Chapter 58: Hero of the Desolate Fortress
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 58: Hero of the Desolate Fortress
His opponent had lost both her sword and her arm. Just as Jeong Yeon-shin was about to strike Deep Hanging Sword’s neck, a voice roared.
“You insolent bastard!”
The County Magistrate, who had been standing far in the back, shot forward like a howling gale. The light green hem of his official robes fluttered like a butterfly’s wings.
With the distinct, fluid movements of the Brightfolk, he passed Deep Hanging Sword and spread his arms wide to shield her.
“How dare you harm my wife? The Desolate Fortress is the sword of the imperial family! Since when does a mere blade dare to strike its own master?”
“Are you saying the Hwangbo bloodline is equal to the imperial family?” Jeong Yeon-shin asked, his eyes colder and more indifferent than if he were looking at trash on the side of the road.
He had never expected to feel this way toward the Brightfolk. It was something he could never have imagined back when he was still at the Jeong Family Manor.
The County Magistrate bit his lip.
“...You’ll have to cut me down first. Give up. How could you possibly harm me, the County Magistrate of Pingyin County? It’s not as if you’re a Black-Ranked Warrior!”
Whoosh!
The wind stirred once more. Jeong Yeon-shin glanced sideways. Before he knew it, Cheong-myeong was standing beside him, the playful smile that usually graced his face nowhere to be seen.
“We can just follow the laws of our clan,” Cheong-myeong said. His expression shifted—his eyes remained cold, but his lips curled into a smile.
“Her Imperial Majesty the Grand Empress Dowager decreed that the Brightfolk of the Desolate Fortress, regardless of rank, may execute any official of the sixth rank or below. A County Magistrate is of the seventh rank, is he not? I used to think it was an absurd privilege, but on missions like this, it seems it does have its uses.”
“You… surely you wouldn’t…!”
“They say our clan becomes an eyesore when we mingle with the Han people and get tainted by the secular world. I doubt anyone will complain about me taking your head. At most, I’ll just be summoned to Beijing for a brief chat.”
The County Magistrate, who supposedly enjoyed watching the deaths of heroes while listening to music, lost all his amusement. His handsome face turned completely pale.
This time, even Jeong Yeon-shin was surprised. While it was common knowledge that the Brightfolk held immense power in the Great Ming Empire, he hadn’t known they possessed authority on par with a Unit Commander-level Black-Ranked Warrior. Perhaps it was because the imperial bloodline itself was heavily mixed with Brightfolk blood.
“Sigh.”
Suddenly, the County Magistrate let out a sigh. Quickly regaining his composure, he offered a faint smile.
“I almost showed a vulgar side of myself. How can one discuss the elegance of wine, song, and dance without maintaining one’s grace?”
“No more words. Just go, and don’t drag the reputation of the Brightfolk through the mud.”
“Ah, of course.”
The moment Cheong-myeong drew his sword, the County Magistrate’s smile widened.
“It is time for me to depart. After all, there is no place under heaven where I am not welcomed.”
Jeong Yeon-shin’s gaze shifted backward. He felt a surge of energy rising from the direction of the shattered main gate. A hostile presence had been grating on his nerves ever since his fight with Deep Hanging Sword, and just as he’d expected, it was no ally.
“Desolate Fortress!”
The speaker was a man of massive build, a middle-aged warrior with a long scar running down his cheek. In one hand, he held a young girl by the scruff of her neck. She looked to be around Jeong Yeon-shin’s age, but her mute and paralysis acupoints had clearly been sealed. Unable to speak, her body was stiff as a board as she dangled from the man’s grip.
He roared, “You rabble who disrupt the Murim under the guise of some bizarre righteousness!”
At his shout, the County Magistrate’s face brightened. “I suppose I must address you as Hwangbo Majun now, rather than Elder Ma! To think such a crisis would bring you here! Since a martial artist of the main family has graced us with his presence, this Geum can finally breathe a sigh of relief!”
He didn’t look entirely cheerful, perhaps concerned about the severed right arm of his wife, Deep Hanging Sword Hwangbo Mimi, but a look of relief was spreading across his face.
The man named Hwangbo Majun did not reply. He ignored the County Magistrate completely, as if he had always held him in contempt. Lifting the girl high, he stared straight at Jeong Yeon-shin.
“Young warrior! A Blue Rank of the Desolate Fortress at your age, you must think the world revolves around you! Especially with that emblem on your shoulder! The direct disciple of the Lord of the Desolate Fortress? I can see right through your heart, drunk on honor and status!”
“...Aren’t you the one who’s blind to reality? Holding an obviously innocent civilian hostage,” Jeong Yeon-shin said, tilting his head slightly.
He was already measuring the distance. It was too far. His opponent was a master. Even if Cheong-myeong, whose movements were faster than his own, rushed forward, the distance was too great to save the girl in time.
