Chapter 247
Chapter 247
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 247
Chapter Title: Mount Wudang Conference
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The Taiyi Sword Sect Leader paused briefly before continuing.
"As you all know, the Healing Dragon's master is the Strange Physician Yi Chung. He's often classified among the unorthodox, but he's closer to the black path than a righteous faction warrior."
"Yet he was no stranger to justice."
The Divine Monk, who had been listening, interjected with a comment, and the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader nodded before pressing on.
"I've never met this Strange Physician myself. But since none of you here are raising objections, his reputation must ring true. The issue lies in what came afterward."
The Taiyi Sword Sect Leader cleared his throat and spoke.
"Six years ago, the Healing Dragon headed to Jiyuan alongside the Strange Physician. And there, he murdered the Sword King's son—the head of the Jiyuan Baek Clan, Baek Chuso."
Jiyuan wasn't far from Henan, home to the Shaolin Temple. The Divine Monk cut in again.
"I've heard the Baek Clan head was killed. But is there proof it was the Healing Dragon's doing? If there's a witness, name him."
"There's no evidence. No witnesses either. However, with the Baek Clan's fortunes waning, hardly anyone came and went from their estate aside from the Healing Dragon and the Strange Physician. That's more than enough grounds for suspicion."
"Did the Healing Dragon and the Strange Physician ever leave the Baek Clan after its head's death? I've never heard such a tale."
". . . No, they didn't. The Baek Clan head died about half a year after the Strange Physician and Healing Dragon departed."
It was a story too flimsy to call evidence.
The several-month gap seemed instead to prove Dang Mujin and the Strange Physician's innocence, prompting jeers from some of the listeners toward the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader.
Yet the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader steadfastly continued.
"But hear the rest, and you'll understand why I harbor doubts. In the autumn of the year the Baek Clan head died, the Healing Dragon and his band killed my father—the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader at the time—on Nakgun Mountain. All to aid those reverse bandits in their lawless deeds. That's how I came to hold this grudge."
The crowd couldn't help nodding in sympathy. Who wouldn't nurse a grudge over their father's death?
Of course, they still found the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader's account lacking substance. It could all be coincidence and misunderstanding.
But the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader's words didn't end there.
"Three years later that autumn, the Healing Dragon appeared beyond the Yellow River to the north. There, he lent a hand in slaying the previous Kunlun Sect Leader, Muryangzi. By a stroke of coincidence, Muryangzi's sole disciple was the daughter of the Jiyuan Baek Clan head and granddaughter of the Sword King. Quite the curious coincidence, wouldn't you say? Almost as if the Healing Dragon bore some grudge against the Sword King, the most upright warrior of the righteous factions."
Someone challenged the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader's narrative.
"The Healing Dragon is barely in his late twenties. How could he hold a grudge against the Sword King, who died over twenty years ago?"
The Taiyi Sword Sect Leader didn't rebut the point and simply continued.
"Then set aside the grudge and hear me out. That very winter, after Muryangzi's murder and the burning of the Bone-Shedding Pavilion, the Healing Dragon showed up at the Luoyang Sima Clan. Not long after, the Sima Clan was wiped out."
The Divine Monk, listening, showed his displeasure.
"I can't go into details here, but I saw with my own eyes the insidious evils the Sima Clan was perpetrating. Are you suggesting the Shaolin Temple abandoned its righteousness and joined in annihilating the Sima Clan?"
"Not at all. No righteous warrior would doubt Shaolin. I'm merely saying the Healing Dragon's movements strike me as extraordinarily coincidental. Not even four years after he left the martial world, four righteous sects and clans have crumbled."
The Taiyi Sword Sect Leader's tale hinted at the possibility that Dang Mujin had deceived Shaolin and dragged the Sima Clan to ruin.
By this point, an uneasy feeling had settled over the listeners.
Jiyuan Baek Clan, Taiyi Sword Sect, Kunlun Sect, Sima Clan. Four places entangled with Dang Mujin had suffered devastating blows or total collapse.
Each incident alone might seem unremarkable, but four coincidences in a row? That defied belief.
