The Enemy’s Tail (1)

He opened his eyes.

‘Where am I?’

Eon Cheong-gun felt odd at the unfamiliar room, but he was not surprised. It was hardly the first time he had collapsed from his blood pressure spiking. His temperament was such that even a little anger often made him drop, so waking up in strange places was nothing new.

‘Come to think of it, this must be a clinic.’

A thick medicinal stench tickled his nose.

‘My arm!’

He tried moving the arm that had taken Cheong Yeon’s sword aura. Thankfully, it was still attached. Sometimes incompetent physicians, when faced with such injuries, simply chopped the limb off on their own authority—because it was easier that way.

Thankfully, the physician here did not seem to be the sort who casually cut off other people’s arms for convenience.

‘Secret Shadow?’

The Jinju Eon Clan was not based in Beijing, but since it was close, he had heard late news about the treason incident there. Likewise, he knew the name Secret Shadow well.

‘I didn’t realize he was that young. Then is revenge already out of reach?’

Eon Cheong-gun felt hollow. He knew full well that you could not touch the Eastern Depot. Right now, the Eastern Depot was an all-powerful bloc. No one could say how long that momentum would last, but it certainly would not end immediately.

‘No. How could I just let my son’s killer go? There will be a way. The main house still has the Ji-sal Unit. Even if it’s not Secret Shadow—if I assassinate Secret Shadow’s grandfather, who would know?’

Clunk.

At that moment, someone entered the room where Eon Cheong-gun lay. There were two of them. Eon Cheong-gun kept his eyes closed, pretending he still hadn’t woken.

“His breathing’s stable. Looks like he’ll wake soon.”

The physician held a finger under Eon Cheong-gun’s nose and said so.

“Good work. I’ll repay this favor. How’s the wound on his arm?”

“Fortunately, if treatment continues, he should have no trouble moving it. But since I am not a martial artist, I can’t speak precisely about using martial arts.”

“If he can move it, using martial arts won’t matter much. It’s a blessing it wasn’t cut off. He took sword aura, after all. The Eon Clan’s Jade-Hand Art really does have something special—surviving without being completely severed even by sword aura. So that old claim that it was mistaken for Soso Art wasn’t nonsense.”

Lying there, Eon Cheong-gun tried to recall who was speaking. Then he suddenly realized a heavy, rancid stink was wafting up in soft puffs.

‘A Beggar’s Sect beggar. But who?’

“Branch Master! A guest is looking for you.”

As if answering his question, a voice outside called for the beggar.

“Got it.”

The beggar and physician soon opened the door and went out.

After they left, Eon Cheong-gun opened his eyes again.

‘If it’s a guest, is it Secret Shadow? I can’t be lying here. I need to return to the main house and discuss what comes next.’

Eon Cheong-gun sat up from where he had been lying. Luckily, he was still wearing his original clothes.

He stood and tried circulating his inner power. His injured right arm was still too much, but with his left he could raise the Jade-Hand Art without trouble.

He moved to open the door and leave, but he heard voices murmuring outside. After looking around, he went to one wall of the room and raised Jade-Hand Art in his left hand, boring a hole through it. He tore away several planks until the opening was large enough for a person to slip through.

Eon Cheong-gun climbed out through the hole and immediately launched his body away.

‘From now on, the Beggar’s Sect, the Paeng Clan, and even the Martial Alliance are our enemies. If they tolerated Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign, then even if Jade-Hand Art returns to its true form, they’ll have no right to complain. Wait—Jinju Eon Clan’s curse will find you soon.’

Leaving those words in his heart, Eon Cheong-gun vanished completely.

Eon Cheong-gun disappeared as if he had never been there.

Neung Je-gang felt uneasy for some reason. Given Eon Cheong-gun’s nature, he should not have withdrawn so neatly. At the very least, he should have gone to the Martial Alliance—or somewhere—and tried to turn the fact that Neung Je-gang had mastered Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign into an issue and force him into the status of a public enemy. Or he should have charged again to the death.

“Not right now, but it looks like I’ve made an unpleasant enemy.”

“I’m sorry.”

Cheong Yeon, who had needed treatment for the injury to his shoulder, roughly dressed the wound and moved along with Neung Je-gang.

The Paeng Clan apologized repeatedly, then forcibly dragged Paeng Do-wi away. According to Paeng Do-gyeong, they would put him into closed-door seclusion for at least several years, so it would be hard to see Paeng Do-wi in the martial world for a while.

“My disciple ran to the main headquarters first, but I’m worried that bastard might pull something stupid.”

The Beggar’s Sect’s Cheongpung Branch Master, Long-Lived Beggar Choe Hyeon, worried about Ye Mong. If Ye Mong ran his mouth at headquarters as if some demon of calamity had appeared, the Beggar’s Sect headquarters might coordinate with the Martial Alliance and come rushing to capture Neung Je-gang.

