Wudang Sacred Scriptures

However, Chwi Dugae’s outburst was nothing more than a figment of imagination.
He had held himself back precisely because he recognized that Kwak Yeon was not the kind of person who could be pressured into anything.
‘Right. The reason I’m enduring this isn’t because he cut down the Hidden Dragon Divine Sword.’

Reassuring himself once more, Chwi Dugae calmed his furious heart and continued speaking.
“Their schemes are so covert that we only ever realize what’s going on after something has already happened. And because there’s no evidence, we can’t interrogate them about it either. On top of that, the moment we so much as glance their way, they start yelling that the Beggars’ Guild, the so-called greatest orthodox sect under Heaven, is oppressing their pitiful little Hao Clan. It’s enough to drive a man mad, I tell you.”
Kwak Yeon ignored Chwi Dugae’s grumbling and asked,

“I’ve heard the Hao Clan isn’t a full-fledged heretical faction. Then why are they doing such lawless things?”
“Ever since their Clan Leader changed a few years ago, their entire disposition has shifted. You could say they’ve gotten rabid. They declared that they’d no longer serve as the gutter of the martial world. Oh, don’t get me wrong—I have no intention of disparaging the Hao Clan. They’re the ones proudly calling themselves the Filthy Door* instead of Hao Clan, after all.”
(*Note: The original pun contrasts 下午門 [Hao Clan] with 下汚門 [Filthy Door], both pronounced 'Ha-o-mun'.)

Chwi Dugae shook his head at Kwak Yeon, then continued.
“Anyway, lately they’ve completely lost their sense of place. Their numbers no longer fall short of the Beggars’ Guild, and now they’re claiming it’s not impossible for them to become the greatest great sect under Heaven. Utter madness. They don’t even have a proper signature martial art. The so-called greatest great sect under Heaven? Then they should start by changing their name from Hao Clan to Upper Water Clan instead.”
When Chwi Dugae said the Hao Clan lacked a proprietary martial art, Kwak Yeon couldn’t help but wonder whether the rumors about Suhmyeon Horui gathering incomplete martial arts techniques to develop a new one were true after all.

In any case, what the Hao Clan was doing had become undeniably clear.
All that remained was to find evidence and hold them accountable for their crimes.
Although that elder named Jo and the girl called Gwaa weighed on his mind, if they were involved, they too would have to face proper punishment.

Before that, however, there was one thing he needed to do first.
Kwak Yeon turned to Chwi Dugae and said,
“Please find someone for me.”

“As it happens, our Beggars’ Guild has been scouring every corner to track down that Suhmyeon Horui fellow. He’s a sly bastard—definitely up to something foul again. This time, we’re going to rake up every last thing around him and build a case so airtight he can’t slip away.”
“Please find out who the Hwayeong Assembly member from Shanxi is, and where he is now.”
“Hmm? What brings on the sudden interest in a Hwayeong Assembly member?”
When Kwak Yeon only stared in response, Chwi Dugae continued with a perplexed expression.

“There’s not much to be gained from leaning on someone from the Hwayeong Assembly. They’re just the clients. If we go after them too rashly, we’ll end up with nothing and take all the blame. They’re all from reputable sects and families, you know.”
“This isn’t Guild business. It’s a personal matter.”
“Huh?”

Kwak Yeon pulled out five nyang of silver.
“Is that enough for the request?”
“It’s not insufficient, but…”

In truth, five nyang was a bit much just to find one person.
“How soon can you find him?”
“I can narrow it down to a few suspects, but to pinpoint one individual… there’s not enough information.”

Kwak Yeon thought for a moment before saying,
“Please look for someone who traveled extensively through the Hoseo region before arriving in Aknyang.”
“Well, with that kind of lead, it won’t even /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ take half a day.”

But contrary to Chwi Dugae’s confident promise, the Small Branch Leader of the Beggars’ Guild didn’t appear until nearly sundown.
“Sorry for the delay. Took longer than expected.”
Chwi Dugae scratched his head awkwardly.

