Chapter 123. Don't Get Hit in the Back of the Head
Won Seung was steadily working on linking the twenty pairs of corresponding acupoints in the Musanggyeol's ultimate technique. Connecting the first ten pairs hadn't been too difficult. But once he passed that mark, his progress slowed dramatically. The reason? It was getting harder and harder to sense the corresponding points. That's how it was supposed to be.
Well, it has to be that way to make sense.
Linking a pair granted the equivalent of a full year's worth of internal energy....
No one could point out the corresponding points for you. Everyone's yin-yang paired acupoints were different. That's what made it Musanggyeol. Even the experts of Musanggyeol had puzzled over the reason for ages but still hadn't found an answer.
Once you reached sixty pairs, sensing them entered the realm of enlightenment. It could take more than a year to link just one pair. Logically, that didn't add up—you'd spend over a year gaining just one year's worth of energy—but since it compounded with your existing power, that was why the people of Musanggok obsessed over the ultimate technique.
Link all 360 major acupoints, and theoretically, you could wield the energy of 180 years of cultivation. Plus, the minor points scattered throughout the body were countless. It seemed like you'd gain infinite power... but that was just theory. No one had ever verified it.
Even in Musanggok, after all those years, the record was 140 pairs of major points. Beyond that was uncharted territory. No one knew. So Won Seung had no choice but to forge ahead alone. That made the true masters of Musanggyeol essentially the world's only true experts with the blade.
Won Seung had finally managed twenty pairs. If Yong Jo-un heard about it, he'd drag him straight to Musanggok and make him a disciple.
Adding those twenty pairs to his own forty-odd years of internal energy let him unleash the power of a full one jiazi—a full cycle of sixty years.
That alone put him at Peak level in terms of raw internal energy....
But I need to master the forms. I have to reach the realm of effortless flow. Only then can I harmonize it with my power.
He'd thought he'd achieved great attainment in Bungwang Geombeop, Tae-eul Geombeop, and Cheonjung Geombeop. But after watching the experts fight and clashing with them himself, he realized how woefully inadequate he still was.
Especially that terrifying man from the training camp... He just swung his sword, and it became a road of blades.
Any secret arts out there?
Four seasons viewing the myriad wasn't quite enough anymore?
As he packed his things, Won Ji-hyang poked her head in.
"Big brother, buy me some tanghwa candy."
After buying her snacks including tanghwa for three straight days, his little sister now assumed he'd buy them anytime she asked.
"Eat too much of that, and your teeth'll rot."
"No way. I've barely had it five times ever."
Won Ji-hyang spread her fingers wide, then folded down her pinky.
"Really?"
"Really."
Looking into Won Ji-hyang's eyes, he could tell she meant it. Weird. Back when he was her age, he'd had it practically every day. Come to think of it, her clothes were awfully plain too.
Then it hit him. Their living was frugal—too frugal. They were the family of a national preceptor, for heaven's sake... Nothing like the Won Mansion in Huangdo.
Even the side dishes at every meal were humbly simple.
Does Father not send money? Or is Joo Gunju blocking it?
Fuming, Won Seung went to find his mother.
"Mother. No money coming from Huangdo?"
"Money? Your father sends it regularly."
"Hmm. Then it's not enough for this household?"
"No? We've got plenty of farmland bought with the surplus."
Whoa, so they were just naturally thrifty. No wonder she made such a fuss about how expensive Seohoyong tea was....
He'd tried it the first day, and that was the last he'd seen of it. She'd saved it for her son after ten long years.
"Mother."
"Yes?"
"Your son will be heading off on a long journey soon."
"I see... A grown man has to leave home eventually. Travel safely."
"It'll cost quite a bit for travel expenses, though...."
His mother eyed him steadily, then said,
"Other sons buy houses for their parents once they make it big... And here I have a son who returns after ten years empty-handed."
"......"
I'm only sixteen, you know.
His mother sighed, glancing at the money pouch on his belt. He'd worn it there while buying snacks for Ji-hyang and wandering the markets... That was an embarrassing look she was giving him.
"It's awfully bulging... We ran out of Yong tea at home. What you drank was the last of it."
"......"
Won Seung pulled the pouch from his belt and took out five taels of silver.
"That tea costs at least ten taels a pack."
He added five more and set them before his mother. Only then did she flash her white teeth in a loving smile.
"Travel safely. I'll make it last till next year."
I'll buy more next year when I visit.
So this is what my mother's like.
Won Seung grumbled inwardly, tucked the pouch into his bosom, and went to see his maternal grandparents.
"Grandfather. Time for me to head out."
"Mm. Figured as much."
He rummaged in his bosom.
"Eat this when you're bored on the road."
A packet of sunflower seeds.
Won Seung realized his mother had inherited her thrift from her father. Truly frugal. His maternal grandmother, standing nearby, pulled out her own pouch and handed it over.
"This is what I've saved my whole life. Buy something tasty on the way."
Whole life? His ears perked up.
Peeking inside, it was about five taels of silver. This was a lifetime's savings?
He couldn't take it.
He pulled five taels from his own pouch, doubling her lifetime fortune, and handed it back.
