Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 98

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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 98. What’s the problem with a constable?
Jangan Prefecture.
The Magistrate’s Office.
Do Gyeom, the Prefectural Commander, reported to Jo Mujin, the Magistrate, the results of the interrogation of Ha Ryun, who had been struck through the blood gate.
“Myeol-do is hiding in the Doyuan Meat Shop in Boryong District.”
“The Doyuan Meat Shop? A place that sells meat?”
“Yes, sir. Remarkably, he was the owner of the shop. We’ve confirmed he’s still openly running the business.”
“But now that he knows there’s a witness, he’ll flee soon enough.”
“We must capture him before that happens.”
“Hmm, the constabulary won’t have the strength for this alone—we’ll need to request the Geumoh Guard’s cooperation.”
Jo Mujin considered that although Dan Yeop had gone all the way to Nakgan in Hajungbu and captured Seok Jung-ok, the murderer from there, he would still be unequal to facing Myeol-do.
According to Jang Ho’s account as a constable, Myeol-do’s martial prowess was no less than that of the elders of the Owak Sword Breaking school—if anything, it surpassed theirs.
“If the Geumoh Guard moves, he might notice and flee beforehand. Even if surrounded by Geumoh soldiers, Myeol-do would break through without difficulty.”
Jo Mujin nodded at Do Gyeom’s words.
“To capture Myeol-do discreetly and swiftly, we must seek the aid of the Jongnam Sect and the Hyeonmu Sect.”
“That’s our best course at present. It would be good to contact the Huashan Sect as well, but…….”
“We lack the time.”
“Precisely. We can gather masters from the Jongnam Sect and Hyeonmu Sect within two hours.”
“Send someone discreetly to request their cooperation. Since this matter arose in Jangan City, they won’t feign ignorance.”
“Very good.”
When the magistrate’s office makes a formal request, the Martial Arts Sects find it difficult to ignore.
Though the Martial Arts World and the magistrate’s office are said to be as incompatible as well water and river water, they too are people of Jangan City.
More than that, if they proved uncooperative in the matter of capturing a traitor—not merely any criminal—their livelihood in Jangan City would become precarious.
***
Useong (the western quarter).
Boryong District.
Doyuan Meat Shop.
Around midday.
As a customer left, the middle-aged man brushed his hands clean and stretched with a light yawn.
“Ahhh—! Perhaps it’s time I went for lunch.”
Moments later, as the middle-aged man stepped outside the shop, he suddenly surveyed left and right.
The people passing through the streets seemed no different than usual, yet something felt distinctly amiss.
‘Hmm?’
The middle-aged man, Myeol-do, turned back inside the shop.
“Faster than expected.”
He’d planned to kill one more person this evening before disappearing, but it seemed that wouldn’t happen.
He withdrew the Horizontal Saber from the wall cabinet, fastened it at his waist, and stepped back outside.
He’d walked perhaps ten paces.
The number of people passing through the street noticeably dwindled.
The magistrate’s office had begun implementing a lockdown.
By the time it became nearly impossible to spot even a single ant, groups of people appeared on both sides of the street.
Myeol-do quickly assessed both sides.
Magistrate’s soldiers approached from the left, while martial artists in various garbs advanced from the right.
“The Magistrate showed some cleverness.”
The martial artists were undoubtedly drawn from the Martial Arts Sects.
Myeol-do paused, considering which direction to take, then decided to wait.
Since it was still broad daylight and he couldn’t hide, he’d simply break through.
Jin Ha-cheong, the Chief Administrator of the Hyeonmu Sect, glanced back at Yi Ha-jin, an elder of the Jongnam Sect, and spoke.
“Elder, it seems our quarry isn’t moving. What do you suppose his plan is?”
“It means he’s confident regardless of who faces him. I’ve seen arrogant ones like this before.”
“Then what should we do?”
“We should move before Magistrate Jo does. That’s why we’ve been gathered here.”
If they delayed and the magistrate’s soldiers suffered casualties, they’d help but still earn blame.
Yi Ha-jin took three of the Jongnam Seven Blades forward as the vanguard.
Jin Ha-cheong followed with two instructors from the Hyeonmu Sect.
Myeol-do, seeing Yi Ha-jin draw near, grinned mockingly.
Yi Ha-jin, feeling the contempt instantly, roared.
“Myeol-do! How dare a traitor laugh? You’ve gained your pittance of fame through the Killing Trade, and now your arrogance knows no bounds!”
