Wudang Sacred Scriptures Chapter 87

―Thuck!

The intruder was dumbfounded.

The dark-hued dagger hadn’t even brushed the rchant lord’s robes—yet the sound of flesh being pierced had rung out.

And then, his chest burned as if seared by fire.

The intruder looked down and saw the Cheonggang Sword jutting upward from the rchant lord’s side, skewering his chest.

There wasn’t the slightest presence of Qi—how could this be?

Was there a chanism hidden beneath the bedding? If so, he should have heard the chanism’s movent.

But in his effort to unravel the mystery, the intruder entirely forgot to signal the comrades waiting outside.

And with that unresolved question lingering in his mind—he died.

rchant Lord Jeon Yu of Seongha Sangbang trembled violently as he watched Kwak Yeon erge from beneath the bedding like a ghost.

Kwak Yeon gave him a single, slight shake of the head.

“Remain calm.”

The rchant lord gulped.

Kwak Yeon quietly stepped out of the inner room.

The two n guarding the exterior turned their heads.

In that instant, two steel needles shot forward and embedded squarely into the n’s foreheads.

―Thuck! Thuck!

As Kwak Yeon dragged the two corpses back into the room, the crickets, which had briefly fallen silent, resud their chirping.

“...Everything you said was true, young sir.”

Kwak Yeon looked at Jeon Yu’s pale face and replied.

“Tomorrow, the Inspector returns from his inspection tour. That makes tonight their last chance to ‘clean up.’”

“Clean up... So that’s all I was to them.”

“I understand the feeling. Doing business with important people must have made you feel important yourself. But doesn’t it sting a little—thinking of how they must have truly viewed you?”

“...It’s devastating. Still...”

“But isn’t that true for as well? Yes, it is.”

Kwak Yeon answered his own question and continued.

“No—in truth, I see you as even less than they do. I simply don’t bother to hide it. And with that sa sentint, I intend to kill you. What sets apart from them is that I will ensure your family is protected.”

“...What are you saying?”

Kwak Yeon gestured toward the two corpses he had just brought in.

“Why do you suppose the two of them ca together? If the goal was rely your life, that one man alone would have been more than sufficient.”

“...!”

“They would never trust your silence. The hypocrites of Baekdo’s unorthodox gates cannot tolerate even a speck of risk. Whether in drunken rambling, sleep-talking, or deliberate betrayal—they would assu you’d told soone. And naturally, they’d assu that soone to be your family.”

As the light faded from the rchant lord’s eyes, Kwak Yeon spoke again.

“You now understand that there’s only one way to protect your family.”

“How can I trust you, young sir?”

“That choice is yours. But know this—I’m desperate to collect on the debt owed by your family. Even now, the countless resentful souls cry out to , pleading earnestly that I do so. When I think of the suffering their families still endure—I have no choice but to answer their plea. And yet, I will see to it that your family leaves here safely. I will entrust them to Heaven’s net, to the will of Tianluozhimang.”

Jeon Yu’s entire body trembled. He could feel the depth of Kwak Yeon’s wrath.

And yet, he hesitated.

Seeing the depth of fear in the rchant lord’s eyes, Kwak Yeon asked,

“Are they truly so terrifying?”

Jeon Yu nodded.

“It’s not that I doubt your word, young sir. It’s just... once you know who they truly are, you might think differently. That’s why...”

“What? Are you saying they’re Heaven itself?”

“Heaven is far off. But they are here, in reality.”

“And so you would surrender your family before the fight even begins?”

The rchant lord’s face turned corpse-pale.

Kwak Yeon spoke.

“If they are Heaven, then I shall cut down that Heaven.”

He raised the Cheonggang Sword.

At once, a surge of blue Sword Qi burst forth from the blade.

In the rchant lord’s wide, bloodshot eyes, the blue aura deepened, thickening with every passing second.

At last, Jeon Yu nodded.

“There’s no other way. Even if you fail to strike them down, I won’t resent you. In truth, before that man, I never had a real choice to begin with. I knew it would co to this—and still, I walked the path.”

“...”

“That man is Jegal Sangcheon—the Waryong Divine Sword of the Jegal Clan’s First Branch House.”

Kwak Yeon’s brow furrowed instinctively.

“The Jegal Clan...”

He had already suspected they were part of Baekdo’s hidden sects.

But the fact that it was the Jegal Clan—the most prestigious of the Five Great Houses of the martial world?

No wonder the rchant lord had hesitated so much.

When one spoke of the absolute powers of the martial realm, it was always the Nine Orthodox Sects and the Five Great Houses that ca to mind.

They ford the backbone of the Martial Alliance—the very pillars of Baekdo.

Among them, the Jegal Clan stood shoulder to shoulder with the Namgung Clan as the top-tier families, constantly vying for supremacy.

“To face the Jegal Clan... this is no dream. It’s a waking nightmare.”

But Kwak Yeon was never one for dreams, and even less for interpretation.

He had always pierced through countless obstacles head-on.

