Chapter 241: Encounter-2
Chapter 241: Encounter-2
Along the inland road of Guangdong Province, about sixty members of the Haenam Sect were making their way on foot.
The direction they walked was from Yongcheon in eastern Guangdong toward Gwangju in the west — the opposite direction of Seonwoo Jin's party.
Among the group, Myo Cheong-ju, the head of the Haenam Myo Family that had long served as the Haenam Sect's strategists, suddenly furrowed his brow and asked,
"Are you certain they still haven't reached Yongcheon?"
Ja Gae-chu, the head of the Haenam Ja Family who oversaw the sect's finances with considerable presence, answered.
"According to the Hao Gate's intelligence, so it seems. By my estimation, we'll likely encounter them if we go just a little further."
Sul Mo-saeng, the head of the Haenam Sul Family who had been listening to their exchange, muttered with a sardonic smile.
"At last, we'll get to meet this wretch who dares to impersonate Young Master Inparang."
At those words, Family Head Ja Gae-chu and Family Head Myo Cheong-ju cast sidelong glances at him.
As expected of Jin Tae-do's trusted man, the Haenam Demon Sword and sect leader, Sul Mo-saeng appeared to have already concluded that Inparang was not the real one.
It was then that Myo A-ran, the youngest daughter of Family Head Myo Cheong-ju who walked beside him, quietly asked in a low voice.
"You think their pace is far too slow, don't you, Father?"
Myo Cheong-ju gave a faint nod.
"Yes. At this rate, it almost looks as if they're waiting for someone to catch up. For someone who has provoked two great sects, the Haenam Sect and the Hengshan Sect, to show so little sense of crisis..."
Myo A-ran smiled softly and replied.
"Perhaps they really are waiting for someone to follow them?"
"Hmm?"
It was while father and daughter were having this exchange that Family Head Ja Gae-chu's voice suddenly rang out.
"It seems those are the ones."
"Huh?"
"You said those are the ones?"
At Ja Gae-chu's words, everyone followed his gaze and looked ahead.
And they all saw them.
A party of four, men and women, young and old — and among them, a handsome young man clad in white robes with a white sword at his waist...
The moment she saw his outline, Myo A-ran's heart began to race.
'In Orabeoni. Is it truly?'
Though the distance was still great, Myo A-ran, who had already surpassed the peak realm, could examine his face in detail.
His face bore a striking resemblance to the face of Inparang, her betrothed, whom she had seen ten years ago.
A face that made her think, had he grown up well, this was exactly how he would have looked...
Myo A-ran's face, which she had always presented to others as calm and elegant, slowly flushed with color.
***
While the sixty-some members of the Haenam Sect hurriedly approached, Seonwoo Jin simply stood with his arms crossed, watching them.
But it wasn't merely to wait for them.
It was because he was diligently listening to and absorbing the explanations Son Dae-su was providing while they drew near.
Son Dae-su was speaking rapidly through telepathic transmission.
- They seem to consist of three groups of about twenty each. The man coming at the head of the rightmost group is Ja Gae-chu, head of the Haenam Ja Family. A most remarkable man indeed. Not only is he himself a master who has reached the transcendent peak, but he also operates a trading company called the Haenam Merchant Group and, with the profits earned from it, oversees all of the Haenam Sect's finances — a titan of the business world.
In this manner, he thoroughly explained the head of the Haenam Myo Family, Myo Cheong-ju, and the head of the Haenam Sul Family, Sul Mo-saeng as well.
This was possible because Son Dae-su, who loved to wander far and wide, possessed a prodigious wealth of knowledge and experience.
And that was exactly the kind of assistance Seonwoo Jin had been counting on from Son Dae-su.
Seonwoo Jin suddenly asked.
- Do you happen to know who the beautiful young lady coming beside Family Head Myo is? Given her position next to Family Head Myo, and the fact that her unmistakable martial prowess seems quite extraordinary.
Son Dae-su pondered briefly before answering.
- I've never seen her myself, but I suspect she might be Myo A-ran, the Divine Sword Peak, youngest daughter of Family Head Myo and the rumored greatest beauty of the Haenam Sect. If it's truly her, there are rumors that she's a woman of remarkable talent. Her martial arts, having reached the peak realm at her young age, are impressive, but it's said her wisdom surpasses even her martial prowess.
But even Son Dae-su did not know that she had been Inparang's betrothed in childhood.
In the meantime, the full Haenam Sect party arrived before Seonwoo Jin's group.
Seonwoo Jin watched them with a cold expression and crossed arms, while the expressions on the faces of the Haenam family heads who looked upon him were deeply complicated.
The first to speak was Ja Gae-chu, head of the Haenam Ja Family.
With a face brimming with emotion, he addressed Seonwoo Jin.
