Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 121

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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 121
Hodal-saeng swallowed hard and asked.
“G-Great Master, how do you know about the arena?”
The Mandeng Family’s arena was a secretive space accessible only to the upper echelons.
“How do I know? It’s hardly that classified, is it?”
“Still, it’s not something one can easily learn about…”
Indeed, the Mandeng Family’s arena was not a place for spectacle or entertainment.
It was a battleground for resolving all conflicts within the Paedobyeon.
The Paedobyeon was bound to be rife with conflict from its very inception, and the arena was the solution the Paedobyeon Leader had devised to settle such disputes.
The rules were simple.
Each faction could send forth exactly one warrior—a fighter no older than thirty.
All methods were permitted except poison, and even murder was allowed. Well, poison was acceptable as long as it went undetected.
Just as the Paedobyeon Leader himself had risen from the bottom of Zhongqing’s fighting pits to supremacy, he had opened an arena that embodied the very nature of the heterodox path—a winner-takes-all battleground.
‘To possess such martial prowess and yet know of the arena’s existence…’
Hodal-saeng’s expression grew increasingly rigid.
Then Dokgo Myeong spoke.
“That’s not what matters right now, is it?”
Hodal-saeng flinched at Dokgo Myeong’s words.
“Y-You mean the undefeated warrior on their winning streak?”
“Yes.”
“But why would you—”
“You don’t need an antidote anymore, do you?”
“Y-Yes, I do! The Blood Sect Leader has never lost control of the Mandeng Family precisely because of the Invincible One!”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed as he asked.
“Does that monster go by another name—the Jade-Eyed Madman?”
“Ah, you knew! That was the name he went by before the Invincible One recorded ten consecutive victories.”
“….”
“Why do you ask?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Dokgo Myeong exhaled a subtle sigh of relief.
‘Thank goodness he’s still the same.’
I had worried that in this altered time, he might have already abandoned this place.
Dokgo Myeong flicked an antidote pill toward him.
“P-Please, Great Master, ask me anything! I will answer whatever you wish!”
“Enough questions. I have one request instead.”
“Yes! Tell me anything! I will accomplish it!”
“Then go find out how to get an invitation to that place and how to participate as a warrior.”
“Eh? What invitation and participation method are you referring to?”
“Obviously the arena. What else?”
Hodal-saeng blinked rapidly.
“Ah, it seems you’re not well informed. Only the Sect Leader of the Paedobyeon and high-ranking officials can send fighters to compete. And spectators are limited to those who’ve received invitations or high-ranking government officials.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Yes, yes….”
“So what, I can’t get the antidote and just suffer here poisoned by the Tenfold Needles?”
Hodal-saeng fell into deep thought.
Dokgo Myeong smiled faintly and spoke.
“Can’t you do it even with this?”
Hodal-saeng squeezed his eyes shut.
* * *
I’d learned what I needed to learn and heard what I needed to hear.
Since invitations couldn’t be obtained immediately, I decided to give him a little grace period.
“The auction house and the fighting arena open in a week, right? Then we’ll meet then.”
“The, the antidote….”
“Seeing how obsessed you are with the antidote, it seems there’s no surplus and it’s difficult to obtain. That’s fortunate for me, but you were rather careless.”
“…!”
“Let me give you one more lesson.”
“What, what kind….”
“From now on, be careful of poison.”
“….”
“….”
“Is that all?”
“What about it?”
Was this really something for the bastard who forced poison down my throat to say?
Hodal-saeng ground his teeth audibly.
Dokgo Myeong let out a chuckling laugh.
“Do you think I’m as gullible as you? How can I trust you when you might go blabbing about my request anywhere? How could I give you the antidote?”
“…!”
“Do well. The Tenfold Needles poison gets quite painful if the poisoning lasts too long. Sigh.”
Dokgo Myeong and his group tapped Hodal-saeng’s shoulder while clicking their tongues in mock sympathy, then left.
Hodal-saeng collapsed in despair and burst into tears, but when his subordinates returned, he wiped his eyes and hardened his expression.
“You traitorous bastards….”
“B, brother, we had no choice.”
Hodal-saeng hastily pulled on his discarded clothes and his eyes gleamed.
“Shut up and gather all the men.”
“Yes?”
“That bastard… wait, what’s that bastard’s name?”
Now that I think about it, this son of a bitch!
He poisoned me and didn’t even tell me his name!
Hodal-saeng’s eyes flashed with fury.
“Anyway! No matter how skilled those bastards are, if we all rush in and neutralize the poison in the chamber and beat them to a pulp, what can they do? Go gather the men quickly!”
At that moment, someone shouted.
“Brother, what about the antidote?”
“You stupid bastard! Just kill him and take it!”
“Brother, are you sure that’s alright?”
“What? Who the hell are you to keep questioning me?”
Hodal-saeng bellowed and spun around.
‘What is this? Why is the atmosphere so strange?’
