Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 40

The Diary of Salhwang

“So, Elder Hwayoung, are you saying that the Lord of the Nine Dragons might have mastered the Sixteen Swords of Residual Massacre or the Thousand Flower Chaos Dance?”

“I’ve been looking into various things.”

Elder Hwayoung told Elder Songcheol about what he had investigated and predicted.

“The Hamoon [江湖, literally ‘rivers and lakes,’ refers to the martial arts world] claims he’s a rising star fresh to the Jianghu, but something doesn’t quite fit. If he were a late-stage master of such formidable martial arts like the Sixteen Swords of Residual Massacre or the Thousand Flower Chaos Dance, he’d be showing off his skills, stirring things up, or meeting young martial artists to build connections. But there’s no trace or mention of any of that.”

Songcheol thought there was merit to Hwayoung’s words. The reasons for mastering martial arts may vary, but one of them is to make a name for oneself.

Moreover, late-stage masters newly entering the Jianghu tend to reveal their skills rather than hide them, driven by youthful vigor or a desire to compete.

“It’s also not very convincing to say that an older person mastered martial arts and then got into a dispute with the Red Tiger Gate warriors.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Both of them probably aren’t that old. And they wouldn’t be traveling together if they weren’t of similar age.”

“Hmm….”

“The Lord of the Nine Dragons purchased the old Red Tiger Gate manor in Sangnam County and is sheltering children begging or living poorly on the streets, teaching them academics and martial arts.”

“I’ve heard that story.”

“The martial arts of the person called the Chief Manager there are considerable, making it difficult for even disciples of our sect to approach easily.”

“So, Elder, you think the Lord of the Nine Dragons and the Chief Manager have mastered the Sixteen Swords of Residual Massacre and the Thousand Flower Chaos Dance?”

“Yes, that’s right. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so quiet for over a month, would it?”

Hwayoung’s reasoning was persuasive, and Songcheol thought he needed to consider it carefully.

“Didn’t you say he was from a special forces unit?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Do you know about the martial arts he learned? Or does that special forces unit have its own martial arts they teach?”

“No, they don’t. It’s a place where those who have already mastered a certain level of martial arts enter, or they are drawn from other units.”

“Just as the Jongnam Sect gains practical experience through military service and completes their own martial arts through that experience, the Lord of the Nine Dragons also gained practical experience in that special forces unit and through that experience….”

Listening quietly, it really felt as if the Lord of the Nine Dragons had mastered the Sixteen Swords of Residual Massacre or the Thousand Flower Chaos Dance.

“I understand what you’re saying. I’ll meet him and test the waters.”

As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot, Songcheol went straight to meet Hwarin, followed by Hwayoung.

Hwarin had just finished talking with the household members at the manor and was about to leave when he saw the two approaching and slightly bowed his head in greeting.

“We’ve come to ask you a few things.”

“What is it?”

“Wouldn’t you mind if we went inside to talk? If you’re busy, you can take care of your work and come back to talk later.”

“No, not at all. I don’t have anything particularly urgent. Please, come inside.”

Hwarin led the two to his office and asked a household member he encountered to prepare refreshments.

The three sat facing each other in the office, and Hwarin asked Songcheol.

“What are you curious about?”

“Do you know about the recent events in Sanyang County and Sangnam County?”

“What kind of…?”

“You know about the Red Tiger Gate, right?”

“Yes, I do. The place being used as a branch of the Nine Dragons Gate is the Red Tiger Gate’s manor.”

“It seems they had disputes with martial artists before they were annihilated.”

“I know that as well.”

“Then do you also know that the martial arts used to kill them were the Sixteen Swords of Residual Massacre, a demonic martial art, and the Thousand Flower Chaos Dance, a righteous martial art?”

“I’ve heard such rumors.”

“And have you heard the news that warriors from the Eumsa Gate have recently died?”

“Yes, I have. I heard that over twenty warriors died.”

Hwayoung paid close attention to Hwarin’s facial expressions as he spoke with Songcheol, observing him carefully.

“We came down from the mountain gate to find out the source of their martial arts.”

Hwarin looked at Songcheol, and Hwayoung’s eyes narrowed, carefully analyzing Hwarin’s reaction.

“We’ve looked into various things, but although there are no concrete clues, we’ve found connections between them: that they are demonic, that the Nine Dragons Gate acquired their businesses, and that there has recently been friction with the Eumsa Gate.”

“So, you’re suspecting me?”

