The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 14

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

14
The Sovereign’s Sword
After exchanging greetings, Gwak Pung headed downstairs, saying he needed to inspect the Eunha Merchant Group’s goods.
It was said that the Eunha Merchant Group was transporting not only weapons this time, but also a tremendous amount of Gold Ingots.
As the sum was so vast, the Gold Ingots were guarded separately by martial artists dispatched directly by the Eunha Merchant Group. Even so, it was the responsibility of Gwak Pung’s Heongnimdae to ensure overall safety.
For that reason, Gwak Pung frequently went below deck to check on things.
Remaining beside Woo Geom-san and Baek Ho-yang, Ha Baek-jin grumbled.
“No matter how you look at it, it’s a completely unprofitable venture.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean the compensation is pitiful compared to the labor. They slashed our pay on the grounds that they couldn’t fully trust the Heongnimdae.”
“Even though your squad leader is a secular disciple of the Mount Hua Sect?”
“Didn’t they seal their gates?”
“Good grief!”
Baek Ho-yang clicked his tongue. However, Ha Baek-jin continued speaking with an nonchalant expression.
“I too am deeply feeling how harsh the world’s sentiment can be. And also how incredibly comfortably I’ve lived until now.”
“Your face is quite bright for someone saying that. That fellow Gwak Pung looked rather gloomy, though.”
“Because I’m going back to my hometown.”
“Were you not staying with them?”
“We’ll part ways at the stop after next. We only traveled together because our paths overlapped.”
“Has that already been discussed?”
“Yes!”
“Then there shouldn’t be a problem.”
Baek Ho-yang nodded his head.
Gwak Pung and Ha Baek-jin had vastly different temperaments.
Gwak Pung was extremely dark, while Ha Baek-jin possessed a brightness that even lifted the moods of those around him. He had thought it a bit strange that two people with such contrasting temperaments were in the same group.
This was because people with such drastically different natures tend to repel each other like oil and water.
Woo Geom-san asked.
“What do you plan to do when you get to your hometown?”
“I have a fiancée. I’m going to marry her and live while tilling the land.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. Hehe!”
Ha Baek-jin smiled, flashing his white teeth.
Although he had learned martial arts at Shaolin, Ha Baek-jin harbored no grand ambitions.
He had simply entered Shaolin and learned martial arts because his outstanding talent happened to catch his master’s eye.
His master had wished for him to become a main mountain disciple, but Ha Baek-jin had firmly refused.
This was because he had a fiancée with whom he had promised his future since childhood.
Marrying her, having children, and living happily had been Ha Baek-jin’s long-held dream.
Because he was heading to his hometown to fulfill that old dream, Ha Baek-jin’s heart was fluttering more than ever before.
“By the way, young brother, how did you injure your hand? It doesn’t look like an ordinary, simple wound.”
“It became like this after running into water bandits.”
“Oh dear!”
“It’s fine now. It has healed a lot.”
Woo Geom-san replied, moving his fingers.
When he was first rescued by Baek Ho-yang, his fingers could barely function.
They were as stiff as logs, and no strength could enter them at all. But now, he could bend all of his fingers, even if clumsily.
Compared to the initial state of his fingers, it was a monumental development.
“That’s a relief. I pray it heals completely in the near future.”
“Thank you.”
Woo Geom-san expressed his gratitude for Ha Baek-jin’s heartfelt words.
Though they hadn’t conversed much, he felt he could tell what a sincere and broad-minded person Ha Baek-jin was.
“Since this is also fate, let’s greet each other warmly if we meet again later.”
“Yes!”
“How old are you, young brother?”
“I am fifteen.”
“Fifteen? You’re younger than I thought. You’d match well with my daughter.”
“A daughter? You’re not even married yet, but you have a daughter?”
“Hehe! I mean she’ll exist in the future.”
“Ah!”
“I’ve wanted to have a daughter for a long time. A daughter who looks like me—just thinking about it makes me happy. Khaha!”
