Chapter 48: In the Rain (1)
Chapter 48: In the Rain (1)
The rain that had begun falling in the evening turned into a torrential downpour by dawn. The monsoon season had arrived.
The weather in the Hebei region was often like this around this time of year.
Just as summer begins to exert its full force, Hebei welcomes the rainy season.
It is a rain that symbolizes the abundance of Hebei.
A vast plain where the Yangtze, Huai, and Hai Rivers flow.
The massive amount of rainfall that covers the land like a roof is responsible for Hebei’s agricultural output.
It is the period just after the early summer harvest, a fallow season spent preparing for the long monsoon.
In other words, it is a time when everyone in Hebei should be enjoying a relaxed and happy period.
"An umbrella!! We should have gotten an umbrella!"
"Those are only for people who have nothing to worry about."
"What kind of bullshit is that?!"
Except, of course, for a young lady from a great clan who had come from a cold, barren place far away.
* * *
"Ugh... my, my feet hurt..."
"Someone once said that the Murong Family’s lightness arts are not inferior even to the Kunlun Sect’s Cloud Dragon Eight Forms."
"For distances like this, we ride horses! Unlike the uncivilized Han people, we live as friends with our horses!"
"Ugh, the smell of horse dung."
"I’m going to kill you!"
Murong Cheong was the type whose reactions were entertaining.
Thanks to her, I wasn't bored.
It had been so long since I’d had such a comfortable conversation with someone my own age that I couldn't even remember the last time. It was actually quite fun.
Hmm. Come to think of it, that’s true.
Excluding my three older brothers, who either want to kill me or get rid of me.
My childhood friend, Seong Won-ho, actually tried to kill me and ended up getting a one-way ticket to the afterlife a bit early.
Ju Woo-rin? She’s a 100% pure-blooded prospective traitor who makes my spine chill after just three sentences.
Hwa-yeong... I haven't seen her in ten years, so she’s out of the question.
"At least we won't need any disguises."
"What?"
"Anyone looking at you would think you're just a scruffy, third-rate wanderer."
"How did I end up like this..."
Murong Cheong grumbled and gave my shoulder a playful shove.
It was quite impressive that she was still this energetic after we had rushed out with only the barest preparations and run through the rain, even through the night.
Then again, that was the way of martial artists.
"For someone who left in such a hurry, you were surprisingly well-prepared."
"Tianjin wasn't exactly a safe place for me either."
Murong Cheong chewed on the jerky I gave her as she ran.
Whenever she got thirsty, she would open her mouth—ah—and catch the falling raindrops.
In this medieval-like era without factories, rainwater was safe fresh water you could just drink.
We had left Tianjin as quickly as possible, moving with maximum stealth and without even thinking of packing a proper travel bag.
There was no telling what my eldest brother would do if he realized I had bolted out of the city.
"So, why on earth are you being monitored by your own brother?"
"Is it just monitoring? I’ve even survived assassination attempts."
"Succession issues?"
Murong Cheong’s eyes grew somber.
Perhaps because she was also a direct descendant of a great clan, she seemed sensitive to conflicts between siblings.
"Something like that. How about your family?"
"We aren't like that. I have one younger brother. He gave up his right to succession before he could even walk."
"Why?"
"What’s so good about being the Family Head? Once this is over, I’m going to travel the world. I’ll see sights I’ve never seen and eat new foods in worlds I’ve never known. My brother told me not to worry about money. I plan to live a life of leisure."
"That... I’m jealous."
If I were to announce that I was giving up my right to succession, would my brothers let me live?
No, not a chance.
They had tried to assassinate me, the fourth and youngest son who had no chance of joining the race, simply because I 'might become a threat in the future.'
Was this the difference between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions?
Unlike the Murong Family, which tried to maintain a public facade, my family had no such pretenses.
Should I call them extremely practical people?
And besides.
I myself was aiming for the succession.
