Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 94

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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 94. You’re from the Chamun, aren’t you? Wash your necks and wait.
What lives—for better or worse—is bound to change.
Such was Haowen of Gwannaeido.
Haowen of Gwannaeido suffered contempt and disdain just like the other Haowen branches throughout the Sipdo.
Its members accepted this treatment as a matter of course.
They were people who had joined knowing full well that Haowen would be treated this way.
For them, living hand-to-mouth and getting pushed around everywhere, the chance for change came three years ago for the first time.
They had marched into Hadongdo to unify the Haowen branches across the Sipdo.
In a struggle for something greater than petty territorial disputes, they tasted a thrill that made them feel like they were becoming something more.
But the dream never came true.
Faced with fierce resistance from Haowen of Hadongdo, Haowen of Gwannaeido had abandoned everything and returned home in defeat.
When Haowen of Gwannaeido had sunk into despair, the Jinsambidaebeop of Dan Bulwi and Dan Yeop had rekindled the dying embers.
A seed of hope took root in the hearts of the Haowen disciples: “Perhaps we, too, could become like the Oaksgeompa?”
And when spring came, that seed had sprouted and grown vigorously.
The leadership had now mastered both the Jincheongidobeop and the Jinbaekryudobeop, while the ordinary sect disciples had learned the Jincheongidobeop.
Even the Jincheongidobeop alone had sent the morale of the disciples soaring.
They understood it themselves.
That the Jincheongidobeop they had newly learned was every bit as formidable as the foundational techniques of the Oaksgeompa.
Their spines naturally straightened, and their eyes grew sharp with pride.
Useong, in the western market. Boseobanbang.
Hyangmanru.
Early evening.
O San and Maeng Tak, porters for the Cheonri Pyobukguk, shared a simple meal of vegetable soup and flatbread while recounting the day’s tribulations.
Mostly Maeng Tak did the talking while O San listened.
“…That’s when my foot twisted. The moment I saw the trading house sign, all the tension just drained out of me. But it never healed properly, damn it. My ankle swelled up so bad I thought the bone had snapped. I couldn’t go on that run to Gangnam. I should’ve been holding those beauties in my arms down there.”
“Is that why you missed the Gangnam route?”
“What choice did I have? It took two whole months for the swelling to go down. I should’ve been enjoying myself with the beauties of Gangnam back then.”
“Forget it. Myeongwolru’s much better anyway.”
“Yeah?”
“I went down to Gangnam myself back then. Didn’t see anyone as fine as So-hyang.”
“So-hyang’s not bad. That slender frame, but the chest—damn, it’s so firm and—”
As the conversation grew increasingly crude, a middle-aged man seated with his companions at the next table finally spoke up.
“There are other people here. Keep it down, would you?”
Maeng Tak flinched for a moment.
But seeing that the man was just an ordinary commoner, he flared up in anger.
“What? What business is it of yours what we talk about in a restaurant, you bastard!”
When Maeng Tak shot back with curses, the middle-aged man’s face flushed with humiliation.
But unwilling to fight, he simply turned away.
Seeing his opponent yield, Maeng Tak pressed harder.
“A pathetic wretch like you? Where do you get the nerve to open your mouth? If you want to live long, shut that trap of yours and eat quietly. You hear me? I’ll gouge out your eyes with a chopstick.”
The middle-aged man and his companions lost their appetite and left the restaurant without finishing their meal.
Then Maeng Tak spoke with a smug expression.
“Damn dogs, thinking they can mouth off at us.”
“Hey, shut up and eat your food, will you?”
“Whatever. I’ll eat it. Not my problem.”
Maeng Tak and O San chuckled and continued their meal.
But their moment of joy was short-lived.
As they were finishing, three burly men entered the restaurant.
The three approached Maeng Tak and O San’s table without hesitation.
The man at the front, Jeon Jo of the Yukhapbang, struck O San hard across the back of the head.
With a sharp crack, stars burst before O San’s eyes as he spun around.
