Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 126

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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 126. The Sword Demon Observes the Shadow Kill
Gulp.
Mae Baek, the Ferryman Master, swallowed hard.
Having lived to an age approaching eighty, he had encountered countless types of people.
At a glance, he could intuitively sense a person’s true nature.
Until now, he had taken pride in this as the wisdom of age, but today, for the first time, he wished his instinct had been wrong.
Whistle! Snap.
Whistle! Snap.
The young man in blue martial robes sitting in half-seiza position before him was tossing and catching a short dagger—its blade a faint crimson, like the shadow of a blood-red moon.
Each time that playful motion continued, Mae Baek felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle.
‘Is this even a person? I’d believe it if you told me he crawled up from Hell itself!’
In the youth’s deep eyes, Mae Baek glimpsed the shadow of death itself.
He was weighing something.
Life and death.
“Ferryman Master, they say all the boats in Hangzhou pass through your hands?”
“Not all of them, but most, yes.”
Mae Baek answered with studied composure, careful not to provoke his counterpart.
Namgung Ho Yeon spoke to him then.
“To command every vessel in a city of water? That’s quite considerable power, wouldn’t you say?”
“Merely the humble work of a ferryman, nothing more.”
“Your humility rings hollow. You command Hidden Form Assassins as a Killing General.”
“That—that’s absurd!”
Mae Baek shook his hands vigorously, denying it outright.
“Hidden Form Assassins? That name vanished into history three hundred years ago!”
“Perhaps. But if a man has the means, he’ll use what appeals to him.”
“Those means are not ours!”
“The crow’s, then.”
……
After a moment of silence at Namgung Ho Yeon’s words, Mae Baek exhaled a long breath and spoke.
“Hah… Who on earth are you? How do you know the secrets of our Bota Mun?”
“Namgung Ho Yeon.”
Seeing the casual manner in which the young man answered, Mae Baek understood he had no intention of explaining further.
“Our Bota Mun has repented of past wrongs and washed our hands in a golden basin.”
“Tell me, old man—does washing your hands in gold make the blood come clean?”
“I speak the truth!”
“Then what’s this?”
Click.
Namgung Ho Yeon pointed to the ceiling of Jinan Station as he spoke.
“Thirty-four of them. Hardly enough to threaten my life. Do I look so easy?”
……Ah.
Mae Baek sighed.
‘When Hidden Form Qi is deployed, one’s presence is erased from the world even more thoroughly than the Turtle Breath Great Art. And yet he detected it precisely?’
Hidden Form Qi differed fundamentally in nature from the internal qi that ordinary martial artists cultivated through meditation practice.
It was a form of external qi—borrowed from the spiritual grace of the Spirit Lord, the Hidden Form Crow, who watched over the Bota Mun.
Though it could not be overused due to its side effects, it possessed the advantage of drawing upon the mysterious power of a spiritual creature.
Yet one could not ordinarily detect it with ordinary qi-sensing…
“You misunderstand. They guard me, yes, but that is not the result of your actions—it is the internal strife within the Hao Mun.”
“Hmm?”
“Tensions among the Five Gates have escalated since the year before last……”
Mae Baek trailed off.
Namgung Ho Yeon spoke then.
“I don’t care about that. Why were you watching me?”
“It was routine intelligence gathering.”
“Someone commissioned it, didn’t they?”
“It was a direct order from above. To observe your every move and report back, nothing more.”
“Why?”
“Surely you don’t mean to say you’re ignorant of it?”
Mae Baek spoke with an air of bewilderment.
“You are the prodigy of the age who struck down the Cannibalistic Demon General Ji Heuk Cheon. Not only our Hao Mun, but every information network in the realm has its eyes fixed upon you.”
Hmm.
“Beggars catching dogs on the lakeside. Young men guzzling wine on pleasure boats. They were all watching you. Over a hundred Secret Agents have been stationed on West Lake alone.”
“That much is true.”
“But why just us…….”
“Just because.”
“…….”
When Mae Baek fell silent, Namgung Ho Yeon let out a soft laugh and continued.
“Look here, old man. If everyone else does it so we do it too—should I just forgive you and move on?”
“……I apologize.”
“Does an apology settle everything?”
“I will warn the disciples. We will no longer give you cause for displeasure.”
