novelraw Chapter 226 : Sharing a Boat Despite Past Grievances
Chapter 226 : Sharing a Boat Despite Past Grievances
Chapter 226: Sharing a Boat Despite Past Grievances
Deep within the mountains.
An old pavilion stood amid sheer rock cliffs and a vast sea of blue clouds.
In a breathtaking landscape where immortals might roam, a place completely severed from the outside world, a middle-aged man quietly emptied his wine cup.
The liquor poured into a white porcelain teacup was drained dry.
“The scenery is fine, so the wine tastes fine as well.”
The middle-aged man who appeared to be savoring the tranquil view was none other than Namgung Myeong, the head of Baekdoryeon and the master of the Namgung Clan.
“Why don’t you have a drink as well?”
“……No, my lord. I wish to refrain from any action that might compromise your protection, even slightly.”
“Heh, you are as rigid as ever.”
The one who answered was Cheoncheon Sword Radiance Namgung Cheok, the chief steward of the Namgung Clan and regarded as Namgung Myeong’s right-hand man.
Yet for some reason, a suffocating tension clung to Namgung Cheok’s voice.
Then, as if tossing it out casually, Namgung Myeong spoke in an even tone.
“Is the whereabouts of that boy still unknown?”
“……!”
His gaze, lowered toward the clouds resting gently upon the cliff, looked no different from that of an ordinary parent worried about their child, but—
“……Yes. He vanished as if his tracks were abruptly severed. It seems likely that some organized force is assisting him……”
“‘Organized,’ you say.”
Gulp.
At those single words from Namgung Myeong, Namgung Cheok unconsciously swallowed dry saliva.
Cold sweat streamed down his spine.
“Hoo, even after building a force that rivals the Murim Alliance, handling a single child proves this difficult. This is all my fault, is it not?”
As Namgung Myeong spoke in self-reproach—
Thud.
Without the slightest hesitation, Namgung Cheok dropped to both knees.
“Absolutely not! This is entirely this subordinate’s failure, my lord!”
Namgung Cheok, who had served Namgung Myeong for many long years, knew well.
Despite his words, Namgung Myeong’s mood was exceedingly foul at the moment, and even the slightest misstep in response would exact a horrific price.
Tap.
The moment Namgung Myeong set his cup down, the very air within the pavilion changed.
His gaze had turned as cold as a winter of merciless frost.
“If that brat has reached out to the Yoo Clan or the Murim Alliance—”
In Namgung Myeong’s voice now lurked a thick killing intent that could no longer be concealed.
“Deal with it yourself.”
“……!!”
Namgung Cheok’s eyes stiffened.
Over the countless years he had lived as Namgung Myeong’s hands and feet, how many lives had been extinguished by that single phrase, “deal with it”?
And now, that arrow was being aimed at Namgung Myeong’s own blood—and at his own nephew.
His thoughts churned to the brink of bursting, but—
“……Understood, my lord.”
As always, Namgung Cheok spoke the predetermined answer.
This was Namgung Myeong, a man who would sever even his own son without mercy if his plans were disrupted.
The moment Namgung Cheok disobeyed an order, his own life would also be in danger.
‘……I may need to borrow the Beggars’ Sect’s strength through agents in disguise.’
Just as he was contemplating his next course of action—
Cha-cha-chaeng!
The sound of dozens of swords being drawn simultaneously rippled around the pavilion like waves tearing across the surface of water.
—Enemies are approaching!
—All units, draw your swords!
Baekdoryeon’s elite combat force, stationed around the pavilion to protect Namgung Myeong, revealed their hostility toward someone approaching.
Yet no one panicked.
It was not an ambush.
This was a scheduled visit.
“My lord, it seems ‘they’ have arrived.”
Namgung Cheok spoke.
Namgung Myeong’s eyes, fixed upon the approaching shadows in the distance, flickered with razor-sharp killing intent.
“……Wretches not even worth calling insects dare to pull such laughable tricks.”
Within his field of vision came figures clad in jet-black martial attire, confronting Baekdoryeon’s pure white robes.
