Chapter 171: Chapter 171
Jin Gyeon muttered with a dazed expression.
“…It is indeed a martial art fully worthy of being called a divine fist.”
His eyes alternated between the sky where Serpent Duke had been flying moments ago and Jang Geon. Gauging the distance in the sky rather than on the ground was no easy task, but true to its name, Jang Geon’s Hundred-Step Divine Fist seemed to have pierced across a distance of at least ten zhang to bring Serpent Duke down.
For Jin Gyeon, who knew the story of Bodhidharma crossing the river on a single reed, this sight felt as though a new legend or historic tale were unfolding before his eyes.
Seeing his reaction, Jang Geon could tell that Shaolin did not possess the Hundred-Step Divine Fist. In fact, that was only natural; had Shaolin Temple possessed such a martial art, it would have naturally gained renown. However, Jang Geon had never heard such rumors while living in his clan or wandering the Central Plains.
The Hundred-Step Divine Fist was a martial art Jang Geon had contemplated for a long time. However, techniques that powerfully projected internal energy outward were uncommon to begin with, and his own martial arts lacked much to reproduce it back then. Though he had conceived the idea since childhood when he first began learning martial arts, its realization could only be envisioned far into the future.
That possibility had been gained recently when he succeeded in executing a Void-Striking Palm through the principles of the Dragon-Subduing Palm. Afterwards, when he wove into the principles of that Void-Striking Palm the energy of the Great Return Pill he had felt while treating Seo-ha’s body in the past, a heavy bell toll resonated even without his intention and a powerful fist wind blasted forth.
Jang Geon spoke to Jin Gyeon, who still wore a dazed expression.
“Since it is a fist art created by imitating Shaolin’s, I shall return it to Shaolin.”
The dazed expression on Jin Gyeon’s face instantly turned bewildered. He pondered for a moment, but among the Shaolin martial arts he knew, there was none like the Hundred-Step Divine Fist, and even if there were, it seemed unlikely Jang Geon would know it. After all, there were no other Shaolin martial monks on the New Continent besides Jin Gyeon himself.
“How… Then do you mean to teach it to this humble monk? But Shaolin does not possess such a fist art…”
Even at Jin Gyeon’s trailing question, Jang Geon merely smiled faintly. He then strode over to Jin Gyeon and examined the wound on his back.
“Ugh…!”
Only then reminded of the forgotten wound and pain, Jin Gyeon squeezed his eyes shut and let out a groan. Jang Geon raised his fingers to stem the bleeding from the wound, which was still faintly seeping blood. Seeing the two of them, Dan Sang-woon, Seo-ha, and the rest of the children finally felt that the battle was over, and all began to slump in relief.
Dan Sang-woon leaned against a pillar of the house and chuckled dryly.
“Man, when the head manager gets back, this is really…”
At those words, Jang Geon and Jin Gyeon turned their eyes toward the house and yard. They saw corpses sprawled here and there and furniture turned into a chaotic mess. Seeing the corpses, Jang Geon quietly stood in a way that blocked the children’s view. Though they seemed fine now out of shock, such a sight was in no way good for young minds.
Dan Sang-woon muttered again.
“…How are we going to clean this up?”
“We do not need to clean it up.”
“Pardon?”
At Jang Geon’s out-of-nowhere response, Dan Sang-woon looked back at him with puzzled eyes. But Jang Geon said no more and instead tried to herd the children into the house.
Right then, Dan Sang-woon sensed a presence and turned his head.
“…What is that?”
Suddenly, the clanking sound of iron armor rang out, and someone stepped through the wide-open main gate. Dan Sang-woon and Jin Gyeon turned their gazes toward them.
Three people stepped inside. All three were clad in armor and wore heavy swords at their waists.
“…The situation is already over, it seems.”
Jang Geon, who was herding the children inside, turned his head at the familiar voice. The woman standing at the very front of the three was someone he knew.
Hearing the familiar voice as well, Seo-ha peeked her head out from beside Jang Geon’s waist. Seo-ha’s face brightened instantly, and upon seeing her face, the woman’s expression relaxed into a wide smile.
Clad in Imperial Army armor, her name was Jin-ha. She was the aide and personal bodyguard to General Pacifying the East, Yu Seol.