“Rather than suspecting, we’re just hoping you’ll tell us the truth.”

At that moment, a household member brought in refreshments, placed them in front of them, and left.

Hwarin took a long breath and then held out his hand, showing it to the two.

“Do you know what this is?”

Hwarin’s hand turned pure white and became so transparent that the bones were visible.

“So, Lesser Divine Art!”

The two were surprised by Hwarin’s hand and exclaimed without realizing it.

“To be precise, it’s the Ice Jade Lesser Divine Art. It’s one of the supreme martial arts of the Bukhae Ice Palace [Northern Sea Ice Palace].”

“The Bukhae Ice Palace…?”

“If you go past the Great Plains and up through the Saekmok Kingdom to the Travil Kingdom, there’s a continent of perpetual snow called the Land of Death, and that’s where they rule.”

“I know. Aren’t they the overlords of Bukhae, known as the City of White Nights?”

“Yes, that’s right. While I was serving in the military, I received a mission.”

“A mission?”

“Yes. The mission was to help the forces of the Lord of the Bukhae Ice Palace suppress the rebel forces.”

“Hmm….”

“In return, the Bukhae Ice Palace would not covet the Central Plains for a hundred years, and if the Great Plains tried to scheme against the Central Plains, they would help the Central Plains by attacking the rear of the Great Plains.”

Hwayoung didn’t quite understand Hwarin’s words, but Songcheol, who knew the characteristics of the military well, understood what Hwarin was saying.

“During the mission, I was able to kill the head of the Eumyang Noeyeong Jeolga [Yin-Yang Twin Shadow Sect], who had caused a rebellion in the Bukhae Ice Palace, in the Manyeon Ice Cave [Ten Thousand Year Ice Cave], a forbidden area, but the Manyeon Ice Cave collapsed due to the collision of martial arts, and I was lucky enough to survive in the gap created by the rocks colliding.”

“Hmm….”

“The front of the cave was completely collapsed, so I couldn’t go out that way. While looking for a way to get out to the back of the Manyeon Ice Cave, I happened to obtain the Ice Jade Lesser Divine Art.”

“Such a fortunate encounter….”

“Is the Ice Jade Lesser Divine Art that you’ve mastered different from the Lesser Divine Art that terrorized the Central Plains a hundred years ago?”

“The Ice Jade Lesser Divine Art that I’ve mastered is the complete martial art of the Bukhae Ice Palace, and the Lesser Divine Art from a hundred years ago is just one stance of the Ice Jade Lesser Divine Art.”

The two wore shocked expressions.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it is. Now that I’ve revealed to you that I’ve mastered the Ice Jade Lesser Divine Art, there’s no reason for me to lie.”

“Hehe, then the other stances….”

As Songcheol asked, Hwarin changed the subject.

“Those who mastered the Sixteen Swords of Residual Massacre and the Thousand Flower Chaos Dance that the Elder mentioned earlier have caused trouble at this manor.”

“What?”

Hwarin spoke falsely based on the groundwork he had laid, but the two had to listen to Hwarin’s words, unable to definitively call them false.

“The two annihilated not only the Red Tiger Gate but also the Black Snake Gang of Sanyang County. There was a small disturbance in the brothel they operated, and that disturbance led to the annihilation of the Black Snake Gang. And they sold the inns and brothels that the Black Snake Gang operated to me, making a profit.”

“Did that happen?”

“From my perspective, there was no reason to refuse the inns and brothels they were giving away cheaply, so I naturally acquired the inns and brothels and started doing business. And not long after, the two annihilated the Red Tiger Gate in Sangnam County and then came to me and told me that they wanted to sell their manor, inns, and brothels, and I acquired them at a cheap price and am currently operating them.”

“But why did they cause trouble?”

“They said that since they had given me the inns and brothels cheaply, they wanted free meals, drinks, rooms to sleep in, and to sleep with a courtesan every day.”

“Hmm….”

Hwayoung didn’t think there was anything strange in Hwarin’s expression as he spoke, or that he was lying at all.

“Providing room and board is possible, but allowing them to sleep with a courtesan every day depends on their will, so I couldn’t do it as I pleased and refused.”

“And then?”

“They threatened me.”

Songcheol wore an absurd expression at those words.

“They may have mastered great martial arts to the extent of annihilating the Black Snake Gang and the Red Tiger Gate, but in my eyes, they looked like newcomers fresh to the Jianghu with only strength, so I tried to quietly persuade them and send them back, but the two, believing in the martial arts they had mastered, tried to kill me and take away the Nine Dragons Gate and the inns and brothels they had sold to me.”

