Chapter 339

The Valley of Dark Mourning.

Its road was so perilous that the place was said to be where even ghosts went into mourning.

During the Eight Desolations Upheaval, countless orthodox martial artists had been wiped out while attempting to use that route to launch a surprise attack on the Gathering Demons Division.

For that reason, when planning this renewed campaign against the Gathering Demons Division, Uncheon Zhenren had effectively treated the route as nonexistent and excluded it altogether.

“Commander, of course I know how dangerous the Valley of Dark Mourning is.”

Peng Cheon-hwi, Clan Master of the Hebei Peng Family, broke the silence. The threat was practically at his doorstep now.

“But our campaign force will be moving at full strength. What can a mere two hundred men possibly do against us? The terrain is just as unfavorable to them.”

Yue Gun-yeong, Clan Master of the Shandong Yue Family, nodded.

“Exactly. If they choose to counterattack, all the better. We can wipe them out once and for all.”

“......”

When Uncheon Zhenren again remained silent, Peng Cheon-hwi suddenly said,

“Sword, I can no longer tolerate the Commander’s excessive caution!”

By addressing Uncheon Zhenren as Sword—the shortened title of the Sword of Wudang—rather than Commander, Peng was declaring that he no longer recognized Uncheon’s authority over the campaign force.

He made that decision even more explicit by abandoning the highest level of formal respect in his speech.

“If Wudang intends to hesitate, then our two families will march out on our own.”

Yue Gun-yeong sided with Peng Cheon-hwi.

“Sword, even rice that is already cooked will burn if you leave it steaming too long.”

With both deputy commanders of the campaign force openly resisting him, even the senior martial figures who had remained silent until now began to murmur among themselves.

Uncheon Zhenren had been deliberating because something about the Valley of Dark Mourning did not sit right with him.

But with the campaign force now on the verge of splitting apart, he could no longer avoid making a decision.

“Very well.”

The losses caused by dividing their strength would be far greater. Uncheon Zhenren gave a firm nod.

“We march at once and bring this campaign to an end.”

*****

“Senior Brother Hyeongong, lie down here.”

Taoist Hyeonam helped Taoist Hyeongong onto a bed inside the hall the medical station had converted into a temporary infirmary.

“Ughhh...”

The moment Hyeongong lay down, a low groan escaped him and he slipped into unconsciousness.

“Senior Brother Hyeongong?”

Hyeonam hurriedly took his pulse.

Fortunately, it was steady, and the flow of his true qi was smooth as well.

Whew.

Relieved, Hyeonam looked at the unconscious Hyeongong for a moment.

“Condemn the sin, but do not hate the sinner.”

His master had said those words while looking with displeasure at the disciple who had volunteered to become Lord of the Precepts Hall.

Hyeonam had always tried not to forget that admonition, but he had never found it easy to separate a person from the wrongdoing.

What fault did the sin itself have? It was the person who committed it who was at fault.

As Lord of the Precepts Hall, Hyeonam had judged offenders without mercy, and that was how he had earned the name Precepts Hall Enforcer.

At least his master’s words had taught him to look into what had driven a person to wrongdoing before weighing the severity of the offense.

That was why, when the food-poisoning incident had occurred at the training ground for external disciples, he had not pressed trainee Kwak Yeon, Assistant Instructor So Jinsam, and the others too hard over their suspicious behavior.

Come to think of it, Senior Brother Hyeongong really has been remarkably consistent.

Looking at Hyeongong now, his left arm severed and his entire body covered in wounds, Hyeonam could not help feeling some pity.

Yet aside from his injuries, Hyeongong would face serious trouble once he returned to Mount Wudang.

Now that Uncheon Zhenren, the Sword of Wudang, knew every detail of his offenses, not even Grand Elder Unhak Zhenren, currently acting on behalf of the Sect Leader, would dare turn a blind eye.

Had Unhak Zhenren not shielded his disciple Hyeongong during the earlier incident at the training ground, perhaps matters would never have reached this point.

As Hyeonam stared at him with mixed feelings, a sudden sense of wrongness came over him.

Hm...?

He quickly found its source.

Hyeongong’s left arm.

More precisely, the wound where it had been severed.

Unlike the other wounds covering his body, the cut at the shoulder was clean and smooth.

He said it was severed while fighting those fiends...

Of course, a limb could be taken cleanly in a single stroke during combat.

But in the middle of the night, deep in the mountains, with only moonlight to see by, leaving such a perfectly clean wound would have been difficult.

Hyeonam wanted to hear the full story from Hyeongong himself.

But he could hardly force his severely wounded senior brother awake just to interrogate him.

At the same time, the unease gnawing at him made it difficult to simply turn around and leave.

What should I do...?

As Hyeonam hesitated—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Urgent drums sounded, announcing preparations to march.

“......!”

Hyeonam immediately realized that Uncheon Zhenren had finally yielded to the relentless pressure from the Clan Masters and decided to pursue the Gathering Demons Division leadership.

As commander of the advance detachment, Hyeonam had to leave the infirmary at once.

No choice. I’ll ask him when we return...

By then, Hyeongong should have recovered considerably.

His external wounds were severe, but he had suffered no internal injuries at all.

“Senior Brother Hyeongong, set your mind at ease and focus only on recovering.”

Hyeonam gave the unconscious man a respectful clasped-hands bow, then turned and left.

THUNK!

Not long after the door closed, Hyeongong’s eyes slowly opened.

Killing intent gleamed within them.

Hyeongong was furious that Hyeonam had bowed to him before leaving.

The bastard had ruined his promising future, then had the gall to offer him a respectful farewell.

Detestable bastard!

Anyone who saw it would praise Hyeonam for showing perfect courtesy to his senior brother.

