TPM 54

chapter 54

Right City (Seosi region), Geumcheon Ward.

Black Pavilion headquarters.

Around ten in the morning, three men stopped in front of the manor gate.

The elderly man in gray was Baekchogong, the sect master of the Baekchogong branch; the middle-aged man was Dan Bulwi, the overall martial-head; the young man was Dan Yeop.

Before they went through the gate, Baekchogong hesitated and spoke up.

“Head Dan, wouldn’t it be better to turn back now? You say you want revenge, but if we offer compensation this will all blow over.”

“No. If our actions cause harm to the Hao sect, people will talk for a long time.”

Dan Yeop refused.

Now was the time for the Hao sect to gather people and resources. He did not want to be entangled by the sect master of Hasoran because of this incident.

‘They’ll already be on edge…’

The sect masters of the Six Gates were scheduled to meet on the first day of the first lunar month. At that meeting Dan Bulwi and his matter would be discussed openly — they could not afford a blemish on the matter before it even began.

Having heard Dan Yeop’s words, Baekchogong stopped pressing them.

After a moment he knocked on the gate. A rough-looking man opened it.

“Who is it?”

“Baekchogong here, summoned by Lord Rujoo.”

“Hao sect?”

“Yes.”

“Ha! Damn, it’s freezing — could’ve come a bit earlier. Stood watch since dawn for nothing. Come in.”

The man cracked the gate open and stepped aside a little. Baekchogong, Dan Bulwi the chief martial-head, and Dan Yeop entered.

“Follow me.”

The man closed the gate again and shuffled inside. The trio quietly followed behind him.

Crossing the courtyard, the man called in front of the Hyuneum Pavilion.

“People from the Hao sect have come!”

From inside the Hyuneum Pavilion came the outer hall patriarch, Mu Young-su Seocheonjin. He stared at Dan Yeop and asked,

“You’re Dan Yeop?”

“Yes.”

“Huh! A bold one. No wonder you made a move on Jongyo. Come in.”

With that he went back inside the Hyuneum Pavilion.

Inside the Hyuneum Pavilion, Baekchogong took a quick, quiet breath as he surveyed the room.

‘Ha! All the masters have gathered.’

There were seven martial experts of the Black Pavilion present in the hall. They were: Hyeolmuheun Yu Gwang-hyeon (Ruju), Swaesimjang No Jin-geon (Defender), Amyeonggaek Kang Rim (Patrol), Hyeoljeop Wi Hong-ran (Inner Hall chief), Muyeongsal Jang Mok (Outer Hall chief), and the outer-hall patriarch Seocheonjin Mu Young-su and the enigmatic Chuhon-gwi Jongyo. All of Black Pavilion’s core were here.

All this because Jongyo had his wrist cut.

The more Baekchogong thought about it, the darker his mood became. They kill people on a whim — and yet over a single severed wrist the whole house is in uproar! With an atmosphere like this, he didn’t think even Dan Yeop or himself would walk out unharmed.

He quickly brought his hands together and bowed deeply — an exaggerated salute, the kind one would give to an emperor.

“Baekchogong of the Jumun greets Lord Yu Gwang-hyeon, whose fame resounds across the martial world, and the heroes of the Black Pavilion.”

Amyeonggaek Kang Rim, the patrol, sneered.

“Hah! Pretty words, but it’s obvious you looked down on us Black Pavilion. That’s why you ambushed and cut off Jongyo’s wrist.”

“N-no, absolutely not. That day’s….”

As Baekchogong tried to explain, Outer Hall chief Muyeongsal Jang Mok rushed over and kicked him.

Thud! Baekchogong was sent flying backwards.

He rolled on the ground and scrambled to his feet and returned to his place. Jang Mok scowled and spat,

“You open your mouth before our patrol chief has finished? Still claim you didn’t disrespect the Black Pavilion?”

“N-no, not at all — ah!”

