Chapter 21
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Heavenly Net (1)
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"Look here, martial nephew. Aren't those your companions who came along? We should do this together, right?"
"Don't worry. They're subordinates from our Shenzhou Merchant House. It'll actually be more comfortable for those fellows if I step aside."
With that, he shouted toward the waiter.
"Hey! Why is the food and drink here so meager? Bring out all the best liquor and side dishes this place has. Hurry up!"
As Jin Ichang did this, Seonwoyong sent a transmission.
[Hey, little brother. He'll definitely ask about me....]
[Don't worry. Do you think I wouldn't pick up on that? I'll handle it, so just relax and enjoy the good liquor. Heh heh....]
[Why does your laugh sound so sinister....]
[No, he acted that way, so he deserves the treatment to match. Now I'll properly give my senior brother a thrashing, so brace yourself. Heh heh heh....]
['Handle it well. You know I hold grudges, right?']
Just then, Jin Ichang, who had finished ordering and was tending to his companions for a moment, asked.
"Martial uncle. Who is this young hero here?"
"I was just about to introduce you. This is young hero Seonwoyong, the personal disciple of my old friend, the Thunder Sound Zither Immortal."
"Oh! To think that Master Seong Manjo, one of the Six Immortals and the foremost master of sound arts in the current martial world, has such a disciple.... Pleased to meet you. I am Jin Ichang, an in-name disciple of Shaolin, running the modest Shenzhou Merchant House."
Jin Ichang rose and offered a deep bow with clasped fists in greeting, leaving Seonwoyong no choice.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Seonwoyong."
Seonwoyong also rose and returned the greeting with clasped fists. Baek Musang watched with a mischievous grin filling his face.
"Martial nephew Jin. You're nearing sixty yourself, but since this Seonwoyong martial nephew is the personal disciple of my close friend, it's only right to treat him as an equal in seniority."
What Baek Musang meant was that Seonwoyong should treat him as a martial uncle as well.
[Ugh. Just you wait.]
Seonwoyong sent a transmission with those words, but Baek Musang paid it no mind.
"Brother Seonwoyong. Now that we've formed this bond, it seems I'll have to play the role of your elder brother. I look forward to it."
At Jin Ichang's words, Seonwoyong managed an awkward smile.
"Y-Yes, of course. Looking forward to it... Brother Jin."
[Heh heh heh....]
Baek Musang felt thoroughly refreshed for the first time in ages.
The drinking session that began this way proceeded merrily.
Seonwoyong mostly listened to the conversation between the two martial nephews, and Baek Musang deliberately didn't draw him into speaking.
But even so, he couldn't remain completely silent.
He had to answer when asked.
Seonwoyong was stuck addressing Baek Musang as martial uncle and speaking politely.
"So, after going up to Shaolin Temple tomorrow morning to offer tribute, when do you plan to head back?"
"I can't leave my post empty for long. I'll return right away."
"Perfect. This martial nephew Seonwoyong is also heading west. It'd be good for you both to travel together to Xi'an."
Jin Ichang's Shenzhou Merchant House was based in Xi'an.
The ancient capital of Xi'an, which had cradled the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties since the days of old.
Since Seonwoyong was planning to head toward Qinghai next, it was a place he inevitably had to pass through.
Once Jin Ichang and the Shenzhou Merchant House members finished eating and departed, the inn grew quiet again.
Baek Musang and Seonwoyong resumed their quiet conversation.
"Who exactly did you leave the Divine Wood Command with?"
"No matter how close we are like blood brothers... I can't tell you that."
"Tch... It's not so much curiosity as worry. It's already been sixty years."
"Don't worry."
"What do you plan to do once you recover the Divine Wood Command?"
Seonwoyong fell silent for a long while at Baek Musang's question.
"We'll have to appoint a new cult leader. If things stay like this, the world will be thrown into chaos again."
"Why not just take over the cult yourself, big brother?"
"It's not that I haven't considered it, but I'd prefer to avoid that if possible."
"You see that friend, the World-Mixing Demon, as already having seized control of the cult."
"That's how it looks. Twenty-six years ago... That's plenty of time to rebuild his forces."
"Then in the end, father and son will clash again...?"
"I don't want that. I hope this time it'll be different... but no one knows what fate holds."
Seonwoyong let out a deep sigh and emptied his cup.
"In any case, please take care. Tomorrow around noon, the Shenzhou Merchant House people will come down, and you'll set off right away."
"Got it. You take care too."
"Martial uncle Hyeonjin will likely come down from the mountain soon to meet the abbot."
"Probably."
"I might end up venturing back into the jianghu as a member of Shaolin myself."
"That could happen.... If word gets out that the child has left Shaolin's protection... both sides will have no choice but to move."
"It seems best for you to swiftly take full control of the cult as soon as possible. For the good of the world, and for you and that friend."
"I'm trying to... but there are many worries."
"Now it's another night of who-knows-when-it'll-end. Allow me to offer another cup. Please."
The two fell silent and began emptying their cups wordlessly.
The night deepened.
* * *
Five carriages bearing the Shenzhou Merchant House banner formed a long procession, accompanied by dozens of porters. At the front and rear of the line, the house's warriors rode on horseback as escorts.
