Chapter 60 - Found It.
Dan Ri-ye.
As his surname suggested, he was a descendant of the Danli family, a clan that had once shaken the martial world with its might.
Over forty years ago, they had suffered total annihilation and vanished from the jianghu, but in their heyday, their power rivaled that of the current Five Great Families.
Jin Muhon nodded and spoke.
"So the leader of the Four Emperors Alliance came from a prestigious sect."
"That fine family wasn't exactly a blessing for him. If anything, it drove him to the edge of the abyss."
"What do you mean?"
Muheo's voice trembled gloomily, like the creak of an ancient coffin lid being pried open.
"He wasn't just some bastard by blood. He was the family head's son. A concubine's child, sure, but still."
"His mother?"
"Who knows. Dan Ri-ye never spoke of her. Back in the day, I'd tag along with my master to the Danli estate now and then, but I never saw her. Probably passed early."
At the time, the Danli family seemed close to the Wudang Sect.
That's how Muheo got to know Dan Ri-ye while coming and going there.
Jin Muhon asked again.
"What kind of man was Dan Ri-ye?"
Muheo drew a light breath.
"Hoo… Let's see. I must've been around sixteen when I first met him. By then, I'd already built a solid foundation in internal energy—no one among the later-generation disciples could match me. My talent was exceptional, after all. Heh heh heh! Feels odd boasting like this, but it's the truth!"
"……."
Jin Muhon just nodded silently.
Muheo shot him a slightly dissatisfied glance before continuing.
"Back then, I was like a thunderbolt brat—afraid of nothing in the world. Thought I could cut down anyone with my sword. But when I first laid eyes on Dan Ri-ye… how to put it? Eerie, maybe. Hard to describe, but looking back, I think I felt fear toward him."
"Fear?"
This was Muheo, the man scouring the entire jianghu for a hwan-gol-tal-tae method to fix his ugly mug. For a near-madman like him to admit fear? Jin Muhon's first reaction was sheer curiosity.
'If this was back at the clan, it must've been before Dan Ri-ye entered Poison Dragon Valley.'
Unaware that Jin Muhon had encountered Dan Ri-ye's lingering obsession, Muheo gazed at the moon in the sky and dredged up memories of the man.
"He was a freak. His eyes were unfocused, his aura dark and brooding. His skin was sallow like he'd never seen the sun, with perpetual dark circles under his eyes. And so gaunt—thought he was a walking corpse at first."
"How'd you end up friends with a guy like that?"
"Well, looks aside, he was interesting."
Recalling long-forgotten days brought a faint smile to Muheo's lips.
"Especially in conversation—it was wild. Felt like talking to multiple people at once. He should've been born to a theater troupe, not some warrior clan. Might've been the greatest actor of all time."
Something flickered in Jin Muhon's mind, but he kept quiet, letting Muheo continue naturally.
"Then one day, poof—he vanished."
"Vanished?"
"Yeah. Even asked my master about it, but he just stonewalled me. Grim face, said to forget him."
"When was that?"
"Five years after I first met him. The year I officially joined the Wudang Seven Swords—I remember it clear as day."
Five years later.
Dan Ri-ye would've been in his early twenties.
Whatever circumstances arose in between, the timeline lined up with him leaving the clan for Poison Dragon Valley.
"Once I made Wudang Seven Swords, I had connections and time to spare. So I looked into what happened to him. Tsk. It was bad. Here I was, his so-called friend, clueless to his suffering…."
"How bad?"
"Being a concubine's son, he'd endured years of abuse from the principal wife. Brutal stuff. No wonder he wasn't right in the head. Eventually, they crippled his dantian and kicked him out."
Jin Muhon stared at Muheo in shock.
"They crippled his dantian?"
"Yep. Probably the principal wife's doing. Couldn't outright kill him without tarnishing the family's reputation, so that was her punishment. And assassins right after he stepped out the gate? Obvious."
"Hmm…."
Without a dantian, Dan Ri-ye had mastered the Fate Soul Heaven Sacrificing Scripture.
Used that power to kill his Poison Dragon Valley master, then dominated the jianghu as leader of the Four Emperors Alliance.
'A technique turning the dead's souls into inner energy. And… there must be a trick to it.'
A bolt of insight struck Jin Muhon's mind.
"Old man!"
"Uh, yeah?"
"You met Dan Ri-ye again later, right?"
"Of course. A few times, even after he became leader of the Four Emperors."
Muheo nodded with a puzzled look.
"Did he say anything special? Mention what technique he'd learned?"
"Hmm… The arts were one thing, but he seemed even stranger when we met again. Like he was possessed or something. Said he was chasing someone, but didn't know the name or whereabouts. Wandered the jianghu like that, picking up idiots who trailed him—that's how the Four Emperors started."
Chasing someone.
Muheo still didn't grasp it, but Jin Muhon knew instantly.
"Did he ever call what he was chasing a 'malevolent ghost'?"
"Malevolent ghost? No idea, first I've—ah!"
Something clicked; Muheo stared into the dark sky, mouth agape.