He ordered Jeon Yu to ready a carriage and prepared to set out directly for Shinya-bu, where the Jegal Clan’s First Branch was located.

The carriage was loaded with detailed ledgers—records of how the mined silver ingots were distributed and ultimately sent to the Jegal First Branch.

There were also precise docunts on all supplies sent to the mine, as well as information on the workers involved—painstakingly recorded line by line.

Once the preparations were complete, Jeon Yu summoned his son, just as Kwak Yeon had instructed, and spoke:

“Seal all the storehouses and assets within the guild imdiately. Transfer everything to the local authorities. At first light, take your family and go far from here.”

The rchant lord’s son didn’t yet understand, but the tears brimming in his father’s eyes made it clear.

“My son, you must follow my instructions to the letter. That is the only way for you and our family to survive. Let these tears of mine—tears of bitter regret—remind you: No one escapes the net of Heaven. Let fear guide your steps from this day forward.”

His son understood this was his father’s final will.

But he could not bring himself to impulsively grab hold of his father’s departing steps.

Because he had seen the three assassins lying dead in the inner chamber.

“If sothing ever happens to , dispose of all our assets and go into hiding at once.”

It was sothing he had heard countless tis over the past decade.

****

Upon arriving in Shinyabu City, Kwak Yeon first headed to the Shinyabu Branch Governnt Office.

It was early dawn—a sudden visit—and he insisted on eting the branch commissioner. What’s more, he wore a sword at his waist in blatant defiance of national law, which strictly prohibited any form of weaponry within the city walls.

Gate officer Kang Chan-uk erupted in fury at the sight of the young intruder.

“You damn brat—just another arrogant swordsman from the martial world! Do you even know where you are, stomping around like this? This office alone has five hundred soldiers. Not far from here lies the Thousand House Command, with a thousand troops under arms! Leave now before I cut ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) you down! If you truly wish to seek audience with the commissioner, you’ll write your na, affiliation, and petition on a morial and leave it here. Then, out of special rcy, I might get you in within five days!”

But Kang Chan-uk didn’t have five days. He had to get the commissioner imdiately.

Because that bratty martial rogue had drawn his sword and shattered the main gate of the governnt office in a single stroke.

The gate was made of rock-solid hornbeam, more than half a ja thick—yet it splintered into fragnts.

Certain he wouldn’t live long enough for reinforcents from the Thousand House Command to arrive, Kang Chan-uk bowed his head to the martial rogue.

“Young sir, I will awaken the commissioner at once.”

Commissioner Hak Jin-seong of Shinyabu was startled awake by Kang Chan-uk’s frantic report of a martial arts master barging into the office.

“A top expert from the martial world... why would one co here?”

‘Well water must not disturb river water.’

Just as well water should not encroach upon river water, it was customary that the governnt and the martial world not interfere with one another.

“Could it be that Your Excellency offended so martial rogue?”

Hak Jin-seong racked his brain but could not recall any such offense.

He had taken great care to rember the teachings he received before his appointnt—when he trained as a Northern Pacification Guard under the Brocade Guards.

‘As a regional official, your success depends fifty percent on how well you handle martial rogues. The thod is surprisingly simple: let the martial world deal with its own. Unless it’s outright rebellion or a deadly riot, allow them to self-police. If you interfere carelessly and provoke them, no one can guarantee your safety.’

When soone asked if martial artists would ever dare storm a governnt office, the instructor revealed that the Burning of the Prince of Gansu’s Palace several years ago had been the work of martial artists.

Thanks only to the protection of experts from the Six Immortals Sect, the prince had survived and the incident was quietly buried.

Given that the Prince of Gansu was the current emperor’s uncle, the faces of regional officials had turned deathly pale.

In any case, Commissioner Hak Jin-seong had never personally gotten into trouble with any martial artists—yet he could not help asking:

“So then, what does this martial expert want so badly that he insists on seeing at this hour?”

“Well, that is...”

Kang Chan-uk faltered. So focused had he been on asserting authority, he had forgotten to ask the reason.

Sweat trickled down his brow—but salvation ca from behind, in the form of a Penal Gate Officer.

“The expert claims to have co to report illegal silver mining operations. He says he possesses written confessions from those involved, along with maps of the mines and supporting docuntation.”

“Wh-what?!”

Commissioner Hak Jin-seong was even more stunned than when he’d first heard about the martial expert’s intrusion.

Under current law, there were the Four Forbidden Illicits: illegal mining, illegal salt, illegal currency, and illegal herbs.

Among them, illegal mining was the most severe—since it could arm rebel forces and was treated as treason.

And this wasn’t just any mine—it was silver.

Silver was the foundation of national currency—strictly regulated and mined solely by the state.

If it were true, then even if it wasn’t a martial master, he’d have to receive King Yama himself.

Without even donning proper formal attire, the commissioner rushed out.

And then, he was stunned for the third ti.

“Wh-what...?!”

The martial master in question turned out to be a youth—barely past the age of twenty, smooth-faced and elegant.

He had imagined a towering brute, over seven cheok tall, face scarred and oozing bloodlust.