Chapter 411: Chapter 411

Clear Water True Man gazed silently into the pond.

The courtesan attending at his side had been watching him stare wordlessly into the water for hours, and finally she could hold her tongue no longer.

“What is it you are looking at so intently?”

Clear Water True Man offered no reply and merely lifted his cup in silence, wetting his lips with wine.

The courtesan who had spoken first flushed crimson.

“F-forgive me……”

“Have you ever watched the movements of carp?”

The courtesan had been bracing herself for a tongue-lashing, shrinking back, but her eyes flew open wide like a rabbit’s.

“Pardon? ……Yes. I have seen them many times.”

“Have you ever tried to predict how those carp would move?”

The somewhat peculiar question made the courtesan tilt her head.

“When you give them food they come closer, and otherwise they simply frolic among themselves, do they not?”

“I have tried to predict them.”

CLINK—

Clear Water True Man set his cup down. The courtesan, watching him, allowed a small smile to touch her lips.

Men, on occasion, did enjoy boasting about achievements that would win them no recognition elsewhere.

She had no idea what sort of achievement predicting the movements of carp might be, but she knew perfectly well how to respond.

She filled his empty cup with fragrant wine and filled the silence with a honeyed voice.

“Is that so? Whatever led you to try predicting the movements of carp?”

Grasp the motivation. Praise the achievement.

That was the reason she earned several times the wages of any other courtesan.

Clear Water True Man caressed his cup and gazed at the pond.

“One day, I found it vexing that these creatures moved in ways I could not predict. Mere fish, and yet they eluded the predictions of a human being. My pride was wounded.”

The courtesan struggled mightily to contain the burst of laughter that nearly escaped her.

His pride wounded by lowly carp.

There was good reason he could not boast about this achievement in public.

“A hundred days, a thousand days—whenever I had the time, I observed the pond. I caught them, ate them, released them, and watched them be hunted by predators. When I had at last filled two thousand days, I was finally able to predict the movements of the carp.”

It was absurd enough that he had attempted to predict carp movements in the first place, yet he had invested two thousand days in the endeavor.

A tale that anyone would dismiss as nothing more than a dull jest—and yet the smile on the courtesan’s lips only deepened.

“How remarkable. That is truly impressive.”

TRICKLE—

Had that sentiment somehow shown through? Clear Water True Man, who had not spared her so much as a glance, turned his head toward her.

“You do not believe me.”

And at that dry voice, the courtesan sensed something had gone wrong.

She hurriedly bowed her head.

“N-no, I believe you. Of course I believe you.”

Clear Water True Man picked up a chopstick from the serving tray she held and gripped it like a sword.

“Watch closely.”

At the tip of the chopstick, barely a foot in length, a cluster of blue luminescence gathered to the span of about a foot.

The moment the courtesan realized it was what martial artists called Sword Qi, her face went white and she tried to back away.

“Hup!”

But for some reason, her body would not move.

“Th-this girl was wrong. Please, please forgive me.”

She pleaded, but Clear Water True Man gave no reaction, and his indifference only deepened her terror.

She could not bow her head, could not throw herself to the floor to beg—something gripped the back of her neck, forcing her to face Clear Water True Man’s emotionless countenance.

As dread crushed down upon her body, moisture began to well in the corners of her eyes.

“Behold. This is the fruit of my two thousand days of enlightenment. The White Carp Sword Art.”

The tip of the chopstick swept through the air.

“KYAAAH!”

The courtesan squeezed her eyes shut, then realized she was still alive and opened them again.

And in that moment—

‘Th-this is……’

Her mouth fell open of its own accord.

Countless vestiges of qi embroidered the empty air in brilliant splendor.

Struck dumb by a beauty beyond description, her gaze stolen, the courtesan followed the currents of qi and came to a realization.

‘C-carp?’

The instant she grasped it, the vestiges of qi formed shapes even more vivid than before.

White carp of a beauty almost impossible to believe existed in the mortal world. Eight carp swam freely through the air as though it were a pond.

Within those forms, the courtesan could not detect a single trace of clumsy human craftsmanship. They were, in every sense, perfect carp.

Before she knew it, the carp were encircling her body, gliding freely between her arms and torso.

One passed behind her neck and emerged over her shoulder, darted between her legs, then soared upward past her chest as if ascending to the heavens.

The courtesan, her gaze stolen by their beauty, locked eyes with the carp rising past her chest and—

“KYAAAAAAH!!!”

—screamed at the terror and dread that poured from the carp’s eyes.

She could not explain even to herself why she had screamed.

She had certainly been entranced by their beauty, her consciousness drifting in a haze.

But in that final instant, the courtesan had unmistakably perceived her own death.

When she opened her eyes at last, the white carp had vanished without a trace.

“Ah……”

Staring vacantly into the empty air, the courtesan turned her head to look at Clear Water True Man.

