The Green Forest King (3)
The form Cheonhwa unleashed was basic, almost simple in its construction.
Yet the countless repetitions that had polished every motion to a seamless finish revealed a foundation of iron, and the threefold-layered internal energy he poured into the strike transformed it into genuine sword force. Against an ordinary first-class martial artist, the blow would have been nearly impossible to block.
But his opponent was a Peerless Expert who shook the jianghu alone. There was no reason something so modest should have cracked his protective aura.
…Or so it should have been.
Crack!
A hairline fracture spidered across the inner-energy barrier of the Green Forest King’s Tiger King Armor Hide Art. It was the result of Cheonhwa’s threefold true qi seeping into the protective force. In the same instant, the immense qi the king had been suppressing erupted from the fissure, and Cheonhwa, catching that tidal wave head-on, was hurled backward through the air.
“Keugh?!”
Exposed to a Peerless Expert’s aura, Cheonhwa spat blood. Startled by the unexpected turn, both the Green Forest King and Okwon Jinin rushed to his side and checked his condition. Fortunately the internal injuries were not deep; the threefold-layered internal force had offset some of the blast. Even so, the Green Forest King’s energy had already seeped into his body like a layered internal method. Without prompt treatment, the damage would only worsen.
“I will deal with the true qi that has invaded him.”
“I will cycle the Greater Heavenly Circulation and restore his body.”
Two Peerless Experts closed in and began treatment at once. The Green Forest King converted the Mountain Lord’s Majestic Qi that had permeated Cheonhwa’s meridians into pure natural qi—an instantaneous change of a true qi’s very nature, a divine skill possible only for one who had reached that realm. At the same time Okwon Jinin refined that natural qi into Hyeoncheon-jingi and circulated it through every vessel and meridian in Cheonhwa’s body, slowly mending the internal wounds—something impossible unless both men cultivated the same lineage of heart method.
Cheonhwa responded to their treatment by following the Greater Heavenly Circulation himself, even drawing up the residual efficacy of the Plum Fragrance Pill still in his system. In the process his mastery of Hyeoncheon-jingi began to climb at a startling rate—a resonance with a kindred heart method of far higher attainment, a stroke of fortune. Even the two Peerless Experts treating him were astonished by a phenomenon neither had ever witnessed.
What should have finished within the span of a single stick of incense stretched on for nearly two hours. When the treatment ended and Cheonhwa opened his eyes, a single moment of inner observation told him exactly what had changed.
My body feels light. The meridians have widened far beyond what they were, and the flesh itself is tougher. And Hyeoncheon-jingi has reached the realm of Minor Completion…
He had grown in every direction. Grateful for the unexpected opportunity, Cheonhwa rose and bowed to the two masters.
“Thank you for saving my life.”
“When a disciple of the sect is injured, how could the Sect Leader simply stand and watch?”
“Your injury was my mistake. Helping with the treatment was only natural.”
Okwon Jinin accepted the thanks with a gentle smile, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. The Green Forest King waved a hand, insisting he had merely made good on his own blunder.
“Still, I never expected the Green Forest King—who claimed he would take full responsibility for any injury—to end up like this.”
Okwon Jinin looked at the Green Forest King with a smiling face, yet his eyes did not smile at all. A fierce pressure rolled toward the other man. Cheonhwa, seeing this side of his Sect Leader for the first time, could only feel bewildered. The Green Forest King, however, received the oncoming force with calm indifference and spoke.
“I will not deny the mistake. So, while I hesitate to call it compensation, I did some work on his body and meridians. Well? Does it suit you?”
“I can feel that I am stronger than before.”
“You would. It is no different from receiving the Opening Meridians and Passing Acupoints treatment. Once you step into real combat, the difference will be even clearer.”
Cheonhwa turned to Okwon Jinin, whose pressure was still sharp enough to cut.
“I am fine, Sect Leader. It was an accident, not deliberate. Please set aside your anger.”
“…Since you put it that way, I will let it pass this once.”
