The Torn Hoesang-rok
Unlike the black-clad man, Uncheon did not head straight for Taehyugak.
Lady Miyusalnyeo…
With a rigid expression she had gone to confirm the assassin who had been hiding outside the mountain villa.
He had never expected that assassin’s martial arts to be this formidable.
Where is she?
Uncheon focused his spirit to locate the wounded woman.
There.
He found Ha Jiryeon’s form sitting in a small hollow beneath the villa.
Whoosh!
“……!”
“No need to startle. It’s me.”
Uncheon descended while deliberately releasing his presence so she would not be alarmed.
She was pressing one palm against her side, stemming the blood from a wound at her waist.
“Are you badly hurt?”
“I won’t die.”
“Just a moment—let me see.”
Uncheon unwrapped the emergency cloth he had brought and bound her waist, applying firm pressure.
“He’s a monster. Strong.”
“Anyone who could leave Lady Miyusalnyeo like this would have to be strong. From the wound, he doesn’t seem like an assassin.”
“Seems that way.”
“The bleeding’s stopped. Rest for a little while.”
Watching Uncheon rise, Ha Jiryeon spoke.
“Be careful. Just facing him felt overwhelming.”
“Yes. I’d like to see just how strong he really is.”
Uncheon nodded to her, then unfurled his movement art toward Taehyugak.
As she watched him vanish, a dry little laugh escaped her.
“That one doesn’t carry an assassin’s air either. Completely different.”
The scent of a true martial general.
The energy that had flowed from Uncheon’s form just now felt nothing like facing a mere martial artist; it was the presence of a commander on the field.
Absurd that someone like him works as an assassin for our sect.
As he drew near Taehyugak, the reek of blood hung thick in the air.
They’re gone.
Two old men lay sprawled on the floor, red blood still seeping from their bodies.
There the black-clad man and his opponent were locked in combat, each pouring out killing intent.
Is that him?
Uncheon fixed his gaze on the figure whose red hair streamed as he fought the man in black.
KWA-AAAANG-!!
“Keh-keh-keh-keh! Die!”
Jeokbalgoein loosed a monstrous roar and swung a long spear nearly five ja in length with merciless force.
Shu-uuuuk—
The spear’s keen edge split the wind and stabbed down toward the black-clad man’s skull.
Fast and heavy.
The black-clad man’s twin swords were not being forced back by Jeokbalgoein, yet simply blocking with raw power alone would not hold for long.
Was there ever such a heavy spear art in the Central Plains?
The force to which he belonged had never stepped openly into the Central Plains, yet it prided itself on being stronger than any other place under heaven.
Where the hell did this bastard come from? Central Plains martial arts shouldn’t be able to touch us at all…!
He had never once heard of a spear-using martial artist called Jeokbalgoein.
Could it be… this one is also like us…?
For the first time the black-clad man felt true alarm and retreated to evade.
Damn it… I shouldn’t have mocked Mun Gu for getting beaten.
Just as the black-clad man hesitated over his next decision, a figure in a bamboo hat appeared between them like an uninvited guest.
Not only the black-clad man but Jeokbalgoein as well halted and glared at Uncheon.
“I seem to have interrupted the two of you mid-fight.”
Jeokbalgoein frowned at him.
“An assassin from the same place as that wench I met outside the villa?”
“That’s right. You nearly killed my comrade.”
“Anyone who bars my path dies.”
“I see. Yet there was no need to kill those powerless people, was there?”
“They wouldn’t hand over what I want, so I had no choice.”
“Aren’t they people whose minds are no longer clear?”
Cheok.
Jeokbalgoein leveled the long spear at Uncheon.
“No need for such talk. Defy me and only death remains.”
“You also want the Hoesang-rok, it seems.”
“How does a bastard like you know that?”
“Because there is no such thing as a complete secret in this world.”
“Keuk. In this world there are things one may know and things one must pretend not to know even when one does. Step forward with useless confidence and your life will be cut short in the end.”
“True enough. But killing people who have no power at all is still wrong, is it not?”
“Third parties should stay out. That old man over there deserved death even if his mind was clouded.”
“Did you know him?”
