Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 35

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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 35. Who is Sim Ma?
The next day.
Dan Bulwi visited Jeom Mun and said he would keep Dan Yeop with him for two months.
Ordinarily, it would have been absurd, but since Dan Bulwi was Dan Yeop’s adoptive father, no one dared object.
After settling Dan Yeop’s affairs, Dan Bulwi’s next destination was the Taehwa Trading Company.
He sought out Yi Won Bang, the company’s master, and declared his intention to join the investigative expedition.
Yi Won Bang made no objection.
Since this was a matter the factions of Chang An City had turned their backs on, no one could speak against the Hao Mun’s participation.
Dan Bulwi’s martial ability, impressive for someone from the Hao Mun, also helped considerably.
Baek Wol Kingdom was far more treacherous than rumor suggested, and they sorely needed another master.
While the Taehwa Trading Company assembled the expedition team, Dan Yeop remained at Goshan Lodge at Seol Yeon Hui’s request.
He spent his days in the training yard, honing and refining his Six Gates Martial Arts.
Dan Yeop’s goal was to rescue Seol Gyeong Mun and return without relying on Sim Ma’s strength.
***
Goshan Lodge training yard.
“Huff! Huff!”
After executing the Cheonji Sword Technique in succession with the Baekryu and Chilsang Sword Techniques, Dan Yeop breathed heavily.
The three great sword techniques of the Hao Mun—the Cheonji, Baekryu, and Chilsang—now flowed as naturally as breath itself.
He could now subdue Dan Bulwi in under ten seconds.
Yet whenever Dan Yeop asked how he compared to the Hyeonmugwan’s master, Dan Bulwi’s answer was always the same.
“Not even close.”
Dan Yeop could not believe the gap between himself and Sim Ma was truly that vast.
He stood motionless, staring into empty air.
‘Why can’t I even follow in Sim Ma’s footsteps?’
They had both learned the same Six Gates Martial Arts, yet somehow there was this chasm between them.
Ever since he began waking Sim Ma more frequently, his own mind had sharpened too.
Lately, the contents of books he’d read at Byeongma Chong came to him effortlessly.
He was far past the days when he couldn’t even get through the Thousand Character Classic.
Now, whatever he read, he understood.
He could even compose poetry—that notoriously difficult art.
When Seol Yeon Hui saw what he’d written, she praised it as a masterpiece.
Of course, coming from a fifteen-year-old, he took it with a grain of salt, but it was something.
“Yet Sim Ma is still far superior to me.”
Dan Yeop was intensely curious about the secret behind it.
Just then, Seol Yeon Hui’s voice came from behind.
“Who is Sim Ma?”
Dan Yeop turned, his expression turning quite serious.
“You’ve heard the saying that one’s greatest enemy is oneself, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“It’s something like that. Sim Ma is the version of myself I’m trying to overcome.”
It was genuine.
Lately, he had come to see Sim Ma not as a separate entity, but as another self.
“Wow, that sounds really cool.”
“Right. Is it meal time already?”
“No, but Dan is here. He says the expedition’s departure date has been set.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“I see.”
“Come on, he asked me to bring you to him.”
“All right.”
Dan Yeop set his Straight Sword on the rack and turned to leave.
***
The inner quarters of Goshan Lodge.
Once Dan Yeop and Seol Yeon Hui had taken their seats, Dan Bulwi spoke.
“Whether Yeon Hui told you or not, we’ve decided to depart tomorrow morning. Pack whatever you’ll need tonight.”
“Yes.”
“And this is the blade you’ll use.”
With those words, Dan Bulwi laid an elegant curved saber on the low table.
Unlike the crude Straight Sword he’d used in the training yard until now, this one was refined.
“It looks quite expensive, doesn’t it?”
“It’s meant to last a long time, so I paid good money for it. A blade must be sharpened and polished daily, or rust will set in. Use it well and maintain it carefully.”
“Thank you.”
Dan Yeop bowed deeply to Dan Bulwi.
Now that he thought about it, there was scarcely an aspect of his life that Dan Bulwi’s hand had not touched.
These days, it truly felt like having family.
The next morning.
