Chapter 153
Chapter 153
“Mm….”
Youngho let out a low groan as he slowly opened his eyes.
‘That feels refreshing.’
Perhaps because he had slept deeply for the first time in a while, it felt as though all the fatigue that had lingered in his body had completely disappeared.
Still lying down, Youngho looked around and spoke.
“A carriage?”
“Oh? You’ve woken up?”
Seeing that Youngho had regained consciousness, Hyeon-gang handed him a medicinal decoction and said,
“First, drink this all in one go.”
“What is it?”
“Medicine that’s good for internal injuries. You’ll probably recover faster than you are now.”
“Ugh… at least give me some taffy.”
“How old are you that you can’t even endure something bitter?”
Although he grumbled, Hyeon-gang still pulled out a piece of taffy from inside his sleeve and handed it to Youngho.
After drinking the medicinal decoction in one gulp, Youngho immediately put the taffy in his mouth and said,
“What happened while I was out?”
“There was almost a conflict between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions, and the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance instructed us to take you to the place where the joint training ground is located.”
“How long was I lying down?”
“Including the surgery time, you slept soundly for two days.”
“No wonder my body feels so refreshed.”
Slowly lifting his light body, Youngho spoke.
“So when is Master coming?”
“He said to wait four days.”
“That’s sooner than I expected. I thought it would take a week.”
Youngho loosened his stiff body with some light stretching as he spoke.
“What about the others?”
“They’re all safe. Their recovery isn’t as fast as yours, Young Master, so they’re still struggling a bit, but I think they’ll all be fully healed in about a week.”
“And Sancheon?”
At that, Hyeon-gang spoke with a slightly stiff expression.
“We obtained an ice crystal from a nearby merchant group so the corpse wouldn’t be damaged and sent it to the Unorthodox Alliance.”
“You got an ice crystal? That must’ve been extremely expensive.”
“Jongpal spent quite a bit of money. He bought it for two or three times the original price, so we were able to obtain it quickly.”
“I’ll have to pay back the money later.”
After saying that, Youngho lifted the carriage curtain, opened the window, and asked,
“How long until we reach the joint training ground?”
“At this rate, we’ll arrive in two shijin—oh? Young Master, you’re awake?”
Kang Hosan jumped in surprise and looked through the carriage window. Inside, he saw Youngho chewing taffy with an indifferent expression.
“You’re truly incredible. Your condition was so severe that Brother Hyeon-gang and the Divine Physician treated you all day, yet you already look completely normal.”
“I’m not fully healed yet, so stop making a fuss. More importantly, why are we traveling this far away from the Orthodox Sect?”
Youngho spoke while sensing the presences of Martial Artists within his Qi Sense.
“If we’re keeping a distance of thirty zhang, what exactly happened?”
“It’s a measure taken because it looked like a conflict between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions might break out. Honestly, it’s quite annoying for me as well. I’d rather just crush them with force, but what can we do?”
As Kang Hosan spoke casually, Youngho chuckled.
“Even if you subdue those guys with force, they’re useless.”
“If the Murim Alliance Leader weren’t here, I would’ve beaten them all up.”
“The Alliance Leader came too?”
“Yes. He asked us to notify him if you woke up. What should we do?”
“Forget it. If it were urgent, he would’ve been with me from the start. I’m going to rest a little more. When we reach the training ground, tell—.”
Kang Hosan stopped mid-sentence when he saw Youngho suddenly frown.
“Is something wrong?”
“Why do I sense Demonic Energy?”
“Ah… that’s a bit of a long story.”
“Summarize it as much as possible.”
“While the Divine Physician was on his way to help us, he happened to encounter a Demonic Practitioner and subdued him.”
Hm?
Feeling something strange, Youngho asked further.
“Did that Demonic Practitioner happen to possess the Sacred Relic of the Wudang Sect and have one of his arms severed?”
“That’s so accurate I have nothing to add.”
“And Chowon and Horyeung are watching that Demonic Practitioner over there, right?”
“Yes. The Flowing Wind Spear is watching with them.”