“……This is our sect’s business.”
Uncheon watched the man’s eyes, reading the thoughts beneath.
What is Myeolmu Sangcheon supposed to be?
A name he had never heard before.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a fellow with such a swollen liver. Cute. Withdraw quietly and I’ll spare your life.”
“But you mean to kill everyone at this mountain villa, don’t you?”
“…….”
“If you fail to find the Hoesang-rok.”
So that no one else could find it either.
Exactly as in the Baekcheon Blood Sect Incident.
Uncheon’s voice carried a thread of cold anger.
Now he understood how the Baekcheon Sect had been wiped out.
The thought of slaughtering countless people who did not even know what the Hoesang-rok was—simply out of greed—filled him with fury.
Jeokbalgoein found the sight of an assassin baring his anger almost laughable.
“Can a mere assassin stop me? To show hostility toward an opponent means you must have matching confidence. Looking at you, you’re only a young brat—pitiful.”
“Don’t you people want the Hoesang-rok?”
“……?”
Seuk.
Uncheon drew out the Hoesang-rok he had kept hidden in his robes.
“What do you suppose this is?”
“The Ho…… esang-rok?”
“It is.”
Even the black-clad man who had drawn back fixed his eyes on the volume in Uncheon’s hand, astonishment plain on his face.
“How does a bastard like you possess the Hoesang-rok?”
“I meant to keep it secret forever, but that seems impossible. Since you insist on doing insane things, I have no choice but to reveal it. If you want this, follow me.”
Whiik!
Uncheon’s form vanished from Taehyugak in a blur of speed.
The black-clad man and Jeokbalgoein glared at each other once, then both moved after him.
Last of all, Ha Jiryeon—who had been watching from concealment—also set off in pursuit of the three who had gone ahead.
Just what…… is the Hoesang-rok?
Uncheon put as much distance as he could between himself and Buhal Mountain Villa.
“This should be far enough to finish things quietly.”
He alighted in a sufficiently open space and looked down at the Hoesang-rok in his hand.
Even if he handed it over now, there would be no problem.
He had already memorized every word inside.
To think it was the memoirs of Man Chugeum, last lord of the Middle Kingdom’s Merchant State…
It was not a record of official business. Most of the pages were personal reflections on the events of each day.
Yet within those private thoughts he had found the reason they sought the volume so desperately.
Clues concerning the Cheonhwangdo Map were written there.
To learn who held the four map pieces needed to locate Emperor’s Island, the Hoesang-rok was indispensable.
Uncheon wrinkled his nose.
“How do they even know that people possess such personal keepsakes and then track them down… It’s almost uncanny.”
While he was lost in tangled thoughts, two figures descended before him.
Jeokbalgoein was fierce simply in the way he landed with red hair streaming; the black-clad man settled behind him in silence.
Jeokbalgoein spoke first.
“Can you prove that the Hoesang-rok you hold is genuine?”
“I cannot say. I found it hidden inside the plaque of Hoesang Pavilion.”
“The plaque of Hoesang Pavilion?”
Jeokbalgoein’s brows twitched.
Before the previous villa lord Han Bi breathed his last, he had gazed in the direction of Hoesang Pavilion.
Hmph. So the old man pointed true after all.
“I will say it once more. Hand it over and I will withdraw quietly.”
“I suspect that one thinks differently.”
Uncheon pointed to the black-clad man standing beside him.
The man in black had already drawn up every scrap of his internal energy and stood ready to fight at any instant.
“Can you give me the Hoesang-rok?”
“If it were a martial manual I might understand, but after skimming three or four pages I cannot see why someone’s private thoughts matter so much.”
“Hoh-hoh-hoh. You will have no need of it. Give it to me and I shall reward you handsomely.”
“And what do you intend to do about him?”
“If the two of us join forces we can win.”
“Well. My first impression of you was not good enough to trust you.”
“Keuhahaha!!”
The black-clad man burst into roaring laughter.
He felt mocked.
Yet the situation was too unfavorable to simply snatch the volume by force.
“Still, you will not leave without laying hands on this, will you? There is only one item and two who want it, so I shall divide it fairly and give each of you half.”