"It truly is Young Master Inparang, Young Master Yin! Oh, those eyes, the very image of your father, and the features of your childhood, still the same...!"
He appeared already certain that Seonwoo Jin was Inparang, and moved to approach him with an expression of deep feeling.
But Seonwoo Jin raised the flat of his hand to halt him, speaking coldly.
"Stop right there, Family Head Ja. Have you not yet heard the news that I declared my vengeance upon the entire Haenam Sect?"
At those words, Ja Gae-chu asked back with a bewildered look.
"But, but Young Master Yin! Our Haenam Sect is...!"
At that moment, Sul Mo-saeng, head of the Haenam Sul Family, shouted with a scowl.
"Declare the entire Haenam Sect his enemy? This insolent young pup has arrogance beyond all bounds! Family Head Ja! How can you be so certain this scoundrel is Young Master Inparang?! That wretch is clearly...!"
It was then.
Seonwoo Jin sneered as he shouted at him.
"Sul Mo-saeng! For a wretch like you to dare show his face before me — you've got some gall, haven't you! Or is it that your head is simply too dull?!"
At those words, Sul Mo-saeng bellowed in fury.
"Wh-What?! How dare you...!"
In that instant, Seonwoo Jin drew his sword like a thunderbolt and pointed it at him, shouting.
Chang!
"Sul Mo-saeng! Did you think I wouldn't know that you were among those who ambushed us alongside Jin Tae-do back then?!"
Sul Mo-saeng retorted with a bewildered expression.
"Wh-What?!"
"To think you believed I wouldn't recognize you just because you wore some shoddy face-wrap — your head truly must be dull after all!"
Sul Mo-saeng was so thoroughly flustered that, for a moment, he could not utter a word.
Because he had, in fact, worn a face-wrap and followed Jin Tae-do to ambush Inparang's father, In Gye-un.
He must have thought no one would ever know, but Inparang, who could not forget a single day of what had happened, had identified every one of the participants by their build and martial arts and recorded it all in his journal.
Ja Gae-chu looked at Sul Mo-saeng with eyes blazing like wildfire and demanded.
"Family Head Sul! Is it true that you took part in the ambush of Family Head In Gye-un?!"
At that question, Sul Mo-saeng faltered, unable to answer immediately.
He hesitated for a moment, then forced his mouth open and shouted.
"N-No! That is nothing but that wretch's lie! I would never...!"
But the seasoned Ja Gae-chu could not fail to perceive the meaning behind his flustered expression and momentary hesitation.
Ja Gae-chu thundered with a furious face.
"Sul Mo-saeng, you bastard! You truly...!"
"J-Ja Gaju-nim! I...!"
It was when Ja Gae-chu could no longer contain himself and was about to lunge at Sul Mo-saeng that Seonwoo Jin suddenly spoke in a cold voice.
"And still, you claim the Haenam Sect is not my enemy? What do you think, Family Head Ja?"
At those words, Ja Gae-chu answered with a flustered face.
"No, Young Master Yin! That was never anything more than the foul machinations of Jin Tae-do and his followers! Within the Haenam Sect, there are still those who await Young Master Yin...!"
Seonwoo Jin smiled sardonically and looked toward Myo Cheong-ju as he spoke.
"Nothing more than the machinations of Jin Tae-do and his followers, you say... Then what of Family Head Myo? Is he also a follower of Jin Tae-do?"
With a grave expression, Myo Cheong-ju had merely been observing the course of events unfold.
He had been mulling over the future while coming to the thought that Inparang was unquestionably genuine.
But when Inparang's arrow suddenly turned toward him, he asked back with a bewildered expression.
"Wh-What do you mean, Young Master Yin? I am no follower of Jin Tae-do. I stand here in a neutral position..."
Seonwoo Jin sneered again and spat out as if chewing the words.
"Neutral, you say... I suppose your position was neutral, too, when you recommended the Hengshan Sect to my father? Go on, try telling me you didn't know the Hengshan Sect and Jin Tae-do were already conspiring together beforehand."
"Th-That was...!"
At those words, Myo Cheong-ju could not bring himself to offer a false reply and swallowed hard.
He could not bear to lie under the piercing gaze of his daughter beside him.
After hesitating a moment, he at last shut his eyes tightly.
Seonwoo Jin's words were correct.
When In Gye-un, struggling under Jin Tae-do's propaganda campaign, had consulted him on what to do, it had been Myo Cheong-ju who had advised him to seek the help of the Hengshan Sect.
And at the time, Myo Cheong-ju's advice had clearly been influenced by Jin Tae-do.
A brief time passed and, finally opening his eyes, Myo Cheong-ju spoke with a weary face.
"I... never imagined things would come to such a pass..."
Ja Gae-chu, who had been looking at him with a shocked expression, shouted.
"Family Head Myo! Even you?!"
