Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 133

Nine Dragons Chronicle (133)

Hyeok Ji-seok and the Nine Dragons Unit members were resting in the Namgung Clan’s annex, focusing on their martial arts training, while Hwa-rin leaned against the Toechung Maru [a traditional Korean veranda], watching their training.

“Now is the perfect time to leave Soo-yeon behind.”

Hwa-rin considered running away from Namgung Soo-yeon, but with the Nine Dragons Unit together, it didn’t seem to make much difference.

“She’ll just follow us if we leave the clan.”

Namgung Soo-yeon was indeed a great help, but being entangled with the Namgung Clan was also burdensome.

“It’s not like she’ll listen if I tell her.”

Hwa-rin tried to figure out how to leave Namgung Soo-yeon behind, but no good ideas came to mind.

“Senior!”

Namgung Soo-yeon entered the annex and called out to Hwa-rin, who was lounging around like a nobleman.

“What?”

“Grandfather wants to meet you.”

“Me?”

“Probably to ask why you started such a reckless thing, but you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

Hwa-rin thought, *If I refuse*, his head would be cut off immediately and buried in the Namgung Clan’s courtyard.

“There are many ways to send a person to the afterlife.”

Hwa-rin got up and gestured to Namgung Soo-yeon to lead the way.

“You know you can’t say anything unnecessary when you meet Grandfather, right?”

“Why would I say anything unnecessary?”

She heard Hwa-rin’s answer, but she was still a bit uneasy because he was such an unpredictable person.

“Then what are you going to say?”

“How can I answer when I don’t even know the question?”

“I told you, he might ask why you started such a reckless thing.”

“Then should I just stand by while they try to take what’s mine? If I were weak, I’d bow down because I value my life, but that’s not the case.”

“That’s just your opinion; other people don’t think that way.”

“Don’t you think so either?”

“Of course, I think the same as you, Senior.”

“Then that’s enough.”

Namgung Soo-yeon blinked as she looked at Hwa-rin.

“What’s enough?”

“You said you trust me. It’s enough if you, who know me at least a little, believe me. It’s not such a frustrating situation that I have to explain myself to people who don’t know me, so that’s enough.”

“So you’re saying I just need to trust you, right?”

“Right.”

Namgung Soo-yeon smiled brightly.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Just because I’m happy.”

Hwa-rin tilted his head and chuckled.

“How naive.”

“Grandfather is waiting; let’s go quickly.”

Namgung Soo-yeon took Hwa-rin to the Sword Pavilion in the inner quarters where Sword Emperor Namgung So-goon lived.

“Sword Pavilion? Isn’t that the name of a martial arts clan?”

“That’s right. Grandfather used to train with swords at the Sword Pavilion when he was young. He named it Sword Pavilion so he wouldn’t forget the enlightenment he gained back then.”

Hwa-rin looked at the plaque with the words ‘Sword Pavilion’ written on it and asked Namgung Soo-yeon again.

“Did the Sword Emperor write the words on the plaque?”

“I heard that Grandfather wrote it himself. Isn’t that amazing?”

Namgung Soo-yeon said proudly.

“You shouldn’t say amazing; you should say astonishing. Don’t you feel anything when you look at that plaque?”

“Feel anything?”

Hwa-rin stepped away from the plaque and stopped at a certain distance.

“Why?”

Namgung Soo-yeon asked, suspicious of Hwa-rin’s behavior.

“He wrote the words using a sword as a brush from about this distance, using a bet. And he wrote it in one stroke without a single break.”

Namgung Soo-yeon’s eyes widened as she went to where Hwa-rin was and looked at the plaque with the words ‘Sword Pavilion’ written on it.

“You stay here and look at that, trying to find what the Sword Emperor left behind and thinking about how to understand its mysteries. I’ll go meet the Sword Emperor and come out.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’ll be helpful to you, so stand here and study it.”

Hwa-rin left Namgung Soo-yeon alone in front of the Sword Pavilion and went inside.

