Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Chapter 2: One Mountain, Five Rivers (3)
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Cheonwi asked Sang, who was staggering.
“It looked like orthodox martial arts.”
“……!”
“The footwork from the southeastern corner of the Central Plains... Zhejiang area? Where are you from?”
Cheonwi remained utterly composed, even after shattering a warrior's lifelong cultivation in an instant.
Sang ground his teeth.
“How did you...? You said you were just a lowly member... What are you plotting?”
“No one stays at the bottom forever.”
Cheonwi leisurely shifted his stance.
Sang couldn’t budge an inch. The blood pooling on the floor had thickened to a sticky brown. Frowning at the thought of getting blood on his bare feet, he leaped over the puddle. He picked up the golden sword sheath rolling on the ground.
Srrrng.
The sword slid into the sheath. It meant there was no longer any need to swing it.
Cheonwi turned his head to look past Sang at Seol and Hyang standing there.
They were frozen like statues. Whether it was Seol, who hadn’t known of Sang’s betrayal, or Hyang, who had suspected it, both were still far too green for the jianghu.
“I heard there’s a secret organization in Shaolin that deciphers the secret arts of every sect... You bastards too...”
Sang’s body began to tilt slowly.
The silent Oho grinned and spoke up.
“Something like that, but not quite like Shaolin. This is a secret we’ll take to our graves. Don’t go blabbing about it in the afterlife.”
“You... won’t die easy... The Red Heart and Chongmu... will get you...”
Thud.
Sang couldn’t hold out any longer. Perhaps feeling a shred of guilt, he didn’t even glance back at Seol and Hyang until the moment he collapsed and breathed his last.
“Didn’t even last ten breaths?”
“Ten breaths? If he’d made it that far, I’d have been the one in trouble.”
“You? You seemed pretty relaxed.”
“His internal energy was deep.”
“Deep? This guy?”
“I’m not you. That difference matters to me.”
Only their banter remained, tossed back and forth like a joke. The lavish private room on this floor had turned into a sea of blood, yet the two men looked perfectly at ease, as if nothing had happened.
To Seol and Hyang, even that was terrifying.
They couldn’t dream of chiming in.
No matter what Sang’s true identity had been, watching someone they’d grown close to die was a profound shock to the sisters, who hadn’t yet shed their girlhood innocence.
Oho glanced back at them, seemingly aware of their stares, then stepped over to stand before Sang’s corpse. He started to say something to the sisters but paused and asked Cheonwi instead.
“But... what’s the Red Heart?”
“No idea.”
“And Chongmu?”
“How should I know?”
“You’re always so lazy.”
“That’s rich coming from you.”
Oho prodded Sang’s outstretched body with the sword sheath, poking here and there. Under his collar, a small pouch—nothing special. No tattoos, jewelry, or symbols of any secret sect or group, at least at a glance.
“Villains are always like this. Drop a few cryptic lines and head off to the afterlife without a care. If you’re gonna leave clues, make them useful. Don’t just leave headaches for the living.”
“That’s how it goes. Get used to it.”
It was par for the course. These types bit poison pills and killed themselves rather than get captured. They wouldn’t carry clues to their affiliations.
And so the situation ended.
Cheonwi glanced down at his bare torso, scanned the room, and scowled.
“Damn it.”
He crossed to the black-clad assassin’s corpse sprawled out. Beside it lay a bundle of silk robes, tossed haphazardly—Cheonwi’s clothes. Blood from the body had soaked into the expensive fabric.
Cheonwi made no secret of his disgust for blood. He had zero intention of wearing bloodstained clothes.
He leaped to the door, flung it open, and bellowed down the stairs.
“Tuno! Get me some clothes! And something to cover the bodies!”
Without waiting for a reply, Cheonwi slammed the door shut. He walked back toward the bed and addressed the sisters.
“Now, let’s talk about us. Come over here.”
He casually tossed the golden sword onto the bed.