“And who are you to speak so?”
“I am Yi Ha-jin, an elder of the Jongnam Sect, known as the Cloud-Drifting Swordsman. Surrender without resistance!”
“Surrender? You became a martial artist only to grovel before officials like a dog? If that was your ambition, you should have pursued an official post! And now, after failing to make the grade and crawling into the Jongnam Sect, you dare tell me to surrender?”
In that instant, Yi Ha-jin’s pride ignited like kindling. He surged forward with a cry.
“Attack!”
Yi Cheong-un, Jang Cheon, and Sin Wol flowed after him like shadows.
Moments later, Myeol-do and four masters of the Jongnam Sect tangled in a storm of blades.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clash!
The exchange was too swift for the eye to follow—only the ring of steel filled the air.
After that single pass, Jang Cheon and Sin Wol staggered backward, gasping.
Without knowing when it had happened, both men clutched at their waists and chests.
But Myeol-do did not let his wounded prey escape.
His form vanished with the Yi Hyeong-hwan Technique, then materialized behind them like a phantom.
The Jongnam disciples guarding their rear cried out in alarm.
“Behind!”
“Get away!”
“Behind!”
As Jang Cheon and Sin Wol spun around at their brothers’ shouts, a blade of light swept across their throats.
Myeol-do severed both their necks and hurled himself back toward Yi Ha-jin.
In that same breath, both Jang Cheon and Sin Wol lost their heads.
Yi Ha-jin howled and rushed to meet him.
“You dog!”
Myeol-do’s Horizontal Saber and Yi Ha-jin’s sword crashed together.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clash!
The two moved so rapidly that Yi Cheong-un, one of the Jongnam Seven Swordsmen, dared not close in.
But the deadlocked exchange could not hold.
Yi Ha-jin, bleeding from a gash across his shoulder, stumbled backward in disarray.
As the distance opened between them, Jin Ha-cheong rushed in alongside Gwak No-dan, the One-Flash Swordsman.
Clang-clang-clang-clash!
The three locked together in a whirlwind.
Yet neither Jin Ha-cheong nor Gwak No-dan could match Yi Ha-jin, an elder of the Jongnam Sect.
“Nngh!”
“Kragh!”
Both men grunted heavily and retreated.
Their upper bodies were lacerated in multiple places.
Myeol-do smiled coldly and moved to press his advantage.
At that moment, archers hidden on the roof tiles of pavilions on both sides rose and loosed their bowstrings.
Whish-whish-whish-whish!
Myeol-do swung his blade in a flurry, knocking the arrows aside.
But the archers nocked and fired in relentless succession.
Whish-whish-whish-whish!
As arrows poured without ceasing, Myeol-do realized the futility and charged toward the government soldiers.
They would be easier to dispatch than the martial artists.
Above him, another volley of arrows fell.
The disciplined archers’ shafts were as deadly as the blade-work of a martial master.
Whish-whish-whish-whish!
Myeol-do blocked desperately, but at last one arrow pierced his back.
At that, the martial artists and government soldiers erupted in a roar of triumph.
Pain and wounded pride surged through Myeol-do. He bellowed at the soldiers with savage fury.
“You wretched vermin! I’ll slaughter every last one of you!”
The government soldiers flinched before his murderous rage.
It was then that a single Constable, wearing Blue-Tinted Spectacles, rushed toward Myeol-do and charged to meet him.
Myeol-do swung his blade with the intention of cleaving the Constable in half in a single stroke.
He did not doubt that one blow would sever the Constable’s body in two.
But there came a heavy, metallic clang—and his Horizontal Saber was stopped.
The recoil, as if he had struck a steel plate, nearly jarred the saber from his grip.
Startled, Myeol-do instinctively looked at his opponent.
His first thought was that the white skin visible beside the blue-tinted lenses was remarkably fair.
In that moment of hesitation, the Constable’s Horizontal Saber came at him like a hurricane.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clash!
As Myeol-do parried the blows, he found himself retreating without realizing it.
When at last he understood what was happening, he attempted a counter—but it proved useless.
The opponent held off every strike of his blade like an iron wall.
‘What? There’s a master this skilled in the magistrate’s office?’
Myeol-do’s eyes darted about urgently.
He’d come here because the government troops seemed easier than the martial artists, but this was a miscalculation.
As long as the one wearing the Blue-Tinted Spectacles held the line, his blade wouldn’t break through.
