Revealed Will (4)

After eating their fill and coming outside, the moon had already risen in the sky.

Snow was piled up everywhere, and lanterns were lit throughout the house. The atmosphere was superb.

It was worth enjoying the night scenery at least once, but Im Yeo-wol went straight into her residence. It seemed she intended to devote herself to circulation until dawn.

Han Cheol-sang went inside, saying he would clean up the kitchen, so only Jin-hyeon and Do Il-gang remained.

“Hey, Mr. Do.”

“Um, Patriarch? Please just call me by my name.”

“Fine, Il-gang.”

“Yes.”

From the sight of Jin-hyeon looking up at the sky, Do Il-gang felt an inexplicable weight.

“You can stay here for the time being while helping with our work. I told you this before, right?”

“Ah, yes! That’s right. Just leave anything to me. I’ll somehow do the work of one person.”

“To do the work of one person, you only need to be good with a sword.”

For an instant, Do Il-gang flinched.

Jin-hyeon smiled faintly.

“I have a lot of wealth. Honestly, if I don’t start clan businesses, it’s enough for several generations to spend recklessly. Taking care of you alone is no problem.”

“That’s impressive.”

“Having a lot of money isn’t very impressive.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Let me ask one thing.”

It was a question tossed out lightly in passing, but Do Il-gang instinctively knew.

His answer now would decide his relationship with Jin-hyeon. He had a gentle and honest personality, but at least his intuition was as outstanding as his martial talent.

“I won’t ask who you learned from. But are there people in Kangho who would recognize your true ultimate technique?”

Informal speech settled naturally.

He was not speaking down because Do Il-gang was young, or because Do Il-gang’s skill was beneath his.

Jin-hyeon’s voice and presence clearly revealed the bearing of a leader. In other words, it was dignity.

Do Il-gang felt himself shrink back for some reason.

“…There should be.”

“How many?”

“I cannot know that.”

It was true. But there was more to say.

After hesitating for a moment, Do Il-gang sighed and spoke.

“There should be two people who could clearly recognize it. Other than them, among older senior-level masters… there would be quite a few who could recognize it.”

“Two.”

Jin-hyeon nodded.

“Fine. I understand.”

Through that answer, Do Il-gang could tell. Jin-hyeon had inferred his identity to some degree.

If asked how such a thing was possible, he could not answer. But Jin-hyeon seemed to know. Perhaps he had guessed ever since Do Il-gang sparred with Ha Jun.

Do Il-gang asked carefully.

“Patriarch.”

“Speak.”

“By any chance, have you guessed my identity?”

Jin-hyeon’s calm gaze turned toward Do Il-gang.

There was no smile, but it was not cold either. Just an ordinary expression.

Do Il-gang stared at Jin-hyeon for a while, then let out a deep sigh.

“I’m stupid, so I have no talent for pretending not to know when I know, or pretending to know when I don’t.”

“That’s not because you’re stupid. That’s your personality.”

“If you’ve already guessed, and it’s all showing on my face, then trying hard to hide this part has no meaning.”

“See? You’re not stupid.”

Do Il-gang gave a bitter smile.

“My master’s name is Hwa Un-baek.”

“The Hundred Flowers Divine Lord.”

“…That’s right.”

About fifty years ago, three absolute masters appeared in Kangho.

Even the previous-generation masters of the Nine Sects and Five Families had no choice but to concede a step to them. They founded the Martial God Association, went through many incidents, and eventually had a showdown with the Heavenly Will Alliance.

Countless people died in the process. That incident became infamous as the greatest event of the Central Plains civil strife after the Eight Wastes Alliance Leader’s death, and played a decisive role in the terrifying expansion of the Heavenly Will Alliance, which had protected Kangho.

The Three Demons Turmoil.

In the perception of the Murim people of the time, it was a blood calamity caused by three masters known as once-in-an-age demonic men.

“Your master?”

“He passed away.”

His tone was calmer than expected. It was not that he was not sad. It was probably because he had overcome the sadness.

