Chapter 350
Chapter 350
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 92
>Chapter Title: Rumor (4)
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“Indeed. Spirit Sword Manor is known as the holy land of swords.”
“The holy land of swords?”
“It’s a place that every swordsman who wields a blade must seek out for guidance.”
“I see. It must be quite famous, then.”
“······Heh heh heh.”
From Mok Kyung-un’s dry reaction, Pal Dok-sa-jang Gu Yang-su instinctively realized that he knew nothing about Spirit Sword Manor.
Spirit Sword Manor truly lived up to its lofty reputation.
There were two reasons for that. The first was that the manor had forged the majority of the famed swords still in existence today.
“The manor lord of Spirit Sword Manor, Gu Cheon-mu, is the greatest swordsmith of our era.”
“A swordsmith? Like a blacksmith?”
“That’s right.”
“I see. Don’t people usually call them sword forgers?”
Gu Yang-su shook his head at the question.
“Manor Lord Gu forges only swords.”
“Only swords?”
“Yes. As far as I know, Spirit Sword Manor has stood in that spot for hundreds of years, forging nothing but swords.”
“Not even other weapons?”
“That’s my understanding.”
“It’s a pretty interesting place. A place that makes only swords. But I doubt that alone made it so famous.”
“You’re right. That clan is said to be descendants of Ou Yezi, the greatest master craftsman of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period, renowned for producing the finest legendary swords. Even the unique weapon of Justice Alliance Leader Jeong Hyeon-mun, the famed sword One Radiance, was born from his hands.”
“Ho.”
For the first time, Mok Kyung-un showed a reaction.
He knew the Justice Alliance Leader was one of the three great powers of the martial world and a member of the Six Heavens.
For such a grandmaster to have his sword forged there proved the man was no ordinary craftsman.
“If he’s that skilled a swordsmith, swordsmen must line up for him.”
“Indeed. But Manor Lord Gu doesn’t forge swords for just anyone.”
“So, money alone won’t get you one.”
“Heh heh heh. Exactly. From what I’ve heard, Manor Lord Gu has immense pride as a craftsman. He only forges for those he deems true masters of the sword or who pass his trials.”
“That makes sense. A man who forges swords of that caliber would have the pride to match.”
“Precisely. Since you wield the sword yourself, young master, perhaps······.”
“No. These two swords are enough for me.”
Mok Kyung-un patted the twin demon swords at his waist.
Demon Executioner and Fear Slayer.
If the manor lord was a descendant of Ou Yezi, then these swords had been forged by Ou Yezi himself from the rare ore known as Netherworld Black Iron.
“······Of course. You already possess the finest swords, young master.”
Swords that ordinary folk couldn’t even hope to wield.
There was no need for him to covet more swords.
Yet Mok Kyung-un spoke up.
“Either way, that works out well. If it’s just the domain of a group of sword forgers, taking the treasure bead shouldn’t be too hard.”
At Mok Kyung-un’s words, Gu Yang-su looked somewhat troubled.
Wondering why, he soon explained.
“Spirit Sword Manor isn’t just a place that forges swords.”
“Then what is it? Do they practice martial arts too?”
“Exactly as you say. They are swordsmiths with profound knowledge of swords.”
“Profound knowledge of swords?”
“Have you heard of ‘all rivers flow to the sea’?”
“All rivers flow to the sea······? Isn’t that about ten thousand paths converging into one?”
“Correct.”
All rivers flow to the sea.
The phrase originated from Buddhism, meaning that no matter the path of cultivation, it all leads to nirvana.
Those who practiced martial arts often referenced it as well.
They believed all paths ultimately converged into one.
“Spirit Sword Manor believed that to forge the greatest swords, one must fully understand the sword itself. To that end, they honed their swordsmanship. Ironically, this made them the foremost experts on swords.”
“So they’re master swordsmiths and exceptional swordsmen.”
“Yes. But not just exceptionally skilled.”
“Then what?”
“Spirit Sword Manor’s lord, Gu Cheon-mu, is one of the Six Heavens, the pinnacle of the current martial world.”
‘!?’
At those words, one of Mok Kyung-un’s eyebrows shot up.
Six Heavens: Extreme Spirit Swordsmith Gu Cheon-mu.
One of the six peaks of the martial world, and the one said to be closest to the absolute pinnacle in swordsmanship alone, beyond mere martial prowess.