Despite the bloody melee that had unfolded, the woman on the bed slumbered on, lost in a midnight dream.
Cheonwi leaned in to check her steady breathing, then perched on the edge of the bed.
“What did they say to bring her along?”
“A request.”
Cheonwi turned to the sisters at Oho’s answer.
“Right, had to be a request. What were the details?”
The sisters still seemed dazed. Oho could’ve answered for them, but he didn’t.
Cheonwi clapped his hands together sharply.
Seol and Hyang snapped their heads up to look at him.
“Listen when people talk. Come over here too.”
He was so used to wandering around naked that it didn’t faze him anymore. At this point, a bare body was hardly worth batting an eye at, especially since Cheonwi had a sleek, toned physique that any woman would admire.
They approached him with cautious steps. When they passed Sang’s corpse, both hesitated, feet rooted in place. Their pale faces fully betrayed their tangled emotions.
“So, what exactly was the request...?”
“Please protect us.”
It was the younger sister, Hyang, who spoke first, her voice firm.
“For how long?”
“There wasn’t a set time.”
“No limits at all, huh.”
Cheonwi shot a glance at Oho as he spoke. Oho didn’t respond, lounging in a chair like a spectator.
“Alright, let’s hear the whole story from the beginning.”
Cheonwi leaned back slightly. Only then did Seol and Hyang get a proper look at his face, both struck by how refined his features were. His upturned, sharp eyes were softened by lashes like feathers. His gaze held a deep, moonlit glow.
“That night. What happened at the Flame Jade Merchant Guild?”
Cheonwi specified “that night” clearly.
It meant he knew something about the incident at the Flame Jade Merchant Guild. Seol and Hyang exchanged a glance. Seol nodded once, then slowly parted her lips.
“It was late, past midnight. Suddenly, there was chaos in the outer courtyard—red flames and black smoke rising. We heard screams and the clash of weapons. We rushed to our father’s quarters without thinking. But the Flame Jade Hall, his chambers, were already engulfed in fire. That’s when Uncle Sang... I mean, that man... came running. He said Father was holding off the enemies, that we had to flee somewhere else. He said it was Father’s orders.”
“How’d Oho find you?”
“Father gave us something... a letter on a small piece of silk... That man... he’d take it out and look at it sometimes...”
Oho shot up from his chair and went back to Sang’s corpse. Kneeling, he thoroughly searched the front of the body again. He held up a scrap of silk.
“This?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Nothing special. I planted it before we started.”
Oho twirled the scrap dismissively. Cheonwi tilted his head.
“Really? Then how’d Yeom Seoksan know who we are?”
“He didn’t?”
“Of course he did. He sent his daughters.”
Cheonwi crossed his arms and bowed his head thoughtfully. Then, as if struck by a realization, he looked up at Oho.
“Didn’t that Yeom Seoksan guy meet with Duanwen too?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Tch.”
“Loose-lipped bastard.”
“Loose-lipped bastard.”
They spat the curse in unison.
Cheonwi turned back to Seol. He spoke patiently, as if explaining step by step.
“I heard your story, miss. Taken alone, that kind of incident is commonplace in the jianghu. Only the victims suffer.”
Cheonwi uncrossed his arms, gripped the bed with both hands, and leaned back. He revealed the current state of the Flame Jade Merchant Guild—details even the sisters didn’t know.
“After the bloodbath you described, the Flame Jade Merchant Guild is in dire straits. The fire hit their main treasury too. With the core assets turned to ash, the losses are catastrophic. Plus, their location is so close to the Taihang Guild that their commercial base in the area is crumbling fast. Oh, why does proximity to Taihang matter? You’ve probably seen their leader, Army Marching Sword Hwang Yeoman, once or twice. He’s got a reputation as a gentleman, but his underlings are a pack of greedy wolves. Since Yeom Seoksan vanished, Taihang’s been devouring the guild’s trade routes like starving beasts. In short, the Flame Jade Merchant Guild is beyond saving at this rate. Might already be.”
