Those Who Touch My Things All Die! (1)
In an instant, Wudang swept through the lands of Nanyoung and began climbing the mountain behind the city.
If they had read the map and diagram correctly, the Sword Tomb was on this very mountain.
"How is it?"
"According to the map, we need to go a little farther."
Heo Sanja’s brow furrowed slightly.
They’ve already got people following us from behind.
It was expected, but the response had come faster than he’d thought. In other words, they had decided that they would not bother being wary of Wudang here.
If we let this drag on, things will spiral out of control.
In the past, treasures had appeared in the Jianghu many times. Each time, the great sects that led the martial world had joined the struggle in order to prevent needless sacrifice.
To say that they had no greed in their hearts would be a lie, but it wasn’t as simple as saying they had rushed in for greed alone.
But in most cases, they had failed to prevent the bloodshed.
That was how intense the obsession of Jianghu men was when it came to miraculous medicines and secret manuals.
Few of those trailing them now would think Wudang knew anything at all.
They were merely keeping their eyes wide open, watching to see whether Wudang might discover some evidence.
But the moment the Sword Tomb is unearthed, they’ll come pouring in like a pack of jackals.
"Mu Yeon!"
"Yes, Elder."
"Take the rear. Once the Sword Tomb opens, they’ll all rush in at once. Hold them back and enter first."
"Yes, Elder!"
There was no persuading people who had gone blind with greed. It was better to use force properly and reduce the casualties that way.
"Are we close?"
"Almost. It should be right around here…"
And then it happened.
The moment they broke out of the dense forest, a huge clearing opened up before them.
This is…?
Heo Sanja narrowed his eyes.
Strange.
Terrain was supposed to have continuity in the first place.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible for the edge of a dense forest to lead into low brush. But for the forest to end in a barren stretch of dirt with not even a blade of grass in sight, as it did now, was far from common.
Yet all he could see before him was dirt and stone.
"Is this it?"
"Yes! This is it, Elder!"
It’s definitely a strange place.
Hadn’t they said everything depended on the state of one’s mind?
If he had passed through here without thinking, he would have simply found it a little odd and moved on. But now that suspicion had taken root, there was nothing more unnatural-looking than this place.
Heo Sanja was certain the Sword Tomb was here.
No matter how he looked at it, this was not terrain that could have formed naturally.
"Search it!"
"Yes!"
Wudang’s disciples drew their swords in unison. Then they surged forward and began stabbing wildly at the ground with their blades.
If the Sword Tomb was here, then naturally its entrance would be hidden beneath the ground. What they were searching for now was the opening concealed somewhere within this stretch of terrain.
Thud! Thud-thunk!
Wudang’s long swords repeatedly stabbed into the earth.
Under normal circumstances, no one would have tolerated so much as tarnishing a sword, but now was no time to care about something so trivial. Even now, rumors would be spreading through Nanyoung that they had found something, and anyone who heard those rumors would be rushing here.
They had to find the entrance and go in before the others arrived and made the situation worse.
Then, suddenly—
"There’s something here!"
Heo Sanja’s head snapped around. Without even pausing to speak, he leapt forward with light-footed movement and rushed toward the source of the shout.
"Where?"
"Right here!"
One of the disciples kept stabbing the ground with his sword.
With a clattering sound, the blade failed to sink all the way in.
"Move."
Heo Sanja drew his sword and poured internal energy into it. Then he thrust down in a single motion.
Clang!
His face brightened with delight.
If his sword, carrying sword qi, struck against it, ordinary metal would be sliced like melon skin. But his blade had clearly been repelled just now. That could only mean the thing beneath the ground was no ordinary metal.
"Stand back!"
"Yes!"
The sword qi in Heo Sanja’s blade deepened. It gathered and compressed at once, transforming from qi into something harder, more solid—into force itself.
"Taaat!"
With a short shout, Heo Sanja’s sword struck the ground.
Kwaaaaaaah!
Like a raging flood eroding a riverbank, the earth was torn apart by the wave of sword qi. In less time than it took to breathe, a pit large enough to hold several people had been carved out of the ground.
Everyone’s eyes dropped to the bottom of the pit.
Joy, impossible to hide, overflowed in every face.
"Elder!"
"Mm."
Heo Sanja could not hide his smile either.
At the bottom of the pit, a huge downward-facing entrance had finally been revealed. On the two iron doors, firmly shut and split to the left and right, were embossed images of divine swords pointing at one another.
And beneath them, a large inscription could be seen.
[Sword Tomb]
"We found it!"
Then, all at once—
"Over there! It’s there!"
"It’s Wudang!"
Heo Sanja’s head whipped around.
From the dense forest behind them, the martial artists who had been chasing them burst out at a violent speed.
"Mu Yeon!"
"Yes, I’ll hold them off!"
Mu Yeon, the first-generation disciple, led his senior and junior brothers as he charged toward the rear without hesitation.
Heo Sanja did not even glance at Mu Yeon. His gaze remained fixed on the entrance to the Sword Tomb.
"Open it!"
"Yes!"
The disciples rushed forward and grabbed the doors of the Sword Tomb.
