The Clouds of War Gather Over Wuhan
Even after Namgung Woo declared the expansion of the Changcheon Squad, the group remained in Mount Hua for several more days. It was only after Jegal Pan had recovered enough to wield his martial arts again that a rumor shook both Mount Hua and Yixian to their core.
The rumor claimed that Gudo Mujung had finally succeeded in slipping through the imperial encirclement. Although the Wulin Governor Han Won-chun and the Mt. Mao Sect Taoists were in hot pursuit—making it difficult to declare the subjugation a failure—the fact that the imperial court’s power was no longer what it once was had become painfully clear.
“So it has come to this….”
Jegal Seon-a felt her vision darken as an overwhelming sense of impending war filled her eyes. She had known this future was unavoidable, but she had never expected it to arrive so quickly.
“The imperial court moved far too openly. They had to act on a grand scale to protect their wounded pride, but in the end, it was a blunder.”
“Because giving the sorcerers time and location lowers their chances of victory. The Mt. Mao Sect was there to provide some countermeasures, but still….”
Yang Jeong and Paeng Ha-ryeong spoke with clear regret in their voices.
“The absence of Mu-geuk truly is enormous.”
“The greatest under heaven?”
“Exactly. If Mu-geuk had still been with the imperial court, they wouldn’t have needed such a grandiose approach. They could have simply located the target and sent Mu-geuk alone. He would have cleaned everything up by himself.”
“A man like that wouldn’t have died an ignoble death, and he was younger than Gwang-geuk, so calling him an old master would be strange… Could he have truly ascended to immortality?”
“Enough with the idle chatter. That’s not what matters right now.”
With this, the imperial court had lost all momentum to interfere in the Murim world. The elephant that had been chained by the imperial yoke had finally realized it was free. All that remained was to smash through the flimsy fence and step out.
“We must head to Wuhan.”
The fuse had been lit. The only question was how long that fuse was—and how far the burning spark had already traveled. Since they had no way of knowing, it was safest to reach Hubei Province, which would soon become the battlefield, as quickly as possible.
“But Captain, the one-month period Guya Manor’s master mentioned hasn’t passed yet.”
“If we wait a full month, there’s no telling how the situation will develop in the meantime.”
Although the Huashan Sect had once been counted among the Nine Great Sects, it was now greatly weakened. If even the sect leader of such a diminished Huashan had heard the news, there was no way the leader of the Banunbang—a faction said to rival the Nine Great Sects—hadn’t heard it as well. It was safe to assume they had completed all preparations for an attack during the past few days.
“We leave immediately.”
And he would not abandon his sword.
“Huh? Did Guya Manor deliver it or something? This is the first I’ve heard of it….”
“I didn’t entrust it to Guya Manor. I gave it to someone else.”
Not long ago, two monks had come looking for Namgung Woo. They had asked him for a favor, and in return for granting it, Namgung Woo had made a single request of them.
“I made a deal with Hwaseong Temple.”
Transaction with Hwaseong Temple completed.
Geumsin of the Guardian Division has joined the Changcheon Squad.
The distance from Yixian in Namjikrye, where the Huashan Sect was located, to Wuhan in Hubei Province, home of the Jegal Family, was considerable. It was farther than the distance from Seoul to Busan. Yet for martial artists who could cover hundreds of li in a single day if they pushed themselves, it was a perfectly manageable journey.
“If we hurry, we can arrive within ten days.”
The party’s numbers had not grown significantly. Only two more people had joined the original four. One was naturally the client and Jegal Family member, Jegal Seon-a. The other was….
“By the way, is it really okay for a monk to join something like this?”
It was Geumsin, the martial monk of Hwaseong Temple. Yang Kvae continued in a rough tone that almost sounded like he was picking a fight.
“Our job is killing. I’ve heard that monks also hunt the demonic beasts that come out of the Ghost Gates, but sometimes we end up cutting down people too.”
Geumsin responded with a good-natured laugh befitting a monk.
“Haha, our Hwaseong Temple is a monastery that serves the Lord of the Underworld.”
“The Lord of the Underworld?”
“Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, of course. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.”
“I know that, you idiot! I just got confused for a second and had to think about it. Can’t you wait a moment?”
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was the one who had willingly descended into hell for the salvation of all sentient beings. Because he had vowed not to attain Buddhahood until every being in hell was saved, people held him in reverence and called him by another name—the Lord of the Underworld.
“If we kill evil men who would fall into hell, would we not be embraced by the merciful Lord of the Underworld? How could we fear or reject such an act?”
“…So basically, it’s fine to just beat bad guys to death?”
“Precisely.”
Yang Kvae’s face twisted strangely. Was that… really okay?
“Is it not the duty of us martial monks to guide evil men toward the proper path?”
“U-um, Monk. Then what if they aren’t evil?”
