The Legend of Red Cloud - Chapter 61

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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 61. The Boy of Years Past
Not long after Ryu returned to the Inner Barracks and fell into his usual afternoon nap, the entire Maeng Ui Dan was thrown into upheaval.
The Leader himself had arrived without warning.
Moreover, he had brought Maeng Ho Do Gun, the Deputy Leader, with him.
And to top it all, the Taegeuk Sword King was present as well—meaning two masters of Hwa Gyeong and one practitioner of Choe Sang Seung Ip Shin Gyeong in a single room.
Yi Hwan, startled at the thought that they’d come to wipe out the Blood Ghost Unit entirely, was bewildered by the Deputy Leader’s sudden command.
“You mean to evacuate all the unit members, sir?”
“Yes. Immediately withdraw all Maeng Ui Dan personnel outside the garrison.”
“Except for the Jeok Sa Jo, sir?”
“How many times must you make me repeat myself? Execute the order at once!”
At the Deputy Leader’s firm command, Yi Hwan’s gaze turned toward the Taegeuk Sword King, who sat witness to the exchange.
The Taegeuk Sword King’s eyes deliberately avoided that look—a silent plea for explanation.
There were too many ears listening, too many eyes watching; he could hardly speak of a Gun Ma Rim Ju hiding his true identity within the Jeok Sa Jo.
Faced with the Taegeuk Sword King’s refusal to explain, Yi Hwan had no choice but to issue the order for all Maeng Ui Dan personnel to relocate.
Every command was carried out in silence—all save the Jeok Sa Jo.
Two hours.
That was the time it took for the entire Maeng Ui Dan to move out beyond the garrison perimeter.
Ironically, among those who withdrew from the garrison were Yi Song and five veteran low-rankers who had been conducting training in the Training Grounds alongside other Heukyak Dai warriors.
Dong Pil, who had gone to a nearby Tavern to seduce a woman from the Hwangsan Dai, and Jwa Ryang and Jang Min Su, who had left to fetch him back, also remained nowhere within the garrison walls.
Even Hui Jun had gone out, claiming he was gathering medicinal herbs on the hills near the garrison.
For one reason or another, the only person remaining in the Jeok Sa Jo’s Inner Barracks was Ryu, lost in sleep.
Then the door of that Inner Barracks was thrown open violently.
In an instant, Ryu sprang to his feet, Yu Myeong already drawn and ready in his hand.
And his eyes met those of the Changtian Sword Emperor.
“You!”
The Changtian Sword Emperor’s gaze turned cold and piercing.
More than twenty years had passed—a gulf of time easily bridged in a single glance.
The face before him still bore traces of that young boy who had looked at him with eyes burning with defiance and hunger for life.
Though it had been long ago, the impression had been so vivid that it remained etched with crystalline clarity in the Changtian Sword Emperor’s memory.
Ryu recognized him too.
That middle-aged examiner—arrogant, dismissive, contemptuous throughout.
“Leader!”
At Ryu’s trembling utterance, the Changtian Sword Emperor turned back to the Taegeuk Sword King, who had entered moments later.
“Why did you not tell me?”
“I thought you would know once you saw him.”
“Your words are not wrong, but—! I had no idea that boy would grow to such heights.”
At the Changtian Sword Emperor’s note of admiration, Ryu quietly resheathed Yu Myeong and fixed his gaze upon the Taegeuk Sword King.
The Taegeuk Sword King, reading the reproach written across that stare, averted his eyes with a subtle shift of his head.
He had much he could have said, but he knew better than anyone—better than anyone at all—that every word would have been mere excuse.
Turning his gaze from the Taegeuk Sword King, Ryu faced the Changtian Sword Emperor directly.
“He has gone.”
“Curious—the way you speak, it’s as if you knew I would come.”
“The Taegeuk Sword King left his post without a word, so I assumed as much.”
At Ryu’s words, the Changtian Sword Emperor’s brow furrowed.
“That’s exactly what I said to him—why did you come in person instead of sending a letter?”
There was clear reproach in those words, but the Taegeuk Sword King offered no response.
His heart had been racing.
It seemed as though Ryu might follow the Gun Ma Rim Ju at any moment.
There had been no time for deliberation; he had simply run.
Unable even to offer an excuse, the Changtian Sword Emperor turned from the Taegeuk Sword King and spoke to Ryu instead.
