Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 38

Nine Dragons Chronicle (38)

Hwayoung, an elder of the Hwasan Sect, rested in a detached building of the Nine Dragons Stronghold. While having lunch, he pondered the words Song Cheol had spoken.

“The Song Cheol I know isn’t one to make empty promises.”

It made no sense to seek out the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord over Jongnam if Hwasan was in danger.

“Judging by his saying he could buy time until Jongnam arrives, the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord’s martial prowess must be at least continental-level.”

In the Murim [martial arts world], there are various levels for classifying martial arts and martial artists.

For martial arts, the levels are divided into First-Rate, Top-Rate, Pinnacle, and Supreme Pinnacle. For martial artists’ recognition, they are divided into County-Level, City-Level, Province-Level, Continental-Level, and Absolute-Level.

Typically, the Continental-Level includes the Hundred Great Masters of Murim, and the Absolute-Level includes the Ten Great Masters of Murim.

Considering this, Song Cheol was essentially saying that Hwa-rin was at least on par with the Hundred Great Masters of Murim.

Hundred Great Masters of Murim!

Even ordinary people who aren’t part of the Murim have heard of them, even if they don’t know their faces. They are the ones leading the current Murim world.

Thirty-two are in the Orthodox Faction, twenty in the Demonic Cult, and forty-eight in the Unorthodox Faction.

Looking at the numbers alone, the Unorthodox Faction is dominant, but among the Ten Great Masters, five are from the Demonic Cult, three from the Orthodox Faction, and two from the Unorthodox Faction, making the Demonic Cult superior in terms of Absolute-Level martial prowess.

“I wonder what kind of place that special forces unit is.”

Then, another thought suddenly occurred to him.

“Wait, if the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord’s martial arts are that high, could he have mastered the Sixteen Swords of Dismemberment, the Thousand Blossom Dance, or one of the Minor Divine Arts that recently appeared in Shanxi Province?”

Hwayoung pondered this issue alone.

In Shanxi Province, significant and minor events occur and disappear without notice.

The destruction of the Black Serpent Gang in Sanyang County or the Scarlet Tiger Gate in Sangnam County wasn’t particularly surprising.

Not only in Shanxi Province but also in other provinces, third-rate sects are established and destroyed by both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions, so he didn’t pay much attention to the destruction of the Black Serpent Gang and the Scarlet Tiger Gate.

“The martial arts used to kill the Scarlet Tiger Gate’s warriors were the Sixteen Swords of Dismemberment and the Thousand Blossom Dance, right? Then, the two are likely traveling together…….”

Hwayoung suspected that Hwa-rin had mastered a Minor Divine Art.

“If the Yin Sound Sect establishes a branch here, it could become troublesome for the Nine Dragons Stronghold.”

If an Unorthodox Faction group settles in, various incidents and accidents could occur, starting with protection money, so he might have killed them to prevent such issues.

It was a reasonable suspicion, but he couldn’t just confront him based on suspicion alone, as the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord had a very good reputation in Sanyang County.

“Still, as Elder Song Cheol said, his martial arts level…….”

Hwayoung narrowed his eyes slightly as he speculated.

“Didn’t he also mention a Chief? He said they were taking in street children in Sangnam County and teaching them something at the old Scarlet Tiger Gate’s estate.”

The Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord and the Chief!

Those two were the first to leave traces of the Sixteen Swords of Dismemberment and the Thousand Blossom Dance on the warriors of the Scarlet Tiger Gate.

Hwayoung became increasingly convinced of his deductions.

“When the Nine Dragons Stronghold first settled here, they disciplined the local thugs, and the Black Serpent Gang, which had been receiving protection money from them, must have stepped in when the payments stopped. Then, they were destroyed by the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord. The Scarlet Tiger Gate in Sangnam County coveted Sanyang County and had a dispute with the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord, leading to their destruction by the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord and the Chief.”

Hwayoung was certain that Hwa-rin had mastered one of the Sixteen Swords of Dismemberment or the Thousand Blossom Dance, rather than a Minor Divine Art.

