—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator:Bobt
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Running on foot and using qinggong (lightness skill) to run produced similar speeds, but there were clear differences.
The biggest difference among the several that existed was that while riding a horse caused some pain in the hips and lower back after running for a long time, using qinggong to dash strained the entire body. It made one wonder why long-distance qinggong techniques were not more developed. Even Jang Geon himself probably would not have run for a long duration in such a strenuous way if he could have ridden a horse instead.
Jang Geon regulated his roughening breath and circulated his internal energy. The internal force swept through his body, washing away fatigue, and finally expelled from the soles of his feet, propelling him forward. He looked like a bird soaring low.
After running for quite a while, he stopped briefly to search for traces of Lady Jo and Cho Jo. Quickly finding their horse’s hoofprints, he confirmed the direction and dashed off again. The sun had already reached the middle of the sky, gazing down at him.
“This bastard Cho Jo…”
Jang Geon wasn’t too worried, as Cho Jo was normally a clever fellow who could probably get by decently no matter where he went. However, Jang Geon did not yet want to switch horses. Cho Jo was still young and robust, and could be ridden for at least another ten years. It would be difficult to find another horse as smart as him.
As Jang Geon ran through the woods, pondering how he would scold Cho Jo when he caught him, he stepped on a small rock and leapt up. At that moment, a white, snake-like streak of light shot towards his head in an attack.
Most would be flustered by the sudden assault, but Jang Geon forcefully kicked the empty air beside him, using the recoil of his muscles and internal energy to spin his body. It was a feat that made it seem like he was kicking off the empty space to rotate his direction. The streak of light grazed past him and struck a nearby pine tree instead, leaving an deep gash nearly halving the trunk.
After spinning through the air, Jang Geon righted his posture and landed on the ground. Looking towards the direction the light streaked from, he saw a man in white martial arts attire holding a long whip-like object with a stunned expression, as if surprised his attack missed.
The streak of light had apparently been from the whip. Considering the force that cleaved the pine tree and the spot it was aimed at, the man seemed to have intended to kill Jang Geon. Jang Geon gripped the hilt of the sword on his back. His body, heated up from his qinggong dash, prepared for intense movement once more.
“Wait a moment!” Lady Jo’s voice halted the movements of the white-robed man and Jang Geon. Appearing from behind a tree, she sighed and looked between the two men before meeting Jang Geon’s gaze.
“…How did you follow me here? I told you not to come.”
“I’m just a bit faster at running.”
Lady Jo let out an incredulous laugh. “Then why have you been riding a horse all this time?”
“Because running is tiring.”
“…Well, I suppose that makes sense.”
At that point, the white-robed man holding the whip spoke up. “Is this the rascal you wrote about in your letter?”
Lady Jo’s expression stiffened slightly at his harsh voice. It wasn’t the question itself that was problematic, but rather an innate discomfort with the man himself.
“Yes, I met him two days ago during the clash with Jae Eun-sung, and he did help deal with the assassins that night too.”
“And in return, you promised to teach him the Huang Army martial arts?”
“Since he didn’t seem affiliated with any sect or martial alliance, I judged that he would covet martial arts skills.”
“Then why is he still alive?”
Lady Jo glanced briefly at Jang Geon as the man asked that question.
“…Jae Eun-sung’s pursuit was less determined than expected. After confirming his abilities through my men that first night, there was no further attack. Perhaps realizing his martial arts weren’t so modest, instead of dealing with him together, Jae Eun-sung waited for us to separate. Plus, given his blasé attitude, he may not have fully realized the extent of my conspiracy yet -”
“So you just let him go? You didn’t think it necessary to eliminate him?”
“…Yes. I thought he wouldn’t be able to follow if I took the horse.”
The white-robed man let out a mocking laugh. His narrowed eyes and thin lips gave the laugh a chilling quality.
“You’re too soft, Yerang. You should have just kept him with you. If you couldn’t deal with him yourself, we could have helped, no?”
As he said this, he flicked his wrist lightly. The long whip in his hand seemed to come alive, writhing and leaving a deep mark on the ground. Lady Jo glanced at Jang Geon again. He remained in a low stance, one hand on the ground and the other gripping his sword, his eyes as calm as before.
“…Since he doesn’t seem to know about me or the conspiracy, I judged it would be okay to -”
The whip lashed the ground again. Lady Jo flinched and closed her mouth.
“You’re being too independent in your judgments, Yerang. As important as swift actions on the field are, you made a mistake here. When we return to the sect, I’ll see you disciplined.”
“…Understood.”
At that point, Jang Geon stood up slowly. As he straightened up, the white-robed man addressed him.
“Ah yes, what was your name again? Jang Gon? Jang gun?”
“Jang Geon.”
The white-robed man let out another mocking laugh at the low, curt response.
