Chapter 202
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: The Final Mission (1)
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The fake Ghostface is targeting the Jin Yu-bong family in Zhangye County, Gansu Province!
The messenger hawk arrived at Ye Mountain's Zhao Family Manor in the late afternoon, prompting an immediate emergency meeting.
The debate raged on.
It stemmed from the sheer distance. The place lay far to the north in Gansu, over two thousand li from here. Nestled beneath the Qilian Mountains—called "Heaven's Mountains" by the Xiongnu tribes—it was a journey that would take two full days even at a gallop on a legendary thousand-li steed, or at least ten days by carriage. A truly remote destination.
Given the circumstances, they couldn't just charge off in a panic. Instead, they needed meticulous preparation: investing a day to ready horses, travel supplies, and a route with resupply points along the way.
Everyone agreed up to that point. The sticking point was who to send.
Jin Gayong argued that the Zhao Family Manor should sit this one out, a stance that sparked uproar among those reluctant to accept it.
His logic was straightforward.
"This is the fake Ghostface's doing. Wouldn't it be only natural for the Face Pursuit Squad to handle it? Conveniently, A Suk and I are assigned there, so we'll go together."
In other words, everyone else at the Zhao Family Manor should stay behind and wait.
Someone countered that, even so, they should dispatch their own experts separately from the squad. But Jin Gayong rejected that too. The Zhao Family Manor's standing within the Martial Qin Alliance was already precarious.
No matter that it had been self-defense, they had recently crushed the Super Experts' crew without mercy. Most of those thugs belonged to the alliance, so while no one would say it outright, the glares aimed their way were hardly friendly.
In this climate, stepping forward in the Zhao Family Manor's name to smash another alliance member to pieces?
It was a burden they couldn't afford.
If there were no other choice, fine—but with the Face Pursuit Squad available, led by Lion Hall Lord's daughter Gwak Nan-hoe, they had to leverage it.
Moreover, though Jin Gayong didn't mention it, taking A Jeok-gang along would already be one of their strongest cards.
The household understood his reasoning intellectually. But with a disciple of their own sect in peril, staying sidelined felt like a humiliation. They grumbled, venting frustration and worry without any clever alternatives, until Elder Sang Gun-bo barked.
"Exercise restraint and face reality!"
His words carried weight, laced with the harsh truth of their position.
Crushing Summit Elder Sang Gun-bo.
The young man who had all but been chased from the Zhao Family Manor had returned after a long journey, gray-haired and resolute. Who would dare defy him to his face?
And so the meeting concluded.
Just as Jin Gayong had willed it.
Precisely as he had discussed beforehand with Elder Sang Gun-bo.
Afterward, Jin Gayong gathered his junior brothers and sister at the training grounds.
They harbored the deepest resentment. Their affection for the youngest disciple ran especially deep, and their inability to offer real help gnawed at their self-worth.
Jin Gayong looked each in turn: his juniors eyeing him warily—Go Dan-o, Wang Wu, and Zhao Baek-bing.
The third junior, Yao Mountain Sword Go Dan-o, stood propped on crutches, his body swathed in bandages from lingering torture wounds inflicted by the Super Experts.
He said he'd need another three or four months of rest before wielding a sword like before. Even that much was thanks to Flying Tiger's timely emergency treatment. Without it, he might not have walked so soon—or ever again, the aftereffects potentially leaving him crippled for life. A fatal flaw for any martial artist.
But as they say, fortune turns like the mare's night.
Having brushed death, Go Dan-o's eyes had sunk deeper, infused with newfound gravity. He'd felt his limits acutely, the gaze of one who'd stared down a wall. With relentless training, he could now vault over it and grow stronger still. In this way, Go Dan-o had seized a pivotal turning point.
The fourth, Wang Wu, was lost in aimless wandering.
Smart and talented, yet a touch frivolous. He lacked the steadfastness essential for mastering the Zhao Family Manor's heavy sword. It was like wearing ill-fitting clothes; his training skimmed the surface. He likely sensed it himself, and at such a sensitive age, it must have tormented him.
Then came the clash with Flying Tiger, followed by a change of heart from his advice—or so he'd heard. But Jin Gayong had been too swamped since to check in, leaving him uncertain of Wang Wu's current mindset.
The fifth and master's only daughter, Zhao Baek-bing, was spirited and bold.
Yet inwardly, she struggled under the weight. With her father and brothers gone, who wouldn't? She'd once wandered lost herself. Back then, Jin Gayong had asked the recovering Flying Tiger at the manor to share drinks alone with her. He didn't know the details, but she'd emerged brighter and more composed.
