Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 58

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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 58. I Want to Become a Disciple of Haowen
Dan Yeop’s expression was dark as he rode his horse back toward Chang’an.
Everything was far worse than he’d imagined.
He’d never entirely dismissed the possibility that the woman might be his birth mother.
Between the nurse and his birth mother, he’d suspected the nurse more on moral grounds.
But the one who had tried to kill him was his birth mother.
Gwak I-do said to forgive her, claimed she wasn’t in her right mind—but he wasn’t sure he could say such things if he were in the same position.
‘Still, that crosses every line.’
Jin Bubin had gone far, far beyond what was acceptable.
If she meant to keep him at her side, she should have raised him herself rather than subjecting him to abuse—or left him entirely in another’s care.
“What? Before victim and perpetrator, they’re parent and child? Pfft! How easily people philosophize about someone else’s problem.”
Dan Yeop furrowed his brow as he muttered to himself.
In the distance ahead, a carriage sat abandoned in the snowy road.
It tilted slightly—one wheel seemed to have come loose.
As he drew closer, he confirmed it: one wheel was indeed shattered.
“Hmm?”
But something was wrong.
A broken wheel was one thing, but there was no horse to pull the carriage.
More than just the horse was missing.
“No people either?”
He peered inside the carriage but saw no one.
The chaos inside suggested bandits had struck.
Examining the ground around the carriage, he found dozens of footprints leading toward the mountains.
“This is something else…”
Had he not noticed, it would’ve been one thing. But knowing what he’d seen, he couldn’t simply ride past.
He scratched his head and urged his horse toward the mountains.
“If I can help, I should.”
As someone who’d learned Martial Arts, he’d do what he could.
***
Midway up Mabak Mountain.
About a dozen rough-looking men sat gathered around a shabby shack.
Over a campfire in front of the shack, a dog was skewered on a stick and roasting.
The men chattered back and forth, occasionally glancing at the cooking animal and then back at the shack.
“He won’t come out until the dog’s finished cooking.”
“We caught a woman with a decent face for once, so he’ll probably take his time.”
Just then, a woman’s scream burst from inside the shack.
The men paused briefly in their conversation before continuing.
“Damn, if he marks her face, we won’t get full price for her.”
“The boss’s tastes are a bit… unusual, sir. The prettier the woman, the rougher he tends to be with her.”
“Ah, it’s just a quirk—a sickness, nothing more. What he does alone is his business, that’s all. We need to think about when we hand her over to Amun. And you lot, the same goes for you—don’t touch her face. Understand?”
“Come on now, second brother, when have we ever left marks? Save that lecture for the boss. We’re the ones stuck with the scarred ones—what fault is that of ours?”
“That’s right. The way she’s wailing already, we can guess what’s happening without even looking.”
As the men were snickering among themselves, a young man climbed up from below.
The chatter died at once.
A thick-lipped man who’d been crouching by the fire hurried over to the newcomer.
“Who are you?”
“Just a passing traveler. That carriage down below…”
Dan Yeop trailed off.
Behind the thick-lipped man, he could see two corpses sprawled on the ground.
The thick-lipped man quickly moved behind the young man, blocking his path to escape.
“Tsk, tsk! If you’d just kept walking, you’d have lived a long life. But meddling? Looks like you’re about to die.”
Three of the men by the campfire stood and walked toward Dan Yeop.
One of them, grease dripping from his face, grinned and spoke.
“Well, well! What’s this fortunate turn of events? Damn, look at that face. Better than most of the women we get. I’ll take him instead of the woman. Anyone else want to switch over? Line up behind me.”
At that, two of the men by the fire quickly jumped to their feet.
Dan Yeop turned to the greasy-faced man.
“Did you kill everyone in the carriage?”
“Everyone but the woman. We’ll keep her through the winter, have some fun, and then sell her. As for you—you’ve got a pretty face too. As long as you behave, we won’t kill you.”
As he spoke, the greasy-faced man eyed the young man’s face with a sticky, lingering gaze.
Dan Yeop let out a light sigh.
My mood was already foul, and now I’ve stumbled into this wretched mess.
Perhaps Jin Bubin suffered at the hands of these dogs as well.