Meanwhile, Hyeongong, who had constantly spoken ill of him, would only be branded an even more narrow-minded senior brother.

Still, pretending to lose consciousness the moment he lay down had been the right choice.

The longer one talked, the more likely one was to expose a flaw.

When Hyeonam had failed to leave his side immediately, Hyeongong had grown nervous.

As Lord of the Precepts Hall, Hyeonam possessed excellent instincts.

When he had paused and hesitated, Hyeongong had nearly broken into a cold sweat wondering whether he had noticed something.

Fortunately, the drums announcing the march had sounded at just the right moment.

Heaven is helping me.

Whatever suspicions Hyeonam might have harbored no longer mattered.

Once he marched out, he would never return alive.

The same was true of Uncheon Zhenren.

No—Uncheon Zhenren was even more certain never to return.

The true objective of this entire operation was the Sword of Wudang, Uncheon Zhenren.

Lure the Tiger Away from the Mountain.

Hyeongong was the beater driving the tiger down from its mountain and into the waiting trap.

Remembering Uncheon Zhenren’s cold gaze, Hyeongong bit down hard on his lip.

I was right to accept their offer.

That rigid old bastard Uncheon would never forgive him.

“We will address your wrongdoing once we return to the main mountain.”

Was that really something to say to a martial nephew who had returned looking half dead?

They can all die.

Uncheon Zhenren, who intended to punish him the moment they returned to the main mountain.

Taoist Hyeonam, who had repeatedly stood in the way of his future.

Even those worthless trainees from the training ground who performed the courtesies of martial nephews while looking at him with insolent eyes.

They would all be swept away at once.

Then who would remain to hold his past offenses against him?

“Heh heh heh...”

Laughter slipped through his teeth before he realized it.

He had sacrificed one arm, but he had received something else in return.

At that moment, the new force coiled within his dantian stirred.

A strange power that amplified his inner power.

They had told him it was not demonic qi, so it would leave no outward sign.

They had also said that no one except the person who had received the grace of the Servitors would ever detect it.

The relieved breathing of Hyeonam, who had checked his pulse only moments ago, confirmed that those words were true.

What tempted Hyeongong most was that only he himself knew the power existed.

With this strange force, he could quietly secure an unshakable position for himself on Mount Wudang without anyone ever knowing.

They said it would transform into demonic qi at the moment of his death, but what did that matter?

By then, he would already be dead.

“Heh heh heh...”

Hyeongong’s laughter grew louder.

So absorbed was he in imagining his brilliant future that he had no idea his own disciple was standing outside the door listening.

Cheongsu—Seokgeon—had come running the moment he heard that his master had returned.

He would have arrived even sooner had he not encountered Hyeonam along the way.

“Martial Nephew Cheongsu, remain here and care for Taoist Hyeongong. Remember: there is no medicine for a master quite like the devotion of his disciple.”

Cheongsu had solemnly promised Hyeonam that he would.

He was not unaware of Hyeongong’s faults.

Even so, Hyeongong was still his master.

Under the rules of the Wudang Sect, once a formal master-disciple relationship had been established, it was a bond carried for life.

Cheongsu could not bring himself to open the door.

Something in his master’s laughter sent a chill through him.

It was so unsettling that he found himself wondering whether the man inside was truly his master at all.

Besides, Hyeonam had said that his master was unconscious.

He had even reassured Cheongsu that there was no immediate danger and that he should not be alarmed.

Yet his master kept letting out that bizarre laughter.

How could someone who had been abducted under disgraceful circumstances, suffered grievous wounds, and barely made it back alive laugh like that?

If he had been wailing or sobbing, perhaps Cheongsu could have understood.

Did Master suffer such a severe shock that his mind has become confused?

Whatever the cause, something was clearly wrong.

With so little experience of the martial world, Cheongsu found himself at a loss.

What do I do?

For some reason, opening the door and entering immediately felt deeply unsettling.

Naturally, Hyeonam came to mind.

Hyeonam seemed cold and stern in public, but when speaking to disciples in private, he was surprisingly considerate.

When Hyeongong had failed to return by morning, Hyeonam had quietly helped search for him without letting others know.

Even when they had met only moments ago, Hyeonam’s voice had been stern, but everything he said had shown concern for Hyeongong.

Should I go ask Taoist Hyeonam for advice? But what would I even say?

It would be strange for a disciple to tell someone that his master seemed to have gone mad.

If Brother Jangsan were here, I could tell him easily.

Cheongsu suddenly realized how much he had come to rely on his half brother, Seokjangsan.

Is this what they mean when they say blood is thicker than water?

Cheongsu knew the saying suited Seokjangsan far better than it suited him.

After all, it was Seokjangsan who had readily accepted him despite how badly Cheongsu had treated him.

Then Cheongsu abruptly remembered that it was already too late to seek him out.

Seokjangsan belonged to the advance detachment.

By now, he would already be fully prepared to march and standing at the very front of the campaign force.

Then I suppose there’s nothing I can do.

While Cheongsu hesitated, the laughter from inside the room stopped.

Huh? When did he stop laughing?

Cheongsu waited a little longer, then carefully knocked on the door.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

“Master, it is your disciple Cheongsu.”

When no answer came from within, Cheongsu cautiously opened the door.

Inside, he saw his master lying on the bed with his eyes closed.

Hearing Hyeongong’s steady breathing, Cheongsu concluded that his master had fallen asleep while unconscious.

Ah! Then he must have been laughing in his sleep. Of course!

A Taoist immortal of Mount Wudang could never make such sinister laughter while awake.

BWOOOOOO!

Outside the temporary infirmary, the long blast of a horn sounded, signaling the force to march.