Respite

Seomun had no choice but to admit he had ruined all his plans.

“There’s no reason for us to take responsibility for the atrocities of those already expelled from our sect.”

Ma Jingun pressed with a somewhat heated voice, but Jo Yang answered without the slightest sign of agitation.

“How could this foolish old man know such things? Yet after spiriting away the scripture, you now tell us not to interfere—what sheer audacity is this?”

Jo Yang once again turned to Yun-seon, gently stroking his right arm.

“I cannot ignore the desperate plea of this child who risked his life to come find me.”

Seomun knew further quarreling was meaningless. The fourteen-year-old oath concerned his Sect Leader; he had no standing to denounce it. Breaking it and pushing further would mean turning all the sects of the martial world into enemies. Yet, retreating without gain was equally bitter.

“Hmph! Even if they stole the scripture, with Left Shadow dead, do you think Right Shadow would have spared only that boy? Isn’t the scripture in your hands?”

Unable to contain his fury, Jeok-woo shouted out.

“Jeok-woo!”

Hyunjin tried to silence Jeok-woo too late.

“Ah, so that’s how it is. You did know the Black Butterfly Twin Assassins were involved.”

Jo Yang said it slyly, as if waiting for Jeok-woo’s slip. Seomun now had no way out.

“To kill your own disciples over a single book—you’re no human.”

“Typical Demonic Cult scum.”

“Then fight us now. I will never forgive you.”

“Beasts!”

Go Yu-saeng jumped up, pointing angrily and cursing. Other sect elders joined, and soon the hall was in an uproar, full of condemnation toward Taiyi Divine Sect.

“Taiyi Divine Sect has no obligation to disclose the scripture’s whereabouts. Can you prove we killed Kang Yul-cheon or took the scripture?”

Seomun, as if finally resolved, slowly waved his fan and continued.

“As for the promise fourteen years ago—if we deny it, it ends there. If we kill everyone gathered here, none will be the wiser.”

At his venomous voice and expression, mouths fell silent one by one. The hall grew quiet again.

“Yet breaking the oath is not what our Sect Leader desires. If you uphold the promise you just made, we too shall withdraw.”

“Sahyung!”

“Eldest Sahyung!”

Ma Jingun and Jeok-woo tried to dissuade him, but Seomun shook his head firmly. Even risking their lives to kill them, there was too little to gain. Better to retreat at an acceptable line.

“Very well. As agreed, Taiyi Divine Sect will no longer interfere, nor will there be collusion with the Five Great Mountain Swords.”

Jo Yang exchanged glances with the sect elders and leaders, then answered. Only the Eminent Mountain disciples, who suffered the most loss, glared with resentment; most others applauded Jo Yang’s cleverness.

“Then we will withdraw. But soon, we shall meet again.”

Seomun flicked his fan twice, and the black-clad men vanished instantly. The lesser disciples finally sighed in relief.

Yun-seon felt uneasy under all the stares, and guilt welled up as he saw Jeok-woo’s aggrieved face.

‘Hyung-nim…’

Yun-seon quickly clasped his hands in greeting when his eyes met Jeok-woo’s, but Jeok-woo turned away, face stiff. Clearly still hurt. Beside him, Hyunjin stared at Yun-seon intently, her expression unreadable.

“Are you alright?”

Ju-un appeared beside him, taking his hand and leading him down from the stage.

“Yes. Just…”

As Yun-seon glanced toward Jeok-woo, Ju-un spoke curtly, sensing his heart.

“This isn’t your fault. Don’t torment yourself.”

Ju-un was deeply upset with Jo Yang’s sudden maneuver. Now it was clear Yun-seon would become a target of the entire martial world.

‘That old bastard is truly despicable.’

Ju-un’s mind darkened at how he could protect this naïve boy in the future.