There was no way I would give up the race halfway just to find a safe path.
The outcome of one of my brothers becoming the Family Head was far too predictable.
I wanted to live comfortably in a robust and powerful Hebei Peng Family; I didn't want to spend my life as a fugitive with a bounty on my head from a half-ruined clan.
"You must have your own reasons. Reasons why you can't do that."
Murong Cheong fell silent for a moment after that.
Even though I received a look mixed with pity, I didn't find it unpleasant.
It was probably because I couldn't sense any malice in this girl’s actions, no matter what she did.
She was a genuinely righteous person.
A bit frustrating, stubborn, and seemingly a little dim-witted, but still.
Regardless, meeting someone like her in the Hebei region—where everyone lived with dozens of snakes coiled in their hearts—felt a bit strange.
Looking like beggars, we entered the jurisdiction of Hagan-bu.
In about two days of running, we would reach Cheongheon County.
From here on, it was an area bordering the Jiangnan martial world.
It was a land where my neck would be at risk if Orthodox friends showed up, and Murong Cheong’s life would be in danger if Unorthodox friends appeared.
From now on, we had to be cautious with any martial artists we encountered.
"By the way, how do you know every single cave at the foot of these mountains?"
"I didn't want to know either."
"....?"
I couldn't even remember how many years it took to memorize the map of the entire Hebei region in broad strokes, and then specifically memorize the escape routes and shortest paths near each city.
These were the 'Gates of Life' that the Sanyue Pavilion had identified over a long period.
The Sanyue Pavilion was practically the only intelligence organization maintained independently by the Hebei Peng Family.
I heard they often had to move covertly or live as fugitives.
It was essentially a manual written in blood.
Map-making was an act strictly forbidden, almost akin to treason.
How much blood-chilling effort must have gone into completing a detailed map of the entire Hebei region while being stuck right next to Beijing?
"If we get caught while trying to contact the Black Ship, or if anything dangerous happens, we run. Got it? We assess the situation first, and if it looks bad, we run without looking back. Think of infiltration as the priority."
"Yes..."
"Don't make that face. It’s not something to stake your life on. The two of us can't exactly wipe out a Jongri Family smuggling ship on our own."
"I know."
The pier of Cheongheon County wasn't far.
Cheongheon County is a large downstream area where one of the tributaries of the Yellow River passes through and flows into the Yellow Sea.
I applied the last of the oil to my blade and gauntlets and took a deep breath.
"Can't we use those Hao Clan informants more?"
"What do you think the Hao Clan is? Why do you keep wanting to exploit honest people who are just working for a living?"
"Honest...?"
"The local Hao Clan members are just ordinary commoners who have lived and worked hard in that area for a long time. Martial artists who have learned martial arts are extremely rare among them. If we use them as we please and then leave, who’s going to guarantee their safety?"
Surprisingly, many martial artists didn't realize that the Hao Clan was fundamentally not a martial sect.
It was an organization more like a labor union, and the Hao Clan’s martial forces were actually concentrated in very small numbers in each province.
Excluding the hidden agents who traveled across the Central Plains to manage and protect the members, most Hao Clan members were just ordinary waiters or laborers.
People who would inevitably have to fear the aftermath once we stirred things up and left.
The true duty of the Hao Clan Leader and her direct disciples was to wander the Central Plains and protect the members, not to exploit them for convenience.
It was a form of noblesse oblige rarely seen in this era.
"I really don't understand why the Hao Clan is treated as part of the Black Path. Isn't that a very righteous mindset?"
"Because we don't want to be."
"What does that mean?"
"Righteous deeds to become an Orthodox sect, seemingly noble morality, acting like a gentleman... what use are any of those to a courtesan or a laborer who lives hand-to-mouth? Our Leader’s philosophy is that it’s better to look after the members who live diligently every day than to worry about such things."
"Was the Hao Clan Leader perhaps a monk?"
