Chapter 158
Chapter 158
“What about the amount of supplies?”
“This side is fine. The Heavenly Demon said he would wait five years, so we gathered quite a lot over nearly two years.”
“We’re a bit short on grain over here. Since we’re near the coast, we have plenty of seafood though.”
“If you prepare seafood well, it can be used as preserved food.”
“Do you think I don’t know that? What’s the point of having only seafood? We don’t have grain.”
Han Yonghu and Cheonung had recently advanced their preparations for war a little further because the Demonic Cult had hidden Jiangshi within the Central Plains.
“By the way, what happened to the Wunryong Carriage? If those bastards had been properly supervised from the beginning, the Jiangshi wouldn’t have crossed over.”
“Unfortunately, the Head of the Escort Bureau wasn’t a member of the Demonic Cult, so it was a bit difficult. I never imagined the assistant would cause such trouble.”
“Then the Head of the Escort Bureau is still alive?”
When Cheonung revealed his Killing Intent, Han Yonghu calmly took a sip of tea and replied.
“He committed many corrupt acts, so it seemed he would rot in the Underground Prison for life because of that alone, so I left him as he was. Of course, I crippled both his Dantian and the meridians of his limbs.”
“Why not just kill him?”
“…I am the Murim Alliance Leader, my friend.”
“Did you find any other places where the Jiangshi were hidden?”
“I judged there were no more.”
Thud—!
“Then it’s safe to assume the Demonic Cult hasn’t played any more tricks in the Central Plains?”
“I don’t think so. Demon Brain wouldn’t be this sloppy.”
“That’s true.”
Clang—!
Cheonung muttered while clutching his head.
“This kind of thing is what Cheongsol should be doing……”
Seeing Cheonung muttering in frustration, Han Yonghu could not hide his uneasy expression.
“By the way, does that sound not bother you?”
Clang—!
“Aaagh! There, my thigh! No, that spot’s already been hit!”
“So what do you want me to do about it?”
Even as the screams echoed from outside, Cheonung did not lose his concentration in the slightest.
“It’s been a while since I heard it too, so it feels a bit uncomfortable.”
“What do you mean?”
“At the Unorthodox Alliance, sounds like that were occasionally heard.”
“…Don’t tell me Youngho?”
“Yes. He said it was just a natural sound that came out during training, so not to worry about it.”
“…How could anyone possibly ignore that?”
“If you keep paying attention to it, you’ll only waste time. By the way, shouldn’t you be heading to the council meeting soon? Someone as busy as you shouldn’t be slacking off.”
“…It’s already this late.”
“If that Shaolin octopus starts throwing a tantrum, tell me.”
“What could you possibly do?”
“…Cut off his wrist so he can never make a fist again?”
“If you say something in front of me again that could start an Orthodox–Unorthodox War, I will draw my sword first next time.”
“Was Youngho’s action that shocking?”
“I thought that even if it were you, perhaps, but Youngho would absolutely never start an Orthodox–Unorthodox War.”
“You completely misjudged Youngho.”
“…In the end, that’s true.”
Han Yonghu also knew Youngho’s intention. He clearly wanted to deliver a great shock and wake the Orthodox Sect from their complacency.
But what if Namgung Cheon had not slammed his head to the ground back then? What if Youngho’s sword had been turned toward the Orthodox Sect?
Just imagining it was horrifying, and Han Yonghu shuddered.
“…I’ll be going now.”
As if he did not even want to think about that time, Han Yonghu shook his head and headed toward the council hall where the leaders of the Orthodox Sect were gathered.
After Han Yonghu left the room, Cheonung leaned against the window and looked outside for a moment.
He was observing those who were still training diligently.
Clang—!
“Aren’t you supposed to be a physician?!”
“I am a physician! So if you don’t want your neck cut off, shut up and keep throwing the Throwing Knives!”
Tang Gunhyeon shuddered involuntarily at the thick Killing Intent in Hyeon-gang’s eyes.