“Right, the one who chased off Jae Eun-sung without crossing swords? That friend was a bit lacking in martial arts to begin with, but still impressive. Especially since you claim not to have learned the Huang Army arts or any sect’s martial arts.”
With a leisurely motion, Jang Geon began untying the sword sheathed on his back.
“I’m just a bit of a prodigy.”
The white-robed man laughed loudly again.
“An amusing fellow! If we hadn’t met like this, I might have invited you to be a retainer of our sect. Ah, I’m Yeon Yang-jeok, a martial officer of the Yeon Family. I’m sure you can guess what predicament you’ve found yourself entangled in?”
The Yeon Family – an ancient, venerable sect like Lady Jo’s. From what Jang Geon knew, unlike Lady Jo’s sect which was driven to the New Continent, the Yeon Family had deep roots remaining in the Central Plains. And that meant Jang Geon had gotten caught up in the underhanded feud between two major sects spanning both the New Continent and Central Plains.
Jang Geon slowly re-sheathed the sword at his waist and looked at Lady Jo.
“You thought I might die in the middle?”
Lady Jo, who had maintained a stern expression, let out a deep sigh after seeing Jang Geon’s eyes and hearing his words.
“…While Jae Eun-sung’s reputation outside is for lacking martial arts skill, within the sects he is famous for gathering information, deducing the situation, and finding the answer. Of course, his modest martial arts abilities are still above average, but I could hardly think of you as some peerless expert either. How extraordinary could the martial skills of a wandering vagrant encountered by chance really be?”
Lady Jo glanced at Yeon Yang-jeok’s reaction. But he seemed to have no intention of interrupting their conversation, idly stroking his chin with an amused look. Lady Jo met Jang Geon’s gaze again and continued speaking.
“However, after confirming your abilities through my men that first night, Jae Eun-sung did not attack again for some reason. It seems his famed deductive abilities allowed him to realize something, leading him to refrain from further attacks while waiting for us to separate.”
“He must have been dismayed.”
“Of course. You didn’t actually possess any genuine Huang Army martial arts skills I could teach you.”
Jang Geon adjusted his waist sash as he asked, “And the story about the Je Family lord? Was that a lie too?”
“…That was part of my conspiracy plot. To seduce that young daughter and steal the family’s secret documents, allowing her to realize what she had done, and get her to confess willingly. Truthfully, I didn’t expect a willing confession would work, but she turned out to be quite naive and fearful of her father, so it went smoothly.”
“Then the part about her fiancé Shim Ji-yeong was true.”
Lady Jo gave a bitter smile. “I’ve done similar schemes several times before, but I didn’t expect to be found out by that seventeen-year-old girl. She has a keen sense. Or perhaps I’m just getting too old for these games.”
After tightly securing the sash and gripping his sword sheath with his left hand, Jang Geon was addressed by the watching Yeon Yang-jeok.
“Do you know why Yerang is allowing herself to reveal all this to you now, Jang Geon?”
“My guess is she’s creating justification to kill me.”
Yeon Yang-jeok’s smile deepened. “You catch on quickly. When I heard you were just a vagrant mercenary from the Western Regions, I thought you some dimwit, but you seem to have your wits about you.”
Jang Geon didn’t respond. With motions as leisurely as when he untied and re-tied his sword, he put on the bamboo hat hanging around his neck. Half his face became obscured, leaving only his bearded jaw visible. Recognizing this as a stance taken before crossing swords, Yeon Yang-jeok grunted disdainfully.
“You’ve become too arrogant for having chased off that inadequate Jae Eun-sung friend. How dare a wandering vagrant from the wilderness think to challenge the martial arts of the Yeon Family retainers?”
“Do I have another choice?”
Yeon Yang-jeok shouted loudly, “Of course! To be grateful for the chance to briefly witness the martial arts of our Northern Yeon Family, and submit your neck without resistance!”
“…What nonsense.”
Jang Geon let out an incredulous laugh and adjusted the grip on his sword sheath with his left hand. He intended to subdue this guy and then ask Lady Jo where she had left Cho Jo. However, he soon found himself stopping short. Another man in white martial arts attire had appeared behind Jang Geon.
This newcomer held a halberd nearly as tall as himself and wore a similar mocking smile to Yeon Yang-jeok’s.
“There’s no point resisting. A foolish vagrant’s antics will only get you so far before you obediently come with us.”
Realizing he was surrounded from front and back, Jang Geon felt the corners of his mouth curl upwards involuntarily. These were seasoned martial officers of an ancient sect, far beyond common bandits. With his front and back both preemptively covered, it was like being caught in the final stage before crossing swords. Even if he could defeat one, there was no way to stop the other coming from an entirely different angle. It was a crisis situation.
“…So accomplished that you must attack together?”
