Wudang Sacred Scriptures

Chapter 224

The air inside the detached annex’s main hall cooled rapidly.

“If you refuse to admit it, then rise just as you are.”

The moment Jin Cheongha heard Kwak Yeon’s indifferent voice, for some reason, it felt as if the strength went slack all through the body.

Jin Cheongha sat back down and looked steadily at Kwak Yeon before asking,

“Where, in my actions, did I make a mistake?”

It was a calm voice that swept away the urgent atmosphere.

“You made no mistake whatsoever.”

Kwak Yeon’s answering voice was just as flat.

“Just as when you stayed by the second-floor window of the guesthouse in Nanchang Prefecture and then left.”

At those words, Jin Cheongha’s long eyelashes trembled.

“To think your realm was high enough to notice the trace of my concealment art... that truly is astonishing.”

Kwak Yeon replied without changing expression.

“Do not be so astonished. It was only after I heard talk of Ghost Night Castle’s martial arts from my companion that I could barely bring myself to suspect you might have been there.”

Jin Cheongha shook the head firmly.

“Even sensing the trace of the Underworld Traceless Ghost-Shadow Divine Art is, in itself, an extraordinary thing.”

Ghost Night Castle’s Underworld Traceless Ghost-Shadow Divine Art was a concealment art so near to perfection that, true to its name, even the gatekeepers of the underworld could not perceive the trace of one who had passed.

“It seems you have surpassed the Middle Stage of the Transformation Realm, Taoist Kwak.”

When Kwak Yeon answered with silence instead, Jin Cheongha gave a small nod.

“Now I understand why the Chief Protector, despite being at the extreme edge, judged the duel with you as though facing a wall.”

“.......”

“Either way, that must be why you kept your suspicions honed so sharply at Great Plains Livery.”

Kwak Yeon nodded.

“While I harbored such suspicions, that day there happened to be only one carriage left at the livery, and then, at just that moment, a stranger asked to hire the carriage together. It struck me as far too neat.”

Keeping a calm gaze on Jin Cheongha, Kwak Yeon continued.

“Even so, I could not conclude you were the Young Castle Lord. If anything, it grew embarrassing enough that I had been watching you with suspicion. Even borrowing my companion’s experience, we could not find a single flaw in the Young Castle Lord, so I had no choice but to withdraw my suspicion.”

Jin Cheongha said evenly,

“I knew. When we rested in the open ground beside the main road, I was sitting by the stream and listening to your conversation.”

Kwak Yeon recalled the sight of Jin Cheongha washing the face by the stream beside the road.

‘It was quite a distance...?’

“Why did you kindle the spark of suspicion again? You even hired black-path men to chase me, to dilute the coincidence of our meeting.”

“It was because of that. More precisely, because of the Young Castle Lord’s attitude after that.”

“What attitude of mine?”

“In the Young Castle Lord’s gaze, watching those black-path men flee back the way they came, there was the look of worry.”

“......!”

“Of course, that may have been nothing but my mistake.”

Kwak Yeon could not reveal that the power of the Honwonmusang Technique had made such feelings perceptible, so the words began that way—and then continued.

“Either way, is it not a strange thing? What reason would there be to look upon men who chased you to harm you with a gaze of concern as they run away?”

“It certainly would have looked strange.”

Jin Cheongha nodded once and asked,

“It seems you even guessed the reason for that, Taoist Kwak?”

“Did you not fear that the Chief Protector, out of loyalty to the Young Castle Lord, might kill them to seal their mouths?”

“......!”

Seeing Jin Cheongha’s long eyelashes quiver, Kwak Yeon knew the inference had not been wrong.

“No matter how I thought upon it, there was nothing else that came to mind as a reason for the Young Castle Lord to worry for them—and when I saw you gloomy all afternoon, I grew all the more certain.”

With a look of admiration, Jin Cheongha said,

“I did not know your cultivation ran so deep that you could read a heart from a person’s eyes. You needn’t humble yourself by calling yourself a lay Taoist.”

“.......”

“But even so, it is hard to believe you grasped my identity from that alone.”

Kwak Yeon nodded.

“Of course.”

“......?”

“If the Young Castle Lord had not asked me a favor out of concern for the Chief Protector’s safety, I would not have been able to untie that knot.”

“So my weak heart became the opening through which my identity was exposed. Hoo...!”

Jin Cheongha let out a low sigh and continued,

“It is exactly as you reasoned. When the Chief Protector said he would buy black-path men and have them pretend to chase me, I tried to dissuade him, saying there was no need to go that far. But in the end, those black-path men did come chasing. With the Chief Protector’s decisive nature, I knew that if those men went back, they would not come away unharmed.”

Throughout the conversation, Kwak Yeon felt as though watching someone wearing clothes that did not fit—uneasy.

Now, it was enough to make him doubt whether this person truly was the Young Castle Lord of Ghost Night Castle at all.

“......!”

As Kwak Yeon stared quietly, Jin Cheongha suddenly asked,

“Taoist Kwak, does it seem strange to you that I, the Young Castle Lord of Ghost Night Castle, would worry about black-path men?”

Struck squarely, Kwak Yeon nodded without resistance.

“It seems I, too, held prejudice about those of the demonic path. Even those of the demonic path would not be without ordinary human feeling.”

Jin Cheongha gave a bitter smile.

“When one trains demonic arts, demonic nature grows. So the world’s prejudice cannot be said to be wholly wrong. Such prejudice is also the fate of one who chooses demonic arts.”

Kwak Yeon had neither the knowledge of the demonic path to engage in lofty discourse, nor was this the time for it, so instead he asked what still had not been resolved.

“How were you concealing your inner-power realm?”

“......?”

