Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 15

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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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Episode 15. A Year as a Sword Ghost
The acrid, fishy smell that stung the nostrils had drifted from Dongpo Lake and Daebang Lake.
Even the rich, earthy scent was enough to tell that this land was extraordinarily fertile.
Land blessed by Feng Zhuan Bu Xiong.
Ho Yeon walked across the broad fields north of Hapbi, which now belonged to the Baek-un Trading Company.
―The Cheonrae Jewang Shingong is perfect to cultivate here. Open sky, nothing in the way.
At the Cheonrae Sword’s words, Ho Yeon drew upon his Cheonrae Qi.
Crack! Pop-crack!
White lightning flickered at his fingertips, and he immediately pointed his index finger at the ground.
Boom!
A small bolt of lightning shot from his fingertips and tore a deep gash in the earth.
A finger technique usable only with the Cheonrae Jewang Shingong.
The Cheonrae Finger.
Pop-crack!
Around the impact point where the Cheonrae Finger struck, white lightning writhed like earthworms, spreading outward.
“Does this really improve the land’s fertility?”
Ho Yeon tilted his head in question, and the Cheonrae Sword replied.
―Haven’t you heard of Thunder Brings Good Harvest?
“When lightning strikes often, harvests are bountiful?”
―Look at the character for thunder closely. You’ll see it combines rain and field.
“Ah? Now that you mention it, that’s true. But why is that?”
―Heh heh, that’s the wisdom of ages. Thunder and farming have always been inseparable.
As Ho Yeon marveled at this, the Cheonrae Sword chuckled with satisfaction and continued.
―Fertile soil contains an abundance of nitrogen.
“Nitrogen?”
―Think of it as a kind of nutrient. This nitrogen spreads through the air, but plants can only absorb it through their roots, not their leaves or stems.
“I see.”
Ho Yeon nodded at this new knowledge, and the Cheonrae Sword went on.
―That’s why continuous farming depletes the nitrogen and the soil loses its fertility. Then you either let the field lie fallow or grow nitrogen-fixing crops like beans.
“So the Cheonrae Jewang Shingong can produce that nitrogen?”
―It doesn’t produce nitrogen—it supplies it to the earth.
“Hmm?”
―I told you—nitrogen drifts through the air. The lightning’s enormous voltage breaks it down in the atmosphere and lets it seep into the soil.
“Ah!”
―In other words, this land has been bathed in the Cheonrae Jewang Shingong’s fierce lightning energy for centuries, so nitrogen overflows and the soil never runs dry.
“Remarkable!”
Having learned the secret of this blessed field, Ho Yeon spoke with genuine admiration.
“Old spirit, you haven’t wasted your years.”
―Puffaw! The respect is welling up, is it?
“Truly, among spirits, you are the spirit. The greatest spirit indeed.”
―Heh heh, the greatest spirit. Not bad. Though I’d wager there’s no spirit in all the world quite like me!
Listening to the Cheonrae Sword’s boasting, Ho Yeon arrived at the center of the field and sat in a lotus position.
“This spot will do nicely.”
―By the way, what are you doing here anyway?
“Heh heh, just wait and see.”
Ho Yeon closed his eyes and focused his mind on his Lower Dantian.
Within the vast blue sky of the Changgung Daeyeon Shingong, he saw the Red Thunder Cloud of the Cheonrae Jewang Shingong hanging aloft.
‘Thirty years’ worth of Naegong. A lot for my age, but nowhere near enough.’
Especially since the Cheonrae Jewang Shingong manipulated the supreme force of lightning, its consumption of Naegong was considerable.
‘Now is the time to use the Yeomryeok Suphoe.’
Since his days as a Sword Ghost, Naegong had always been a scarce resource.
He’d never even glimpsed sacred elixirs, and finding ascending Naegong techniques was like plucking stars from the sky.
And he couldn’t practice demonic or heretical cultivation methods with their rapid energy drain.
So he’d decided to supplement his insufficient Naegong through the Uigi Yeondong, and the technique he’d devised then was precisely the Yeomryeok Suphoe.
“Ahhhh.”
Ho Yeon exhaled deeply and shifted his focus to his Upper Dantian.
A warmth bloomed across his forehead as the Uigi Yeondong activated.
‘Gather. Gather. Gather.’
What Ho Yeon imagined was a vast whirlwind.
‘Come to me, Qi. Come.’
A deep rumble echoed forth!
The Uigi Yeondong technique manipulated the world at will, beginning to draw in the Qi of heaven and earth.
Then, like wind wrapped around a dragon, a vortex of suction spiraled upward in the shape of a funnel.
Crash—!
The dragon-wind spun rapidly, pulling in all the Qi from the surrounding area.
