Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 88

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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 88. The Three-Way Confrontation
Ryeng Hansang laid bare everything because Dan Yeop was a Pockae.
He intended to meet the Sect Leader of Gimun through Dan Yeop.
Dan Yeop nodded at Ryeng Hansang’s words.
“Gimun, you say? I know something about them. I could arrange for you to meet the Sect Leader of Gimun. However…….”
“What? Is there some problem?”
“If things go wrong, I might be blamed for it, so I need to be certain. Is it true that Go Geomhaeng betrayed Geomgak?”
“It’s true.”
“What did Go Geomhaeng do?”
“He taught Geomgak’s martial arts at Gimun. He violated the taboo of secret teachings—there’s no greater betrayal than that.”
“What? Go Geomhaeng taught Geomgak’s martial arts?”
“He did.”
“That’s not right. Who told you that?”
“I received the information from a reliable source.”
“You mean someone reported this to Geomgak?”
“That’s correct.”
“Who was it? Who made that report?”
“There is such a person.”
Ryeng Hansang did not reveal the name of Cheondoboe.
Above all, he had no trust in the authorities.
When his counterpart refused to disclose the name, Dan Yeop changed the subject.
“I’m rather familiar with the affairs of Haowen. This seems to be a matter requiring a three-way confrontation.”
“A three-way confrontation? What are you suddenly talking about?”
“It’s true that Haowen is currently practicing new martial arts.”
“Aha! I knew it! So it was Go Geomhaeng’s doing! If that’s true, then Haowen bears responsibility as well.”
“But it’s not Geomgak’s martial arts.”
“Not Geomgak’s? That can’t be. If it came from Go Geomhaeng, it must be Geomgak’s.”
“Go Geomhaeng is not the one teaching it.”
“What nonsense! I know Go Geomhaeng is Gimun’s instructor.”
“Go Geomhaeng himself is learning the new martial arts and teaching them.”
“New martial arts? What are they?”
“It’s called the Jinsamdaedobeop, a martial art that is the secret treasure of Haowen. Just hearing the name, you can tell it’s not from Geomgak, can’t you?”
Geomgak is a sect that reveres the sword.
Naturally, they wouldn’t give a second glance to the way of the blade.
“That makes no sense. What could Go Geomhaeng possibly lack that he’d learn such a method from Haowen?”
“It’s the truth. That’s why I said a three-way confrontation is necessary. If you meet Go Geomhaeng and the Gyotoo of Haowen who taught him, you’ll see that my words are true.”
“Then I won’t need to meet the Sect Leader of Gimun?”
“There’d be no point to it.”
“But will Go Geomhaeng and Haowen’s Gyotoo be willing to meet with me? They could very well die at my hand.”
“They will come.”
“Is that so? As for me, I have no reason to object to a three-way confrontation.”
Ryeng Hansang smiled lightly.
He had already come fifteen hundred li from Geomnamdo to the capital region to meet Go Geomhaeng.
If he met with them and found them unworthy, he could cut them down on the spot—there was no disadvantage to him at all.
“Come to the Sosangru in Changrakbang by the Yusi hour tomorrow—that would be seven in the evening. When you arrive, just give my name and they’ll show you to a private room.”
“Very well.”
Once Ryeng Hansang agreed to the meeting, Dan Yeop moved on to the next matter.
“And about the drink you had at Jawoongak—what will you do about paying for it? This establishment has no connection to Gimun, so you’ll need to settle the bill. If you claim you have no money, the heroes of Changgyeongseong will criticize Geomgak.”
“Dan Pockae, let me be honest with you. I thought this place was connected to Gimun, so I went a bit overboard with my drinking. It needed to be that way to reach the ears of Gimun’s Sect Leader.”
Dan Yeop listened in silence.
Of course, there were disciples of Gimun at Jawoongak.
The house’s leading courtesan, So Yo, was a disciple of Sect Leader Ha Soran.
“Right now, I only have thirty silver coins to my name. I’ll have to send the rest back from Geomnamdo. Can you help me out?”
“Are you asking me to serve as guarantor?”
“That’s right. In Changgyeongseong, you’re the only person I can trust.”
