Chapter 112: The Dragon, the Phoenix, and the Tiger (10)
Chapter 112: The Dragon, the Phoenix, and the Tiger (10)
At this moment, Zhuge Yeon-yeong was thinking with all his heart.
His thoughts could be summarized in a single sentence:
Ah, I should have listened to Uncle Se-jeong.
Of course, the moment that thought crossed his mind, he immediately spiraled back into deep depression and self-loathing. Regardless, enduring the boiling murderous intent within him was a truly difficult task.
The Jinju Eon Family had become so twisted that he could no longer even sit at the same table as them, but he was starting to think they might have had a point in wanting to kill this bastard.
"Now, now. Brother Zhuge, have a drink."
"Who are you calling 'Brother'!"
"Zhuge, my little brother, do you want a drink?"
"Aaaargh!!"
Zhuge Yeon-yeong ground his teeth but managed to lift his hand with great effort.
He couldn't push this guy away here.
His brilliant mind was currently reading the intricate political landscape unfolding in this tavern.
Namgung Jeong-ha. That rock-like fellow actually seemed to like Peng Hyeon-hwi.
He didn't know why. Perhaps, being a martial arts fanatic, he simply felt favorable toward a genius who had reached the Peak Realm at such a young age.
Little Arhat Won-deok. That monk had viewed Peng Hyeon-hwi positively from the start, so he could be ignored.
Actually, he couldn't understand why the Shaolin Temple would evaluate the Hebei Peng Family so highly, but madmen had their own logic.
Taoist Danheo also seemed to hold the boy in very high regard.
Even Sang-gwan Wook, who used to loathe the guy, was grumbling but speaking to him quite familiarly.
It was truly the behavior of a merchant family devoid of benevolence and righteousness.
Beyond them, most of the young elites present were enjoying their conversation with Peng Hyeon-hwi.
The part that really infuriated him was that Peng Hyeon-hwi was unexpectedly easygoing and slyly charming...
I cannot accept this reality...
Why was his personality good?
Why was he so down-to-earth?
Why was a direct descendant of the Hebei Peng Family laughing like that, exchanging crude jokes, and mingling so freely with the successors of prestigious sects?
If Peng Hyeon-hwi had heard him, he would have called it "the egalitarian mindset of a modern person," but regardless.
Zhuge Yeon-yeong felt like fire was raging in his gut while bloody tears flowed in his heart. He desperately tried to find an ally.
Among those in his sight, he saw only one person who truly hated Peng Hyeon-hwi.
It was Huangfu Hyeon-seok. Only that man, who secretly (though everyone knew) harbored a crush on the daughter of the Jiangnan Heavenly Merchant Guild, hated Peng Hyeon-hwi with pure conviction.
His attitude felt like a sense of kinship—the shared pain of having the woman he loved, or used to love, stolen away.
Zhuge Yeon-yeong felt a profound sense of loss at the fact that he had finally sunk to the same level as Huangfu Hyeon-seok.
"By the way, why are you called 'Little Arhat'?"
"Hmm?"
"When I first entered Wuchang, I heard quite a few people calling you 'Little Divine Monk.'"
"To be honest, isn't that an embarrassing title? I'm humbled that they would call me that, but... frankly, it's awkward to use the word 'Divine Monk' for a mere monk of the Sangha."
Little Arhat scratched his forehead and laughed modestly.
"I heard the Abbot also told people to refrain from using it. I only realized the weight of those words after I left the temple. From the moment we receive the precepts and are called by our dharma names, we vow to sever our ties with the secular world. So, how shameful is it to be called by a vain, worldly title?"
The word 'Divine' was the same. Buddhism does not worship gods.
There are terms for divine beings like the Tathagata, Bodhisattvas, and Wisdom Kings, but they are not worshipped as 'gods' in the traditional sense.
Therefore, putting the word 'Divine' in front of a disciple of Buddha was inherently against the precepts. And while there are guardian deities called 'Divine Hosts' in legends, claiming such a title for oneself would be quite ridiculous.
Because of that, Little Arhat always told those who called him 'Little Divine Monk'—simply because he was the disciple of the Abbot, the Divine Monk Grand Master Hyegak—that he did not deserve it.
In truth, he was even feeling embarrassed about calling himself an 'Arhat.'