"Grandmother, use this to buy Ji-hyang some tanghwa now and then."
Won Seung sighed and returned to his room to finish packing.
How do I buy a house?
To establish a base in Huangdo, he needed a house... And Huangdo wouldn't be cheap.
A sigh escaped him naturally.
A few days later.
Won Seung reached the outskirts of Huangdo. The capital, home to millions including nearby counties, was vast.
Even passing the outer counties and the roads outside the walls took a full day at an average person's pace.
No lightness skill on the main road, so Won Seung strolled leisurely, taking in the sights. The highway to Huangdo teemed with all sorts: nobles in lavish carriages, merchants with bundles, escort caravans hauling carts....
Soldiers at checkpoints here and there watched the passersby. Peaceful times, so they lounged about idly, but anyone looking suspicious got unlucky and thoroughly checked.
Reaching the outer town, he saw the towering walls and grand gates far down the straight road—the Huangdo outer west gate. Guards at the gate checked IDs and travel permits.
Confirming that, Won Seung veered into a side road midway down the main avenue. From there, smaller alleys branched off. He followed one to a dingy junk shop and stopped. By then, his face had shifted to that of a plain-faced man, draped in a windbreaker cloak.
One of the myriad human skin masks he'd bought in Sangyang. Stepping into the shop piled with random junk, a middle-aged man inside eyed him. A couple of rough-looking thugs nearby snickered over dice.
"Whatcha lookin' for?"
"Got any guanmu?"
In a place like this, guanmu meant the wooden plaques used to forge official IDs issued by the government. IDs were vital—upon adulthood, the authorities inscribed origin, name, birthdate, family, and such.
Trading guanmu was illegal. The middle-aged man eyed Won Seung steadily.
"You must have the wrong idea coming here."
Won Seung pulled two taels of silver from his pouch. Why were finger-sized wood pieces so pricey?
He knew the exact market rate. The man hesitated, then spoke.
"Got some fresh stock. Which province's guanmu you need?"
Each province's guanmu varied slightly, as did the official seals.
"One for Huangdo and one from each province. Blank baekmu."
Baekmu were unmarked blanks, like pristine sheets. Marked ones came from someone selling their identity or dying unknown, leaving relics.
"Baekmu costs more."
"Treat me like a sucker, and there won't be future business."
Unmarked baekmu ran about thirty percent pricier. He'd learned how to source them and the rates at the assassin training camp. Won Seung spoke like someone who'd done this countless times.
"Ain't like you're the only game in town."
The man eyed him, then nodded.
"Fine. First time, so that price it is."
He went inside and returned with a small bamboo tube. Won Seung checked: baekmu from all thirteen provinces plus Huangdo.
Paying up, Won Seung left the shop. The middle-aged man nodded at the dice players—follow him. The two rose and headed after Won Seung.
Won Seung waited at the alley corner.
Don't get hit in the back of the head.
The first rule senior assassins at the camp hammered home. Fail a mission, and you could be redeemed. Get backstabbed? Disqualified as an assassin, discarded.
Seventy percent of clients hiring assassins wanted total annihilation. So always watch your back, never trust the guy you just saw, and so on.
Won Seung had just dealt with Huangdo's underworld. Would they let a strange face walk free? Sure enough, the two sauntered up.
Crack!
Won Seung fairly clocked them both in the nape, knocking them out cold. He sighed. Black Dao, you're all the same everywhere. In a good light, territory check on a stranger. In a bad one, scouting for a chance to rob.
Dealing with the tail, Won Seung headed to the inn district. The outer town's inn street bustled. The places were flashy and pricey.
Not here.
He went to the outskirts of the outer town. There was another inn district—plainer inns, but larger with bigger lots.
Won Seung sipped tea at an open-air teahouse at the edge of the inn street.
In Huangdo, I'll live like I'm dead.
He'd drawn too much attention in Sangyang, showing off. Organizing the Three-Way Sparring, rubbing shoulders with the taesu, black society boss, Four Great Families, Cheongsu Seven Schools, Gwancheon Five Beauties—not to mention all the familiar faces.
Among them, the taesu and Hwa family knew his true identity.
Huangdo was several times more dangerous than Sangyang for Won Seung. If Joo Gunju learned he was alive, she'd surely try to kill him.
Need a perfect disguise identity.
Huangdo's security was tight. Fine for a short stay, but to linger, he needed a solid cover.
Sunset neared, footsteps quickening. Escort caravans poured in from across the land.
Won Seung scanned them, spotted one flying the Sacheon Escort Bureau flag, paid his tea, and followed.
The group entered the Huangdo branch of Sacheon Escort Bureau. Soon they spilled out and into the adjacent Sacheon Inn.
Won Seung followed into the inn, got a room, washed up, and headed to the bustling dining hall. It was packed with the boisterous Sacheon crew.
He eyed the escorts, zeroing in on the youngest-looking one he'd marked earlier. He slipped into the seat beside him and ordered food.
Their conversation carried clearly.
"Joo Neung, you punk—newbie like you should feel honored doing a Huangdo run. Drink up!"
"Thank you, Dang Chief Escort."
The young escort drained his cup and showed it empty to the group.
Perfect.