Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Point Star Sect
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The Point Star Sect's dire financial situation was regrettable, but looking at it coldly, it was their problem, not Dang Mujin's.
Even without money, the Point Star Sect's swords remained swift and sharp, so Dang Mujin's group was safe within the walls of the Yu Manor.
But Dang Mujin could not be satisfied with mere safety. His goal went beyond shaking off Salmak—he aimed to completely dismantle it. He had no intention of sharing the same sky with those who had murdered Gwi-ui.
There were two problems. His skills were insufficient to confront Salmak right now, and gathering information on them was difficult.
Skills were something he couldn't help at the moment, but information could be collected bit by bit starting now.
Dang Mujin sought out Yu Manor Lord Yu Jingwang and asked if he knew anything about Salmak.
It was a relatively safe choice, as there was no way a peak expert of the Point Star Sect would be connected to Salmak.
"Salmak? As far as I know, there's no Salmak branch in the nine ports. Yunnan is also a region where Salmak's reach doesn't extend well. Why not head to a slightly larger city, make contact with a Salmak branch there, and work your way up?"
"That seems to be the only way. It's not something we can rush into right away."
"If you have connections to the Beggars' Sect, asking them would be a good option too. Few possess as much information as they do."
Dang Mujin's Beggars' Sect contacts amounted to just Hong Geolgae, whom he could call a friend.
But another person came to mind. Chungking's Red-Faced Wild Chicken. Ha Ryeong might be able to obtain information from the Beggars' Sect through the Red-Faced Wild Chicken. The Haomun had plenty of people, so someone there might know something.
Dang Mujin visited an official, slipped him a fair amount of money, and dispatched a messenger pigeon to Chungking.
*
Some time passed before a messenger pigeon arrived from Ha Ryeong.
The message was straightforward. She had no information at present but would look into it starting now.
That made sense. To someone of Ha Ryeong's caliber, Salmak wasn't a special concern. Salmak wouldn't send assassins after a transcendent expert like her.
Time slipped by uneventfully, and Dang Mujin's group grew accustomed to life in the Yu Manor.
The one who showed the most progress during this time was Chu Sam.
Under Dang Mujin's guidance, Chu Sam's medical skills advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching a level where he could hold his own as a physician anywhere. The issue had been a lack of teachers and insight, but his efforts up to now weren't wasted.
Dan Seolyeong spent her time as always, tinkering with all sorts of curious contraptions.
The Point Star Sect warriors in the Yu Manor showed more interest in Dan Seolyeong—the only woman visible within the walls—than in her ingenious inventions.
But no one dared approach her boldly. The sweet atmosphere flowing between her and Dang Mujin was obvious even to the most oblivious.
Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong trained their martial arts regardless of location. Occasionally, they sparred with the Point Star Sect warriors.
However, Namgung Myeong and Dang Mujin's progress were worlds apart.
Namgung Myeong's achievements grew daily, but Dang Mujin was stuck in a frustrating rut.
He was definitely gaining from his efforts, but a strong conviction told him that this simple training alone wouldn't break through the wall to peak realm. Even during practice, a stuffy feeling lingered in his chest.
Dang Mujin clashed wooden swords with Namgung Myeong, then tossed his aside and said,
"Now I understand why they call peak realm a wall. I just can't get a feel for it."
"Finally accepting and acknowledging the gap between us, huh?"
"Not that. It's like everything's clogged up."
Namgung Myeong shrugged.
"I know the feeling. I've dealt with it for years."
"Any advice for a future peak expert?"
"Advice for a second-rate nobody... In my case, shaking off what was holding me back was key."
"Holding me back?"
Namgung Myeong elaborated.
"I thought I was ready to reach peak realm years ago. Like a ripe seedpod about to burst. But it never did, until I realized what was binding me. Cutting off my fears and attachments let me advance to the next stage."
"Do I need to shake something off too?"
"No. Don't take it to heart. Everyone's story is different. Some overcome their shortcomings, others let go of greed. Plenty break through for reasons they don't even understand. Getting impatient won't help. If you could figure it out easily, you wouldn't be a second-rate nobody..."