Geomgak had lived isolated from the world for long years.
It had no dealings with the martial sects.
Even in Geomnamdo there might be some connections, but in Changgyeongseong, Ryeng Hansang knew no one.
“Understood. But I can’t just do this on your word alone—I’ll need you to write a debt certificate for fifty silver coins.”
“I’ll write it.”
“Understood. I’ll do my best to persuade Gakjoo. Please have some wine and wait a moment.”
“Very well.”
Dan Yeop turned at once and slipped from the room.
With the matter of the wine bill resolved, Ryeng Hansang drank with an eased expression.
Shortly after, before Hwa Ryeon, the Gakjoo, and Dan Yeop’s return, Ryeng Hansang wrote out a Debt Certificate and affixed his seal.
Only then did Hwa Ryeon, the Gakjoo, smile and speak.
“Ryeng, the guest of honor—this matter is already settled, so please rest at ease before you depart. Should you need anything further, call for me anytime. We have a girl named So Yo here at Jawoongak…….”
“There’s no need. I require no courtesan. I’ll rest a while, and when my mind is at peace, I’ll take my leave. Don’t trouble yourself.”
“Of course, of course. Please do rest before you go.”
Hwa Ryeon winked at Dan Yeop and then departed.
“Then I too shall take my leave. Don’t forget tomorrow.”
As Dan Yeop turned to go, Ryeng Hansang’s voice reached his back.
“Who are you?”
“A Pockae, for now.”
With that, Dan Yeop left without so much as a glance backward.
***
The wine bill for seven men—Dan Yeop and six Pockae and Mackae—came to five silver coins.
It was discounted because they were Pockae, yet Hwa Ryeon didn’t take it all.
She accepted only three silver coins as thanks for Dan Yeop settling the bill.
After parting with the Pockae and Mackae, Dan Yeop made his way to Sosangru in Changrakbang, though the hour was late.
At the very least, he needed to inform the Gimun Sect Leader and Go Geomhaeng of the three-way confrontation before tomorrow.
Changrakbang.
Sosangru.
The inner chamber.
At Dan Yeop’s words, Ha Soran, the Sect Leader, asked with doubt written across her face.
“Ryeng Hansang, you said? I’ve never heard that name in all my years. How can I trust that he truly comes from Geomgak?”
“The Sahaebang masters who guarded Jawoongak withdrew from its affairs immediately after meeting him. That alone should leave no room for doubt.”
“Hmm.”
Ha Soran’s face hardened.
The Sahaebang was the second-strongest Sapa faction in Changgyeongseong, after Wanwolkak.
Men as proud as they were would never simply withdraw from Jawoongak.
Watching Ha Soran lost in thought, Dan Yeop spoke.
“I hesitated to tell you this, but he claims to have killed your late Sabeomsnim and holds Gimun responsible as well.”
“What? Why? What wrong have we done toward Geomgak?”
“Did you know that your late Sabeomsnim was from Geomgak?”
“That is……—ah, yes. I did know.”
“It was a dangerous choice. Had Geomgak learned of it, something like this was bound to happen sooner or later.”
“My greed ran too deep. But the late Sabeomsnim never taught Geomgak Martial Arts. Even Gyotoo knows that much.”
“It is knowledge known only to Gimun. To outsiders, your actions could easily be misunderstood.”
“Then what do we do now?”
“We must meet tomorrow and clear up Geomgak’s misunderstanding. Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise. The matter between your late Sabeomsnim and Geomgak was bound to surface someday.”
“What if Ryeng Hansang doesn’t believe us?”
Ha Soran gazed at Dan Yeop with anxiety in her eyes.
The master who had emerged from Geomgak had been called the greatest swordsman of the age.
If Ryeng Hansang’s skill was even half as formidable, both Go Geomhaeng and she were as good as dead.
“We’ll have to make him believe.”
Dan Yeop spoke as if it were the simplest thing in the world, and Ha Soran asked further.
“How much do you know of Geomgak, Gyotoo?”
“In truth, very little.”
“Geomgak is a secretive faction to be compared with Gwangpunghoe. Even the Five Mountains Sword School defers before Geomgak. If Geomgak stands in the west, then Gwangpunghoe stands in the east, so to speak.”
