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Chapter 398. Personal Revenge (8)
After the sun rose, few people came and went through the pleasure district.
Even those were mostly tavern workers cleaning up the traces left by patrons who'd had a wild night, or waking up those who'd passed out drunk on the streets to send them home.
Having worked hard all night, the diligent staff of the pleasure establishments were now due for bed.
At this hour, when everyone was shutting their doors to catch some sleep—
A figure dressed in attire unseen in the pleasure district was entering the mouth of an alley.
W ѐ b̌ n̄ о́v е l̃ Е̃ñ u m а
A tavern worker sweeping the alley tapped his colleague on the shoulder.
"Hey…… over there."
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The man, recognizing the stranger's attire, went pale with shock and clamped a hand over his colleague's mouth.
"Shh! Look carefully! Those are Shaolin Temple monk robes!"
"Good heavens……. Almost got us in big trouble."
No matter how much they lowered their voices, the streets were so deserted that the workers' words resonated and carried in every direction.
Е́n u m̄a . íd
Hye-seong, his wrinkled scalp flushing red, clenched his teeth and exercised the utmost restraint while pretending not to hear a thing.
'Of all places to choose, it has to be somewhere like this…….'
He understood, though.
Given the situation where they'd openly raised a banner of revolt against the Mantongbu and the Alliance Leader's Hall, it was only natural to hide in a place like this to avoid running into Alliance personnel.
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Even now, Jegal So-myeong was turning the Elder Hall upside down inside the Murim Alliance.
Even so, he couldn't help feeling a twinge of regret that they could have arranged a somewhat more… respectable venue.
Е̊ n ūḿа́
When Hye-seong stepped inside one of the taverns,
"Ah! Welcome, sir."
A tavern worker with bloodshot eyes staggered forward to greet him.
"Right this way."
The interior had already been cleaned of the previous night's traces and was being aired out.
Following the worker to the rear of the tavern, he found Clear Water True Man standing with his hands clasped behind his back, his back to the building, gazing at a pond.
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"……Welcome."
"Did you sleep at all last night?"
At Hye-seong's question, Clear Water True Man watched the carp weaving through the pond before answering.
"I intend to sleep after I have confirmed that man's death."
"……Is that so."
"It would be more accurate to say that sleep simply would not come."
E̊ n̄ ùm а́..іd̈
Hye-seong swallowed a heavy sigh.
Admittedly, things had taken longer than expected.
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Originally, they had anticipated Dam Ak would die within Wuhan.
Far from dying, he was brazenly alive and attempting to flee Hubei Province.
That had tangled things further.
Even so, Hye-seong had no choice but to deliver the additional bad news.
Е̊ṅû ḿа
"The Grand Strategist has learned the truth."
In an instant, Clear Water True Man's body went rigid.
Killing intent leaked from his body for a brief moment before he collected himself, then opened his mouth with deliberate nonchalance.
"So there was a reason the Heavenly Eye Pavilion Master could not come."
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But Hye-seong's expression only grew darker.
"……Things are not proceeding as expected."
Ѐ n̊u̇ m̃а . i ḋ
"Do not worry. The Beggars' Sect is already mobiliz——"
"The Grand Strategist knows, which means it is only a matter of time before the Alliance Leader finds out!!"
SNAP—
Hye-seong, who had been raising his voice, fell silent in an instant.
He was struck dumb by the sight of Clear Water True Man leisurely fanning himself with a pure-white fan.
Hye-seong's brow twitched for a moment, but when he caught the cold gleam flickering behind Clear Water True Man's fan, he could not easily break the silence.
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A brief pause.
"Are you afraid of them?"
The question was delivered in a low murmur.
"What kind of nonsens——"
"Then why are you showing such an unsteady composure."
"……Ahem."
Е̄ñum̂â
When Hye-seong shut his mouth in embarrassment, Clear Water True Man slowly moved and sat down across from him.
Trickle.
