The Crowded Path to Tangshan
The day of the journey to Tangshan was fair.
A light breeze stirred, and even the clouds had vanished, leaving warm sunlight that lifted the spirits.
Uncheon walked slowly among the throng of people.
Yet no one truly recognized him.
Through the subtle applications of the Sal-ui-gong and martial principle, the Soundless Body Shadow had gradually melted into the Heavenly Wind Divine Art.
The martial arts of the Namgung Family and those of the Sal-ui-gong complemented each other’s strengths and weaknesses to perfection.
Words from his father that had once sounded like mere nagging now, with the passage of time, aided his understanding of martial arts.
So this is what they meant by understanding when the time is right.
Strangely, the lessons his father had given during martial principle classes in his childhood returned to him with perfect clarity.
“What do you think is most important in mastering martial arts?”
“I don’t know?”
“You little rascal. Don’t just say whatever comes out of your mouth—think properly and answer!”
“Fighting methods?”
Namgung Hyeonwu’s eyes bulged.
“……No, wouldn’t it be form and intent?”
“Are you certain? Or did you just spit something out at random?”
“No. Isn’t the essence of martial arts form and intent?”
“Ahem, you’re not wrong……. Listen carefully. To awaken to martial arts, you must first understand. The most fundamental essence of martial arts—form and intent.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“What exactly do you understand?”
“You told me to understand form and intent, did you not?”
“Then what is form and intent?”
“Form is the movement of the body, and intent is the movement of qi.”
“Correct. But there is one more thing you must know. Intent is will, and the heart must truly communicate.”
“…….”
“Why do so many brothers of our family train the same martial arts yet display such different abilities?”
“Isn’t it because their natural talent differs?”
“That matters too. But it is not only talent—each person’s will in mastering martial arts is different.”
Each person’s will. And my own will.
The killing-intent footwork of the Soundless Body Shadow changed according to Uncheon’s will.
A killing art the same as the Yaweol Sect’s Sal-ui-gong, yet different.
It’s become awkward to still call it the Heavenly Wind Divine Art. Since it’s my own movement art now, I ought to think of a good name for it.
Uncheon advanced, feeling the transformed movement art with every step.
By the way, did Father ever imagine I would turn out this clever? Probably not.
Before he knew it, Uncheon had left the village behind and was fully unleashing his movement art toward Tangshan in Hebei.
Traveling alone for the first time in a long while, he had expected the road to Tangshan to be quiet.
This looks like far more than I anticipated.
Yet the entire way, people thronged as if a festival were underway.
Uncheon studied the man walking just ahead of him.
His gaze settled on the thick black gloves covering both hands.
With quick steps he glanced at the man’s profile. A martial artist in his mid-thirties, face and neck deeply tanned by the sun.
The man never sensed Uncheon falling into step beside him.
Seems he practices fist arts.
No blades or weapons of any kind were visible on the man’s person.
Uncheon casually struck up conversation.
“Hello there.”
“……!”
The man started at Uncheon’s sudden appearance.
At first he regarded Uncheon with wary eyes, but upon seeing how young he looked, he relaxed back into his ordinary manner.
“What is it?”
“I wanted to ask something. Has something happened around here? There are quite a lot of people.”
The man swept a quick glance over Uncheon from head to toe.
A young man in light blue martial robes with a sword at his side.
His internal energy did not feel particularly strong.
Seeing Uncheon looking every bit a greenhorn freshly emerged into the Central Plains, the man let his guard down and explained.
“From the looks of you, you haven’t been out in the murim long. Most of these folks are headed for Tangshan.”
“Is something good happening at Tangshan?”
“Have you been holed up on some mountain? A young man needs to keep his ears open. Haven’t you even heard the rumor that a piece of the Cheonhwangdo Map has appeared at Tangshan?”
“……Really? Is it true the Cheonhwangdo Map is at Tangshan?”
“That I don’t know either. Anyway, the rumor’s out. Most of the people you see here are going just because they’re curious what the Cheonhwangdo Map even is.”
“If martial artists are gathering, it could get dangerous.”
“Well, if small fry like us get greedy without the skill to back it up, sure it’ll be dangerous. But if luck’s on our side, we might at least get to watch from the sidelines, right? And tell me—when that many martial artists gather at Tangshan, what do you think will happen?”
“If opinions differ, fights will definitely break out.”
“Exactly. Listen here. There are two greatest spectacles in the world, they say—watching a fire, and watching a fight. Heard that?”
“So…… you’re going to watch the fights?”
“You’re quick. For us low-level types, watching the fights of the strong is a chance to learn something.”
“Ah, so that’s why everyone’s rushing to Tangshan. Thank you for telling me something useful.”
Uncheon turned away, brow faintly furrowed.
The rumor had clearly spread as far as it could across the Central Plains.
At this rate, everyone who enters Tangshan will find it hard to move freely.
With so many eyes concentrated like this, no faction would be able to search for Moyong Jeok completely out in the open.
And among the factions seeking Moyong Jeok was Yang Hui as well.
The reason she had pushed this matter forward was less pure greed for what Moyong Jeok possessed than the sense of achievement of having accomplished it as a woman.
