Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 28

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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 28
By the time we arrived at Maeseon Village, the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon.
Seo Ryun gazed at me with startled eyes.
“Maeseon Village? How did you know of this place?”
“Just assume I’m more worldly than I appear.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then let’s find lodging first.”
“Here, sir?”
Seo Ryun swept his gaze across the surroundings.
The village was quite sizable, yet wandering swordsmen with blades at their hips filled every direction.
“I cannot possibly lodge you in such a place, Young Master.”
I chuckled and waved him off.
“Became a loyal retainer in just one day? Yesterday you were practically radiating murderous intent….”
“….”
Seo Ryun closed his mouth, looking uncomfortable.
This fellow certainly enjoys being teased.
I laughed and continued walking.
“It’s fine. This village is safer than other places.”
“Surely you don’t mean the Wandering King’s Village of No Strife?”
“You knew of it?”
“Hm….”
I raised my eyes slightly, as if surprised.
Yet it was Seo Ryun who was truly astonished.
‘I was already shocked that he knew of Maeseon Village….’
Maeseon Village possessed rules established directly by the Wandering King over a decade ago.
Within the village’s boundaries, all fighting was forbidden.
Those who violated this would be publicly proclaimed as enemies by all wandering swordsmen throughout Zhongyuan, regardless of their status or organization.
‘He truly possesses wisdom beyond his years.’
This was not widely known. After all, there was no reason to know such rules unless one actually intended to enter Maeseon Village.
Seo Ryun carefully opened his mouth.
“Could it be you’ve come here to gather information?”
My expression stiffened slightly.
“…For now, yes.”
There was one matter I had postponed—a task without deadline, like forgotten homework, like unfinished work I had ignored.
Yet whether homework or unfinished work, eventually one must face it.
Procrastination did not suit my nature, so I had come this far.
“….”
Seo Ryun sensed the shift in my mood and quickly changed the subject.
“…Please wait a moment. I shall have my men inquire about lodging.”
“Never mind. Let’s just go in there. It looks adequate.”
Dokgo Myeong pointed to an inn visible ahead and led the way inside.
“Welcome, welcome!”
“Can you accommodate a group? Actually, never mind. Just rent out the entire place for today.”
“Of course! Hehehehe!”
The innkeeper, who had a large mole on his cheek, broke into a wide grin as if he’d struck gold.
“Stay in this shabby dump? You bastard….”
Just then, I saw Dokgo Ak grumbling as he entered.
‘I really need to get my hands on that one eventually….’
I smacked my lips and turned to Seo Ryun.
“I’m going upstairs to rest for a bit. Let’s stay one night. And… what about our Tae-im?”
I grinned and glanced to the side.
“Ahem! Y-Young Master. With so many eyes watching, calling her ‘our Tae-im’… surely that’s….”
….
“…Ah, understood.”
Son Tae-im nodded reluctantly, grumbling.
I glared at Son Tae-im.
“You know what I’m about to say, don’t you?”
I had already ordered Son Tae-im to prepare to create profitable opportunities through the Geumsan Sect’s network.
Whether by gathering information through legwork or by contacting the Geumsan Sect to make preparations.
“Yes, I was already planning to send word to the subordinates of the Geumsan Sect.”
“Good, excellent.”
I nodded and stopped as I headed toward the upper floor.
“Ah, Seo Guard Commander.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Keep watch carefully. Not a single rat escapes! Understood? No one gets out!”
Seo Ryun tilted his head in confusion.
Wasn’t it usually the opposite?
Shouldn’t you prevent people from entering, not from leaving?
“Your answer?”
“Ah, yes! Of course. I’ll guard it like an iron fortress.”
“Good. I’m going to sleep early, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I flashed a meaningful smile with a knowing glint in my eyes.
* * *
In the dead of night, with the moon hanging high in the sky.
“Uuuugh….”
I stretched greatly and woke from my sleep.
After sleeping for several hours straight, my body felt refreshed.
“Perfect timing.”
I cracked my neck and looked around, my eyes gleaming.
It was time to make my move.
From here on, I intend to go alone. I deliberately waited until nightfall to avoid the nuisance of them following me without reason.
‘While I’m at it, let me test myself a bit.’
At my current level, I wanted to see how well I could deceive the White Tiger Guards’ perception.
I, Dokgo Myeong, am ascending a different tier than my previous life. Since I’ve only trained and never actually tested myself, I decided to give it a proper attempt.
‘The White Tiger Guards are quite impressive by my standards.’
They were perfect for testing my sensory technique.
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed as I concentrated my mind.
‘Hyocheongong is a martial art dwelling within the body.’