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A fragrant aroma wafted from the teacups set in place of wine cups.
"In the end, war will break out regardless. After this unavoidable war comes to an end…… how do you believe the historians will record us?"
"……."
Clear Water True Man slowly sipped his tea, as if giving him time to answer.
E n̊ǔm а
Hye-seong could not easily part his lips.
"Those who blindly followed the orders of a rotten Murim Alliance and stood by while it crumbled. Or else——"
This time, Clear Water True Man continued with a gentle smile.
"Those who eliminated the brain of evil ahead of the war and brought peace to the world. Which would you prefer to be remembered as, Great Master Hye-seong?"
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"……."
"Do not be afraid, Great Master Hye-seong."
Én̆ ùṁ а́.id̊
"……I was not afraid."
Looking at Clear Water True Man's composed face, which held unwavering faith in the Righteous Path Association's victory, Hye-seong furrowed his brow.
"It is merely that Jin So-un meddling in this matter is cause for concern. That bastard is utterly unpredictable."
Jin So-un.
At the mention of the most grating name at present, even Clear Water True Man's expression cracked for a moment.
But he quickly recomposed himself, slowly tracing the rim of his teacup.
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"……That is precisely why I sent Hyeon-yeong myself."
"Oh…… is that so?"
Clear Water True Man's eyes flashed with a brief gleam.
"That child will not be swayed by wicked influence the way Il-gak was."
"……!"
The moment his disciple's name came up, Hye-seong's face flushed crimson.
Е ǹu m a
Ever since Il-gak—once counted among the most outstanding Later-Generation Talents—had stopped listening to Hye-seong, the great master's prestige had been plummeting into the ground.
"Th-That child was not swayed by anything wicked!"
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"Then why did he apply to the White Wolf Pavilion."
"……Ahem."
Hye-seong's face had gone beyond red—even his ears and scalp were burning crimson.
By this point, his irritation had peaked and he could no longer maintain his Immovable Mind.
En̆ ǔ m̈ a
No matter how disobedient Il-gak was, he was still a direct disciple who had mastered Shaolin Temple's Tendon-Changing Classic.
"It is true that the boy Il-gak is going through a period of confusion right now."
No parent calls it an act of depravity simply because an adolescent boy rebels.
They merely blame the friend who led him astray.
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Il-gak was merely going through a brief phase of wandering.
"But all of this happened solely because of that Jin So-un. He is that cunning and that dangerous."
Е̃ n u m̀ ӑ. і̆ d̀.
"……."
Clear Water True Man looked at Hye-seong as if the monk were laughable.
"I too acknowledge that he is no ordinary man. However, there is no need to elevate your opponent merely to conceal your own disciple's shortcomings, is there."
"……."
Hye-seong's lips trembled, but he could not continue.
Someone was rushing across the garden toward them.
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"Who goes there! I said to let no one in!"
When Hye-seong's irritable voice reverberated in every direction, the approaching figure's footsteps stopped.
The thoroughly frightened figure hastily bowed his head low.
"I-I've come from the Beggars' Sect."
"The Beggars' Sect?"
"Yes. An urgent matter arose during the pursuit, and I have come to report it."
Еn ŭm̂ а́
"A report? Have they dealt with Dam Ak?"
"No."
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"No?"
Then what could he possibly have come all the way here to relay? At a time when every moment counted.
By now, they should have identified which carriage Dam Ak was in and concentrated their forces.
Just as a tangle of doubts and anger muddled his mind, something entirely unexpected came out of the Beggars' Sect disciple's mouth.
W̌ e bṅö v̇еl̂ Е_ṅum å
"Among the fleeing carriages…… someone using a military spear art has appeared."
"The military?"
At this completely unforeseen news, both Clear Water True Man's and Hye-seong's eyes went wide.
The Beggars' Sect disciple hurried to elaborate.
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"Someone using the Yuk Clan Spear Form has appeared."
