Longevity - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12: The Dian King Jade Seal
Yi Jungyong and Jin Ipchu settled Baturú against a thick tree trunk by the stream’s edge.
Baturú opened his mouth, but his tongue had gone rigid, producing only unintelligible sounds. Yi Jungyong pressed down on his shoulder and sat him back against the bark.

“Don’t move, elder brother.”

Jin Ipchu immediately opened the wooden chest. He joined two iron rods together to fashion a long spear and threw it to Jeon Jingung.

“Catch.”

While Jeon Jingung steadied the spear, Jin Ipchu attached an iron rod to the short iron shovel. The tomb-digging implements had transformed into weapons in moments. Yi Jungyong drew the long sword from his belt and positioned himself in front of Baturú, the sound of metal scraping against its sheath carrying far across the water. Jeon Jingung lowered his spear point and stepped back to the right, while Jin Ipchu stood before the wooden chest, iron shovel in hand.

All three moved with practiced swiftness, yet their eyes kept wandering from their preparations. None of them had waited for an enemy in quite this way before.
Jang Saeng approached, holding a branch.

“Third brother, give me a weapon too, please.”
“Get back. Who do you think you’re going to fight? Go find somewhere to hide.”

Jang Saeng did not retreat.

“I cannot stand empty-handed.”
“A stick won’t make any difference.”
“Still, please give me one.”

Jin Ipchu waved him away again. Then Na Yangja turned around.

“Jang Saeng. These men came with ill intent from the start. You haven’t learned martial arts yet—if you stay, you’ll only lose your life. Leave before they arrive.”

Jang Saeng looked at Baturú beneath the tree. The man couldn’t move a single finger, his teeth clenched. Yi Jungyong stood alone in front of him, and the tip of Jeon Jingung’s spear trembled faintly.
Fear was not absent from him. In the darkness, he couldn’t tell how many were approaching, and with a limp in his leg, he wouldn’t get far even if he ran.
Jang Saeng gripped the branch firmly in both hands.

“I will not leave.”
“Ha ha ha. Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t.”

Laughter spilled from the forest to the southwest.
Na Yangja turned toward it, hands clasped in respect.

“May infinite wisdom guide us. I know not which path of heroes blocks our way, but what purpose drives you to oppose us?”

In the poor night vision of Jang Saeng, trees and shadows blurred into a single mass. But the sounds came clear.
Footsteps crushed fallen leaves, beginning from the southwest and splitting left and right. Behind them too, dry branches snapped. Hurried steps tangled with deliberate ones settling into position. Far more than ten men.
Na Yangja stepped forward. Yi Jungyong pressed his back against Baturú, while Jeon Jingung pivoted his spear to cover the forest behind them.

“Lin Dongyang. You don’t recognize my voice?”

Jang Saeng looked back at Na Yangja.
Lin Dongyang.
It was a name he’d never heard before.
Yi Jungyong’s brow shifted. Jin Ipchu, still gripping the iron shovel, glanced sideways at Na Yangja. His disciples too seemed ignorant of their master’s true name.
Na Yangja fell silent for a moment, then asked.

“Are you Jong Agyeong of the Southern Zhao Ma Bang?”

“Memory serves you well. It is I.”

The man’s voice grew louder.

“Light the torches!”

Flames bloomed across the forest.
It was not a single force at work. Three torches ignited on the left, four on the right, and then more came alive from behind and across the stream. Jang Saeng started counting, then gave up. More than twenty flickered within sight.
Men stood between the flames, and in the darkness between them, sword hilts and boot heels shifted. The light from across the creek fractured on the water’s surface, casting their faces in alternating shadow and glow.
A small-framed man walked forward between the torches. He appeared to be in his early forties, his skin darkened by years of sun. His crimson robe was fastened in an unfamiliar manner.
A black scorpion clung to his left cheek—a tattoo, as the closer firelight soon revealed.
Those who followed were similarly short. Beneath their long sleeves—cut differently from Han fashion—muscular calves were visible, and curved swords hung at their waists. Their faces bore tattoos of spiders, centipedes, and vipers. As the torchlight danced, the venomous creatures seemed to writhe across their cheeks.
Jong Agyeong

halted roughly two zhang from the far bank of the stream. The others spread out about five zhang distant, forming a circle. The torches ringed the outside; the sword-wielders held the center.
Jang Saeng did not turn around. Flames blazed behind him too. Whichever way they moved, they would fall into the Ma Bang’s gaze.

