The Still Surface Trembles
The still surface of the Central Plains’ martial world trembled.
What had been only a faint breeze of rumor swept out from Hebei in the north and spread across the entire Central Plains.
The Beidou Unit of the Moyong Family and the Byeokcheon Brigade of the Hebei Pang Family are moving at the same time. The person they pursue is one and the same.
In an instant, every eye and ear in the Central Plains fixed itself upon the direction those two great houses were taking.
Sssssss—
A blood-soaked figure rose from a liquid so thick and dark it was nearly black, a crimson so deep it seemed pure blood. Through the red that poured down over his head he opened the eyes he had kept shut.
Those pupils, too, were red—as if flame itself were pouring from them.
…Did it work?
When the blood figure lifted one hand and summoned his inner power, a blaze of flame leapt up above his palm.
Crimson fire blossomed above his open hand.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Applause sounded behind him.
“Mun Gu. At last you have mastered the Blood Flame.”
Doheolsaja Mun Gu picked up a length of black cloth, covered himself, and turned.
A man in white robes stood there, smiling brightly.
Mun Gu sank slowly to one knee and offered his greeting.
“This humble servant greets Lord Ji Yacha.”
“You have endured much. Rise.”
“I thank you.”
Mun Gu rose with the greatest care, yet kept his waist bent.
“How is your condition?”
“At its peak. I have received a great grace from Lord Ji Yacha.”
“Heh heh heh. I may have helped you, but if your will had not been strong, you would never have succeeded in taking the Blood Flame into your body.”
“All this servant did was accept it. Everything else was prepared to perfection by Lord Ji Yacha.”
“I am glad you think so. This place is stifling—let us go outside.”
Ji Yacha turned first and walked out. Mun Gu followed three or four paces behind.
Outside, Ji Yacha looked down over a broad lake and spoke.
“Mun Gu. The Cheonhwangdo Map that vanished from Baekcheon Gate seems to have shown itself in the Central Plains.”
“Is that true?”
“The Moyong Family and the Hebei Pang Family are already moving. Some lunatic from the Moyong Family appears to have brought it out.”
“Then we must seize that man at once and take the Cheonhwangdo Map, must we not?”
“Of course. But by now there will not be a corner of the world that has not heard of it.”
Thud.
Mun Gu clasped his fists hard and raised his voice.
“Entrust this matter to me!”
“Not only the martial world of the Central Plains—many others will be hunting the Cheonhwangdo Map as well.”
“If I fail to obtain it this time, I will not return.”
It was a resolve that put even his life on the line. After his previous failure he had hungered for still greater power, and so he had mastered the Blood Flame.
Now I can face his golden flood-dragon.
His strength would now stand equal even to the yakshas of his own order. Ji Yacha, too, was certain that Mun Gu’s force, armed with the Blood Flame, would be more than enough.
The present martial world is no match for Mun Gu, of course. And even they… will no longer find him easy to overcome.
“Mun Gu. This is your last chance. I hope you succeed.”
“I am grateful that you place your trust in me.”
“Confidence is good. But once you enter the Central Plains, you must be careful. You have already heard that Heukhyul fell, have you not?”
He had heard. The Black Blood Envoy who had gone into the Central Plains seeking the Hoesang-rok was dead. The one who killed him had red hair.
There were not many in the Central Plains’ martial world who could stand against their kind.
“Is the Red-Haired Weirdo from the same place as the Golden Masked Man?”
“It does not seem so. Which means that, beyond them, other beings have been hidden in the Central Plains as well.”
“Remarkable. I never imagined a force we never even sensed was lurking there.”
Mun Gu was startled, yet he also burned to know what sort of beings they were.
“Soon enough we will learn who they are. Once they have stepped into the martial world, it means they intend to reveal themselves. You may even meet them on this outing. They killed Heukhyul—so take care.”
“Yes. I will keep that firmly in mind.”
Mun Gu bowed low from the waist.
Yang Hui carefully eased open the carriage window.
Where is he…?
She wanted to be sure Uncheon, who was traveling with them toward Tangshan in Hebei, was still following properly.
The moment the window opened, Namgung Jinwoo pressed close and asked,
“Young lady, is something the matter?”
“……Hall Lord, how far have we come?”
With Namgung Jinwoo suddenly so near, her voice trembled despite herself with a flutter of fluster.
“Half a quarter-hour ago we entered Hengshui of Hebei. If anything is uncomfortable, we can rest a while before going on.”
“No, I am fine. We have to move quickly, do we not?”
She closed the window again.
From the moment they entered Hebei, messenger birds about the man they sought arrived three or four times a day. And even she could feel how the rumors about him were spreading into the Central Plains with every passing day.
There was no need to rely on separate informants. Wherever people gathered, one could already read the movements of the forces pouring into Tangshan of Hebei.
About another quarter-hour after they had entered Hengshui—
Thud-thud-thud-thud—
Some thirty horsemen came thundering up from behind, shaking the ground as they raced.
Uncheon, who had been riding at the rear of the carriage, looked back.
