Chapter 116: Gathering of the Clouds
A carriage laden with luggage and a group of people entered Samyang County.
The carriage was filled with the traces of a long journey. However, no signs of battle, such as damage or blood spatters, could be found anywhere.
It was only natural.
This was because there was no fool under heaven who would launch an attack after seeing the green flag attached to the carriage and the character “Tang” inscribed upon it.
At the front of the Sichuan Tang Clan’s baggage carriage, a lighthearted hum that did not match their fearsome reputation was flowing out.
“Hum, hum! Hum, hum!”
The protagonist of the highly pleasant humming was Tang Sa-yeon.
It was a frivolous act for a grown young lady to behave in such a way.
“Are you that happy?”
“I am on my way to see my beloved, after all.”
“I see. I hope that feeling lasts forever.”
At the words that anyone could see were sarcastic, Tang Sa-yeon snorted.
The person who spoke to her seemed to be a married man.
“Anyway, I did not expect Uncle Jo-yang to come here.”
“So that is what you were curious about, after you kept reading my expressions the whole way here?”
“Hehe.”
Lacking a proper reply, Tang Sa-yeon smiled charmingly and glossed it over.
“Tsk!”
However, Tang Jo-yang knew Tang Sa-yeon’s true nature well. Clicking his tongue and examining Tang Sa-yeon with a subtle gaze, Tang Jo-yang soon let out a sigh and opened his mouth.
“The reason for coming here… Big Brother broke through his wall after receiving treatment from the fellow you call your beloved. The Taiji Sword Immortal, one of the Ten Great Swords of the Land, also smashed through his wall through that fellow…”
“Did you hit a wall, Uncle?”
“It has been a while.”
“Wow!”
Tang Sa-yeon let out an exclamation of admiration.
For a martial artist, hitting a wall meant that their growth had stopped.
It was a troublesome matter for the person concerned. Their efforts were not rewarded. Some even fell into qi deviation due to the continuous stagnation.
However, hitting a wall was not something just anyone could do. It was because they had reached such a high realm that they encountered a wall that was difficult to cross.
“Perhaps if I meet your beloved and spend some quality time with him, I might be able to cross the wall as well.”
“Then you have made the best choice! Since the rumors are gradually spreading, you would have had to stand in line and wait later.”
“If one believes the rumors, that is…”
Considering Yeon Cheong-un’s age, the rumors currently spreading all lacked a sense of reality.
Tang Jo-yang would not have believed it either if he had not seen Yeon Cheong-un fighting Jo Mun-hyeok, felt the aftermath of the Taiji Sword Immortal gaining enlightenment, and had there been no mention from the Family Head.
“…Did he say he was a fellow with the qualities of a hero?”
The Family Head, Tang Cheon-gi, had spoken highly of Yeon Cheong-un. If that was true, unexpected people might already be gathered in Samyang County.
“I see the manor. I will go call him right away!”
As Yeon Cheong-un’s manor came into view in the distance, Tang Sa-yeon leaped up and ran forward with all her might.
“Look at that. Tsk tsk.”
Watching the back of his reckless niece, Tang Jo-yang clicked his tongue.
“…Hm?”
Tang Jo-yang was suddenly startled, and grasping the hidden weapons in his robes, he scanned the surroundings.
The only thing around was an old man sweeping the front of the small manor gate with a broom.
Although he was an ordinary old man who could be found anywhere, Tang Jo-yang strangely could not take his eyes off him.
Nothing was caught by his senses, but his instinct violently warned him.
“…An expert to the point of escaping my eyes?”
Tang Jo-yang was not someone who ignored his instincts. He had saved his life several times thanks to the warnings of his instincts.
Tang Jo-yang immediately channeled an invisible energy. Then, he focused that energy in the direction of the old man.
If he were a martial artist, he would absolutely not be able to ignore it!
“…Is he not?”
Seeing the old man with absolutely no reaction, he wondered if he had made a mistake, but strength entered his hand holding the hidden weapons without his realizing it.
