Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 108

Nine Dragons Chronicle (108)

Hwa-Rin, Hyuk Ji-Seok, and Namgung Soo-Yeon were sitting together, enjoying a leisurely morning with tea.

“But was it really necessary for you to help them improve their constitution through Bone Marrow Cleansing?” Namgung Soo-Yeon asked.

“They’ll be the members of the Nine Dragons Squad representing our Nine Dragons Stronghold.”

“Nine Dragons Squad?”

“To operate externally in the Murim world [the martial arts world], you need at least a minimal martial force.”

At the mention of Murim, Namgung Soo-Yeon’s eyes widened.

“Senior, wasn’t the Nine Dragons Stronghold a merchant guild?”

“A merchant guild? Does being a merchant guild mean martial artists won’t bother us? Merchant guilds are just places constantly getting extorted by this and that person.”

“Stronghold Lord, do you have any faction you’re aiming for?”

“I plan to stay still as long as no one bothers me. But if they do, I’ll uproot them completely, so they can never rise again.”

In reality, he was the successor of the Killer King, the patriarch of assassins, and through the confrontation with the Sword Demon of Massacre, he was recognized as the next Killer King by the leaders of numerous assassin clans. Therefore, Hyuk Ji-Seok was well aware that he was a figure close to the evil path.

Hwa-Rin, knowing this well, spoke to Hyuk Ji-Seok.

“Dividing sides is a foolish thing. Righteous, Evil, Demonic? They’re just methods to attain enlightenment.”

“But shouldn’t those methods be correct?”

“Do only good people exist in the orthodox sects, and only bad people in the unorthodox? Are all members of the Demonic Sect evil? I think it changes depending on whether you’re conscious of people’s gazes or not.”

“People’s gazes?” Namgung Soo-Yeon asked.

“If you didn’t consider people’s gazes, would the orthodox sects act with righteousness?”

“That’s…”

“The orthodox sects operate more under the name of their families than the Demonic and Unorthodox sects. That means they’re more conscious of what the world thinks.”

“Aren’t the Unorthodox and Demonic sects the same?” Hyuk Ji-Seok asked.

“They’re still less so than the orthodox sects. And the Unorthodox and Demonic sects engage in more individual activities than family or sect-based ones, so they’re freer from people’s gazes than the orthodox sects, and they also appear more selfish.”

Agreeing with the point, Namgung Soo-Yeon nodded and then asked Hwa-Rin.

“Then, what about someone from the Demonic or Unorthodox sects who is more righteous and chivalrous than those from the orthodox sects?”

“What can they do if they were born in the Demonic or Unorthodox sects? The environment being bad doesn’t change their nature or essence. Think of a lotus. It blooms beautifully even in the mud.”

“That seems true.”

“From birth, we’re brainwashed, told what’s good, what’s bad, how we should live, and so on… But these things don’t help us live.”

“Why?”

“There’s no creativity. Martial arts are the same. If you only learn what you see, you’re third-rate; if you grasp the meaning within, you’re second-rate; and if you expand that meaning through imagination, you’re first-rate!”

“What does that mean?”

“The principles of the world aren’t all visible.”

Hwa-Rin held out her hand, palm up, and circulated her inner energy, causing a small flame to appear on her palm.

“Is this fire hot or cold?”

“Fire is hot.”

“Try touching it.”

As Namgung Soo-Yeon answered, Hwa-Rin told her to touch it, and Namgung Soo-Yeon quickly moved her hand and grabbed the fire on Hwa-Rin’s hand.

“Ah, it’s cold.”

Surprised that what she thought would be hot was actually cold, she let go of her hand.

“See? What you see isn’t everything. Many people think that Yin and Yang [complementary opposites] have opposite properties, but their ends are the same.”

Hyuk Ji-Seok looked at Hwa-Rin.

“Starting from the Absolute, one origin arises, and then it divides into Yin and Yang, so the end is the same principle of returning to the Absolute.”

“The return of all things to one?”

“Yes. However, the return of all things manifests differently for each person.”

A passage from the Records of Unclouded Mysteries flashed through Hyuk Ji-Seok’s mind.

—The mysteries in the clouds, the colors in the clouds, the beauty in the clouds…

“Since everyone started from one that everyone knows, the end is to return to one. It’s not as simple as thinking like this.”

