A Familiar Martial Art
Outside the Murim Alliance grounds, after tracking alongside Paeng Ja-ryeong and Jegal Hyul, yet another ally was waiting for Namgung Woo.
“You really didn’t need to step forward yourself,” I Ho-yeong said with a grin, approaching with his usual bold, easygoing manner. “I can more or less guess what happened. I heard the news.”
“The Alliance should have kept it tightly controlled so word wouldn’t spread.”
“I just happen to have a very wide information network.”
At I Ho-yeong’s answer, Paeng Ja-ryeong nodded in immediate understanding. If it was the Yellow Dragon Tiger, that made sense.
“For now, I told the Changcheon Squad members that everything would be fine. Though honestly, they were all perfectly calm even without me saying anything. You seem to have earned quite a bit of trust?”
“My backers are rather reliable, after all.”
Namgung Woo answered while mimicking I Ho-yeong’s tone, then cast a quick glance toward Paeng Ha-ryeong and Jegal Seon-a.
“Pah! True enough. Who would dare touch you?”
With I Ho-yeong joining them, the group of four immediately returned to the Changmu Guesthouse. After receiving a warm welcome and settling into the annex, Namgung Woo explained what had happened at the Murim Alliance. He left out the fact that the assassinated individual had been an Alliance elder, as requested, and instead emphasized that the culprit was suspected to possess an energy wave similar to Lee Ja-ryong’s.
“That’s why I’ve been tasked with tracking down the murderer.”
As Namgung Woo paused to catch his breath after explaining up to that point, reactions poured in from every direction.
“They’re insane. Committing murder inside Luoyang, where the Murim Alliance stands firm.”
“You said it was someone with energy similar to Lee Ja-ryong. Isn’t that those guys… what were they called? The Nine Evils? The Nine Demons?”
“Gudomujung. What a pathetic older brother, worse than his younger sibling.”
“Shut it!”
“But… Gudomujung is being hunted by the imperial court, right? What reason would they have to provoke the Murim Alliance all the way in Luoyang…?”
“For such a heinous murderer, guidance toward the proper path is necessary.”
“Aigoo, there he goes again. This monk was just bragging about the tournament, and now look at him.”
“This is different. Punishing evil. Lord Jijang Bosal will gladly await such sinners in the underworld. Namu Jijang Bosal.”
With so many people present, even a few words from each created a noisy, bustling atmosphere. Paeng Ha-ryeong slipped through the chatter and asked,
“Then… will Gaga be moving alone?”
“No. That won’t be the case.”
Namgung Woo had been planning to bring this up anyway. He fixed his gaze on Myo-rin.
“Myo-rin, you’ll move with me.”
Suddenly the center of attention, Myo-rin’s eyes widened as she pointed at herself.
“Eh? Me?”
“Yes.”
“Just me?”
“Yes.”
“…Why?”
At Myo-rin’s disgruntled reply, two more voices piled on.
“That’s right, Gaga. If it’s not Monk Geumsin, then…”
“Um… if it’s a search, I-I could be of help as well.”
Though Paeng Ha-ryeong and Jegal Seon-a raised objections, Namgung Woo had a clear reason for singling out only Myo-rin.
“It’s dangerous.”
The first reason was the level of risk. Murim Alliance elders were, on average, Transcendent Realm experts. While some might reach that position for political reasons at the Peak Realm, the elders were generally supreme masters. And someone had killed such an expert—secretly enough that no one nearby had noticed.
It was not a danger that Paeng Ha-ryeong or Jegal Seon-a, who were merely at the Peak Realm, could endure.
“Then what about me? I’m also only at the Peak Realm.”
“You have your spells. Myo-rin, you possess a trump card that lets you escape at any time.”
Myo-rin had been the one who charged straight into the heart of the fierce battle between the Five Yin Demon Emperor and Namgung Woo—and had still managed to escape that battlefield.
“That was seriously dangerous, though…”
“Above all, Myo-rin knows about Lee Ja-ryong.”
Dismissing Myo-rin’s complaints, Namgung Woo stated the most important reason.
“While Lady Jegal’s resonance ability is outstanding when it comes to detection, it becomes difficult for her to display its full power when I’m nearby. Most importantly, to find an enemy similar to Lee Ja-ryong, we must first understand what kind of person he is, don’t you agree?”
“That… is true, but…”
Faced with Namgung Woo’s logical and coherent argument, Paeng Ha-ryeong and Jegal Seon-a could no longer offer objections. They simply drooped their shoulders in disappointment.
“Now, don’t be too disheartened, Ha-ryeong. While our benefactor handles matters outside, you must watch over Lady Jeong’s martial duel.”
At Paeng Ja-ryeong’s subtly suggestive words, Paeng Ha-ryeong’s ears flushed slightly red. When the husband went out to handle external affairs, it was the wife’s role to look after the household. Knowing that Namgung Sol carried the blood of the Namgung Family, Paeng Ja-ryeong had pointedly reminded her to fulfill her duties as the mistress of the house.
“Ah… that’s right. Then I won’t be able to watch your duel…”
Namgung Sol murmured sadly, as if only now realizing it. She had finally reached the main tournament, yet she wouldn’t be able to show herself to the person she most wanted to impress. Still, she accepted reality. Although meeting Namgung Woo had completely changed the direction of her life, she was still more accustomed to resigning herself to circumstances.