I could see his subordinates gathered nearby, cold sweat dripping down their faces as they glanced nervously toward one spot.
Hodal-saeng’s gaze followed theirs…
“Uh, u-uh…”
He immediately began backing away, his mouth gaping like a carp.
A man pushing through the crowd of subordinates.
The demonic bastard I thought had left was standing right there.
“Dalsan, I’m asking. Are you really sure about this?”
“W-why did you… come back again…?”
Dokgo Myeong spoke while stroking his chin.
“I figured you’d be like this. When your subordinates came rushing in, I mixed in with them.”
“Ah, well that’s…”
Normally in situations like this, wouldn’t one just leave?
What kind of madman comes back to confirm it?
‘And these bastards! An enemy mixed in and they didn’t even give me a warning!’
After raising these subordinates all this time, and this is how they repay me?
Hodal-saeng could only swallow hard, his throat dry.
Then Dokgo Myeong walked over with his hands clasped behind his back, speaking as he approached.
“Dalsan, I’m truly disappointed. You actually planned to betray me after we made an agreement?”
“Ah, no…”
“No indeed. As they say, even a cornered rat will bite a cat—so you were just showing your worth as a dark path follower. I’ll acknowledge it. You’re truly an exemplary specimen of the underworld.”
Dokgo Myeong casually draped his arm around Hodal-saeng’s neck in a friendly manner.
And he flashed his eyes at the stiffened Hodal-saeng.
“But… this is no fun at all.”
“…!”
“We should spend some time getting closer, Dalsan.”
“Pardon?”
Dokgo Myeong grabbed Hodal-saeng by the collar.
“Until you bring what I commissioned, you’re coming with me.”
Hodal-saeng promptly lost consciousness.
* * *
For several days, my routine proceeded without incident.
I ate and slept at Seo-wang’s inn while teaching Namgung Sohwa, sparring with Dokgo Ak, and tormenting Hodal-saeng.
As for Seok-du, I sent him out to wander about here and there.
“Master, how did you know about this?”
“Know what?”
“I thought that since you were making such a fuss, keeping it quiet meant everything had fallen through. That’s what I assumed.”
“And?”
“I expected word of what happened to Seo-wang to spread like wildfire within a day, but just as you said, there’s barely anyone in the entire underworld who knows about it.”
There’s no place where rumors spread faster than the underworld.
Yet this incident produced no rumors whatsoever. It was as quiet as Dokgo Myeong had said.
Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly.
“That’s the terror of information. It spreads or vanishes entirely depending on the will of those who control it.”
“The terror of information… I think I’ve seen something like that mentioned in the Seven Martial Classics that my master showed me once.”
“Are you curious?”
“Huh? Oh, no, just a little…”
Dokgo Myeong smiled mysteriously.
“Perhaps that might be your path.”
“Pardon?”
“If you’re curious, ask this fellow instead of me.”
Dokgo Myeong rose from his seat.
“Ugh!”
Thud!
Hodal-saeng, who had been lying prostrate serving as a chair, collapsed heavily. His complexion was pallid from the poison, and his lips had turned ashen.
Dokgo Myeong poked Hodal-saeng with the tip of his foot.
“Wake up.”
“Huff, huff…”
“This bastard’s passed out… Want to taste some poison wine?”
“Cough! Hack! W-wake up!”
Hodal-saeng sprang to his feet, swaying.
Geum Seok-du looked at Hodal-saeng with slightly sympathetic eyes.
Dokgo Myeong gestured with his chin.
“Talk with this fellow. Ask him with a humble heart and think it over.”
“Yes, yes?”
“I need to go spar a bit with our half-baked master over there who’s been swinging a sword in the corner.”
As Dokgo Myeong brushed off his hands and said this, Namgung Sohwa in the corner flinched as she wielded her blade.
“Huff, sob…”
Hodal-saeng, sitting collapsed on the floor, exhaled a suppressed breath.
Geum Seok-du gently extended his hand and patted his shoulder.
“Are you… alright?”
“Cough, hack… I don’t need sympathy.”
“Speak freely. You are the renowned Seo-wang, after all…”
“He… he told me to only speak formally…”
“The master has gone over there, so he won’t hear you.”
“Is… is it really alright?”
“Yes, please do.”
Tears of gratitude welled up in Hodal-saeng’s eyes.
Geum Seok-du shook his head vigorously and pulled out a bamboo tube filled with water from his chest, handing it over.
“Wipe away some of that sweat, sit comfortably, drink some water…”
“Sob! I shall never forget this kindness.”
“Kindness? But why did you really do that?”
At Geum Seok-du’s words, Hodal-saeng patted his chest indignantly.
“How could I endure that? Outside would be one thing, but here in Zhongqing, especially in the Ten Great Houses, face is life itself!”
Hodal-saeng shed a few tears.
“I made a mistake, yes! But surely it didn’t warrant that much, did it? What exactly does that man do? No, what do all of you do?”
Geum Seok-du shook his head.
