Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 222

222. That’s the Dao

The Martial Arts Alliance Library.

Tock.

“Hmm.”

Yunhyun tilted his head, closing a report.

“It’s all about the Martial Arts Tournament.”

Yunhyun reached for another report.

“This is from the Shanxi branch… isn’t that where Mount Hua is?”

Yunhyun quickly scanned the contents, flipping through the first page.

As expected, most of it concerned the movements of the Mount Hua Sect participating in the World Martial Arts Tournament.

“Is there a limit to the quality of Martial Arts Alliance branch reports after all?”

Yunhyun murmured, sighing softly.

The mastermind behind the Dark Sky Demon Emperor, the Il Dae Merchant [One Great Merchant], had clearly taken control of the Janggang River Bandits and the Green Forest.

Yunhyun figured that if they were systematically moving those two groups, there must be traces left.

But such information wouldn’t be lying around just anywhere.

So, after much deliberation, he came up with the idea of checking the Martial Arts Alliance Library.

Regular reports from the Martial Arts Alliance branches scattered throughout the world gather in this library.

He thought that by examining those reports, he might be able to find clues about the Il Dae Merchant, or more precisely, about the Janggang River Bandits and the Green Forest.

However, the problem was that the Martial Arts Alliance branch network was in its early stages of establishment.

Far from collecting its own information, it couldn’t even form a proper organization and was relying on cooperative sects for most of its work.

As a result, proper, insightful reports were unlikely to surface.

“After all, high-quality literature written with expertise is bound to be precious anywhere.”

Yunhyun muttered bitterly, recalling the memories of rummaging through miscellaneous books in the Munyeon Pavilion in the past.

Toc toc.

Yunhyun tapped the desk.

‘I feel like there’s a way… should I look into the merchant guilds?’

Yunhyun recalled that the merchant guild he had been with when returning from the North Sea had been quite fast with news.

But would the merchant guild really tell Yunhyun such information?

Lee Seoyeon’s Hoam Merchant Guild came to mind, but Yunhyun soon shook his head.

He didn’t feel like asking for help from that side. He wanted to postpone it to the very last possible moment.

“Hoo.”

Yunhyun took a long sigh, looking up at the numerous reports piled up on the bookshelf.

“To think that most of these books are only about the World Martial Arts Tournament.”

He felt it was a truly pointless waste.

“And stories about the Dark Sky Demon Emperor and the Namgung Clan.”

Aside from the World Martial Arts Tournament, the next most common topic was the Dark Sky Demon Emperor.

Reports on the impact of the Namgung Clan’s seclusion and the changes in the Janggang interests occupied a considerable portion.

And the Dark Sky Demon Emperor was always mentioned in such content.

“This time, it will be filled with reports of the incident that occurred in the Gongson Clan.”

That would be the case.

The fact that the Gongson Clan’s main house was burned down was such a shocking incident.

‘…I can’t help it.’

Thud.

Yunhyun rose from his seat.

Now there was only one thing left.

Even though he didn’t want to.

Step, step.

“Have you finished your business?”

As Yunhyun came to the entrance of the library, the library manager asked with a smile.

It was a completely different attitude from yesterday’s curt response.

“Yes, thank you.”

Yunhyun bowed politely.

The library manager bowed his head as if he were honored, and Yunhyun smiled faintly before going outside.

Yunhyun, along with Dokgorang who was waiting, headed to the Martial Arts Alliance’s forbidden, yet not forbidden (禁地) [a place that is technically off-limits but often visited], Waryongheon.

***

“So, you’re asking me to solve it?”

“No.”

Yunhyun shrugged at Shinseung’s blunt words.

“I just thought that Senior Brother could at least listen to Junior Brother’s concerns.”

“Heol heol, that guy.”

Shinseung grumbled as if he was dumbfounded.

“When I call you Junior Brother, you just frown, but now you’re asking me to solve your problems? Are you only a junior brother when it suits you?”

Slurp.

Shinseung sipped his tea.

Yunhyun smiled wryly and said.

“Then just think of it as a reward for offering an old monk a cup of tea…”

“What reward for offering an old monk a cup of tea!”

Shinseung shouted.