Even assuming pure chance, there was no guarantee a fifth wouldn't strike in the righteous martial world, already tangled with the Demonic Cult.
Worse still, the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader's story wasn't over.
"About a year later, a bizarre letter spread across the Central Plains. I assume you've all seen it. It claimed the unorthodox leader Blood Rain Guest sought a new path in life, and any with objections should gather at the Dang Family Manor."
This time, anger flashed across the faces of Qingcheng Sect's Young Heo-ja and Emei Sect's Fragrant White Nun. Doubting that incident was little different from doubting Qingcheng and Emei.
Before Fragrant White Nun could snap, the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader swiftly continued.
"That may be so. Guiding unorthodox warriors is much the same as what Kunlun does. But being narrow-minded, I couldn't shake my suspicions and traveled all the way to Sichuan. What I witnessed there stunned me."
Young Heo-ja closed his eyes. He could guess what came next.
"There, I saw the Demonic Cult's transcendent master, Three-Eyed Flame. And that wasn't all. I clearly saw numerous Demonic Cult elites staying at the Dang Family Manor. I stake my life on it."
This wasn't widely known. Only warriors from sects friendly with Dang Mujin were privy, and even they kept it hushed.
Clear suspicion etched onto the faces of those without ties to Dang Mujin.
"Of course, that could be coincidence too. But string it all together, and it's downright eerie. Without intent, he's toppled four righteous sects and clans, sheltered unorthodox warriors, and consorts with Demonic Cult fighters. Curiously, he's the sole witness to the Demonic Cult's changes from within and the one insisting we unite to strike them. Doesn't this strike you as the least bit odd? It's worth questioning at least once."
Finally, the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader emphasized his point.
"And lastly, I'll pose a more fundamental question. Is it truly right to call that man there—the Healing Dragon—a righteous faction warrior?"
The Taiyi Sword Sect Leader smiled with serene relief, as if ready to die content in this hall, while Dang Mujin pressed his throbbing temples.
'He's weaving quite the web.'
He could explain each point if pressed, but where to even start?
Over the past few years, Dang Mujin's life had been more tumultuous than anyone's.
Even if he explained, he couldn't be sure of dispelling everyone's doubts. Suspicion was like a weed with endless roots—uproot it, and it grew back.
The Taiyi Sword Sect Leader knew this, which was why he was satisfied with the current state.
Those gathered for the conference turned to Dang Mujin. Their gazes held a hazy fog.
Even Kunlun Sect's Yu Yu Taoist looked flustered. If Dang Mujin had lied, there'd be no cause to strike the Demonic Cult first.
Hyun-gong pondered this and that before glancing at Young Bo True Man.
Young Bo True Man waited silently, as if refusing to judge the rights and wrongs here.
He had overlooked the previous Taiyi Sword Sect Leader's grudge not because he favored one side, but out of respect for the life-or-death duel between the prior Taiyi Sword Sect Leader and Dang Mujin.
"I'll say a word—"
As Dang Mujin sighed deeply, preparing his defense, a calm voice from beside him cut him off.
"So what of it?"
Dang Mujin turned to the voice's owner. It was Numinous Glow Sword Yu Jin-gwang. Yu Jin-gwang rose before Dang Mujin could.
"I don't know the details of everything. But one thing in your tale I know for certain: the Kunlun incident can't be pinned on the Healing Dragon. I killed Muryangzi myself, and Kunlun warriors—not Dang Mujin—torched the Bone-Shedding Pavilion."
"But—"
As the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader tried to counter, Yu Jin-gwang's index finger pointed at him.
The Taiyi Sword Sect Leader instinctively stiffened. It wasn't mere intimidation. The finger resembled an arrow, poised to pierce his throat at any moment.
Yu Jin-gwang said,
"Shut your mouth. The Healing Dragon and I have listened to your long-winded nonsense."
Yu Jin-gwang began walking slowly among the crowd.
Before explaining, he snorted derisively and stroked his jaw and cheek with his right hand.
"It's a bit awkward saying this of a man I killed, but Muryangzi was something of a bastard. Worth killing, so I did. No regrets. The Healing Dragon gets it. Anyone got beef? Speak up. We'll step outside the Sword Lake and settle it."
