Chapter 48 :

First-Rate Warrior Peering into the Darkness (1)

They say a byname feels awkward at first, but the more you hear it, the more attached you become to it. However, I felt no attachment to the byname given to me.

Rather, every time I heard it, it had a strange grating quality that made me flinch.

Because of that byname, I could not even focus on the conversation, and then, out of nowhere, Jegal Cheongi was calling me "my lord…" so it was extremely awkward.

"Young Master Cheongi. Please get up. Your father is watching."

I said while glancing at Jegal Hyeonun.

I had worked hard to get permission, but if he saw his own son volunteering to become the vassal of a disciple from a third-rate sect, would Jegal Hyeonun not suddenly change his mind?

"This son is fifteen years old. I am no longer a child. My father will also respect my will."

Seeing Jegal Cheongi refusing to budge, I asked Jegal Hyeonun for help.

But Jegal Hyeonun was not making a displeased expression. Instead, he was watching with interest.

At that moment, a black figure appeared in midair, took the same posture as Cheongi, and cupped her fists.

"Young Master has been thinking about this from the moment he heard Great Hero Black Flame Dragon had come. It was not decided overnight, so please do not cast him aside."

It was Yeongyeong, with half her face covered by a mask.

Yeongyeong's appearance made the atmosphere even more difficult.

Was it because I had not answered?

The anxious Jegal Cheongi spoke even louder.

"If you do not accept me, I will not take a single step out of this Golden Prison!"

"Please accept him!"

"…"

Once Jegal Cheongi started being stubborn, he could never be broken.

In the life before my regression, he had spent eight years imprisoned in the Golden Prison because he never said the single sentence that would have let him out: that he would give up mechanical formations.

"Young Master Cheongi, I have no intention of founding a sect, nor do I intend to run a business or an escort agency. If I go to the Murim Alliance, I will gain subordinates, but that is only while I am inside the Murim Alliance, is it not?"

"Then… I will follow you to the Murim Alliance as well."

"No, that is not what I mean."

I gently coaxed Jegal Cheongi.

If you keep acting like this, your father might overturn the whole thing.

"Listen to me. How about becoming sworn brothers first?"

"Yes?"

"!"

"!"

Not only Jegal Cheongi and Yeongyeong, but even Jegal Hyeonun's eyes widened.

Would the head of the Jegal Family not understand this much?

In the murim world, it was common for a disciple of a first-rate sect and a disciple of a third-rate sect to become sworn brothers.

"Y-You are saying you will accept me as your younger brother?"

"We will become sworn brothers."

Jegal Cheongi's eyes filled with tears.

"I will serve you with all my heart for the rest of my life, Elder Brother."

His determination was so solemn that I once again glanced at Jegal Hyeonun.

If we had done this when he was not present, I might have been excited about gaining the finest talent.

Worried that he might be displeased, I stole a glance at him.

"Hahaha, good. Good. There was such a method. Yes! There must be a witness when sworn brothers are made. May I be that witness?"

"…??"

Jegal Hyeonun kept bursting into hearty laughter as if he found something extremely enjoyable, and ordered a maidservant to bring liquor.

We decided not to hold a solemn ceremony like the Peach Garden Oath.

In the end, friendship changes depending on how that person acts from then on.

If there is enough trust between us, then sharing a cup as brothers is enough.

"I look forward to your guidance from now on, Elder Brother."

"I look forward to yours as well, Younger Brother."

"And when I go to the Taeul Sect, may I ask one favor?"

"What is it?"

"I want to use Yeongyeong as my guard."

"Yes. That should not be a problem. In any case, several warriors from the Jegal Family will be dispatched together for your assignment."

"No, that is not what I mean. I want Yeongyeong to become a true warrior, not a shadow warrior."

"Young Master! I am fine."

The part of Yeongyeong's face not hidden by the mask turned bright red.

It seemed that, during all that long time when only the two of them had spoken to each other, they had listened to each other's dreams and comforted each other.

"Would that not require the family head's permission rather than mine?"

Shadow warriors are trained in a way similar to the training of assassins.

In the case of the Five Great Families, they often trained shadow warriors themselves to protect their direct descendants.

"Father. Please allow Yeongyeong to stop working as a shadow warrior."

"…"

"Yeongyeong's dream is to become a great warrior like Lady Moyong Seol."

When I heard the name Moyong Seol, one corner of my heart ached.

She was a woman who, despite being female, rose to third place in the Dragon-Phoenix Association rankings, and possessed a beautiful smile and an even more beautiful heart.

Later, she achieved enough with the sword to establish her own school and came to be called the Sword Empress. During the Righteous-Demonic War, the Moyong Family was annihilated, so she was assigned to the Small Elite Unit and saved our Small Elite Unit several times. She was a benefactor of my life.

'I thought I was fine…'

Perhaps emotions do not grow old just because the memories are old.

While I was briefly lost in sentiment, Jegal Cheongi continued speaking.

"It is something I have thought about for a very long time. I can at least protect my own body, so please allow it. Father."

"Family Head, I am fine. Young Master! If this continues, you may be locked in the Golden Prison again."

