Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Chapter 8. A Butterfly's Wingbeat Summons the Storm (3)
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A refined elegance infused the man's smile.
It was enough to draw admiration from any onlooker.
Yet though his mouth curved in laughter, his sharply gleaming eyes betrayed no mirth.
A man who smiled without truly smiling.
At his appearance, Eum Yu-kyung sheathed her sword and retreated.
"Hoo!"
Only then could she finally catch her breath.
The pressure emanating from Damho had weighed upon her shoulders like a mountain of ten thousand catties.
"Junior sister!"
"I had no idea you two were tussling here. I've been waiting quite a while. Haha!"
The man laughed good-naturedly.
"You?"
It was the moment Damho took a step toward the man.
"Is something troubling this young brother? Why are you sweating so profusely?"
The man wiped the beads of sweat from Bang Jin-bo's forehead with his sleeve.
The gesture was so natural that they looked like longtime friends.
But Bang Jin-bo, with the man's arm draped over his shoulder, couldn't move a muscle.
He was like a frog frozen before a snake.
The man, meticulously dabbing away Bang Jin-bo's sweat, suddenly lifted his head to gaze at Damho.
He grinned.
"Greetings. I was wondering why my junior sister was so late, and here you are—a strikingly handsome fellow holding her back. But what to do? She already has prior commitments."
"Are you a warrior of the Demonic Cult as well?"
"More precisely, from the Divine Cult. Name's Shin Mu-wol. And you?"
"Damho."
"Ah! The Fist Demon!"
The man who called himself Shin Mu-wol let out an exclamation.
But it felt less pure wonder and more like mocking sarcasm.
"Pleased to meet you. To lay eyes on the renowned Fist Demon Damho in person—what an honor!"
Shin Mu-wol kept spouting exclamations of awe.
He seemed like a carefree child on the surface.
But anyone who knew him even a little would never think that.
Shin Mu-wol's moniker was the Peacock Ghost Sword.
Flashy like a peacock, yet wielding his blade with the insidious treachery of a ghost.
The wooden box strapped to his back, called the Peacock Sword Box, bore that name for the same reason.
The five swords within the Peacock Sword Box each had unique properties.
And Shin Mu-wol wielded them all with expert skill, despite their differing forms.
One of them was now in his hand, swaying dizzyingly before Bang Jin-bo's eyes with every word he spoke.
A blatant threat.
Yet Shin Mu-wol never dropped his smile.
Damho eyed him and spoke.
"If that child gets hurt, you're dead."
"Ah, I know. I have no intention of killing him either."
Even as he said this, Shin Mu-wol did not withdraw his sword.
Damho's expression grew even colder.
It was a gaze chilling enough to stop an ordinary man's heart.
But Shin Mu-wol showed no sign of tension.
"Calm down. I have no desire to make an enemy of you here. I just want to quietly leave this place with my junior sister. Right, junior sister?"
"Yes."
Eum Yu-kyung nodded and stepped to Shin Mu-wol's side.
Damho simply stared at the scene.
If he moved now, Bang Jin-bo would die.
He might kill the two afterward, but Bang Jin-bo could not be revived.
"I'll let you go today. Leave Jin-bo behind."
"Thank you. I was a bit tense there, but you're a man of reason after all. Rumors painted you as a stubborn brute who doesn't listen. Haha!"
Shin Mu-wol had a knack for needling others while laughing.
But even his barbs failed to elicit any change in Damho's expression.
At last, Eum Yu-kyung stood beside Shin Mu-wol.
She transmitted a message.
*The Golden Horse Lion?*
*He got away.*
*Junior sister?*
*He's craftier than I thought. I need your help, junior sister.*
*Mm.*
*The sacred relic?*
*Not yet. But I found a lead.*
*We need to secure the sacred relic quickly. It's the only way to stop the Cult Leader's dominance. Word is, he's dispatched Mount Sotcheon.*
*Ten Li No Life, that monster?*
*Yes!*
Their exchange happened in an instant, unnoticed by anyone.
Except for Damho.
They thought their transmission secret, but it rang clear in his ears.
*'Sacred relic? Cult Leader's dominance?'*
An unfamiliar pairing of words.
Questions arose, but Damho gave no sign.
Shin Mu-wol turned his head to look at Damho.
"You'll keep your word, right?"
"I don't go back on my word."
"I know. It's just that the world is so chaotic these days, full of turncoats. Just confirming."
Shin Mu-wol removed his arm from Bang Jin-bo's shoulder.
Only then did Bang Jin-bo exhale in relief.
"Off you go, young friend. But for your health, you really should lose some weight. Haha!"
Shin Mu-wol patted Bang Jin-bo's broad back with his palm.
Bang Jin-bo grimaced but walked toward Damho.
In the meantime, Eum Yu-kyung and Shin Mu-wol departed the battlefield.
Damho watched them go until the end.
They did the same, never fully relaxing.
Only when Damho was out of sight did they unleash their lightness skills and flee the grounds.
"I'm sorry, brother."
Bang Jin-bo bowed his head before Damho.