Through the rising dust he saw the dress of the martial artists on horseback.
Wulin Alliance.
On their chests the character for “Alliance” stood clear; the pale green robes of the Wulin Alliance were unmistakable.
If even the Wulin Alliance is turning out, it has gone all the way. This is going to blow up properly.
With the Alliance involved, affairs in the Central Plains would only grow more tangled.
Namgung Jinwoo drew up beside Uncheon, tension on his face.
“Uncheon, my boy. Can you make them out?”
Unlike Uncheon, he had not yet confirmed who they were.
“Uncle, they look like martial artists of the Wulin Alliance.”
“The Wulin Alliance?”
“Yes. From their dress, those are Alliance robes without a doubt.”
“Understood.”
He trusted Uncheon’s word. The higher one’s inner power, the sharper one’s sight as well.
Namgung Jinwoo rode to the front and called to the party.
“Everyone, halt!”
Carriage and company stopped where they stood.
Thud-thud-thud-thud—
The drum of hooves from the rear swelled, and at last the martial artists of the Wulin Alliance fully came into view.
At their head rode Baekri So, captain of the Blue Dragon Hall. He, too, took in the halted carriage and the mounted party by the roadside.
Swords at their waists marked them as martial artists, yet he felt no force strong enough to make him rein in.
Hmph. Local minor-sect level. I’m busy—I’ll just pass them by.
Baekri So raised a hand and signaled the companions behind him.
Ordinarily he might have stopped to check, but seeing them already drawn aside, he thought little of it. What mattered most to him now was something else entirely; there was no need to know who the carriage party was.
Thud-thud-thud-thud—
The thirty horsemen put on speed and swept past the carriage and its company even faster.
Sanggwan Gyeong of the Blue Dragon Hall, riding just behind Baekri So, caught the crest on the carriage door as they passed.
Just now—that looked like the crest of the Anhui Merchant Alliance…?
Among the many martial houses of the Central Plains, the Sanggwan Family was unusual in having risen from a merchant house; they still kept deep ties with the commercial world and ran many escort bureaus and trading firms of their own.
Any of the Ten Great Merchant Halls of Sangcheon was a power even the martial world did not treat lightly. The Anhui Merchant Alliance, moreover, not only held deep connections with the great sects but possessed formidable force of its own.
Sanggwan Gyeong glanced back as he rode, but dust already hid the crest too well to be sure. Besides, the party did not look as if they were transporting goods for trade.
Did I see wrong? Even if they were shipping cargo, those who ought to be in Anhui would have no reason to come all the way up to Hebei.
He put it from his mind and drove his horse forward.
The thirty riders vanished ahead in a heartbeat. Namgung Jinwoo’s face eased with open relief. He had no wish to fall into an awkward tangle by crossing paths with men of the Wulin Alliance.
“Uncheon, my boy. They saw us and still rode on—they must have urgent business.”
“Yes. Better that we did not have to exchange words with them.”
“True enough. Colliding with martial artists of the Alliance is never pleasant.”
Among the martial folk of the Central Plains, the Wulin Alliance was often treated as a tiresome presence. It had been founded to check the unorthodox factions and to prevent needless strife among the sects so that peace might hold. But with time it had also begun, now and then, to meddle in the internal affairs of various sects and to move as if it meant to dominate them.
Namgung Jinwoo drew up beside the carriage and spoke to Yang Hui.
“Young lady, we will set out again.”
“Yes, please do.”
Uncheon still rode at the rear of the carriage. He was growing less and less certain that the commission from the Cheonha Merchant Coalition would succeed.
If even the Wulin Alliance has stepped in, we cannot move carelessly.
It felt as if the entire Central Plains were stirring to find Moyong Jeok.
Which means he truly does have the Cheonhwangdo Map… I’d like to get even a look at what it is like.
Unlike at the start, even Uncheon could not help taking an interest.
The weight of the Wulin Alliance’s name was immense.
All the way from the Alliance, leading the Blue Dragon Hall toward Hebei Province, they had met many martial artists—and every one of them had drawn aside of their own accord. Baekri So took that as only natural, and his pride climbed higher by the mile.
Heh heh heh. Nowhere in the Central Plains can afford to ignore the Wulin Alliance.
This village was no different. The moment they entered the outskirts, the people who saw some thirty horsemen quietly edged to the sides of the road.
And yet—
“What is that one doing?”
Baekri So pointed ahead in a voice thick with disbelief.
A man in a black bamboo hat was walking straight down the middle of the road. The thunder of approaching hooves behind him might as well not have existed; he simply went on his way.
Ordinarily one might walk anywhere on a road, but when horses or carriages came through, stepping aside was the usual courtesy.
“Captain, I will go and tell him to move.”
“Wait. I’ll do it.”
Sanggwan Gyeong had meant to handle it quietly, but Seomun Geum, riding just behind, frowned and pushed forward. Born of the Seomun Family and the same age as Sanggwan Gyeong, he never missed a chance to prove he was the superior man. With so many eyes watching, the moment was perfect.
Heh heh heh. A fine chance to show what the Wulin Alliance is.
