Bonds of Fate (1)
Being listed among the One Hundred Great Masters or the Top 100 Masters did not necessarily mean one ranked among the top hundred in pure martial prowess. Countless hidden masters lived in seclusion, their names unknown to the world. Even among those whose reputations had spread, the ranking was not purely a measure of skill. The Sharp and Beautiful Sword Flower of the Namgung Clan, for instance, might possess slightly lesser martial arts than the head of some minor regional sect, yet her fame and influence far surpassed his. As the direct descendant of the Namgung Clan and a leading candidate for the title of the most beautiful woman in the martial world, she naturally earned her place among the One Hundred Great Masters. Thus, among those frequently mentioned when naming the top hundred, quite a few owed their positions not to overwhelming martial strength, but to other factors that made their names valuable.
The Three Show Scholars were a prime example. Few would deny that the Array-Extreme Show Scholar, who traveled ceaselessly across the Central Plains to set up formations and barriers, or the Martial-Collecting Show Scholar, founder of Jipmudang and pioneer of modern martial studies, were figures of greater importance than many renowned masters. Yet when Jipmudang compiled its official Top 108 Masters list—selecting only those with proven battle records and recognized martial ability—the Ten Great Beauties were reduced to six, and the Five Great Heroes to three. Neither the Array-Extreme Show Scholar nor the Martial-Collecting Show Scholar made the list. Only the final member of the Three Show Scholars, the Spell-Transcending Show Scholar, held a place among the Top 108. Since her debut in the martial world, she had personally defeated more than ten masters of the Top 100 caliber or equivalent. It was only natural.
At this very moment, that illustrious Spell-Transcending Show Scholar was embracing an old friend, laughing in the joy of reunion.
"Ah, how long has it been? Feels like nearly ten years, yet you haven't changed at all... well, your energy seems a bit different."
"Says the one who's aged half a century more than me yet looks exactly the same. I should have studied martial arts instead."
"Nonsense. I was simply born superior. Do you really think martial arts or spells would have made any difference? If I'd learned martial arts and you'd learned spells, we'd just be saying the same things with the words swapped."
The Heavenly Demon laughed, and Ju Tong Su-sa laughed with her. When their laughter faded, they released each other. Only then did Ju Tong Su-sa speak.
"Come to think of it, who are those friends behind you? Introduce them to me as well."
Her gaze turned toward me and the two women standing behind the Heavenly Demon. While the other two remained frozen, I answered first.
"Yu Baek pays his respects to Senior Ju Tong Su-sa."
"Ah, so you're the Manhwageom who's been challenging people everywhere. How did you end up traveling with the Heavenly Demon?"
"I developed some interest in the people calling themselves Guyeongmun."
"I see. From the way you phrased that, I suppose you don't want to explain why that interest arose."
I answered with a smile. Ju Tong Su-sa raised an eyebrow slightly, then nodded. Soon her eyes moved to Dang Ju-yeon and Yeom Ho-yun.
"And these young ladies?"
"I am Dang Ju-yeon of the Sichuan Dang Clan. It is an honor to meet the renowned chivalrous hero, the Spell-Transcending Show Scholar."
"Yeom Ho-yun of the Guizhou Yeom Clan greets the Spell-Transcending Show Scholar."
"Oh? So the future pillars of the Seven Great Clans and the Four Great Evil Sects? I seem to recall hearing that Young Lady Dang has been following Young Hero Yu Baek on his chivalrous endeavors. Is Young Lady Yeom doing the same?"
"Yes. I thought it might broaden my horizons..."
"I see. That's good. I've been needing more trustworthy people. Until just one hour ago, I was still worrying about that."
The Heavenly Demon frowned at those words.
"Not enough? Even with me here?"
"While you were on your way, I learned a few more things. These Guyeongmun people aren't some ordinary unorthodox faction researching jiangshi techniques."
"So they're a somewhat impressive unorthodox faction, then."
"They've already perfected the Living Jiangshi technique."
At that, the three of us fell so silent that even our breathing seemed audible. Since I had no idea why, I quickly asked before the conversation could continue.
"Um, what exactly is a Living Jiangshi? I'm sure the rest of you know, but as you can see, I only recently came down from the mountains."
Three pairs of eyes turned toward me at once. Dang Ju-yeon was the first to speak.
