Red-Rain Divine Sword

Then Lady Jeong-yeon asked back with startled eyes.

“What? To Senior Brother Hwa?”

“Yes. If it’s Senior Brother Hwa, he would never dismiss our words. And if he could move Qingcheng, even the elders of our sect could not ignore it.”

Senior Brother Hwa?

We exchanged puzzled looks.

Could the Emei Sect, a women’s sect, even have a “senior brother”?

And move Qingcheng?

Unable to hold back, Bi Sayoung asked.

“Who exactly is this Senior Brother Hwa?”

Lady Jeong-an answered, her face brightening like a girl recalling her first love.

“He is such a splendid man! He is adored by all of Emei’s female disciples!”

Mm, that was… awkward.

That wasn’t what we asked.

At least it confirmed he was a man.

Huh? But Bi Sayoung’s expression looked a bit off.

He seemed slightly flustered.

He wore a faintly uncomfortable look as he watched Lady Jeong-an clasp her hands like someone thinking of her first love.

Others might not notice, but I caught the change instantly.

Don’t tell me…?

Lady Jeong-yeon sighed at her junior’s answer and clarified.

“He is a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect. Specifically, a disciple of Taoist Cheong Gwang.”

Taoist Cheong Gwang? I’d heard that somewhere…

Huh?! Taoist Cheong Gwang?!

At that name we blurted out in surprise.

“If you mean Taoist Cheong Gwang, could it be…?!”

Lady Jeong-yeon nodded in confirmation.

“Yes, the very one known as the ‘Qingcheng Eccentric Immortal,’ one of the Five Eccentrics of the World.”

Heavens!

It was an even bigger figure than expected.

A disciple of Taoist Cheong Gwang, the Qingcheng Eccentric Immortal, one of the Five Eccentrics.

The Qingcheng Eccentric Immortal stood on the same level as the likes of Seductive Demon Son Eun-sang, the Martial Alliance Leader and “Chivalry King” Moyong Geom, and the Blood Cult’s “Blood Demon” Jeon Mu-gwang.

And Lady Jeong-yeon’s next explanation was even more astonishing.

Hwa Yeong-bin, the Red-Rain Divine Sword, fourth disciple of the Eccentric Immortal, had been the lover of Lady Jeong Seon—then the Emei Sword Phoenix and famed as Sichuan’s greatest beauty—over a decade ago.

The two met by chance while traveling as chivalrous wanderers, fell in love at once, and after several years of courtship even obtained permission from their respective sects to marry.

I found myself murmuring.

“A union between the Eccentric Immortal’s disciple and the Emei Sword Phoenix… That must have been momentous.”

Lady Jeong-yeon nodded gravely.

“It was tremendous. The marriage of Qingcheng’s foremost prodigy and Emei’s foremost prodigy. I was young then, but I still remember the entire mountain abuzz when the Sect Head granted permission.”

Until then, no one doubted that the leading talents of Emei and Qingcheng would marry and live happily.

But the world was unknowable; just as they were about to wed, the Great Righteous–Blood War broke out.

As a women’s sect, Emei had a past of many disciples sacrificed to the Blood Cult’s fiends.

Thus they could not stand aside; they prepared for the crusade with all their might.

Even the Sect Head at the time, Master Gyeolheo, and many elders joined the war; it was only natural that Lady Jeong Seon, her disciple, also took the field.

But though his beloved went to war, Hwa Yeong-bin, the Red-Rain Divine Sword, did not.

No—he could not.

“A man did not join when his beloved did? Why?”

To Bi Sayoung’s question, Lady Jeong-yeon explained.

“Even now, Qingcheng, rather than being a single monolithic sect, functions more like a confederation of multiple martial lineages. As such, the Qingcheng Sect Head is less an absolute decision-maker, unlike ours, and more a coordinator of those lineages’ views. He has little authority to meddle in how each lineage acts.”

