Chapter 96: A Coincidence That Forged Inevitability (2)

Namgung Shin’s eyes, as he looked at Yeon Hojeong, were filled with frank admiration.

“Are you Yeon Hojeong?”

“You know me?”

Huuuuung.

A chill killing intent welled off the bodies of the swordsmen standing behind Namgung Shin.

Namgung Shin was the last direct-line elder among the Namgung Clan’s Eight Great Elders. In distribution of rank, that put him on par with the Clan Lord.

Yet this young fellow—who could scarcely be past twenty—had a way of speaking that was truly ill-mannered. It pricked the swordsmen’s pride.

But the man concerned, Namgung Shin, nodded as if it didn’t bother him.

“Of course I know. One can guess just by that tremendous axe you’re holding. And this aura that bleeds out unconsciously—there’s nothing of a youth about it.”

Unexpectedly, Namgung Shin seemed delighted. Pure admiration and joy spread over his face.

“They say you showed the nerve to stand alone against the foremost clan under heaven... you are indeed extraordinary. The epithet ‘Green Mountain Tiger General’ suits you perfectly.”

Green Mountain Tiger General?

‘Not even funny.’

They had been calling him Gale Lion—now it was Green Mountain Tiger General. He was a martial man himself, but truly, martial folk’s fussing was something else.

“Ah, pardon me. I’ve kept you standing and not introduced myself. I’m Shin of the Namgung of Anhui.”

Yeon Hojeong blinked.

Namgung Shin clicked his tongue.

“Haven’t heard of me?”

“I don’t usually concern myself with others.”

No matter how you cut it, that wasn’t something to say to a senior of the martial world. Moreover, Namgung Shin was older than the Yeon Clan Lord.

The swordsmen’s eyes grew ever colder. The subtle killing intent they emitted swelled stronger and stronger.

Namgung Shin burst out laughing, guffawing.

“A forthright young man. Aye, a man ought to have at least that much boldness.”

“At any rate, I’ll be on my way. Step aside.”

“Before that.”

“......?”

“The one tucked under your arm—is that Ming Heorim?”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gleamed.

For a moment the thought flashed—‘How did he know?’

But the Namgung Clan was also a core pillar of the Alliance of the Martial World. That Ming Heorim was headed for Anhui was something they could well know.

“It is.”

“As I thought. The young hero who laid bare the true face of the Ming Clan of the Nine Provinces captured even the fugitive son of that public enemy. Your renown will shake the great rivers north and south once more.”

Yeon Hojeong shook his head—an action that carried all the weariness in the world.

“Please clear the way. I’m pressed for time.”

“Ha! So you are. We had hoped to collar him first—what a pity. But what does it matter who caught him? Caught is caught.”

Casting Ming Heorim a lingering, reluctant glance, Namgung Shin stepped aside one pace.

“Open the way.”

Thirty swordsmen formed ranks to left and right.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.

‘Formidable.’

The killing aura felt from both flanks was tremendous.

This was no ordinary armed outfit. It had to be one of the Namgung’s elite combat units, the kind you could count on one hand.

But it had nothing to do with Yeon Hojeong. He strode straight down the path.

Just then—

“And yet, you.”

Yeon Hojeong halted.

“I hear you gave my nephews quite a scolding once.”

“.......”

“Heh, no need to tense up. Nephews though they are, even I thought those boys went too far. Hyeon pulled a cheat, and Sanghwa’s conduct was flighty—petty things fit only for children.”

“And?”

“And...”

Namgung Shin’s smile did not change.

“I can understand those two incidents, but as for the other one—even I can’t wrap my head around it.”

Yeon Hojeong turned his body.

He knit his brows.

“Don’t circle around it. Say what you came to say.”

Namgung Shin nodded.

“Since you’re so straightforward, I’ll cast aside the formalities as well.”

The face that had been all smiles hardened to ice in an instant.

“You’re familiar, I hear, with the girl who is to be Hyeon’s consort?”

Yeon Hojeong could call one person to mind at once.

“Je Gal Ahyeon?”

“Yes, Je Gal Ahyeon. That child.”

“Familiar... I wouldn’t say anything so grand.”

