Chapter 93
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Noduk's Master
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The ferocious palm strike from moments ago came hurtling toward Mokguja's throat once more.
But this time, the outcome was slightly different.
As if he had anticipated it, Mokguja dropped low to the ground, evading the old man's palm force. He then rolled forward, closing in on the old man.
But that was all.
The old man smirked at the sight and flicked the thumb and index finger of his left hand again. A hole instantly pierced through the area near Mokguja's shoulder, blood spraying out.
"You can't keep this up forever, old timer. Either kill me or let me go."
Mokguja bellowed as he leaped into the air despite the hole in his shoulder. The old man's finger strike flicked out once more.
This time, it wasn't just once. Soon, holes were punched through both of Mokguja's thighs as well.
Mokguja collapsed forward, as if kneeling of his own accord.
The old man looked down at Mokguja, who lay prone on the floor glaring up at him, with an intrigued expression before opening his mouth.
"Indeed, your sturdy frame matches your fierce appearance. You'll be useful for something else. Hey, you there."
As the old man called out, two shadowy figures slipped into the room from outside, as if they had been waiting.
"Take these two away."
With that, he casually tossed Noduk to one of them and strode out of the room.
Yet the finger technique the old man had just used was astonishingly similar to one Seonwoyong had employed several times before.
It was none other than the Ink Soul Finger.
* * *
Jade Gate Pass.
It marked the western end of the Great Wall, a shield erected at the edge of the Central Plains and the spear tip aimed toward the Western Regions.
It had been fifteen hundred years since Emperor Wu of Han first established it on this site.
Despite countless trials and tribulations over the centuries, its massive walls and gates still boasted their imposing grandeur.
Between Jade Gate Pass and Dunhuang lay the Singing Sands Dunes, and not far from there stood a vast manor.
But no signs of life were visible inside or around the manor, and filth was scattered everywhere.
From one of the hundreds of rooms in this manor—built like the walls of Jade Gate Pass from packed earth and reeds—came a faint stir of activity.
This was Han Family Manor, the ancestral home where Han Sojung's Han clan had lived for generations.
The Han family had long been one of the premier martial houses representing the western reaches of the Central Plains.
They had served generation after generation as the Anxi Military Commissioner, garrisoned at Jade Gate Pass to defend against the Western Regions.
But after Han Sojung's father, Han Dongjik, was implicated in a rebellion, the people of Han Family Manor had scattered to the winds, leaving the estate abandoned.
Yet at sunset this day, astonishingly, Elder Jang sat in the manor's largest chamber, with three armored generals seated before him in full battle gear.
After disposing of the Great Cloud Merchant Association's cargo the day before, he had left Han Sojung at an inn in Dunhuang and ridden here alone.
"So, we're entrusting the young master to that man?"
The old general in the center of the three asked Elder Jang, who nodded and continued his explanation.
"By my judgment, he's undoubtedly one of the rare supreme experts in the world. He might even be one of the demonic cult's leaders."
"If you say so, then it must be true."
The old general nodded, and the fierce-looking general to his left spoke up.
"Then how can we hand the young master over to such a dangerous fellow?"
"There's no other choice. Isn't that right?"
The general to his right now chimed in to support Elder Jang.
"Exactly. We have no options at this point."
At Elder Jang's response, the three generals fell silent once more.
"What in the world has become of this realm..."
Only after a long pause did the central old general mutter to himself.
"Indeed. His Majesty abandons state affairs, lost in decadence and pleasure, while barbarians on all sides bare their fangs."
It was the reign of the Ming dynasty's thirteenth emperor, the Wanli Emperor.
Having ascended the throne as a child, with Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng as regent, the first decade had been the great flourishing era known as the "Wanli Restoration," one of the Ming's golden ages.
But after Zhang Juzheng's death—when he was posthumously dismembered and his family executed in ways that defied understanding—the emperor utterly abandoned governance.
For decades, the Wanli Emperor ignored state matters entirely, only briefly attending to them during the Imjin War far away in Joseon against the Japanese invaders.
But once that war ended, he retreated once more to the rear gardens of the Forbidden City.
The rumors were dire.
He surrounded himself with sinister eunuchs and dubious Daoists of questionable origins, engaging in all manner of suspicious activities—rumors that had even reached this remote Jade Gate Pass.
Countless palace maids and eunuchs were said to have died in the rear gardens, but no one knew the details.
