Chapter 155

The Martial King, a truly ignorant fool

“May I enter?”

“Yeah.”

Baekyak entered Danwooseong’s room. Having returned to the Galaxy Alliance, Danwooseong had sent Samaa Gyeok and Ju Jaryang back home and ensured Lee Ja-eon’s safe return before lying down on his bed. He had stayed awake for two full days. If it had been just running, he might have endured it, but the fierce battle with Geumgeom Il-ya in between had left him thoroughly exhausted.

Baekyak approached Dan Wooseong, who lay like a patient, and touched his forehead with her hand.

“Why are you running such a high fever?”

“It rained a lot.”

“You could have avoided it.”

“The Grand Master of the Ten Thousand Horses Palace wouldn’t let us avoid it. We got drenched together for quite a while.”

Baekyak chilled her own hand before pressing it against Danwooseong’s forehead and asked.

“Did you kill him?”

“Yeah.”

Suddenly feeling a cool sensation on his head, Dan Wooseong opened his eyes wide and replied.

“Ah, it feels nice and cool, but kinda scary.”

Baekyak smiled and said.

“Bear with it. Until the fever breaks. Oh, while you were away, I met Princess Manma on my dawn walk.”

“Did you kill her?”

“No. She escaped well. Judging by her instant speed, she seemed faster than me or my brother. Of course, the difference probably isn’t that great.”

“What did she say?”

“Other masters were reporting that they were interested in the ice palace. The moment he saw me, he declared he would make me his primary wife. He didn’t seem like an ordinary madman.”

“The madman knows a beauty when he sees one. What about Senior Yi-sin?”

“Senior sleeps like a ghost.”

“Like a ghost?”

“He sleeps when the sun sets and wakes when it rises. He boasts he can sleep anywhere, his head just needs to hit the pillow. He’s such a cheerful soul. He says sleep is the best medicine for restoring inner energy. While my brother was away, we talked about many things. He said the recent events will likely come to a conclusion at Gu Hwa Mountain.”

“Hmm.”

“My brother said to get yourself in top shape before we set out again once he returns. He and Senior Yisin. He says just the two of us should go. He said there’s no need for a large group.”

“The Martial Alliance too?”

“He said he’ll contact them. He figured he’d have to call the Alliance Leader, the Sword Saint, and the Sword God anyway.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“I told him I wanted to go too, but he keeps refusing with these vague, cryptic remarks.”

“What kind of vague words?”

“He asked if I knew that medicinal herbs grow near poisonous ones.”

“Is that necessarily the case?”

“That’s what he said. He’d been pondering it for a long time, reasoning that if there was a being called ‘Yisin,’ then by extension, its opposite must also exist in the world. That being might be waiting for him at Gu Huashan… After saying this, he told me that because I was young, I had a duty to shoulder responsibility for the next era. I understand he’s strong, but he said what happens at Gu Huashan requires the right timing. He said men would tear each other’s hair and rip their clothes fighting, so he told me to stay at the Galaxy Trading Guild. Tearing clothes… How ridiculous.”

Danwooseong burst out laughing.

“Well, that could be possible.”

“He said not to worry about my husband, that he’d definitely come back alive.”

When Danwooseong smiled, Baekyak said this.

“So I told my brother I’d make sure Senior Yisin stays in good health. My brother, please take good care of Senior Yisin. He’s a warm and pure-hearted person.”

“Senior Gwangshin is there, and so am I. Even if there’s a demon god on Guwhasan, I’ll kill it and come back.”

Suddenly, Baekyak looked at Danwooseong with reddened eyes. Startled, Danwooseong asked,

“Why?”

“I suddenly thought of Senior Gwangshin.”

“But why are your eyes all red like that?”

“Senior Uisin said that anyone who loses their family goes mad. So he understands Gwangshin better than anyone. He even thinks Gwangshin is ordinary. He said it’s just that Gwangshin went through something that would drive anyone mad. That made me a little sad. If I had a family, and Gwangshin didn’t… He said it wouldn’t have been strange if the nicknames ‘Uisin’ and ‘Gwangshin’ had been reversed.”

When Danwooseong reached out his hand, Baekyak embraced him.

Dan Woosung patted Baekyak’s back as he spoke.

“It’s something that would drive anyone mad.”

Danwooseong thought he still hadn’t given up on the idea that Baekyak would follow him.

