Number One In Sichuan (6)

As soon as he crossed the outer court wall, he saw Mun Jung and an old Daoist in Daoist robes.

Jin-hyeon immediately approached Mun Jung and threw Ha Jun down in front of him.

“This is Ha Jun. If you shake him down thoroughly, something useful should come out.”

Still, since someone was beside them, he at least used semi-polite speech.

Jin-hyeon glanced at the old Daoist and spoke.

“You seem busy, so let us meet later.”

“…You do not need to mind this Daoist here.”

“Then I’ll speak comfortably.”

Normally, Mun Jung would have thrown out a joke, but right now, he couldn’t bring himself to do that. Without realizing it, his mouth fell open.

‘How can this be?’

Saaaaak.

Jin-hyeon had raised the density of his Moonlit Pack-Wolf True Qi to the limit and drawn it in, but because he had only just reached that realm, qi waves were faintly leaking out.

The density of that leaking power surpassed imagination. Even setting aside actual combat ability, Mun Jung was not confident he could win if they fought in earnest.

‘He has become a completely different person.’

Even when Mun Jung had last seen him, Jin-hyeon had possessed tremendous martial arts for his age. To put it plainly, if he went out into the middle of the Central Plains right now, countless sects would drool and rush toward him.

But now?

‘A transcendent master…!’

That unique, heavy bearing felt only from those who had crossed the wall.

At this level, he seemed unlikely to be pushed back even if he fought a Sect Master-level expert from a major sect. Even compared to the Twin Dragons and Three Phoenixes, called the greatest geniuses of the current Kangho and candidates for the next Martial God, he did not seem inferior.

Mun Jung didn’t hide his surprise.

“What in the world happened? Just what martial art is…”

“Ah, does it show?”

Jin-hyeon gave a bitter smile and rubbed his own shoulder.

“It’s still hard to control. Well, I did rise just a moment ago.”

“?!”

“I’ll have to put some effort into training.”

“You crossed the wall just now?”

“While fighting the Cheongyang Association Leader.”

“That makes no sense. You’ve only just crossed the wall, yet the density of your qi is that…”

“Hey, Branch Leader. Now is not the time to satisfy your curiosity about me, is it?”

“…”

“We can have a deep conversation between us later. There’s someone watching, too, so let’s not waste time with pointless talk.”

He was right. He was right, but even though Mun Jung tried not to, his gaze kept being stolen by that absurd bearing.

Jin-hyeon nudged Ha Jun with his foot.

“He may be an idiot, but in the end, maybe he managed to catch his father’s eye. He went to a place where the family’s secrets were shared. He probably knows something about the secret business the Cheongyang Association was pushing forward, too.”

“…”

“Likewise, there is one more of the Ha bloodline in a warehouse in the outer court. I suspect she’s this bastard’s younger sister. I heard she was recognized for her intelligence. You will probably get more from that younger sister than from this one.”

“…”

“You must have stopped by Manguwi Street, so you took all the captured hostages and left, right? Here too, we tied up the ones who didn’t resist. Gather them all and send them to the Investigation and Defense Court.”

Everything had already been arranged. And that was natural.

Jin-hyeon had come with the intention of ending the Cheongyang Association. If the Branch troops or the Investigation and Defense Court constables had burst in, those who needed to die wouldn’t have died.

Mun Jung asked in a voice that had lowered further.

“What about the Cheongyang Association’s assets?”

“I didn’t touch them. Well, who knows? Maybe I will absorb the businesses that had contracts with Cheongyang later. But that is a matter for after rumors spread that the Cheongyang Association has officially ended, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

“I see.”

Jin-hyeon dusted off his hands.

“That’s it. Everything I had to do is done.”

“…I see.”

“Let’s meet later. At that time, make sure it is just the two of us.”

It was a light rebuke asking why Mun Jung had brought a Daoist to a place like this.

Mun Jung shook his head.

“I’m sorry I did not tell you beforehand. But please understand that it was necessary.”

Jin-hyeon gave a small laugh.

“Wasn’t that something we both understood going in? I won’t suspect you over nothing, so don’t worry too much.”

That was when it happened.

“It is our first meeting.”

Songpungja greeted him politely.

“I am called Songpungja of Daoling Palace. I meet the White Sword Rising Hero, the most famous man in current Sichuan.”

He was extremely courteous despite this being their first meeting. Considering Songpungja’s age, his words and bearing were truly surprising.

Jin-hyeon also greeted him respectfully.

“I am Jin-hyeon.”

“I heard you met this man’s junior martial brother once before.”

“I did. I received the Incomplete Strange Sword well.”

Songpungja sighed.

“It may be far too late, but I still want to apologize now. The Palace had its own circumstances, so even if we wanted to intervene, we could not.”

He was speaking of the matter with the Divine Iron Merchant House.

Jin-hyeon shook his head.

“It is not something you need to apologize to me for. I never considered whether Daoling Palace would take part in the first place. If anything, if you had intervened, things would have become more chaotic.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“However, my grandfather is now the Supreme Patriarch of our clan. When he received the Incomplete Strange Sword, he officially severed ties with Daoling Palace, so it would be best to end any private conversation here.”

It was a statement that clearly drew a line.

Human ties were not something formed and severed in such a way, but Songpungja understood Jin-hyeon’s feelings.

But there was one thing he found strange.

“Our clan? Do you perhaps mean the Divine Iron Merchant House…?”

“The Divine Iron Merchant House has been officially dissolved. And my clan is exactly that, a clan I founded myself. It has little to do with the Divine Iron Merchant House.”

“Huh, so that was the case.”

