The Patriarch of the Northern Heavens - Chapter 6

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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 6

I methodically recalled my past memories of the phantom thief.
Back then, wealthy merchants in the vicinity had been robbed, causing quite the uproar.
However, I remembered that the Bukcheon Sword Family had initially shown little interest in the matter.
Why, you ask?
Because they believed it was a problem for the government authorities, not the martial world.
After all, as a martial force themselves, they assumed they would never fall victim to theft, so they dismissed it entirely.
‘Such laughable arrogance it was.’
Yet despite that confidence, the Bukcheon Sword Family was thoroughly plundered by the thief.
And it wasn’t merely silver or gold that was stolen—the family heirloom, the Wind God Sword, was taken.
Naturally, an emergency was declared afterward.
Every martial artist in the clan was mobilized to capture the thief, but he was never caught.
After revealing himself during the initial theft, the thief vanished without a trace.
‘Though he was eventually exposed for a rather absurd reason.’
By that time, he had already disposed of the Wind God Sword.
The stolen goods had all been fenced away, so ultimately nothing was recovered.
As a result, I had to bear the responsibility.
Moreover, simply because I was acting family head at the time, I had to endure countless whispers and gossip from the clan members.
‘The elders had orchestrated the atmosphere to make it so.’
In any case.
Seeing this report come in, it seemed the thief’s visit to the Bukcheon Sword Family was drawing near.
‘I remember it clearly. That day was when the full moon rose.’
I gazed at the sky and estimated the date.
Probably about ten days from now.
That’s when he would come.
A smile crossed my lips.
The time for my revenge from my first life was approaching.

