10 – 01# A Hair’s Breadth from Death (10)

The old man who taught me martial arts wasn’t exactly the best instructor. He always spoke concisely, and it was always up to me to understand the intentions behind his words.

Even his physical condition deteriorated day by day, and a year before the old man passed away, he had difficulty even moving around. So, at the mere age of six, I had to help with the farm work.

But I never harbored any resentment. After all, he was the one who had saved my life, and above all, the old man’s teachings were nourishment that became my blood and flesh.

[Before taking a life, think deeply, then think again. But once you have made up your mind that you must, then never hesitate.]

I thought deeply, and then I thought again. Was it right to take a life? The opponent had already harbored murderous intent towards me, and I, on the other hand, had to protect the child while shaking off the pursuit.

‘It can’t be helped. I have no choice but to kill them with all my strength.’

The resolve I had hardened would no longer waver. For the first time in my life, I put all the power I could muster into swinging my sword. At the same time, a thunderous boom echoed and the ground shook violently.

Eventually, the trembling of the earth subsided. The birds that had been singing in the mountains shrieked in shock and flew away. I clicked my tongue, gazing at the scene before me.

It was a technique I had swung with all my strength, but unfortunately, its power was not satisfactory. Even the martial arts novels I enjoyed reading started with at least this much of a description as a base.

Even the grunts belonging to the Blood Cult in the later parts were described as having the ferocity to overturn mountains. Could I really be satisfied with just a small dent in the ground?

“Tch, pathetically weak.”

With a lingering taste of regret, I sheathed my sword. This much would keep the demonic creatures at bay for now, but there was no leisure to be had, no dawdling along the path.

I reached out a hand toward Sua, who sat there stunned. She stared blankly for a moment, then, regaining her senses, grasped my offered hand and rose to her feet.

“We must leave this place quickly, before others come searching.”

“Where do you intend to go?”

“Is it not obvious? To the Moyong Clan.”

“But, the Moyong Clan, right now…”

“If we do nothing, Moyong Hyun, young master, may truly die.”

The situation was graver than I’d imagined. Sending a force of warriors to retrieve none other than the direct descendant of the Clan Head… This felt ill-omened.

*Looking back, something has felt amiss from the very start. Perhaps this was inevitable.*

Of course, it wasn’t uncommon for cultivators in the martial world to champion the law of the jungle. But those were typically demonic sects, or the Blood Demon Sect, the kind of obvious villains everyone could see.

It wasn’t just some nobody. It was the head of the Moyong Clan, one of the pillars supporting the righteous sects. Yet, his actions were so ruthless they would make even a demon lord blush.

Strict discipline was one thing, but to deny meals if one failed to meet his standards, to restrict communication with other martial artists… It was no wonder Moyong Hyun spirited Sua away.

Of course, I was keenly aware that for a mere first-rate warrior like myself to charge into the Moyong Clan alone was tantamount to dousing oneself in oil and leaping into a burning house. Suicide, plain and simple.

But *know yourself and know your enemy, and in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.*

Therefore, before fighting, I had to learn about the enemy.

Moreover, Moyong Hyun entrusted Sua to me for his scheme. Which, in other words, meant that there were those within the Clan who supported and aided Moyong Hyun at the time.

Of course, judging by the current state of affairs, the scheme ultimately failed, and they likely suffered a cruel fate. But surely not everyone was captured without a struggle. At present, my knowledge was far too scant.

“First, we must lower our heads, inquire discreetly, and discern how the situation has unfolded.”

“So, to catch the tiger, we must enter the tiger’s den ourselves. I understand perfectly. I feel much reassured thanks to you!”

“This much is elementary. Now that you understand, let’s move.”

“Understood!”

There was no time to linger in such a place. Sua and I immediately set off. Fortunately, Sua’s sharp mind remembered the return route perfectly.

And I had enough travel funds stashed away, so there was no shortage. While silks and leathers were all back at home, I’d been prudent enough to tuck a generous sum of silver taels into my robes, just in case.

There was no reason whatsoever to delay.

◇

The Eui Ryongdang was the Moyong Clan’s premier martial force. All the warriors belonging to it, without exception, had reached the pinnacle of first-rate, worthy of the Clan’s highest esteem.

Furthermore, the Eui Ryongdang had smaller-scale units operating under its direct command. Among them, the Eui Ryong Vanguard stood head and shoulders above the rest.

