Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 117

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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 117
“Master, I’ve arrived.”
“What, have you come to bid farewell to your master before you die?”
“Pardon?”
“I have no intention of conversing with a man destined to perish soon, so stop bothering my business and be on your way.”
Bang Jong-san, the Dragon Head of the Gambling Den, spoke without even glancing at his disciple.
Ju Won-gwang closed his mouth with a soft click and withdrew an exquisite bottle of liquor from his robes.
“Aren’t you pleased to see a disciple you haven’t encountered in ages? I’ve even brought a bottle of twenty-year-old premium Geomnamchun.”
“Forget it. I don’t need it.”
“Pardon? Truly?”
“If I accept liquor from a man about to die, my fortune will surely diminish, won’t it?”
“Why have you been cursing your only disciple to die since earlier?”
“A fool who doesn’t realize his own words will strangle him—how will you survive going forward? Moreover, seeing you grasp at any hand thoughtlessly… I may not be a fortune teller, but it seems your lifeline won’t last much longer.”
Ju Won-gwang faltered.
Then he exhaled deeply and spoke.
“You already knew I joined hands with Dokgo Myeong?”
“Even if I’ve lost all my teeth, I am still Bang Jong-san of Zhongyuan. Surely you don’t think I wouldn’t know that much?”
“Of course. You know. I was foolish to doubt the foremost of the Three Kings and Two Demons, the Undefeated Rod Technique.”
At Ju Won-gwang’s flattery, Bang Jong-san’s brow furrowed sharply.
“Why did you do it?”
“You won’t believe me, but this unworthy disciple made this decision after careful deliberation.”
“You deliberated and discussed the Bloodfiend Sect with a stranger you just met? If you deliberate twice more, you’ll sell off all of Zhongyuan.”
“I’m sincere.”
“…”
“Master, please trust me.”
At the force in Ju Won-gwang’s voice, Bang Jong-san finally turned his gaze toward him.
Then he exhaled a breath that was neither a sigh nor a scoff.
“What was that man like that you’re spouting such nonsense?”
“He was someone worthy of trust.”
“Tsk, give me the liquor. If it’s not genuine twenty-year-old premium Geomnamchun, I’ll charge you with the crime of deceiving your master.”
“You can taste the difference? I wouldn’t know.”
“My other title is the Wine Immortal, you fool.”
“More like the Wine Fiend.”
Whack!
“Ow! Please don’t hit my head! I’m getting old too!”
“Quiet, you wretch.”
Watching his master uncork the bottle, Ju Won-gwang exhaled in relief.
Bang Jong-san drank continuously without a word, and Ju Won-gwang calmly recounted the information and details of his conversation with Dokgo Myeong.
And when the story ended.
Bang Jong-san sat with his back straight, his eyes gleaming with intensity.
“Didn’t you say that boy just barely came of age?”
“Yes, Master.”
“It wasn’t mere boasting, was it?”
“What kind of disciple do you take me for?”
“Then he’s a monster.”
“He was the real deal.”
Bang Jong-san clicked his tongue and nodded in acknowledgment.
“Very well, I concede. He must be quite impressive for you to speak so highly of him.”
“Isn’t he?”
“But the Moyong Family…”
Bang Jong-san stroked his thick beard thoughtfully.
“Could it be that the butchery in Wuhan was also aimed at the Moyong? And this supposed descendant of the Namgung Family was just a hired fake?”
“You mean those two Moyong members whose heads he took?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think that’s the case.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“He may act recklessly, but he’s not the type to kill just anyone indiscriminately.”
Bang Jong-san clicked his tongue again.
“You fool, you’ve already fallen for him completely? I’ve told you repeatedly…”
“Yes, yes. I understand. I’m being careful.”
“Hmm, good then. So you intend to keep watch on the Moyong Family?”
“Haven’t the Moyong’s movements seemed suspicious lately?”
“…”
Bang Jong-san’s gaze drifted into empty space for a moment, while Ju Won-gwang swallowed dryly, awaiting his master’s approval.
“Very well, I understand. Go ahead and try. I grant you full authority.”
“Thank you.”
“The Moyong Family… Once we’re certain, we’ll need to inform the others.”
