Moon Shadow Light Trace
The sky stretched cloudless and blue. Though it was summer, a breeze drifted through now and then, cool enough to take the edge off the heat.
Namgung Uncheon and Namgung Hyemi made their way toward the lower village nearest the estate. At a leisurely pace the walk took roughly half an hour. They had almost reached the village entrance when two men approached from the opposite direction.
One was a middle-aged man in his mid-forties; the other a youth barely into his twenties. The older man’s black scabbard hung at his waist with a heavy, solid presence. The younger man’s scabbard was a deep violet. Even at ten jang’s distance the sharp qi rolling off the middle-aged man’s body was unmistakable.
Just the keenness of his inner force feels as if it could slice skin. A true expert, then.
Uncheon stepped aside to the edge of the path, giving the oncoming pair room. They were about to pass when the middle-aged man suddenly halted. He had recognized the Namgung crest on Hyemi’s dress. His voice was as thin and cutting as a blade.
“Is the young brother a member of the Namgung Family?”
“Yes, I am. My name is Namgung Uncheon.”
“And what is the name of the young brother’s father?”
“He uses the characters Hyeon and Wu.”
“Hyeonwu. If that is Namgung Hyeonwu, then the young brother is the son of the Head of the Law Enforcement Hall—Cold Wind Cold Heart.”
“That is correct. Forgive me, but may I ask for your esteemed name?”
The youth beside the older man answered with proud eagerness before his master could speak.
“My master is Moon Shadow Light Trace, Dokjeonhwa.”
“Ah… It is an honor to meet Master Dokjeonhwa.”
Uncheon clasped his fists lightly and bowed with quiet courtesy. There was no particular surprise in his manner. The Namgung Family, after all, was never short of powerful masters.
This brat…
The youth’s face was just beginning to twist with irritation when Namgung Hyemi let out a startled cry.
“Really? You’re the one who cut down the Four Fiends of Ma’an not long ago!”
“Heh. The young lady seems well informed about my master. But…”
Hyemi already knew what the narrow-eyed youth intended to say. She pointed straight at Uncheon.
“My cousin Uncheon doesn’t know much about the murim.”
“……A scion of a great family who knows nothing of the murim. How absurd.”
The youth gave a short, scornful laugh and glared at Uncheon. Descendants of the great clans were always described with words like “outstanding” and “prodigy.” Every time he heard such talk it made his blood boil. Why should the blood of emperors and ministers be different from anyone else’s? Not every child of a famous house was truly gifted; the only thing most of them could boast of was the family name behind them.
Tch. Even a fellow like this will swagger around the murim claiming the Namgung name.
Uncheon read the thought clearly.
Why is this one’s mind so twisted?
His mood soured, but he let it pass without comment. Dokjeonhwa remained a step behind, still studying Uncheon with those razor-sharp eyes. He quickly noticed what every martial artist was expected to carry—and what a Namgung, especially, should never be without.
Uncheon wore no sword.
“Enough. Being of the Namgung Family does not mean one knows every affair under heaven. Where are the two of you headed?”
“I am going to the village with my younger cousin.”
“Business of some sort?”
“Personal matters.”
The moment Uncheon finished speaking, the youth cut in with a sneering finality.
“The Namgung Family truly must be a great house. With such power they can afford to live at leisure. Enjoy yourselves in the village.”
Dokjeonhwa and the youth turned without another word and strode toward the Namgung estate. Uncheon watched their backs and wrinkled his nose.
Thorns on every word.
They clearly carried a great deal of resentment toward the family. Uncheon soon dismissed the matter. Those two alone could not harm the estate in any meaningful way.
“What was that? So ridiculous. What does our going to the village have to do with them?”
“Forget it. Just empty talk. Don’t let it bother you.”
“Okay.”
Uncheon led the still-grumbling girl toward the village. Along the way he asked the question that had been nagging him since the encounter.
“That man called himself Moon Shadow Light Trace, Dokjeonhwa. Is he famous?”
“There were four evil-path martial artists who operated around Ma’an Mountain—the Four Fiends of Ma’an. They sometimes raided escort agencies and merchant caravans, so the authorities and the merchant world put a bounty on their heads.”
“A bounty?”
“Yes. Ten taels of gold, I think.”
“Quite a sum.”
“Right? Their martial arts were strong enough that few people wanted to face them, yet that man killed them not long ago. That’s how he earned the title Moon Shadow Light Trace.”
“Why that name?”
“They say the wounds he left on the Four Fiends looked like crescent moons.”
“I see. How do you know all this?”
“Father told me. Hmm… I wonder what business they have at the estate.”
“Martial artists always come to the family hoping to make a name for themselves. Probably the same reason.”
“You think so?”
Uncheon chose not to mention the hostility he had sensed. The elders of the house would handle it well enough.
No need to worry further.
He set the matter aside and entered the village with Hyemi.