* * *

Of course, my daily routine remained unchanged after that.
I attended to my duties during the day, and after dinner, I would shut myself away in the training grounds.
I had Sa Gong-cheon stand guard outside while I cultivated the Diamond Yaksha Divine Art within.
There were many other martial techniques to practice, but I believed that building my body came first.
Wasn’t it true that a solid foundation allowed one to excel at everything else?
Thanks to this, my physical condition had improved dramatically since that first day.
The speed of my recovery was so remarkable it was almost startling.
The effects of the Diamond Yaksha Divine Art were far superior to what I had achieved in my previous life.
‘Perhaps it’s because I began cultivating it before my body was completely ruined?’
I entertained such speculation, but I couldn’t be certain.
There were plenty of other possible explanations.
It could simply be that I had become more proficient than when I first practiced the Diamond Yaksha Divine Art.
‘Well, it doesn’t really matter.’
Rapid progress was only beneficial to me.
Another ten days or so passed in this manner.
In the dead of night, when everyone slept.
I was strolling through the family grounds with Sa Gong-cheon.
“I feel as though I’m keeping you up far too late.”
“Not at all. Protecting the young master is my duty, after all.”
“My apologies. It’s just that my workload has been heavy lately, and my mind feels cluttered. I wanted to get some fresh night air.”
For now, I had told him it was merely a casual nighttime walk.
If I had mentioned anything about thieves, it would have been far too easy for him to become suspicious later.
‘But I can’t keep wandering near the warehouse like this forever. I really hope he comes soon….’
It was precisely as I was thinking this.
“Ahhh!”
“A thief! A thief!”
Suddenly, a scream and a panicked shout erupted from the direction of the warehouse.
I immediately exchanged a glance with Sa Gong-cheon and rushed toward the commotion.
There, two guards lay unconscious, their heads having been struck.
And bursting out from within was a man dressed in black.
The man had a wind-blade sword and a pouch that appeared to contain valuables fastened at his waist.
‘It’s definitely him.’
The one I’d been waiting for.
“Guard Sa Gong, seize him!”
“Yes!”
Without hesitation, Sa Gong-cheon rushed forward at my command.
The thief who had just appeared was clearly caught in the act.
“Eek!”
Startled, the thief immediately vaulted over the wall of the Bukcheon Sword Family.
His movements were extraordinarily swift.
It seemed the Phantom Thief King’s Light Body Technique had reached a considerable level of mastery.
“Don’t worry about me—just chase after him!”
Sa Gong-cheon appeared determined to pursue the thief in response to my command.
Yet even under the relentless pursuit of this peak-level master, the thief eluded capture with ease.
“Stop right there!”
Sa Gong-cheon cried out fiercely, refusing to let the thief escape his grasp.
Thus began the midnight chase.
And then….
“Good. He went the opposite direction as expected.”
Left alone, I vaulted over the wall and emerged outside as well.
But I did not head in the direction the two of them had fled.
After all, even if I pursued them, my current physical condition would only allow me to keep pace briefly before exhaustion forced me to collapse.
‘Better to accomplish something else instead.’
That something else was to raid the Phantom Thief King’s hideout.
‘The audacious fool had established a secret refuge in an Abandoned House not far from the Bukcheon Sword Family.’
There was an amusing backstory to how I learned this fact.
In my first life, I had received intelligence that he was there, and I had personally attacked the wretch at that location.
Later, I heard that the Fence Master had betrayed him?
‘It wasn’t betrayal at all. The thief had tried to swindle the Fence Master first and got caught.’
Thus the enraged Fence Master exposed him, leading to his capture.
But at that time, we recovered nothing.
The wretch had already moved his wealth elsewhere.
As a result, the Bukcheon Sword Family not only failed to recover a single coin but also lost a family heirloom in the process.
‘But things are different now.’
The wretch was currently being chased by Sa Gong-cheon in the opposite direction.
Naturally, if he possessed any sense, he would not commit the foolish act of returning directly to his hideout.
He would likely circle the area repeatedly, trying to shake off Sa Gong-cheon’s pursuit.
If so, the chase would certainly be prolonged.
Which meant I had ample time to raid his base of operations.
Patter, patter!
After checking that no one was nearby, I infiltrated the Abandoned House that served as his hideout.
Fortunately, this area had a reputation for being haunted, making it perfectly quiet.
I calmly ventured deeper into the Abandoned House and pried up the floorboards inside.
Creak!
A hidden space was revealed.
“Hup.”
Holding my breath against the dust, I entered and found a chamber roughly the size of an ordinary room.
Yet the contents within were anything but ordinary.
Silver coins were piled high, and numerous treasures of obvious value were stored inside.
“Hm.”
Just looking at it lifts my spirits considerably.
I gathered some of the items into the bundle I’d brought beforehand.
‘Don’t be greedy. Just take what I need for now.’
There was a reason for this restraint.
Physically, I couldn’t possibly carry everything here, and beyond that….
It was better to leave enough valuables that the robbed merchants would feel grateful.
That way, their gratitude would return to me later.
Instead, I discarded everything mediocre and selected only the finest items.
Fortunately, I possessed the experience to recognize what truly held value.
‘Is this a secret manual?’
While rummaging deeper inside, I discovered a secret manual inscribed with “Phantom Thief King’s Step Method.”
Upon examining its contents, I found refined cultivation formulas written in what appeared to be quite an ancient script.
I couldn’t help but be genuinely surprised.
‘The Phantom Thief King?’
The Phantom Thief King was a thief who, alongside the White-Faced Divine Thief, earned renown as one of the Central Plains’ two greatest thieves.
A figure of considerable prominence, in other words.
However, from what I knew, the Phantom Thief King remained active long after this thief was captured.
Which meant this person couldn’t be the Phantom Thief King himself….
‘Could he be a disciple of his?’
If he were a disciple of the Phantom Thief King, it would make sense that he could escape from Sa Gong-cheon’s pursuit—a master at the pinnacle of skill, ranked among the very highest.
I carefully secured the secret manual of the Phantom Thief King’s Step Method and stored it away. Then I surveyed the surroundings for anything else of use.
‘Isn’t that dried ginseng?’
As a result, I discovered a single dried root of ginseng preserved in a bottle.
Would one preserve ordinary ginseng with such care?
Of course not.
This was almost certainly a rare treasure approaching the status of a spirit medicine.
It was likely an item worthy of being called at least century-old ginseng.
‘The haul is quite substantial.’
At that thought, a smile naturally spread across my face.
By raiding this thief’s hideout, I’d obtained considerable emergency funds, secret manuals, and even spirit medicine.
I left the hideout, erased all traces of my presence, and secretly buried the gathered items beneath a nearby tree.
Since I’d dug and covered it, there was no risk of discovery unless someone happened to dig in that exact spot.
After that, I lay in wait nearby, pretending to search for the thief.
How much time had passed?
“You there! Stop!”
I spotted Sa Gong-cheon and the thief still engaged in their pursuit from a distance.
“Sa Gong, the escort!”
“Young Master!?”
The moment I spotted them, I rushed out.
“Young Master, how did you….”
“I figured if you chased that thief this way, he might come toward us, so I’ve been patrolling here. But let’s hurry and capture that bastard first.”
“Yes.”
We exchanged glances and advanced toward the thief caught between us.
“Ugh!”
The thief’s expression showed considerable distress.
Both sides were blocked by high walls, and with pursuers closing in from front and back, escape seemed impossible.
But soon his eyes gleamed with savage determination.
With the path sealed off, he had resolved to break through by force.
And naturally, his target was.
“Master! Be careful!”
Where I stood.
Having realized through the chase that Sa Gong-cheon was a master, the thief targeted me, who appeared relatively weaker in comparison.
“Ha.”
How pathetic.
I snorted derisively and glared at him.
What followed was a straight punch delivered with ghostlike footwork.
It probably would have knocked out the guards protecting the family as well.
But it wouldn’t work on me.
“How dare you.”
I swept my hand out with terrifying force and deflected the punch.
“…!”
The thief panicked, apparently shocked that his attack had been blocked.
But I didn’t give him time to recover.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him toward me, then executed a perfect throw.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
The thief cried out in pain.
He immediately tried to rise and counterattack, but.
“That’s enough.”
Sa Gong-cheon had appeared and now held his sword to the thief’s throat with lethal intent.
One wrong move and his neck would be severed.
“P-please spare me!”
The thief had no choice but to plead desperately, his face twisted in despair.
The moment the thief who had plagued the area finally was captured.

