“A sword school?”
His brow furrowed at the unexpected answer.
“The villagers are not martial artists, so why would they be at a sword school?”
“The master of that school is an acquaintance of mine.”
“Let’s hear the whole story, from beginning to end. Why did you come to the Western Village seven years ago?”
Jeok Chu-yeong’s energy was not whole. He blinked his eyes sluggishly for a long time as if retracing his memories, then answered with difficulty.
“I helped the residents who had lost their homes and had nowhere to go. The sword school owns quite a few rice paddies, fields, and shops. They probably settled there.”
There was not a hint of hesitation in Jeok Chu-yeong’s expression or gaze. It did not seem like a lie, but it was hard to understand. Why would the leader of a rather infamous dark path faction show such kindness?
“Are you perhaps from the Western Village? Or do you know someone among the residents?”
Jeok Chu-yeong slowly shook his head.
“Then why did you help the residents? Shaanxi is a month’s journey by carriage from here.”
It was a natural question, but Jeok Chu-yeong could not answer easily. His eyes glazed over as if he had been caught off guard, and then he let out a bitter sigh.
“I do not know. Perhaps I wanted to confirm that I was still human.”
The Jeok Chu-yeong in the portrait looked as upright and spirited as a young disciple of a righteous sect. Now, he was so thin and deeply ill that it was hard to believe he was the same person, but one thing was certain.
Though he bore the grim title of Black Killing Sword, this man was not of the dark path.
“What did you do in the Western Village seven years ago?”
“I cannot speak of that.”
“Was it the Dragon Sky Escort Agency that cut off the water from the reservoir and bought the residents’ land and houses for a pittance?”
“The circumstances suggest it, but I cannot say for certain.”
He clearly knew something. Thinking it over, the Black Night Gang’s arrival in the Western Village was strange from the start. After gathering their forces and establishing a base in Hunan, why would they move their headquarters to the Western Village, where they had no connections?
In the process of taking over the back alleys of the Western Village, they had to fight countless bloody battles with other dark path factions that rushed in, drooling with greed. In that process, they became mortal enemies with nearby factions like the Blood Snake Gang and the Heaven-Shattering Sect. The damage the Black Night Gang suffered was also considerable.
What was the reason they had to come to the Western Village, even at such a cost? Could it be the Dragon Sky Escort Agency? Seven years ago, a group of martial artists, suspected to be escorts, took control of the Western Village’s reservoir.
When the water was cut off and consecutive years of bad harvests forced the residents to sell their land and houses for nothing and live on the streets, Jeok Chu-yeong appeared just in time and extended a hand to them. It was unlikely he had stopped by coincidence while passing through.
He must have been watching the Western Village since before then. Whose orders was he following? Could one of the Nine Great Sects that Bok Ha-gyu mentioned had invested in the Black Night Gang be behind this?
It did not seem like he would give a straight answer even if I asked, but that was not what was important right now.
“I must see my hometown people with my own eyes.”
Gwang-hyo, who had been silent, spoke up.
“I will write you a letter of introduction. Leave after Master Jeok has recovered enough to move.”
Though not even a tenth of the Hidden Force had been resolved, Jeok Chu-yeong’s condition had noticeably improved. One or two more sessions of direct transmission of true energy, and he would be able to walk. That did not mean he was fully healed.
The Hidden Force would not disappear on its own over time. It was quite the opposite. If it was not completely extracted through the direct transmission of the Primordial Chaos Unified Qi Art, it would begin to eat away at his life force again.
If Sister Soso and her family were living well under the care of the sword school as Jeok Chu-yeong said, I planned to resolve all of the Hidden Force as promised. But if they had been sold off like slaves and were living miserably, or if they were dead…
Jeok Chu-yeong would once again be eaten alive by the Hidden Force, dying in agony, just as he had for the past two years.
“I will see you in a few days.”
As I turned to leave with a lighter heart, I suddenly realized something. Jeok Chu-yeong’s way of speaking to me had changed. Before, he had spoken informally, but now he used a half-formal tone.
It seemed less an expression of gratitude and more that he thought he could not speak down to someone capable of handling an inner cultivation method, a sign of a master. When I went outside, Bok Ha-gyu, who had been pacing anxiously, rushed over.
“What happened?”
“Go and see for yourself. He is sitting up.”
His face brightening, Bok Ha-gyu hurried forward, then suddenly stopped and cupped his fist.
“Thank you.”