The streets were crowded. If I can find something Grandfather would like…
Uncheon scanned the goods displayed along the shop street as they walked. Even after a long circuit nothing quite suited him—until he stopped in front of a general store. There, among the ordinary wares, sat an antique brush holder: deep blue ground, gold border, a red plum blossom painted upon it.
“This looks good.”
It would make the perfect gift for his maternal grandfather. Seeing Uncheon’s interest, the shopkeeper quickly leaned in.
“That is a Scarlet Plum Case, more than a hundred years old and quite precious. Made by the famous ornamental craftsman Master Eunjong’s…”
“His disciples, then.”
“……!”
The shopkeeper froze for an instant and looked at Uncheon. The young man was smiling, yet his eyes seemed to pierce straight through every falsehood. The shopkeeper hurriedly bowed, his voice stretching thin.
“Ah… yes. That is correct…”
“Five coins of copper should cover it, I believe. Fair?”
The shopkeeper’s pupils trembled. How did he know? Only someone with real knowledge of antiques would catch that…
“I’ll take it.”
Uncheon handed over five copper coins and left in high spirits. Next came the food Hyemi had been looking forward to all morning.
A noisy clamor rose from the entrance of the inn they approached.
“Something’s going on.”
While Uncheon was still assessing the crowd, Hyemi had already slipped between the onlookers like a fish darting through reeds.
“Honestly…”
He had no choice but to hurry after her.
Two beggars sat on the ground right in front of the inn’s doorway. Grown men were trying to drag them away by the arms, yet the beggars would not budge an inch.
Uncheon asked a bystander who had been watching from the start.
“Do you know what’s happening?”
The man glanced down at Uncheon. Young, but the clothes marked him as Namgung.
“Those beggars were panhandling at the entrance. Naturally the inn wants them gone—they stink and make a racket—but they won’t move.”
Hyemi, who had already pushed to the front, called back.
“Brother, how can beggars be this strong? They won’t budge at all!”
Uncheon’s eyes caught the knotted cords just visible at the beggars’ waists.
Three knots at a beggar’s waist… Branch-leader rank of the Beggar Sect.
Not ordinary vagrants, then—three-knot disciples of the Beggar Sect. Hyemi might think he ignored the murim, but of course he knew the Nine Great Sects and the Ten Great Clans.
Of all people to run into… Beggar Sect disciples. This is going to be tiresome.
Among martial artists, beggars of the Beggar Sect were said to be the most exhausting to deal with. If you were not one of their own, they were nearly impossible to shake off—once they latched on, they stuck until death.
“Hyemi, we should try another inn.”
“Why? This place is the most famous for its Modubu. I’ve been looking forward to it…”
“Look—those beggars are bothering everyone who tries to go in.”
“Can’t we just ignore them and eat?”
Uncheon almost told her they were Beggar Sect disciples, then stopped. The moment she knew, she would probably run over and introduce herself.
“Brotheeer…”
The nasal, wheedling tone she only used when she truly wanted something appeared. He could drag her to another inn by force, but then she would chatter about it the entire day. Besides, her eyes burned with the absolute determination to eat here and nowhere else.
“Fine. We’ll go in quickly so they don’t notice us.”
“Okay. Thank you, brotheeer.”
“Stop making that sound. It’s creepy.”
“Creepy? Who’s prettier than me that you can say something so mean?”
“Plenty of people. There’s Sister Sang-ryeon, for one.”
“Tch. She looks like a fox spirit… I don’t understand why men call her pretty. I thought you were different, Uncheon.”
“I’m a man, aren’t I? Pretty is pretty.”
“So you’re saying I’m not pretty?”
“You’re pretty enough. In heart.”
“Ah, seriously!”
“Enough. Quietly follow me.”
Uncheon threaded through the crowd and strode toward the entrance. He meant to slip past the two beggars still wrestling with the inn staff.
A hand shot out and clamped around his calf.
“Young brother, couldn’t you spare a single meal?”
“……!”
Fast. I was sure I kept my distance!
Uncheon looked down at the beggar gripping his leg. It was a seizing-hand technique that used the Beggar Sect’s Binding Knot arts as naturally as breathing. The man’s hair was a tangled thicket, his face so blackened with grime that his exact age was impossible to tell—mid-thirties at the youngest. The back of his hand was caked with layers of filth, yet the knuckles bore the unmistakable calluses of someone who had trained martial arts for years.
As expected… Beggar Sect.
Uncheon regarded him calmly.
“I don’t have any money.”
“None?”
“None. Truly.”
The beggar kept his hold on Uncheon’s clothes and peered up with bright, eager eyes.
“You look like a young master of the great Namgung Family. A man of that station comes to an inn with no money?”
“I live off my parents’ charity myself. I’ll have to earn my keep soon enough, but right now my purse is empty. Try someone else.”
“Ho.”
The man looked up at him as though he could not believe his ears, still refusing to let go.
“If you have no money, why walk into an inn?”
“I heard their Modubu is excellent.”
“No money, yet you plan to eat? Do Namgung descendants dine for free? Or are you intending to dine and dash?”