But recognizing Jeon Jo, O San quickly rose from his seat and bowed obsequiously.
“Master Jeon, it’s been a long time.”
Maeng Tak, belatedly catching on, awkwardly got to his feet and lowered his head.
“Master Jeon.”
Jeon Jo looked back and forth between O San and Maeng Tak.
“Which of you bastards picked a fight with the Village Master’s brother?”
O San, startled, shook his head vigorously.
“No, sir. We’ve never even met the Village Master.”
“You fool. If you’d mouthed off to the Village Master, you’d already be dead—you wouldn’t be standing here talking to me. I’m saying I’m the Village Master’s brother. Some jackass in this place acted up earlier and made him uncomfortable enough to leave in the middle of his meal. Which of you idiots caused trouble? Was it you? Or you? I’ve been inconvenienced, so I’m going to break one of your legs. Which one?”
O San’s gaze drifted toward Maeng Tak without thinking.
Then Jeon Jo stepped toward Maeng Tak.
“So it’s you?”
A year ago, Maeng Tak would have frozen like a frog before a snake.
But lately, his confidence had soared thanks to the Jincheongidobeop, and he did nothing of the sort.
He flipped the table and hurled himself through the window.
Crash—!
Jeon Jo rushed after him.
The other two men began pummeling O San.
“These crazy bastards are fighting back?”
“Die, you sons of bitches!”
“Ugh! Ugh!”
The light in O San’s eyes shifted as the two men rained blows upon him.
Maeng Tak had done wrong and fled, leaving him to take the beating in his place—his fury kindled at the injustice.
O San drove one man into the wall with his body and lunged through the window after him.
“Argh!”
The man collapsed with a cry and didn’t rise, something badly broken.
The other man cursed viciously and gave chase.
“You bastard! Stop right there! If you run, the whole Haowen dies!”
But O San didn’t stop.
If anything, as he ran, he giggled with delight.
He’d taken blows from the Yukhapbang thugs countless times—today, finally striking back filled him with satisfaction.
O San ran toward where he thought Maeng Tak might be.
Sure enough, when he entered a crowded street lined with taverns, he spotted two figures facing off in the distance.
Jeon Jo held a Hoengdo; Maeng Tak wielded a Hwansuado.
Murim sect disciples typically fought in less populated places, but the Sapa and Haowen cared nothing for location.
By the way murder flickered in both their eyes, they’d already exchanged several strikes.
“Dammit!”
O San, resigned to whatever came, drew his Hwansuado and swung it at Jeon Jo.
“Have these madmen completely lost their minds? Attacking in a group?”
Jeon Jo leaped back in alarm and parried the Hwansuado with his Hoengdo.
Clang—!
In days past, O San would have thrashed wildly and exhausted himself; now, as the Hwansuado bounced back, he flowed into the Hoengsosanjeol.
Whoosh—!
Jeon Jo, startled by the momentum, stepped backward without meaning to.
In that instant, Maeng Tak seized the opening and brought the Cheonroenagtcham down toward Jeon Jo’s back.
Jeon Jo rolled across the ground in panic but couldn’t fully evade the strike.
He scrambled to his feet, and when his back burned, he knew he’d been hit.
As he began retreating slowly, bloodstains marked the ground.
Blood flowing from his own back was unmistakable.
Only then did Jeon Jo’s mind snap clear.
The disdain he’d held for Maeng Tak and O San evaporated at once.
‘At this rate, I’ll fall.’
Before, no matter how many Haowen thugs there were, he’d paid them no mind and simply beat them down.
They hadn’t resisted; even when one or two tried, they’d posed no real threat.
But this was different.
These two didn’t simply take his beatings anymore—they even knew how to counter-attack like proper Murim sect disciples.
At the moment of desperation, his Yukhapbang partner Mun Hong came running and attacked O San.
Now it was one-on-one again.
Yet Jeon Jo, his will shattered, could no longer press Maeng Tak as before.
With four swords flashing, the street became chaos in an instant.
