“Are you heading to the Western Village?"
“Yes, I am.”
“Could I trouble you for a ride?”
“Hmm, just a moment.”
Tang Hye-seo disappeared from the carriage window. After speaking with someone, she returned to the window.
“Get in.”
“Thank you.”
The rear door of the carriage opened. I stepped on the footboard and entered, and a rush of warmth enveloped my whole body. Tang Hye-seo and a familiar guard sat across from me.
A middle-aged woman with salt-and-pepper hair held a book in her hand. Only the three of them were in the large carriage. I clasped my fist and bowed my head to the middle-aged woman, who clearly seemed to be the most important person there.
“Thank you for letting me ride with you. My name is Jeong Dae-cheon.”
The middle-aged woman stared at me intently before asking Tang Hye-seo.
“Is he a wandering swordsman?”
“He’s a house guest of the Underworld Information Clan, Aunt. He helped me once before.”
“So, a wandering swordsman.”
The middle-aged woman turned her eyes back to her book, as if losing interest. The rear door was closed, and the carriage set off again. I perched on the seat near the entrance and placed the bundle of clothes with my sword thrust into it at my feet.
Tang Hye-seo’s eyes asked what it was. She seemed to be holding her tongue, perhaps because of her aunt’s presence. I simply shrugged and feigned ignorance.
The weather was chilly, but I had sweated profusely from fighting in the mountains. My clothes likely still carried the stench of blood. Thankfully, one of the windows was left open, whether for ventilation or to keep watch.
The interior was warm, thanks to the two small braziers placed on either side. As my body thawed, I finally felt alive again. Thirsty, I reached for my water flask, only to realize I had left my bundle in the carriage of the Underworld Information Clan.
I considered asking for some water, but after observing the atmosphere, I decided to keep my mouth shut. As the carriage rounded the foot of the mountain, the very mountain I had entered while chasing the opium merchant came into view. There was no one around.
Geuk-hwan and Bok Ha-gyu would have long since dealt with the two remaining subordinates of Pyo Hol-deuk, and everyone would have returned to the Western Village by now. What happened to the vast amount of opium, worth tens of thousands of silver taels? The Black Night Gang doesn’t handle opium, so the Underworld Information Clan must have taken it.
I felt the inside of my chest through my clothes. The identification token and seal of the Murim Alliance Inspector were there. With this, I can make a deal with Bok Ha-gyu tomorrow, and the path to meeting Jeok Chu-yeong will open.
I let out a sigh of relief. The plan was nearly shattered when the inspector was revealed to be a fake, but now it seemed things would work out one way or another. With the swaying of the carriage, my eyes gradually began to close, as if melting away.
“We’re here. That’s the Western Village.”
Led by Tang Hye-seo’s clear voice, I unconsciously lifted my head. The nostalgic cityscape of the Western Village entered my drowsy vision. I blinked blankly, and then my mind cleared as I saw the bundle of clothes and Pyo Hol-deuk’s sword at my feet.
If I brought this into the Underworld Information Clan's quarters, they would figure out that I had Pyo Hol-deuk’s identification token and seal.
“I’ll get off here.”
I washed up, lit the brazier, and boiled water for tea. In the warmly heated inner room, I soothed my hunger by blowing on the hot tea and chewing on jerky and dry rations. After roughly filling my stomach, I sat cross-legged and examined my energy core.
The emptiness I felt, the first of its kind since forming my energy core, made my vision swim. Only about forty-five percent of my inner energy remained. To take down that one damn demonic warrior, I had exhausted a staggering fifty-five percent of my precious inner energy.
How am I going to replenish this… Stunned into a daze, I took out the pills I had hidden away. Twenty pills, created by refining the Great Sun Forgetting Ginseng that Geuk-hwan had acquired for me.
I had used them sparingly, so I still had nineteen and one-fifth of a pill left. I’ll have to use this to replenish my spent inner energy. I placed one pill and the one-fifth fragment in my mouth, chewed them thoroughly, and swallowed.
I drew up my inner energy and absorbed the natural energy of the Great Sun Forgetting Ginseng from the pills into my energy core. The amount was small, so the energy circulation session ended quickly. I settled my energy and checked my energy core.
I had only recovered a mere five percent of my inner energy. I had heard that while the Great Sun Forgetting Ginseng was a spiritual herb, it couldn't compare to the Heavenly Mountain Snow Ginseng. Twenty pills might seem like a lot, but it was just the refined product of a single root of Great Sun Forgetting Ginseng.