* * *
Two closed eyes slowly opened. One pupil was brown, and the other was blue.
“…Soo has died.”
It was the clear voice of a young girl. Yet the face of the woman from whom the voice flowed was bizarre beyond measure; divided straight down the center, one side was the face of a young girl, while the other was the wrinkled face of an old woman.
In the dark space, only a faint candle flame flickered red, illuminating her face.
“Is it that man named Jang Geon again?”
In the darkness, besides that bizarre woman, there were several other shadows. Among them, a heavy voice asked that question.
The woman slowly nodded her head.
“Soo’s final lingering thoughts were depicting his image. Contrary to her assurances, it seems the ambush failed.”
At her answer, the shadow who had posed the initial question looked up at the ceiling and sighed.
“…Ah, another of our family has departed like this. With her corpse thousands of li away, we cannot even retrieve it… What is that mere Nine Yin Evil Blood anyway…”
He seemed genuinely lamented. However, another shadow beside him sharply retorted.
“Patriarch Namgung, you had best mind your words. Mere Nine Yin Evil Blood? Do you not realize how much our grand plan would be advanced by that single bloodline? Furthermore, those words render even Soo’s death a trivial matter.”
“…Your words are correct, Patriarch Tang. We cannot render Soo’s death trivial… However… I simply can no longer tell whether this matter is truly worth carrying out at the cost of so many lives…”
Yet even upon hearing that rebuke, the heavy voice trailed off as if in pain. Then, a new voice interjected.
“Patriarch Namgung must truly watch his words. No matter that this is not an official gathering, to rashly question the legitimacy of our grand plan. Had anyone else done so, I would have crippled their martial arts on the spot and shoved them into a ranch.”
It was a woman’s voice. And it was far firmer and more dangerous than the voice that had sharply scolded earlier.
Her voice continued.
“Besides, among the Namgung Clan, has not Namgung Cheon already betrayed The Palace? If Patriarch Namgung shows such weakness, other members of The Palace will not look favorably upon the Namgung Clan.”
“…Do not rashly conclude that he was truly won over, Patriarch Gongson. Being alive after a defeat does not serve as proof that he betrayed The Palace.”
As the voice called Patriarch Namgung failed to offer any answer, the sharp voice that had scolded him earlier unexpectedly defended him. At that, the woman let out a subtle snort and made a motion of holding and shaking something. Though it could not be clearly seen due to the darkness, the rustling sound allowed one to guess that she had unfurled a folding fan.
“Patriarch Tang, you are indeed quite optimistic. Did not Commander Tang, that is, your younger brother, also lose his life at the hands of that man named Jang Geon? By my guess, Jang Geon must have been a man against whom Commander Tang had to fight risking his very life. The same goes for Soo’s defeat. Yet Namgung Cheon, who fought the same man, did not die and was escorted to the Murim Alliance. And even in Soo’s final report, there was no mention of him being executed and his head hung in the street, so is not my suspicion only natural?”
The fan concealed her mouth. Yet above it, the faintly visible eyes of the woman suddenly curved into a smile.
“Or could it be that Commander Tang’s skill was simply insufficient to survive at the hands of that man named Jang Geon?”
The dark room fell silent. The flickering candle flame also seemed to hold its breath for a moment as its light dimmed. The eyes of the woman covering her mouth with a fan and the man called Patriarch Tang met in the darkness. The woman’s eyes gleamed with a faint blue light, while Patriarch Tang’s eyes glowed with an eerie green brilliance.
“…Euheo-heo-heo! Everyone’s nerves are sharp! Well, considering that not only Commander Tang and General Namgung, but also Soo sent to the west, numerous snakes, and even the Gam-lang Squad were all taken out, it’s understandable! But damn it, looking at it, it isn’t even that much!”
At that moment, a boisterous voice broke the silence.
“As for the snakes dying, we can simply replenish them in the future. Wasnt their main task collecting intelligence and spreading low-grade divine arts in the west? Anyone among the servants of our Palace could be grabbed and made to do that much! It’s a shame the Gam-lang Squad all died, but soldiers dying on the battlefield is only natural! Likewise, defeated generals emerging is unavoidable! As the saying goes, victory and defeat are routine in warfare! Euheo-heo!”
