Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 68

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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 68. Heaven Does Not Punish
Yeoshan.
At the Sasi Early Hour—nine in the morning—the Cheonddohoe Suppression Force finally arrived at Yeoshan.
The Suppression Force halted at a distance from Hwacheong Palace.
Jin Hacheong, a swordmaster who had been observing the palace, tilted his head in puzzlement.
“Something feels off. The security appears reinforced compared to usual.”
Lok An-geom Yu Jeongpung, the Outer Hall Master of Jongnampa, chimed in as well.
“It does look rather unsettled. It seems something must have happened to Vice-Governor Yi Deoknyeong.”
Just then, having spotted the martial artists, a contingent of soldiers approached from Hwacheong Palace.
A military officer halted about fifty paces ahead of the martial artists and called out.
“I am Gyowui Sa Samyeong, Commander of the Royal Guard! Who are you!”
Befitting a Rank Nine Official, Sa Samyeong’s voice carried considerable force.
To forestall any confrontation entirely, Gongsun Chan of the Gongsun family stepped forward.
“Ah, so it is Gyowui Sa. I am Gongsun Chan, patriarch of the Gongsun family. The people who have come with me are masters from the Oeak Swordsmen School.”
Only then did Sa Samyeong’s rigid expression soften.
“Lord Gongsun. To what business do we owe the honor of your visit?”
“We have been pursuing the Blood Emperor.”
“Ah! You are one step behind. That wretch—!” Sa Samyeong exhaled a long, heavy sigh.
He broke off mid-sentence and stood in silence for a moment.
Gongsun Chan waited quietly for him to continue.
“Last night, the wretch murdered Vice-Governor Yi Deoknyeong and vanished.”
“How unfortunate. Do you happen to know which direction the monster fled?”
“One of the soldiers saw him heading south.”
“I see. Is there anything else unusual you can tell us?”
“Next to the Vice-Governor’s body…….”
Sa Samyeong hesitated, something troubling his mind, and suddenly stopped speaking.
But his deliberation did not last long.
Though his visitors were martial artists, the Oeak Swordsmen School stood close to the throne.
“There was a piece of paper with a white lotus flower drawn on it.”
“What—Cheonlyeon?”
Sa Samyeong nodded, his face grave.
“Who else would leave such a mark if not the heretics of Cheonlyeon? And this morning, while searching the area, we discovered the body of a woman—her head severed.”
“Where is the body?”
“We moved it to an empty pavilion in the compound to conduct an autopsy.”
“I understand. Thank you for your assistance in our pursuit of the Blood Emperor. We should take our leave now.”
Eager to be on his way, Gongsun Chan indicated to Sa Samyeong that he wished to withdraw.
Sa Samyeong had no desire to detain him.
“When you find him, I ask that you avenge our Vice-Governor.”
“We shall.”
Gongsun Chan cupped his hands in respectful farewell and turned to leave.
Sa Samyeong and his soldiers watched the martial artists depart.
Once all the others had gone, two figures remained—a man and a woman.
“Why did you two stay behind?”
So Weolhwa, the patrol captain, stepped forward on behalf of Dan Yeop, who stood with an ashen face.
“Last night, a junior sister of our school was taken by the Blood Emperor. You mentioned discovering a woman’s body—we would be grateful if you would allow us to verify whether she is one of our own.”
So Weolhwa did not reveal the name of her school, fearing they might be turned away.
But Sa Samyeong was no ordinary man.
“I see. Which school are you from? It doesn’t appear to be the Oeak Swordsmen School. Hyeonmugwan, perhaps? Or Jongnampa?”
“Haowen.”
…….
Sa Samyeong regarded the middle-aged woman with eyes that showed a trace of surprise.
He had heard rumors, but this was the first time he had laid eyes on a member of Haowen.
Collecting himself, he gestured to An Nok, a Rank Seven Official.
“An, show these people to the body.”
“Yes, sir.”
An Nok glanced sidelong at So Weolhwa as he spoke.
“Follow me.”
“Yes.”
So Weolhwa and Dan Yeop followed the military officer into Hwacheong Palace.
***
An Nok came to a halt before the pavilion, his rapid stride abruptly broken.
“Here it is. An autopsy is about to begin, so look with your eyes only.”
