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Chapter 115: Birds of a Feather Flock Together (3)
CRAAAAAASH!
A thunderous boom rang out across Death Valley. A huge cloud of dust appeared, obscuring the view of magnificent pavilions and beautiful trees being crushed under tons of crumbling rock.
The collapse lasted for quite a long time. When the dust finally settled, the paradise that was Death Valley was no more. There was only a large garden of rocks.
“Oh my, this is amazing!” Dam Ju-In whistled at the sight. This endeavor had cost him dozens of bombs and thousands of gold taels. The Death Valley was gone, and people would never know what happened inside. It was the perfect end result.
The hard work of the past few days had not been for nothing. Dam Ju-In turned and smiled, feeling satisfied. It was time to return to Heaven’s Summit.
Suddenly, a red-robed martial artist appeared out of thin air and knelt down on one knee in front of him. “My lord,” he greeted.
“Is something the matter?”
“A variable has appeared.”
“A variable?” Dam Ju-In’s eyes lit up with curiosity.
“Someone who was supposed to die survived and even recovered from the insanity.”
“Who?”
“Yoon Ja-Myeong of the White Dragon Merchant Association.”
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“Really?”
“I just confirmed it. He’s still struggling to walk, but he’s regained his sanity and can speak normally.”
Dam Ju-In’s expression stiffened. If what his subordinate said was true, then his cleanup job was far from perfect. “Did they find an antidote?” he asked.
“It wasn’t an antidote, but an unknown special technique that cured him.”
“A special technique…?”
“We’re watching him closely now, and we should be able to figure out how the poison was neutralized soon.”
“Yes, we must know how it was done.” Dam Ju-In smiled eerily.
A shiver ran down his subordinate’s spine. Due to the nature of their work, his superior always wore a mask, but for the first time, that mask had cracked.
“Tang Gi-Mun, the Tang Clan’s Poison Pavilion Master… Truly, the abilities of a great clan are nothing to sneeze at.”
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The knowledge that an ancient clan, especially one that had existed for hundreds of years like the Tang Clan, had accumulated over countless generations was unimaginably broad and deep.
“Also….”
“You have more surprises for me?”
“The Fist Demon has disappeared. He’s supposedly in isolated training, but there’s no sign of him anywhere in the Tyrant Fist Sect.”
“Jo Cheon-Woo?” Dam Ju-In frowned, then continued, “Didn’t Elder Heo take care of him?”
“He did, which is why Elder Heo is panicking right now.”
“Hmm…” Dam Ju-In tapped his chin with a finger. He didn’t have many habits, but this was the one thing he couldn’t help doing whenever he was agitated.
A long time later, he finally said, “I don’t have the spare time to meddle in this affair, so ask Elder Heo to take responsibility for it. The Scarlet Fog Association will focus all our efforts on finding out how Tang Gi-Mun cured Yoon Ja-Myeong.”
“Understood,” the subordinate replied, before abruptly vanishing the same way he had appeared.
From now on, dozens of eyes would watch Tang Gi-Mun’s every move, and all the information obtained passed on to Dam Ju-In for careful analysis.
“Tsk! This isn’t fun anymore.”
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The White Dragon Merchant Association specially ordered a large carriage that could comfortably fit a bed for Yoon Ja-Myeong, who was not fully recovered yet. To look after him as they traveled, Yoon Seo-In, Tang Gi-Mun and Tang Mi-Ryeo also boarded the carriage. The Tang Clan members would at least keep an eye on him until the Yunnan border, where they would part.
Their retinue would be the same as before, with the Iron Brigade and their own escorts guarding them. The most glaring difference was the cheerful expressions on the faces of Yong Mu-Sung and the other members of the Iron Brigade, as they had now successfully accomplished their mission.
Jin Mu-Won, Hwang Cheol, and the others lagged at the back of the group. Yoon Ja-Myeong had shoved a large sum of money into Jin Mu-Won’s reluctant arms, and thanks to this, Jin Mu-Won had become unexpectedly wealthy. However, he wasn’t really aware of the value of the money he was holding, having lived in the wilderness for years.
“Let’s go!” Yong Mu-Sung shouted.
Finally, the caravan began its journey north. The mood was much lighter than when they had arrived, and even the escorts wore relaxed smiles on their faces.
On the road, Hwang Cheol stuck close to Kwak Moon-Jung and continued sharing his insights about the Three Origins Meditation Technique with the boy. As a fellow practitioner of the same martial art, Kwak Moon-Jung absorbed Hwang Cheol’s teachings like a sponge.
Meanwhile, Jin Mu-Won remained on high alert. Cheong-In did the same, albeit from the shadows, disguised as one of the happy escorts. Jin Mu-Won did not know which one he was, but he knew that he had no need to identify the spy; Cheong-In would appear when the time was right.