“That’s merely what’s expected.”
“……Is there something you wish for?”
As Namgung Ho Yeon continued pressing the point, Mae Baek, sensing his true intent, asked the question.
Namgung Ho Yeon smiled and replied.
“Why speak so resentfully? Anyone hearing this would think I’d come here to shake you down like some rogue.”
“…….”
“Instead, let’s make a deal.”
“A deal…… sir?”
“I’ll tell you an interesting story. Then you tell me an interesting story in return.”
“So you’re asking us to exchange information?”
Mae Baek was flabbergasted.
Requesting information exchange with Hao Mun, one of Zhongyuan’s five great intelligence organizations?
“Or perhaps you’d like to tell me the color of the undergarments you’re currently wearing?”
“……What nonsense is that?”
“There are quite a few who would like to know.”
“Are you mad?”
“If it were anything less, there is no way Hao Mun would be ignorant of what you know.”
Mae Baek spoke with pride and confidence in his tone.
To this, Namgung Ho Yeon responded with a meaningful smile.
“Is that so? If they set their minds to hiding, they’d be as hard to track as a Hidden Form Assassin, wouldn’t they?”
“They……?”
“Phantoms from the past are walking around Hangzhou now. The sort who were called Yin Sal Mun, though I wonder what they call themselves these days.”
At Namgung Ho Yeon’s words, disbelief flickered in Mae Baek’s eyes.
Yin Sal Mun? He’d never heard of such a sect.
An unknown force operating in Hangzhou beyond his perception?
It was hard to believe.
“That secretive, delicate energy—no matter how well hidden, it differs from the martial arts of Zhongyuan.”
“That’s…… impossible.”
“If you find it hard to believe, search for them. Look for anyone whose behavior seems off or who has suddenly become forgetful.”
“……Pardon?”
When Mae Baek questioned him as if unable to understand, Namgung Ho Yeon hardened his expression and pressed on.
“Those raccoon-like bastards. They can disguise themselves as other people.”
A filthy memory from three hundred years ago flickered through Namgung Ho Yeon’s mind.
* * *
Two days later.
“Wow!”
“Ohhh!”
Exclamations rang out at Zhemu, at the eastern edge of Hangzhou.
“So this is the sea!”
“Hye Il, look over there! Such an enormous ship. How is it even floating on the water?”
Hye Il and Gwang Myeong were marveling at the sight of Hangzhou Bay.
A vast expanse of sea stretched endlessly before them, utterly different in scale from the Yangtze.
Enormous vessels were moored at the docks, and thousands upon thousands of people moved back and forth.
“Gwang Myeong. Now it’s time to verify the truth.”
“Heh, you haven’t forgotten the wager, have you?”
“Of course not. Ten copper coins gets fifty bowls of vegetables!”
Tap-tap-tap!
Hye Il and Gwang Myeong reached the docks, even invoking the Divine Movement Technique in their haste.
Dropping to their knees simultaneously, they scooped seawater into their hands and brought it to their lips, each trying to beat the other.
“Blech!”
“Ugh!”
The moment the liquid filled their mouths, the sharp taste of seawater split their fortunes in two — one laughing, one grimacing.
“Hahahaha! I told you so, didn’t I? Seawater’s salty!”
“No, it’s not salty at all.”
“Then why don’t you take a big gulp and see for yourself?”
“My throat isn’t parched.”
“Are you seriously doing this to me?”
As the two Daoists bickered back and forth, laughter rippled through the onlookers around them.
“Hehe, what adorable Daoists!”
“Must be from inland?”
“Pfft! I’d say we see twenty like that in a single day.”
“Mom! Those brothers are weird!”
The people of Hangzhou laughed off the eccentric Daoists’ antics as though it were nothing new.
And behind them, watching the scene unfold, Nan A pressed a hand to her forehead.
“How embarrassing. Woon Am, could you please stop them?”
Nan A turned away, mortified, but Woon Am remained lost in thought, muttering to himself.
“Hmm… the distribution of force here… like this… no, perhaps this way?”
He appeared motionless, but his heels were rising and falling in constant rhythm.
Nan A exhaled softly and spoke.
“Woon Am.”
“Mm? What is it?”
“Have you ever seen the sea before?”
“No. This is my first time.”
