Footprints of the Predecessors
Within the imperial palace of the Central Plains lay a small lake called Golden Night Lake.
Nestled among the splendid pavilions, the lake was tended with such care by the palace attendants that it boasted exquisite scenery through every season. When the midday sun shattered across its surface, its beauty reached an almost unbearable peak.
Whoosh—
At that very place, a middle-aged man dangled a skinny bamboo fishing rod over the water's edge.
His shabby attire made it impossible to believe he belonged to the imperial court. A refined official in immaculate robes approached him carefully and spoke.
"Your Majesty, there are no fish in this lake."
The aging middle-aged man addressed as His Majesty answered in an indifferent voice without so much as a twitch.
"I am not trying to catch fish."
"Then…"
"I am trying to catch time."
"…"
It sounded almost poetic at first blush, but in the end it simply meant he was killing time with nothing better to do. The official forced down the absurdity rising in his chest. No matter what, one could not cast an irreverent look upon the Son of Heaven, said to have been sent down by the heavens themselves.
"Even so, Your Majesty, I worry whether it is truly wise to allow the beggars of the Beggar Sect into the capital."
"If it is not wise, do you mean they will rise in revolt?"
The Son of Heaven slowly lifted his fishing rod from the lakeside. Water droplets clinging to the line glittered like jewels beneath the sunlight.
"But it was Your Majesty who forbade their entry in the first place."
"Yes. It looked amusing, so I did it."
Everything had unfolded upon a single board of go.
"Then the decision to lift the ban this time…?"
"Yes. It looked amusing, so I did it. That is all."
Still wearing that indifferent expression, the Son of Heaven claimed mere curiosity as his motive. Who could ever fathom the depths of his true thoughts? The official bowed his head in acceptance.
"By the way, this memorial—I was told my daughter submitted it at another's request."
Princess Dohwa making such a petition was a little unexpected, and a subtle interest colored the Son of Heaven's voice.
"So I have heard, Your Majesty."
"What sort of fellow is he?"
In answer to the question, the official gave a detailed report of the poisoning incident that had occurred at the Third Princess's palace and of the troubleshooter who had resolved it—how he had uncovered the assassin's identity, and exactly what price he had demanded for the work.
Having heard the entire tale, a faint emotion finally crossed the Son of Heaven's expressionless face.
"Interesting. Interesting enough to remind me of a certain old man."
A very faint smile touched the corners of his mouth. Looking toward the princess's palace, a strange light flickered in his eyes.
One day, an official from Kaifeng paid a visit to the Beggar Sect's main headquarters.
Ever since their banishment from the capital, relations between the court and the Beggar Sect had been thoroughly strained, so the appearance of an official in resplendent robes left everyone bewildered.
Having summoned the Beggar Sect elders to the Hall of Begging Righteousness, the official raised his voice with imposing authority for all to hear.
"The Beggar Sect shall receive an imperial decree from the royal house!"
They had been barred from the capital in much the same fashion once before, and the faces of the beggars gathered there hardened to stone.
But the official began to recite contents that shattered everyone's expectations.
"Murim man Dan Mujin petitioned His Majesty through Her Highness Princess Dohwa, and the Son of Heaven has accepted the plea. From this day forward, all disciples of the Beggar Sect are permitted to enter and leave the capital of Beijing—!"
At first everyone wore blank looks, wondering what on earth he was talking about. Some even doubted their own ears, thinking they must have misheard.
Then Elder Ilhogae of the Beggar Sect suddenly leapt to his feet, startled by the name Dan Mujin.
"D-Dan Mujin?! That young hero truly petitioned the Son of Heaven?"
He questioned the official with eyes that refused to believe it. That astonished inquiry sent a wave of questions rippling through the throng of beggars.
"Dan Mujin? Who's that?"
"Why would he take such a dangerous risk for us…?"
At that moment, Bak Chil—who had once roamed the martial world with him while disguised as Majungcheon—stepped forward as if he had been waiting for this exact chance and began to explain.
"He's the youth the Dragon Head Sect Leader was secretly raising as his successor. Already reached the Peak Realm at that age, and he's made such a name for himself all over that he even earned the moniker Dog-Beating Dragon!"
He rattled off the Dragon-Phoenix Blood Incident, the Liaoning Province affair, the Jinju Eon Family case, and more, declaring that the young man was more than qualified as the next successor. Bak Chil's voice even carried a quiet pride that he had already cultivated a friendship with such a figure.
