Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 196

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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 196. Sword Demon Confronts the Blade General
Shang Zhong Sha Zhou.
A sand island formed by the silt accumulation of Po Yang Lake, it was composed mainly of fine-grained sandy hills of quartz and feldspar.
Though called a sand hill, it seemed small, yet it stretched a full thirty li—roughly twelve kilometers in length—a colossal sandy island.
The night was deep and dark.
Four vessels arrived before two sand hills that rose in convex humps.
“The Crane Bell holds grain, dried meat, medicinal herbs—supplies requiring careful management. The Shrimp Bell contains military provisions: uniforms, blankets, and arms.”
Po Seom pointed to the right hill, then the left, as he spoke.
The two bells of Shang Zhong Sha Zhou were divided into the Crane Bell, favored by migratory birds, and the Shrimp Bell, where freshwater shrimp and crayfish bred.
“Mmm, they’ve dispersed the supplies as a contingency, then?”
“Amitabha. Shall we divide into units?”
“Hah! Our Unit 3 takes the Crane Bell.”
“Then Unit 2 heads to the Shrimp Bell.”
Three unit commanders—Beom Seok, So Gyu, and Peng Gu Pae—offered their thoughts in response to Namgung Ho Yeon’s murmur.
But Namgung Ho Yeon shook his head, dismissing their proposal outright.
“I’ll go to the Shrimp Bell alone. The rest of you head to the Crane Bell.”
“Pardon?”
“Ho Yeon, what do you mean?”
“Youngest brother!”
Objections flared, but the moment white lightning surged from Namgung Ho Yeon’s index finger, they fell silent.
Crackle!
“Is there anyone here faster at destruction than I am?”
“……Well, that’s true. The Young Master’s cultivation is specialized for this sort of work.”
“Tch, you’re right. We can’t very well smash weapons one by one. With the youngest’s lightning, it’ll be done in an instant.”
“Grr, the Cheonroe Jewang Singong! Such an enviable art! Youngest brother! What if we traded it for the Cheong Am Yun Ma Gi Gong?”
“Stop spouting nonsense and run through the operation.”
Namgung Ho Yeon cut off So Gyu’s rambling and looked up at the moon as he continued.
“We’re at the start of the Hour of the Rat now. Finish by the Hour of the Hare.”
“One hour is plenty.”
“After that, we board the boats and make for the designated location as swiftly as possible. Is everything ready?”
Namgung Ho Yeon turned to Po Seom with the question, and the man nodded in response.
“I’ve dispatched a signal beacon.”
“Good. Everyone, transfer to the other boat.”
Thud! Tap-tap!
At Namgung Ho Yeon’s word, the Byeol Dong Dae members began boarding the vessels headed for the Crane Bell.
“Where do you think you’re going? You’re coming with me.”
“Eh?”
Mu Ga Yak stood to transfer to another boat, but Namgung Ho Yeon grabbed her by the scruff and stopped her short.
“I… why me……?”
“Row.”
“What?”
“Row, I said. You useless scrap.”
“…….”
Mu Ga Yak pouted but seized the oar and began rowing.
Creak! Whoosh! Creak! Whoosh!
The boat carrying Namgung Ho Yeon surged swiftly toward the Shrimp Bell.
Once they’d moored on the sand island and looked across the lake, the other boats circling toward the Crane Bell were faintly visible in the distance.
“Good. You stay here and watch the boat.”
“……Yes.”
“Not coming along?”
“I heard what happened to Geumcheon Do Moon. I’ve no wish to linger beside a ruin demon and catch sparks by accident.”
As Mu Ga Yak tossed her short hair and shook her head, the voices of swords echoed.
―Cheon Rae Geom, how is it? Isn’t this child quite sharp?
―Ahem! As my brother says, a girl with good judgment. Fleeing from filth for fear of dirt? Rather, she flees because it’s foul.
―Phahahah! Onji Yaro! When did you shift from Sword Demon to Ruin Demon? Not bad at all! Break and obliterate everything! Break-break, obliterate-obliterate!
Wol Wang Gu Cheon Geom held Cheon Noe Geom in reverence as an elder brother.
Cheon Noe Geom seemed pleased by this and joined in the exchange.
And Heuk Ya was simply Heuk Ya.
“……Indeed, you’ve taken on the proper bearing of a captive. For such obedience, I shall return this to you.”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ho Yeon tossed the Wol A Do and a short blade he’d confiscated from Mu Ga Yak onto the table.
But the blade wasn’t the Wol Wang Gu Cheon Sword—it was the Wol Yeong Dan Hong, a short sword whose crimson blade shimmered with the subtle brilliance of a red moon shadow.
“What is this?”
“What do you mean? A curved blade and a short sword. The count’s even, isn’t it?”
“That’s not my blade!”
“That one’s expensive though. Don’t you want to trade?”