At that boisterous voice, the tension within the dark space naturally dissolved. The man called Patriarch Tang let out a soft sigh and spoke.
“Where did you even find such a saying?”
“’Victory and defeat are routine in warfare’? I made it up! Euheo-heo-heo!”
“…It seems Patriarch Zhuge’s scholarly depth grows deeper by the day.”
The boisterous voice called Patriarch Zhuge laughed heartily again. And as the tension appeared resolved, the final shadow who had remained quiet until now opened his mouth.
“Though it is regrettable that we failed to obtain the Nine Yin Evil Blood, through our harvest thus far, we have obtained more than enough Origin Spirit Elixirs required for the grand plan. Shaman, set an auspicious date to conduct the ritual with them. If possible, before the Imperial Army swarms all the way here.”
“…An auspicious date is not set so easily. Even preparing together with Soo, it was a task taking several months…”
“Soo is dead. Now, Yang, you must do it alone.”
The woman with both a young and an old face shut her mouth and bowed her head. Having brought the woman to silence, the voice turned to the other Patriarchs and spoke.
“Patriarchs, rally your respective clans and prepare for war. Had we obtained the Nine Yin Evil Blood, completing the grand plan would take priority, but now we must prepare for battle against the Imperial Army swarming across the continent… At least it is fortunate that the Emperor himself is not rushing here.”
“Euheo-heo! That is fortunate indeed! Wait, isn’t it? If the Emperor rushed here and we took his neck, wouldn’t the Empire collapse right then and there? Just as the ancient Qin Empire did! Ah, what a shame!”
The final voice ignored the boisterous voice barging in and concluded his words.
“Now return. I do not know if that wench Yu Seol can truly lead the Imperial Army across the continent to this place, but we shall give them a fitting welcome. Perhaps sending her head as a declaration of war to the Emperor of the Central Plains wouldn’t be bad either.”
The shadows nodded and slowly withdrew, vanishing. The only one left sitting there was the young and old woman called Yang.
Yet the moment the other shadows had completely distanced themselves, the single person who was withdrawing slowest came to a abrupt stop. And without even turning around, he asked Yang.
“…That man, the one who struck down Commander Tang and Soo, is it truly Jang Geon?”
“Yes, it is indeed Jang Geon. There cannot be two people who wield martial arts like his.”
“…I see.”
The last shadow, the voice called Patriarch Murong, stood still without another word for a moment before slowly drifting away. Watching his retreating back, Yang slowly raised her hand and swept across a bowl of water placed before her. A faint water mist rose up, writhing into shapes resembling human faces or the screams of shadows.
The candle flame that dimly lit the dark room blew out with a soft puff into the water mist.
* * *
“Are you alright?”
Jin-ha knelt on one knee and looked up into Seo-ha’s face as she asked. Seo-ha silently nodded her head once. Seeing that, Jin-ha tightly embraced Seo-ha.
“What a relief.”
Seo-ha held Jin-ha’s face in return and hugged her back. That scene looked like sisters with a large age gap comforting each other.
Leaning sideways against a pillar while watching them, Jang Geon turned his head and looked around at those cleaning up the mess in the yard. Though they had set down their weapons to one side, they were clearly Imperial soldiers, albeit low-ranking ones.
While chaos was breaking loose at the Jang Family Merchant Guild, passersby in the street had quickly reported to the Murim Alliance, and Jin-ha, upon learning of the situation, had tossed aside everything she was doing and rushed over.
“Ouch, apply it a bit more gently, will you?”
“Ahem, ahem… M-me too, a bit more gently…”
Jin Gyeon and Dan Sang-woon were showing their wounds to the physician who had arrived with Jin-ha. To Dan Sang-woon, who was whining over a torn palm, the physician told him not to exaggerate, while to Jin Gyeon, whose back was ripped wide open, he insisted it was merely a flesh wound and recklessly sprayed powdered medicine over it. Naturally, both squirmed their entire bodies, complaining of the sting.
“Warrior Jang.”
As he watched that sight quietly, Jin-ha, holding Seo-ha’s hand, approached and called out to him. Jang Geon met her eyes, and Jin-ha spoke with a firm expression.
“First, let us go to the Alliance.”