Blue Stream Sword Fragrance

Uncheon entered his room and sat down.

The one who shadowed Wolyeonggwangheun and committed those murders was Salyeong.

Among the factions that took assassination contracts, Salyeong was a fairly well-known school. Their exact location was uncertain, though they were said to operate out of Xiaogan in Hubei Province.

What puzzled him was why they had followed Wolyeonggwangheun and killed people along the way.

Salyeong wouldn't have moved on its own. Whoever hired them is the real culprit.

Why frame Dokjeonhwa for murder? The first things that came to mind were, of course, the Baekcheon Blood Sect Incident and Cheonhwangdo. Choosing the Huangshan Escort Agency's convoy as their target might also have been a way to drag Wolyeonggwangheun—who had visited the Namgung Family—into the affair.

…Either way, word of what happened today will reach the main family soon enough.

The family's intelligence network was exceptional; there was no real need to report that Salyeong had been the ones shadowing Wolyeonggwangheun and committing the murders. Anything that happened in Anhui Province usually reached the Biryujeon within a day.

Father may not show it, but Mother is going to worry herself sick.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Young Master, may I come in?"

"Come in."

Uncheon looked at the man who stepped inside.

"Young Master, we've prepared a bath for you."

"A bath?"

"The Chief Escort Leader arranged it. If you'll leave your robes with me, I'll have them cleaned before we depart tomorrow."

"Thank you for the consideration."

A short while later, sunk in hot water, Uncheon suddenly remembered something important and sat bolt upright.

There was a fragrant energy coming from my body! What in the world was that?

Rumors traveled fast.

The ambush on the Huangshan Escort Agency's convoy at Qingxi on Mount Huangshan spread across the whole mountain like wildfire. Wherever people gathered, the talk was almost always about Salyeong's attack on the escort agency.

Middle-aged men washed down their cups of wine and chattered with lively energy.

"Did you hear about the incident at Qingxi yesterday?"

"Of course I did. They say Salyeong's Salhyeoldan got thoroughly thrashed by the Huangshan escorts."

"That's right. Isn't Salyeong supposed to be one of the stronger outfits among the assassination contractors?"

"That's what I've always heard."

The middle-aged men raised their voices as they traded the story back and forth.

"The convoy's Chief Escort Leader is the Golden Domain Fist Master, isn't he? That should be strong enough on its own."

Already flushed with drink, a long-faced man shook his head with a wine jug in hand.

"Bah, which nostril did you fellows hear that rumor through? Get it straight. The Golden Domain Fist Master is formidable, no question—but they say he wasn't the one who cut off the Mad Killer Poison Serpent's right arm. It was a young master of the Namgung Family… Namgung Uncheon, was it? Anyway, it was a Namgung young master who drove Salyeong off!"

Word that a Namgung young master—on his very first journey into the martial world—had severed one arm of Salgwangdoksa Ak Dogon, leader of the Salhyeoldan, only fanned the flames. Uncheon's name spread from mouth to mouth like a rolling wave.

"Well now… that's something to marvel at."

Yeo Juga had already heard the rumors pouring out of Qingxi. He had double-checked them, and the stories were true.

So those bastards were Salyeong.

At the same time, he learned of the existence of whoever had been following Wolyeonggwangheun Dokjeonhwa and committing the murders. He had already reported the situation to his superiors and was now waiting in Huangshan—either to keep watching Wolyeonggwangheun, or for further word from the Beggars' Guild.

"Seol Jo, isn't it astonishing? They say that brat beat Salgwangdoksa."

"I don't know how the fight went, but he must have gotten lucky. Or Salgwangdoksa let his guard down."

"Could be. But the Salgwangdoksa I know is a cold-blooded assassin. Assassins are the sort who make a habit of finishing their missions perfectly. 'He let his guard down' doesn't fit."

"Branch Chief, are you saying Salgwangdoksa lost on pure skill? You saw the boy yourself last time. He didn't look strong at all. And the Four Heart Blade Salgwangdoksa practices is nothing to dismiss lightly…"

"Mm. Even I wouldn't care to face that."