“Well, if he was active fifty years ago, he would be nearly a hundred by now.”

“Patriarch.”

“Yes.”

Do Il-gang straightened his back.

“Thinking it over, I don’t think I should stay here. If my identity were to be revealed, by any chance…”

“If, by any chance, your identity is revealed and someone tries to harm you because of it, the four of us can wreck that bastard.”

“!”

“I said it was temporary, but you entered my clan.”

Jin-hyeon turned his head back to the sky.

“The Patriarch protects his clan people. Don’t worry about useless things.”

Do Il-gang felt something surge up inside his chest.

Aside from his master, this was the first time anyone had said such warm words to him. He had not shown it, but how anxious had he been after coming out into Kangho for the first time in his life?

He had whipped himself forward, telling himself there was no one to trust or rely on to the end in this harsh Kangho. Yet not only had Jin-hyeon saved him, he now spoke with a steadiness like an elder brother. Do Il-gang could not help but be moved.

But emotion was emotion, and reality was reality.

“I don’t know what would really happen, but if it becomes known that I’m my master’s disciple, this place may be swept into calamity.”

“I won’t let it be swept into calamity. So don’t worry.”

“Patriarch…”

“What you need to do now is earn your keep as a family member of our house.”

“…”

“So get stronger. Work hard enough to even cut into your sleeping time. Then later, let people know that the incident called the Three Demons Rebellion was actually the resistance of three wronged masters.”

“…Thank you.”

Feeling like tears would come, Do Il-gang bowed.

But only for a moment.

Do Il-gang snapped his upper body back up.

“How did you know?”

“What?”

“The Three Demons Rebellion. That it was actually…”

“Half of the history widely spread in this world is true, and half is false. If you look into the process inside the truth, there are plenty of incidents that stink.”

“!”

“What matters to you now is the future. Don’t worry about such things. Just run hard.”

Do Il-gang was certain. This young Patriarch before his eyes was far greater than he had thought.

It was not because he had a lot of money, strong martial arts, or much knowledge.

The Jin-hyeon Do Il-gang saw was someone who would not collapse.

Even if a typhoon struck before him, even if lightning fell, he would never stray from the path he had to take. That was a great shock to Do Il-gang, and at the same time, it looked cool.

“I’ll work hard.”

“Good. Then let’s start now.”

“Yes?”

Jin-hyeon lightly cleared his throat.

“Now that we’re on the subject, I’ve been working on one martial art recently and pondering over it.”

“?”

“Brother Han is a saber-wielder to the bone, and Yeo-wol is at the stage of starting over, so you’re the only proper swordsman here.”

Jin-hyeon pointed with his chin at the wide lot outside the rear garden.

“How about it? Will you help me with some sparring? You’ll gain something too.”

“Ah, yes.”

Do Il-gang’s face brightened.

He also knew Jin-hyeon’s skill was outstanding. If they compared their martial arts and developed through mutual growth, there could be nothing better.

But the future each of them saw was different.

Do Il-gang was looking at himself in the far future, but the future Jin-hyeon saw was right before his eyes.

‘They should start stirring things up soon.’

Sparring with Do Il-gang was an excellent choice.

Because he couldn’t control the power, Do Il-gang did not use his true ultimate technique, but even fighting with a few of its techniques mixed in, his swordsmanship could be called super-first-rate.

Jin-hyeon absorbed many things from Do Il-gang’s sword.

Thanks to the Eight Wastes Alliance Leader’s experience, he knew many martial arts, but what he gained by actually crossing hands with a warrior using high-level martial arts was far more intuitive and abundant than letting his imagination run wild alone.

Through three days of frantic sparring, Jin-hyeon finally added flesh to the sword technique whose frame he had grasped, and created a single sword form.

It was a martial art with only four techniques for now, but its power was superb. It did not have the broad versatility of the War-Sword Three Arts, divided into attack, defense, and certain kill, but it was far more lethal and had higher killing power.

An incomplete sword technique that began to be made in earnest after his first house was built.