"Why is he such a good person...?"
Peng Hyeon-hwi muttered to himself without realizing it.
Why, he wondered, were these people so well-bred in character?
Hearing that, Zhuge Yeon-yeong also nodded his head involuntarily.
Why was it that this direct descendant of the Hebei Peng Family—a boy who had slaughtered several grown men at the age of seven and butchered the head of the Divine Spear Yang Family during his first journey—turned out to be a decent guy?
Even though he had taken the place beside Murong Cheong, his former fiancée, and was drinking heavily with another woman by his side, why was he too easygoing to hate?
It would have been better if he could just hate him.
And the moment he had that thought, self-loathing washed over him again, and he gulped down his drink.
"Uh, Brother Zhuge. Drink slowly."
"Who... who is your brother..."
"Then do you want to be the older brother? It's because I have a lot to be sorry for."
"That... that's not something that can be settled... with a simple 'sorry'..."
Come to think of it, was it right for him to feel sorry? His engagement to Murong Cheong had ended ten years ago.
It could never be undone, and even if he forced it, he could never win her heart.
Thus, he had long ago decided to wish for her happiness.
He didn't know if she was happy now, but she would at least be happier than when she was by his side...
Muttering for a long time in a state where drunkenness, anger, and self-loathing were all tangled together, Zhuge Yeon-yeong's head suddenly dropped.
"Hey, I told you to drink slowly."
"Who... who... hic..."
"Are you crying? No, wait, is this your drunken habit? Do you cry when you're drunk?"
"Who's crying... who's crying..."
The voice of Peng Hyeon-hwi chattering beside him grew distant.
Still, he thought, the guy's attitude of trying to look after him wasn't so bad.
*
I failed to get any significant information out of Zhuge Yeon-yeong. This guy knows nothing.
I carefully moved the collapsed Zhuge Yeon-yeong to the side and returned to my seat.
Tsk. You should've held out a bit longer!
At least while I was talking to him, Murong Cheong tried not to come near.
Seriously, I feel like I'm walking on thin ice.
"You say you are accompanying him to Tianjin. The journey will be quite dangerous."
"Ah, Lady Murong will likely take a sea-crossing ship from Jiangnan straight to Liaoning. Since today might be our last meeting, it is quite a shame. Please, have a drink."
"I... I'm going to Tianjin too!"
"Did the Murong Family Head permit that?"
"Well, not exactly, but..."
Murong Cheong looked at me with eyes like a meerkat pleading for help.
Naturally, I couldn't take Murong Cheong's side in front of Hwa-yeong.
If Hwa-yeong's eyes flipped, there was no one here who could beat her.
Taoist Danheo left a while ago, and Little Arhat and I are practically combat-ineffective right now.
That makes Hwa-yeong the strongest person in this room.
Even if I were in perfect condition, I doubt I could guarantee a victory against her.
Don't they know the Heavenly Demon Divine Art? She can even fire death beams.
At the very least, she's a girl who reached the Peak Realm at sixteen. She's the youngest Peak Realm master in the history of the martial world. She's a higher tier than Bodhidharma!
[What are you hesitating for? Are you perhaps interested in Lady Murong? Lady Murong belongs to a prestigious Orthodox family! Give up on your dream, for you can never be with her!]
She's talking as if she herself belongs to one of the Ten Great Sects of the Black Dao.
When I still didn't respond, Murong Cheong started thumping her chest.
It seemed she had remembered that I didn't know how to use trivial tricks like Sound Transmission.
As I thought that and glanced away, Hwa-yeong was still sitting demurely with that inscrutable smile.
"Young Hero Peng."
"Yes?"
"You are not a man who goes back on his word. It is not my place to speak of the debt of saving my life, but surely you haven't forgotten the precedent of not refusing the snowy fields of Southern Zhili."
Every time Hwa-yeong says something like this, I can't help but be impressed. I was honestly a bit disappointed with the Demonic Cult's early childhood education, but their secondary education seems transcendentally great.
How could that stuttering animal change so much in just ten years?
When I remained silent, Murong Cheong jumped to her feet. She must have felt guilty too.
When we were stranded on the way to Wuchang, it was more Murong Cheong who survived thanks to her than me, and her brother Murong Seo-jeong survived because of her as well.
"I... I'm leaving! You too! You should get up now! Isn't it too late?"