The seat before Namgung Myeong, where the teacup rested, was empty.
Yes. The one he had been waiting for all along was the man leading them.
Shaaah!
Clad in black and white martial robes, the two sides stared each other down, maintaining absolute vigilance.
From among the black-clad crowd, a middle-aged man stepped forward.
“My apologies. I seem to have kept you waiting longer than intended, Vice Alliance Leader.”
Wearing a blatantly frivolous grin, the middle-aged man strode unabashedly up to the pavilion where Namgung Myeong sat.
The man, draped in shadow-like black robes yet adorned head to toe with dazzling golden ornaments, radiated a ferocity that did not yield an inch to Namgung Myeong.
At the title “Vice Alliance Leader,” Namgung Myeong frowned slightly and spoke in a cold voice.
“Your memory seems to have deteriorated, Wolya.”
“Haha, would you look at me. It’s been so long since I abandoned the Murim Alliance. My apologies, Alliance Leader Namgung.”
At those words—
The leader of the Five Evils that upheld the Demonic Alliance.
The man whose name alone ruled the nights of Hangzhou and Suzhou, sweeping up the black money of the underworld, the one who led the Sleepless Fortress—Wolya.
The true master of the Demonic Alliance, Jin Yeonghwa, had revealed himself.
“Standing like this is making my legs ache. Shall we sit down and talk instead?”
With that, Jin Yeonghwa trudged forward and sat directly across from Namgung Myeong.
Namgung Myeong looked at him with eyes utterly devoid of emotion.
To any onlooker, it would have been a shocking sight.
Namgung Myeong, master of Baekdoryeon who claimed to be the symbol of the Orthodox Path.
And Jin Yeonghwa, the head of the Demonic Alliance, proclaimed as the rightful ruler of the Unorthodox Path.
The two were meeting in apparent peace.
After the wars that erupted across the Central Plains all reached their respective conclusions—
From the outside, the faction that appeared to have suffered the greatest blow was, without question, the Demonic Alliance.
Of course, Baekdoryeon had also suffered immense losses, losing Gansu as well as the Murong Clan and the Shin Chang Yang Clan, but among all those forces, none were the core of Baekdoryeon.
Baekdoryeon’s true pillars were the Namgung Clan and the Shaolin Temple.
The Demonic Alliance, however, was different.
Formed as a coalition of five factions known as the Five Evils, the Demonic Alliance had seen two of those factions utterly annihilated.
The Eastern Eighteen Raids had been completely crushed by the Shaolin Temple led by Great Master Gakgong.
And the Heaven-Piercing Sect had been exterminated so thoroughly by Tang Sewoon that not even its foundations remained.
Yet those who were well acquainted with the Demonic Alliance’s internal affairs told a very different story.
The Demonic Alliance had weakened, but Wolya’s Sleepless Fortress had instead grown incomparably stronger.
“Congratulations. Your Upper Moon Trading Company has completely taken control of the Dongting waterways as well.”
“Heh, why say it like that? Alliance Leader Namgung simply changed the name and took the other half of Dongting for himself.”
Jin Yeonghwa replied to Namgung Myeong’s words with a playful smile.
That was how it was.
The Dongting waterways once ruled by the Eastern Eighteen Raids had been split in half and fallen into the hands of the Namgung Clan and the Sleepless Fortress.
From the very beginning, Namgung Myeong had never intended to wage an all-out war against the Demonic Alliance.
His sole aim had been to split the Eastern Eighteen Raids in half. After secretly forming a pact with Jin Yeonghwa in advance, he had merely engineered the situation to reach this outcome.
Had Great Master Gakgong known, he would have flown into a rage, but Namgung Myeong kept the secret absolutely airtight, revealing it to no one except a very small number of people willing to die for him.
There was only one reason Wolya had agreed to such a pact—one that betrayed members of the same faction.
“Of all human emotions, fear is the one I like the most. When fear alone takes hold, it makes people forget every other emotion.”
