ISS 39

chapter 39

“Hyeonryongdan is moving to take that Geomryeong into the Martial Alliance.”

Hyeon Taeji rushed to deliver the news about Geomryeong. Hyeon Tae-ryeong narrowed his eyes.

Hyeonryongdan was by no means an easy opponent.

Although it was made up of forty‑five people, each one was a first‑class master — a military force so strong that it could rival his own Geomcheon Corps.

“Who’s leading them?”

“They say the leader elder Eui Je‑ung and his second son Eui Do‑gi will be moving.”

“Eui Je‑ung and Eui Do‑gi?”

Eui Je‑ung was a supreme master. Even if it were the assassination squad, they couldn’t expect to kill Geomryeong cleanly and return if they faced him directly.

“Have you put in a request with Naenggagok?”

“We sent a message bird. The contract will be placed soon.”

Hyeon Tae‑ryeong nodded and rolled his eyes as if thinking something over.

“One Naenggagok won’t be enough against Hyeonryongdan. Put out a contract with Hae Milcheon as well.”

“Hae Milcheon too?”

Hae Milcheon was an assassin sect based in Jiangsu Province that had quite a reputation in the Central Plains.

“Yes. And find Haomilmun and get Cheonsa to take a contract as well.”

Cheonsa — literally “Thousand Schemes” — was a figure of the heterodox world, nicknamed for having a thousand tricks in his head, and he belonged to no one faction. Rumor had it he was friendly with Haomun, so the secret route to reach him was through Haomun.

“You want Cheonsa involved as well?”

“If we’re going to do it, do it properly. Half‑measures could backfire.”

“Understood, brother! I’ll consult with the Myeonghwa Trading Company.”

“No. I don’t trust those trading house men. Only proceed with them for what we’ve already discussed — everything I just told you, do separately.”

Hyeon Taeji bowed his head.

“If you can kill him before he enters the Martial Alliance, that’s best. If not, then kill him when he leaves the Alliance — it doesn’t matter.”

“Understood, brother!”

“If Hyeonryongdan moves with him, even if ronin act it’ll be hard to get any real help.”

Gon Man‑uk of the Myeonghwa Trading Company was also a little alarmed to hear Hyeonryongdan was escorting Geomryeong to the Martial Alliance.

“That may be true. But I can’t postpone my son’s revenge.”

“So, I was thinking…”

“…?”

“What about using poison?”

“Poison?”

“Yes. Ordinary poisons have smells, so they’d detect them, but poisons like Gunjasan or Sinseonpye are colorless and odorless — the men wouldn’t notice.”

Gunjasan (Gentleman Powder) was named because it harmed people mildly and had a subdued effect; it was a type of powdered martial toxin that, once poisoned, prevented the internal energy from being used for twelve shi‑jin (a day). Sinseonpye (Immortal’s Ruin) was the kind of toxin whose victim wouldn’t realize they were poisoned until attempting to use their internal energy.

“They’re still humans who have to eat. If we poison them through food they’ll be helpless. If you, the trading house lord, help just a bit…”

Gon Man‑uk thought that even with Hyeonryongdan present, cutting off their ability to use internal energy would give them a real chance.

“These are things we can get through the night markets. If you allow it, I’ll procure them and put the plan into action.”

“We must make sure they never know it was us.”

Geomryeong left Sinchang’s mansion with Hyeonryongdan and headed to Wuhan in Hubei Province, where the Martial Alliance was located.

Accompanying them were the forty‑five members of Hyeonryongdan, their leaders Eui Je‑ung and Eui Do‑gi, Hyeon Taeji — an elder of Cheonmyeong Lodge — and Gon Man‑uk, the trading house lord of Myeonghwa.

Hyeon Taeji and Gon Man‑uk were traveling to the Martial Alliance to prove that Hyeon Jin‑myeong and Gon Hong‑gi had not learned mace‑techniques (ma‑gong).

Hyeon Taeji and Gon Man‑uk watched Geomryeong walking ahead of them with displeased expressions.

“The way they stare is annoying.”

Jeok Hwa‑myeong had taken it upon himself to be Geomryeong’s guardian and walked close by his side.

“Still, we can’t help it. Even if we argue about right or wrong, they’ll see me as the enemy.”

“It would’ve been better if you’d hidden the fact that you killed those two.”

Though water once spilled can’t be put back, one could still regret.

“If we had, the martial world would’ve descended into even greater chaos.”

If it were known that Hyeon Jin‑myeong and Gon Hong‑gi — the later generation leaders of the orthodox martial world — had learned inner‑force techniques, that alone would mean those arts had widely spread in secret. If they cut off the root of that danger, the martial world would unite more resolutely and overcome the great calamity.

“Who can say that for sure?”

“That’s true, but the demons aren’t fools — they’d aim for that. I think even the demons might welcome the current situation.”

“Hmm…”

If Geomryeong’s words were true, the situation could be more serious than expected.

“They won’t sit idle either. Even if Hyeonryongdan accompanies him, they’ll surely play some trick.”

He was speaking of Hyeon Taeji and Gon Man‑uk.

Geomryeong’s gaze turned naturally to the two men. He didn’t care what plot they might be hatching.

A faint smile formed at the corner of Geomryeong’s mouth. It was a clear sneer, a laugh at his opponents.

“They’ll soon realize how stupid they’ve been.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

They left Gwangju and, on the way to Hubei, night fell as they arrived in Cheongju in Guangdong Province.

Cheongju wasn’t a very big city, but because it sat on the route between Hunan and Guangdong, many people passed through it.

