Chapter 351

Late that night, Taoist Hyeonam stood gazing at the wooden coffin.

“Commander, it’s Seokjangsan.”

Only when Seokjangsan’s quiet voice came from beyond the door did Hyeonam finally look away from the coffin.

“Come in.”

CLACK.

Seokjangsan entered the room and gave a silent bow.

“...”

Hyeonam understood why he had greeted him without speaking.

This room was Uncheon Zhenren’s memorial altar.

Looking at Seokjangsan with approval, Hyeonam said,

“You may speak freely. Martial Uncle Uncheon never cared much for formalities even when he was alive.”

Emotion surged through Seokjangsan, and he lowered his head.

“I will.”

“If you’ve finished your watch, you should be resting in your room. What brings you here?”

Every able-bodied Wudang disciple was standing sentry duty in three shifts without exception.

Unlike the orthodox and unorthodox paths, demonic-path practitioners tended to disregard government authority altogether.

Even inside a county city with government troops present, they could not afford to lower their guard.

“I have a request to make of you, Commander.”

“A request? Go on.”

“I would like to lead tomorrow’s advance detachment.”

“Why are you volunteering for the advance detachment?”

“Tomorrow’s route seems likely to be our final hurdle.”

“So there is something bothering you.”

After saying that, Hyeonam simply stared at Seokjangsan.

“...”

The silent question was sharper than any cutting interrogation could have been.

Left with no choice, Seokjangsan spoke.

“I know it is presumptuous of me to say this, but I keep finding myself suspicious of Martial Uncle Hyeongong.”

Hyeonam’s eyes widened slightly.

“...?”

He stared hard at Seokjangsan for a moment before speaking in a grave voice.

“You may suspect anyone you please within your own heart. But once you give voice to that suspicion, you must be prepared to bear the consequences. Especially when the person you suspect is a senior of your own sect. The repercussions can be impossible to predict.”

“I understand.”

Hyeonam knew that Seokjangsan was the sort of upright young man who always said what he believed needed to be said.

Yet he was also sensible enough to consider whether the time and place were appropriate before speaking.

“If Kwak Yeon is a bold New Dragon, then Seokjangsan might be called a Hidden Dragon who knows how to bide his time.”

Hall Master Hyeonmun of the Hall of Heroic Martiality had once described the two youths that way while telling Hyeonam how Seokjangsan had repeatedly sought him out to defend Kwak Yeon.

Hyeonam could tell that Seokjangsan had now come to trust and follow him almost as much as he did Taoist Hyeonmun.

Once someone had opened his heart to you, you could hardly leave the door shut.

“Martial Nephew Jangsan, tell me what it is about Senior Brother Hyeongong that you find suspicious.”

With Hyeonam’s permission, Seokjangsan told him everything that had been troubling him.

“More than anything, the thing that bothers me most is that Cheongsu seems afraid of his master, Taoist Hyeongong.”

After hearing the entire story, Hyeonam remembered leaving Cheongsu behind temporarily at the Pavilion of Good Medicine Hall in Sword Demon Valley to tend to his master.

At the same time, he remembered how unnaturally clean the wound where Hyeongong’s arm had been severed had looked.

“...!”

A chill ran through Hyeonam’s chest.

Even he had found that smooth wound somewhat strange at first glance.

Cheongsu, who had attended Hyeongong day and night, must have noticed far more.

Hyeonam asked Seokjangsan,

“Has Martial Nephew Cheongsu ever said anything to you about his master?”

“I asked him several times, but he never told me anything.”

“...”

“As you know, Commander, Cheongsu and I are half brothers. That allowed me to ask him directly whether something was troubling him. Even then, he refused to speak.”

Paradoxically, Seokjangsan was arguing that this very silence suggested something serious—something involving Cheongsu’s own master, Taoist Hyeongong.

Hyeonam thought Seokjangsan’s suspicions were not entirely without basis.

Seeds of doubt had already begun sprouting in a corner of his own mind.

But feelings alone were not enough to condemn Senior Brother Hyeongong.

More importantly, they had already taken far too long a detour to come this far.