Seomun Geum gently drew on the reins and closed on the black-hatted man’s back.
“You there. Halt.”
The black-hatted man stopped and turned.
He looked up at Seomun Geum, who sat his black horse almost on top of him and stared down with arrogant eyes.
“What is it?”
“If you have ears, you would have heard. Did you not hear us coming?”
“I heard. And?”
“So you knew and still did not yield. What an absurd fellow. Step aside even now and that will be the end of it.”
“And if I refuse?”
Killing intent rose with the black-hatted man’s voice, a thin edge of murder. The black horse flinched and tried to back away. Seomun Geum hauled on the reins and held it.
“A man who cannot be reasoned with, I see. Looking to get hurt, are you?”
“Heh. Wulin Alliance, by the look of you—yet you still cannot gauge an opponent’s strength. Step out carelessly and you die.”
Sssssssssss—
In that instant a killing wind surged from the black-hatted man’s body and wrapped Seomun Geum from head to toe. He had wanted a fight from the moment the Alliance men appeared. He was curious just how high the martial arts of the Wulin Alliance truly stood.
Urgh—
Seomun Geum soothed the horse that was trying to bolt again under the fierce killing aura and raised his protective qi.
“You bastard—your inner energy marks you as unorthodox!”
“Idiot. You cannot even tell whether an opponent’s art is a demonic art or not? The Wulin Alliance taught you empty wind.”
“What? How confident are you, to talk so freely? Do you think you can defeat all of us?”
“Afraid you cannot win alone, so you will threaten me as a pack?”
At the black-hatted man’s sneer, Seomun Geum was already past reason, his usual calm gone.
“I can kill you by myself.”
“Then try.”
Seomun Geum flashed to draw his sword—and in that sliver of a moment he failed to track the black-hatted man’s movement at all.
“Fool. I will crush your heart!!”
The black-hatted man’s hand flared red—and Baekri So’s voice rang out from behind him.
“Seomun Geum!! Fall back!!”
Shiiing—!!
Baekri So closed in and brought the Baekjong Sword down upon the black-hatted man.
Papapapa—!!!
The Moon Cold Qi of the Baekri Family unfurled. From the tip of a deep-gray crescent, keen Moon Cold Qi reached to shear the black-hatted man’s shoulder.
Whoosh!
He dodged… that?
Yet the Baekjong Sword only cut empty air. Baekri So stared in shock at the man who had slipped his strike as if it were nothing.
The black-hatted man’s voice came.
“Sword art of the Baekri Family. Well learned—but you will vanish before you ever truly unfold it.”
“Who… are you?”
“The same goes for you. I have no wish to tell a man who cannot even read his opponent’s measure.”
Baekri So’s eyes wavered; he shouted,
“Sanggwan Gyeong—this man is suspicious! Blue Dragon Hall, surround him!”
He had judged this no opponent to face alone.
Taaaaaah!!
At Baekri So’s command the Blue Dragon Hall riders sprang from their saddles and closed a ring around the black-hatted man.
“Strong or not, you cannot face us all. If you do not want to be hurt, kneel.”
The black-hatted man looked over the Blue Dragon Hall hemming him in and fell into brief thought.
Troublesome pests.
He had not yet found the one who had come out of the Moyong Family; he had no desire to make unnecessary trouble. These were men of the Wulin Alliance. There was no need to overreach by fighting thirty of them.
I dislike it, but I should withdraw. Still—one of them needs a lesson.
Red light flashed from the black-hatted man’s form and shot in a single direction.
“Hup—?!”
The crimson streak punched through the Blue Dragon Hall’s ring and closed to a hair’s breadth from Baekri So in a single breath.
Too late…!!
Woooooom—
Baekri So raised his Self-Turning True-Flow Protective Qi.
Booooom!!
Even so, to stop the red light that was boring through his protective qi toward his heart, he had to drag up the inner power he kept hidden in his dantian.
Kruuuum!!
Baekri So took a dull, crushing shock, rolled across the ground, and was driven back.
Hmm. Not bad. Because they are of the Wulin Alliance? The martial arts of the Central Plains have advanced more than before. If I fight them head-on, it might not end well.
He could win a proper fight, yet he could no longer dismiss their strength.
No help for it. There will be other chances—today this is enough.
The black-hatted man unfurled his movement art, broke the encirclement, and vanished.
Baekri So tried to rise and staggered. He had kept his heart from being pierced, but the aftershock had thrown his insides into chaos.
Damn it… twisted.
“Captain, are you all right?”
Sanggwan Gyeong hurried close and checked Baekri So’s condition at once. He saw immediately that the man’s qi and blood were tangled.
“I… am fine. That man…”
But the black-hatted figure was already gone into the air.
“More important—you should treat your body first.”
“……”
With Sanggwan Gyeong’s help, Baekri So got to his feet.
The Blue Dragon Hall had no choice but to spend a night in the village.
“Wiji Hong—find an inn as quickly as you can.”
“Understood. I’ll go.”
Wiji Hong’s form vanished toward the center of the village in search of lodging.