Surely, I don’t have to eat all of this to recover fully… The pills were too precious, and my hand hesitated to take another. Is it really necessary to fully replenish my inner energy?
I mulled it over for a long while with the pills in front of me, then nodded. I have to. I don’t know when or where I might need to use my inner energy again.
If I die trying to save the pills, they will just end up in someone else’s hands. I boldly tossed three more pills into my mouth and began circulating my energy to replenish my inner energy. It still wasn't enough.
Two more, then three more… Each time a pill disappeared, I felt a torment like my own lifespan was being cut short. But I did not stop.
Only after eating a staggering ten more pills did my energy core feel as full of inner energy as it had been when I left the house this morning. Only five pills remained. Staring at the now empty wooden box, my hands and feet trembled as if I were an addict.
“Where do I get more spiritual herbs… Should I try the black market again?”
I took out Pyo Hol-deuk’s pouch and checked its contents. There were five banknotes, each worth ten silver taels. The large pouch contained only minor personal items, nothing of value.
I had thirty silver taels of my own. All together, that was eighty silver taels. It was a considerable sum, but it was far from enough to buy a spiritual herb.
I was only able to buy the Heavenly Mountain Snow Ginseng for a hundred silver taels because I knew the seller was in a desperate situation and took advantage of it. It would be hard to expect such luck again.
Come to think of it, Ban Ho-yang, the man who sold the snow ginseng, is now with the Black Night Gang. Should I try to get in touch with him through Bok Ha-gyu? To see if he has another Heavenly Mountain Snow Ginseng.
On second thought, that wouldn't work either. He was the one who was so furious about selling the Heavenly Mountain Snow Ginseng on the cheap that he hired ten men to kill me and retrieve it. If I met him, he’d try to kill me again, let alone sell me a spiritual herb.
Geuk-hwan had also emphasized that spiritual herbs were difficult to find and expensive. I replayed the fight with Pyo Hol-deuk on the mountain. If I had finished him off quickly in one go, I wouldn't have wasted so much inner energy.
I now understood with bone-deep clarity why Do Gwang-il had told me to use inner energy only for a life-saving technique. A 'life-saving technique' is, as the name suggests, a sublime form meant to save one's life. It has to be short and powerful.
Like the terrifying chain of sword strikes that Pyo Hol-deuk had shown. I had been fighting reasonably well, but then I was swept up in that ghastly web of sword strikes and took a cut to the shoulder. If the chain of attacks had continued, my limbs and torso might have been riddled with holes.
Pyo Hol-deuk had less inner energy than I did, so how was he able to channel that much inner energy into his forms? The maximum amount of inner energy I could send from my energy core to my limbs to execute a form was about the thickness of eight silk threads. How much was it for Pyo Hol-deuk?
Ten silk threads, or perhaps even more? His inner energy must have surpassed mine in density and depth as well. And yet, it was Pyo Hol-deuk, not I, who ended up as wolf food with his head severed.
It was because his inner energy ran out in the middle of his chain attack. If he had possessed more inner energy than I did, I would have been the one to die.
If Pyo Hol-deuk had decided from the start to unleash his chain of secret arts, I would have been cut to pieces without even a chance to use my inner energy. Pyo Hol-deuk's fatal mistake was underestimating me and trying to toy with me after cornering me. The lesson from today’s fight was clear.
From now on, if I have to use inner energy, I must end the fight in a single blow. I must continue to find and refine spiritual herbs, and increase the amount of inner energy I can channel into my forms. I also need to increase the density and efficiency of my energy circulation.
I must create a hidden trump card, a life-saving technique that rivals the storm-like chain attack Pyo Hol-deuk displayed, by concentrating my inner energy into a single form. The conclusion was endless training. Even lying in the warm room, the exchange of blows from the daytime wouldn't leave my mind.
I got up and grabbed my long blade. After a few sessions of energy circulation, much of my fatigue had already faded. I went out to the yard, held my long blade, and carefully replayed the battle with Pyo Hol-deuk from the very beginning.
Under a cloudy sky that was darkening without a sunset, I endlessly cut and thrust at the air, facing the sword of a dead man. * Is this what they call a twist of fate… Walking north along the mountain path, the opium merchant Lee Lim was lost in strange thoughts.
When he betrayed the men from the Heavenly Mountains, seized the carriage full of opium, and fled, he had felt as if he owned the world. But when the damn pack mule lost its footing on the night road and fell, causing the carriage to topple over, he had nearly died on the road.
