The Legend of Red Cloud - Chapter 73

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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 73. Yun Moves
The reason the Three Horses had never materialized in this world was Yi Hwa’s will.
Unlike the Seocheon Trading Company’s master’s expectations that she pursue it merely for health, Yi Hwa was earnest about martial arts.
Her dream was to become the Greatest Master Under Heaven.
Not merely the Greatest Female Master—not the strongest warrior among women—but to become the strongest person among all martial artists in the world, regardless of gender. That was her dream.
To such a woman, a letter from Sa Hyung arrived.
<A disciple I once taught martial arts to and then abandoned has alone reached Hwagyeong. Your peer has climbed to heights this teacher cannot even dare look up to.>
Yi Hwa was twenty-five years old.
Young still for a martial artist, but by the standards of women in this era, she was well past marriageable age.
For her, Sa Hyung’s letter—describing a master of her own age who had reached Hwagyeong—was a profound shock.
Though it contained not a single line urging her to come, it was the reason Yi Hwa left Hua Mountain and set out toward Saja Plain.
She was driven solely by the yearning to see a martial artist of her own generation who had ascended to such an exalted realm.
The moment she arrived at the Hyeol Gwi Dae Garrison, Tae Geuk Geom Wang assigned her one of the black-clad fighters and sent her to meet the camp.
It was the same figure who had left the camp alone two days prior, carrying a letter from Dae Heuk.
Jeok Sa still remained at the temporary encampment where they had first made camp.
Moyong Ji-eun was much the same.
She had not left the Jeok Sa Jo camp even at night.
So Dong Pil had given her his own tent.
No one had urged or forced him to do so.
For reasons of his own, Dong Pil had simply yielded.
Of course, the innocent Hee Jun now found himself sharing a single-person tent with Dong Pil as a result.
That night too, as Hee Jun tidied the sleeping quarters for the two of them, his eyes widened.
A figure in black night clothes and a black mask—one of the black-clad fighters—emerged suddenly from the forest behind his tent.
Hee Jun was so startled he couldn’t even cry out, only stumbling backward, when Dong Pil stepped forward.
“You’re not supposed to cross over here. I thought we had an understanding.”
At Dong Pil’s coldly measured question, Dae Heuk’s reply came from beyond the mask.
“I came to see Sal Rang.”
“Why the urgent visit?”
“If you tell him the person I mentioned has arrived, he’ll understand.”
Though Dae Heuk had asked to pass along the message, his voice carried so loudly that it spread across the entire temporary camp.
Even Jeok Sa, sitting near a campfire some distance away, heard it.
He rose slowly and approached Dae Heuk.
“You couldn’t bring her here? I should have gone myself….”
Jeok Sa’s words trailed off.
A woman had suddenly emerged from the forest that Dae Heuk had just come through.
“Wow!”
Hee Jun, still startled by Dae Heuk’s appearance, involuntarily gasped. She was a beauty of such caliber.
Even her hair, carelessly tied and falling over one shoulder, and her coarse yellow martial robes could not conceal her beauty.
She was like a daffodil heavy with morning dew.
Fresh and pure.
Her narrow eyes, upturned nose, and endlessly crimson lips sat delicately in her small face.
Dong Pil and Jeok Sa, who had been facing the startled Dae Heuk, were equally stunned.
Dong Pil’s mouth hung open wide enough to catch flies, his composure completely shattered, and even Jeok Sa’s expression showed undeniable bewilderment.
Catching sight of Jeok Sa’s reaction, Yi Hwa griped.
“You said we were the same age!”
“Even so, that’s still young. Probably hasn’t even turned thirty.”
At Dae Heuk’s words, Yi Hwa’s gaze turned provocatively toward Jeok Sa.
“Tell me—how old are you?”
“Thirty-two….”
Jeok Sa answered without thinking, then his eyes widened. Yi Hwa turned away from his gaze and furrowed her brow.
“You’re seven years older than me!”
“Look—doesn’t he seem that young?”
“Well….”
“Doesn’t he look that young? So it’s not unreasonable that this teacher was mistaken, is it?”
Jeok Sa asked the one still offering excuses to Yi Hwa.
“What are you doing right now?”
“Making excuses. Can’t you tell?”
“That’s not what I’m asking, and you know it.”
At Jeok Sa’s displeased tone, Dae Heuk reluctantly answered.
“Right. The person I said I’d introduce you to—she’s my master.”
