Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Nine Palaces Sword Formation
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"So, is the demonstration going well?"
"Yes, Master."
Jinhye glanced at Jinmu as he answered.
"Ah, you came just in time. Jinmu said he wanted to see the Welcoming Grace Hall disciples' demonstration, didn't he?"
"Ah, yes..."
It was hardly welcome, but with his master there, he couldn't let it show.
"Senior Brother, it's been a while. I've been too busy repairing the Sword-Shedding Pool lately to visit often."
"Yeah. Sure."
Jinhye accepted the greeting half-heartedly.
'Busy with repairs? This bastard's spouting lies.'
Jinhye had been secretly watching what Jinmu and the Jade Generation Disciples were up to at the Sword-Shedding Pool.
It had been over half a month already, and all they'd done in the name of repairs was hammer in a few stakes. Mostly, they just hunted and ate mountain beasts day after day.
"Jinmu, recently..."
Jinhye started to subtly bring up his junior's misdeeds where Myeonggong could hear.
"This must be the gentleman who helped Wudang, right?"
Before he knew it, Jinmu had brushed past Jinhye and approached Geumjeoksan.
"I've heard so much about you. I'm Jinmu, Junior Brother to Senior Brother Jinhye."
"Pardon? Ah! I'm Geumjeoksan. You're the one who was at the Sword-Shedding Pool earlier today. You look so young to be a First Generation Disciple—impressive."
"Haha, you've got a sharp eye. I'm the shy type, so I didn't dare greet you earlier."
"...Yes."
He hardly seemed shy with that outgoing demeanor.
"Good thing I heard you'd be arriving early and told the Jade Generation kids ahead of time, or I might have committed a grave discourtesy."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Your sword."
Jinmu pointed at the sword hanging from Geumjeoksan's waist, his face beaming with a bright smile.
"Ah, this... this is..."
It was obviously just for show.
But under Jinmu's grinning gaze, Geumjeoksan couldn't easily continue.
He knew full well the significance of the Sword-Shedding Pool.
"Oh, no, I don't mean to blame you. I'm just saying that treating the head of the merchant group as an honored guest means not stopping you from keeping your sword on at the Sword-Shedding Pool."
"I'm sorry. I was short-sighted."
As Geumjeoksan apologized, Myeonggong feigned a stern expression and chided Jinmu.
"Hey now, Jinmu. That's enough. Can't you see the merchant head is embarrassed?"
But inwardly, Myeonggong felt a swell of pride.
The Sword-Shedding Pool.
It was Wudang's pride.
No one should be exempt from its rules—it went without saying.
Yet lately, no one had spoken up about it.
Thinking back, blinded by his wealth, they'd let him strut into the Purple Empyrean Palace with a sword openly at his waist, and no one had batted an eye.
'Hoho, as expected, the Sect Leader sees all? He's broken the taboo on meat, sure, but this child is bringing up Wudang's pride that no one else dared mention.'
Jinmu had reminded them both without causing offense, leaving Myeonggong pleased deep down.
"By the way, I heard the disciples are demonstrating the Nine Palaces Sword Formation today."
"Indeed."
"Would it be alright if I observed?"
"Hm? You?"
"Yes. I've never actually seen Wudang's great Nine Palaces Formation in action..."
As Jinmu blushed like a bashful child, Myeonggong's face lit up with satisfaction.
He'd recently grown greatly expectant of Jinmu's talents.
Plus, the recent tale of Cheongu beating Cheongsang had stirred both his expectations and curiosity.
"Very well. Go ahead."
"Thank you, Martial Uncle!"
Jinmu's eyes sparkled with joy, making Myeonggong even more delighted.
"Jinhye. Begin."
"Yes, Master."
Jinhye bowed to Myeonggong, but Jinmu cut in.
"Senior Brother, I'm looking forward to this."
"O-oh, right."
Jinhye ground his teeth inwardly. Until moments ago, all eyes had been on him.
And yet.
'That damn punk...'
This intruder was scattering the attention that had been focused on him. And in his own home turf, the Welcoming Grace Hall, no less.
This young junior brother, acting like some honored guest, had climbed onto the platform and now stood beside his master Myeonggong and Geumjeoksan, looking down at him. It was utterly infuriating.
"Deploy the Nine Palaces Sword Formation!"
But the demonstration came first.
With his master watching, there couldn't be a single mistake.
As Jinhye bellowed and joined the ranks, the disciples swiftly formed up.
"Open formation!"
The formation unfolded. Twenty disciples split to either side, taking positions at different points and deploying the sword array.
Each unleashed their sword techniques according to their paths, and the scattered strikes suddenly converged as one.
"Interesting formation."
Jinmu watched the unfolding array with curious eyes, and Myeonggong gazed at him fondly.
"Enjoying the show?"
"Yes. But the focus feels a bit lacking."
"Lacking?"
"Yes."
"How so?"
"Well, I haven't learned much about formations yet, so I'm no expert, but when the scattered swords reconverge, they should crush the enemy in one go. It feels oddly off-kilter."
"...?"
Geumjeoksan looked puzzled, not understanding, but Myeonggong's eyes flew wide in shock.
"Go on."
"Hm, it feels too weighted to one side. If it were me, I'd flee from where the left flank starts. Better to slow the swords on that side to lure the enemy in, sharpen the edge meanwhile, and... it's complicated. I'd need to study it more."
"...!"
Myeonggong could only blink in astonishment at Jinmu's sharp pinpointing of the formation's flaws.
Jinmu's analysis evoked the subtleties of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, blending the eight gates.
