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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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Upon returning to the inn in Honghu County, the Yang brothers were waiting for Namgung-Woo right in front of the door, as if they had been out there for some time.
Seeing Namgung-Woo approaching side by side with Peng Ha-ryeong, the Yang brothers opened the inn door as if they were doorkeepers.
“You’ve returned.”
“Let’s go up to the room and talk.”
“Understood, boss.”
Yang Kwai replied with a somewhat sly grin.
As soon as they entered the room being used as Namgung-Woo’s private chamber, Yang Kwai’s question came rushing in.
“Have you finally made your decision?”
The Yang brothers knew that Namgung-Woo was a Namgung.
Seeing Namgung-Woo’s resolute face as he left the inn with Peng Ha-ryeong, they had roughly guessed what Namgung-Woo was about to do.
The Yang brothers were men who had entrusted their lives to Namgung-Woo.
Namgung-Woo didn’t hide anything and immediately gave them an answer.
“Yes. From now on, our goal is the reconstruction of the family.”
“Kheu… I’ve been waiting with bated breath for when the boss would say that. This man, I mean. If a true man is born and charges into the martial world with a single sword, even if he doesn’t reach the emperor’s stairs, shouldn’t he at least make the world buzz?”
“Is Hyung-nim some kind of Taishi Ci? What emperor’s stairs. Still… Hyung-nim’s words aren’t entirely wrong.”
The Yang brothers responded to Namgung-Woo’s declaration with utmost enthusiasm.
Their father, who had lived and died as an ordinary wanderer.
Following in his footsteps, they too became wanderers, but the brothers always considered themselves as individual martial artists and members of the Murim.
To train in martial arts, raise their realm, and display martial prowess that would astound the world, thereby gaining fame.
How could they not have ambitions as martial artists?
Seeing the Yang brothers react as if they had been waiting, Peng Ha-ryeong narrowed her eyes.
“So, you two knew after all. Oppa’s secret.”
As Peng Ha-ryeong puffed out her cheeks to strongly express her dissatisfaction, Yang Kwai said good-naturedly.
“Don’t hate us too much. We’re, how should I put it, something like disciples, so we were in the same boat as the boss. By the way, what should we call Junior Peng now? Should we call you Madam?”
“Madam……”
At the word Yang Kwai had casually thrown out, Peng Ha-ryeong, who had been squinting, sharply raised her eyes and repeated it as if savoring its resonance.
Then, she let out an “Ahem,” cleared her throat, retracted her previous sharp gaze, and said.
“Indeed. The two seniors shared a bond with Oppa even before I did. I fully understand. Of course.”
The thought of whether a person who gave in so easily could truly become a madam briefly crossed the minds of the Yang brothers.
Namgung-Woo cut off the three’s playful conversation and turned the topic to the main subject.
“So, about that, we will no longer participate in the war and will head up to Luoyang.”
“Luoyang?”
“Certainly… we do need to visit the Murim Alliance at least once. But I don’t think there’s a need to rush.”
“That’s right, boss. Anyway, the fight between the Namgung Family and the Dugu Family is a fight between those two. Even if you inform the Murim Alliance, it’ll be difficult to expect much support, boss.”
At the Yang brothers’ reaction, Peng Ha-ryeong smiled faintly, realizing that Namgung-Woo had told her about going to Luoyang first.
Even if she thought it was quite childish of herself, Peng Ha-ryeong’s lips couldn’t help but twitch at the thought that Namgung-Woo had considered her first.
Without seeing Peng Ha-ryeong’s face right beside him, Namgung-Woo answered the Yang brothers’ question.
“The Murim Alliance is one thing, but there’s a survivor of the Namgung Family there. The Zhuge Family Head told me, so it’s reliable information.”
“If it’s information endorsed by the Zhuge Family Head, then there’s no room for doubt.”
“No, but why would the Zhuge Family Head tell the boss that information… Don’t tell me the boss told him directly?”
“It just happened that way. Dongfang Huo of the Banun Clan saw my martial arts and figured out their origin.”
As Namgung-Woo explained how Zhuge Jong had learned his name, the three of them understood.
“If it’s the Fallen Immortal Dongfang Huo, he’s like a living history of the Murim. It wouldn’t be strange for him to know the Namgung Family’s martial arts.”