"Oh, right. Good timing."
The drinking session was winding down anyway.
Since they weren't purging the alcohol from their systems, everyone's faces were flushed red, and they were starting to act drunk.
Most of them were around twenty years old. How wild could an after-party for youth Olympians get?
"Oh, are you leaving already?"
"I should get some sleep. How much do I owe?"
"Forget it. The Martial Alliance prepared this place for the young elites of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering."
"Ah, so that's why Murong Cheong wasn't invited."
"You!!"
Murong Cheong shrieked and tugged at my sleeve.
Even in that moment, she pouted her lips while looking at Hwa-yeong, who was sitting there with a cold face.
This girl really has no fear.
I quickly stepped between Hwa-yeong and Murong Cheong and hoisted Zhuge Yeon-yeong onto my back.
"Hmm? Why are you taking Patron Zhuge? Were you two that close?"
"No, not really. But I'm staying at the Guest Hall. None of you are staying inside the Alliance headquarters, right?"
"Ah, true. Hahaha, Patron Peng, you have a thoughtful side."
"It's nothing."
Most of the people here belonged to major sects whose names everyone knew.
Such people usually rented out entire high-end inns.
It was because they traveled with so many servants.
Cases like the Murong Family staying at the Guest Hall were actually rare.
Most of the Murong Family's retainers were currently staying at the anchorage near East Lake, and only the Family Head and Murong Cheong were using the Guest Hall. They had to manage the ships.
Zhuge Yeon-yeong belonged to the Strategist Bureau, so his quarters were in a separate annex inside the Alliance headquarters. It was convenient to take him along since I was heading that way.
And I still felt a bit sorry for him.
"Ugh, that was stifling!"
Once we were outside, Murong Cheong looked at me carrying Zhuge Yeon-yeong and smiled. I stopped her when she tried to help support him.
If he found out later that he had been supported by his ex-fiancée while he was dead drunk, he might actually make a very drastic decision.
It was late at night. We were passing through the streets of Wuchang, noisy with festivities, on our way to the Martial Alliance headquarters.
Murong Cheong hummed as she watched the falling snowflakes.
"The air is cool and pleasant. Why don't we walk together for a bit?"
"You said it was time to sleep."
"You're so dense. Just follow me!"
"No, this guy is too pitiful."
When I spoke while shaking Zhuge Yeon-yeong's shoulder, Murong Cheong began to ponder.
She soon shook her head with a firm expression.
"If you go in now, you'll just sleep and won't come back out."
"That's true."
"Then walk with me for a bit now! Who knows when we'll meet again once you return to Tianjin!"
"What about him?"
"Young Hero Zhuge is a powerful martial artist! He's not so weak that he'll catch a cold just from a little snow!"
"No."
If I were Zhuge Yeon-yeong, I would have stuffed my fist into my mouth and wailed at this point.
But since I wasn't Zhuge Yeon-yeong, I nodded.
In fact, you could say I was respecting Zhuge Yeon-yeong.
It was an acknowledgment that he wasn't weak enough to catch a cold from a little snow.
"Fine, let's walk. To clear my head from the alcohol."
"Can't you just expel the toxins?"
"The best feeling is right before the alcohol clears on its own. You don't know anything."
"...Didn't you say last time that not getting drunk is a virtue of a gentleman?"
"Usually, the person who says they aren't drunk is the one who's the most wasted."
"Good grief!"
Murong Cheong burst out laughing as if she found it absurd.
We moved toward a direction where the noise of the rowdy festival couldn't be heard.
This was an era without streetlights. As the colorful lanterns of the operating taverns faded one by one, the streets grew dark with surprising speed.
Neither of us was so lacking in training that we would stumble in this level of darkness.
We walked steadily, strolling through the outskirts of Wuchang as the snow fell.
Murong Cheong hummed and walked in silence for a long time, only stopping when we reached a point overlooking East Lake.
Under a tree beautifully draped in snow blossoms, she toyed with her hair ornament and spoke.
"I wonder, when will we see each other again?"
"Who knows."
I had a mountain of things to do.
During the three days of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, the Murong Family Head had been busy meeting with masters from other major sects.
With a peerless master of his caliber personally making the case, few would dare oppose his opinion.