“Night has fallen. How about resting at the inn and leaving early in the morning?” Gon Man‑uk suggested.

Although getting to the Martial Alliance was urgent, there was no reason to travel through the night, so Eui Je‑ung decided they would rest at an inn and depart early.

There were not many inns in Cheongju that could accommodate over fifty people at once.

So they reluctantly split into two inns: Geomryeong and Jeok Hwa‑myeong, with Eui Je‑ung and Eui Do‑gi and twenty Hyeonryongdan members stayed at the Yonghwa Inn, while Hyeon Taeji, Gon Man‑uk, and the other Hyeonryongdan warriors lodged at the neighboring Manhwa Inn.

Geomryeong shared a room with Jeok Hwa‑myeong, Eui Je‑ung, and Eui Do‑gi; the Hyeonryongdan warriors used five to a room.

The situation at Manhwa Inn was much the same — except Hyeon Taeji and Gon Man‑uk shared a room alone.

“Are you just going to sit by?”

Since they shared a room, they could naturally discuss how to deal with Geomryeong.

“We’re just watching. But Lord Gon…”

Hyeon Taeji trailed off while watching Gon Man‑uk, asking if he had something prepared.

A merchant’s essential skill is reading what the other wants. Gon Man‑uk, lord of Myeonghwa — one of the ten great trading houses in the Central Plains — was faster at that than anyone.

“Let’s be honest with each other, Elder Hyeon,” Gon said.

“About what?”

“We have the same target for revenge. Wouldn’t it be easier if we joined hands?”

Hyeon Taeji briefly considered, then, unable to resist, revealed something.

“Since Lord Gon brought it up, I’ll be frank. Rather than attack Hyeonryongdan directly, we’ve placed contracts with Naenggagok and Hae Milcheon to kill Geomryeong himself.”

“Contracts?”

“Yes. The only one we want vengeance on is Geomryeong alone.”

Gon Man‑uk nodded.

“What do you have prepared?”

“I’ve hired ronin.”

Hyeon Taeji narrowed his eyes at the word “ronin.” He knew better than anyone that ronin alone couldn’t defeat Hyeonryongdan.

“How many ronin did you hire to kill the man guarded by Hyeonryongdan?”

Information in the martial world isn’t only gathered by Gaobang and Haomun. Merchants also collect the rumors and reports spreading through the martial world; it affects their profits, so they can’t help but keep an ear out. As one of the ten great trading houses, Myeonghwa would likely have information about Hyeonryongdan’s strength.

“To kill forty‑five Hyeonryongdan members, you’d need at least five hundred ronin.”

Though ronin live by the blade, it’s hard to find true masters among them. There are masters, of course, but Hyeon Taeji believed such masters never take on contracts like this.

“That would be normal.”

A faint smile lingered on Gon Man‑uk’s face; Hyeon Taeji sensed he had prepared something else.

“Do you know what this is?”

Gon took something wrapped in paper from his bosom and unfolded it — powdered herbs, carefully ground.

“What is it?”

“Sinseonpye.”

“Sinseonpye…?”

It was the toxin that doesn’t reveal itself until one tries to use inner energy. Compared to Gunjasan, which renders one useless for a day (twelve shi‑jin), Sinseonpye was more insidious.

“With this, we’ll poison Hyeonryongdan, then send the ronin to attack.”

“Hmm…”

“Even if Hyeonryongdan can’t use inner energy, the ronin will be enough to handle them.”

Many martial techniques can be used without internal energy.

“A few of our Myeonghwa Sword Division members will disguise themselves as ronin and target him.”

If internal energy can’t be used, such a plan has a real chance. The problem is how to poison them without being noticed.

“But it won’t be easy to poison them without raising suspicion.”

“Of course. But if Elder Hyeon helps, it won’t be that difficult.”

“Me?”

“Yes. To get to the Martial Alliance they must pass the city of Uijang in Hunan.”

Uijang sits on the border between Guangdong and Hunan and is commercially well developed.

“Right. They’ll go along the official route.”

“We have inns and brothels we run in Uijang, but if something like this were to happen there they’d surely suspect me, so I rented an entirely unrelated inn. We’ve temporarily replaced the staff there with our own people as well.”

Hearing this piqued Hyeon Taeji’s interest.

“We plan to put the Sinseonpye in their meal.”

“In their food? They’ll inspect it.”

In the martial world, where grudges run deep, people are cautious in places where many gather. The most common method of poisoning is through food, so martial men often carry silver spoons when they go out to guard against such attacks. Hyeonryongdan would also likely have silver spoons, making food poisoning risky.

“We won’t mix it into the food.”

“Then?”

“We’ll put it around the rims of their bowls and in the spice jars.”

Hyeon Taeji nodded. That would make it possible.

“And after you order a jar of wine and pour it into bottles to distribute —”

“You mean spread it on the bottoms of the bottles?”

“Yes. Then no one will suspect, and they’ll be poisoned.”

“That makes sense.”

“We’ll return to our rooms, use circulation techniques to purge the Sinseonpye, then depart for the Martial Alliance, and at Mount Nokmyeong in Hunan…”

Even if it failed, it wouldn’t affect him much, so it seemed acceptable.

‘Yes. If we take care of Hyeonryongdan now, Cheonmyeong Lodge will gain a higher reputation than Sinchang’s mansion, and Guangdong Province will come under our influence — two birds with one stone. No, if we take this chance to remove the mastermind in the Martial Alliance as well…’

Hyeon Taeji listened to Gon Man‑uk and did some mental calculations.

‘My brother will surely be pleased.’