Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 91

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 91. The Sword Demon’s Omen of Calamity
Anhui, Hefei.
“Ha ha ha! They say the young master has become the Thunder God Light Dragon!”
“Our clan lord is the Emperor Sword Dragon!”
“The young lady has been counted among the Five Flowers of the Martial World.”
“Of course. If Anhui’s finest beauty isn’t a flower of the martial world, then who is?”
“But why is the youngest young master a ‘Light Dragon’ and not a ‘Divine Dragon’?”
“I heard the radiance of the Cheonroe Jewang Singong was so intense that people gave him that name using the character for ‘light’ instead.”
“Well, what does it matter? The character for ‘Divine’ is still there.”
The Namgung Clan was in festival spirits.
Two dragons had been born in a single stroke.
Moreover, the champion produced by the Baekga Maeng in twenty years came from the Namgung Clan, and considering the clan’s history, it was the first time in a hundred years.
On top of that, the performances of the other participants were equally remarkable.
Particularly Namgung Ja-ryang and Namgung Sang-ah had advanced to the round of sixteen, and if they continued well, they might even earn the titles of dragon and phoenix.
The clamor of excited voices reached all the way to the study of Changgungjeon’s clan lord.
“Heh heh, the clan members are so delighted—all of it reflects the clan lord’s grace.”
As Man Ri Chu, the chief steward, spoke with a smile, Namgung Baek, the Righteous Sword Master, shook his head.
“How is this my doing? It’s the result of my children’s effort and that of each branch master and elder.”
“All of that is the clan lord’s fortune.”
“Heh heh, I do have quite a bit of luck, don’t I.”
Namgung Baek nodded as if he couldn’t deny it.
He rustled the pages open.
Then, examining a letter that had flown in from Henan, he continued speaking.
“Hmm, my Ho Yeon couldn’t hold back and caused trouble again. He cut down Chu Eum, the Brutal Sword Demon.”
“He was a wall-climber, I’m told.”
“……That’s what troubles me. He slew a master of the Transformation Realm?”
Namgung Baek continued, his expression one of utter disbelief.
“We’ll know the details once Ho Yeon returns, but don’t inform his mother. She’ll worry.”
“Understood.”
“Now then, what’s this about a shortage of personnel?”
“Through the Yongbong Tournament, our clan’s fame has spread considerably, and escort stations and merchant houses seeking guard duties have increased dramatically.”
“Good heavens. How long has it been since we recruited new outer disciples, and now we’re short-handed again?”
“Heh heh, the requests are one thing, but there are many who wish to forge connections with our clan. The guard duties serve as a good pretext.”
“……Ah, we’ll need more hands, it seems.”
Namgung Baek exhaled a sigh that mingled joy and exhaustion in equal measure.
Of late, the clan’s momentum had been climbing without limit.
In proportion to it, Namgung Baek’s workload had only grown without bounds.
“Being the father of a divine dragon is no simple task.”
“Heh heh, it’s no ordinary divine dragon, after all.”
“That’s true enough.”
Just as Namgung Baek and Man Ri Chu were conversing quietly together,
Tap-tap-tap! Bang!
“Clan lord! Urgent dispatch!”
“Hmm? Master of the Thousand Ear Hall?”
The study door flew open and Namgung Seo, master of the Thousand Ear Hall, rushed in.
Though his entry was discourteous, his ashen complexion made Namgung Baek and Man Ri Chu realize that no ordinary matter had occurred, and they refrained from reproach.
“What is it!”
“Huff! The Five Tyrants of Gangseong have mobilized!”
“……!”
“……!”
Both men’s eyes went wide at Namgung Seo’s report.
There existed sects that called themselves the Five Tyrants of Gangseong—the five tyrants of Gangseong Province.
Some called them the Five Wolves of Gangseong, but they were nonetheless a force that could not be dismissed lightly.
Since Gangseong Province bordered the south of Anhui, the Namgung Clan had always kept a watchful eye on them.
Most troubling of all was another name by which the Five Tyrants of Gangseong were known.
“Docheon’s forces have marched northward in unison, annihilated Seok Tae Jang, and are advancing toward the Cheongyang Family!”
The Gucheon Sung had moved.
* * *
The streets of Jeongju were brimming with vitality.
It was thanks to the outsiders who had come from all over the nation to witness the Yongbong Tournament.
Now that the Yongbong Tournament had drawn to a close, the streets of Jeongju carried that bittersweet hush that lingers after a festival ends.
Namgung Ho Yeon walked through the market district alongside Samdo Ilhwa.
“Hyeil, please take me to the Wudang Sect. I can’t go back to Kunlun Mountain like this!”
“Want to come with us? I’ll ask Senior Ji Seon about it.”
“Yes, please! Tie me up and drag me along if you have to!”