However, he believed that with the Sword Spirit, the Mad Spirit, the Righteous Spirit, Yoo Jeong-hong, and himself all together at Gu Hwasan, no other reinforcements would be necessary.

Of course, he had no way of knowing that the Sword Spirit was already recovering on Daebyeolsan after battling the Demon Child.

Somehow, he felt it was right for this generation to conclude the matters unfolding at Gu Huashan. After all, Dan Wooseong was originally the King of Power from a past life.

Sure enough.

Baekyak spoke.

“I’ll go too.”

Danwooseong, who had been hesitating, replied.

“Do as you please. I don’t know what the right answer is either. But keep it a secret from Senior Uisin, and leave separately later. If anything happens to the merchant guild in the meantime, just stay put. That Gungju guy might try something foolish, so let’s do it this way.”

“Yes.”

Suddenly, their eyes met.

When Dan Wooseong looked away, Baekyak grabbed his chin and stared at him intently for a moment.

Dan Wooseong’s self was splitting and clashing.

Something felt ominous.

An instinctive feeling, perhaps, that he might be trapped.

Dan Woosung asked.

“Why?”

“Don’t you have anything to say?”

Come to think of it, Baekyak had been nestled against Danwooseong’s chest since earlier. He did have something to say, but it was hard to bring up. Only the excuse that if he kept backing down, he’d just keep backing down kept circling in his head.

Danwooseong said.

“Stay the night.”

Baekyak was so utterly dumbfounded she dropped her head, then patted Danwooseong as if soothing him. She couldn’t believe someone could be this clueless.

Baekyak kissed Danwooseong’s forehead once, then spoke casually.

“Just sleep tonight.”

Though they’d been together for a long time, their mutual trust meant spending the night together wasn’t particularly important. As Baekyak waved goodbye and left, Danwooseong closed his eyes, overcome by a sense of defeat.

Martial arts can be learned and mastered,

But romance was something he’d never learned, so this was how it was.

Dan Wooseong was a man utterly ignorant about women. And he knew it well.

‘Ignorant fool.’

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“Lord Alliance Leader, a man calling himself the Filthy Scholar has come to see you.”

Martial Alliance Leader Yu Jeong-hong replied.

“The Filthy Scholar? Is he someone I must meet?”

“Yes. After meeting him in person, he says he has something to tell me about the demonic force known as the Ten Thousand Horse Palace.”

“Escort him to the leader’s chamber. We’ll depart shortly.”

“Understood.”

Yoo Jeong-hong burned various reports that had become obsolete over time in his office while pondering the nickname “Yeto Scholar.”

“Impure Land” (穢土) literally means “dirty land,” but in Buddhist terminology, it signifies this world. That is, it is the opposite meaning of “Pure Land” (淨土), the clean world where the Buddha dwells.

It was also a decidedly pessimistic term.

It meant a scholar living in this filthy land, so the atmosphere was somewhat predictable.

Yoo Jeong-hong dislikes such people.

Therefore, before meeting the scholar from Yeto, Yoo Jeong-hong drew his long sword and wiped it clean with a white cloth.

He had a habit of deliberately making unknown men wait when they came to see him, so he said he would be out shortly, then deliberately took his time polishing the sword.

As Yoo Jeong-hong examined the sword from all angles, he suddenly pressed his nose against it and sniffed the blade.

The faint, lingering scent of blood had largely vanished.

Yoo Jeong-hong remembered exactly how many people he had killed with this sword over quite a long time.

He hadn’t deliberately tried to remember.

Even if they were villains, killing people inevitably weighed on my heart, and before I knew it, I found myself counting the number of those I had slain. I believed that if this number grew too large, even a swordsman of the White Path should retire.

But at some point, I couldn’t remember how many I had killed.

I hadn’t written down the names of those I killed anywhere, and perhaps living long in the martial world simply caused me to forget at some point.

I had even forgotten how many of my own men I had lost.

He was a man who had weathered the years through such forgetfulness.

He believed that retiring before making an even bigger mistake would be best for both Yoo Jeong-hong himself and the Martial Arts Alliance.

After sheathed his sword, Yoo Jeong-hong headed for the Alliance Leader’s Chamber.

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The leader’s chamber was empty as usual.

If an inauguration ceremony were held, chairs would be placed here and there, and silk would be spread over the Taesa’s seat where the Myeongju sat, but now it was just a bare space.