And at the center and end of that massive vortex lay Ho Yeon’s Lower Dantian.
Boom!
A powerful storm of Qi crashed into the Qi Hai Point, which had been peaceful until now.
“Nngh—!”
Ho Yeon deployed the Changgung Daeyeon Shingong and Cheonrae Jewang Shingong at full force.
Whoosh!
As he absorbed the natural Qi surging in like a tidal wave, the vast sky within him grew deeper and wider.
Rumble!
Crash!
In an instant, the Red Thunder Cloud transformed into a thunder cloud, exchanging forward and backward lightning bolts, its mass swelling by degrees.
“Ghhh—!”
His Upper Dantian burned hot, while his Lower Dantian became a wasteland of typhoons and lightning.
Yet Ho Yeon gritted his teeth and endured.
And the result was sweet.
“Hah! Hah! Gasp!”
Ho Yeon stopped the Yeomryeok Suphoe technique, his eyes wide, his breathing ragged.
“Heh, heh-heh!”
His head throbbed from the extreme depletion of spiritual force, but Ho Yeon could not stop laughing.
Because the Naegong accumulated in his Lower Dantian was sixty times greater than usual.
In other words, Ho Yeon had gained the equivalent of two months’ worth of Naegong for others in a single day.
And that too in the form of Changgung Qi and Cheonrae Qi—pure and formidable energies.
“Heh, I’m not even jealous of the Daehwan Pill, which supposedly grants a decade of martial prowess in one swallow.”
A Daehwan Pill was finished after a single use, but the Yeomryeok Suphoe could be employed infinitely, so long as there was enough spiritual force.
And there was yet another characteristic to this Yeomryeok Suphoe.
Pat!
Rustle.
Ho Yeon reached out and touched the soil around him.
Before the Yeomryeok Suphoe, this had certainly been fertile land, but now the dry earth crumbled away in his palm like sand from a parched desert.
‘Heh-heh, Yeomryeok Suphoe is a technique that draws in the Qi from all things around it.’
Qi exists within all things in heaven and earth.
When a person’s Qi force diminishes, they age and sicken.
The land is no different.
―You mad little brat! What on earth have you done to perfectly good land!
The Cheonrae Sword cried out in astonishment at the bizarre deed.
Ho Yeon let out a scoff and replied.
“So what? It’s not our land anymore, anyway.”
―You unfeeling fool who doesn’t know how to cherish nature!
“Elder, I’m an animal lover, not a nature lover.”
Ho Yeon shrugged his shoulders, rose to his feet, and brushed the parched soil clinging to his rear.
Puff! Puff!
From within the billowing dust, Ho Yeon flashed a sinister smile.
“Heh-heh, I said I’d drain the land, not the Ji-ryeok. At this rate, I’ll have drained the whole region within a year.”
* * *
A year passed.
* * *
Man Hong-gi, a merchant who visited Hapbi after a year, was taken aback.
So much so that he dropped a dumpling he’d been holding with his chopsticks.
Plop!
“You’re telling me that’s really true?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Does that even make sense?”
“I’ve spent my whole life being deceived, it seems.”
Man Hong-gi heard the unbelievable news from a caravan escort named Hwang Ja-yang at an inn and was bewildered.
“Well, wouldn’t it be stranger to believe it right away? All that fertile land north of Hapbi turned into wasteland?”
“It’s true, I tell you. If you go see for yourself, you’ll understand. It’s dried out so completely that barely a blade of grass can grow there.”
“You have two lakes over there, don’t you? Why not draw water and pour it on the fields?”
“Why haven’t we tried that? We even built bamboo channels to bring water in. But it was all for nothing. The land is dead.”
“Dead land? How can such a thing even exist…….”
Man Hong-gi sighed as he spoke, and Hwang Ja-yang replied with a faint smile.
“There’s been another strange occurrence over this past year.”
“Another?”
“A monster lives in the western wasteland, they say.”
“What’s that about?”
Man Hong-gi frowned, and Hwang Ja-yang chuckled as he continued.
“Heh-heh, truly. Day and night, people are making a fuss about hearing the creature growl. They say it sounds like thunder if you listen closely.”
“That’s hard to believe.”
“What’s even harder to believe is that the western wasteland no longer exists.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
Man Hong-gi asked, and Hwang Ja-yang cleared his throat, reaching for his empty cup.
“Ahem, well. The cup’s empty.”
“Ah, forgive me.”
Pour.
Once Man Hong-gi refilled the cup, Hwang Ja-yang, wearing a satisfied smile, continued.
“The people of Hapbi no longer call that western land a wasteland.”
“Then what do they call it?”
“They call it West Fertile Soil.”
“Fertile soil? But that was clearly barren land before?”