"Exactly what it sounds like—a living jiangshi."
My confusion only deepened.
"If it's dead, isn't it just a corpse?"
"So you do know what a jiangshi is?"
"Not really, no."
All I knew was that jiangshi were corpses that moved. Ju Tong Su-sa studied me for a moment, then spoke again.
"Originally, jiangshi techniques were developed by the alchemists of the Daoist sects to preserve the bodies of those who died or were dying on the battlefield, allowing them to be transported as they were."
"Is that so? I didn't know."
"I could tell. Anyway, the common form of necromancy involves using jiangshi techniques to preserve sturdy corpses, then binding evil spirits or animal souls to them through spells to control them. That's also illegal, but the movement comes from the spells rather than the jiangshi technique itself, and any competent spellcaster can manage it."
"What's different about Living Jiangshi?"
"Living Jiangshi are created by applying jiangshi techniques and hypnosis to living people, stripping away their reason and turning them into powerful slaves. Keeping a person alive while transforming them into a jiangshi is difficult enough, and refining their clouded mind into something controllable as a slave is just as hard."
"Ah... that's terrible."
A soulless corpse wouldn't know how it was being used, so while those who knew the original person might be angry, it wasn't necessarily an act of pure evil. But turning a perfectly healthy living person into an idiot slave—where could there be any good intention in that?
"Indeed. It's an atrocity that heaven and earth would condemn. Moreover, unlike jiangshi created through necromancy, Living Jiangshi can wield weapons and form battle formations. Unless the court grants special permission, researching Living Jiangshi is considered treason punishable by beheading if discovered. There have already been several precedents."
That made sense. What else could one do with a large number of sturdy, fearless idiot slaves? But learning this raised another question.
"Then shouldn't we report this to the authorities?"
"I said they've already perfected it. I only learned recently, but these people have possessed the method for creating Living Jiangshi for quite some time. I don't know if it's because of Prince Han or some other connection, but the authorities in the capital have been turning a blind eye to the research at the Henan Academy for years, accepting their flimsy excuses. My guess is they already have hundreds of Living Jiangshi in their possession."
"At that point, it almost seems like the court is protecting them. Hundreds of Living Jiangshi, and possibly cannons in the worst case—that won't be easy to deal with."
The Heavenly Demon spoke, and Ju Tong Su-sa replied.
"It doesn't seem like the court itself is directly backing them, but just in case, be careful. Plenty of martial artists have died to cannon fire, but there's no need for you to join that list, Heavenly Demon."
"Do you think I don't know how dangerous cannons are? Worry about yourself, Gi Ya-rin. If I line up everyone who's heard cannon fire and smelled gunpowder, there might be a few in the military command, but not a single one in the martial world. During the Red Horse War, the government troops fired so much gunpowder that I could have built a hill with what was left over."
The Heavenly Demon snorted, then turned to me and the two young ladies.
"These two are hopeless. Do you even know how to dodge cannon fire?"
Yeom Ho-yun, suddenly singled out, flinched and answered.
"I don't really know."
"You have to listen carefully to the sound of the fuse burning. If it starts to shrink, don't just stand there like an idiot—immediately do a Lazy Donkey Roll. If you press yourself flat against the ground, you won't get hit, whether the shell explodes on the ground or is fired directly at you. At worst, you might get grazed."
Since we had no idea what she meant, we could only blink. The Heavenly Demon sighed and scratched the back of her head.
"Ugh, what's the point of explaining? If you get hit once or twice, you'll figure out how to dodge on your own. It's not even certain they have cannons anyway."
"Can someone survive being hit by a cannon once or twice?"
"If you're lucky, the shell will miss you even if you're standing out in the open. If you're unlucky and die, that's just your fate."
The Heavenly Demon grinned as she spoke, but Dang Ju-yeon and Yeom Ho-yun's expressions were far from pleased. At that moment, Ju Tong Su-sa clapped her hands to gather everyone's attention.
"Well, enough about possible cannons. Shall we go eat? I know a good inn nearby. Their lamb soup noodles are absolutely divine."
"Sounds good, I'm hungry. But do you have money? I've never seen you with any."