The Hyocheong Energy that strengthens the body and nerves, the sensory technique that manipulates perception.
But this is not what Hyocheongong ultimately aspires toward.
Originally, the control of human sensation and flesh does not reside in bone and muscle, but elsewhere.
It is the upper dantian.
What the sensory technique aimed for was reaching the upper dantian using the body as a conduit.
‘Let’s go.’
My five senses opened wide, and I began to perceive everything around me.
“The master…is….”
“Maeseon Village, you say… there are quite a few who come and go even at night?”
“The chief….”
The voices of the White Tiger Guards stationed at the inn.
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes brightened.
‘Eight on the lower floor, four in each adjacent room, five at the inn entrance.’
…Perhaps I was overly thorough with my warning.
This is excessively meticulous.
‘Yes, this is how it should be—interesting.’
After waiting a moment, Dokgo Myeong smirked and thrust the door open.
The inn corridor in the late night was dark, but my sensory technique and upper dantian illuminated the path.
Not a path visible to the eyes. A path seen through anticipation and intuition.
Dokgo Myeong walked as it showed me, sometimes running or stopping as I advanced.
“Hmm?”
“What is it?”
“No… didn’t the wind just blow?”
“No, something seems to have brushed past?”
The White Tiger Guards patrolling the inn corridor tilted their heads in confusion.
But in the places they looked, not even a shadow was visible.
* * *
“Ugh, my head aches.”
Dokgo Myeong grumbled as I walked through the night.
‘This Seo Ryun fellow has no middle ground, no middle ground at all… sigh.’
It took nearly half a double hour just to leave the inn. Throughout that time, I had pushed my sensory technique to its limit, and my head was spinning.
Still, at least I managed to test myself properly.
“That aside… I wonder if I’ve forgotten the way.”
Whooo—! Whooo!
Hearing the distant cry of an owl, I moved forward slowly.
A strange feeling, this.
Despite having stayed here only briefly more than twenty years ago by count of years, the path remained vivid in my memory.
If I turn right here, I’ll find the smithy where I bought my first sword with the initial commission fee.
Next to it was a noodle shop known for expertly rolled thin noodles, and I once beat the owner’s son senseless when he insisted on becoming a wanderer.
‘It was a right turn from here.’
After not walking far, a district of tightly packed houses came into view—empty dwellings where wanderers passing through Maeseon Village would rest briefly.
And among those empty houses, one notably tidy thatched cottage stood out.
This was the place.
I had come this far deliberately to meet the person here.
‘Why am I so nervous about this?’
I offered a wry smile.
Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.
“Pardon the intrusion. Is anyone home?”
After a deep breath, I spoke again.
“I’ve come to see Dokgo Hyeon.”
I had come here to see myself.
* * *
“…Who is it?”
Rustle! Rustle!
Bustling sounds came from inside the house.
I could feel those sounds gradually approaching the door.
“Gulp.”
My throat tightened involuntarily.
I stepped back from the door and waited for the homeowner.
And then.
Creak—!
The door finally opened.
“Who is it? Who did you say you came to see?”
The man who opened the door.
His crooked mouth seemed to reveal his nature, and his gleaming eyes hinted at a life lived harshly.
The moment I saw his face, I blinked blankly.
“What? Why are you here?”
I regarded the man with a lukewarm expression.
‘Why is this fellow here?’
It was not Dokgo Hyeon.
It was Cho Hwang, the man who brokered all monetary transactions among wanderers in this village—the village chief of Maeseon Village, Blood Blade.
“That’s what I should be asking?”
The middle-aged man tightened his loosely hanging belt and squinted his eyes.
“Damn brat, knocking on an elder’s door in the dead of night…”
Cho Hwang glanced swiftly at Dokgo Myeong, then his eyes widened in shock.
“The Black Dragon emblem? The Dokgo Clan? Oh my!”
Cho Hwang suddenly bowed deeply.
“Young Master of the greatest clan under heaven—what brings you to such a humble place?”
Dokgo Myeong said nothing, merely gazing at Cho Hwang with an unreadable expression.
Though his face was familiar after so long, his expression remained guarded.
“…Is this not someone else’s residence?”
“Eh? This is my home.”
In that instant, a chill seemed to run down his spine.
It couldn’t be.
At this time, in this season, I was certainly supposed to be staying here…
“Sir, who are you looking for?”
“Is there perhaps a young wanderer bearing the Dokgo surname in this Maeseon Village?”
“What? Why would a dragon’s blood of the Dokgo Clan be searching for someone from the Dokgo Clan here?”
“Not everyone who bears the Dokgo name belongs to the Dokgo Clan.”