“He said he was from a military special forces unit, so it’s more likely the Sixteen Swords of Dismemberment than the Thousand Blossom Dance……. But the Thousand Blossom Dance is also excellent for combat, so he might have mastered the Thousand Blossom Dance.”

Asking the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord wouldn’t likely get him an answer, so he would have to investigate over time.

Hwayoung wasn’t interested in the Minor Divine Arts or the Sixteen Swords of Dismemberment. What he… no, what Hwasan was interested in was the Thousand Blossom Dance.

It was a martial art refined through practical combat by a secular disciple of Hwasan, and even compared to the Plum Blossom Sword, the sect’s main martial art, it was by no means inferior. He had crossed the sect’s gate to retrieve it, or rather, to ensure it remained with Hwasan.

“I need to confirm it first. I should send a couple of people to the estate in Sangnam County where the Chief is teaching the children and have them observe from the surroundings.”

Hwayoung felt motivated. It was like being stuck in a thick fog where he couldn’t see ahead, and then the fog slowly began to clear.

“It would also be helpful in the future to sound out Elder Song Cheol and find out what kind of martial arts the Nine Dragons Stronghold Lord has mastered.”

* * *

“You mean you haven’t contacted me until now?”

Hwa Jung-soo of the Hwa Myung Merchant Guild was furious with his younger brother, Hwa Saeng-bang.

The grain was long overdue, and when he went to Seokchwi Mountain to investigate, he was shocked to hear that the large amount of grain had been stolen.

“I sent carrier pigeons. Three of them. I’ve been looking for the ones who stole the grain here while waiting for your instructions, brother.”

“For such an important matter, you should have sent a person. You just trusted the carrier pigeons and stayed put?”

Hwa Saeng-bang couldn’t argue because he knew he was at fault, but he felt a little wronged.

“Haa…….”

Hwa Jung-soo took a deep breath and asked Hwa Saeng-bang.

“So, did you find the ones who stole the grain?”

“I haven’t found them yet. They stole the grain and disappeared without a trace.”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“But it’s the truth. They would need carts to carry that much grain, but no matter how much I searched for cart wheel tracks around, I couldn’t find any. Moreover, I asked the nearby people if they saw carts carrying grain, but no one said they did.”

“What about the Hao Moon [information brokers]?”

“I checked. But even the Hao Moon couldn’t get any information about carts carrying grain. It’s as if they vanished into thin air without a trace.”

Hwa Saeng-bang also complained about his frustration, but it wasn’t enough to quell Hwa Jung-soo’s anger.

To Hwa Jung-soo, losing the grain and incurring a huge loss was less significant than losing the trust of the clients to whom he had to deliver the grain on time.

“You will take the voucher from the battlefield and go to the Travil Kingdom to buy grain again.”

“Understood. But if there’s no grain…….”

“It seems we can manage somehow by releasing the grain we’ve been stockpiling. So, secure as much grain as possible and bring it back.”

Hwa Saeng-bang bowed his head and left the room. Hwa Jung-soo remained alone, pondering various thoughts.

“Saeng-bang isn’t capable of betraying me and plotting something.”

As he said, someone must have really stolen the grain. This was something that could be quickly found out by asking a few people around, so it wasn’t a problem that could be simply glossed over with a lie.

“Then, as Saeng-bang said, someone came with carts, loaded the grain, and ran away.”

He was stuck here.

Even if it was just one or two bags of grain, he couldn’t think of a way to steal thousands of bags of grain without a trace.

“If they avoided the eyes of the surrounding people and, above all, even the Hao Moon couldn’t know about it, it couldn’t have been a large-scale operation. It had to be a small-scale, swift movement…….”

Hwa Jung-soo thought of the Twin Venoms of the Yeongcheon Merchant Guild.

“No, no. Even if the Twin Venoms are greedy, they don’t have the kind of personality to recklessly carry out things without considering the consequences.”