If he did not release his Hidden Weapons right now, it truly felt as if his neck would be severed, so he attacked with everything he had.
“So how am I supposed to block that?!”
“How? How do you block it? You’re actually asking that?”
He had seen it hundreds, thousands of times. Even if he himself could not use Hidden Weapon Mastery, he had watched countless Hidden Weapons being thrown. Would he really fail to block something like this?
But in the end, Hyeon-gang, a physician, lost to Tang Gunhyeon, a martial artist.
After exhausting himself blocking the Hidden Weapons, Hyeon-gang forced his trembling arms to steady and sheathed his sword.
“You certainly deserve to be called the King of Hidden Weapons. I’ll acknowledge that much for now.”
“Who the hell are you to acknowledge me?!”
When Tang Gunhyeon shouted angrily, Hyeon-gang glared sharply at him.
Tang Gunhyeon was startled by the murderous glare, yet he also felt puzzled.
‘Why is he looking at me like that?’
They had clearly just met, yet he was being treated like a sworn enemy.
Hyeon-gang glared at him for a moment before clicking his tongue.
“Tsk, it would have been better if things were the same as before.”
At those words, Tang Gunhyeon realized something. He let out a sigh and lowered his head.
“Ah… um… I’m sorry for not remembering. It seems I must have caused you some harm in the past.”
“You didn’t harm me, so there’s nothing to apologize for.”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
“In short, you did nothing wrong to me. I just chose you as the target for venting my anger.”
It was such an absurd statement that Tang Gunhyeon felt his mind go blank. Having said everything he wanted, Hyeon-gang turned and walked away without even looking back.
Faced with such an absurd situation, Tang Gunhyeon let out a hollow laugh.
‘What nonsense?’
Not far away, Kang Chowon was catching her breath while watching Tang Gunhyeon.
Namgung Cheon, who was also recovering his breath beside her, noticed her gaze fixed on Tang Gunhyeon and asked curiously.
“What is it? Why are you suddenly looking at Gunhyeon?”
“It’s nothing. It just looks like there’s far too much karma piled up in that other place.”
“What do you mean? If you’re referring to the Orthodox Sect, I will apologize on their behalf.”
“Can you bear it?”
“Pardon?”
The atmosphere around Kang Chowon suddenly grew heavy, like an enormous wave.
She looked at Namgung Cheon with calm eyes that seemed to contain the quiet darkness of dawn.
“You cannot fully bear the karma of the Orthodox Sect. It would be better not to make promises you cannot keep.”
“Don’t worry about that. I will carry all that karma for the rest of my life.”
It was a bold declaration, fitting for Namgung Cheon, who was considered likely to become the next Murim Alliance Leader within ten years.
That was precisely why it seemed so laughable. In ten years, Kang Chowon had never once seen Namgung Cheon defeat Youngho.
Kang Chowon quietly looked past Namgung Cheon toward Myeongnyang, who was discussing something with Zhuge Lianhua behind him.
“Good work.”
“It’s nothing. I’ll take my leave now.”
Zhuge Lianhua accepted the documents handed to her and immediately entered her quarters.
She lightly placed the documents on the desk and picked one up, beginning to read.
About a quarter-hour later, someone knocked on her door. Without even lifting her eyes from the document, she spoke as if it were obvious.
“Come in.”
“You should at least check who it is.”
Namgung Cheon and Tang Gunhyeon entered the room as naturally as if it were their own and collapsed onto the floor.
“You already knew it was us, didn’t you? And besides suddenly visiting, we’re even lying down. Have you no shame?”
Although Zhuge Lianhua said that, her voice carried no sense of reprimand.
It sounded more like a formality. Knowing that well, Namgung Cheon and Tang Gunhyeon began complaining.
“The training is just too brutal.”