As Woon Am answered, Nan A continued.
“Cultivation has rhythm. Training is important, yes, but rest is equally so. Since we’ve made the journey to Hangzhou, why not enjoy it?”
“Hmm, but I’m not sure what there is to enjoy.”
Woon Am scratched the back of his head awkwardly, and Nan A offered a suggestion.
“I know Hangzhou well. What would you like to know about?”
“What would I like to know…”
After a moment’s consideration, Woon Am pointed at her.
“You, Miss Nan A.”
“I… beg your pardon?”
“How did a young lady of the Jinling Merchant Guild become a disciple of Amipa?”
“Ah, that?”
Nan A, caught off guard for a moment, composed herself and answered.
“I was simply restless.”
“Restless?”
“When you lack for nothing, it means you can’t truly be satisfied by anything either.”
“I see.”
“Do you think it’s just the petulance of the privileged?”
“Not at all. The weight of one’s life falls equally on rich and poor alike. You had your own burden to bear.”
Woon Am shook his head gently, and a small smile blossomed at Nan A’s lips.
“I also fled from the flood of marriage proposals. If I became a nun, I wouldn’t have to worry about such things, would I?”
“If that were your reason, there was Bota Mun in the nearby Zhushan Region.”
“I wanted to go somewhere no one knew me.”
“So you went to Sichuan, the opposite end of Zhejiang? Bold, I must say.”
Woon Am spoke with genuine admiration at Nan A’s words.
“I don’t think I could have made such a choice in your position.”
“Hehe, so even you, Woon Am, couldn’t resist the temptation of riches?”
“No — I thought you’d be lonely.”
“Pardon?”
“Leaving behind friends and family to live in a distant place is truly difficult. I miss Huashan even now.”
At the thought of Huashan, a natural smile spread across Woon Am’s face.
……
It was then that Nan A found herself staring at him quietly.
“Stop!”
“Let the child go!”
At the familiar voices, both Nan A and Woon Am’s heads turned.
A commotion had broken out at the wharf.
Hye Il and Gwang Myeong had stepped into the path of two armed swordsmen.
“What in the world are these Daoists?”
“Mind your own business and get out of here!”
The soldiers issued an expulsion order, but Hye Il and Gwang Myeong didn’t retreat.
The boy held by both arms was sobbing uncontrollably.
“No! Let go! Let me go!”
“Tsk. Let’s take him quickly.”
“Hurry. The Commander will discipline us.”
As eyes turned toward them, the soldiers swept the surroundings and began forcibly dragging the boy away.
“Gwang Myeong!”
“I’ll take the left side.”
Tap-tap!
Enraged by the kidnapping unfolding in broad daylight, Hye Il and Gwang Myeong launched themselves forward at once.
“No!”
“This—these madmen!”
The soldiers, shocked by the lightning-fast assault of two Jeol Jeong Go Soos, released the boy and moved to draw their swords.
Thwack!
Thwack!
But the palms and fists of the two Daoists reached the soldiers’ solar plexes faster than their blades could be drawn.
“Hngh!”
“Gack!”
The soldiers collapsed, their eyes rolling back, and Hye Il and Gwang Myeong steadied the boy.
“Are you all right?”
“Sniff—sniff—whimper!”
At Hye Il’s gentle question, the boy’s emotions welled up and he began sobbing even more bitterly.
Tap-tap-tap!
Woon Am and Nan A, rushing at the commotion, spoke up.
“What on earth is happening here?”
“What’s all this commotion?”
“These men were trying to kidnap this child! They dragged him out of the ship by force!”
Gwang Myeong pointed at the vessel that had finished preparing for departure.
Turning her gaze to the boy, Nan A asked him.
“Young master. Have you committed a crime?”
“What?”
“Hangzhou is often used as a refuge for criminals. If you’re someone wanted by the authorities…”
Hye Il and Gwang Myeong’s faces went pale at Nan A’s words.
If that were the case, they would have apprehended an innocent person by mistake.
“No!”
But in that moment, the boy cried out, choking with emotion.
“I only fled to reveal the truth!”
“The truth, you say?”
“Sniff—whimper!”
At Nan A’s question, the boy swallowed his sobs and spoke in a hoarse voice.
“That my father is…a fake!”

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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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