Chapter 13
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Affectionate, and Pure
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Upon returning home, I immediately went to the training chamber, locked the door, and placed the envelope Jeong-hon had given me on the table.
It was meticulously sealed to prevent anyone from opening it in transit.
After confirming there were no signs of tampering, I tore it open from the side.
Inside was a single sheet of paper. I picked it up and read it; the message was remarkably simple.
- Codename: Affectionate.
- Contact: Pure.
You will receive necessary information through your contact.
That was it.
A dry laugh escaped me, but I understood it was a measure to maintain secrecy.
"Affectionate, of all names? Is this some kind of fate?"
During my time as the Alliance Leader, I was known as the 'Heartless Leader' for mercilessly eradicating the unorthodox sects.
It was as if fate was telling me to live a life different from the one I had known.
Setting the paper down, I found a thin manual underneath.
The Art of Disguise.
What a lazy name for a manual, I thought.
It couldn't be a supreme disguise manual; it was likely just a means to hide my true face during missions.
I calmly read through the manual.
The contents were simple, so I understood and memorized them immediately.
It was a basic disguise technique; a master martial artist would likely see through it upon close inspection.
In other words, this art of disguise was merely a substitute for a human-skin mask.
Inside, there were several other items.
A salve for external wounds, ten hundred-nyang promissory notes, a bronze plaque engraved with the word 'Affectionate', and a 100-year-old Fallopia multiflora root.
Consuming the 100-year-old Fallopia multiflora could grant up to ten years' worth of internal energy.
Though it was a precious elixir in its own right, I didn't consume it.
I decided to take it to the Full Moon Tower and sell it.
My plan was to save up money to buy and consume a proper elixir, like the Heaven and Earth Golden Spirit Herb.
The amount of internal energy gained from elixirs diminishes with each use, so consuming the best possible one was the most efficient method.
I incinerated both the disguise manual and the paper.
I put the salve, notes, plaque, and Fallopia multiflora into my pouch, left the training chamber, and headed straight for the Full Moon Tower.
The Full Moon Tower.
Elder Geum greeted me warmly.
"Hoh, a 100-year-old Fallopia multiflora. Difficult to find, but you've managed it. I'll give you thirty thousand nyang for it."
"Understood."
I nodded and entrusted the promissory notes to the bank.
"I took the Demon-Dispelling Pavilion's test, but I failed."
"I see. Congratulations."
Elder Geum offered his congratulations as if he already knew everything.
It reaffirmed my thought that I should never make an enemy of Elder Geum.
"If you ever need information, come to me. I have everything from trivial tidbits to high-level intelligence. That includes information on the Martial Arts Alliance."
"High-level intelligence must be expensive."
"Important information costs a lot to acquire. When you get entangled in the affairs of the martial world, the difference between acting with crucial information and acting without it is like the difference between heaven and earth."
I nodded silently.
Elder Geum's words were true, and I planned to buy information from him when the time came.
"What's the situation with the next Alliance Leader?"
"They're maintaining an emergency system for now, but they'll elect a new leader soon. It seems to be taking some time because the candidates' skills are all quite similar. If you want to know more than that, you'll have to pay."
"You're quite businesslike."
"It's business."
Elder Geum smiled faintly.
Hearing about the emergency system gave me a rough idea of how things would play out, so I didn't bother buying more information.
Once I attain a significant position in the Demon-Dispelling Pavilion, that level of information will come to me naturally.
Or, my abilities will be recognized, and I will naturally rise to a higher rank.
For now, I must focus on saving as much money as possible to increase my internal energy and train this body.
That was the priority.
"By the way, how did you obtain the Nine Heavens Profound Sword Art? I saw Yeon training with it briefly, and it's a remarkable high-level sword art. Is it a style used by female martial artists?"
"It is. When Sister Yeon used the Byeok Clan Sword Art, it looked as awkward as ill-fitting clothes. After some thought, I decided to teach her the Nine Heavens Profound Sword Art. It's a high-level technique, but it doesn't suit me, so I thought I'd earn some favor with it."
"I see. It was a sword art that harmonized exquisitely with an internal art based on yin energy. Thank you."
"I'm the one who should be thankful. You gave me the Heaven and Earth Golden Spirit Herb. I'll work hard to earn money, so please continue to provide me with good elixirs in the future."
"Then should I boast a little myself? Actually, someone else contacted me wanting to buy that Heaven and Earth Golden Spirit Herb. When I told them it was already spoken for, they offered to pay more, eventually saying they'd pay up to three hundred thousand nyang. It was tough turning that down. Hehe."
This was why one couldn't obtain elixirs with money alone.
Especially with elixirs like the Heaven and Earth Golden Spirit Herb, supply was limited, and many sought them, so the price varied wildly.
Sometimes, the price would skyrocket to the point where people would complain, 'Isn't this price gouging?'
If you didn't buy it because it was too expensive, someone else would snatch it up.
"I'll be in your care again."
"Of course. I'll be in your care as well. For our Yeon."
Conversations with Elder Geum were truly comfortable.
Anyone else would have pried, asking things like, 'How did you get the Nine Heavens Profound Sword Art?', but he never crossed the line.
It was Elder Geum's own ironclad rule.
I knew this well from the connection we formed during my time as the Alliance Leader.
"But you know,"
"Please, speak."
"It's strange. You've changed, but in a peculiar way. It feels like I'm dealing with a weathered, cunning old master of the martial world. Good grief. Is it time for me to retire? To get this feeling from a martial arts novice like you... Hah."
I just smiled faintly.
Though I wore the young shell of Guyang Cheon, Elder Geum's sharp senses seemed to perceive the presence hidden within.
