Chapter 36: Ma Yu-gyeom-1
Chapter 36: Ma Yu-gyeom-1
Dining alone at an inn near Gwijuseong, Hae Cheong-yeon was able to overhear rumors about her comrades.
The Gale Flying Dragon Seol Pung, the Flying Sky Black Wolf Seonwoo Jin, the Swift Wind Flying Falcon Bi Sa-yeong. Though she didn't know how Seonwoo Jin had earned the alias Black Wolf, there was no denying they were damn impressive titles.
'Kinda disappointing, huh?'
Hae Cheong-yeon murmured to herself as a sudden sense of regret washed over her.
If only she had followed Seonwoo Jin this time, she could have joined in on all that exciting business.
Truly, he was someone who never let a dull moment pass if you were by his side. Enough that she almost wanted to test whether that would hold true for an entire lifetime.
When Hae Cheong-yeon had said she had separate business and wouldn't be accompanying Seonwoo Jin during this leave, everyone had been genuinely bewildered.
To Na Seo-yu and Cheon Ju-eun, who knew she harbored feelings for Seonwoo Jin, and even to the other male comrades who didn't—the way she stuck to Seonwoo Jin like thread follows a needle had felt so utterly natural.
She also knew that behind her back, Bi Sa-yeong had teased Seonwoo Jin about finally getting dumped.
Seonwoo Jin himself, the man at the center of it all, had seemed a bit awkward in the unfamiliar situation as well.
"But... there have to be moments like this too, right?"
It was a little disappointing, but she felt it had been a strategically sound choice.
Just watching from the sidelines was entertaining enough, but wasn't it also worthwhile to occasionally make him aware of her absence?
However, that was not the only reason Hae Cheong-yeon had chosen not to follow Seonwoo Jin this time.
She had been harboring doubts about the circumstances at the frontline she had gradually come to learn—and the secret histories that were never disclosed to the outside world.
Too many, and too great, incidents were being hidden away without the martial world ever knowing a thing.
And that was, without question, deeply strange.
In a martial world where—with perhaps a little exaggeration—rumors were said to travel faster than a peak master, did it even make sense that secrets were being kept this perfectly?
Just because they signed a single confidentiality oath?
Hae Cheong-yeon shook her head.
"There's no way."
In Hae Cheong-yeon's estimation, there was bound to be a powerful force at play here ensuring the secrets stayed secret.
And that force was probably the Murim Alliance itself.
Hae Cheong-yeon intended to look into the matter.
And if the Murim Alliance truly had been committing the kinds of deeds she suspected, she could not simply stand by and watch.
Because then it would no longer be the Murim Alliance she knew, the pillar of the orthodox faction.
So Hae Cheong-yeon had gone alone toward Heungin in Gwijuseong and commissioned a courier station to deliver a letter for her.
Using the fastest and most expensive secret mark available.
After that, she had rented a training room at a nearby martial hall and entered closed-door cultivation, emerging just a few days ago.
The frontline was undeniably an immensely effective place for training. Not only was it saturated with enough mortal threat that slacking off was impossible, but worthy sparring partners lay scattered all around.
At first she'd been astonished, but now it made perfect sense to her that the youths of the frontline had achieved more than the young elites of the Murim Alliance.
'In an environment like the frontline, only the strong can survive. Since most of those who couldn't cut it would be dead by now.'
And yet, despite all that, Hae Cheong-yeon had been feeling a hint of dissatisfaction lately.
For her, someone on the verge of stepping into a new realm, she needed an environment where she could immerse herself a little more fully in herself alone.
Of course, true masters didn't fuss over their surroundings, but the frontline simply had too many fascinating things to let her wholly devote herself to herself.
For example, Seonwoo Jin. Or Seonwoo Jin. Or, say, Seonwoo Jin.
In any case, that was why she had finished her few days of closed-door training and was now returning to the frontline.
By the time she arrived at the Seventh Squad's quarters around evening, all the squad members except for her had gathered and were merrily chatting up a storm.
Since Cheong-yeon had timed her return for the evening of the final day of leave, it seemed that not only Na Seo-yu and Cheon Ju-eun, who'd gone to their main families, but the four men as well had already made it back.
The squad members beamed when they saw her and welcomed her.
"Lady Cheong-yeon! Come in, come in!"
"Yeon-ah, welcome back! We've been waiting!"
Hae Cheong-yeon was suddenly struck by a curious thought.
She had originally been someone far more interested in objects than people, but strangely enough, these members of the Seventh Squad—whom she'd known for barely four months—felt as warmly familiar as family.
A faint smile touched her lips as she asked after them.
"Eonni, Ju-eun-ah. Did you have a good trip to your family homes? And I heard the three of you earned some impressive aliases? Sounds like you had quite the enjoyable time."
At that, Bi Sa-yeong answered with a hearty laugh.