As Hyuk Ji-Seok listened to Hwa-Rin, the key formulas of the Records of Unclouded Mysteries flashed and disappeared in his mind as if a dam had burst.

—One joy, one sorrow, one heart, ten thousand hearts…

Before he knew it, Hyuk Ji-Seok was sitting in a lotus position, and Namgung Soo-Yeon, surprised by the change in Hyuk Ji-Seok, quietly stepped back.

“It is people who connect heaven and earth, not Yin and Yang, the Four Symbols, or the Five Elements. Those things are merely tools to help people connect heaven and earth.”

—Tools to help.

“In the end, since I started it, it returns to me. But the size of enlightenment differs for each person. Why? Because the ideals they pursue are all different.”

—The ideals I pursue are different… Then what do I want?

“Without being tainted by greed, with the purity of the dreams I had and wanted when I was young, that purity…”

Hwa-Rin’s words to Namgung Soo-Yeon were a great help to Hyuk Ji-Seok.

As a faint light emanated from Hyuk Ji-Seok’s body, who was sitting in a lotus position, Hwa-Rin moved away from him and stood beside Namgung Soo-Yeon.

Seeing the faint smile on Hwa-Rin’s lips, Namgung Soo-Yeon asked Hwa-Rin.

“Is this what you wanted? The intention behind helping martial artists with Bone Marrow Cleansing and talking about enlightenment?”

“He’s the leader of the Nine Dragons Squad, so he can’t go around getting beaten up. From tomorrow, Leader Hyuk will spar with you. He’ll learn martial arts while doing so. There’s no use in learning alone for a hundred or a thousand days.”

Namgung Soo-Yeon pouted.

“Can’t you stick with me, Senior?”

“No. If you fight me, you’ll die. If I misjudge my strength, I might get killed by you. So, from now on, hone the martial arts you’re learning by sparring with Leader Hyuk. You may have gained enlightenment, but you still can’t beat him. But he’ll be a sparring partner.”

Hwa-Rin turned to leave the inner garden.

“Where are you going?”

“Nine Dragons Tower. I need to check if anyone is causing trouble. It will take some time for Leader Hyuk to gain enlightenment and sort things out. You stay here and protect Leader Hyuk.”

Hwa-Rin slowly moved her steps, and her figure gradually faded away, eventually disappearing.

“That, that, it’s amazing. It doesn’t seem like martial arts. It’s like the Shrinking Ground technique used by immortals.”

* * *

Though it’s called the Nine Dragons Squad, the total number of members, including the leader Hyuk Ji-Seok, was only thirteen. The Nine Dragons Stronghold had more martial artists than that, but Hwa-Rin judged that only Hyuk Ji-Seok and the former Black Tortoise Unit members were capable of external activities.

The rest remained in the Nine Dragons Stronghold, responsible for the safety of the Nine Dragons Stronghold and the businesses operated by the Nine Dragons Stronghold.

“Taat!”

In the training ground, a vigorous shout echoed, shaking the sky.

“The shout is too weak. Put strength in your dantian [energy center] and shout.”

Hyuk Ji-Seok shouted at the martial artists, and the martial artists of the Nine Dragons Stronghold exhaled with all their might.

“An honest sword path only exposes weaknesses to the opponent. Being honest isn’t always good. Deceive the opponent and move the sword. Twin Dragons Searching for Birds!”

The martial artists simultaneously thrust their swords forward, moved one step to the left, and then swung their swords horizontally with a change in their wrists.

“The recovery of the sword is as important as the attack. Recover quickly to prepare for the enemy’s attack and to launch a series of attacks. Twin Dragons Hiding in the Mist!”

The martial artists simultaneously recovered their swords, attached them to their chests, then moved their right foot, twisted their bodies halfway, crouched down, rotated their bodies, and extended their swords forward.

“Jump up with all your might and show off your strength. Strike down with the momentum to split the earth with both hands. Twin Dragons Somersault!”

The martial artists leaped forward, grabbed their swords with both hands, struck down vertically with great force, and landed on the ground.

“Yongsu, Hyunguk, Chaedeok! Come forward and guide the martial artists so they can properly learn the Thirteen Moves of the Twin Dragons.”

