Chapter 118
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: The Birth of a Newcomer (3)
After touring the Five Great Mountains, other peaks seem unworthy of a glance; after touring Yellow Mountain, even the Five Great Mountains fade from sight.
This saying captures the beauty of Yellow Mountain.
Of course, Yellow Mountain is a peak open to all under heaven. Hundreds climb its paths each day. Many linger for days to fully explore it.
Its sixty-nine summits and countless ravines are laid bare for the world to see.
The Yellow Mountain Assembly is held in such a place.
It is a grand gathering, large enough that even the patriarch of the Zhuge Clan attends as one of its members.
Yet the world knows nothing of the Yellow Mountain Assembly.
They have not even heard that martial experts convene there, let alone spotted anyone carrying weapons.
No martial artists set foot on Yellow Mountain.
Swoosh!
Nightjars flitted through the dark of night.
The moonlight blazed bright. Amid the yellow starlight poured from the sky, ink-black clouds drifted by.
The nightjars caught the yellow moonlight on their wings as they sped along at tremendous velocity.
Swoosh!
The lead nightjar hurled something into the shadows.
"Pass!"
A clear voice rang out from the darkness.
The nightjars never broke stride for an instant. They had no intention of halting even without that word...
They pressed on without the slightest delay.
The flock of nightjars vanished into the gloom.
Swoosh!
More nightjars came flying in.
Like their predecessors, they tossed something into the shadows. And the same voice echoed back.
"Pass!"
These nightjars, too, did not pause. As if it were only natural that the word would come.
The nightjars' movements ceased after exactly one hour.
No more nightjars flew in. Deep into the night... from the hour of the dog until the hour of the boar, they moved for precisely one hour, then fell utterly silent, as if no one had stirred at all.
Crackle! Pop! Roar!
A bonfire blazed fiercely in the center of the plaza.
The flames illuminated a radius of some three or four zhang. They radiated both heat and light.
Yet no figure appeared within that glow. Even from beyond three or four zhang, shadows would have been faintly visible, but there was nothing. Only the bonfire burned.
"Where's the patriarch? Not here yet?"
A warm voice emerged from the darkness.
"No. No word yet."
Zhuge Soso replied in an equally gentle tone.
"Hah! That man... If he's coming, he should say so. If he's going, the same. What harm would it do?"
The warm voice muttered to itself.
Zhuge Soso fell silent.
The warm voice followed right after.
"I heard your house tangled with the Heavenly Annihilation Division recently... and it didn't go well."
"We have nothing to say on the matter."
"Tsk! How could a man called Southern Zhao make such a blunder?"
The voice carried the cozy affection of a grandfather consoling his granddaughter. But this was no place for comfort. Nor was the speaker truly a grandfather.
Zhuge Soso met it with silence.
"It would be best to avoid contact with the Heavenly Annihilation Division for the time being... What does your house think?"
As expected, this issue came up first.
It was no surprise.
"We think the opposite. We intend to dig into the Heavenly Annihilation Division in earnest from now on."
Zhuge Myeong answered in a cold voice.
Zhuge Myeong was attending as the acting patriarch of the Zhuge Clan. Thus, his words stood for the patriarch himself.
"Ha ha! As the rumors say, you're young indeed. That's the beauty of youth. I was hot-blooded like you once... but now even a breeze makes my limbs ache."
"..."
"If you've thought it through, then leave the Heavenly Annihilation Division be for now."
An indirect phrasing... but a command nonetheless.
This, too, was anticipated.
Zhuge Myeong glanced sidelong at Zhuge Soso, seated beside him.
How... not a single deviation from Zhuge Soso's predictions. How everything unfolded exactly as she had described.
The Yellow Mountain Assembly was the unified gathering of the Seven Great Clans of the Murim World and the Three Secret Houses.
At least a century old, it was where the patriarchs of the Seven Great Clans—which had shaken the martial world for over a hundred years—and the Three Secret Houses, which served as their right arms, discussed the great affairs of the jianghu.
Here sat three-tenths of the forces dominating the current martial world. No, not three-tenths—five-tenths. One might call it three in terms of raw power, but considering their share of active influence in the martial world today, it neared half.
In other words, slaying everyone gathered here would plunge the martial world into chaos. Or put another way, the decisions made here would steer the course of the jianghu ahead.
Leave the Heavenly Annihilation Division alone.
Yielding to that meant no measures against them whatsoever. Defying it openly, against their collective will, might mean no invitation to the next assembly.
He had to refuse with justification.
Zhuge Myeong spoke in a solemn tone.
"There is something I must clarify. May I speak?"
"What is it?"
"The Heavenly Annihilation Division publicly declared they would assassinate our patriarch and sent assassins."
"Ha ha! Surely that was a jest."
"We dismissed it as such at first. A few assassins making nuisances... But... the trouble came after we captured the intruders."
"..."
All fell silent. Though many were gathered, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
Zhuge Myeong spoke calmly.
"One of the assassins used the Immovable Bright King Art."
"What?!"
"How could that be?!"
Cries of shock erupted from all sides.