"Bwahaha! We were just talking about that very thing! If only you had come with us, Lady Cheong-yeon!"
Clearly, Bi Sa-yeong had been excitedly recounting his tales of martial valor.
And though neither had jumped into the storytelling themselves, the expressions on Seol Pung and Seonwoo Jin's faces were so bright that this had no doubt been a truly enjoyable leave for them as well.
Only Bae Jong-gwan seemed a bit dejected, likely because he alone hadn't received an alias—but as expected, Na Seo-yu was speaking to him kindly at his side, lending an ear to his stories.
Cheon Ju-eun suddenly spoke up with a radiant face.
"Eonni! Eonni! Our squad members brought back a whole bundle of spirit medicine for us! I've finally satisfied the conditions to reach first-rate!"
Spirit medicine?
Ah, they said they'd rescued the Life and Death Obsession Elder—so was this something they'd received from him?
With those thoughts, she congratulated Cheon Ju-eun with a smile.
"That's wonderful. Congratulations, Ju-eun-ah."
Just then, Seonwoo Jin spoke with a grin.
"Now that I think about it, since Lady Cheong-yeon is here now, we can bring everything out."
He brought over a bundle and untied it before the group.
The moment the bundle's mouth fell open, a profound, elegant fragrance flooded the entire room.
Hae Cheong-yeon found herself—unusually—completely stunned at the sight of the spirit medicines packed inside.
"Is all of that... spirit medicine?"
Seonwoo Jin answered with a grin.
"Things we swept up from the Black Pine Chamber leader's vault. Well, it has no owner now, so shouldn't we at least put it to good use? I thought we could all share these spirit medicines as communal resources, to use whenever any of us needs them. And this..."
As he spoke, Seonwoo Jin produced a small pill.
"This is the life-death pill that the Life and Death Obsession Elder personally guaranteed is superior even to the Small Reversion Pill. He happened to give us exactly seven, so we can each keep one and use it when the time comes."
Hae Cheong-yeon was genuinely at a loss for words.
Others who had never had the chance to come across such things might not fully grasp their value, but she knew all too well that a Small Reversion Pill was not something you could simply buy just because you had money.
It was, in truth, a treasure that you couldn't even lay eyes upon without the right karmic connection—a spirit medicine so precious to a martial artist that it could practically amount to a second life.
And yet here he was, casually handing out medicine that was supposedly beyond even the Small Reversion Pill.
To anyone who didn't know better, it would've looked like he was just passing out snacks.
Hae Cheong-yeon couldn't help but ask Seonwoo Jin.
"Is it really all right to just hand these out so freely?"
At her question, Seonwoo Jin gazed at her for a moment before answering with a gentle smile.
"If there is anything in my life I least wish to lose, it would be the people right here in this room. So, isn't it only natural to invest what's less important for the sake of what's most important? Do you not think the same, Lady Cheong-yeon?"
Hae Cheong-yeon couldn't understand.
Of course, she herself had grown deeply fond of her squad mates as well, and at times they even felt like family.
But even so—hadn't they known each other for only four months?
She could never quite fathom the deep affection Seonwoo Jin occasionally showed these people—nor could she grasp the gaze in those profound eyes of his that seemed, for some reason, just a little lonely.
But Seonwoo Jin, as though he had never shown such a deep gaze at all, soon spoke again with a bright expression.
"Now, now, and that's not all! I've also prepared gifts here for our beautiful young ladies! Ta-da!"
At Seonwoo Jin's oddly peddler-like tone, Cheon Ju-eun cheered with delight.
"Kyaaa! You're the best, Seonu Gongja!"
And what he brought out next were a single sword, a single dao, and a thin upper garment.
Hae Cheong-yeon swiftly swept her eyes over them.
The items were: a blade whose scabbard, hilt, and even guard were all wrought in pure white; a thin curved dao that appeared to be of Hae-dong craftsmanship; and a thin upper garment made from a cloth of some unknown material that gave off a metallic sheen.
They weren't things you'd see every day, but having laid eyes on many masterpieces since she was young, she could immediately tell that these were objects of considerable quality.
Judging by the material and finish of the hilt and scabbard, she could easily tell—without even seeing the blade—that the white sword was the work of a renowned craftsman.
The Hae-dong curved dao, moreover, was a weapon held as a treasure among martial artists alongside the Japanese swords of the eastern islands.
And the upper garment was no ordinary thing either.
Given its metallic gleam, it seemed the metal had been drawn as thin as thread to weave the clothing—a technique that could only be managed by a family of the likes of the Sichuan Dang Clan or a craftsman of comparable renown.
With something of this caliber, it looked as though it could protect the body at a level akin to mastering external arts, even if it wasn't quite on the level of the legendary invulnerable silk armor.
Seonwoo Jin spoke.