Dan Bulwi and Dan Yeop departed Goshan Lodge, sent off by Seol Yeon Hui.
***
As Dan Yeop walked alongside Dan Bulwi down a main avenue in the heart of Chang An City, he ventured a question.
“How many people are in the investigation party?”
“They’ve selected twenty, I hear.”
“Will that be enough to keep us safe?”
Dan Yeop, new to Kangho, was most concerned about that very question.
“Baek Wol Kingdom lies beyond the reach of law—a world of survival of the fittest. Twenty cannot truly be called safe.”
“Shouldn’t we ask them to reinforce the party?”
“Twenty is already the number the Taehwa Trading Company wrung out of their coffers.”
“I do hope the mission goes smoothly.”
“Should you ever face mortal danger, don’t think of anyone else—run. With your Light Body Technique, you can escape harm.”
“What about you, sir?”
“Me? I’ve lived enough already.”
“Will you end your life in Hyangjу? Becoming the master of a school has been your dream, hasn’t it?”
“Not everyone fulfills their dreams.”
“Still…”
“Act wisely. As for me, since I’m rescuing a friend, I won’t shirk from danger. But you needn’t follow the same path.”
“Yes…”
Dan Yeop knew well that he was far removed from being a hero or a wandering swordsman.
Soon after, the two stopped before the main gate of the Taehwa Trading Company, its nameplate hanging prominently.
Through the wide-open gate, three carriages and armed fighters came into view.
Dan Bulwi walked in with composure.
Timid Dan Yeop stayed close behind him, trying to avoid notice.
Moments later, Yi Won Bang, the merchant lord, stepped forward before the fighters.
He introduced Dan Bulwi to them.
“Dan is a master of Murim’s schools and a close friend of the venerable Seol Gyeong Mun. I vouch for his credentials—harbor no suspicions whatsoever, and conduct yourselves alongside him.”
Yi Won Bang merely told them to act together, saying nothing about command authority.
In short, he was telling them to follow quietly and nothing more.
In truth, Dan Bulwi was satisfied with that.
All he wanted was transportation and provisions.
When the merchant lord finished speaking, thirteen fighters dispersed among the three carriages.
Ten climbed inside the carriages, while three took their seats beside the drivers.
Dan Bulwi and Dan Yeop boarded the foremost carriage.
Four mounted fighters moved to the front of the carriage column, three to the rear.
As the four riders spurred ahead, the three carriages and their escort followed in turn.
The investigation party, now on the main road, moved forward with tremendous noise.
Clop-clop. Clop-clop. Clop-clop. Clop-clop.
Rumble—whoooosh!
***
Inside the moving carriage.
As Dan Yeop gripped his backpack tightly with both hands resting on his knees, Dan Bulwi beside him spoke.
“Why carry it like that? Just put it in the baggage compartment.”
“It’s not heavy, after all.”
“Excessive tension only makes the body rigid and stiff, which serves no purpose.”
“Yes. But, Master…”
“What?”
“If I haven’t seen a familiar face at Posi Bang in over a month, why is that?”
He was referring to those from Byeongma Chong whom he hadn’t encountered.
Fortunately, Dan Bulwi understood the reference.
“There simply were no acquaintances at Posi Bang.”
The two fighters sharing the carriage let out soft chuckles.
To their ears, it sounded like a master and disciple exchanging absurd riddles.
Dan Yeop wanted to ask further, but held his tongue because of the armed men riding with them.
How much time had passed?
With nothing in particular to do, he found himself wondering how long it would take for Sim Ma to emerge.
He’d surrendered his body to Sim Ma in that moment of utmost desperation, and if Sim Ma woke too late, it would be catastrophic.
“Master.”
“……Yes?”
Dan Bulwi, who had been nodding off, glanced at Dan Yeop.
“To prepare for any contingency, I’d like to attempt some Inner Qi Cultivation. Could you keep track of the time for me?”
“Keep track of the time……? Ah, yes. I understand.”
Dan Bulwi nodded vigorously.
His drowsiness vanished entirely at this unexpected behavior from Dan Yeop.
At last, he was about to witness the moment when the dull-witted Dan Yeop and the genius Dan Yeop switched places.
