Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: The Wind Relentlessly Shakes the Trees (3)
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The branch chief of Haomen's Sakju branch was a middle-aged courtesan named Haewon. Her face brimmed with such elegance that it was hard to believe she was one.
"It's an honor to meet the world-renowned Fist Demon Damho."
"You're the branch chief here?"
"That's right. I'm Haewon, branch chief of Haomen's Sakju branch."
"You know me, then."
"Is there anyone in the martial world with enemies who doesn't know Great Hero Dam? Moreover, Oryang Branch Chief Ye-hwa specifically instructed every branch to treat Great Hero Dam with the utmost respect."
Gi Ye-hwa was infamous among Haomen's branch chiefs for her sharp wits. The first time she mentioned Damho, she had emphatically warned everyone never to cross him.
"Gi Ye-hwa?"
"Yes! Thanks to her, there's no one in Haomen who doesn't know Great Hero Dam."
"Is she doing well?"
"Well..."
"Something's happened, I see."
"The situation's a bit complicated. Even for Great Hero Dam, it's hard to say more. Please understand."
Damho nodded at Haewon's polite words. No matter who he was, even Damho couldn't meddle in Haomen's internal affairs.
"But what brings you all the way here? A request, I assume?"
"Yes."
"Phew! Then what do we do? Haomen's in no position to take on requests right now."
"What do you mean?"
"Well..."
Haewon hesitated, unable to speak. Then her eyes met Damho's.
The instant she looked into those endlessly deep, pitch-black eyes that betrayed no trace of emotion, her body shuddered.
She was Haewon, branch chief in the perilous land of Sakju. A seasoned fox who had weathered every storm. Yet the moment her gaze locked with Damho's, she froze solid.
'This... this is even worse than Ye-hwa described? The rumors swirling through the jianghu don't capture even half of who he is.'
In the tidal wave of terror crashing over her heart, she fought to hold onto her reason.
Haewon made her decision.
'Hiding the truth from a man like the Fist Demon won't help at all. Better to lay it out plain.'
Steadying her breath, Haewon finally spoke.
"Our main sect is under intense pressure from the Murim Alliance right now."
"Pressure?"
"Yes! They're threatening us to join their subordinate intelligence network, so all our information operations are on lockdown."
"Whose idea?"
"Seems like Strategist Namgung Chang's. It's putting our sect leader in a real bind."
"Namgung Chang?"
A glint flashed in Damho's eyes.
"He wants to absorb Haomen to beef up the Murim Alliance's intelligence arm. But we have no intention of being swallowed up by the Murim Alliance."
Haomen was an organization formed by courtesans and other bottom-rung folk just to survive. It had nothing to do with the jianghu's grand causes or the vested interests of established sects.
The very notion of folding Haomen into the Murim Alliance's intel outfit was as good as denying Haomen's right to exist.
"So even if Great Hero Dam makes a request, we can't promise we'll pull it off."
"Then the request is off."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Damho rose to his feet.
His original plan had been to commission Haomen to gather intel on Dragon Sword Hall. But with them locked in a power struggle against the Murim Alliance, it was unlikely to yield results.
It might even tip off the enemy prematurely. Better to scrap it and start over from the beginning.
Haewon was the one thrown off by Damho's quick concession.
"W-wait just a moment. You're leaving like this?"
"Problem?"
"No, it's just..."
Haewon stammered.
Once Damho set his sights on a goal, he never backed down. For him to fold so easily only heightened her unease.
"Please don't hold any grudge against Haomen for turning down the request. We have our reasons..."
"No grudges."
"Then..."
Only then did Haewon's expression soften.
Damho gave her one last look before stepping outside.
He hadn't gotten what he came for, but Damho felt no real disappointment. Simply learning that the Murim Alliance was gunning to absorb Haomen was gain enough.
As he walked the streets, a spark lit in Damho's eyes.
Someone was watching him.
He turned his head. Amid the crowd, the face of an unfamiliar old man caught his eye.
The moment their gazes met, the old man ducked his head and melted into the throng.
It was but an instant, yet Damho realized he had seen the old man somewhere before.
Damho headed in the direction the old man had vanished.
Far off, he spotted the old man's back. The man was walking briskly.
Suddenly, the old man glanced over his shoulder. Seeing Damho in pursuit, his face twisted in surprise.
The old man fled into Sakju's darkest alley, tucked in the shadiest corner of town. The moment Damho entered, a dank stench hit him.
The old man slipped into a house at the alley's deepest end.
Damho's gaze grew heavy.
'Is this the tiger's den?'
The old man clearly had plenty of time to shake him. Yet he'd deliberately let Damho spot him. No doubt about it—he was luring him in.
Damho approached the house the old man had entered.
The door swung open, revealing the interior of a walled compound. A broad wooden platform fronted the house, where a boy of about seventeen or eighteen was brewing tea. Standing deferentially behind the boy was the old man who had led Damho here.
Sensing his presence, the boy looked up.
"Ah! So you've come."
The boy flashed a smile, acting like they were old acquaintances.
"It was you."
"Long time no see, hyung."
The boy beaming ear to ear was none other than Myeongcheon.
The very boy Jong Ri-yeon had treated by the Yeo River. The old man who'd lured Damho was Yano, Myeongcheon's trusted retainer.