Jjiiik—
Uncheon gripped the Hoesang-rok in both hands and tore it cleanly down the middle.
Jeokbalgoein and the black-clad man cried out in shock.
“What are you doing?!”
“Stop that this instant!!”
Paying no heed to their shouts, Uncheon held out the two halves.
“Take one each.”
Whiik!
Thud.
The torn halves of the Hoesang-rok dropped at the feet of Jeokbalgoein and the black-clad man respectively.
“Crazy bastard……!”
The black-clad man snatched up the latter half at once and glared at Jeokbalgoein, who had already taken the first half.
The two men locked eyes, each sunk in calculation.
Neither could tell whether the knowledge they sought still remained in the portion Uncheon had given him.
If I withdraw now and it turns out not to be…
The black-clad man first tucked the torn half into his robes.
Then he drew his internal energy and turned it toward Jeokbalgoein.
“We finish it here, then?”
“You seem confident you can defeat me. Yet unless you are at least a Yaksha of the Blood Refining Divine Cult, you cannot hope to beat me.”
“……?!”
The black-clad man reeled as though struck on the head while completely unguarded.
He… knows who I am.
Jeokbalgoein’s voice came again, amused.
“Keuk. That momentary freeze tells me you are no Yaksha. A mere Messenger, then—and with that level of skill, do you truly believe you can defeat me?”
The black-clad man sought any pretext that would let him withdraw.
This one knows of our sect—the Blood Refining Divine Cult.
He had no desire to fight recklessly.
He already knew he could not win against Jeokbalgoein.
Decide carefully; act swiftly.
Paaat!!
Jeokbalgoein watched the black-clad man vanish in a blur and curled a sneer at the corner of his mouth.
“Seems you don’t want to die. But you won’t get far.”
“You have people hidden around the villa, I take it.”
Seuk.
He turned back to Uncheon and smiled.
“You knew that as well? I had to prepare in case he tried to slip away. If you wish to live a little longer, you may run like that one. I don’t know where you came from, but you grasp a situation rather well—it’s a pity. You might die right here. Aren’t you afraid?”
“Do one’s utmost and leave the rest to Heaven.”
Even knowing the full situation, Jeokbalgoein stood without the slightest change of expression.
Uncheon answered him clearly.
“You show little interest even though the Hoesang-rok has been torn.”
“Because I already know what is written inside.”
“……Aha. I understand. You simply did not want it falling into anyone else’s hands.”
“Exactly.”
Uncheon’s curiosity about the force called Myeolmu Sangcheon only deepened.
These people even knew of a memoir never revealed in the Central Plains. Could they also be connected to the Baekcheon Blood Sect Incident?
At that moment Jeokbalgoein pointed at the bamboo hat Uncheon wore.
“From your voice you seem young, yet I am curious where a place exists that can raise an assassin of this caliber. Will you show me?”
Uncheon considered for a moment.
“If you leave Buhal Mountain Villa untouched, I will think about it.”
“An assassin showing compassion is laughable. Mercy is not a quality a martial artist needs.”
“It is not mercy. I am simply fulfilling a contract. The request was to protect the villa lord and Buhal Mountain Villa.”
“Keukeukuk. So to fulfill that contract you will fight me?”
“Because it is the mission I accepted.”
“Can a mere assassin defeat me?”
Taaaat!
Jeokbalgoein stepped forward and brought the Moonlight Steel Soul-Suppressing Spear crashing down in a single merciless arc.
Dududududududu—
Killing intent exploded toward Uncheon and the very ground heaved upward.
Jeokbalgoein was certain that no assassin’s internal energy could ever block the strike.
Yet in that instant the movements of the man in the bamboo hat became crystal clear.
Blue sword energy wrapped around Uncheon; the Blue Shadow Sword Aura of the Cheongeungeom stretched forth a full jang in length.
Among the Great Evolution Sword Arts, the form that most embodied the heavy sword of the Namgung Family.
Seuuuuu—
One jang in front of Uncheon, Jeokbalgoein’s Severing Extreme Moon was sheared away and dissolved into empty air.
This energy… the intent of the heavy sword?
Jeokbalgoein’s eyes flew wide.
