Chapter 157
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Ye Mountain Zhao Family Manor (1)
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"Captain Jin, how fared the Zhao Family Manor?"
"Better than expected. We couldn't save everyone... but it wasn't bad."
"Congratulations."
It was a report of victory.
Jin Ga-yong answered Flying Tiger's question with a cool glint in his eyes, and Flying Tiger offered a calm word of congratulations in return.
Yet neither seemed overly jubilant.
Jin Ga-yong had viewed the win as a given, and thoughts of the fallen weighed on him, preventing any pure delight.
Flying Tiger, knowing the man well, had predicted the Zhao Family Manor's triumph from his steady demeanor throughout.
Jin Ga-yong cleared his throat and turned to Flying Tiger.
"Flying Tiger, even if my earlier suspicions seemed disrespectful, the Zhao Family Manor stands safe today entirely thanks to you."
"Truth be told, my intentions were as presumptuous as you pointed out, and this outcome was just a lucky break."
"But it's an undeniable fact. And had I not held any goodwill toward you, I wouldn't have acted as I did. The Zhao Family Manor will repay you properly in time, but first, allow me to offer my personal thanks."
Jin Ga-yong bowed his head in sincere gratitude, and Flying Tiger started to wave it off before changing his mind and returning the bow.
Seen in this light, Flying Tiger was quite the polite young man. Indeed, he was a prime example of "near ink, one turns black."
The group descended from the outpost and headed straight to a nearby village with only a handful of households, where Jin Ga-yong sent out and received messenger pigeons.
Delivering news from here and receiving updates from there.
From what he explained, the Zhao Family Manor had long handled security across Ye Mountain. But with limited numbers, they could only station warriors at two or three key passes during normal times, leaving other areas uncovered. As a workaround, they'd built a network of relay stations for pigeons everywhere, allowing rapid dispatch of manor warriors in emergencies.
And this village was one such linked outpost.
Though the Zhao Family Manor could no longer claim lordship over Ye Mountain, when calamity struck, the villagers gladly opened the facilities for them. They still supported and cheered for the manor that had protected them for so long.
Flying Tiger, ever the picture of decorum, even exchanged pleasantries with the beaming A Jeok-gang.
"Brother A, we should grab a drink soon—someplace quiet, no rush."
"Sounds good. I've been curious about your story anyway."
The day before, while the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong lurked near the Yellow Worm Group's base awaiting their chance, the two had met privately. There, A Jeok-gang had voiced his honest wish despite his wariness of Flying Tiger.
"Someday, let's share a relaxed drink."
So Flying Tiger's words now extended that invitation. It was a clear signal of his intent to fully cooperate with the Zhao Family Manor and Jin Ga-yong.
A Jeok-gang was naturally pleased.
But Maeng Dal-seo, listening from the side, couldn't let it slide and shot a sharp, triangular glare.
"Hmph. You act all happy on the surface—who knows what's really in your heart? Weren't you with the Yellow Worms?"
"Well... nothing truly tragic about it, but looking back, there's one regrettable thing."
"What?"
Flying Tiger smacked his lips as he eyed Maeng Dal-seo, then muttered as if to himself.
"That I didn't crush them properly back then. What a shame."
He quickly sidled up to Jin Ga-yong and struck up a conversation. He knew full well whose side kept Maeng Dal-seo from exploding.
Jin Ga-yong saw right through his motives but let it pass. Flying Tiger was at least somewhat well-behaved by his side.
"By the way, Captain Jin, Ho Ye-hwa mentioned a supreme expert called the Twin Dragons stepped up on their side. How'd you avoid major losses?"
"Twin Dragons?"
"Yes. Apparently their top signboard master in the Yellow Worms?"
Jin Ga-yong gave him an odd look and asked again.
"You mean Narakdo Ho Yeon-sang and Heavenly Pivot Spear Yeo Hoe, perhaps?"
"Pardon?"
"Narakdo Ho Yeon-sang, eldest disciple of Lion Hall's master, and Heavenly Pivot Spear Yeo Hoe, the youngest under Hanzhong Fortress's fortress lord."
"Uh... why them all of a sudden?"
This time Flying Tiger blurted in shock, then turned to Ho Ye-hwa with a baffled expression, as if demanding an explanation.
Narakdo Ho Yeon-sang and Heavenly Pivot Spear Yeo Hoe.
Flying Tiger had heard plenty of rumors about these two. Even he, largely ignorant of Central Plains martial society, knew their names.
Narakdo Ho Yeon-sang.
Senior brother to Face Pursuit Squad Leader San Yeo Gwak Nan-hoe, he had joined the fray at the Lianman Plains duel alongside his master, Wanderer Blade Gwak Bu-ui.
Now, with his master—the Martial Qin Alliance leader and Lion Hall master—away at the war front, he led Lion Hall in his stead.
He was also in talks of marriage with Jo Baek-bing, the Zhao Family Manor's last blood kin. She had once vented to Flying Tiger over drinks that he was the last man in her hated household she ever wanted to see.