“Among the Evil Sects, there is no one who hasn’t committed evil deeds, so we can fight with peace of mind. As for the Orthodox Sect martial artists, we can simply treat it as a spar and knock them unconscious. Isn’t that why we use weapons without edges?”
Geumsin said this while lightly tapping the wooden staff slung across his back. The wooden staff that had been split in half by the Black Sword Ghost was now being used by Geumsin as two short staffs.
“…Captain, is this monk really okay? He sounds like a defrocked monk.”
“Even the Shaolin martial monks aren’t usually this extreme.”
“Wait a second. Hey, Monk! You haven’t defrocked yourself and returned to secular life, so is it really okay for you to belong to an organization other than Hwaseong Temple?”
“Miss Paeng is also from the Paeng Family yet belongs to the Changcheon Squad. It’s similar. I have already received permission from Great Monk Hangwi, so there is no need to worry.”
Yang Kvae and Yang Jeong raised both hands and feet in surrender against Geumsin, who refused to yield even an inch. What words could possibly work on a bald monk who openly declared it was fine to beat evil men to death? Besides, Geumsin’s joining had been decided by Namgung Woo himself. The Yang brothers were in no position to argue.
“Captain, I trust your judgment even if you called an ox a horse, but are you really sure about this? I hear the guys from Hwaseong Temple are pretty strong.”
“It’s fine. This was something Great Monk Hangwi requested first.”
Hangwi held quite a high position within Hwaseong Temple. Comparable to Jeonggwang, perhaps. Just as Jeonggwang shared the same generation as the sect leader, Hangwi was of the same generation as the abbot of Hwaseong Temple, though one rank below the temple’s highest elder, the head monk. Since all the monks of the same generation as the head monk had already passed away, Hangwi was also a very senior figure within Hwaseong Temple.
“Moreover, it has always been a custom of our Hwaseong Temple to send martial monks into the secular world to broaden their experience. Just as the Lord of the Underworld personally entered hell, we are to wander this hellish mortal realm and save sentient beings.”
Geumsin added that the Hwaseong Temple monks had been helping the Jegal Family because they had encountered them by chance while returning from such a pilgrimage.
“That’s enough explanation. I’ve already confirmed his skill, and he has promised to follow our rules while he is in the Changcheon Squad. That is sufficient.”
Namgung Woo neatly concluded the matter of the new members’ joining. After that, the group devoted all their energy to racing toward Wuhan.
The enemies’ ambushes were something Jegal Seon-a could predict to some extent. With Namgung Woo’s presence added to the mix—capable of extending his senses over an absurdly wide area—the possibility of being ambushed dropped close to zero.
Geumsin followed behind Namgung Woo and Paeng Ha-ryeong even more smoothly than Yang Kvae, who had made great progress in the Art of the Lightning Leopard after rising in realm. It was the movement technique known as Gu Beop Do Yang—seeking the Dharma by crossing the ocean.
Watching Geumsin’s back as he pulled far ahead, Yang Jeong muttered bitterly.
“Another Peak Realm expert….”
The Namgung Woo party raced forward like a raging storm. Eight days. That was how long it took them to reach Wuhan after departing from Mount Hua. It was only possible thanks to the exceptional Paeng Ha-ryeong and Geumsin among the Peak Realm experts, and the unique constitution of the Yang brothers, who suffered no side effects even when receiving Namgung Woo’s transferred internal energy.
“For now, let’s head straight to the main house. Lord Biun must have sent word ahead, but my family will still be very worried.”
“Let’s do that.”
Even after spending many days together, Namgung Woo continued to speak to Jegal Seon-a with formal respect. It felt as if he were drawing a clear line, declaring that their relationship was nothing more than that of employer and mercenary, which left Jegal Seon-a feeling a sting in her heart. Yet she hid those feelings and took the lead with deliberately confident steps.
“Wait.”
They had only been walking through Wuhan for a short while when Namgung Woo’s command brought the group to a halt in the middle of the street. Faint murmurs could be heard all around them. They had been in such a hurry that they hadn’t properly stopped in any villages to gather information, but the unsettling atmosphere had been palpable. It seemed the vague premonition they had felt while passing through Huanggang County—practically a neighboring town to Wuhan—had now become reality.
Namgung Woo approached a man who had been in the middle of telling a story. Perhaps feeling pressured by the large-built Namgung Woo’s approach, the man stepped back hesitantly and asked in a frightened voice.
“W-who are you, sir?”
“I’d like to ask you just one thing.”
They would find out once they reached the Jegal Family anyway, but there was no need to wait until then.
“Has something happened to the Jegal Family?”
At the question, the man who appeared to be a gossipmonger relaxed his expression as if he understood and raised his voice.
“Has the rumor already spread?”
The man, who had been about to say that one must pay a price to hear rumors, belatedly noticed a familiar face behind Namgung Woo. His face turned deathly pale as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
In that instant, the surroundings grew dark. A cloud had covered the sun. And the name of that cloud was the clouds of war.