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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 325: Shaking Heaven (4)

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Silence fell.

With the corpses of the masters raised by the Moyong Young Family Head behind him, Lotus Nezha spoke of a ceremonial gift.

His words could not help but carry great weight.

At this moment, the young lord in black robes, with a travel bag carelessly slung over one shoulder and a sword at his waist, was the man who had killed the Zhuge Family Head who had sought to rule Shanxi.

In Shanxi, where no major faction existed, he would wield greater influence than any sect leader.

Even the next master of the Assassins' Sect had to choose his words carefully around him. That remained true even if Geum Jon-hwi held the public esteem of Shanxi's common people in one hand.

"...A ceremonial gift."

The Slayer Hero spoke slowly.

"Rather, our sect should be the one to offer a gift to the Leader of Demon Wings. That would be proper."

"......?"

"Didn't you forge Seon-hwi into an excellent hidden sword? The Geum Family owes you a debt. A very great one..."

Geum Jon-hwi spoke with a faint smile in his voice.

"My resentment ran deep. During the Heavenly Demon's Tomb Uprising, I was young as well. All I could do was resent the elders who failed to protect Seon-hwi from the Moyong Family's treachery. The Leader of Demon Wings has taken on what this foolish older brother could not accomplish, so... I do not know how I could possibly show my gratitude. If I could, I would even offer a family heirloom. There is not even a blood relative left who could use one anyway."

His voice rang softly. It was pleasant to hear, as was the effortless flow of his speech.

The Geum Family's debt.

Viewed from another angle, the words took on a meaningful implication.

Jeong Yeon-shin had mentioned a ceremonial gift in return for training his right-hand man, yet Geum Jon-hwi claimed that his side ought to give one instead.

It sounded as though Hyeon Won-chang's roots and identity belonged more to the Assassins' Sect than to Demon Wings.

Was he trying to retrieve the Great Tongue Sword from Demon Wings with pretty words?

'If he crosses the line any further, I'll tell him to draw his sword.'

Jeong Yeon-shin quietly studied the man in the black gat before him.

He had not introduced himself, yet Yeon-shin knew who he was. His lower face resembled Hyeon Won-chang's.

The distinct line of his jaw, as vivid as though drawn with bold brushstrokes, was nearly identical. The gleam in his eyes beneath the round brim of his gat reminded Yeon-shin of Clear Qilin Namgung Se-jin.

His bearing was pure, despite being someone who killed people for a living.

The man in the black gat met his gaze, then suddenly smiled.

"If it is you, we will accept whichever side of our copper coin you choose as the correct one. Well, it is not as though we would dare make a move against you."

Setting aside the matter of Hyeon Won-chang's future, it was an immense show of goodwill. So was the casual way he spoke of the sect's tradition.

The custom was to make the target of an assassination, someone capable of threatening the Heavenly Demon's Tomb, guess the front and back of a copper coin.

They said the omnipotence of the First Heavenly Demon, who had gone to Peach Blossom Paradise beyond the distant heavens, dwelled even in the lowliest coin.

That was all those unfamiliar with the doctrine were told.

Then Hyeon Won-chang stepped forward from beside him.

"He is an older relative I was separated from as a child. His epithet is Slayer Hero, and his name is Geum Jon-hwi."

Jeong Yeon-shin gave a slight nod. His expectation had been right. Hyeon Won-chang's blood relative, a man with the qualities of a great hero that reminded him of Namgung Se-jin.

He decided to endure this one time.

Whenever Hyeon Won-chang thought of his family, Yeon-shin wanted him to find peace. He wanted it to be different from Jeong Family Manor.

That was why he wanted the Imperial Hero to resolve every debt and grievance before returning.

"My apologies, I lost my head. I left distinguished guests standing here... This is the first time we have opened this place to outsiders, so I hesitated despite the favor you have shown us."

The Slayer Hero gave an embarrassed smile and extended a hand toward the depths of the cave. His gesture was somewhat exaggerated.

"Welcome to the Owol Grand Slaughter Sect, successor to the Geum Family Assassins' Sect."

* * *

They walked down a long passage. It seemed to take about half a shichen.

The surroundings were pitch-black. No light entered, yet a faint breeze seemed to blow from afar.

Jeong Yeon-shin walked shoulder to shoulder with Hyeon Won-chang and followed the Slayer Hero's lead. This was the martial lineage of assassins.

