Dropped into Murim with an Instant-Kill Skill - Chapter 110

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Chapter 110: When Young, I Knew Not Sorrow's Taste (15)

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Rank Four. Yuezhou's provincial governor, Yang Hoeam, was an old man with snow-white hair and eyebrows.

He sat atop the stairs in flowing crimson official robes. Banners symbolizing his authority fluttered on either side.

Several dozen military officials stood below him in dark blue uniforms and military caps. Every one of them was a first-rate master, and two had even reached the peak realm.

The display of power made Yeon Sowol and Moyong Ha tense despite themselves.

As the representatives, the two stepped forward and gave Yang Hoeam a deep bow.

“Ho. Your manners are quite proper.”

Yang Hoeam, Yuezhou's provincial governor, fixed his gaze on Yeon Sowol before looking away.

Yeon Sowol lowered his eyes. He was even more tense now.

‘I’m certain. The baleful qi of the jiangshi is reacting in this place.’

That meant an evil presence carrying energy similar to a jiangshi's was here. Or perhaps the person who had created the jiangshi was nearby.

‘Is the provincial governor really in league with the Demonic Path?’

It was a bleak thought.

‘Can we even handle this...?’

A direct confrontation was absolutely out of the question.

The military officials gathered here alone had enough strength to sweep away the White-Robed League like autumn leaves.

And if the provincial governor, who commanded Yuezhou's military forces, mobilized the regular army...

“So you are Yeon Sowol.”

Yang Hoeam's voice cut through Yeon Sowol's thoughts.

He studied Yeon Sowol through wrinkled eyes, then shifted his gaze to the person beside him.

“And beside you is the Moyong Family's precious daughter. A distinguished guest has come all the way from Liaoning.”

He spoke down to Yeon Sowol but showed Moyong Ha a measure of respect.

The Moyong Family was classified as a martial faction, but a prestigious family of that stature held no small influence in central politics. Many members of its bloodline had passed the civil service examination and entered office. They had countless connections built over generations, and throughout their long history, they had rendered great service to the nation more than once, forming ties even with the imperial family. Though Hunan lay far from Liaoning, members of the Moyong bloodline received due courtesy.

But that was all.

Yuezhou's administration fell under authority the emperor had personally entrusted to Yang Hoeam. He did not hesitate to wield that power. This matter had nothing to do with the Moyong Family's interests in the first place.

“You wish to hold a martial arts tournament in Yuezhou?”

His wrinkled gaze moved between Yeon Sowol and Moyong Ha as he spoke bluntly.

“What if I strictly forbid it and issue a travel ban, preventing anyone from leaving their homes?”

Yeon Sowol and Moyong Ha were taken aback.

‘He’s going to prohibit it?’

‘The justification is clearly on our side...’

The provincial governor stroked his beard and frowned.

“I shall be frank. Before I knew it, I had reached seventy. There is nothing left for me now except to resign, return to my hometown, spend my remaining years there, and die.”

He gazed wistfully at the sky.

“That is what growing old means. There is nothing more one can desire. All I can hope for now is to finish my duties well and perhaps receive a single monument praising my virtues, with my name carved upon it.”

He looked back at Yeon Sowol and Moyong Ha.

“So from my perspective, this is most unwelcome. If you go about flaunting yourselves and constantly emphasizing Yuezhou's shortcomings, what will become of my monument? What you have done is admirable, but from my perspective, might it not diminish my achievements? Is that not so?”

It was far too honest a thing for a high official like Yuezhou's provincial governor to say.

Yet that made it feel all the more sincere.

“I set out on the path of office carrying dreams as blue as the clouds, yet I will end my days without ever wearing violet robes. How sorrowful. Even His Majesty likely does not remember my name.”

Violet official robes were bestowed upon the highest-ranking officials of Rank Three and above.

Yang Hoeam wore crimson because he was Rank Four, just one rank short.

Yeon Sowol hurriedly tried to add something.

“But, Provincial Governor, if this tournament provides relief to the people who have suffered unjustly, then surely that merit as well...”

“Enough.”

Yang Hoeam cut him off.

He examined Yeon Sowol from head to toe with wrinkled eyes, then nodded.

“I had originally intended never to permit such a noisy affair as a martial arts tournament. Yet seeing you has changed my mind somewhat.”

A posture straight as a blade.

White robes fluttering softly in the wind.

Manners as precise as if measured with a ruler.

He possessed the bearing of a hero who had stepped straight out of a tale.

“Let me ask you one thing. If I permit this tournament, can you make the people praise my virtues?”

People were easily swayed by the words of a young hero.

