The Great Heavenly Sword Emperor - Chapter 9

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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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#009. Traces of the East (3)

Without warning, Jang Pa-poong burst through the door and swung his short sword at Cheon Mujul.
But the blade never reached him.
With a snapping sound, Cheon Mujul blocked the strike using an incense stick he’d picked up—the kind that breaks at the slightest touch.
Whoom!
Jang Pa-poong clenched his teeth, eyes blazing, then spun and retreated before launching a fresh assault the moment his feet touched ground.
Slash-slash-slash-slash!
He slashed with vicious precision, but Cheon Mujul stood rooted in place, twisting only his torso to dodge each blade.
Thud!
Jang Pa-poong suddenly pivoted hard against the floor, and again Cheon Mujul simply sidestepped, letting the attack pass.
The short sword stretched toward an innocent Buddha statue instead.
Swish!
At that moment, Cheon Mujul reached out gently toward Jang Pa-poong’s arm.
“You shouldn’t break other people’s things.”
As Cheon Mujul’s hand moved, Jang Pa-poong’s heavy momentum—which had seemed about to smash the statue—simply stopped.
Or more precisely, his strike curved smoothly aside and he was pushed back.
Bewildered by this inexplicable technique, Jang Pa-poong spun to face Cheon Mujul again.
“Your body’s sturdier than I expected. I thought you’d need bedrest for some time.”
Cheon Mujul regarded Jang Pa-poong with his usual impassive expression.
Meanwhile, Gwang-an—who had never imagined Jang Pa-poong would appear—sat frozen in shock.
“Since you’re here now, we might as well talk. You must have heard everything until now.”
At Cheon Mujul’s words, Gwang-an flinched once more.
When had Jang Pa-poong arrived? How long had he been listening?
Unlike Cheon Mujul, who seemed unbothered, Jang Pa-poong’s eyes still burned with accusation.
Without a word, Cheon Mujul returned to his seat.
Reading the atmosphere, Gwang-an rose carefully and silently offered Jang Pa-poong a place to sit.
Though his gaze remained murderous, Jang Pa-poong settled into the offered seat, his expression still seething with rage.
The three sat together.
A suffocating silence hung in the air, unbroken.
Sensing the need to ease the tension somehow, Gwang-an finally gathered his courage and spoke first.
“You said you had a question…….”
At Gwang-an’s prompt, Cheon Mujul looked directly at Jang Pa-poong and asked:
“Since you’ve heard it all, you understand—if the Dongbang Se-ga truly stands behind Gwi-gok, the war with Muk-ryeon doesn’t make sense. Is it possible Muk-ryeon discovered some secret between the Dongbang Se-ga and Gwi-gok?”
“Why should I answer your questions?”
“Because we both want to find Gwi-gok, don’t we?”
At Cheon Mujul’s words, Jang Pa-poong’s gaze shifted away sharply.
“Damn it!”
A curse thick with conflicting emotions burst from his lips.
“There was nothing like that!”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes! If the Dongbang Se-ga and Gwi-gok were truly connected, and if we’d known their relationship, Muk-ryeon wouldn’t exist by now.”
“Yet you repelled Gwi-gok’s assault.”
“That’s not the problem! Gwi-gok isn’t the issue—you know nothing of the world’s workings!”
Jang Pa-poong’s voice rang with frustration.
“The Dongbang Se-ga—what kind of monsters are they! If they so much as decided, they could erase Muk-ryeon without a trace, as though we’d never existed!”
“The Dongbang Se-ga. They’re that powerful.”
At Jang Pa-poong’s answer, Cheon Mujul turned to look at Gwang-an.
His eyes held a lingering question.
“The Dongbang Se-ga and Gwi-gok must be connected. That’s the conclusion I’ve drawn from cross-verifying information gathered over a long time. It’s not certain, but I’d put the likelihood at eight parts in ten.”
At Gwang-an’s answer, Cheon Mujul fell into thought, his expression as impassive as ever.
“Hey, monk.”
“Yes?”
Now fully composed, Gwang-an answered calmly.
“Who is this man, really?”
At Jang Pa-poong’s question, Gwang-an’s lips curved into a smile.
“I’m afraid that’s not something I can speak to. Unless he tells you himself.”
At Gwang-an’s answer, Jang Pa-poong’s gaze shifted back and forth between him and Cheon Mujul.
“Though it may be presumptuous, I can say with certainty that the Lord of Muk-ryeon cannot lay a finger on this young master.”
Jang Pa-poong’s eyes narrowed as if he meant to devour Gwang-an whole, yet Gwang-an himself seemed utterly unmoved.