“That may be true, but…”
“He should be just past his twentieth year, using the character Hyeon in his name.”
“Dokgo Hyeon?”
Cho Hwang hesitated.
“Dokgo Hyeon, Dokgo Hyeon… I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere…”
“Is there such a person?”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes flashed with intensity.
Yet immediately after, Cho Hwang shook his head.
“Now that I think about it, there’s no such person in our village.”
“…You’re not mistaken?”
“Despite my appearance, I know every ruffian in this village.”
That would be true. He hadn’t become village chief on mediocre strength alone.
Dokgo Myeong clamped his mouth shut.
‘I don’t exist?’
It felt as though someone had poured cold water over his head.
“What is this all about?”
“…Never mind. I apologize for the intrusion at this late hour.”
Without hesitation, Dokgo Myeong turned and casually tossed over a money pouch.
The moment Cho Hwang caught it and peeked inside, his eyes went wide.
“Whew! The amount is generous too!”
Dokgo Myeong turned away, leaving Cho Hwang behind as he breathed in sharply.
* * *
Walking through Maeseon Village as night settled in, Dokgo Myeong closed his eyes tightly.
Why was that?
Suddenly, memories of the battlefield surfaced in my mind.
That moment when I severed Hyeok Wi-sang’s neck just before Baek Mu-heun killed me.
-You understand nothing. Did you think this would be the end?
Those were the words Hyeok Wi-sang, battered and broken, had muttered while scattering mysterious talismans into the air.
At the time, fearing he might attempt some strange sorcery, I had struck his neck along with the talismans.
Why did that moment return to me now?
I opened my eyes again and turned my head.
In the distance, I could see the thatched cottage where Dokgo Hyeon should have been.
‘But it wasn’t there.’
Had it never existed from the beginning?
Or had the world I knew transformed into something different?
Whether it was some mysterious providence or a hidden secret history, complex thoughts bubbled up in my mind like an endless spring.
After pondering for a long while, I let out a soft chuckle.
‘Providence? What nonsense. Where would such a thing exist?’
If I were going to worry about such things, I would have simply polished my technique in the mountains instead of enduring all that hardship.
‘Dokgo Hyeon simply doesn’t exist. That’s all there is to it.’
That’s right.
That’s all there is.
Though Dokgo Hyeon no longer exists, my memories prove that his life was real.
‘That’s enough for me.’
From the start, becoming Dokgo Myeong was already incomprehensible, so I had no desire to dig deeper into such mysteries.
‘How refreshing.’
I am Dokgo Myeong, after all.
I don’t know how this came to be, nor do I know what lies ahead, but it suffices to live fully in the present.
As I walked aimlessly, the inn came into view.
I felt the unease that had lingered in my heart finally dissipate.
* * *
Jang Sam regarded Dokgo Myeong with a puzzled expression.
“Ah! This wine tastes absolutely exquisite!”
“…Young Master, did something good happen?”
“Something good? Well, something that was bothering me just cleared right up.”
Jang Sam’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Dokgo Myeong was certainly the type to be unpredictable, but watching him long enough, one could develop a sense for these things.
‘Why does he seem so pleased today?’
Far more than usual, at that.
‘Ugh, this really worries me.’
Hadn’t trouble and misfortune followed whenever Dokgo Myeong’s mood shifted?
Jang Sam’s eyes trembled with concern.
Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly and began toying with his wine cup as he spoke.
“I’ve simply set down a burden I’ve carried for far too long.”
“What are you talking about? What scheme are you cooking up now?”
“It’s not a scheme, what I mean is….”
“Even when you cause trouble, at least give me some warning so I can prepare myself mentally! Do you understand?”
“What? Am I really the kind of person who goes around causing disasters every single day?”
“Where has your conscience gone?”
How exactly does this fellow see me?
Dokgo Myeong pouted his lips.
‘He’s been acting strange lately.’
Why had that composed man become like this?
It was truly lamentable.
“More importantly, we need to depart soon. Why hasn’t that fellow arrived yet?”
“You mean Sect Leader Son?”
“Yes, he said he’d come back after receiving some documents…. Tsk.”
Just as Dokgo Myeong clicked his tongue and raised his cup again.
“Young Master!”
Crash!
Speaking of the devil—Son Tae-im burst through the inn door in a flustered scramble.
“Disaster! Disaster!”
“What now?”
“The identity of the person attending the event from Paedobyeon has been revealed!”
Son Tae-im caught his breath and lifted his head.
“It’s the Lord of Paedobyeon!”
“What?”
“The Lord of Paedobyeon! Wi Mu-jin, one of the Five Lords, will be attending the event personally!”

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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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