Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 14

Nine Dragons Chronicle (14)

Nine Dragons Chronicle (14)

“How many times have you been on operations since you came to the unit?”

“I don’t know exactly, but I think it’s over a hundred times.”

Hwa-Rin was having a private meeting with Commander Jeok-Seong of the Fierce Tiger Death Squad.

“A hundred times… that’s a lot.”

“Indeed. They were so desperate to kill me that I couldn’t die feeling wronged.”

“Who is trying to kill you…?”

“There is someone.”

Jeok-Seong thought Hwa-Rin was joking and chuckled.

“You don’t have much time left before you are discharged.”

“I’ll be discharged in three months when I complete five years.”

Jeok-Seong nodded.

“Do you have any plans when you get out? Or do you have a place to go?”

“Why? Are you thinking of telling me to stay instead of being discharged?”

Jeok-Seong seemed taken aback by Hwa-Rin’s words, cleared his throat, and then opened his mouth.

“There are occasional dangerous missions, but it won’t be easy to find a more comfortable place than here. And considering that no missions will come down for several years since all the dangerous enemies have been eliminated…”

“Still, I don’t want to. If you say the words ‘stay’ out loud, I might go crazy and start a sword fight, so keep that in mind.”

Faced with Hwa-Rin’s threat, Jeok-Seong had to abandon his idea of persuading him to stay.

“I understand. I want to express my gratitude for your efforts for the main unit.”

“I did what I had to do.”

Jeok-Seong took out a piece of paper from his desk drawer and gave it to Hwa-Rin.

“It’s your discharge papers.”

Hwa-Rin looked at Jeok-Seong.

“No missions will be coming down for the time being, and you’ll just be spending boring time before being discharged, so wouldn’t it be better to get discharged now and return to the Central Plains [the heartland of Chinese civilization]?”

“That’s true.”

“Consider it a reward for your hard work.”

Hwa-Rin had to contemplate for a moment whether to be happy or not as he received his discharge papers.

“You’re not trying to use this as bait to frame me as a deserter, are you?”

“Hahaha, why would I do such a crazy thing when I know that all the members of our unit would die by your sword if I did that.”

Hwa-Rin heard the answer but still looked at Jeok-Seong with suspicious eyes.

“Don’t tell people and just leave.”

“Now?”

“That’s how it’s always been done. Don’t bother telling the unit members about your discharge and making them uneasy. It’s more helpful to the unit members if you just leave the unit quietly without a sound.”

Hwa-Rin nodded.

“Then I’ll go back, pack my things, and leave.”

“Do that.”

Hwa-Rin gave Jeok-Seong a final salute and left his office.

“Discharge, huh…”

Hwa-Rin looked up at the sky. The faces of several people came to mind. The most memorable of them was Danri Hyeok-Gwang.

“I endured and persevered. Now that I’m going back, I’ll see my siblings.”

Hwa-Rin took a deep breath in and out before moving his feet.

* * *

The imperial palace at night was dark in some places but brighter than daytime in others.

A figure who had secretly sneaked into the imperial palace under the cover of night avoided the eyes of the Imperial Guards, moving only through the dark places.

He was able to reach the Emperor’s bedroom, called the deepest part of the palace, without anyone noticing him.

He carefully entered the Emperor’s bedroom and saw the Emperor sleeping with the Empress.

“Before going to the Murim world [the martial arts world], I am here to give my last greetings to Father.”

It was Hwa-Rin. After being discharged from the military, he came straight to the imperial palace to find the Emperor.

He didn’t know if the Emperor had sent him to the Fierce Tiger Death Squad to kill him, but as a result, he had spent five years there, learning how to survive through numerous experiences, so it was a very helpful time for him.

The Emperor’s bodyguard, Jin, appeared and lit up the bedroom.

At Jin’s presence, the Emperor opened his eyes and got up, then pressed the Empress’s pressure point to prevent her from waking up at the sound.

“You’ve been discharged?”

The Emperor spoke calmly.

“There are still three months left, but they said no missions would be coming down, so they discharged me.”

“What kind of experiences did you have there?”

“That place is also where people live, so I lived there, mingling with people, fighting like dogs, and giving and receiving help.”

“Based on those experiences, will you be able to survive in the world you will settle in?”

“I can’t be sure, but I don’t think I’ll be easily taken advantage of by others.”

The Emperor nodded as if satisfied with Hwa-Rin’s answer.

“Then that’s enough.”

The Emperor, answering, looked at the Empress sleeping beside him.

“Can’t you forgive this person?”

The Emperor asked as if he knew everything about the past.

“At that time, I couldn’t hear, see, or speak. I only knew that someone with the scent of pear blossoms had been there because my sense of smell was developed.”