The man who had conjured that indescribable phenomenon moments ago had set the chopstick aside and was peering into the pond once more.

“It seems a guest has arrived. You may go now.”

“Yes……? Y-yes.”

As the courtesan turned to leave—

“And keep the hair that was cut. Use it always as a reminder to check yourself. A reminder of what happens when you let your laughter slip carelessly.”

“What do you—”

Before she could finish, with a soft snick, her long, resplendent hair was sheared to below her ears and tumbled to the ground.

Too shocked to even think of picking up her fallen locks, the courtesan fled—and from the direction she ran, a group of men approached.

“So it was true.”

“?”

The man at the front of the group glared at Clear Water True Man.

“That a wretched man has been tormenting women in the pleasure quarter.”

“The teachings of Wudang do not discriminate between persons or stations. From the highest to the lowest.”

Jegal So-myeong picked up the severed hair, dusted the sand from it with a few light taps.

“Even if it means destroying another’s livelihood?”

“……”

Clear Water True Man found it difficult to endure the sight of Jegal So-myeong’s expression—as placid as ever, as if convinced of his own supreme refinement.

“Have you come all the way here to boast of your victory? The Murim Alliance’s Grand Strategist?”

“Do you know something? When the Beggars’ Sect delivered word that Dam Ak had made contact with Black Thought Alliance personnel, they also reported your location. The Beggars’ Sect, of all people.”

At Jegal So-myeong’s words, Clear Water True Man’s face contorted more severely than it ever had before.

Jegal So-myeong slowly surveyed the interior, then looked down at Clear Water True Man’s wine cup.

“Hmm…… I find myself craving a drink, for the first time in a while. I did not even pay the entry fee on my way in today, and I am in an exceptionally fine mood.”

“……”

“Moreover, the drinking snacks are quite fitting. When conspirators turn on each other and erupt into infighting, there is no finer entertainment.”

Livid veins stood out against his pale face. Yet Clear Water True Man’s voice maintained its composure.

“……Do not be so smug over a stroke of luck. Those who revel in fortune always meet ugly ends.”

“Luck?”

A deep sneer hooked itself onto Jegal So-myeong’s lips.

“You truly believe this was merely luck?”

“……”

“Luck that fell outside your predictions—mere luck?”

Contempt gathered in Jegal So-myeong’s eyes. The man before him, who wore arrogance like a shield, was at once pitiable and contemptible.

“That is precisely why I find you revolting. You have not even finished sizing up your own measure, yet you casually pass judgment on others and cannot even handle your affairs cleanly.”

“War was going to happen regardless. This time, your side simply had the good fortune to—”

“Dam Ak ordered his protestors that even if fatalities occurred, they were absolutely not to initiate combat. Furthermore, he forbade any declaration of war against the Black Thought Alliance.”

Clear Water True Man’s eyes bulged.

It was an unbelievable claim.

Then, like a nail being driven home, Jegal So-myeong’s voice struck.

“And he conveyed that order through an edict delivered before he ever set foot in the Murim Alliance.”

If it was before he had entered the Murim Alliance, then the assassination conspiracy would not yet have been plotted even within the Righteous Path Association……

Confronted with a reality he could not fathom, he was unable to continue.

“Lies…… Yes, lies. Of course. That could not possibly be true. No, of course not.”

“Go on living in your delusions, averting your eyes from reality. At least that way, you will be of greater use to the Murim Alliance.”

As if there were nothing more worth hearing, Jegal So-myeong turned to the men beside him and commanded.

“What are you standing around for? Bind the criminal.”

The Inspection Office personnel closed in around Clear Water True Man.

Clear Water True Man brushed off the hem of his robe and denied their approach. Then he lifted his chin high and announced to those around him.

“I will walk on my own feet.”

“……”

The Inspection Office personnel stood frozen, neither advancing nor retreating, and looked to Jegal So-myeong.

Ordinarily in such cases, the suspect was permitted to walk of his own volition.

But—

“What do you think you are doing?! What if the criminal tries to flee?!”

At Jegal So-myeong’s rebuke, the Inspection Office personnel steeled their expressions and bound Clear Water True Man.

In the process, his cup was jostled, and stains began to spread across his pristine white robe.

“Oh my, your clothes have been soiled. If left alone, the stain will only spread and grow larger, Clear Water True Man.”

A wordless pressure to follow obediently. It was Jegal So-myeong’s resolute declaration that he would not let this matter slide.

Clear Water True Man, who had feigned composure, finally bared his teeth.

“Do you think Wudang will simply stand by?”

“And if they do not?”

“Wudang and the Righteous Path Association will take my side in the end. You will never achieve what you seek.”

Jegal So-myeong scoffed.

True, perhaps so.

No—he was almost certainly right.

But.

The world was changing now.

A current of transformation, one that had never existed before, was surging in places unseen.

And the one who had set that current in motion—Jegal So-myeong thought of him.

