The Crimson Flower in His Heart
Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.
The carriage carrying Yang Hui rolled into a village aglow with bright lights.
No sooner had they reached the outskirts than one of the men who had gone ahead to secure rooms at an inn came hurrying back. The look on his face as he reported to Namgung Jinwoo was far from good.
“Hall Lord, we managed to get rooms, but there’s a problem.”
“What is it?”
“It seems people from the Wulin Alliance are also spending the night at the same inn.”
“The ones who passed us on the road earlier?”
“Most likely, yes.”
A faint crease formed across the bridge of Namgung Jinwoo’s nose as he fell into thought. They had crossed paths with those Wulin Alliance martial artists nearly two hours ago.
“How awkward. They raced past us without so much as a glance, yet they’re stopping for the night here of all places? Some things never make sense.”
Given a choice, he would have preferred to avoid any direct encounter with people from the Wulin Alliance. But keeping the carriage moving this late was out of the question.
Namgung Jinwoo approached the carriage and reported the situation.
“Young Miss, I have something to tell you.”
“Has something gone wrong?”
“Not exactly. It appears people from the Wulin Alliance arrived first at the inn where we intend to spend the night.”
“Is there no other inn?”
“There is one in the next village, but traveling on at this hour is unwise.”
“If we have no other choice, then so be it. We’ll go to the inn.”
“Understood.”
There was nothing else to be done. If they ran into the Wulin Alliance men and their identities came to light, questions about why they had come north to Hebei would be inevitable.
“Hall Lord, you expected something like this might happen, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“We can simply say we’re heading to the Gangbuk Merchant Guild on trading-house business, can’t we?”
“Yes. Understood.”
Namgung Jinwoo took the lead and headed for the inn. A short while later they arrived. The lively murmur inside fell quiet.
Uncheon always moved at the very rear of the party. Today was no different, and every gaze in the common room fastened on Yang Hui’s face as Namgung Jinwoo escorted her.
Lady Yang really is beautiful.
Her looks were rare even in the Central Plains. Naturally the men’s eyes followed every step she took. Namgung Jinwoo ignored their stares and guided her toward the annex.
“Young Miss, I’ll show you inside. Please follow me.”
“All right.”
Uncheon kept his head lowered and trailed silently behind the group.
At that very moment Baekri So and Sanggwan Gyeong finished circulating their qi in a second-floor room and came down the stairs. Both men stopped dead at the sight of Yang Hui heading for the annex. While they watched her cross the common room and disappear into the private wing, neither of them even breathed.
Only after she was completely gone did Baekri So finally exhale.
“Sanggwan Gyeong, she was stunning. Who do you suppose she is?”
“Looks that fine can only belong to one of the Ten Beauties of the World. You saw Flower-Smile Beauty Jin Yeoryeong when she visited the Alliance, didn’t you?”
Baekri So nodded hard.
“One of the Ten Beauties… I have to find out who she is.”
“How?”
“I’ll just go ask.”
“Isn’t it rude to approach one of the Ten Beauties out of the blue? If you offend her, every man in the Central Plains will curse you to the heavens.”
“Hah. We don’t even know if she is one yet. And they say beauty is won by the man with courage. Aren’t you curious yourself?”
“…”
Baekri So’s feet carried him toward the annex as though drawn by a magnet.
Damn it… If some ridiculous rumor starts, the Strategist will scold me for failing to keep him in check.
Worried the matter might grow noisy, Sanggwan Gyeong followed after the man who had already gone inside.
Namgung Jinwoo stepped forward and blocked the two men who had entered the annex.
“Hold a moment. What business brings you into the private wing?”
“We are of the Wulin Alliance.”
“I am aware.”
Baekri So glanced briefly at the annex building, then looked back at Namgung Jinwoo.
“The Wulin Alliance has issued a travel ban forbidding any martial artist of the Central Plains from freely entering northern Hebei without Alliance permission.”
“We heard as much on the road. It has nothing to do with us.”
“Whether it does or not is for us to decide. We wish to know your identities. Will you tell us?”
“We are from the Anhui Merchant Guild.”
“Is that true?”