"Hmm?"
"It sounds like a teaching close to the Buddhist Dharma. It is said that it is better to perform one act of sincerity than to speak a thousand righteous words. (Though one should recite a hundred verses of the law, if they are not meaningful, what is the use? — Dhammapada). The Hao Clan Leader might have been a Buddhist."
"Well, I haven't seen her carrying around any Buddha statues or prayer beads."
I’d seen the gold bracelets that made every martial artist she met have a fit several times, but I didn't recall seeing any such modest or charming accessories.
Just as Murong Cheong opened her mouth to respond to my words.
I felt a terrible pressure somewhere in my head.
"....?!"
"What, what is it?"
Murong Cheong’s words seemed to slow down.
In a sensation of fragmented time, only my eyes moved rapidly.
A forest path on a rainy night.
The sound of rain was everywhere, and even the presence of Murong Cheong, who was right next to me, felt faint.
And yet, the feeling of something rushing in from somewhere was so vivid.
A martial artist’s instinct is sometimes close to a sixth sense, and the Peng Family’s sixth sense is almost like that of a beast.
With the attitude of a wise possessor, I quickly slammed my shoulder into Murong Cheong’s side and rolled my body.
"What on earth is—"
Just as the startled Murong Cheong let out a scream.
—Swoooooosh!—
With a sharp sound of slicing air, I clearly saw raindrops being scattered frantically.
Whatever it was, it changed direction mid-air.
A clearly bizarre phenomenon. Martial arts.
There was no time to dodge. I thrust my right hand in front of Murong Cheong’s face.
A flash of fire from near my dantian became a bolt of lightning, racing through my acupoints.
In a moment too brief to manifest a full technique, I simply spread my palm, infused with internal energy—
And covered Murong Cheong’s small face with my hand.
—Crunch!—
Blood splattered onto Murong Cheong’s pale, slack-jawed face.
A terrible pain surged through me. Looking down, a dagger was embedded there. Right in the center of my palm.
"Are, are you okay?!"
"Just get ready to fight!"
I roughly slapped the shoulder of Murong Cheong, who was dazed and trying to check my injury first.
As I shook my left hand, the gauntlet hidden in my sleeve slid down and locked into place.
My right hand? Fortunately, all my fingers still moved.
It seemed to have missed the nerves and bones, only piercing the flesh, though the aftermath of the internal energy loaded into the dagger had shaken my entire right hand, making it horribly stiff.
Can't use a blade with this.
"You blocked that? How did you notice?"
From a distance, a tall, middle-aged man was trudging toward us.
He wore a thin sword slung diagonally across his back, his long robes fluttering under the rain.
His robes were dry despite the rain. A Protection Aura. He was a Peak Realm master.
"Are you Peng Hyeon-hwi?"
"Aw, hell."
I let out a sigh, feeling a headache coming on. Sending a master the moment I left the Tianjin jurisdiction?
"Did Ryang send you?"
"Your way of speaking to your brother is quite something."
"Should I be polite, then? This is already the second time."
"Yes, the second time. Since that fool Wol-sang failed."
The man stood tall in the dark rain and smirked.
"Do not expect the same fluke from me. In this place today, there is no peerless master to help you."
He was one of the White Lotus Cult’s lot.
The link between the White Lotus Cult and Peng Hyeon-ryang, likely hidden within the Dragon Slaying Alliance. That guy had appeared in person.
I had planned to deal with him publicly during the day once I identified him through the Hao Clan.
Just the appearance of a White Lotus Cult mole within Tianjin and the Dragon Slaying Alliance would have dealt a massive blow to my eldest brother’s authority.
The Hebei Peng Family and the White Lotus Cult had been in an all-out war for ten years now.
In such a situation, if it were revealed that a White Lotus master was lurking inside the Dragon Slaying Alliance, it would have been enough to damage his position even if a direct connection to Peng Hyeon-ryang couldn't be proven.