Then Cheon Mujul, who had been lost in thought until now, broke his silence.
“In the end, we’ll have to meet the Dongbang Se-ga directly to unravel this mystery.”
“You think the Dongbang Se-ga would deign to meet someone like you? That’s rich. Dream on.”
“They might. But I wouldn’t particularly recommend it.”
Jang Pa-poong stared at Gwang-an as if to ask what in the world he meant now.
Yet Gwang-an continued, his expression grave as he fixed his gaze on Cheon Mujul.
“If those who came after the young master truly are connected to the Dongbang Se-ga, you’d be walking straight into a trap.”
“That doesn’t concern me.”
“I understand the young master is strong. But the power of the Dongbang Se-ga exceeds whatever you might imagine.”
“That also doesn’t concern me.”
“Hahahaha!”
At Cheon Mujul’s reply, Jang Pa-poong suddenly burst into raucous laughter.
“I don’t know who you are, but you’re a madman! Hahahaha!”
Cheon Mujul simply watched Jang Pa-poong as he continued laughing.
Once his laughter subsided, Jang Pa-poong turned to Cheon Mujul and spoke.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but if you’re at odds with the Dongbang Se-ga, there’s only one reason you’re still alive. Do you know what it is?”
“What?”
“Because the Dongbang Se-ga hasn’t killed you yet.”
Jang Pa-poong’s smile vanished completely as he continued.
“When the Dongbang Se-ga decides to kill someone, that person dies. When they decide to erase a sect or family that displeases them, it vanishes from the world. That’s the kind of power they wield.”
“Is that so?”
Cheon Mujul showed not the slightest sign of disturbance.
By now, his composure had become almost grotesque.
“Young master, I cannot presume to measure how strong you are. Of course you must be formidable. But the Dongbang Se-ga…….”
Gwang-an pressed his case earnestly, but Cheon Mujul cut him off decisively.
“The Dongbang Se-ga merely stood by and watched as our family crumbled. That alone is reason enough to confront them.”
At his words, Gwang-an fell silent.
Cheon Mujul now saw the Dongbang Se-ga as his family’s sworn enemy.
That was more than reasonable.
The Cheon Geom Jang was the house of Cheon Geom Dae-je, and the Dongbang Se-ga was their Guardian family in service to them.
To abandon their lord-and-vassal bond, to stand idle while the Cheon Geom Jang fell—that alone constituted a betrayal of hierarchy.
Yet Jang Pa-poong, ignorant of Cheon Mujul’s true identity, wore an expression of utter disbelief throughout.
“It galls me that I can’t kill you myself, but I’ll make sure to watch you die by the Dongbang Se-ga’s hand.”
Jang Pa-poong ground his teeth as he spoke.
Gwang-an, leaving Jang Pa-poong behind, turned to Cheon Mujul and opened his mouth.
“Well then. Let us devise a plan.”
At that, Jang Pa-poong shook his head as if to say both men were mad.
“However, if we wish to improve even slightly the odds of achieving our goal, now is not the time. We must think long-term.”
This time, Gwang-an too refused to back down, pressing his own opinion.
Cheon Mujul simply listened to him in silence.
Then Jang Pa-poong suddenly rose from his seat.
“Damn it. I don’t know why I’m sitting here listening to this madness.”
Then he turned to Cheon Mujul and spoke.
“You might die by my hand before the Dongbang Se-ga’s, so be ready! I’ll mobilize Muk-ryeon entirely to kill you!”
Jang Pa-poong left a chilling threat hanging in the air as he departed.
Watching Jang Pa-poong leave, Cheon Mujul felt Gwang-an address him.
“You were rash.”
“What do you mean?”
“Speaking of fighting the Dongbang Se-ga like that. You shouldn’t have said it in front of Jang Pa-poong.”
“There was nothing I needed to hold back.”
“If by some chance Jang Pa-poong were to inform the Dongbang Se-ga…….”
“It doesn’t matter. In fact, it might be better if they know. They’ll come running to kill me.”
At Cheon Mujul’s response, Gwang-an let out a quiet sigh.
“Are you truly set on this? A confrontation with the Dongbang Se-ga?”
“Of course. As a Guardian family, they failed in their duty and merely looked on as the Cheon Geom Jang fell. That alone gives me sufficient grounds to hold them accountable.”
“As I said, it is a reckless undertaking. No matter how extraordinary the young master’s Muwi may be. Perhaps…….”
Gwang-an let his words trail off.
Perhaps he’d been about to say that even if the Cheon Geom Dae-je of old were to return, he still couldn’t undo what the Dongbang Se-ga had become.
But Gwang-an swallowed those words.