Hearing that, I felt a strange fascination.

I had imagined the head of one of the Nine Great Sects as an all-powerful figure, but the Qingcheng Sect Head’s position was not what I thought.

Lady Jeong-yeon continued.

“The Qingcheng Sect Head at the time, Taoist Cheong Won, was not on friendly terms with the Martial Alliance. So Qingcheng originally had no intention of joining the war, but the next Sect Head—Taoist Cheong Myeong, the current holder—entered the war independently with his followers.”

“Then Senior Hwa Yeong-bin stood on the opposite side from them.”

“Yes—completely opposite. Even now, it’s well known that the current Sect Head Taoist Cheong Myeong and the Eccentric Immortal Taoist Cheong Gwang are close to being mortal rivals.”

I had never heard that.

The Qingcheng Sect Head, a rival to the sect’s supreme master and one of the world’s absolutes?

Could a sect function with its greatest master and its leader at odds?

I had thought the Nine Great Sects would all be similar, but indeed, the world was broad and varied.

I organized what I’d heard so far.

“So, of the two lovers who were to be wed, Lady Jeong Seon entered the war, while Senior Hwa Yeong-bin could not. And when the war ended and Lady Jeong Seon did not return, their marriage naturally never happened.”

Both women nodded with sorrowful faces.

Not only Lady Jeong Seon, but none of the Emei disciples who joined the war returned; for Emei disciples like them, it must have been the most tragic of events.

Their faces were so downcast that I hesitated to speak—but fortunately Lady Jeong-yeon steadied herself and continued.

“Though he lost the woman he loved, Senior Hwa—Senior Brother Hwa—never abandoned his loyalty to Emei. For ten years he yearned only for Lady Jeong Seon and cared for Emei as if it were truly his wife’s family, always helping us in our hardships. To the Emei of today, he is perhaps the most grateful benefactor in the world. Without him, our disciples would have been in utter despair. Out of both gratitude and affection, we call him Senior Brother Hwa.”

“Aah…”

It was an astonishing tale.

He had not forgotten his beloved of ten years past, still keeping her memory alive.

More than that, he continued to care for her sect as well.

It sounded unreal, like a figure from a tale.

Be that as it may, I focused on the practical.

He was a disciple of the Eccentric Immortal—an absolute of the martial world—a Qingcheng disciple of a Nine Great Sect, and someone who treated Emei’s matters as his own.

Excellent.

If only one more condition were met.

Eyes brightening, I asked Lady Jeong-yeon:

“You said the Eccentric Immortal is on poor terms with the current Qingcheng Sect Head. Then Senior Hwa, as his disciple, likely doesn’t have much influence in Qingcheng, does he?”

The two ladies shook their heads firmly.

“No. In Qingcheng, the faction following the Eccentric Immortal Taoist Cheong Gwang is larger than the one following the current Sect Head Taoist Cheong Myeong. Senior Brother Hwa’s influence there is likely even greater than the Sect Head’s.”

…That was perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

I clapped fist to palm.

“Then it’s settled! Let’s go to him! We’ll explain the situation and ask him to move Qingcheng!”

Lady Jeong-yeon hesitated.

“But… we still ought to report to Mount Emei.”

I grinned.

“Of course you should report. But do it by letter.”

“…What?! By letter?!”

Startled at the idea of reporting by letter, she listened as I laid out the reasoning she couldn’t refuse.

“Sometimes a letter is more effective than reporting in person. If you write, the elders will have to focus on the contents rather than immediately punishing a disciple who disobeyed orders. Attach a bit of evidence, and even those inclined to stay friendly with the Righteous Chivalry Guild will have to take action. And if we can also move Qingcheng on behalf of rescuing an Emei disciple, they’ll work all the harder.”

At that point, Brother Sag Muhun, who had been quietly listening, asked me:

“Then you intend to travel with these young ladies?”