“Actually, isn’t it more surprising that Dugu Bin, was it? That Dugu Family person didn’t find out last time?”
“She was young. Since she was also from the direct lineage, she probably wasn’t mobilized for the extermination order.”
Yang Kwai and Yang Jeong, who casually mentioned the incident with Dugu Bin at Guya Workshop and moved on, as if proving they were twin brothers, simultaneously shifted their gazes to Namgung-Woo’s waist.
At the end of the brothers’ gazes hung the sword made by the Guya Workshop Master from the Sky-Gazing Howler’s horn.
Since the matter of Guya Workshop had just come up, their attention naturally shifted there.
Namgung-Woo also noticed the Yang brothers’ gazes and, placing his hand on his sword hilt, said.
“I was about to talk about that anyway.”
Originally, it was Hwaseong Temple that Namgung-Woo had entrusted with the sword he ordered from Guya Workshop.
On the condition of participating in the Yunmeng Showdown with Hwaseong Temple’s warrior monk Geum-shin, Hwaseong Temple would receive the sword from Guya Workshop on Namgung-Woo’s behalf and deliver it safely.
That was the contract Namgung-Woo and Great Monk Hang-wi had made.
It was good for Namgung-Woo because he could receive the sword through a reliable organization like Hwaseong Temple, and good for Great Monk Hang-wi because he could add the powerful warrior Namgung-Woo to the Zhuge Family, who were already in the same boat, and at the same time, resolve Geum-shin’s fighting spirit, which was closer to that of a martial artist than a monk – a mutually beneficial transaction.
It was a very rational and satisfactory deal where both sides achieved their goals while securing their respective benefits.
And in terms of results, both sides succeeded in achieving what they wanted.
Namgung-Woo safely received the sword, and Hwaseong Temple had Namgung-Woo participate, leading their ally, the Zhuge Family, to victory.
However, there was something a bit unsettling left to just part ways saying, “That was a good, cool deal.”
“So, who on earth is that woman?”
The identity of the woman who had delivered the sword to Namgung-Woo on Hang-wi’s behalf was that.
“Well. Hwaseong Temple said they didn’t know anything either.”
According to Hwaseong Temple, she suddenly appeared, took the sword almost by force, and disappeared?
Although it was resolved well in the end, strictly speaking, Hwaseong Temple had failed to properly uphold the contract.
Namgung-Woo personally had no intention of finding fault, but it seemed Hwaseong Temple couldn’t just let it pass.
“Anyway, it seems we need to deal with this first.”
Namgung-Woo intended to properly address the matter of that suspicious female Daoist who had been following them even before Hwaseong Temple.
“That female Daoist, I don’t think this is the first time she’s been involved with us.”
“Yes?”
Peng Ha-ryeong reacted immediately to Namgung-Woo’s words.
“O-oppa, perhaps someone you knew…”
“It’s not like that. Unless she knows me one-sidedly.”
“Then shall we go confirm that female Daoist right away?”
“No.”
Even before talking with Peng Ha-ryeong, Namgung-Woo had already decided the order of his future plans.
Number 1 was Peng Ha-ryeong. And number 2 was.
“We need to settle things with Hwaseong Temple first.”
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The very next day.
When Namgung-Woo visited the people of Hwaseong Temple and sat down with them, the first words from their representative, Hang-wi, were the same as last time.
“I am truly ashamed, Great Hero.”
“It’s alright, Great Monk. Wasn’t the sword delivered properly?”
“That Immortal Lady fortunately delivered the sword well to the Great Hero, but if she had been someone from the Banun Clan’s side, Hwaseong Temple would not have been able to keep its promise with the Great Hero. Even if the Great Hero shows great magnanimity, how can we, who made a mistake, take it lightly?”
Hang-wi bowed his head, saying he was truly sorry.
As Namgung-Woo kept saying it was alright and helped him up, Hang-wi brought out the words he had prepared.
“It may be too much to call it an apology, but how about letting Geum-shin continue to follow and assist the Great Hero?”
“Geum-shin?”
Geum-shin was certainly a talent.
Although he was thirty years old and not counted among the rising generation, as a seasoned Peak Realm expert, he was a skilled individual who would be considered an immediate asset in any organization.
However, Geum-shin had performed his role properly, so wasn’t it a bit much to make Geum-shin take responsibility for this? – just as that thought crossed his mind.