It was a sincere expression of gratitude. I returned the gesture. Watching Bok Ha-gyu’s back, which did not seem like someone from the dark path at all, I found myself wondering anew about Jeok Chu-yeong’s true identity.
Was he really connected to one of the Nine Great Sects? If so, it would make sense that an absolute master like Gwang-hyo was taking care of him. Lost in thought, I walked toward the main gate and looked up at the sky.
Shaanxi was in the north, so it would be much colder than here. I wondered how Sister Soso and the old man and woman were living. I reached a hand toward the high sun.
The rays of light breaking through my fingers were dazzling. The sunlight warming my palm felt as warm as it did when I was a child in this land. It was like the warmth of my hometown.
Just wait a little longer… I will definitely come for you before this winter ends. I clenched the sunlight tightly in my hand and left the Black Night Gang’s headquarters.
Out on the street, I headed straight for Physician Sang’s clinic. * “Here to pick up the refined pills?”
“Are they all done?”
“All done.”
As I entered the pharmacy, Pung Oh-bok, who was trimming medicinal herbs, quickly stood up and bowed his head.
“Do you recognize me?”
“Yes.”
Pung Oh-bok scratched his head with an awkward expression. He seemed to remember having a fit when he saw me before. Seeing him smile again finally put my mind at ease.
Then he saw the long blade at my hip, and his expression suddenly hardened. His breathing quickened, and his face turned pale.
“Go and organize the medicine storeroom.”
Physician Sang quickly sent Pung Oh-bok outside. After closing the door, Physician Sang offered me a seat and I asked.
“Is Oh-bok alright?”
“He’s much better.”
Physician Sang had said it before. A sickness of the heart is something you carry with you for life, like a chronic illness. I could not leave Pung Oh-bok with Physician Sang forever.
I had to return him to his family. I had been avoiding the Wind River Inn because I did not have the confidence to face Pung-chil, but it could not be helped. In the end, everyone must bear their own fate and hardships.
But life sometimes unfolds in unexpected ways.
“I’ve decided to take Oh-bok as my disciple.”
“A disciple? You haven’t had one until now?”
“Have you ever seen anyone else besides me in this clinic?”
Come to think of it, Physician Sang was always alone. He had no wife or children, and he did not even hire a servant to handle meals and cleaning.
“I spoke with Oh-bok’s family yesterday. They were all happy about it. It seems they were deeply worried and pitied their young son for becoming a martial artist who uses his fists and a blade.”
Being a physician would not be a bad way to make a living. It required talent, but the income would be better than a farmer’s. Physician Sang brought out a wooden box. It was filled with small, paper-wrapped pills.
My heart pounded, and my breath grew ragged. To the unknowing eye, they were just health tonics, but to me, each one was a life-saving technique. The reason the fake Pyo Hol-deuk died so futilely, despite his exquisite sword technique, was purely because his inner energy ran out before mine did.
If he had taken just one of these pills before fighting me, I would have been the one to become wolf food on that mountain. With a trembling hand, I took out a pill and unwrapped it. The fresh moisture and grassy scent of the Lake Water Lotus Herb were replaced by the strong medicinal smell typical of pills.
The last two refinements of the spiritual herb had been successful. They had been effective in increasing my inner energy, so I could trust them this time as well. I closed the wooden box and put it in my pack.
As I finished my herbal tea and was about to get up, something came to mind.
“You said you were a military physician in the northern army?”
“That is correct.”
“What is the situation in the north like?”
“What do you think it is like?”
Physician Sang avoided a direct answer, whether because he did not want to talk about it or because it was difficult to explain. Though I had wandered the Central Plains as a wandering swordsman, I had never been to the north. Even in Gansu province, public order was a mess.
It was the same in Qinghai, and Xinjiang, the virtual start of the north, was sparsely populated for its vast land. All sorts of scoundrels roamed freely, from serious criminals on the run to smugglers and those on the Murim Alliance’s wanted list. Still, I had heard that the defenses on the border, where the army was stationed, were strong.
“Hasn’t it been quiet since the previous emperor pacified the north? The situation doesn’t seem too bad, if they’re allowing military service to be replaced with silver taels.”
Physician Sang sipped his herbal tea and frowned.
“There may be no large-scale battles, but localized skirmishes still happen. The north is always like that. The barbarians and all sorts of foreign tribes frequently come down to plunder. It probably isn’t much different now.”
“What about the Heavenly Mountains?”
“On the surface, it’s quiet, but behind the scenes, they’re busy smuggling.”
