Chapter 20
The elders seemed to think it was a good thing.
They could get information about the monsters of Mohwa Mountain Manor, and by helping us, the master and friend of Pae Maseong, they probably thought they had put him in their debt once again.
After they left, we diligently looked at the martial arts manual.
Yeon Cheongha couldn't contain his surprise as he looked at it.
"Socheong, this is a truly great fortuitous encounter. I still can't believe that something like this has happened to me. A martial art that only the collateral branches of the Danli family can learn."
"But master, if the internal art doesn't match, isn't it impossible to learn this?"
At that, he had a proud face.
"In Heavenly Forest, if you succeed in a certain number of assassination missions, you are given a reward. Among them is an important internal art of the Heavenly Demon Sect. I learned it and also taught it to you and Maseong. It would be a problem if it were exactly the same, so I modified it a little. Since you've learned that, you'll be able to practice this martial art right away."
"That's great. The elders of the Danli family probably didn't know that. They probably gave it to us thinking that we wouldn't be able to practice it right away even if we received it."
"Probably so. They might have been laughing at us inwardly as they watched us rejoice after receiving it. Not even knowing who should be laughing at whom."
Yeon Cheongha was being much more helpful than I had thought.
I had been surprised by him more than once or twice so far, and as if that wasn't the end of the surprises, he continued to surprise me.
* * *
Before the martial artists of the Danli family arrived, I told Yeon Cheongha about the pawnshop run by the informants of Mohwa Mountain Manor.
It was because I thought that if I told him, he would be able to make good use of that information.
Originally, Pae Maseong would have played a big role in the subjugation of Mohwa Mountain Manor, but now was not the time for Mohwa Mountain Manor to be revealed.
In the novel, when the identity of Mohwa Mountain Manor was revealed, Pae Maseong was already older and his martial prowess was much higher, but now he was still young and his martial arts were not at a level where he could be at ease.
I didn't know what effect the early revelation of Mohwa Mountain Manor's identity would have, but I hoped that Pae Maseong would not step up in this matter if possible.
He had already saved my life several times, and I had a wish that he would not risk his life by stepping up in that matter.
Yeon Cheongha thought for a long time after hearing my story.
Then, as if he had finally made up his mind, he stated his thoughts.
"I'm thinking of giving the information to the Danli family. Instead, if we sufficiently impress upon them that the people of Mohwa Mountain Manor are very strong, the Danli family won't suffer great damage just by coveting the credit."
Yeon Cheongha's thoughts didn't seem to be entirely correct.
Since coming here, I had seen to the point of being sick of it how much the prestigious martial families coveted credit and were greedy for fame.
The Danli family also seemed to want to subjugate Mohwa Mountain Manor themselves to make their name widely known.
The fact that this was happening in the Central Plains and not in the sect was also important.
The people of the sect had a tendency to highly value and respect those who were active in the Central Plains, and considering that, this would seem like a good opportunity for the Danli family to raise the family's reputation in the sect.
When I didn't agree, Yeon Cheongha also finished his story weakly.
"If they don't listen even if we tell them, then it can't be helped."
The martial artists of the Danli family arrived after about a month.
Yeon Cheongha told me that they were the strongest martial artists from the Danli family's martial force.
It was a part where I could see how the Danli family was thinking about this matter.
A whopping thirty people were selected from the family's best martial force.
Since I knew how the elders of the Danli family had treated us, I thought they would also treat us properly and cooperate with us, but the atmosphere was not like that at all.
I was a little offended, but Yeon Cheongha was not.
He seemed to think that his position in his relationship with them was naturally like that.
"When I was young, my dream was to enter one of the four great families in the sect and become a martial artist of their martial force. It didn't turn out that way in the end, but I can't believe I can see them up close like this."
It was funny that the master of the person who would become the number one under heaven in the future had such a simple dream and was moved by seeing them.
* * *
Danli Yeonmuk was the leader of the martial force.
I don't know how he found out, but he knew that the elders had given us the martial arts manual that only the collateral branches of the Danli family could learn.
It seemed that he had a grudge against us since he came here, and it seemed that was the reason.
To them, Yeon Cheongha was just an assassin, so how pathetic and lowly would he look in the eyes of those with high self-esteem?
At first, he seemed to be trying not to talk unless it was absolutely necessary, but later, he spoke to me.
It was about Pae Maseong.
I thought he would be more interested in the monsters of Mohwa Mountain Manor, but that was not the case.
"You're Pae Maseong's friend, right?"
"Yes."
"Pae Maseong is practicing martial arts in a good place, so you must not feel good being left alone in a place like this."
"That's not true. I don't think that place is a good place. I am learning well from a good master, so I feel sorry for Pae Maseong."
Danli Yeonmuk sneered.