“I can sense Muyeon too… and quite a number of Unorthodox Alliance troops. What exactly happened?”
“The Alliance Lord predicted danger to you and sent Sister Muyeon. In the end, though, she arrived too late.”
“I’m too curious to hold back. Black Shadow, bring the Alliance Leader here.”
At that moment, Youngho’s shadow briefly rippled.
Before long, Han Yonghu knocked on the carriage door.
“Come in.”
Even though the carriage was moving, Han Yonghu opened the door without the slightest inconvenience and naturally sat down.
It was a feat that an ordinary person could never imitate.
Despite displaying such skill, Han Yonghu was currently extremely tense. He glanced cautiously at Youngho for a moment.
“Alliance Leader.”
When Youngho spoke politely, Han Yonghu’s expression brightened instantly.
However, the words that followed made Han Yonghu cry inwardly.
“I’m very angry right now.”
“…I understand.”
“And if I’m angry, how angry do you think my Master must be?”
“……”
Dry saliva kept being swallowed. No matter how many times he experienced it, the sensation of his Adam’s apple bobbing never became familiar.
Han Yonghu quietly swallowed his saliva without saying anything.
Hyeon-gang looked at Youngho pressing the Murim Alliance Leader with an expression that almost seemed moved.
‘He’s really acting like the Unorthodox Faction again for the first time in a while….’
Recently, Youngho had helped the Orthodox Sect so much that it almost seemed like he could become an honorary member of the Orthodox faction.
Fortunately, Youngho did not seem to have forgotten that he was the fifth disciple of the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance.
Youngho clearly conveyed what he wanted to say into Han Yonghu’s ears.
“Alliance Leader, there will be very few occasions where I personally step forward. The same goes for my Master.”
At first glance it sounded like good news, but Han Yonghu felt even more anxious since he could not predict how Youngho would proceed.
“I will put forward the elites I personally raised.”
At those words, Han Yonghu’s complexion rapidly stiffened.
“You must have realized it the moment you saw them, Alliance Leader. How much my subordinates have grown, and how harsh the training they endured was.”
Youngho spoke a lot, but in the end there was only one conclusion.
‘So he means he won’t personally intervene….’
Han Yonghu unconsciously bit his lip.
This time there were many things he had to be careful about. One of them was the existence of Hyeon-gang, who was called the Divine Physician of Ten Thousand Hands.
‘We must not let him encounter the Tang Clan!’
According to Hyeon-gang’s words, he was merely a victim.
A victim of the hypocrisy of the Orthodox Sect.
The hypocrisy of the Orthodox Sect itself was not such a major problem.
Rather, the problem was that the evil deeds of the Unorthodox Faction were even more vicious and relentless.
However, when a flawless object gains even the smallest flaw, people will tear at it mercilessly.
If those who must lead the Orthodox Sect in the future were to witness the hypocrisy of the Orthodox Sect, they would inevitably feel deep disillusionment.
Some would try to correct the wrong situation, while others would give up.
And the more clever ones would realize that the hypocrisy of the Orthodox Sect would never disappear, accept it, and lead the Orthodox Sect regardless.
Exaggerating somewhat, the forces of righteousness were a place where a small number of humans led a large number of monkeys.
Han Yonghu had also realized this truth after becoming the Murim Alliance Leader.
But the problem now was that the Unorthodox Faction had handled the situation properly.
If a jewel had a tiny flaw, many people would feel disappointed.
Conversely, if a weapon was already completely damaged, people would praise even the few parts that remained intact.
That was the current situation.
The Murim Alliance had done ninety-nine things right out of a hundred but made one mistake.
The Unorthodox Alliance had committed ninety-nine acts of cruelty but done one thing right.
People easily forgot the past.
They forgot the times they had been helped and the times they had received kindness.
But there was one memory people never forgot.
The memory of resentment.
If things continued like this, the tower they had painstakingly built until now could collapse all at once.
Until now, the Murim Alliance had been able to shine because Youngho had acted as the necessary evil.
