When the Years Gather in the Dantian (1)
With the ascension ceremony only a few days away, heroes gathered in Wuhan.
The marketplace was so crowded with people that there was no room to step. As people gathered, merchants gathered along with them.
I was drinking tea with Gal Sa-Ryang at Bullu, the teahouse operated by the leader of the Heavenly Net Society, while watching the people on the street through the window. Normally, this place too would have been crowded, but Ban Xu-Qing, the leader of the Heavenly Net Society, had closed the doors of the teahouse for a while.
So the only guests here were Gal Sa-Ryang and me.
“It seems several times more people have gathered than when Ma Bong-Gi ascended.”
At Gal Sa-Ryang’s words, I answered,
“It is likely because of their fear of the Demonic Cult.”
This ascension ceremony for Ma Cheol-Gun was showing exactly how, when an external enemy was strong, the inside would unite even more tightly.
At that moment, Ban Xu-Qing asked for my understanding and said to Gal Sa-Ryang,
“May I see you for a moment?”
“Let us do that.”
The two went toward the front of the kitchen. They spoke as if whispering, but thanks to my sensitive hearing, I could hear their conversation.
“Strategist, you said you would introduce me today to the new person you serve, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“It seems the promised time has passed. When will he come?”
Gal Sa-Ryang formed a strange smile.
Ban Xu-Qing stared at him for a moment, then flinched in surprise.
“Surely?”
Her head slowly turned this way. I felt her gaze looking at me, but I pretended not to know and continued looking out the window.
Her voice could be heard again.
“No, right?”
“That is right.”
“Good heavens!”
It seemed she was truly shocked. She was someone who did not reveal her inner feelings easily even over most things, but this time was different. Her surprise and excitement were transmitted all the way over here.
It was probably because she had thought I was absolutely not the person Gal Sa-Ryang had chosen as his lord.
I was Byeok Ri-Dan of the Byeok Sword Clan of Shandong. There was no way Gal Sa-Ryang would serve the young successor of a local sect as his master, was there? Especially one who had formally entered the Hall of Justice as a new strategist.
She carefully walked over and sat in front of me.
My gaze, which had been looking out the window, turned toward her.
As if she had become a physiognomist, she examined my face closely.
I revealed the true aura within me, different from the way I had treated her until now. I was no longer Byeok Ri-Dan, the responsible strategist, but the lord Gal Sa-Ryang served.
When I deliberately emitted my aura, the air around us changed. The flow of air began to move with me at its center.
As she felt an overwhelming power that could never have been seen from me before, her expression gradually changed.
“I had prided myself on knowing the Jianghu better than anyone, but you are making me keenly realize that this was empty arrogance.”
It was also a statement that meant her first impression of me was not bad.
“Allow me to formally greet you. I am Ban Xu-Qing, leader of the Heavenly Net Society.”
“I am Byeok Ri-Dan of the Byeok Sword Clan.”
“A remarkable hero has emerged from the Byeok Sword Clan of Shandong. I look forward to working with you.”
“That is what I should be saying.”
Gal Sa-Ryang came and sat beside her.
“Honestly, when I heard that Strategist Gal had come to serve a new lord, I was shocked. That fact alone was surprising, but for it to be someone so young?”
“It is thanks to Strategist Gal viewing me favorably.”
At that, Ban Xu-Qing glanced at Gal Sa-Ryang and said,
“Strategist Gal is not someone who views just anyone favorably. He is an extremely cold-hearted person.”
Her own dissatisfaction was playfully contained in her words. Gal Sa-Ryang merely formed a faint smile.
Ban Xu-Qing brought out the words she had wanted to ask.
“There is something I heard through Strategist Gal.”
Previously, through Gal Sa-Ryang, I had conveyed that if an emergency situation occurred, they could deny their relationship with us.
“I am not doubting the broad generosity with which you are considering our society, but I am curious as to why you made such a decision.”
“It is simple. Because Strategist Gal cherishes the Heavenly Net Society.”
“Ah!”
Of course, there were several other reasons. But what need was there to mention those reasons? Rather than listing out every reason in detail and gaining some advantage from it, supporting Gal Sa-Ryang was a much better choice.
Gal Sa-Ryang quickly said,
“What we need is information, not the loyalty of your society.”
He said it because he felt needlessly embarrassed, and Ban Xu-Qing said to me as if telling on him, as though to say, See?
“You understand, don’t you? This person here is not someone who views others favorably.”
“Haha.”
I laughed pleasantly.
