novelraw Chapter 227 : Honeyed Words, Hidden Blades
Chapter 227 : Honeyed Words, Hidden Blades
Chapter 227: Honeyed Words, Hidden Blades
After hearing everything Namgung Myeong had said, Jin Yeonghwa’s gaze shone coldly, like the skies above the North Sea.
He looked at his counterpart with eyes filled with suspicion.
‘Devour Mount Hua, huh…….’
Hiding the tangled thoughts in his mind, he stared back at Namgung Myeong.
On the surface, it was like a single tiger scattering intimidation as it growled at him.
Yet inside, the venom of a pit viper flowed thickly.
The moment one let their guard down, poisonous fangs would sink deep into the nape of the neck.
‘To devour Mount Hua means openly provoking the Murim Alliance. But at this timing, why Mount Hua of all things……?’
Of course, the Mount Hua Sect was one pillar of the orthodox Nine Sects and One Gang.
However, Mount Hua had long since walked the path of decline.
Its influence in the Central Plains had become a thing of the past, and it had already fallen a step behind in the currents of the martial world.
And yet, Namgung Myeong’s eyes were twisted with unmistakable greed.
Jin Yeonghwa’s thoughts began spinning rapidly.
This was a man who had abandoned the pride of the Orthodox Path and even chivalric righteousness, joining hands with him just to secure the waterways of Dongting Lake.
‘……Mount Hua itself isn’t the goal. There’s something there—something he wants badly enough to point a blade at Yoo Jinhak for.’
And Jin Yeonghwa himself was Wolya, the leader of the strongest force among the Unorthodox Sects.
He instantly read the other man’s true intentions.
Shall I test him once?
Feigning ignorance, Jin Yeonghwa spoke.
“The plan to keep the Sword Emperor from turning his gaze toward Mount Hua—I understand that. But isn’t the risk we have to shoulder far too great?”
“Keuheuk.”
Namgung Myeong tilted his wine cup, letting out a laugh that sounded as if he were chewing and swallowing his prey.
“Why dance around the issue when you’re really asking me to show my hand?”
“Heh heh. Fine, then what exactly are you offering, Alliance Leader Namgung?”
“It’ll be faster to see it for yourself. Bring it.”
“…?”
Thud.
As if he had been waiting all along, Namgung Cheok quietly stepped forward from behind and slowly opened a box.
A single ancient book, neatly wrapped in black silk, revealed itself.
At a glance, it was clearly a martial arts secret manual.
The moment it was placed on the table, the air in the room subtly shifted.
“Cloud Dragon Great Eight Forms.”
“…!!”
Jin Yeonghwa’s eyes widened as if they were about to burst.
And it was no wonder.
‘The Kunlun Sect’s Cloud Dragon Great Eight Forms?!’
The Kunlun Sect, annihilated by the Gale Sands of the Outer Regions.
Among its legacy, this was the ultimate art of ultimate arts, passed down only to the future sect leader and the sect leader’s direct disciple.
True to its name, it was the pinnacle of movement techniques—flipping through the air as though a dragon were frolicking among clouds.
Yet the manual believed to have been lost when Kunlun was destroyed had appeared here.
Jin Yeonghwa looked at Namgung Myeong as if asking how he could possibly possess such an item.
Namgung Myeong continued in a flat, unruffled tone.
“After Kunlun fell, we didn’t just sit idly by. We wagered everything the White Path Union had and searched for the survivors.”
It was known that the White Path Union had tried to save Kunlun, but due to the Lee Trading Company’s independent actions, Kunlun became isolated and was annihilated.
…That was the common belief.
But while not entirely false, the truth was slightly different.
Namgung Myeong had never intended to save Kunlun in the first place. After dispatching the White Path Union’s intelligence network and realizing that the Gale Sands’ military strength far exceeded expectations, he weighed the gains and losses and came to a conclusion.
‘The losses far outweigh the gains. Accept the annihilation as a given, and turn the crisis into an opportunity.’
