Chapter 229: Turbulent South-2
Chapter 229: Turbulent South-2
Hengshan, Hunan Province.
Among the countless mountains under heaven, this beautiful peak, known to people as the Southern Sacred Mountain, was home to the colossal Hengshan Sect, which ruled all of Hunan Province.
The Hengshan Sect's rise had been nothing short of astonishing.
A sect that once exerted influence only around the Southern Peak, a single region of Hunan, had in a mere decade not only become a member of the Nine Great Sects but gone so far as to become the ruler of all Hunan Province.
People said:
Ten years ago, the Hengshan Sect sat at the bottom of the Nine Great Sects, but ten years from now, the Hengshan Sect might well stand at their summit.
And the period when the Hengshan Sect began its meteoric rise was, by all accounts, after the current Sect Leader, the Honam First Sword Wi Jeong-guk, ascended to the position of sect leader.
These days, people called him this:
The greatest sect leader in Hengshan Sect history.
That Wi Jeong-guk was now seated in his office, receiving a report from External Hall Lord Jwa Ga-gyun.
"...And so afterward, that man called Inparang is reportedly moving toward Daenam Island."
Wi Jeong-guk, who had been listening to the report with an expressionless, cold face, abruptly tossed a question at Jwa Ga-gyun.
"What of Ma Gyeong's response?"
At that, Jwa Ga-gyun avoided his gaze and answered with difficulty.
"No response whatsoever. But seeing that there is also no further reaction to our proposal... I suspect he means that if Inparang comes, he will receive him."
Upon hearing those words, a sardonic smile briefly flickered across Wi Jeong-guk's cold face.
He spoke.
"For a whale trapped on an island growing old... such arrogance."
Jwa Ga-gyun asked cautiously.
"How shall we proceed? Shall we abandon the alliance with him?"
At that, Wi Jeong-guk slowly shook his head, maintaining his sardonic smile.
"That cannot be done. How could I pass up this fine opportunity to make the Saintess and Ma Gyeong bleed each other dry? Did the wretch not say he would consider the alliance once he dealt with the Fujian Yong Clan first? For now, we will let him have his way. We strike the Fujian Yong Clan first. And we will clean up this Inparang as well. Since Jin Tae-do keeps whining about him anyway, it would be better to eliminate him in advance."
Having spoken, Wi Jeong-guk fixed a sharp gaze on Jwa Ga-gyun and asked.
"Are the Six Harmony Swordsmen all prepared?"
At his question, Jwa Ga-gyun bowed his head with crisp precision and answered.
"All are prepared. The three Pacheon Squads and ten Pasan Squads are all ready to mobilize at any moment."
"What of their skill levels?"
"As you have personally tested, Sect Leader, a single Pacheon Squad can capture one master of the Thirty-six Stars of the World level, and a single Pasan Squad can deal with two or more transcendent peak masters. Preparations are perfect."
The Six Harmony Swordsmen were the Hengshan Sect's secret military force that Wi Jeong-guk had been preparing for the past seven or eight years.
In his younger days, Wi Jeong-guk had been unable to control his jealousy and had murdered his senior brother, who was the leading candidate to become the next sect leader.
Afterward, realizing his mistake and fleeing, he had stumbled into a cave where he discovered a stroke of fortune left by a predecessor.
It consisted of various ultimate techniques, chief among them the Ogre Sword Technique, the strongest lost sword art of the Hengshan Sect.
Wi Jeong-guk had been able to earn forgiveness for the crime of killing his senior brother by returning all the techniques except the Ogre Sword Technique to the sect at that time.
And later, using the Ogre Sword Technique he alone had mastered, he was ultimately able to ascend to the position of the Hengshan Sect's supreme master.
After that, having finally become the sect leader of the Hengshan Sect, Wi Jeong-guk had turned his attention to a sword formation among the techniques he had discovered then—the Ghost Extermination Six Harmony Sword Formation.
It was a fearsome sword formation that allowed six swordsmen, by sharing a single mental state, to defeat opponents far above their own level.
A predatory grin, like that of a ravenous beast, spread across Wi Jeong-guk's face as he spoke.
