The Betrayal of the White Sword
After securing his first victory at the martial arts tournament, Young-myung returned to the inn and immediately sought out the sect leader.
“Master, it is your disciple, Young-myung. May I enter?”
As he opened the door and stepped inside, he was greeted by the sect leader of Mount Hua, who lay upon the bed. Even past the age of forty, Byeokha-nangrang retained the beauty she had possessed in her youth, appearing to be around the same age as Young-myung. Of course, regardless of her appearance, no one in the world dared to look down on her. She was an absolute master, a name that never failed to appear when enthusiasts discussed the greatest swordsman under heaven, and the leader of the Mount Hua Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects.
To Young-myung, she was a teacher without peer, and the benefactor who had taken him in when he was a wandering orphan who had lost his parents.
“I finished it in an instant. I could not leave my ailing Master alone for long.”
“I have my family at Mount Hua. More importantly, how is your health?”
“I cannot even say that is a relief, even as a polite lie.”
After Young-myung left Mount Hua to attend the Heavenly Martial Academy, a mysterious, inexplicable plague began to spread through the sect. Even the sect leader herself had fallen ill, unable to leave her bed; she had reached a state where she could no longer speak properly and had to communicate via Jeon-eum (telepathic voice projection).
“The sect is in crisis, and this unworthy disciple did not even know the truth…”
Given the situation, since returning to Hubei, Young-myung had remained sequestered in the inn, avoiding even his closest friends, except for essential events.
“How is the search for a cure progressing?”
“Then what do you intend to do?”
Hao-mun. It was a name that made Young-myung flinch, as he knew that the Lightning Spear had recently experienced an incident involving them.
The Hao-mun was a sect that existed between the righteous and demonic paths, and most of its members were commoners who had never learned martial arts. Because of this, even if their leadership leaned toward the demonic path, they were accepted as a neutral entity. There was a branch of the Hao-mun in Hubei, where the Martial Arts Alliance was located, and they even traded with the Alliance. It was only natural, as the heroes of the Alliance could not oppress commoners engaged in honest labor.
“Even if that is so, what price might they demand?”
“If that is your will, Master, then I shall follow it.”
Young-myung said this while inwardly steeling his resolve. The sect leader said she would pay any price, but he would not allow it. If a price must be paid, it will be by me. Of course, before that, he would have to speak with his senior brother, who had received the proposal to trade information about the plague from the Hao-mun.
“I will step out for a moment. I still have work to do.”
Young-myung left the sect leader’s room and sought out Baek-geomja. Baek-geomja was handling Mount Hua’s external affairs on behalf of the bedridden sect leader, and thanks to this, countless martial artists were clamoring to meet him, as if he were the sect leader of Mount Hua himself.
“Senior Brother!”
“Ah, Young-myung, you’ve come.”
Baek-geomja greeted Young-myung along with a guest.
“And this person is…?”
The guest was an old man dressed like a scholar. Since Young-myung had been living at the Heavenly Martial Academy, he had never seen this face before, suggesting he was from out of town.
“Greetings, I am known as Seo-saeng-won.”
When Young-myung looked at Baek-geomja with eyes demanding an explanation, he replied:
“Seo-saeng-won is someone who has come from the Hao-mun to help us with our affairs.”
“That is fortunate. I was just about to bring that up.”
Young-myung first asked Seo-saeng-won:
“Is it true that the Hao-mun can cure this plague?”
“It is true. This Seo-saeng-won has come here to cure the sect leader.”
Naturally, he wouldn’t have come all this way just to say it was impossible. Young-myung observed Seo-saeng-won’s reaction to Baek-geomja’s answer rather than the content of the reply itself. It does not seem like a lie… When a person lies, subtle signs like pupil tremors or changes in breathing are bound to appear. A martial artist of Young-myung’s caliber could detect falsehoods through such means, so he had asked the question to test the reaction.
Then, the next question. How did Baek-geomja come to have ties with the Hao-mun?
“I might have known them since I left the mountain to attend the Heavenly Martial Academy, but Senior Brother, you were guarding the sect, were you not? How did you come to know this person?”
“Haha, it seems you have become quite curious while I haven’t seen you. Why do you question your senior brother as if you are interrogating him?”
“I do not doubt you, Senior Brother. But isn’t the situation too coincidental?”
A sudden plague, and then someone appearing who claims to know the cure. Especially considering the opponent was the Hao-mun, he couldn’t help but think there was some scheme afoot.
“You should have doubted me.”
“Pardon?”
“If you had doubted me, you wouldn’t have had to suffer this ordeal.”
It was the very moment Young-myung realized something was wrong and tried to rise from his seat.
Whoosh!