“The Young Castle Lord of Ghost Night Castle could not possibly be limited to the Early Stage of the Peak Realm, could you? And after witnessing you wield such a supreme demonic art as the Underworld Traceless Ghost-Shadow Divine Art with that level of mastery, how could I not suspect it?”

“You truly are sharp. And persistent, too.”

Jin Cheongha erased the bitter smile that had been at the lips and continued,

“In the demonic path, there is a martial art that disperses one’s inner-power true energy throughout the body’s acupoints to conceal one’s realm. They are secret supreme arts, so please understand that I cannot speak of it in further detail.”

Kwak Yeon accepted it at once, being at a stage where energy was gathered through the body’s acupoints.

‘The subtlety of higher arts is something even demonic arts share.’

At the same time, it seemed to him that if he practiced as well, he, too, might be able to disperse his inner power when needed.

“Young Castle Lord, since I am asking, let me ask just one more.”

“It seems you are wondering whether my build changed greatly from when you saw me at the guesthouse in Nanchang Prefecture?”

“Honestly, I am.”

Kwak Yeon admitted it without evasion and went on.

“I know there is a skill called the Bone-Shrinking Art that can reduce the body, but right now, you do not seem to be employing such a skill, and that is why.”

Changing one’s voice was a thing one could do readily enough, so it did not interest him much; but the Young Castle Lord’s altered body was astonishing.

In truth, it had been the greatest reason Kwak Yeon had let go of suspicion.

“That’s right. This appearance is my original height and build. At the guesthouse in Nanchang Prefecture, I deliberately made my build larger to conceal my true form.”

“......?”

“You must be very curious how, but it is a unique secret art of my castle, so it is difficult to speak of. I will only say this much: if one becomes adept at the Bone-Shrinking Art, then the reverse is not impossible, either.”

Kwak Yeon had heard from Chwi Dugae that Ghost Night Castle was unmatched in concealment arts and infiltration skills, so he already knew Jin Cheongha would be skilled in the Bone-Shrinking Art.

“So you mean it is an application of the Bone-Shrinking Art?”

“It will be easiest for you to understand it that way.”

Jin Cheongha gave a small nod and said in a calm voice,

“Now, Taoist Kwak, ask your true question.”

“.......”

“The reason you kept me seated instead of casting me out, and kindly explained the whole chain of events by which you learned my identity—it’s because you want to hear that answer, isn’t it?”

Kwak Yeon found himself admiring Jin Cheongha’s quickness.

“Since you have already read my mind, I will ask plainly. And I have a knack for watching the surroundings, so I have confirmed there is not a single person within a radius of ten-odd jang. I would like you, too, to answer at ease.”

Jin Cheongha said quietly,

“Then I ought to thank you for not sparing the effort.”

“The Young Castle Lord did not come to repay my paltry behavior.”

“That’s right. With my meager ability, it would be absurd to speak of helping an absolute master at the Middle Stage of the Transformation Realm and a Sub-Branch Master of the Beggar Clan.”

“And with the Young Castle Lord’s character, it would be no less absurd to say you covet a million taels of gold.”

“Taoist Kwak—since you scolded the Chief Protector severely over that matter in Nanchang Prefecture, I would like you not to speak of gold now.”

“Then I will ask. What is your purpose in insisting on traveling with us—after dismissing all your escorts in such peril? ”

“I will answer the simpler second question first.”

“.......”

“Because traveling with you is safer for me.”

Seeing the heavy shade in Jin Cheongha’s eyes, Kwak Yeon grasped that there was suffering Jin Cheongha could not speak of.

“And the reason I wish to travel with you both... is because I intend to enter the Martial Alliance.”

“.......”

“What surer guarantee could there be for entering the Martial Alliance than traveling with the Beggar Clan’s Sub-Branch Master and the Dark Cavern Taoist of Mount Wudang, whose fame now resounds through the rivers and lakes?”

At Jin Cheongha’s counterquestion, Kwak Yeon nodded. If Jin Cheongha traveled with them, then indeed Jin Cheongha could enter the Martial Alliance without drawing suspicion.

Kwak Yeon threw the question he truly wanted to ask—no, the question he truly wanted to know.

“For what reason does the Young Castle Lord of Ghost Night Castle, of the Demonic Eight Divisions, seek to enter the Martial Alliance?”

With the silence, the air in the detached annex’s main hall grew heavy once more.

Breaking that heavy silence, Jin Cheongha asked,

“Surely you did not ask thinking I would reveal that purpose?”

Kwak Yeon nodded with ease.

“That is so.”

“.......”

“It must be a secret of utmost importance to the Young Castle Lord. Who am I to force an answer?”

The pupils that watched Kwak Yeon wavered slightly, then steadied.

“I feel ashamed for no reason. I came here to wedge myself in and use you both, and I am shameless on top of it.”

“.......”

“All I can do is hope you will understand my position. It is something I cannot tell anyone under heaven.”

Kwak Yeon guessed it was tied to Ghost Night Castle’s rebellion, but could not ask it now.

Unless the Young Castle Lord decided to reveal it of the own will, there was no chance of hearing a truthful account at all.

For a moment, Kwak Yeon considered revealing what he had seen at Huayang Temple and asking whether Ghost Night Castle’s rebellion might also be tied to that great method.

But then he folded even that thought away.

From the Young Castle Lord’s standpoint, he was nothing more than a lay Taoist of the Wudang Sect—one of the righteous path that stood opposed to the Demonic Eight Divisions.

‘Unless the Young Castle Lord trusts me, no words will pass between us.’

With every worry set aside, Kwak Yeon asked Jin Cheongha,

“Is the thing you mean to do in the Martial Alliance an unjust thing?”