After looking back and forth between Gal Sa-Ryang and me for a while, Ban Xu-Qing took several sheets of paper from within her robe.
“This is the first piece of information we are giving you.”
If her first impression of me had been bad, this information might not have been delivered to us.
No matter her relationship with Gal Sa-Ryang, she too was a person of the Jianghu who had gone through all kinds of hardships, and her own organization would come first. If she found it difficult to trust the other side’s leader, how could she carelessly hand over information?
As I accepted the papers, I spoke to her with confidence.
“You will not regret joining hands with us.”
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The information she gave us concerned this Alliance Lord ascension ceremony.
It was especially information about the recent movements of families related to Ma Cheol-Gun, and among them, Gal Sa-Ryang found something suspicious.
“There is a part here that we must pay attention to.”
“What is it?”
“The fact that One-Eyed Sword Hwang Jong has come to participate in this Alliance Lord ascension ceremony.”
“Why is that strange?”
“One-Eyed Sword has never once appeared at such an official event. He extremely dislikes places where many people gather, and he did not even come to Ma Bong-Gi’s previous ascension ceremony.”
Of course, Gal Sa-Ryang had not brought it up for only that reason.
“The problem is that he is one of Ma Yang-Hwa’s people.”
“By Ma Yang-Hwa, you mean one of the successors of the Heavenly Blade Sect.”
“Not only One-Eyed Sword, but also the Twin Axes Beyond the Pass and the Two Lesser White Swords are coming. All of them are either Ma Yang-Hwa’s hands and feet or people deeply connected to her.”
“It is certainly something worth paying attention to.”
“Yes. I thought something was unusual, so I combined this with the information from the Three-Eyed Pavilion and examined it, and Ma Yang-Hwa is not the only one who has moved. The masters led by Ma Gung-Tae have moved as well. The Ten Heartless Guests and the Divine Mystery Spear are among them.”
The masters he mentioned were all renowned experts in the Jianghu.
“The two people pushed out of the succession structure have mobilized their greatest masters? Surely they did not call them to congratulate Ma Cheol-Gun.”
At my words, Gal Sa-Ryang spoke with certainty.
“They are definitely either trying to kill Ma Cheol-Gun or aiming for us.”
I could feel it instinctively.
“It seems they are aiming for us.”
The Three Beasts of Yunnan and the archery master had previously died at my hands. This was surely another assassination attempt along the same line of attack.
“I think it is time to cut off this chain of continuous attacks.”
“There are two methods. Sink deeply beneath the surface, or rise above the surface.”
I fell into thought for a while. Both decisions would certainly have their advantages and disadvantages.
The conclusion I reached was this.
“It seems it is time for us to rise.”
That did not mean we would announce my existence to every corner of the neighborhood.
It meant that we would show them we were not only going to be attacked, but that we could attack first as well. It meant I would give them a warning that if they touched me, I would actively touch them in return.
“But before that, there is one thing I must do.”
“What is that?”
“My current internal energy is two gapja. I must reach three gapja……”
Gal Sa-Ryang continued my words.
“So that you can use the Sixth Form, Great Annihilation Calamity.”
I nodded. I was already strong enough now, but there was a great difference between being able to use all of my Martial Arts and not being able to do so.
If my internal energy reached three gapja and I could freely use my Martial Arts?
“Then the ones who have to sink will be them.”
Gal Sa-Ryang, who had been lost in thought for a while, remembered something.
Soon, he formed a strange smile and said,
“There is a way to resolve the issue of internal energy.”
A single carriage was racing along the main road.
The person driving the carriage from the coachman’s seat was Gwangdu.
“Is there anywhere uncomfortable?”
At Gwangdu’s shout, a woman’s voice came from the passenger compartment behind him.
“I’m fine.”
The owner of the voice was none other than Song Hwa-Rin. The people riding in the carriage were Song Hwa-Rin and Su-Ran.
Su-Ran poked her head out the window and said,
“If you are tired, I will switch with you.”
“No, I am still fine.”
The three of them were on their way to Wuhan to attend the Alliance Lord’s ascension ceremony.
When Gwangdu heard that Song Hwa-Rin was going to Wuhan as the representative of the Song Clan, he asked if he could go with her as well, and Song Hwa-Rin gladly accepted.
Gwangdu spoke loudly again.
“The Young Master will be truly delighted to see you, Young Lady.”
“I wonder. Would he even want to see me?”
“If he does not want to see you, Young Lady, then he must have been dragged away by demonic people and remade into a woman.”
Song Hwa-Rin burst into laughter. Su-Ran shook her head and said loudly,
“Stop saying ridiculous things and drive the carriage properly!”