Yet even if she believed her reasons different from the rest, the inner thoughts Uncheon had read in her were no different from the greed of those pouring into Tangshan.
In the end, what Yang Hui intended was also to seize the Cheonhwangdo Map.
He did not dismiss her abilities, but in Uncheon’s eyes, refusing to recognize the limits of those abilities was pure stubbornness and overreach.
You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink, as the saying went.
I can’t physically stop her, so whatever comes next she’ll have to take responsibility for herself. There are still things I want to ask her, but……
For that reason alone, he could only hope she neither came to harm nor died.
Whoooosh—
In that instant a rush of wind sounded, and Uncheon’s figure vanished into the air.
Clack. Clack.
A two-wheeled carriage approached the city gate.
The man seated in the driver’s seat—Wolyeonggwangheun Dokjeonhwa—spoke respectfully toward the carriage.
“Taegong, we have arrived at Tangshan.”
“How is the atmosphere?”
“It seems as though every soul in the Central Plains has gathered.”
“Heh heh heh. We can hardly miss such an entertaining spectacle.”
While Dokjeonhwa spoke, the carriage had already passed through the gate.
It descended slowly along the official road.
Around most roads leading into a town, bands of men always lurked in wait for easy prey.
The area around Tangshan’s gate was no exception.
A dozen or so men burst out in front of the carriage.
Those…… moths to the flame. They’ve come looking for their own deaths.
Dokjeonhwa pulled on the reins and halted the carriage.
“Taegong, my apologies. Some mad fools have blocked the road.”
“Wouldn’t it be simplest to cut off three or four of their limbs?”
“Understood.”
Dokjeonhwa took up the silver sword laid beside him.
Taegong’s command was absolute, never to be refused.
Dokjeonhwa addressed the men blocking the way.
His voice, unlike before, was filled with cold.
“What is this about?”
At his presence the ringleader, Pyeongcho, flinched and shrank.
Killing intent radiated from the silver light sword in the man’s hand.
Ah, damn…… we picked the wrong one. I was told never to touch a carriage passing without escorts……
Pyeongcho regretted it, but it was already too late.
Shiiing.
Dokjeonhwa drew the Silver Light Sword and leveled it at them.
“There must be a reason you stopped the carriage. I’ll ask again. Why did you halt us?”
“Ah, no! We just wanted to know where you gentlemen were coming from…… Haha…….”
“State the reason you need to know that.”
“Th-that is…….”
Pyeongcho stammered.
“You saw I was alone and thought me an easy mark. Looked so simple you figured you could make a proper score, is that it?”
“Oh no, not at all! Absolutely not! How could we ever think a great man like yourself an easy mark?”
“Spare the useless talk. The one riding in this carriage ordered me to sever your limbs. His word cannot be defied. Four of you step forward. Better one limb each than one man losing them all—you’ll still be able to eat. I’ll count to twenty. If no one comes out before then, I’ll decide myself.”
“W-wait just a moment, please!!”
“One, two, three…… five…….”
Dokjeonhwa continued counting as if the man’s voice meant nothing.
They trembled in fear, glancing at one another.
He had said four.
Every one of them edged backward, trying to escape Dokjeonhwa’s gaze.
Sweat poured down Pyeongcho’s forehead like rain.
“Eighteen…… nine…….”
The numbers kept climbing. Pyeongcho could wait no longer.
“These four in front!”
“Boss!! What are you saying!!”
The men he pointed out glared at Pyeongcho in shock.
Dokjeonhwa let out a short, scornful laugh.
“So the boss wants to live alone, does he.”
“…….”
“But on second thought, one man losing everything seems better than four.”
Paah!
Dokjeonhwa’s hand moved so slightly it was almost invisible.
Flash.
The martial art of the Baekcheon Sect was the swift Light Sword.
A silver thread spun out from the Silver Light Sword and in a single motion severed Pyeongcho’s hands and feet.
“Gaaaah……!!”
Crimson blood fountained upward.
Pyeongcho collapsed to the ground with every limb cut away. The gushing blood soaked his body until he was thoroughly drenched.
Dokjeonhwa pointed to the side at the trembling gang.
“Clear him away so the carriage can pass.”
“Yes! Understood!!”
They answered loudly and dragged the limbless Pyeongcho off the official road.
Whoosh.
Dokjeonhwa climbed back onto the carriage.
“Taegong, the matter is settled.”
“Well done. That Silver Light Sword shone quite nicely.”
“Everything is by Taegong’s grace. We shall depart.”
“Do so.”
Dokjeonhwa drove the carriage onward into the town.
Swoosh!
Not long after, two Taoists in deep navy robes appeared at the spot the carriage had passed.
At the waist of the older Taoist, who looked around fifty, hung a sword roughly five cheok long in a scabbard carved with pine-pattern motifs.
The younger Taoist in his early thirties also wore a pale ink-black sword belt; the hilt of his white-sheathed sword was engraved with a taegeuk pattern.
They were Elder Cheongyu of the Wudang Sect and Daoist Yujin, deputy master of the Eight Immortals Temple.
“Uncle-Master Cheongyu, that man’s methods just now were cruel. He could clearly have resolved it with words.”
