Wudang Sacred Scriptures
Author: Bang Su-yoon
Chapter 159
— Thud! Crash!
The human hunting dogs burst into Deokseon Hall, scattering in all directions.
It had been a long time since they’d had the chance to sate their bloodlust, and their eyes were bloodshot with excitement.
But the wild rampage of the human hunting dogs soon began to slow.
The pen they expected to be overflowing with prey was completely empty.
As the human hunting dogs prowled the interior of Deokseon Hall, peering around restlessly—
—Thwack!
“Guh-hek!”
With the sound of flesh being struck, a scream erupted from the inner courtyard.
“Huuuuh!”
“Grahhh!”
The scattered human hunting dogs moaned with anticipation and immediately bolted toward the direction of the sound.
It meant prey had finally appeared for them to sink their teeth into.
Rushing toward the source of the sound, the human hunting dogs found a young man standing in the very center of the courtyard.
One of their comrades lay sprawled in front of him, but none of them paid it any mind.
The only thing occupying their minds was the presence of prey to tear into.
—Slash!
The human hunting dog at the very front drew his serrated saber—the weapon he called his fangs—and charged like a rabid beast.
—Shwick!
His saber shot toward the young man’s chest like a streak of light.
Kwak Yeon watched the jagged blade, shaped like a wolf’s fang, as it pierced forward and confirmed that these men were not in their right minds.
He had already suspected it from the madness in the eyes of the first one who attacked him.
No proper martial artist would launch such indiscriminate attacks while entirely disregarding defense.
Whatever the reason, Kwak Yeon concluded that these were murderers consumed by their own vicious nature.
Were it not for this being Deokseon Hall, and had it not been at the request of the Grand Scholar, he would have taken their heads with a single stroke and prevented future atrocities.
—Swoosh!
Sssft!
Evading the serrated saber with Heaven-Earth Eight Desolation Steps, Kwak Yeon seized the attacker’s forearm and twisted it outright.
—Crunch!
“Gaaahhh!”
Grabbing the now right-angled broken arm, Kwak Yeon kicked the man’s shin.
—Crack!
The shinbone shattered and crumbled to powder; it was no longer possible for him to stand.
—Thud!
The man collapsed to the ground, wailing in agony.
“Gyaaaaah!”
Kwak Yeon had no intention of taking their lives. Instead, he aimed to render them completely crippled, so he held back nothing.
They might have the hearts of demons, but so long as they lacked the physical means to act on them, the danger they posed would be minimized.
Even as two of their own were disabled, the human hunting dogs didn’t stop. They were entirely possessed by a thirst for slaughter.
—Shick! Shh! Shhh!
Three more charged at Kwak Yeon with brief intervals between them.
Regardless of one’s cultivation level, the lethality of a weapon could never be ignored.
Kwak Yeon drew the Cheonggang Sword with a flash and thrust it forward.
—Whirl!
Using a technique from Spring Light Shears Snow, he diverted the trajectory of the foremost long spear and struck the human hunting dog’s wrist with the flat of his blade.
—Crack!
—Clang!
Immediately after, he drove his knee into the man’s kneecap.
—Crunch!
“Gaaagh!”
As the man toppled forward like a felled log, screaming in pain, Kwak Yeon had already taken a step back.
—Shwick!
A blade meant to rip into his neck slashed through empty air.
Kwak Yeon raised the Cheonggang Sword and struck the attacker’s exposed elbow with the flat of his blade.
—Thwack! Crack!
The forearm snapped into the shape of an inverted umbrella, and the man had no choice but to drop his weapon.
—Clatter!
Kwak Yeon immediately swept his leg in a lateral kick and struck the man’s calf.
—Crunch!
The man collapsed sideways and rolled across the floor. The pain was so intense that not even a scream escaped his lips.
The final human hunting dog, who had just launched his attack, finally regained some semblance of reason and tried to pull his sword back.
But it was already too late—Cheonggang Sword had climbed up the man’s arm and coiled around it.
His arm twisted like a vine of kudzu; the bones, naturally, could not remain intact.