Mok Kyung-un turned to Ye Song-a, granddaughter of the Holy Fire Spirit Lord, and asked.
“How the hell did you get into a place like that?”
“Well······.”
Ye Song-a hesitated to speak.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t tell him; her reaction was just odd.
Of course, Mok Kyung-un paid it no mind and pressed.
“Don’t waste energy. Just tell me straight.”
“······The third son of Spirit Sword Manor’s lord is a follower of our Blazing Flower Cult.”
At that, Gu Yang-su asked in surprise.
“The manor lord’s third son is a Blazing Flower Cultist?”
“······Yes.”
“So you hid the treasure bead through him?”
“Yes, yes.”
Her cautious demeanor narrowed Gu Yang-su’s eyes.
With even branch members of the Sacheon Tang Clan joining the cult, it wasn’t strange for someone to fall into it.
But her fidgeting was peculiar.
Moreover, thinking about it,
‘Even for a cultist, isn’t the treasure bead a sacred relic of the Blazing Flower Cult? To entrust something so precious means he must be truly trustworthy······.’
“Is he your lover by any chance?”
Mok Kyung-un asked bluntly.
Her face flushed crimson in an instant.
Seeing her reaction, Gu Yang-su clicked his tongue in amazement.
His ability to read others’ emotions and thoughts was uncanny.
A lover, of all things—how fitting.
“Good grief. Is that true?”
“······.”
Her face red as if it might burst, she couldn’t respond out of embarrassment.
Gu Yang-su chuckled at the sight.
It reminded him of his grandchildren.
Just the reaction one of that age would have.
Mok Kyung-un, however, couldn’t comprehend her response.
He vaguely understood affection, but was this something to be ashamed of?
As he puzzled over it,
‘!?’
Suddenly, Mok Kyung-un recalled someone from her demeanor.
None other than Cheong-ryeong.
He remembered her showing a similar reaction once.
‘She was embarrassed?’
The corner of Mok Kyung-un’s mouth curved faintly.
Then Gu Yang-su spoke.
“So, the young lady’s lover······.”
“D-don’t call him that! Just······just call him Gu Yeon-woo, a follower of our cult.”
“Gu Yeon-woo?”
“Yes.”
Gu Yang-su smiled warmly.
She clearly liked him a great deal.
Perhaps the most radiant moment in life was this.
In his twilight years, watching someone fall in love and blush was heartwarming enough.
“Ahem. Anyway, young master. With Manor Lord Gu’s third son being a Blazing Flower Cult follower, retrieving the treasure bead should be straightforward.”
“You think so?”
Ye Song-a responded to Mok Kyung-un’s dubious tone with resolute voice.
“I can retrieve it.”
“I’m not sure it’ll help much even if you do.”
Mok Kyung-un already had little faith in the treasure bead or its revelations.
Her competitive spirit flared.
“If we find the treasure bead, you can receive the revelation you desire.”
“······I hope so.”
If it worked, it could save some time.
No need to go through the Heaven-Earth Society leader, even.
* * *
On a rugged mountainside not far from Juyang in northern Hubei Province, midway up the slope, stood a manor with a few buildings clustered together.
A plaque at the manor’s entrance read:
Spirit Sword Manor
Smoke rose from bellows here and there, but one building without a chimney housed a basement.
And in that basement was a prison cell with iron bars, where a young man knelt with shackles on both arms.
His face contorted, the youth opened his mouth.
“Brother. Please return it. That thing is truly······.”
“Silence.”
A middle-aged man outside the bars scolded him.
He appeared to be in his early forties, with dark skin and a well-developed upper body.
In the man’s hand was something like a pouch.
“It’s really······.”
“I said silence. So that’s where you snuck off to every night—bowing and worshiping this thing.”
-Tak!
The man pulled something from the pouch.
It was a brilliantly radiant blue treasure bead.
-Grip!
The youth bit his lower lip until it bled at the sight.
“Yeon-woo. I knew you’d fallen into that heretical cult deceiving the masses, but aren’t you ashamed? Stepmother thought you’d come to your senses upon returning. Yet you’ve been doing this in secret.”
“······.”
“You should be paying respects to our ancestors, not showing such a pathetic sight.”
“······Brother.”
“You’ve got nothing to say, even with ten mouths.”