Yeongyeong and Jegal Cheongi did not back down an inch in trying to protect each other.

"…"

The one placed in a difficult position was Jegal Hyeonun.

In any case, Jegal Cheongi was a direct descendant of the Jegal Family.

Moreover, Jegal Cheongi had not learned martial arts, which was why a shadow warrior had been assigned to him. If that child became a warrior, then the person closely protecting Jegal Cheongi would disappear.

"Then how about this?"

When I carefully brought it up, Jegal Hyeonun looked at me with eyes full of expectation.

"If the reason a shadow warrior was assigned was because Cheongi had not learned martial arts, then Yeongyeong can continue shadow duties only until Cheongi is able to protect himself. After that, she can be allowed to act as a warrior."

"Mm. That is a fine idea. But can Cheongi do that? Cheongi has disliked learning martial arts since childhood."

Jegal Hyeonun looked rather pleased.

At that, Jegal Cheongi also showed a bright expression.

"I will do it. Father. I will definitely learn martial arts and reach a level where I can protect myself."

"…"

"Good. If Cheongi reaches the level of a first-rate warrior, I will permit Yeongyeong to conduct outside activities."

Jegal Hyeonun probably thought he had set the hurdle quite high, but Jegal Cheongi simply smiled at Yeongyeong as if things had gone well.

Considering Jegal Cheongi had entered martial arts at the late age of twenty-two and risen all the way to the transcendent peak realm, that time would surely arrive much sooner than Jegal Hyeonun imagined.

"Young Master."

"Let us achieve our goals together, Yeongyeong."

"Yes."

Clearly, Jegal Cheongi was younger and Yeongyeong was more grown physically, but now it looked as if their ages had been reversed.

#

The dispatched party was modestly arranged.

Only one person, Jegal Cheongi, was being dispatched, and Jegal Cheongi did not have many assets, so the entire procession consisted of one luggage carriage and one carriage for Cheongi to ride in.

"Will you not come with me, Elder Brother?"

"I will finish my remaining business and return. Go ahead first. And this."

I handed Cheongi the bundle of promissory notes I had set aside separately.

Cheongi's eyes widened when he checked the amount.

"Five thousand gold coins?"

"There will be limits to what you can make with mechanical formations immediately, but lay the foundation with this for now. Once I return, I will add more funds."

For a while, there would be as many places to spend money as mountains.

For that reason, I would have to rob a few more secret storehouses before the Murim Academy exam began.

"Understood. I will protect this money even at the cost of my life."

Jegal Cheongi made a solemn vow and placed the promissory notes in the deepest part of his robe.

"There is no need to give your life for it. What matters most to me is you."

"…Elder Brother."

For some reason, Jegal Cheongi's eyes were full of moisture.

After sending Jegal Cheongi ahead like that, I cupped my fists toward Jegal Hyeonun and Jegal Jeong, who had come to see us off.

"I return after having received much kindness. If I was rude in any way during this time, I ask that you forgive me with broad generosity."

Jegal Jeong kept twisting his beard as if something displeased him.

"When will you come again?"

"Yes?"

"The slash-and-burn farmer village. Do you not need to see whether those people are living well?"

I had heard that he had been going back and forth to the slash-and-burn farmer village over the past few days, so it seemed he had already grown attached to the people there.

Truly, the more I knew him, the easier he was to understand.

"Since the grand elder is looking after them, I am not worried."

"Hmph! Why would I look after those people? If you ever pass by Mount Longzhong next time, make sure to stop by."

Saying that, Jegal Jeong went inside.

Jegal Hyeonun giggled as he watched him.

"It seems the grand elder has taken quite a liking to you."

"Does he not dislike me instead?"

"When the grand elder dislikes someone, he only says farewell. He does not tell them to come see him again for any reason."

"What a nasty personality."

"To be honest, my feelings are no different. Stop by from time to time and tell me news of my son."

"Understood. Then I will see you again."

#

In Dengfeng, Henan Province, there is the secret residence of Baekma Mountain Lord, a legend among bandits.

Baekma Mountain Lord, the bandit king who first united the Seventy-Two Green Forest Strongholds into one Green Forest Alliance and ruled all the mountain roads under heaven.

The tribute he received throughout his life from the seventy-two mountain strongholds alone was enormous, and the treasures he personally plundered were beyond imagination.

After he died, people expected what kind of treasures he might have left behind.

But no wealth remained in his residence.

Because of that, people believed that the treasures left by the greedy Baekma Mountain Lord must have been hidden somewhere, and they searched all under heaven.

However, even after all the thieves of the murim world searched everywhere under heaven, they could not find Baekma Mountain Lord's secret storehouse.

That secret storehouse was discovered when the Shaolin Temple of Mount Song built a guest hall in Dengfeng.

People had never imagined that Baekma Mountain Lord, a bandit, would have made his secret storehouse near Mount Song, where the Shaolin Temple was located.

"It is lucky for me that Baekma Mountain Lord liked gold."

The secret storehouse was not as much as Wolhyang's tomb, but it yielded enough gold to fill three bundles.

