Chapter 265
Chapter 265
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 265
Chapter Title: The Coming Storm
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The night grew deep.
The Shadow Corps members were resting soundly at the Pungsa Sword Sect, preparing for the decisive battle to come.
Bu Eun-seol sat in the study of the Jeongsujae residence, brush in hand, studying the scriptures of the Martial Emperor’s True Scripture and the Sakjeong Arts.
To merge two scriptures that had reached the pinnacle of both the Orthodox and Unorthodox paths was a distant journey, one he could not guarantee completing in his lifetime.
That was why he studied the scriptures whenever he had a spare moment.
“Hmm.”
Setting his brush down for a moment, Bu Eun-seol gazed toward the open window.
The moon, hanging high in the distant sky, and the garden adorned with rare and beautiful flowers created a scene of profound elegance.
“I should have asked for a bottle of wine.”
His body felt stiff after sitting in the quiet study for so long.
Stepping outside, Bu Eun-seol strolled slowly through the garden, bathed in the moonlight. He soon arrived at a small pavilion by a little pond.
*Sangyeophong-eo-iwolhwa* (霜葉紅於二月花).
Instead of a plaque, the phrase was inscribed on one of the pavilion's pillars.
It was a line from the poem "Mountain Travel" by Du Mu, a poet from the late Tang Dynasty.
‘“Frost-kissed maple leaves are redder than spring blossoms at their peak…”’
The delicate yet bold line of poetry stirred a strange excitement in Bu Eun-seol, as if he had just downed a cup of strong liquor.
“Sir Eun.”
Just then, a slender shadow emerged from the path on the opposite side.
She was dressed in red and carried a large wicker basket in her hands. It was Guyang Cheong-jeong.
“What brings you here at this late hour?”
At Bu Eun-seol’s question, she lowered her head slightly.
“I brought some snacks, in case you were feeling peckish at night.”
If a lady from a common household had brought alcohol to a man who was alone at such a late hour, it would have been an incredibly audacious act.
But since both Bu Eun-seol and Guyang Cheong-jeong were martial artists, they did not concern themselves with such minor etiquette.
“I’m not sure if they’ll be to your taste, though.”
Guyang Cheong-jeong smiled shyly.
The basket she held contained a large bottle of wine, rice cakes, and fruit.
“I was just thinking I could go for a drink.”
When Bu Eun-seol nodded readily, Guyang Cheong-jeong was overjoyed and placed the basket down in the pavilion.
“Let me pour you a cup.”
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol drained the cup she poured for him in one go.
In that instant, his eyes widened.
The bitter, potent liquid had barely touched his tongue when, as it slid down his throat, a fragrant aroma tickled his nose.
He had drunk his fair share of alcohol, but never had he tasted a wine so unique and strong.
“This is fine wine.”
Bu Eun-seol remarked in admiration, looking at his cup.
“What kind of wine is this? The aroma is very distinctive.”
“It’s Cheonggwaju, a specialty of Qinghai. I sometimes have a glass myself when I can’t sleep at night.”
As Guyang Cheong-jeong smiled, her eyes curved into crescents.
In truth, the wine she had brought was the Hundred-Year Cheonggwaju from the Cheonghyang Distillery, considered the finest in all of Qinghai.
It was so outrageously expensive that it made one’s eyes pop out, and with only a few bottles left in existence, it was a legendary vintage that even high-ranking officials and nobles could not easily obtain.
But Bu Eun-seol, unaware of this, drank it as if it were cool water.
“It truly is excellent wine. You should have some as well.”
“It’s alright. I drink it often enough.”
Telling a thoughtful lie so he could drink at ease, Guyang Cheong-jeong picked up a piece of fruit.
“Sweet fruits go well with Cheonggwaju. Please, try some.”
She offered the fruit so naturally that Bu Eun-seol almost accepted it without thinking.
“I can get it myself.”
“Alright.”
Guyang Cheong-jeong smiled prettily and popped the fruit she was holding into her own mouth.
She then sat beside Bu Eun-seol, watching with a pleased expression as he drank his wine.
Downing cup after cup, Bu Eun-seol finished the entire bottle of Hundred-Year Cheonggwaju in less than half an hour.
“That was a good drink.”
“Yes.”
She smiled brightly and gestured to the area around the pavilion.
“Now that you’ve had a drink, would you like to take a look around this Pungrimjeong? The scenery here is beautiful under the moonlight, making it perfect for a walk on a night with a full moon.”
“Very well.”
The strong liquor in his stomach made him want to walk a little anyway.
Bu Eun-seol walked alongside Guyang Cheong-jeong, strolling around the Pungrimjeong.
Even as he gazed at the flowers scattered under the moonlight, his mind was ceaselessly studying the scripture.