"At last. It took long enough."
And then he issued the order.
"Deploy them. Let us first put their strength to a simple test. Move all Pacheon Squads and Pasan Squads to the Baek-un Sect, but send two of the Pasan Squads to deal with this Inparang fellow, and three squads to handle the Anti-Hyeongsan Association first!"
The Baek-un Sect was a puppet sect of the Hengshan Sect, located in Jiangxi Province, east of Hunan.
Since one had no choice but to pass through Jiangxi Province first to reach Fujian Province, where the Fujian Yong Clan was situated, the order was to move them there first.
But at his command, External Hall Lord Jwa Ga-gyun abruptly raised an objection.
"Is there truly a need for two Pasan Squads against this Inparang? That much force could dispose of three or four transcendent peak masters."
At that, Wi Jeong-guk turned only his eyes to look at him and replied.
"I like certainty, External Hall Lord. If we underestimate an enemy and end up losing even a single precious unit of Six Harmony Swordsmen, will you take responsibility?"
Under his cold gaze, Jwa Ga-gyun hastily bowed his head and begged forgiveness.
"N-no, sir! My apologies, Sect Leader! I shall carry out your orders exactly as instructed!"
Wi Jeong-guk stared at the bowing Jwa Ga-gyun with icy eyes.
Because the fact that the man had dared to tack an opinion onto his command was wholly displeasing to him.
He was a man Wi Jeong-guk had appointed as External Hall Lord purely for his loyalty, since his abilities were mediocre at best—but lately, he had begun to wonder if he had raised the man up too much.
It was at that moment.
Outside the office door, someone's presence could be felt.
It was a faint presence, one that only a master of Wi Jeong-guk's level could perceive.
"Hm?"
He was looking toward the door, about to take some sort of action.
Then abruptly, the door slid open and a woman slowly walked in from outside.
She was a beautiful woman, dressed in flowing white robes, barefoot.
Entering soundlessly as if drifting in like mist, she spoke in a dewy voice.
"Are you going to take much longer? I grew tired of waiting and came."
She was a woman who exuded an aura as mysterious as dawn fog, as elegantly pure as a single stalk of narcissus.
When she opened her lips, it felt to such a degree as though the scent of flowers had suddenly spread throughout the room.
Seeing her, Wi Jeong-guk completely forgot the ill mood he had been in moments before and beamed as he replied.
"It is all finished, my Consort Yu. I shall come soon."
At that, she gazed at Wi Jeong-guk for a moment, then turned to leave, speaking as she went.
"I will be in the garden. Do not make me wait too long."
Even after she had departed, the floral fragrance seemed to linger in the room.
At that mysterious atmosphere, Wi Jeong-guk stared blankly for a moment at the door through which she had left.
Then he glanced back at Jwa Ga-gyun.
Jwa Ga-gyun had initially stared at her in a daze alongside Wi Jeong-guk, but had snapped back to his senses midway and kept his head deeply bowed.
Because he knew all too well that Wi Jeong-guk would never tolerate another man casting his eyes upon her.
And unbeknownst to him, that very fact had saved his life.
For Wi Jeong-guk, satisfied by that sight, had set aside the killing intent he had harbored toward him moments ago and returned to business.
"What of the Anti-Hyeongsan Association's movements? Has their base of operations been located?"
"Ah, they are lately..."
She was one of the Five Great Beauties of the Evil Faction, and because her delicate grace, moving barefoot like drifting mist, seemed like the very reincarnation of Consort Yu of the Chu Kingdom, she was called the Seonmu Uhie. U Nan-seol did not go directly to the garden. Instead, she halted her steps for a moment just outside Wi Jeong-guk's office.
And then, pressing a hand against the wall, she focused on the vibrations from within.
A short while later, she began moving toward the garden again. Her movements were subtle and without presence, as if mist were drifting by.
Arriving at the garden, she strolled slowly around the pond in a corner of the flower garden.
Simply by walking, she seemed like a mysterious fog swirling through the garden.
At that picturesque sight, the warriors of the Hengshan Sect standing guard had to do their utmost to keep their eyes from straying toward her.
