The Gathering of Dragons and Phoenixes
“That is truly all I know.”
“Understood. It would be best if you did not speak of this to anyone other than me.”
If the rumors spread, the Mount Hua Sect might retaliate, viewing it as an insult to their lineage. Whether the claims were true or false, they were certainly not the kind of rumors the Mount Hua Sect could simply ignore.
“I must also ask you to keep your lips sealed regarding the demon.”
“Why is that?”
“Because rumors of a demon could attract others of its kind...”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I am asking why you seem so hurried, Benefactor.”
“...Do I look hurried to you?”
Seong-jin flinched and quickly corrected his posture, but Ok Seol-hyang did not miss the slip.
“I have seen many such people while running the pleasure house. Those who live as if they are being chased by something, unable to find peace even in their moments of rest. Those who cannot sit still unless they are numbed by alcohol.”
It was strange for someone like Seong-jin to act that way.
“How can someone who has achieved so much at such a young age act like a person with so little time left to live?”
“Well, they say there is no set order to one’s departure.”
Ok Seol-hyang gazed at Seong-jin steadily.
“Sometimes, the long way around is the faster path.”
“...?”
“I’ve lived long enough to know that. Just because things don’t go as planned doesn’t mean it always leads to a bad outcome.”
Ok Seol-hyang said no more and simply watched his face. There was a weight to her words, spoken while she endured pain with a haggard expression, that he could not simply brush aside.
“Do not be so impatient. You are doing well as it is.”
“I will take your words to heart.”
“Yes, please do.”
Seong-jin stayed by her side until she fell back asleep before quietly slipping out of the room.
‘Transformation arts, huh...’
What would happen if a demon rat were to transform into a martial artist of the Nine Sects and One Guild? Just thinking about it, it seemed they could not only steal the secret manuals of martial arts but also interfere with the very operation of the sects.
‘It’s systematic. Someone who knows demons well is plotting this with clear intent.’
It was the perfect time, with the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering (Yongbong-jihoe) being held at the Murim Alliance, drawing people from all sorts of sects.
“It seems the culprit will likely reappear at this Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.”
One could only wonder how many demons were hiding behind the scenes of the alliance meeting.
“I have no choice but to go and see for myself.”
The next morning, Seong-jin rose at dawn to find the rising stars of the sects. True to their reputation as the future of the prestigious righteous sects, they were already dispelling their intoxication through un-gong (internal energy circulation) and practicing their martial arts.
Though they were young, this routine was second nature to them, having spent their entire lives in repetitive training.
“I heard there isn’t much time left until the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. Bang has secured a carriage, so let us finish breakfast and depart immediately.”
“Are you coming with us, Benefactor?”
“Yes, I have business to attend to in that direction.”
Shin Suran was openly delighted to be traveling to the Murim Alliance with Seong-jin. Young-myeong, having grown fond of Seong-jin in such a short time, didn’t seem to mind either.
“Right, it would be good for my brother to witness the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering while we’re at it. A man should always broaden his horizons.”
And so, after breakfast, the group departed for Hubei, seen off by everyone at the Cheongwol-ru.
“Let’s take turns acting as the coachman.”
“Ah, actually, I don’t know how to drive a carriage...”
“It’s fine. Handling horses is much easier than handling weapons. If you sit next to me and watch what I do for an hour, you’ll pick it up in no time.”
That was the truth. While the symbol of a first-rate master was Sword Qi, even without it, a first-rate master was fundamentally a master of martial arts who had reached the realm of an expert. They were masters who had already mastered the control of their own movements and could even read and exploit the movements of their opponents. For such masters, understanding the psychology of a horse through its movements and controlling it was not a difficult task.
Horses were only frightening because they were beasts capable of easily tossing a person aside, but a martial artist was stronger than a horse.
“Sit here.”
Seong-jin stepped aside to offer the seat next to the coachman’s bench. Since it was originally a seat for one, it was a bit cramped for two. Thanks to that, Shin Suran ended up sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Seong-jin.
“Brother Joo, what is this...”
Young-myeong was aghast at the sight.
“Senior, please calm down for a moment...!”
Danmok Cheong, who was nearby, was startled and tried to stop Young-myeong, whose eyes had momentarily rolled back in his head, but Young-myeong’s reaction was different from what he expected.
“To think there was such a method! I must try this myself next time!”
“...”
Danmok Cheong quietly shut his mouth. He decided to bury the fact that once Shin Suran learned how to drive the carriage from Seong-jin, there would be no opportunity for Young-myeong to teach her anything else.
While that was happening behind them, Seong-jin paid no mind and continued teaching Shin Suran how to drive the carriage.
“If you just show them the way like this, these fellows will take care of the rest.”
“Doesn’t this mean we don’t need a coachman?”
“That’s only because Bang went out of his way to find good horses to treat our benefactor. Besides, someone still needs to show the horses the way.”
For a first-rate martial artist, learning how to handle horses is truly not difficult. If the horses are trained, it is possible to master it on the spot without separate instruction. Therefore, after a brief explanation, the training proceeded in a way that answered Shin Suran’s questions.
“I see. So that’s why the Cheonmu Academy didn’t teach it separately, because it’s easy to learn once you reach the first-rate level? But if you’re a first-rate master, your light-body technique (Gyeong-gong) would be faster, so there’d be no need to ride a horse. I thought it was something lower-level martial artists should learn.”
“Well, leaving aside whether lower-level martial artists have the money to buy and raise horses, even for a first-rate master, the presence of a horse is a great help.”
“Why is that?”