—Snap! Snap! Snap!
With the sound of bones being crushed into pieces, the man let out a blood-curdling scream.
“GAAAAHHH!”
Kwak Yeon pressed the man’s pressure point.
“Shh. If you scream that loud, you’ll disturb the elders’ su-dam.”
The man rolled his eyes frantically in desperation, silently begging for mercy.
Kwak Yeon nodded.
“I’ll let you live. I’ve sworn not to spill even a single drop of your filthy blood within Deokseon Hall.”
He pressed the Cheonggang Sword against the man’s thigh.
—Crunch!
With the Internal Weight Transfer technique, the thigh bone shattered, and the man fell flat on his back.
Having rendered five assassins completely crippled in the blink of an eye, Kwak Yeon sheathed the Cheonggang Sword and headed toward the main quarters.
“Grand Scholar, may I enter for a moment?”
“Hoho, what’s this about permission? Come in at once.”
At the center of the main hall, Grand Scholar Seol Jung-hyu and Danmok Seong were seated across from each other with a Go board between them.
A few jang away, a pale-faced man knelt politely—Dog Keeper Maeng Seung-gwan.
—Click!
Danmok Seong placed a stone on the board and spoke.
“Daoist Kwak, just as you predicted, a dog snuck in through the back gate.”
“......”
“And wouldn’t you know it, that dog’s owner is none other than the Lord of Cheongwu Merchant House.”
Subdued by Danmok Seong, Maeng Seung-gwan had confessed everything and now hung his head low.
Kwak Yeon looked at him briefly, then spoke.
“I’ll take him outside so he doesn’t disturb your game.”
Danmok Seong, still focused on the board, said,
“Before that, could you hand me those stones over there? I can’t tear my eyes away from the Grand Scholar’s elusive hand.”
With a chuckle at Danmok Seong’s teasing, Grand Scholar Seol Jung-hyu replied,
“Grand Elder, our match is neck and neck—surely that’s an exaggeration.”
“Hah, I’m not blind to the Grand Scholar’s subtle generosity in the name of hospitality.”
Kwak Yeon glanced at the scattered stones in front of Maeng Seung-gwan and realized that Danmok Seong must have subdued him by throwing Go stones from his seat.
He reached /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ out to gather them—then flinched.
Ziiing!
A wave of force pulsed through his fingertips.
There was still a lingering trace of inner energy in the stones.
“......!”
Recalling the wall of internal energy he once sensed drawn across the pass at Guando, Kwak Yeon marveled anew at Danmok Seong’s transcendent skill.
He himself could, of course, imbue objects with internal energy—but not for such a long duration.
Kwak Yeon quietly gathered the stones and placed them in the bowl without making a sound.
Danmok Seong suddenly said,
“What’s so impressive about a wrinkled old man’s party trick?”
Kwak Yeon realized that Danmok Seong had recognized the fact that he had sensed the lingering trace of inner energy within the Go stones.
How could he not?
A veteran master of the martial world, Danmok Seong would have known without even looking—just by sensing the flow and posture of Ki.
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to witness such transcendent martial arts once more.”
At Kwak Yeon’s candid remark, Danmok Seong laughed heartily and said,
“What’s this about transcendent martial arts? At your level, it must seem like a mere parlor trick.”
Kwak Yeon changed the subject.
“I’ll take my leave so as not to disturb your su-dam.”
“...?”
Danmok Seong looked at Kwak Yeon with curious eyes.
Just then—
—Click!
The Grand Scholar placed a stone on the board and spoke.
“Grand Elder, might I excuse myself for a moment? There’s a small favor I’d like to ask of Daoist Kwak.”
Danmok Seong turned his gaze back to the board and replied,
“Grand Scholar, the current layout is so unpredictable, I can’t begin to grasp your intention. Even if you return in half a sijin, I doubt I’ll know my next move. Ha! At this rate, it’ll remain your turn anyway.”
When Danmok Seong responded with a hint of theatrical lament, Grand Scholar Seol Jung-hyu rose from his seat.
“Daoist Kwak, would you accompany me for a moment?”