“Hmm…”

“Wouldn’t there be one or two people in the world with the scent of pear blossoms?”

“Then?”

“I am no longer a person of the imperial palace. The affairs of the imperial palace are problems that must be solved by the people of the imperial palace, so I am telling you that it has left my hands.”

He knew nothing about his mother’s death.

He didn’t know if she had chosen death to save him or if his mother had done something terribly wrong and was killed, but he said that revenge for his mother’s death was not his responsibility but the Emperor’s, and left it to him.

“Thank you.”

The Emperor looked at Jin. Then Jin went to the desk on one side of the bedroom, opened the drawer, took something out, and gave it to Hwa-Rin.

“What is this?”

“It’s the last gift I’m giving you.”

Hwa-Rin unfolded what Jin had given him. It was a land deed, a house deed, and documents listing fields, paddies, and the identities of the servants.

“It won’t be of great help in the work you want to do, but it will still be able to be used as a foundation and nutrients to some extent.”

Hwa-Rin did not refuse what the Emperor gave him.

“Thank you.”

“Now leave. There’s no point in facing each other for too long.”

Hwa-Rin bowed to the Emperor and left his chamber. Jin was by his side.

“Please understand, Ninth Prince.”

“There’s nothing for me to understand or not. Please take good care of Father.”

Hwa-Rin asked Jin to take care of the Emperor and became a night bird, leaving the imperial palace.

Watching Hwa-Rin, Jin admired him.

‘If Prince Hwa-Rin is active in Murim, it will be interesting to watch Murim in the future.’

Jin turned around after Hwa-Rin’s figure disappeared.

‘But is there really a need to erase Prince Hwa-Rin’s activities in the military?’

Jin thought about this problem for a moment but soon shook his head.

‘I really can’t understand His Majesty’s heart.’

* * *

Shaanxi Province was a province in the mid-western part of the Central Plains, located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River.

It bordered Shanxi and Henan Provinces to the east, Hubei to the south, and Gansu and Sichuan to the west.

It also bordered the Great Grasslands to the north, making it a province that had prospered as a center of transportation, economy, and culture since ancient times.

Many Murim sects were located in Shaanxi Province. The representative orthodox sects included the Mount Hua Sect and the Jongnam Sect of the Nine Great Sects, and the Yin Evil Sect was located as a heretical sect.

In addition, the Iron Palm Sect between the orthodox and the unorthodox was also showing great power, so Shaanxi Province’s Murim was the second largest Murim after Sichuan Province.

Hwa-Rin left the imperial palace and went to Shanyang County in Shaanxi Province. It was to find Danri Hyeok-Gwang’s siblings since the Danri family was there.

“Hmm…”

When Hwa-Rin found the Danri family, the family estate had already been taken over by someone else.

Hwa-Rin inquired with the people of Shanyang County and was able to find Danri Hyeok-Gwang’s two younger siblings and one old servant, but their circumstances did not look good.

“I need to find out more for a few more days.”

Hwa-Rin did not approach them directly but stayed at an inn and learned about them for a few days, and actually saw with his own eyes how they lived.

“Hyeok-Jin, did you get into a fight again?”

“Don’t talk if you’re going to nag. Just give me food.”

The two siblings bickered every day, but the problem was with Danri Hyeok-Jin.

Hwa-Rin shook his head as he looked at Danri Hyeok-Jin.

“A member of the Danri family is leading a group of third-rate thugs…”

Hwa-Rin watched them a little more.

Danri Hyeok-Jin was a problematic young man in Shanyang County, but his sister, Danri So-So, was well-behaved, knew etiquette, and was well-regarded by others like a noble lady from a prestigious family.

She made a living by repairing or washing the clothes of the courtesans working in the brothels of Shanyang County, but she was suffering a lot because of Danri Hyeok-Jin, who was acting like a thug.

In addition, an old servant was living with them, but now that he was old and his movements were impaired, she was taking responsibility for the old servant and living with him.

Hwa-Rin decided to gradually fix Danri Hyeok-Jin, who was gathering thugs and acting as their boss.

Shanyang County was located in the center of Mount Hua, where the Mount Hua Sect was located, and Jongnam Mountain, where the Jongnam Sect was located, and it was also a village that many people passed through because it had Yeosan, which was famous for its hot springs.

In this Shanyang County, there was a market street where shops were located and a marketplace where street vendors set up stalls and did business, and the distance between these two places was very close.

Danri Hyeok-Jin led the thugs and caused trouble in this market street and marketplace, extorting money from merchants under the guise of protection money. However, there were many competitors in this place, so fights broke out every day.

Danri Hyeok-Jin had learned the martial arts of the Danri family to some extent and was said to be quite strong among the thugs.

However, that was only against ordinary people, and the story was different when dealing with Murim people [martial artists].