“Na Yangja, it has been many years since you were driven from Gakjosan, yet still you wander in a Daoist robe.”

The wind stirred Na Yangja’s long coat as he heard Jong Agyeong’s mockery, but he did not answer. Jang Saeng had never before heard the name Gakjosan, nor that his master had been expelled from such a place.

“Chief Jong. You leave warm Diannan

and travel a thousand leagues to this seacoast—whatever brought you here?”
“Your face is difficult to see. The moment I heard you were in these parts, I rode north through the night.”

Jong Agyeong worked something between his teeth. With each movement of his jaw, his lips parted to show the red juice staining his mouth.
Na Yangja regarded him with a cold smile and said nothing.
Jong Agyeong opened an empty palm.

“Now that we have met, do not waste time. Hand it over.”
“Hand over what?”
“Feigning ignorance, are we? What I want is the Dian King Jade Seal

.”
“I have never laid eyes upon the Dian King Jade Seal.”

Jong Agyeong’s jaw stopped. He pushed what he had been chewing into one cheek and lowered his voice.

“Do you think we are men to be deceived? We aided you in opening the ancient tomb on Seolsan and lost more than a hundred horses and mules in the doing. More than ten brothers fell. We dug the well, yet you alone drank from it. Where under heaven is such a thing permitted?”

At the mention of a hundred horses and mules and more than a dozen men, low curses rippled through the Ma Bang. Several men gripped their sword hilts hard.

“The terms were clear at the time.”

Na Yangja’s voice grew soft.

“We agreed that once we combined our strength to open the Dian King’s Ancient Tomb

on Yuklongsan,
I would take only the elixir pills within the burial chamber, and all else would belong to the Ma Bang. I laid hands on nothing but the elixir.”
“After you departed, we combed that tomb from end to end. The Dian King Jade Seal was not there. You were the first to enter the burial chamber—if you did not take it, who did?”
“It was you who guessed the Jade Seal might lie in that tomb. A guess proves nothing about what was actually buried there.”

Na Yangja met Jong Agyeong’s stare.

“Besides, the Dian King Jade Seal may have use for you, but it has none for me.”

Jang Saeng studied Yi Jungyong and Jin Ipchu.
Jin Ipchu’s iron shovel lowered slightly. Yi Jungyong, too, watched not Jong Agyeong but Na Yangja, his gaze steady. Jeon Jingung kept his hands fixed on his spear, eyes wide.
All of them were hearing this for the first time.
Jin Ipchu’s lips moved as though to speak, but he held his tongue. Yi Jungyong turned his blade’s tip back toward Jong Agyeong. This was not the moment to question the master about the past.
Jong Agyeong had brought dozens of men but had not crossed the stream. Nor had the Ma Bang’s subordinates advanced within five zhang.
Na Yangja remained in his place as well, holding the torch without moving. Though their words grew sharp, the distance between them did not narrow.
Jang Saeng drew close to Jin Ipchu’s side.

“Third brother, who are these men?”
“I don’t know them well myself. I’ve only heard about them a few times from Master.”

Jin Ipchu kept his eyes fixed on Jong Agyeong.

“In Southern Zhao, the mountains rise high and the forests run deep. To haul salt and tea, you must drive pack animals and horses over the peaks. Such men band together to form the Ma Bang—merchants who’ve grown wealthy fighting bandits and those who prey on travelers. Though their numbers are large, most of them have mediocre martial arts. They’re little more than a rabble, from what I’ve been told.”

Jang Saeng studied the faces lit by torchlight.

“They all bear scorpion marks. Aren’t these men skilled in poisons?”
“Knowing how to use poison and mastering the poison arts are not the same thing. Handling a few plants and insects doesn’t make one an expert of the poison craft. The truly dangerous places are Guanzhong’s Gu Zhai and Xiangzhou’s Longwangshan.”