“Welcome.”

The Sword Emperor greeted Hwa-rin himself.

“Nice to meet you. I am Joo Hwa-rin.”

“I am Namgung So-goon. But how did you know that I left my mysteries on the plaque?”

Hwa-rin answered Namgung So-goon’s direct question.

“My mother used to leave things in the same way and told me to find them, so I was able to figure it out.”

“Your mother?”

He intended to ask what his mother’s name was, but Hwa-rin did not reveal his mother’s name.

“Yes.”

“Who is your mother? If she was able to leave enlightenment on a plaque, she must have been a famous heroine in the martial arts world.”

“My mother never told me her name either.”

Namgung So-goon narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Then what does your father do?”

“He is a government official. I have abandoned his wishes and stepped into the martial arts world, so I told him that there would be no more connection, so it’s a bit difficult to reveal.”

Hwa-rin wasn’t lying. The Emperor was also a person who managed the country.

“Hmm…….”

Namgung So-goon carefully examined Hwa-rin.

*Judging from his revealed aura, he doesn’t seem to be of ordinary status.*

People each have their own aura. This aura is often formed after birth rather than at birth, but sometimes there are those who are born with this aura.

Hwa-rin had a natural aura, and it was the aura of a ruler that the current Emperor possessed.

If Hwa-rin was born with a pure aura of a ruler, Namgung So-goon was a person who had created the aura of a ruler after birth, and it was an invisible force that played a decisive role in his rise to the position of Sword Emperor.

“If you’ve cut off ties, your father must be quite something.”

“It’s a little embarrassing for me to say it myself.”

“Haha, I understand. Let’s go over there and sit down and talk.”

Hwa-rin and Namgung So-goon moved to another place and continued their conversation.

Namgung So-goon had some suspicions about Hwa-rin, but even putting that aside, he liked him and was able to have a pleasant conversation.

“So they disappeared without a sound.”

“They were such powerful forces that we lost many men as well.”

“But the living will continue to live. Based on the experiences of going back and forth between life and death, I will continue to seek ways to survive.”

“As the elder said, I think that’s how Soo-yeon and I were able to survive and be discharged.”

“I heard that Soo-yeon didn’t get to experience it properly because you crushed all the formidable forces ahead of her.”

As Namgung Soo-yeon said, the five years Hwa-rin served in the Fierce Tiger Death Squad were the most difficult, and he went on many missions.

“I don’t know about that. There were seniors before me, and there are still Fierce Tiger Death Squad members performing missions in the shadows.”

“How modest.”

Hwa-rin bowed slightly.

“You must have started this fight because you were confident that you could fight and win against the Blood Oath Alliance based on your experiences in the military, right?”

“It’s not about winning; it’s about enduring. If we endure, one of us, either the Blood Oath Alliance or us, will become frustrated, and I thought that the one who rushes will make a mistake.”

“Hmm…… If that mistake is made by the Blood Oath Alliance?”

“They will negotiate with me and then secretly try to ambush me from behind.”

“Even knowing that, you will negotiate with the Blood Oath Alliance?”

“Ambushing isn’t something only the Blood Oath Alliance can do. Every time they try to kill me, they will have to lose something equivalent.”

Namgung So-goon, admiring Hwa-rin’s unwavering appearance, nodded his head, coveting Hwa-rin.

“From the time you destroyed the Blood Oath Alliance, no, the Yin Evil Sect and the Blood Fiend Sect, you were thinking this far ahead?”

“Yes. And I was confident that I could win. However, the problem is how much damage we would suffer in the process, but since those around us are helping, I thought there wouldn’t be much damage, so I started it.”

“So what do you get?”

“Social status in the martial arts world.”

Namgung So-goon listened to Hwa-rin’s answer, stared at him, and then burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha!”

The sound was so loud that it could be heard by Namgung Soo-yeon, who was looking at the plaque outside.

“It seems like Senior has scored a lot of points with Grandfather.”

Namgung Soo-yeon smiled at the sound of Namgung So-goon’s laughter.

