Empty Hands Aren't So Bad (1)
The final location was, in a way, the shabbiest training hall of all.
Han Bin headed to the training hall that Family Head Jeong Muryong had pointed out, with Yi Mu-myeong and Seol-hwa in tow.
As he made his way there, Han Bin considered various possibilities.
Was the legendary sword road truly left here?
What connection did it have to the Yongrin Sword Art?
Han Bin believed the fate that had led him to the Henan Jeong Family was no coincidence when it came to the Yongrin Sword Art.
Even learning the Gugeol Ship-pal-bo from Hong Chilgae and having it occupy a spot in the fusion chapter felt like destiny.
Of course, it was a destiny he had carved out himself.
That said, Han Bin wasn't obsessed with the legendary sword road.
Well, if there were no traces, that would still mean he'd achieved his goal in its own way.
At the very least, he'd confirmed the misinformation from his past life with his own eyes.
As Han Bin walked toward the training hall with a smile playing on his lips, Seol-hwa tugged at his sleeve from beside him.
"Young master, by any chance..."
Seeing her trail off, Han Bin asked with eyes full of curiosity.
"What is it, Seol-hwa? Speak freely if you have something to say."
"Is something going on with you lately?"
"Something? I've put out all the urgent fires."
"You've seemed possessed by the travel bug lately."
Finishing her words, Seol-hwa stared at Han Bin blankly.
"The travel bug?"
"Yeah. Why else would you be hopping from training hall to training hall to circulate your qi? I've never seen you sit in meditation even once before..."
"Ah."
Han Bin let out a gasp and glanced up at the sky for a moment.
Come to think of it, he had zero history with seated meditation.
Even when he did circulate his qi occasionally, it was just some common folk method.
He'd never used advanced ascension techniques even when he knew them, since he always had plans in motion.
So seeing him act like this out of the blue must have struck her as odd.
At the end of that gasp, Han Bin smiled faintly and continued.
"Looks like there are ley lines running under the other training halls. I hope this one's a bit better..."
Han Bin grinned at the training hall entrance, and Seol-hwa nodded.
"Ley lines? That's a fair point, young master."
Yi Mu-myeong, standing nearby, chimed in with a serious expression.
"Yes, ley lines would inevitably affect qi circulation. A wise choice, master."
"Hm, yeah, you're right."
Han Bin nodded.
Just then, someone came dashing toward them from afar, kicking up gusts of wind.
Pa-pa-pak.
Turning at the sound, they saw it was Hong Chilgae.
Hong Chilgae skidded to a halt a step in front of Han Bin, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Pak!
Han Bin waved his hand to dispel the dust.
"Master, why the dramatic entrance?"
"Heh heh, disciple. If I didn't make a fuss like this, when would you ever bother looking my way?"
"What kind of heartbreaking talk is that? When have I ever neglected you, master?"
"Oh? You don't even know your own crimes?"
Hong Chilgae narrowed his eyes with a playful expression.
Han Bin tilted his head innocently.
"You'd have to tell me so I can know, master."
"Fine, since you're asking so nicely, I'll lay it all out."
"Yes, go ahead, master."
Han Bin bowed politely, and Hong Chilgae puffed out his chest.
"Is it right to take a disciple without so much as consulting your master? Disciple!"
Finishing, Hong Chilgae turned a stern gaze on Yi Mu-myeong.
Han Bin barely stifled a laugh as he replied.
"Mu-myeong and I are in a contractual relationship, aren't we? Why would I need your permission for that, master?"
"Heh heh, and aren't you and I in a contractual relationship?"
"We are. A clean-cut one, at that."
"Exactly. So doesn't that make Mu-myeong and me in a master-granddisciple relationship by contract?"
Hong Chilgae extended his hand with a mischievous grin.
Han Bin raised an eyebrow.
"What are you asking for right now, master?"
"The granddisciple rites."
Hong Chilgae turned a serious gaze on Yi Mu-myeong.
A brief silence hung in the air, and Yi Mu-myeong awkwardly looked up at the sky, unsure where to fix his eyes.
Han Bin stepped in.
"Ah, master! Why do you keep pushing this?"
Hong Chilgae held up his palm to silence him.
"Disciple, take a break. I need to chat with my granddisciple."
With a grin, Hong Chilgae grabbed Yi Mu-myeong and stepped a few paces aside.
Han Bin was dumbfounded.
What was the point? They were close enough that everything would carry.
But that was Han Bin's mistake.
Once at a distance, Hong Chilgae erected a qi barrier to block sound.
With the barrier up, he spoke to Yi Mu-myeong.
Han Bin sidled up close to eavesdrop.
But Hong Chilgae's barrier perfectly sealed their conversation.
To break it, he'd have to pour in all his inner power.
Figures he has inner power to spare, Han Bin thought with a sigh.
Hong Chilgae glanced at Han Bin straining to listen and smirked.
A taunt toward his disciple.
Han Bin grinned back and quietly watched.
Hong Chilgae straightened confidently, as if daring Han Bin to overhear, persuading Yi Mu-myeong of something.
Han Bin was floored.
Moments later, the barrier lifted. Yi Mu-myeong trudged back with a miserable expression, while Hong Chilgae stood behind him, arms crossed and chest puffed out proudly.
Han Bin shot Hong Chilgae a look.
"Master, why the strong-arming?"
"Strong-arming?"
Hong Chilgae flinched in surprise.