If they truly belonged to a merchant guild, the Alliance’s ban did not apply. Namgung Jinwoo smoothly produced the guild token from his waist. Sanggwan Gyeong studied the emblem and nodded. The crest he had glimpsed on the carriage earlier matched.
And then the face of the woman he had seen only briefly in the common room clicked into place.
“Then… the lady inside must be Moon Flower Beauty Yang Hui of the Anhui Grand Merchant Guild.”
When Sanggwan Gyeong spoke with such certainty, Baekri So jolted and cried out.
“Sanggwan Gyeong— the woman we just saw is Moon Flower Beauty of the Ten Beauties?”
“If she belongs to the Anhui Guild, it can only be her.”
Baekri So turned back to Namgung Jinwoo for confirmation.
“Is she truly Moon Flower Beauty Yang Hui?”
“She is.”
“What business brings Moon Flower Beauty of the Anhui Grand Merchant Guild all the way to distant Hebei?”
“That is guild business and not for casual disclosure. Now that you know who we are, I would ask you to withdraw.”
Baekri So knew he ought to leave, yet something held him. Judging by the man blocking his path, this was clearly her escort.
“I am Baekri So, Leader of the Blue Dragon Hall of the Wulin Alliance. As a member of the Alliance I would like to confirm with Moon Flower Beauty Yang Hui herself.”
Learning who the man was, Namgung Jinwoo almost laughed inside.
Hmph. The Blue Dragon Hall…
They said it was the organization of the Alliance’s most outstanding rising talents—men destined for key posts in the future. Still—
Compared to my nephew Uncheon, they’re fireflies under the midday sun.
“You may belong to the Wulin Alliance, but you have no right to interfere in guild affairs.”
“From your station you appear to be Moon Flower Beauty’s escort. Whether this is guild business or not, I wish to ask your mistress directly. Kindly convey the request.”
Baekri So’s voice was loud enough to carry indoors. Namgung Jinwoo was about to lose his temper when a rebuking voice cut across them.
“Are people of the Wulin Alliance always this rude?”
“…”
Baekri So turned toward the voice. A young man stepped forward—at most barely twenty.
“Did this little brother just call me rude?”
“I did.”
“Hahaha. Quite the bold little brother. And why, exactly, am I rude?”
“That gentleman already refused you as politely as possible, didn’t he? Wouldn’t it be better simply to withdraw? Or are you dismissing him because he is ‘only’ an escort?”
Baekri So gave a short, scornful laugh and issued a warning toward Uncheon.
“You look as though you haven’t been out in the martial world long. If you don’t want to get hurt at such a tender age, mind your place. Reckless arrogance gets a man badly injured. I’ll overlook it this once—step back quietly.”
“The one who should step back is you, not me. Did the Baekri Family never teach you the proper courtesy due one’s seniors?”
“…!”
In that instant Baekri So felt the true qi flowing from the other’s frame.
This is… mid-level sword intent?
His voice trembled ever so slightly.
“You… who the hell are you?”
“I am Namgung Uncheon. And the man you just dismissed is my uncle, Namgung Jinwoo.”
Namgung Uncheon. Was that not the name of the Namgung Family’s rising star that had been on everyone’s lips of late?
“You… are the Blue Stream Sword Fragrance?”
“Hard as it may be to believe, yes. I trust you’re not about to claim you don’t believe me.”
Baekri So’s face was a study in flustered confusion as he looked back and forth between Uncheon and Namgung Jinwoo. He might have pushed a little against the Anhui Merchant Guild, but the Namgung Family…
Why would people of the Namgung Family be…
Baekri So was a proud man—Leader of the Blue Dragon Hall and a scion of the Baekri Family—yet the moment he learned their true identities his entire manner changed. Among the martial families of the Central Plains the name Namgung held special weight. Just as martial artists of the Nine Great Sects regarded Shaolin and Wudang as their ancestral pillars, the martial families of the Central Plains regarded the Namgung Family as their own head house.
He immediately clasped his fists and bowed to Namgung Jinwoo.
“My deepest apologies. I failed to recognize an elder of the Namgung Family.”