“Martial Nephew Jangsan, I understand what you’re worried about now.”

Hyeonam continued with a troubled expression.

“But I cannot change tomorrow’s route merely because we have a bad feeling. We have already spent eight days taking the long way around. As you know, our critically wounded disciples do not have much time left. They’ve barely held on this long thanks to the Life-Extending Pills, but the medicine is becoming less effective by the day. Haa...”

He sighed quietly before continuing.

“If we cannot get them somewhere secure and provide proper treatment soon, most of them will die. Even those fortunate enough to survive may lose their inner power or be left crippled.”

For Hyeonam, there was no viable alternative to reaching the Zhongnan Sect.

They were only a single day away.

Only one final hurdle remained.

Seokjangsan lowered his head.

“I believe that is the right decision. I cannot ask Wudang disciples to risk their lives solely because of my suspicions. That is why I came to ask you to place me at the head of tomorrow’s column.”

“So you believe danger may be waiting for us tomorrow, and you want to put yourself in the most dangerous position.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for someone already prepared for danger to take the lead?”

They could hardly go around recklessly telling the other Wudang disciples that Taoist Hyeongong might be suspicious.

Hyeonam considered the matter for a moment before answering.

“I’m afraid I cannot put you at the front.”

“Commander...?”

“To place you there, I would have to pull back Martial Nephew Cheongil, who has led the advance detachment until now.”

“...!”

Seokjangsan remembered that Taoist Cheongil had also volunteered to become a Unit Leader of the advance detachment, only to lose the position to him.

“Consider as well that Martial Nephew Cheongil is the eldest disciple of Namam Palace.”

Namam Palace guarded the Sword-Surrendering Pool, the gateway to the Wudang Sect.

For that reason, it stood foremost among the Wudang Eight Palaces.

Its disciples took immense pride in belonging to Wudang’s vanguard palace.

Accordingly, whenever the Wudang Sect undertook any formal endeavor, they naturally expected to stand at the front.

“Do you think Martial Nephew Cheongil would willingly surrender the leading position to you?”

“...No.”

Seokjangsan let his head fall.

The wound to Cheongil’s pride from losing the Unit Leader position in the advance detachment likely had not healed yet.

Watching Seokjangsan lower his head, Hyeonam added,

“Even if Martial Nephew Cheongil agreed, I still would not place you at the front.”

“...?”

Seokjangsan looked up, and Hyeonam spoke almost as though rebuking him.

“I entrusted Martial Uncle Uncheon’s coffin to you because it is the most important duty of all. You are not merely escorting Martial Uncle Uncheon. You are escorting the Sword of Wudang.”

“...!”

“Could anyone call the duty of protecting the token of office passed down through generations of the Sword of Wudang a minor one?”

The meaning behind Hyeonam’s words was unmistakable.

Even if every Wudang disciple died in defeat, Seokjangsan was to protect the Songmun Sword and deliver it safely to Wudang.

“My thinking was too shallow.”

Hyeonam nodded at his answer.

“In any case, we cannot alter tomorrow’s route, but we should still prepare for trouble.”

“...?”

“Tomorrow I will have the advance detachment and the main force travel as close together as possible while remaining within sight of each other. If the advance detachment runs into danger, the main force must be able to reinforce it immediately.”

Given their circumstances, tightening the spacing of the column was the most they could do to prepare for the unexpected.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

Hyeonam returned Seokjangsan’s farewell with a silent bow, then turned back toward the coffin.

“...”

Seokjangsan’s heart ached as he looked at Hyeonam, whose entire body was bound tightly in strips of cloth.

He knew it was not his wounds that kept Hyeonam from lying down on the bed.

The wound in his heart was what kept him awake.

******

Not long after they left Ganggok County, the official road entered the mountains.

As time passed, the villages that had appeared here and there gradually vanished until they were surrounded by layer upon layer of mountains.

Fortunately, the road was maintained regularly by the authorities, so the carriages had little difficulty traveling along it.

But the valleys twisted sharply, forcing the official road into constant bends.

As a result, the column of more than ten carriages inevitably stretched out over a considerable distance.