And what he aimed to obtain were precisely the divine arts and secret manuals born from Kunlun’s long history—things like the Cloud Dragon Great Eight Forms now lying before them.
When the moment of annihilation approached, every martial faction preserved its most crucial martial legacies by entrusting them to successors, planning for the future.
Even if they lost their homeland and foundation, as long as their martial arts and roots survived, revival would one day be possible.
But……
“They begged me the moment we met, asking me to avenge their master. Tsk tsk. Why don’t they understand how fleeting revenge truly is?”
For Kunlun, that future became impossible.
The moment Namgung Myeong secretly met Kunlun’s remnants, he seized all the secret manuals and silenced them forever in death.
If such a truth were leaked, it would overturn the entire martial world.
But whether that happened or not, Jin Yeonghwa’s gaze was fixed firmly on the Cloud Dragon Great Eight Forms.
Such ruthless acts were commonplace in the martial world—and he believed he would have done the same in Namgung Myeong’s position.
Namgung Myeong casually spoke words of temptation.
“Wolya, if your martial arts were to gain the Cloud Dragon Great Eight Forms, wouldn’t you be able to break through the realm you’ve never crossed?”
“…!”
Jin Yeonghwa’s mind raced.
He possessed treasures worth thousands—no, tens of thousands—in gold, but martial arts were not something money alone could buy.
‘Obtaining this through a single ambush…… It’s undeniably tempting, but—.’
Yet his lips did not part.
Rampaging greed was being held back by the caution warning him of danger.
There was only one reason.
‘Yoo Jinhak, the strongest under heaven. That alone makes this gamble far too dangerous.’
The Sword Emperor frightened him.
The dangerous balance between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths had been maintained only because Sword Emperor Yoo Jinhak did not desire needless bloodshed.
‘So he won’t come over that easily after all.’
Reading the meaning behind that gaze, Namgung Myeong moved on to the next stage.
“Then I suppose I must reveal one more thing.”
“…What is it?”
“A key that will let you restructure the very foundation of the Sleepless Fortress.”
Shrrk.
From Namgung Myeong’s robes, another map emerged.
Jin Yeonghwa first glanced at it indifferently, but once he grasped the terrain, his pupils rapidly dilated.
“…Mount Song?”
One of the Five Great Mountains, located in Henan Province.
No martial artist could fail to recognize that name.
For it was where the Shaolin Temple stood—the place known as ‘All martial arts under heaven originate from Shaolin.’
Three small characters etched onto the map caught Jin Yeonghwa’s eye, sparking sharp interest.
‘Hall of Hidden Treasures?’
In a meaningless-looking location far removed even from Shaolin itself, a name he had never heard before was inscribed.
Jin Yeonghwa, who ruled the nights of Hangzhou and Suzhou.
A man boasting intelligence capabilities rivaling even the Beggars’ Sect Leader—yet this was the first time he had ever heard of such a place within Shaolin.
At that moment, Namgung Myeong quietly opened his mouth.
“When it was decided to bring down the Eastern Eighteen Raids of Dongting Lake, led by the Blood Sea Dragon King, Gang Cheol-eon, Great Master Gongsung set out at the head of all of Shaolin Temple’s masters.”
“…….”
“But here’s the thing. Among the reports that reached me, one strange anomaly was detected.”
“An anomaly?”
Tap.
Namgung Myeong extended a finger and pointed to the spot marked Hall of Hidden Treasures on the map.
“Among the forces that left the mountain gates, a portion secretly diverted and moved in this direction.”
“……!!”
Even while mobilizing an unprecedented number of personnel in Shaolin’s history to avenge a disciple, they had still dispatched a separate force.
‘Just how important must that Hall of Hidden Treasures be to Shaolin…….’
As Jin Yeonghwa was unconsciously swallowing saliva, Namgung Myeong continued with a meaningful smile.
“So I used my own hand to verify it. And I found out.”
Namgung Myeong’s voice sank low and deep.
“That this place is where the Great Cycle Pill is produced.”
“……!!”
