Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 505

505. Like a Flowing River

The Imperial Palace, Changryong Hall.

As always, Sa Ilcheon, the sole scholar of Changryong Hall, was reading a book.

Though he was alone, Sa Ilcheon’s posture remained impeccable.

Like a steadfast Confucian scholar, Sa Ilcheon silently kept his eyes on the book.

Then, a change came over Sa Ilcheon.

Swish.

Sa Ilcheon raised his eyes.

He stared intently at the empty air.

How long did he stare like that?

Sa Ilcheon closed his eyes.

And he let out a soft sigh.

“…Finally.”

The rest of his words trailed off.

Rustle.

Sa Ilcheon opened his eyes and stood up from his seat.

With a flutter of his robes, he left Changryong Hall.

Step, step.

Sa Ilcheon didn’t look back.

Silence fell again in Changryong Hall, and only the open book lay quietly on the empty desk.

***

Yunhyun’s group traveled down the Yangtze River on a fast ship provided by the government.

Now, the elders, family heads, and supreme masters seemed to have grown accustomed to each other, leisurely enjoying the scenery of the Yangtze River.

Watching them, Yeonghojun clicked his tongue.

“I knew it, but it’s still amazing. To think that those people are gathered together in such an atmosphere…”

The memories of the old Murim Alliance [martial arts world alliance] were vivid in Yeonghojun’s mind, and he couldn’t hide his surprise.

Considering how even the representatives’ meetings used to be fraught with tension, this was a tremendous change.

The elders and family heads even exchanged jokes with each other.

Of course, those jokes occasionally had barbs in them.

“They never had the chance to meet before,” Yunhyun said with a smile.

Family heads and supreme masters were the last bastions of their respective sects.

Meeting someone was not easy, and joining forces for the same purpose as they were now was unimaginable.

Especially in the aftermath of the Righteous-Demonic War, when their positions and grudges were intricately intertwined.

So, it was no wonder that Yeonghojun was impressed.

Swish.

Yunhyun gazed at the group chatting leisurely on the deck.

As if knowing his gaze, Celestial Nun Cheonsu smirked and said to the group,

“No matter who you bring, they won’t be able to beat our Mia. Don’t waste your efforts.”

“I have no intention of defeating Miss Moryong. Besides, there’s no rule that there can only be one official wife, is there?”

Jegeal Myung, the Gentleman’s Sword, continued with a relaxed expression.

“Besides, the one who decides that isn’t the nun, but our Alliance Leader.”

Celestial Nun Cheonsu’s brow twitched.

She looked at Jegeal Myung with a suspicious expression.

“Are you perhaps saying that you will bring the Jegeal family’s granddaughter in as the Alliance Leader’s concubine?”

“Not a concubine, but an official wife,” said Namgung Byeok, the Iron Sword, sitting next to him, in a calm tone.

“If it’s a proper union between families, I don’t see any reason to object, no matter how many wives there are.”

Celestial Nun Cheonsu’s mouth fell open.

Jegeal Myung and Namgung Byeok spoke as if it were nothing, but it was actually a shocking statement.

To think that the proud Jegeal and Namgung families would consider letting their granddaughters become second or third wives, even if they were official wives.

“Heo.”

Celestial Nun Cheonsu let out a sigh and chanted a Buddhist invocation.

Then, she turned her head and looked at Yunhyun.

Her eyes seemed to want him to say something, but Yunhyun quickly cleared his throat and avoided her gaze.

It wasn’t just Celestial Nun Cheonsu who was looking at him.

Swish.

Yunhyun pretended not to see anything and stared at the crashing waves.

Still, he felt a prickling sensation on the back of his head, and Gekaong next to him said quietly,

“…I told you those guys would bother you, didn’t I?”

Yunhyun gave a bitter smile.

Come to think of it, Gekaong seemed to have said something like that.

In any case, Yunhyun did his best to ignore the group’s gazes.

Saying a word here would only risk making things worse, and he didn’t think he could win against the older elders with words.

‘No. Rather…’

If he carelessly opened his mouth, he might get caught up in the experienced elders’ words and end up saying, ‘I’ll meet them for now.’

In the meantime, it wasn’t just the elders and family heads who had grown closer; Yunhyun’s affection for them was also something he couldn’t ignore.

Meanwhile, the elders and family heads turned their gazes away and continued their conversation on other topics.

Yunhyun breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, Gekaong suddenly asked,

“Did you entrust the investigation of Ildaesangin [One-Eyed Merchant King] to Bukhae Ilmun [North Sea One Sect]?”

Yunhyun turned his head and looked at Gekaong.

“Yes, I did.”

“Why? I know that the Namgung family is also excellent at such things.”

“I needed an outsider’s perspective,” Yunhyun replied with a calm expression.

“People who would question things that the people here take for granted.”

Gekaong frowned slightly.

But he soon understood Yunhyun’s intention.

“You mean Ildaesangin is in a place that’s too obvious?”

“Yes.”

Yunhyun nodded.

“Considering the case of Munwang, Ildaesangin has excellent subordinates and organizations. He can’t do such things hiding in the deep mountains. Even the Forbidden City, unlike what it seems, needs countless people and supplies to operate the world. And…”

Yunhyun chuckled.

“I don’t think Ildaesangin is the type of person who would leave the world and hide in the mountains. Rather, I think he’s more likely to be in or near a large city.”

Ildaesangin is by no means a hermit who has left the secular world.

Rather, he would choose to look down on the world with an arrogant gaze.

Like the emperor of the Forbidden City.