Choe Hyeon assigned two beggars as guides. They were smart enough to explain the situation if something like that happened. The day before, he still hadn’t felt secure, so he even sent a carrier pigeon to headquarters, writing in detail what had happened after Ye Mong left.

“Thank you for your kindness.”

“Kindness, my ass. I’m just trying to reduce the damage…”

Even after seeing Neung Je-gang and Cheong Yeon off, Choe Hyeon couldn’t relax. With a disciple like Ye Mong—impossible to predict—his anxiety was worse.

And there was another problem gnawing at him: the vanished Eon Cheong-gun.

Building an armed group unknown to the martial world—such a thing could happen. The Beggar’s Sect had its own secret units for covert matters too, so it wasn’t someone else’s story.

The problem was that the Eon Clan had another such group. If the Eon Clan’s strength had been broken with the Cheon-gang Unit wiped out, then even if they wanted to stir conflict, they would not be able to.

But the Eon Clan still had formidable strength left, and Eon Cheong-gun was not the type to forget an enemy. Just as his filthy temper was famous, so was the filth of his grudge.

His son had died. No matter how things had unfolded, a whole pack of subordinates had died too. If he swallowed that, he would not be Eon Cheong-gun.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t stir up trouble…”

Choe Hyeon worried that with the Necromancer Cult matter and now the strife between Secret Shadow and the Jinju Eon Clan overlapping, the martial world would become even more chaotic. And whenever conflict erupted in the martial world, it was always the Beggar’s Sect beggars who got hurt and died the most. For Choe Hyeon, who truly loved the Beggar’s Sect, that was the greatest worry.

“Oh! You’re here?”

“We are. But this person is…?”

Contrary to Choe Hyeon’s worries, Neung Je-gang arrived safely at the Beggar’s Sect main headquarters and met Elder Shingae without incident. The carrier pigeon had reached safely, so there had been no misunderstanding.

Even so, the fact that he had mastered Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign was an uncomfortable problem. The expressions of the Beggar’s Sect people looking at him were not friendly.

“This punk’s a guy who lives in the Tianshan. He came here to mooch when it was about time to die. He’s been leeching off this old beggar’s bones. Keh-heh-heh!”

“Tianshan, you say…?”

The Tianshan was in Xinjiang—a massive mountain range spanning a thousand li in width and five thousand li in length.

“Ah, he lives near Tianzhou. Don’t worry. He’s an old friend of mine.”

“Is that so? I am Secret Shadow.”

“I’m Du Pyo.”

“Then, I apologize, but could you step out for a moment?”

Neung Je-gang asked Du Pyo for leave.

It was Shingae and Du Pyo who were surprised by Neung Je-gang’s attitude.

“Hmph!”

Du Pyo snorted quietly, as if offended, and went outside.

“Do you not know who that friend is?”

After Du Pyo left, Shingae asked Neung Je-gang.

“Do I need to?”

“No, not necessarily. It’s just odd that you heard the name Du Pyo and had no reaction.”

“Even if he is the Nokpo Nojo, he has no right to meddle in my affairs.”

“What? You knew?”

“If there aren’t two people living in the Tianshan named Du Pyo, isn’t it obvious?”

“Hoo! You’re a frightening man. Or should I say you have no fear? That friend Du Pyo is surprisingly narrow-minded. You might suffer for what you did today.”

Though calling him a friend, Shingae warned him about Du Pyo’s pettiness.

“Have you not heard what martial arts I’ve cultivated? If he picks a fight, the one who gets hurt won’t be me. And I do not want many people to know information related to my business.”

“Anyway, be careful. Even I find him troublesome. And remember: Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign and sword aura are not invincible martial arts. Besides, within the Martial Alliance, opinions are rising that sanctions should be imposed on you. Sword aura aside, revealing Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign was far too foolish. You may have to leave the martial world. You may even be driven as a public enemy.”

“Tell them to do as they please. Once I finish what I need to do, there’s no reason for me to remain in the martial world anyway. Now—tell me what you’ve found.”

Neung Je-gang finally got to the point.

“You said the people you’re looking for are named Dam Ja-cheon and Dam Yeo-yeong?”

“That’s right.”

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a father and daughter with those names.”

“Ah…”

Neung Je-gang failed to hide his disappointment. He had hoped that if it was the Beggar’s Sect, perhaps they could find them.

“But…”

Shingae wasn’t finished.

With a faint hope, Neung Je-gang listened closely.

“We did find a father and daughter named Ban Su-sim and Ban Ga-ryeong.”

“Who are they?”

He had never heard those names before.

“Even if the names are different, I can guarantee they look the closest to the people in the portraits you drew.”

“Ah, you found them. Where are they?”

Neung Je-gang’s heart grew urgent. After so long without even a trace, he was finally reaching them.

“Before that, there’s something I want to ask.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know why you’re looking for that father and daughter?”

“What is the intent behind asking that?”

