Chapter 171 : Chapter 171
Chapter 171 - Shall You Listen to My Story?
“That man is…….”
Everyone’s gaze turned in one direction. Then, as if they had all planned it together, they furrowed their brows.
He was ugly.
He was a dreadfully ugly man. The high-quality turquoise robe he wore felt like an absurd waste. His skin looked beyond rough—it looked desolate—and his eyes were slit like straight lines. From his protruding lantern jaw to his squashed, wide bulbous nose, there wasn't a single feature on his face that could be called even remotely pleasant.
“Uh…….”
Eung Gajin unconsciously looked back and forth between the man’s face and Uma’s.
Perhaps because he had just seen the man’s face, Uma felt quite handsome in comparison.
But wasn't there such a thing as a 'feeling'? Namgung Chu of Ugliness. Uma of Ferocity.
Was this what they called a clash between two peerless titans? To Eung Gajin, it felt like looking at two walking mountain ranges.
“Senior Brother. What are you staring at like that?”
Perhaps he had read Eung Gajin’s gaze. Uma’s face crumpled fiercely. Eung Gajin scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.
“No. It’s just…….”
Meanwhile, at the sudden appearance of this uninvited guest, Jun-il’s anger grew even more intense.
“Who the hell are you!”
Instead of answering, the man leaped lightly and landed between Jun-il and me.
“Wow…….”
Contrary to his face, his movements were incredibly clean and fluid. The onlookers burst into exclamations of admiration as if they were possessed.
“I am Namgung Ha’s eldest son, Namgung Chu.”
“The…… Namgung Family Clan??”
At the mention of being a child of the Namgung family, the color drained from Jun-il's face. While one might be flustered by the appearance of a member of a prestigious family, his reaction went beyond what was expected.
“That is correct. It seems I can solve the problem between your two sects, so I have stepped in.”
“Solve the problem?”
“Well then, shall you listen to my story?”
Namgung Chu rubbed his palms together, salivating. I almost blurted out 'No' on his behalf without realizing it. However, this was something that had to be heard, even if forced.
“Speak.”
“The item you had stolen is likely a work of poetry. Am I right?”
“How can you…… be so sure of that?”
“Because I am the person who took that item.”
“!!!”
Sparks flew from the eyes of Jun-il and the Mount Heng Sect swordsmen. The thief they had been searching for so desperately was right here. Moreover, when did he steal it, and why was he only now confessing to being the thief? The Mount Heng Sect swordsmen gnashed their teeth and glared at Namgung Chu.
“Wait, so…… the Diancang Sect wasn't the thief after all?”
“I knew it. Is it only once or twice that the Mount Heng Sect has framed innocent people?”
“Now that the thief has appeared on his own, they won't be able to say anything more.”
Jun-il’s insides boiled at the sound of people whispering. A thief had appeared, yet his side was the one being criticized? This wouldn't have happened if they hadn't bothered to visit the Diancang Sect’s room. But it was too late to regret it now. Amidst the awkward and chaotic situation, Jun-il questioned Namgung Chu.
“A child of the prestigious Five Great Families committing theft. Did your Family Head teach you that?”
Considering the status of the Namgung Family Clan, it was an incredibly rude remark, but Namgung Chu’s eyes sparkled instead.
“There were circumstances. If it's alright, shall you listen to that story as well?”
“What kind of story are you talking about!”
Suddenly, a figure burst out from behind Jun-il. Sangsam, the third-generation disciple of the Mount Heng Sect who had earlier insisted on searching the Diancang Sect’s room, rushed at Namgung Chu.
It was a calculated move in its own way. Even if he was the son of a prestigious family, since he had admitted to being a thief, Sangsam thought whoever caught him would be the hero.
However, there was something Sangsam failed to calculate. It was Namgung Chu’s martial arts.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
In contrast to his spirited charge, Sangsam’s body stopped and jerked three times.
“Blegh!”
Soon, black blood poured from Sangsam’s mouth.
“!!!”
Everyone was startled by the unexpected turn of events. Before anyone knew it, a thin and long Judge's Pen was held in Namgung Chu’s hand.
