The Fallen Ones (1)

Swish, swish.

He didn’t know when his once brisk brushstrokes had become this sluggish.

The young man sighed as he dried the document. It was a report on the Eastern iron mine’s ore purchases.

With this, today’s work was finished. At least as far as the iron mine went.

Setting the brush down, the young man slowly sank into his chair.

‘I’m tired.’

At eighteen, his eyes had opened to the world.

Since then, there hadn’t been a single day he wasn’t busy. But lately it had been especially bad. He truly wanted to throw all the piled-up work aside and spend just one day rolling around in bed.

Naturally, he couldn’t. If he rested for one day, the work piling up for the clan would double. To deal with it, he would have to split time he didn’t even have.

‘At this rate, I might even fall ill.’

Of course, sickness wouldn’t come for a body this sturdy.

‘Still, I only need to hold on a little longer.’

A light of hope rose on the young man’s face.

How hard had he worked to change the clan?

Even if it meant committing an unforgivable act, he meant to achieve the great work of his life. The moment he crossed the line, the word retreat vanished from his life.

Fortunately, he would be able to realize his dream far sooner than he had vaguely expected.

‘Those trash. Just for daring to rise to the same rank as our house which has over two hundred years of history, it was a grave crime that warranted the extermination of nine generations.’

The young man recalled the merchant group that had been wiped out not long ago.

With less than a hundred years of history, it had grown at a frightening pace, reaching a position that could threaten the two great merchants who had long been rooted in Sichuan.

But its limits were clear. As always, an organization without history wraps the road to ruin in the name of ambition and struts in arrogance.

Thanks to that, it was cleanly annihilated without leaving even a pillar’s root behind, so was this not the will of heaven?

The young man, sneering as he celebrated the fall of those rootless peddlers, suddenly thought of the young man who had smashed them.

‘What was his name again. Jin…’

He definitely remembered it, but he had been oddly hazy today.

It couldn’t be helped. He had used his head too much. He had refined a single inner cultivation method for a long time, but it seemed fatigue was unavoidable even after learning a peerless art.

‘I should take this time to do some training for the first time in a while, while I clear my head.’

Though he called it ‘in a while,’ unless he was extremely busy, he never skipped two hours of circulation a day. Circulation, too, was part of work for him.

Circulation after a full three days.

Sitting cross-legged and guiding his qi, he was startled.

‘When did it get like this?’

His dantian was larger than it had been three days ago.

This was astonishing. The young man had studied martial arts extensively and even researched on his own, but he had never heard of a dantian growing this much in three days.

‘I heard it could happen if one gained a great enlightenment…’

But what could he have enlightened himself to in three days?

He worried whether this was truly alright, but soon he recalled the words of the man who had given him the art.

‘What a pity. With First Young Master’s talent, you would lack nothing to enter as a disciple of the Nine Great Sects, yet you were born as the heir of a merchant house. Heaven’s will is truly cruel. Still, with your innate talent and a top-tier heart method, even circulation alone will let you gain internal energy rivaling others.’

The strange man who appeared like mist and bestowed sublime teachings had a captivating charm.

‘That heart method is not a mere method for refining internal energy. It is a heart art that encompasses even the middle dantian. Even if you do not walk the path of a martial artist, it is good to cultivate as a regimen for the health of mind and body. Once you surpass a certain realm, even the upper dantian will open, and you will gain an intellect sharper than anyone’s.’

Even now, it was a tremendous stroke of fortune one could call a fated encounter.

As he understood it, inner cultivation methods primarily refined the lower dantian, and had developed from Taoist health regimens.

If it was a divine art that could reach the middle dantian, and even the upper dantian known as the dantian of spirit, then it was clearly a martial art worthy of speaking of under heaven.

In fact, he had vaguely sensed the existence of the upper dantian as well. If he hadn’t learned this art, he would not even have felt that mystery.

‘How much longer? It feels like nearly a month has passed.’

The young man didn’t think the heart art’s swift progress was solely due to his own talent.

He circulated steadily, and above all, each month he brewed and drank an elixir with reduced potency. It was medicine with outstanding effect for increasing internal energy, so perhaps his dantian growing like this was rather thanks to that.

Tseu-tseu-tseu.

After focusing on circulation and casting off stray thoughts for half an hour,

A faint gray mist poured from the young man’s body.

Circulation Samadhi. A state one could not show with ordinary focus. And for internal energy to flow outward, take on a distinct color, and form a current meant the young man’s internal energy was at least at the level of a peak master.

It was an achievement that would startle anyone. Considering it had not even been ten years since he trained internal energy, it was unbelievable.

After circulating for another half hour, the young man opened his eyes.

Flash!

Two eyes flashing with Divine Radiance.

The gaze fit the word radiant, yet within that radiance a strand of dark energy lurked.

“First Young Master.”

“You’re here.”

“I thought you would be circulating, so I was standing guard.”

“Thank you.”

The masked man, Ho Il-gwang, bowed his head.

“Congratulations on your attainment.”

“Hm? You could see it too?”

“Yes. If you entered Circulation Samadhi and even your qi manifested outward, doesn’t that mean First Young Master’s internal energy realm is on par with Sichuan Murim’s strongest?”

The young man snorted softly.

“You don’t need to gild my face. I know my progress is fast, but I still have many shortcomings.”

Ho Il-gwang said no more. Beyond this, it would likely be taken as needless flattery.

The young man stood and gathered the iron mine documents as he asked,

“How are things in the Patriarch’s Quarters?”

