monk trained by the Shaolin Temple.

A monk named So-cheon.

His epithet, One Fist Shatters Mountains, was no exaggeration for the formidable power he wielded.

The seventh, unusually, was a woman.

Hae So-wol, the Flower of the Sea.

A heroine of the Hainan Sect, she was a seeker who roamed the world to comprehend the ultimate truth of the sword. As beautiful and proud as a single blossom, it was said that whoever beheld her face once could not help but fall in love.

The eighth was Geum Han-su of the Heavenly Strong Young Master.

A disciple of the Zhongnan Sect who had begun his journey in the Murim twelve years ago, Geum Han-su had quickly risen to prominence.

He was a man who would rather break than bend. Hence his epithet: the Heavenly Strong Young Master.

"And the ninth, the last, is that fellow. The Thunder Martial Hero, Nam-hak. The prodigy that the Tongsu Sect has raised with everything they have. I hear that to complete his internal energy, six elders of the Tongsu Sect each sacrificed half of their own."

"…"

"You do not understand? It means they transmitted their internal energy to him through the Body Transmission Technique. The elders sacrificed half of their internal energy and transferred it to him. In theory, his internal energy is three times that of the Tongsu Sect's elders. In terms of internal energy alone, he could truly be called the greatest under heaven. Keuk!"

The corner of Cho Yeon-woon's mouth curled upward.

"There is no ranking among the Nine Martial Dragons. They are all of comparable prowess, like tigers and dragons matched. And as for me…"

"It has been a while. Cho Yeon-woon."

"That is right. I am Cho Yeon-woon. Hm?"

At the sudden sound of an unfamiliar voice, Cho Yeon-woon looked up. A familiar face was looking down at him.

"Nam-hak?"

"Cho Yeon-woon. That mouth of yours, which never stops wagging, is still going strong, I see."

"And your unpleasant, squinting gaze is still as ever, I see."

The man looking down at Cho Yeon-woon was none other than Nam-hak.

The old man stepped into the office. Inside, a robust middle-aged warrior with sharp, piercing eyes stood waiting.

Despite the sword-like aura emanating from the middle-aged warrior, the old man maintained his smiling expression, leaning on his crutches tucked under his arms as he offered a fist-and-palm salute.

“It’s been a while. Ah, I heard you were recently promoted from the White Tiger Vanguard Corps to the head of the Azure Dragon Great Sword Pavilion? Though it’s late, congratulations. Your rise is remarkably swift.”

However, the middle-aged warrior looked at the old man as if he were a mere insect, frowning and turning his head to gaze out the window.

“I told you not to keep coming here.”

“Heh heh heh.”

The old man’s smiling face flashed with a glint in his single eye.

“Baek Li, or rather, Pavilion Head Baek Li. At last, that guy has shown himself.”

Yet Baek Li-jung showed no particular reaction. He merely furrowed his brow deeper.

“I’ll take a seat. As you can see, my legs aren’t what they used to be.”

Without waiting for permission, the old man sat at the table and poured himself some tea.

“You must have thought my words were lies, but it’s been proven that I wasn’t wrong.”

The old man held up a small note to Baek Li-jung. When Baek Li-jung extended his hand with an annoyed air, the note seemed to be sucked into his grasp as if by magic.

Baek Li-jung read the note handed to him by the old man.

The content was brief.

Tomorrow, Stone Forest Gang annihilated.

However, those few words carried immense weight.

Firstly, it meant there was someone bold enough to wipe out a faction affiliated with the Martial Arts Alliance in today’s world. Secondly, it confirmed that what the old man had been insisting on all along was true.

The old man muttered to himself with a satisfied air.

“He took the bait hook, line, and sinker. I was truly worried he wouldn’t bite.”

Baek Li-jung spoke gruffly.

“That was eight years ago, wasn’t it?”

“Exactly. It’s been eight years since he was trapped in that mine shaft. And yet, he survived and ultimately devoured the Stone Forest Gang.”

Baek Li-jung showed little reaction, but the old man was completely elated, continuing to speak with a laughing face.

“Of course, the Stone Forest Gang was already reduced to mere dregs. I was the one who instigated the most greedy and incompetent fool, Jo Yang, to take the leader’s seat, and I also eliminated anyone who showed even a hint of competence beforehand.”

Baek Li-jung smirked mockingly.

“And right after, you took all their elixirs, didn’t you?”

“Ahh, that Jo Yang fellow said he only needed money, so I merely took what wasn’t worth money.”

The old man grinned.

“Anyway, thanks to how easily the Stone Forest Gang was dealt with… he must be feeling an intense thirst now.”

Baek Li-jung looked annoyed but showed interest in that statement.

“Thirst?”

