The Legend of Red Cloud - Chapter 92

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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 92. Myo Seol, Information Officer of the Hae Mil Mun’s Hae Gu Division
While the inn still blazed with lamplight in the full brightness of day, continuing its business, the one called Point So-i—who had slipped the letter to Ryu—stepped out of the inn and disappeared into a shadowed alley.
Within moments, Point So-i’s figure could not be found anywhere in that alley.
Bun Ta Ju, the leisurely seated head of the Hae Gu division in Bun Ta, showed a bewildered expression at the sudden appearance of the information officer.
“Oh! Myo Seol! What brings you out at this hour? Has something come up?”
“No, sir. I have some information I need to verify.”
Myo Seol answered curtly—the same man who kept the inn as Point So-i—and stepped into the information room where documents lay in towering stacks.
Bun Ta Ju, following at his heels, asked with curiosity written across his face.
“What is it? What’s the matter?”
“You received the report about Hyeol Young Ma Jon, didn’t you?”
As Myo Seol answered while rifling through the documents, Bun Ta Ju’s head nodded.
“I received it, but… you said you weren’t certain because he looked too young?”
“Do I trust an expert’s appearance? That old Sword Emperor with the Moon-Breaking technique is well over seventy, yet his face looks like a sprightly man in his thirties.”
“True enough, I suppose…”
Before the lingering tone of Bun Ta Ju’s trailing words could fade, Myo Seol’s exclamation burst forth.
“Found it!”
“Found what? What did you find?”
Peering over Myo Seol’s shoulder as he unfolded a Yong Mo Pa Gi scroll, Bun Ta Ju’s eyes fell upon the figure of a man in loud armor bearing three swords, with a bow slung across his back besides.
“Who is…?”
“Hyeol Young Ma Jon.”
“What? This man?”
“Yes. Look here at the bottom of the Yong Mo Pa Gi. It says Hyeol Young Ma Jon. I thought I’d seen this before when I was organizing materials sometime back—and indeed I had.”
“So the person you saw is this man?”
“His eyes, his nose, his broad forehead, his thick brows, his face in his twenties, his features—not a single thing matches.”
To Myo Seol’s answer, Bun Ta Ju’s face fell into utter bewilderment.
“What? Then it’s not him?”
“It may not be the man himself, but it could be his son or disciple.”
“Hmm… his son or disciple, you say… Well, that’s possible. But why has he suddenly set foot in Hae Nam again?”
“I won’t know for certain until I meet him, but the information he was seeking was about Yu Seong Chu Hon.”
“That son of a… No, why does he want information about the head of the Yu Seong Cheol Family?”
At Bun Ta Ju’s question, Myo Seol fell silent for a moment, thinking hard, before he began rummaging through the documents again.
Watching him, Bun Ta Ju asked.
“You’re not answering my question, and now you’re digging through papers? If you told me what you’re looking for, I could help you find it.”
Though Bun Ta Ju was being a nuisance with his persistent hovering, Myo Seol merely grinned and said.
“Just a moment. If I can find this… Ah! Here it is.”
“What? What is it?”
Even under Bun Ta Ju’s pressure, Myo Seol carefully pored over the document before nodding his head.
“It’s certain now. Hyeol Young Ma Jon appears to have come at the request of the Mun Chang So Family.”
“The Mun Chang So Family? But why do you think that?”
“There was a report not long ago that the second son of the So Family’s Three Swords had recently returned from Koryo.”
“You mean… So Cheong Jin, the second of the So Family’s Three Swords, summoned Hyeol Young Ma Jon and brought him rushing from Koryo to Jungwon?”
“Yes. That is my assessment.”
“For an expert of Hyeol Young Ma Jon’s caliber to drop everything and come rushing at the Mun Chang So Family’s summons—son or disciple or not, that hypothesis seems far too thin, doesn’t it?”
“That’s precisely why I looked into this.”
Saying that, Myo Seol pointed to a particular passage in the document that Bun Ta Ju had just received.
Bun Ta Ju read the passage aloud.
“Having concluded a visiting challenge with the head of the Mun Chang So Family, Hyeol Young Ma Jon stayed at the Mun Chang So Family for two days before departing. What transpired during that time remains unconfirmed.”