"Then… did the boy hide his true strength?"

"He might have. We'll know if we meet him again. That aside—shouldn't word from above be arriving about now?"

About half a ke later, a messenger from the Beggars' Guild arrived. The contents of the letter were simple.

Yeo Juga's brow furrowed.

At present, Wolyeonggwangheun was inside the Namgung Family. That meant either climbing up to the Namgung residence, or waiting for Wolyeonggwangheun to come back down to the village, seizing him, and taking him to Kaifeng.

Capturing Wolyeonggwangheun would not be easy. If they had brought the whole Hefei branch it might have been different—but right now there were only two of them.

The messenger drew a jade token from his chest.

"Please take this."

Yeo Juga's eyes wavered as he looked at the token the messenger held out.

"A Wulin Alliance Command Token…?"

"Indeed. With this, go straight up to the Namgung Family, bind Wolyeonggwangheun, and bring him to Kaifeng. Those were the orders."

"Understood. I'll do as instructed."

With that token, the Namgung Family would have no choice but to hand the man over. Yeo Juga wondered how things had come to this. Whatever the case, the matter was important enough for the Guild Master to release a Wulin Alliance Command Token.

The messenger spoke ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a note of urgency.

"Time is short—best go up to the Namgung Family at once and bring him down."

"I understand well enough. But is the matter really so urgent?"

Yeo Juga asked, puzzled.

"Not exactly… I simply thought it best to move as soon as possible, and said as much."

"I see. Tell them I'll handle that myself and they need not worry."

Whoosh!

The messenger looked as though he still had something to say, but Yeo Juga turned his head without meeting his eyes.

Word of the Huangshan Escort Agency reached the Biryujeon as well.

Uncheon…

Namgung Dongwoo, Head of the Biryujeon, found a familiar name in the report and fell into a low hum of thought. The dispatch described in detail how Uncheon had dueled Salgwangdoksa, leader of Salyeong's Salhyeoldan, and even cut off one of the man's arms.

He said he was going to Hefei. So he traveled with the Huangshan Escort Agency.

Namgung Dongwoo rose from his seat with the letter in hand. This was not something to let slide. The Biryujeon had already been investigating the case—the string of murders that had followed Wolyeonggwangheun's every step toward Huangshan.

Someone hired Salyeong… dig a little deeper and it should come out.

Leaving the Biryujeon, he headed straight for the Law Enforcement Hall with the dispatch.

"Elder Brother Hyeonwu, it's Dongwoo."

Namgung Hyeonwu looked up toward the closed door.

"Come in."

He welcomed the visitor warmly into his office.

"Younger Brother Dongwoo, good to see you."

"Elder Brother, I fear I've come too early."

"You wouldn't have come without reason."

Clearly this was no mere courtesy call. Seated across from him, Namgung Dongwoo held out a single letter he had received that morning.

"This is the report that came up this morning. Read it. You'll find it interesting."

"Interesting… now I'm curious."

Namgung Hyeonwu took the letter and scanned it swiftly. His expression turned ambiguous—half a smile, half sheer incredulity.

"…So the faction that shadowed Wolyeonggwangheun and committed the murders was Salyeong."

Namgung Dongwoo had expected him to speak of his son Uncheon first. Cold Wind Cold Heart indeed.

"So it seems. I don't know their full intent, but they appear to have targeted the Huangshan Escort Agency because of the men who last visited our family."

"If Salyeong moved, someone hired them. Which means those people know about the Baekcheon Blood Sect Incident. I should inform the Family Head."

"Understood."

Seeing that Namgung Hyeonwu still had not mentioned Uncheon, Dongwoo asked carefully,

"Will Nephew Uncheon be all right?"

"He'll manage on his own."

"Salyeong won't sit still."

"They moved in secret. Now that the rumor has spread across the Central Plains, they won't dare touch the Huangshan Escort Agency again. And even if they did, going after Uncheon would mean facing our family—too heavy a burden for them."