All that time, Myo Cheong-ju had professed neutrality between Jin Tae-do and the other family heads who opposed him, lending his support to different parties as the occasion demanded.
And since four of the ten remaining family heads had already sided with Jin Tae-do, most decisions had hinged on the opinion of Myo Cheong-ju — the very last holdout.
Thus, in the end, most of the Haenam Sect's meetings were being decided according to his will.
But to think he had actually been on Jin Tae-do's side all along....
And come to think of it, hadn't he been the very one who had mercilessly dismissed the public rumors that Jin Tae-do had killed In Gye-un?
Saying it was nothing more than a conspiracy theory.
Because of his reputation as the wisest man in the Haenam Sect, no one had dared to refute him, yet that very man had actually been the most deeply involved party in that incident.
Ja Gae-chu could not even speak, so great was his shock and sense of betrayal.
He merely glared at him, trembling with fury.
It was then.
A sudden explosion rang out.
Boom!
Everyone flinched in surprise and turned to look.
They all witnessed the sight of red smoke shooting high into the sky.
It was a firework loosed by the Sul family head, Sul Mo-saeng himself.
He laughed frivolously and spoke.
"Keu-hahahaha! Do not worry, Myo family head! For none of them will be able to tell anyone else of these facts!"
Ja Gae-chu could sense something in his words.
What the firework's true nature was, and what Sul Mo-saeng had prepared....
Ja Gae-chu glared at Sul Mo-saeng with eyes that seemed ready to devour him and burst out with a furious roar.
"Sul Mo-saeng, you bastard!"
At that moment, Son I-rang, who had been watching the unfolding situation dazedly, whispered softly to her grandfather Son Dae-su.
"What is going on, Grandfather? And what is that firework?"
Then the answer came from Seonwoo Jin.
Seonwoo Jin smiled coldly and asked Sul Mo-saeng.
"It seems you've brought troops. Jin Tae-do must have ordered you to make me vanish cleanly if I truly was Inparang, didn't he?"
At that question, Sul Mo-saeng chuckled and replied.
"Heh heh heh, you know well. But you've realized it too late. My apologies to you as well, Ja family head. However, I must ask you to die here."
It was just as those words ended.
Like waves rolling in, black-clad warriors wielding swords appeared from all directions and began to surround them.
Swaaaaaah!
It was a force that seemed to number at least two hundred.
They encircled the group on all sides and raised their swords, pointing them at Inparang at the center.
Ja Gae-chu turned his head, scanning them as he spoke.
"Could those men be...?"
Then Sul Mo-saeng answered with a sly grin.
"That's right. They are the warriors of the Black Dragon Ship, the elite of the naval force. Sect Leader Jin was kind enough to send even them along this time, you see?"
"The warriors of the Black Dragon Ship?!"
The Black Dragon Ship was a vessel that carried only the pure warriors of the Haenam Jin family, a rarity within the naval force which was mostly composed of former pirates.
They were truly the elite of the Haenam Sect. There were ten Black Dragon Ships in total within the naval force, and a force of over two hundred meant the warriors of three ships had mobilized in full.
Hearing this, the face of Son Dae-su, who had been listening beside them, rapidly darkened as well.
For if those men were the warriors of the Black Dragon Ship, the situation was extremely dire.
"Of all things, the Black Dragon Ship...."
It was rumored that the warriors of the Black Dragon Ship were all first-rate martial artists and above, the elite of the Haenam Sect.
Furthermore, each captain of the Black Dragon Ships was a peak-level martial artist with eighty to ninety years of internal energy, and rumors had it that there were also a considerable number of peak-level experts at the initial stage or with over seventy years of internal energy mixed among them.
And there were over two hundred such men. Moreover, looking at the situation, weren't Sul family head Sul Mo-saeng, known to be at the wall of the transcendent peak, and Myo family head Myo Cheong-ju, a confirmed transcendent peak expert, apparently their enemies?
In contrast, on their side, though he was transcendent peak, there was only the aged Ja Gae-chu, the still-too-young young master Inparang, Jin So-eun and himself, who seemed unlikely to be of much help in this situation, and his granddaughter Son I-rang.
Naturally, it could only be an extremely unfavorable situation.
He asked Seonwoo Jin in a hushed, anxious voice.
"What do we do now, young master?"
At that moment, for some reason, Seonwoo Jin's gaze was directed not at the Black Dragon Ship warriors, but at Ja Gae-chu.
Seonwoo Jin, who had been observing his expression for a moment, suddenly smirked and answered Son Dae-su's question.
It was a leisurely smile utterly incongruous with such a desperate situation.
"In my opinion, it seems best to simply stay still."
"Hm?"
It was just as Son Dae-su was looking at Seonwoo Jin's face with a bewildered expression.
The Sul family head Sul Mo-saeng laughed loudly and shouted.