“Yes!”
Su-Ran lowered her voice and said,
“He really is good at saying silly things, isn’t he?”
“That is why he is cheerful, is it not?”
“That is true, but still.”
It was a part Su-Ran also acknowledged. At first, Su-Ran had opposed Gwangdu coming with them. She had thought traveling with an outsider would be uncomfortable in many ways.
But after traveling together, it was not that bad. Thanks to him, there were many times they laughed, and while his words were silly, the person himself was not. Rather, Gwangdu’s actions were quick and efficient, and he had manners when dealing with people. She could feel that he was truly someone who knew well how human relationships should be handled.
“That man is not an ordinary servant.”
“I think so too.”
Song Hwa-Rin evaluated Gwangdu highly. Of course, there was also the fact that he was the person Byeok Ri-Dan cherished the most, so she gave him even higher marks, but through this journey, she became certain that Gwangdu himself was an extremely charming person.
“Young Lady, I heard that an enormous number of people have gathered for this ascension ceremony. Once you arrive, you must be especially careful.”
“I understand, so do not worry.”
Byeok Do-Jun, Byeok Ri-Dan’s father, and Song U-Gyeong, her own father, had many complaints about this new Alliance Lord. Just as they had with Ma Bong-Gi before, they believed that this Ma Cheol-Gun also did not have the qualifications to become Alliance Lord. So they had decided not to attend the ascension ceremony, but Song Hwa-Rin stepped forward and said that she would go in their place.
Because there was also the matter of the Demonic Cult, and because rumors were spreading that crowds of people were gathering, they had not wanted to send Song Hwa-Rin. But when she said she would go and meet Byeok Ri-Dan in Wuhan, they gave their permission.
Longing filled Song Hwa-Rin’s eyes as she looked outside the carriage.
Song Hwa-Rin missed Byeok Ri-Dan terribly.
She had already dreamed several times of the day they kissed. On some days, she even dreamed that things progressed a little further from the kiss. On days like that, she could not focus on anything all day.
Honestly, she had no interest in the ascension ceremony at all.
Gal Sa-Ryang and I arrived at Somang Plain, located south of Wuhan.
There were numerous towers built there, and this was a place where people piled stones into towers while making wishes.
This place was deeply connected to me as well. The reason this place had been named Somang Plain was because of me.
On the day of my final battle against the cult leader of the Blood Sky Cult, everyone in the vicinity of Wuhan gathered here and prayed for my victory.
After I killed the Demonic Cult Leader and won, this place came to be called Somang Plain and became a place where people made wishes.
“There is a safe house here for the Alliance Lord. It is a place known only to the previous Alliance Lord and me.”
There were several safe houses throughout the Central Plains for me, the Murim Alliance Lord. They were places prepared for situations such as a rebellion occurring, or being gravely injured by enemies and losing my Martial Arts.
“This place is special even among the safe houses. If an ordinary safe house is merely a place to hide one’s body, this is a special safe house that allows one to overcome a crisis situation.”
“Special?”
“Yes. You will understand once you go inside.”
Gal Sa-Ryang walked in among the stone towers. Thousands of towers of different heights were piled up, so it was not easy to find where anything was.
But Gal Sa-Ryang walked precisely toward his destination as if walking along a path he knew.
As I followed him, I remembered the day I had heard about this place. About how to find the safe house.
In truth, when I was Alliance Lord, I had not been particularly interested in safe houses. I had confidence in my Martial Arts, and I was certain that I would never have any need to seek out a safe house in my entire life.
Using a giant tree in the distance as a reference point, there were towers Gal Sa-Ryang had specially made as markers. From those towers, there was a rule for moving forward, backward, left, and right.
Even though it had been made long ago, Gal Sa-Ryang remembered the location of the safe house exactly.
After moving this way and that between the stone towers, we stood before one stone tower. At a glance, it did not look any different from the other towers.
Gal Sa-Ryang removed a stone embedded in the center. The stone, which had not looked as if it could be removed, slipped out easily.
“This place can only be entered by the Alliance Lord. The door opens only when the Alliance Lord injects his internal energy into it. And you, my lord, who have learned the same Martial Arts, can also enter.”
In other words, it was a mechanism that could only be opened with a specific internal energy.
I inserted my hand into the hole, placed my palm on a flat stone, and injected internal energy.
Then the floor opened with a clunking sound, revealing stairs leading downward.
“Please go and return safely. I will wait here.”
“Understood.”
I slowly walked down the stairs into the darkness.
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