Here is a continuation of the translation into English, with all events written in the past tense:
“No, this isn’t about crossing martial arts anymore. This is an execution. When Jae Eun-sung follows the trail, he’ll only find your headless corpse. He’ll then rack his brain deducing the situation from that, buying us more time.”
Yeon Yang-jeok lashed his whip against the ground as he spoke.
“Not only did you safely escort Yerang, you’ve helped restrain Jae Eun-sung too. On behalf of the family, allow me to express gratitude. Thank you, Jang Geon. You’ve worked hard.”
Jang Geon resolved to make that smug face contort, and turned his eyes to Lady Jo. She stood there with a somewhat gloomy expression, offering an apologetic smile when meeting Jang Geon’s gaze.
“I’m truly sorry about this. I did tell you not to follow, but…” Her voice trailed off, seemingly unsure what more to say. She simply turned her head away.
Jang Geon raised his head to gaze at the sky. Coincidentally, a single cloud gradually drifted across the sun, casting a large shadow. The forest they stood in grew much darker with the sun obscured, and a cool breeze blew through.
Had they been broad-leafed trees, the gentle breeze would have rustled their leaves, filling the woods with natural sounds. But the sharp needles of the conifers merely ruffled minutely as the wind passed through, making no sound as if holding their breath.
The four people there seemed to hold their breath as well. Yeon Yang-jeok and the other martial officer, previously wearing mocking smiles, now regarded Jang Geon with blank expressions focused solely on him. Even Lady Jo watched Jang Geon with a complicated look, while he himself continued gazing upwards.
His lips parted. “I suppose…being reborn as a cloud would have been better.”
The cloud that had obscured the sun moved just as leisurely to unveil it once more. As sunlight began filtering back into the momentarily gloomed woods, Yeon Yang-jeok’s white whip extended into a streak of light, lancing straight for Jang Geon’s head. Simultaneously, the martial officer behind Jang Geon pushed off the ground, his halberd becoming a blazing bolt aiming to pierce Jang Geon’s back. The officer moved so swiftly that his strike would connect the instant the whip reached Jang Geon.
As they attacked, Jang Geon moved as well. Spinning like lightning, he flung his bamboo hat towards the halberd-wielding officer while hurling himself at Yeon Yang-jeok’s whip.
The officer instinctively swung to shred the incoming hat. However, some formidable force caused him to falter the moment the halberd’s tip met the hat.
Seizing that opening, Jang Geon unsheathed his sword, imbuing it with internal energy. The azure blade neatly severed the tip of the whip streaking towards him. But as Yeon Yang-jeok flicked his wrist, the whip writhed like a snake, ensnaring Jang Geon’s sword. Grinning smugly, Yeon Yang-jeok pulled hard in an attempt to disarm him. Just as Jang Geon resisted to keep his sword, the halberd would pierce his back.
However, a stinging sensation shot through Yeon Yang-jeok’s whip handle, jolting his internal energy defenses. He stiffened momentarily.
Simultaneously, Jang Geon, having closed the distance, struck Yeon Yang-jeok’s chest with his left palm.
“Kuk!”
While the struck area seemed uninjured, the sound accompanied Yeon Yang-jeok’s back robes ripping open.
After that single strike, Jang Geon spun while swinging his sword. The Yeon officer, hat having been deflected, thrust his halberd towards Jang Geon’s heart. Jang Geon meant to bat it aside.
But he couldn’t. It was too fast. Before he could fully deflect it, the halberd’s blade pierced his right shoulder. Immediately after, Jang Geon’s left fist smashed into the officer’s jaw. His neck whipped around as he spun away and collapsed.
Only then did the belated sunlight finally bathe Jang Geon’s head.
In the gradually brightening woods, Jang Geon stood with the halberd skewering his shoulder, fist still outstretched, regulating his breathing. The officer with the broken neck showed no signs of twitching. Yeon Yang-jeok knelt on the ground, coughing up blood violently.
“…Zhenquan? No, similar but cruder. More powerful. Formidable martial arts.”
As Yeon Yang-jeok muttered this, Jang Geon pulled out the halberd and staunched the bleeding with acu-point strikes. He let out a pained grunt, feeling that any strength exerted from his shoulder radiated pain through his entire right upper body. Yeon Yang-jeok looked up at Jang Geon from his kneeling position.
“You don’t seem to have learned the demonic arts. Impressive, Jang Geon. Such bearing ill-befitting your age. Do you have a lineage?”
“I do. The countless seniors who could only envision martial arts through imagination.”
“…A peculiar lineage. Well, it matters not…”
Muttering this, Yeon Yang-jeok’s head lolled back as his breathing stopped. After regarding him briefly, Jang Geon turned to face Lady Jo. She had shed her previous complicated expression, now watching him calmly.
Jang Geon noticed the mid-length straight sword in her grip. Looking into her eyes, he asked, “Are you confident?”
“No, I’m not.”