“Indeed. Yet his sword was extraordinarily clean and light.”
Elder Cheongyu was deeply interested in the sword the man had shown.
The swords of Wudang were supple and agile. Among all sword sects of the Central Plains, none better embodied the principle that softness overcomes hardness.
“That man does not seem to walk the orthodox path, yet his qi is not of the heretical path either.”
“I saw it the same way. It seems many who have been in seclusion or hiding are emerging of late.”
Elder Cheongyu’s clear eyes wavered with worry.
“Uncle-Master Cheongyu, you need not worry. Our sect, together with the Nine Great Sects, holds the strongest power in the history of the murim. If the Nine Great Sects unite their strength, we can more than handle anyone who disturbs the Central Plains martial world, no matter where they come from.”
“Heh heh. I hope it will be as you say, Disciple-Nephew Yujin.”
Strong confidence colored Daoist Yujin’s voice.
He was not the strongest in Wudang, yet he was confident he was stronger than anyone else in the Central Plains murim.
Daoist Yujin gazed toward the town of Tangshan where the carriage had vanished and spoke.
“Something major is clearly afoot here in Tangshan.”
They had not known it immediately after descending from Mount Wudang, but the farther north they traveled into Hebei, the more rumors about their destination, Tangshan, had reached their ears.
“Perhaps those we are to meet are also involved in this matter.”
“I had the same thought.”
“Uncle-Master, let us go to the place we arranged to meet them.”
“When do you think they will arrive?”
“If they enter Tangshan on the promised date, they should arrive tomorrow.”
“Very well. Once we meet, we will learn exactly what is going on.”
Elder Cheongyu and Daoist Yujin moved their forms along the path the carriage had taken.
Tangshan was vast.
Mountains rose to the north while plains and sea stretched to the south.
As the sunset burned red, a young man in light blue martial robes passed through the city gate.
I’ve finally arrived.
Halfway down the slope after the gate, he saw blood pooled thickly on the ground.
Looks like there was quite a fight. Plenty of people pass through here—they could at least clean up after themselves.
Whoosh.
Uncheon stirred his internal energy and swept away the traces of pooled blood.
“Oh-ho. Doing a good deed, I see.”
“……!”
Uncheon froze at the man’s voice from behind.
I didn’t sense his approach at all……. He’s formidable.
He had not exactly grown arrogant, yet he had been confident he could now sense nearly anyone’s presence.
Uncheon turned and saw a man smiling at him.
A man in his late twenties wearing black robes that gleamed almost translucent.
His topknot was neatly secured with a white cord.
When their eyes met, Uncheon felt a strange sense of familiarity—and something more.
As if plunging into the abyssal depths of the ocean.
This man…… I can’t read his thoughts either.
Until now there had been only three people whose minds Uncheon could not read.
Uncle Po-ui, the Golden Masked Man. And now this black-robed man made three.
Pat-pat.
The man in black lightly clapped Uncheon’s shoulder.
Uncheon’s expression did not change, yet he was startled once more.
I didn’t even see his hand move…….
The man still wore a clear smile as he admired Uncheon’s physique.
“Ohhh, fine body. You’ve trained properly.”
“Um…… who might you be?”
“Ah, my apologies. When I take a liking to someone I have a habit of touching them. I’m called Mu-hong. What’s your name, little brother? Looking at the internal energy in your body, you seem connected to Changgung, don’t you?”
In that brief moment the man in black had even discerned Uncheon’s internal energy.
An unimaginably high-level master, without question. He still looks only in his twenties……. I have no choice but to tell him who I am.
Uncheon answered truthfully.
“Yes. My name is Namgung Uncheon.”
“Hmm, Uncheon…… a fine name. Now that I hear it, it rings a bell. Would you happen to be Cheongryu Geomhyang?”
“People have been kind enough to call me that.”
“Oh! To think I’d meet the rising star of the Central Plains murim here. They say you’re the finest among the next generation—the rumors weren’t empty after all.”
Uncheon smiled at the somewhat excessive praise.
“If it’s not rude to ask, how old are you this year?”
“Do I look young enough to seem like a friend? I’m older than I look. Twenty-seven this year. Little brother looks about to come of age?”
“In two months I’ll be nineteen.”
“You’ve had a hard time young. The Namgung Family must be struggling these days? You should have been fed plenty of good things from childhood—what a pity. Next time I come across something fine, I’ll set some aside for you, little brother.”
“…….”
Even amid the tension, Uncheon let out a short laugh.
He had never met anyone who spoke like this in his life.
“Since fate brought us together, call me hyung from now on.”
Strangely, Uncheon felt he could not refuse the man’s words.
“Understood. Then I shall call you Mu-hong hyungnim.”
“Heh heh heh. Count yourself lucky, little brother Uncheon. You’re the first little brother I’ve ever had. There won’t be another hyung like me in the world, so feel free to take pride in it.”
Swoosh.
Mu-hong’s hand settled on Uncheon’s shoulder as he spoke cheerfully.
“I’ll buy you some delicious food in town—let’s go!”
Once again Uncheon failed to catch the man’s movement at all.
The world truly is vast…….