The Valley of Sin
Those born to excellent backgrounds who, unable to master their own natures, had simply chosen the easy path and fallen by the wayside.
At first Yeon So-hyeon's words had pierced the hearts of the Four Heroes of Yellow Lake like arrows and left them wounded. But soon they felt each word he had spoken settle into their chests like heavy stones.
At least they weren't merely pathetic types who used chivalry as an excuse to wallow in decadence, Yeon So-hyeon thought as he looked down at them sunk in silence, breathing a small inward sigh of relief.
I only stuck my nose in because I understood Elder Kong Ryang's feelings. Still, it's a relief it wasn't a complete waste of time.
The time Yeon So-hyeon had invested in them had not been particularly long. Yet considering how many plans he could conceive, formulate, review, and decide upon in that same span… it was time too precious to spend on a mere handful of "ordinary" martial artists.
The words Kong Ryang had used when introducing Yeon So-hyeon to the Four Heroes of Yellow Lake—that Yeon So-hyeon was a busy man with great affairs ahead of him who had carved out precious time to give them instruction—had been no exaggeration at all.
Rumble—
The walls to either side of the hole blasted open by Yeon So-hyeon's single fist collapsed with a resounding crash.
"...!"
Kong Dam-ung's comrades, deep in thought, jerked their heads up in surprise.
"Hmm."
When Yeon So-hyeon flicked his hand, the golden needles that had been suppressing Kong Dam-ung's pressure points were sucked into his sleeve as if by magic.
"..."
Having only been paralyzed, Kong Dam-ung—who, like his comrades, had been sunk in deep thought—let out a groan and pushed himself up, bracing on his knee. His face was still flushed and vein-marked, but it stemmed not from anger but from shame.
Rising to his feet, Kong Dam-ung first and foremost clasped his hands and offered Yeon So-hyeon a deep bow of respect.
"I have received great instruction from Great Hero Yeon."
His comrades snapped out of it at his words. They straightened their posture and formally paid their respects to Yeon So-hyeon.
"We have received great instruction."
The Four Heroes of Yellow Lake were men who could accept the criticism of Yeon So-hyeon—nearly ten years their junior—and pay him respects without awkwardness. Raising his estimation of them another notch, Yeon So-hyeon likewise clasped his hands and returned their courtesy without reservation.
"I merely stuck my nose in and spouted bitter words. If you gained anything from it, it was not my teaching but the realization you reached yourselves."
Yeon So-hyeon neither swaggered nor mocked them for having overwhelmed them with force and logic.
"Therefore, there is no need to thank me."
Kong Dam-ung shook his head.
"As the old saying goes, bitter medicine cures the disease, and words that grate on the ear are loyal counsel. Having been sternly enlightened by the instruction Great Hero has bestowed, we only hope you will accept our thanks."
Yeon So-hyeon nodded.
"I will accept your thanks."
When Yeon So-hyeon accepted their gratitude cleanly, without lingering resentment, the faces of the Four Heroes of Yellow Lake brightened somewhat.
"Great Hero Yeon. May I ask one more thing?"
Kong Dam-ung stepped forward and spoke.
"When Great Hero Yeon instructed me regarding chivalry, did you mean that the work I am to do following you from now on is related to that?"
"It is so."
"Then…"
At that, Kong Dam-ung hesitated a moment, then as usual stated his business bluntly.
"Would it be all right if my comrades walked that path with me as well?"
At his words, his comrades' gazes turned to Yeon So-hyeon. It seemed there was no need to ask their intentions separately—they were all of one mind.
"Of course."
Smiling faintly, Yeon So-hyeon clasped his hands behind his back.
"Th-thank you, Great Hero. Then, when and where should we come to see—"
"This very moment."
Yeon So-hyeon cut him off with his answer.
"Make every preparation you can, thoroughly, and board the carriage waiting outside."
"What?"
When his grandson wore a blank look, Kong Ryang—who had been watching until then—barked out sharply.
"Did you not hear what the First Young Master said?! What are you doing standing there like a fool?! Make ready at once and get into the carriage!"
At his ringing shout, not only Kong Dam-ung but his comrades as well scrambled out of the training ground in a fluster. Once they had vanished from sight, a smile returned to Kong Ryang's stern face.
"Thank you, First Young Master. Thank you."
Taking on the grandson was something Yeon So-hyeon could have simply declined. Yet Yeon So-hyeon had gone beyond accepting the grandson—he had already delivered a sharp lesson to bring him to his senses.
"It is nothing, Elder Kong."
Yeon So-hyeon said, straightening his disordered sleeve.
"Had there not been a well-polished character as the foundation, anything I did would have been no more than reading scriptures to a cow's ear. Looking at the friends he keeps as well, it is all thanks to the excellent upbringing you have given him, Elder."
At those words, Kong Ryang burst into a pleased laugh.
"Incidentally, that was truly excellent martial prowess, First Young Master. How have you hidden such skill until now and listened to that nonsense about being the Swordless One?"
Kong Ryang had not been born with the aptitude to cultivate qi, but from the experience he had accumulated over the years, he could tell that Yeon So-hyeon's skill went beyond the extraordinary. Instead of explaining the detailed circumstances, Yeon So-hyeon merely smiled.
"Thanks to that, now that I have finished my seclusion, I can aim for a somewhat more dramatic presentation, can I not?"
"Indeed, you are right."
Kong Ryang nodded repeatedly with a smile.
"Following the visit to Mount Beimang, the Valley of Sin, and now your martial arts as well."
Wearing a contented smile, he spoke as if prophesying the future that would unfold according to Yeon So-hyeon's designs.