“No! The Wol Wang Gu Cheon Sword is a treasure of the Moon Realm!”
“And the Wol Yeong Dan Hong is a treasure of the Tanchen Kingdom.”
“That’s my mother’s keepsake! How can there be a person like you?”
At Ho Yeon’s casual proposal to exchange blades, Mu Ga Yak fixed him with a look of utter disbelief.
Ho Yeon cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke.
“Ahem! If it’s that precious, then I definitely can’t return it. For now, it’s confiscated. You might try to flee, after all.”
……
“We’ll discuss it again later. Ha!”
Tap-tap-tap! Whoosh!
Watching Ho Yeon vanish like the wind, using the Son Bo technique, Mu Ga Yak muttered under her breath.
“Sigh… I thought he was someone frightening, but he turned out to be strange instead.”
She found herself questioning whether her choice had been the right one after all.
* * *
“Ugh, I’m bored.”
“Tell me about it. I wanted to go to Anhui. By now we’d be having the time of our lives.”
“Haha! But I heard the Chamsal Dae bastards got wiped out like complete idiots?”
“What? Really? By whom?”
“Word is it was the Huashan School Daoists.”
“Pfft! Huashan? That fallen sect?”
“Only the Grand Commander survived, or so they say. Rumor is he went around boasting that the plum blossoms had returned to Huashan, and the King had him executed on the spot.”
“Hahahaha! What bullshit! So Blade Tyrant couldn’t even cut down one decaying Huashan Daoist? All that grand reputation and he’s just a hot-air merchant?”
It was then that the sentries engaged in their idle gossip.
Boom-boom-crash!
Ku-ku-kung!
Distant explosions echoed and reverberated from far away.
“What—what is that?”
“It sounds like it’s coming from the Crane Bell direction?”
“No way. How would the Nakjeon Unit know about the rerouted supply line?”
“Send reinforcements immediately—! Wait, why is it so quiet around here?”
The two sentries locked eyes.
At a commotion of this magnitude, the guards at the Shrimp Bell should have all poured out.
The fact that they hadn’t…?
“No… could it be…?!”
“Here too?!”
“Correct.”
Tap! Crackle-crash!
A fair-skinned youth descended from the darkness, his smile as desolate as moonlight.
His long hair flowed with the sheen of night, and in its wavering grace lay something otherworldly and mysterious.
“You!”
“Kill him!”
The moment the two sentries reached for the blades at their waists.
Ho Yeon swiftly yanked the Cheon Jam Sa taut.
Click-click-click!
Whirl! Whirr-whirr!
The invisible Cheon Jam Sa, knotted in advance, suddenly contracted in unison according to its pattern.
That knot was tied using the Che Beom Ji Sool—the Hyeon Hak In Do method.
It was a rope technique that bound the arms behind the back and connected them to the neck and waist, creating a posture like a crane with its wings folded.
But when the Uigi Yeondong and the Cheon Jam Sa met the Hyeon Hak In Do, an entirely different sight unfolded.
Crack-snap-crackle!
Thump-thump-thump!
With a gruesome sound, not cranes but chunks of flesh tumbled down.
“Hmm, a knot used to display criminals before public execution. The jailers of the Silver Dynasty had a cruel streak, it seems.”
As Ho Yeon gazed down at what had once been men, the Cheon Rae Sword cried out.
―You mad fool! What right have you to speak?
―Surely, brother, you said this child was from the orthodox tradition, didn’t you?
―Well, he is orthodox—just a little too much so. The problem is he breaks things too thoroughly.
―Pfft! Heuk Ya! It brings back memories of your Demon of Dark Heaven days, doesn’t it? Those were fun times!
“Why the criticism again? I was considerate enough not to get blood on your things.”
Whirrr!
Splash-splash-splash!
As Namgung Ho Yeon grumbled and swung the Geom Gyeol Ji, the thousands of Man Han Chim needles scattered across Ha Jong were recalled into the Hong Ok Tong.
Crack!
Namgung Ho Yeon closed the Hong Ok Tong’s lid and set about collecting the Cheon Jam Sa, gathering his hair and muttering to himself.
“Looks like Un Am and the children accomplished something.”
From what he heard, the Huashan School disciples had succeeded in flowering the plum blossoms.
Though it was a fundamental sword technique, the Yuk Hap Mae Hwa Geom was the foundation and root of Huashan sword mastery.
Moreover, the Yuk Hap Mae Hwa Geom Jin, restored on the basis of explanations from Ja Ha Shin Geom and advice from Cheon Noe Geom, was something he could confidently say he’d crafted well.
“Heh, all that hellish training has borne fruit.”
Bang!
With a satisfied laugh, Namgung Ho Yeon kicked open the storehouse door.
At once, an array of densely packed weapons came into view.
“Swords, sabers, spears, axes, bows, arrows—well now? Even caltrops?”