Because it was inspired by the wind blowing together with winter snowflakes, Jin-hyeon named it the North Wind Sword Art.

Creating something new was an act that actively stimulated the upper dantian. Thanks to that, the Soul-Refining Qi also gained momentum, and because of it, Heavenly Wolf True Qi moved vigorously as well.

As he spent each day fully, he didn’t even know how time passed. Three days became five, and five quickly became seven.

It was on the twentieth day since he moved in, while Jin-hyeon was devoting himself to martial arts as if possessed, that someone came to his house.

Huk.

Jin-hyeon entered the room where Seomun Hoe was waiting while drinking tea.

Seomun Hoe, who had been about to rise and greet him, couldn’t continue speaking for a moment.

“You’re here?”

It was warmer than other regions, but it was still a snowy winter.

But intense heat could be felt from Jin-hyeon’s body. As if he had actually been sweating the whole time, his clothes clung tightly to his body.

That was not all.

His presence itself had changed from before. In the past, he had a duality where he was quiet, but once he revealed his power, he became endlessly violent. Now, even while still, a strange fierceness was showing.

A low and measured fierceness that could also be interpreted as dignity and backbone.

Seomun Hoe asked in surprise.

“Were you training until now?”

“What’s the point of playing around? I should at least improve my skill.”

Jin-hyeon glanced beside Seomun Hoe.

A familiar young man was standing there. He was the one who had spoken to Jin-hyeon on the first floor of the abandoned building when Jin-hyeon first went to meet Seomun Hoe.

“You dressed up a bit.”

“You remember me?”

“You seemed like an important person, so I remembered you. Right, so you were the owner of the Five Tigers Merchant Guild.”

The young man, Gang Yeo, was startled.

“How did you know?”

“What do you mean, how? If this man brought someone I don’t know at a time like this, it can only be the owner of the Five Tigers Merchant Guild.”

“…I see.”

Gang Yeo gave a fist-clasp salute.

“I will formally introduce myself. I am Gang Yeo, leader of the Five Tigers Merchant Guild.”

“I’m Jin-hyeon.”

“I know. And I apologize for what happened before.”

He was referring to how he had tried to look good in front of Seol Hong-baek.

“It’s fine, so sit.”

It was already in the past, and it was not something worth finding fault with. Jin-hyeon waved it off and sat, and Seomun Hoe and Gang Yeo also sat.

“Honestly, I thought I would meet our Guild Leader Gang together with Patriarch Seol. Seeing you bring him here all of a sudden, something must have happened.”

While Gang Yeo was surprised by Jin-hyeon’s sharp eye, Seomun Hoe casually took out a letter as if it were nothing new.

“Look at this first.”

Jin-hyeon naturally unfolded and read the letter, then nodded.

“The Cheongyang Association is trying to touch Divine Iron.”

“Ha Suk-heon and the masters under him died on that side, so of course.”

“And they didn’t move earlier because they were watching the Sichuan Branch’s reaction?”

“As expected, talking with you is easy.”

Seomun Hoe’s face turned serious.

“The branch warriors are thoroughly controlling the Divine Iron Merchant House, so the Cheongyang Association won’t be able to touch the people left there.”

“For the time being, yes.”

“That’s right. For the time being. But what matters is not the Divine Iron Merchant House.”

Seomun Hoe’s eyes flashed.

“The fact that they’re loitering around Divine Iron and openly throwing themselves into investigation is proof that their preparations to move out are complete to some degree, isn’t it?”

They had brought in criminals whose names were on the public enemy notices, not warriors belonging to the Cheongyang Association. Since the situation could not be openly covered up, the Cheongyang Association had to watch it thoroughly.

Yet the fact that they dispatched warriors meant there would be no problem even if conflict arose with the branch.

In other words, they had confidence.

“The Cheongyang Association is revealing its true colors. What will you do now?”

“What else?”

Jin-hyeon smiled coldly.

“It’s about time to go cut off the Cheongyang Association Leader’s head.”