Yeon Sowol was inwardly flustered, but he hid it and bowed his head.

“Yes. Since I would not be fabricating anything, I do not think it would be particularly difficult.”

“You have a smooth tongue as well.”

Yang Hoeam smiled faintly.

“Very well. I will permit the tournament itself. But you must proceed quietly and cause no disturbance. You must also uphold what you just said. Do not test my patience.”

Yeon Sowol and Moyong Ha lowered their heads.

Yang Hoeam waved a hand.

“That is enough. You may leave. Miss Moyong Ha, take care on your way back.”

At the firm dismissal, Yeon Sowol and Moyong Ha gave another deep bow without a word and left.

As they passed through several gates and gradually reached the outer edge of the government office, the baleful qi raging within the jiangshi slowly settled down.

* * *

“I think Yuezhou's provincial governor isn't involved. This is something being done beneath him. No matter how I think about it, I can’t imagine someone so obsessed with a monument praising his virtues conspiring with the Demonic Path.”

On their way back, Won Huiseung spoke after listening in on the entire conversation with true qi.

So Hye, who had heard it all as well, added her thoughts.

“Can we really know that? He seemed bitter about never getting to wear violet robes. Maybe that regret drove him to join hands with the Demonic Path.”

“For what purpose? As he said himself, he has little time left and is too old to accomplish anything more.”

“Maybe he wants to extend his life.”

Moyong Ha was the one who objected.

“I don’t think so. Immortality is the culmination of cultivation in the Daoist tradition, the realm of immortals. Even if one crudely imitated it with Demonic Path secret arts, they could not even attempt it unless they were a demonic practitioner who had reached an incredible realm. And someone like that would have no reason to conspire with Yuezhou's provincial governor. Compared to such a demonic practitioner, a Rank Four official is far beneath them.”

“Hmm... That’s true too. Then...”

They all sank into thought.

Who could it be?

The provincial governor himself?

Or his second- or third-in-command?

The sun had begun to set, and long shadows stretched across the streets like strands of noodles when...

Twitch!

‘Hm?’

Yeon Sowol suddenly felt the jiangshi he was carrying on his back struggle.

“What?”

Yeon Sowol pressed down on the bundle binding the jiangshi with both hands. Its twitching subsided somewhat.

Ha Jeop, who saw that, was startled.

“The jiangshi just moved?”

“Yes.”

“How...? It has not fully passed on to the Way of Heaven, but we still performed the Water-Fire Refining Rite. It shouldn’t be able to move...”

“Exactly. It had been quiet until now, but suddenly it moved. Could it be...”

Yeon Sowol’s eyes turned cold mid-sentence.

He looked around.

“Could there be another clue related to jiangshi nearby?”

The others immediately tensed and began searching the area.

“Let’s look.”

It was a street lined with prosperous homes, their large tiled roofs layered one after another.

The five of them silently nodded, used lightness skill, and leaped onto the rooftops.

They began carefully inspecting each house.

Then, at last, they found it.

Twitch! Twitch-twitch!

A house that provoked an unusually violent reaction from the jiangshi.

There, Yeon Sowol's group was left speechless for a moment.

“...”

A woman was praying quietly before a small shrine inside the house. In the long slanting light of sunset, they could see her gaunt, hollow cheeks.

“It has nearly been two months since my husband was suddenly sent on assignment. Please let him take care of himself and return safely without mishap...”

Portraits of the couple hung all around the house.

They seemed to have been deeply in love, judging by the portraits of them smiling brightly together against various backdrops.

The group recognized the man’s face among them.

If color returned to the blue face of the jiangshi, it would surely look just like that.

This was the home of the military official who had become a jiangshi.

His wife was praying for her husband's safe return.

Yeon Sowol groaned.

“It wasn’t reported as killed in action... or even as a disappearance... She thinks he’s away on assignment...?”

Someone who had already died and become a jiangshi was still believed to be alive, carrying out an assignment.

That was further proof that someone with power at the level of the provincial governor, or his second- or third-in-command, was involved.

And so, the dead man’s wife clasped her hands and prayed fervently, unaware that her husband had already died.

“My husband cannot sleep when he has to sleep somewhere unfamiliar. Please let him sleep deeply even in a foreign place. Let him not keep waking up and tossing and turning... Let him stay well, then return home smiling.”

Twitch! Twitch!

The jiangshi struggled harder and harder inside the bundle.

Yeon Sowol held it down so it could not move, his hands trembling.

So Hye, Ha Jeop, Won Huiseung, and Moyong Ha all watched the scene with reddened eyes.

Yeon Sowol quietly sighed and turned his back.