But no matter how hard they pulled, the doors did not budge an inch.
"Tch! Step aside."
Slightly irritated, Heo Sanja infused his blade with energy. The sword qi that had been blazing bright blue gathered and compressed, no longer qi but force.
"Taatt!"
With a short cry, Heo Sanja’s sword sliced into the door of the Sword Tomb.
The shattered doors of the tomb roared as they were forced open, then plunged toward the bottomless dark below.
"Huh!"
"It’s deeper than we thought. If we’d gone in blindly…"
Heo Sanja frowned and looked into the opened doorway. No bottom was visible.
So that was why they had gone to the trouble of building something like this deep inside the mountain. It seemed the Sword Tomb could only be entered by descending all the way to the bottom of this abyss.
Heo Sanja bit his lip lightly.
There’s no telling what’s down there.
The darkness, so deep it swallowed even light, stirred fear in anyone who looked upon it.
But the momentum had already carried them this far.
There was a limit to how long they could hold off the people charging in from behind.
There was no time for leisurely investigation.
"I’ll take the lead. Heo Gong!"
"Yes, Senior Brother."
"Keep watch for Mu Yeon’s return and take the rear."
"Understood."
As Heo Gong nodded, Heo Sanja narrowed his eyes and glared at the entrance to the Sword Tomb.
I can feel malice coming from it.
It was as if the place was saying they had to throw themselves into this darkness if they wanted to obtain the Honwon Dan.
"Everyone, follow me!"
Without the slightest delay, Heo Sanja leapt into the Sword Tomb. The Wudang disciples guarding the area threw themselves after him in an instant.
"There! They’re going in there!"
"There’s something there! It’s the Sword Tomb!"
The moment the words Sword Tomb were shouted, the mob of martial artists behind them began charging with a frenzy and speed unlike anything they had shown before.
"Hold the line!"
Mu Yeon shouted himself hoarse.
Dammit!
They weren’t opponents that were hard to suppress. The problem was their sheer numbers, and the fact that all of them were rushing forward without caring whether they lived or died.
"Slowly! Retreat slowly! We cannot let them through!"
"Yes!"
Mu Yeon slowly ordered his disciples back. If they tried to hold the line by force, they would have to accept casualties.
What they needed to do now was not stop the others from entering. It was to buy time for their senior brothers in the rear to go in first.
Then, suddenly—
"Hahahahahaha! Move, you damn rats!"
Kwaaaaaang!
The entire forest exploded outward.
Mu Yeon’s eyes flew wide open.
Geulryeokbu Mak Hoi?
That massive frame, that axe the size of a man—there was no mistaking it. It was Mak Hoi of the Geulryeokbu, infamous throughout the Shanxi region for his monstrous strength.
Even a heavyweight like him is rushing here for the Honwon Dan?
"Kahahahahaha! Wudang bastards, you’ve got some nerve. You’d dare lay hands on this one’s property?"
The Geulryeokbu stormed forward like lightning.
At that terrifying momentum, the martial artists hurriedly threw themselves aside to clear a path. Those who failed to escape in time were smashed by his shoulder and sent flying. Even if a person were struck by a galloping four-horse carriage, they would not fly that far; the sight made it obvious just how monstrous Mak Hoi’s strength was.
"N-no!"
Mu Yeon’s face stiffened.
If that beast of a man charged in, the defensive line would be broken for sure. Mu Yeon was just beginning to panic, unable to find a response, when a clicking of the tongue suddenly came from behind him.
"Tsk tsk. He’s no different from a wild boar."
"Elder!"
Heo Gong easily vaulted over Mu Yeon and blocked the charging Geulryeokbu head-on. Then the Geulryeokbu bellowed in a booming voice.
"Move, old man! I’ll turn you to mush."
"It would be wise for you to cool your head a little, Do-u."
"Hraaah!"
The Geulryeokbu swung the axe in his hand with ferocious force. The axe tore through the wind as it flew, its momentum so overwhelming that merely looking at it made the back of one’s knees go weak.
"Hup!"
But that force never reached Heo Gong.
Swish.
Heo Gong’s sword lightly knocked the axe aside. The instant blade met blade, Heo Gong’s sword underwent a bizarre change.
"Wha—?"
The Geulryeokbu could not control the axe as it was sent rebounding backward and staggered out of balance. Heo Gong’s blade then struck him softly across the surface of the sword.
"Kraaaah!"
Mak Hoi’s body was flung into the air and sent flying back into the forest from which he had burst out.
"……."
At that display of divine power, all those charging forward stopped moving and stared at Heo Gong.
Is that one of Wudang’s elders?
He stopped the Geulryeokbu in a single blow!
Such overwhelming might.
It was a scene that proved exactly why Wudang was Wudang.
"I’ll handle this, so you lot hurry up and enter the Sword Tomb."
"Yes, Elder!"
Heo Gong clicked his tongue and looked at the martial artists before him. Then he slowly spoke.
"Do you intend to interfere with Wudang’s affairs?"
"……."
"This place has already been claimed by Wudang. Anyone who wishes to enter will have to face Wudang’s sword. Do you have the confidence for that?"