Woo Geom-san looked at the loudly laughing Ha Baek-jin with a dumbfounded expression.
So he was making that kind of joke about a daughter who didn’t even exist yet.
Contrary to appearances, the man seemed completely simple-minded.
Woo Geom-san shook his head and picked up the needle and thread again.
Ha Baek-jin patted Woo Geom-san’s shoulder and said.
“Rehabilitate diligently. My future son-in-law!”
“Sigh!”
Since it was too bothersome to even reply, Woo Geom-san let out a sigh and waved his hand.
Ha Baek-jin stood up from his seat and cupped his fists toward Baek Ho-yang.
“I shall take my leave now, so please rest comfortably.”
“Have a safe trip back.”
“Yes! I will visit you again before leaving the ship.”
After bowing politely, Ha Baek-jin returned to his companions’ side.
Right on time, Gwak Pung, who had finished inspecting the cargo downstairs, also joined them.
Ha Baek-jin asked.
“The cargo?”
“It’s fine.”
“But why is your expression like that?”
“What about it?”
“You look like your nerves are completely on edge.”
“I have a bad feeling.”
“Hmm!”
At Gwak Pung’s answer, Ha Baek-jin let out a low groan.
Although their affiliated sects were different, he knew him well since they had seen each other for quite a long time.
He knew just how sharp this man named Gwak Pung’s intuition was.
One of the reasons they were able to survive the war with the Cheonmyeong Association was thanks to Gwak Pung’s razor-sharp intuition.
At the crossroads of life and death, Gwak Pung had always made the right choice, and as a result, they were able to survive.
Currently, everyone moving with them knew of Gwak Pung’s ability. It was because they had saved their lives thanks to Gwak Pung.
Those currently with Gwak Pung were all secular disciples of the Nine Great Sects.
Left stranded in the middle when the Nine Great Sects sealed their gates, they blindly followed the man named Gwak Pung.
Gwak Pung said.
“Those bastards guarding the carriage loaded with the Gold Ingots. They’re suspicious, no matter how I look at them. It feels like they’re hiding something.”
“Isn’t it a task of moving a tremendous amount of Gold Ingots? Of course they’d be sensitive.”
“No! If you think about it, it was strange from the very beginning. No matter how much they want to cut security costs to pursue extreme profits, to entrust precious items like Gold Ingots to external escort guards like us instead of their own escort corps?”
“That’s why didn’t they place separate people to guard the Gold Ingots?”
“The look in their eyes bothers me.”
There were five martial artists guarding the Gold Ingots in total.
All of them were prominent experts within the Eunha Merchant Group. Among them was also the Vice Chief of Eunha Merchant Group.
He was said to be the younger biological brother of Qi Tianwei, the Chief of the Eunha Merchant Group. Perhaps because of that, he ate and slept right in the carriage where the Gold Ingots were loaded, never leaving his spot for even a single moment.
“If the Gold Ingots were that important, they should have used more of their own escort forces.”
“Hmm!”
“Something felt fishy from the start.”
“So what are you going to do? Are you going to capture and interrogate the Vice Chief of Eunha Merchant Group?”
“If necessary…”
“Hey now.”
“I’m saying it’s a possibility, not that I’m doing it right now. Let’s watch the situation.”
Gwak Pung’s eyes flashed fiercely.
At that appearance of Gwak Pung, Ha Baek-jin let out a quiet sigh.
This was because even he felt his breath hitch at that fierce temperament of Gwak Pung that popped out from time to time.
Ha Baek-jin sighed without Gwak Pung noticing.
‘I hope nothing happens…’
His gaze suddenly turned toward Baek Ho-yang and Woo Geom-san sitting on the opposite deck.
Baek Ho-yang was sitting upright while gazing at the surrounding scenery, and Woo Geom-san was wrestling with a needle and thread.
Watching them made his stifled chest ease up a little.
***
“I, I did it.”
Woo Geom-san’s voice trembled.
His pupils were greatly dilated, and a slight tremor ran through his shoulders.
Unable to hide his joy, he repeatedly waved his right hand.