‘When did he?’
It was a swift strike that even Eung Gajin hadn't perceived. After being stabbed in three vital spots, Sangsam’s limbs twitched like a frog hit by an arrow.
“There was something I failed to mention.”
As he wiped the blood-stained Judge's Pen with his silk robe, Namgung Chu spoke lowly.
“I very much dislike being interrupted while I am speaking.”
“…………!”
Normally, Jun-il would have stepped forward to hold him accountable. However, contrary to the expectations of the third-generation disciples, Jun-il merely glared at Namgung Chu in silence.
Even considering that Sangsam had attacked first, he was showing an overly cautious attitude toward a thief. Why on earth?
“Let us start the story again. Yes, I should begin with the story of Lord Zhao Taiping, the Secretariat Director.”
“The Secretariat Director……?”
At the unexpected name, the crowd pricked up their ears, and Jun-il’s expression became as heavy as lead.
The Secretariat Director, along with the Director of the Chancellery and the Secretariat, was a minister of the Three Departments, a figure equivalent to the role of a prime minister.
Since he was a person who directly influenced the policies of the Imperial Court, Zhao Taiping’s power was beyond question.
“It was about seven days and nights ago. Our family has occasionally presented works of our ancestors to Lord Zhao. I believe you all know very well who that ancestor is.”
Most of the onlookers nodded. If it was a calligrapher whose work was gifted to a prime minister-level official under the name of the Namgung Family Clan, there was only one person throughout history: Namgung Dong.
“However, recently, while the item was being delivered through an escort agency, our ancestor’s poetry disappeared. It was a very unfortunate event.”
Unfazed by the sword fight that had just occurred, people slowly moved forward to listen intently to Namgung Chu’s words.
“Upon investigation by the family, the ones who attacked the escort warriors were a group called the Command of the Severing Hand. They were people who caused quite a bit of trouble here and there in Anhui Province.”
Namgung Chu reached into his robe. The Mount Heng Sect martial artists flinched, but the item he pulled out was not a weapon, but finely wrapped silk.
“The more I dug into the case, the stranger it felt. Although the Command of the Severing Hand were quite skilled, the escort warriors we hired were not exactly mediocre. But something even stranger happened after that.”
Jun-il just listened to Namgung Chu’s story in silence.
“While tracking the path of the Command of the Severing Hand after hearing the news, I discovered a pile of their corpses in the mountains.”
“!”
“Great Hero Jun-il. Is this not a very strange thing? If they were skilled enough to suppress the escort warriors we hired, they certainly wouldn't have been ordinary, yet they too had their limbs severed without being able to put up any decent resistance. Naturally, our ancestor’s work could not be found at the scene. At that time, I arrived at one assumption.”
Namgung Chu’s gaze gradually turned cold.
“The Command of the Severing Hand were fakes, and the real culprit is someone else.”
As if enjoying the shocked expressions of the onlookers, Namgung Chu looked around.
“I checked all the corpses of the Command of the Severing Hand, as well as those of the escort warriors, meticulously. It was no small task piecing together the bodies with severed limbs. The real culprit probably didn't expect me to go that far. However, a very interesting result came out. When I gathered only the corpses that were cleanly cut as if they were radishes, the sword strikes automatically replayed in my head, you see?”
“W-What was it?”
One of the onlookers couldn't help but ask.
“It was a type of Continuous Chain sword technique.”
“!!!”
Now everyone’s gaze turned toward the Mount Heng Sect swordsmen. It was a story known to anyone interested in the Murim. This was because the core of the Five-Path Sword Art, which could be called the orthodox swordsmanship of the Mount Heng Sect, was precisely the Continuous Chain sword technique.
“It was the same no matter which corpse I looked at. Traces of Continuous Chain sword techniques that flowed like water, starting from the head to both shoulders and then to the back of the knees. It was a sword art I had occasionally seen in the Jianghu.”
The gazes of the Mount Heng Sect swordsmen flickered. Some of the third-generation disciples still looked confused, while others stared at the man standing at the very front. Jun-il, the man at the front, was only looking at the silk Namgung Chu held.