He already knew that Jin-hyeon had founded something like a clan. But the connection to the Divine Iron Merchant House had been unclear.

Songpungja quietly observed Jin-hyeon.

‘A strange young man.’

Before his martial arts, his temperament itself was extraordinary.

At first, Songpungja had simply been startled by the qi waves faintly flowing from him, but now, that was not what mattered.

‘A master of this level should have grasped my martial skill to some degree the moment we faced each other. And yet he shows no sign of surprise. It is not that he is deliberately hiding himself. He truly has no interest in me.’

But when Songpungja spoke first, Jin-hyeon responded with unexpected courtesy. Judging from how he had treated Mun Jung, Songpungja had thought he would not be easy to converse with.

‘Indeed.’

Songpungja smiled.

‘I must be completely honest before this young man.’

He felt he understood why the people of the Palace had said that the nickname White Sword Rising Hero suited this young man better than White-Haired Sword Ghost.

“I deliberately followed Branch Leader Mun here. I wanted to see the White Sword Rising Hero, whose reputation has been so widespread of late. Now that I see you like this, I know those rumors were not exaggerated. If anything, they were greatly understated.”

“…”

“I would very much like to have a conversation with you someday. In my heart, I would like to ask even now, but this is not a suitable place for that.”

Jin-hyeon bowed his head.

“Please contact me later. If nothing else comes up, I will invite you to Ziyang.”

“Heh heh, let us do that.”

This was enough.

Songpungja could understand why Mun Jung had said he would not know unless he saw Jin-hyeon himself.

‘He is a young man like the wind.’

Songpungja’s eyes shone.

‘When it blows gently, it makes everyone feel pleasant. But depending on the time, it can become a fierce gust, or even a storm.’

The current Jin-hyeon was like a refreshing autumn wind.

The scent of that wind was not bad. It was rare for someone to leave such a strong impression at a first meeting.

As Songpungja was admiring Jin-hyeon like that, Mun Jung spoke.

“We will discuss the details later. You worked hard fighting.”

“My people worked hard, not me.”

“Heh heh, is that so?”

Jin-hyeon looked Mun Jung up and down.

“What? Did something get on me?”

“If you have set your mind straight, start training soon. You are someone important enough to be Branch Leader, so you can probably eat good things too.”

Mun Jung gave a small laugh.

“I originally intended to start later, but seeing you now, I feel I should begin today.”

“You can put off everything else, but you must never put off the work of completing yourself. Whether that is studying letters or martial arts.”

Jin-hyeon waved his hand.

“I’m leaving.”

“See you again.”

With that, Jin-hyeon walked along the outer court wall. Han Cheol-sang and Do Il-gang would already have left the outer court under Oh Byeong-chan’s guidance, so there was no reason to stay longer.

Watching Jin-hyeon’s back as he grew distant, Mun Jung asked.

“What do you think?”

“Branch Leader, you were right. Had I not seen him myself, I would not have understood that young man’s value.”

“He makes people furious at times, but my sins are great, so I cannot even get angry at him.”

Songpungja shook his head.

“That is not it.”

“?”

“It is not because of the sins you committed, Branch Leader. It is because that young man’s presence is extraordinary, so you cannot treat him carelessly.”

Mun Jung silently pondered his words, then gave a bitter smile.

“Yes, that may be so.”

“I think you must get along well with that young man from now on. You may begin by holding the reins together, only to find yourself being dragged along at some point.”

“I think so too.”

Songpungja raised his head and looked at the sky.

The hazy sun gave no stimulation to the eyes.

‘I had thought to wrap Mount Qingcheng’s shadow around that young man’s body… but at this rate, if we are not careful, our shadow may be buried beneath his.’

Puk!

Ha Yul-sak looked down at his own chest with disbelieving eyes.

But only for a moment. The Cheongyang Association’s Second Elder died then and there. The life he had lived, born as the child of a concubine and gritting his teeth desperately to rise to the position of Second Elder, vanished so emptily.

“Huu.”

A stream of smoke spread deep into the cave.

The old man shook the ash from his pipe and opened a rather large box behind Ha Yul-sak’s corpse.

“As expected.”

Inside the box were a total of six martial manuals.

“That girl was right.”

Well, no matter how smart she was, she was still at an age lacking experience. She could not deceive the godfather of Sichuan’s assassination world, who had spent his life assassinating countless masters.

The old man, Oh Gyeong, took out two of the manuals.

One was a manual titled Body-Unbinding Immortal-Donning Art, and the other was a manual titled Thunder Immortal Thunderbolt Fist.

“Taking only these should be enough.”

In any case, those young siblings would be thoroughly wrung out under the Sichuan Branch’s investigation. Naturally, the identity of this place would be exposed as well.

He wanted to take all the manuals, but if he did, they would not be able to prove that Cheongyang had trained in the martial arts of the Yan Clan, which had been mistaken for a demonic sect two hundred years ago.

Most decisively, as long as he had these two manuals, there was no need to even glance at the other Yan Clan martial arts. That was the most important thing.

Oh Gyeong removed Ha Yul-sak’s corpse in an instant and erased every bloodstain and scent of blood. Furthermore, he cleanly erased even the traces that he had come here.

Oh Gyeong came out of the cave, climbed the cliff, and looked around.

The view of Sichuan’s endlessly spreading land came into view all at once.

“I really endured for a long time in this tiresome land.”

Oh Gyeong sucked on the mouthpiece a few times, then smiled bitterly and tapped out his pipe. There was no tobacco left now.

He cooled the pipe with internal energy, hung it at his waist, and tucked the manuals into his robes.

“I wonder if this is enough as a joining gift.”