“What is the Dian King Jade Seal?”
“I’m hearing of it for the first time myself. If the name is any guide, it would be a jade seal used by an ancient Dian king. Don’t ask me its purpose—I don’t know it either.”

Jang Saeng swept his gaze beyond the firelight.

“That monkey isn’t visible. Don’t they have other men hidden somewhere?”

Jin Ipchu pointed to the trees at the rear of the Ma Bang.

“It’s there, in the large tree behind them.”

Jang Saeng narrowed his eyes. The torchlight did not reach that far; he could see only black branches. If the monkey was indeed there, then the Ma Bang’s pursuit of them had been no accident.

“Can we win?”

Jin Ipchu shifted his grip on the Iron Shovel and shook his head slowly.

“I don’t know. We’ve never fought actual people before. I didn’t even know what Master was searching for, but it seems he’s been seeking some Elixir Pill for a long time.”

Across the creek, the same words were repeated. Jong Agyeong demanded the jade seal, while Na Yangja insisted he’d never seen it. The Ma Bang’s men rested their hands on their sword hilts, and Yi Jungyong raised the tip of his Long Sword slightly.
At last Jong Agyeong raised his hand. The murmuring from the men behind him fell silent.

“Very well. We will search your chests and bundles. If the Dian King Jade Seal is not among them, this matter ends here.”
“We will not permit you to search our persons.”
“We have no intention of doing so. The Dian King Jade Seal is more than two feet in height. It is not something that can be hidden inside clothing.”
“If it is not in the baggage, might you not claim we’ve hidden it elsewhere and press your demands again?”
“An item of such importance would not be kept far from one’s person. If truly it is not in your hands, we will withdraw. And we will not speak of this matter again.”
“You will keep your word?”
“I will.”

The two men’s gazes locked across the creek. Neither turned away first.
When Jong Agyeong opened his palm, the murmuring on all sides died away.
The Ma Bang’s sword points lowered slightly in unison. Yi Jungyong did not sheath his blade, but the tension eased from his shoulders. Only then did Jang Saeng notice how tightly he’d been gripping his staff.
Baturú beneath the trees started to rise, then settled back down. No words came clearly from his mouth, but his eyes flashed savagely at Jong Agyeong.
Jong Agyeong called two of his subordinates forward.
As they descended toward the creek, Na Yangja spoke.

“Those who examine the baggage must be men who cannot read.”

Jong Agyeong’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“You mean to send men who cannot read?”
“Precisely.”

He dismissed the two he had summoned earlier and selected two different subordinates from those waiting behind. The new men exchanged uncertain glances, clearly bewildered as to why they had been called. Soon they sheathed their swords and crossed the stream.
The group opened the bundles first. Clothing, provisions, pickled vegetables, and small tools were revealed in turn. The Dian King Jade Seal, they said, stood taller than two fingers’ width. The two men did not rummage through even the thin garments, only checking the places where something bulky might be hidden.
From Jeon Jingung’s bundle came thread, a small knife, and scraps of metal. Yi Jungyong’s pack held bundles of paper mixed with mechanical components. The men touched nothing, only tilting their heads side to side to peer through the gaps.
The last was the wooden chest that Baturú had been carrying.
Jin Ipchu opened the first chest. Inside were Religious Ritual Implements

and iron nails, rope, a folded shovel, and excavation tools.
The two men from the Southern Zhao Ma Bang lifted the shovel and rope, examining all the way to the bottom. The iron nails clattered against one another.

“Nothing here.”

Jin Ipchu unlatched the second chest.
As the lid rose, the scent of aged paper and bamboo wafted out. Bamboo Slips and Ancient Books were stacked in layers within.
The two men hesitated before touching anything. To check whether the Jade Seal was wedged between the Bamboo Slips, they would have to remove the books.
One of them lifted the topmost book and set it aside. His hand, which had been glancing down at the cover without thought, froze.
The eyes of the man who could not read widened visibly. Across the stream, Jong Agyeong did not miss that expression.

“Commander!”

He held the worn book higher still, raising it above his head.

“The Heavenly Silkworm Divine Art

is here! The legendary Heavenly Silkworm Divine Art is right here!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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