“That’s why I called it a strange occurrence. People are saying that because the northern land has declined and the western land has flourished, Xuanwu has died and Baihu has been born.”
At Hwang Ja-yang’s explanation, Man Hong-gi shook his head and murmured to himself.
“Is such a thing possible in just a year? Even the harmony of heaven and earth couldn’t…….”
After a moment of thought, Man Hong-gi smacked his lips and went on.
“Tsk, I won’t be able to buy grain cheap then.”
“Are you a grain merchant?”
“Not exactly. I’m in the business of trading whatever makes money.”
“Is that so?”
“More than that, it’s strange to see the Namgung Clan decline so. They were as upright and honorable as anyone could be…….”
Man Hong-gi spoke with regret, and Hwang Ja-yang laughed softly in response.
“Worry is just your nature, isn’t it.”
“Well, I shouldn’t worry about others given my own circumstances. I’m still figuring out what to buy here in Hapbi…….”
“No, I mean you don’t need to worry about the Namgung Clan. They haven’t declined at all.”
“Hmm?”
Man Hong-gi asked in confusion at Hwang Ja-yang’s words.
“As I understand it, almost all the northern fields belong to the Namgung Clan, don’t they? You said the land died?”
“They sold that land.”
“Sold it? Land they’ve managed for centuries?”
“The moment they sold the land, it died. Isn’t that remarkable? Perhaps even land knows when its master has changed.”
“Ha, what incredible fortune.”
“Is it just fortune? Their skill is equally impressive.”
Hwang Ja-yang picked up a vegetable with his chopsticks and ate, then continued.
“These days, the Namgung Clan is the hottest topic among escort houses.”
“Hmm? Has the Namgung Clan ventured into the escort business?”
“Half right, half wrong. What they’re doing is called Ho-pyo—rather than stealing the escort houses’ business, it’s a partnership concept.”
Hwang Ja-yang told him about the Ho-pyo business the Namgung Clan had begun.
As Man Hong-gi listened to the explanation, he slapped his knee in admiration.
“Ha! That’s brilliant! Only a clan like the Namgung could pull off such a venture!”
“Exactly. At first there was skepticism, but the escort houses that have used Ho-pyo all sing the Namgung Clan’s praises without reservation.”
Hwang Ja-yang folded his arms and nodded as he continued.
“So-called noble families treat escort houses as mere errand boys, but the warriors of the Namgung Clan are not only courteous but also remarkably skilled in martial arts.”
“Is that so?”
“Among the escort houses that have hired the Namgung Clan’s Ho-pyo, not a single one has failed a delivery to this day.”
“My goodness……!”
As Man Hong-gi listened to Hwang Ja-yang’s explanation, he nodded repeatedly in wonder.
“That’s good news indeed. Now I just need to look after my own affairs.”
“All the same, if you’re troubled about what to buy here in Hapbi, you should visit the Namgung Clan.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you know who owns West Fertile Soil that I mentioned earlier? The Namgung Clan.”
“What?!”
Man Hong-gi’s eyes widened.
Hwang Ja-yang, chuckling at his reaction, continued the explanation.
“Truly. When the Namgung Clan bought that land, everyone said they’d lost their minds. But now it’s transformed into vast tea fields.”
“Tea fields? They produce tea leaves there?”
“They do. The word hasn’t spread beyond Anhui yet, but the tea cultivated in West Fertile Soil is premium among premiums.”
“I see…….”
Confronted with one unbelievable revelation after another, Man Hong-gi sighed.
“Truly remarkable. Does Heaven itself bless the Namgung Clan?”
“More like, the Divine Dragon blesses them, they say.”
“The Divine Dragon?”
“There’s someone the Namgung people call by that name, and that person is…….”
“Ho Yeon.”
“Precisely. Ho Yeon…… hm?”
Hwang Ja-yang turned his head at the voice that suddenly cut in.
Standing there was a man with an indifferent expression.
His face, caught between boyhood and manhood, possessed jade-like beauty, though his hair tied back looked somewhat disheveled—the sole flaw in his appearance.
“Ah……!”
“Yes? Who are you?”
Hwang Ja-yang’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open, while Man Hong-gi tilted his head at the appearance of this unfamiliar young master.
“You said Ho Yeon?”
“Ah…… you must be a young master of the Namgung Clan.”
“I gathered from your conversation that you’re wondering what goods to handle in Hapbi?”
“Yes, but…….”
“Then sell tea. I’ll give you a good price.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Man Hong-gi blinked at the unexpected proposal.
“Forgive me, young master, but who exactly are you?”
“Me?”
Ho Yeon smiled faintly and pointed to himself with his thumb.
“The tea fields’ owner.”

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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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