Reverence for the Old, and an Attack on the Old
So Cheon-jeon was thrown into confusion by the scene before him. Ju Uk fared no better — he stood slack-jawed, unable to find a single word.
How in the world could anyone be so utterly, shamelessly lawless?
For a while neither of them could speak. They only watched as Yi Yeok walked out of the hall.
The moment he returned to his quarters, Yi Yeok truly began to pack.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Yi Yeok looked up. Without his ever noticing, Supreme Elder So Cheong-ha had come into the room.
Wily as he was, the old man had needed nothing more than So Cheon-jeon's brief account to grasp at once what had happened.
"Running a sect is no easy matter. There are times when you must give an order even knowing it to be unjust."
So Cheong-ha was defending the Sect Master — his son, and his disciple. Yi Yeok's face soured.
"I know. That's why I'm leaving, just as I was ordered. Isn't it?"
"Now that you've come to Nokhyeon Sect, even if you leave at once, shouldn't you leave something behind?"
Yi Yeok arched a brow.
"I'll give it back, then."
He slipped the Ring of Heaven and Earth from his finger. So Cheong-ha smiled, gentle.
"Put it away. I already gave it to you as a gift, didn't I? What I mean is this — as a wild goose leaves a trace of its passing, so should you leave a trace of your own."
Yi Yeok frowned, puzzled.
"What?"
"Life is a journey through many places. Sometimes we linger. Sometimes we simply pass on. No one can know which stop will be our last. That is why we must live leaving traces behind us. If you depart Nokhyeon Sect having left something of yourself here, the memory will be a good one — for you, and for us."
Yi Yeok thought for a moment, then nodded.
"There's sense in that. Still..."
So Cheong-ha went on.
"The Black Phoenix Hall, I mean. Of late, I'm told, they've grown active around Nokhyeon Sect and Yangcheon Sect. Wiping them out entirely would be difficult, but throwing their ranks into chaos alone would count as no small merit."
Yi Yeok's expression stayed thoroughly unimpressed.
"Not only the Black Phoenix Hall. I hear the demonic sect as a whole has been hoarding wealth for a very long time. Spirit stones alone — they've stockpiled a staggering amount..."
"I'll do it!"
Yi Yeok cut in before the elder had even finished.
"Come to think of it, defying the Sect Master's order really isn't proper, no matter the circumstances. I suppose I ought to step forward."
So Cheong-ha broke into a great, rolling laugh.
"You little scoundrel!"
He looked as delighted as a grandfather watching a grandchild show off.
"Do you covet them because spirit stones can make you stronger, or because they can be turned into silver?"
"Neither. I'm only following the Sect Master's command and setting justice to rights."
Yi Yeok said it with a thoroughly oily air.
So Cheong-ha shook his head, as if there were simply nothing to be done. All the same, he had to preserve So Cheon-jeon's face. Before the man was son or disciple, he was Sect Master of Nokhyeon Sect.
"So you've reached the Harmonizing Qi-Blood Realm. The time just after a new realm is the most dangerous of all. Arrogance is a poison that can topple even the mighty. Be prudent in all things. Whether you succeed hardly matters. What matters is that you return unharmed."
Yi Yeok ordinarily hated being lectured, yet somehow So Cheong-ha's nagging was bearable enough. He grinned.
"Right. So where am I supposed to go?"
"The exact location can't be known. All the sect knows is that the man planted by the Black Phoenix Hall is in a nearby city — Nak-wol City. Through him, you should be able to learn where the Hall lies."
"Good. That's plenty."
"Then make your preparations and go to the Pavilion of Heavenly Mandate. There you can receive the information and resources the task requires."
"No problem. I'll see it done properly, so don't worry."
At noon the next day, Yi Yeok quietly left Nokhyeon Sect.
The inner disciples who heard the news rejoiced.
Mok Geom-in, however, still looked worried.
"Will it really work out like this?"
Ju Uk answered in a calm voice.
"Orthodox sects draw on the yang qi of heaven and earth. Demonic sects, by contrast, use yin qi. If that wretch infiltrates a demonic sect, his true identity will be exposed at once."
Mok Geom-in was impressed.
"As expected of Eldest Senior Brother. To dispose of Yi Yeok without shedding a single drop of blood — truly remarkable."
Jam Yun pouted and grumbled.
"Even so, it's a shame I won't get to see that bastard die with my own eyes."
Ju Uk spoke coldly.
"So long as he dies, that is enough. Don't entertain useless thoughts."
"Then shouldn't we tighten discipline among the outer disciples again?"
"No need to rush. Once word arrives that he's dead, it won't be too late to move. Push them too hard and too soon, and the outer disciples may push back. Be careful."
"Understood. I'll do exactly as Eldest Senior Brother says."
Mok Geom-in nodded as he spoke. Jam Yun, though, wore a thoroughly dissatisfied face.
"Then my allowance is going to shrink right away, isn't it? Those sorts are useless anyway. Throw money at them and you still get nothing."
Ju Uk shot her a sidelong glance. Jam Yun ducked her head at once and could not bring herself to go on.
"We are all fellow disciples of the same sect."
Ju Uk closed his eyes and added the rest.
"The tribute isn't meant for your spending money. It is a necessary evil, to stir the disciples' will to strive."
"Yes... I understand, Elder Brother."
Jam Yun answered in a small voice.
Leaving the Heaven-Center Immortal Realm behind, Yi Yeok made for Nak-wol City, one of the cities nearest to it.
According to the information Nokhyeon Sect had given him, a member of the Black Phoenix Hall was running an inn in Nak-wol City and gathering intelligence there. If he meant to infiltrate the Hall, using that man was the surest course.
An ordinary traveler would have needed several days. Yi Yeok reached Nak-wol City before half a day had passed. The inn was not hard to find. A small signboard hung beside the entrance.
The inn was small. It seemed to employ no clerk at all; the owner ran it alone. He was a fat old man with thinning hair. Even seeing Yi Yeok come in, he stayed seated and asked with perfect indifference.
"Resting, or staying the night?"
Yi Yeok smiled, playful.
"You wouldn't happen to have a room on the road to the underworld, would you?"
It was the code Nokhyeon Sect had uncovered.
The proprietor started, but on the surface he kept a blank, unruffled face and looked Yi Yeok up and down. Blood qi brimmed in the young man, yet none of a cultivator's distinctive aura could be felt.
"The underworld is cold. Isn't the warmth of the living world the better choice?"
"I've always liked the cold. It's so hot I could cut an immortal's throat."
Only then did the proprietor rise, smiling.
"And where have you come from?"
Yi Yeok grinned. He could not tell whether the question was part of the code, or simply a question.
The proprietor's eyes flashed, keen as a dagger — nothing like those of an ordinary innkeeper.
Bang!
Yi Yeok kicked him and drove him into the opposite wall.
"You dare take that for a question you're permitted to ask?"
The old man hardly seemed shaken. He sprang to his feet, dusted himself off, and offered a cupped-fist salute, his manner grown markedly more deferential.
"Forgive me. In my shallow thinking, I have displeased you. I'll prepare a room at once and send someone."