Zhuge Myeong glanced at Zhuge Soso once more.
She had foreseen every bit of this. Even their shock the moment he mentioned the Immovable Bright King Art.
Zhuge Myeong gained certainty. What followed would unfold exactly as she had said.
"That's why we released the assassins."
"Hm."
"I knew something was off from the moment they dragged in that Miansoshao..."
"Why let the likes of them go?"
Various murmurs rose in disarray.
"Heh heh! Could that one... the user of the Immovable Bright King Art... be Four Thousand Four?"
The warm voice inquired.
"Yes."
"Your house seems to have lost him?"
"We still have the line on him."
"You're pursuing him?"
"He is currently..."
Zhuge Myeong trailed off and paused in silence.
Four Thousand Four was presently captured by the Punishment Lord and being dragged off as a lesser convict.
This was no longer a secret. What the Zhuge Clan knew, they knew as well. He could continue without issue. But Zhuge Soso had said not to.
Zhuge Myeong said,
"In any case, we have a firm grip on him. A line we cannot afford to lose."
"Hm."
"We must continue pursuing the Heavenly Annihilation Division. Please withdraw your words to leave them be."
"No helping it. With the Immovable Bright King Art as reason, who can argue? Very well. Keep watching the Heavenly Annihilation Division. But if anything arises, you must inform us at once."
The elder's afterword was empty talk.
The elder commanded swifter, more reliable intelligence than the Zhuge Clan. Whatever facts they learned, he knew one or two hours earlier.
Zhuge Myeong glanced at Zhuge Soso as he said,
"While we're on the topic... With our patriarch absent, our movements are severely restricted. We request assignment from the Second House."
"From the Second House?"
"Pfft!"
The elder sounded surprised, and someone snorted in mockery.
Zhuge Myeong narrowed his eyes.
Mockery... Yes, he had uttered "assignment" fully expecting it. There was no need to heighten their wariness. Better to seem like naive greenhorns ignorant of the world. This, too, came from Zhuge Soso.
The mocker—whose seated form was unseen but surely the Second House patriarch.
"Heh heh! 'Assignment' is not a word to toss around lightly. Especially not for something like this."
"Is that so? My apologies."
"Second House patriarch, what say you? These children seek your aid. Do you have the spare capacity?"
"It won't help much. What the Zhuge Clan aims for is pursuing the Punishment Lord... who is no easy mark. It will end in failure."
"Didn't they say they have a firm grip?"
"If it's a reasonable request, I'll lend strength."
"Then it's settled. We'll close this matter here. Patriarch Peng, it seems a Blade Gang has sprung up in Hebei..."
"No need to worry. Just children."
The topic shifted to Hebei.
The matter of the Zhuge Clan pursuing the Heavenly Annihilation Division was tacitly approved to continue. And they even secured aid from one of the Three Secret Houses. All with a single mention of the Immovable Bright King Art.
A clear-featured middle-aged man blocked Zhuge Myeong and Zhuge Soso's path.
"Second House patriarch."
A very brief introduction. Yet Zhuge Soso's eyes gleamed, and Zhuge Myeong's widened in shock.
This man was the patriarch of the Second House among the shrouded Three Secret Houses of the martial world.
He looked so frail, one might easily take him for a scholar. His gaze was serene, his attire impeccable, his skin clear and radiant.
Hard to believe he had weathered the storms of the jianghu. No, hard to believe he was even a martial artist.
"I'll attach a tail."
"No thank you."
Zhuge Soso spoke before the Second House patriarch finished.
"Being tailed by anyone..."
"You won't find them. You won't even sense it. Just speak into the air when you need aid."
"If I do find them, can I kill?"
"Kill away."
The Second House patriarch answered without hesitation.
His subordinate would tail them, yet if found, kill away.
Was the Second House patriarch looking down on the Zhuge Clan? No. He knew their capabilities better than anyone. It meant his tail was that skilled.
"Give me the person."
Zhuge Soso said.
The clear-featured middle-aged man shook his head side to side.
"We have no intention of leading the charge. Pursuing the Punishment Lord is squarely the Zhuge Clan's duty. We provide support only. Speak into the void when you need strength."
Zhuge Myeong looked at Zhuge Soso.
All that had transpired so far... was contained within what she had told him.
The Second House patriarch would never hand over a man directly.
The Second House patriarch would attach someone—a Left or Right Maid of the Secret Second House.
The patriarchs of the Secret Houses each had two maids.
Left Maid and Right Maid... Mistake them for mere servants at your peril. They were cherished concubines and direct disciples, apex experts who had inherited the secret arts in full.
Attaching such a one, he confidently said to find and kill if possible.
Why would the Secret Second House assign someone so elite? Needless to say—they took this matter gravely as well. Perhaps with hopes of locating the Lesser Punishment.
Zhuge Soso spoke in a listless tone.
"How far will you help?"
"Everything regarding the pursuit."
Zhuge Myeong's eyes widened once more.
This was what Zhuge Soso aimed to secure. Full assistance in the pursuit.
"Thank you. We appreciate the great help."
Zhuge Soso beamed.