Leading Kwak Yeon to the study table, the Grand Scholar spoke.
“Daoist Kwak, there’s someone to whom this old man must deliver a letter. Could I trouble you with the task?”
“...?”
“Only if you happen to be heading that way yourself, of course.”
Kwak Yeon already had a fair idea of whom the Grand Scholar meant. He nodded without hesitation.
“I will see it delivered without fail.”
When Kwak Yeon emerged from the inner quarters with Maeng Seung-gwan in tow, the village’s self-defense corps had already subdued the intruders and bound them.
Maeng Seung-gwan turned pale at the sight of the human hunting dogs, now utterly wrecked.
Worse still, the hunting dogs, stripped of their murderous aura by sheer terror, had reverted into meek, docile humans.
Kwak Yeon addressed the members of the self-defense corps.
“The Grand Scholar has instructed that they be confined in the storage shed until constables from the Prefectural Office arrive.”
At that, Maeng Seung-gwan felt a chill down his spine.
It was only a matter of time before the prefectural authorities realized that these men were death row convicts who had escaped custody—and that he was the one who had facilitated their breakout.
Yet, he felt a faint sense of relief.
He wasn’t being dragged off to the Prefectural Office immediately.
If this Cave Daoist intended to charge Lord Sang Gwan Jin-ho with these crimes, then he’d have to take Maeng Seung-gwan to Cheongwu Merchant House first.
If I cooperate with this Cave Daoist, maybe I’ll live through this...
Just as Maeng Seung-gwan was exhaling a faint breath of relief in his heart—
“Lock this one up with the rest as well.”
Maeng Seung-gwan’s eyes shot open in alarm.
“Daoist, aren’t you taking me with you? I’ll confess everything in front of the Lord myself!”
“Your confession won’t be necessary.”
“...?”
“The Lord himself will make the confession.”
Maeng Seung-gwan looked into the Cave Daoist’s deeply sunken eyes and finally understood what those words meant.
He also understood that his life would end beneath the executioner’s blade.
Ah...!
Overwhelmed with despair, Maeng Seung-gwan didn’t even feel the pain of his punctured danjeon, the gaping wound left by a thrown Go stone.
****
—Whish!
“Guh-hek!”
Each time Danmok Cheong’s sword swept through the air in a flash of white light, another scream rang out.
A dozen or so members of the Qingya Syndicate were already seriously wounded, either collapsed or retreating.
Danmok Cheong’s martial prowess was blinding to behold.
There was not an ounce of excess in his stance, and the exquisite sword moves flowing from those stances were as fluid as a dance.
Watching him move with the grace of a lone crane among a flock of crows, Ju Yeoryeong found herself admiring him as befitted a young lord of a prestigious martial family.
What’s more, his tall stature and solid physique made his dynamic swordplay a spectacle in itself.
Though many Qingya Syndicate fighters still remained, she wasn’t particularly worried.
She had seen the inner energy shimmer from Danmok Cheong’s blade like a heat haze.
He was a peak-level master, trained through pure, ascending martial arts.
He was not someone the black-path thugs of the Qingya Syndicate could ever hope to match.
That didn’t mean Ju Yeoryeong was without concern.
That hat!
Danmok Cheong was still wearing his conical hat as he fought.
Ju Yeoryeong noticed that his vision was slightly obstructed because of it, and that it made his movements just a little awkward.
Why doesn’t he just take it off already?
Danmok Cheong compensated for the impaired vision using his superior technique and martial insight.
If those thugs catch on and try to exploit it, it could get dangerous.
Ju Yeoryeong wanted to shout at him to take it off immediately. But helping someone from the Danmok Family wasn’t something she could allow herself to do.
Even if she told him to remove it, he probably wouldn’t.
He surely didn’t want to reveal that ruined face of his.
What does pride matter at a time like this...?
It wasn’t long before Ju Yeoryeong realized the very thing she feared was already unfolding.
She saw the head of the Qingya Syndicate whisper something to one of his trusted subordinates.
They’ve figured out his hat is obstructing his vision!