It was a sect bound to have many enemies. He understood why it had settled somewhere so deep within.

"Squad Leader, when we entered through the city gate, weren't there others with you? I think I saw two, a young man and a woman."

A brief, layered echo rang through the darkness.

It was Hyeon Won-chang's voice.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly answered, his eyes glowing blue with the Heaven-Displaying Eye Technique.

He reconstructed the flow of aura released from his entire body through his eyes, scanning every inch of the damp cave walls.

"I saw them get thrown aside when the Moyong Young Family Head attacked, then take shelter somewhere else..."

"They are not close acquaintances, then? May I ask their identities?"

"It is likely the Heart Martial Union Leader's daughter. Gwi Yun-rin, the Crimson Phoenix-Slaying Saber."

The Slayer Hero, Geum Jon-hwi, spoke as he walked ahead.

Perhaps the blue glow shining behind him from the Leader of Demon Wings bothered him, because he did not dare turn around. His deltoid muscles only twitched now and then.

Then Hyeon Won-chang cried out in alarm.

"The Heart Martial Union Leader's child?!"

The Slayer Hero's voice rang like a tune through the echoes that filled the cave.

"I am certain. Unlike those old elders, this elder brother collects and memorizes every facial-feature portrait himself. I'm not like Bamboo Sword, who could not even recognize Lotus Nezha, who has shaken all Shanxi. With information like ours, we rank just behind the Hao Clan and Beggars' Sect in Shanxi. I do not understand why they let such a valuable resource rot away while they die. They are too much like martial artists drunk on their own strength. The old men who died far from home were the same."

"Squad Leader, have you been poisoned? Silver needles! Where did I put the needles...?"

As Hyeon Won-chang searched through his clothes, the Slayer Hero's voice lost some of its spirit. In a somewhat subdued tone, he pushed open the stone door that now blocked their path.

"We have arrived."

Rumble...

Torchlight streamed through a vertical slit.

An underground plaza came into view. The space deep within the cave was so vast it could have passed for a Training Hall.

The rich scent of ink filled the air.

It was an extraordinarily unfamiliar sight.

Semi-transparent waves of aura continually descended upon stone tables that filled the underground space. Black-clad martial artists sat upright like the scribes of the Desolate Fortress's Chief Steward's Office, holding brushes as they wrote.

They seemed to be constantly recording sound transmissions falling from the ceiling.

Their muttered voices continued like chants.

The assassins paid no attention to Jeong Yeon-shin's group entering and focused only on their work. At a glance, they seemed almost out of their minds.

"Forbidden City, Beijing, campaign departure ceremony... The Three Great Masters of the Imperial Court have set out with an army of ten thousand. Rumor says the Emperor personally devised and bestowed a martial art to oppose the Northern War God..."

"Sichuan, the Golden-Wing Sect Master has challenged the Tang Family Head to a life-and-death duel. The dispute concerns an exchange between the mnemonic formula for Myriad Flowers Rain and the Heaven-Turning Dragon-Slaying Form..."

"The Pure Demon Alliance Leader has been killed by the Ming Cult's Young Sect Master. It is said they exchanged a thousand moves, with actual bolts of fiery lightning striking down. Laughing Heaven Unrivaled Yelü Zhen declared from the center of the Pure Demon Alliance's main base that his sorcery was a highest-grade technique closest to that of the First Heavenly Demon. Whether the Ming Cult's remaining forces will fully absorb the Pure Demon Alliance remains to be seen. Due to a strange convergence, many have been unable to leave Xinjiang. The sect should not wait for further news..."

Could they be combining the Thousand-Li Earth-Listening Art with Hundred-Li Sound Transmission?

A portion of their exquisitely constructed information network lay exposed before him. Martial artists who had trained communication arts to a certain level were stationed at intervals like relay stations, replacing carrier pigeons and mounted messengers.

Only the Beggars' Sect, spoken of alongside the Nine Sects, seemed likely to possess something comparable. Yet the aura of sound transmissions pouring down from the cave ceiling proved the Assassins' Sect's hidden strength.

To an ignorant commoner, it would have seemed like a transcendent sight.

Jeong Yeon-shin was startled by something else. His brows rose on their own.

Every report he heard upon entering was unusual. A few were directly tied to him as well.