With all these people following me, I won’t be able to take a small detour anymore…
“Hey, what are you thinking so hard about?” Yong Mu-Sung asked, walking to Jin Mu-Won’s side.
“This and that.”
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“That’s a lot of things to think about, heheh!” Yong Mu-Sung laughed in his usual unique way.
“Did you want to talk to me about something?”
“Have you heard the rumor?”
“Which rumor?”
“The rumor that Heaven’s Summit is recruiting young martial artists.”
“I’ve heard of that one.”
“I see.” The smile vanished from Yong Mu-Sung’s face as he asked seriously, “So, what are you going to do?”
“For now, I’m thinking of going to Heaven’s Summit.”
“Are you interested in that organization?”
Jin Mu-Won shook his head.
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Yong Mu-Sung was baffled. “Then why are you going there?”
“There’s something I want to investigate. It has nothing to do with Heaven’s Summit recruiting people.”
“I see.”
“Why did you ask me about that rumor?”
“Because I’m actually thinking of going to Heaven’s Summit myself.”
“Is the Iron Brigade also interested in the organization they’re creating?”
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“It’s tempting, but we’re not interested in joining. I’m going there for personal reasons.”
“What about the White Dragon Merchant Association?”
“I’ll escort them to Lanzhou no matter what, but I’ll make a beeline for Heaven’s Summit after that,” Yong Mu-Sung said, an unusually grave expression on his face.
Jin Mu-Won suspected it had something to do with Yong Mu-Sung’s “personal reasons”, but he didn’t ask for more detail. “Perhaps we’ll meet again in Heaven’s Summit.”
“Perhaps.” Yong Mu-Sung shook his head.
Jong-Ri Mu-Hwan, Chae Yak-Ran, and the other Iron Brigade warriors looked toward him. It wasn’t just Yong Mu-Sung who wanted to go to Heaven’s Summit, it was the entire Iron Brigade.
“Anyway, don’t worry about your uncle. I’ll take him to Lanzhou safely.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll head back to the front of the caravan.” Yong Mu-Sung said, before reining in his horse and leaving.
Jin Mu-Won watched him for a moment, then closed his eyes and rapidly sank into the world of his mind. Just as Hwang Cheol needed time to process what he had learned, so did he.
Nam Goon-Wi and Geum Dan-Yeop. He had gloriously won the battle against the two men, but they had also made him realize his shortcomings.
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That was especially true of the fight with Geum Dan-Yeop, whose Sound Arts posed a great challenge to Jin Mu-Won. Although its large area of effect was astonishing, it was in fact most frightening when focused on a single target.
Geum Dan-Yeop’s Serenade to the Apocalypse had caused Jin Mu-Won a lot of internal damage. Had Geum Dan-Yeop’s technique been a little more refined, he might not have won that final exchange.
Simple swordsmanship is no match for the Serenade to the Apocalypse. There’s also no guarantee that I’ll be able to disrupt the sound waves with my sword’s cry a second time. What is the best way to effectively deal with Sound Arts?
Jin Mu-Won recalled his battle with Geum Dan-Yeop. It had taken place in an underground hall, and the reflected and amplified sound had made it much more difficult to endure and counter.
He used the location advantage to maximize the power of his sound waves, while I struggled badly, deprived of my mobility. That means that when fighting an opponent like him, it’s important to have a geographical advantage.
Compared to Hwang Cheol, this barely counted as enlightenment. However, for Jin Mu-Won, who constantly thirsted for new knowledge, it was significant. After all, big changes often started with small enlightenments.
How can I preserve my maneuverability in the underground hall while also dissipating the sound waves that are focused on me?
Jin Mu-Won’s ideas were endless, his imagination boundless. In his mind, the battle with Geum Dan-Yeop replayed over and over again, each time slightly different from the last. He imagined how Geum Dan-Yeop would react to his every move, and changed his approach accordingly.
Like this, he constantly improved himself.
Suddenly, the caravan came to a halt, and Jin Mu-Won opened his eyes. How long was I in deep contemplation? he wondered, even as he asked a nearby escort, “What’s going on?”
“There’s a blockade up ahead,” the escort replied.
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Jin Mu-Won immediately urged his horse forward, followed by Hwang Cheol and Kwak Moon-Jung. As they approached the front of the caravan, they saw a gigantic ox cart blocking the road, pulled by an abnormally dull-looking yellow ox.
A man sat on the ox cart with a large wine table in front of him. He was fanning himself with the front of his shirt wide open, and his face was red from alcohol. When he saw Jin Mu-Won, he waved.
“Heya!” he shouted.
It was Ha Jin-Wol. Jin Mu-Won immediately averted his gaze.
“Do you know him?” Kwak Moon-Jung curiously asked.
For the first time, Jin Mu-Won didn’t want to admit that he knew someone. It was too embarrassing.