Ten Paths of the Master - 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. Is there anyone born evil from the start?
Outside Donggwan County.
Dan Yeop, who had been carrying Seok Yeseol since fleeing the inn, set her down only when he reached the wasteland beyond Donggwan County.
He then quietly gathered branches and kindled a fire.
Once the smoke cleared and flames rose crimson, Dan Yeop spoke.
“We shouldn’t venture into the village tonight.”
“Why did you save me?”
“Hyeol Je wanted you dead. Hyeol Je’s enemy is my friend.”
Seok Yeseol stared at Dan Yeop with bewildered eyes.
Hyeol Je was, by any measure, the foremost master in the Martial World today.
Anyone who stood against him would have to stake their life on it.
From the way Dan Yeop had fled with her, he was no different.
‘Yet he blocked Hyeol Je’s path for such a reason alone?’
He must have some other purpose.
‘Ha! He must be trying to extract information about Cheonryeon from me. Let him toil for a hundred years. I won’t give him that.’
She scoffed inwardly.
But contrary to Seok Yeseol’s suspicions, Dan Yeop said nothing more.
He merely fed branches into the fire whenever the flames began to wane.
The warmth of the campfire pushed back the chill of the autumn night.
Hunger catching up with him, Dan Yeop pulled dried meat and wine from his pack.
“Care for some?”
“No, thank you.”
Seok Yeseol declined his offer.
With that, Dan Yeop pressed no further and drank the wine alongside the dried meat.
After finishing a chunk of meat, Dan Yeop suddenly asked a question.
“By the way, why were you fighting Hyeol Je? He’s Cheonryeon’s Heavenly General, isn’t he?”
“Because Hyeol Je wouldn’t obey the Sect Leader’s orders. The Sect Leader said he was coming to punish him, but then suddenly——”
Seok Yeseol saw no reason to hide something that would be known anyway.
“The Sect Leader of Cheonryeon is coming to meet Hyeol Je directly?”
“That’s what I heard.”
“Does the Sect Leader of Cheonryeon personally go around punishing people?”
“No, that’s usually handled by the Dharma Enforcers. In Hyeol Je’s case, the Dharma Enforcers can’t manage him, so the Sect Leader is taking action directly, as far as I know.”
Dan Yeop nodded as if understanding.
Yet something felt oddly coincidental.
The eccentric from Taegeuk Palace had also said he would handle Hyeol Je personally.
How much time had passed?
Seok Yeseol had succumbed to exhaustion and was dozing.
That was when Dan Yeop suddenly spoke.
“Will you stay in Cheonryeon indefinitely?”
“……What? What did you say?”
“I asked if you’ll continue to stay in Cheonryeon.”
“That’s like asking an orthodox Martial World swordsman if he’ll continue his Righteous Action.”
“The world isn’t as pure as you believe it to be.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Sleep fled from Seok Yeseol in an instant at his words.
She couldn’t understand why he would say such a thing to her.
“I suspect the Sect Leader of Cheonryeon has ulterior motives. If that’s true, the Sect Leader may have betrayed Hyeol Je.”
“No. Don’t try to shake me with baseless words. The Sect Leader is coming to punish him because Hyeol Je wouldn’t obey the Sect Leader’s orders.”
“Why do you think I’m trying to shake you?”
“Because you’re a Pokwae hunter. You want information about Cheonryeon from me. That’s the real reason you saved me in the first place.”
To her accusation, Dan Yeop spoke firmly.
“You seem to be laboring under a misunderstanding. I have little interest in Cheonryeon.”
“Yet someone with no interest traveled all the way to Hadong to pursue me.”
“I was simply fulfilling the duty assigned to me at the time.”
“No interest, but faithful to duty? I suppose you came on the same mission this time.”
“No. If I had, I would have captured you. My current mission is to find Hyeol Je. Cheonryeon is of no concern to me.”
“But if your superiors order you to pursue Cheonryeon again, you’ll return to investigating them regardless.”
“That’s true enough.”
“So my point stands. You’re a man whose words don’t match his actions.”
Yet there was no hatred or contempt in the way she looked at him.
Her grandfather Geunjo and her elder brother Seok Jungok had died because of it, but that had been a choice made by her and Seok Jungok together.
She was not so foolish as to shift her own responsibility onto Dan Yeop.
Dan Yeop, who had been smiling bitterly, spoke.
“You make a fair point, Miss Seok. Even if I had no interest in Cheonryeon, I might find myself investigating her simply because of my station as a Pokwae.”
“If you don’t want to do things against your will, why not quit being a Pokwae? You’re skilled enough in martial arts—why do you persist in such work?”
This time Seok Yeseol took the lead in trying to persuade Dan Yeop.
It was because she sensed no hostility toward Cheonryeon in him.
“Would you like me to be candid?”
“Please do.”
“I’m one of Haowen’s martial pillars here in the prefecture. My goal is to unify all ten branches of Haowen and one day become its Supreme Sect Leader. I took on this Pokwae work because I thought it might help me achieve that.”
For the first time, Dan Yeop laid bare his true thoughts to another person.
Perhaps it was the atmosphere of the autumn night that made him do so.
He simply did not want to deceive Seok Yeseol.
It was similar to how he had been honest with Na Bugang and Na Geumryeong in the past.
Seok Yeseol stared at Dan Yeop with a look of utter bewilderment and murmured.
“That’s something I never would have imagined.”
“What—that I belong to Haowen? Or my ambition?”
“Both. I can hardly believe it even hearing it from your own lips, that you’re part of Haowen.”
“People usually react much like you do when they learn I’m with Haowen.”
“So there’s nothing more to say about why you can’t abandon your Pokwae work.”