Ju Yeoryeong hesitated.
Should I tell him now...?
The human hunting dogs burst into Deokseon Hall, scattering in all directions.
It had been a long time since they’d had the chance to sate their bloodlust, and their eyes were bloodshot with excitement.
But the wild rampage of the human hunting dogs soon began to slow.
The pen they expected to be overflowing with prey was completely empty.
As the human hunting dogs prowled the interior of Deokseon Hall, peering around restlessly—
—Thwack!
“Guh-hek!”
With the sound of flesh being struck, a scream erupted from the inner courtyard.
“Huuuuh!”
“Grahhh!”
The scattered human hunting dogs moaned with anticipation and immediately bolted toward the direction of the sound.
It meant prey had finally appeared for them to sink their teeth into.
Rushing toward the source of the sound, the human hunting dogs found a young man standing in the very center of the courtyard.
One of their comrades lay sprawled in front of him, but none of them paid it any mind.
The only thing occupying their minds was the presence of prey to tear into.
—Slash!
The human hunting dog at the very front drew his serrated saber—the weapon he called his fangs—and charged like a rabid beast.
—Shwick!
His saber shot toward the young man’s chest like a streak of light.
Kwak Yeon watched the jagged blade, shaped like a wolf’s fang, as it pierced forward and confirmed that these men were not in their right minds.
He had already suspected it from the madness in the eyes of the first one who attacked him.
No proper martial artist would launch such indiscriminate attacks while entirely disregarding defense.
Whatever the reason, Kwak Yeon concluded that these were murderers consumed by their own vicious nature.
Were it not for this being Deokseon Hall, and had it not been at the request of the Grand Scholar, he would have taken their heads with a single stroke and prevented future atrocities.
—Swoosh!
Sssft!
Evading the serrated saber with Heaven-Earth Eight Desolation Steps, Kwak Yeon seized the attacker’s forearm and twisted it outright.
—Crunch!
“Gaaahhh!”
Grabbing the now right-angled broken arm, Kwak Yeon kicked the man’s shin.
—Crack!
The shinbone shattered and crumbled to powder; it was no longer possible for him to stand.
—Thud!
The man collapsed to the ground, wailing in agony.
“Gyaaaaah!”
Kwak Yeon had no intention of taking their lives. Instead, he aimed to render them completely crippled, so he held back nothing.
They might have the hearts of demons, but so long as they lacked the physical means to act on them, the danger they posed would be minimized.
Even as two of their own were disabled, the human hunting dogs didn’t stop. They were entirely possessed by a thirst for slaughter.
—Shick! Shh! Shhh!
Three more charged at Kwak Yeon with brief intervals between them.
Regardless of one’s cultivation level, the lethality of a weapon could never be ignored.
Kwak Yeon drew the Cheonggang Sword with a flash and thrust it forward.
—Whirl!
Using a technique from Spring Light Shears Snow, he diverted the trajectory of the foremost long spear and struck the human hunting dog’s wrist with the flat of his blade.
—Crack!
—Clang!
Immediately after, he drove his knee into the man’s kneecap.
—Crunch!
“Gaaagh!”
As the man toppled forward like a felled log, screaming in pain, Kwak Yeon had already taken a step back.
—Shwick!
A blade meant to rip into his neck slashed through empty air.
Kwak Yeon raised the Cheonggang Sword and struck the attacker’s exposed elbow with the flat of his blade.
—Thwack! Crack!
The forearm snapped into the shape of an inverted umbrella, and the man had no choice but to drop his weapon.
—Clatter!
Kwak Yeon immediately swept his leg in a lateral kick and struck the man’s calf.
—Crunch!
The man collapsed sideways and rolled across the floor. The pain was so intense that not even a scream escaped his lips.
The final human hunting dog, who had just launched his attack, finally regained some semblance of reason and tried to pull his sword back.
But it was already too late—Cheonggang Sword had climbed up the man’s arm and coiled around it.
His arm twisted like a vine of kudzu; the bones, naturally, could not remain intact.
—Snap! Snap! Snap!