Until the next leader took his place, it would remain a uselessly vast space.

When Yoo Jeong-hong arrived at the leader’s hall and sat upon the dais, the head of the guard and the commander-in-chief took their places on either side.

Now, the age of the Guard Commander and the Chief Military Officer was approaching sixty, and they were men who intended to step down together when Yoo Jeong-hong retired.

A middle-aged man dressed as a scholar, who had been waiting, addressed Yoo Jeong-hong.

“Lord Commander, I am Yeoto Scholar Lee Si-ryang. Do you happen to know my name?”

Yoo Jeong-hong replied.

“I don’t. That’s a name and title I’ve never heard before.”

The Yeto Scholar inquired.

“Then do you know the name Lee Eung-hwan?”

“I don’t know that either. I came here because I heard you had information about the Ten Thousand Horses Palace. Why are you suddenly asking for names?”

The Yeto Scholar asked again.

“Then have you heard of the alias ‘Silver Wolf Scythe’?”

Yoo Jeong-hong stared intently at the scholar from Yeto.

“I have. I remember the Silver Wolf Scythe.”

“Do you also remember what became of that man?”

Yoo Jeong-hong replied.

“I recall cutting off his arm and sending him back to a place called Baekrang Valley, I believe.”

The Yeto Scholar pressed.

“Do you recall what crime Chui Rang Eun-gyeom committed that warranted having his arm cut off?”

“What is the intent of your question? Do you think I wouldn’t know? Or are you asking because you yourself don’t know?”

“I ask because I do not know.”

Chu Rang-eun-gyeom was exactly what his nickname implied: a drunken wolf. He was a master who wielded a sickle as his weapon. What I still remember is that he was a rare man who committed murder for the sake of passion. The problem was he was a madman who instantly fell for any woman he met. He didn’t kill the women themselves, but if they had husbands or lovers, they ended up decapitated by Chul-rang Eun-gyeom. After this happened over a dozen times without anyone catching him, I personally combed through the Gaeyang, Ong’an, and Yeogyung regions until I found him. I confronted him and ended up cutting off one of his arms. I sent him back with one arm severed because he had three more accomplices. They too were mostly deranged men who could be called sex fiends. Later, the one-armed Chul-rang Eun-gyeom brought his accomplices and ambushed me in the Taegang region. And then…

Yoo Jeong-hong glared at the scholar from Yeto as he continued speaking.

“I personally cut off the heads of the four men and burned their bodies. Are you the son of Chul-rang Eun-gyeom?”

The Yeto Scholar nodded.

“Knowing the details of such an old matter eases my heart somewhat. I did not come seeking revenge. However, since a man I never even saw, called my father, was beheaded by the Mighty Lord’s sword, I believe I have the right to challenge you to a duel.”

“Then you should have revealed your past and requested the duel. Why did you mention the Ten Thousand Horse Palace?”

The place that took me in, raised me, fed me, and taught me martial arts was the Ten Thousand Horses Palace. But I can state unequivocally that I never knew what the Ten Thousand Horses Palace was truly about, and I have never once harmed anyone or taken a life recklessly under its orders. I merely trained in martial arts. The only thing the Ten Thousand Horses Palace ever demanded of me was this: to meet with Chief Yoo Jeong-hong at any time and settle matters through martial arts.”

“Ah, I see. So there’s a grudge involved.”

The Yeto Scholar asked.

“A one-on-one duel with no restrictions, in full view of all the members, would suffice. Will the leader accept my challenge?”

Yoo Jeong-hong was silent for a moment.

The head of the escort unit, the commander-in-chief, and other officers all looked at Yoo Jeong-hong.

Yoo Jeong-hong spoke.

“Your appearance and the hoarseness of your voice don’t match, making you seem awkward. Moreover, as the leader responsible for the Martial Arts Alliance, I have neither reason nor justification to personally fight each challenger one by one.”

Yu Jeong-hong raised a finger and addressed the alliance member outside.

“Go fetch the senior. The Demon Sect challenger desires a one-on-one duel. If it’s a master from the Demon Sect, the senior would surely want a one-on-one duel as well. The rest of the alliance members should stand guard to ensure the Earthly Scholar doesn’t change his mind. I suspect a truly exceptional master has visited our Martial Alliance.”

Yeto Seosang glared at Yoo Jeonghong with eyes wide open.