"Since you brought it up, lend me a silver coin. I've been running low on funds again, and it's embarrassing to keep running tabs everywhere. Thanks to that, I've been drinking cheap yellow wine instead of Baofeng Wine or Songhe Liangye since arriving in Luoyang."
"Of course you have. Are you still paying for drinks with your calligraphy these days?"
"There isn't an inn in the Central Plains without one of my scrolls now. It's become quite troublesome."
Once again, the Heavenly Demon and Ju Tong Su-sa laughed together. After a moment, Dang Ju-yeon hesitantly asked,
"By the way... how did the two of you become so close?"
"Hm? Ah, the Heavenly Demon helped me with my work quite a bit when we were younger."
"What? The Heavenly Demon did?"
At Yeom Ho-yun's surprised question, the Heavenly Demon replied,
"Why are you so shocked? I just did some good deeds when I heard about it."
"But... isn't the Spell-Transcending Show Scholar from the Maoshan Sect? Even if Maoshan isn't one of the Nine Great Sects, it's still an ancient Daoist lineage and one of the respected elders of the orthodox faction. Wouldn't it make more sense to seek help from the orthodox side?"
The implication—that it was strange for an orthodox figure to receive aid from the Demonic Cult—was left unspoken. Ju Tong Su-sa smiled as she answered.
"I didn't start out with connections in the Demonic Cult. Everyone I approached had their own difficulties and couldn't help, so I kept asking around until I ended up there. When people are starving and dying of illness, does it really matter whose money saves them, as long as they're saved?"
"That's... true, but..."
"Besides, I've never liked the saying 'well water and river water don't mix.'"
No one had anything to say to that. Ju Tong Su-sa continued.
"If you have the power to save someone drowning, worrying about whether the water is from a well or a river, or whether you came from a well or a river, is no different from killing them. That's what I believe. Because of that, I had trouble getting along with the authorities, but when it comes to handling situations where you've fallen out with the government, no one is more experienced than the Demonic Cult."
Though her tone was light, Dang Ju-yeon and Yeom Ho-yun had gone rigid again. It was understandable. Even from the brief glimpse we'd had, the Sword Immortal's attitude made it clear that the orthodox faction and the Demonic Cult were mortal enemies. The conversation alone was enough to brand Ju Tong Su-sa a traitor in orthodox eyes. I had never set foot in the Central Plains martial world and had no intention of doing so, so none of this mattered much to me. But for Dang Ju-yeon and Yeom Ho-yun, who had families and homes there, it was a different story.
Then Ju Tong Su-sa looked at the two of them and asked,
"Is it really that surprising? If we're being honest, aren't you in a similar position?"
"Pardon? What do you mean by that..."
"Well, right now you're helping the Heavenly Demon and this Spell-Transcending Show Scholar with our work, aren't you? You've already grown quite close to the Heavenly Demon on the way here, and soon you'll be beating up a royal prince. So what's the difference between you and me?"
Dang Ju-yeon and Yeom Ho-yun turned pale and looked at me. Seeing their expressions, the Heavenly Demon chuckled and spoke to me.
"If you get kicked out of the Central Plains martial world, just say the word. I can take you and your companions in. We'll just add a few more to the Six Great Demonic Masters and call you the Manhwa Ma-geom instead."
"Manhwa Ma-geom... that sounds a bit off."
The "Ten Thousand Transformations Sword" part was fine, but "Demonic Sword" didn't suit me at all. My sword had been given to me by my master, after all. How could a sword from someone as upright as her be a demonic sword? Though if I myself were called demonic, that might actually fit in a way.
"What's wrong with it? Train a bit more, surpass the Sword Demon, and become the Sword Demon yourself."
"Being the Sword Demon would be fine, but if I'm going to have a title, wouldn't the Heavenly Demon be better? I've thought it sounded cool ever since I first heard it."
The Heavenly Demon stared at me, blinking once as if processing my words. Then she burst into roaring laughter, clutching her stomach and rolling on the ground. Ju Tong Su-sa laughed with her. I laughed along for a bit before glancing at Dang Ju-yeon and Yeom Ho-yun. Their expressions as they looked at me were far from pleased. For a moment, I wondered if they'd already been captured by Guyeongmun and turned into Living Jiangshi. I'd only been joking so we could all laugh together, but the two of them couldn't join in. What a shame.