That Wolya, Jin Yeonghwa, had become the head of the Demonic Alliance was not merely because of his martial might.
It was because his intellect was utterly unrivaled throughout the entire unorthodox path.
In truth, Jin Yeonghwa had realized that the Eastern Eighteen Raids would suffer a catastrophic defeat even before the war had begun.
He then secretly approached Namgung Myeong and proposed a way for himself to reap the greatest possible profit.
“Heh heh, I didn’t quite foresee the Heaven-Piercing Sect being completely exterminated, but even so, the outcome turned out perfectly for me. It’s all thanks to Alliance Leader Namgung.”
“……”
Jin Yeonghwa exploited the unorthodox martial artists who were seized by fear as two of the Five Evils collapsed.
He swallowed up the remaining martial artists of the Eastern Eighteen Raids and the Heaven-Piercing Sect—people who would never have submitted to him in the past.
He did not stop there. By forcibly consolidating the chaotically divided unorthodox factions, he completed the strongest single force the unorthodox path had ever seen.
The Demonic Alliance had fallen, but the Sleepless Fortress had grown stronger—that was precisely what it meant.
“Unlike those fools in the Murim Alliance who cling to so-called justification, Alliance Leader Namgung is easy to talk to. He’s rational.”
“……Enough pointless chatter. Let’s get to the point.”
Namgung Myeong cut off Jin Yeonghwa’s endless words.
Wolya shrugged, drained the wine cup before him, and spoke.
“So, we’ve already divided up everything worth dividing. Why call me here again? Has something come up that requires us to join hands once more?”
“Yes.”
“Oh?”
A strange glint rose in Jin Yeonghwa’s pupils.
True to the name Wolya—Moonlit Night—cool moonlight seemed to shine within his eyes.
“Heh heh, will those bald monks of Shaolin be kept in the dark again this time?”
“Only you and I will know.”
“So it’s dangerously sweet, then. Fine. Let’s at least hear what you have in mind.”
As soon as Jin Yeonghwa finished speaking, Namgung Myeong signaled to Namgung Cheok.
Shrrrk.
Without a word, Namgung Cheok drew something from his robe and spread it out in the center.
‘A map?’
Jin Yeonghwa looked down at the map laid before him.
The terrain depicted was familiar.
Yet this was not a region belonging to Baekdoryeon.
Hubei.
It was the geography of Hubei Province, an area deeply intertwined with the Murim Alliance.
“……!!”
In an instant, Jin Yeonghwa’s eyes widened as if about to burst after spotting something on the map.
A blood-red circle had been drawn over one location.
And within that circle were two characters.
Wudang.
The playful expression that had filled Jin Yeonghwa’s face sank into cold stillness.
“You bastard, what are you trying to pull right now? Are you saying we should strike the Wudang Sect?”
“Yes.”
“……!”
The moment Namgung Myeong answered without the slightest hesitation, Jin Yeonghwa’s thoughts spun at full speed.
This was something that would cause repercussions on a scale incomparable to the matter of the Eastern Eighteen Raids.
It meant striking one of the two great pillars of the orthodox martial world—Shaolin or Wudang.
But what truly demanded fear was not the Wudang Sect itself.
“How exactly do you plan to deal with the current world’s strongest? The Sword Emperor.”
That was right. The sect of the Murim Alliance Leader Yoo Jinhak was none other than the Wudang Sect.
At the phrase “the world’s strongest,” Namgung Myeong frowned slightly and spoke slowly.
“……We are not striking him.”
“Then?”
“The Namgung Clan will open the Anhui routes. In exchange, you merely need to shake the Namgung main mountain and draw the Sword Emperor out.”
“……!”
The moment he heard those words, Jin Yeonghwa immediately grasped the intent.
“……You just want me to divert attention.”
“Correct. Create confusion. While that happens, we will swallow another place.”
“Where?”
“Shaanxi.”
“……!”
Just like Wudang in Hubei, Shaanxi was home to a single dominant sword sect.
“We will bring down Mount Hua.”