The thought set my blood ablaze.
“Enough! You lot won’t do.”
Dan Yeop, loathing even the touch of these brigands on his blade, drew his Hengdao.
The grease-slicked thug pulled his Jikdo and sneered.
“Why take the hard road when the easy one’s there? Your hide could use a little gilding——”
Before he could finish, the Hengdao swept past his throat.
A moment later, his head struck the ground with a dull thud.
The bandits stared, their eyes fluttering.
Then, as if a spring had released, the thieves lingering by the fire leaped to their feet, howling.
“Big Brother! Enemies! Come out, sir!”
Even as they called, the blunt-faced one and two others lunged forward with Jikdo drawn.
Dan Yeop swept past them using the Suyeol Sinhaeng footwork, his Hengdao whirling in its wake.
Before they could even scream, three heads separated from three bodies.
Dan Yeop surged toward the fire.
“No! Big Brother!”
“Big Brother!”
“Please—spare us!”
“Aaaahhhhh!”
One called for their leader, another begged for mercy, and a third bolted shrieking into the darkness.
Dan Yeop swept through the camp like a phantom, a single circuit of death.
In one breath, half lay without heads; the rest fell with pierced hearts, dying where they stood.
Then the door swung open, and a middle-aged man thrust his head out.
It was their Big Brother, whom the brigands had called for in desperation—Jang Gak, the Blood Sword of Western Peak.
Jang Gak surveyed the courtyard, then stepped out slowly.
Bare-chested save for his trousers, white vapor curled from his skin into the night air.
Strangely, what he held was the Songmun Gosgeom.
It was the treasure blade carried only by disciples of the Huashan Sect’s main hall, but Dan Yeop, young and untested in the jianghu, did not recognize it.
“Tsk! You’ve killed all my servants.”
Yet he did not rage.
After all, a few days of travel would replenish their numbers easily enough.
Just then, a woman burst onto the veranda.
Though her torn clothes hung haphazardly about her, her face was strikingly beautiful.
Jang Gak regarded the young man and asked.
“Which sect do you belong to?”
Dan Yeop, seized by murderous intent, answered coldly.
“Ask the King of Hell.”
“Heh! You’ve got spirit. I had that once, too. I am Jang Gak, the Blood Sword of Western Peak. If you dwell in Gwan-nae Province, you should have heard my name at least once, surely?”
Western Peak refers to Huashan.
Jang Gak hailed from the Huashan Sect’s main temple and had killed so many men he earned the epithet “Blood Sword.”
That very reputation led to his sect expulsion, and eventually to banditry, yet he proved such a master that even the Huashan Sect could not move against him.
They might dispatch their disciples in force to subdue him, but the casualties would be steep, so they simply let him be.
Of late, Nokrim had been courting him for recruitment.
“Never heard of you.”
“Then I must redouble my efforts. I see you wield the Hengdao—so not one of the Five Mountains Sect.”
“The Five Mountains Sect frightens you?”
“Hardly. If so, I’d have quit Gwan-nae Province long ago. What’s your name? At least let me know the name of the man I’m about to kill.”
“Ask the King of Hell.”
“Hah! Afraid I’ll learn your family and sect, so I can slaughter them all?”
“Ah, so that’s the cute little thought crossing your mind? Then I’ll tell you. I am Dan Yeop, disciple of Haowen. Now stop yapping and come.”
“Ha! Haowen, you say? Every so often a foolish whelp struts about unaware of the tiger. From now on, every Haowen dog I see dies.”
“Go ahead. Kill plenty in the underworld.”
Unable to bear Dan Yeop’s mockery, Jang Gak exploded forward like lightning.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Clang-clang-clang!
The Songmun Gosgeom and the Hengdao met in midair.
The Songmun Gosgeom pressed forward desperately, only to be turned aside by the Hengdao again and again.
Jang Gak withdrew several paces after three exchanges in the span of an eye-blink.
“You liar! Haowen? Where’s the deception!”
Jang Gak did not believe Dan Yeop’s words.
He had swung his sword three times, yet failed to pierce the Hengdao.
If this man truly were a disciple of Haowen, he would have been subdued in the first exchange.