Dan Yeop drew a deep breath, then paused briefly.
“Exhale—”
Then he released the breath and quickly scanned his surroundings.
“Why have you stopped? Continue.”
“Honored……, no, Master, what was I doing?”
Only then did Dan Bulwi realize that the genius Dan Yeop had awakened, and he answered.
“I was measuring how long it takes you to sink deep into Inner Qi Cultivation.”
“Ah, I see. How long did it take?”
“So fast it was hard for me to notice.”
After finishing, Dan Bulwi glanced at the two warriors seated across from them.
Fortunately, both were too drowsy to pay attention to anything else.
Dan Yeop nodded with a satisfied expression.
“Then it should prove useful at a critical moment?”
“It certainly sets my mind at ease.”
“Are we headed to Baek Wol Kingdom?”
With urgency weighing on his heart, the dull-witted Dan Yeop diligently performed Inner Qi Cultivation once each day.
Thanks to this, the genius Dan Yeop knew quite a lot about what was happening at Goshan Lodge.
“We set out this morning, and it seems we’ve been traveling for about two hours now.”
“There are twenty of us in total, correct?”
“Not a soul more or less.”
“That’s rather stingy, isn’t it?”
Dan Yeop spoke with apparent disappointment.
If the missing person was in Baek Wol Kingdom, twenty men would be woefully insufficient.
“Considering the scale of the Taehwa Trading Company, it’s not terribly stingy.”
“The company must not be very large then?”
“Just above the middle rank.”
“That explains it. The number is fewer than I expected, but you’re satisfied with the arrangement, Master?”
“Satisfied or not, what can we do? We’ll confront whatever comes.”
“Hmm, I’ve made some refinements to our sect’s Three Sword Techniques. Would you perhaps be interested?”
“Made refinements?”
Dan Bulwi, whose spirits had flagged slightly, perked up immediately.
When this genius worked on something, it was never ordinary.
“To be precise, I’ve improved them in ways I find superior. I’m quite pleased with how they turned out.”
“Is that truly so?”
“Yes, I’ll demonstrate during our rest. I believe you’ll approve as well, Master.”
“That’s……yes, I’m already looking forward to it.”
Dan Bulwi’s heart raced at this sudden good news.
He’d thought only misfortune awaited, so this was unexpected.
‘So that’s why the genius Dan Yeop’s Martial Ability is so extraordinary.’
He’d always wondered why, despite studying the same Six Gates Martial Arts, the other stood in a different world entirely.
If the genius had refined the Six Gates techniques, that mystery dissolved.
‘Refinements to Hao Mun’s martial arts!’
This could truly be called a blessing upon Hao Mun.
‘Perhaps, just perhaps, Lord Guan might truly unify the ten Hao Mun branches under Hao Mun’s banner.’
The reason Lord Guan’s Hao Mun had failed in their first attempt to unify was the mediocre Martial Ability of the sect’s disciples.
And the root of that lay in the Six Gates Martial Arts.
Buried ginseng that never became the precious mountain ginseng.
The hundred and eight masters produced by Byeongma Chong were insufficient to unify Hao Mun under the ten branches.
But now the genius Dan Yeop had refined Hao Mun’s martial arts?
‘Let me settle down. First, I need to confirm what level the improved martial arts have reached.’
Dan Bulwi forced his racing heart to calm.
Given Dan Yeop’s martial ability as a genius, it was bound to be excellent—but there was always that one in a million chance.
The carriage continued for another meal period before gradually slowing its pace.
Soon it came to a complete halt.
Two soldiers who had been dozing nodded awake, rubbing their eyes.
Dan Bulwi and Dan Yeop descended from the carriage alongside the soldiers.
Baek Jin Gang, the commander of the inspection unit, rode his horse over and spoke to Dan Bulwi.
“Sir, we will take a meal break here. We’re scheduled to depart again in half a double hour.”
“Very well.”
As Dan Bulwi nodded, Commander Baek Jin Gang urged his horse toward another carriage.
Three attendants kindled a fire and began preparing flatbread and soup.
Before long, the meal was ready.
Dan Bulwi and Dan Yeop took their lamb soup and flatbread and found a spot in a quiet corner.

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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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