“A man of the Namgung Family?”
“I am.”
Having already revealed his martial arts, Uncheon answered truthfully.
Namgung Family…
Jeokbalgoein wished to confirm it once more.
It was one of the few true martial power houses recognized throughout the Central Plains murim—the Namgung Family.
He drew up internal energy even stronger than the previous strike.
Hwiririririri—
His body began to spin, tracing a vast circle.
As the centrifugal force mounted, the Moonlight Steel Soul-Suppressing Spear carved through the air.
Papapapapapapa—
Formless energy poured from the Moonlight Steel Soul-Suppressing Spear, crushing and erasing everything around it as it concentrated upon Uncheon.
Yet even under that crushing pressure the Cheongeungeom’s movements never faltered.
Having faced countless battles and met many true masters, he felt no fear.
This one’s martial arts are tremendous. But compared to the Golden Masked Man… I am not afraid.
As the Cheongeungeom moved, the forms of Boundless Full Heaven unfolded.
“Boundless is also Full Heaven.”
Flash!
Light erupted from Uncheon’s form; the Boundless Intent of the Cheongeungeom filled the space and extinguished the energy of the Moonlight Steel Soul-Suppressing Spear that had come rushing in.
Shu-uuuuk—
Jeokbalgoein’s red hair streamed wildly in the aftershock of clashing energies.
Namgung’s Changgung Muae…?
Jeokbalgoein muttered in a voice thick with disbelief.
“Why is a member of the Namgung Family who can unfold the Boundless Sword of the Azure Firmament… working as an assassin here?”
“A man still has to eat.”
“Eat?”
Jeokbalgoein understood the words yet could not comprehend them.
Why on earth… in an assassin sect? Someone of this skill…
The martial arts just displayed were no ordinary power.
“Which assassin sect do you belong to?”
“This matter is between the two of us alone. Is there any need to drag the sect I belong to into it?”
“Don’t I need to know where you are so I can place a contract if I ever have a request?”
“Does that mean you will withdraw from this place? Then I can tell you.”
“Keukeukeuk. Fine. I’ll leave Buhal Mountain Villa as it stands. I’ll obtain the rest of the Hoesang-rok soon enough, so it makes no difference.”
Uncheon removed the bamboo hat and looked Jeokbalgoein straight in the eye.
Oho. Quite a young fellow…
Gazing at the young man’s face, Jeokbalgoein suddenly recalled a name that had been on every tongue of late—the young martial artist of the Namgung Family.
“Cheongryu Geomhyang of the Namgung Family?”
“You recognized me at once. Should you ever have a request for the Yaweol Sect, by all means.”
“Keuhahat! To think you really are of the Namgung Family—I’ve never had a day this amusing! It was fun after a long while. When we meet again we might even stand on the same side.”
Whiik!
Jeokbalgoein’s form vanished completely from the vicinity of Buhal Mountain Villa.
Uncheon settled the bamboo hat back onto his head and let out a quiet sigh.
“There are far too many worlds I still do not know.”
The Central Plains was vastly wider than anything he had been taught within the family walls.
Uncheon spoke toward the empty air.
“You can come out now.”
Whiik!
Ha Jiryeon appeared before him.
She had watched everything from concealment.
“Cheongryu—what they took seemed important. Why did you give it away?”
“They said they would kill everyone if I refused. I could not simply stand by.”
“…….”
“It was only a personal memoir with nothing of great substance.”
Yet the man who had written those pages was no ordinary figure—he was Man Chugeum, lord of the Middle Kingdom’s Merchant State.
And though the exact words “Cheonhwangdo Map” never appeared, there were passages that clearly pointed toward it.
On such-and-such month and day.
When I obtained that object I felt as though I had gained the world. Yet I soon understood: it was not a heavenly treasure, but a demonic treasure that would cast the world into chaos.
On such-and-such month and day.
Perhaps lingering attachment remains. I hid the demonic treasure in a place only I know. Suddenly regret washes over me.
On such-and-such month and day.
It is the day my old friends Sun and Hong, who came after so long, take their leave. This may be the last time. To those departing companions I gifted two of the four most precious objects I possess—one to each.