“You did not know, so I accept the apology.”
“Thank you.”
Baekri So had apologized, yet curiosity about why they were traveling with the Anhui Merchant Guild still burned.
Surely the Namgung Family hasn’t taken an interest…?
At that moment Uncheon stepped in at just the right time.
“Uncle Jinwoo serves as a hall lord within the guild. I happened to meet him while traveling the Central Plains and have been accompanying him since. I can’t go into detail, but it concerns business with the Gangbuk Merchant Guild.”
“Ah… I see.”
Sanggwan Gyeong understood at once. Rumors about the internal affairs of the Anhui Merchant Guild had been circulating for some time.
They say the Anhui Guild will pass leadership to whichever child shows the best results by the year after next. So Moon Flower Beauty has entered that contest as well.
The Gangbuk Merchant Guild was, after all, one of the Ten Great Merchant Houses of the Upper Heavens.
“Leader, we should withdraw.”
“Yeah… let’s do that.”
They understood why she was here, yet both Baekri So and Sanggwan Gyeong still felt a pang of regret that they had never gotten a proper look at Moon Flower Beauty’s face as they left the annex.
Just as the two men turned to go—
A sharp jolt.
Baekri So frowned slightly and pressed a hand to his heart.
This energy…?
“Wait a moment!”
Uncheon stopped Baekri So in his tracks. The sudden halt and Uncheon’s abrupt approach made Baekri So flinch.
“What—!”
“Stay still.”
Uncheon focused his mind and examined Baekri So’s heart.
This is unmistakably that man’s Crimson Qi Flower energy… How can I feel it in Brother Baekri’s heart?
Surprise written on his face, Uncheon asked,
“I sense the energy of a red flower in your chest. Am I right?”
“How… how do you know that?”
After being struck by the black-hatted man, Baekri So had raced to the inn and immediately begun circulating his qi. Because he had never taken a direct hit, he had believed ordinary circulation would drive the foreign energy out completely. Yet no matter what he did, the Crimson Qi Flower would not leave his heart. Fortunately it was not enough to immobilize him, so he had been circulating whenever he found a spare moment.
“Blue Stream Sword Fragrance, how did you know about my heart?”
“Just call me by my name. On the way to the inn, did you by any chance meet a man in a black hat—or someone with silver hair?”
Baekri So stiffened again, his expression hardening.
“So you know who the black-hatted man is as well?”
“Of course I do. He nearly killed me. In any case, the Crimson Qi Flower is still in your heart.”
“It’s fine. It barely affects me now. When I have time I’ll circulate and clear it.”
“No. It may feel all right at the moment, but if you don’t remove it soon the Crimson Qi Flower will grow and put a strain on your heart. It must be purged at once.”
“It grows? I feel nothing right now—are you certain?”
Worry flickered across Baekri So’s face. If the thing truly began to grow inside his heart as Uncheon claimed, the danger could be real.
“Don’t worry too much. Fortunately I believe I can treat it.”
Still astonished, Baekri So nevertheless found himself relaxing as he looked at Uncheon.
“You can really do it?”
“I can.”
“Could I… ask you right now?”
“Of course. Follow me.”
Uncheon led Baekri So to a room at the far end of the annex. Once inside he pointed to the bed.
“Lie down. It won’t take long.”
“…All right.”
Baekri So did as he was told and stretched out on the bed. Uncheon laid a hand over the man’s heart.
Ugh.
Baekri So felt a powerful pressure against his heart.
“Just bear it for a moment.”
Sssssss—
Uncheon’s inner energy sank into the heart. It first wrapped the entire organ, sealing every escape route so the hidden Crimson Qi Flower could not flee.
Good. Now slowly, from the bottom of the heart upward…
A wriggle.
Uncheon felt the energy thrashing as though trying to escape.
Found it. Now that I’ve seen you, there’s nowhere left to run.
Like herding a fish into a net, he drove the Crimson Qi Flower into a corner and pinned it motionless.
Fwoooosh—!!
Uncheon pulled hard, drawing the immobilized Crimson Qi Flower into himself.
Success.
