Chapter 423: Legend and Reality (2)

Yeon Hojeong’s expression changed instantly.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that, at a moment like this, he would meet someone who knew about his master—and the true nature of the Four Spirit Martial Art.

The intense light in Tamgyeong’s eyes faded, returning to their usual calm.

“So I was right. You’ve cultivated the Four Spirits.”

“You...”

Perhaps he was simply too shocked.

Yeon Hojeong found himself stumbling over his words.

“H-how do you know about the Four Spirits?”

How could he not react that way?

The Four Spirit Martial Art was a martial art forgotten by history. Even Yeon Hojeong himself had only learned after returning to the past that its origins lay with the Martial Emperor of the Four Directions, a legendary master from three hundred years ago.

Granted, Yeon Hojeong had never paid much attention to that sort of thing. But even taking that into account, hardly anyone knew what martial arts the Martial Emperor of the Four Directions had actually practiced.

The Ming Clan of the Nine Provinces, now destroyed, had grotesquely altered the Four Spirit Martial Art into something resembling a demonic art with severe lingering consequences. Yet even they had not known that what they possessed was the Four Spirit Martial Art.

WOOOOONG!

A dense, heavy energy rose from Yeon Hojeong’s body.

Black Tortoise Qi.

His Black Tortoise Art had activated on its own, instinctively shielding his shaken mind.

Tamgyeong’s eyes flashed.

“Is that the energy of the Four Spirits?”

“...”

“Ha. It’s much deeper and heavier than I imagined. It seems to be based on water qi, yet it hardly suits the temperament I see in you.”

Yeon Hojeong stared at him for a moment, then answered honestly before he could stop himself.

“It is only one part of the Four Spirits.”

“One part?”

“That’s right.”

“Then the martial arts of the Four Spirits... there are four of them rather than one?”

The Four Spirits—the gods of the four cardinal directions.

Once Yeon Hojeong said this was only one part of them, it was not difficult to infer that their True Qi must possess four distinct attributes as well.

But Yeon Hojeong saw more than simple deduction in Tamgyeong’s reaction. The old man knew of the Four Spirits, yet apparently did not know the details of the martial art itself.

Just who is this man?

He was peculiar.

Knowing about the Four Spirit Martial Art, which only Yeon Hojeong and his master should have known, was strange enough. But even more astonishing was the almost childlike openness that did not suit his age.

Yeon Hojeong might be his junior, but Tamgyeong made no attempt to conceal expressions and emotions he had no need to show. His mischievousness was just as out of place. A man from two generations before Shaolin’s current leadership had to be close to a hundred years old at the very least, yet he behaved like a child ignorant of the ways of the world.

What the hell does this old man do?

Tamgyeong.

One who seeks the scriptures.

What scripture was he searching for? And how did he know about the Four Spirits?

Could the scripture he sought somehow be connected to the Four Spirit Martial Art?

“...Enough.”

Yeon Hojeong put the questions aside.

A man who knew his martial art. A man who had asked who his master was.

Naturally, Yeon Hojeong had mountains of questions of his own.

But right now, neither the Four Spirits nor the old man’s strange pursuits mattered most.

The mission did.

Countless subordinates had died during the operation to eliminate the Yin God. Even if that had been the best outcome they could achieve, the responsibility still fell on him as their commander.

No matter how extraordinary the Four Spirit Martial Art might be, could it possibly be worth more than the lives of his men?

For the sake of those who had died, Yeon Hojeong had a duty to see this mission through to the end.

“I answered you. Now answer my question.”

Surprise appeared on Tamgyeong’s face.

“Aren’t you curious how I know about your martial art?”

“I am.”

“Then why? As far as I know, the lineage of the Four Spirits was severed three hundred years ago. And the final successor of that martial art was...”

“Listen, old man.”

No one would have imagined that the utterly ordinary words old man could sound like such an outrageous insult.

“How you know my martial art and what you meant by asking about my master can wait.”

“...?”

“I lost my men, and I still came here because there is a mission left to complete. I came because I was worried your ridiculous little prank might interfere with it.”

FWOOSH!

Yeon Hojeong’s pupils burned crimson.

Vermilion Bird Fire Qi had manifested.

The flame-like Killing Intent blazing in his eyes bore down on Tamgyeong.

“Speak. Do you have connections within the provincial government? Your little joke was unpleasant, but it didn’t sound like nothing more than a joke.”

“...”

“If you do have connections, tell me how high they reach, whether you intend to involve yourself in this matter, and whether you intend to obstruct us. Tell me everything.”

A moment ago, Yeon Hojeong had been the one stunned.

Now it was Tamgyeong’s turn.

Would you look at this brat?

His curiosity had to be overwhelming.

And yet he had cast aside the matter of the Four Spirits without hesitation.

Tamgyeong could not help asking again.

“Are you truly not curious where your martial art came from, how I know about it, or what it is that I do?”

“I already told you. There are more important things than that right now.”

“More important than that?! Nonsense! The martial arts of the Four Spirits are the stuff of legend from three hundred years ago—!”

BOOOOOOM!

A monstrous stamping step shook the entire hill.

Beomo stared down at the ground beneath Yeon Hojeong’s foot, his eyes trembling.

The earth where Yeon Hojeong had stamped had been devastated. Spiderweb cracks spread outward from directly beneath his foot, racing across every patch of ground Beomo could see.

Terrifying!

The sheer force was beyond imagination.

The stamping step was fierce as flame yet heavy as Mount Tai, its flow of power unlike anything Beomo had ever witnessed from any elder of Shaolin.

Yeon Hojeong growled in a low voice.

“Would you rather I picked up my axe right now?”

“...”