Vague, hard-to-grasp advice. Dang Mujin didn't enter the reception hall but swung his sword under the moonlight for a long while. Yet he felt no special change.
*
Then one night, Dang Mujin awoke to a strange intuition. It was a sensation he rarely felt while staying at the Yu Manor.
He sat up and glanced beside him. In the darkness, another figure rose—Namgung Myeong had sensed something too.
Without a word, they stepped outside and scanned the surroundings. They spotted the back of a black-clad figure leaping over the wall and fleeing.
"...Salmak?"
Just to be sure, Dang Mujin quickly checked the next room. Fortunately, Dan Seolyeong was fast asleep, with no signs of anyone entering or leaving.
This was actually perfect. A chance to tail Salmak. Dang Mujin said to Namgung Myeong,
"Let's follow."
Namgung Myeong naturally handed Dang Mujin a mask. They donned them and trailed the black-clad figure at a safe distance.
The figure seemed unaware of being followed, moving leisurely enough for Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong to observe closely. Several oddities stood out.
Unlike other Salmak assassins, the figure carried no weapons—just a small pouch at the waist.
Moreover, the movements and lightness skill were strangely familiar. It was the Point Star Sect's Flowing Cloud Movement Technique, used by the Yu Manor warriors.
Dang Mujin felt his blood run cold.
"Could Salmak have infiltrated the Point Star Sect itself?"
"No idea. Can't rule it out."
The black-clad figure reached the village outskirts and slipped into a shabby roadside inn without checking around.
It was a small place selling only simple food, no lodging, yet light leaked from within despite the late hour.
Considering that food-focused inns closed at sundown, it was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong pressed against the outside wall.
The windows were boarded up, blocking the view, but they had keen hearing.
From inside came only low murmurs of men, clattering and bumping sounds, soft sighs. Nothing to guess what was happening.
"No clue at all."
"Let's wait a bit more."
After a moment, the door burst open, and the black-clad figure emerged.
Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong suppressed their presence and waited, then charged when the figure had moved a short distance from the inn.
"Stop!"
The figure fumbled at the waist in panic upon seeing them, but found no weapon.
He unleashed a highly skilled fist-and-leg technique to shake them off, but facing two armed opponents alone was tough.
As Namgung Myeong, seizing the advantage, moved to subdue him, the figure threw himself backward and cried,
"Wait—Young Hero Namgung and Young Hero Dang?"
"Sharp eyes. Salmak lackey. Shall we see the face under that mask?"
"What?"
The figure ripped off his own mask. A familiar face appeared—Yu Manor Lord Yu Jingwang. Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong were stunned.
"Trying to take over the Point Star Sect with Salmak's help? These are end times."
"Salmak? Insulting me?!"
Yu Jingwang shouted with a flushed face, but it didn't sway Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong.
"We saw you sneaking around in black garb, entering a Salmak branch. No use denying it."
"What? That inn has nothing to do with Salmak. You've got the wrong idea."
"Still making excuses after being caught."
"Excuses...? If you don't believe me, follow me."
Yu Jingwang sighed lightly, redonned his mask, and headed back to the inn.
Light still seeped from within, and the presence of people seemed to have increased.
Yu Jingwang flung open the door. Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong gripped their sword hilts against possible ambush, but the scene inside was utterly different from what they'd imagined.
Some wore masks or disguises, others showed bare faces.
The door made a loud noise, but those at the tables, engrossed in their activity, didn't even glance at the trio.
Dang Mujin looked at what they were doing. Some rolled dice, others clutched short wooden plaques. It was a gambling den.
A man guarding the interior spotted Yu Jingwang and said,
"What? Back already? Come to squeeze Kaepyeong?"
"No. Just had to handle something briefly."
"Something? Wait, why are those two behind you holding swords?"
"Don't worry. It's not what you think."
Yu Jingwang exchanged a few words with the men inside, closed the door, and stepped out.