A thin thread was threaded through the eye of the needle held in Woo Geom-san’s left hand.
After hundreds, thousands of attempts, he had finally succeeded in putting the thread through the eye of the needle.
To others, this trivial matter was the challenge of a lifetime for Woo Geom-san.
Though it was only a single success after countless failures, it made Woo Geom-san feel an incomparable thrill.
Baek Ho-yang smiled as he watched Woo Geom-san rejoicing in his success.
“You’ve worked hard. However, you must not be satisfied with a single success. Practice consistently until you succeed continuously.”
“Yes!”
“Still, you did well.”
“Yep!”
Woo Geom-san clenched his fist tightly.
He knew it as well.
Just because he had succeeded once now didn’t mean he would keep succeeding.
Only when he succeeded hundreds and thousands of times in a row could it be considered a successful rehabilitation.
He had barely taken the very first step.
Even so, it was true that he felt good.
Baek Ho-yang said.
“Since you’ve worked hard, stop for today and rest.”
“But…”
“The sun is setting. Before long, it will become dark and you won’t even be able to see the eye of the needle.”
“Understood.”
Only then did Woo Geom-san let go of his lingering attachment and put the needle and thread into his bosom.
He hadn’t realized it because he was so absorbed in the task of threading the needle, but the surroundings were darkening before he knew it.
Just as Baek Ho-yang said, it seemed better to call it a day.
Woo Geom-san stood up from his seat and loosened his stiff body.
Having crouched for so long, his entire body was stiff and aching. Thanks to that, loosening his stiffened body couldn’t help but take a long time.
“Phew!”
As his body refreshed, Woo Geom-san stretched out wide.
Into his eyes came Gwak Pung, Ha Baek-jin, and the others on the opposite side of the deck.
“Is something wrong? Their expressions look serious.”
The atmosphere surrounding the two conversing looked incredibly heavy. However, they were too far away to know what kind of conversation they were sharing.
Just then, Baek Ho-yang’s low voice drifted over.
“It is the typical countenance of a ruthless, ambitious leader.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
Startled, Woo Geom-san looked at Baek Ho-yang.
“At a glance, his eyes seem to resemble a tiger’s, but in truth, they are closer to a flood dragon’s. Fierce and devoid of affection, it is a countenance that will burn everything for his own ambition, regardless of what happens to the people around him. Being near someone with such a countenance brings misfortune to anyone.”
“A flood dragon, a ruthless leader.”
“Take a good look. There is absolutely nothing good about keeping someone with that kind of countenance close. That man will never remain as the head of a small group. The moment an opportunity arises, he will bite into someone’s neck and seize their position.”
“Are all those with the countenance of a ruthless leader like that?”
“Not all of them, of course. Talents vary wildly from person to person. No matter how great one’s ambition is, if they lack capability, they are bound to be weeded out. However, that man named Gwak Pung seems to possess great ambition and appears extremely capable to boot. He is by no means someone who will remain a mere escort guard.”
“Mmm!”
Woo Geom-san let out a low groan.
This was because he hadn’t expected Baek Ho-yang to evaluate the man named Gwak Pung so highly.
Even if it was a negative assessment, evaluating someone this highly was by no means a common occurrence.
“Then what about that gentleman?”
“Who? Ha Baek-jin?”
“Yes!”
“He is the polar opposite of the man named Gwak Pung. His clear, righteous aura is neither lacking nor overflowing, meaning he is full of a sense of justice. His will is upright and true, so his personality is such that he can never stand by and watch injustice. He may travel with a man of ruthless ambition for a short while, but they cannot go together until the end. If they travel together for long, discord will surely grow and harm each other.”
“Mmm!”
“It is a relief that they are parting ways at the stop after next. It is for the best, for both of them.”
“I see.”
Woo Geom-san nodded his head.
Baek Ho-yang looked up at the darkened sky.
“The war with the Cheonmyeong Association has ended, yet I know not why the Heavenly Secret is so chaotic.”
His lament scattered into the river wind.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————