Chapter 258
Chapter 258
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 258
Chapter Title: Dang Family Manor
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The martial artists who had gathered in search of the manual listened to the Kongtong Sect's plight and felt sympathy and pity. Half of it was sorrow for the tragedy they had endured, and the other half was worry for their future.
However, it didn't take long for the joy of finding the manual and the pity for the Kongtong Sect to turn into a massive sense of unease.
Orthodox warriors were like grains of sand by nature—they rarely formed groups easily.
That was why the Kongtong Sect hadn't been too concerned about the influx of unorthodox warriors and had accepted them.
But as Daoist Sanggwal had described, the unorthodox warriors had clearly infiltrated the Kongtong Sect with a plan.
This meant that the unorthodox martial world had begun to organize and move systematically.
And when unorthodox martial artists formed groups and even built organizations, things usually flowed in one direction.
The Great War between Righteous and Unorthodox.
No one said it aloud, but everyone knew it at the same time.
A Righteous-Unorthodox War might break out soon.
'What should we do?'
'We need to return to our sects and report this first.'
Everyone's minds grew complicated.
What was interesting was that the central and eastern sects, which had shown lukewarm reactions to attacking the Demonic Cult just a short while ago, were now even more urgent. If a Righteous-Unorthodox War broke out, they would suffer the greatest losses.
On the other hand, the Qingcheng Sect, Emei Sect, and Kunlun Sect, which had been concerned about the Demonic Cult, were likely to overcome a Righteous-Unorthodox War without much difficulty.
The Qingcheng Sect and Emei Sect could block unorthodox warriors' assaults with the natural fortress of the Sichuan Basin, and the Kunlun Sect was simply too far removed to get entangled in a fight with the unorthodox.
In other words, roles had reversed in an instant. The sects and clans that had been lukewarm toward the Righteous-Demonic War would now have to seek help from the Qingcheng Sect, Emei Sect, and Kunlun Sect.
Naturally, everyone's gazes turned to Dang Mujin.
Who else but Dang Mujin was the most reliable bridge to the Qingcheng Sect and Emei Sect?
Their earnest feelings were evident even in the titles they used for him, like "Dang Clan Head."
"Look here, Dang Clan Head."
"I am not the Dang Clan Head. My father is still alive and well."
"I've heard that your father, Great Hero Dang's sire, is not a martial artist and takes little interest in running the Dang Clan Manor. It's not always the eldest who serves as clan head, so it's right to call the Great Hero Dang, who holds the reins, the Dang Clan Head."
He figured that since he was getting too old to be called a young hero, he'd soon be referred to as a great hero anyway.
However, the title of Dang Clan Head still felt a bit unfamiliar no matter how he thought about it.
But Dang Mujin had no intention of wasting time quibbling over titles.
"Well, it might look that way. Anyway, what did you call me for?"
"It seems we'll need to have some urgent discussions with the Qingcheng Sect and Emei Sect soon. Would you join us for that talk?"
Two sect leaders setting aside their pride to ask Dang Mujin for help.
Dang Mujin pondered deeply.
Though not their intention, Ilsunja and Seonwuja had been a great help to him today.
Moreover, the Zhongnan Sect and Mount Hua Sect had shown reasonably favorable responses even to preemptively attacking the Demonic Cult, so Dang Mujin had no plans to refuse their request.
As grudges are repaid with grudges, favors should be returned with favors.
Dang Mujin replied.
"I haven't forgotten the kindness you showed at Wudang Mountain last time and here at Kongtong Mountain today."
He hadn't explicitly promised help, but anyone could see his attitude was positive.
The two sect leaders felt that was enough and could let out sighs of relief.
*
The martial artists gathered at Kongtong Mountain left one after another, heading down to Pingliang County. They planned to spend the night there before heading east to spread word of the Righteous-Unorthodox War threat.
In stark contrast to the martial artists' complicated and anxious inner thoughts, the sight of dozens of bloodstained martial artists descending Kongtong Mountain in a line was incredibly intimidating.
The people of Pingliang County watched tensely from a distance.
Among them, one person stood out particularly.
Hong Geolgae, dressed in shabby clothes amid men in martial robes.
From a distance, it even looked like Hong Geolgae was being escorted by the martial artists, so the Beggars' Sect disciples in Pingliang County hesitated as they eyed him.
They were greatly worried about him but even more afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.
Among those Beggars' Sect disciples, one overcame his fear and approached Hong Geolgae. Myoseon.
Myoseon intended to subtly ask if Hong Geolgae had committed a crime and, if he was being taken away, where to.