There was no clue to the Demonic Path here.

Only a pitiful married couple.

“Let’s go back and do that again. It was called the Water-Fire Refining Rite, right?”

“...Yes. I will prepare it as soon as we return.”

Unlike usual, Ha Jeop did not stammer. His voice was low and heavy.

* * *

Already withered branches bloom again.

What has already perished comes back to life.

Recover and return once more to the state of an infant in the womb,

And let all foul karmic burdens be washed away.

Ha Jeop sprinkled water over the jiangshi.

With the power of water, he cleansed away the filth and resentment of this world, chanting the Water Refining Incantation with utmost sincerity.

A bowl of fire had been set beneath the jiangshi's feet, burning serenely.

Let foul qi fall away and vanish,

And let pure qi become smoke and rise high.

As he chanted the Fire Refining Incantation, Ha Jeop prayed earnestly that the heart bound within the jiangshi would find freedom.

Yeon Sowol, Won Huiseung, So Hye, and Moyong Ha all chanted the incantations with the same wish in their hearts.

And finally...

“Please rest in peace.”

Ha Jeop reached out and closed the jiangshi’s eyes.

At last, the jiangshi closed its eyes.

This time, they did not open again.

It was thanks to everyone performing the Water-Fire Refining Rite with all their hearts.

“...Hoo.”

“...Mm.”

They were all overcome by a strange feeling.

Sorrow.

Anger.

A sense of duty.

Yeon Sowol spoke.

“Isn’t it strange?”

Everyone turned to him.

“Why say he was away on assignment instead of saying he died or disappeared? It was a lie that was bound to be exposed with time...”

“...You’re right.”

“That is strange.”

Won Huiseung and So Hye agreed.

“Creating jiangshi in the first place is strange. Young Hero Ha said it seemed like they were practicing how to make jiangshi. This gives them almost nothing compared to the risk they have to bear.”

Yeon Sowol lowered his voice.

“I think the Demonic Path group here might be planning to leave Yuezhou soon.”

Moyong Ha let out a small gasp.

“...Since they are leaving anyway, they don’t care about the consequences and are doing whatever they want?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm... It’s possible.”

“Then we may need to hurry if we want to catch them, before they achieve their goal and leave. But the problem is whether we can handle this.”

Yeon Sowol remembered the military officials lined up around Yuezhou's provincial governor.

They might end up in armed conflict with them.

At that moment, Moyong Ha shook her head.

“No. This is as far as you go.”

“Hm?”

“Thank you. You have helped enough. It is clear that Yuezhou's highest officials are involved... Going any further is too dangerous.”

Yeon Sowol furrowed his brow.

“What? Are you saying we should stop here?”

“No. We are not stopping. I will do it. You all need to take a step back.”

Moyong Ha looked around at everyone.

“I will investigate the government office alone. One person is better than a group if we need to remain hidden. I am fairly confident in my lightness art and stealth arts. More than anything, I am a direct descendant of the Moyong Family. Even if I get caught, they cannot kill me. So I am the right person to do this.”

“So we’re supposed to just stand around and watch?”

Moyong Ha shook her head again.

“No. You need to help me from outside.”

“How?”

“The martial arts tournament.”

Moyong Ha's eyes gleamed mischievously.

“Make it as loud as possible. Loud enough that every last Prefectural Inspector guarding the provincial governor has to come running out. It would be even better if you can drag those people into martial contests too.”

“Hmm...?”

“The more chaos you cause outside, the fewer high-level fighters there will be inside the government office. Then it will be easier for me to move around and collect evidence. This fight is about evidence anyway. We need to prove that someone within Yuezhou's government office conspired with the Demonic Path, then either submit a memorial to His Majesty or expose them before everyone and settle the matter publicly. So, Sowol, draw attention together with the others. That task is just as important as infiltrating the office.”

A strange sense of deja vu suddenly came over Yeon Sowol.

Yuezhou's provincial governor had warned them to proceed quietly and cause no disturbance.

Yet they now had to go against that warning.

Yi Yubaek's voice seemed to brush past Yeon Sowol’s ears.

‘This is where the Jianghu begins.’

Yeon Sowol steeled himself.

“Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll cause an enormous disturbance. Enough to shock them. But you have to find the evidence. Evidence that will let us win.”

Moyong Ha grinned.

Beside her, Ha Jeop's eyes went wide.

“Uh, uh? B-but, will this be all right? Yuezhou's provincial governor told us not to cause a disturbance... If we do, he will not j-just let it go.”

His eyes darted around as he watched for everyone’s reactions. Yeon Sowol answered calmly.

“Young Hero Ha.”