“Damn it, these guys are so caught up with this Hwayeong Assembly boom that they’ve gone completely brain-dead from begging.”
In truth, what the Aknyang branch’s Beggars’ Guild disciples had lost wasn’t their minds but something else entirely. With the Small Branch Leader hounding them, they had no choice but to run themselves ragged.
The entire Aknyang division of the Beggars’ Guild scoured the prefecture top to bottom, cross-checked every rumor, and finally identified a matching individual.

Kwak Yeon asked Chwi Dugae,
“So, who is he?”
“He’s called Hwa Yu-yeong, known as the Harmonious Wheel Sword. A disciple of Sunggeomun in Shanxi. He left Sunggeomun early, saying he’d attend the Hwayeong Assembly, and traveled around Hoseo before arriving in Aknyang not long ago.”

Kwak Yeon silently admired the Beggars’ Guild’s sharp ears and eyes.
He hadn’t expected them to find the man in just one day.
Had he not met the Small Branch Leader, he would have wasted a great deal of time.

“I suppose you also found out where he’s staying.”
“I don’t know what business you have with him, but Sunggeomun’s a respectable sect. One of the Martial Ten, actually.”
“Didn’t I say this has nothing to do with the Guild?”

As Kwak Yeon said, the Beggars’ Guild had merely fulfilled a request to locate someone.
Still, curiosity was inevitable.
It was clear this was related to Suhmyeon Horui’s dealings with the Hao Clan.

“I heard a rumor today—someone said Jung So-hyeop, a disciple of Hyunggeomun in Hangzhou, was killed by a Ma-dog. Of course, I don’t think it was you who did it… right?”
“…”
“Either way, Suhmyeon Horui’s little epithet business failed this time, huh? Remarkable, truly. As far as I know, this was the first time one of their projects failed. But why the long face, then?”

“…”
“I’m pretty stubborn too, you know.”
It was a warning. If he didn’t get an answer, he wouldn’t reveal where the Sunggeomun disciple was.

“The one falsely branded as a Ma-dog took his own life.”
“...Huh?”
“I could have done something—maybe. But I didn’t. I simply couldn’t find a way to prove his innocence.”

Chwi Dugae nodded.
“I see. So the disciple of Sunggeomun had a hand in driving that man into the Ma-dog’s pit.”
His eyes gleamed as he continued.

“Then this isn’t just your personal matter. If that’s true, Sunggeomun’s Hwa Yu-yeong is a pretty important witness.”
Kwak Yeon frowned.
Was he planning to come along?

“You’re not planning to kill him, are you?”
“Depending on how things unfold. But for now, I intend to keep him alive.”
“You mean Hwa Yu-yeong is in danger?”

“If my guess is right, he’s in a great deal of danger. That’s why I begged you to track him down, even if it was unreasonable.”
“Your guess… Is that what caused Suhmyeon Horui’s business to fail this time?”
Kwak Yeon nodded.

“That’s right.”
“Then let’s go together.”
What intrigued Chwi Dugae more than anything was what exactly this cave-dwelling Daoist was guessing at.

 
****
In a detached chamber of Yonghwa Pavilion, Hwa Yu-yeong, disciple of Sunggeomun and the Harmonious Wheel Sword, was dead drunk.

“Our young master, what seems to be the trouble? You won’t mingle with the heroes of the Hwayeong Assembly, and you’ve done nothing but drink in seclusion all day.”
The courtesan batted her lashes and cooed coyly.
“Is something weighing on your mind? Or did you perhaps part ways with a lover?”

“A parting… It wasn’t a lover, but it was a parting.”
“Oh dear, then they must have been someone quite precious to you.”
“We were just friends for a short while.”

“How tenderhearted of you. To be this disheartened over parting with a friend you only knew briefly.”
“…”
“Young master, might I be the one to attend you tonight? They say you should forget sorrowful farewells by welcoming new encounters. Just for tonight, I’ll give it my all to help you forget that pain.”