“Yes. That’s a record from thirty years ago, during the time when Hyeol Young Ma Jon was conducting his visiting challenges in Hae Nam. At that time, I believe, both sides formed some manner of bond.”
“So based on that connection from back then, someone connected to Hyeol Young Ma Jon has now come from Koryo to Jungwon again?”
“Yes. That is my judgment. In fact, we’ve confirmed that someone from the Sea Route—from Gang Do in Koryo—disembarked from a ship.”
At Myo Seol’s confident answer, Bun Ta Ju’s eyes widened as he pondered something for a moment.
“At a time like this, arriving at the Mun Chang So Family’s summons, sent from the Hyeol Young Ma Jon side…?”
To Bun Ta Ju, whose expression now brimmed with expectation, Myo Seol gave a vigorous nod.
“Yes. The person sent from the Hyeol Young Ma Jon side appears to intend to deal with that bastard Yu Seong Chu Hon.”
At Myo Seol’s answer, Bun Ta Ju hurried into the document room and emerged dragging an armful of files.
“Here, these are the Yu Seong Cheol Family records. And…”
Setting down those documents, Bun Ta Ju stepped back into the room and emerged with another armful of files, which he dumped before Myo Seol like refuse.
“These are all the information we have on that bastard Yu Seong Chu Hon. Take everything you need and go through it as thoroughly as you like.”
Whenever the name Yu Seong Chu Hon came up, Myo Seol understood why Bun Ta Ju’s teeth would clench.
Just yesterday, Bun Ta Ju had been summoned by Yu Seong Chu Hon and beaten soundly.
It was because the information he had provided a few days earlier was not accurate.
To be honest, information sometimes lacked precision.
It included inferences drawn from surrounding circumstances.
Of course, such information naturally came with a caveat that it was inference, and an explanation of why that inference was valid.
Bun Ta Ju had gone through that standard procedure with Yu Seong Chu Hon as well.
The problem was that the man gave no consideration to any of that whatsoever.
Moreover, he never paid for the information he took.
It wasn’t as though he’d simply forgotten—since Yu Seong Chu Hon became the family head, the Yu Seong Cheol Family had been taking information from Hae Mil Mun without ever once compensating them.
Yet he treated Bun Ta Ju like his own limbs, summoning him at will for information, and didn’t hesitate to wield his weapon, the Yu Seong Chu, whenever he found the information unsatisfactory or insufficient.
In fact, three branch chiefs of Hae Gu had been killed by Yu Seong Chu Hon’s tyranny over the years.
Hae Mil Mun was too weak to seek revenge against the Yu Seong Cheol Family, let alone even lodge a formal protest.
It was because Yu Seong Chu Hon was not merely a thoroughly corrupted Sa Pa disciple, but a supreme warrior of unparalleled strength whose name was inscribed among the Yeongha Baekwi, the epitome of shameless arrogance.
Moreover, the Yu Seong Cheol Family, to which he belonged, was one of the important sects of Baek Ui Ryeon.
Even if Hae Mil Mun mobilized every disciple across all of Jungwon, they could not stand against the Yu Seong Cheol Family.
How desperate must Hae Mil Mun have been to seriously consider withdrawing from Hae Gu.
But Hae Mil Mun couldn’t even do that.
Somehow Yu Seong Chu Hon learned of the plan and marched to Hae Mil Mun’s headquarters, threatening that if they abandoned Hae Gu, he would hunt down every last member of Hae Mil Mun and slaughter them, and the matter was settled.
How he’d found the headquarters of Hae Mil Mun, one of Hae Nam’s three great secrets, was a mystery.
In any case, the Hae Gu branch remained in place.
The problem was that no one wanted to take the position of branch chief.
When the eastern regional director ordered Myo Seol to assume command of the Hae Gu branch, he even threatened to leave the organization altogether.
He had no desire whatsoever to be dragged away by Yu Seong Chu Hon, humiliated, and beaten to death.
Eventually, the eastern regional director got permission from headquarters and sent his younger brother, who lacked both ability and skill as a branch chief, to take over Hae Gu.
It was this branch chief who had just come out with documents containing all the information about the Yu Seong Cheol Family and Yu Seong Chu Hon and handed them to Myo Seol.