The official designation of the Jinju Eon Family as public enemies wouldn't take long. The Alliance Leader also wanted this, so it could happen as early as tomorrow.
It had been delayed somewhat because the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering was in progress, and tradition dictated that grim matters shouldn't be mentioned during auspicious events.
However, it was rare for so many masters of major sects to gather like this, so an alliance meeting would be held now.
This pleasant and peaceful atmosphere would soon turn cold and grim.
It would become a place to discuss the downfall and punishment of a major family belonging to the Five Great Clans.
However.
"Winter has passed and the sun is shining, so spring is coming (陽和入門 春來之境)."
Taoist Danheo's words came to mind. As he said, winter would eventually end. Wuchang would regain its bustling and noisy prosperity.
Deep night implies the coming morning, and a harsh winter means the next spring is on its way.
I looked back at the city of Wuchang. The distance was filled with the laughter of drunken men.
The atmosphere was no different from Tianjin, the city of peace and love. If the places where people live are the same everywhere, is there really a reason for the standards separating Orthodox and Unorthodox to be so severe? That was the thought I had.
"Let's meet again when spring comes."
"Then... then this time, you must send word. Send a letter to set a date to meet. Understand?"
"If possible, send it through the Hao Clan. If you send it directly to my house, too many people might get the wrong idea."
If our elders found out I was exchanging letters with the Murong Family, I didn't think they'd be happy.
They might scream that I'd been tainted by bad influences and fallen into the Orthodox path.
"In the meantime, don't get too close to Lady Im."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You! Because you flirt so shamelessly, a naive lady like Lady Im is getting confused! Do not toy with a woman of a prestigious family. This is a warning. In Liaoning, they cut off the manhood of such men. You might end up the same way!"
"No."
Why are you trying to make me a eunuch?
As I grumbled and turned my head, Murong Cheong chuckled and stood up.
She patted the snow off my shoulder and turned around.
"Let's go in now. It's cold. Young Hero Zhuge might catch a cold."
"You told me not to worry about him earlier."
"...I feel bad for him."
"That's true."
Zhuge Yeon-yeong was sniffing his red nose, perhaps because of the cold. I decided to believe it was because of the cold.
I stood up with Zhuge Yeon-yeong naturally piggybacked on my shoulders.
As I walked along, admiring the night view of East Lake, I saw someone staggering on the road leading to the Martial Alliance headquarters.
"That guy looks pretty wasted too."
"Hmm. You weren't the only one drunk today. Such festivals are rare, so it's understandable."
"He looks a bit too drunk, though."
He was staggering almost like a zombie.
Seeing him like that in a deserted alley, the nightmare of Cheongheon County briefly flashed through my mind.
The man slowly turned toward us, as if he had noticed us. My body almost reacted instinctively.
The man, pale enough to look blue, stared at us with hollow eyes.
"Do we know him? He looks new to me."
"...Hmm... Ah! It's the Moon-Whisking Sword of Diancang. Young Hero Jang! I heard he was staying at the Guest Hall. He must have come from the Sichuan martial world's banquet."
"If he's from the Diancang Sect, that makes sense. Let's take him with us."
"Yes."
I heard the Diancang Sect was so hard-pressed by the chaos in Yunnan that they couldn't even afford to dispatch people.
Because of that, they couldn't send a young elite who could participate in the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, so they sent a disciple who had previously earned the title of Dragon-Phoenix to fill the spot instead.
That man was from the previous generation, meaning he was a young elite from the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering ten years ago.
Regardless, he wasn't a suspicious person, so it was only right to look after someone this drunk out of moral obligation.
If he slept here after drinking, his mouth wouldn't just freeze crooked; it would be much worse.
"Huh?"
Just before we could move, the Moon-Whisking Sword staggered and began walking toward us. Before we could even react, he lunged forward using a Lightness Art.
I saw the scabbard hanging at his waist. It was empty. He had a sword in his hand.
While it wasn't necessarily strange for a martial artist to carry a sword when going out to drink, wandering around with a drawn sword in Wuchang during the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering was clearly suspicious.
"Wait a second, stop right there."
"Young Hero Jang? What on earth are you doing...?"
"Oh, crap!"
Before Murong Cheong or I could say another word, he was already right in front of us.
I ground my teeth and flicked my left hand. The gauntlet wrapped around my fist.