He entered the Western Village to sell some opium and buy a new horse, but there was no one to trade with. These damn country folk didn't know the taste of opium, so he couldn't sell any of it. Then he was caught by men of the dark path and beaten severely.
When he saw the men from the Heavenly Mountains again, disguised as Murim Alliance Inspectors, his world turned yellow. He truly thought he was dead, but then a group of martial artists suddenly ambushed them in the mountains. While they were fighting fiercely amongst themselves, Lee Lim desperately watched for his chance and untied his ropes.
Everyone was too busy fighting, so he was able to grab a generous amount of opium in the chaos. Lee Lim’s lips curled into a triumphant smile as he reached into his tunic and checked the goods. This was enough to return to Gansu and try to make a comeback.
That area was crawling with dark path martial artists and wandering swordsmen, so there was never enough opium to go around. Lee Lim knew the way from when he came down from Gansu, so he moved quickly without getting lost.
Unlike before, he didn't have a pack mule or a carriage full of opium, but having escaped with his life, his steps were lighter than ever. As he passed a desolate, rocky mountain and descended into a valley, something blocked his path. It had the air of a wolf, but it wasn't a wolf.
It was a martial artist, body wrapped in a long robe, face hidden by a wide-brimmed straw hat.
“Who are you!”
As soon as he saw the saber at the man's waist, Lee Lim swiftly drew his sword.
“Were you the ones who plundered the escorted goods in Xinjiang?”
Lee Lim flinched at the deep voice of a middle-aged man. This was no mere bandit or robber. This man knew who he was and what he had done, and had come after him.
Dammit…
Isn't this twist of fate a little too fast? How long has it been since I escaped, and they're already here to catch me…
“Why of all places did you come to the Western Village? Who did you meet?”
The middle-aged man seemed to have many questions for him. Lee Lim kept his mouth shut and gripped his sword with both hands. There was no way the man would let him go peacefully just because he answered the questions.
He had to fight his way through. He wouldn't have dared to challenge the men from the Heavenly Mountains, but in Gansu, he too was a seasoned killer who had made his name with a blade. Seeing that words were useless, the middle-aged man also drew his oxtail blade.
Lee Lim charged. He kicked dirt into the man’s face and swung his sword mercilessly. The middle-aged man hastily dodged to the side and counterattacked.
Lee Lim, parrying the saber strike without difficulty, rejoiced inwardly. His opponent’s skill was shoddier than he thought. After pressing his attack a few more times, an opening was revealed.
Lee Lim’s eyes flashed as he thrust his sword toward his opponent’s vital point. The middle-aged man, as if waiting for it, lashed out with his oxtail blade. Saber and sword met in mid-air.
Just before clashing with the sword, the tip of the saber cleverly tilted inward. It coiled around the body of the sword, pulling and pressing down, then continued its long thrust. The body of the sword spun, and Lee Lim’s wrist was twisted.
His elbow and even his shoulder were pulled inward as the saber aimed for his neck. Terrified, Lee Lim dropped his sword and twisted his body away. The middle-aged man rushed in like a predator and kicked him in the chest.
Lee Lim tumbled across the ground, coughing.
“Kuh-huk, Piercing Spiral Thrust? Why are you using a spear technique with a saber…”
Lee Lim, his face contorted in pain and confusion as he stared at the middle-aged man, suddenly widened his eyes.
“Don’t tell me you’re from the northern army…”
Thwack!
A kick from the middle-aged man sent Lee Lim's jaw sideways, and he collapsed, unconscious.
“Let him get some sleep. He’ll have to talk all night long.”
The middle-aged man sheathed his saber and took out a rope from behind his back. He tied Lee Lim’s arms and legs and gagged his mouth. As he dusted off his hands and stood up, a man in a bamboo hat came running hastily down the mountain path in front of him.
The middle-aged man turned and asked.
“What happened?”
The subordinate, looking troubled, answered in a barely audible voice.
“…The Underworld Information Clan took the goods.”
“What were those gatekeepers doing that they were so slow to act?”
The middle-aged man lifted the brim of his straw hat. At his cold glare, the subordinate trembled and quickly bowed his head.
“I-I am sorry. They are new recruits and are still slow to make judgments.”
“With this kind of work, how can I trust you and leave my post with peace of mind? Tsk. I am taking this one and returning.”
The middle-aged man covered his face with his straw hat and headed down the mountain path. The subordinate quickly lifted Lee Lim, slung him over his shoulder, and followed. From a carriage waiting below in the valley, someone waved.
The two men descended toward the carriage.