“If that’s not enough, I’ll even strip the eastern branch office for information. Just give him everything. Tell him all he wants to know.”
Myo Seol laughed bitterly at the branch chief’s words, which sounded like he was truly willing to ransack the entire eastern office, and nodded.
“Understood. I will do my utmost to cooperate.”
“Good. This time, let’s really finish that bastard Yu Seong Chu Hon once and for all.”
“Understood.”
Myo Seol nodded, gathered the documents, and went to his office.
He would likely verify and organize the information, then commit it to memory before departing.
The branch chief had said to take all the documents, but he didn’t actually think those papers would be carried out.
Even though Hae Mil Mun was a sect of the lower dregs of Kangho, information documents could not be taken outside, and anyone who violated that rule, regardless of rank, would be executed.
With the branch chief’s full support, Myo Seol left the branch headquarters late that night and headed toward Nam San.
***
As the mountain’s cold entered Gwan Je Myo, Ryu, who had slowly ceased his wind cultivation, gathered branches around him and kindled a fire to ward off the mountain’s chill.
He hadn’t brought supplies as though mounting an expedition with the Jeok Sa Jo, and his internal power was sealed off—useless for dispelling fatigue through cultivation.
So now he needed fire to endure the cold.
Of course, when carrying out operations in enemy territory, he could survive without fire, but there was no need to do so here.
So as Ryu gazed into the flames of the fire he’d built, he recalled the story that Hyeol Young Ma Jon’s subordinate had told him before he left Gang Do.
Condensed, that long tale was simple.
The daughter of the Mun Chang So Family, to whom Hyeol Young Ma Jon had promised marriage, had been abducted.
The abductor was a fairly notorious man named Yu Seong Chu Hon, someone the Mun Chang So Family could not handle.
The story was that Hyeol Young Ma Jon, perhaps having forgotten a promise made to him decades ago, had recalled it now in the hope that this Yu Seong Chu Hon might be someone he could face.
In short, it was a request to fight and retrieve his bride.
But there was one prerequisite that had to be resolved first.
Ryu, without internal power, had to defeat Yu Seong Chu Hon, a master of the Yeongha Baekwi.
Hyeol Young Ma Jon’s subordinate had told him this as foundational information for the task he was to undertake, but Ryu had easily found an excuse to refuse the marriage within that very story.
He would crush Yu Seong Chu Hon, find the daughter said to have been abducted by him, and demand as his price that the marriage arrangement be voided.
Of course, that plan carried the same fatal flaw.
Ryu still had to defeat Yu Seong Chu Hon.
The moment Ryu set foot in Hae Nam, he sought out Hae Mil Mun to find a way to do so.
Of course, Hyeol Young Ma Jon, who was sending him, had said it would be possible.
‘You’ll be willing to stake your life, and he’ll let his guard down. Kahahaha! This is why lacking internal power can be an advantage too. Kahahaha.’
The image of Hyeol Young Ma Jon laughing loudly while saying those words appeared clearly in the fire.
“The one who has to stake his life isn’t Lim Ju—it’s me,” Ryu muttered to the figure of Hyeol Young Ma Jon in the flames.
Ryu’s gaze turned outward from Gwan Je Myo.
He felt someone approaching.
The presence grew steadily closer until Myo Seol, whom he’d seen at the inn, entered Gwan Je Myo.
Thump.
The moment Ryu stepped into Gwan Je Myo, the man holding his fists clasped in salute—Myo Seol—bowed his head.
“Myo Seol of the Hae Mil Mun offers his respects to the great master Hae Dong Gwi.”
That old alias, one that Hyeol Young Ma Jon had supposedly used during his time operating as Hae Dong in Hae Nam—hearing himself called by it now made Ryu smile bitterly and shake his head.
“I’m not that man.”
Myo Seol caught the distinction the moment Ryu spoke—how he’d referred to Hyeol Young Ma Jon as ‘that man,’ not himself—and his lips curved in a faint smile.
“The Yong Mo Pa Gi was already confirmed. I suspected you weren’t him from the start. But your distinctive martial equipment suggested a connection. What is the nature of your relationship with him?”