“So, they were?”

“I killed them. I’m not generous enough to let those who aim for my life live, no matter what.”

Hwayoung let out a low groan at the words that he had killed the two.

His reaction may have been natural since he had failed to recover the Thousand Flower Chaos Dance, a martial art that Hwasan had to recover.

“What about their bodies?”

“I burned them.”

“Did they happen to have a martial arts manual recording the martial arts they had mastered?”

Hwayoung asked.

“No, they didn’t.”

His face was filled with regret at the firm one word.

Of course, he didn’t completely believe Hwarin’s words, but since he had revealed that he had mastered the Ice Jade Lesser Divine Art, he couldn’t pursue it any further.

“Then why did you kill the warriors of the Eumsa Gate?”

“They also tried to covet the things of this manor. They caused trouble over the fact that this manor had bought the businesses of the Black Snake Gang and the Red Tiger Gate.”

“They did?”

“Of course, from their perspective, they needed an excuse, so they mentioned the annihilated Black Snake Gang and Red Tiger Gate.”

“What did they say?”

“They said that the business places of the Black Snake Gang and the Red Tiger Gate were theirs, so they had come to take them back.”

“So, you killed them?”

“At first, I also told them the situation. They had come to take away the things of this manor, but they hadn’t harmed or threatened anyone.”

“Hmm….”

“I told them that I had acquired the business places after paying a fair price, but they stubbornly demanded the business places, and when I said I couldn’t do that, they caused a ruckus at the inn.”

“So, you fought with them?”

“I gave them a moderate scolding and sent them back, but that night, they trespassed over the wall of this manor, so I couldn’t let them live.”

Hwarin spoke falsely as if it were true, and the listeners nodded, finding it somewhat reasonable and understandable.

“I put their bodies in coffins and sent them to the Eumsa Gate, meaning that they shouldn’t touch this manor anymore.”

“So, that’s what happened.”

“After that, it was quiet for a while, but suddenly, they sent people to the Eumsa Gate saying that they would open a sect in Sanyang County and Sangnam County, and they came to me wanting the main branch and branch of the Nine Dragons Gate as the sect to be opened. When I said I couldn’t sell it, they used force to harass the people working at the manor’s business places. As a result, a friend who was learning to be a cook couldn’t use his hands.”

‘He must be talking about the young friend named Danri Hyeokjin.’

There were also things that the warriors of Jongnam and Hwasan had investigated in the meantime.

“I once wrote a memorandum to that friend saying that I would entrust the inn to him if he worked hard, and those guys used that memorandum….”

Songcheol nodded, feeling that Hwarin’s explanation matched what they had investigated.

“So, you killed them?”

“Yes, that’s right. As I said a little while ago, I’m not merciful enough to let those who covet my things or aim for my life live.”

“I see. But haven’t you thought that there will be an even greater threat as a result?”

“They don’t know that I killed them. In fact, I could have hidden this fact from you two as much as I wanted.”

Hwarin was already at a level that surpassed returning to simplicity, exceeding the realm of Three Flowers Gather on the Crown and Five Energies Towards the Origin, so if Hwarin wanted to hide his martial arts, Songcheol and Hwayoung could never gauge Hwarin’s level.

He was also skilled in the secret arts of the Baegyo [White Night Sect], so if Hwarin set his mind to it, he could hide himself so that no one would know.

“Elder Songcheol is my senior from the same military unit, so I’m telling you without hiding anything. And you two are the only ones who know that I’ve mastered the Ice Jade Lesser Divine Art.”

The expressions of the two slightly hardened at those words.

It sounded as if if anyone else found out about this fact, it would have spread through the two of them, so he wouldn’t stand still at that time.

‘If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have dismissed it as nonsense, but now that I’ve seen the Ice Jade Lesser Divine Art with my own eyes, there’s nothing I can do.’

Hwayoung decided to keep silent about the Ice Jade Lesser Divine Art for now, as Hwarin wished.

“Don’t worry about that. Elder Hwayoung is a thoughtful person, so he won’t make things difficult for you. And thank you for telling us the truth.”

“No, it’s better for me to resolve misunderstandings like this than to be misunderstood.”

“Is that so? Then what are you going to do in the future?”

“As I said, I won’t fight with others unless they covet my things or threaten my life. However, I won’t just stand by when they covet my things.”