“Why……?”
“Because she’s someone you’ll never forget as long as you live.”
At Dae Heuk’s words, Jeok Sa tilted his head slightly.
He understood the part about her being beautiful.
He’d been startled by it himself.
But that was all there was to it.
If beauty alone could make someone unforgettable, then he would have been unable to forget the Greatest Beauty Under Heaven, Jo Yeon, whom he’d seen face-to-face during his time in Luoyang.
Yet until this incident unfolded today, Jeok Sa had never once thought of her.
So Dae Heuk’s claim that he would never forget her because of her beauty simply didn’t fit.
“It seems you’re the type who can’t forget a beautiful woman for the rest of your life.”
At his pointed remark, Dae Heuk faltered.
He’d realized that Jeok Sa wasn’t being swayed by his stratagem at all.
The absurd part was that the one who needed seducing showed no reaction, while his own scheme had hooked someone else entirely.
“My lord, might I ask your name……?”
“My name is Jang Min-soo, madam.”
“Oh my! Your voice is quite lovely too.”
“Is… is that so?”
“Yes. It sounds like jade pearls rolling across a golden tray.”
Whether such an observation was appropriate for a woman to make about a man’s voice was debatable, but Yi Hwa’s eyes had grown glassy and unfocused as she spoke.
Drawing close to the bewildered Jang Min-soo, she pressed forward.
“Do you have a beloved?”
“No… I do not, madam.”
“Then what about me?”
Yi Hwa leaned in with her question, but received no answer.
Alarmed at how strangely the situation was unfolding, Dae Heuk forcibly dragged her away into the forest and vanished.
As the commotion swept through the Temporary Camp, Dong Pil’s disgruntled voice rang out.
“How is this fair? How could you leave me for Director Jang!”
Dong Pil’s complaints continued for some time afterward.
Even Jeok Sa couldn’t help but smile at it.
But the others found nothing to laugh about.
They had clearly recognized that Gunma Rim was attempting to seduce Jeok Sa.
This awareness also changed how they looked at Moyong Ji-eun, who was with them.
Until now, the Jeok Sa Jo members had regarded her as a woman who might possibly be Jeok Sa’s younger sister.
Though that possibility had grown thin, it remained a possibility as long as Jeok Sa hadn’t confirmed otherwise.
That was why they’d accepted it without much thought when Moyong Ji-eun had even mentioned a Beauty Scheme herself.
They’d assumed she was using it merely as a pretext for approach.
But everything changed with what had just transpired.
It became clear that Gunma Rim was moving actively to bring Jeok Sa into their fold.
The Five Immortals didn’t yet realize it, but the original Jeok Sa Jo members had shown favor to Moyong Ji-eun solely because of her appearance.
Not because Moyong Ji-eun herself was beautiful.
It was because she bore a striking resemblance to Jeok Sa’s mother.
The longing that always glimmered in Jeok Sa’s eyes when he looked at her was the reason, and the members who witnessed that longing could not help but soften toward her.
All of that changed with this incident.
Everyone came to recognize that she posed a potential threat to Jeok Sa.
Even Yi Song, the gentlest among them, had turned cold and rigid.
“My lady, it is time you returned home.”
At Yi Song’s words, Moyong Ji-eun was taken aback, and Jeok Sa glanced over to gauge the expressions of the Jeok Sa Jo members.
Recognizing that their expressions had indeed shifted, Jeok Sa let out a quiet laugh.
He had discerned their thoughts.
For some reason, it felt regrettable, but it didn’t matter.
Whether she was his sister or not, she was a woman beyond his reach in any case, and it was abundantly clear that no amount of resemblance to his mother could ease the longing in his heart.
“We return as well.”
At Jeok Sa’s words, everyone’s faces brightened.
They had confirmed that their leader had no intention of falling prey to Gunma Rim’s schemes.
So resolute was Jeok Sa’s expression that even Moyong Ji-eun, who had hesitated at Yi Song’s command to leave, now adopted an expression of resignation.
Thus the Jeok Sa Jo departed from the Temporary Camp, where they had stayed five days—longer than originally planned.
As they rode away, Dae Heuk held the struggling Yi Hwa, who had insisted on following Jang Min-soo into the forest, while Moyong Ji-eun watched with a distant expression.
***
The Maeng Ui Dan Garrison, to which the Jeok Sa Jo had returned, thrummed with an atmosphere markedly different from when they had left.