Gwangmyeong was pleading with Hyeil not to return to Kunlun.
“That’s why I say, Miss Na Rin. To master the Sword Way, one must understand the Four Mother Swords—that is my conviction.”
“But I’m a nun. Please don’t expect such things from me.”
“Strike is the method of fierce cutting. Thrust is the method of sharp piercing. Block is the method of defense. Cleave is the method of slashing. These four techniques are the very essence of the Sword Way.”
“The vegetables, please give them to Hyeil’s temple. She enjoys them.”
Un Am was discoursing on the Sword Way, while Na Rin replied with answers that had nothing to do with what he was saying.
‘This is driving me mad. Why am I stuck with these people…….’
Namgung Ho Yeon gazed at Samdo Ilhwa and sighed inwardly.
He wasn’t sure what this Gathering After Yongbong was, but he hadn’t had the heart to refuse when they’d all crowded around asking him to join them for lunch.
‘Well, they did help me out.’
If not for them in that fight at Walharu, he would have lost Chu Eum.
He couldn’t have left the unconscious Jegal Ahyeon with just anyone.
He needed people he could trust, and regardless of their temperament, their martial prowess was exceptional enough to have reached the main rounds of the Yongbong Tournament.
‘All four at Peak Realm. Hyeil and Na Rin are close to the Ultimate Limit. Brilliant monsters, the lot of them.’
Namgung Ho Yeon studied Samdo Ilhwa as these thoughts crossed his mind.
The achievements of these later generation disciples were remarkable.
Three hundred years ago, such prodigies were rare. To see them swarming about like this made him feel the weight of ages.
―Ha-ha! Oniya ro. How does it feel to be getting old?
‘Shut up.’
―Ah-hae ya, now do you understand how I feel? Grasp the heart of one who must bear witness to children still wet behind the ears and their great deeds.
‘I don’t know. And I don’t care to.’
As he conversed with the swords, Namgung Ho Yeon began turning over in his mind what he’d learned from Chu Eum’s Private Sword.
‘The Gathering Leader. So there exists something called a Gathering, then?’
It wasn’t some neighborhood community council, that much was certain—there was something sinister about these people.
If nothing else, Ji Seon’s Secret Art was a bizarre sorcery he’d never heard of nor seen before.
‘They’re not normal people. I’d say they’re villains, through and through.’
Their purpose was unclear, but one thing was certain: they were pests that served no good to the world.
‘And that remark.’
“Heh heh, I am the one who can lift you up onto the wall.”
Lift them up onto the wall?
That meant he could make others into wall-climbers.
‘Narrowly speaking, it means breaking through the Life-Death Gate. Forcibly, of course.’
The method remained unknown.
Whether they used bizarre sorcery like Ji Seon’s Secret Art or some other technique, he couldn’t say.
But now he understood the condition of Gwang Bi Chang and Chu Eum.
‘The salt merchant and the flatfish. Offered to make them wall-climbers, and they came running like fools, didn’t they? Never realizing it was the worst choice they could make.’
Forcibly breaking through the Life-Death Gate was tantamount to throwing away any chance of becoming a true wall-climber.
Otherwise, why would he bother? Why wait for some distant enlightenment when he could force the breakthrough now and be done with it?
‘After all that effort to reach the peak, they threw away every bit of it with their own hands. Pathetic.’
Watching these fools repeat the very mistakes he himself had once made left a sour taste in his mouth.
Then something pleasant occurred.
“Tsk, the Nine Great Sects dishonor themselves.”
“They certainly do.”
“Walking around with thieves.”
Sharp, hostile voices reached his ears.
He turned to see three Daoists approaching.
“Those are friends from the Qingcheng, Jeongchuang, and Zhongnan Sects.”
Hyeil spoke as she looked at them, and Gwangmyeong let out a soft laugh in response.
“Friends? Does it look to you like they’re regarding you with friendly eyes?”
“Tsk tsk, Gwangmyeong of Kunlun. We heard you came alone without a single chaperone, but my, you have no manners. Just what you’d expect from a backwater girl from Qinghai.”
The Qingcheng Daoist scowled at Gwangmyeong.
Then the Zhongnan Daoist turned to look at Un Am with a sneer.
“Why, isn’t this the master of the Oaksak Swordschool, a Daoist from the Huashan Sect?”
……
Un Am fell silent at those words.
Huashan Sect leading the Oaksak Swordschool was something from the distant past.
Moreover, Zhongnan Sect was a school from the same Shaanxi Province as Huashan, and among the Nine Great Sects, it was the one with the most worldly character.
Long ago it had been overshadowed by Huashan’s prestige, but now Zhongnan Sect monopolized nearly all the interests in Shaanxi Province.
In short, the Zhongnan Sect priest’s words were mockery of the entire declining Huashan Sect.