If they did, they probably wouldn’t have made it to the Ten Great Merchant Guilds of the Central Plains.

Hwa Jung-soo’s thoughts deepened.

“When the Beggars’ Sect was destroyed after being attacked by the Murim Alliance, the Demonic Cult, the Righteous Heaven Alliance, and the Blood Evil Alliance secretly searched the Beggars’ Sect’s headquarters to obtain their techniques. Your uncle was also with them at the time…….”

Suddenly, his father’s words from long ago came to mind.

“Your father also spent a lot of money trying to obtain the Beggars’ Sect’s techniques, but all he got was this. You must master the techniques, but you must not leave any traces. You must hide the fact that you have mastered the Beggars’ Sect’s techniques from your brothers as well.”

Dwelling on one thing for a long time brought back even distant memories.

“If it’s the Beggars’ Sect’s techniques, can they move a lot of grain without a trace?”

Although it wasn’t the Beggars’ Sect’s secret techniques, he himself had mastered techniques, so he knew well the bizarre power that techniques possessed.

“No.”

No matter how versatile the Beggars’ Sect’s techniques were, he thought it would be impossible to move that much grain.

“Then!”

Hwa Jung-soo hurried to the warehouse where the grain was stored.

The warehouse was empty.

Hwa Jung-soo looked around and then closed the warehouse door. Then, light came in through the windows on the left and right, illuminating the inside of the warehouse.

Hwa Jung-soo drew up his sorcery power inside the warehouse. Sorcery power used a different kind of power than internal energy, and the source of that power came from the heart, not the dantian.

A strange energy spread around Hwa Jung-soo and filled the warehouse.

“Urasaz Ainaz Haz…….”

Strange words flowed from his mouth, and the energy that had spread inside the warehouse stirred.

Then, the energy flashed and emitted a strong light as if exploding, and then disappeared. Hwa Jung-soo, looking a little weakened, stared at the warehouse.

The warehouse was still empty, but traces of a faint energy lingered in the air.

“Traces of using sorcery. They used sorcery to lift the carts carrying the grain.”

Hwa Jung-soo found the traces of sorcery and then opened the warehouse door and went outside.

“So, we couldn’t find the wheel tracks. Many people know that we buy grain from the Travil Kingdom around this time.”

So many people knew that it was meaningless to suspect them, and it was just a waste of energy.

“We can find out who took it by checking the amount of grain that appears in the black market.”

They wouldn’t sell a huge amount of grain through normal channels. So, if they had to sell it in large quantities in the black market, he thought he could track down the thieves by investigating the black markets in the Central Plains.

“This isn’t something that can be resolved in a short time, so I’ll put it aside for now and meet Jeon O-rak, the Man Geum Merchant of the Daeryuk Merchant Guild, to borrow some money.”

The Daeryuk Merchant Guild is one of the Ten Great Merchant Guilds of the Central Plains, and Jeon O-rak is one of the richest men in the Central Plains. It is said that he has so much wealth that he could buy a country. The Daeryuk Merchant Guild exclusively supplies military supplies to the Heungchin Orim Army and the Palosoo Army, and Jeon O-rak has accumulated enormous wealth from this alone. Using this accumulated wealth, he is also the best merchant in the Central Plains, lending money to many people through the money-lending business in the Central Plains and receiving interest.

“If it ends once, there won’t be a big problem, but if this kind of thing keeps happening, there could be problems.”

Finding the culprit is important, but transporting the grain without problems is also important. There’s no guarantee that a culprit who targeted them once won’t target them again, so buying and transporting grain this time is also very important.

“It’s a shame we don’t have enough connections to discuss this issue with the Jongnam Sect…….”

What would the warriors of the Jongnam Sect lack that they would act as escorts for transporting grain? It would be more helpful to hire warriors from ordinary sects than them.

“Which first-rate sect is in urgent need of money?”

He wanted to entrust the task at a cheap price if possible.

“Now that it’s come to this, it would be good to spend money to understand the Murim situation through the Hao Moon.”