Chapter 28: In the Jianghu, One's Body is Not One's Own (17)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 28: In the Jianghu, One's Body is Not One's Own (17)
“Let’s wait for the others here.”
At a crossroads leading to the Jipseong River, Lee Yu-baek came to a halt, a lantern hanging from a long pole in his hand.
Yeon So-wol looked at him, puzzled. “Is someone else joining us?”
Lee Yu-baek glanced back but remained silent for a moment before abruptly changing the subject.
“So-wol. Today is the day I am to be tested. I wonder if this is how the provincial graduates feel on their way to the imperial examinations. Honestly, I’m so nervous I could die. What should I do?”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Lee Yu-baek clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the half-moon hanging in the sky.
“You must know by now—that I intend to make a move on Mount Cheonro.”
“...Yes. I heard from Mo Cheong.”
“And you also know that I’ve been trying to rally the martial artists of Guangdong for that purpose?”
“Yes.”
“That’s what this is about, in fact. Our little boat ride tonight.”
Faint sounds drifted from the direction of the Jipseong River. It sounded like music mixed with shouting, and the horizon glowed with a hazy, distant light.
“It’s going to be quite a spectacle. I sent out a great many invitations to come and watch. I even reached out to the renowned masters of the Guangdong Murim—men I’d never dared to contact before.”
“Ah.”
“Today, they will be watching me. They want to see if our wills align, if I am someone worth following into this venture. If I can win their hearts, it will be like gaining a force of a thousand troops and ten thousand horses for the Mount Cheonro subjugation.”
Lee Yu-baek gave Yeon So-wol a gentle smile.
“I really have to do well. After all, you gave me the news about the boat ride just in time to seize this opportunity.”
Goosebumps prickled Yeon So-wol’s skin.
So this is what it was all about?
Cho-ran’s brightly smiling face flashed in his mind.
I wondered why she called the news about the boat ride a gift for her father...
The moment Lee Yu-baek heard the news, he must have devised the plan to summon people to Xinxing County. He had wondered why his master had been so busy lately; it was all for tonight.
Did Young Miss Cho-ran foresee all of this?
Her foresight was profound. In contrast, his own lack of discernment—having noticed nothing—made him feel a chill like a cold winter’s wind.
“So, you two must also do well today. People of the Jianghu often believe you can judge a man by looking at his children and disciples. I happen to agree.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Good.”
Lee Yu-baek fell silent for a moment before muttering to himself, “I wonder… will they all really come?”
He quietly gazed up at the lantern hanging from the pole. A faint trace of anxiety, something rarely seen in his eyes, was visible.
“How many are supposed to come?”
“Well… I’d have no greater wish than for a hundred to show up. Not all of them will join the Mount Cheonro subjugation, but if even a quarter of them lend their strength…”
He must have sent out a staggering number of invitations.
It was no wonder he had been so busy. Yeon So-wol kept his mouth shut, sensing his master’s complicated state of mind. It felt best not to pester him with more questions.
Just as they stood there in the silence, a sudden clamor of voices erupted.
Yeon So-wol glanced at Lee Yu-baek. Seeing a broad smile spread across his master’s face, he finally allowed himself to smile as well.
They were coming.
Across the road, lanterns began to appear—one by one, then two by two. Figures illuminated by the flickering lights emerged from the darkness, drawing nearer.
There were monks and Daoists. There were beggars and noblewomen. A drunkard, a prim scholar, a nouveau-riche merchant, an arrogant warrior, a timid man… Truly, they shared nothing in common.
Some laughed, their bodies shaking with mirth. Some walked alone, quickening their pace as if they didn't want to be part of the group. Others followed at a leisurely pace, their eyes gleaming with anticipation.
They gathered without pause, and in an instant, the crowd swelled to over three hundred people.
Three hundred!
Suppressing his surging emotions, Lee Yu-baek greeted every single one of them. Some embraced him with warmth, some offered polite courtesies, and others gave only a perfunctory nod.
But Yeon So-wol couldn’t tear his eyes away from one person in particular.
That person is…!
It was a middle-aged man, his face painted white with powder and his lips stained red with rouge. He wore a skirt long enough to drag on the ground and a shawl-like garment draped over his shoulders.
Lee Yu-baek greeted him with a respectful cupped-fist salute.
“It is an honor to meet you, Great Hero Chu Jin-hyeok. I am so glad you could make it. Your presence is a great source of strength.”
!!!
A thunderbolt struck inside Yeon So-wol’s head.
It’s him! It’s really him! Chu Jin-hyeok. The cross-dressing government official, Chu Jin-hyeok!