Then Dan Yeop, without warning or forethought, spoke impulsively.
“If you leave Cheonryeon, I will quit being a Pokwae.”
In that instant, Seok Yeseol stared at Dan Yeop with an expression of complete disbelief.
What connection could there possibly be between her leaving Cheonryeon and him abandoning his Pokwae position?
‘Is he saying that just as I cannot leave Cheonryeon, he cannot quit being a Pokwae?’
Seok Yeseol could interpret it in no other way.
“I never realized you were so devoted to Haowen’s interests. I hope something good comes of it.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Dan Yeop turned his gaze toward the campfire.
He had no idea why he had just spoken such nonsense.
His face flushed red in the warmth of the flames.
As he gazed blankly into the fire, Seok Yeseol spoke.
“In Jang An County, they buried your grandfather and elder brother on Mangwol Mountain. Did you know of it?”
“No.”
“I would like to know the name of my benefactor at least. Can you find out who arranged it?”
“It was likely handled according to standard procedure. You needn’t trouble yourself over it.”
“Ah, so it was done by procedure.”
“Bodies cannot be left lying about in Jang An County.”
“I see. By the way, when I stayed a night in Tonggwan County before… I escaped, you remember.”
“What of it?”
“It’s probably foolish to even think this, but… did your people release me?”
“No. If we had, we wouldn’t have pursued you afterward.”
“That makes sense.”
“Tonggwan County is a strategic nexus with many garrison troops. Half the guests at the inn were military officers. Someone should have checked for any fallen metal fragments on the floor, but it was overlooked—that’s what caused the incident.”
Seok Yeseol glanced at Dan Yeop.
His expressionless face revealed nothing of what he was thinking.
She was about to speak again when Dan Yeop shifted the subject.
“Does Sect Leader Cheonryeon know that Hyeol Je is at the Jeseui Medical Institute?”
“Yes.”
“Then this will be a wasted effort. By now, Hyeol Je will have fled far away.”
“It’s not a wasted effort. If we know the last place he was seen, tracking becomes much easier. Once I deploy the masters of the Tracking Art, we’ll find him quickly.”
“I see.”
“Moreover…”
Seok Yeseol’s words trailed off, and Dan Yeop promptly pressed her.
“Moreover what?”
“Hyeol Je didn’t receive sufficient treatment at the institute, so he’ll have to visit another physician. The chances of picking up his trail are even higher now.”
“You’re perceptive.”
“I’ve only been listening to what the other Support Personnel discovered.”
After that, Seok Yeseol continued to relay to Dan Yeop everything the Support Personnel had learned.
The conversation between the two stretched on until dawn.
As dawn broke, Seok Yeseol took her leave.
***
Chen Hour (7 a.m.–9 a.m.).
A young man knocked on the firmly closed gate of Jeseui Medical Institute.
It was Dan Yeop.
He revealed his status as a Pokwae and sat across from Son Gyeongnak.
“I know you’ve been treating Hyeol Je, a treason criminal. What is your relationship with him?”
“Ak Mugun saved my life fifty years ago. Through that connection, we became deep friends. Has a bond forged fifty years past become a crime? Or is it criminal for a physician to treat a patient?”
“I called Hyeol Je a criminal, not said his treatment was criminal. Tell me the extent of his injuries. Your answer will determine whether a crime has been committed.”
Son Gyeongnak, who had been thinking for some time, replied.
“Both his Twelve Meridians and Eight Extraordinary Meridians have suffered grave damage. Even the slightest exertion will exhaust him, and his control of Internal Force will grow increasingly difficult. In his current state, he’ll live three months at best, perhaps three years at most. Last night I gave him a medicinal prescription and one day’s worth of medicine.”
“Then he must receive continuous treatment. Do you know where he might go?”
“I do not.”
“I see. Thank you for your candor.”
As Dan Yeop rose from his seat, Son Gyeongnak spoke.
“The Wind-Cloud Sword in his youth was a great chivalrous swordsman whom all respected. There is blame in the world for his becoming a demon lord.”
Dan Yeop then replied coldly.
“Physician, did Hyeol Je spend more time in Righteous Action or in evil deeds?”
“…….”
Son Gyeongnak did not answer.
Ak Mugun had been called the Wind-Cloud Sword for scarcely five years, and afterward, as he fought the Five Evil Sword Sect, he gradually descended into the Evil Faction.
Dan Yeop regarded the silent physician with cold mockery.
“No man is born wicked. Time is what turns a dog into a beast or a commoner into a gentleman.”
***
Leaving Jeseui Medical Institute, Dan Yeop went to find Im Song, who was waiting at an inn.
“Hyeol Je left the institute last night. His internal injuries are severe—he needs treatment. Do you know of anywhere he might go?”
“Heh, I may not know where he’s going, but I can learn where he is.”
“What do you mean?”
“Through a disciple who was being treated at the institute, I had Thousand-Li Tracking Scent applied to Hyeol Je’s clothes.”
“Excellent!”
“I’ve sent for a disciple skilled in the Tracking Art. Once he arrives, we can depart.”
“Well done.”
“But does the Leader intend to face Hyeol Je himself?”
“Yes. I think it might be good to meet him properly at last.”
Until now, Dan Yeop had avoided Hyeol Je, fearful of his bizarre Sword Technique.
But after hearing Son Gyeongnak’s words, his resolve hardened.
If Hyeol Je’s condition was truly so grave, then personal revenge might be within reach.
‘He won’t be able to keep using that strange sword art.’
Yet part of him also wanted to finish Hyeol Je himself rather than hand him over, half-dead, to Cheonryeon or Yi Yeon.
That was why he had not used the Transmission Talisman, pretending Hyeol Je had vanished.

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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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