"What? Successor? Then the Dragon Head Sect Leader hadn't abandoned us after all?"
"To think he was raising such a talent in secret…!"
A faint swell of emotion spread like a wave among the beggars.
He had been cultivating talent for the future of the Beggar Sect. And that successor had charged into the imperial court and negotiated directly with the Son of Heaven himself—something the other beggars had never even dared to imagine. Just like the elder moments before, they all stared at the official with eyes asking whether this could possibly be true.
"Yes, he petitioned…! And thanks to him, entry to the capital has been permitted! I announce once more that there is now no obstacle to visiting—!"
The official's booming voice rang through the streets of Kaifeng. At this second confirmation, countless Beggar Sect disciples erupted into cheers as one.
"Ooooh!"
"Waaaaah!"
And Bak Chil, who had early on befriended the next Dragon Head Sect Leader, shouted the name with a triumphant face, as if his investment had finally paid off.
"Dan Mujin! Dan Mujin!"
Soon the three syllables of Dan Mujin's name were being spoken among the beggars alongside cries of ten thousand years.
"He solved a problem even the Sect Leader couldn't manage!"
"How in the world did he turn the Son of Heaven's heart?"
"Anyway, the kid's incredible!"
The news spread from mouth to mouth and in an instant shook all of Kaifeng.
To people who had believed themselves abandoned, a new hope had appeared.
"We can't just sit still after this!"
"Everyone, northward! The path is open—we have to set foot on capital soil!"
"I need to see the next Sect Leader's face with my own eyes!"
Excitement became frenzy and swept over all of Kaifeng, and soon beggars determined to head for the capital began flooding in like a tidal wave. Their numbers passed a hundred, then five hundred, and before long surpassed a thousand, becoming a vast throng rather than a mere gathering.
A procession that had begun simply to catch a glimpse of a face started swelling like a snowball as it passed through Kaifeng and city after city.
"Onward, to the capital of Beijing!"
"The Son of Heaven has granted us entry!"
"Who would dare stand in our way!"
That evening, in the cozy quiet of our troubleshooter office.
With the imperial palace business finally wrapped up, Dang Yeohye announced that she had somewhere she needed to be and came to bid us farewell.
"…Though I feel like I came here to ask about something."
She tilted her head, saying that when she had first set out she had been certain of her purpose, but now it was all a blur.
"Come on, unnie. How can you space out the second Neungsam-ajeossi is gone?"
When I snorted and teased her, Dang Yeohye immediately bristled.
"Yah, you little shit, that's your fault. I barely arrive and suddenly get dragged into the imperial palace… Next thing I know I'm doing laundry dressed as a maidservant, meeting a princess, getting tangled up in a poisoning… Ugh."
She rubbed her throbbing forehead and complained. Getting mixed up in palace intrigue had indeed set off a whole string of chaotic events.
"So where are you headed now?"
"The Myeolmade. I'm going to join Moyong Cheonghye."
They had fought the same enemy together before, and she said they had also bonded over both having left their families. The Myeolmade, huh. That meant she would be racing all over the place chasing the Blood Cult's trail. Or perhaps chasing something else entirely. At any rate, I figured we might run into each other now and then while I was out on jobs.
"Honestly, hanging around you means I end up experiencing every weird thing under the sun. Me, visiting a princess's palace? I still can't believe it."
I shrugged at her banter.
"An outstanding troubleshooter gets called on no matter where. Even if that place happens to be the imperial palace."
"That damn troubleshooter talk. Just watch yourself. Get mixed up with the palace and the odds of something ugly happening go way up."
I had tangled with high-ranking people plenty of times in the past, mostly over political scandals. But this was a different breed. This was not some image hit through the media—this was the imperial palace, where human lives crumbled like nothing.
"Anyway, I'm off."
She waved and grabbed the office doorknob. She had shown up out of nowhere, yet she had been a real help. I still had no idea why she had come in the first place.
"Hurry up and go!"
"We're not seeing you off!"
Jo Harang and Ilhong waved hard as they said their goodbyes, as if they would miss her.
"…You two almost sound happy I'm leaving?"
"No way!"
The two women of the office denied it in perfect unison. When had those two gotten so in sync?
"Ha. Unbelievable."
Dang Yeohye snorted as if she could not believe them and stepped out the door.
Jingle-jingle.