Caltrops were iron nails with four sharp, awl-like points designed so that no matter how they were laid, one spike always faced upward.
This was a weapon meant not to kill, but to obstruct enemy movement and hinder their mobility—so why would such implements be stockpiled here?
“They must have needed traps for mountain warfare. It looks like Ahyeon’s doing well.”
Namgung Ho Yeon smirked and extended his index finger.
Hum-hummm!
Boom-crash!
Thunder erupted as the Cheon Noe Ji discharged.
White lightning began charring the weapons black, reducing them to twisted scrap metal.
Whoosh! Crackle-crackle-crackle!
Fire spread to cloth and garments alike.
The entire storehouse was consumed by flames in less than a moment.
“Incineration complete.”
―You really do love playing with fire, don’t you, you little troublemaker? Tsk, tsk, tsk.
“How sudden—are you complimenting me?”
―That was criticism, you wretch!
“Well then, I shall live long thanks to you. I’m grateful.”
Tap! Whoosh!
Having completed his task, Namgung Ho Yeon kicked off the ground.
Now only the matter of boarding the boat and regrouping with the main force remained before they could slip out of Jiangxi.
“……Hmm?”
But upon reaching the sandbar where the boat lay moored,
Namgung Ho Yeon sensed that things would not unfold so easily.
“How splendidly you’ve been making a show of yourself.”
“Ugh…….”
Before the half-destroyed boat stood a middle-aged man he’d never seen before, his hand clamped around Mu Ga Yak’s throat.
In the eyes of this tall, broad-shouldered man gleamed a cruel and vicious killing intent.
Blood streamed from Mu Ga Yak’s mouth—she had taken internal damage.
Splash!
Then the middle-aged man suddenly kicked sand into the air.
Whistle! Ping!
Namgung Ho Yeon reached out and caught the discharged Wol Yeong Dan Hong between his index and middle fingers.
“That’s not it.”
“…….”
“Do you have it?”
As the middle-aged man spoke, Namgung Ho Yeon smirked and opened his mouth.
“Ah, so the Flatfish can talk?”
“……What?”
“But isn’t this freshwater? You’re quite the unusual invasive species.”
“Tsk!”
Jong Ri Pae of the Narakdo School ground his teeth at an insult he’d never heard in his life.
Yet, exercising tremendous restraint, he asked again.
“I ask you once more. The Wol Wang Gu Cheon Sword. Do you have it?”
“Then what?”
“Hand it over.”
“Why should I?”
“Sura Hall desires it.”
“Interesting. Why would Sura Hall need a short blade? Kitchen knives, perhaps, but this?”
“One more jest, and I’ll kill this woman.”
“Heh…….”
Screech!
Jong Ri Pae tightened his grip around Mu Ga Yak’s throat.
Yet Namgung Ho Yeon’s expression remained unchanged.
“Do it.”
“……What?”
“We only met a few days ago. Whether she lives or dies is no concern of mine.”
“Boy, if you’re bluffing, you’ve picked the wrong opponent.”
Crack! Crackle!
As Jong Ri Pae applied more pressure, a chilling sound emanated from Mu Ga Yak’s neck.
Throughout it all, Jong Ri Pae’s gaze remained locked on Namgung Ho Yeon.
He was testing whether Mu Ga Yak held any real value as a hostage.
‘No reaction? Truly no connection between them?’
Jong Ri Pae’s brow furrowed.
It didn’t matter.
If she was useless, she would simply die.
All that mattered was the Wol Wang Gu Cheon Sword.
“Ah, come to think of it—didn’t that woman say something like this?”
Namgung Ho Yeon fixed Jong Ri Pae with a meaningful smile and murmured softly.
“That she’d unraveled the Secret of Full Moon.”
“……!”
“……!”
At Namgung Ho Yeon’s words, both Jong Ri Pae and Mu Ga Yak—her face now drained of all color—gasped in shock.
“She… she unraveled the Secret of Full Moon?”
“Gasp! Cough! Cough!”
At his words, Jong Ri Pae swiftly released his grip.
Mu Ga Yak drew ragged breaths, her eyes fixed upon Namgung Ho Yeon.
He was laughing with barely contained delight.
“Heh heh heh, so it seems this woman needs you, not me, after all?”
“…….”
“Give me your name and affiliation. Refuse, and I’ll kill her.”
“This madman……!”
Whoosh!
Namgung Ho Yeon flicked the Wol Yeong Dan Hong from between his index and middle fingers, sending it hurtling toward Mu Ga Yak’s heart.
Clang! Ring!
Jong Ri Pae’s blade flashed, deflecting the projectile with a sharp metallic snap.
He drew his lips back in a snarl, his jaw clenched tight as stone.
“I am Jong Ri Pae, General of the Narakdo School! Remember this name—it belongs to the man who will tear you to pieces!”

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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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