"You may each take whichever of the three you desire."
But Hae Cheong-yeon was able to sharply catch Seonwoo Jin, even as he said that, sneaking a glance at Na Seo-yu's reaction.
And she, who had glanced at Seonwoo Jin's new sword Mukrang leaning against the wall, could immediately realize what he had been thinking.
Among the three women, the only one suited to take Hae Dong's curved blade was Cheon Ju-eun. Since she was the only one who used a dao, after all.
So the remaining two had to be split between Na Seo-yu and Hae Cheong-yeon — but Hae Cheong-yeon already possessed a beloved crimson sword called 'Yeonhong' that could be called a fine treasured blade.
Therefore, Seonwoo Jin had apparently thought that Hae Cheong-yeon would naturally take the treasured blade, and that Na Seo-yu would then take the white sword.
The white sword that contrasted with Seonwoo Jin's Mukrang as though they were a matching pair.
A soft laugh escaped her.
His train of thought was so obvious it was utterly endearing.
But endearing was endearing, and letting him have his way was another matter entirely.
Hae Cheong-yeon immediately raised her hand and spoke.
"I would like to have that sword. It truly appeals to me, you see?"
At that, Seonwoo Jin visibly flustered and said,
"What?! Ah, yes. Miss Cheong-yeon, that sword...."
Then, without even giving Seonwoo Jin a chance to say another word, Cheon Ju-eun and Na Seo-yu beamed brightly and said,
"I'll take that cool dao. Wow, it's really magnificent!"
"Then those clothes are mine. Thank you, Seonu Gongja!"
"Ah, yes. No need for thanks, ha ha ha...."
The sight of him awkwardly laughing and hiding his dejected state was also very endearing.
She did feel a little sorry, but anyway, Na Seo-yu would not have chosen that sword either.
Hae Cheong-yeon had also sharply caught the way Na Seo-yu had furtively scrutinized the white sword and Seonwoo Jin's sword.
It was truly fascinating how he could be so oblivious to where the eyes of the woman he himself cherished were directed.
***
The day after returning from leave, we went on afternoon patrol and then did evening training.
It was the first time in a long while that everyone sparred together.
I suddenly glanced at the three women who were happily conversing, satisfied with their new weapons.
Among them, I felt deeply bitter at the sight of the white sword I had so ambitiously prepared for Na So-jeo being in Miss Cheong-yeon's hands.
Miss Cheong-yeon had named that white sword 'Baekyeon' and had gifted her original sword 'Yeonhong' to Na So-jeo. To gift a treasured sword that she had been attached to to someone else just to take that one — she must have liked it immensely.
It stung, but I decided it couldn't be helped.
But apart from my bitter feelings, the new weapons fully demonstrated their worth without regret on the first patrol.
All of the weapons had shown astonishing sharpness, cutting down the liver demons we encountered during the patrol even without sword qi.
Of course, the only one that could completely bisect them was my Mukrang alone, but even so, everyone had been jumping with joy.
Especially Miss Cheon Ju-eun, who had often fretted about being the only one unable to help because she couldn't yet manifest blade qi, looked as though she had gained the whole world.
Even I, the one who gave the gifts, felt proud watching it.
And Bi Sa-yeong, now able to manifest blade qi, was practically flying about.
Before, he had solely been in charge of infiltrating with fast movement techniques to confuse or lure the demons, but now, with movement techniques even faster than before, he was showing an overwhelming display, infiltrating and bisecting liver demons with a single stroke.
At that level, it seemed he could single-handedly deal with a group of five or six liver demons with ease.
It was the same in the current sparring.
He was completely overwhelming Miss Cheon Ju-eun, who had originally been at a similar level outside of movement technique, even without using movement technique at all.
At that, the members of other squads who had been watching our squad's sparring around us exclaimed in amazement.
"I was going to tease you for getting an overly flashy alias, but you've actually improved an awful lot, haven't you? Hey, Swift Wind Flying Falcon! How did this happen?"
Then Bi Sa-yeong answered arrogantly.
"Heh! Do you not know the phrase 'sudden enlightenment and gradual cultivation'? If you keep steadily working hard like this, naturally the time for a great awakening will come."
"Well, that's truly amazing. Want to have a go at me too?"
"Hmm? For this Swift Wind Flying Falcon to face off against those without aliases is a bit...."
At that arrogant remark, Sixth Squad squad leader Won Cheong-won, who had also been watching, laughed heartily and said,
"Hahaha! Right, right, sparring with those without aliases doesn't match the standing. In that sense, might this Quick Trouble Gibbon Won Cheong-won be permitted to request a lesson from the great hero Swift Wind Flying Falcon Bi Sa-yeong?"
"Oh! I have long heard of your esteemed name, Quick Trouble Gibbon Won Cheong-won Daehyeop. If the duel is with you, Daehyeop, it is I who would rather request it!"