“I······have never been ashamed of······my choice······.”
“Out!”
Before he could finish, the middle-aged man bellowed.
The youth—no, Gu Yeon-woo—writhed in agony from the acupoint-sealing shout laced with internal energy.
‘Deeper······his internal energy······has grown.’
The fortysomething man before him was his eldest brother, Gu Ung-hwang.
Vice Manor Lord of Spirit Sword Manor and the finest swordsman there, second only to their father, the manor lord.
“Brother, calm down.”
The late-thirties man with slit eyes who spoke was the second brother, Gu Ung-seok, full brother to the eldest Gu Ung-hwang.
Unlike them, Gu Yeon-woo was their half-brother and the youngest.
“How can I stay calm? The youngest is up to this nonsense, and you say nothing?”
“Brother, blood or not, he’s a Gu clansman, our brother despite different mothers. Hate the sin, not the sinner.”
“You and your soft-hearted nonsense.”
“More importantly, with the Justice Alliance sending people over that cliff massacre, things are chaotic. We should tone it down.”
“Hoo.”
Eldest brother Gu Ung-hwang let out a sigh close to a groan.
He wanted to berate them all, but his second brother was right.
The Nangong clan visitors had been slaughtered en route down the mountain, putting the manor under suspicion, with Justice Alliance agents hounding them.
With their father in a foul mood, he couldn’t keep this up.
“Cool your head here and reflect for a while.”
“Brother!”
“If you don’t straighten up, I’ll lock you away for life. Unless you want that, show some proper remorse.”
“Br-Brother, please, at least return that······.”
“You brat!”
-Bam!
Gu Ung-hwang kicked the bars and stormed upstairs, face flushed with anger.
As he left, second brother Gu Ung-seok clicked his tongue and sneered.
“Didn’t I tell you never to come back? Why stir up trouble by returning? Tsk tsk.”
Having taunted him, Gu Ung-seok waved dismissively and headed upstairs.
-Grind!
Gu Yeon-woo glared at the stairs, grinding his teeth.
Unlike the principled eldest, second brother Gu Ung-seok was serpentine.
Though the youngest, his talent as a smith far surpassed theirs, so he constantly envied and tormented him.
They’d never gotten along since childhood.
He’d likely followed him and snitched to the eldest.
“Ah. What now?”
He could endure being locked up.
But the treasure bead—incarnation of the Holy Fire Spirit itself—had been taken.
The eldest was one thing, but Gu Ung-seok, knowing its importance to him, might do anything.
-Grip!
‘Song-a······.’
He felt sorry for her.
He’d trusted him with it, never imagining it’d be discovered so absurdly.
Gu Yeon-woo mumbled, then spat something out.
“Expel.”
-Clang!
It was a thin, long wire.
He’d secretly pocketed it just in case amid the chaos.
‘I have to get it back somehow.’
The treasure bead was the cult’s sacred treasure.
* * *
Burly men in fur-clad leather armor, clubs and weapons slung over shoulders, crowded around something.
It was a cart-like prison for transport.
Wooden bars enclosed a woman whose clothes were half-torn, exposing patches of pale skin.
The mysterious woman with streaked gray hair exuded an oddly alluring aura due to her attire.
Outside the prison cart stood an old woman leaning on a staff.
She addressed the woman.
“Spring Autumn Lord, this should fool them plenty.”
“You think? Enough to make them swallow it without suspicion?”
“Yes.”
“Men are simple creatures. Give them a righteous cause, and they’ll leap into any mess like self-proclaimed heroes itching for action.”
“Tch tch. Indeed. Especially seeing a beauty like you, Spring Autumn Lord, captured by these lowly bandits—they won’t stand for it.”
“Of course. It’s simplistic and shallow, but these tricks work surprisingly well. Heh heh heh.”
She shrugged smugly.
They’d set it up along the carriage route; now they just waited.
“They’ll pass here in about half a shichen······.”
-Whoooosh!
A gale roared like a storm.
Her rugged bandit subordinates panicked in the sudden wind.
In that instant, Spring Autumn and the old woman looked up.
-Swish!
Something rocketed overhead.
A fleeting blur, but unmistakably a swordsman riding his blade.
‘!!!!!!’
Spring Autumn’s face hardened as she spoke.
“······That was him, right?”
< 92화 소문 (4) > End