Seomun gathered his disciples back to his side. Though Jeok-woo resisted, Hyunjin persuaded him, and their side soon calmed. Jingun, carrying Yu I-jeong’s corpse on his shoulder, briefly glared at Zen Cloud Sword Sect’s So Geum-jeong, then led the group out of Emptiness Dhuta Sect.

Thanks to Emptiness Dhuta Sect disciples’ swift cleanup, the Hall of Shame and Aversion soon regained order. Only the Eminent Mountain Sect, bitter toward Jo Yang, hastily descended the mountain; the rest planned to rest two or three days before moving on.

“Then what of the Five Great Mountain Swords’s martial tournament?”

“Do we really need to keep promises with those Demonic Cult bastards?”

At the Yong family brothers’ question, Jo Yang replied with a faint smile.

“For now, let us use messenger pigeons and couriers to spread word. We’ve only delayed their movements. They will surely return—so we must prepare for that day.”

Go Yu-saeng nodded deeply in agreement.

“Indeed. Now we must appoint an Alliance Leader to command and avenge this humiliation.”

“If the Venerable Elder, who contributed so much today, would take the role, nothing could be better.”

As So Geum-jeong exalted Jo Yang, all sect elders loudly agreed. Jo Yang refused repeatedly but ultimately had to accept.

“Congratulations.”

Only Dragon Gate Sect’s head, Jo Sang-won, wore a sour face; the rest smiled brightly, making future plans.

“Eldest Sahyung, why did you retreat?”

Jeok-woo finally demanded of Yi Seomun, unable to endure. Though their side had suffered too, was there ever a better chance to root out the Five Great Mountain Swords? He was bitter at failing to avenge his Third Senior Brother.

“Eldest Sahyung, I also don’t understand.”

Even Hyunjin, who had never once questioned Seomun’s judgment, spoke up. That her Eldest Senior Brother, who always considered every angle, hadn’t foreseen Jo Yang’s shallow trick gnawed at her. After a long hesitation, Seomun finally spoke.

“He’s a master whom even the three of us together could barely overcome. Considering Go Yu-saeng and the Yong brothers were also present, the fight was never in our favor.”

Ma Jingun walked silently but strongly agreed with his Senior Brother.

“My goal from the start was to have them accept the three conditions while minimizing our losses.”

With two sect leaders gravely injured, pressuring them into agreement seemed easy. The third condition was bait to bring Yun-seon. As Jeok-woo said, if Right Shadow had taken the scripture, Yun-seon wouldn’t have survived. Since only he knew its whereabouts, seizing him was worthwhile regardless of other conditions.

“There were two things I overlooked.”

Seomun stopped, sighing deeply as though weighed down.

“One, that Bu Neungpa appeared there.”

Yu I-jeong’s death made Seomun lose his composure. That was also why he hadn’t stopped Jeok-woo’s slaughter of the Eminent Mountain Sect.

“Losing I-jeong was a great blow to our strength. Hyunjin’s injuries as well. Had Jingun not arrived, it would have been us whose lives were at stake.”

Hyunjin looked at Yu I-jeong’s body carried on Jingun’s back. He had always been quiet and gentle, yet the warmest of brothers. She sniffed hard to hold back her tears.

“Two, trusting Jo Yang’s character.”

Jeok-woo ground his teeth at the mention of an Orthodox sect figure, feeling rebellious at his Senior Brother’s words.

“How could you have trusted such a sly old fox?”

Seomun lowered his head, ashamed.

“Years ago, I owed Jo Yang my life.”

He still remembered the man’s generous face when he spared reckless young Seomun.

“With the Jo Yang I knew, he’d never publicly expose that child. Now that the only one who knows the scripture’s whereabouts is revealed, isn’t the boy’s life as fragile as a candle in the wind? I never imagined he’d do that. I judged him completely wrong.”

Jingun, pondering, tilted his head at Seomun’s reply.

“Then doesn’t that disadvantage Jo Yang himself?”

Seomun furrowed his brow and shook his head firmly.

“No. He intends to discard the boy.”