"The Yuk Clan Spear Form…… You mean the Beijing Yuk Family?!"
Ẅѐb_nо̄v eľ Е n u m а
"Yes."
Clear Water True Man's and Hye-seong's gazes interlocked, fraught with complexity.
"The Beijing Yuk Family……."
So unexpected was the name that it left their minds reeling.
"……Why would the military involve itself in murim affairs."
Since time immemorial, it had been an unwritten rule that the government did not meddle in murim affairs.
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This was reciprocated by the murim's non-interference in government matters.
But the military was a different matter.
The military answered only to the Imperial House, and what moved the Imperial House was ultimately the authority of the Emperor.
"Dam Ak was said to have once served in the Imperial House. Do you think this is connected to that?"
At Hye-seong's words, Clear Water True Man quickly cut him off.
"He did not serve in the Imperial House for long. It may be nothing more than a ruse."
Е̄n̄ ǔm а .іď.
At that moment, the Beggars' Sect disciple interjected.
"We are only reporting this after cross-verifying. The Yuk Clan Spear Form is confirmed."
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Emboldened by the Beggars' Sect disciple's assertion, Hye-seong began pressing Clear Water True Man.
"He says it is confirmed. What will we do now?"
"Nothing changes. If he were truly such an important figure, the Imperial House would not have simply stood by while he went to the Black Thought Alliance."
"……."
W̊ е̊b̈n ovêl Е.n̆ ũm̃ а̌
Hye-seong knew it too.
Clear Water True Man's words were nothing more than wishful thinking.
It was far from the first time the Imperial House's whims had upended the murim.
But they had already come too far to turn back.
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No words could be spoken carelessly.
"Um…… what about the pursuit?"
Eñu m̌ а
"What about it?"
"The Taeul Sect's carriage and the carriage carrying the one who used the Yuk Clan Spear Form are heading in different directions."
"Pursue both carriages."
"We lack the manpower to do that with our current numbers."
At the Beggars' Sect disciple's words, Clear Water True Man furrowed his brow deeply.
But there was no other way.
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"……The Righteous Path Association will send people."
"Understood."
Even after the Beggars' Sect disciple left by way of the garden, the two men remained silent.
Their minds had begun to grow unbearably tangled.
***
The pursuers, shocked as if they'd seen a goblin upon witnessing the Yuk Clan Spear Form, vanished without a trace.
Wе́b̈ n ӧ v́е́ l. Е n u m̌ а
Thanks to that, we managed to cross Mount Horyeong by the time nightfall approached.
"Urghh…… sitting in a carriage all day has left my whole body stiff."
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Dam Ak, who'd polished off a bowl of meat stew by the campfire, stretched leisurely and aired his complaints.
I couldn't tell who was supposed to be the one being hunted here.
"Can I have more?"
Dang Seo-hui and Jegal Cheon-gi, who had been in the carriage with Dam Ak, were nothing like the incorrigible man—not a single word of complaint.
E̊ nu mа._іd
Take a look at our kids and learn a thing or two, you evil kingpin of the Black Path murim.
I stroked Dang Seo-hui's head and nodded.
"Of course."
The instant I finished speaking, Dang Seo-hui and Jegal Cheon-gi promptly plunged wooden ladles into the pot and shared the food amicably.
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Dam Ak, who'd been watching them, shifted his gaze wordlessly to me.
"There didn't seem to be any pursuers from the afternoon on. What exactly did you do?"
En uma
"That's classified. I can't tell you."
"How stingy."
Ha, honestly. The nerve of this guy.
"Is the pursuit over now?"
As if.
Even if the Yuk Clan Spear Form startled them, they wouldn't be the tenacious Righteous Path Association if they gave up here.
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Their obsession with justice was hardly different from a Demonic Practitioner's craving for blood.
I reminded Dam Ak to stay vigilant.
"Don't let your guard down until we reach Anhui Province."
"I see. Yaaaawn."
……No, I literally just said don't let your guard down…….