I immediately stopped by the Hao Sect's Zhengzhou branch in Henan Province and exchanged all the gold for promissory notes.

Strangely enough, they once again paid me the full market price.

"Because Jin Sowoon is a special management target."

Those were the words of the Zhengzhou branch leader, whom I had never met before.

"Is that so?"

"The sect leader has asked that you wait a little for his answer."

He did not say what the answer was about, but I knew exactly what he meant.

"Understood."

It did not matter much as long as the decision came before the Murim Academy regular exam began.

After that, I immediately headed to West Lake Peak in Wugang.

At West Lake Peak, through which a waterway originating from Mount Pingding passed, there was a deep valley.

This was where the Fire Monkey's inner core would be discovered.

This elixir, considered the finest among those that emitted yang energy, was extremely difficult to obtain.

First, one had to find a Fire Monkey that had lived for a hundred years while containing heat, then catch that Fire Monkey, and finally make sure the Fire Monkey had not spat out its inner core.

That was why, even if there were elixirs with similar effects, the Fire Monkey's inner core was valued much higher.

But in the valley of West Lake Peak, this Fire Monkey's inner core was discovered together with the corpse of an unidentified person.

"Come to think of it, she said her father went out looking for a Fire Monkey and never returned…"

The reason the Moyong Family collapsed early in the Righteous-Demonic War was partly because they suffered heavy losses by overextending themselves to support other sects who failed to send timely reinforcements, but also because the young family head who should have led the Moyong Family disappeared at too young an age.

The strong Lady Moyong Seol, whenever she passed through the hardest nights, would quietly tell me stories about her father again and again in a place where no one else was around.

Compared to her, I had not stood out much, and the only thing I could do for her was listen to her repeated stories again and again.

One day, I asked her.

I never forgot anything, so why did she keep telling me the same story?

[I want you to remember my vivid memories, Young Master. That way, when my memories fade, you can tell them to me vividly.]

And when the moment came when I could no longer listen to her stories or tell them back to her,

I regretted deeply why I had not asked first and listened.

Why had I not approached her first, using the excuse of asking whether this story was correct?

"Stop it. You do not need to think about it anymore. That is a future that will no longer come."

The moment I felt something strange near my heart, I quickly shook my head and checked the book on murim elixirs in the library inside my head again.

After estimating the exact location in the valley of West Lake Peak,

I jumped down the cliff.

Swaaaaa.

After descending a fair distance, I began to hear the sound of a powerful stream pouring down.

I immediately shot out the Flying Dragon Claw.

Whiririririk.

With the sound of a small spring turning fiercely, the Heavenly Silkworm Thread slowly stretched, and my falling speed began to slow.

When I nearly reached the bottom of the valley, I saw the fierce current flowing through the center of the valley.

'One, two, three, four.'

I counted the holes pierced into the valley wall, chose one, pulled out the Flying Dragon Claw, and kicked off the wall at the same time.

Tap.

It was quite a distance, but even to me, my movement felt light.

Ever since learning the Taeul True Scripture and World-Solitary Divine Movement, my movements had been changing at a speed that surprised even me.

"There it is."

A shallow little cave.

There was a corpse lying dead near the entrance.

"I am sorry. Still, I will put it to good use."

I turned the corpse over and was about to search its robe when I felt something strange.

"…"

"…Sa…ve…"

"!!"

My hair stood on end, and the Black Dragon Sword was drawn on its own.

'He was not dead yet?'

I had only thought there would be a corpse here, and had not imagined that the corpse might still be alive, so I was utterly confused.

'Silence him to eliminate witnesses?'

I immediately erased the thought that flashed through my mind.

'Stop it. Does it make any sense to kill a person over one elixir?'

The Fire Monkey's inner core was a pity, but if I saved his life, perhaps he would at least give me half. With that calculation, I pulled him slightly out of the cave to examine his condition.

At that moment, light fell on his face, revealing it.

And at that familiar face, my head tilted.

'It feels like I have seen him somewhere?'

My memory was far too accurate to be wrong.

If I had seen something, then I remembered it, and if I did not remember it, then I had not seen it.

And yet, the man before me gave me the strange feeling of "I think I have seen him somewhere."

'Is this even possible?'

At that moment, a faint voice flowed from his cracked throat.

I pressed my ear close.

"…Oyong… family…"

"What did you say?"

"…Moyong…"

It felt as if lightning struck the back of my head.

'Moyong,' he said.

I looked at the man's face again and recalled certain faces.

If I mixed the face of Moyong Seol and that of her younger brother Moyong Jaehwa in equal halves, the result would be exactly this man's face.

'Then the missing young family head of the Moyong Family, Moyong Sangwon, was the owner of the Fire Monkey?'

There was no time to think about why he had the Fire Monkey's inner core and was dying alone here.

I quickly checked his pulse.

"His pulse is too weak. What is this? Poison?"

A pulse that flickered as if he might die at any moment.

I quickly stripped off his clothes and tried to look for traces of poison, then froze in shock.

"Demonic energy? Why!"

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