"Hah! You truly saw it for the first time?"
"Pardon?"
Jinmu put on an innocent face, as if he didn't even know the character for "sword" in formations.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have spoken out of turn when I know nothing..."
Hardly.
That shoddy Nine Palaces Formation...
His true thoughts were worlds apart, but Jinmu scratched his head sheepishly.
Myeonggong stared at him, mouth agape.
'Impossible. He grasped it just from watching? Not just its weaknesses, but improvements too?'
Word of his outstanding talent had reached him many times, but seeing it firsthand was beyond words.
"Wh-what are you talking about? To me, it looks amazing..."
Geumjeoksan, sidelined from the conversation, chimed in.
"Ah, forgive me. I've been rude to our guest."
"No, no. I was just curious about your discussion..."
Myeonggong nodded at Geumjeoksan's words and looked proudly at Jinmu.
"Truth be told, this child only recently started learning martial arts, but his talent is exceptional. We in the sect have great hopes for him. Even the Sect Leader has taken notice."
There was no need to explain formations in detail to an outsider, and a merchant wouldn't grasp it anyway.
Instead of confusing Geumjeoksan, Myeonggong heaped praise on Jinmu.
But Geumjeoksan couldn't help a strange thought.
'What's this? The Wudang Sect Leader's taking notice? Wasn't there already a designated successor?'
His investment was in Jinhye.
He planned to stoke the man's greed to become Sect Leader, then suck the whole sect dry once he ascended.
And now this new variable appeared out of nowhere.
'Jinmu, huh...'
Geumjeoksan's eyes deeply imprinted the image of Jinmu, wearing that seemingly naive expression.
And.
Jinmu didn't miss the shift in Geumjeoksan's gaze.
'Heh, you punks. No matter how you scheme, you're Sun Wukong in Buddha's palm. Now we've made acquaintance and built some goodwill, so next is how to approach...'
Hiding his true intentions, Jinmu kept up the naive act while observing the formation.
Meanwhile, oblivious Jinhye directed the formation fervently to impress Myeonggong and Geumjeoksan.
"Hm..."
Jinmu's face was etched with worry as he prepared his master's dinner.
"Sigh. What to do."
Jinmu let out a deep sigh.
The day after the Qingyang Merchant Group members left, he was pondering how to approach them.
In the old days, he'd just tell his Hidden Shadow Unit Leader Myeongsechan, "Hey, shake down the Qingyang Merchant Group," and by day's end, he'd know the fabric of Geumjeoksan's underwear.
But now, he was just a lowly Taoist trapped on Wudang Mountain. No way to dig into the Qingyang Merchant Group.
All he knew was.
Geumjeoksan was trying to exploit Wudang, and the group was making money through the fine trade of "smuggling."
Of course, he didn't mind Jinhye becoming head disciple, taking bribes from Geumjeoksan, and falling to corruption.
But.
'Can't let them drool over what's mine. Gotta strip 'em bare...'
To do that, he needed solid intel on the Qingyang Merchant Group.
And to get that, he needed to get close—but Jinmu had no way off Wudang Mountain.
He needed a pretext.
"Sigh..."
Glancing back, he saw Cheongu roasting and devouring meat in plain sight.
He was blatant about it now.
Blowing on the hot meat, he met Jinmu's eyes and grinned broadly.
That useless freeloader.
Zero help with his dilemma.
"Cheongu."
"Yes, Martial Uncle!"
"Stop stuffing your face and set the table for Master."
"Got it!"
Too damn cheerful for no reason.
Still, the honest kid did as told without fail. Reminded him of Cheon U-myeong every time, so Jinmu couldn't hate him.
Cheongu carried in the hearty meat-laden meal, and Myeongjin welcomed him with a bright smile.
"Have you eaten?"
"We..."
"No!"
Cheongu shook his head, drooling over the piled meat.
This punk who just gorged himself.
"Then let's eat together for once."
"Yes!"
Always the same reliable guy.
No helping it—Myeongjin, Jinmu, and Cheongu shared the savory dinner.
All the while, Jinmu racked his brain for a way to approach the Qingyang Merchant Group.
"Jinmu."
"..."
"Jinmu?"
"Yes? Sorry, what did you say?"
"Hm."
Myeongjin tilted his head.
"Something troubling you?"
"No, nothing much..."
Lost too deep in thought, perhaps. Jinmu realized his slip and smiled faintly, but Cheongu piped up.
"He's been like that since the Qingyang Merchant Group left."
"Qingyang Merchant Group?"
"Yes. They visited two days ago. I heard from Origin Harmony Hall that they donated a ton, and Martial Granduncle Myeongseon was thrilled."
Cheongu mumbled around a mouthful of meat.
'Qingyang Merchant Group, eh. Well, it's about time he saw the world.'
Myeongjin finally smiled faintly.
Jinmu was already past twenty.
Having seen worldly folk, it was natural for curiosity to stir at his age.
Though the gates were closed, if his health had been better, he'd have gone down the mountain like his senior brothers by now.
'Poor kid, stuck in the mountains for years tending me...'
Myeongjin's wistful gaze fell on him, but Jinmu, lost in his own thoughts, didn't notice.
As Jinmu cleared the table after the meal, Myeongjin asked.
"What day is tomorrow?"
"The fourth of the first month."
"Fourth of the first month... I see."
"Then I'll take my leave."
"Go on."
Myeongjin nodded warmly at Jinmu.
What the hell? This guy's stuffing his face, then acting all cryptic?
Unsure of the smile's meaning, Jinmu just tilted his head.