Ju Won-gwang’s eyes gleamed.
“You mean that gathering, Master?”
“Yes.”
I had heard that the Nine Sects and the elder masters of Gangho, concerned about the Bloodfiend Sect’s rampage, had formed a small alliance.
Bang Jong-san was one of its members.
“I should investigate quickly then.”
“Of course. By the way, what was that request to find people? Could it be…”
“I’ve already found several, but none were connected to the Bloodfiend Sect. Here are the people in question.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Ju Won-gwang brushed off his robes and stood up from his seat.
Bang Jong-san looked up at his disciple.
“Are you planning to seek him out again?”
“Yes, I need to convey that permission was granted, and I must also deliver the newly acquired intelligence.”
“Always be cautious.”
Ju Won-gwang faltered at his master’s casually spoken words.
“Yes, I will watch my step carefully.”
“Tell him to be cautious as well.”
“Him? You mean Dokgo Myeong?”
“Yes.”
“Cautious about what?”
“The Moyong Family.”
Bang Jong-san clicked his tongue.
“In Zhejiang, martial artists around twenty years old with unknown identities have begun moving.”
“I see?”
“But something feels off. They could be the Dark Swords that the Moyong Family has used for their dirty work. The danger level appears quite high.”
“…!”
“Deliver this message quickly. Since the Dokgo Family’s eyes and ears have all been driven out of Zhejiang, their intelligence will arrive later than ours.”
“Yes, I shall do so. Forgive my lack of courtesy, Master!”
Ju Won-gwang didn’t even look back as he kicked off the ground.
Bang Jong-san exhaled a long breath as if expelling all the air from his lungs.
“Dokgo Myeong. I should see his face at least once.”
Bang Jong-san watched his departing disciple’s receding figure.
Would he truly become a reliable ally, or would he prove to be a blunder?
Bang Jong-san shook his head and his gaze turned toward the list his disciple had left behind.
And at one point, his eyes became fixed.
Possibly residing in the upper echelons, with potential to be praised as a great benefactor through accumulated virtue.
Possibility of using aliases, martial skill level supreme, practices Daoist martial arts….
Below that were three characters of a name.
“Baek Mu-heun…?”
Bang Jong-san’s brow twitched.
“How does he know that name?”
* * *
Namgung Sohwa stared blankly ahead.
In the haze, she saw a flowing river.
A pitch-black river flowing with majestic indifference.
Above it spread a misty sword-like haze.
Namgung Sohwa slowly approached the riverbank.
‘What river is this?’
Namgung Sohwa slowly leaned forward to gaze down at the river’s surface.
In that moment, someone’s facial features began to faintly emerge on the water’s surface.
Clear skin, dark brows, eyes with a slightly sharp gaze and lips curled upward as if brimming with mischief.
‘Huh? This isn’t my face.’
This face is unmistakably….
In that moment, the face that had surfaced at the water’s edge opened its mouth.
“Tsk! Look at you, back pressed flat against the ground, sleeping away. Are you that exhausted?”
“…!!”
Namgung Sohwa’s eyes snapped open.
Dokgo Myeong was leaning his face directly over hers.
“Tch tch! You took one blow during the match and now you’re pretending to sleep? You’re completely out of it.”
“Train, training…?”
“Even sleep-talking now? Back in my day, if you collapsed during training, you had to stay on your feet while unconscious. But here you are, lying flat on your back muttering in your sleep.”
Only then did old memories flash past like a lantern show.
Around the time my body had recovered enough to train in the inner chamber of Cheonyi Hall, and the transmission of forms and combinations had been completed.
-Come with me.
Dokgo Myeong had immediately summoned her to the Martial Arts Arena.
-Martial arts are originally learned through getting hit. Don’t worry. I’ll only use the same sword technique.
-Understood. If that’s your way, I’ll follow it. But don’t expect me to hold back just because I’m a woman!
-What are you talking about? When a martial artist trains, what does gender matter?
-Pardon?
-Let’s just see our river about five times. Got it?
That was the beginning.
I wondered what he meant by “seeing the river,” but it didn’t take long to find out.
I got hit.
Hit again and again.
