Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: The Pursuers
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Hundreds of horses thundered westward.
Dududududu! Dududududu!
Atop them rode warriors clad in ocher martial robes, armed with swords, sabers, spears, and various other weapons. At the forefront, a flag fluttered from the lead rider's saddle—a golden cloth emblazoned with crossed sword and fist.
It was the golden fist-sword banner of the renowned Sichuan Warrior Huangbo Clan.
Beyond the Ten Supremes of the Central Plains, many other martial families dotted the land. There were once the Five Great Clans of the Central Plains: the Namgung Clan, the Sichuan Tang Clan, the Zhuge Clan, the Shandong Yak Clan, and the Hebei Peng Clan. Alongside them stood the Jinju Eon Clan, famed for fist arts, and the Heavenly Bow Spirit Fox Clan, renowned for archery.
Bound by tight blood ties, these families grew swiftly. But soon they hit their limits. Confined by kinship, they couldn't expand beyond their regions, remaining mere local powers.
As the Ten Supremes rose to dominate the martial world, these clans shrank further into the shadows.
Time passed, and those once-famous houses faded into obscurity.
The Huangbo Clan was one such family.
They boasted exceptional fist and sword techniques, producing several renowned warriors.
But that was the extent of it.
Their famed warriors failed to elevate the clan.
Huangbo Seung's father, Huangbo Se-u, was no different. In his youth, his brilliant swordsmanship earned him the moniker Golden Thread Demon Sword, propelling him to clan leadership on that reputation. Yet no one acknowledged him. Even on his birthday, invitations yielded only local notables as guests.
Realizing there was no room amid the Ten Supremes, Huangbo Se-u turned to the official martial world. He got his son Huangbo Seung through the military exams, forging a soldier. As Huangbo Seung rose, so did the clan's status.
When Huangbo Seung became a general with the title Warrior General, "Warrior" was added to the family name. Now, on Huangbo Se-u's birthdays, guests came not just from Sichuan but from Shaanxi, Hunan, and Hubei provinces, seeking ties. All thanks to his son. Huangbo Seung had become the pillar determining the Warrior Huangbo Clan's fate.
He couldn't let two people topple such a son.
They had to be dealt with before things escalated.
"Hya!"
"Taha!"
Behind the flag-bearing horse rode a white steed and a black one side by side. On the white was Huangbo Seung; on the black, his father Huangbo Se-u. Huangbo Se-u sported a handsome beard like the Three Kingdoms hero Guan Yu. He'd grown it after his son became a general. Grooming it daily while admiring himself in the mirror was his joy.
Half a day later, five hundred Warrior Huangbo warriors entered Dunhuang.
As they entered an inn for a meal, a goateed man approached Huangbo Se-u.
"I'm O Jeonseung, deputy leader of the Hawkeye Clan."
The man bowed.
"Pleased to meet you. I didn't expect the deputy himself."
"For an important client, it's only right."
O Seung smiled faintly.
"Where are the ones we're after now?"
Before departing, Huangbo Se-u had commissioned the Hawkeye Sichuan branch to locate Ak Muyoo and Ara.
"They headed northwest."
"Northwest?"
"Northwest lies the Northern Mountains. Cross them, and you reach Western Xia territory."
O Jeonseung explained.
"Western Xia is ruled by the Blood Wolf Clan."
Huangbo Seung said.
"The Blood Wolf Clan... Will that be alright?"
Huangbo Se-u asked.
"The war with them is over. As long as we avoid clashes, it should be fine."
"Is there someone to guide us there?"
Huangbo Se-u asked O Jeonseung.
"I'll go personally."
"Good. Let's depart in half a shichen."
"No other preparations?"
"What kind?"
"It could take time; don't we need supplies?"
"Do you know about the man and woman?"
"That the one called Black Wind was once a Wind Squadron leader, and the girl Ara studied at Emei—that's all."
"Do you know who I brought?"
"No."
He knew of the five hundred Warrior Vanguard but feigned ignorance.
"The Warrior Vanguard. They're the strongest under heaven. I'm not saying it because I made them—it's everyone's assessment."
*Then could I say to your face that the Warrior Vanguard is worthless?*
O Jeonseung thought inwardly.
Claiming the Warrior Vanguard as the Central Plains' strongest was self-serving. They weren't weak—quite strong, in fact. But the world's strongest? O Jeonseung couldn't agree.
Nor did he dare say, "You're wrong."
"I see..."
"I'll prepare just three days' rations. If Hawkeye finds them in two days, we'll return with their heads."
"We must hurry, then."
"Indeed, deputy leader."
"Come back here in one shichen?"
"Yes."
"Understood."
O Jeonseung bowed and left.
He returned precisely one shichen later, not alone. With him came two Dunhuang guides he'd hired and two Hawkeye disciples—five in total. Their horses were laden with gear.
"Lead the way."
Huangbo Se-u glanced at them and said.
Guides were guides; who they were didn't matter.
"Understood."
O Jeonseung signaled with his eyes.
"Hya!"