Heavenly Pivot Spear Yeo Hoe.
The Hanzhong Fortress lord—one of the four major powers holding the largest stake in the Martial Qin Alliance after Lion Hall—had seven disciples, and Yeo Hoe was the last taken.
From childhood, the label "genius" had clung to him.
In his teens, he was always named among Shaanxi's top young prospects. By his mid-twenties, he had surpassed all six senior brothers and sisters to become publicly acknowledged as the fortress lord's finest disciple.
Thus, he was all but guaranteed as Hanzhong Fortress's next top master.
When selecting squad leaders for the Face Pursuit Squad, with only three spots left (Jin Ga-yong had already claimed one), everyone expected he'd take one. And he did—leading the Face Pursuit First Squad, the strongest of the four: Gap, Eul, Byeong, Jeong.
For reference, Hanzhong Fortress shared deep ties with the Qingcheng Sect, making it the first faction Ma Yeop visited upon crossing from Sichuan to Shaanxi.
High Stone Manor—ravaged by the serial killer Ghost Face, where Ma Yeop met his end—was once among the key families upholding Hanzhong Fortress. Though greatly declined and now extinct, it had been so in its day.
So why, when Flying Tiger mentioned the Twin Dragons, did Jin Ga-yong bring up Narakdo and Heavenly Pivot Spear?
That was the common perception.
Unknown to Flying Tiger, in modern Shaanxi, "Twin Dragons" referred to those two.
Peerless in personal martial prowess, character, and family prestige—they lacked for nothing.
Thus, when discussing the next generation to lead Shaanxi's rivers and lakes, they invariably topped the lists, often compared and linked together.
Ho Ye-hwa, now somewhat recovered, offered the explanation.
"Captain Jin, it's understandable you'd think that. But calling Narakdo and Heavenly Pivot Spear the Twin Dragons is less than five years old. They've shone for ages, but widespread recognition in Shaanxi's martial world came around their thirties. Isn't that right?"
"Was it? I was secluded from the world back then due to personal matters, blind to the jianghu's shifts."
"Ah, so the rumors of your illness were true. Seeing you now, I doubted it... Ahem, anyway."
Flying Tiger's curiosity piqued midway.
He suspected Jin Ga-yong knew but feigned ignorance, and Ho Ye-hwa was itching to spill something juicy.
But at Jin Ga-yong's glance, Ho Ye-hwa dropped the chatter and got to the point.
'What's this? Captain Jin acquainted with Ho Yeon-sang and Yeo Hoe? Hmm, the Zhao Family Manor may be fallen now, but its former prestige rivaled Lion Hall or Hanzhong Fortress... Plausible enough.'
Flying Tiger decided to investigate that later and focused on Ho Ye-hwa's words. Just then, she posed a question to Jin Ga-yong.
"But do you recall—before those two earned the Twin Dragons name—there was another pair? Over a decade ago, mind you."
"......?"
Jin Ga-yong looked puzzled, so Ho Ye-hwa provided the clue.
"It referred to one man's fists. He wielded outer hard fist and inner soft fist, one in each hand, simultaneously. They danced in tandem yet apart, like twin dragons—so he was named. Ring any bells?"
"Twin Dragons Mo Kyung!"
"Exactly."
"Didn't he... retire?"
"Well, semi-forced into it. By Benevolent Righteousness Sword Jo Ban-san, your master. But doesn't 'ten years change the mountains and rivers'?"
"......"
By now, not just Flying Tiger but A Jeok-gang and Maeng Dal-seo had gathered around, listening raptly to Ho Ye-hwa.
As Jin Ga-yong fell silent in thought, Maeng Dal-seo cut in.
"Losing to Benevolent Righteousness Sword? Not surprising. So this Mo Kyung nursed a grudge, hid in some remote valley for bitter training?"
Ho Ye-hwa gave an awkward smile at the sarcasm.
"No personal ties on my end, but he's not that petty. Word is, those who valued his skills kept urging him to rescind retirement and return to the jianghu. He flatly refused, saying he had no more ambitions there. He only occasionally taught a move or two to juniors. Even now, many prominent figures in the Martial Qin Alliance passed under his hands. And from what I hear, Narakdo and Heavenly Pivot Spear trained under him once."
"Ho~ So no official status, but considerable renown?"
"An idol to many young warriors."
Flying Tiger easily guessed Ho Ye-hwa was one such youth.
"How'd a guy like that end up in your group?"
"Er, well......"
Jin Ga-yong interjected abruptly.
"Is this Twin Dragons linked to Harmony Fist Mo Seo-taek, the secular disciple of Wudang?"
"You know him?"
"I remember him. Didn't realize he tied to Mo Kyung, though... Hmm, so that's it. His fist path was so convoluted and bizarre, I wondered if he was truly Wudang's. It connects now."
Jin Ga-yong furrowed his brow, his latter words a musing as old memories resurfaced. He sank back into thought, seemingly onto some vital link.
The others left him to it and urged Ho Ye-hwa to continue.