But precisely because they so strenuously averted their gazes, they could not know.
That one of the reeds in the pond where U Nan-seol was strolling had stealthily submerged beneath the water.
And that a person was swimming out beyond the Hengshan Sect through a tunnel carved into the inner side of the pond.
***
Piii-iii-ii!
In the clear sky, a brown hawk soared leisurely through the azure expanse.
Though flying at great speed, the hawk was turning its head this way and that as if searching for prey.
Then, in an instant, as if spotting something, the hawk began a sudden steep dive.
Shiiiiik!
The speed was tremendous.
Had it plunged down upon a rabbit unaware of the hawk's presence, it was rapid enough that the rabbit's head would have been cleanly severed and sent flying without much ado.
But its target was not a rabbit.
It was a person—and an elderly man with a fine, robust build at that.
Fwuddeudeuk!
The creature, which had been hurtling toward the old man, abruptly flapped its wings and slowed its speed in an instant.
At that, the old man, who had been gulping liquor from a gourd, raised one arm nonchalantly without even glancing toward the hawk.
The next moment, the hawk alighted upon his arm.
Fwuddeudeuk! Tak!
The proud bearing of the hawk—diving like an arrow then landing gracefully upon his arm—and the sight of the old man, drinking with one hand and catching the hawk with the other without even looking at it, could not have looked more impressive.
Seeing that, a short-haired woman, Jin So-eun, cried out with an admiring face.
"Wow! You look incredible, Elder Son!"
At that, the portly old man, Son Dae-su the Drifting Cloud Guest, deftly untied the letter from the hawk's leg and replied with a genial laugh.
"Heo-heo-heo! What's so special about this trifle?"
Watching him, his granddaughter Son I-rang poked her tongue out slightly and teased him playfully.
"Oh, Grandpa's showing off with the hawk that Grandpa raised?"
At his granddaughter's words, Son Dae-su cleared his throat and began to read the letter.
"Ahem, ahem. When did I ever show off, I ask?"
But his playful expression gradually stiffened as he read the missive.
Then, silently, he turned toward Seonwoo Jin, who had been watching him quietly, and spoke carefully.
"Young Master Yin, it seems something has come up that you ought to know."
At his words, Seonwoo Jin nodded silently.
And so Son Dae-su spoke.
"The Hengshan Sect has made their move. It seems they have dispatched their secret armed force to you, young master."
Seonwoo Jin silently gazed at him for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.
"Wouldn't you need to provide me with a more detailed explanation?"
Seonwoo Jin had already caught on that Son Dae-su was not merely a wandering drunkard hero, as people claimed.
But seeing him now, it seemed the man likely possessed a background beyond imagination.
For him to convey the internal affairs of the Hengshan Sect was something even the information guild Hao Gate would find impossible.
At that, Son Dae-su let out a deep sigh and spoke.
"Indeed. This story is likely to grow long, so shall we sit for a moment and speak?"
The group gathered and sat in the grassy clearing of the forest.
Son Dae-su, and of course his granddaughter Son I-rang's expression, had grown unusually grave, unlike usual, and Jin So-eun, having no clue why they looked that way, was at a loss as to what to do.
Son Dae-su finally spoke.
"First, I must apologize to Young Master Yin for approaching you while hiding our true identities. This old man is in truth a person affiliated with an organization called the Anti-Hyeongsan Association. Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Son Dae-su, the Drifting Cloud of the Twelve Tigers of the Anti-Hyeongsan Association, and I greet Young Master Yin."
At that, Jin So-eun's eyes went wide as she asked.
"The Anti-Hyeongsan Association?"
Her expression was one of utter bewilderment.
For the name Anti-Hyeongsan Association was one Jin So-eun, at least, had never heard before.
But that was a very strange thing.
There was no way the organization Son Dae-su, a peak-level master, belonged to could be some unheard-of third-rate sect.
Jin So-eun tilted her head, considering that fact.
At that moment, Seonwoo Jin slowly spoke.
"It seems to mean a gathering of people opposed to the Hengshan Sect. A secret society, I suppose."
