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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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While Namgung-Woo’s thoughts about Li Zi-long deepened, the intensity of Peng Ha-ryeong and Myorin’s argument also deepened.
Even Yang Kwai, who usually wouldn’t be outdone anywhere in terms of shamelessness and nerve, was busy rolling his eyes and observing the situation.
Yang Jeong, on the other hand, seemed to be openly having an out-of-body experience, his focus blurred.
‘Should I send a mental message?’
Yang Jeong seriously considered whether he should break Namgung-Woo’s contemplation and ask him to stop this situation.
And that consideration finally suggested that Yang Jeong, too, had broken through the wall of a first-rate expert and entered the Peak Realm.
The exclusive domain of Peak Realm experts, mental transmission.
Being able to include it in his options meant that he had become a Peak Realm expert.
The long peace that followed the end of the Righteous-Unorthodox Great War.
Small-scale disputes between sects had, of course, continued, but a war like this, where the entire Murim of a whole region jumped in, was the first in over a decade.
Real combat makes martial artists grow, and the experience gained from such a large-scale war is extraordinary.
It helps those who have climbed upon the tower built from many sacrifices to more easily cross over to a higher realm.
The Yunmeng Showdown provided a topic for growth not only for Namgung-Woo but for all who participated in it.
The fact that he grasped it was surely thanks to Yang Jeong’s efforts.
Although Yang Jeong had finally crossed the threshold of a Peak Realm expert, which he had longed for, all he could do in this situation was send a mental message.
Just as Yang Jeong was feeling a sense of self-loathing, wondering if he had struggled so hard to become a Peak Realm expert for this, Namgung-Woo broke his silence.
“First, I understand the situation. But if you’re that desperate, why did you avoid us at first?”
At Namgung-Woo’s words, Peng Ha-ryeong tilted her head as if asking what he meant.
“Yes? Avoided us?”
“She was tailing us. Probably since Beijing. I noticed she was following us after we left Nanjing, but she probably just confirmed our destination until then.”
“Then I can see why she’s trying to rely on the boss. The boss killed Li Zi-long and put the Imperial Family in great debt, but didn’t receive anything from them, so she’s trying to sneak in her own salvation, isn’t she?”
As Yang Kwai spoke in a tone that said, “Hmm- that’s a bit…,” Peng Ha-ryeong next to him nodded her head vigorously.
“If that were the case, wouldn’t she have come out earlier? Considering the timing, I think she probably felt a sense of crisis when the Wayseekers of the Mist were revealed.”
“Hey. If that’s the case, why follow us from Beijing? It looks like she was wary of the Hebei Peng Family.”
“That’s enough. We need to hear from the person herself first.”
As Namgung-Woo gave her the floor, Myorin quickly spoke like a fish biting a bait.
“It’s as the younger brother said. At first, I was just following out of curiosity. I don’t know if you know, but Li Zi-long called the Great Hero the last impurity. He deliberately waited until the Great Hero left Beijing.”
As expected.
Li Zi-long was indeed aware of Namgung-Woo.
Though that secret had disappeared forever because Namgung-Woo himself had completely erased Li Zi-long from the world.
“…Continue.”
“Then, when the Wayseekers of the Mist were revealed, and I heard the news that the Imperial Family had finally secured their main headquarters, I started to get anxious. I didn’t know it would collapse so easily… and there’s a high possibility that traces of Li Zi-long contacting me remain in the Wayseekers of the Mist’s main headquarters. From then on, the older brother’s words are correct.”
In short, at first, she thought the Wayseekers of the Mist would escape the Imperial Family quite well, but when the Imperial Family occupied their main headquarters and the fire fell on her own feet, she tried to get under the wing of Namgung-Woo, who had put the Imperial Family in his debt.
“Hmm…”
Namgung-Woo weighed the pros and cons of accepting Myorin.
First, Myorin was an accomplice of Li Zi-long and a great traitor to the Ming Imperial Family.
There was a mitigating circumstance that she helped without knowing, but it was difficult to grant her a pardon given that she was aware of at least the wiretapping and surveillance.
Pyeong Cho-yul would be a similar case.
Pyeong Cho-yul and the Yo-Pyeong Escort Agency had the fault of transporting Danbaek Stones to Beijing.
However, the Yo-Pyeong Escort Agency had merely fulfilled their duty as an escort agency and had no intention of helping Li Zi-long, so Peng Hou-shang, at Namgung-Woo’s request, negotiated well with the Imperial Family, and they were excluded from the list of traitors.
Though they did pay a hefty sum as a donation.
‘But Myorin is a real collaborator of Li Zi-long. It won’t be easy to end it with just a donation.’
Perhaps a lengthy conversation with the Imperial Family would be necessary.
It didn’t seem impossible if he received Peng Hou-shang’s help and brought in Han Gye-ran, the Martial Consort of Haedong, but it would undoubtedly be a rather tricky process.
‘On the other hand, she’s a lifesaver to me.’
What if Myorin hadn’t brought him the sword?
Could Hwaseong Temple have broken through the vortex of power created by the Five Yin Demonic Emperor and Namgung-Woo?