Seol and Hyang’s faces drained of color. They’d feared things would worsen, but not to this extent. And as Cheonwi guessed, they had met the kindly Army Marching Sword Hwang Yeoman several times. The shock of learning he and Taihang were encroaching on their guild was immense.
“Then... was it Taihang...?”
Seol asked.
Come to think of it, when they’d first met Oho, he’d asked if they were from Taihang. Either way, Taihang seemed central to the tale. The circumstances pointed that way too. It was natural to suspect them.
“Is Taihang the culprit? Doubt it.”
Cheonwi denied it with firm certainty.
He gestured to Sang and the cooling corpses.
“Taihang couldn’t raise guys like these. They’re an upright sect, fairly large-scale, but their members’ loyalty isn’t that extreme. Suicide when the odds turn? Ridiculous. No sect demands that—especially not one claiming righteousness. Above all, there’s no trace of Taihang techniques in their martial arts.”
“Then Taihang...”
“Taihang’s just the visible tip of the iceberg. There’s a higher power behind them. But as one of the One Mountain Five Rivers, they’re massive in their own right. They probably don’t even suspect they’re dancing to someone else’s tune. They must’ve thought the guild’s collapse was a gift from the heavens. That’s Taihang’s role here.”
“What should we do now?”
Hyang asked. Cheonwi met her eyes, his own gleaming.
“Good question, but premature. Before what you two should do, it’s what we can do for you. Back to basics: protecting you misses. But we can’t prevent every incident at the root—especially against threats this dangerous. So we need a deadline.”
“A deadline how...”
“One month, two? Too vague.”
“Right.”
“Here’s the deal.”
Cheonwi locked eyes with each sister in turn. Then he struck like a sudden blow.
“Until we find Yeom Seoksan.”
“!!”
Seol and Hyang both gasped sharply. Shock and hope surged together, overshadowed by fear it might be false optimism.
“You can find Father...?”
“We have to. You expect us to babysit forever?”
“You’re sure he’s alive?”
“I said it earlier. Were you listening?”
“Fine. So what do we do? If it’s a request, we should pay, right?”
“Yeah, that’s key too.”
Cheonwi’s lips curved into a gentle smile. An innocently alluring expression, a grin potent enough to stir any woman’s heart.
“From the look of things, you two don’t have much to offer us. Right?”
“Yes.”
“How much money?”
“Just a few jewels we grabbed in haste.”
Hyang was steering the conversation now, brutally honest and bold. Seol flinched beside her.
“You know we’ve taken quite a loss protecting you two so far.”
“Yes.”
“Expensive. This room.”
Seol’s expression darkened. Cheonwi’s tone suggested the price wouldn’t be light.
“We know.”
Hyang, by contrast, stood tall. Amusement deepened in Cheonwi’s eyes.
“Fun. Yeom Seoksan raised his daughters well.”
“Name it.”
“What?”
“What’s your name?”
“Hyang.”
“And your sister?”
“Seol.”
“Hyang... Come here.”
Cheonwi beckoned her. Hyang didn’t flinch.
She approached with her head held high. Even facing his half-nude form, her gaze never wavered.
That was her true self.
Just as Sang had flipped in an instant, she’d been hiding hers. The scared girl clinging in dark alleys? Gone without a trace.
“Looks like you’re prepared.”
Cheonwi raised a finger, beckoning her closer.
“Your ear.”
Hyang stepped right up and tilted her head. Her eyes seemed softer than her sister’s, but fiercer light burned in them. She brushed her hair behind her ear with a delicate hand, exposing her pale nape.
‘Once we find Father...’
Cheonwi whispered into her ear.
It wasn’t long.
Only they knew the words. Even deep-energy Oho couldn’t hear. He could only guess from Hyang’s flushing face.
“What the hell...”
Oho scowled at her changed complexion. Cheonwi turned to him with an innocent smile.
“Hm? What about me?”
His grin was pure, boyish mischief.