The Great Heavenly Sword Emperor - Chapter 41

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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 41. Shadows Seeping Into Dan Ae Valley (1)

In the tea room of Dong Fang Tian Bai’s residence.
Dong Fang Tian Bai and Dong Fang Yeon Hui sat there drinking tea.
Though Cheon Mu Gyeol had sent a warning letter and the threat to the Dong Fang Clan was genuinely advancing, both men carried themselves with an ease that seemed almost excessive.
“How are things progressing?”
“I’ve given them a taste of what’s to come. Cheon Mu Gyeol handled it smoothly enough—no issues there.”
At Dong Fang Yeon Hui’s words, Dong Fang Tian Bai glanced sidelong at him with a question.
“Wasn’t it too light?”
“A proper introduction should always be gentle, should it not? If we came on too heavy from the start, what good would that serve?”
“There’s logic in that, but.”
As Dong Fang Tian Bai spoke, Dong Fang Yeon Hui set down his teacup and continued.
“Don’t worry yourself unnecessarily. The preparations are complete and everything is already in motion. Surely you don’t doubt me?”
“Of course not. Only.”
Click.
Dong Fang Tian Bai cut himself off and likewise set down his teacup, fixing his gaze upon Dong Fang Yeon Hui.
“I said to handle it as you see fit, but I never said you could skip reporting back to me.”
Dong Fang Tian Bai studied him in silence, yet his eyes burned with intensity.
That opening question—”How are things progressing?”—had been a rebuke from the start.
“My apologies.”
Dong Fang Yeon Hui quickly lowered his head.
The Dong Fang Clan stood at the apex of the Murim.
And at the apex of that clan stood Dong Fang Tian Bai.
A reprimand from such a man could never be trivial.
Yet when Dong Fang Yeon Hui raised his head again, there was no hint of intimidation in his expression.
“I lost myself in the schemes—it’s been so long since I’ve had the chance to use them. Again, my apologies.”
“Then report.”
Dong Fang Tian Bai answered curtly to Dong Fang Yeon Hui’s apology.
“Yes. I’ve sent letters to three sects. They won’t know it came from me.”
“Three sects?”
“Yes. Since we’ve exchanged a light greeting, I thought to rattle them a bit more. By now, I’d wager—”
Dong Fang Yeon Hui paused and glanced upward thoughtfully.
“They’ve already met.”
A faint smile played across Dong Fang Yeon Hui’s lips.

* * *

In a quiet, nondescript place where few eyes wandered, three men sat gathered around a single table.
The middle-aged man with neat, upright bearing was Han Mu Jin, the sect leader of Baek Un Geom Mun.
To his left sat another middle-aged man with a faintly stern countenance—Ju Han Do, sect leader of Song Pung Mun—and across from him was Jang Cheol Un, leader of Hyeon Mu Gwan, whose calm appearance belied the readiness for battle that seemed to emanate from his very posture.
Han Mu Jin, Ju Han Do, and Jang Cheol Un watched one another in silence, gauging.
They all knew why they had gathered, yet none wished to speak first.
Then Han Mu Jin, the eldest of the three, finally broke the silence.
“We’ve come together for the same reason, I believe.”
At Han Mu Jin’s words, both Ju Han Do and Jang Cheol Un nodded.
Han Mu Jin then withdrew a letter from his breast.
The other two men did likewise, placing their letters upon the table before them.
The three of them pretended indifference while stealing glances at each other’s correspondence.
Then they nodded quietly to themselves.
“The same content.”
At Han Mu Jin’s remark, Ju Han Do spoke up.
“I’ve no idea who sent this letter.”
“Nor do I. Should we truly follow the words of a letter from an unknown sender?”
Jang Cheol Un added his voice to the matter.
At that, Han Mu Jin looked between the two men before speaking.
“Haven’t we already? Merely by gathering here, we’ve already followed the content of this letter from an unknown hand.”
“We came because one of the sect leaders asked us to attend.”
“The same is true for me.”
At Ju Han Do and Jang Cheol Un’s words, Han Mu Jin let out a soft chuckle.
“Then shall we simply dismiss this gathering? It seems you’d rather not be here.”
“Ahem!”
“No, it’s not quite like that……”
Both men fumbled with their responses.
Han Mu Jin, reading through their hesitation as though he could see into their hearts, spoke again.
“Let’s set aside pointless pride and think only of the greater good. The Murim Criminal is about to enter our domain, isn’t he? If we capture him, that victory becomes ours.”
There was a contradiction in speaking of the greater good while calculating credit, but neither man chose to press the matter.
In truth, both shared Han Mu Jin’s thinking entirely.
“There was one phrase in the Letter that pleased me: who but us could possibly capture him?”
Ju Han Do let slip a hint of his true mind.
“But there’s one part I didn’t care for.”
Jang Cheol Un pointed to the final passage written in the Letter as he spoke.
“A warning that if we act alone out of reckless pride, disaster will strike? Ha! They’re treating us far too lightly, aren’t they?”
As Jang Cheol Un protested indignantly, Han Mu Jin regarded him with a faint smile.
“If your pride stings so easily, why not skip this meeting and go capture the fellow yourself?”
“No, I only meant—it’s just a matter of principle.”
Jang Cheol Un answered with an embarrassed expression.
Then came the moment.
“Urgent report! Cheong Rim Mun has been defeated by Cheon Mu Gyeol!”
A disciple of Baek Un Geom Mun rushed in hastily to deliver the news.
Upon hearing this, the three men exchanged glances for a moment.
Then, as if by prior arrangement, they all turned their eyes to the final line of the Letter.
“It seems this Cheon Mu Gyeol is quite formidable. Cheong Rim Mun is hardly an insignificant sect.”
“They must have been careless. One person, or was it two if we count an escort? Surely they wouldn’t have given their all against a mere pair?”
Jang Cheol Un nodded at Ju Han Do’s words.
“I don’t know how many people Cheong Rim Mun brought or how exactly they were defeated, but it’s clear the opponent possesses real strength. That must be why the Letter specified that we three must act in concert.”
Having learned that Cheong Rim Mun had fallen, the three men now placed complete trust in the Letter’s contents.
“Dan Ae Valley. Dan Ae Valley, then.”
Han Mu Jin murmured the words.
Dan Ae Valley lay not far from where they were currently gathered.
Though not lengthy, its narrow passage was hemmed in by sheer cliffs on both sides—perfect terrain for an ambush.
The Letter specified that they were to intercept Cheon Mu Gyeol at Dan Ae Valley, and it detailed the precise role each of the three sects would play.
The three men carefully read through their assigned roles in the Letter.
Then, one after another, they set the Letter back down on the table.
With their roles memorized and the location determined, they should have been moving now, yet none of the three seemed inclined to rise.
Was it fear born from news of Cheong Rim Mun’s defeat?
No, it was not.
It was the lingering unease that remained.
A sense that someone unknown was orchestrating them.
They had spoken of abandoning pride and thinking only of duty and credit, yet such unease could not be dispelled.
“Well…… let us be on our way.”
Han Mu Jin, having settled his mind first, rose from his seat and spoke.
Ju Han Do and Jang Cheol Un could then only rise and follow.
“Time is short. We must move quickly if we’re to have preparations in place before he reaches Dan Ae Valley.”
“Then, we shall meet at Dan Ae Valley.”
“I too shall make ready and depart at once.”
The three men departed that place and dispersed in different directions.
‘This alliance may be real, but ultimately it comes down to who captures Cheon Mu Gyeol first. That will naturally fall to us at Baek Un Geom Mun.’
Han Mu Jin’s pace quickened as he envisioned the battle to come at Dan Ae Valley.
‘While Baek Un Geom Mun will deliver the decisive blow, with Song Pung Mun’s strength, we can certainly seize Cheon Mu Gyeol before that moment arrives. I’ll bring more people than the Letter specified. We will capture Cheon Mu Gyeol—no matter what!’
With this resolve, Ju Han Do too quickened his pace.
And like those two, Jang Cheol Un harbored his own private ambitions.
‘Now is the time for Hyeon Mu Gwan to prove its true strength. Sorry, but the honors won’t reach your hands. Our sect will strike first, and victory shall be ours. Cheon Mu Gyeol will fall by Hyeon Mu Gwan’s hand.’
Under the thin guise of alliance, each carrying hearts full of private gain, the three men hurried back to their respective sects.