The rumor that the Golden-Wing Sect Master had challenged the Tang Family Head to a duel was enough to shake the martial world, but the news of the Pure Demon Alliance Leader and the Ming Cult's Young Sect Master was even more serious.

'The Young Sect Master is still alive?'

The Swift Heaven Wing Squad had gone to Xinjiang long ago, followed by the Heaven-Treading Forest Squad and the Immortal Wood Spirit Squad.

Could the reports have been mistaken? The land of Ming was vast enough to broaden anyone's understanding of distance. Accurate news rarely arrived on time.

That was why the martial world was still full of people who did not know the face of Jeong Yeon-shin, the Leader of Demon Wings. Even documents that finally arrived often differed from the truth.

The three martial squads' completion of their missions could be understood in the same light.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader's death likely came first, and news that the three Squad Leaders had killed the Ming Cult's Young Sect Master was probably still on its way. Jeong Yeon-shin wanted to believe that.

"It will be all right."

Hyeon Won-chang patted his shoulder.

Jeong Yeon-shin silently nodded, his lips sealed.

Then a broad wall came into view. Beyond the disciples of the Assassins' Sect recording reports, a long mark was carved into the cave wall like a comet's tail streaking across the sky.

No.

Looking closer, it was a stone pillar. It looked as though they had gouged out the marked wall with a spike and chisel, carried it here, and attached it.

It revealed a trace of labor difficult to imagine from anyone who had not trained in martial arts.

'A sword scar...?'

A strange light passed through Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes.

"One of my junior brothers went to bring the Huangbo Young Family Head and the Desolate Shin Family's successor. They will arrive soon, along with the few sect elders who still have their heads on straight. Ah..."

The Slayer Hero approached with light steps and let out a curious exclamation.

"A swordsman of your caliber would certainly have your eyes drawn to it. To our sect, though, it is nothing but a shame we must never forget."

"If it is a shame?"

"It is a sword scar left by the Moyong Family Head. More than ten years ago, it shattered the Heavenly Demon's Tomb when it still stood whole..."

The Slayer Hero, Geum Jon-hwi, trailed off. Though he seemed to seek pleasure and refinement in all things, even he found it difficult to remain lighthearted before the sect's debts and grievances.

"It bears the resolve never to forget. More than a dozen elders became witless after doing nothing but wall-facing cultivation to break it... Their stubbornness is so fierce that we have left it as it is. Once I become Sect Master, I intend to destroy it in one stroke..."

Jeong Yeon-shin did not listen.

He stood still, facing the sword scar that looked nearly three jang long. Geum Jon-hwi's voice was fading from his ears.

Suddenly, blue rays from the Heaven-Displaying Eye Technique swept across the rough surface. A faint breeze grazed the cave floor.

Lotus Nezha muttered.

"His grip lacked strength."

"What did you say...?"

"Then how did he create a sword strike powerful enough to be called a meteor...?"

At that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin's voice was drowned out by the sudden words of the Assassins' Sect disciples. Their plain tones carried urgency.

"Blue Dagger has discovered traces of an unfamiliar Blood Flame Sect evil art. A trail of blood carved in a straight line across the Fenzhou Snowfields has not faded for three days. Based on intelligence that an enchanting peerless beauty passed through a well village in Qinyang County, the target is presumed to be the Blood Flame Sect's Seventh Apostle. An addendum states that the figure appeared to have great difficulty moving..."

"White Blade reports finding traces of the Heart Martial Union Leader in the snowfields at the northern edge of Fenzhou. The marks of Mujang Radiance Art, which scoured a hundred-jang radius into a spiral, still remain. Unlike his own lofty bearing, the Heart Martial Union Leader Gwi Wi-hu personally interrogates even beggars from the Beggars' Sect. Tell every disciple in Shanxi to take refuge in safehouses. The Heart Martial Union's martial forces are converging from all directions."

"Black Sword reports witnessing clouds split in half at the border between the southern edge of Taiyuan Prefecture and Liaozhou. It is believed to have been the Moyong Family Head's Meteor Sword and Void-Stepping. Recall the disciples scattered throughout Taiyuan within one shichen. Urgent. I repeat, urgent."

And then.

Boom! Boom! Rumble!

A heavy roar spread through the cave. Vibrations like falling meteors shook the ground. Stone dust poured down from every wall like little waterfalls.

In an instant, pale dust began to surround them.

Footnotes:

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