“Senior Brother Cheongil!”

Ho Cheoljung, a second-generation disciple of Namam Palace and a member of the advance detachment, called out to Taoist Cheongil, who was walking ahead.

“We’re getting too far from the main force. We should slow down.”

Cheongil frowned slightly.

“Junior Brother Ho, you’ve said that enough times to wear my ears out. Give it a rest.”

Ever since leaving Ganggok County City, Ho Cheoljung had repeated the same warning several times.

“Senior Brother Cheongil, I’m sorry. But the Commander specifically told us to maintain the distance...”

“Do you think I don’t know that?”

“...”

“I’m the eldest senior brother here. I’ll manage the distance myself, so please keep your mouth shut.”

Despite the rebuke, Ho Cheoljung had no intention of remaining silent if the gap widened again.

The previous day, Jongsu, one of his peers from the Hall of Heroic Martiality, had told him that Seokjangsan wanted everyone to exercise particular caution during today’s march.

Jangsan doesn’t say things without good reason.

Thanks to Ho Cheoljung’s persistence, the advance detachment slowed somewhat.

He glanced back, wondering when the main force would come into sight.

“Ah! Those are fellow martial artists from the Zhongnan Sect up ahead!”

Taoist Cheongil’s shout came from the front. He had already rounded a bend in the hillside.

Ho Cheoljung and the other disciples of Geomam Palace hurried around the bend after him.

Several martial artists stood on the official road between densely wooded slopes.

They carried a banner bearing the words ZHONGNAN STANDS HERE.

There was no mistaking them for anything but martial artists of the Zhongnan Sect.

“They must have come at Martial Uncle Hyeongong’s request.”

When Cheongil quickened his pace toward them, Ho Cheoljung immediately spoke up.

“Senior Brother Cheongil, shouldn’t we report this to the main force first?”

“Hm?”

“The Commander told us to report anything that happens before acting on our own.”

“They’re fellow martial artists of the Zhongnan Sect coming to help Wudang. If we clearly see them and don’t even go out to greet them, what kind of discourtesy would that be?”

“Senior Brother Cheongil, even so...”

Cheongil scowled.

“Fine! Junior Brother Ho, hurry back to the main force and report this. The rest of you slow down and wait for them to catch up. In the meantime, I’ll go alone and greet our friends from the Zhongnan Sect.”

His solution both complied with Commander Hyeonam’s orders and avoided offending the Zhongnan Sect.

Ho Cheoljung had no choice but to turn around and run toward the main force.

Meanwhile, Cheongil hurried in the opposite direction, toward the martial artists of the Zhongnan Sect.

Once he was only a few paces away, he clasped his hands and bowed.

“I am Cheongil, a second-generation disciple of Geomam Palace on Mount Wudang. Thank you, fellow martial artists of the Zhongnan Sect, for coming out to meet our Wudang party.”

When no answering greeting came, Cheongil straightened and asked,

“Have you perhaps just come from meeting Taoist Hyeongong of our sect?”

He never heard their answer.

WHOOSH!

With a violent shriek of torn air, a blood-red axe swept through his neck.

THUD!

The warrior holding the Blood Axe, fresh blood dripping from its edge, planted a foot on Cheongil’s severed head.

CRUNCH!

“Mule-headed Taoist, I am the Blood-Axe Mad Demon. Still, your greeting was properly received.”

The Blood-Axe Mad Demon gave a bitter smile as he looked toward the Wudang advance detachment, which had stopped some distance away.

“Tch. We’ve lost the pleasure of taking you by surprise, but at least now I’ll get to enjoy the feel of it properly.”

FWEET!

At his shrill whistle, demonic-path fighters poured from the woods on both sides of the valley and joined him.

WHIRL!

The Blood-Axe Mad Demon raised his axe and called toward the Wudang disciples.

“The Soul-Snatching Demon Unit of the Gathering Demons Division has been waiting here for you bastards for a long time. Not one of you Wudang mule-heads is leaving this place alive.”

He brought the axe down and roared at his men.

“Wipe them all out!”