Lady Jo gave a faint smile as she said this. She pushed off the ground, drawing a azure streak as she charged. The next moment, she brushed past Jang Geon, sword outstretched behind her.
Then she collapsed to the ground with a soft thump.
“…True experts are different.”
Her side rapidly stained crimson. Once more, she let out a deep sigh.
“…It was only two days, but it was fun. No, three days if counting our first meeting?”
Though Jang Geon didn’t respond, she continued speaking with a faint smile.
“…I said you had eyes watching yourself from within. I think I had something similar before. When I first carried out my duties, seducing the assassination target I then killed that night. I saw those eyes watching me then.”
The red stain spread damply across her seated trousers.
“Those eyes weren’t just one pair. There were four pairs. Bright, shining innocent eyes. My younger brothers and sisters. The children I loved most in this world…With my own hands, I killed the versions of them still living within me.”
Slowly, she raised her head to gaze at the sky, the blazing sun and wispy clouds drifting by.
“…As you said, those eyes didn’t vanish all at once. Slowly, as if I could still undo it, they faded away gradually. But unlike you, I failed to protect them.”
Jang Geon, still facing away, let out a light sigh and flicked the blood off his sword before moving to sheath it.
“Don’t.”
His hand stopped.
“It’s been too long since I last faced those eyes. Listening to you yesterday, I realized – those eyes fading away meant I died too. This body breathes, but I died long ago.”
Lady Jo closed her eyes, feeling the sunlight washing over her face.
“Please, let me meet my siblings again now. I’m sorry for this request. Thank you, Jang Geon.”
Jang Geon looked at her closed eyes. Though bleeding, he could stanch the flow with his acu-point technique and save her life. In fact, he had aimed to avoid fatally wounding her organs for that purpose.
But seeing her basking in the sunlight with that expression, Jang Geon found himself unable to sheathe his sword.
She spoke again. “End it.”
So he did.
Jang Geon gave his blade one final flick before sliding it back into its sheath. The scrape of steel against wood sounded dry until ending with a definitive thunk as it seated home.
Afterwards, Jang Geon silently regarded the ground for a moment.
“Ahem.”
Then someone cleared their throat. Looking towards the sound’s source, Jang Geon saw Jae Eun-sung in black attire with a pack on his back, regarding him with a bitter expression. Black-robed masked figures materialized behind Jae Eun-sung.
“…I didn’t expect it to conclude this way. The Je Sangcheon lord I owed allegiance to has awakened. Thanks to that, I confirmed this woman’s deeds and the Yeon Family’s underhanded schemes. As well as you being merely an innocent bystander swept up in it all.”
“How does that change anything?”
Jae Eun-sung opened and closed his mouth briefly at Jang Geon’s curt question before continuing.
“Originally…I intended to capture this woman and her entire conspiracy cell. Hence only the pursuit, no attacks. The plan was to intervene and repay my debt when you were in peril. But…that proved unnecessary.”
At that moment, Hyeol-ri-ung fluttered down from the sky, a Western Regions hawk gripped in its talons.
Raising his left arm for it to land, Jae Eun-sung said, “You appear seriously injured. I have an excellent medicine for that.”
Jang Geon let out a mocking laugh, not answering verbally. Instead, he gave a short whistle. From the far side of the woods, Cho Jo trotted out with the reins in his mouth.
“This damn horse. If something like this happens again, I’m just selling you for plow work.”
Cho Jo snorted as if not understanding. Jang Geon patted his neck and moved to mount up, but a sudden dizzy spell hit, forcing him to steady himself. Quickly checking his internals, he detected a circulating venom.
Jang Geon’s eyes fell on the Yeon officer’s halberd.
“The Yeon Family’s shadow organization has no qualms about using poisons and toxins. It seems you may need that aid after all.”
However, Jang Geon just sighed and shook his head before mounting Cho Jo. With a faint smile, he told Jae Eun-sung, “Take a good look at that biwa.”
Then he nudged Cho Jo’s flanks, slowly riding away into the far woods. Watching Jang Geon’s retreating back, one of the masked figures asked Jae Eun-sung,
“…Shall we apprehend him? If he’s been poisoned, it should be easy. Or we could wait for him to collapse, then capture him.”
Jae Eun-sung let out an amused chuckle.
“I don’t think that friend will simply die. It’s fine, inspect the biwa.”
The biwa lying on the ground contained all the Je Family’s secrets Lady Jo had stolen – details on negotiations with other powers, secrets of family members, or intelligence they had gathered on other forces. Jang Geon had simply handed it over without asking for anything in return.
Searching the gaps between trees for any sign of the now distant Jang Geon, Jae Eun-sung muttered to himself.
“…Will you ultimately be bent, or will you do the bending? I’m growing curious about your story going forward.”
Small clouds drifted across the sun, casting mottled shadows flickering over the forest.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