Yu Jin-gwang said this while eyeing Kunlun Sect Leader Baek Ya-hyo.
It was a brazen stance that would shock anyone, arrogant enough to seem utterly dismissive. Yet Baek Ya-hyo's face held not displeasure, but pure intrigue.
Yu Jin-gwang pressed on even more forcefully.
"The Healing Dragon killed the Sword King's son? Must've had reason. Anyone here still care about the Sword King's son or the Jiyuan Baek Clan these days? I've heard tales of him as a wastrel who ruined his house, though."
Yu Jin-gwang's voice carried an aura that dominated the hall.
Even without that, it was juicy gossip worth pairing with drinks. The crowd leaned in.
"The Sima Clan wiped out? Sounds like they were a handful of troublemakers. Didn't even the Divine Monk say their sins warranted it? And finally, Taiyi Sword Sect? Taiyi Sword Sect Leader? First I've heard of 'em. But trash enough to rank with the other three, no doubt."
"You dare!"
As the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader spat out, Yu Jin-gwang glared at him. The Taiyi Sword Sect Leader faltered again before that murderous gaze.
"If a blacksmith hammers something, it's bound to be iron. If a swordsman swings something, sweating buckets, it's bound to be a sword. If a man clears out three piles of trash and goes for another, high odds it's more trash. That's the way of the world."
It was such an absurd line of sophistry that the listeners burst into laughter without exception. Hyun-gong was no different.
Just as Dang Mujin had been pondering his defense, Hyun-gong had been mulling how to back him.
The tongue was sharper than any sword in the world, after all—blocking it took equal effort.
Yet Yu Jin-gwang didn't lead with Hyun-gong's cunning precision.
He wasn't one to compromise when something grated.
Nor did he fuss over reputation or fret minor scrapes like a commoner.
Yu Jin-gwang was a warrior who believed that if the foe drew a sword, you countered with a sharper, swifter one.
That very directness let his words pierce deep. Everyone here was a martial artist, after all.
Yu Jin-gwang addressed Kunlun Sect Leader Baek Ya-hyo and the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader.
"Must sting. If you can't agree, say so here. Convince me now. Fail, and we'll step outside the Sword Lake. No need for convincing on the way back."
The Taiyi Sword Sect Leader's hands trembled with fear and rage.
He'd come prepared to die, but his tongue wouldn't move. Alongside fear came an unbearable humiliation.
This was grossly rude even to Baek Ya-hyo of Kunlun, who had lost his predecessor.
Baek Ya-hyo smiled faintly and replied to Yu Jin-gwang.
"I've heard of Jeomchang Sect warriors, but not to this degree. A sect leader shouldn't spout such recklessness, no? The lives hanging on your tongue aren't just one or two."
Baek Ya-hyo's words coiled around Yu Jin-gwang like a serpent's tongue.
Yet Yu Jin-gwang merely grinned.
"Jeomchang's always been this way. Never backing down, never taking back words. Never dodged danger with tricks. And yet Jeomchang survives, its lineage enduring. Two reasons."
Yu Jin-gwang raised his fisted hand. His index finger extended.
"First, we know what's right."
His middle finger followed.
"Second, we know who to trust."
Yu Jin-gwang returned to his seat beside Dang Mujin.
"Jeomchang warriors need nothing more. Not rookies fresh to the sect, not even me as leader. The rest is petty survival scheming. I trust my eye for people. Jeomchang would stand by the Dang Family Head even if the world turned foe."
The crowd mulled Yu Jin-gwang's words, then the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader's.
They looked to Dang Mujin, retracing the situation from the start.
As always, judgment was theirs alone.
Yet no one raised counterarguments before Yu Jin-gwang.
Even those unconvinced held their tongues. Martial artists had but one life.
Pleased by the silence, Yu Jin-gwang smiled contentedly.
Finally, he pointed at the Taiyi Sword Sect Leader and declared.
"And one last thing. You, Taiyi Sword Sect Leader Yang or whatever. The moment you leave Wudang Sect, a blade pierces your heart."