He had no wish to dampen Cheon Mujul’s resolve with cold water.
“Perhaps?”
“No, forgive me. In any case, the Dongbang Se-ga as it stands now is an entity no one can easily provoke—an iron fortress, if you will. That’s why you must proceed carefully, lay out your plans with time and deliberation, and then execute them.”
At Gwang-an’s words, Cheon Mujul nodded.
He wholly agreed with Gwang-an’s counsel about moving carefully and taking time to formulate a strategy.
Yet his reasons were different.
Not because the Dongbang Se-ga was strong, but because only through careful planning could he truly punish them as they deserved.
“I have a question for you.”
Cheon Mujul spoke, meeting Gwang-an’s gaze.
“Yes. Please ask.”
“Can I trust you?”
“What do you mean by that, sir?”
Gwang-an turned the question back on him.
“It seems you’re keeping much from me, things you haven’t told me. And there appear to be other ulterior motives at work.”
At Cheon Mujul’s words, Gwang-an smiled.
“I see what you mean. It’s quite reasonable to think that way. And to some extent, you’re not wrong.”
Gwang-an readily acknowledged it.
Cheon Mujul regarded him with a sharp, penetrating gaze.
“You remember the two reasons I mentioned when I first made that deal with you, don’t you?”
Cheon Mujul nodded, recalling that moment.
“There’s a third reason I didn’t speak of back then.”
“A third reason?”
“Yes. It exists precisely because you are descended from the Cheon Geom Dae-je.”
Cheon Mujul looked at Gwang-an, gesturing for him to continue.
“If we forge a bond with the Cheon Geom Dae-je’s descendant and aid his cause, and if—against all odds—we see that cause through to success, then there’s no stronger backing, no more formidable patron than that.”
Gwang-an met his eyes.
“When the day comes that you’ve achieved all that you desire, we ask only that you don’t turn away from us. The mere fact that Bohyeon Temple stands at your side will itself elevate our standing immeasurably.”
Gwang-an spoke from the heart.
Whether Cheon Mujul would recognize that sincerity, he couldn’t say.
“I understand what you’re saying.”
Cheon Mujul offered no other reply.
But for now, that was enough for Gwang-an.
“For a start, I’d suggest you meet with Buk-gung Dan-ya.”
“Buk-gung Dan-ya? Of the Buk-gung Se-ga?”
“That’s right. The last living heir of the Buk-gung Se-ga.”
“If you said you’d struggle alone, how would adding one more—Buk-gung Dan-ya—make any real difference?”
“Two is better than one, surely. And while I’m the one recommending it, the decision of whether to take him under your wing is yours and yours alone.”
At Gwang-an’s words, Cheon Mujul nodded.
The Buk-gung Se-ga—another Guardian family, just like the Dongbang Se-ga.
What had the Buk-gung Se-ga been doing when the Cheon Geom Jang fell?
Had they, too, pretended ignorance of the Cheon Geom Jang’s collapse, as the Dongbang Se-ga had?
For the same reasons he needed to confront the Dongbang Se-ga, he would have to meet the Buk-gung Se-ga at least once.
“Understood.”
Cheon Mujul nodded.
“Ah, and one more thing.”
Gwang-an continued carefully, looking at Cheon Mujul.
“What do you think about tidying up that unkempt hair and overgrown beard?”
At Gwang-an’s question, Cheon Mujul looked at him as if to ask what he meant.
“I hesitate to mention it, but looking at you now, no one would ever mistake you for a descendant of the Cheon Geom Dae-je.”
“Grooming my hair and beard won’t make people see me that way.”
“No, of course not. But first impressions matter. In human relations, appearance inevitably plays a role—it can diminish resistance and foster goodwill. Since how you look does influence whether people warm to you or recoil, I think it’s worth the effort to present yourself better.”
At Gwang-an’s words, Cheon Mujul fell silent in thought.
Until now, he’d never given the matter any consideration, nor had he felt any need to groom his hair or beard.
Even after hearing Gwang-an’s argument, he still didn’t particularly feel the need—yet thinking that Gwang-an wouldn’t say it without reason, doubt crept in.
“If you’d like, I can make preparations. I confess I have no particular talent in that direction.”
“Very well. I’ll do as you suggest.”
“While we’re at it, I should arrange for several sets of decent clothes as well. You may not need them now, but there will certainly come a time when proper attire will matter.”
At Gwang-an’s words, Cheon Mujul nodded silently.
He knew nothing of the matter and had no instinct for it either, so it seemed best to do as Gwang-an suggested.
“Then please rest. I’ll have everything prepared and report to you tomorrow.”
Gwang-an spoke with a satisfied smile.

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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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