Even if they had the strength to withstand it, the Five Yin Demonic Emperor wouldn’t have just let them be.
Unless it was Myorin, who could literally leap through space, there was no one who could have properly delivered the sword to Namgung-Woo at that moment.
Myorin must have known that too.
That’s why she would have forcibly snatched the sword from Hwaseong Temple and rushed to deliver it to Namgung-Woo.
She must have been quite desperate, as the person who might be her only lifeline was about to die.
There were reasons not to take her in, and reasons why he had to.
And what resonated more with Namgung-Woo was inevitably the latter.
“But I’ll tell you this in advance, it won’t be entirely safe just because you come under me.”
“Oppa?!”
At the remark, heavy with affirmation, Peng Ha-ryeong shrieked and called out to Namgung-Woo.
How long had it been since they shared their hearts, and now he was taking another woman’s side… She felt like crying.
Namgung-Woo also felt sorry for Peng Ha-ryeong, but that was that, and this was this.
“I owe her my life. I can’t just let it pass.”
“That’s true, but…”
Peng Ha-ryeong scanned Myorin’s entire body with a cold gaze.
Bewitching snake-like eyes with long, sharply extended corners, and a shameless, tight-fitting, seductive strange garment [gibok] that fully revealed the curves of her female body.
More than the reluctance to accept a treasonous offender as a comrade, honestly, that appearance and attire caused more repulsion.
Peng Ha-ryeong squeezed her eyes shut and presented her final counterargument to Namgung-Woo.
“If it’s just about owing a life, wouldn’t helping her get an exemption from the treason charge be enough? To be with such a, such a licentious woman…”
“Li-licentious woman, you say!”
Myorin, who had been kneeling upright for quite a long time as if her legs weren’t numb, shot up as if a button had been pressed.
She admitted to being a traitor.
The Great Ming Law originally valued results more than intentions.
Moreover, when it came to treason, wasn’t it an extreme crime where even innocent people were caught just for having the wrong connections?
However, Myorin found it difficult to let the latter remark pass.
“I, I am aware that my attire is somewhat peculiar, but there are reasons for it. And here, I have a proper Daoist robe too.”
“A Daoist robe you haven’t even properly closed?”
“Ugh… A-and I am a proper Daoist nun who has even received the Chastity Cinnabar Seal! To call me a licentious woman… it’s preposterous!”
Myorin, as if truly aggrieved, sharply pulled back the sleeve of the Daoist robe covering her arm and showed her wrist.
On the inside of her slender yet firmly muscled white arm, befitting a martial artist, there was a single red dot.
Unlike the three who were surprised by Myorin’s action, Namgung-Woo alone was bewildered, not knowing what was going on.
He thought about asking via mental transmission, but feeling that would be more of a fuss, Namgung-Woo nudged Yang Jeong and asked.
“Is that the Chastity Cinnabar Seal? What is it?”
“Yes? You don’t know, perhaps?”
“There’s a strange energy to it, but I can’t tell just from that.”
“No, that’s not it…”
As Yang Jeong blushed and stammered, Yang Kwai, perhaps frustrated by his appearance, pushed Yang Jeong aside and said.
“Simply put, it’s a dot for discerning a woman’s chastity. They say they use some strange lizard, but anyway, it’s something like that.”
“I’ve heard rumors a few times, but this is the first time I’m actually seeing it.”
According to legend, the Chastity Cinnabar Seal was given to Emperor Wu of Han by Dongfang Shuo.
It was made by mixing a reddish female lizard and cinnabar, and if applied to a girl’s right arm, the mark would remain and not disappear.
Then, after marriage and consummation, only then would the color fade, so the red dot of the Chastity Cinnabar Seal was considered proof of a woman’s chastity.
After hearing the explanation of the Chastity Cinnabar Seal from the Yang brothers, an awkward chuckle escaped Namgung-Woo as well.
“What an outdated custom… Isn’t that all a scam?”
“It is not. The ones made by charlatans in the common populace and applied to anyone are fake, but the ones applied by a real sorcerer work properly. My master also kept the red dot of the Chastity Cinnabar Seal throughout her life. I heard that even the Emei Sect, which values chastity, applies it.”
“The Emei Sect? When on earth are you talking about… I haven’t heard of them using such a thing since the Ming Dynasty was established.”
“That can’t be… My master definitely… No, even if that’s the case, my innocence is proven.”
As Myorin strongly insisted, Peng Ha-ryeong, perhaps feeling it was a bit much to say more, quietly backed down.
The Qingjing Sect, whose founding master was Sun Bu’er, the only woman among the Seven True Daoists of Quanzhen.
As a Daoist lineage of single succession that only accepted women as disciples, they had passed down even the most trivial things as the sect’s tradition to prevent the teachings from being lost due to single succession.
The Chastity Cinnabar Seal could also be considered a relic of a bygone era that had survived in such a way.
Anyway, Namgung-Woo spoke to finish the remaining business.
“First, I want to properly verify your skills. I need to check your martial arts skills, and more importantly, you’ll have to explain your sorcery in detail.”
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