"Come to think of it, he did say something like that. Brushed it off as nonsense back then."
"What was it?"
"Claimed he could see ghosts since he was a kid."
"……."
The talent to see spirits.
If true, Dan Ri-ye had the perfect constitution for the Fate Soul Heaven Sacrificing Scripture.
That must've been how he ruled the world without a dantian.
'Maybe my brothers could do it too.'
Physical recovery came first, so Jin Muhon hadn't taught his sworn brothers any arts yet.
He'd been thinking of guiding them via Cloud Peak Demon Sea like he had, but Dan Ri-ye's story opened a new path.
"Jin family head?"
"Hmm?"
"What're you thinking? Something about him… wait! Is it related to hwan-gol-tal-tae? Huh? Is it?!"
"……."
Jin Muhon sighed lightly and shook his head.
"No. By the way, didn't the Danli family get wiped out? Was that Dan Ri-ye's doing?"
"Nah. He actually wanted revenge for the clan. Suspected the principal wife and her family as the culprits behind the fall, but put it off for other priorities. But really, not hwan-gol-tal-tae?"
Muheo's eyes blazed with suspicion.
Jin Muhon furrowed his brow and met his gaze.
"I said no. Her family, though? Who were they?"
"Nangong."
Muheo's eyes darkened meaningfully.
Jin Muhon pressed his lips into a thin line.
"Nangong…."
"Yeah, Nangong. After the Danli fall, they rose to head the Five Great Families. Smells fishy, doesn't it?"
Jianghu history from forty or fifty years ago.
Jin Muhon hadn't been born yet, and survival in the Demonic Cult left no room for distant Central Plains tales.
'Nangong… Come to think of it, the old man has a score to settle with them too.'
Muheo spoke gravely.
"Jin family head. Really… not hwan-gol-tal-tae?"
"……."
Drunk on liquor, moonlight, and old memories.
If not for the hwan-gol-tal-tae obsession, it would've been a fine night.
***
Time flew by.
When Jin Muhon returned from Yunnam, Unbong Mountain had been ablaze with autumn leaves. Now, the world lay blanketed in white.
"Hah!Hup!Haaa!"
In the rear garden, Jin Hayeon swung her sword today as always, her breath forming white clouds.
Sword winds trailed her blade—she'd grown accustomed to channeling internal energy.
"Hayeon, don't stop. Imagine turning falling snow into a blizzard and flow through your forms."
"Yes, Master!"
Shwaaaaa—
Snowflakes danced and scattered along her sword like partners in a waltz.
"Good! That's my disciple!"
"Yes! I'm Master's disciple!"
"Heh heh heh! Excellent! Perfect!"
Muheo and Jin Hayeon threw themselves into training, heedless of the cold.
The old Dao Destroyer Muheo would've bolted for Yunnam, but now, with a disciple's responsibility, he'd shelved his hwan-gol-tal-tae fixation to focus on teaching her.
He sparred with Jin Muhon now and then to prepare for his duel with Geomje.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Then, a man shuffled slowly into the garden.
Flesh had filled him out—no more skeletal frame—and thanks to Han Sowol's treatments, his limbs worked, if unsteadily.
"Uncle!!"
Jin Hayeon spotted him approaching, halted her sword, and waved brightly.
Jin Baek's face, however, twisted in agony. Pale as death, eyes bloodshot, uniform soaked in cold sweat.
He'd just finished today's treatment. Forcing a bright smile, he waved back at Jin Hayeon.
"Hey, Hayeon. Take it easy."
"Yes!"
"Old man. Don't push our Hayeon too hard."
Muheo bellowed at Jin Baek's quip.
"She's my disciple! Butt out, you punk!"
"Heh heh heh."
Jin Baek staggered to Jin Muhon and collapsed beside him like a sack.
"Hoo… I'm dying."
Jin Muhon's lips curved faintly at the exaggeration.
"You're walking well now."
"Aigoo. Walking ain't the issue—nearly went to the Yellow Springs a dozen times. How's that doc's touch so vicious? Demonic Cult torturers would strip naked in surrender."
"White flagging a single physician? The Mad Soul Unit Leader's spirit is dead."
"Heh heh heh. Mad Soul or Sword Demon—even you'd buckle under her hands."
They sat side by side, watching Jin Hayeon train.
Jin Muhon beamed inwardly at her diligence; to Jin Baek, the grown woman was precious as the apple of his eye.
Happiness.
Perhaps this was the first true happiness they'd ever known.
"Haaaa!"
Shwaaaaa—
Fierce sword winds erupted from Jin Hayeon's blade.
Snow on the ground swirled upward like an ascending white dragon.
"Magnificent! That's my disciple!"
"Ooooh!"
Jin Hayeon gaped, astonished by her own strike.
Muheo and Jin Baek looked up, gasping at the soaring vortex.
Jin Muhon watched the dispersing blizzard impassively and spoke.
"A way to restore your martial arts. I think I've found it."
"……!"
Jin Baek's eyes bulged as he whipped his head toward Jin Muhon.