“I agree with Cheon. And those people over there—even the physicians are strong. The one called the Divine Physician of Ten Thousand Hands has such deep mastery of medicine, yet his Martial Learning is incredible too……”
Tang Gunhyeon spoke almost like he was lamenting, making Namgung Cheon chuckle.
“The Divine Physician of Ten Thousand Hands is impressive. But if you fight the Blood Sword Ghost, you’ll realize that everything we’ve done so far wasn’t even real training.”
“Cheon, I’ve told you many times already—I’ve already lost a Martial Duel against the Blood Sword Ghost.”
“Ah.”
“You damned fool. You can’t even remember that.”
Zhuge Lianhua listened to their conversation with one ear and let it pass out the other.
“By the way, Gunhyeon, do you know someone named Tang Hyeon-gang?”
“What? Tang Hyeon-gang? Is he from the Tang Clan?”
“More accurately, he was expelled.”
Zhuge Lianhua spoke casually, without much interest.
“I recently talked with a strategist from the Unorthodox Alliance, and apparently he has quite a story. So I looked into it a bit. Among the people the Sword Exalted keeps around him, there are many with unusual pasts.”
“So you’re saying the Sword Exalted is currently keeping someone with the Tang surname by his side?”
“Yes. The Divine Physician of Ten Thousand Hands you trained with has abandoned the Tang surname and now simply lives as Hyeon-gang.”
“What? That man couldn’t even use Hidden Weapons.”
“The Tang Clan doesn’t only use Hidden Weapons. Some people, unlike you, focus entirely on medicine.”
“That’s true… But he was way too strong for a physician. Are famous physicians all strong? Even the Divine Physician defeats me……”
Of course, Hyeon-gang had only barely reached the Transformation Realm, so from Tang Gunhyeon’s perspective he was not an especially formidable expert.
“Come to think of it, even if he couldn’t use Hidden Weapons, he knew the trajectory of them very well. Was that because he was from the Tang Clan? But why are you asking?”
“Hmm…… let’s just say it’s curiosity about the Sword Exalted.”
“Then why investigate the people around him instead of the Sword Exalted himself?”
“Anyway, find out about this person named Tang Hyeon-gang and send the information to me. If it’s you, you should be able to learn why the Divine Physician of Ten Thousand Hands was expelled from the Tang Clan.”
“He must’ve been expelled because he committed some crime. But that’s strange… He didn’t seem like that kind of person… I’ll look into it. My father happens to be here, so I’ll ask him later.”
“…The Clan Head of the Tang Clan?”
“Yes. He knows about every incident that happens within the clan, so he should know. Now that I think about it, there was a major incident in our clan once.”
For a fleeting instant, Zhuge Lianhua’s eyelashes trembled.
“…What kind of incident?”
“There was an accident during treatment. I didn’t personally see the trial, but someone definitely lost the Tang surname and was expelled. There was even a petition saying the punishment was far too light for the crime.”
“…I see.”
“Since we’re already talking about it, I might as well go ask right now.”
“W-wait!”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
As Tang Gunhyeon stood up, Zhuge Lianhua hurriedly grabbed him.
“It’s already late. Wouldn’t it be better to meet him tomorrow?”
“Why? He’s not a stranger—he’s my father. If I just bring a good bottle of wine and visit him, it’ll be fine.”
Having no way to stop him, Zhuge Lianhua struggled to control the trembling in her eyes.
Not noticing her expression, Tang Gunhyeon stood and walked out of the residence.
“I’ll go ask him~”
Her intuition was surely correct. That was precisely why she was afraid.
A sin that should have remained hidden might come to light. An incident that should have faded into oblivion might be brought back into focus.
—I am not a daughter of high status like those of the Zhuge Clan. I am merely an ordinary woman with a child.
Why did those words come to mind at this moment?
She had begun to fear the countless incidents that had been buried all this time—incidents she had never known about.
Namgung Cheon quietly watched Zhuge Lianhua, who had lowered her head to hide her expression.