He'd definitely put up a barrier. No way Han Bin could have heard.
Yet Han Bin spoke as if he knew exactly what had been said.
Hong Chilgae chalked it up to bluffing and signaled Yi Mu-myeong with his eyes not to spill.
Han Bin chuckled and pressed on.
"Why insist a perfectly fine guy become a beggar, master?"
Staring down Hong Chilgae, Han Bin finished.
It was a ploy to drag Yi Mu-myeong into the Beggar Clan since he couldn't snag Han Bin.
Hong Chilgae's eyes widened at the spot-on guess.
"Gasp."
He let out a low exclamation, then narrowed his eyes.
"Disciple, how did you pierce my qi barrier?"
"Why would I pierce it? Even if there were a heaven-piercing ear technique to eavesdrop through, why waste my power on that?"
"Then what, you a fortune-teller now?"
"Me, a fortune-teller?"
"So how the hell did you overhear us?"
"Just reading your lip movements tells me everything."
"Lip reading?"
"It's called lip-reading technique. Want me to teach you?"
"Oh ho, sure."
"Not for free, of course."
"Ahem."
Hong Chilgae cleared his throat awkwardly, and Han Bin grinned.
"By the way, master, why spread those wildly exaggerated rumors about the Azure Cloud Death God?"
"Got a problem with it? Well, thanks to that, word of Hebei Paeng Family's fourth young master arriving at Henan Jeong Family slipped right by."
"No complaints here. I'm fine if no one knows I'm here. But did you have to hype up some fictional Azure Cloud Death God all over the place?"
"Eh, simple reason."
"What's the reason, master?"
"To boost my disciple's fame."
"Your disciple?"
"You, obviously."
"Everyone knows Azure Cloud Death God and I are totally different people. How does that help?"
"It does. Hebei Paeng Family's fourth young master, Paeng Hanbin, clearly shouted 'my lord' to the Azure Cloud Death God that day. So raising the Death God's fame raises yours too. And since you're my disciple, my fame rises with it."
It was sound logic, of course.
"......"
Han Bin had no retort and glanced sidelong at Yi Mu-myeong.
Sure enough, Yi Mu-myeong had been dressed as Han Bin that day and shouted "my lord"—toward Han Bin, or rather, the Azure Cloud Death God—just as Hong Chilgae said.
Suddenly, a link formed between the fictional Azure Cloud Death God and himself.
A fine smile curved Han Bin's lips.
Hong Chilgae panicked at the shift.
His disciple, who had been ready to grill him, had suddenly changed tunes.
As Hong Chilgae gawked in bewilderment, Han Bin spoke.
"Thanks, master. I'll teach you lip-reading for free."
"What the hell are you thinking, disciple?"
"Top secret, master."
Whistling lightly, Han Bin strode ahead with easy steps.
Sasa-sak.
Hong Chilgae's eye twitched as he watched Han Bin go.
He had a bad feeling he'd poked something he shouldn't have.
Turning to Seol-hwa, Hong Chilgae asked.
"Seol-hwa, did I mess up somehow?"
"Not sure, grandpa, but judging by young master's face... yeah, you did. That look always means trouble's coming. Whatever you stirred up, it's on you if it blows up. Eh, I'm staying out of it."
With that, Seol-hwa hurried after Han Bin.
Then Yi Mu-myeong called out in a low voice.
"Startle the grass, startle the snake—seems fitting, grandmaster."
"Startle the grass? The snake just flees, right? So why am I the uneasy one?"
"Snakes vary. Plenty lunge to bite."
Yi Mu-myeong hurried after Han Bin, and Hong Chilgae muttered under his breath.
"Huh, Mu-myeong's got some silver tongue now too. Heh heh."
Leaving the commotion behind, Han Bin entered the final training hall.
He lit the torches inside.
This place was practically an abandoned training hall.
Tucked away in a remote spot far from the main buildings, it seemed meant for visiting guests rather than direct descendants.
If the legendary sword road was hidden here?
Then its leaver was likely an outsider, not the founder of Henan Jeong Family.
Han Bin closed his eyes quietly.
Then he stroked the walls like petting a child's head.
To find any traces of the sword road that might remain.
As he ran his hand over the wall, he felt a rough, gritty surface.
Opening his eyes, Han Bin looked.
It looked like stone, but felt like dirt to the touch.
"What the...?"
Tilting his head, Han Bin tapped it.
Tung. Tung.
The sound echoed hollow, like an empty space beyond.
Han Bin's lips curved up unwittingly.
Now he knew why the Demonic Cult had demolished training halls in his past life but failed to erase the sword road.
They'd only heard rumors and never found the traces.
Of course not—hidden in another space like this, it was impossible to find.
Han Bin drew Wol-a from his waist.
'One Touch, Immediate Strike.'
His sword, infused with sword qi, shot toward the wall like a beam of light.
Pang!
Wol-a embedded in the wall.
Instantly, the wall melted away like wax.
Sruruk.
As the dust cleared, a space large enough for one person appeared.
A secret chamber that neither righteous, evil, nor demonic forces had discovered in his past life now revealed itself.
The interior was pitch black.
Han Bin touched the inner wall.
Suddenly, text appeared in his vision.
Discovered traces of the Yongrin Sword Art. Gaining enlightenment from this will add a new technique to the fusion chapter.
At the text, Han Bin's lips curved up.
His guess had been right.
What technique would it be?
Calming his pounding heart, Han Bin shone the torch inside.