The five cracked their whips in unison.
Neigh!
Dudududu! Dudududu!
"Depart!"
"Move out!"
"Hya!"
"Chaha!"
"Taha!"
Dududududu! Dududududu! Dudududu!
Five hundred horses surged forward.
Dust clouds billowed in their wake, watched by onlookers: nine Heavenly Dragon Pavilion warriors.
"Do you know why they're heading north?"
The white-robed monk Cheonheo asked, turning to the group.
"How would I know?"
We replied.
"If the Beggars' Sect doesn't know, who does?"
Wudang's Sage Immortal Sword Jau said.
"Why assume the Beggars' Sect knows?"
We countered.
"Because you're an information-handling sect."
"That was before we became the Heaven-Begging Clan. Now we're a martial power, not a ragtag info-gathering band of beggars."
"..."
Mockery crossed Jau's face.
"Are you sneering?"
Our voice chilled.
"No. Just recalled something from recently. 'Those who lose their original intent can't progress,' I think it was."
"You think... no, that our Beggars' Sect has lost its original intent."
"Just my personal view."
"Do you know which produces more so-called heroes: the Beggars' Sect or Wudang?"
"The Beggars' Sect, more?"
"Far more. And Wudang's a Taoist order, not a martial sect. Right?"
"Enough. We're not here to fight among ourselves."
As the argument dragged, Cheonheo intervened.
"I'm saying don't treat our Beggars' Sect like servants. Learn what 'request' means."
We spoke coldly and entered the inn. The Ten Thousand had rented it out entirely.
Her gaze shifted to the inn's center.
There, five figures conferred gravely: Shaolin Elder Great Buddha Gakheo, Beggars' Sect Elder Drunken Beggar Yu Ja-seo, Wudang Elder Immortal Sword Jin Gwang, Emei Elder Geumjeong Sinni, Qingcheng Elder Summit Sword Song Mugwang—the Great Ten Righteous Assembly leadership.
"Orders from above."
Assembly Leader Gakheo Monk spoke with a tense face.
"Your stiff expression means attack orders."
Spoke Yu Ja-seo, whose perpetual red nose earned him Drunken Beggar.
"Yes. Above concluded the supreme divine artifacts of Fear Heaven and Hidden Heaven—Fear Demon and Secret Heaven Ruyi Ink—have no owner."
It was peculiar.
The Secret Heaven Ruyi Ink and Fear Demon belonged to Ak Muyoo, known only to Ara, the Heavenly Center Five Absolutes, the Milun Sect Leader, and a few Hundred Radiant Demons.
Yet many knew of the Fear Demon and Secret Heaven Ruyi Ink.
"Items from fifteen hundred years ago—no one can claim ownership, even if linked."
"Exactly. Thus, above orders their recovery, along with the associated arts."
"A misstep could spark war among the Ten Supremes."
Wudang's Immortal Sword Jin Gwang said.
"You all saw the underground chamber of the old Ten Supremes' ruins: over a hundred martial arts etched on those pillars. Someone acquired the Ten Supremes' Hundred Martial Scriptures. Above judges them capable of reshaping the martial world. Hide the perpetrator's identity as best as possible."
The Ten Thousand had dubbed the hundred-plus arts the Hundred Martial Scriptures.
"But the arts will reveal it immediately. How to hide?"
Geumjeong Sinni said.
"Hence 'as best as possible.' Masks and night attacks should conceal somewhat."
"But who obtained them?"
Qingcheng's Summit Sword Song Mugwang asked.
"We don't know who has Fear Demon and Secret Heaven Ruyi Ink. But there's a way."
"What?"
"Follow the Hundred Radiant Demons—they'll lead to them. And the Hundred Radiant Demons headed northwest."
The Hundred Radiant Demons pursued Ak Muyoo because of the Fear Demon. They'd split into two factions: Nangnok's group protecting Ak Muyoo, and Noebaek's chasing for recovery.
"Then where are the Hundred Martial Scriptures?"
"Their current owner is the Boundless Heaven Squad, located in the Pardan Ghost Forest Desert."
"Detoured into Western Xia to avoid fights, it seems."
"Above concurs."
Gakheo nodded.
"The Blood Wolf Clan rules Western Xia now—no issue?"
Drunken Beggar Yu Ja-seo said.
"We're no weak sect to fear the Blood Wolf Clan."
Gakheo said.
"We fear not them, but the imperial court. They're glad the war's over; we don't want to reignite embers."
"No such risk. Orders are orders—we obey. Daegae, fetch Cheonheo."
Gakheo eyed us, seated aside.
"Yes."
We went out and told Cheonheo the leader sought him.
Cheonheo entered promptly.
"We're entering the Pardan Ghost Forest Desert. Could be a long stay—prepare."
"Yes."
Cheonheo bowed and exited.
Two shichen later, two hundred Great Ten Righteous Assembly and Heavenly Dragon Pavilion warriors set off for the Pardan Ghost Forest Desert.
As the Huangbo warriors and Ten Thousand men headed north, many watchers trailed them northward.