An Nok entered the pavilion with cautious steps, his tone heavy with warning.
So Weolhwa and Dan Yeop followed quietly in his wake.
Inside the pavilion lay several beds arranged in a line, each bearing a corpse draped in white cloth.
An Nok drew back the cloth covering one of them.
So Weolhwa’s face went rigid.
The head attached to the torso was that of Baek Yuhwa, a Haowen sect soldier.
“Is she one of Haowen’s disciples?”
“……Yes.”
So Weolhwa glanced at Dan Yeop without thinking.
He had spent the entire night searching the grounds; she worried how he would react to seeing the corpse.
Just as she’d feared.
Dan Yeop’s twisted expression was barely bearable to witness.
In the next instant, a terrible aura erupted from his entire body.
A deep, resonant hum—
Dan Yeop’s hair stood on end, and his robes billowed wildly as though caught in a tempest.
Flap, flap, flap—!
The white cloths covering the corpses scattered in all directions.
An Nok recoiled in shock at the grotesque display.
‘What—what is this? Haowen?’
A military official is a carefully selected warrior.
Naturally, he had seen and heard much from childhood.
What was unfolding before his eyes now was no feat a mere Haowen sect could accomplish.
Only the most transcendent masters could do such a thing.
‘Ughhhh…….’
An Nok’s ears suddenly felt deadened by the spreading pressure, and his eyes throbbed as if they might burst.
He had no choice but to stagger backward instinctively.
Glancing to the side, he saw blood streaming from the nose of the middle-aged woman.
He suddenly felt something warm trickling down his own jaw.
He wiped it absently with his palm and found it was blood.
At that moment, the middle-aged woman gripped the edge of the bed and cried out through gritted teeth:
“Master Dan…….”
As dizziness crashed over him, An Nok braced himself against the wall.
A sharp, piercing sound—
His head felt as if it would split open.
Fearing he would die, he too cried out after the woman.
“Master Dan!”
At the military official’s grave shout, Dan Yeop snapped to awareness.
The Taeul Qi that should have settled in his lower dantian was bleeding outward, spreading beyond his body.
He quickly gathered it back using the Taeul Bonwon Yeonseongggyeol technique.
Only then did the raging aura slowly begin to subside.
The white cloths that had danced in the air descended gradually.
Some fell back over the corpses, but most scattered across the floor.
‘What happened?’
He was in an unfamiliar pavilion, and six beds held six corpses.
Looking at the decapitated body in the direction he was facing, something about it seemed familiar.
‘Wait—Baek Yuhwa? So she’s finally dead.’
He examined the other bodies in turn.
By their garb, they were military officials, though he recognized none of them.
‘What did slow-witted Dan Yeop do here?’
So Weolhwa, who had barely regained her composure, spoke with caution.
“Still, judging by her expression, she seems to have passed painlessly.”
Dan Yeop nodded.
Seeing her expression as calm as always brought him some small comfort.
At that moment, An Nok, who had been watching for an opening, slipped in a word.
“This is the Blood Emperor’s work. If you examine the cut surface, you’ll see it—no ordinary warrior could hope to match it. The victims likely didn’t even know they were dying.”
An Nok had naturally shifted to a more respectful tone.
Having witnessed firsthand the realm of Uigi Sangin—killing with intent alone—he had no choice but to do so.
To him, this boy was no Haowen disciple, but a master transcendent beyond measure.
Dan Yeop looked at Baek Yuhwa again.
He couldn’t say why, but his mood had soured considerably.
That heavy feeling at the pit of his stomach, the slight heat rising into his head—was that it?
And so, without thinking, he made himself a promise.
“I swear I’ll avenge her.”
After a moment, he closed her eyes gently and covered her with a white cloth.
“Inspector.”
“Yes!”
At the young man’s call, An Nok stepped forward briskly.
“I’d like to take the young lady’s body with us. What procedure is needed?”
“Since the young lady has no connection to the Blood Emperor, if Gyowui Sa permits, we can remove—escort her away immediately.”
“Then please speak to Gyowui Sa. I’d like to leave with her now.”
“Of course! Please wait just a moment!”
An Nok dashed out the moment he finished speaking.
So Weolhwa, who had been watching Dan Yeop, asked cautiously.
“You were close to her, then?”