“My. So that was your purpose from the beginning.”
“Euhheum, has it been revealed after all?”
“I did find it a bit strange from the start. You sought me out deliberately to send Geum-shin out, didn’t you?”
“…That was one of the reasons.”
Hang-wi smiled bitterly and continued.
“Geum-shin is a child I took in. However, the path of martial arts suited his aptitude more than the path of Buddha.”
“So you’re trying to send him into the Murim through me?”
“That’s right. I believed that the Great Hero could sufficiently control Geum-shin and let him roam the Murim as he wishes.”
A disposition closer to a martial artist than a monk.
Even if Geum-shin stayed at Hwaseong Temple, he would live there constantly feeling stifled, only looking for a chance to leave Hwaseong Temple.
If that’s the case, let him go.
Let’s entrust Geum-shin to a reliable person and let him explore the martial world to his heart’s content.
Although Geum-shin preferred martial arts, the path of Buddha was not entirely absent from his heart, so he would surely accumulate good deeds while roaming the martial world and follow the teachings of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
Wouldn’t that then be beneficial to the world as well?
These were Hang-wi’s thoughts.
However, Namgung-Woo’s answer was already decided.
“If that’s the case, Great Monk, you’ve sought out the wrong person.”
“Great Hero…”
“My surroundings are a place of death. I know that Geum-shin is considerably skilled as a Peak Realm expert. However, even with that, it will become so dangerous in the future that his life cannot be guaranteed. It’s a matter that could involve not just Geum-shin alone, but the entirety of Hwaseong Temple.”
Namgung-Woo stood up from his seat without listening to Hang-wi’s reply.
It was an expression of his intention not to continue the conversation any further.
“And please do not try to use me under the pretext of an apology. I have shown you courtesy as a senior in the martial world and an elder, but it was quite unpleasant.”
Passing by the stiffened Hang-wi, Namgung-Woo opened the door.
“Our contract ends with this. I hope there will be no more talk about this.”
As he came out of the room, the gazes of those waiting outside focused on Namgung-Woo.
And among them was Geum-shin.
“Leader…”
Namgung-Woo suppressed his irritation.
Geum-shin had done his best.
Despite being an elder, he had respectfully served Namgung-Woo as a leader and faithfully carried out his role.
Showing this emotion to him would just be venting his anger.
Namgung-Woo cleared his emotions with a deep breath and faced Geum-shin with a smiling face.
“You’ve worked hard all this time, Monk.”
“…I am sorry. I didn’t know the Great Monk had such thoughts…”
“There’s no need to apologize on his behalf.”
“However…”
“Rather, please look after Great Monk Hang-wi. My words might have been too harsh.”
Realizing Namgung-Woo’s mind was firm, Geum-shin hesitated with a troubled face, then bowed his head deeply and entered the room where Hang-wi was.
Looking back at those remaining, the Yang brothers and Peng Ha-ryeong, Namgung-Woo said.
“Let’s go. We need to go for the final wrap-up.”
The place he headed to, leading the Azure Sky Group, now back to four members.
It wasn’t very far.
It was because they had been given lodging at a nearby inn for surveillance purposes.
And the female Daoist he faced.
Although they hadn’t even exchanged names yet, to Namgung-Woo, her qi signature was becoming somewhat familiar.
It was a peculiar qi signature, difficult to forget once felt, with a pure and clear energy overlaid by some strange, writhing energy.
Namgung-Woo observed the female Daoist.
Her attire was certainly… something that prompted many words.
Peng Ha-ryeong beside him had already raised her guard to the maximum, her eyes sharply focused.
“We haven’t even exchanged names yet, but let’s start by asking this first. What is your purpose?”
“My purpose, you ask.”
It was a husky voice, whether it suited the female Daoist’s sharp eyes and cold yet glamorous appearance or not.
Flutter.
As the female Daoist rose, her wide-sleeved Daoist robe swayed.
It was quite an elegant posture.
It even felt incongruous due to her delinquent-looking attire.
Gulp.
Simultaneously with the sound of one of the Yang brothers swallowing, the female Daoist moved swiftly.
Thinking it was an ambush, Peng Ha-ryeong was about to make a move faster than anyone, but the female Daoist’s action was a step above.
The female Daoist prostrated herself flat on the ground, performing a full prostration!
“Please save me!”
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