As Myoseon approached hesitantly, Dang Mujin and his group, including Hong Geolgae, spotted him and came over.
The warriors around Dang Mujin didn't stop his group but stepped aside to clear a path.
To Myoseon, the scene looked utterly unfamiliar. Proud warriors wordlessly making way for a beggar.
To make matters worse, the warriors lightly cupped their fists toward Dang Mujin's group as they left the procession, even bowing their heads slightly.
It was clear that Dang Mujin's group held considerable standing among the assembled warriors.
The situation felt so strange that Myoseon rolled his eyes, thinking.
'What the hell is going on? Why are the martial artists acting like that?'
Hong Geolgae approached Myoseon and said.
"Myoseon. We'll take the Kongtong Sect Daoists from the hut."
"Huh...? Those people?"
"It's not for anything sinister. The Kongtong Sect's turmoil has settled, so we're just returning them to where they belong. The Kongtong Sect will take good care of them from now on."
Myoseon didn't even know what the Kongtong Sect's turmoil was, nor why the martial artists were wandering around covered in blood. But he replied tactfully.
"Oh? That's good."
"When the Kongtong Sect stabilizes later, their Daoists will come to thank you."
"...The Kongtong Sect to me? Why?"
"Because if you hadn't provided that clue, the Kongtong Sect's history would have ended here."
Myoseon scratched his messy, tangled hair.
He didn't know the full story, but it felt good to hear he'd unknowingly been of help.
This time, Myoseon asked Hong Geolgae.
"Where are you headed now?"
"We'll go through Zhongqing and return to Chengdu."
Myoseon had only heard that cities called Zhongqing and Chengdu existed but had no idea how far they were.
Like most people, Myoseon planned to be born here, live here, and die here, so he had no need to know.
But Hong Geolgae made an offer Myoseon hadn't imagined.
"Myoseon. You're a Two-Knot Beggar now, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"If you want to aim higher, come find me in Zhongqing or Chengdu. Your skills are lacking now, but if you achieve something later, I'll tie the third knot for you."
"What?"
Myoseon's ears perked up at the mention of the third knot.
There was only one knot's difference between a Two-Knot Beggar and a Three-Knot Elder, but the gap was incomparable to that between an ordinary beggar and a Two-Knot Beggar.
A Three-Knot Elder meant branch leader.
It wasn't a vast territory, but they oversaw an entire region as a Beggars' Sect executive, and only from Three-Knot Elder did other sects' martial artists recognize Beggars' Sect disciples as proper warriors.
Naturally, Myoseon had never dreamed of earning a third knot.
The problem was that no one could just hand out a Three-Knot Elder position to anyone.
Bewildered, Myoseon asked.
"How can you...?"
"I have the authority to appoint central region branch leaders."
Hong Geolgae pulled out the hemp rope denoting his Beggars' Sect rank and lightly shook it. Five knots were tied at precise intervals.
Hong Geolgae was a bona fide Deputy Chief Elder with the right to appoint central region branch leaders.
The Sect Leader or Chief Elder might block it if they opposed, but they wouldn't quibble over appointing a single branch leader.
And Hong Geolgae thought highly of Myoseon's character.
Myoseon had won the hearts of Pingliang County's Beggars' Sect disciples. Likely because his actions and words were kind yet resolute.
Faced with the astonishing offer, Myoseon hesitated without deciding rashly.
The Three-Knot Elder position was certainly tempting. But he wasn't sure if leaving Pingliang County, where he'd lived his whole life, was the right choice.
Hong Geolgae lightly patted Myoseon's back.
"You don't need to decide right now. Take your time to think it over."
With that, Hong Geolgae left those words and walked off with his friends.
Myoseon blankly watched Hong Geolgae and his friends' retreating figures.
*
Dang Mujin's group delivered Yagul Dal-eum and the people from the hut to the Kongtong Sect.
The newly appointed sect leader, Daoist Sanggwal, didn't know much about Dang Mujin's group but heard the full story from them and Yagul Dal-eum.
"So, you young men who were with the Radiant Light Sword back then are you all."
"Yes."
Daoist Sanggwal pondered. How should he treat Dang Mujin's group?
In principle, they had helped kill Muryangja, so they should be considered enemies of the Kongtong Sect.
But thinking realistically beyond principles changed things.
As Yagul Dal-eum and the Bone Transformation Pavilion warriors had recounted, Muryangja had first treated the Radiant Light Sword and Dang Mujin's group as enemies. Drawing swords in a crisis was only natural, so it was hard to assign blame.