With the sound of bones being crushed into pieces, the man let out a blood-curdling scream.
“GAAAAHHH!”
Kwak Yeon pressed the man’s pressure point.
“Shh. If you scream that loud, you’ll disturb the elders’ su-dam.”
The man rolled his eyes frantically in desperation, silently begging for mercy.
Kwak Yeon nodded.
“I’ll let you live. I’ve sworn not to spill even a single drop of your filthy blood within Deokseon Hall.”
He pressed the Cheonggang Sword against the man’s thigh.
—Crunch!
With the Internal Weight Transfer technique, the thigh bone shattered, and the man fell flat on his back.
Having rendered five assassins completely crippled in the blink of an eye, Kwak Yeon sheathed the Cheonggang Sword and headed toward the main quarters.
“Grand Scholar, may I enter for a moment?”
“Hoho, what’s this about permission? Come in at once.”
At the center of the main hall, Grand Scholar Seol Jung-hyu and Danmok Seong were seated across from each other with a Go board between them.
A few jang away, a pale-faced man knelt politely—Dog Keeper Maeng Seung-gwan.
—Click!
Danmok Seong placed a stone on the board and spoke.
“Daoist Kwak, just as you predicted, a dog snuck in through the back gate.”
“......”
“And wouldn’t you know it, that dog’s owner is none other than the Lord of Cheongwu Merchant House.”
Subdued by Danmok Seong, Maeng Seung-gwan had confessed everything and now hung his head low.
Kwak Yeon looked at him briefly, then spoke.
“I’ll take him outside so he doesn’t disturb your game.”
Danmok Seong, still focused on the board, said,
“Before that, could you hand me those stones over there? I can’t tear my eyes away from the Grand Scholar’s elusive hand.”
With a chuckle at Danmok Seong’s teasing, Grand Scholar Seol Jung-hyu replied,
“Grand Elder, our match is neck and neck—surely that’s an exaggeration.”
“Hah, I’m not blind to the Grand Scholar’s subtle generosity in the name of hospitality.”
Kwak Yeon glanced at the scattered stones in front of Maeng Seung-gwan and realized that Danmok Seong must have subdued him by throwing Go stones from his seat.
He reached /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ out to gather them—then flinched.
Ziiing!
A wave of force pulsed through his fingertips.
There was still a lingering trace of inner energy in the stones.
“......!”
Recalling the wall of internal energy he once sensed drawn across the pass at Guando, Kwak Yeon marveled anew at Danmok Seong’s transcendent skill.
He himself could, of course, imbue objects with internal energy—but not for such a long duration.
Kwak Yeon quietly gathered the stones and placed them in the bowl without making a sound.
Danmok Seong suddenly said,
“What’s so impressive about a wrinkled old man’s party trick?”
Kwak Yeon realized that Danmok Seong had recognized the fact that he had sensed the lingering trace of inner energy within the Go stones.
How could he not?
A veteran master of the martial world, Danmok Seong would have known without even looking—just by sensing the flow and posture of Ki.
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to witness such transcendent martial arts once more.”
At Kwak Yeon’s candid remark, Danmok Seong laughed heartily and said,
“What’s this about transcendent martial arts? At your level, it must seem like a mere parlor trick.”
Kwak Yeon changed the subject.
“I’ll take my leave so as not to disturb your su-dam.”
“...?”
Danmok Seong looked at Kwak Yeon with curious eyes.
Just then—
—Click!
The Grand Scholar placed a stone on the board and spoke.
“Grand Elder, might I excuse myself for a moment? There’s a small favor I’d like to ask of Daoist Kwak.”
Danmok Seong turned his gaze back to the board and replied,
“Grand Scholar, the current layout is so unpredictable, I can’t begin to grasp your intention. Even if you return in half a sijin, I doubt I’ll know my next move. Ha! At this rate, it’ll remain your turn anyway.”
When Danmok Seong responded with a hint of theatrical lament, Grand Scholar Seol Jung-hyu rose from his seat.
“Daoist Kwak, would you accompany me for a moment?”
Leading Kwak Yeon to the study table, the Grand Scholar spoke.