But what if Youngho refused to be that necessary evil?
What if he became the light that soared through the sky instead?
Suddenly, Han Yonghu recalled something Youngho had said years ago.
—Do not forget. We are merely strong monkeys. And there may come a time when there are two monkeys who possess chivalry.
Goosebumps began spreading across his entire body.
“I cannot say anything about this matter. As you know, I do not fully understand how much my subordinates have suffered. And there is one thing I will say….”
Youngho spoke in a terrifyingly cold voice.
“My people are not easily stopped.”
After that, Youngho and Han Yonghu exchanged no more words and quietly rode the carriage toward the joint training ground.
Under the suffocating atmosphere, Hyeon-gang glanced at both of them before quietly stepping outside the carriage.
The carriage continued silently toward the joint training ground.
And thus, Youngho arrived at the joint training ground.
“Stop coming already!”
Tang Gunhyeon shouted as he unleashed a poison palm strike, and Namgung Cheon replied in a serious voice.
“Your strength isn’t focused only on hidden weapons. You definitely have another power.”
“I told you that’s not it!”
Tang Gunhyeon shrieked as he desperately widened the distance from Namgung Cheon, who was charging at him.
He fired three needles and threw throwing knives.
It was hidden weapon mastery so superb that even the Clan Head of the Tang Clan could not imitate it.
Yet Namgung Cheon swiftly swung his sword, deflecting the hidden weapons.
His responses were so fast that no matter how many hidden weapons Tang Gunhyeon threw, the distance did not widen.
Instead, the distance between them kept closing.
“Why did I have to get caught by a lunatic like you?!”
“Blame yourself for asking me for a sparring match at the Namgung Clan!”
“If I could go back to that moment, I wouldn’t even urinate in the direction of the Namgung Clan!”
The game of tag(?) that seemed like it would last forever finally ended in Namgung Cheon’s victory.
Namgung Cheon wiped the sweat from his forehead as Tang Gunhyeon lay on the ground, gasping as if his breath would give out.
“As expected, training with you helps me tremendously.”
“I’m…! Hah… dying!”
Even though he looked like he would collapse any second, Tang Gunhyeon eventually forced himself to stand up.
“So why did you suddenly barge in here?”
At Tang Gunhyeon’s question, Namgung Cheon hesitated for a moment.
Something serious seemed to have happened, judging by his unusual expression.
And after hearing Namgung Cheon’s answer, Tang Gunhyeon could not help but throw a throwing knife.
“I just felt like I should spar with you.”
“You crazy bastard!”
Namgung Cheon skillfully blocked the hidden weapon and said,
“I have a strange feeling. Like I’m about to gain some kind of enlightenment.”
“What kind of feeling is that?”
“I’m not sure myse—?”
Namgung Cheon suddenly sensed something rushing toward him at tremendous speed.
“Lianhua?”
Before he could finish speaking, Zhuge Lianhua leapt over the training ground wall and said,
“Get ready!”
“What?”
She suddenly appeared and told them to get ready?
“Get ready for what?”
At Tang Gunhyeon’s question, Zhuge Lianhua said with a pale face,
“The Sword Exalted is coming right now! And it looks like he plans to start the joint training earlier than scheduled!”
Thud—!
At that moment, it felt as though Tang Gunhyeon and Namgung Cheon’s hearts dropped.
Tang Gunhyeon recalled the past.
Before he met Namgung Cheon—his first encounter with Youngho.
And the humiliating defeat he suffered at the hands of Youngho’s escort.
“Phew….”
He had to calm himself.
He had grown far beyond who he was back then—both in character and in Martial Learning.
‘I can stand proud!’
He was no longer an arrogant Young Noble Master who knew nothing of the world.
Tang Gunhyeon looked at Namgung Cheon with blazing eyes.
Then he smirked.
Namgung Cheon was smiling.
As if what he had always wanted was finally about to happen.
“So I’ll finally see him.”
With a smile on his lips, Namgung Cheon immediately moved according to Zhuge Lianhua’s instructions.