Hwangbo Majun sneered. “There is always a greater cause behind the actions of the Hwangbo bloodline. What would half-baked martial artists who feed on the state’s payroll know? You of the Desolate Fortress, so eager to decapitate the people of the Jianghu, have crawled all the way to Jinan.”
“Did you just say ‘greater cause’?” Jeong Yeon-shin asked, his gaze flicking between the girl, whose eyes were slightly upturned, and Hwangbo Majun. His look conveyed the unspoken question: Do you feel no shame?
Hwangbo Majun puffed out his chest even further. “The greater cause of the Murim is noble. You lot are nothing but ruffians splashing mud all over the Jianghu. Stop interfering in the world of those who cultivate the martial path.”
“...”
He had heard that such people existed. In a world where the exchange of culture and ideas was scarce, the Murim was especially isolated, filled with eccentric, stubborn zealots. For them, martial arts was a singular path of devotion. It was said this was why the reclusive eccentrics of the Jianghu, who rarely showed themselves, would cause a massive uproar whenever they did step out into the world.
To discuss righteousness while holding a hostage… these were people who couldn't be reasoned with. Of course, the Desolate Fortress didn’t speak to the people of the Murim using the laws of the Four Books and Three Classics either. They simply pointed their blades.
The Hwangbo Clan must be even worse, Jeong Yeon-shin thought. They call themselves the kings of Jinan and gathered their bloodline to solidify their power.
His thoughts did not linger long, as Hwangbo Majun shook the girl by the scruff of her neck.
“Your brand of righteousness is bizarre. Just because someone violates imperial law, you swarm in and take their heads. Do you think there were no righteous heroes of the Murim among those you slaughtered? Let me tell you the story of this girl here.”
“Go ahead,” Jeong Yeon-shin replied, circulating the True Qi within his body. Standing calmly, he prepared his overlapping chain-formula, hoping the Fa Jin shockwave of the Infinite Flower of Time Fist could throw the bastard off balance.
“This child’s grandfather was a man named Dan Mu-hyu, who served as the County Magistrate of Pingyin County before that fellow over there took office.”
The girl, staring wide-eyed, seemed to clench her jaw. Hwangbo Majun continued, unbothered.
“He was an upright man. He fearlessly confronted Unorthodox martial artists who intimidated the commoners in the marketplace. They say he scolded them, citing the Great Ming Code, and threatened to lock them in the government prison.”
He grinned. “With a single palm strike, his stomach ruptured and he was sent flying. That Unorthodox bastard was quite ignorant of the world as well. He probably thought escaping with his Lightness Skill would be the end of it, but he had to face the wrath of our main family, which seeks to maintain order in Jinan alongside the County Magistrate. That is how we avenged this child’s grandfather.”
“And now you’re holding her by the neck while pretending to be her savior?”
“She is a child of outstanding talent. She has accumulated a significant amount of Qi with a mere Three Talents Mental Method. It would be a waste for her to die like this, but I have always wanted to unmask the hypocrisy of the Desolate Fortress. She is the granddaughter of the former County Magistrate who ruled this county with great virtue. How will you treat her?”
“Mmh! Mmmph!”
The girl groaned, her body squirming slightly. She seemed to have partially released her sealed acupoints on her own. Given her talent for accumulating Qi, she might truly possess a natural gift for manipulating energy.
“Look at this.”
Glancing down at her with a gleam of interest in his eyes, Hwangbo Majun raised his hand high, leaving the girl’s body dangling in the air.
“If you back down now, this child lives. And the Desolate Fortress’s righteousness of protecting the people from the Murim will be proven. But if you do not…”
His eyes swept forward, a look of disgust washing over his face as if he couldn’t bear to watch the Desolate Fortress act so self-righteously. He added briefly, “Never speak of the people’s livelihood again. The order of Jinan is maintained by the Hwangbo Clan. You pathetic, half-baked heroes.”
“Every single word is absolutely correct!”
Just as the County Magistrate, now wearing a full smile, was about to chime in, Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly spoke.
“How much longer do we have to listen to this?”
At that exact moment, pitch-black energy billowed from behind Hwangbo Majun’s head.
“What—!”
Behind him stood Baek Mi-ryeo, her face as cold as ice.
She was shrouded in a pitch-black current of energy, as if flames from the abyss had risen around her. A dark, night-sky glow filled her eyes.
Swoosh.
In stark contrast to the darkness, Baek Mi-ryeo’s snow-white hand reached up and gripped the back of Hwangbo Majun’s neck. The man couldn’t even resist.
The blue sleeves of her Desolate Fortress uniform fluttered alongside her materialized ink-black True Qi. Though it was the same uniform, her martial attire felt entirely different. It was as if the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady of legend had descended, her dark celestial robes flowing around her.
Baek Mi-ryeo parted her lips. “Aren’t you one of the Eight Great Families? How pathetic,” she said, her voice low.