Baekchogong’s face snapped to the side. Jang Mok had suddenly stepped forward and slapped him across the cheek.

“You damn fool. Now you interrupt me too? No wonder the sect masters run wild when a sect master’s head gets that swollen. You lot don’t know your place.”

Baekchogong turned pale and could not find words. If he answered, they’d beat him for interrupting, so he kept silent and waited. But these were seasoned shady-school fighters — they enjoyed abusing others. With a crack, Baekchogong’s face was struck the other way; this time he collapsed.

Fueled with fury, Jang Mok pinned him and rained kicks down.

“You little bastard! Know your place! How dare you bite the hand that feeds you! You were raised to work dirty for us, and now you bite back? Did you think you’d survive biting your master?”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Baekchogong instinctively curled up and tried to protect himself. Dan Bulwi frowned but did not intervene — this was the usual treatment of a Hao sect marked by the shady schools.

But Dan Yeop was different. Seeing the old Baekchogong being beaten made him uneasy — he was the one who had caused this whole mess (Dunjae Dan Yeop). He stepped forward.

“Enough of this.”

……

At Dan Yeop’s words, Jang Mok’s kicking stopped. A strange silence settled over the hall. A young disciple of the Hao sect dared to make a disturbance at a Black Pavilion event.

Jang Mok turned to face Dan Yeop.

“What did you say?”

“I said stop. I’m the one who cut some guy’s wrist, isn’t that right? Then why are you tormenting Baekchogong? If you were scared of me, don’t summon him — stand me up and deal with me directly. What kind of nonsense is this?”

“You crazy bastard…”

Jang Mok blinked at Dan Yeop’s unexpected words. He was so taken aback he couldn’t even get angry.

Instead, Seocheonjin Mu Young-su, the outer-hall patriarch, lunged at Dan Yeop like an avenger.

“You filthy dog…!”

Dan Yeop dodged Mu Young-su’s punch and seized his throat. Seocheonjin’s face went white. As his body convulsed, Dan Yeop hurled him backwards.

Thud.

Seocheonjin crashed to the floor and lay there wheezing.

Jang Mok forced a smile and said,

“So you do have some backing, eh? Are you by any chance from the Bingmachong?”

He’d heard rumors that fighters from the Bingmachong were pretty capable and was testing.

“You figured it out. I’m Bingmachong—number one.”

“Hah! Who would’ve thought — some people might hear that and think the Hao sect’s some kind of major orthodox school. All Hao can do is teach geishas bedroom tricks. The kid learned a few flashy moves and thinks he’s something.”

Despite the taunt, Jang Mok did not attack immediately.

‘The Hao sect is that strong?’ he wondered. The idea that the Hao sect could instantly overwhelm Seocheonjin didn’t add up.

He glanced sideways toward Jongyo.

Jongyo averted his eyes.

‘He lied,’ Jang Mok realized.

Meanwhile, Baekchogong, who had been lying on the ground, rose and stood next to Dan Bulwi. Dan Bulwi, seeing fighting had become unavoidable, stepped forward.

“Jang Mok! I was the martial head of the Bingmachong. You said Hao has nothing but geishas’ housecrafts — do you want to die?”

Jang Mok’s face flushed red.

“You Dan Bulwi! Like a squid’s leap brings a mudskipper — you’re the same kind! How dare you mouth off at an outer hall patriarch? Do you want to die?!”

Jang Mok turned his target to Dan Bulwi. Dan Bulwi’s martial skill was famous in the shady schools.

Those on the seat — the Ruju, the Defender, the Patrol, and the inner and outer hall chiefs — watched with interest. If the young Dan Yeop could act brashly, that was one thing, but for the experienced Dan Bulwi to do so raised curiosity.

Dan Bulwi drew his horizontal saber slowly. Jang Mok matched him, drawing his blade and stepping forward. They stared at each other briefly and then clashed like lightning.