Damho's eyes flickered. Any ordinary person would have choked just meeting that gaze, yet Myeongcheon grinned all the brighter, utterly unfazed.
"Don't make that face—have a seat here. I figured you'd show, so I prepared some tea. Gunsan's Silver Needle brew. Sound good?"
Myeongcheon spoke with the easy warmth of a longtime friend.
For whatever reason, Damho complied and sat on the platform. Myeongcheon approached, set a teacup before him, and poured the freshly brewed tea.
Splash!
The small cup filled with pale green liquid, steaming faintly.
"My favorite. Hope it suits you too, hyung."
Damho lifted the cup Myeongcheon offered and drank without a second thought. At the sight, mischief danced in Myeongcheon's eyes.
"Aren't you scared I might've poisoned it?"
"If you had, you wouldn't be standing there."
"Haha! Touché."
Myeongcheon burst into laughter, looking somehow relieved.
He settled down across from Damho.
"Sorry for bailing like that before. After my marrow cleansing, my qi and blood were unstable. Needed a quiet spot to recover."
"......"
"Did I ever tell you that you remind me of our big hyung? You two are spitting images. Even that way you go quiet sometimes."
"Sword Rhythm Heaven, Divine No Moon, Music Wanderer Kyung, and you. What's your connection? All met at Heavenly Gold Demon Prison?"
"Our ties go way back before that. Curious?"
Damho said nothing, but Myeongcheon rattled on excitedly all the same.
"I get it—I'd wonder too. Alright, I'll spill. Truth is, you're not exactly an outsider."
"What do you mean?"
"You're from Heavenly Gold Demon Prison too. We were all there. Just at different times."
"......"
"That's probably why I feel so close to you. Survivors of that hellhole share a bond. You held out alone for twelve years, right? How'd you manage? Must've been starving."
Mid-ramble, Myeongcheon caught his slip and chuckled sheepishly.
"As you probably guessed, we're all from the Divine Cult. Yu-kyeong noona's the only one still tied to it."
"Music Wanderer Kyung?"
"Yeah! Noona's got unfinished business there, so she stayed behind on her own. She's the one suffering most, really."
"Why stay with the Demonic Cult?"
Text says 신교 consistently here, but earlier suspicions mention 마교. Contextually Divine Cult.
"Someone had to. Especially since Yu-kyeong noona's the Divine Cult's Saintess. As a symbol, she can't just up and leave."
"Saintess?"
"If the Cult Leader embodies the Divine Cult's martial might, the Saintess upholds its doctrines and spiritual pillar. Sure, without the holy relic, her authority's in the gutter now. But find the relic, and she can keep the Cult Leader in check."
"Keep the Cult Leader in check?"
Damho's gaze deepened.
He seemed to ramble aimlessly, but Myeongcheon's words carried layers of information. He was feeding it deliberately.
"Right now, the Cult Leader's authority in the Divine Cult is at its hundred-year peak. One word from him, and hordes throw their lives away without a second thought. It's dangerous."
"What's dangerous?"
"The jianghu... the Divine Cult... the whole world.... The Cult Leader's rage will burn it all. He dreams of a world ruled by the Divine Cult. Not mere conquest by force, but minds enslaved by its doctrines—a perfect theocracy. That's his vision for the Central Plains."
"......"
"Chilling, right? In that world, all diversity vanishes, replaced by a rigid order centered on the Divine Cult."
"So find the holy relic and check the Cult Leader? That the plan?"
"Exactly."
Myeongcheon grinned.
His smile seemed utterly pure and unclouded. But Damho didn't buy the surface act.
Myeongcheon was a genius. Geniuses like him never moved for just one reason. They always laid two, three, or more ulterior motives.
"Why tell me all this?"
"You need to know."
"What?"
"You've got doubts too, don't you?"
Creases formed between Damho's brows. Myeongcheon responded with a knowing smile.
"Figured as much. Unlike the rumors, you've got a brilliant mind and ice-cold reason. When I heard you'd hit the Haomen branch, it clicked. That's why I sent Yano to fetch you."
"Go on."
"Isn't it suspicious? Murim Alliance founding throws the world into chaos, then the Golden Lion pops up to give them their excuse. Alliance forms, and the Divine Cult hands them a pretext for the Orthodox-Demonic Great War on a silver platter. Way too convenient. You sensed it too."
"A third party?"
"Spot on."
"Proof?"
"Nothing solid yet. They're ghosts—slippery and everywhere. Eyes and ears across the world make them hard to pin down. But tails get caught eventually. We're closing in, bit by bit."
Damho's eyes sank even deeper.
Myeongcheon's words fanned the embers of Damho's own suspicions.
Dragon Sword Hall—the sect of Cho Yeon-sang, who led the raid—had been slaughtered. If he was truly a Demonic Cult plant, there'd been no need to wipe out the entire sect. Far simpler to flip them wholesale.
Someone had erased Dragon Sword Hall to sever the link. The question was who.
"Assume you're right. So why tell me?"
"You're not asking because you don't know."
Rather than reply, Damho fixed Myeongcheon with a steady stare. As the weight of it bore down and Myeongcheon let out a quiet sigh—
"I'll give that answer."
A deep voice rumbled from outside.
Damho turned. A man a full head taller than most strode through the gate.
His loping gait evoked a massive tiger.
The world knew him as Sword Rhythm Heaven.