Then it happened.
Geumowei soldiers arrived just in time and surrounded the four men.
They’d been caught by a patrol force strengthened thanks to Cheonryeon.
“Stop! Why are you drawing steel in the capital? Resist and you’ll be cut down! Surrender quietly!”
All four dropped their weapons and were arrested on the spot.
Even as they were dragged away bound in rope, all four hurled curses at each other.
“You bastards! You’re finished! How dare you draw on Yukhapbang? You’re dead!”
“What’s wrong? Does Yukhapbang steel not pierce?”
“You crazy sons of bitches! You’re Chamun, aren’t you? Clean your necks and wait! I swear, you’re all dead!”
“What do you want me to do, you moron? Do whatever you want! Anyone seeing you would think you’re the master of Yukhapbang. You’re nothing but a worthless bastard.”
Jin Ryang, a commander of the Geumowei escorting the martial artists, shouted.
“Shut your mouth! One more word and I’ll have you gagged!”
Only then did the four men clamp their jaws shut.
***
The next morning.
After finishing breakfast at a nearby inn, Dan Yeop returned to Jangan District when a visitor came calling.
Jang Uk, who introduced himself as a patrol commander of the Chamun, spoke up.
“Commander Dan, two of our Sect Disciples were caught by the Geumowei last night after fighting Yukhapbang members. We have nowhere else to turn, so we’ve come to you. Please help us.”
Dan Yeop was preoccupied with the matter of the Cheonryeon criminals, but he could not ignore the Chamun’s request.
After all, the reason he had become a Pojwae in the first place was to support Haowen from behind.
“What are their names?”
“Maeng Tak and O San. They were taken to the Seosiwi, so they should be there.”
“I understand. I’ll do what I can, but I can’t promise the Geumowei will listen to me. I’m only a Pojwae of Jangan District, after all.”
“They’ll listen because you’re handling the Cheonryeon case. The Cheonryeon matter is currently the Geumowei’s biggest headache.”
“Then I’m glad.”
After parting with Patrol Commander Jang Uk, Dan Yeop went straight to the Seosiwi.
If the Seosiwi happened to have sent them elsewhere, it would be difficult for him to exert any influence.
Fortunately, Wang Jeon, the administrative officer of the Seosiwi, readily agreed to Dan Yeop’s request.
Holding martial artists only brought headaches, and he was actually pleased that Dan Yeop would take them away first from Jangan District.
“By the way, you’ve done impressive work in Jangan District? Did you find out who the criminal is?”
“Not yet. But we’ve discovered an important clue and are investigating, so we should find out soon.”
“Good. Tell Do Gyeom the magistrate that if the Geumowei’s help is needed in apprehending the criminal, feel free to request it anytime.”
“Yes, thank you.”
After bidding farewell to Commander Wang Jeon, Dan Yeop left with Maeng Tak and O San.
Just as Dan Yeop had quietly spirited away Maeng Tak and O San, Yukhapbang had likewise taken Jeon Jo and Mun Hong without a sound.
Because of this affair, Haowen watched Yukhapbang’s mood carefully, but surprisingly, Yukhapbang said nothing about it.
The clash between Haowen members and Yukhapbang members sent a light ripple through the Murim circles of Jangan City.
Some said it was because the Yukhapbang master had lost his nerve, while others worried that the attitudes of the Haowen members had changed from before.
***
Seoninbang.
Manyeon Cheoljang.
The Manyeon Cheoljang was large even from the outside.
Dan Yeop passed the farm tools displayed outside and entered within.
The sound of a hammer striking metal echoed from deep inside, relentless.
From what he could gather, there seemed to be a separate smithy in the back, much like Jipdanhyang’s main branch.
As Dan Yeop showed interest in the inner area, a man in his thirties blocked his path.
“Welcome. What can I help you find?”
Dan Yeop spoke directly.
“I am Dan Yeop, Pojwae of Jangan District. I’ve come to meet the owner of Manyeon Cheoljang.”

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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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