“I know him. I know him well. Compared to the years he waited, this revenge must have felt too easy. For someone of his skill, it was probably like eating cold porridge. He’ll think the sacrifice was insufficient. His body must be burning with desire. He won’t be able to bear it unless he takes his next revenge soon.”

The old man let out a hearty laugh.

“Indeed, those who crawl out of hell’s abyss can’t believe they’ve escaped hell unless they face utter despair even in reality.”

Baek Li-jung cut him off.

“Enough nonsense. Get to the point.”

“I’ll be heading to Jianshui. I need a proper position, not just a nominal title like non-executive advisor to the Poison Control Bureau.”

Baek Li-jung waved his hand dismissively. Among the various plaques hanging on the wall, one flew toward the old man. However, just as the old man reached out to catch it, the plaque fell to the floor.

The old man’s expression stiffened slightly, but he bent down to pick up the plaque without complaint. The plaque was coated in silver foil and even had a silver thread attached.

“It’s a silver plaque, granting the same authority as an investigator from the Jiangxi Province main headquarters.”

“I’ll accept it with gratitude.”

“Don’t mess this up.”

Despite the threatening tone, the old man didn’t respond immediately.

Instead, he leaned on his crutches and slowly stood up.

As he left the room, he remarked casually over his shoulder.

“Pavilion Head, you may not understand me now. But when the day comes that I present you with a great gift, you’ll want to share the world with me.”

The old man paused at the door, reaching out to open it, but stopped.

Crack!

Without any warning or detectable energy, the door handle bore the imprint of a hand and shattered.

The old man’s face hardened. If he had grasped the handle, it might not have been the handle but his hand that shattered.

It was an utterly ruthless hidden force.

The old man stopped and turned his head.

Baek Li-jung was glaring at him with wide, tiger-like eyes.

“Watch that mouth of yours, wherever you are.”

Even though Baek Li-jung, who was at least twenty or thirty years younger, spoke informally to him, the old man, Mang Ryo, didn’t seem to mind and smiled broadly.

“I’ll keep Pavilion Head’s words in mind. No matter what anyone says, aren’t we comrades on the same boat?”

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

Clop, clop.

Mang Ryo left the Martial Arts Alliance branch in Huguang Province and headed toward Jianshui in Yunnan.

The distance to Jianshui was roughly 1,200 li.

Riding a horse, it would take two or three days to arrive.

‘Heh heh heh.’

Laughter escaped him.

Thinking of Jin Ja-gang, or rather, imagining Jin Ja-gang suffering and moving within his grasp, filled him with joy. Just the thought made his heart race. It was enough to make him forget the humiliation he’d received from Baek Li-jung before departing.

He had waited eight years.

Jin Ja-gang could never imagine how arduously Mang Ryo had waited during those eight years.

How much he had struggled to restrain himself from digging into the mine shaft with his bare hands just to meet him!

How torturous it had been to play the role of a sanctimonious gentleman in the Martial Arts Alliance!

But enduring all of that had been for a day like today.

Moreover, he hadn’t merely been waiting idly. Mang Ryo had tirelessly trained himself.

In front of others, he acted like a feeble old man relegated to the back room, but in reality, he had cut down on sleep to practice relentlessly.

Thanks to that, he was now far stronger than when he was the chief elder of the Extreme Poison Sect. Though still lacking compared to the elite masters of the prestigious orthodox factions in the Martial Arts Alliance’s central headquarters, he had reached a level where he could take pride in his skills.

Lying on firewood and tasting gall.

Gnashing teeth and rotting heart.

No words could fully describe Mang Ryo’s past eight years.

Which is precisely why he couldn’t kill Jin Ja-gang easily. He absolutely wouldn’t grant him an ordinary, peaceful death.

Cutting off his limbs, blinding his eyes, and deafening his ears wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him.

That guy must die writhing in pain and despair worse than hell itself.

It had to be that way.

Only then would the eight years of waiting feel worthwhile!

Mang Ryo bared his teeth in a vicious smile.

“While you lived comfortably in that mine shaft, I survived in this filthy, ugly martial world with the resolve to carve my own bones. You must not disappoint me!”

Of course, at the very least, he wouldn’t be completely disappointed. Jin Ja-gang had proven his resilience by annihilating the Stone Forest Gang as soon as he emerged from the mine shaft.

That’s why Mang Ryo was looking forward to Jin Ja-gang’s exploits.

“Hyah!”

Mang Ryo spurred his horse onward.

* * *

A few days later, Mang Ryo arrived at the village where the Stone Forest Gang’s manor was located.

In front of the Stone Forest Gang’s manor, warriors from three of Yunnan’s poison sects were already standing guard.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Mang Ryo displayed the silver plaque symbolizing his status as an investigator of the Martial Arts Alliance.

Even the poison sects, now affiliated with the Martial Arts Alliance, had to adhere to its rules.

The warriors glanced at each other before stepping aside.

