The Patriarch of the Northern Heavens - Chapter 111

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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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Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family – Chapter 111

The Ten Thousand Beasts Commanding Flute.
It was a sacred treasure of the Nanman Beast Palace, and legend held that when played, it could compel all beasts in the vicinity to obey its master.
Whether that legend was true remained uncertain, but its status as the symbol of the Nanman Beast Palace was beyond question.
Yet one day, the Beast Palace lost it.
‘The reason was unclear, but it was likely the work of those Black Night Fortress bastards.’
The Beast Palace desperately wanted to recover the Ten Thousand Beasts Commanding Flute, regardless of the cost.
Thus, they dispatched their warriors to the Central Plains—a region with which they had maintained almost no contact—to search for it.
And….
‘They found it. A sect in Yunnan possessed it.’
That sect was called Leisheng Valley.
After acquiring the Ten Thousand Beasts Commanding Flute from the Black Market, they flatly refused the Nanman Beast Palace’s request to return the sacred treasure.
Not content with that, they even beat half to death and drove away the Beast Palace warrior who had come as an envoy.
Upon hearing this, the Beast Palace Master’s fury knew no bounds.
He personally led the Beast Palace’s elite warriors to Leisheng Valley and slaughtered everyone—both the sect members and all the allied forces they had summoned.
That was the Yunnan Bloodbath.
I had been staying in Shaanxi at the time, so I only heard of it through reports.
But I’m told that all the martial forces in Yunnan and the surrounding regions were placed on high alert.
‘It could have easily escalated into a war between the Nam Man and Central Plains martial worlds.’
Fortunately, it didn’t come to that, but….
Still, I remember it was an extraordinarily precarious situation.
Especially the Jian Chuang Sect, located in Yunnan, even deliberated whether to dispatch the Thirteen Venerables’ Sunbow Sword Emperor.
‘But to think it was the work of Black Night Fortress all along.’
I fell silent in thought for a moment before asking Heo Jeong.
“You said it’s not here now. Then where is the Ten Thousand Beasts Commanding Flute?”
“That is… it was stolen. It was lost during an escort mission when they were ambushed, or so I heard.”
“How did you come to know of this?”
“The Escort House Master gave special orders to pay attention to that particular escort mission. I happened to learn of it then.”
“Hmm. Are the personnel who went on that escort mission still here?”
“After that incident, they all left the Escort House. Only a few of the lower-ranked staff remain.”
“Summon them for me.”
“Ah, understood.”
“Ah, this is payment for the information.”
I withdrew a bundle of silver coins and handed it to Heo Jeong.
His face brightened upon receiving it.
He nodded repeatedly at me before disappearing.
Watching his retreating figure, I turned to the Wind Cloud Unit member beside me.
“Keep watch on that man. If you notice anything suspicious, report it to me immediately.”
“Yes.”
-Do you think the testimony is false?
‘No. I believe it’s genuine. However, one can never be too careful. There’s no harm in having someone keep watch, is there?’
It was likely that Heo Jeong was not a spy for Black Night Fortress.
From their perspective, it would be better if the name Mansu Eoryeong Pavilion never came up in the first place.
They might be trying to bait me, but….
There are far better methods available. Why resort to something like this?
Besides, no one knew I would show up at this place today.
‘Therefore, the likelihood that this is the truth is extremely high.’
If that were the case, then I needed to consider the implications.
“I’ve brought them, Great Master.”
Having received the money, Heo Jeong arrived with the escort workers, his demeanor noticeably more respectful.
They trembled as they looked at me, uncertain what this was about.
It seemed they had come without hearing any explanation whatsoever.
I smiled at them reassuringly and spoke.
“I’ve called you because I have questions. I would appreciate it if you answered in detail.”
“W-what would you like to ask?”
“Administrator Heo, please explain the situation.”
At my words, Heo Jeong explained the matter to the escort workers.
They immediately recalled what had happened, letting out exclamations of recognition.
“Ah, that incident! It was while we were passing through Shaanxi….”
“What happened at that time?”
“Dozens of masked attackers in black attacked our escort mission. I remember Captain Jang, who was in charge of that mission, was extremely flustered at the time.”
“Flustered?”
“Yes. Usually, when enemies dangerous enough to threaten our lives attacked, we would hand over the cargo and escape. But that day, he insisted on fighting to the death. However, we were ultimately defeated and the cargo was taken. Captain Jang himself suffered injuries severe enough to be on death’s door.”
“I see. Then, do you know where that escort mission was headed?”
“I-I’m terribly sorry, but Captain Jang kept it secret, so we….”
“I understand. If you remember anything else, inform me immediately. This is payment for the information, so please accept it without hesitation.”
I distributed silver coins to them as well.
Their faces brightened instantly as they left their seats.
For them, there could be no greater fortune than this.
Meanwhile, I fell into thought.
‘A man of Captain Jang’s caliber would never not know what his cargo was. Yet he was said to have been flustered during the attack. Could this have been a handover disguised as an attack?’
If that were the case, it was highly likely that even Black Night Fortress had not anticipated this incident.
If so….
‘Then Mansu Eoryeong Pavilion truly was handed over to another force.’
Based on the circumstances, this possibility was the most probable.
There could be other possibilities, but the current hypothesis was nearly certain.
Otherwise, what reason would that Captain Jang have had to fight with the resolve to die and suffer such grievous wounds?
-Then what do you intend to do? Now that things have come to this, doesn’t that mean Mansu Eoryeong Pavilion is no longer connected to Black Night Fortress?