“A coward, aren’t you? If you’re so afraid, why do you go around doing wicked things?”
“You fraud! Your Psychological Intimidation won’t work on me.”
Yet despite his words, Jang Gak’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.
Convinced his opponent was no mere trifle, he drew up every ounce of his Internal Power.
Then, from where he stood, he unleashed his sword.
Whiss-whiss-whiss-whiss!
A strange hum rang out as shimmering Sword Shadows poured from the blade’s tip like heat haze.
Twenty-four plum-blossom Sword Shadows!
It was the Iship-sa Shumae-hwa Gumbop, the Sect Secret Technique of Huashan.
As the plum-blossom Sword Shadows rushed toward Dan Yeop, he lifted the Hengdao upward in one stroke.
The Sword Qi gathered on the blade fractured into dozens of shards and scattered.
The Jinbaek-ryu Dobeop First Form: Sutenchu.
Sword Shadow and Sword Qi collided, and all twenty-four plums shattered in midair.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
“Impossible! This can’t be!”
Jang Gak unfurled the Iship-sa Shumae-hwa Gumbop once more.
This time, half as many—twelve Sword Shadows—hung suspended in the void.
Then Dan Yeop swept the Hengdao he held aloft across the diagonal and deployed the Jinbaek-ryu Dobeop Second Form: Suraedun.
Thunder rumbled.
With a low, rolling sound like distant lightning, the twelve plum blossoms dissolved and vanished.
At once, electricity wrapped around Jang Gak’s entire body.
Crackling—zzzzt!
“Arrrgh!”
Jang Gak’s anguished scream tore across the hut and its surroundings.
The reek of scorched flesh spread through the air.
So Yo, who stood on the veranda, watched Dan Yeop with wide, astonished eyes.
To think that Jang Gak, the Western Peak Bloody Sword whose notoriety echoed through Gwan-nae Province, had fallen so easily?
It was unbelievable—even the Five Peaks Sword Sect had been reluctant to face Ma Dou.
Once her senses cleared, So Yo bowed to the young man.
“Thank you for saving me.”
“Yes, of course.”
Dan Yeop answered perfunctorily and removed the Songmun Gosgeom from Jang Gak’s hand.
‘A well-forged blade. I should practice with it when I have the time.’
The Hengdao was fine enough, but a sword seemed to suit the Taego Sect’s Martial Arts better.
Once he parted ways with the woman, he could tuck it into his pack and no one would ever know.
Having claimed the Songmun Gosgeom, Dan Yeop turned back to the woman.
So Yo, who had come down into the courtyard, spoke carefully.
“This girl is called So Yo of Jayun Pavilion. Since you’ve been kind enough to spare my life, would you not accompany me as far as Jayun Pavilion?”
“Very well.”
Dan Yeop nodded readily.
The journey to Chang’an in the depths of winter would be far from easy in her current state.
He lifted her onto a horse, then took the reins himself.
After descending the mountain and walking for perhaps half a watch, the woman began to tire.
Seeing her struggling, Dan Yeop decided to rest awhile.
Soon after, he set her down at a suitable spot, gathered wood, and kindled a fire with a Hwaseopja.
Once warmth returned to her body by the bonfire, So Yo ventured a question.
“Are you truly a disciple of Haowen?”
“Yes. Oh—about what happened on the mountain, speak of it to no one. You fled from bandits, and we met on the road by chance. Understood?”
“Of course. Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.”
So Yo glanced sideways at the young man’s face.
Only then did she truly see how handsome his features were.
She let out a quiet sigh.
‘Oh…’
Why must she meet him precisely when something so shameful had befallen her at the bandits’ hands?
Though a Gisaeng, she had entertained her patrons only with song and verse.
But now that he had witnessed what happened today, even that counted for nothing.
To him, she would be nothing but a Gisaeng upon whom misfortune had been visited.
“So Yo.”
“Yes?”
“If I become a disciple of Haowen, could I learn your Martial Arts?”
“Yes.”
“Then I want to become a disciple of Haowen too. How would I go about it?”
“Hmm. Why?”
Dan Yeop studied the woman intently.
He believed that even an organization like Haowen ought to be selective about whom it accepted.

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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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