No one dared meet Heo Gong’s gaze.
Wudang. And Wudang’s elder.
That lofty name pressed down on the martial artists.
But not everyone was crushed by that name.
"An old man rambling nonsense."
From the dense forest, one man slowly stepped out.
A man wrapped head to toe in bright red robes. His eyes, visible through the layers of cloth wound about him, were stained red.
"……You wouldn’t happen to be Samsal-gwi, would you?"
"Your eyes don’t seem to have rotted yet."
Heo Gong frowned.
He was a man of terrible repute. How many had died by his hand for no reason at all?
Had this not been the current situation, Heo Gong would have punished him on the spot. But now was not a good time.
"What do you mean, nonsense?"
"Are you the owner of the Sword Tomb?"
"……."
Samsal-gwi sneered as he spoke.
"The owner of the Sword Tomb is Talgeom Muheun. Not Wudang. Acting as though the tomb belongs to you just because you found it first—what a joke. The whole world will laugh at Wudang."
Heo Gong narrowed his eyes.
He was not entirely wrong. But if that man had not been here, no one would have dared object to Wudang’s claim of precedence.
"Hahahahaha. Even Samsal-gwi can say something right once in a while."
Several more people emerged from the forest in a row. Heo Gong frowned before he could stop himself. The broad sword of the man at the front caught his eye.
"You wouldn’t happen to be the Great Sword, Gok Bu?"
"Well now, it’s an honor to meet the famed Heo Gong-jin-in of the world."
"Mm."
Heo Gong gave a low hum.
If it was Gok Bu of the Great Sword, then he was not someone Heo Gong could easily deal with either.
In such a short time, this many renowned people have gathered?
Heo Gong was once again made to realize just how extraordinary the name of the Sword Tomb was.
"But I’m disappointed. For the illustrious Heo Gong-jin-in to be saying such ridiculous things… I have no desire to join hands with that Samsal-gwi, but isn’t it a little unbecoming of Wudang to intimidate the others simply because you got here first?"
"Are you saying you intend to make an enemy of Wudang?"
"All I’m saying is that opportunity should be fair."
Gok Bu narrowed his eyes.
"Wudang may have discovered it first, but everyone has the right to enter the Sword Tomb. Isn’t that right, everyone?"
"That’s right!"
"So what if it’s Wudang! Aren’t you being too arrogant?"
"Who knew Wudang would be this greedy! Aren’t you afraid of how people will see you?"
"We need to drive them off! Even now, they must be rummaging through the Sword Tomb!"
The fire that had nearly gone out ignited again.
Heo Gong’s expression darkened. Even for him, holding them all back alone would be impossible.
If that was the case…
"I have clearly warned you. Those who enter the Sword Tomb will have to face Wudang’s sword."
"That sounds terrifying. But if we were afraid of that, we wouldn’t have come this far."
Heo Gong nodded.
"Then…"
He glanced slightly backward. The last Wudang disciple was already leaping into the Sword Tomb.
"Go on, then. Try your luck!"
Heo Gong also threw himself into the Sword Tomb. And as though that had been the signal, the martial artists surged toward the entrance all at once.
"Move! If you don’t want to die!"
"You bastards! Can’t you get out of the way?"
No matter how wide the entrance was, it could not possibly let so many people through at once. Naturally, they had no choice but to get tangled together.
To make matters worse, someone drew a sword amid the chaos.
In an instant, a storm of blood swept through the area.
Weapons were drawn from all directions, and they began attacking one another.
"What a damned mess."
The Great Sword leapt over the fighting martial artists and stood at the entrance to the Sword Tomb.
Those who were attacking one another with murderous intensity could not bring themselves to draw their swords at him. Soon, even Samsal-gwi vaulted over the others and stood on the Great Sword’s opposite side.
"Want to fight?"
"No need to waste energy if we don’t have to."
"Hm."
The two men exchanged a look and then sprang into the Sword Tomb. A few other figures followed them inside.
"Move!"
After that, it was the sects’ turn.
Those who had managed to force their way through by sheer numbers entered the Sword Tomb the moment they arrived.
"Damn it, move aside!"
"The Sword Tomb! We have to get to the Sword Tomb! The divine weapons are in there!"
Some rushed in, some tried to stop them, and some tried to force their way through. It was utter bedlam.
And then, at that very moment—
"Why the hell did you all come swarming in like a pack of stray dogs!"
A man bursting out through the forest barked in irritation.
"You’re the one who gathered us, idiot!"
"Who knew it would get this bad!"
There seemed to be some kind of bickering, but then the man at the front lifted his sword still in its scabbard. He glared wide-eyed and shouted:
"I’m going!"
"Damn it! Fine!"
"Everyone move! I warned you!"
The man at the front—Chung Myung—roared as he charged forward.
"Leeeet’s gooooooooo!"
"Eek?"
"Ugh—!"
Those blocking the way were sent bouncing in all directions.
Blood vessels stood out in Chung Myung’s eyes.
"Anyone who touches my things is dead!"
Chung Myung and the disciples of Mount Hua surged like a storm and rushed straight toward the Sword Tomb.