The Jade Qilin's Torment
Do you know this beggar? And so, the present.
“Oh my, young master! Look over there. The spring flowers have bloomed so beautifully!”
“The wild azaleas blooming among the creeping phlox are truly the lone phoenix among chickens, the crowning touch, the single red accent. Just like Lady Moyong—”
“Young master! Look! A deer! It’s a deer!”
“……You damn Jade Qilin……”
The one reporting every single thing that entered her sight was the Golden Light Sword Flower, Moyong Juhee. And the sound of teeth grinding, adduk, came from Jo Hak-cheo, heir of the Hwaryong-jo and the man they called Brother Jo.
He had been trying every possible way to flatter and court the Sword Flower, but she treated him like he barely existed. Every time he was ignored, he glared at Paeng Daesan and gnashed his teeth. To think that a man would turn on another man just to win a woman’s favor.
Brother Jo was actually a great guy when it was just the men around (he’d be even better if he stopped pestering everyone to visit the brothels), but the moment women joined the party, he suddenly treated every other man like a mortal enemy. As if the women wouldn’t just abandon them the second they met a more handsome man anyway.
Still, friendship was different. If he had just asked for help, Paeng Daesan would have done what he could. On top of that, Jo Hak-cheo’s younger sister, Jo Yeong-yeong, was busy stealing glances at his face while pretending not to look.
Whenever their eyes met, Moyong Juhee would immediately turn icy and openly show her displeasure, ruining the mood. As a result, Paeng Daesan had spent the entire trip staring out the left window until his neck ached.
This was exactly why he hated traveling with women. The only other man here was like this, and he was starting to miss that loudmouth Beast Sage and the walking disaster Hwangbo Uncheok. Hell, at this point he would even take the Sword Fiend. Anything was better than this. Even hearing that damn “Ban-geom” nonsense again would be preferable.
He couldn’t endure it any longer.
At least there was Brother Changbin. He was— No, never mind. With two women present, Brother Changbin was probably just pretending to be mute.
Paeng Daesan let out a long, heavy sigh. It was truly the worst possible combination.
The one silver lining was that they would reach Jangwon City tomorrow and join up with the rest of the Moyong family. After all, even a fairly large city’s martial hall couldn’t possibly accommodate three entire groups from the Five Great Clans. Besides, it wouldn’t be proper for one group to monopolize the entire facility, so each clan would inevitably stay separately.
That meant both the Moyong family and the Jo family would finally be out of his hair.
“Ah! Young master! Look over there! The shape of that cloud is so strange, isn’t it? It looks like… um… well, it resembles something, so it’s interesting anyway!”
“If I had to compare it, perhaps a snake? Or a rope? To find such uniqueness in an ordinary shape—truly, Sword Flower’s powers of observation are—”
“Ah! Young master! Look at that couple passing by! Do you think they’re lovers? Ahh, I wish I could stroll through a spring day with my own beloved. I wonder if there’s anyone like that~”
“……You damn Jade Qilin……”
The Jade Qilin slowly dragged a hand down his face, pressing hard against his forehead.
----
Moyong Seong-ik had gone out for a midnight stroll with his son. Yet at the spot where the female beggar should have been, there were only two layers of straw mats spread on the ground.
“Ah. She must have gone to train first. This way.”
They headed toward an empty clearing behind the training grounds—dark and secluded, where no one else would come.
And it was only then that Moyong Seong-ik saw her.
“Hoo……”
A sigh escaped him.
As one of the Ten Great Masters of the World, how could Moyong Seong-ik fail to see through a mere face veil? Beneath the moonlight, an absolute beauty was lost in a sword dance. It was a rare and precious sight that no other beauty under the heavens could possibly match.
To be honest, his flat-chested daughter kept bragging that she was the greatest among the Five Flowers of Murim, but after seeing this, the contest was already over. Moreover, while the sword dance followed the familiar forms of the common Moon Maiden Sword, the underlying principles shifted moment by moment. She could freely wield imagery within her sword.
Her mastery of the heavy and the centered principles was breathtaking. Unfortunately, her speed and illusion principles still fell short. Still, to have grasped two of the four core principles of swordsmanship at her age was incredible. Even among Transcendent masters, there were plenty of fools who couldn’t properly understand even a single principle.
The world was wide indeed. Just where had such a talent been hiding in the guise of a beggar?
And that sunset-colored qi that sliced through the night—there was only one person it reminded Moyong Seong-ik of.
“Ahem.”
At his deliberate cough, Cheong turned her head. She had noticed the brat’s arrival long ago, but only now acknowledged Moyong Seong-ik, who had been hiding his presence.
“Hey kid, if you’re here you should greet someone first. What’s with the fake cough? Oh. You must be Ah-jun’s father?”
“Indeed. I came out because it seemed my son was causing trouble. Still… that qi feels familiar. Is that perhaps the Goddess Sect’s Juyang Seisim Gyeong?”
If this was Ah-jun’s father, then he was none other than the Lord of the Moyong Family. To Cheong, however, he was simply her friend’s father, so she immediately straightened up and showed proper respect.
“Yes. I received instruction from Seomun Su-rin Do-go. However, due to certain circumstances I have not officially joined the Goddess Sect. I am Seomun Cheong, outer disciple of the Goddess Sect.”
“Ah! So you are a disciple of Senior Seomun Su-rin!”
At the same time, Moyong Seong-ik was grinding his teeth inwardly. That idiot White Guard. How could he miss this? The clear, profound energy practically overflowed from her eyes. And he called her a beggar? If the guard responsible for protecting his son had such terrible eyes, how could he possibly guard him properly in the dangerous murim?