“I don’t know how old you are or how many decades you’ve spent holed up in some cave, but if you want to bark nonsense, turn your face to Heaven and bark at that instead of wasting my time.”

Beomo shouted.

“Supreme Commander Yeon! Utter one more insult like that and I will not forgive you!”

Yeon Hojeong roared back.

“He’s the one who deserves no forgiveness!”

“What?!”

“I told you people died! My subordinates died, and innocent civilians lost their lives too! All because of those damned assassins throwing the world into chaos!”

“......!!”

“How deep his curiosity runs is his own damn business! With public sentiment still in turmoil even now, I don’t have the luxury of humoring that senile idiot’s bullshit!”

Yeon Hojeong turned his gaze on Beomo.

For an instant, Beomo felt as though his eyes were being scorched.

“I’ll give you one serious piece of advice. He comes from the same tradition as you, so I won’t tell you not to treat him as an elder. But before you are a monk, you are a human being. Do not learn from him. He hides behind the excuse that he has left the secular world while treating other people’s desperation as entertainment. There is nothing more contemptible.”

“You...!”

“They say that if you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha! Instead of wasting your time cultivating those precious martial arts of yours, find yourself first!”

Beomo’s eyes shook as though an earthquake had struck them.

It felt as though a massive Buddhist temple bell were booming over and over inside his skull.

The words were wrapped in violence, yet within them lay a teaching sharp as a dagger—one he had never heard even from the elders of his own tradition.

Unable to process the shock, Beomo stood frozen with his mouth hanging open.

Yeon Hojeong turned back to Tamgyeong.

Tamgyeong’s face had hardened frighteningly. Even he seemed deeply shaken by Yeon Hojeong’s tirade.

SHRING.

As Yeon Hojeong raised Mad Dragon, an eerie rasp sounded from the axe blade.

“I’ll ask one last time.”

He leveled the axe at Tamgyeong.

“Explain how far your connections within the provincial government reach, and what you meant by what you said last time.”

“Now, listen—”

“I said this is the last time. Say anything irrelevant, and this axe flies.”

Overwhelming.

That was the only word for it.

He was pointing that sinister axe at someone stronger than himself, someone who by the customs of the Central Plains deserved absolute respect, and pouring Killing Intent at him without hesitation.

Perhaps Tamgyeong finally sensed that Yeon Hojeong meant every word.

His face stiff, the old man answered.

“What we do cannot be done without the provincial government’s permission.”

“So?”

“Many officials follow Buddhism as well. The higher their rank, the more often that tends to be true.”

“So you have [N O V E L I G H T] connections among high-ranking officials.”

A fire kindled in Yeon Hojeong’s eyes.

“I heard it wasn’t only you. Several reclusive masters living in those caves took action. Yet you came to the residence of the left Provincial Administration Commissioner. According to the Beggars’ Union, you only told them which people were in serious danger of assassination. You never told them who mattered most or how far the danger extended.”

“...”

“I don’t know about the left Provincial Administration Commissioner himself, but you must at least have ties to senior officials in the Office of Provincial Administration. Probably the Regional Military Commission as well.”

“...Remarkable. You inferred that much?”

“That’s enough. Now answer my final question.”

“Your final question?”

Despite his anger, Tamgyeong continued answering a young man nearly eighty years his junior even as Yeon Hojeong dropped all pretense of courtesy.

Whatever else could be said about him, his breadth of character deserved acknowledgment. In a world full of people who flew into a rage the moment someone failed to show them respect—even after recognizing their own mistakes—Tamgyeong, at least, was capable of accepting another person’s anger.

“Do you intend to involve yourself in affairs concerning the provincial government?”

“Ha ha ha.”

Tamgyeong let out a hearty laugh.

“I already apologized, but let me apologize once more. Did you really think I intended to involve myself in worldly affairs? I have spent my entire life devoted to searching for something, and I mean to spend what remains of it doing the same. How much life do I even have left to waste meddling in matters like these?”

“So in the end, it truly was nothing but a joke.”

“I’m sorry. It had been so long since I came out into the world that I suppose I became excited without realizing it. For that, I offer you a sincere apology.”

“That isn’t enough.”

“Hmm?”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to the people of Guangdong who are suffering even as we speak.”

Tamgyeong shook his head.

“Think of me however you wish, but I have no intention of becoming involved with the world. We helped this time solely because we did not want demonic forces interfering with what we are doing.”

“...”

“We have forgotten even Buddhism, and we have forgotten the world. That is simply what we have become.”

“Then I’ll turn you back into human beings for a little while.”

“You neither can nor need to do that.”

“Go to the provincial government. For the sake of stabilizing Guangdong, I need you to help me persuade the officials.”

“I’m sorry, but I have no desire to go that far.”

“I’ll tell you about the Four Spirit Martial Art.”

“...?!”

Tamgyeong’s face froze.

“What did you just say?”

“I won’t ask what made you think of the Four Spirits when you saw me, or what they mean to you people. But from what I can tell, you are clearly quite interested in the martial art I practice.”

“...”

“I’ll tell you what kind of martial art it is. In exchange, cooperate with me. If what you said is true, your help could stabilize Guangdong even a single day sooner.”

THUD!

Yeon Hojeong drove Mad Dragon into the ground.

“This is not a request. It’s a trade. And if you refuse the trade, I’ll pick up the axe again.”

“...Ha. Ha ha ha ha!”

“Decide quickly. I don’t have time.”

Tamgyeong’s eyes gleamed.

“And what exactly do I gain by accepting this trade?”

“I said it was a trade. Don’t ask for more than that.”

Yeon Hojeong’s gaze darkened.

He placed a hand on the haft of his axe.

“Yes or no. Decide.”