The two, who had started sparring in jest, soon began to drive at each other like a furious storm.
The match was evenly balanced.
Even though Won Cheong-won had the advantage in overall martial prowess, he could not handle Bi Sa-yeong's gale-like speed.
Whenever he approached and launched a swift strike, the moment things looked unfavorable, Bi Sa-yeong would quickly fall back or circle and slip away. Won Cheong-won seemed unable to gain much advantage with such movements.
Bi Sa-yeong, who until recently had been nothing more than a disregarded second-rate warrior, was now evenly matched against Won Cheong-won — even if the latter was ranked last among the squad leaders, he was still indisputably the squad leader of an entire squad.
That sight was practically shocking to the other squad members.
"How can he be like that...."
"Incredible speed. It's hard to follow with my eyes."
Watching this, a smile crept to my lips from pride.
Then the young lady who was sparring with me said with a feigned angry expression,
"No matter what, isn't it a bit too much to spectate another match and even smile while sparring with me?"
"Yes, yes?! Ah, Miss Song, that's...."
"Forget it! Ah, my pride is wounded. Just you wait. I'll train hard and soon make you look only at me!"
Having said that, Miss Song withdrew her sword and stepped back.
She was Miss Song Yeong-yeong of the Third Squad, who had given me an embroidered handkerchief before. Even after that, she had often come to our training time to request sparring with me.
I had no reason to refuse and had been obliging her briefly from time to time, but frankly, since our skill levels were so different and I knew what thoughts she had when she asked me to spar, it was hard for me to take it seriously.
So even in the middle of sparring, I had been glancing around here and there earlier, and it seemed I hadn't been able to hide my expression because the match between Bi Sa-yeong and Won Cheong-won was so intensely interesting.
I felt a little sorry.
Just then, Miss Cheong-yeon approached me and said,
"Then, shall we have a go now?"
I answered with a grin.
"I look forward to it, my lady."
This Miss Cheong-yeon was one of the two people in our squad whom I had yet to defeat even once.
She was a person standing at the very pinnacle of first-rate warriors, just one step away from reaching the peak realm.
But the fact that I hadn't been able to defeat her was only up until before we went on leave. Now that my internal energy was full to the brim at one gapja, I half-wondered if it wasn't about time I won at least once.
I grinned fiercely and rushed at her.
***
Fourth Squad squad leader Jeomchang Sword Hero Ma Yu-gyeom stood at a distance and stared blankly at the training of the Seventh Squad members.
Since he normally found Seventh Squad squad leader Seol Pung irksome, he had deliberately tried not to pay attention to their training, but today, even he could not take his eyes off them.
It was astonishing.
The Seventh Squad had originally been nothing but a ragtag mob where only the peak-level expert Seol Pung did his part.
'At least, up until four months ago.'
Then, at some point, they had begun to distinguish themselves and accumulate merit, and in just four months, they had come to show such a sight.
That vice squad leader Na Seo-yu, who had only been mid-level first-rate, had risen to the mature upper-level first-rate realm was no longer even surprising.
'Bi Sa-yeong, who was nothing but second-rate, isn't even being pushed back against Sixth Squad squad leader Won Cheong-won? And moreover, the martial prowess of that Seonwoo Jin, who used to be like a pig....'
Alongside Cheong-yeon, Seonwoo Jin's martial prowess seemed in no way inferior not only to Sixth Squad squad leader Won Cheong-won, who had not yet reached the peak realm, but even when compared to Fifth Squad squad leader Black Snake Shadow Spear Dok Su-gwang.
The Seventh Squad had somehow become a monstrous squad that contained a full three members at the squad-leader level.
And the cause of all these things was likely that man.
The man he had wanted to bring into his own squad, Seonwoo Jin, who had now gained the alias Flying Sky Black Wolf — he was the one.
The fact that the talent he himself had failed to obtain had been a roc's egg made his heart burn unbearably.
Then, from behind Ma Yu-gyeom, among the Fourth Squad members who were also spectating, Jeomchang Sword Bi Ju Tae-gyeong spoke to Ma Yu-gyeom.
"Look at that, senior sect brother squad leader! Do you think that makes any sense?! Someone who was second-rate suddenly growing like that! That is undoubtedly related to the Blood Cult's heretical arts! Did I not say so before?! That bastard's internal energy suddenly rose like that after he came back from going into the jungle to help those Miao tribe bastards!"
Ma Yu-gyeom turned his eyes to stare at him.
"The Blood Cult?"
Then Ju Tae-gyeong nodded with eyes full of certainty and answered.
"Yes! No doubt about it! That bastard has definitely been soul-captured by the Blood Cult or has joined the demon heads of the Blood Cult!"
Ma Yu-gyeom, who had been silently listening to his words, opened his mouth with sharp eyes.