“Young Master Bu.”
At that moment, Guyang Cheong-jeong, who had been looking at the pond, spoke up cautiously.
“There’s something I’m curious about. May I ask you a question?”
He had already noticed the complex expression that had been on her face the entire time.
Bu Eun-seol assumed she was going to ask about martial arts scriptures or sword techniques and nodded.
“Ask anything you wish. I will answer to the best of my knowledge.”
But what came out was a question he had not expected at all.
“Young Master, why did you… risk your life to save us, complete strangers?”
A thread of hope flickered in Guyang Cheong-jeong’s eyes.
Back then, she had been stubbornly and rudely insistent with Bu Eun-seol, who had rented out the entire annex of the inn.
But not only had he overlooked all her rudeness, he had also saved her in a moment of crisis.
—Could it be that the Young Master also has feelings for me?
Ever since that day, a single thought had been occupying Guyang Cheong-jeong’s mind.
Could Bu Eun-seol have been captivated by her fresh beauty?
She held onto the hope that he had helped her because he had at least some small affection for her.
“It was a simple whim.”
But the answer that came back was a detached one, shattering her hopes to pieces.
“A whim… you say?”
“That’s right. It was the first time in my life I had seen young talents of the Unorthodox Path.”
Bu Eun-seol honestly conveyed his thoughts from that time.
“At the time, I had to secretly seek out and challenge the Great Masters who had not revealed themselves in the martial world. I encountered many people in the process… but that was the first time I had seen the young rising stars of the Unorthodox Path.”
He then looked up at the distant sky, as if slightly embarrassed.
“Just because they were of the Unorthodox Path, I felt a subtle sense of kinship. That is why I helped you.”
Reflected in the moonlight, Bu Eun-seol’s face seemed to hold a faint glow.
The eyes set within his deep, long-slitted eyelids were as clear and beautiful as if they could draw in one’s very soul…
But they were untinged by any emotion, completely indifferent.
Guyang Cheong-jeong could no longer bear to look at him and lowered her head.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Just… for everything.”
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.
She was painfully realizing once again that Bu Eun-seol was a sky she could never hope to reach, and she felt a sense of anguish and despair.
“Well then, please rest well.”
She quickly turned and vanished into the darkness.
As Bu Eun-seol watched Guyang Cheong-jeong’s retreating back, no emotion surfaced in his eyes.
If someone had seen him then, they might have wondered.
Does he truly feel nothing? Or is it that, having dedicated everything to the martial path, he is incapable of sensing another’s affection?
Unless one could peer into his mind, no one could know the answer.
“Hmph.”
Turning his head to look at the distant sky, Bu Eun-seol spoke in a stern, low voice.
“Come out now.”
But there was no response.
Then, faint points of light began to rise from his entire body.
“I will not say it again.”
*Ssk.*
Only then did shadows begin to emerge one by one from the darkness behind the pavilion.
Myo Cheon-u, Wi Cheon-gyeong, Jo Nam-cheon, and Won Se-mun. And even Yu Un-ryong…
They emerged one after another, like a string of freshly dug sweet potatoes.
“All the squad leaders are gathered.”
Bu Eun-seol stared at them with cold eyes.
“Were you holding a meeting here?”
A deathly silence fell around the pavilion.
After a moment of exchanging nervous glances, Jo Nam-cheon scratched his head.
“Well, we heard there was something interesting to see…”
“Something interesting to see?”
Bu Eun-seol’s solemn gaze glinted in the darkness.
“So the Grand Commander has now become an interesting spectacle for you all.”
An aura that could topple mountains and overturn the earth flowed from his body.
He seemed furious that they had been secretly spying on him in the front yard of the Pungsa Sword Sect, especially during a time of war.
“No, sir! Grand Commander!”
Unable to bear the suffocating atmosphere, Jo Nam-cheon spoke up urgently.
“It’s just, Brother Myo said there was something fun to watch.”
In an instant, Myo Cheon-u’s face turned pale.
“Who told you to follow me?”
“He said he was going to see something interesting, so of course we’d go, wouldn’t we? From now on, all we have to look forward to is bloodshed.”
As Bu Eun-seol’s stern gaze fell upon them, Wi Cheon-gyeong and Won Se-mun also nodded.
“That’s right.”
“We just followed Brother Myo.”
“You faithless bastards!”
Seeing the other squad leaders throwing him under the bus, Myo Cheon-u, his face contorted in anger, roared.
“It was my mistake to trust scum like you as comrades!”
He pointed a finger at them, and as if his anger was still not appeased, he shouted with an aggrieved expression.
“See if I ever call you guys again when something interesting happens! You disloyal scoundrels!”
After shouting once more, Myo Cheon-u zipped away into the darkness.
Just like that, he had clumsily escaped the situation.