Moreover, Dang Mujin's group had been the first to notice the Kongtong Sect's near-extinction crisis and had grasped the thread of the secret manual, drawing righteous warriors to the sect.
Without Dang Mujin's group, the Kongtong Sect's lineage would have ended here, so they deserved the greatest reward.
'But is it right to treat those who killed our sect leader as benefactors?'
Daoist Sanggwal judged coldly.
If Muryangja hadn't died, would the unorthodox warriors not have targeted the Kongtong Sect?
If Muryangja had lived, could he have blocked the unorthodox warriors' schemes and force?
'No. It wouldn't have been much different even if Muryangja had lived. Besides, it wasn't the Dang Clan Head's group that killed Muryangja—it was the Radiant Light Sword.'
Only then did Daoist Sanggwal's mind clear. The contributions Dang Mujin's group had made to the Kongtong Sect more than covered any faults.
Even if the faults outweighed the contributions, his response wouldn't change much now. The Kongtong Sect lacked the capacity to punish them anyway.
Daoist Sanggwal said.
"We must repay your kindness, but there's also the grudge of our sect leader's death, so we can't treat you as benefactors in front of other sects' people. I'm sorry."
"It's that thing they call a martial artist's face, I suppose. I understand."
"Also, with the Kongtong Sect in such dire straits, we have no fitting way to repay you right now."
"I understand that too."
"But we'll repay this favor someday. It's embarrassing that all I can offer now are words... Please understand."
Daoist Sanggwal's face flushed with shame. But Dang Mujin just smiled gently, not reproaching his shortcomings.
As the mood warmed up belatedly, Hyeon-gong, who had been silently behind Hong Geolgae until now, slyly interjected to make his presence known.
"The Kongtong Sect's feelings alone are enough for me. The Kongtong Sect and Wudang Sect aren't strangers after just a day or two."
Daoist Sanggwal pretended not to hear that.
*
Dang Mujin's group finished all their business at the Kongtong Sect and headed for Dang Family Manor.
Seized by the intuition that dawdling would entangle them in yet another incident, the four avoided entering villages as much as possible, camping outdoors repeatedly as they made for Chengdu.
Finally, on the day the first snow fell, Dang Mujin's group arrived in Chengdu.
'It was late summer when I left Dang Family Manor for Wudang Mountain.'
Without the Kongtong Sect matter, they could have returned before autumn ended, so they were a bit later than planned.
However, the people of Dang Family Manor wouldn't be too worried.
Dang Mujin had never returned home on time after leaving.
As Dang Mujin's group walked Chengdu's streets, people who'd known them for a long time rushed to greet them.
"Whoa, you're back?"
"Yes."
"You look healthy— that's a relief. See you later!"
"I'll visit soon."
What was funny was that the ways people greeted Dang Mujin split neatly into two.
Those who'd known him for a long time approached casually, waving hands and chatting familiarly.
But those without deep ties cupped fists toward him politely, as if treating a superior.
'Feels weird. Like I've become someone important.'
Dang Mujin chuckled, and Namgung Myeong, walking beside him, asked.
"Why are you grinning like an idiot all of a sudden?"
"No, just."
"Don't grin like that. Feels like something's about to explode."
Since it really might, Dang Mujin walked on with a deliberately serious and composed expression.
At last, Dang Family Manor's main gate came into view.
The manor, now much larger than the nearby Qingcheng Chengdu Branch.
And a familiar person stood before the gate. Mok Wan-a was pacing in front.
"Oh!"
Mok Wan-a hurried over to Dang Mujin and said.
"The Qingcheng Sect Leader returned almost a month ago, so why'd you take so long?"
"Things just happened that way again. Sorry."
"But with the first snow today, I had a feeling you'd come back."
At that moment, an unexpected sight caught Dang Mujin's eye.
Her belly was visibly swollen—anyone could tell.
"Uh...."
While Dang Mujin hesitated, the gate opened and another person appeared. Dan Seol-yeong this time.
"What, Wan-a said you might come today, and here you really are?"
Hearing Dan Seol-yeong, Mok Wan-a made a fuss.
"See? I said with the first snow, Mujin would definitely come today!"
"You were moping around making excuses every day, and now you talk like you nailed it exactly... Anyway, Mujin, good work. Come in and rest first."
But Dang Mujin's ears didn't register Dan Seol-yeong or Mok Wan-a's words.
Dan Seol-yeong's belly was noticeably swollen too.
Namgung Myeong's transmission sounded.
-How much did you even do?
Even the pure Daoist Hyeon-gong's transmission came.
-You confident about raising three kids?
Dang Mujin's expression turned extremely serious.