“So you did not try to stop him from leaving?”
“I sent him off.”
“Not merely failing to stop him—you sent him off yourself.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“It was a promise. Though I suppose that promise has come to nothing in the end.”
Before Ryu had finished speaking, a startled cry burst from the Taegeuk Sword King.
“You didn’t challenge him to a duel, did you?”
“It was a promise.”
“You—!”
The Taegeuk Sword King couldn’t finish his objection, and Ryu merely shrugged in response.
Observing the two of them, the Changtian Sword Emperor pieced together the rough situation and spoke.
“It seems there was a promise to duel. Yet here you stand, very much alive. I’m not sure what to make of that.”
A chill settled over the Changtian Sword Emperor’s gaze, and suspicion gleamed unmistakably in his eyes.
Though Ryu met that stare directly, he said nothing.
There was little to say, and he had no wish to make excuses about rescheduling the duel at some future date.
The Changtian Sword Emperor studied Ryu for a moment longer, then turned and departed.
Maeng Ho Do Gun, who had been watching Ryu closely, offered a faint smile and followed the leader out.
The Taegeuk Sword King, uncertain what to do, remained behind until Ryu spoke.
“Go on.”
The words meant more than simply following the leader and doing his duty.
Understanding the layers of meaning in Ryu’s statement, the Taegeuk Sword King replied in a troubled voice.
“You…….”
“I understand. I know what you’re thinking, and I understand your concerns. Even so—won’t you trust me?”
At Ryu’s words, the Taegeuk Sword King pressed his lips together, his expression hardened.
There was nothing else to say.
“I’m sorry.”
With only those words left behind, the Taegeuk Sword King also departed the Inner Barracks, and Ryu muttered to himself.
“Close the door on your way out.”
Ryu grumbled as he shut the door, then lay down in his usual spot and closed his eyes.
But moments later, a sigh escaped him as he shifted restlessly.
“Sigh…….”
With that sigh, silence settled once more over the Jeok Sa Jo’s Inner Barracks.
The leader had departed as abruptly as he’d arrived.
It was a return that had bypassed even Yi Hwan, the master of Maeng Ui Dan.
The vice-leader who sought out Yi Hwan offered an awkward smile and merely conveyed the order to resume normal operations.
The Taegeuk Sword King, who appeared to have much to say, departed with the vice-leader and disappeared following the leader, who was already out of sight.
The Maeng Ui Dan members, who had withdrawn beyond the garrison without knowing why, filtered back inside.
Commanders bustled about trying to understand the meaning and reason behind the sudden orders, but those who had issued them offered no explanation.
Some soldiers claimed to have spotted the leader and vice-leader, but few members of Maeng Ui Dan believed them outright.
The lack of credibility stemmed from the fact that the leader and vice-leader had supposedly visited the front lines simultaneously, yet not a single escort had been deployed.
Thus the unexplained tumult gradually scattered and dissipated.
Soon, soldiers began departing to battlefields, receiving assignments as they normally would.
In particular, the sudden disappearance of Yi Hwa Geom, the commander of the Green Eye Dai, had sparked extensive search operations across multiple divisions.
And because the members of Maeng Ui Dan lived perpetually on the knife’s edge between life and death, the brief disturbance of training was quickly buried under other pressing concerns.
After all, no one had died, and nothing particularly unusual had occurred.
But unlike the ordinary members, Yi Hwan and Gong Chan could not simply let the matter rest.
“Since the leader saw him directly, there’s no way to hide it now, is there?”
Gong Chan, ignorant of the Gun Ma Rim Ju’s affairs, had assumed from the leader’s visit to the Jeok Sa Jo’s Inner Barracks that Ryu’s existence was the reason for the abrupt visit.
At Gong Chan’s question, Yi Hwan merely nodded silently.
“…….”
Finding his silence frustrating, Gong Chan pressed further.
“Then shall we file a formal report now?”
“…….”
Still receiving no answer, Gong Chan called out to him.
“Master.”
Yi Hwan finally turned to look at him, and Gong Chan spoke.
“You must make a decision soon. If we’re not careful, they may accuse us of deliberately omitting the report.”
Despite Gong Chan’s urging, Yi Hwan still did not answer.
He could not be certain how the mainstream powers of Maeng Ui Dan would react if Ryu’s abilities were officially disclosed.