In the same instant he snatched his hand away from Baekri So’s heart and clenched his fist. A crimson light flared inside his palm, then dissolved into smoke that vanished into the air.
“You can get up now.”
“…”
Baekri So pushed himself upright and sat on the edge of the bed. He carefully circulated his qi, checking whether any trace of the Crimson Qi Flower remained.
It’s gone… no—he removed it. Completely clean.
He ended his circulation and looked at Uncheon, who stood watching him from a short distance away.
Damn it… I’ve been a frog at the bottom of a well.
All this time at the Wulin Alliance he had believed no rising talent could surpass him. Even when he heard the rumors about the Blue Stream Sword Fragrance circulating through the Central Plains, he had assumed they were exaggerated. He had been wrong.
Looking at the young man, he felt envy and a sting to his pride. He knew the martial world was full of extraordinary people, yet standing face-to-face with a Namgung prodigy who had not even reached twenty left him without a single coherent thought.
Uncheon watched Baekri So rise from the bed and smiled faintly.
“If you’re grateful, just say thank you. It was nothing special.”
“…Thank you.”
“I only knew how because I ran into that man first. It wasn’t because I’m better than you, Brother Baekri.”
Uncheon made no attempt to take credit. When Baekri So stepped outside, Sanggwan Gyeong asked,
“Are you all right?”
“I was fine to begin with. He just finished the job.”
Sanggwan Gyeong glanced past him at Uncheon, who had followed out.
“Brother Baekri is right. All I did was shorten the time.”
“Glad to hear it.”
From Uncheon’s answer he understood that the younger man had deliberately preserved Baekri So’s pride. Baekri So was about to leave the annex when he turned back to Uncheon. All interest in Moon Flower Beauty Yang Hui had already vanished; in its place burned curiosity about the Blue Stream Sword Fragrance.
“Still, you did me a favor. Let me buy you a drink. You’re not too young to drink, are you?”
“I can drink.”
Baekri So, Sanggwan Gyeong, and Uncheon sat facing one another. Over wine Uncheon told them, within careful limits, about his encounter with the black-hatted man.
“You called it the Crimson Qi Flower?”
“Yes.”
Baekri So pointed to one of the Blue Dragon Hall members sitting nearby.
“Hahu Jeong, come here a moment.”
A man rose from a table across the room and approached—the most knowledgeable among the Blue Dragon Hall when it came to martial history.
“Do you know anything about the Crimson Qi Flower?”
“That… is the inner energy that burrows into the heart and paralyzes it. They call it the Death’s Crimson Flower. It is a martial art of Muchon Palace, which was wiped out three hundred years ago.”
“Muchon Palace? You said Muchon Palace?”
Uncheon’s eyes widened in shock at the name. No martial artist of the Central Plains was ignorant of the Heavenly Palaces—Muchon Palace and the Sun-Moon Purple Cloud Palace. Yet the reasons they had vanished from the Central Plains remained unknown.
What? That man was definitely from the Blood Refining Divine Cult. How is this possible?
When Uncheon had looked into the black-hatted man’s eyes, the affiliation he read had clearly been the Blood Refining Divine Cult.
If I didn’t misread him, then Muchon Palace and the Blood Refining Divine Cult may be connected somehow.
Yet Uncheon’s ability had never once been wrong.
Baekri So felt it instinctively.
This is no ordinary matter. If the black-hatted man truly used a technique of Muchon Palace, the Central Plains may be in grave danger.
He looked at the young man sitting across from him.
This might be an opportunity. Some earth-shaking event is about to erupt across the Central Plains martial world.
Heroes, they said, appeared in times of chaos. To claim the world one must either become the greatest under heaven—or keep the man who would become the greatest at one’s side.
If it’s this boy…
In the vast Central Plains many martial artists could probably remove a Crimson Qi Flower of that level, but at Uncheon’s age? Would any of them have managed it?
Baekri So lifted the wine jar. His voice turned warmly affectionate.
“Little brother Uncheon, have a cup.”
“…”
Uncheon raised his cup to receive it. He did not even need to read the man’s thoughts; the complete change of expression said everything.
Haa… I really am too damn good, aren’t I?