"True enough… but one of Salgwangdoksa's arms was cut off by our nephew. He might seek personal revenge."

"He won't rush into it. And if he does, Uncheon will have to overcome it. That is a martial artist's fate, is it not?"

Namgung Hyeonwu spoke as if it were someone else's affair, utterly unconcerned.

"I thought you were simply leaving him alone out of indifference, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Aren't you raising Nephew Uncheon a little too hard?"

"I only wish I were raising him as firmly as you say."

"Haha. Making a name for himself on the very first day of his first journey into the jianghu—how extraordinary. Fastest among all the family's younger generation. They're calling Nephew Uncheon the Cheongryu Geomhyang—Blue Stream Sword Fragrance."

"Honestly… building a reputation off a single victory. Tsk tsk. The martial world's rumors are full of exaggeration."

"Elder Brother, it wasn't just a single victory. His opponent was the assassin Salgwangdoksa. That man's martial arts stood, at the very least, between Peak and Zenith. Not an opponent one easily defeats in the first real fight of one's first journey into the jianghu."

Even as he spoke, Namgung Dongwoo felt proud.

"Hmm. Enough. Best to watch quietly. I need to see the Family Head."

"Safe travels."

Namgung Hyeonwu left the Law Enforcement Hall with the letter in hand. Alone as he walked the grounds, a faint smile touched his face.

Blue Stream Sword Fragrance… not bad. She too…

His expression hardened. If he told his wife that Uncheon had fought for his life less than a day after leaving the Namgung Family, she would worry herself to pieces until the boy returned.

Good news, yes—but best keep it secret for a while.

Dokjeonhwa sat unmoving in the guest quarters of the Huagaewon, sunk in thought. He kept turning over the Family Head Namgung Cheonwu's final words—the warning that visiting the other great families would be dangerous.

"Master, once you've begun, you have to cut even a rotten radish, don't you?"

"…I think so as well. But hearing him speak, I realize we may have been far too naive. The other families may be very different from the Namgung. They might refuse even to see us."

"…"

"It's not as though every great orthodox house will receive us fairly and with open hands. We may have been moving the wrong way all along."

Yet defying the golden-masked man's orders was no easy thing. Dokjeonhwa had his suspicions that there was more to it, but what the golden-masked man had demanded of him was not to find the Cheonhwangdo Map himself. Only to visit the six great families in turn. At the time, it had not seemed a difficult task.

Even if they held the map, he must have expected them to deny it.

Now he thought he understood why he had been told to go to the Namgung Family first—to make his presence known in the martial world so that the other families could not casually threaten him. But the Namgung Family Head's words had been different.

"Master, are you giving up on Cheonhwangdo?"

Jeong Cheong asked, restless. He believed the legend that finding Cheonhwangdo alone could make a man the greatest under heaven. And not only he—many across the Central Plains believed the same. A place said to hide the countless treasures and martial manuals privately amassed by successive lords of the ancient Central Plains Merchant State. What the disciple wanted was supreme martial arts.

"If there truly are supreme martial arts there… couldn't a man become the greatest in the martial world?"

Dokjeonhwa looked Jeong Cheong straight in the eye. He saw the greed in the young man's gaze. Ever since taking him as a disciple, they had spoken of the Cheonhwangdo Map countless times.

"You can't give it up?"

"Master, if it's possible, I want it."

"Hahaha. Yes. So do I. It would be a lie to say I have no desire for Cheonhwangdo. As you say—let's try for as long as we can."

Dokjeonhwa was afraid, but he knew he could not stop here. There was no telling what would happen if he defied the golden-masked man's command.

"May I come in?"

Just then, Namgung Hyeonwu's voice came from outside. Dokjeonhwa had been about to leave the Namgung Family; he wondered why the man had come now.

The door opened and Namgung Hyeonwu stepped in. One look at his face told them something had happened. Dokjeonhwa waited, tense, for him to speak.