Inwardly admiring his words, Son Dae-su nodded.
"Indeed. We are a group comprised of those who have lost family, friends, or their sects to the Hengshan Sect, or who oppose their ruthless and violent expansion."
At that, Mukrang spoke from within Seonwoo Jin's mind, sounding impressed.
[They really appeared. Just as you planned.]
Originally, when Seonwoo Jin first intended to act as Inparang, he had explained this to Seol Pung and Jeung Chil.
That if he himself made moves opposing Jin Tae-do and the Hengshan Sect under the name Inparang, the forces within the Hainan Sect opposing Jin Tae-do and the forces resisting the Hengshan Sect would surely make contact.
And just as he predicted, the Opposition force against the Hengshan Sect revealed itself before his eyes like this.
And that before he had even properly entangled with the Hengshan Sect.
No matter that it was Seonwoo Jin's prediction, it was a startling accuracy.
However, despite his own prediction proving exactly correct, Seonwoo Jin answered in a sheepish voice.
'It wasn't exactly like that. I thought the Hainan Sect people opposing Jin Tae-do would definitely appear, but I honestly thought the chances of the Opposition force against the Hengshan Sect appearing were about fifty-fifty. Though I never imagined they'd show up before the Hainan Sect people.'
It was just as he said.
He especially had never imagined he would make contact with these people first, before the Hengshan Sect even moved.
Hadn't he deliberately spread only the facts about Jin Tae-do, not the Hengshan Sect, when striking the White Religion Sect this time, precisely to deal with Jin Tae-do first?
Yet these people had attached themselves to him even before he struck the White Religion Sect, so there surely must be a reason for it.
And Seonwoo Jin felt he could deduce that reason to some extent.
He spoke to Son Dae-su.
"It seems the Anti-Hyeongsan Association has infiltrated a spy within the Hengshan Sect, and at a considerably high level at that. That is how you came to know that the Hapsan Sect is their puppet, isn't it? Were you not lying in ambush at the Hapsan Sect to find proof of that, Senior Son?"
At that, a look of shock dawned on Son Dae-su's face.
Because from just a few facts, Seonwoo Jin had deduced with terrifying accuracy the existence of the spy planted inside the Hengshan Sect — the most crucial secret of the Anti-Hyeongsan Association.
He already knew well that the young man was a prodigy of martial arts, but to possess insight of this level as well, he was truly a terrifying talent.
'Huh, if he can survive safely for just ten, twenty more years, a seat among the Thirty-Six Stars of the World— no. Perhaps even a seat among the Fifteen Absolute Masters might be in danger.'
Having completely conceded to his opponent in his heart, Son Dae-su let out a hollow laugh and nodded.
"Heh heh heh, Young Master Yin, you are truly a frightening person. You saw precisely. Did you, by chance, know from the beginning that I was a person of the Anti-Hyeongsan Association?"
At his question, Seonwoo Jin silently shook his head.
"No. I just heard the name Anti-Hyeongsan Association for the first time from you, Senior. However... I did think that somewhere, people opposing the Hengshan Sect must exist, and that if I were to oppose the Hengshan Sect, I might eventually meet them. Though of course, even so, I thought we would meet later, after more time had passed."
With a heavy face, Son Dae-su nodded and spoke again.
"I see. Hooo. It is just as you thought, young master. Had we not met by chance at the Hapsan Sect, we likely would not have learned of your existence for a long while yet. This seems to be fate, perhaps even heaven's aid."
At those words, Seonwoo Jin smiled faintly and said.
"I hope that is the case. Now then, could you tell me about the Hengshan Sect?"
At that, Son Dae-su nodded and began his explanation with a serious expression.
"I shall. The Hengshan Sect, for the past seven or eight years, is said to have been secretly fostering individuals called Six Harmony Swordsmen."
Seonwoo Jin frowned slightly, repeating his words.
"Six Harmony Swordsmen."
That was a rather strange term.
Just hearing the name Six Harmony Swordsman, it suggested swordsmen trained in the Six Harmony Sword Technique, but wasn't the Six Harmony Sword Technique a third-rate technique you could buy from any bookshop in the marketplace?