At Cheonhwa’s persuasion, Okwon Jinin withdrew his force. The Green Forest King stroked the thick beard on his chin and regarded Cheonhwa for a long moment. Then, as if settling on a decision, a deep smile curved his lips and he addressed Okwon Jinin.
“Zhongnan Sword Star, there is one proposal I would like to make.”
“Speak.”
“I want this boy included in the business of stabbing the Muksang Sect in the back.”
The unexpected suggestion left Okwon Jinin and Cheonhwa himself staring at the Green Forest King in open shock.
“A moment ago you inflicted internal injuries on the child, and now you mean to hand him a dangerous task as well?”
“But my instinct is telling me that if we put him in, the matter will go smoothly.”
Even under Okwon Jinin’s cutting question, the Green Forest King answered with shameless composure. The instinct of a Peerless Expert bordered on foresight; it was not something one could casually ignore.
“Besides that, I have taken a liking to the boy. Who would have thought he could crack a protective aura with a layered internal method? It borders on a miracle.”
“You mean the form from the Heavenly Cloud Mountain, I take it. Certainly the result surprised this old man as well.”
Heavenly Cloud Mountain—one of the forms of the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven. A defense-breaking technique that applied a layered internal method to disrupt an opponent’s protective aura. Originally meant for long engagements, gradually eroding the enemy’s guard, Cheonhwa had used threefold-layered power to scar a Peerless Expert’s barrier in a single stroke. Okwon Jinin himself could not help but marvel at the growth.
Softened by the praise, Okwon Jinin spoke in a milder tone.
“I understand what you are saying. But in a matter of this kind, is not the opinion of the person concerned the most important?”
Both Peerless Experts’ gazes settled on Cheonhwa. Suddenly handed a proposal of this magnitude, he had no idea how to respond.
How did it come to this?
Honestly, he was struggling to keep up with the situation at all. The mere fact that the chieftain of the Green Forest—one of the great pillars of the unorthodox path—had entered a temporary alliance with the Zhongnan Sect, a pillar of the orthodox world, was enough to make his head spin. On top of that, a Peerless Expert of the Green Forest had praised him for smashing the Yeonggang mountain stronghold, offered instruction in the form of a sparring match, and was now proposing to insert him into some operation Cheonhwa did not even understand. He was developing a headache trying to make sense of any of it.
“…First, please explain.”
The two Peerless Experts readily laid out the situation.
“So you want me included in the joint operation of the Zhongnan Sect and the Green Forest to strike the Muksang Sect.”
“Exactly so.”
“And the reason is purely instinct…”
“Do not take it lightly simply because the grounds are instinct. Once a man reaches the level of a Peerless Expert, his martial cultivation is complete to this point—” The Green Forest King tapped his temple with a thick finger. “—the Upper Dantian in the head is refined, the spirit grows, and one gains an instinct that borders on foresight. And that instinct is shouting at me to put you into this operation.”
Cheonhwa felt the stubbornness in the Green Forest King’s gaze. The man had clearly decided he would force Cheonhwa into the affair one way or another.
It would be a lie to say I am not interested.
The Muksang Sect’s practice of using the Yeonggang mountain stronghold to kidnap people for human trafficking was something he genuinely despised. If they were offering him the chance to stop that evil with his own hands, what reason did he have to refuse?
After careful thought, Cheonhwa accepted the Green Forest King’s proposal.
“I will do it.”
“A good choice.”
The Green Forest King nodded and looked to Okwon Jinin. The Sect Leader stroked his beard and asked Cheonhwa with worried eyes,
“Will you be all right?”
“Since it has come to this, I mean to see it through to the end.”
“If that is your will, I will respect it. As Sect Leader of Zhongnan, I grant permission. Go and try.”
“I will give it my best.”
And so, on the Green Forest King’s recommendation, Cheonhwa joined the operation to suppress the Muksang Sect.