In this light, all his juniors had received Flying Tiger's aid—a bond beyond the ordinary. One reason Jin Gayong regarded him so highly.
"Your time hasn't come yet. Leave this to your senior brother and the elders around us for now. Focus on honing yourselves."
Jin Gayong told them. Wang Wu voiced his discontent.
"But senior brother, we're not kids anymore. We can't trail behind you forever, can we? Especially since this involves our junior brother Yu-bong. He's stuck there right now."
"I understand your feelings. If there were no other way, you'd step up—and you did, Wang Wu, drawing your sword when enemies invaded our manor. But in my view..."
Jin Gayong paused. Then delivered words that could sting.
"Do you truly have the skill to walk the jianghu proclaiming yourselves disciples of Ye Mountain's Zhao Family Manor? Are you still middling? Do you think you can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with this senior brother and shake the martial world?"
"......"
Stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Jin Gayong?
Go Dan-o and Wang Wu fell silent as the grave. But Zhao Baek-bing, less intimidated, murmured, "Comparing us to you, senior brother? That's asking too much."
Jin Gayong rebuked her.
"Baek-bing, jianghu brawls often spark from loose lips. But from experience, they always end in blood. Do you grasp my point?"
"Watch your mouth?"
"Is that all?"
"Hm... In the jianghu, back up your words with matching skill?"
"Good, you're on the right track. Then, shall we see if your swordplay matches that nimble tongue?"
"Pardon?"
"Draw your sword. Spar with me."
Shing~
As Jin Gayong drew his blade with crisp flair, Zhao Baek-bing swallowed hard, wondering, "No way... he's not going to poke my naughty mouth with that, is he?" But he merely nodded his sword tip. Get on with it.
......
A quarter-hour passed.
Zhao Baek-bing, trudging back like a lamb to slaughter, slumped beside Go Dan-o, panting and whining.
"Third brother, am I still alive?"
"Looks like it."
"How'd I survive?"
"Senior brother Jin only beat you just enough to live, I suppose?"
"Yeah. All because of my loose tongue."
Go Dan-o, eyes fixed ahead, consoled her amid her complaints: "No need to feel too hard done by, though."
Zhao Baek-bing nodded reluctantly. Unwilling as she was, watching fourth brother Wang Wu get thrashed from the start confirmed she'd been treated leniently.
As she dazedly spectated the "spar" between her senior brothers—or rather, the one-sided beating—Go Dan-o suddenly said,
"Still, I'm envious of you two. If I were whole, I'd have joined you to receive senior brother's lessons firsthand."
"Gasp, you mean that?"
Zhao Baek-bing shot back in disbelief, but Go Dan-o merely smiled faintly, gaze unwavering.
He knew her childish act was consideration for him. Truth was, he felt the greater regret.
......
Guided spars ended only as dusk fell. Wang Wu would collapse, then Zhao Baek-bing called again—five full rounds.
Afterward, Jin Gayong shared a modest drinking gathering. They'd meet again someday, but it soothed the parting ache for now.
Three years' promise.
Go Dan-o would depart at dawn with Yi Jin-ok to a secluded spot provided by Mount Hua Sect.
The invitation was formal: exchange swordsmanship with the Zhao Family Manor. But the intent was clear—they'd heard of the near-disaster and aimed to protect the pair until Go Dan-o fully recovered.
The manor accepted, requesting three years from Mount Hua Sect as well. A courtesy to let him focus on training amid the circumstances.
Wang Wu would be personally mentored by Elder Sang Gun-bo.
With the elder staying awhile, Wang Wu remained too, but he'd follow when Sang Gun-bo returned to Jinmun-do.
Zhao Baek-bing would leave soon as well.
Her haven: Mount Emei Sect, Sichuan's premier sect and one of the Nine Great Sects. Elder Hye-in, owing a debt to the Zhao Family Manor, agreed to take her in and solidify her foundations.
Not as a formal lay disciple. Mainly, with her broken engagement to Lion Hall Lord's heir Ho Yeon-sang, lingering here felt awkward—she wanted distance.
Out of sight, out of mind, as human hearts go.
Mount Emei knew the backstory and consented readily. Proof of Benevolence Sword Jo Ban-san's enduring prestige.
Thus, Jin Gayong sent his juniors to safe havens.
With a light heart, he turned to his final task: removing the last obstacle threatening Ye Mountain's Zhao Family Manor.
This was his role, he believed. Reviving the once-fallen manor from crisis. He'd already slain too many in the Martial Qin Alliance, earning widespread wariness.
How could the Zhao Family Manor truly join the alliance's fold?
Once tidied, it was time for him—hands stained with blood—to exit stage left.
New wine belongs in fresh skins, after all.