“Heh, if you mean to wriggle out of this with words like that, I’d advise against it. In truth, how deep your friendship with Je Gal Ahyeon is isn’t my concern—but the circumstances are strangely ill.”

Namgung Shin furrowed his brows.

Even to himself, he seemed unwilling to wade into such matters. But he couldn’t not—both as a clan elder and as an uncle.

“You may or may not know, but our main house sent matchmakers to the Je Gal Clan. To that child, Je Gal Ahyeon.”

“I know.”

“You know? Heh, then this will go quickly.”

In a cool voice, Namgung Shin said,

“Do not meet the Je Gal family’s eldest daughter again. That child is to be the wife of our house’s Second Young Master.”

Yeon Hojeong couldn’t help the faint laugh that slipped out.

Namgung Shin’s gaze deepened.

“What amuses you?”

How could he not laugh.

The Je Gal Clan seemed intent on refusing a marriage talk with the Namgung Clan. Yet the Namgung Clan told him not to spread rumors about a prospective daughter-in-law.

Was this looking for a quarrel? It didn’t quite feel like that either.

‘At least they knew, then.’

What mattered to Yeon Hojeong wasn’t any marriage business between Je Gal Ahyeon and Namgung Hyeon.

‘These fellows knew I was here.’

This matter had been known only to Mo Yonggun and himself. On the surface, at least.

The Namgung Clan had also dispatched forces to seize Ming Heorim? That could be. But that did not prove this meeting was chance.

‘Mo Yonggun.’

An obvious ploy. It had to be Mo Yonggun’s doing.

Because even if you knew, you couldn’t call him on it. There was no proof, and there was no need to stir up trouble and spawn idle rumors.

And that went for the Namgung side as well.

Yeon Hojeong shrugged.

“Don’t worry. I never asked to meet that kid first anyway. She sought me out.”

That was a relief.

A relief—yet somehow an irritating thing to hear. If Yeon Hojeong had feelings for Je Gal Ahyeon, that would be one thing; the reverse made things a headache even for the Namgung.

“So there’s no need to harden your eyes like that.”

Tsssss.

A subtle blue true-qi rippled from the swordsmen’s bodies.

It was Azure Firmament Qi. Each and every one of them had cultivated the Namgung Clan’s supreme art.

And each had cultivated it deeply. The surging waves of momentum pressing from the flanks were °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° astonishingly intense.

After staring at Yeon Hojeong for a long moment, Namgung Shin found his smile again.

“You’re arrogant, but you don’t seem a liar.”

If necessary, at any time.

“I’ll take you at your word. Be careful hereafter.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve no wish to be the sort of man who wrecks another’s marriage path.”

“Heh, a young man who understands what’s said.”

Namgung Shin raised a hand.

At once, the streams of aura flowing from left and right quieted.

“Sorry to detain you for nothing. Go on your way.”

“Good day.”

“Indeed. Ah! One more thing.”

Namgung Shin grimaced.

“By any chance, have you seen a master of archery in these parts?”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.

“Archery?”

“That’s right. You may not know, but there’s a fiend called the Anhui Blood Bow—five years ago he wiped out the Golden Sword Gate. I hear that fiend showed himself lately near Eight Dukes Mountain.”

“......!”

“Ming Heorim we can make do with, since you’ve taken him—but the Anhui Blood Bow, we must be the ones to catch.”

Namgung Shin scratched his head.

“I saw violent traces not far from here. I didn’t examine them closely, but it was tremendous archery fused with qi arts. I think it must have been the Anhui Blood Bow’s martial art.”

“.......”

“You lay in wait to seize Ming Heorim, didn’t you? Did you perhaps not sense any such powerful flux of force?”

Yeon Hojeong replied with practiced nonchalance,

“I haven’t. I only arrived yesterday.”

“Is that so?”

Namgung Shin clicked his tongue.

“Very well. If you run across anyone suspicious carrying a bow, inform the nearest branch.”

“Understood.”

“Be off, then. Congratulations on catching Ming Heorim.”

“May fortune favor you.”

And so Yeon Hojeong drew away from the Namgung Clan’s force.

How far down the mountain had he gone?

“Huff, huff! Y-Young Lord Yeon?”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes widened.