“As always.”

“Yeah?”

Seeing the young man’s expression not change at all, as if it were someone else’s matter, Ho Il-gwang felt a strange chill.

The young man continued evenly.

“Do you think the Chief Physician has noticed?”

“I couldn’t tell that far, but he didn’t seem to sense anything unusual. Judging by how he’s acting no different than usual, he seems unaware.”

The young man’s hand paused over the documents.

“Captain Ho.”

“Yes, First Young Master.”

“I believe without doubt that you are Sichuan’s finest assassin.”

“I’m honored you think so…”

“But you didn’t come under me just to stain your hands with blood, did you? You have much to do besides killing people. Whatever I order, you must carry it out.”

With his head bowed, the nape of Ho Il-gwang’s neck slowly dampened.

“The Chief Physician is a good man. He was like a friend to Father, and when I caught a cold or came back hurt as a child, he treated me with sincere care. At times, when the clan’s teachings weighed on me and I felt upset, he came to me in secret and comforted me.”

“…”

“I don’t want to kill a man like that with my own hands. But if he discovers the secret, then for the greater cause, I will have no choice but to eliminate him.”

“…”

“I’ll give you a full three days. Bring me something you can be certain of, not conjecture. Understood?”

“I will carry out your command.”

“Move from this moment.”

Whoosh.

With a faint breeze, Ho Il-gwang vanished.

The young man, letting out a deep sigh, looked out the window.

His whole body brimmed with strength from circulation, yet his eyes were only languid.

“Will it be soon?”

The movement arts of the two men, running at full power without rest, were so fast it was hard to believe even while watching.

Both were men who could be judged in the Kangho as peak masters, or beyond. In particular, they possessed vaster internal energy than masters of the same level, so their stamina was excellent.

And because they didn’t follow the main roads, cutting across a route close to a straight line, they were far faster than traveling by carriage.

And after well over two hours,

At last, the two reached a certain hill.

“It’s over there.”

It was far away, but to the eyes of two masters, the outline of a massive clan was clear.

The night streets were sparse, yet the pleasure houses made it a city that never slept. Because of the Radiant Sword Festival, countless merchants had poured in, but the courtesans still sold laughter here tonight and laid their bodies upon melody.

Jin-hyeon looked around the hill.

‘I remember.’

After returning to life, he had reached this place by running like mad through the rain.

Here, he saw the clan and abandoned revenge, giving the bitter and simple reason that the one who suffered it was a fool.

And now he had reclaimed himself and returned here again.

“I need to circulate for a bit.”

“Do it on the way back.”

Half an hour later.

After each of them steadied their internal energy for half an hour, the two unfolded their movement arts again.

Beside the sparse streets, after crossing rough woods and low hills, a single clan finally displayed its splendid majesty before them.

Jin-hyeon’s eyes wavered.

The words Divine Iron written on the gate plaque slammed into his chest.

‘It’s been a while.’

To think he would see that plaque again.

But there was no time to drown in sentiment. He hadn’t come to look around the house, but to find someone.

“Can we infiltrate as is?”

“Follow me.”

Jin-hyeon headed to the direction opposite the main gate.

After controlling his internal energy and killing his presence, he vaulted the wall. Han Cheol-sang followed behind him.

Jin-hyeon didn’t look around.

In his mind, the path he used to sneak out with his older brother was vivid.

But holes in a wall were always repaired sooner or later. More than half the routes Jin-hyeon knew were blocked.

But he didn’t feel it was difficult. He had formidable martial arts now.

After passing through several gaps and vaulting several walls, the two finally reached the inner courtyard. It was an astonishing speed.

They hadn’t run into a single person along the way. Their senses were so sharp that they could infiltrate easily while avoiding the guard warriors.

[Be careful from here. The First Young Master’s assassins might be hiding.]

[Assassins? The merchant house’s First Young Master?]

Jin-hyeon didn’t bother replying.

He learned at the moment of death that Gyeong Do-cheon commanded assassins. That day when the downpour fell, there were at least ten assassins around Gyeong Do-cheon, their gazes sharp enough to flay flesh, as he drove a blade into Jin-hyeon’s abdomen.

He couldn’t gauge how skilled they were, but at least with his current ability, it seemed he could deal with them without difficulty.

Still, a fight was a fight, and presence was presence. Using the shadows of buildings, the two quickly reached the front of the Patriarch’s Quarters.

[Brother Han, wait here. If something happens, send a voice transmission.]

[Go, then.]

Leaving Han Cheol-sang in a spot perfect for hiding, Jin-hyeon slipped inside without a sound, avoiding the guards’ eyes.

Saaak.

He put a tiny amount of Heavenly Wolf True Qi into his hand and erased the sound of the window opening.

After entering through the window, Jin-hyeon went straight up to the second floor.

“Hm?”

Tuk.

He tapped an acupoint on a guard standing at the door and put him to sleep, then slowly opened the door.

“…”

Inside, a single large candle burned without a sound.

Moving slowly to control the flow of air, Jin-hyeon soon approached the bed.

In that instant, his eyes shook hard.

On the bed lay an old man with hair gone white. His cheeks were sunken. His once solid build had withered until it was about as narrow as a woman’s shoulders.

A weak breath came with a rattling metallic sound. It was beyond mere illness. His face was cast under the shadow of death.

Without realizing, Jin-hyeon spoke.

“Father.”

Then a small sound, like a groan, slipped from the old man’s mouth.

“…Se-hwi, is that you, or is it Do-cheon?”