While he was constantly pondering, Tang Sa-yeon returned with a gloomy expression.
“Young Master Yeon is currently at a place called the Bright Fate Escort Agency in Huihua County.”
“Oops! You were rejected.”
“Sigh…”
At the disappointing news, Tang Jo-yang recalled his scheduled plans and withdrew his hands from the hidden weapons.
***
“Is it the poison insects of Sichuan? Troublesome fellows have arrived.”
The old man, who had been calmly sweeping while the group from the Sichuan Tang Clan passed by, stared at their backs with indifferent eyes.
The old man patted his waist and stretched his upper body long.
“Reduce the eyes that were deployed around the Heavenly Demon’s family members. And those who cannot perfectly conceal their demonic energy must not come outside.”
At the old man’s words spoken to the empty air, the nearby grass fluttered and moved.
The old man, who was tapping his waist, looked toward the center of the village and curled the corners of his mouth.
“To think that the forces of the Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic paths are gathering in one place, as expected of the Heavenly Demon. A miniature version of Martial World is being created. It becomes more interesting as time goes on. Hehehe.”
Without anyone knowing, Samyang County was becoming a tiger’s den.
***
Jong Sam, who was guarding the front gate of the Bright Fate Escort Agency, had a scholar’s background and was quite smart in his own way. After failing the imperial civil service examination and wandering, the former Agency Chief, Ju Il-pyo, took him in, allowing him to work here.
However, he had not been heavily utilized until now. This was because the management of the warehouse and the assets of the escort agency were entirely monopolized by the former Agency Chief’s in-laws.
Now that they had all been expelled, Jong Sam’s role had become extremely important.
However, since it was currently in a state of temporary closure, he was merely managing the visitors’ registry.
A person approached in front of such a Jong Sam.
“Let me ask you something.”
He was a person who was accustomed to informal speech, even though it was their first meeting.
“Please ask.”
“It seems there is a rising star named Yeon Cheong-un here.”
“Ah, you mean the Instructor?”
“Instructor?”
“If it is the name Yeon Cheong-un, you are speaking of our Instructor Yeon. The young lady and our boys seemed to want to call the Instructor ‘Master,’ but he refused. He said it is already a messy family tree, and doing that would make it a ruined family tree. Well, anyway, as you asked, he is indeed here.”
“I see.”
Jong Sam saw the man in front of him smiling when he mentioned the messy and ruined family tree.
Jong Sam felt that treating the man became a bit easier.
“Please tell me your origin and name.”
“I live in Mount Lu, and my name is Mun-gyeong.”
“Mun-gyeong who lives in Mount Lu… Mun… gyeong?”
Jong Sam, who was writing down the name in a single stroke, could realize that it was a very familiar name.
And he could quickly recognize the reason.
“If it is Mun-gyeong of Mount Lu… Jang Mun-gyeong?”
“You write well.”
The man, who gave an irrelevant answer, looked at the guest book where his name was written with a satisfied expression.
Then, he looked at Jong Sam and confirmed.
“Is there anything else to ask?”
***
It had already been a fortnight since Ju So-ran, Myeong Il-seo, and the five duckling brothers had been trained in martial arts at the Bright Fate Escort Agency.
Having rolled and rolled until they became rags during those fifteen days, they achieved their own achievements (?).
“Huu… huu… Now even with my eyes closed… huu! I think I can perform… huu! the training movements.”
Compared to the early days when they could not even perform a single movement properly, they were much better now.
“For that being the case, the angle of your arms and your breathing do not match well, though?”
It was still not perfect. Was it just that they moved correctly more often than they made mistakes?
Even now, if they repeated it over and over, they would still get messy.
Even so, if they repeated their training to perfectly engrave it into their bodies and build a path, such messiness would gradually disappear.
Of course, it was something that required time.
“The Instructor is indeed strict. Heek!”
“Seeing the way you speak, it seems you have some leisure time?”
“…”
The face of Sa Jin, who had spoken to me in a joking tone, turned pale.