The north has long winters and barren land for farming. They have to get everything from food to cloth and ironware from the Central Plains. With official trade routes being limited, it was a natural course of events for smuggling to be rampant.
It was no wonder the foreign tribes turned their horses south whenever they got hungry.
“There must be a lot of opium smuggling too, I suppose?”
“A lot. The main production area for opium is the Western Regions.”
Physician Sang’s expression gradually darkened as old memories seemed to resurface.
“To get from the Western Regions to the Central Plains, you have to pass in front of the Heavenly Mountains. Well-refined, high-grade opium is more expensive than its weight in gold. Those who don’t know opium never know it, but those who have tried it even once can’t quit until they die.”
It was said that there were quite a few wealthy merchants and high-ranking officials in the Imperial Capital who were addicted to opium. The moment they felt a little unwell, they were addicts who would rather put opium in a long pipe than drink the bitter medicine prescribed by physicians.
Though it was punishable by death under national law, it was impossible to stop all the secret use.
“After a battle, when it’s time to collect the spoils, the soldiers search for opium with fire in their eyes. A lump of opium the size of a child’s fist can change your entire fortune. Of course, you have to find a place to sell it to get its full value.”
After drinking a few more cups of the bitter, free herbal tea whose benefits I did not know, I left the clinic. Pung Oh-bok seemed to have holed himself up in the storeroom, as I could not even feel his presence. From now on, whenever I met that boy, I would have to come without my long blade.
It was an unwelcome thought. A martial artist laying down their weapon was something that should only happen after death. It was a true relief that Pung Oh-bok’s path had opened in a different direction from mine.
A physician…
It seemed Pung Oh-bok would study and learn diligently and become a good physician. For someone who could no longer kill anything, there could be no profession more suitable than saving lives. Walking through the bustling streets toward home, I stopped near the Deep Fragrance Pavilion.
A two-horse carriage was emerging from an alley. I stepped to one side, and the carriage stopped. Tang Hye-seo poked her head out of the window.
“Where are you going?”
“On my way home.”
“Get in.”
Tang Hye-seo opened the back door and gestured. It did not look like she was just offering me a ride home. I wanted to get back quickly to examine the Hidden Force I had absorbed earlier, but I got into the carriage without further questions.
I had no intention of getting deeply involved in the Tang Clan’s affairs, but I needed to at least know what they were doing in the Western Village. It might even be related to the Dragon Sky Escort Agency. Tang Hye-seo was not alone in the carriage.
Her guard, Bi-hyeon, two other Tang Clan members, and an Underworld Clan member were with her. The yellow dog sitting at Tang Hye-seo’s feet saw me and wagged its tail.
“Is something wrong?”
“I wish there were, but I don’t know.”
Perhaps because there were many people with her, Tang Hye-seo was sparing with her words. As the carriage left the town, fields of green barley, mixed with the gentle winter wind, rippled endlessly.
It was quite a sight, but for the farmers who had a poor autumn harvest, this barley field was the savior that would end next year’s spring hunger. The carriage flowed along the main road. When mountains appeared on both sides, Tang Hye-seo called out to the driver.
“Slow down a bit.”
The carriage slowed to almost a walking pace. After examining the terrain outside the window, Tang Hye-seo leaned down and stroked the yellow dog’s head.
“Hwang-ho, just do as you’ve learned. You have to do well today if you want me to take you to Sichuan. Got it?”
It was a cold statement, implying that if it was useless, it could be abandoned. The yellow dog, of course, did not understand and just wagged its tail with its gentle eyes.
“You gave it a name?”
“It needs a name. I can’t keep calling it yellow dog.”
Tang Hye-seo had said this one was a failure. Compared to the real tracking dogs raised by the Sichuan Tang Clan, it was of a much lower grade, and even if she took it with her, it would eventually be disposed of.
Yet, the fact that she bothered to give it a name suggested she was not going to give up easily. The character ‘Ho’ for protect… Was she asking it to protect her?
Or did she mean she would protect it? A strange sense of loss was present in Tang Hye-seo’s eyes as she caressed the yellow dog. Tang Hye-seo took out a small wooden box from her bosom.
Inside was an oil-paper envelope. She tore open the sealed envelope and, careful not to leave her scent, took out the wrapper that had held the opium and brought it to the dog’s nose. The dog sniffed at the opium scent on the wrapper for a long time.
After giving it enough time, Tang Hye-seo lifted the dog onto the seat next to her.
“Find it.”
The dog put its front paws on the window and stuck its head out. It repeatedly twitched its nose, searching for any lingering scent of opium in the cold winter air.