“I told you I’d come. And what’s this ‘Great Hero’ business? That’s a title for someone like gaga. I’ve heard a lot about him.”
He approached with a hearty laugh and threw an arm around Lee Yu-baek’s shoulders in a firm embrace.
“I’ve wanted to meet you ever since I heard the news that gaga wiped out the Yeoljeong Sect. And now here we are.”
The term gaga was an affectionate way for a woman to address an older man. Yeon So-wol was thrown into utter confusion.
He acts like a boisterous big brother, yet he calls my father gaga. He seems to be using honorifics, but then he suddenly speaks to him as if he were a younger brother…
It was bewildering. It was impossible to tell if the man thought of himself as a woman, if he simply enjoyed cross-dressing, or if he was just an attention seeker.
At that moment, Yeon So-wol had an intuition.
Don’t try to understand. Don’t try to guess.
Doing so might cost him dearly.
Just feel.
He decided to see the person before him as just that—a person. See him only as he appeared, and stay sharp.
“Hmm…”
Just then, Chu Jin-hyeok looked Mo Cheong and Yeon So-wol over carefully. He asked, his words sharp, “Aren’t they a bit young to be brought to a place like this? I heard the third disciple is quite something, but… the other one, I believe I heard he started martial arts late.”
“Great Hero Si Bu-jae has brought disciples even younger than them,” Lee Yu-baek countered smoothly.
“That’s because old man Si Bu-jae’s lightness technique is unmatched in Guangdong.”
“Then today, I suppose we can show that the Pungryu Sect’s lightness technique is also unmatched in Guangdong.”
“Oh? Confident, are we?”
The official grinned, gave Lee Yu-baek a quick hug, and walked past.
The air was boisterous. People who hadn’t seen each other in years laughed, greeted one another, and made introductions. Then, at some point, as if by silent agreement, everyone fell quiet.
Lee Yu-baek stepped forward.
“I am simply moved to see so many of you gathered here in response to this humble one’s invitation. It is embarrassing to step forward before such renowned figures, but I wish to take the lead and guide you as a representative of Xinxing County.”
“Well said!”
“Yes. Please lead the way.”
Some cheered, some remained silent, and some responded with polite agreement.
Lee Yu-baek turned his back to the crowd. Then he whispered coolly to his disciples.
“So-wol. Follow me closely. One wrong move, and you could be turned into a honeycomb by spears and arrows.”
“…Yes.”
Yeon So-wol’s eyes wavered. Spears? Arrows? A honeycomb?
So we weren’t just going to sneak a peek and come back? But why? Why go to all this trouble…?
Just when he thought he was getting used to it, the logic of the Jianghu would leap far beyond his common sense. He realized he still didn't truly know the martial world.
Fwip!
Lee Yu-baek strode forward, his dopo fluttering, and shouted toward the distant Jipseong River—toward the government soldiers guarding it and the military officers commanding them.
“This humble one is Lee Yu-baek of Xinxing County! The spirit of the Jianghu moves me deeply tonight, so I thought I might enjoy a boat ride on the Jipseong River!”
Ruuuumble—!
His voice, amplified by internal energy, shook the night. The fabric of their clothes and the skin on their cheeks tingled from the vibration. Suddenly, the area around the Jipseong River grew chaotic.
“Oh.”
“Not bad?”
“Quite good, actually.”
“Didn’t I tell you he was a decent fellow?”
Yeon So-wol’s head was spinning. Was this really the right way to do things? Did they really have to declare their intentions like this? And yet, many of the gathered martial artists seemed to approve of the bravado.
Lee Yu-baek grinned, glanced back once, and then kicked off the ground.
“Let’s go!”
Whatever the case…
Get a grip. This is the Jianghu.
Yeon So-wol steeled his resolve. He exhaled a puff of white mist and roused his True Qi.
His body was already light from the Flying Wind Drift. As True Qi surged through his entire body along the writhing Eight Extraordinary Meridians, he kicked off the ground using the principles of the Willow Leaf Step.
Swoosh!
His body shot forward like a sharp blade of grass.
“Hoh?”
“Not bad.”
“The young disciples are quite capable.”
“Really? Isn’t that just the basics?”
At least he’d passed the first impression.
*
All of Xinxing County’s soldiers were gathered at the bank of the Jipseong River.
“Block them! Block them!”
“You crazy bastards! Do you have any idea where you are?!”
“Stop them! If they break through, it’s over!”
“Where in the world did so many martial artists come from…?”
“Hahahahaha!”
The martial artists, led by Lee Yu-baek, charged straight through the path blocked by the government troops’ formation.