Naturally, I had also come out armed.
I only have one life, after all.
I even walk around the inner courtyard of the Peng Family estate fully armed!
Clang—!!
As soon as I swung my hand with the gauntlet, the blade was right before my eyes.
It was a strike so rapid that it couldn't be blamed on the darkness.
The sword style of the Diancang Sect is an extreme form of fast-sword technique. A young elite from the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering ten years ago.
In other words, I was currently being ambushed by a martial artist who had reached at least the Peak Realm.
An assassination? Did the Diancang Sect join hands with the Zhuge Family?
There was no time to dwell on the thought.
The sword strikes lunged in so fast they were hard to track with the eyes.
Since at least three martial squads should be stationed near the Martial Alliance headquarters, this commotion would be suppressed before long.
Even now, I could hear the sound of a crowd running from that alley. I gritted my teeth and parried the blade.
Right, since he ended up dueling Little Arhat at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, their plans must have gone awry.
With their last resort ruined, they wouldn't have had any other chance but tonight.
But this was normally impossible.
They were pushing themselves to a serious degree.
The fact that the card they played wasn't some nameless Unorthodox martial artist like last time proved it.
They had used someone of the rank of a first-generation disciple of the Diancang Sect.
This incident would inevitably escalate into a major affair, and no matter how powerful the Zhuge Family was, they couldn't avoid leaving a trail in the process.
In other words, they were expressing a clear intent to kill me here at any cost.
But—
"Is this all?"
If they had sent professional assassins from the Assassination Pavilion or the Seven Nights Alliance, it might have been different. But to attempt an assassination by sending a single Peak Realm martial artist in a head-on confrontation?
How could that possibly work? And they shouldn't be so cornered as to take such a gamble.
From the Zhuge Family's perspective, even if all their plans fell through, wasn't the path to survival clear?
They just had to give up on the Jinju Eon Family.
Did they mean to endure all this risk just to protect the Jinju Eon Family?
Was it worth that much?
"Ugh..."
The Moon-Whisking Sword, who had been swinging his sword with a strangely vacant face, suddenly threw his sword to the ground and let out a strange groan.
Then, he immediately tried to lunged at me with open arms.
"No thanks."
I refuse a man's free hug. This is self-defense, so I have no choice.
I drove a punch into the approaching Moon-Whisking Sword's chest.
I kept it light, just enough to block and push him back, intended as a deterrent.
Thump!!
"Hey, you should've blocked that!"
I clearly felt his ribs shattering. They snapped like dry stalks.
I hadn't even put that much power into it!
At the same time, the Moon-Whisking Sword coughed up blood.
"D-Did you kill him?"
"I didn't hit him that har—"
Wait.
There was no pulse.
I quickly turned my gaze to examine the Moon-Whisking Sword's face.
When I struck his chest, there had been no trace of internal energy or breathing in the sensation against my fist.
His chest had caved in without resistance, as if I were hitting a straw doll.
And that guy. There was no breath coming from under his nose.
In this cold winter, no matter how low one's body temperature was, that was impossible.
Martial artists' body temperatures usually soar during combat, far exceeding those of ordinary people.
I quickly kicked Murong Cheong in the side, sending her flying out of the way.
As Murong Cheong tumbled across the ground with a scream, I looked at Hwiwolgeom’s face and let out a sigh.
Fine cracks began to spiderweb across his face, glowing with a surging red energy.
"What is this, Parasyte—?"
In slow motion, Hwiwolgeom’s head went pop.
Suddenly, Zhuge Jeong-yeong’s white fan snapped open.
A flash of light erupted as a talisman burned between the folds of the fan, and a fragment of Hwiwolgeom’s head fell to the ground with a dull thud.
Beneath the skin, raw, crimson flesh was revealed as the creature staggered backward.
"How dare a wicked spawn of the Blood Cult show itself before the Martial Alliance Dragon-Phoenix Gathering!"
He shouted with such majesty, having already slipped away from my support to strike a heroic pose in front of me.
"You weren't asleep?"
"I was not!"
"Since when?!"
"Since the moment you and Maiden Murong started your little stroll!"
"Wait, so you were awake the whole time."
So he heard everything.
Damn it.
I’ve gone and become the 'scandalous home-wrecker' again, I thought.