“Yes. Back when my mind wasn’t as clear, she taught me martial arts at the Terracotta Army Tomb.”
“Ah, so that happened.”
So Weolhwa regarded him with sympathetic eyes.
Both Dan Yeop and Baek Yuhwa were in the prime of their youth, so there must have been affection between them.
Now he understood why Dan Yeop had been turning the city inside out searching for him.
Shortly after, An Nok returned with Gyowui Sa Samyeong.
Whatever An Nok had told him, Sa Samyeong did everything he could to facilitate Dan Yeop’s wishes.
He even brought a wooden coffin from somewhere.
Dan Yeop placed Baek Yuhwa’s body in the coffin himself.
At noon, accompanied by the honor guard of the palace garrison, a carriage departed from Hwacheong Palace.
***
The murder in Hwacheong Palace sent shockwaves through the provincial capital.
The victim was Yi Deoknyeong, a Vice-Governor of the Imperial Clan—no less a member of the royal house itself.
The killer was revealed to be the Blood Emperor, the former Grand Master.
The authorities, however, kept secret that the Blood Emperor belonged to Cheonlyeon.
Had that come to light, the prestige of the imperial house would have been destroyed beyond repair.
Yet even the mere fact that the Blood Emperor had slain an imperial clansman was enough to set the provincial capital ablaze with gossip.
The gates of Jangan City and its one hundred eight ward gates were immediately placed under strict surveillance.
Constables, sub-officers, and officers rummaged through the streets, and at the slightest suspicion, they would brandish their batons.
Because of the Blood Emperor, innocent commoners bore the brunt of the trouble.
On that same day, no one knew that a female disciple of Haowen had been slain by the Blood Emperor near Hwacheong Palace.
Only the disciples of Haowen remembered Baek Yuhwa’s death.
***
Seonpyeongbang.
The inner quarters of Son Taek.
After Baek Yuhwa’s funeral rites were completed, Dan Yeop shut himself away in a guest room of the residence.
Having lost all will to live, he remained bedridden all day long.
He often skipped meals.
One day, unable to bear it any longer, Son Yubaek called his grandson to him.
“What troubles Dan Yeop?”
“I’m not entirely certain, Grandfather.”
“You fool—he’s supposed to be your friend, and you can’t even figure that out?”
At Son Yubaek’s sharp rebuke, Son Jiheon shrank back.
Son Yubaek regarded his grandson with a look of utter disappointment.
“Well? Why are you standing there instead of going to find out?”
“Yes, yes, I’ll go at once.”
Son Jiheon hurried out as if driven forth, heading toward the guest room.
***
The guest room.
“What’s wrong with you, Dan?”
At Son Jiheon’s question, Dan Yeop waved his hand dismissively.
Yet Son Jiheon refused to give up.
“Come on, what is it? Tell me. Who knows—maybe I can help?”
“No one can help with this.”
“Ah, how would I know? You’re the one pressing me to talk.”
At Son Jiheon’s persistence, Dan Yeop finally broke his silence.
“Someone I loved in secret died not long ago.”
“Ah… I’m sorry. I’ve stirred up painful memories.”
At that moment, Son Jiheon still believed she had died of illness.
“The Blood Emperor cut her throat.”
“Gasp!”
At the name Blood Emperor, Son Jiheon found himself speechless.
“You’re shocked too, I see. Everyone knows who the killer is—the authorities, the martial schools, all of them—but no one can touch the Blood Emperor.”
“Surely heaven itself will punish such a villain.”
“No, heaven won’t punish him. Do you know why? Heaven doesn’t care about the world’s affairs. No matter what people do, heaven takes no notice. You know that as well as I do.”
“And yet the Way of heaven—”
“No! There is no such thing! It’s people who establish the Way, not that worthless heaven. Heaven does nothing at all!”
“…”
Son Jiheon offered no rebuttal to Dan Yeop’s words, tinged with bitterness.
Dan Yeop continued, his tone darkening.
“But the trouble is, the Blood Emperor is so strong that no one can punish him. Not even the Oeak Swordsmen School itself. Do you understand what that means? I have to watch my enemy walk free across the world, and I can do nothing but look on.”
“Ha…”
Son Jiheon exhaled a long, heavy sigh.
Now it made sense—why Dan Yeop shut himself away in that separate building.

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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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