Therefore, it was certainly very strange that the Hengshan Sect had been secretly fostering practitioners of such a Six Harmony Sword Technique for seven or eight years.
Seonwoo Jin waited for Son Dae-su's next words.
Then the man began to explain the true identity of the Six Harmony Swordsmen.
"The Six Harmony Swordsmen refers to swordsmen who have practiced a formation called the Ghost Extermination Six Harmony Sword Formation, a lost secret of the Hengshan Sect."
"The Ghost Extermination Six Harmony Sword Formation?"
"Yes. I hear it is a fearsome sword formation where six swordsmen unfold the array with a single mind and will, such that if first-rate warriors form the array, they can defeat a peak master, and if peak masters form the array, they can defeat a transcendent peak master."
Those were astonishing words.
For the difference between first-rate and peak was like a lynx and a tiger, and the gap between peak and transcendent peak was as vast as a cat versus a tiger.
Yet a sword formation that could make six cats defeat a tiger — it was truly an incredible secret technique.
Seonwoo Jin recalled something and muttered.
"Six first-rate martial artists can defeat a peak, six peak can defeat a transcendent peak.... Amazing. There must surely be a reason it can exert such a startling effect, wouldn't you say? Perhaps that reason is the same as why the sword formation must be practiced in secret."
As Seonwoo Jin spoke with such sharp eyes, Son Dae-su gave an empty laugh.
"Heh heh, utterly.... You are precise, young master. I have heard that the formation requires the wills of the six members to be entrusted to a single person, so that they may move with a single mind and purpose."
"The wills of six entrusted to one.... No, don't tell me?"
As Seonwoo Jin asked with a surprised look, Son Dae-su nodded with a somber face.
"Indeed. I heard that the humanity of the five members, excluding the one commanding the formation, must be obliterated."
Hearing that, Seonwoo Jin gave a hollow laugh this time.
The same was true for Mukrang inside Seonwoo Jin.
"Ha!"
[Huh, the so-called Orthodox faction... they commit such acts?]
Obliterating a person's humanity for superior combat power.
Truly, it was a notion one would expect from the Blood Cult scum.
What difference was there between the Blood Cult, which turned people into demons to use them as weapons of war, and the Hengshan Sect, who obliterated their humanity to make them parts of a sword formation?
Seonwoo Jin suppressed his surging rage and asked Son Dae-su.
"Has the Hengshan Sect's method always been like that?"
Son Dae-su silently nodded.
He did not speak, but his eyes, tangled with complex emotions, conveyed a stronger affirmation than words ever could.
Seonwoo Jin calmed his anger for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"So the story is, these Six Harmony Swordsmen are coming for me."
"Yes. The Six Harmony Swordsmen composed of transcendent peak martial artists are called Pacheonjo, and those of peak-level martial artists are called Pasanjo. I heard they dispatched two squads of Pasanjo towards you, young master, and three squads of Pasanjo to deal with our Anti-Hyeongsan Association side."
Having heard that, Seonwoo Jin chuckled and said.
"That means they've assessed me as worth more than two transcendent peak masters. I'll have to send them my thanks."
Though the words were sarcastic, Son Dae-su did not react to his jest.
Rather, with a dark face, he asked him.
"What do you intend to do now, young master? No matter that it is you...."
It seemed Son Dae-su had already judged them to be beyond what Seonwoo Jin could handle.
But Seonwoo Jin smiled faintly and cut him off.
"It's fine. If that is their level, our side's strength is more than sufficient to contend. However, what worries me is that they likely won't be the only ones who have laid hands on us."
At those words, Son Dae-su asked with a puzzled face.
"If they are not the only ones who have laid hands?"
Then Seonwoo Jin suddenly smiled faintly toward the southern sky and answered.
"The Hainan Demon Sword, Jin Tae-do. I believe his blade will reach us first. Perhaps he has already arrived nearby."
Following Seonwoo Jin's gaze toward the southern sky, the entire party turned their eyes in that direction.
Their eyes were filled with the deep light of worry.