—So that’s a way…
The remaining squad leaders stood with their mouths agape.
Myo Cheon-u’s natural exit was a method that would have made even the notoriously wild Won Se-mun click his tongue in amazement.
“…”
After a moment of silence, Jo Nam-cheon said in a loud voice.
“This, this won’t do at all!”
He glared at the spot where Myo Cheon-u had disappeared, his face a mask of indignation, and shouted.
“So what if he’s strong in martial arts? How dare a junior squad leader get that angry at his seniors! And right before a battle, no less?”
Then he rolled up his sleeves.
“It’s time we re-established the pecking order!”
And with that, he zipped off in the direction Myo Cheon-u had vanished.
Truly, the student had surpassed the master.
He had learned Myo Cheon-u’s crisis management technique in an instant.
Then, Wi Cheon-gyeong and Won Se-mun, who had been glancing nervously at Bu Eun-seol, spoke with very serious expressions.
“This looks like it’s going to be a big fight. I think they’re about to cause some serious trouble.”
“Right, right, we have to stop them quickly.”
And then the remaining two also zipped away.
Bu Eun-seol watched them go and let out a weary sigh.
The coming battle would be fiercer than any they had fought before.
Now was the time for solid unity and cohesion.
Seeing how they were in perfect sync, it seemed that Myo Cheon-u and the others had fortunately blended in well with the Shadow Corps squad leaders.
‘They must have built a strong bond in that time.’
Sighing, Bu Eun-seol suddenly turned his head.
Yu Un-ryong was still standing there awkwardly, unable to leave.
“Why haven’t you gone?”
At Bu Eun-seol’s question, Yu Un-ryong’s face turned red.
He was not yet shameless enough to come up with an excuse like the others.
“You…”
As Bu Eun-seol’s pointed gaze fell on him, Yu Un-ryong’s face flushed crimson, and he suddenly shouted.
“Why are you picking on me!”
After his outburst, he spun around and disappeared into the darkness.
“…He’s learned well.”
Shaking his head, he stared with a weary expression at the spot where Yu Un-ryong had vanished.
A few days later.
A shadow dressed in black ran with swift steps into the Jeongsujae residence where Bu Eun-seol was staying.
It was Wi Cheon-gyeong.
Under Bu Eun-seol’s orders, he had been leaving the Pungsa Sword Sect at dawn every day to make contact with nearby intelligence organizations.
And today, he had heard some news and returned like a bolt of lightning.
“Grand Commander!”
Wi Cheon-gyeong, drenched in sweat, went straight into the office where Bu Eun-seol was sitting.
He spoke with an unprecedented urgency.
“It has begun!”
Gasping for breath, he said again.
“The main force of the Blood Martial Troupe is currently pushing into the heart of the Black Lotus.”
In that moment, Bu Eun-seol, who had been moving his brush, stopped his hand.
Until now, he had been staying at the Pungsa Sword Sect, waiting for the Blood Martial Troupe to launch an all-out offensive against the Black Lotus.
Only when the two forces clashed violently could they infiltrate deep into the Black Lotus’s main base through the Nu River.
“The time has come.”
Bu Eun-seol rose from his seat and said in a solemn voice.
“Assemble all the corps members.”
The Nu River originates in the Tanggula Mountains in eastern Qinghai and flows southeast.
Since most of its course passes through steep mountainous terrain, large ships cannot navigate it.
However, near Yogeomji, the waterway widens enough for small merchant ships to pass through.
The Black Lotus had blocked the entrance to Yogeomji through the Nu River with chain-linked ships and had deployed several patrol boats.
This was to defend their main base and simultaneously collect tolls from the merchant ships passing through.
But even if one were lucky enough to pass this point, the probability of a large number of troops entering Yogeomji was zero.
This was because they had installed layers of highly trained forces and defensive mechanisms all along the coast.
*Chwarararak.*
A small merchant ship, riding a favorable wind, cut smoothly through the waves under the moonlight.
A flag on the mainmast fluttered in the gentle breeze along with the sails. On it was embroidered the character for wind (風).
It was a merchant ship directly operated by the Pungsa Sword Sect, one of the Seven Sword Sects of Qinghai.
Unlike the Orthodox Path, the Unorthodox Path was maintained by power and wealth.
The Pungsa Sword Sect had long ago made a great fortune by smuggling salt using the Nu River.
The immense wealth earned through smuggling was the foundation that had allowed the Seven Sword Sects of Qinghai to build their power in the region for generations.
*Clank.*
As they neared Yogeomji, the waterway narrowed abruptly.
At the same time, ships connected by thick chains came into view.
With them, two speedboats slowly began to approach the port and starboard sides of the Pungsa Sword Sect’s vessel.
They were Black Lotus ships.