Apparently tasked by the Sword Saint to guard Lady Cheong-yeon, Brother Sag did not relish having to go as far as Qingcheng.

I smiled.

“Brother Sag, I’d be grateful if you returned and informed our teammates. And… could you also report to the Martial Alliance—under a different sender’s name?”

He shot me a sharp look.

“You plan to draw in the Alliance as well?”

“Yes. The more responses, the better. If they learn the Righteous Chivalry Guild is the Blood Cult’s forward base, they’ll act in some manner.”

If they did not, then we would have to suspect they had condoned the Blood Cult’s northward push—or worse, were in league with them. I left that unsaid.

I quickly added:

“Oh, and please make sure to inform Commander Man Jong-im. I worry he might cause an incident if he doesn’t know the Guild is Blood Cult.”

Brother Sag chuckled.

“He’s still a famed orthodox master; surely he wouldn’t go that far. In any case, understood. I’ll return to my junior first.”

He left, saying he would send the other rescued women back on the way.

But at the time, we could not know— that because of that, he would be delayed by a day.

That night.

The Un Clan estate in Geumsa, Guizhou.

Commander Man Jong-im of the Twelfth Unit and the First Squad members of the Twelfth Unit hid in the shadow of the wall, preparing to infiltrate the Un Clan.

First Squad Leader Do Mu-gon asked Man Jong-im:

— Commander, are we truly doing the right thing?

Man Jong-im answered with a look of weary annoyance.

— What makes you so anxious?! We’re only going to confirm whether Blood Cult forces are inside the Un Clan and then withdraw! We aren’t even going alone—of three suspicious sites, the Righteous Chivalry Guild teams will check two, and we’ll check one! What’s there to complain about?!

At his testy reply, Do Mu-gon fell silent.

The plan itself did not seem flawed.

What unsettled Do Mu-gon was that all of it originated in the mind of the Guild’s White-Jade Earth Dragon, Gu Yu-sang.

They were simply following the plan he devised.

That Gu Yu-sang was, by reputation, a brilliant prodigy was undeniable.

A jade-like handsome man, strong in martial arts, seemingly gifted in strategy and leadership as well.

‘Even so… I still can’t trust him.’

That was the problem.

He could not shake the feeling they had entrusted too much to someone not yet proven.

He was deeply uneasy.

By contrast, Commander Man Jong-im seemed to trust Gu Yu-sang completely, despite having met him only recently.

The fact that his grounds amounted merely to Gu being the Righteous Chivalry Guild’s righteous “young dragon” made Do Mu-gon even more uneasy.

Man Jong-im sent a sound transmission:

— It should be about the third night-watch now. Let’s move.

Sighing inwardly, Do Mu-gon signaled the squad.

Since they had come this far, there was no choice.

They were not here to fight, only to scout and withdraw; surely nothing major would happen.

They vaulted the Un Clan’s wall.

Man Jong-im mocked the estate’s lax defenses and sent a whisper to Do Mu-gon.

— Their night-watch is laughably slack. To set sentries like this—typical heretics, tsk.

Even now, he could not resist mocking the unorthodox.

Ignoring him, Do Mu-gon exhaled in relief.

With such defenses, they could likely finish scouting and leave without issue.

So he thought.

A little later, guided by the internal map Gu Yu-sang had provided, they penetrated deep inside.

As they passed between halls, flames suddenly flared along the surrounding walls.

Whooosh!

Startled, Man Jong-im cried out.

“W-what is this?!”

Torches—countless torches.

They were surrounded on all sides, encircled before they knew it.

Then someone shouted:

“So the intel was right—you really sent assassins! Filthy Righteous Chivalry Guild! Fire!”

Do Mu-gon reeled at the words.

What?! As per the intel?!

His worst premonition had been right.

But realizing it now was useless.

As Man Jong-im and all the squad members stood aghast, arrows and hidden weapons poured at them from every side.

Fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh!

Pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-ping!

It was hell.