"Hero Dok, we have a problem."

"What… do you mean?"

"Were you aware that murders kept occurring along the road as you came to our family?"

"Murders? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠What are you talking about?"

As Namgung Hyeonwu explained, Dokjeonhwa and Jeong Cheong stared at him in disbelief.

"It seems you truly didn't know. Not only our family but other schools have been watching closely as well."

"Lord of the Law Enforcement Hall—are you asking whether we killed those people?"

"No. I believe someone followed your movements and committed the murders. They must have had a purpose of their own, don't you think?"

Dokjeonhwa understood the implication well enough. Staging murders along the road he took to Huangshan meant the culprits likely also knew why he had come up to the Namgung Family.

"You're saying their purpose is the Cheonhwangdo Map."

"Whether it's that, or a warning not to reveal the Baekcheon Blood Sect Incident to the martial world—we can't be sure."

"…Why are you telling me this, my lord?"

"As a caution for when you leave our family. They ambushed a Huangshan Escort Agency convoy, failed, and fled."

"Have you identified them? Who are these people?"

"Salyeong's Salhyeoldan."

Dokjeonhwa and Jeong Cheong's faces hardened. If Salyeong was targeting them, they had little confidence they could simply evade them.

"It might be wise to remain at our family for a time—if you wish it."

"…I will discuss it with my disciple."

Namgung Hyeonwu stepped outside to give them room to decide. At that moment, Won Churang, deputy of the Daeyeonjeon, entered the guest quarters.

"Deputy Won, what brings you all the way here?"

"Lord of the Law Enforcement Hall—Yeo Juga, Branch Chief of the Beggars' Guild's Hefei branch, has come up to the family."

"The Beggars' Guild?"

Namgung Hyeonwu repeated, puzzled. The Hefei Branch Chief—wasn't that the Beggars' Guild man Uncheon had met in the village?

Won Churang's voice came again.

"They are at the Daeyeonjeon. You should see them, my lord."

"Did they say why they came?"

"They said they climbed up to discuss Wolyeonggwangheun."

Namgung Hyeonwu's brow twitched faintly.

"Very well. Let's go to the Daeyeonjeon."

He followed Won Churang at a quick pace toward the hall.

True to form for Beggars' Guild scroungers—come sniffing around to see if there's anything to pick up.

Having received the Guild Master's orders, Yeo Juga and Seol Jo had climbed up to the Namgung Family. There were many roads, and no guarantee Dokjeonhwa would come straight down to the village—securing him at the Namgung Family itself was the surest method.

Taking Dokjeonhwa into custody is what matters most.

The Cheonhwangdo Map once hidden in the Baekcheon Sect had vanished without a trace after that day. Dokjeonhwa was the Baekcheon Sect's sole survivor. Given that he had come to the Namgung Family—one of the six great houses that had visited Baekcheon that day—his purpose almost certainly involved the map. The trail of murders that had followed his footsteps alone reeked of suspicion.

It might even still be hidden somewhere within the old Baekcheon grounds.

Creak.

Just then, Namgung Hyeonwu opened the door and stepped inside. A sharp smell filled the reception room. One sniff was enough to know who stood before him.

Yeo Juga grinned slyly.

"We do tend to smell rather strongly. Still, no need to wrinkle your face so unkindly, is there?"

"There's no need to pretend a smell isn't there when it is. Even Beggars' Guild men, if they mean to meet someone, might at least wash so they don't reek of it."

"Hoh. Are you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠saying my person stinks?"

One of the things one must never say lightly to a Beggars' Guild martial artist was that their stench was severe.

"Judge that for yourself. If you can't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠smell it, there's no point in my saying so."

In other words: decide for yourself whether the stench comes from your body—or from the dirty work you do. Yeo Juga felt a chill of cold from the man's bearing.

So this is… Cold Wind Cold Heart.

Yeo Juga looked straight at Namgung Hyeonwu, Lord of the Law Enforcement Hall of the Namgung Family.