While the other units only had one first-rate warrior belonging to Eui Ryongdang or equivalent for every Daeju and the others were second-rate or, in extreme cases, third-rate warriors.

In comparison, the Eui Ryong Vanguard was, astonishingly, composed entirely of warriors who were first-rate or near first-rate. They were not given the name Vanguard for nothing.

Especially among them, the Chief Moryong, Moyong Sa, who led the Medical Dragon Vanguard, had entered the ranks of the elite at the age of thirty – not quite a genius, perhaps, but certainly one could call him gifted.

“Ugh… Where is this?”

“It is the thatched cottage where the Young Lady resided with the unidentified master.”

“So, I was spared the indignity of the dirt floor, thanks to you.”

But despite those grand titles, Moyong Sa groaned in pain, barely regaining consciousness on the porch of the humble cottage. He moved his parched lips.

“Just what happened?”

“That is…”

“No, never mind. It’s coming back to me, more or less.”

Forgetting such a thing would be difficult indeed. To put it bluntly, he was utterly crushed and knocked unconscious with a single blow. He, the very Chief of the Medical Dragon Vanguard, no less.

Though he was hardly one to talk, having lost face by being KO’d with a single blow, Moyong Sa was among the upper echelon of warriors within the Moyong clan. Few could best him in sparring.

He had even gone toe-to-toe with the Head of the Moyong clan, until one day, the Head suddenly began wielding *geomgi* – the symbol of transcendence. Yet, there was something unsettling.

‘*Geomgi* is a symbol of transcendence. And the Head most certainly used *geomgi* before us all. But I sensed no depth from the Head.’

Elder Moyong Jin, who had long ago achieved transcendence, possessed a depth that was as endless as the ocean. Yet, the Head, who had also supposedly attained the same level, possessed no such feeling.

Furthermore, even the manipulation of internal energy, something that any first-rate martial artist could do with ease, seemed a tremendous struggle for him. As if he were constantly suffering internal injuries.

Not only that, but he frequently subjected the clan members to verbal and physical abuse. This was a persona inconceivable just a few years ago. What on earth could have changed him so?

‘Tch, what’s the point of thinking about it? I can’t even shift the board.’

Just where the information leaked from, Moyong Hyun, the Young Master, was ambushed and subdued by the Head the moment he returned to the clan. As a result, even the Elder could not move rashly.

[If you move carelessly, Hyun will die, Father.]

[Have you sunk so low as to use your own grandson as a hostage? How did you become so utterly vile?!]

[I will no longer be played by the empty rhetoric of the martial world. For I have finally grasped the truth.]

The game had already completely shifted. To save his beloved grandson, the Elder, the only one who could stand against the Head, could only grit his teeth and stand by.

Moyong Sa wasn’t foolish enough to insist on a fight with near-impossible odds. That was why he reluctantly accepted the Head’s orders and came to this place.

But here, he encountered an unforeseen stroke of luck. He, Moyong Sa, who could be said to be securely in the upper ranks of the Moyong clan, was caught off guard and defeated without even mounting a proper counterattack.

To be precise, he sensed the attack in that brief moment and surrounded himself with protective *qi*, but a mere kick shattered it instantly. If he had unleashed a killing blow?

‘I wouldn’t be here. Which means, the Great Hero spared me.’

Though it was only a fleeting clash, Moyong Sa felt it distinctly. Just like the Elder, a depth that was impossible to fathom, like an ocean. He felt it from the unidentified old man.

‘I don’t know the reason, but that unidentified master is helping the Young Master, it seems.’

Not to mention the Head. Even Elder Moyong Jin would ultimately be forced to fight because his grandson was held hostage. There was no way one person could face two transcendent masters.

If only they could somehow rescue the captive Young Master Moyong Hyun, the situation could be instantly reversed. But the location where the Young Master Moyong Hyun was imprisoned was known only to the Head.

The situation was still unfavorable. The chances of success were at best thirty percent, or perhaps even twenty. After coldly calculating the odds of this game, Moyong Sa chuckled to himself and muttered.

“That alone is reason enough to risk one’s life.”

“Pardon?”

“Seeing you remain here, not blindly chasing after glory… I trust I can assume all of you have your wits about you?”

It was time to overturn the board.