"In just a few days, whenever two or more people of Luoyang gather, the first thing they will talk about will be you. And they will be unable to contain their desire to know the truth of those rumors!"
Had the First Young Master truly met with the former heads of the Sixteen Imperial Capital Families? By what means had the First Young Master come and gone from those families on Mount Beimang as if they were his own home? What was the First Young Master up to now in the Valley of Sin? And was the rumor true that the First Young Master known as the Swordless One possessed internal qi and had trained in martial arts? Just how extraordinary a person was this Yeon So-hyeon, that everyone was making such a fuss about him?
Speaking excitedly like a child, as if Yeon So-hyeon's affairs were his own, Kong Ryang struck his own forehead.
"Aigoo. I got carried away all by myself and have been keeping the busy First Young Master here."
"Not at all, Elder Kong."
Seated in his wheeled chair, Kong Ryang looked up at Yeon So-hyeon and asked.
"Are you heading straight for the Valley of Sin as well, First Young Master?"
"I am."
Though Yeon So-hyeon was going to that grim and dangerous place in the middle of the night, Kong Ryang—whose trust in him was as firm as diamond—clapped his hands instead.
"Excellent. When one strikes, one must strike in a frenzy."
Then he continued.
"Because the day has grown late, this old man cannot offer much immediate help, but if there is anything you need, speak freely."
"In that case, I shall ask Elder Kong for a few favors at once."
Kong Dam-ung's comrades, still in the dark as to the reason, were making their preparations with the help of the Kong family.
"For what reason on earth has Great Hero Yeon been concealing his martial arts?"
"Hmm."
In answer to the woman's question—she having roughly finished packing with the help of the Kong family maids—the man wearing a hero's headband shook his head.
"The Luoyang Sword Family is the greatest family under heaven, and they say the political terrain within it is as complex as the imperial capital's political world. For outsiders like us to chatter about it would not produce any productive conversation, I think."
"That would be so."
Nodding readily, the woman glanced at the man still sitting alone in the corner, sweating cold sweat.
"Even to my eyes, he has not a single injury and is perfectly fine, so put your mind at ease already."
The bushy-bearded man who had charged at Yeon So-hyeon and been thoroughly handled let out a groaning sound of distress.
"No, I know there are no wounds, but…"
The man with the hero's headband nodded.
"True enough—if such a vast emission of cultivated energy had flowed through one's body, there might be internal injuries that leave no visible sign. Given Great Hero Yeon's high realm, no matter how cleanly he applied his technique…"
It was something he could say because he had some expertise of his own in internal qi arts.
"I see! Then even now, it would be better to begin circulating your qi and regulating your breath…!"
The bushy-bearded man shook his head.
"I have already finished inspecting my meridians and dantian."
He wiped the sweat from his brow.
"…There was not a single problem within my body."
"Then…?"
Everyone's gazes gathered on him.
"Great Hero Yeon used that exquisite internal qi art in a single instant. Clearly that vast cultivated energy was emitted behind my back. Yet at the time, I felt nothing at all."
He raised his eyes and looked around at the group.
"Just what was that technique we witnessed?"
At those words, everyone's expressions turned blank with shock.
"Not only was there no problem left behind—he could not even feel the flow of the cultivated energy…"
Seeing even the one among them most versed in internal qi arts unable to get a handle on it, they all gave up seeking an answer. Instead, a common question rose among them.
"Just how high is Great Hero Yeon's realm…?"
The realms of the Four Heroes of Yellow Lake present here differed slightly by individual, but all of them had reached the point of at least faintly sensing the existence of the "wall" ahead.
"Is he standing right before the wall?"
"Or is he in the midst of challenging the wall?"
"…Surely he has not already crossed the wall?"
To say one had crossed the wall meant one had become a master and entered the realm of the superhuman among superhumans.
"…Even the Second Young Mistress of the Sword Family, called a genius of the age throughout the Central Plains, only crossed the wall after entering her twenties. Yet Great Hero Yeon is only seventeen this year, is he not?"
It was hard even to imagine martial talent surpassing that genius among geniuses, Heavenly Robe Without Seams Yeon Seo-rin.
"..."
Stroking his chin as he pondered Yeon So-hyeon's internal qi art, the man clicked his tongue.
"…There's no use talking about it among ourselves."
His gaze turned to Kong Dam-ung, who was grunting and struggling in the corner.
"Brother Kong, what on earth have you been straining at so hard all this time?"
"Ah, sorry."
After grunting a while longer behind the screen, Kong Dam-ung appeared before them with an utterly uncomfortable expression.
Pfft!
Even having donned the largest suit of armor kept in the estate, it could not accommodate Kong Dam-ung's giant-like frame. Looking like an adult stuffed into a child's clothes, everyone burst out laughing despite themselves.
"Brother Kong! What is that getup supposed to be?"
"Are you headed for a battlefield right now?"
At their words, Kong Dam-ung blinked his large eyes and said.
"Huh? Did I not tell you?"
He told his comrades.
"We are heading for the Valley of Sin right now."
At those words, everyone's expressions hardened. Then they all ran out calling for servants.
"Bring a suit of armor here as well! No, three suits! The sturdier the better! And a shield too, anything will do!"
"Please go check if there are any spare sabers! And we need daggers or short swords as well!"
"We don't know how to put on armor, so we need servants and maids who can handle armor right away!"
Ordinarily, Kong Dam-ung would have been unable to hold back laughter at the sight of his comrades making such a clamor. But on his face now sat only heavy tension and a cool exhilaration.
"The Valley of Sin, is it."
Stroking his chin, he muttered.
"Of all places, one of the Five Evils…"
He recalled the stories he had heard from the senior chivalrous heroes and martial artists he usually associated with.
Never approach the Five Evils.