These were all martial artists who had made a name for themselves in Guangdong. Ordinary soldiers were no match for them. When the soldiers thrust their spears, the martial artists stepped on the shafts and leaped over them. When they fired arrows, the experts deflected them with a simple sweep of their sleeves.
Military officers drew their swords and blades and charged, but the number of martial artists gathered here overwhelmed the officers.
In the end, Yang Ik-seon, the Junior Rank 8 General Commander who held military authority in Xinxing County, made a decision.
“We are outnumbered! Let the ones who get through go! Instead, target the young and weak ones! Capture a few of them, and later we’ll identify the ringleader and make an example of them! Get them! It’s fine if you kill them!”
Immediately after, a volley of arrows rained down. They were aimed at Yeon So-wol, Mo Cheong, and other youthful-looking martial artists. Mixed in with the arrows fired by the soldiers were the much deadlier shots from the military officers.
“Ah.”
Yeon So-wol had never seen anything like this. The energy of his surroundings was in complete turmoil—a world blanketed in killing intent. There was no safe zone.
However, his Qi Sense could read it.
There was no safe place, but there was an order to the killing intent. Among the downpour of arrows, there was a path to escape.
He unleashed his Flying Wind Drift, which had reached the fifth stage of mastery during his fight with Resentful Dog, at full power. By partially tempering and grounding different parts of his body to alter his weight, he remained stable even when suddenly flipping his body or sharply changing direction.
Tak! Tatak!
With the addition of the Willow Leaf Step, Yeon So-wol’s body fluttered like a willow leaf scattered by the wind. The exceptionally fast and sharp arrows shot by the military officers relentlessly targeted him, but they couldn’t hit a leaf that twisted and turned with the wind.
“Hey! You! Yeon So-wol…!”
Among the officers firing bows, Jang Wi-san, a Junior Rank 9 County Inspector, recognized Yeon So-wol and shouted.
Yeon So-wol quickly ducked his head low and kicked off the ground with all his might. He leaped over the soldiers blocking his path in a single bound, landed lightly, and kept running.
Just like that, he broke through the government troops. No one was caught.
“Hahaha! Well done, kid!”
“Who is that? He looks young, but his Qi Sense is…?”
“Wow. Nicely done.”
“That was quite something.”
The martial artists running alongside him praised Yeon So-wol.
“Not bad at all,” Mo Cheong, who had broken through the formation even faster than him, grinned and slapped him on the back.
At that moment, Yeon So-wol felt a strange sense of elation. He thought that this situation didn’t feel entirely unfamiliar. Surely… even if he’d never done it himself, it was something he’d seen many times on the news or the internet…
Ah. He realized. A biker gang…?
Watching the backs of the martial artists as they mocked the government troops and ran on, cackling, Yeon So-wol entertained the thought for a moment before quickly shaking his head.
No. That’s not right. Tsk. Such a disrespectful thought!
Because the person leading this gang of hooligans at the very front was his own stepfather.
*
Hidden along the banks of the Jipseong River were boats that Lee Yu-baek had prepared in advance. As if they had done this countless times, the martial artists naturally found the camouflaged boats, and groups of them heaved them up and carried them to the river.
Chwaaaaah—!
In an instant, dozens of boats, large and small, were floating on the Jipseong River. The government troops were in an uproar.
“You bastards have truly lost your minds! Do you have any idea where you are?!”
A crackling voice echoed. A military officer, who clearly outranked the Junior Rank 8 General Commander of Xinxing County, trembled with rage, his beard bristling.
Chwaaaaah!
The government troops’ boats swarmed in, surrounding the boats carrying the martial artists.
“I knew martial artists were lawless, but I never knew you were this insane. Today, the Jipseong River will be stained with blood!”
Yeon So-wol looked around. Everywhere he looked, there were government soldiers. On each boat, more than ten archers stood with their bowstrings drawn.
Yeon So-wol swallowed dryly. They were on the water. He couldn’t dodge arrows like he did before. Furthermore, the number of men who appeared to be military officers was no small matter. It seemed that with the Chief Daoist of Yanggwang making his procession, soldiers and officers from a higher command had been mobilized.
This is… we can’t win this, can we?
What if the archers fired in unison? On the water, there was nowhere to hide.
What on earth is Father thinking…?
He was sure his father had a plan, but this was too much. As Yeon So-wol’s chest tightened with tension, the high-ranking military officer snarled ferociously.
“Surrender now and accept these ropes! Do so, and I will allow you to keep your pathetic lives!”
It was then.
“Ah! So noisy. So very noisy!”
Suddenly, with a clear cry, a long skirt and a shawl fluttered in the air. Landing on the foremost boat was the official, Chu Jin-hyeok.