“Does the flow of events not seem too coincidental? It feels as though someone targeted the work, intentionally joined forces with the Command of the Severing Hand, and then took the item and cut off the tail.”
When Namgung Chu unfurled the rolled silk, handwriting that looked like a Dragon-and-Snake Soaring appeared inside.
“Ohh!”
It was a beautiful work of art that anyone could appreciate, even those ignorant of calligraphy.
“Now, I would like to ask. Why was the Mount Heng Sect in possession of this item?”
Before Jun-il could even open his mouth, Namgung Chu’s voice was heard again.
“Ah. I hope you don't say it was a work you obtained from the market. For works to be presented to close acquaintances, officials, or the Imperial Court, our ancestor stamped a special seal. They are things that cannot be distributed externally without the family’s permission. Shall you listen to how the seal is different?”
“………….”
Jun-il rolled his eyes here and there like a cornered rat. He was blocked on all sides and had no way to escape. Soon, Jun-il’s face turned as bright as sunshine.
“Hahaha. How could that be?”
“Hmm?”
As if wanting everyone around to hear, Jun-il burst into a purposefully loud laugh.
“We simply discovered that work by chance. We didn't know about any special seal, but we knew this work belonged to Master Namgung Dong. We intended to return it to the owner after verifying it at Xi'an's Hall of Judging Fakes to see if it was genuine.”
At that crude excuse, the onlookers naturally furrowed their brows.
‘Are they giving that as an excuse now?’
‘Why bother sending it to the Hall of Judging Fakes? They could have just gone straight to the Namgung Family Clan to check.’
‘It’s obvious that guy was plotting to swallow it for himself……!’
However, Namgung Chu burst into a roar of laughter as if he had expected it.
“Khaha! This humble one has only now understood the Great Hero’s deep intentions. Since this item originally belongs to our family, then it wouldn't exactly be considered theft, would it?”
“……That is so.”
A groaning voice leaked from Jun-il.
“Then there is no need to continue this sword fight in such a crowded place. This isn't theft, and the Diancang Sect are people who are completely unrelated to this matter, are they not?”
Was it just my imagination that he put strength only into the word 'unrelated'? Having lost all justification, Jun-il wore an expression like a dog chasing a chicken. At that moment, a cheerful voice was heard from the person behind Namgung Chu.
“What are you doing? Why aren't you apologizing immediately?”
“Apologize? Did you just say apologize?”
Jun-il’s face was hideously distorted. The owner of the voice was, of course, me.
“Yes. Did you not hear what Young Master Namgung said? The person who stole…… I mean, took the item was the Young Master. If you treated an innocent person like a thief, you should apologize.”
“That is…….”
“Or should I go up to Mount Heng myself and report this matter?”
“!”
Jun-il’s fingers trembled faintly with rage. That clever brat knew. He knew that this whole thing was his own doing, unrelated to the Mount Heng Sect as a whole.
Gulp.
It was just swallowing saliva, but it felt as if he were swallowing sand. How many humiliations, disgraces, and negative emotions had he felt today? Yet despite that, Jun-il had no choice but to do as I told him. If this were known at Mount Heng, he would have to pay a much greater price.
“I apologize…… for the reckless misunderstanding.”
Jun-il bowed his head at the front, and all the third-generation disciples, except for the unconscious Sangsam, bowed their heads as well. It was a scene where heaven and earth had been overturned compared to their arrogant appearance when they demanded the room be vacated.
“We are moving our lodging. Follow me.”
“Yes……!”
It would be difficult to endure staying in this inn with a sober mind. The young talents carrying Sangsam followed behind Jun-il.
“Oh. This means a vacant room has appeared?”
Namgung Chu rolled up the silk, tucked it into his robe, and grinned. Then, his eyes sparkling again, he asked the Diancang Sect martial artists.
“Since things have turned out like this, I was thinking of moving into that vacant room. How about it, don't you want to hear my predictions for the upcoming martial arts tournament?”
“!”
The Diancang Sect martial artists exchanged glances. As if they had reached an agreement in advance, the members of my group answered with one voice, in warm tones.
“No.”