“Daoist Kwak, there’s someone to whom this old man must deliver a letter. Could I trouble you with the task?”
“...?”
“Only if you happen to be heading that way yourself, of course.”
Kwak Yeon already had a fair idea of whom the Grand Scholar meant. He nodded without hesitation.
“I will see it delivered without fail.”
When Kwak Yeon emerged from the inner quarters with Maeng Seung-gwan in tow, the village’s self-defense corps had already subdued the intruders and bound them.
Maeng Seung-gwan turned pale at the sight of the human hunting dogs, now utterly wrecked.
Worse still, the hunting dogs, stripped of their murderous aura by sheer terror, had reverted into meek, docile humans.
Kwak Yeon addressed the members of the self-defense corps.
“The Grand Scholar has instructed that they be confined in the storage shed until constables from the Prefectural Office arrive.”
At that, Maeng Seung-gwan felt a chill down his spine.
It was only a matter of time before the prefectural authorities realized that these men were death row convicts who had escaped custody—and that he was the one who had facilitated their breakout.
Yet, he felt a faint sense of relief.
He wasn’t being dragged off to the Prefectural Office immediately.
If this Cave Daoist intended to charge Lord Sang Gwan Jin-ho with these crimes, then he’d have to take Maeng Seung-gwan to Cheongwu Merchant House first.
If I cooperate with this Cave Daoist, maybe I’ll live through this...
Just as Maeng Seung-gwan was exhaling a faint breath of relief in his heart—
“Lock this one up with the rest as well.”
Maeng Seung-gwan’s eyes shot open in alarm.
“Daoist, aren’t you taking me with you? I’ll confess everything in front of the Lord myself!”
“Your confession won’t be necessary.”
“...?”
“The Lord himself will make the confession.”
Maeng Seung-gwan looked into the Cave Daoist’s deeply sunken eyes and finally understood what those words meant.
He also understood that his life would end beneath the executioner’s blade.
Ah...!
Overwhelmed with despair, Maeng Seung-gwan didn’t even feel the pain of his punctured danjeon, the gaping wound left by a thrown Go stone.
****
—Whish!
“Guh-hek!”
Each time Danmok Cheong’s sword swept through the air in a flash of white light, another scream rang out.
A dozen or so members of the Qingya Syndicate were already seriously wounded, either collapsed or retreating.
Danmok Cheong’s martial prowess was blinding to behold.
There was not an ounce of excess in his stance, and the exquisite sword moves flowing from those stances were as fluid as a dance.
Watching him move with the grace of a lone crane among a flock of crows, Ju Yeoryeong found herself admiring him as befitted a young lord of a prestigious martial family.
What’s more, his tall stature and solid physique made his dynamic swordplay a spectacle in itself.
Though many Qingya Syndicate fighters still remained, she wasn’t particularly worried.
She had seen the inner energy shimmer from Danmok Cheong’s blade like a heat haze.
He was a peak-level master, trained through pure, ascending martial arts.
He was not someone the black-path thugs of the Qingya Syndicate could ever hope to match.
That didn’t mean Ju Yeoryeong was without concern.
That hat!
Danmok Cheong was still wearing his conical hat as he fought.
Ju Yeoryeong noticed that his vision was slightly obstructed because of it, and that it made his movements just a little awkward.
Why doesn’t he just take it off already?
Danmok Cheong compensated for the impaired vision using his superior technique and martial insight.
If those thugs catch on and try to exploit it, it could get dangerous.
Ju Yeoryeong wanted to shout at him to take it off immediately. But helping someone from the Danmok Family wasn’t something she could allow herself to do.
Even if she told him to remove it, he probably wouldn’t.
He surely didn’t want to reveal that ruined face of his.
What does pride matter at a time like this...?
It wasn’t long before Ju Yeoryeong realized the very thing she feared was already unfolding.
She saw the head of the Qingya Syndicate whisper something to one of his trusted subordinates.
They’ve figured out his hat is obstructing his vision!
Ju Yeoryeong hesitated.
Should I tell him now...?