“Hmph.”

Gekaong nodded and said in a low voice,

“In any case, it’s best to find him as soon as possible. Before he throws the world into chaos again.”

The Blood Cult and the Demonic Cult had been subjugated, but there was no knowing what Ildaesangin might be plotting.

Gekaong didn’t care much about the world being in chaos, but Yunhyun wouldn’t stand idly by.

“We’ll probably find him soon,” Yunhyun said quietly.

“Ileun said it’s not far off.”

That was what Ileun had told Yunhyun.

The time for Yunhyun to settle things with Ildaesangin was near.

Yunhyun quietly turned his head and looked at the waves crashing against the deck.

Like a steadily flowing river, time was carrying the group toward a predetermined moment.

Slowly, but constantly.

***

The ship carrying Yunhyun’s group went down the Yangtze River.

The news that the government army had subjugated the Demonic Cult’s forces was already widespread in the Yangtze River region, but public sentiment was still uneasy.

The word ‘Demonic Cult’ itself caused great anxiety among the people.

People were worried about the sudden appearance of the Demonic Cult, and they whispered that they didn’t know what would happen to the world.

Rumors were also spreading that countless people had died not only in Nanju but throughout Gansu Province.

“I should have taken Hwanma’s head,” Yeonghojun said with a bitter expression.

Listening to the people’s rumors, he could understand why the leaders of past rebellions were beheaded and displayed.

Even though they had subjugated the Demonic Cult’s forces, public sentiment was still not good.

But Hwanma and the Demonic Soldiers could not be beheaded and displayed.

Because not even their corpses remained.

“First, we need to spread the rumors about the Changryong Alliance’s founding ceremony even more widely. We should also announce that the Alliance Leader and the other elders have subjugated the Demonic Cult’s leaders.”

Yunhyun asked with a puzzled expression,

“Not rush the founding ceremony, but spread rumors?”

“You have to counter rumors with rumors,” Yeonghojun said without hesitation.

“We need to spread the story that Hwanma was trembling in front of the Alliance Leader’s sword.”

“He wasn’t trembling,” Yunhyun said, but Yeonghojun didn’t care.

“It’s just a rumor. Isn’t it all just hearsay anyway? Ah, do you have anything that Hwanma said? For example, an exclamation like, ‘The Changryong Sword Master’s sword pierces the sky.'”

Yunhyun smiled bitterly at Yeonghojun’s words.

“You shouldn’t listen to the words of a demon,” Celestial Nun Cheonsu said quietly.

She chanted a Buddhist invocation and looked at Yeonghojun.

“Even if it contains a shred of truth, it’s ultimately a scheme to drag you into the abyss of demons, so the Alliance Leader’s actions of not arguing with Hwanma are the right ones.”

Celestial Nun Cheonsu spoke in a stern voice, as if giving a sermon.

But Yeonghojun’s eyes widened instead.

“Oh, that’s good. Let’s say that the Alliance Leader said to Hwanma, ‘You are not qualified to argue with me.’ Dragon and demon, the contrast is very good, isn’t it?”

Yeonghojun even smiled.

Celestial Nun Cheonsu’s eyes widened in disbelief, but she soon let out a hollow laugh.

Even if it was exaggerated, that was the situation.

Swish.

Along with the sound of crashing waves, a military officer from the navy approached Yunhyun.

He bowed to Yunhyun and said,

“We will arrive in Nanjing soon.”

“Thank you,” Yunhyun replied, and the soldier bowed again and stepped back.

Once they disembarked in Nanjing, it wouldn’t be far to Hangzhou.

“Will we go straight to the headquarters?” Yeonghojun asked Yunhyun.

Yunhyun knew the meaning behind his gaze.

“The elders must be tired from the long journey, so let’s stay in Nanjing for a while before going.”

Yeonghojun’s expression brightened at Yunhyun’s words.

Yeonghojun, who originally enjoyed romance, would not dislike the idea of staying in Nanjing.

Yunhyun, watching Yeonghojun’s beaming face, suddenly became curious.

“Ah, come to think of it…”

Yunhyun quietly asked Yeonghojun,

“Are you okay? Miss Dang seemed to have used some kind of poison…”

Yeonghojun smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already detoxified it. Yeon Mae’s expression of affection is a bit brutal, but that’s Yeon Mae’s charm. Well, I just need to shed some tears later and welcome her.”

Yunhyun smiled bitterly.

Yunhyun’s common sense couldn’t comprehend Dang Seolyeon, who used poison on her lover without hesitation, or Yeonghojun, who liked it and called it an expression of affection.

Still, it was clear that the two loved each other so much that they would risk their lives for each other.

Swish.

Meanwhile, the ship was slowly approaching the docks of Nanjing.

“Hmm?”

Gekaong suddenly frowned.

And Yunhyun also noticed what Gekaong had seen.

“Scholar!”

Yunhyun said with a bright face.

A middle-aged scholar standing on the dock, his robes fluttering in the river breeze.

It was Sa Ilcheon.

Gekaong frowned as if displeased, but Sa Ilcheon smiled gently and waved his hand.

The other members of the group on the ship looked back and forth between Yunhyun and Sa Ilcheon with puzzled expressions.

“Huh? That person is…”

But the moment Old Madam Neung Seyoung muttered, the group couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Is that Ileun?”

Everyone’s expression hardened at once.

Ileun, one of the Hwanwoo Five Venerables [Five Venerable of Return to Nothingness] who once shook the world, and the most mysterious figure among them, had appeared before them.