Even those born of the same family could be discriminated against for being a bastard—such was the current sentiment of the clans in Baek Do.
Not that it was right.
It was wrong, but the reality could not be denied.
And if Ryu were thrown into such circumstances……
There was no predicting what might unfold or how.
Yi Hwan knew he was not alone in thinking this.
The leader thought so, and so did the vice-leader.
Even the Taegeuk Sword King, who seemed to care for Ryu, had departed with them.
There was no knowing what decision would ultimately be made.
And so……
“Let us wait a moment.”
Gong Chan could not hide his bewildered expression at Yi Hwan’s answer, which came only after a long pause.
“Master!”
“I understand your concern. I do. But… let us wait. It seems the right thing to do. Trust me in this.”
At Yi Hwan’s words, Gong Chan could only clamp his mouth shut, worry etched across his face.
True to Yi Hwan’s instinct, the Cheol Hyeol Maeng was locked in fierce debate over what to do with Jeok Sa.
Because Jeok Sa’s capabilities had not yet been disclosed, the argument centered on the Changtian Sword Emperor and the Taegeuk Sword King.
The two had already been quarreling for the better part of the day.
What was peculiar was that the dispute between them was not about whether to reveal Jeok Sa’s abilities or keep them hidden.
“So the idea is to just leave things as they are now.”
“Senior, think about it. Do you honestly believe he can remain hidden if we leave him there?”
“We’ve kept it hidden this long! No one’s found out so far.”
“That was only possible because the Master of Maeng Ui Dan was cooperating with us.”
“If it’s been possible until now, why would it become impossible afterward?”
The Changtian Sword Emperor answered the Taegeuk Sword King’s question.
“The Master of Maeng Ui Dan changes next month. The selection process is already complete.”
“Who’s taking over?”
The answer to the Taegeuk Sword King’s question came from Maeng Ho Do Gun, who had been quietly observing the two men’s debate.
“The decision has been made: Gul Ha.”
“No—that madman!”
The Taegeuk Sword King could only express shock.
Gul Ha, known by the epithet “Gul Ha,” was a devotee of reckless charging.
Reckless charging—to stake everything on rushing forward and attacking without hesitation.
Beyond his sheer ferocity, his fighting style was crude, and he observed no rules of engagement.
For this reason, he even drew mockery for never abandoning the fundamentals of a rough fighter.
Those who had faced him in combat found themselves in grave condition, regardless of whether they were enemy or ally. He was a man who knew nothing of restraint.
Maeng Ho Do Gun added an explanation to the Taegeuk Sword King, whose expression showed incomprehension at sending such a man as the commander of the front lines.
“Since the Baek Ui Ryeon has also joined our ranks, the majority opinion was to press forward this time. Moreover, the Hwangha Suli Maeng has taken command of Maeng Ui Dan this cycle…….”
Because Maeng Ui Dan was both dangerous and troublesome, its commander had been rotated among the nine major sects of the Cheol Hyeol Maeng.
It was a kind of constraint to ensure that no one could escape their turn.
Whether things went one way or another, once Gul Ha took office as Master of Maeng Ui Dan, one could not expect the political acumen that Yi Hwan possessed—the ability to assess a situation and hide what needed hiding.
“Then we replace him.”
“If the position were desirable and you offered the chance, they’d leap at it. But who would volunteer to take it on?”
At the Master’s question, the Taegeuk Sword King looked toward the Deputy Master.
At that gaze, the Deputy Master, Maeng Ho Do Gun, shook his head.
“When someone’s turn comes around, even within their own sect they resort to drawing lots. There will be no one willing to step forward and take the position.”
After pondering briefly at the Deputy Master’s words, the Taegeuk Sword King spoke.
“Then Muddang will have to take it again. It would settle things if we kept Yi Hwan in place.”
“According to Maeng Gyu, no sect may hold the position twice in succession, Senior.”
The Deputy Master was right.
Not because the position of Master of Maeng Ui Dan was a desirable one.
It was because no one wanted to serve twice, so the rule had been established in the first place.
Whatever the reason, Maeng Gyu existed, and it could not be overturned.
The Changtian Sword Emperor, watching the discouraged Taegeuk Sword King, murmured as if making a suggestion.
“Then again, who knows… If someone of the caliber of the Taegeuk Sword King were to volunteer, I might be able to push it through by exercising my authority as Master…….”

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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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