Dang Mujin didn't know why Yu Jingwang frequented a gambling den, but at least it wasn't Salmak. He removed his mask and said,
"Sorry for the misunderstanding. But given the circumstances..."
"I understand. Just no more misunderstandings like this."
Yu Jingwang replied in an irritated tone.
The three removed their masks and trudged back to the Yu Manor. The atmosphere was intensely awkward, oddly subdued.
To be precise, Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong were merely embarrassed, but Yu Jingwang's expression was profoundly dark.
At first, they thought it was resentment from the misunderstanding, but it wasn't. Less anger, more gloom.
To break the ice, Dang Mujin asked Yu Jingwang,
"...Out of curiosity, Manor Lord Yu, what business did you have at the gambling den?"
"For the future of the Point Star Sect."
Yu Jingwang shut his mouth after that.
Dang Mujin noticed the pouch at Yu Jingwang's waist fluttering lightly. He'd lost money at the tables.
The source was obvious—the earnings from the Yu Escort Agency.
While Dang Mujin let it pass, Namgung Myeong was deeply displeased. A leader squandering his subordinates' hard-earned money at gambling.
Namgung Myeong called him out, uncharacteristically prickly.
"Why is the Point Star Sect's future in a gambling den? I heard even the previous sect leader, Flashsword Yu Gwan-il, suffered major losses from gambling. Don't repeat foolish mistakes."
In that instant, Yu Jingwang's demeanor shifted. He shook off his slumped posture, glaring at Namgung Myeong with blazing eyes.
"Don't spout nonsense. My father was not wrong."
"Your father?"
Dang Mujin realized that both previous Point Star Sect Leader Yu Gwan-il and Yu Jingwang shared the Yu surname. They were father and son.
"My father was the most upright Point Star warrior. He gave his all, but the results were regrettable."
"...What does an upright Point Star warrior have to do with gambling?"
"That's because you don't know Point Star martial arts."
Yu Jingwang pointed at Namgung Myeong.
The essence of Point Star martial arts is straightness and speed. Projecting one's entire life into a single thrust without the slightest hesitation, pouring everything out. That is the spirit of the Point Star Sect. There are no feints or tricks in Point Star martial arts.
Those who follow Hou Yi, who shot down the suns, are the Point Star warriors, and their symbolic sword arts are two.
The Sun-Shooting Sword Method, centered on ultra-swift thrusts, and the Light-Splitting Thirty-Six Swords, boasting speed that could slice light itself.
As Yu Jingwang said, both were renowned as the purest sword forms, free of any flourishes.
Yu Jingwang muttered with utter conviction.
"My father met a regrettable end, but I will succeed."
"...Can't you find another way besides gambling?"
"Choosing another path means retreating, and retreating means defeat. But if you don't retreat, it's not defeat. My father did not lose, and I have a duty to prove his way."
A mad gleam beyond mere determination flickered in Yu Jingwang's eyes.
It could be the gaze of a warrior upholding the Point Star faith, or a son reclaiming his father's honor—or just an addict seeking excuses.
Suddenly, Dang Mujin recalled the story of the previous sect leader's disappearance.
'The previous leader already retreated, didn't he...?'
But voicing it would make them blood enemies, so Dang Mujin stayed silent, listening to Namgung Myeong and Yu Jingwang.
"Is defeat the issue? Losing your subordinates' blood-and-sweat earnings on a single roll of dice. Aren't you ashamed?"
"If it were secret, maybe. But everyone knows. And everyone agrees."
Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong were silently shocked as Yu Jingwang continued.
"To fund the Point Star Sect with Yu Escort Agency earnings would take over fifty years. It means the Point Star Sect can't escape its shackles until we die of old age."
"Hmm."
"But if we pool a month's earnings and win a few gambles, we can save the crisis-stricken Point Star Sect. That is the straightest path, the swiftest path—the way for Point Star warriors unafraid of defeat."
"...But you've failed repeatedly so far, haven't you?"
Without a shred of doubt, Yu Jingwang smiled hopefully.
"Next time, I can win. Feels good."