And just like that, Dang Yeohye left without looking back. It seemed she had left not only us but the Sichuan Tang Family as well. I hoped Neungsam-ajeossi would not be too heartbroken. Or maybe she would take him along—they were basically a matched set, after all.
"But Boss, what the hell actually happened in there?"
"Yeah, spill it. Playing a maidservant? A princess? A poisoning?"
The second she was gone, Jo Harang and Ilhong latched onto me with fierce eyes, demanding I tell them everything right now. They clearly disliked having been left out while the two of us went off and did something alone.
"…I-it's a long story."
When I said I would tell them later when we had the time, they immediately stamped their feet on the floor in protest. But it really would have been a long explanation.
"Besides, I've got somewhere to be."
"Where?"
"Looks like I'm about to get dragged off by Hwang Geolgae."
A new imperial decree concerning the Beggar Sect had been issued in Beijing, and the fact that I had been to the imperial court seemed to have spread everywhere.
"Ah."
Ilhong sent me a look of pure pity, as if she understood exactly what that meant.
"Chamgubo!"
A long sword cleaved the empty air. Sword light flashed from Hwang Geolgae's blade and plunged straight for my neck.
"M-Master! I think you're putting too much strength into your hand!"
I barely grazed past it, but before I could even block the second strike, a third flash of sword light came pouring down. This did not feel like a sword art for cutting dogs—it felt like a sword art for cutting disciples. Every single cut was thick with killing intent.
"Do you truly not know why there is strength in my hand?!"
Under the relentless sword force I could only keep stumbling backward. The usual Hwang Geolgae—staggering with a drunkard's sway—was nowhere to be found. Only ferocious sword strikes filled my vision as they came flying in with murderous intensity.
"Kh! Aish, seriously!"
A sword stroke sliced past my shoulder. How was this training by any stretch of the imagination? From the outside it looked like he was simply carving up a slab of meat. And this was supposedly him going easy on me because I had solved a problem he could not. If he had not gone easy… what exactly would have happened?
Ugh, Salsung, you there?
Convinced I was going to die at this rate, I called for my internal parasite Salsung. But my air-friend still gave no answer.
"You bastard, do you have any idea what you have done?"
"Uh… a good deed…?"
Hwang Geolgae's face twisted as if he could not believe what he had just heard.
"…There is no point in talking."
He charged in again with the air of a man about to carve something off me.
"Stop! I get it if you just explain—let's use words!"
"You have caught that Son of Heaven's eye! That is why this old man is so furious!"
And so the rage-fueled swordplay continued for a good two hours.
He was grateful that I had petitioned through the princess and opened the way for the Beggar Sect disciples. But the fact that I had entered the Son of Heaven's notice for his sake was, apparently, extremely inconvenient for him.
"Urgh… Master, your disciple is dying…"
"A Heavenly Killing Star like you will not die from this. Tch, tch."
So this was what it meant to get chewed out even when you did well. How terrifying could the Son of Heaven possibly be that catching his eye was such a problem? Honestly, it did not hit me that hard. No matter how dangerous he was, could he really be more threatening than this body of a Heavenly Killing Star?
Help me out, my dear Salsung.
When this thing lent a hand during sword training, the efficiency was incredible. I would have loved for it to somehow deflect even these brainless chops.
…
But even though it was clearly watching the whole thing, it maintained its silence as usual. It had been like this ever since its own story came up last time. Maybe it would react if I mentioned it again.
"Master."
"What is it, you brat."
Panting hard, I probed him about Salsung.
"You said last time that among the previous Heavenly Killing Stars, there was a woman, right?"
"…And why are you asking about that now."
Because I had seen his palm flinch back then.
"A previous Heavenly Killing Star would be like my ancestor, wouldn't it?"
"Hah. It is not like an ancestor, you brat."
Not a single drop of blood connected them, so stop talking nonsense, he snapped as he heaved himself to his feet.
"Anyway, she was in the exact same position as me. Can't you tell me a little more? I did lighten your burdens a bit, after all."
Just like Salsung, Hwang Geolgae had clamped his mouth shut after that one mention. But the story of how I had helped the Beggar Sect seemed to get through to him, and his heavy lips slowly began to open.
"The previous Heavenly Killing Star… as it is known, was a woman of the Demon Cult."
I flinched and pushed myself upright at those words.
"The Demon Cult…?"
Those absolute villains who showed up so often in the martial arts novels?
But whether the topic finally got under her skin, Salsung at last broke her silence and spoke.
Not the Demon Cult… the Ming Cult, you idiot…