"Keu-hahahaha! Have you any last words?! Though of course, even if you do, I won't be listening! Keu-hahahaha!"
Hearing his cheerful laughter, Myo Cheong-ju apologized to his daughter with a dark expression.
"I am sorry, A-ran. I could not tell you beforehand either. But for things to have come to this...."
At that moment, Myo A-ran was focusing her gaze on Seonwoo Jin's face.
Without taking her eyes off him, she suddenly murmured.
"You seem to have changed a great deal."
At those words, Myo Cheong-ju let out a sigh and spoke.
"Hoo, yes. You might think so. But this father of yours has not changed."
Then Myo A-ran looked at Myo Cheong-ju with a meaningful expression and spoke.
"Not you, Father. I mean Parang orabeoni has changed a great deal. I had already guessed long ago that you were connected to the disappearance of the In family head."
"Wha, what?"
At her words that she had already guessed, and at his daughter's cold gaze looking at him, Myo Cheong-ju could only be flustered.
And soon, he understood.
Now that he thought about it, hadn't this clever daughter of his, at some point, begun to throw him meaningful looks and questions whenever he spoke of the Haenam Sect's operations?
Perhaps Myo Cheong-ju himself had simply not wanted to believe what he had already guessed.
That his daughter knew of his shameful secrets.
Myo Cheong-ju was gazing at his youngest daughter with complicated eyes when it happened.
Following Seonwoo Jin's gaze toward Ja Gae-chu, Myo A-ran murmured.
"And... I wonder if this matter is over just yet."
It was then.
Ja family head Ja Gae-chu, who had been glaring at Sul Mo-saeng with cold eyes, suddenly raised his right arm high and shouted.
"Strike!"
Sul Mo-saeng clicked his tongue and merely watched Ja Gae-chu's actions.
"Tsk tsk."
The retinue Ja Gae-chu had brought with him numbered only twenty.
With that number, they could not possibly handle himself and the Myo family's retinue, let alone the two hundred Black Dragon Ship warriors surrounding them.
But the moment Ja Gae-chu boldly commanded the attack, something Sul Mo-saeng could never have imagined unfolded.
Pipipipiping!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwthwack!
"Keuaaack!"
"Aaargh!"
"I-it's an ambush!"
The attack did not come from the direction of Ja Gae-chu's retinue. It came from outside the encirclement of the Black Dragon Ship warriors.
Hundreds of warriors who had appeared from somewhere had ambushed the Black Dragon Ship warriors from behind, outside their encirclement.
Pipipiping!
"S-steel arrows! Keuaaaack!"
"Dodge! Aaargh!"
The arrows being loosed upon the Black Dragon Ship warriors were not ordinary arrows, but steel arrows manufactured by the Haenam Shin family.
Due to the fearsome power of the steel arrows designed for use against martial artists, and having been ambushed from the rear where they were completely unguarded, the elite of the Black Dragon Ship were crumbling helplessly.
"Keuaaack!"
"Get clear!"
"Th-there's nowhere to run, uwaaaack!"
At this sudden turn of events, the figures in the center each looked around dazedly, bewildered.
Among them, only two people were not flustered.
They were Ja Gae-chu, who had ordered this attack, and Seonwoo Jin, who had been watching him.
Son Dae-su suddenly asked Seonwoo Jin,
"Young master, had you perhaps predicted this situation?"
At his question, Seonwoo Jin merely smiled faintly.
For it was a question that required no answer.
Seonwoo Jin had originally predicted that if Inparang, the In family successor, were to appear, the most desperate ones would be the members of the Haenam Sect who opposed Jin Tae-do.
Since they were being pushed aside by the sect leader Jin Tae-do, they would never miss this golden opportunity to gain a just cause to oppose him.
But unexpectedly, they had not appeared before Seonwoo Jin's eyes even by the time the Six Harmony Swordsmen of the Hengshan Sect arrived.
It could only be seen as a much belated response.
Of course, it was understandable.
It would inevitably take considerable time for the Haenam Sect, a naval power, to come to Seonwoo Jin himself.
But nonetheless, Seonwoo Jin had been certain of one thing.
That they could never, at the very least, arrive later than Jin Tae-do's subordinates.
So from the moment the Haenam Sect members arrived, Seonwoo Jin had been paying attention to Ja family head Ja Gae-chu, who had not been mentioned in Inparang's journal.
And the result was just as he had expected.
Sring!
Seonwoo Jin drew the White Tiger Sword.
Then he shouted toward Sul Mo-saeng, who was turning his head dazedly in confusion.
"Sul Mo-saeng! The Haenam In family! And for the Sa family members who were sacrificed together that day—it is time for revenge!"
Sul Mo-saeng stared at the sacred relic of the Haenam Sect pointed at him, the pure white White Tiger Sword, and swallowed dryly.