She had suppressed him with overwhelming force. After slowing his reactions with a mysterious wave of energy, she had instantly sealed his paralysis acupoints. He wasn’t an elite martial artist of the main family after all, but merely someone sent to keep watch over the branch family.
Cheong-myeong smirked. “The Demonlight Wing, the Azure Sky Unit, and the Thread-Annihilation Unit have already headed to your main family’s estate. They’re probably being annihilated right about now. The Unit Commanders must have smashed them to pieces.”
“W-what?”
The moment the County Magistrate froze in shock, Jeong Yeon-shin’s figure spun. With a natural rotation like a leaf riding a gentle spring breeze, he swept past the County Magistrate. At the end of his instantaneous movement was his Desolate Fortress Sword, its blade flashing with a chilling light.
Slash!
Jeong Yeon-shin felt it clearly through his grip. The sensation of slicing through flesh and bone heralded the end of the mission.
“...!”
Was she trying to call him a lowborn wretch once more? The shape of Deep Hanging Sword Hwangbo Mimi’s lips suggested as much, but it was futile. Her lips contorted in shock, and her head tumbled to the ground.
“The Desolate Fortress does not negotiate with traitors,” Jeong Yeon-shin said, looking down at her head.
As the County Magistrate turned, his face contorted in rage, he reached out too late. There was no sound. A sharp, cold blade erupted from his abdomen. Cheong-myeong’s Desolate Fortress Sword had pierced straight through his back.
“I… for me to end up like this…”
“Even though we were only together briefly, you were truly tiresome.”
Even while killing, Cheong-myeong’s voice remained light and refreshing. Those were likely the last words the County Magistrate ever heard. The shockwave Cheong-myeong unleashed through his sword was devastating. Bloody tears welled in the eyes of the corpse as its internal organs were completely pulverized.
Senior Cheong-myeong’s methods were always cold, but never to this extent, Jeong Yeon-shin thought. Did he become even more ruthless because they shared the same Brightfolk blood?
That wasn't all. Turning around, Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes widened.
“Cough, ugh.”
A damp, chilling cold surged from Baek Mi-ryeo’s snow-white hand, which was still gripping the back of Hwangbo Majun’s neck. Instantly, his neck snapped as effortlessly as brittle ice.
“Ah!”
The captive girl managed to land on her feet without falling. With that small cry, the manor fell into absolute silence.
Before they knew it, the sun was setting. The hazy sunlight looked as if it were slowly rolling up the darkness to tuck itself into bed. A bleak wind blew through the Jianghu, rustling the leaves of the ash tree by the pond.
The incident was over. The County Magistrate and Deep Hanging Sword were dead. The martial artists of the Hwangbo branch family had been completely wiped out. Cleaning up the aftermath was not the responsibility of the Blue Ranks. People from the Desolate Fortress would arrive soon to handle it.
Jeong Yeon-shin sheathed his Desolate Fortress Sword and walked past the girl of the Dan Clan. He wanted to say something to this girl his age who had just gone through such an ordeal. Without stopping, he spoke slowly.
“You have a talent for martial arts.”
“Huh?”
The girl whipped her head around, but Jeong Yeon-shin did not look back.
Baek Mi-ryeo, who had already dispersed her materialized black True Qi, was smiling faintly. Her eyes, which had been entirely ink-black, had returned to normal, showing her whites and dark pupils. Only her snow-white hands remained unchanged. She reached out and patted Jeong Yeon-shin’s head. Along with a cool sensation, her soft sleeve brushed past his ear.
“The Desolate Fortress is not a sect that discusses righteousness. If you wish to become a righteous hero, you will get hurt one day.”
“...Thank you for the advice,” Jeong Yeon-shin replied, closing his eyes slightly. In any case, the mission was a success. He had accumulated another great achievement. As for the Hwangbo main family, where the Unit Commanders themselves had gone, there would be no room for their group to intervene anyway.
It was then.
As if waiting for the incident to conclude, a bird flew down. Its sky-blue feathers shimmered as it landed on Cheong-myeong’s finger. It appeared to be a Spirit Beast, different from the one used by the Second Young Master of the Hwangbo Clan. A mysterious scent wafted from its tiny body.
Cheong-myeong untied a small letter from the bird’s leg. “Did Shin So-bin write this? The handwriting is incredibly cramped.”
He immediately unfurled the letter and scanned it, his head tilting slightly.
“Has something happened?” Jeong Yeon-shin asked calmly.
“No. It’s not from the group that went to the main family.”
“Then…?”
“You know those Rising Stars of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering our White-Ranked Warriors were holding? It seems their families put everything on the line. They finally found them.”
“Their location?”
“Yeah. They even clashed with the Blood Flame Cultists. Apparently, there were three battles. First the Martial Clans, then the Blood Flame Cult, and then the Martial Clans again. They were trying to reorganize but suffered a crushing defeat. Even Heonwon Chang was captured.”