The others glared at Sa Jin with fierce faces.
Thinking that he should change the subject, the eldest, Yi Gung, hastily opened his mouth.
“However, with this, it does not feel like we have become very strong.”
“Hoping to feel that you have become strong when your foundations are not even properly established is an unconscionable statement.”
“…Yes.”
Somehow, I kept lifting the whip rather than the carrot.
If the carrot was one, the whip was about ninety-nine?
I felt it anew, but the distribution was somehow very unreasonable.
Conscious that I was only whipping too much, I brought out a carrot.
“Martial arts is not something achieved overnight. Still, it could be said that you have taken a step that did not go astray. I think that is something to be proud of with your chest held high.”
I said it thinking it was a comfort in its own way, but it did not seem to help much.
The reactions were not very good.
However, in the midst of that, the youngest, Yuk So, took my words and replied.
“That is right… huu! Since life is long. At our age, where there are many days left to live, if we can say we have made a proper first step, then we did well.”
It was true, but hearing Yuk So, who was even younger than me, say such things felt somewhat strange. It was like something that should be said by someone who had accumulated various experiences.
Seeing how full of sentiment he was, that fellow was definitely a bookworm.
On the other hand.
“O Great Merciful… Shakyamuni Buddha… Here goes one guy. Heek!”
‘That fellow belongs to the physical department (?).’
It was Beom-gak, who was on the verge of losing his breath. He was steadily training in the Great Qi-Refinement Art, which he had practiced while coming to the Bright Fate Escort Agency.
He had already tasted the effect of the Great Qi-Refinement Art, but as he gradually got used to it, he seemed to feel its utility even more.
“This feeling of my body stretching, it is similar to what I felt when training in the Tendon Transforming Classic, is it not?”
The target of comparison was none other than the Tendon Transforming Classic. It was a matter of course, but not only Baek Mu-ho but also Jang So-wol drooled as they watched Beom-gak practicing the Great Qi-Refinement Art.
However, perhaps because Baek Mu-ho spent more time holding a brush than a sword lately, he was in a state of somewhat unsatisfied desire. Should I say he had become more irritable?
Perhaps because of that, his brow furrowed as he watched the scholar, who clearly went by the name of Jong Sam, running hurriedly toward the training ground. He was annoyed that the precious training time was being reduced.
Baek Mu-ho let out a sigh and approached Jong Sam.
“Is something the matter?”
“C-C-Came…!”
“He came?”
“G-G-G-Guest…!”
“A guest?”
“A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A, A…!”
“A beggar?”
“…”
Jong Sam’s face turned white.
“A guest came, and it is a beggar?”
“No! What absolute nonsense! It is a great figure! A great figure!!”
And he corrected it desperately.
For some reason, he looked more out of it than the people who were running around in circles training all day.
He said it was a guest of a great figure’s caliber, but who on earth had come?
Sure enough, a middle-aged man was seen slowly approaching from the entrance.
He was a man from whom a certain sharpness could be felt.
A sword inside a scabbard.
He possessed a sharp essence, but it felt as if he kept it concealed within.
One thing was certain.
[Ho?]
[It is a sword.]
Judging by the masters’ reactions, he was no ordinary person.
That person’s identity was revealed from an unexpected direction.
Lady Jang So-wol, who was sprawling out exhausted from training, was flustered as she looked at the middle-aged man.
“Huh? Father?”
“…What?”
The surroundings were even more flustered.
Knowing who Lady Jang So-wol’s father was, anyone would be startled.
Lady Jang So-wol was extremely famous in Martial World.
She possessed a level of recognition that even the Young Heavenly Dragon, who was rapidly gaining fame recently, could hardly compare to. She was a nationwide celebrity.
In other words.
“…Jang Mun-gyeong of the Seamless Heavenly Robe?”
“The Ten Great Swords of the Land?!”
It meant there was no one here who did not know that the person appearing before their eyes was one of the absolute rulers of the current Martial World.