"Having lived as a delinquent for so long, I'm now trying to live properly. The gap between the two is so vast, that must be why you feel that way."
"Is that so?"
Elder Geum just laughed.
That laugh was not one of agreement.
It meant he would be watching me more closely.
Others might not have known, but I understood perfectly.
After leaving the Full Moon Tower and returning to the clan, I devoted myself to physical conditioning and training.
Through continuous conditioning and training, this body now moved perfectly according to my will.
I could now execute the Heavenly Will Sword Art to its fullest extent.
However, with only fifty years of internal energy, it was a pity that the third form was my limit.
The first, second, and third forms I could use now were powerful, but they would become even more formidable as I increased my internal energy.
On the fifth day after returning home.
I was still engrossed in my physical training in the practice yard.
"Hmm."
While running around the practice yard at high speed, I came to a halt.
I felt someone watching me.
The feeling was not hostile, so I assumed it was my contact, Pure.
I scanned my surroundings, slowly entered my room, and then spoke softly.
"Pure."
At my word, a masked woman appeared.
Though she wore martial arts attire, I could tell she had a very slender and delicate figure.
Why would a woman like this be a contact?
The question arose for a moment, but I dismissed it.
As my eyes grew calm, a strange light flickered in hers.
"You're unusual."
"I'm no different from anyone else."
I replied calmly, meeting her gaze.
"Allow me to introduce myself formally. I am Pure, the contact for Affectionate. I will provide support for all mission-related matters. From the moment an order comes down from the Demon-Dispelling Pavilion, you can assume I will always be concealed nearby."
"What if I'm in danger during a mission?"
"If I can save you, I will. But that has never happened before. The missions are extremely difficult, so there have been many situations where I couldn't intervene. I hope you survive for a long time."
"How long did my predecessor last?"
"Two years and six months."
"Don't worry. I'll survive until you retire."
"Hohoho. You really are unusual. You might be the first newcomer in the history of the Demon-Dispelling Pavilion to speak like this. Of course, there have been others who bluffed, but it feels like you truly believe what you're saying, Lord Affectionate."
"You can believe it. I'm strong enough."
"It makes me want to believe you. No, I will believe you."
"If my abilities are recognized in the Demon-Dispelling Pavilion, do I move to the Demon-Slaying Pavilion?"
"Yes. You can refuse and remain in the Demon-Dispelling Pavilion, but since the Demon-Slaying Pavilion is a higher-ranking organization, most accept the offer to transfer."
"Since both are secret organizations that can't be revealed to the public, what does a higher rank matter? Contact me when a mission comes down."
"Fifty years of internal energy, peak-level martial prowess, specialty in swordsmanship. Master of the Ouyang Sword Art. Is that correct?"
"Correct."
"It's not my place to say, but I've heard the Ouyang Sword Art is rather ordinary. Are you perhaps hiding something?"
"Doesn't everyone hide about thirty percent of their strength? When a situation arises where I must reveal my hand, I will tell you then. As long as you can keep a secret."
"Of course. If I were to divulge what happens during a mission, I couldn't be a contact. What executioner would trust their back to a contact like that? Don't worry. I'll see you when a mission comes. Oh, and from now on, please speak comfortably with me."
After she finished speaking, she vanished without a trace.
Her concealment technique was astounding.
If not for my senses, which had reached the pinnacle, I would not have been able to detect her.
Detecting her while she was concealed would require not just internal energy, but extremely keen senses, wouldn't it?
After she left, while I was passing the time with training, a man named Man-hyeok came from the Full Moon Tower.
He was the one who handled the cleanup after I destroyed the Black Snake Tower.
"Welcome."
"Greetings, Second Young Master."
Man-hyeok treated me with extreme politeness.
After I destroyed the Black Snake Tower and killed the peak master Gwi Ryeong-ja, the way people saw me must have changed.
"If you have the time, are you interested in earning some money?"
"Has some good information come in?"
"The information fee is five hundred nyang."
That meant the Martial Arts Alliance had put a five-thousand-nyang bounty on him, so he must be a big shot.
When I nodded, he handed me an envelope and said magnanimously,
"Elder Geum said this can also be paid later. And he also said there's no cleanup fee this time."
"So it's not an organization."
I tore open the envelope and quickly read the letter.
After committing the contents to memory, I immediately burned the letter.
"I'll do it."
"Understood. I will relay your message."
Man-hyeok clasped his fists and departed.
I rose from my seat, opened the window, and stared outside, lost in thought.
This time, the target was the Taiji Sword, Do Yang.
He was originally a promising disciple of the Wudang Sect, but after getting caught up in a murder case by chance, he fully embraced the path of a villain.
He was naturally excommunicated from the Wudang Sect, but he still used his old title from his Wudang days, the Taiji Sword.
He had committed various evil deeds, the most recent being an attack on a small sect called the Jungdo Mun, where he killed four people.
"Because I was bored."
He was said to have left those words before fleeing.
"A madman like that deserves to die."
I clenched my fist and growled under my breath.
During my tenure as the Alliance Leader, I had destroyed countless villainous groups and annihilated evil men, but they just kept crawling back to plague the world.
I had felt a sense of futility at one point, but I soon overcame it.
After that, I didn't overthink things when punishing villains.
He deserves to die, so I kill him.
Thinking like that while carrying out my missions put my mind at ease.
That sentiment remains the same even now.
I tossed the paper with the description of the Taiji Sword, Do Yang, into the air.
Flash.
When had the sword even been drawn?
The paper was perfectly sliced into three vertical pieces. A truly astonishing display of skill.