“Branch Chief So Cheong?”

“Kh—! Huff, huff! J-Just... give me a moment to catch... my breath...”

So Cheong plopped down where he stood and panted and panted.

Behind him stood Baek Hyang, face calm and quiet.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes lit.

“Muk... Baek Hyang?”

Baek Hyang looked at Yeon Hojeong without a word.

Her eyes had lost their focus. The tide of nihilism blended over her whole body was dark to the utmost.

Gasping, So Cheong spoke.

“T-This young lady was seeking you, Young Lord Yeon, so I brought her. Hah! Hah!”

Yeon Hojeong set Ming Heorim down.

“I didn’t expect you to find me so quickly.”

Baek Hyang, who had been staring vacantly at Yeon Hojeong, lowered her head.

“I came to pay my respects.”

“Respects?”

“I’m going back to Sun-Piercing Valley.”

Yeon Hojeong clicked his tongue.

“To become that Yi God, or whatever it is?”

“No.”

“...Then?”

With a blank face, Baek Hyang spoke words that were terrifying.

“To erase it with my own hands.”

“......!”

Yeon Hojeong’s face hardened.

“Gungcheon told me. He said if it was you, you could protect me. But Sun-Piercing Valley is strong. And they’ll do whatever it takes to catch a runaway Yi God.”

“That so.”

“Yes. I don’t know the martial world, but unless it’s one of the foremost sects under heaven, no one will be able to face Sun-Piercing Valley.”

“So—you’ll erase them all with your own hands?”

Baek Hyang’s eyes grew even darker.

Under that thick, thick darkness lay a faint bed of anger and killing will.

“I hate them. Anyone I could call family is already dead, and they’ll try to take me no matter what.”

“......”

“In that case, it’s better to erase them all.”

Truly ruthless.

It is no easy thing to make such a resolve. Even so, for her, wasn’t Sun-Piercing Valley home?

Yeon Hojeong looked into Baek Hyang’s eyes.

It was as if they meant to drink in all the light under heaven. So dark—dark beyond dark.

‘It’s not just because of this time.’

This Yi God Selection had merely been the trigger; he felt that she, too, had long hated Sun-Piercing Valley. A guess, to be sure.

“Can you face them alone?”

“I know the lay of the land there completely. There are many masters, but none better than those who took part in the contest.”

“Even so, it will be a hard fight.”

“......”

“It may be a fight you can’t come back from, isn’t it? That’s why you came to pay your respects.”

“...Yes.”

Baek Hyang bowed her head again.

“Thanks to you, Gungcheon went peacefully. I, too, have received your grace—so if this is to be my last, I wanted at least to offer my respects before I left.”

Yeon Hojeong let out a sigh.

“I advised you to lead your life with your own hands—and the very person in question says she’s off to die.”

“I don’t want to die.”

“Mm?”

“I don’t want to die. But unless I erase them, living won’t be living.”

“......”

“That’s how ruthless they are.”

“So this, too, is a choice you can’t help but make?”

“...Yes.”

“That right?”

There was something glib in his answer.

Yeon Hojeong suddenly slung an arm over Baek Hyang’s shoulders. She flinched.

“Hey, Muk... no, Ba... ah, forget it! You’re Mookbi from now on. I’m calling you Mookbi.”

“Y-Yes?”

“I’ve got a good idea. Want to hear it?”

“...A good idea?”

Yeon Hojeong looked up at the ridgeline in the distance.

His eyes sank deep.

“How about a piece of advice for the you who’ll step into the world ahead?”

“......?”

“If you’re going to dirty your hands, it’s better to do it with your own. But when it’s a sticky job, it’s fine to let someone else’s hands do it.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“I mean there’s no need to feel sour because you didn’t personally do what needed doing. All the more so if the opponent is an enemy who deserves to die.”

Yeon Hojeong spoke to So Cheong.

“Branch Chief. Give me a hand with Ming Heorim. I’ve got things to discuss with this friend.”

“Huff! M-Me? Carry him?”

“If you would.”

“Hah! Huff... Ah, understood.”

Smiling, Yeon Hojeong looked back at Baek Hyang.

“You ever hear of the stratagem ‘killing with a borrowed knife’?”