At the head of the procession, Jin Ichang and Seonwoyong rode side by side, urging their horses onward.
Ten days after departing Dengfeng County under Baek Musang's farewell, they had crossed the Yangtze at Wushan and entered the foothills of deep, treacherous mountains.
"Hey, brother Seonwoyong. We'll have to camp outdoors for the next three days to get through this range. Things will get uncomfortable for eating and sleeping, so bear with us."
"No need for such words. Thanks to you, this trip is so luxurious I'm worried I'll get too used to it. Ha ha...."
"Martial uncle Baek was so insistent... Treat my martial nephew like you'd treat me. Who knew that fierce old man had such a side? Ha ha ha...."
"You must share a deep bond with my master."
"Indeed. By the way, you're planning to keep heading toward Kunlun? What business takes you all the way to such a distant place?"
"It's an errand for my master. Forgive me for not being able to elaborate."
"No need to say more. What need is there for me to know the orders given by your honored master?"
Soon the sun began to set in the west. The group selected a suitable spot by the mountain path and began preparing camp.
They pitched tents to ward off the dew, gathered firewood to light fires, hung pots, and so on—the preparations proceeded smoothly.
Soon the smells of roasting and boiling food began wafting through the air.
They appeared just as the Shenzhou Merchant House group finished their evening meal and were preparing to sleep.
"Wh-who goes there?"
A warrior on watch raised a shout toward the shadows emerging silently from the darkness, and they slowly revealed themselves.
Their figures flickered in the dancing campfire light.
"Shenzhou Merchant House... Who is in charge here?"
One of them stepped forward—a group clad in official robes over breastplates, steel helmets on their heads.
From their side, Jin Ichang strode forward.
"I am Jin Ichang of the Xi'an Shenzhou Merchant House. Are you officials from the court?"
"Jin Ichang of Shenzhou Merchant House. So you're the great hero Jin, house leader, known by the moniker Shenzhou Divine Fist. I am Bangu, Chief Punisher Thousand Household Officer of the Eastern Depot."
At those words, Jin Ichang was slightly surprised and offered clasped fists in greeting.
"To encounter a high Eastern Depot thousand household officer handling great state affairs in these deep mountains—truly unexpected."
"You're heading over the mountains to Xi'an, it seems. We spotted your firelight from afar and came to investigate. Have you seen any strangers? A group with a boy of thirteen or fourteen...."
"We've just entered the mountains and haven't encountered anyone unusual. Are you searching for that group?"
"Rebels. If you shelter or hide them, you'll be charged as rebels under the Great Ming code—see to it there's no mistake."
"Would we? If we find such rebel scum, I'll capture them myself and present them to you, milord. But what sort of rebels are they?"
"The son of former Gansu military commander Han Dongjik, who was recently exposed for his audacious plot to assassinate the emperor and suffered lingering death by dismemberment. He's around thirteen or fourteen, with the rebel mark branded on his forehead, so he'll be easy to spot. He's traveling with a few rebels who rescued him and helped him flee...."
"Those few rebels must be the issue."
"They have no notable skills, but one old man among them seems to know a thing or two about fighting. Of course, it would be nothing to the Shenzhou Divine Fist, famed in the jianghu for his fist arts even among Shaolin's in-name disciples."
As the two conversed, the Eastern Depot warriors were already inspecting the Shenzhou Merchant House campsite thoroughly.
Led by their chief Bangu, they were all beardless, their faces eerily pale as if powdered.
"No suspicious persons."
At the report from one of them, Bangu nodded.
"Then we're off."
With that single word from Bangu, they vanished into the darkness like ghosts, as silently as they had appeared.
Seonwoyong, lounging casually by a carriage wheel, watched their retreating figures indifferently.
* * *
In a pitch-black abyss without a sliver of moonlight, deep in a valley.
Urgent footsteps shattered the mountain silence.
Moments later, the ragged panting of beasts pursuing those footsteps echoed.
"What is it? Why'd you stop?"
The beasts, heaving roughly, halted at the stream bed between valley walls, sniffing and circling. Their masters emerged from the darkness.
"They're following the watercourse.
At this rate, our dogs can't track them...."
"Then it's even easier. Just follow the watercourse, right? Pull back the dogs and we'll take the lead. They can't have gone far. We'll catch them soon...."
Before he could finish, the man leaped forward, and his subordinate warriors followed, unfolding lightness skills toward the upper reaches of the valley.
* * *
They were being herded like rabbits.
The group of over twenty had dwindled to just five.
They knew being driven upward would eventually lead to capture, but they had no choice.
Han Sojung, ignorant of martial arts, had reached the limit of his stamina and came to a gasping halt, on the verge of collapse.
"Young master. Just a bit more effort. This old servant will hold them off here."
The Old Man stopped beside Han Sojung, as if resolved.
Han Sojung gazed at the Old Man with a despairing expression.
In the thick darkness, the Old Man's face was invisible, but his stance was already resolute.
"Give up on me. Everyone else leave, and I'll stay behind."
"What are you saying, young master? We've already staked our lives to save you. Put away such weak words."