"Pae Maseong will be taught high-level martial arts by a master of martial arts, and you will be taught assassin skills by an assassin, but you feel sorry for Pae Maseong?"
"Assassin skills are assassin skills. Everything Pae Maseong learned, he learned from our master. The people who lost to Pae Maseong were defeated by our master's assassin skills."
Danli Yeonmuk glared at me as if he were offended.
"I heard that Mohwa Mountain Manor often launches surprise attacks. Did Pae Maseong kill them easily?"
"Yes."
"Then it seems they are not that difficult of an opponent."
Pae Maseong was still young, but he seemed to be feeling inferior, so I felt a little sorry for him.
He said he wanted to warm up quickly but was bored and went back.
Those words became a seed. As if someone had been waiting for those words somewhere, a total of fifteen people from Mohwa Mountain Manor rushed in.
I had expectations for Danli Yeonmuk's group.
So I didn't step into the fight directly and watched them fight.
I didn't know before, but I had an extraordinary eye, and watching such things was a great help.
It seemed more helpful to watch people who used high-level martial arts fight a fierce battle in detail than to train alone.
Although Danli Yeonmuk was an unpleasant person, his martial arts level was high.
I didn't want to admit it, but it was even more so than Yeon Cheongha.
Danli Yeonmuk's individual martial prowess was excellent, but his coordination with his team members was very good.
I could see that there were such advantages when many people fought together, and I watched them, thinking about what I should do if I were in that position.
When they fought together, it was difficult to find an opening, and if someone tried to launch a surprise attack, they would swing their sword and deflect it without even turning their heads.
I was truly impressed as I watched them accurately locate and defend with just a very small sound.
Their martial arts had something that made my heart boil.
Later, even Yeon Cheongha stopped and watched them.
He also seemed to think that it would be more helpful to gain observation than to step up himself now.
Danli Yeonmuk's group diligently reduced their opponents.
I had been told in advance that there was poison in the bodies of the people of Mohwa Mountain Manor, and that the poison would later catch fire, so I was not particularly worried.
I thought it would be over soon if it went on like this, but for some reason, the speed of the people of Mohwa Mountain Manor suddenly increased.
Their speed was so different that I wondered if they had been deliberately showing a weak side until now.
Danli Yeonmuk's group had been fighting well and seemed to have controlled their internal energy, but once such a change occurred, they began to be shaken rapidly.
If one or two people had been shaken, the others could have blocked that spot, but everyone was shaken almost at the same time.
Then Yeon Cheongha went forward first, and I had no choice but to go and stand by his side.
It was partly because I couldn't let Yeon Cheongha die while fighting the guys alone, and I also wanted to try using the martial arts I had been practicing in a real battle.
The guys' movements had become faster, but it wasn't entirely impossible to respond to them.
I don't know if they had been fed a little more of the Blood Flesh Herb, or if the Blood Flesh Herb had been improved.
We were also constantly training and trying to become stronger, so there would be nothing more foolish than to think that the opponent would stay in the same place forever.
When we had dealt with the guys to some extent, Danli Yeonmuk's group came forward again and finally took care of all the people from Mohwa Mountain Manor.
There were many people with major and minor injuries, and no one had suffered no sacrifices.
They shook their heads as they saw the poison coming out of the corpses and the flames erupting.
It seemed that hearing about it and seeing it up close were different.
Danli Yeonmuk, who had come after checking on his comrades' injuries, came to me and Yeon Cheongha and said.
"You've learned well in a short time, but it seems there are parts where the flow of internal energy is not smooth. That is a difficulty that everyone experiences in common. If the internal energy does not flow quickly, the power transmitted when you swing your sword will be halved."
Then he told us the parts we had done wrong and even demonstrated it himself.
It was a consideration I hadn't expected from Danli Yeonmuk, so Yeon Cheongha and I looked at each other.
It seemed to be a part that would have been difficult to realize unless you had learned the Danli family's internal art from a young age and had it completely ingrained in your body.
"It seems you've learned the main family's internal art, but it seems to be a problem that arose because it's not perfect. Perhaps the elders of the main family gave you the martial arts manual but did not solve the problem of the internal art. I think I can help with that problem."
I was a little bewildered, wondering if it was possible to change his attitude like that.
But his comrades also came to us and gave us all sorts of advice.
They told us the answers they had found while practicing the same martial art for a long time, and I didn't think I would have been able to tell them such things so freely.
When we did as they said, the parts that hadn't been working well really changed for the better.
Yeon Cheongha, who had respected them from the beginning anyway, was moved with shining eyes.
"I would be grateful if you would forgive our past rudeness."
When Danli Yeonmuk said that, his companions also all apologized to us.
It felt somewhat grand.
It seemed that by fighting against the same enemy and realizing how strong the enemies were, they had come to understand the path we had walked.
(End of Chapter)