The Dark War of Hunan’s Yueyang (2)
I should start by saying that everything I’m about to tell you is unverified information. It’s all hearsay, rumors I’ve picked up….
Once I gave him clear permission, Jeong Gwang’s tense expression finally relaxed and his mouth opened again.
"I don’t know the details, but I once heard something like this. The Righteous-Demonic Great War was nothing but a surface-level conflict. It was merely a smokescreen meant to hide the real, far more brutal war."
"The real war?"
"From what I understand, it was called the Dark War. Not only Mu-je, Eun-yeong, and Jam-ryong, but several other absolute masters were constantly forming and breaking alliances while aiming for each other’s lives. From what I heard, up until that point, Mu-je, Eun-yeong, and Jam-ryong had been on the same side."
"The Dark War…."
"Yes. As far as I know, Mu-je, Eun-yeong, and Jam-ryong toppled everyone else. After that, they began to turn on one another. Eun-yeong’s Cheon-sal-bi-dok became known during that time. The saying went, ‘If pain begins in your dantian, it would be better to abandon it quickly and lose your internal energy. At least that way you might save your life.’ That was the warning that spread back then."
Both the Songgye Sect Leader and the Cheongho Sect Leader couldn’t hide their shock at the story they were hearing for the first time.
As for me, I was thinking something entirely different from them.
The Dark War? No matter how I looked at it, these guys sounded exactly like people from my own world.
That was how it seemed to me. No matter how vast the murim might be, it was impossible for unknown reclusive masters to suddenly pop out of nowhere like that.
But what if they had come from the Black Wall Cavern? What if there were others like me who had trained there and then emerged?
The Ya-myeong-ju might not have anticipated people like us, but he would have made sure to take the spiritual herbs. After all, there are few things in wuxia more valuable than those.
And if they had used those spiritual herbs to recruit followers? If they had operated from the shadows, inciting the entire murim?
That was the only way Jeong Gwang’s story made sense to me.
A power struggle played out on the board called the murim.
Since one person couldn’t do everything alone, they used their forces to sweep away anyone who opposed them. A thorough cleanup operation.
Suddenly, I remembered what the Tang Family had said—that the Formless Poison seemed connected to both the Mount Tai Sect and the Hong-jeok Sect.
If that Formless Poison was actually Eun-yeong’s Cheon-sal-bi-dok, then both the Mount Tai Sect and the Hong-jeok Sect were firmly in Eun-yeong’s grasp.
"Jeong Gwang."
"Let me ask you one thing."
"Yes. Please speak, Limju."
"Are the Mount Tai Sect and the Hong-jeok Sect connected to Eun-yeong?"
"What? How did you know?! Just moments ago you spoke as if you knew nothing about Eun-yeong at all!"
"That’s correct. This is the first time I’ve heard the names Eun-yeong and Cheon-sal-bi-dok. However, I already knew a few things. And now they line up perfectly."
At my words, all three men wore expressions that said, What on earth is he talking about?
Of course they would. These people knew nothing about the Formless Poison. They had never experienced it.
The Cheongho Sect Leader had lost his dantian simply due to the tyranny of the Hong-jeok Sect.
I quietly crossed my arms and organized my thoughts.
The ones poisoned with Formless Poison had mostly been from the righteous orthodox sects.
The Namgung Family had been hit. So had the Tang Clan. Mount Hua as well. There were probably others.
But Cheonma Singun getting hit was unexpected. Did that mean Eun-yeong was backing the unorthodox factions?
Now that I thought about it, the way the Mount Tai Sect behaved had always seemed closer to the unorthodox path than the righteous one.
"What kind of person is this Eun-yeong? Could he be a woman, by any chance?"
"No. Mu-je, Eun-yeong, and Jam-ryong are all men."
"I see."
Jeong Gwang gave me a puzzled look at my response.
Ah. Maybe I shouldn’t have said “I see.” These people didn’t know about the Black Wall Cavern.
To be honest, the Black Wall Cavern was the perfect place to drive someone insane.
I wasn’t sure how much difference there was between men and women when it came to resistance against that kind of environment, but I suspected a woman wouldn’t have lasted long there.
Even I had gone half-mad.
"You said Mu-je has no faction. What about Eun-yeong and Jam-ryong?"
"Eun-yeong definitely has one. Jam-ryong is uncertain. After the Dark War, the three of them—who had once joined forces—split apart. Among them, Eun-yeong held the clear advantage. In reality, Mu-je and Jam-ryong were essentially expelled."
"So that’s why Mu-je started talking about unifying the murim."
"That could be part of it."
I was starting to get the general picture.
Jeong Gwang had surprisingly given me a lot of information.
Combined with everything I had already learned here, when I looked at it from multiple angles, the pieces fit together reasonably well.
"Is Jam-ryong connected to the Magyo?"
"I’m not sure about that."
"What about Mu-je?"
"I don’t know. But if I had to guess, I’d say he’s aligned with the unorthodox path."
I began forming a hypothesis.
Putting together everything I knew so far, I constructed the most plausible scenario.
A long time ago—roughly sixty-eight years ago—people like me had arrived in this murim.