* * *

The captured thief’s name was Nam Cheon.
He was in his mid-twenties.
As I had suspected, he turned out to be one of the Phantom Thief King’s disciples—a revelation that seemed to genuinely shock Sa Gong-cheon.
“You’re a disciple of the Phantom Thief King?”
“Y-yes! That’s correct.”
“Don’t lie to me. Why would the Phantom Thief King’s disciple resort to something like this….”
Sa Gong-cheon trailed off, his words faltering.
When I thought about it, despite the grandiose title of Phantom Thief King, a thief was ultimately still a thief.
Asking a thief’s disciple why he steals would be foolish.
In the end, he fell silent, having nothing more to say. So I took over the conversation.
“Why did you target the Bukcheon Sword Family?”
“That is….”
“If you’re honest with me, I might be willing to show some leniency.”
The moment I dangled that bait, he bit.
“Because I received a commission!”
“A commission?”
That was unexpected.
I had assumed it was either for treasure or perhaps a test imposed by the Phantom Thief King….
But a commission?
It was something I hadn’t anticipated at all.
Yet as I listened to what came next, I couldn’t help but stiffen my expression.
“Someone offered me a substantial sum of money to raid the Bukcheon Sword Family’s treasury, steal the family heirlooms, and tarnish the reputation of the family head!”
“What?”
Heh.
Would you look at that?
I never expected there would be someone audacious enough to make such a proposal.
But another thought occurred to me in turn.
‘Could I possibly use this to my advantage?’
It seemed like this might actually present an opportunity for me.

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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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