“Do you know something? Even the mightiest reservoir ultimately begins to crumble from a single hole.”

“……”

“The hole has already been bored. Look at Jin So-un—the one who ruined your operation this time. A disciple of a third-rate sect who seized the top seat at the Academy and became the Murim Alliance’s most vital talent. Who also stopped the Righteous Path Association and Wudang from committing their idiotic blunder.”

“……”

“The hole will now grow at an ever-faster pace. The day the reservoir collapses is not far off.”

Watching Jegal So-myeong turn without hesitation and stride away, Clear Water True Man made no effort to conceal his fury.

“Jin So-un……”

GRIND—

From his bruised lips, vivid red blood trickled and fell—drip—onto the hem of his robe.

***

When I woke up again, I was inside a field tent.

My entire body had been smeared with wound salve and wrapped in bandages, and my clothes had been changed into a fresh martial arts uniform.

I checked the state of my body.

I seemed to have slept quite deeply. Judging by the light filtering in from outside the tent, I had been out for at least a full day.

I slowly took up the Red Radiance Sword and stepped outside.

In addition to the roughly two hundred personnel I had first seen, nearly five hundred more had established a garrison, setting up a perimeter and organizing their equipment.

“You are awake?”

A man who appeared to be a warrior greeted me and escorted me to where Dam Ak was.

“Quite a sight, Young Master Jin.”

“I could say the same to you, Strategist Dam.”

We were both in such sorry states that it was laughable.

The garrison had been set up near the place where I had fought my final battle with the Fierce Tiger Unit.

At the foot of the hill, there was no end to the work of recovering those who had fought.

That I had clashed with this many Orthodox Path martial artists was astonishing, when I really thought about it.

At this point, wouldn’t it be fair to call me a Black Path martial artist?

‘No—those bastards are bad Orthodox Path martial artists, and I’m a good Orthodox Path martial artist. Yeah, that’s right.’

After exchanging a brief joke with me, Dam Ak kept his eyes fixed on the scene.

The ground darkened to a blackish-red where blood had pooled, weapons reduced to scrap, and traces of fierce battle carved into the earth as if to engrave the ferocity itself.

“……You truly fought fiercely and survived fiercely.”

He summarized, in a single brief reflection, the long ordeal of the past several days.

After a long silence, he asked in a calm tone.

“Is this what the murim is like?”

A question I had heard before. A voice seared into my memory.

[Is this what the murim is like?]

Staggering steps and anxious eyes, a complexion so pale it looked ready to snuff out at any moment, and cracked lips from which the question had barely emerged.

I turned my gaze and found Dam Ak already staring at me head-on.

Even after crossing the line between life and death, his eyes were upright, and though hardship had roughened his skin, his face overflowed with vitality.

The Dam Ak of this life was unmistakably different from the one I had known in the last.

And now, the Dam Ak of this life asked me again.

“Is this what the murim is—a place where so many must bleed and suffer for the sake of one person?”

He neither staggered nor trembled with unease.

“What is everyone doing this for?”

He was simply curious.

“……”

And I was no longer the selfish, cunning man of my previous life.

I did not look away from his gaze.

“The murim…… is indeed such a place.”

“A place where people fight for the sake of fighting and die for nothing?”

He, too, unlike in his past life, wore no look of defeat on his face.

I understood then. Both he and I were no longer the people we had been. This was no longer a life where we could only watch death unfold, helpless and ignorant of what was happening.

“Our struggle has its reason.”

“The reason for struggle……”

For some reason, he murmured those words over and over again. Endlessly, as though he had found the thread he had been searching for.

At last—

“What…… what does that mean?”

He asked me again, with the desperation of a man dying of thirst.

The reason for struggle.

And I, too, was able to give him an answer that was not a lie I had told myself, but one truly meant for him.

“We struggle for everything precious to us.”

“Everything precious……”

“It is different from the wars of history, where dynasties change and the world’s master is replaced. We must struggle to live, to protect those dear to us—and sometimes, even when we know we will lose.”

I answered while thinking of the Dam Ak of the previous life, who had willingly joined the Murim Alliance even when its defeat was certain, and fought to the bitter end.

The man who could never quite conceal his unease.

“In the very last moment, even when everyone else has vanished—a place where you fight to the end. That is what the murim is.”

What had he fought so ferociously for in his past life?

Had something new appeared in this life, something worth that same ferocity?

Dam Ak, listening, stroked his chin.

“Struggling even when you know you’ll lose……”

He sank deep into thought for a long while.

“For the sake of what is precious……”

He looked at me and slowly curled the corners of his lips upward.

“At last, you have given me an answer I can accept.”

“Was it helpful?”

“Of course. Thanks to you telling me the reason for struggle—”

His eyes, which had been regarding me with quiet composure, blazed with sudden brilliance.

“I, too, have found my reason to live once again.”

It was a look I had never seen, in either this life or the last.