The three people who were called out came forward and helped the martial artists with their training, and Hyuk Ji-Seok stepped back from his position and went to the inner garden.

In the underground training ground of the inner garden, Namgung Soo-Yeon was training. From today, she planned to refine the swordsmanship she was unifying through sparring with Hyuk Ji-Seok so that she could use it in actual combat.

“You’ve come? Please take good care of me from today.”

“I’m the one who should be saying that, Namgung Soo-Yeon!”

* * *

Three months had passed since the Nine Dragons Tower opened. There had been many ups and downs during that time, but now it had stabilized to some extent and was operating smoothly.

The number of customers who had heard about the Nine Dragons Tower from all over the Central Plains and came to visit was increasing, but they now knew the rumors about the Nine Dragons Tower to some extent, so there were very few people who caused incidents or accidents.

“Is this the place?”

“This is the Nine Dragons Tower, the only place in the Central Plains where gambling is allowed.”

Someone was bowing respectfully and answering in front of a young man, and behind them were three men with swords and two women attending to them.

“Let’s go inside.”

As they went inside, a clerk guided them.

“Welcome. Is this your first time at our Nine Dragons Tower?”

“That’s right.”

A middle-aged man took charge of the conversation.

“Shall I assign you a guide?”

“A guide?”

“Yes. Our Nine Dragons Tower is…”

The middle-aged man listened to the clerk’s story, turned his head to look at the young man behind him, and when he nodded, the middle-aged man told him to call a guide.

“I’ll call one soon. I’ll tell you the details while guiding you. You can ask the guide if you have any questions.”

“I understand.”

After a while, a woman came to them and greeted them.

“I’m Myungwol, who will be in charge of the guide today. Please take care of me.”

“Please take care of me.”

“Please follow me.”

As they followed Myungwol, one person approached the clerk.

“Do you know who they are?”

“I don’t know.”

“Just in case, tell the staff working today to be careful. The martial artists with swords behind the young man don’t seem ordinary.”

“I understand.”

“I’ll inform Leader Hyuk of this fact.”

As he moved to find Hyuk Ji-Seok, there was a man frowning on one side, who was none other than Hwa-Rin.

“Why did that human come?”

Hwa-Rin seemed to know who the person who came to the Nine Dragons Tower was.

After a while, Hyuk Ji-Seok entered the Nine Dragons Tower.

“Leader Hyuk!”

When Hwa-Rin called him, he went to Hwa-Rin and bowed slightly.

“Manho said that someone with great martial artists had come to the tower…”

“I know. But it seems better for Chief Manager Seo to be here than for the leader to be here. Those martial artists know Chief Manager Seo.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“I’ll inform Chief Manager Seo. But just in case, please wait in the tower.”

“I understand.”

Hwa-Rin asked Hyuk Ji-Seok for a moment and then went to the branch of the Nine Dragons Stronghold in Sangnam County to meet Seo Daeyeong.

As he entered the branch, he saw children running around.

“It’s a good time to just run and laugh.”

“Have you come?”

Seo Daeyeong bowed his head in front of Hwa-Rin.

“Go to the Nine Dragons Tower now.”

“Now?”

“Brother Youngho has come.”

“Brother Youngho? Are you talking about the Fifth Prince?” He was referring to the Fifth Prince Joo Youngho, the fifth son of the current emperor.

“He brought the masters of the Eastern Depot [secret police], and I’m reluctant to step in because of his terrible personality.”

“No, isn’t it something that I can’t solve even if I step in against the prince?”

“If it’s Prince Oh I know, he’s capable of doing that. Rather, the Stronghold Lord should kidnap him and abandon him in a deep valley in Hwasan or Jongnam Mountain.”

“Do you want to die?”

“No, I really can’t help it.”

“Stop talking nonsense and go!”

When Hwa-Rin shouted, the children who were running stopped and looked at the two of them.

“Oh, you guys go play. Go quickly.”

“Ah, why do you always make me do these things?”

“The condition for getting you out of the palace was to make you do these things. Just go without saying anything.”

In the end, Seo Daeyeong had no choice but to go to the Nine Dragons Tower due to Hwa-Rin’s threat.

Hwa-Rin, sitting on the Toechung Maru [a narrow wooden porch], grumbled while looking at the children running around.

“Should I really abandon him in a deep place in Jongnam Mountain?”