The moment that thought struck him, he threw himself backward, widening the distance between them.
“Who are you?”
“I am Dan Yeop, constable of Jangan Prefecture! Surrender now, criminal!”
“What sect trained you? To wield such exceptional skill and yet serve as a government lackey—aren’t you ashamed before your ancestors?”
“If someone called you a butcher and asked the same—if they said, aren’t you ashamed before your ancestors?—what would you answer?”
“Hmph! What’s wrong with being a butcher? If I didn’t slaughter the meat, where would you get your food?”
“My answer is the same. What’s wrong with being a constable? I became one solely for the welfare of the people!”
At that moment, Dan Yeop was grateful for the Blue-Tinted Spectacles hiding his eyes.
Though he’d invoked the people’s well-being to avoid losing the argument with the criminal, he felt considerably ashamed after saying it.
Myeol-do found no need to say more in response.
Suddenly his back throbbed with pain in a sharp, piercing way.
It was no light wound—his sword hand and right foot had gone numb.
Then, from behind, a murderous aura and a bone-chilling blade force came surging through.
It was Yi Ha-jin’s sword.
While engaged with Dan Yeop, Myeol-do had wasted enough time for Yi Ha-jin to close in from behind.
Myeol-do spun around like a thunderbolt, wielding his Horizontal Saber wide.
Yet even in that desperate moment, he remained more wary of the constable Dan Yeop than of Yi Ha-jin.
Dan Yeop’s blade frightened him more than Yi Ha-jin’s.
But Yi Ha-jin, known as the Wandering Sword Master, was no easy opponent.
The instant Myeol-do’s attention wavered, Yi Ha-jin’s blade shifted with a serpentine flow.
The sword didn’t clash directly against Myeol-do’s saber, but rather flowed like drifting clouds across the blade’s surface, burrowing inward with supple grace.
In the next breath, Yi Ha-jin’s blade passed through Myeol-do’s armpit.
Scrape—!
For an instant, all three—Myeol-do, Yi Ha-jin, and Dan Yeop—stood motionless.
Time itself seemed to have stopped.
Then Yi Ha-jin’s sword swept across Myeol-do’s open chest.
It was Yi Ha-jin’s ultimate technique, the Geonkon Yeonggyeok.
Rip—!
Myeol-do’s chest split open, and crimson blood spurted forth.
Yi Ha-jin cried out, though late:
“Myeol-do, you dog! Now do you understand the terror of the Jongnam Sect?”
Myeol-do laughed, trembling, and spoke:
“Hehehehe, I’m so terrified I could die, you bastard.”
Then Myeol-do turned toward Dan Yeop.
Yi Ha-jin, knowing his opponent stood at death’s threshold, didn’t strike again.
“Dan Yeop…….”
Having said that much, Myeol-do slowly fell backward.
As Myeol-do collapsed, Magistrate Jo Mujin approached Elder Yi Ha-jin and commended the Jongnam Sect.
Yet Elder Yi Ha-jin’s shoulders drooped as he turned to leave.
Two of the Seven Swordsmen of Jongnam had lost their lives.
Dan Yeop looked down at Myeol-do’s corpse with troubled eyes.
What had he been trying to say at the end?
As Dan Yeop sank into thought, Prefectural Commander Do Gyeom approached and patted his shoulder.
“You did well. If you hadn’t been here, it would have been a disaster.”
In truth, it was Yi Ha-jin who’d killed Myeol-do, though it amounted to reaping the benefits of another’s labor.
He’d gained his opportunity by striking from behind while Dan Yeop and Myeol-do fought.
And that was hardly all.
Without Dan Yeop, the government troops would have been swept away by Myeol-do’s blade just as General Choi Eon’s guard had been.
Constable Jang Ho muttered beside them:
“If he’d just left it be, Constable Dan would have captured him. Instead, this so-called elder ambushed and killed him. Then the Jongnam Sect will go around boasting they defeated Myeol-do.”
Hearing this, Prefectural Commander Do Gyeom spoke, glancing at Dan Yeop:
“Don’t think too harshly of them. Two of the Jongnam Sect’s promising disciples fell in this affair. With that level of loss, they’ve earned the credit for felling Myeol-do. We couldn’t have cornered him without the aid of the martial arts sects.”
Even Constable Jang Ho offered no rebuttal to this.
Recalling how ferociously Myeol-do had raged among the martial artists, it was easy enough to understand.

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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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