* * *

“Dan Ae Valley?”
Dong Fang Yeon Hui nodded at Dong Fang Tian Bai’s question.
“Yes. Cliffs on both sides, a narrow pass. No matter how formidable Cheon Mu Gyeol is, he’ll struggle in such terrain. Especially while operating under a constraint.”
“A constraint? Such a thing exists?”
“The reason we set Cheong Rim Mun in motion from the first encounter was simple: to test whether Cheon Mu Gyeol would kill them or spare them.”
“So he didn’t kill them.”
“No, he didn’t. A wise choice for him. Now that he’s become a Murim Criminal, that’s all he can afford to do. Every death only darkens his name further. But he’ll soon realize just how severe a constraint that is—if he hasn’t already. The terrain of Dan Ae Valley, combined with the three sects’ alliance. Even Cheon Mu Gyeol won’t break through easily without taking lives.”
“But if—just if—Cheon Mu Gyeol manages to push through without killing anyone, we have a second method prepared. A perfect way to ensnare him completely.”
“Excellent.”
Dong Fang Tian Bai smiled with satisfaction.
“From now on, don’t omit anything. Report to me promptly.”
“Understood. I’ll be more diligent.”
Dong Fang Yeon Hui bowed his head in acknowledgment.

He paused mid-stride, then lifted his gaze to the sky.
Against the blue expanse, the image of Dan Ae Valley began to take shape.
The cliffs rising vertically, the narrow pass between them—he could vividly see the disciples of Hyeon Mu Gwan straining to hold back Cheon Mu Gyeol’s assault.
Meanwhile, Song Pung Mun, waiting on the cliff’s edge for the moment to strike from the flank, had lost momentum under their sect leader’s foolish and hasty judgment.
And Baek Un Geom Mun held position, watching and waiting—waiting for Hyeon Mu Gwan and Song Pung Mun to exhaust themselves against Cheon Mu Gyeol’s strength, waiting for both to collapse of their own accord.
“Everything is flawless.”
The battle of Dan Ae Valley that had painted the sky faded away, and a smile spread across Dong Fang Yeon Hui’s lips.
In the vision he had drawn—the battle at Dan Ae Valley—the three sects appeared to fumble their roles, to stumble and fail.
Yet he called it flawless.
There was clearly something else moving beneath the surface of Dong Fang Yeon Hui’s design.
“Cheon Mu Gyeol. All you need do is follow the path you’ve chosen, play your part without wavering. That alone is all I ask of you.”
The stage Dong Fang Yeon Hui had conceived: Dan Ae Valley.
Those who would move according to his design were gathering there steadily.
If each played their role perfectly, he would walk away from that place holding both authority and advantage.
Dong Fang Yeon Hui resumed his walk.
The smile playing at his lips as he headed toward his quarters was the smile of a victor—one tinged with something darker still.

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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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