“So be it.”
“Then since the night isn’t long, let me lead you to the bedchamber.”
The courtesan supported Hwa Yu-yeong and guided him toward the inner room.

After laying his drunken body on the bedding, she shut the door to the chamber.
“What is your real name?”
The courtesan flinched.

“What would you do with the true name of a mere brothel flower? By morning, you’ll have forgotten everything anyway.”
“Shouldn’t I at least know whose hand I died by?”
All traces of flirtation vanished from the courtesan’s face.

“My, my… however did our young master figure it out?”
Still lying on the bedding with eyes closed, Hwa Yu-yeong spoke.
“After draining that last cup you gave me and circulating my internal energy, not a trace of qi gathered. For the Mountain Bell Toxin to act so swiftly… you’re no ordinary assassin.”

“You really are full of surprises, young master. First you obediently followed Hao Clan’s orders, and then you suddenly changed your mind… And even though you knew this would happen, you waited for us so quietly.”
“I’ve got one more surprise for you.”
“Oh? I’m intrigued. You plan to unveil a hidden technique, don’t you?”

Hwa Yu-yeong laughed feebly.
“It’s the opposite. So you don’t need to be on edge. I won’t resist.”
“You never fail to astonish. Why is our young master behaving this way?”

“I’m tired.”
“…?”
“More accurately, I was consumed by shame—being reduced to your plaything. I told myself selling half a martial technique from my sect wasn’t such a big deal. That was my mistake. I don’t blame anyone. But the one thing I can’t stomach is that I couldn’t make a decision, and ended up pushing So-hyeop Yeong into the pit of a Ma-dog.”

“Oh ho ho! I never imagined our young master was such a fragile soul. What a pity. If only you hadn’t swapped the wine cup meant for So-hyeop Yeong, your future would’ve been brighter than anyone’s.”
“As your obedient dog, you mean?”
“I did promise it would be a one-time favor, didn’t I?”

“Do you believe that? I understand now what your shadow dealings really are. The first request is always framed as a small favor. Then, using that as leverage, a slightly more troublesome request follows. And eventually, that ‘favor’ becomes a snare you can never escape.”
“…”
“If I die quietly by your hand, won’t everything be buried with me? I’ll die with the name of a true swordsman, and you lot will hope your secrets stay hidden.”

“Such wise reasoning. But there’s one thing you misunderstood.”
“…?”
“You will die with your honor intact. But it won’t be said that you were killed by some lowly assassin.”

“What do you mean?”
The courtesan reached under the bedding and pulled out twin swords, then demonstrated a single technique.
“Do you recognize it? It’s the final killing stroke of the Twin Moon Divine Sword from the New Moon Pavilion—Moonshadow Severance Slash.”

“How… how could you, an assassin, know that technique? Ah… You must have pieced together the other half of the technique and combined it. But why?”
“The girl doesn’t know either. I was merely ordered to take your life using a signature technique of the New Moon Pavilion.”
“…”

“And what you drank wasn’t just Mountain Bell Toxin. I laced it with Paralysis Powder as well. The powder takes time to take effect—that’s why we wasted time in this pointless conversation.”
Only then did Hwa Yu-yeong realize he could no longer move his arms and legs.
The courtesan stepped forward, twin swords in hand, and said,

“If not for this conversation, we would have spent our last moments in sweet pleasure. Quite a shame.”
“You won’t be the one who regrets this.”
A sudden voice startled her.

She whipped around in shock.
There had been no one else in the room besides her and Hwa Yu-yeong—yet she’d clearly heard a stranger’s voice close by.
In the next instant, as she hurriedly scanned the chamber—

A beam of blue light pierced through the closed window.
—Thwack!
The azure flash shot straight through the space between her eyebrows.

Beyond the collapsing courtesan, Hwa Yu-yeong saw the window swing open.
And then, as if flying, a figure entered the inner room.