“I wouldn’t drink this even if you gave it to me for free, you rascal!”

He said that, but Shinseung didn’t put down the teacup.

Slurp, tock.

As if afraid it would be taken away, Shinseung quickly drank all the tea and put down the teacup.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Pardon?”

“What wind has suddenly made a guy who seemed to live without any interest in the world suddenly become interested in the state of the Jianghu [martial world]?”

Yunhyun found Shinseung’s question even stranger.

Shinseung already knew everything that had happened in the North Sea.

He couldn’t possibly not know that the Il Dae Merchant, the mastermind behind the Dark Sky Demon Emperor, was plotting something serious, could he?

“Well, shouldn’t we know what the Il Dae Merchant is trying to do in order to prepare for it?”

“Puhahat!”

Shinseung laughed, and Yunhyun frowned.

It was because the tea splashed when Shinseung suddenly laughed.

“Why are you worrying about that? Even if something happens, what does it have to do with you?”

“No, but…”

Yunhyun said, wiping the tea from his face with his sleeve.

“Isn’t it common sense to worry?”

Even a powerless commoner has a responsibility for the rise and fall of the world [天下興亡匹夫有責] [a Chinese proverb meaning everyone is responsible for their nation].

But before discussing such philosophy or ethics, how could he ignore the fact that something big, and something very bad, was about to happen in the world?

Worrying and devising countermeasures was only natural for Yunhyun.

“Heul.”

Shinseung, letting out a strange sound that was neither a laugh nor a sigh, stared at Yunhyun.

“That guy…”

The Jianghu martial world is ruthless.

They don’t move unless they have something to gain, and the so-called large sects only move after coldly calculating their gains and losses.

But Yunhyun is trying to move as if it’s natural, even though he has nothing to gain.

No, he doesn’t even think about gaining anything at all.

Shinseung, who was looking at Yunhyun, chuckled.

“Putting that aside, why are you asking me about the state of the Jianghu martial world? I’m just an old monk who can’t move from this place.”

“Because wisdom can only be heard from the wise.”

“What?”

Yunhyun continued, looking at Shinseung.

“Some people grasp a lot but hold only sand, while others choose flowers even when they pick up just one thing.”

Yunhyun’s voice was unwavering.

“Although you are only in this Waryongheon, as far as I know, you are the only one who has the wisdom to see through the current situation.”

“Heul heul.”

A smile appeared on Shinseung’s wrinkled mouth.

“Is that, flattery?”

Yunhyun shrugged.

“About half of it.”

“Puhulhulhul!”

Shinseung burst into laughter again.

“Good.”

Shinseung said, still smiling.

“Since you made an old man laugh for the first time in a while, I’ll tell you something special.”

Shinseung’s eyes sparkled.

“Go to the Namgung Clan.”

“The Namgung Clan?”

Yunhyun’s question was natural.

Suddenly go to the Namgung Clan, a place that was as good as sealed off?

But Shinseung’s answer was serious.

“The places with the most ears in the Jianghu martial world are the Buddhist or Taoist sects like Shaolin or Wudang. Since there are so many believers and so many disciples, Taoist temples, and Buddhist temples scattered throughout the world, they naturally hear a lot.”

Yunhyun let out a soft exclamation.

It is true that Buddhist or Taoist sects seem to have less power than the aristocratic families.

But the reality was different.

If the aristocratic families have wealth, military power, and authority, the Buddhist or Taoist sects have control over people’s hearts.

“Then to Shaolin or Wudang…”

“If you go, do you think they’ll tell you?”

“…They won’t, will they?”

The answer came quickly.

First of all, what Yunhyun was looking for was too vague, and they wouldn’t readily tell him secret information.

The same goes for Shaolin.

No matter how much Yunhyun is Shinseung’s junior brother, in the end, it’s just a name without responsibility or obligation.

“Next would be the Tang Clan. The Tang Clan is skilled in poison and hidden weapons, and since they are close to various shady things, they naturally have no choice but to be conscious of other people’s attention. Like a thief with a guilty conscience, they are always pricking up their ears.”

Of course, it’s not just to grasp public opinion.

The Tang Clan’s intelligence becomes a deadly dagger that stabs the Tang Clan’s enemies.