“Can’t a horse run even while a person is sleeping? Also, if you were to travel a distance of over a month using only light-body technique, your internal energy (Jin-gi) would be depleted, but if you ride a horse, you only need to use your internal energy to protect your backside, so you can save much more stamina.”
“But horses need to rest too, don’t they?”
“In that case, you can sell the tired horse in the city you stop at and switch to a new one. Just like sending a courier.”
No matter how excellent one’s light-body technique is, using it consumes internal energy. However, by riding a horse, one can substitute the consumption of internal energy with money, allowing one to travel much further than by using light-body technique alone.
“In the end, even a first-rate master is better off knowing how to drive a horse. It also helps when facing mounted martial arts.”
“If you mean mounted martial arts, are you talking about the martial arts used by the northern nomads?”
“Yes. They treat their horses like their own weapons. Warhorses fed on medicinal herbs do not fear people and will trample them, armor and all.”
“They feed those precious medicinal herbs to horses?”
“Yes. In the north, where food is scarce, they learn martial arts instead of reading to survive. Since it’s an environment where you can’t survive unless you become a master, they don’t have the luxury of sparing precious herbs.”
To them, a horse was a friend, a weapon, and a means of living. If a horse were to get sick, they would starve to death, so they could not treat their horses lightly. Naturally, to the northern people, their beloved horse was no different from their other half.
“Benefactor, you are very knowledgeable about life in the north.”
“When you live beyond the borders (Sae-oe), you end up running into them quite often.”
Living on Mount Bongnae, one was bound to encounter the existences of the Sae-oe as well. And in his first year on Mount Bongnae, Seong-jin, who had guarded Lee Cheol-goi’s herb garden, had spent his time just before leaving the mountain guarding the entire Bongnae Island on behalf of Sunyangja. Seong-jin, who was well-fed and well-clothed, often became their target, and he had to deal with them frequently.
“I will go to the next village and change the horses. From then on, Miss Shin, you should try driving.”
“Yes!”
“From there, the main road is a single path, so it won’t be difficult. If you do this, you should be able to reach Hubei within ten days, even taking it easy.”
For a first-rate master, traveling at night is not a problem. If they take turns driving the carriage while switching horses, they could run without resting all day, so they would be able to arrive at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering without being late.
As expected, the group reached the land of Hubei in seven days and nights.
“We arrived comfortably because the time spent finding horses was shorter than I thought.”
“Wow, I didn’t know we could get here this fast!”
The original schedule was always based on the slowest person in the group. In that sense, because they were all first-rate masters, they were able to move at an incredible speed by switching horses.
“That is also the reason why the sects of Murim keep separate combat units made up only of elites. The Plum Blossom Swordsmen of Mount Hua can march a thousand li in a day, after all.”
Young-myeong spoke with a proud expression, and indeed, a combat unit capable of striking a target a thousand li away in a single day was among the best in the world of Murim.
“Since we’re here, why don’t we go and pay our respects? The sect leader of the Mount Hua Sect has personally led his disciples to visit this Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, so I would like to introduce Miss Shin and Brother Joo to the sect leader.”
Young-myeong’s underlying motive for saying so was clear.
‘I must take this opportunity to introduce Miss Shin to my sect and have our relationship officially recognized.’
If Danmok Cheong had heard this, he would have poked Young-myeong in the side, saying he thought they were betrothed, but there was no way she could know this fact. Meanwhile, Seong-jin was also positive about meeting the sect leader of Mount Hua.
‘This is a good opportunity.’
The identity of the masked person who was said to have been with O-gwi. If that person was truly a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, there was a high probability that he was here now, where the sect leader and the disciples of Mount Hua were gathered.
“You say the Wall-Painting Fairy (Byeokha-nangrang) has come to see the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering in person?”
Shin Suran was surprised that the sect leader of Mount Hua had come here.
“My goodness, then are there four absolute masters of the Nine Sects in Hubei right now?”
Including the Murim Alliance Leader, the head of the Zhuge Clan who was originally in Hubei, and the sect leader of the Wudang Sect. If the sect leader of the Mount Hua Sect were added to that, there would be four absolute masters.
The sect leader of the Nine Sects and One Guild was something that simply transcended the realm of ordinary people. A great sect that had made its name known to the world, a martial art completed by gathering all the talents of the world based on that reputation, and passed down through generations. The most outstanding person who had mastered that martial art and could represent the sect was the sect leader of the Nine Sects and One Guild.
When those who were considered talented in their respective towns despaired after seeing the talents of the cities, the talents of the cities despaired after seeing the geniuses who had become disciples of the Nine Sects and One Guild, and the person who was envied by those geniuses was the sect leader. These figures had to be viewed not as people, but as part of history, as those who continued the lineage of their sect.
“It’s not four, it’s five.”
Young-myeong added one more person to that.
“I heard that the Beggar Sect leader has also come. He is a person who is said to be so difficult to meet even for the Beggar Sect members because of his severe wanderlust, so you can guess the level of interest in the world of Murim gathered at this Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.”
And for Seong-jin, the sect leader of the Nine Sects and One Guild had a meaning beyond that.
‘The Beggar Sect, huh.’
The Beggar Sect members were those who, like Seong-jin, were continuing the teachings of Lee Cheol-goi. And it could be said that the one representing such people was the Beggar Sect leader. If you think about it, he was no different from a senior disciple to Seong-jin. How would they have accepted Lee Cheol-goi’s teachings? And how would they have developed them until now? If there was something to learn, he should learn it.
‘Since he is a person who becomes my junior disciple, it would be good to get to know his face as well.’
Of course, he was the type to strictly follow the order of seniority.