Jin Yeonghwa’s eyes shook violently.
“…The Great Cycle Pill, you say?”
The words slipped from his mouth before he realized it.
The calm façade he had been desperately maintaining completely collapsed the moment he heard the name Great Cycle Pill.
At that instant, the last thread of reason inside Jin Yeonghwa snapped.
“That’s right. The greatest medicinal treasure in martial history—what generations of Divine Thieves have longed to steal. The Great Cycle Pill, said to restore breath even to the dead.”
“……!!”
Jin Yeonghwa could not hide his shock.
Namgung Myeong’s explanation was not exaggerated.
If anything, it failed to fully convey its true value.
Though it was an artificial medicinal pill crafted by human hands, even combining every natural elixir and inner core in existence could not surpass Shaolin’s Great Cycle Pill.
However, even with the formula in hand, the success rate depended on heaven’s fortune. Its production was extraordinarily difficult and consumed immense time.
Moreover, since ancient times, Shaolin Temple had strictly upheld its precept of granting it only to those deemed worthy. If anyone were to obtain one, it would be a top-tier elixir for which any price could be named.
‘No one knows where inside Shaolin it’s made, nor who makes it—not even the smallest detail. And yet he’s handing over information about the production site……?’
There was clearly some unspoken danger being concealed.
But……
It was the Great Cycle Pill.
If he could seize it—or even obtain the manufacturing method…….
Before he realized it, a madness that surpassed reason slowly settled into Jin Yeonghwa’s eyes.
Watching that, Namgung Myeong twisted the corner of his lips.
‘Fool. He’s taken the bait.’
He had never once believed that the other man would refuse his proposal.
“Revealing the location first is proof of my sincerity. You’ll be able to judge soon enough whether it’s truth or fabrication.”
“…Fine. Let’s assume this is real. Then what exactly are you proposing?”
At Jin Yeonghwa’s words, Namgung Myeong gestured toward the map with his chin.
“Flip it over.”
“…!”
After a brief moment of deliberation, Jin Yeonghwa slowly reached out and turned the map over.
This was—!
Astonishingly, the reverse side contained a detailed plan outlining how Namgung Myeong intended to take everything while evading the eyes of Shaolin Temple and Great Master Gongsung.
Jin Yeonghwa immediately began predicting and interpreting it in his mind.
Countless possibilities and futures flashed through his thoughts in an instant.
Then, an answer emerged.
“…It’s possible.”
“Of course.”
Shockingly, the plan’s level of completion was exceptional.
It was so meticulous that even Jin Yeonghwa himself would not have conceived it this thoroughly.
His thoughts were rapidly tilting in one direction.
‘Right. It’s not like we’re clashing head-on with the Murim Alliance Leader. If we approach this with the mindset of merely holding out while they seize Mount Hua……!’
‘And in the end, he’d be betraying Shaolin as well. Even if it fails, this could be turned into a blade to pressure him……!’
Naturally, toward joining Namgung Myeong’s plan.
Seeing that reaction, Namgung Myeong found it difficult to suppress his killing intent.
‘Heh. Yes. That’s how it should be, you vermin of the Unorthodox Path.’
The information regarding the Hall of Hidden Treasures and the Great Cycle Pill was true.
But that did not mean he ever intended to share Shaolin’s treasures with such a worm.
Namgung Myeong planned to use the man before him as a sacrificial offering for whatever he intended to take from Mount Hua.
Thus, even as they sat face to face, weaving conspiracies right before each other’s eyes—
“Heh heh. Well, you really do live long enough to see everything.”
At that moment, Jin Yeonghwa, having finished his calculations, let out a light laugh.
Swish.
He lifted the wine cup before him and extended it toward Namgung Myeong.
“To think yesterday’s enemy becomes today’s ally.”
“This is merely belated alignment with the natural order.”
Namgung Myeong raised his cup in response.
The two cups collided in midair, producing a small yet deep ripple.
And thus, on that day, a colossal sinister scheme—where the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths became entwined—was forged.