“What?”

Jeok-woo was so shocked he nearly dropped his blade. What would become of Yun-seon then? His heart pounded wildly.

“So he doesn’t have the scripture.”

Hyunjin slapped her knee as if realizing only now.

“Exactly. That’s why he keeps the boy—for the knowledge. Once it’s drawn out, he’ll discard him.”

“What a terrifying man.”

Jeok-woo shuddered, once more feeling the dread of the martial world.

“How foolish I’ve been.”

Ashamed of his misjudgment, Seomun hung his head. Not only had he endangered his disciples over a past tie, he had failed his master’s command. He felt like burying his head in the ground and dying.

“Will you leave that boy like this?”

At last, Hyunjin asked. Jeok-woo’s eyes lit up beside her. He had been hurt by Yun-seon’s easy betrayal and avoided his gaze—but hearing he was in danger, urgency gripped him. He wanted to rush back to save him.

“We cannot.”

But Seomun shook his head without hesitation, crushing Jeok-woo’s hope.

“Isn’t that the boy Yul-cheon protected with even his own and his son’s life?”

Hyunjin remembered Jong-yeon’s broken body—Yul-cheon’s only son, beyond being his disciple. She couldn’t comprehend why Yul-cheon valued Yun-seon above his child, but she too couldn’t abandon him. Yet Seomun closed his eyes, unwilling to say more.

Jeok-woo pleaded to sway his Senior Brother, but Seomun’s resolve was firm. He looked lastly at Jingun, but he too seemed unconcerned with Yun-seon’s fate.

“Sajeo…”

Hyunjin glanced at Jeok-woo once, then walked ahead in silence.

At So Geum-jeong’s sharp question, So So-jeong forced a smile and answered.

“I was caught by their group and only just released.”

Her disheveled state made it seem true. Geum-jeong wanted to press further but held back in front of disciples.

“Hmph! And how was it, seeing your old lover’s face again?”

As they paused to rest, Geum-jeong sneered bitterly at her younger sister sitting nearby.

“It’s all in the past now.”

She answered in a whisper, afraid others might hear. No matter how gentle her nature, Geum-jeong’s constant barbs wore So-jeong down.

“I took back a filthy wretch like you, yet you repay me by letting old feelings ruin matters… when we return, expect severe punishment.”

Geum-jeong gnashed her teeth in frustration. Her sister, superior in looks and skill, was always a thorn in her eye. She wished she’d never returned. When their master even accepted her despite bearing a demon’s child, it had felt as if the sky was collapsing.

“Unnie, I know you hate me. I’ll accept my punishment—but at least wet your throat first.”

So-jeong, eyes brimming with tears, held out a water flask. The disciples watching were once again moved by her devotion, even when constantly humiliated.

“Get that away from me!”

Geum-jeong swept her sleeve, flinging away the flask. Its half-full contents spilled onto the ground.

“For all I know, you’ve tainted it with something…”

Pulling out her own flask, Geum-jeong drank and glared hard at her sister.

“Master, please calm your anger.”

At the disciples’ pleas, Geum-jeong finally calmed down and led the group down Dhuta Mountain. The weather seemed warmer, and she felt increasingly hot.

“Ah… perhaps we should rest again.”

Not even half an hour later, when Geum-jeong stopped the group again, everyone looked puzzled.

“Master, if we don’t hurry, we may have to sleep outdoors. Please press on despite the fatigue.”

“Ah… ah… urgh…”

At that moment, Geum-jeong, drenched in cold sweat, collapsed onto the ground.

“Master!”

“Sect Leader!”

Blood burst from every orifice, and she soon breathed her last.

‘See? You should have drunk the water I offered you.’

So-jeong gently closed her sister’s glaring eyes, then pressed her palms together in prayer. Hidden in her sleeve was one more bead coated with poison.

소강 (小康), Respite:
The state of chaos or unrest subsiding, becoming calm.