“No intent. The truth is, that father and daughter are currently under the protection of a very powerful figure. Even I can’t act rashly. If you were to harm them, what then? If something happens because of me, my position becomes difficult—so I have no choice.”

“…”

Neung Je-gang hesitated. There was no guarantee he could trust Shingae completely.

But since he couldn’t force Shingae’s mouth open, laying everything out and asking for help might be one way. Yet Shingae didn’t wait for Neung Je-gang—he began first.

“You know there was an incident over ten years ago where a village near Seon-yeong in Cheonghae Province burned to the ground. In Seon-yeong, there are still many people who remember that fire. While investigating that father and daughter, we learned they went to a wealthy household in that village for a wedding. Then a great fire broke out, burning everything, and the villagers all died.”

Neung Je-gang nodded at Shingae’s words. Then, as if he had finally steeled himself, he began speaking.

“…Those were the words the boy heard. Because of that father and daughter, his family and the villagers all died, his younger brother was sold into slavery, and the village burned down.”

At Neung Je-gang’s account, Shingae’s eyes trembled.

“There was nothing that could reveal their identity?”

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t need to search for them.”

“Then is the boy trying to hold that father and daughter responsible?”

“Maybe. If they’re living happily, he might. But the boy is seeking them to learn who it was—where they came from—who set that village on fire. The true enemy is them.”

“Hm…”

After hearing everything, Shingae closed his eyes for a moment, as if deciding something. Then he opened them and spoke.

“They’re in Kunlun. They’re under the protection of the Kunlun Sect.”

“Kunlun!”

Neung Je-gang’s heart hammered. It was information he had desperately sought for far too long. He thought he could stay cold even if he heard news of them.

But his body reacted differently. He wanted to rush to Kunlun immediately.

“There’s one thing you must keep in mind.”

“Please tell me.”

“Whether you know it or not, Kunlun is not a place to take lightly. There’s a monster there. If that monster protects them, you may not even be able to see their faces.”

“Just learning where they are is already a great result. And I am Secret Shadow. No matter how formidable Kunlun is, no matter what monster guards them, I’m confident I can evade their eyes.”

Neung Je-gang did not take Shingae’s ‘monster’ very seriously.

“Don’t overestimate yourself. And if something happens, don’t use too heavy a hand. Kunlun is on a different level from the Jinju Eon Clan. If you leave lingering consequences, the one who suffers won’t be Kunlun—it’ll be you.”

“Understood. I’ll remember it. But you haven’t told anyone else this information, have you?”

“Go Won-gi of the Martial Alliance already knows. In fact, the moment we saw the portrait, we recognized it at a glance. We had been invited to that woman’s wedding, so we remembered that father and daughter clearly.”

“A wedding?”

“We were invited to her wedding. That’s why, when I first saw the portrait, I was shocked. I wondered what connection you had to a woman who married into Kunlun.”

At Shingae’s words, Neung Je-gang’s gaze trembled this time. If she had married into a major sect like Kunlun, then his enemy might be Kunlun.

But he still couldn’t be sure. That father and daughter might have sought Kunlun’s shadow to escape the murderers.

“I’ve heard enough. I’ll be going now…”

“You’ll head to Kunlun right away?”

Shingae asked, curious.

“I intend to go immediately.”

He felt a bit sorry for Ma-jil, who would be training in Antang Mountain, but his heart was too urgent to go down there and then turn back toward Kunlun. He had already decided: he would send the injured Cheong Yeon to deliver word, and when he went to Kunlun, he would move alone.

“One last thing.”

“What is it?”

“Before you leave for Kunlun, meet Go Won-gi once. Through him, you may learn something extremely important.”

“What…?”

“There’s something. I can’t bring myself to say it—it’s too shameful for me to speak aloud. But Go Won-gi, as the Martial Alliance’s information chief, won’t try to hide it like I do. Go well.”

After hearing Shingae, Neung Je-gang had to withdraw from the Beggar’s Sect headquarters as if he’d been chased out. Whatever it was, the one thing Shingae couldn’t bring himself to say had left his mind in turmoil.

“Did it go well?”

Cheong Yeon, who had been waiting outside in a daze, approached when he saw Neung Je-gang come out.

Over the last few days, Cheong Yeon had grown quiet and burdened with thoughts. Neung Je-gang understood why: Cheong Yeon was trying to seize again the sensation of that moment he had seen sword aura. Once he crossed that stage, only then could he be said to have truly reached the transcendent peak realm of the sword.

“There’s somewhere I have to go alone.”

“Yes?”

“Cheong Yeon, you go to Antang Mountain. Go and wait there until I return.”

“Understood. To be honest, I want to follow you, but in my current state I don’t think I’d be much help. I’ll wait in Antang Mountain until you return. And when you see me next, you’ll see a different me.”

Cheong Yeon gave a bitter smile, glancing at his wounded shoulder.