He felt he had only been a burden.
"It's fine."
"But..."
"There was nothing you could do."
Though they had used Bang Jin-bo as a hostage, Shin Mu-wol's skill was genuine.
The epitome of a smiling blade hidden in laughter.
In some ways, he might be trickier to deal with than Eum Yu-kyung.
Damho harbored no regrets.
What was done was done.
And in the jianghu, he would cross paths with them again someday.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
The two set off once more.
The establishment of the Murim Alliance proceeded smoothly.
The Golden Horse Lion's appearance had paradoxically become the catalyst for its creation.
With the Demonic Cult's invasion now real, the sects dispatched numerous warriors to Ak-yang, where the Alliance was forming.
The Alliance's buildings were now largely complete.
All that remained was forming detailed organizations and electing leaders.
The heads of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families engaged in fierce debates over this.
They agreed on uniting the murim's strength against the Demonic Cult's invasion.
But they were loath to cede even a single right.
The more they had invested—like the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families—the fiercer their attachment.
Shouts rang out daily, the atmosphere growing hostile.
Yet as time passed, the Alliance's structure began to take shape.
First, they decided to appoint a renowned outsider as Alliance Leader, rather than from the Nine Great Sects or Five Great Families.
A measure to avoid criticism of the sects monopolizing key positions.
The Alliance Leader's authority was immense.
In emergencies, the power to dispatch warriors to sects, appoint leaders of major special units, and even issue a murim-wide mobilization order.
But the Leader did not wield absolute power.
To check unilateral decisions, an Elder Council was formed.
The Council consisted of twenty members, mostly from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families.
It could challenge the Leader's decisions and, with two-thirds agreement, even remove him.
This was the core of what had been agreed upon so far.
"Hoo."
Namgung Chang let out a sigh.
In just a few days, he felt years older.
He had poured out so much energy.
The past days had been a war for him.
And not just him—most warriors gathered to discuss the Alliance's framework felt the same.
They represented their sects' interests.
At any hint of infringement, they pounced with speeches, stalling progress.
Yet achieving this much consensus was largely thanks to Namgung Chang.
He had mediated with all his might.
Not entirely from pure intent, of course.
He had to maximize gains without drawing ire.
Especially after losing his Namgung Family guards to Damho, he had to tread carefully.
Fortunately, through deft maneuvering, he achieved most of his goals.
Meanwhile, the Namgung Family had sent replacements for the slaughtered guards.
Far more numerous than the previous Golden Sword Squad.
Some were even assigned to live at the Alliance.
Now, Namgung Chang could finally breathe easy.
He could leverage them to amplify his voice in the Alliance.
"If not for the Fist Demon..."
A shadow fell over Namgung Chang's face.
Much time had passed since his humiliation at Damho's hands, but the memory lingered.
No, the longer time went, the greater his fear of Damho grew.
The problem was he could show none of it.
He was not a man who could afford to waver.
Namgung Chang shook his head to dispel the thoughts.
"I need a drink."
He reached for the bottle on the table.
"Uncle."
A young man burst in, a white cloth tied to his right hand, voice booming.
Namgung Chang's nephew, Namgung Su.
"What is it?"
"We've received vital intelligence."
"Vital intelligence?"
"Yes."
Namgung Chang furrowed his brow briefly.
He wanted quiet time alone.
But he quickly composed himself and asked.
"What is it?"
"Regarding the Green Forest Eighteen Strongholds."
"Green Forest?"
"Yes! The daughter of their total stronghold leader, Hwang Kyung-moon, is currently in Ak-yang."
"What?"
Namgung Chang's complexion changed instantly.
Hwang Kyung-moon, total leader of the Green Forest, was already famous in the jianghu.
Everyone knew the Green Forest's strength stemmed from him.
A single command from him now, and tens of thousands of bandits would charge to their deaths.
There were reports of his beloved only daughter, whom he cherished so deeply he rarely let her venture out.
"Is this confirmed?"
"It's from a reliable source."
"Mm."
"Witnesses even spotted her on the streets of Ak-yang."
"Why on earth would she...?"
Namgung Chang muttered, baffled.
Hwang Kyung-moon surely knew of the gathering here to form the Murim Alliance.
Alliance and Green Forest were natural enemies.
Yet he sent his precious only daughter?
It defied Namgung Chang's logic.
After much thought, his conclusion settled on one point.
"Could the Green Forest be plotting to sabotage the Alliance?"
It was entirely plausible.
A supergroup like the Alliance would threaten not just the Demonic Cult, but bandits too.
United power seeks outlets, and Green Forest made perfect targets.
Namgung Chang himself planned, once the Alliance stabilized, to make examples of a few bandit strongholds.
With that in mind, the pieces fell into place.
"First, locate her. We'll investigate the details after."
"Understood."
"Remember: just track and observe. Do not approach recklessly."
"Yes, sir."
Namgung Su bowed his head.
His eyes gleamed sharply.
After Damho broke his wrist, his pride had hit rock bottom.
He could barely hold his head high.
This was his golden chance to restore his honor.
He vowed not to let it slip.