The Martial God with Psychic Powers

What kind of coincidence was this?

“It must truly be that our ancestors are watching over Jegeommun! How could such joy unfold all at once? I still can’t believe it!”
Even the Chief Inspector’s eyes were brimming with tears of joy.
“This is only the beginning.”

“You’re right!”
“The road ahead is long. We must raise Jegeommun to the ranks of the Nine Great Sects!”
“Of course! Absolutely right! I will do everything I can to assist you at your side!”

“Hahaha! Seeing your joy brings me joy as well.”
“I always believed that one day, you would lead Jegeommun to rise again.”
“Thank you. And take a look at this.”

“What is this?”
“A gift from the Lord of Sincheonjang.”
“Pardon? N-no, if anything, we should be repaying him—what do you mean, a gift?”
The Chief Inspector flinched in surprise at the word “gift” and quickly opened the box.

“Huh? What is this?”
“Johwadan.”
“Excuse me? J-Johwadan? Isn’t a single pill worth ten nyang of gold? H-how many are there… T-twenty?”

The Chief Inspector stared at Jeong Sohong, eyes wide, as if asking whether this could possibly be true.
Twenty pills—two hundred nyang of gold.
That was half a year’s operating budget for Jegeommun.

“Y-you’re saying he gave this to us as a gift?”
“Yes.”
“We’re not… allowed to sell them, are we?”

“Do you even need to ask? He said to feed them to our children.”
“Good heavens… Just what did you do while you were there? How in the world did you come back with such a tremendous opportunity?”
“I’ll explain that in due time. For now, call in my disciples.”

“You’re giving them to your disciples?”
“Yes. One is yours.”
“P-pardon? I—I get one too?”

“Of course. In all of Jegeommun, no one works harder than you. How could I possibly leave you out?”
“Master…”
The Chief Inspector looked at Jeong Sohong, his expression deeply moved.
“Take it now, right here. If I just hand it to you, you’re the kind of man who’d sell it and put the money into the sect’s treasury.”

The Chief Inspector flinched, face stiffening.
“N-no, not at all. I—I’ll take it later.”
“Don’t lie. You think I don’t know you? Take it now.”

“Master…”
“Hurry. That’s an order.”
At the word “order,” the Chief Inspector reluctantly placed the Johwadan into his mouth.

“Begin circulating your qi immediately. Absorb the medicine’s energy to its fullest.”
As the Chief Inspector began circulating his qi, Jeong Sohong stood guard over him.
A short while later—

The Chief Inspector opened his eyes, astonishment written all over his face.
“T-this can’t be…”
“How is it? Is it good?”

“‘Good’ doesn’t even begin to describe it. M-my inner strength… I believe it has increased by at least half a level!”
The Chief Inspector spoke as if he still couldn’t believe it.
It was indeed an elixir worth ten nyang of gold.

Its effects made even that price feel cheap.
“I’ll have the disciples take three each. The remaining ten, distribute them to the elders and division heads who’ve endured the hardest trials.”
“Understood.”
The Chief Inspector replied—but hesitated.

“You look like you have something to ask.”
“No matter how I think about it, I can’t believe all this was given with no strings attached. Please tell me. What did you have to offer in return?”
“Later… I’ll tell you later.”

“Please, at least tell me. I need to be prepared if something happens, don’t I?”
“It’s nothing bad.”
“Then there’s no reason not to tell me.”

As the Chief Inspector refused to back down, Jeong Sohong let out a quiet sigh.
“You’re as stubborn as ever…”
If he didn’t explain, the man would follow him around until he did.

Jeong Sohong glanced at the Chief Inspector, gauging his reaction.
The way he looked—he was convinced Jeong Sohong had handed over something significant to the Lord of Sincheonjang.
“Did you give him something?”

“No. Haa… I’ve pledged myself to serve him.”
“Pardon?”
What was this now?

“Serve him? You, Master?”
“Yes. I’ve decided to serve him as my liege.”
The Chief Inspector froze for a moment.

“Is… that really true?”
Jeong Sohong nodded.
“But don’t worry. Jegeommun will not be serving him. Only I will. I’ll go to him and serve as his subject.”

“What about Jegeommun?”
“That, too, you need not worry about. As I said before—I will completely restore Jegeommun first. Then I’ll step down as sect master.”
So he would do all the hard work, and just when it was time to be recognized for it—he would leave.

And even that departure would be for the sake of the sect.
He was offering himself up to ensure the sect’s rebirth.
“Don’t look at me like that. This is what I chose.”

“Master…”
“You look at me like that only because you haven’t met him yet. That man… he is the one to whom I, Jeong Sohong, will dedicate my life and soul without regret.”
“I understand. I will respect your decision.”

“Thank you.”
“Then please rest. I’ll take my leave.”
As he exited the sect master’s quarters, the Chief Inspector’s gaze was firm with newfound resolve.

 
****
The elders of Jegeommun had gathered in one place.

They were the true loyalists who had remained to the end, even after Jegeommun’s fall.
Many elders had left over the years. Now, only three remained.
The Chief Inspector handed out the Johwadan to the elders.

“What is this?”
“It’s Johwadan.”
“Johwadan! That Johwadan that’s been the talk of the capital?”

“Yes, that one.”
“But... why are you giving us such a precious thing?”
“He’s right. We should be saving these for the younger generation who will restore Jegeommun.”

“We’re just old men shut away in the back halls. What good would taking this do for us?”
Even with the elixir right before their eyes, their thoughts turned first to Jegeommun.
Watching such elders, the Chief Inspector smiled.

“The Johwadan meant for the young masters has already been set aside.”
“What do you mean by that? There’s more of this?”
“Yes.”