A streak of black smoke erupted like a snake from the sleeves of Seo-saeng-won, who had been watching with a smile until now, and coiled around Young-myung. It was not mere smoke. The Yogi (demonic energy) in the form of smoke had the power to cloud a person’s mind, and if a martial artist inhaled it, their Myeong-gyeong-ji-su (clear, calm state of mind) would be shattered, hindering the operation of their internal energy. Just as Young-myung was reflexively trying to leap away, suffering an effect similar to being hit by a poison that disperses internal energy—
“Kuh-huk!”
Baek-geomja, who had positioned himself behind him like a ghost, suppressed Young-myung by striking his pressure points.
“Se-Senior Brother, why…?”
His internal energy was running wild, having lost control due to the demonic energy. In that state, having his pressure points struck as well, Young-myung vomited blood from internal injuries and struggled to regain control of his rampaging energy. However, while it would have been difficult enough to focus on Un-gi-jo-sik (circulating energy) even with protection, Baek-geomja’s betrayal was fatal.
Baek-geomja looked down coldly at the fallen Young-myung and said:
“Are you resentful?”
The benevolent mask fell from his face.
“Then you should not have learned the Purple Mist Sword Art!”
There, his true face, stained with twisted jealousy and long-standing resentment—more monstrous than any demon—was revealed.
“It has been decades. I have devoted everything to Mount Hua for decades. Everyone acknowledged me. I should have been the next sect leader of Mount Hua!”
However, Young-myung was the only one who had been taught the Purple Mist Sword Art, which was synonymous with the symbol of the sect leader.
“Are there only one or two disciples of Mount Hua? I revealed the oral formulas to everyone, but that you are the only one who succeeded in mastering it—does that make sense? It is impossible. Unless the sect leader taught you the real oral formula separately, it makes no sense!”
“It is a misunderstanding! The Purple Mist Sword Art is…!”
“Shut up!”
Baek-geomja’s foot mercilessly stomped on Young-myung’s head.
“The sect leader is truly a wise woman. She must have created a fake oral formula to hide the secrets of the Purple Mist Divine Art, avoiding the current trend where the Nine Great Sects exchange and reveal their martial arts centered around the Heavenly Martial Academy.”
“What…!”
“And then she taught the real oral formula only to you! Not to me! To you!”
Baek-geomja was outraged.
“That woman feared that I had discovered her true intentions. So she excluded me to avoid handing over power to me! She believed that if I were not taught the oral formula of the Purple Mist Divine Art, I could not become the sect leader, so I would not be able to rebel!”
It was a perfect delusion and twisted arrogance.
“That was a stupid thought. This Seo-saeng-won here can imitate not only the body but also the memories of the opponent through shapeshifting, so if the materials are gathered, he can even find out the real oral formula inside that woman’s head.”
Baek-geomja had been spreading demonic energy throughout Mount Hua for a long time, poisoning everyone for this very day. In such a weakened state, even the sect leader could not stop him.
Seo-saeng-won looked at the madness-stricken Baek-geomja and said:
“Please maintain the dignity befitting the master of Mount Hua, Great Hero Baek.”
Then he approached the fallen Young-myung, grabbed his chin, and lifted it.
“Do not worry, Young Master Young-myung. Your place will be excellently filled by the ‘New Mount Hua Sword Dragon’ we have created. You just need to spend the rest of your life providing us with your fingernails and hair.”
In front of Baek-geomja, who had revealed his true colors, Young-myung’s consciousness slowly sank into darkness. And just as despair was about to swallow him—
“Delivery!”
A familiar voice awakened his spirit.
“I’ve come to deliver the alcohol ordered by the Dok-jak-dang, so please open the door!”
* * *
After encountering Baek-geomja at the martial arts tournament, the first thing Seong-jin did was gather information on the Mount Hua Sect. Of course, that didn’t mean there was a special method for gathering information.
“Do we deliver alcohol to the inn where the Mount Hua Sect is staying? Of course we do. We are the only ones selling alcohol in this vicinity, so whether it’s an inn or a tavern, they all take our alcohol.”
Seong-jin, who had headed to the Dok-jak-dang, created an excuse to approach the Mount Hua Sect there.
“You need an excuse to approach the inn? If you wish, Benefactor, I will give you as many bottles of Dong-jeong-chun as you want, so use this as an excuse to go to the inn!”
Do Il-ho, the leader of the Dok-jak-dang, who owed his life to Seong-jin, promised unlimited cooperation with his plan. Thus, Seong-jin, who had found the Mount Hua Sect’s inn with the alcohol, arrived at the moment Young-myung was in crisis due to Baek-geomja’s betrayal.
“Hmm, I can clearly feel the presence of people inside, but there is no answer. If you really don’t intend to come out…”
Seong-jin held the bottle of alcohol upside down.
“I’m breaking in.”