“As Brother Paeng said, Ha-ryeong, look after Sol. If the enemy realizes I’m pursuing them, the ones who might actually be in danger are all of you. So please try to stay together as much as possible.”
Although there were no Transcendent Realm experts among them, multiple Peak Realm masters changed the equation. Several fully matured Peak Realm experts could overwhelm even a Transcendent. With Geumsin and Paeng Ha-ryeong—both approaching the limits of the Peak Realm—the two of them alone should be able to handle a Transcendent expert. Adding the Yang siblings, who excelled at coordinated joint attacks, and the versatile Jegal Seon-a, they should be able to hold out until reinforcements arrived even if the culprit launched a surprise attack.
“And, Great Hero I, could I have a moment to speak with you in private?”
“Not here? If it’s about protection, there’s no need to worry. The commission lasts until the end of the Alliance Conference. The Jegal Family will cover the compensation.”
“There is something I need to discuss separately.”
“…Very well. Shall we step outside for a bit?”
Leaving the puzzled group behind, Namgung Woo exited with I Ho-yeong. They arrived at the training ground where Namgung Sol had once undergone her closed-door training. Namgung Woo did not bother deploying a sound barrier. If the matter was important, I Ho-yeong would block the sound himself.
“What is it you want from me?”
“Hm?”
I Ho-yeong looked slightly—truly only slightly—surprised. He had thought Namgung Woo might have noticed something, but he hadn’t expected such a direct approach.
“Well… was it that obvious?”
“You haven’t left my side much since we first met. At first I thought it might be coincidence, but after you followed me all the way to Luoyang, I began to suspect there was some intention behind it.”
Since things had come this far, there was no longer any point in hiding it. I Ho-yeong revealed the reason he had been hovering around Namgung Woo without pretense.
“After seeing your martial arts, I started feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.”
“…From my martial arts?”
“It felt like something I had seen before.”
I Ho-yeong was at the end of his thirties, approaching his forties. Even at the time of the Namgung Family’s destruction, he had already passed the age of learning and was preparing to enter his prime. As Namgung Woo’s tension rose, I Ho-yeong continued.
“After watching it a few more times, I realized it was slightly different. Similar, yet strangely altered. Like the difference between basic techniques and advanced ones. Your martial arts were on a much higher level.”
“Were you trying to confirm its identity?”
“That was the original purpose.”
“Did you discover it?”
“The identity of the martial art? Well… I have my guesses, but I don’t know for certain. However, I did figure out why I felt that sense of familiarity. Because it was the martial art of someone I know.”
I Ho-yeong recalled an old memory of a person who had used martial arts similar to Namgung Woo’s. And the perfectly identical martial arts he had witnessed just the day before.
“It was exactly the same as the martial arts used by Jeong Sol—that young lady.”
No way.
Namgung Woo’s pupils dilated, clearly revealing his shock. He had vaguely assumed I Ho-yeong was following him out of a warrior’s competitive spirit or simple vagabond curiosity. Who could have predicted that he would suddenly learn of another trace of the Namgung Family—not connected to Namgung Sol—in this manner?
“…Is that all?”
“Of course not.”
If it had been mere curiosity, he would not have followed this far. I Ho-yeong’s purpose went beyond simply confirming his suspicions.
“I’d like you to meet him once. That fellow… isn’t in very good shape right now.”
The next day.
As he had mentioned the previous night, Namgung Woo took Myo-rin with him into the streets of Luoyang. Myo-rin, who had been following at a slight distance because walking right beside him felt somewhat awkward, spoke in a voice tinged with fear at the unusually sharp aura Namgung Woo was emitting today.
“Hey, did you have some kind of grudge against Lee Ja-ryong, Captain? Why are you giving off such a murderous vibe…”
A grudge against Lee Ja-ryong? He did not.
If one were to call the fact that they had fought with their lives on the line a grudge, it wouldn’t be entirely wrong, but until that point, the relationship between Namgung Woo and Lee Ja-ryong had been entirely one-sided—only Lee Ja-ryong had been aware of Namgung Woo’s existence.
Namgung Woo had stopped Lee Ja-ryong’s rebellion neither out of personal enmity nor out of some grand sense of duty to protect the imperial court in Beijing and maintain peace throughout the world. He had simply stepped forward because there were people he knew in that place, and he possessed the power to save them.
But now that he had met Lee Ja-ryong, Namgung Woo would no longer be unrelated to him. Not as the one who had killed him, but as someone who knew something about his secrets.
“Not particularly.”
Even though he had resolved to live in this world, a faint anxiety still lingered in Namgung Woo’s heart. If he had suddenly crossed over from another world, there was no telling when he might once again be sent back to his original world without warning. At the very least, he needed to learn why and how he had crossed worlds.
He had cut down Lee Ja-ryong while prepared for the possibility that he might never find the answer. Yet now a clue had appeared within arm’s reach.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t anxious.
Though Namgung Woo’s tone remained calm, Myo-rin noticed that it was a lie. Still, the fact that he had spoken that way meant he did not wish to discuss it in depth. Myo-rin pretended not to notice and asked something else.
“Then did something happen while you were talking with the Yellow Dragon Tiger?”
“…It did.”
“What? What happened?”
Myo-rin frowned as she looked at where Namgung Woo was pointing.
“It’s a teahouse?”
“Correct. Let’s have some tea.”