Of course, the White Guard couldn’t be entirely blamed for failing to see through the face veil. And in front of that guard, Cheong had only ever sprawled around scratching her stomach; she had never once displayed the refined beauty and etiquette expected of a Seomun Su-rin disciple.
“But why are you dressed like that? As far as I know, the Yeo-gwang—no, the Grand Matriarch Senior—would never permit such an appearance.”
“Ah. Well. This girl also had unavoidable reasons. Um… could you perhaps keep it a secret…?”
For a moment the graceful dignity of a beauty cracked, revealing a mischievous side. Seeing it, Moyong Seong-ik let out a low chuckle, feeling like he was looking at his own daughter.
“I see. Senior’s personality is exactly as strict as they say. You must have had your own reasons for hiding your identity. It was wrong of this old man to pry.”
“Not at all. Since you are my friend’s father, how could any parent simply watch if their son was associating with a beggar? Rather, I should be the one explaining that there is no impropriety.”
Her manners and attitude were impeccable. She truly was a proper young heroine of the murim. Moyong Seong-ik smiled warmly.
In truth, clothing was completed by the face. To his eyes that had seen through the veil, even the beggar’s rags somehow suited her.
“From what I can see, your attainment is no ordinary thing. Looking at your limbs, it seems you have undergone Body Reconstruction, yet you have not yet crossed the wall.”
“Yes. To be honest, this girl was a bit arrogant and underestimated the difficulty. I now keenly feel just how high that wall truly is.”
“Haha, since you have already glimpsed what lies beyond, it will come to you soon enough. Hmm? By the way, how old are you?”
“I have just reached the wonderful age of twenty.”
I’m twenty years old, Cheong shamelessly declared, laying down a steel plate so thick it might as well have been adamantine. Her master had asked her to do this; she could lay down a diamond plate if needed. “Wonderful age” was a term used only for women, referring to those around twenty. In her original world, many people completely misunderstood it as meaning “unknown age.”
“Hoo… Senior Seomun Su-rin……”
Moyong Seong-ik swallowed his astonishment. He had heard the old Yeo-gwang monster had grown weak with age and no longer appeared in the murim, but it turned out she had been raising a monster like this. Come to think of it, he had heard rumors. The Mount Hua Sect Leader had given the title Divine Sword to one of the old woman’s disciples around the same age and been accused of senility. Seeing her now, the title was more than deserved.
And she was only twenty!
Having glimpsed beyond the wall and achieved Body Reconstruction at that age, she was not only destined to become the greatest female martial artist of the future, but a heavenly talent who could contend for the title of the strongest under heaven with his own son, who possessed the Heavenly Martial Body.
“As expected, this is a great blessing for the righteous path. Ah-jun, you have made a truly wonderful friend. And to you as well—please take good care of my inadequate son.”
“What are you saying? Your son is already a magnificent man. There is no need to worry at all.”
“Indeed. Since you say there are circumstances, I shall pretend I did not see you tonight. However, if your schedule takes you to the Great Murim Competition, my family will be staying at the Small Flower Gate. Feel free to visit us anytime.”
Moyong Seong-ik took out a small wooden box from his robe, opened it, and handed her a guest plaque. It was, of course, a special supreme-grade plaque bearing the Lord’s own name. With this, four of the Five Great Clans’ unlimited access passes now belonged to one person. The only one still missing was the Jegal Clan’s. She also held the Paeng Clan heir’s guest plaque and two others, and she was already the benefactor of the Tang Clan.
“Ahem. It seems I have intruded without notice on a gathering of young friends. I shall take my leave now.”
“The night roads are dark. Please go safely.”
“Haha, yes. You two be careful as well.”
With a completely refreshed heart, Moyong Seong-ik left with light steps, heading back toward the Small Flower Gate. Then a thought suddenly occurred to him.
Wait. If she was an outer disciple, didn’t that mean marriage was possible? If two peerless geniuses were to marry, wouldn’t their child surpass even the exalted Mucheon-daeje Senior and become the greatest martial artist of all time?
“That idiot. He should have proposed when he had the chance.”
Having the old Yeo-gwang as his in-law was a little frightening, though.
----
And following the Black Point Master and Seomun Su-rin, yet another person burned with rage.
“How dare those Black Point bastards. Hah.”
Choe-ri-ong crumpled his face into a deep scowl.
Suspicious men had approached waving gold, trying to gather information on Gyeon Po-hui and lure her out. However, the Seol Clan Merchant Group was the Hubei branch of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, guarded at all times by the elite warriors of the Divine Cult’s Secret Pavilion.
The men who had attempted the bribe had been made to spit out the truth through the five elements principle—fire, water, thorns and clubs, iron pincers, and the earth. The ones behind it were none other than the Black Point bastards.
That said, Choe-ri-ong was not yet a supreme expert who could storm the Black Point alone and slaughter them all. Instead, he knew a group that would gladly share his anger.
“Listen, young cult brother.”
“Yes, elder.”
“I’m sorry to ask, but could you deliver a message to the Divine Cult’s secret pavilion? It is extremely urgent, so I request it be treated as a grand-priority dispatch.”
Though his words were polite, it was essentially an order. A grand-priority dispatch meant the messengers would have to run a desperate relay race to deliver it quickly to the cult’s leadership. The one consolation was that since the Divine Cult had advanced into the Central Plains, they had taken over Joo-cheon City beyond the Ga-yok Pass in Gansu Province and built a secret pavilion there. At least the terrifying desert crossing could be avoided.
The Zigui contact point only needed to reach the next city anyway, so there was no need to worry about the desert.
“Understood. I will deliver it as a grand-priority message.”
And so, Choe-ri-ong’s letter raced toward the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s secret pavilion.