“You’ll get hurt if you know.”
“What?”
“I’m not just saying this… you’ll get hurt. Very badly. Extremely badly.”
That was when it happened.
Crack! Boom!
“Ahhhhh!”
A woman flew through the air with a scream.
She crashed through a tree in the inn’s courtyard before finally stopping.
I thought she’d lost consciousness, but the woman suddenly sprang to her feet and shouted.
“I’ll kill you!”
She charged forward, but the man simply flicked his wrist as if swatting a fly, slamming her into the ground.
He does this every day…
To Hodal-saeng’s eyes, the woman was clearly a skilled martial artist, but the man before her was something beyond that.
“Did you see? He treats even his friend and subordinate like that. So what would happen if you challenged him?”
“…”
“I understand. I was brought here the same way.”
“What, what? You as well?”
“Despite my appearance, I was quite a renowned gambler in Zhejiang.”
Actually, I never became renowned. I was about to, though.
Once a gambler’s name spreads, doesn’t his lifespan end right there?
‘But this way, he’ll open his heart a little.’
It was a white lie. Or perhaps it could be called a stratagem.
“…Oh, my!”
As expected, Hodal-saeng fell for it completely.
‘So these fellows are definitely from the dark sects. Could they be from the Paedobyeon…?’
Hodal-saeng trembled at the thought that crossed his mind.
“Then may I ask what I wish to know?”
“A, ask away.”
“How… did you manage to keep word from spreading?”
Geum Seok-du’s eyes gleamed with interest.
I considered keeping it as a trade secret for a moment, but this man possessed a peculiar charm that made one feel strangely comfortable around him.
Hodal-saeng found himself opening his mouth without thinking.
“What is rumor, in the end?”
“Isn’t it just talk spreading around?”
“Rumor is entertainment.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s a story, a source of interest. And such things only emerge from people’s mouths.”
“But you cannot control what people say, can you?”
“No, you can. Words come from thoughts, and people’s thoughts are surprisingly easy to influence.”
“…!”
“Spread a bigger rumor, and let the one you wish to hide spread only slowly. Human curiosity is like fine silk on a rainy day—people know they’ll get soaked in a downpour, but they don’t realize they’re getting wet in a drizzle.”
In other words, bury it under more interesting stories and make the smaller tale seem insignificant.
“How did you silence your subordinates?”
“Money does the trick. They’re subordinates, after all.”
“Ah… you are truly remarkable!”
“Ahem, well! This is simply who I am.”
Hodal-saeng felt an inexplicable urge to teach him more.
Then Geum Seok-du asked again.
“Still, wouldn’t you need many people to manage rumors like that?”
“Actually, you don’t need that many. A handful is sufficient.”
“Why is that?”
“Haven’t you noticed? There are those types—well-connected, surrounded by people, frequent drinkers, yet somehow respected within their circle.”
They exist.
Jang Sam was the closest example.
“Such people have open ears rather than loose mouths. Plant one of them as an informant, and you’re done. People’s tongues loosen easily at drinking gatherings, so position them there.”
“I see….”
“In contrast, the Kaebang faction relied on sheer numbers.”
In that moment, something seemed to brush across Geum Seok-du’s mind.
Information, people, and the number of people.
A certain path seemed to unfold before his eyes.
Geum Seok-du’s eyes brightened as he continued his questions.
“But why did you bother hiding it? The Master didn’t order it, did he?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, you went through all that effort to conceal this matter, didn’t you?”
Hodal-saeng’s expression hardened instantly.
“I have my pride too! Would you have me let rumors spread that I was beaten while kneeling in nothing but my undergarments in front of my subordinates?!”
Hmm.
That was a fair point indeed.
* * *
A man opened his eyes.
Walls, ceiling, floor—everything was filled with luxurious crimson silk that bordered on the color of blood.
The man gazed downward with an indolent posture, moving slowly.
There, the Blood Sect Leader—ruler of the Ten Thousand Lantern Pavilion—lay prostrate in the position of complete submission.
“It has been a long time, Blood Sect Leader.”
“I am honored that you have come to visit me, sir.”
“I understand. Now rise. I detest such unnecessary formalities.”
A low, resonant voice that seemed to echo from within a cavern.
The Blood Sect Leader trembled.
“B-but, sir, I find this position most comfortable.”
“Do not make me repeat myself.”
“Yes, yes!”
At the man’s words, the Blood Sect Leader sprang to his feet as though seized by convulsion.
“I do not favor those who kneel so readily. Never again surrender yourself so easily.”
The man rose slowly from the bed.
Attendants and servants standing on either side approached and draped a dragon robe across his shoulders.
Thump, thump!
The man descended the low steps.
Soon the shadows that had shrouded him dissipated as the crimson lanterns on either side illuminated his face.
Wi Mu-jin, the Paedobyeon Sect Leader.
The Fighting King who had shaken the Four Seas with his two fists had arrived at the Ten Thousand Lantern Pavilion.

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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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