Cheng! Cheng! Cheng! Cheng! — sparks flew between their blades.

At first it looked evenly matched, but Jang Mok soon took a step back. Pressed, he was forced to unfold his special secret technique. His blade flashed toward Dan Bulwi’s neck — the shadowless flash that gave him the epithet Mu-Young-Sal (Shadowless Kill).

The gleam of the blade was an illusion; its real target aimed for the lower abdomen. Dan Bulwi, who knew Jang Mok’s style, countered with the fourth form of Jinchilsangdo — the Si Sanghyeongpa (Four Wounds Break). Dan Bulwi’s horizontal saber moved a beat late, but within it was the trick of letting the initiator fall into your control.

Flash—

For a moment both fighters froze as if carved in stone.

Clang—

Jang Mok’s sword tip fell to the ground with a metallic sound. A crack formed across Jang Mok’s neck and then his head tumbled off.

“That bastard!”

“How dare you!”

The Defender No Jin-geon and the Patrol Kang Rim rushed at Dan Bulwi.

But Dan Yeop wasn’t about to just stand back and watch. He drew his horizontal saber and brought it down from the top of the raised platform to the floor — the first form of the Jincheonjido style, the Heavenly Thunder Falling Slash.

Shhhh—

Two streams of blade-qi fell over the heads of No Jin-geon and Kang Rim. Startled, Kang Rim deflected the blade-qi with his saber. To his astonishment, the horizontal blade snapped in half cleanly.

Taking advantage of that opening, Kang Rim scrambled toward the Ruju’s side for cover.

No Jin-geon, however, had no luck. A master of blade techniques, he stood his ground and confronted the blade-qi with his own forbidden technique, Talmyeongjang. In an instant both his hands were cleanly cut off and fell away.

Blood spurted from the severed wrists.

“Aaaaah! My hands! My hands!”

Panicked, No Jin-geon screamed and bolted outside.

A heavy silence descended on the main hall.

Dan Yeop, holding his horizontal saber, walked up to the dais. Dan Bulwi and Baekchogong trailed behind him like an escort.

Yu Gwang-hyeon, Ruju of the hall, rose awkwardly from his seat. As Dan Yeop approached, he quickly bowed in the exaggerated salute of courtesy.

“Dan, young master. You’ve accomplished astonishing feats from the Bingmachong. I truly admire your martial skill.”

“Wasn’t I summoned because someone had their wrist cut?” Dan Yeop asked.

“Isn’t quarrel and dispute just everyday affairs in martial society? Seeing your skill, it’s fortunate it ended with a wrist. I did call you, but it was only to settle matters. There was no other meaning.”

Yu Gwang-hyeon made every effort to show he did not want a fight.

Dan Yeop listened silently for a moment, then fixed his gaze on Patrol Kang Rim.

“It seems you have quite some resentment against me, judging by how you beat Baekchogong.”

Kang Rim vehemently shook his head.

“No! Absolutely not!”

“Then why did you do such a cruel thing?”

“Well, that is….” Kang Rim groped desperately for an excuse, but nothing suitable came to mind.

At that, Dan Yeop asked bluntly,

“Because you’re naturally violent?”

“…Yes. I’m a bit brutal by nature, so my hands and feet fly before thinking. It wasn’t out of resentment toward Dan Yeop. Believe me — I swear on my ancestors.”

Kang Rim’s desperation led him to invoke his ancestors. Given the sight of Jang Mok’s severed head and the blood splattered everywhere, perhaps he had no choice.

Dan Yeop’s calm voice echoed through Hyuneum Pavilion.

“I am the Jumun’s martial-head. Baekchogong is the face of our Jumun. You beating him is like hitting the whole jumun. Am I right? Isn’t that true, Baekchogong?”

“Indeed, that is correct.”

Dan Yeop looked intently at Kang Rim and asked,

“You see? He agrees with me. You just beat both me and the martial-head. What punishment will you accept for that crime?”