A long time ago, the martial arts of the Danri family were greatly lost and cut off in the Orthodox-Unorthodox War, and he was honing the martial arts he had learned from his older brother Danri Hyeok-Gwang when he was young to act as the boss of the thugs, but because he had not learned the inner energy cultivation method, he was very lacking in fighting against Murim people.

It might work against ordinary people now, but someday he might get into a fight with a Murim person, and he could die because of it, so he had to correct Danri Hyeok-Jin’s habits so that he could live diligently while doing something other than being a thug.

Hwa-Rin deliberately picked a fight with Danri Hyeok-Jin’s gang in the market street.

They were acting as if it was their world, so they fell for the fight that Hwa-Rin had intentionally started.

“Is this bastard crazy and trying to die?”

Hwa-Rin’s fist hit the thug’s face. It happened so quickly that when they realized the situation, one of the thugs had a broken nose.

“This bastard!”

They rushed at Hwa-Rin, and he beat them to a pulp and sent them back.

Not long after, Danri Hyeok-Jin heard the news that his subordinates had returned beaten to a pulp and came to the market street to find Hwa-Rin.

When the person who came with him pointed at Hwa-Rin, Danri Hyeok-Jin rushed at him without even finding out the situation.

“Where do you think you are?”

Danri Hyeok-Jin leaped into the air towards Hwa-Rin and stretched out his foot.

Hwa-Rin easily avoided such a simple attack and strongly kicked Danri Hyeok-Jin’s calf as he landed on the ground.

“Ugh!”

As soon as Danri Hyeok-Jin landed on the ground, he was caught in Hwa-Rin’s attack and tumbled awkwardly on the ground.

“Who the hell are you?”

Hwa-Rin asked, pretending not to know.

“Who am I? You son of a bitch! You beat up our kids!”

He got up, screaming, and swung his fist several times.

Hwa-Rin used his hands to block all of his punches and then struck his chest with his palm.

“Ugh!”

Seeing him pushed back with a short scream, Hwa-Rin spun his body and stretched out his foot.

Pow!

The foot hit Danri Hyeok-Jin’s chest once again, and unable to withstand the force, he fell backward awkwardly and rolled on the ground.

“You son of a bitch.”

Hwa-Rin stretched out his fist towards his chin as he rushed at him, cursing.

Thwack!

Hwa-Rin’s fist landed squarely on Danri Hyeok-Jin’s chin, and his head turned and he collapsed to the side, fainting.

Hwa-Rin looked down at him for a moment and then spoke to the surrounding merchants who were watching.

“You don’t have to pay these guys protection money anymore. If they come and cause trouble, let me know. I’m staying at the Manjeong Inn until I find a house, so if you come and find me, I’ll chase these guys away.”

The merchants were dubious at Hwa-Rin’s words, but since he had easily defeated Danri Hyeok-Jin, they decided to believe what he said.

Hwa-Rin picked up the fallen Danri Hyeok-Jin and went to his house.

He saw Danri So-So repairing the fabric she had brought on the collapsing floor of the house.

“Oh oh…”

Danri So-So was surprised to see Hwa-Rin carrying Danri Hyeok-Jin on his back and ran out barefoot.

“It’s okay. He just fainted for a moment.”

Hwa-Rin reassured Danri So-So.

“I got into a fight with him in the market street. I’m sorry, Miss, for using my hands because I didn’t think it would end if I didn’t do this!”

Hwa-Rin laid Danri Hyeok-Jin, who he was carrying on his back, on the floor.

“I’m sorry. My brother is so headstrong…”

“No. A man can do that. But you should be careful in the future.”

“Yes. I will.”

Hwa-Rin handed Danri So-So some money.

“Use this to treat your brother.”

“No, no. My brother picked a fight with you, sir…”

“It’s not a lot of money, so please do so.”

Hwa-Rin put the money in her hand and left her house.

Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]

Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]

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Status: Completed Author: Native Language: Korean
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[English Translation] In a tempestuous night, amidst the clash of steel and the roar of thunder, a palace estate becomes a battleground. Blood spills as palace guards relentlessly hunt intruders, their mission shrouded in deadly secrecy. A desperate cry pierces the storm—a palace maid's plea for her son, Zhu Hualin, the emperor's hidden ninth child. Born under a veil of scandal, Hualin's very existence is a threat, marked for elimination by the ruthless Empress. Witness a mother's ultimate sacrifice as she ignites a saga of intrigue, resilience, and concealed destinies. Plunge into this captivating prologue, where mercy is a dangerous currency, and the fate of a secret prince hangs precariously in the balance. Years drift by, and the question looms: will Zhu Hualin rise as a tyrannical force, or will he embrace wisdom and justice to become a true ruler?

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