‘That’s certainly true. However, the value of this information remains considerable.’
-Why is that?
‘If I can obtain the Eternal Water Spirit Pavilion before those Leisheng Valley dogs, I can earn the favor of the Nanman Beast Palace. If I can secure the support of one of the Four Outer Powers, it would be tremendously beneficial to the Bukcheon Sword Family.’
-That much is certainly true.
Fortunately, I knew where the Eternal Water Spirit Pavilion was headed.
While I didn’t know the intermediate steps, I was aware through memories of my past life that it would be put up for sale at the Black Market.
The Black Market.
In simple terms, it was an underground market operated by the Black Bandits.
Though calling it a black market hardly did justice to its scale.
I’d heard that the Dark Emperor, one of the Thirteen Venerables, was involved in its operations.
Because of this, the Black Market remained neutral ground that neither side of the legitimate world dared touch.
No one wanted to incur the Dark Emperor’s wrath by interfering there.
‘Well, it’s also true that the Black Market has never overstepped certain boundaries.’
They dealt in stolen goods, but they never trafficked in people or slaves.
One could say they never crossed that final line.
Considering that the Black Market’s offshoots scattered throughout the Central Plains made human trafficking their primary business, this restraint was quite remarkable.
Of course, they probably just wanted to avoid getting entangled in troublesome matters.
‘Leisheng Valley will be annihilated one year from now.’
That meant the Eternal Water Spirit Pavilion would be sold at the Black Market sometime this year.
And the date when the Black Market opens…
‘I’ll need to purchase information to be certain, but the timeline is likely very tight.’
Considering travel time, the schedule would be extremely demanding.
‘Very well.’
I contemplated my plans ahead and returned directly to the family estate.
Of course, I didn’t forget to bring all the documents that had been stored at the Qingyuan Escort Agency.
After all, I needed to investigate these materials.
I entrusted the documents to the Saeying Division, which handled intelligence, and shared a meal with those close to me.
Then I announced my imminent departure.
“Muyeol. Why are you going to the Black Market…?”
“There’s something to be obtained there. A treasure that those Black Night Fortress people lost, or so I’ve heard.”
I explained the situation to my father.
Of course, I omitted the memories from my first life and constructed the story solely from current information.
But even that was sufficient to be persuasive.
“Hmm. I see. A treasure of the Nanman Beast Palace, you say…?”
“If we could return something like that, we might indeed establish favorable relations with the Beast Palace.”
“But what’s the point of trying? The Beast Palace is thousands of li away from here. What would we gain from cultivating connections with such a distant place?”
“That’s a fair point. Given our location in Shaanxi, it would be difficult for us to conduct direct trade with them.”
My uncle’s objection was valid.
In a sense, there was no pressing need for me to go through all this trouble.
“But what about the Dang Family in Sichuan?”
“What?”
“Through the Dang Family, we import various medicinal herbs, toxic plants, and high-quality animal hides cultivated in Nam Man. And the Dang Family simply passes them on to us.”
“If that’s the case… wouldn’t we have to give them a stake in return? Our profits wouldn’t be significantly larger either, would they?”
“If we’re talking about tangible gains, you’d be right. But intangible gains are different. This way, we can control a portion of the Dang Family’s revenue through the Bukcheon Sword Family.”
“…!”
“As a result, the Dang Family’s dependence on our clan will grow. If we wished it, their trade connections would be severed. In conclusion, the Dang Family cannot abandon the Bukcheon Sword Family. Our alliance becomes far more unshakeable than it is now.”
“That’s certainly true.”
“Furthermore, no matter how much profit the Dang Family takes as intermediaries, the current Family Head is not one to monopolize such gains. He seeks compromise at a reasonable level—mutual benefit. So our Main House’s profits won’t be insignificant either.”
“Horse trading from the north and leather trading from the south. That would certainly become an excellent revenue stream.”
“Moreover, the warriors of the Beast Palace are said to repay those they consider allies with unwavering loyalty. What if we recover their sacred treasure for them? Once word of this spreads, the prestige of the Bukcheon Sword Family will soar to the heavens.”
There was another reason I hadn’t mentioned it yet.
The master of the Nanman Beast Palace—Beast King So Baek—had not been selected among the Thirteen Venerables by Central Plains standards, yet he was a master of the Boundless Realm.
The favor shown by a master of the Boundless Realm.
I had already felt firsthand in Sichuan just how immense it could be, through Dang So-hye’s assistance.
Had it not been for her, an alliance with Sadoryeon would have been unthinkable.
“…I see no further reason to object.”
After hearing everything, my Uncle raised his hand to signal his change of opinion.
Father looked at Uncle and me, then spoke in a grave voice.
“I’ll ensure the budget is sufficient to find the sacred treasure, so don’t worry. However, you cannot go alone.”
“Father. You know my abilities.”
“Regardless. You are the Young Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family. I cannot send someone of your standing alone. To speak bluntly—what if the Black Night Fortress targets you while you move alone?”
“I’ll take sufficient precautions to disguise myself and move carefully. I’ll use the Face-Changing Mask, so I won’t be discovered.”
“Even so, the danger doesn’t completely disappear. This is non-negotiable—take an escort with you.”
Father’s resolve seemed immovable.
It seemed I had no choice but to concede this point.
Then, who should I bring along?
As I pondered this, someone in the corner raised their hand.
“Would it be alright if I went with you?”
“You?”
I asked in a surprised voice.
Her identity was my disciple, So Hye-rim of the Cheon Sal-seong.

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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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