For one thing, the gleam in the members’ eyes had changed.
Such murmuring and unease was something they’d never witnessed before.
But the most significant change was this:
“Welcome back. Your return is most auspicious.”
Tae Geuk Geom Wang, the leader of Maeng Ui Dan, had arrived with numerous high-ranking members of the organization to receive Jeok Sa Jo—or more precisely, Jeok Sa himself.
“Pardon? That tone of yours…?”
When Jeok Sa asked quietly of Tae Geuk Geom Wang, he offered no direct answer, instead smiling meaningfully and introducing several unfamiliar faces from among those standing with him.
“Ah, allow me to make introductions. This gentleman is the chief administrator of the Namgung Family.”
Rather than answering Jeok Sa’s question, Tae Geuk Geom Wang introduced him to someone instead.
Puzzled by such an abrupt gesture, Jeok Sa found himself facing the man whom Tae Geuk Geom Wang had just introduced.
“I am Namgung Hyeon. It is my honor to finally meet you, Great Master.”
“Y-yes, a pleasure to meet you.”
Jeok Sa hastily returned the salute, and Tae Geuk Geom Wang continued his introductions.
“This one, I needn’t introduce—you already know him.”
“It has been too long, Brother.”
“Master Ha Un!”
“Yes, it is I.”
“What on earth is the meaning of this?”
Tae Geuk Geom Wang answered Jeok Sa’s question with a smile.
“It means we wish to welcome Great Master Jeok Sa as one family.”
The eyes of Jeok Sa Jo’s members widened at the implication, while Jeok Sa’s expression grew cold.
Perhaps Tae Geuk Geom Wang noticed that Jeok Sa’s reaction was not favorable.
Neither Tae Geuk Geom Wang, nor Namgung Hyeon, nor Ha Un attempted to stop the members of Jeok Sa Jo as they withdrew to the Internal Quarters.
Back in the Internal Quarters, which was as much their home as any other, the members grew animated with excitement.
They had been troubled since discovering Gunma Rim’s true intentions, but upon seeing that both the Namgung Family and Muddang had extended their hands in alliance, they glimpsed hope.
Voices rose among the members—some openly saying the Namgung was the better choice, while others argued that Muddang, having had prior connections with them, was surely preferable.
However, such talk came only from the older members of Jeok Sa Jo; the Five Righteous remained silent.
Each was preoccupied with his own thoughts.
Hwangbo Jang Seong, Paeng Gyeong, and Cheol Ja Yong had the interests of their respective sects to consider.
Peculiar was Yun’s demeanor.
His expression was as if he’d taken a heavy blow.
Moreover, after receiving some Sound Transmission from Yun, even Gwak Gi-ryang’s expression grew grave.
Apart from the Five Righteous, who stood apart in their own silence, the rest of Jeok Sa Jo’s members had actually begun playing rock-paper-scissors among themselves.
They were trying to decide between the Namgung Family and Muddang.
Jeok Sa, watching this absurdity unfold, excused himself from the Internal Quarters.
The moment he left, the boisterous commotion of Jeok Sa Jo’s members died away at once.
“What do you make of it?”
In stark contrast to how Yi Song had just been passionately advocating for Muddang moments before, his voice now carried a different weight—and Jwa Ryang, who had been loudly championing the Namgung Family, answered in a hushed tone.
“He doesn’t seem inclined to be swayed, at least.”
“True enough.”
“Yes.”
“But is this truly for the best? For the Great Master, I mean?”
Dong Pil’s sudden interjection left both Yi Song and Jwa Ryang without an answer.
In their stead, Jang Min-soo spoke with careful deliberation.
“At the very least, either of those two sects would be capable of protecting the Great Master with safety.”
At those words, the Five Righteous—until then lost in their own contemplation—all turned their attention to Jang Min-soo at once.
The older members of Jeok Sa Jo did likewise.
“And your reasoning?”
“Because both organizations already have masters of Hwagyeong’s standing within their ranks.”
No further explanation was needed; everything became clear with those words alone.
While the other members of Jeok Sa Jo nodded in understanding, the expressions of the Five Righteous grew even more grave.
After wavering in that manner, the Five Righteous each seemed to reach their own resolve, and they departed the Internal Quarters with determined faces.
What was unexpected was that Yun was among them.
Gwak Gi-ryang, his expression troubled, followed after Yun as he always did.

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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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