“But... knowing the state of Jegeommun’s finances, isn’t this too much? This really isn’t right. Take these back and give them to the young masters instead.”
“It is the sect master’s order. He told me to make sure you each take one and complete qi circulation before reporting back to him.”
“T-the sect master did?”

“He even made sure to care for us old relics…”
“I only hope we can be of some use. All we’ve done is waste food—we’ve become burdens.”
To the elders who were lamenting their own worth, the Chief Inspector said,

“There is something you can do to help the sect master.”
The elders’ expressions brightened at his words.
“Is that true?”

“Yes.”
“What is it? Just say the word! I’ll do anything.”
The Chief Inspector smiled as he looked at the suddenly energized elders.

“First, please take the medicine. Orders come first.”
“Hmph…”
“Very well.”

The elders turned and bowed in the direction of the sect master’s quarters, offering their thanks, then placed the Johwadan into their mouths.
 
****

“This is unbelievable!”
“Amazing! Now I understand why there’s such a frenzy to get hold of these.”
“This really is a true elixir!”

Having finished their qi circulation, the elders were stunned by the efficacy of the Johwadan.
“My body is brimming with strength.”
“I feel like I could do anything.”

The elders turned to look at the Chief Inspector.
“Now then, tell us—what can we do for the sect master?”
“Before that, you must know just how much the sect master has sacrificed for Jegeommun.”

“Surely you don’t think we’re unaware?”
“Exactly! Who in Jegeommun doesn’t know how devoted he is to the sect!”
“So you’re all aware. Then surely you’ll respect it if the sect master decides to serve someone else?”

The elders, who had been worked up, fell silent at the Chief Inspector’s next words.
“W-what are you saying? The sect master... serve someone else?”
“Why would our sect master serve another?”

“To repay a debt. That benefactor returned the formula for the Bocheon Divine Pill and the latter half of the Twelve Celestial Sword Forms—all without asking for anything in return.”
The Bocheon Divine Pill and {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the Twelve Celestial Sword Forms…
Those were the very things whose disappearance had triggered Jegeommun’s downfall.

And now, those two had been returned to the sect.
Given freely, without any price.
The sect master was a man who always repaid kindness.

That must be why he had decided to serve that person.
“In that case, we should go and serve him ourselves.”
“This task you mentioned—this must be it, right?”

The Chief Inspector shook his head.
“No.”
“Then what?”

“I believe that Jegeommun must remain as one.”
“Of course!”
“Jegeommun is one.”

“Then why let the sect master bear this burden alone?”
“That’s exactly why we said we’d go in his stead.”
“That’s all the more unacceptable. Would you tarnish the sect master’s honor?”

“Eh?”
“What would the benefactor think of the sect master? He’d be disappointed, thinking the sect master sent subordinates instead of coming himself. That would be an insult to him, no?”
When they thought about it, he was right.

“Ah, we didn’t think it through.”
“Our eagerness got the better of us.”
“So then—what do you propose?”

“Not just the sect master—Jegeommun as a whole should serve him.”
“What?”
“That’s absurd!”

“What’s absurd about it? If the sect master has chosen to serve this person, that means their character is extraordinary. More importantly, if all of Jegeommun serves him, the sect master will have no reason to leave Jegeommun. Would you rather see him relinquish his post and go to where that man is?”
“Of course not!”
“If Jegeommun doesn’t serve him, then before long the sect master will step down and leave to join his benefactor. But if the sect does serve him, there will be no need for that.”

The elders hesitated at the Chief Inspector’s words.
“The sect master didn’t want to burden Jegeommun, so he told no one. He plans to step down later and quietly go to that man. Are you really going to let him go, after everything he’s done for Jegeommun?”
“No—we can’t!”

“We’ll follow as well.”
“Yes!”
“Then, elders, please persuade the rest of the warriors in the sect. The sect master must not catch wind of our plan under any circumstances.”

“Understood.”
“I’ll persuade the young masters personally.”
“They trust you second only to the sect master. Do your best.”

“I will. Then I leave it in your hands.”
“We’ll do everything we can to be of use.”
And so, without Jeong Sohong’s knowledge, the entire sect of Jegeommun began moving toward entering the service of Yeon Woo Jin.

 
The Hundred-Thousand Great Mountains.
Two streams of light fell from the sky.

One blue, one red.
The streaks of light fell upon a certain mountain peak deep in the range and took on human forms.
“Hahaha! So we really can cross into the human world.”

“What on earth has happened for a gap to open in the boundary?”
“Does it matter? What’s important is that we’re able to descend into the human world again.”
“Hahaha! Indeed, indeed!”

The two figures, now in human shape, bore appearances that could only be described as immortals.
“I’d grown tired of training and of watching immortals fight one another. What perfect timing for something so interesting to happen.”
“Hahaha. How long has it been since we were last in the human world?”

“Over a thousand years, I’d say.”
“That damned Taegongmang destroyed the passage that let us enter the human world. I thought we’d never return. What a relief.”
“Why did he destroy it again?”

“Because Dalgi was killing too many humans. Taegongmang sided with the humans and swore he’d never let immortals meddle in their world again—then shattered the passage.”
“So now, we too can enjoy ourselves the way Dalgi did.”
“First, let’s watch the war between the demons and the humans.”

“That, I truly look forward to.”
They weren’t just immortal in appearance—they were actual immortals.
The two immortals scanned the peaks of the Hundred-Thousand Great Mountains, smiling.

“This place will do nicely.”
“If the demons set up here, the humans won’t easily notice.”
“Let’s just hope they don’t underestimate the humans again and end up losing.”

“They’re not fools. They know their own weaknesses. This time, they’ll be prepared. Ever since they lost to the humans, they’ve been waiting for a chance to take revenge. That’s what makes it so interesting.”
“Indeed. The Heavenly Demon (Cheonma) isn’t a fool. He’ll handle things properly.”