Bearing a sealed letter stamped with the Sect Leader’s personal seal, Cheonhwa made for Hanzhong. There, second-generation disciples of the Zhongnan Sect and members of the Beggars’ Sect had their heads together, searching for a way to draw the Muksang Sect into the open. Aside from the ledgers recovered from the Yeonggang mountain stronghold, they had no solid leads, and progress had stalled.
Cheonhwa’s sudden arrival startled the second-generation disciples and the Beggars’ Sect alike.
“Junior Brother Cheonhwa, what brings you here?”
“I have come to deliver a letter from the Sect Leader, along with important information concerning the Muksang Sect.”
When they examined Okwon Jinin’s letter, the contents left everyone speechless with shock.
“A temporary pact with the Green Forest to suppress the Muksang Sect?!”
“And the Green Forest King proposed it first?!”
“The Green Forest King recommended Junior Brother Cheonhwa for the operation—what on earth is this?!”
One extraordinary revelation after another left the company dazed for a long moment. The Green Forest King was known among Peerless Experts as one of the more restless types, but no one had imagined he would visit the Zhongnan Sect in person.
The first to recover their wits were Muwol and Gupung, both of whom chose to view the development in a positive light.
“It is unexpected, but not a bad situation.”
“I agree. We have been fretting without so much as a clue; if we can obtain information through the Green Forest, that is something at least.”
The Green Forest was one of the six great unorthodox sects, the strongest powers of the heretical path. It would not be strange for them to possess knowledge the orthodox world lacked. Relying on the unorthodox side left a sour taste, yet given the Green Forest King’s open-handed nature, he was unlikely to reverse his word midway.
“So what is this important information the Green Forest provided?”
“Information on Seo Mun-il, who oversees the Hanzhong branch of the Muksang Sect.”
At Cheonhwa’s words every expression sharpened. Seo Mun-il was the principal culprit behind the human trafficking, the very mastermind whose trail they had been hunting—and whose whereabouts they had never managed to pin down.
“According to the Green Forest’s intelligence, Seo Mun-il will soon hold an auction on the Han River in Yeonggang County.”
“The Han River—the tributary of the Yangtze also called the Han Jiang?”
“Yes. I am told it will take place aboard a pleasure boat bound for the Yangtze.”
“No wonder we could not get a scrap of information. They have been conducting the business on the river itself.”
There might be beggars in every corner of the Central Plains, but even the Beggars’ Sect could not place people on every ship. Gupung sighed at how neatly their blind spot had been exploited. Muwol nodded in agreement.
“Looking at it now, buying out the mountain stronghold in Yeonggang County was for this purpose as well.”
“They meant to use the Yeonggang mountain stronghold to supply kidnapped victims for the trafficking, load them straight onto the pleasure boat on the Han River, and run the auction from there.”
Even black-market merchants, it seemed, took care to shorten their distribution routes as much as possible.
“In that case, even getting aboard the pleasure boat becomes a problem.”
“Quite so. This is outside the Beggars’ Sect’s specialty, and if the vessel belongs to the Muksang Sect, the checks will be thorough.”
Members of the Beggars’ Sect stood out by nature, and the Zhongnan second-generation disciples, while not famous across the entire jianghu, still had faces that were known in certain circles. For this operation they needed someone whose face was not yet recognized.
That was when Cheonhwa made a proposal.
“If you need an unknown face, what about me?”
“That… is a solid idea. Not bad at all.”
Gupung and the others took the suggestion favorably. Unlike the rest of them, Cheonhwa had only just stepped into the jianghu; relatively little information about him would have circulated. Even the Muksang Sect was unlikely to know him in any detail.
The matter of who would infiltrate the pleasure boat was settled, yet other problems still remained.
“How do you intend to obtain a boarding ticket for the pleasure boat?”
“Do not worry about that. A snake knows a snake’s path. There is a suitable place.”
Alongside the Beggars’ Sect, one of the two great information organizations of the jianghu—the great sect that walked the line between orthodoxy and heresy.
“We will board the pleasure boat through the Hao Sect.”