“You are…?” The military officer who recognized him was greatly flustered and waved his hand. “Lower your bows! Lower your bows!”
The archers lowered their weapons with puzzled expressions.
“My goodness! Master Chu! What brings you to a place like this?”
“What do you mean, what brings me here? Can’t you see I’m out for a boat ride?”
“Then please, come this way! What is the eldest son of the Marquis Yongmyeong doing with these ruffians from the Jianghu! Come over here at once! The Chief Daoist will also greet you warmly.”
“What nonsense. I don’t hang out with officials. You fire me from my post, and now you want to hang out?”
“Well…”
“And do these people look like ruffians to you? They don’t to me.”
Chu Jin-hyeok flicked his robes.
“Here. Pungryu Sword Lee Yu-baek has punished much evil, including the Yeoljeong Sect. While you lot were strutting about, enjoying your power, he fought for the people without a single official title. A true patriot, I say. And is that all?”
Chu Jin-hyeok pointed out the renowned masters of the Guangdong Murim gathered there, one by one.
“That man over there is Elder Hwang Gil-su of the Hundred-Needle Healers, who cured the Prince when he fell ill with a fever here a few years ago. That man is Old Master Song of Foshan. And over there—I see Manor Lord Guk of Danju as well.”
With every name he mentioned, the military officer’s face seemed to age a year. Eventually, he spoke in a tone that was almost pleading.
“Really, why is everyone acting like this? Are you not aware that the Chief Daoist of Yanggwang is making his procession here today? For such well-known figures to behave this way…”
Chu Jin-hyeok cleaned his ear with a finger. “What? What did we do? Did we block the road? Did we cause a disturbance? We just wanted to go for a little boat ride, what’s with all the fuss?”
“A disturbance! You did cause one!”
“Did we?”
The military officer was at a loss. The martial artists gathered here were so skilled that he couldn’t disperse them without bloodshed, but looking at their faces, he knew he couldn’t afford to shed their blood. They were all renowned masters who had won the hearts of the people in Guangdong. If he were to harm them recklessly, public sentiment would be shaken, and it would be difficult for even the Chief Daoist of Yanggwang to handle the aftermath.
As he stood there, wringing his hands, a voice rang out.
“Shiiiiiiiiiii!”
From beyond the government troops’ encirclement, from among the large, brilliantly lit, and ornate ships, a tremendous voice suddenly echoed. It was an immense internal energy, enough to make the water ripple and the mountains tremble.
“Silence!” the voice commanded.
“The Count of Martial Excellence!”
“The Dragon Flight General!”
“Guardian of the Crown Prince!”
“Vice-Commissioner of the Left Army Inspectorate!”
“Protector of Yanggwang!”
“The General Commander!”
In truth, because the Chief Daoist was a civil official, this man was the one who actually moved the armies—the field commander of Guangdong and Guangxi.
“General Chu Seong-ho is here!”
It was the appearance of a high-ranking official so lofty that you could count on one hand the number of people with higher status in all of Guangdong.
Flutter!
A massive black flag was unfurled. The golden character for ‘Commander’ (帥) shone clearly under the moonlight.
Suddenly, the wind died. The world fell silent. The rippling water settled like a mirror. The entire world seemed to hold its breath.
Far in the distance, stepping onto the prow—no, looming large—was a single, colossal figure.
Is that… a person?
Yeon So-wol’s Qi Sense was perceiving every change. And for that very reason, it was all the more unbelievable.
The Qi of the entire area… has frozen solid?
According to what Eun-yeong had taught him, when a person’s mind reached out to the world, the Qi that filled the world would ripple in response. Until now, Yeon So-wol had read those ripples to discern where his opponent was aiming.
But now, he couldn’t read anything. All the energy in the area was frozen in place, not showing even a hair’s breadth of movement.
Even Chu Jin-hyeok, who had been so full of spirit just moments ago, fell silent. Everyone instinctively understood that this single person possessed the ability to kill every martial artist here, and the authority to do so.
The General opened his mouth. “Report. Why are the people causing a disturbance?”
At that, all the Jianghu warriors turned to look at Lee Yu-baek. He was not the strongest among them, but he was the one who had invited them all. He was the one who had to represent them.
Trust. Curiosity. Doubt. Worry. The cold eyes of observers.
As all manner of gazes poured down on him, Lee Yu-baek serenely stepped forward. Chu Jin-hyeok made way, and Lee Yu-baek ascended to the prow.
Dignified, but not insolent. Respectful, but not servile.
“This humble one is Lee Yu-baek, a man of Xinxing County, Guangdong.”
At last, his test began.