Especially since he was currently acting as the deputy leader of the Dragon Slaying Alliance.
And it seemed I wasn't the only one who had thought of that.
In the game of chess between my eldest brother and me, I had been outmaneuvered by a single move.
"Cheong."
"Yes?"
"Run."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
Murong Cheong grumbled and drew her swords.
One in each hand. Holding her twin swords, Murong Cheong whipped off her bamboo hat under the rain and smiled.
"Let’s consider this as us helping each other once."
"He’s here because of me; there’s no need for you to get involved."
"If this happened because we left Tianjin for my sake, then it’s my fault too."
"Then let’s put this one on your tab."
"You can joke in a situation like this? Are you really crazy?"
As we bickered, the man with the sword chuckled.
"It’s a nice sight, but do you think I’d let you live even if you ran?"
"How cold of you."
I took a step back and placed my hand on Murong Cheong’s back.
Since I hadn't learned Sound Transmission, there was no way to talk without the master overhearing except for writing on her skin.
"Eek?! What do you think you’re do—"
"Focus."
I slowly traced the characters.
The tension that had made Murong Cheong freeze in surprise returned as flexibility to her waist.
—On the count of three, get on my back.
[What?]
—Ignore whatever I say from now on, and when I count to three, just get on my back.
Murong Cheong had been sprinting at full speed through the rain on an unfamiliar path all night.
No matter how much internal energy she had left, her body was bound to be exhausted.
In terms of stamina consumption in the pouring rain, I was in a much better position.
A Peng Family body doesn't get exhausted just from getting a little wet.
So, I had to do the running until she recovered.
Besides, I had memorized all the paths in this area, so my stamina consumption would be lower.
When Murong Cheong gave a small nod.
"I wonder if my brother wasn't curious about why I came to Tianjin?"
"Well, perhaps you came looking for a place to die?"
The man had a relaxed attitude.
After all, it was laughable for a Peak Realm master to be tense and go all out against two people who were barely at the start of the First-Rate level.
Especially when he had already neutralized one of my hands with a surprise attack.
"The Family Head knew that Peng Hyeon-ryang was in league with the White Lotus Cult. And I belong to the Sanyue Pavilion. The Hebei Peng Family’s Sanyue Pavilion is an institution that monitors family members and punishes betrayal. That means the family knew of Peng Hyeon-ryang’s betrayal from the very beginning."
"Haha, your words are amusing. If that were true, why have they left the Eldest Young Master in his position until now?"
"Because there wasn't enough evidence. The life of the direct Eldest Young Master isn't so cheap that you can take his head on suspicion alone. That’s why I came. Why do you think I joined the Hao Clan? I represent the alliance between the Hebei Peng Family and the Hao Clan."
The man’s expression hardened slightly.
The Hao Clan was an intelligence organization that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Beggars' Sect in the martial world.
It wouldn't be pleasant for the White Lotus Cult if the Hebei Peng Family, already bloodshot with the desire to massacre them, joined forces with the Hao Clan and began a search.
"You’re playing tricks. Do you think your glib tongue will keep you alive? If what you say is true, you should never have come alone."
"Why do you think I came alone?"
"What nonsense... who else could possibly be here?"
"Ah... you can't feel it? I see, I understand..."
I muttered softly as I spoke. Three.
"At the level of the Peak Realm, you might not be able to sense her presence."
Two.
I felt Murong Cheong’s body tense up.
"Hao Clan Leader!! Now!!"
One.
As soon as my whisper ended, Murong Cheong immediately leaped up and clung to my back.
As the man, flustered by this sudden action, hesitated and looked around.
Seven Shadow Immortal Step.
The lightness art that the Hao Clan Leader herself had guaranteed as the most suitable for survival exploded beneath my feet.
"Such petty tricks...!!"
"What are you talking about?! The Hao Clan Leader always lives on in my heart!!"
The chase through the rain began.