Humans trapped inside the Black Wall Cavern, given nothing but a single secret manual, a large quantity of spiritual herbs, and Byeokgokdan.
I had no idea how many there had been. In any case, they would have trained their martial arts while imprisoned there.
And among them, a small number would have reached the pinnacle of their arts and stepped out of the Black Wall Cavern.
After fully mastering the Obliterating Origin Divine Art, I had reached the Transformation Realm.
That meant the ones who came out earlier would have been at least at the Transformation Realm as well. After that, they would have used the spiritual herbs or undergone some other form of training.
And people like that would have found one another somehow.
They would have realized each other’s existence.
The same would have been true for Eun-yeong, Mu-je, and Jam-ryong.
I didn’t know how they had met or how they had joined forces.
In any case, they would have exerted their influence from the unorthodox side.
Having come to this world, they probably acted however they pleased.
With power in their hands and knowing this wasn’t their original world, they would have been free to do so.
After all, when I first came out and arrived in Luotian, I hadn’t hesitated to break the limbs of anyone who displeased me.
On the other hand, there would have been some who formed connections with the righteous orthodox sects.
They might have liked the concepts of righteousness and chivalry, or their personalities might have simply matched that side better.
Or perhaps, having only known the murim through novels, they wanted to get close to the sects they had once admired.
And eventually, the Righteous-Demonic Great War broke out.
It wasn’t clear who had caused it, but since its true nature was the Dark War, it was highly likely that people like me had started it.
In the end, it led to mutual destruction. Especially the righteous sects—most of them were left in ruins.
The Dark War had been a victory for those who controlled the unorthodox factions.
It was probably thanks to Eun-yeong’s Cheon-sal-bi-dok.
A poison that directly attacked the root of martial arts—the dantian.
If you couldn’t block it, then the closed-door training in the Black Wall Cavern was meaningless.
No spiritual herb or anything else could stop it. So they would have either all died or become cripples somewhere.
And after that came the split between Eun-yeong, Mu-je, and Jam-ryong.
They were still lurking, watching for a chance to strike at one another.
The reason Jam-ryong and Mu-je hadn’t built large forces and were instead hiding quietly was probably because they still hadn’t found a way to counter the Cheon-sal-bi-dok.
That was my hypothesis so far.
I mulled it over once more, checking for any holes.
Looking only at what I had discovered until now, there didn’t seem to be any problems.
None… but….
When I lifted my eyes, I saw that everyone was quietly watching me.
"Ah. It seems I was thinking alone for too long. Where was I? Right. I was asking whether Jam-ryong and Mu-je had any connection to the Magyo."
"That is correct, Limju."
"Is there anything more you know about Eun-yeong, Mu-je, and Jam-ryong?"
"No, that is everything I know."
"I see. Then a few things have become clear. First, that the one behind both the Mount Tai Sect and the Hong-jeok Sect is a man named Eun-yeong."
At that, the eyes of the Songgye Sect Leader and the Cheongho Sect Leader grew sharp.
"Regardless of Eun-yeong, the two of you must still fight a life-and-death battle against the Hong-jeok Sect. So continue as you have been. Songgye Sect Leader, become the dam that blocks the Hong-jeok Sect’s tyranny. Cheongho Sect Leader, keep watching over them. Have you discovered anything else?"
"Unfortunately, no, Limju."
"Well, they’re being cautious too, so it can’t be helped. Then we’ll proceed as planned… Jeong Gwang."
"Please speak, Limju."
"The funds you were sending to Mu-je. How exactly did you send them?"
"Usually through promissory notes commonly used in the Central Plains. There is no method more reliable or clean."
Tsk. Of course. The guy wasn’t an idiot, so he wouldn’t have used a method that could be traced.
Besides, he probably hadn’t given Jeong Gwang any information that could be used against him.
"Is there any other clue that might help us track down Mu-je? Even the smallest thing is fine."
"Hmm… I will think about it some more."
"Good. Please do. You know better than anyone how difficult it is to find one person in this vast gangho. So even the tiniest detail—bring it to mind. Such things can sometimes lead to unexpected results."
The three men nodded. They seemed to fully agree with what I had said.
But no matter how small the clue, it was fine.
I was the one who had searched the entirety of Qing Mountain based solely on Yeon-ha’s words and still managed to find Namgung Hwi.
I could do it. If I lacked ability, I simply had to put in the footwork.
"If the Hong-jeok Sect is destroyed, will Eun-yeong show himself?"
Jeong Gwang frowned in thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"I don’t know his personality completely, but I doubt Eun-yeong would appear to take revenge. You know how it is. The higher one climbs, the heavier one’s backside becomes."
"Hmm. I wouldn’t know. I have no intention of climbing to any high position anyway."
Yes. That was the difference between me and them.
I had no desire to rule. No desire to dominate.
The reason I naturally spoke down to these people was simply because I was their elder.
My mind had crossed into a new era, so I could insist I was twenty-nine and only pretend to be ninety-six when it was convenient.
There was one more difference.
They would have only trained the martial arts they were given. But I had stayed fifteen years longer.
My own enlightenment. Those fifteen years.
It had delayed me, but that was the biggest difference between them and me.
That fifteen-year gap would decide the difference between them and me.