Faced with Myo Seol’s question, Ryu had no choice but to deliver the answer he’d prepared in advance.
“His son.”
It felt strange—acquiring a father he’d never once known in all his memory.
But the fact that this father was Hyeol Young Ma Jon left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Unaware of Ryu’s inner turmoil, Myo Seol’s face brightened with a radiant smile.
“I suspected as much, great master.”
Relieved that Myo Seol had accepted the claim without suspicion, Ryu gestured toward an empty spot beside the campfire.
“It’s cold with the night wind. Let’s talk sitting down.”
“Thank you, great master.”
Myo Seol bowed once more with relaxed formality, then settled into the seat Ryu had indicated, across from the fire.
Seated thus, Myo Seol appeared to be in his late twenties.
Ryu found something incongruous about his youthful appearance and the name Myo Seol, and so he asked:
“I’d like to know why you insisted we meet here, rather than simply providing information.”
“The information you seek cannot be resolved in mere words, and it’s also a rule of our Hae Mil Mun to provide accurate information in person…….”
From the countless stories Jwa Ryang had told him in the past, Ryu already knew that Hae Mil Mun was not a particularly hospitable sect.
Yet the fact that they’d come in person suggested they wanted to verify Ryu’s identity with certainty.
Sure enough, Myo Seol soon circled back to probing for precise information about Ryu’s status.
“If I may ask without offense—are you the eldest son of the great master Hae Dong Gwi……?”
“Only child.”
Ryu answered with clear reluctance, his demeanor broadcasting a firm request for no further questions. Myo Seol quickly clasped his fists again in apology.
“My apologies, great master. My background is in information work…….”
Yet even as he spoke, a glimmer of probing curiosity remained in Myo Seol’s eyes.
His long career in information-gathering was unmistakably evident.
Whether or not Myo Seol realized Ryu was studying him, he continued to scrutinize Ryu’s expression as he asked:
“But I must ask—why does the son of great master Hae Dong Gwi inquire about Yu Seong Chu Hon……?”
Watching Myo Seol with those probing eyes still searching for hidden truths, Ryu shook his head sharply.
At this rate, it was impossible to tell who was asking for information and who had come to provide it.
Ryu had no intention of falling into Myo Seol’s games.
“I’ve already paid my price. I only want the information that comes with it.”
In other words: stop wasting time with pointless questions and hand over what you know.
At the chill in Ryu’s tone, Myo Seol finally realized he’d been far too transparent. His expression grew sheepish, and he clasped his fists once more in apology.
“Forgive me. Since I belong to an information sect, I’m naturally inclined to curiosity, and I overstepped. Ahaha!”
As Myo Seol finished his apology with an awkward laugh, Ryu asked again:
“So when do I get the information?”
“Ah! I should provide it now. Yu Seong Chu Hon is currently staying at his home—the Yu Seong Cheol Family. As you likely know, the Yu Seong Cheol Family ranks among the Fifteen Great Sects of Hae Nam and is so powerful they’re called the hegemon of eastern Hae Nam. The family head, Yu Seong Chu Hon, stands at a supremely elevated level equal to that of yourself—or rather, equal to your father, great master Hae Dong Gwi.”
“The information I sought isn’t the kind you’d learn by simply visiting any marketplace forum.”
“Ah! Of course not. Let me think. You asked specifically about when Yu Seong Chu Hon makes periodic outings, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“Then it’s not difficult at all. He visits the Gam Ro Ru—a teahouse—once a day, every single day. By appearance and demeanor he looks like a brigand, but surprisingly he’s fond of tea ceremony and is quite discriminating about his tea.”
“Gam Ro Ru?”
“Yes. It’s a rather well-known teahouse in Hae Gu. In eastern Hae Nam it’s famous for having fine tea, and the proprietor is…….”
“Never mind the teahouse details.”
“Ah! Of course.”
Ryu saw Myo Seol’s lips purse with disappointment—regret at not being able to expound on all the information he possessed. Ryu pressed on:
“Does he travel alone?”
“Hardly. Even as the nominal head of a sect, he’s always shadowed by three bodyguards. They’re called the Wei Hai Sam Chyu—skilled fighters well-known within the Yu Seong Cheol Family.”