"Then do you mind if I sleep first? Not having trained in martial arts really does make one tire quickly."
Е̊ǹům̃ ӑ
"……."
Whether he'd chewed up my words and swallowed them, Dam Ak had already flopped down on the ground and shut his eyes.
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I walked over to where the Taeul Sect members had settled a short distance away.
Most of them, excluding the Gold-Silver-Copper Brothers, had gathered in one spot to share a quiet meal.
"Is the food all right?"
"Have you eaten?"
W ёb̀n о̃v̀ ӗ_l Е̌n um̂ ӑ
At the Sect Leader's words, I quickly nodded.
"Come and rest a bit regardless. I saw you fighting alone earlier—it must have been hard."
Ugh, the only one who thinks of me is the unfamiliar Sect Leader.
How come Father doesn't have an ounce of this warmth.
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I looked at Father with eyes full of desperate longing.
"……What are you glaring at?"
Е nǔm̂а̀. і̀ d̆
Tch! With a father like this, I genuinely feel sorry for the son.
"Why on earth did you insist on tagging along? I told you to go with Estate Master Wang."
"You brat! I was a warrior who ranked in the top five of the Taeul Sect."
That was true enough. As the Outer Hall Master, he'd resorted to force more than a few times to plug the leaks in spending.
"Ehhh…… but that was by past standards."
I'd expected Father to get angry at my jab, but contrary to my expectations, his expression turned serious.
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"I have to go with you. Because I need to see with my own eyes just how dangerous the things you get yourself into are."
"……I don't go around doing anything that dangerous."
"Hmph! A con man's word carries more trust than yours."
Seriously, where in the world is there a father who says something like that to his own child.
"Don't worry, Brother. I'll guard the Hall Master."
"Not Brother! Eldest Senior Brother!"
Еn ùḿа̄
Sa-ryeon cut in to block So-so's words.
What's going on? So-so's smiling and Sa-ryeon's expressionless, so why am I the one who's scared?
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"E-Eldest Senior Brother…… I may be lacking, but I'll do my very best."
Yu-seong, who'd been sitting quietly beside them, also bowed his head with a reddened face, and I ruffled his hair.
"Yeah. Thanks for looking out for me."
I didn't know how much So-so had achieved in the meantime, but I figured that with Sa-ryeon and Yu-seong around, nothing too dire would happen—which was why I'd agreed to Father coming along.
Е̇ n̄üm̀ а̃. іd
I didn't know how much more attention the carriage carrying the Gold-Silver-Copper Brothers would draw, but in the end, the Taeul Sect members here would have to be the ones to draw eyes.
I could only hope no one would be seriously injured in the process.
Perhaps my feelings had been conveyed.
The unfamiliar Sect Leader placed his calloused hand on my shoulder and gave it a pat.
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"Do not worry so much. The Taeul Sect is simply on its way back to Hefei after concluding its business in Wuhan. No one has either the pretext or the reason to bar our path."
Is this what it means for hearts to connect?
Е̂ ṅ ù m â
Even though the Gold-Silver-Copper Brothers and Sa-ryeon had always been by my side, I'd felt crushing loneliness at every turn.
Sometimes, the burden on my back felt impossibly heavy.
But in this moment, the thought that I was with the Taeul Sect filled my heart with reassurance.
Even if the entire Righteous Path Association came charging at us, I wasn't afraid.
The unfamiliar Sect Leader's hand, which had been patting my shoulder, gradually tightened its grip.
"If anyone stands in our way……."
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A raw, fierce aura radiated from him.
Then, a calm voice slipped from his lips.
"I will show them hell."
"……."
The Sect Leader—so unfamiliar now, with the eyes of a fighter—smiled at me.
"So-un, do not worry about what comes after."
Е̌ň um а
Like a yaksha freshly risen from a pit of hellfire.
Ah…… I really can't get used to this.
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Who even are you? Give me back our Sect Leader.
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