“Ah!”
Dan Yeop, raised in Byeongmatong, had a narrow worldview.
He knew only Haowen, the famous martial factions of Changgyeongseong, and the Five Mountains Sword School.
Gwangpunghoe, spoken of as legend among the Sapa, was an exception.
For many Haowen disciples, Gwangpunghoe was an object of veneration.
“If Ryeng Hansang came from Geomgak, there would be few to rival him in swordsmanship.”
“Is that so.”
“I don’t mean to belittle your skill, Gyotoo, but Geomgak sends forth only those of such caliber into Kangho.”
“I see.”
“If Ryeng Hansang doesn’t dispel his doubts, not only your late Sabeomsnim but all of Haowen will be in mortal danger.”
“You won’t have any doubts.”
Dan Yeop’s expression was brimming with certainty.
Only then did Ha Soran’s face relax slightly.
“Very well. I’ll trust your word, Dan Yeop. I’ll relay this to Master Go myself. Is there anything you need me to prepare specially for the three-way confrontation?”
“If you could keep the annex clear during that time and prevent outsiders from entering, that’s all I ask.”
“I’ll see to it.”
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Ha Soran caught Dan Yeop’s arm just as he turned to go.
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes?”
“There’s someone who wishes to see you. Someone you know well. Please wait just a moment.”
Ha Soran turned and hurried out before Dan Yeop could respond.
Since Dan Yeop had no other appointments, he settled in to wait comfortably.
About fifteen minutes had passed.
A woman dressed in elaborate silk entered the inner chamber.
When the woman’s eyes met Dan Yeop’s, she smiled and greeted him first.
“Senior Dan.”
“Ha Yongwol?”
Dan Yeop’s eyes widened in surprise at the appearance of someone so unexpected.
Ha Yongwol was one of the few people who had treated Dan Yeop kindly at Byeongmatong.
The place where Dan Yeop and Ha Yongwol first met was at Sancheondo, north of Byeongmatong.
Both of them would spend time there separately when they were young.
Through that connection, Ha Yongwol had consistently called him senior.
Ha Yongwol opened her mouth with a broad smile.
“Senior Dan, at last I’m meeting you outside of that place.”
“You were at Sosangru?”
“This is my home.”
“Ah, is that so?”
He’d known that Ha Yongwol was the daughter of Gimun’s Sect Leader, but he’d never imagined she actually lived in a courtesan house.
“Why? Are you disappointed?”
“No, disappointed about what? I already knew you were the Sect Leader’s daughter.”
“Still, it is a courtesan house.”
“So what? These things happen.”
Dan Yeop had no particular feelings toward Ha Yongwol, so he felt nothing special about this revelation.
“When I heard you’d become a Gyotoo, I was so shocked.”
“I was surprised too.”
“Ha! You’re funny. You’ve changed so much from how you used to be.”
“Have I?”
“Yes, you hardly spoke back then.”
More than that, he couldn’t even meet people’s eyes.
But Ha Yongwol left that part unsaid, worried he might feel uncomfortable.
“Fair enough. I was pretty quiet as a child.”
“Do you know that whenever people from Gimun gather, they talk about you every day?”
“Do they curse me?”
“Pshh! As if. Everyone praises you, saying you’re a late bloomer. That you dug deep into one well consistently and achieved success.”
“Ha, so tell me about yourself. How are things going with Ma Eunrok?”
Gimun and Geomgak were pursuing a marriage alliance.
Dan Yeop was curious about how it was progressing.
Ha Yongwol’s cheerful smile stiffened ever so slightly.
“What makes you think things could go well between Senior Ma and me?”
“Hmm? The rumor was that you two were going to marry.”
“That’s, that’s just something Senior Ma spreads around on his own. He’s always been like that.”
“But your Sect Leader said she’d set a date soon.”
“A date? Who would say something so absurd?”
“Our Sect Leader said so.”
“I know my own affairs best, and I’m telling you it’s all just hearsay.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, and is it true that you were fond of Senior Baek?”
Ha Yongwol quickly changed the subject.
There was nothing good to be gained by dwelling on the matter between her and Ma Eunrok.

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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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