“I am not a beggar.”
“Of course not. A man of the great Namgung Family would never stoop so low. Then how do you mean to pay for Modubu? If you have a clever method, share it with this older brother.”
“My younger cousin says she will treat me.”
The beggar’s gaze slid past Uncheon to Namgung Hyemi, who had come up behind him.
“Ooooh! Today my eyes have truly opened! I never dreamed the Namgung Family possessed a beauty like this. The greatest beauty under heaven has been living right here in the Namgung estate!”
“Heehee, really?”
“They say a beggar’s eyes are the fairest judges in the Central Plains. Young Lady Namgung will soon stand equal to the Ten Beauties of the World and the Four Flowers of the Central Plains—plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo!”
“Oh my!”
Hyemi beamed, completely won over by the flattery. Uncheon stared at her and lost the will to speak.
Tsk tsk. Completely gone. Whoever ends up taking this innocent girl off our hands… the future looks bleak. Bleak indeed.
Crunch, slurp, chew. Two men who looked every bit the part of beggars slapped their now-swollen bellies with satisfaction.
“Aigoo… We ate well and gratefully. Heaven’s fortune will surely smile on the two of you from now on.”
“I hope so.”
The man wiped his mouth on his sleeve and fixed Uncheon with a direct stare.
“What is the young brother’s name?”
“Uncheon. Namgung Uncheon.”
“Hmm… Let’s see.”
He furrowed his brow in thought, then brightened as if something had clicked.
“Oh-ho, quite a famous father you have. Your sire is Cold Wind Cold Heart, Head of the Law Enforcement Hall of the Namgung Family, is he not?”
“……You guessed it at once. They say the Beggar Sect knows how many spoons every household owns. It seems the rumor was true.”
“Eh…?”
The man was startled. He had never expected Uncheon to have already seen through their identities. Hyemi stared at them with wide eyes.
“You two are of the Beggar Sect?”
“Indeed, young lady. I am Yeo Ju-gae, and I oversee the Jiju branch of the Beggar Sect.”
“I had no idea! I’ve never met anyone from the Beggar Sect before. Seeing you in person is so fascinating…”
“Hahaha! Is that so?”
Yeo Ju-gae left Hyemi to examine him with open curiosity and turned back to Uncheon, his tone growing more serious.
“How did the young brother know who I was?”
“An ordinary beggar would find it difficult to hold me by force alone.”
“Could I not simply have been born with unusual strength?”
“You’re joking, of course.”
Uncheon gave a short laugh and continued.
“I happened to notice the Beggar Sect’s knotted pouch at your waist. And where would one find a beggar who can use seizing-hand arts as naturally as breathing?”
“Oh-ho… Sharp eyes.”
Yeo Ju-gae nodded, then leaned forward so that their gazes met. There was a reason he had come all the way from Jiju to Mount Huangshan. His voice, which had been light a moment before, now carried weight.
“Since you already know who I am, may I ask one question?”
“If I say no, will you refrain from asking?”
“Haha, the young brother is more amusing than I expected.”
“Ask quickly. It is nearly time we returned to the estate.”
“Very well. Has a man called Moon Shadow Light Trace come to the Namgung Family recently?”
“Hmm… I wouldn’t know.”
Uncheon had already read the question in the man’s mind before it was spoken; his expression never flickered. Hyemi, however, was another matter. At the name Moon Shadow Light Trace her eyes wavered. Yeo Ju-gae caught the reaction in an instant and turned to her instead.
“The young lady knows something of him, does she not?”
“Earlier…”
Uncheon’s hand rose and gently stopped her words. Yeo Ju-gae’s brow creased.
“Why do that?”
“Before anything else, may I ask why you are looking for him?”
“Hmm. No reason I cannot tell you. Lately a killer has been murdering important local figures throughout the murim.”
“You mean to say this Moon Shadow Light Trace is the culprit?”
“There is no solid proof, so I cannot be certain. Yet when we traced the places where the killings occurred, we found that one particular martial artist had passed through each of them. We need to meet him and investigate.”
“I see…”
“Now will you tell me where Moon Shadow Light Trace is?”
Uncheon answered without hesitation.
“We met him on the road down from Mount Huangshan to the village a short while ago. He said he was going up to the estate.”
“Did he mention his purpose there?”
“I have no idea. I had no reason to ask, and he did not seem the type who would answer even if I had.”
“Heh heh heh. True enough. In any case, thank you for answering honestly.”
“If you have no further questions, may we take our leave?”
“Go ahead. It was good to meet you.”
Uncheon and Hyemi exchanged brief parting words with Yeo Ju-gae and left the inn. Only after the two had completely disappeared outside did Yeo Ju-gae send a sound transmission to the subordinate who had accompanied him.
“Seoljo, contact headquarters at once. Report that Moon Shadow has come down to Mount Huangshan.”
“Yes. Understood.”
A short while later a carrier pigeon rose into the sky above the inn and winged its way into the distance.