In truth, the execution of the previous Anxi Military Commissioner, Han Dongjik, on charges of treason was equally shrouded in mystery, and the fact that his three deputies still held Jade Gate Pass made no sense either.
Of course, the three generals before Elder Jang were also natives of Han Family Manor.
By all logic, they should have been purged alongside Han Dongjik's downfall.
But the Ming empire now was a realm where nothing made sense, from the emperor down to the common folk.
Having exhausted its strength in the war against Japan, taxes had grown brutal. As the reign descended into chaos, more and more peasants abandoned their fields to become wandering vagrants.
Compounding this, the Jurchens in the north and barbarians everywhere else gathered their forces, eyeing the Central Plains covetously. Truly, an age of chaos had dawned.
Yet from the imperial capital of Beijing came no edicts or decrees.
Not for decades already.
Thus, it was no surprise that over a year after these three generals submitted their resignations, no imperial orders had come—and that they still remained at Jade Gate Pass.
"So, what do the Donglin Party elders intend to do?"
At last, the name Donglin Party emerged from the old general's lips.
The Donglin Party was one of the two forces now steering the Ming empire.
It referred to alumni of the Donglin Academy, a private school dating back to the Song dynasty. Over a century later, a significant portion of the Ming court officials were graduates or adherents, making it no exaggeration to call this the era of the Donglin Party.
And Han Family Manor represented the armed faction aligned with the Donglin Party.
But the other force was no less formidable: the eunuchs clustered around the emperor.
In a way, these two were the Ming's night and day, yin and yang, moon and sun.
"Regrettably, it seems they've given up all hope."
At Elder Jang's words, the three generals merely nodded.
"Understood. How could it be otherwise?"
The old general sighed deeply in response, and the conversation ended.
Moments later, the three generals departed Han Family Manor.
They had heard Elder Jang's full account of recent events and agreed to entrust Han Sojung to Seonwoyong.
But before leaving, the old general mounted his horse and exchanged a few words with Elder Jang.
"These are chaotic times now. You know full well that the young master's safety is our top priority?"
"Of course. It's etched into my bones."
"And if—just if—things go even slightly awry, bring him straight here. Do you think we three couldn't protect one young master?"
"I will keep that in mind."
"The Donglin Party's counterattack is about to begin. We can't leave the Great Ming empire in the hands of those eunuch traitors forever."
"I eagerly await it as well."
"Someday, we three will escort the young master into the capital. Protect him well until then."
"Understood."
As their talk dragged on, the fierce-looking general, already mounted, shouted.
"General! Let's go. We've left the pass unattended too long."
With that, the three rode off toward the western sunset, their long shadows trailing behind.
Elder Jang watched their retreating figures, lost in thought.
There were many things he should have said but held back.
Above all, the most crucial was that their precious young master was increasingly acting like a woman.
Elder Jang knew that Han Sojung's body already carried a woman's fragrance.
With a sigh, Elder Jang vanished back into Han Family Manor's grand gates.
He still had tasks to attend to.
This Han Family Manor was where he had served Han Dongjik for over a dozen years.
Even with everyone gone, it held secret doors scattered here and there. Some led to underground passages stretching far away.
And now, Elder Jang was the only one who knew of them.
* * *
That night, in the basement of a large manor in Dunhuang.
Mokguja, who had been unconscious, regained his senses and looked around.
It was a prison cell without windows, its walls packed earth, with only a latticed iron grating for a door.
He first checked the wounds on his shoulder and both knees from the old man's finger strikes.
The injuries had already been treated, padded thick with cotton and wrapped tightly in bandages.
Thanks to some excellent golden sore medicine, the pain was minimal, and he could even move his arms and legs slightly.
But he was starving and parched.
"You bastards! Bring food! Water too!"
Mokguja bellowed toward the outside. Soon after, two wooden bowls were slid under the grating.
One held rice topped with roasted chicken, the other water.
Mokguja devoured them without hesitation.
Then he pulled down his pants and filled the empty bowls with urine.
"Hey! Take my piss!"
He shouted toward the outside and lay back down. A familiar voice responded.
"Heh heh. Truly, a man with unbreakable bones."
It was the old man.
And at his side, Noduk followed respectfully.
"Master, what do you plan to do with this one?"
Astonishingly, Noduk addressed the old man as his master.