Mang Ryo took his first steps, passing by a charred pillar.

Already, traces of Jin Ja-gang, who had reappeared after eight years, were evident everywhere.

At the entrance of the manor, now reduced to ashes, countless blackened remains were scattered about. Anyone could tell they were human corpses. Dozens of human bodies had been burned to death, clustered near the entrance.

Just looking at them stirred excitement within him.

How exactly had Jin Ja-gang killed them?

Mang Ryo wandered around, savoring Jin Ja-gang’s prowess.

Unless one looked closely, it was hard to notice, but most of the corpses bore a single hole each.

There were marks of being pierced by something like a skewer between the neck bone and the ribs. Of the roughly eighty corpses, at least forty or more showed such traces.

Mang Ryo quickly found the weapon nearby.

It was a long iron skewer.

Comparing the thickness to the holes in the bones, it matched perfectly. It was the weapon once used by a man named Mo Gae.

Mang Ryo smiled.

‘He’s grown enough to stab people to death. He’s actively using everything at his disposal.’

In the past, being a child, Jin Ja-gang’s physical strength was weak. Thus, he relied primarily on poison rather than direct confrontation. But now, having grown a bit, he was utilizing physical strength as well.

However, Mang Ryo realized there was another reason Jin Ja-gang resorted to physical force.

‘The main poison he used wasn’t as lethal as expected?’

The poison Jin Ja-gang used to wield was an extremely deadly arsenic-based toxin. Its potency was strong enough to wipe out the entire Extreme Poison Sect. If he still possessed such a poison, there would have been no need to go through the trouble of stabbing people to death with a skewer.

‘Since the effect of his main poison was weak, he finished them off with his own hands. Still a meticulous guy.’

So, what poison did he use?

Mang Ryo scanned the surroundings. He noticed silvery clumps scattered here and there.

Bending down, he touched one of the clumps with his hand. Rubbing it on his finger, the silver droplet fell off like water.

It was mercury.

‘Traces from burning cinnabar.’

It wasn’t strange to find traces of burned cinnabar in a faction that dealt with cinnabar. However, the sheer quantity and the fact that it was scattered all over the battlefield was unusual.

“Did the Stone Forest Gang use cinnabar poison on him?”

Mang Ryo pondered for a moment before taking out a small gourd. He then began sprinkling the liquid inside it around the area.

Sizzle.

Near the face of one corpse, the liquid suddenly bubbled and emitted a vapor.

The liquid Mang Ryo had sprinkled was lye, which reacts to arsenic poison.

The reaction was particularly strong near the bodies lying in a fan-shaped pattern in front of two jars placed at the main entrance.

“Oh?”

Mang Ryo, with an intrigued expression, poured the lye into the inside of the jars.

Sizzle!

An even stronger vapor reaction occurred. Mang Ryo held his breath, rolled the inhaled toxic vapor in his mouth, and spat it out as saliva.

“Ptoo.”

Even in that brief moment, his mouth felt numb and tingly.

Unfazed, Mang Ryo examined the two jars one by one and laughed. One of the jars was filled with silvery droplets.

“Ha ha ha! One with cinnabar, the other with arsenic. So this was the main cause of the Stone Forest Gang’s annihilation.”

When arsenic is used, it intensifies the reaction of cinnabar poison. Even if the Stone Forest Gang had antidotes for cinnabar poison, it would have been difficult to prevent the poisoning.

That meant these jars must have been brought by Jin Ja-gang. The way the corpses surrounded the jars made that clear.

“Truly audacious, this guy. Destroying a faction that produces cinnabar poison with cinnabar poison itself?”

It was absurd, but that’s precisely why it was so like Jin Ja-gang.

No, perhaps only Jin Ja-gang could have conceived such an idea?

Mang Ryo examined the area around the jars further and caught the scent of mugwort. He also found remnants of burned tea leaves.

“Cinnabar and arsenic, mugwort and tea leaves…”

Mang Ryo closed his eyes and pictured Jin Ja-gang’s actions in his mind.

Jin Ja-gang confronts the Stone Forest Gang head-on, spreading poison.

The Stone Forest Gang warriors are poisoned and become incapacitated. They try to charge, but the smoke from burning mugwort stings their eyes, preventing them from approaching recklessly.

The Stone Forest Gang warriors hurriedly take antidotes, but the smoke is mixed with arsenic, and even tea leaves, the base for green tea, are blended in, making detoxification difficult.

Jin Ja-gang hunts down the incapacitated Stone Forest Gang warriors one by one, stabbing them with a skewer. Among them, one warrior lunges at him, but Jin Ja-gang severs his shoulder entirely.

Mang Ryo opened his eyes.

He could vividly see how Jin Ja-gang had dealt with the Stone Forest Gang.

“Impressive. Beyond my expectations.”

A sigh of admiration escaped Mang Ryo’s lips.