“What weapons do they use?”
“If you look at their title, you can probably guess…….”
“Hammers?”
“Yes. They wield the Yu Seong Chu—weighted heads on long chains. The Yu Seong Cheol Family itself takes the Yu Seong Chu as its signature weapon, and all their martial arts are trained accordingly.”
As Ryu listened to Myo Seol answer each question, he found it difficult to gauge the man’s true intentions.
The Hae Mil Mun he knew was famous for divulging only the information that had been paid for.
So logically, Myo Seol should take the fee, provide the specific information Ryu sought—details about Yu Seong Chu Hon’s periodic outings—and then depart.
They weren’t the type to spill out everything they knew in answer to every casual question.
“What’s the reason?”
“Pardon? What do you mean, sir?”
“I know the Hae Mil Mun isn’t exactly a charitable organization, so I’m asking.”
“Ah! We obtained information as well. We learned that the Master isn’t Hyeol Young Ma Jon himself, but rather his son—wasn’t that knowledge worth something?”
The exchange hardly seemed a fair trade, but Ryu pressed no further.
The man’s manner suggested he wouldn’t speak the full truth even if asked directly.
And more importantly, there was nothing to lose—only gain—if they kept spilling details about Yu Seong Chu Hon.
“Then let me ask just one more thing.”
“Two, three, or however many more you wish, sir. You may ask as many as you like.”
Ryu asked his question, deliberately tuning out Myo Seol’s improbably generous responses.
“Does he keep a regular schedule for visiting Gang Do?”
“No, sir. He’s as erratic in his habits as he is in appearance—comes whenever it suits him. So his arrivals in Gang Do are completely unpredictable. Still, I can guarantee this: no matter what time it is, he always comes at least once a day. That much I assure you.”
Ryu nodded at Myo Seol’s answer.
“Thank you.”
With those words, Ryu’s eyes closed—his intent unmistakable.
An audience’s end.
Myo Seol seemed to have more to say, something else he wanted to ask, but in the end he held his tongue and withdrew quietly.
He feared that pressing closer might cause some misunderstanding, and Ryu might abandon his pursuit of Yu Seong Chu Hon altogether.
Once Myo Seol had gone, Ryu spent the night alone, continuing his wind cultivation practice.
Sleeping in the open under cold wind only hardened the muscles—and with Ryu’s complete lack of internal power, such hardening would strip away what little technique remained.
So he forewent sleep, instead using wind cultivation to keep his muscles at peak activation; by the time dawn broke and the eastern sky began to pale, he was kneeling by a fire, drawing out his arrows to begin maintenance.
Ryu proved unexpectedly skilled with bow and arrow, and with throwing blades as well.
In his days with the Jeok Sa Jo, he had studied Hae Nam archery systematically under a master from that region, and had learned the art of hidden weapons in depth from an assassin-born member of the organization.
He rarely carried the bow, calling it cumbersome, and so few in the Jeok Sa Jo now knew of his skill—only Yi Song among current members—but once he had been known as the Archer of Saja Plain, so accomplished was he.
And his hidden-blade techniques, rooted in that mastery, had made even Jwa Ryang whistle in admiration.
Ryu’s talent for learning was undeniably remarkable.
So when Hyeol Young Ma Jon’s subordinate in Gang Do had presented him with a bow along with three swords, claiming they were the personal weapons of Hyeol Young Ma Jon’s disciples, he hadn’t been startled.
Far from it—he’d felt relief at the prospect of carrying a long-range weapon while his internal power remained sealed.
His hands worked with practiced grace as he carefully trimmed some of the fletching from the arrows he’d laid out.
Fletching catches the wind and steadies an arrow’s flight.
How much and where and how he trimmed it changed the arrow’s trajectory.
Done skillfully, this could make an arrow fly in a curve.
Even without internal power, a curved arrow was a lethal weapon.
Having prepared his arrows with meticulous care, Ryu rose slowly and stepped out of Gwan Je Myo.
A ray of the newly risen sun pierced through the dense branches where dawn’s shadows still clung, filling his vision with light.
Ryu glanced up, catching one last glimpse of the sunrise—perhaps the last he would see—before moving forward again.

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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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