“Then to the Tang Clan…”

Yunhyun quickly changed his words at Shinseung’s gaze that was staring at him.

“…I can’t go there either, can I?”

Shaolin at least has the justification of being Shinseung’s junior brother, but the Tang Clan has absolutely no connection.

Besides, isn’t it a terrifying place just to hear about, using poison and hidden weapons?

“Yes. That’s why I’m telling you to go to the Namgung Clan.”

Shinseung continued.

“They’re in seclusion now, but the Namgung Clan’s power was the greatest among the Four Great Clans. Even the clever Zhuge Clan couldn’t beat the Namgung Clan, and the Tang Clan was as wary of the Namgung Clan as they were of anyone else. Look, as soon as the Namgung Clan disappeared, the Tang Clan started acting like a crazy woman.”

That was a rather emotional statement.

Yunhyun asked cautiously.

“Do you perhaps have any hard feelings towards the Tang Clan…”

“Of course I do!”

Shinseung said angrily.

“That stubborn old man wouldn’t give me a spirit medicine, huh? He ran away without giving it to me? How much is that ten-thousand-year ginseng worth that he’s trying to eat it all by himself… Eii.”

Yunhyun suddenly had a hunch.

“…Are you perhaps talking about Elder Dokseon?”

“Dokseon my foot! He’s a poison-crazed, damn old man! Eit!”

Only then did Yunhyun know why Shinseung had feelings for the Tang Clan.

Yunhyun smiled bitterly.

“So, the Namgung Clan. But I don’t think the Namgung Clan will readily tell me, will they? And right now, the Namgung Clan is…”

“Seclusion, you say? Hmph, that little seclusion. The Namgung Clan’s strength is not as weak as you worry.”

Shinseung asserted.

“Of course, there’s no reason for them to readily tell you even if you go.”

Yunhyun frowned.

“Then isn’t it the same?”

“It’s different. Because right now, the Namgung Clan has lost something very important.”

Shinseung said, looking at Yunhyun.

“If you find it for them, wouldn’t they tell you anything?”

“Pardon?”

Yunhyun asked without realizing it.

“Are you telling me to bring the dead back to life?”

What the Namgung Clan had lost was none other than the late Clan Lord, Lightning Sword Namgung Jincheon.

After losing him to the Dark Sky Demon Emperor, the Namgung Clan had virtually gone into seclusion.

But to find him again?

“Keul keul keul.”

Shinseung chuckled.

“Do you think what the Namgung Clan lost was their Clan Lord?”

Ttorreureuk.

Shinseung filled the empty teacup with tea and held it with both hands.

“If it’s the Clan Lord, they still have one now. Iron Sword Namgung Byeok is more than enough as the Clan Lord of the Namgung Clan. Namgung Jincheon did a very good job of appointing him as the next Clan Lord.”

Iron Sword Namgung Byeok is the younger brother of Lightning Sword Namgung Jincheon and the current Clan Lord.

Before his death, Namgung Jincheon declared him as the next Clan Lord in his will.

“Then what did the Namgung Clan lose?”

The corners of Shinseung’s lips went up.

“That’s the homework you have to solve.”

Yunhyun was even more clueless.

“You fool, the reason why people can’t find what they’re looking for is because they don’t know what they’ve lost. Therefore, what they truly lost is not what they lost, but the loss of knowing what they lost.”

Shinseung’s words were complicated and puzzling.

But Yunhyun was originally familiar with difficult sentences.

“So, you’re saying that the Namgung Clan doesn’t even know what they’ve lost themselves. And that means that, at least, it’s not what the Namgung Clan is looking for right now.”

“…That’s right.”

Shinseung had a rather sullen expression.

He seemed to regret not seeing Yunhyun struggling and suffering.

But Shinseung’s words were not over yet.

“And in most cases, it’s something they had from the beginning. Just like you.”

Yunhyun frowned again.

“What does that mean…”

“What you want to know means that you already know it.”

Yunhyun wondered what he was talking about.

“Then I don’t have to go to the Namgung Clan?”

“That’s not it. If you don’t go to the Namgung Clan, you’ll never know what you know.”

“So, I’m going to the Namgung Clan to find out what I know?”