Then when my stamina and inner energy bottomed out and my vision blurred, that’s when I saw the river.
‘I think I’ve already seen it three times.’
This time I saw it after taking a blow to the head.
Namgung Sohwa protested while holding her head.
“I, I wasn’t sleeping… I was, I was knocked unconscious.”
“Getting knocked out from one wooden sword strike to the head is quite the achievement. Really.”
“…!”
“But your eyes are open and you’re still lying there? Ah, being a martial artist these days is really convenient.”
“…I, I’ll get up.”
“No, no! Stay down. I respect that. Young people these days need to experience real hardship to understand it.”
“I understand! I’m getting up…!”
“Why are you getting up again? Goodness, if you don’t get up, I can rest too, which is nice.”
Battered and bruised, Namgung Sohwa trembled as she pushed herself up.
In my blurred vision that couldn’t focus properly, something dark blue wavered.
…Father?
Could it be… Father?
‘Father….’
Did I make the wrong choice?
That man… no, that bastard is nothing short of a demon.
“So, shall we go again?”
“Wait, just let me catch my breath… Gasp!”
Clang! Boom!
“Ugh!”
Namgung Sohwa was driven backward, her feet scraping across the ground.
Regardless, Dokgo Myeong’s wooden sword did not pause.
“Tsk, won’t you get your head in the game?”
“Aaaahhh!”
“Lower stance! Come on! I told you to keep your legs light! Lower! Lower!”
“Kyaaaah!
Dokgo Myeong leisurely brought his sword down in a diagonal arc.
Clang!
She barely managed to block it, yet a sound that shouldn’t have come from a wooden sword rang out.
“Upper stance! Upper! Upper!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Hmm, ignoring your lower body?”
Boom!
But you said upper stance!
Namgung Sohwa, finally struck on the thigh, shed tears of frustration.
“Hmm, can’t execute the forms? Then we increase stamina training. You’re not doing it right?”
“Eeeeek!”
Now exhausted, her battle cry growing strange, Namgung Sohwa swung her sword with murderous intent in her eyes.
“Again!”
Crack! Boom!
Dokgo Myeong annoyingly curled his lips upward as he evaded the blade.
“Gasp, gasp! Uuuhhh!”
Thud! Crack!
Namgung Sohwa, her breath reaching her throat, brought her sword down with a heavy, solid strike.
Despite her exhaustion and murderous intent, her sword path remained on its proper trajectory.
Dokgo Myeong inwardly marveled.
‘She’s gradually making it her own.’
It was inevitable.
Though she didn’t know it, she had created this sword technique herself.
‘Considering that, it’s remarkable talent. Only seven days have passed.’
Moreover, was this merely a sword technique?
Wasn’t it a martial art forged by pooling the minds of Namgung Sohwa, who had once reached a far superior level, and the Cheonyi Hall’s skilled swordsmen?
‘My instruction truly is at an extraordinary level.’
Thinking of how Namgung Sohwa would have had a fit hearing this, Dokgo Myeong firmly grasped his wooden sword.
Whoosh!
Dokgo Myeong thrust the wooden sword forward with a weighty, precise strike.
Clang!
A blow she couldn’t have blocked five days ago—I deflected it effortlessly, as though it were nothing.
My eyes gleamed with lethal intent as I aimed for his upper body.
“Die!”
“Heh, you’re still far from it.”
Dokgo Myeong sidestepped swiftly and swung the wooden sword through the opening.
Crack!
The strike across my back sent me crashing down without even a cry of pain.
Thud!
“Ugh…”
Sprawled face-down on the ground, I trembled helplessly, unable to move.
Dokgo Myeong rested the wooden sword across his shoulder and spoke.
“We’ll end today’s training here.”
“F-finally…”
I pushed myself up with trembling arms, raising my upper body from the ground.
That was when it happened.
“Young Master!”
Geum Seok-du came rushing over urgently.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“The task you assigned is complete. I’ve gathered the invitation from the Dark Merchant in the north of Zhongqing and the gambling den in the back alleys of Wuhan.”
“Well done, our Seok-du!”
“Are we leaving now? To find the third one?”
Dokgo Myeong nodded.
“Yes.”

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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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