“Well, he said I just need to trust him.”

Regardless of Hwa-rin’s intentions, Namgung Soo-yeon interpreted the words in her own way and believed them.

“The good is good. But what did he hide there that he wants me to find?”

Namgung Soo-yeon turned her gaze back to the plaque.

* * *

“Father has met the Nine Dragons Chief, so I would like to ask for your advice. Is it okay for Soo-yeon to stay by the Nine Dragons Chief’s side, or should we draw a line now?”

“Just leave her alone.”

“Pardon?”

“It seems better for Soo-yeon to just leave her by the Nine Dragons Chief’s side.”

“Then will there be no harm to the main family? If the Nine Dragons Chief pleases Father, shouldn’t we join hands with the Nine Dragons Clan?”

“No, that would not be good for either the Nine Dragons Clan or our clan, so just think of her as a daughter who has been given away and watch over her.”

Namgung Baek-ya understood what Namgung So-goon meant and nodded his head.

“It seems you like him.”

“He seems like a decent man. Soo-yeon will suffer a little, but it doesn’t seem bad, so it will be fun to watch. By the way, I heard that Soo-yeon created a new martial art?”

“It’s a sword technique called the Thirteen Swords of the Emperor, and she created it by combining the Emperor’s Sword Art and the Thirteen Harmonies Art.”

Creating a new martial art by combining existing martial arts is not an easy task, but the fact that she created it means that Namgung Soo-yeon is definitely a great martial arts talent.

“Thirteen Swords of the Emperor…….”

“It’s called the Thirteen Swords of the Emperor, but it’s not that there are only thirteen stances, but a sword technique that can use all the mysteries of the Thirteen Harmonies Art in one stance.”

“Did you see it?”

“Yes. She refrained from using internal energy, but the mysteries were well revealed even in the stances of the sword technique, and it was comparable to the Emperor’s Sword Art. No, in terms of the variety of stances, it can be said to be superior to the Emperor’s Sword Art.”

A faint smile appeared on Namgung So-goon’s lips.

“It seems that her martial arts are improving without her knowing it as she tries to follow him by the side of the Emperor.”

“Pardon?”

“No, there is such a thing. Then Soo-yeon said she would leave the Thirteen Swords of the Emperor to the main family?”

“It’s not complete yet, so she can’t leave it, but she said she would leave it to the main family when it’s complete.”

“Then it will take a little time. The process of creating and verifying a single martial art can be said to be a short period of ten years. She will have various experiences during that time, so Soo-yeon will also try to entrust the martial arts to the main family.”

It is foolish to make promises about the future, but if the power of the Namgung Clan is greater than that of the Nine Dragons Clan, she thought that she would do so for safety.

“I understand. I will tell her that.”

“And contact Cheong-ya, who is out in Shanxi Province, and tell him to prioritize the safety of Jin-i and Yeon-ah. It seems that something big will happen in the martial arts world soon.”

“By big, do you mean?”

“The Blood Oath Alliance will not just spend time like this. The Blood Oath Alliance will move to kill the Nine Dragons Chief as soon as possible, and the Nine Dragons Chief will attack more evil sects in order to receive the surrender of the Blood Oath Alliance. If the Nine Dragons Chief’s sword is directed at the Twelve Families, the Blood Oath Alliance will not just watch the situation so docilely.”

“Ah, I understand what you mean.”

“And we must also keep a close watch on the movements of the Righteous Heaven Alliance.”

“The Righteous Heaven Alliance?”

“Since Hyeok Ji-seok and the members of the old Black Tortoise Unit are also involved, the Blood Oath Alliance may move them through a deal.”

“I will investigate.”

“It’s been quiet for thirty years, but the martial arts world is shaking due to the new wave called the Nine Dragons Chief. As always, we need the wisdom to read the times well and move.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Our situation may be difficult, so inspect the combat unit and prepare to move at any time.”

“I will carry it out. I will call all those who are out to the clan.”