“Why are you doing this? What wrong have we done to you?”
Instead of the silent Un Am, Hyeil stepped forward and asked.
Then the Jeongchuang Sect priest, who had been glaring at Namgung Ho Yeon, opened his mouth.
“Aren’t you lot consorting with thieves?”
“Thieves?”
“Ha, the Flying Phoenix and Azure Dragon? That’s rich. While your senior made it to the quarterfinals, why are you who dropped out in the round of sixteen brazenly stealing the Yongbong titles?”
The Jeongchuang Sect priest pointed at Namgung Ho Yeon and shouted.
“Oh, what? The weasel and that woman got Yongbong titles too?”
“It’s shameful! Your Namgung Clan manipulated public opinion and deceived people. Otherwise, there’s no way two more Yongbong titles could appear!”
Namgung Ho Yeon was startled by the unexpected revelation and could now understand why this Jeongchuang Sect priest was so angry.
“Well, if it’s about the Uncontested Victory Dragon, that’s unfortunate.”
“How dare you! Mocking Won Yeop with such a vile name!”
“I didn’t come up with it—everyone was calling him that anyway.”
“Kek-kek-kek!”
As Namgung Ho Yeon shrugged, Gwangmyeong burst into laughter.
Then the red-faced Jeongchuang Sect priest pointed accusingly and vented his rage.
“It was your Baekga Maeng’s doing! The investigation squad identified Cho Jin Gwang of Yunnan as an accomplice!”
“That can’t be right. As I understand it, Chu Eum killed Cho Jin Gwang.”
At Na Rin’s words, the Jeongchuang Sect priest scoffed and continued.
“Ha, internal strife must have broken out. In any case, it’s clear that Baekga Maeng has been scheming against our Jeongchuang Sect!”
“A man named Un Cheon Un from the Yun Clan of Sichuan, who belongs to your Baekga Maeng, severed my friend’s arm. I will never forget this grudge!”
Taking up the Jeongchuang Sect priest’s words, the Qingcheng Sect priest shouted with fury.
Then even the Zhongnan Sect priest, determined not to be outdone, joined in to condemn Namgung Ho Yeon.
“The true champion should have been Beom Seok. To steal his honor by exploiting his compassion—have you no shame?”
“And you’re no better! If you lost, you should have worked harder to knock him down instead of appearing in the streets alongside him!”
“Exactly. Stop tarnishing the prestige of the Nine Great Sects!”
As the Qingcheng Sect priest and Jeongchuang Sect priest began attacking Samdo Ilhwa in turn.
Namgung Ho Yeon nodded in strong agreement, his expression one of complete indifference.
“Yeah, that’s exactly right. I think so too. In that case, won’t you take these people away?”
“This…!”
“How uncouth.”
“Are you mocking us!”
The three priests, taking Namgung Ho Yeon’s sincerity for mockery, flared up in anger.
But there was nothing more they could do.
Namgung Ho Yeon was formidable enough, and the other four were no easy opponents either.
“Hmph, Jeongchuang will remember this humiliation!”
“So will Qingcheng.”
“The next Yongbong Tournament champion will come from Zhongnan.”
After the three priests fled, Gwangmyeong scoffed and spoke.
“Ha, if you’re envious, just say so. These central plains snobs—I can never figure them out.”
“Hmm? Isn’t Gwangmyeong from the central plains?”
“I’m from bumkin Qinghai. Hmph! From today on, I’m a foreigner.”
“What, did those words hurt you?”
“No! Damn it! Who’s been keeping the Devil Sect in check on their behalf?!”
“I-I could buy you some vegetables?”
“I don’t want them! I’m going to eat plenty of meat dishes and go home. Sick of these central plains territorial locals—I’m heading back to the homeland!”
Hyeil began soothing the fuming Gwangmyeong, while elsewhere Na Rin comforted the tight-lipped Un Am.
“Are you all right?”
“…I am fine. It is all due to my own shortcomings.”
“That can’t be it. It must be because of the Sword Demon.”
“Leader of the Oaksak Swordschool… I’ve heard that’s what I was once called.”
“Well, you can admire me if you like. I’m a nun but a lay disciple nonetheless.”
“Ha, I’m grateful for that.”
While Samdo Ilhwa conversed among themselves, Namgung Ho Yeon’s gaze remained fixed on the receding forms of the Qingcheng, Jeongchuang, and Zhongnan Sect priests.
‘…This could become a problem.’
Children are a mirror of adults.
For the younger generation to settle a matter of pride, the Yongbong Tournament was far too grand a stage.
Besides, the martial world fed on honor and moved according to justification.
If enemies had orchestrated this situation, there was only one course of action that would follow.
‘Tsk, that can’t be it. Not in this age of peace.’
Ho Yeon shook his head, aware that his mind had grown too steeped in thoughts of war.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————