Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 44

Gu Long Legend (44)

Hwa-rin waited for nightfall. As darkness descended, he returned to the bookstore, melting into the shadows, and waited for the employees to leave for the day.

One by one, they finished their work and departed. Finally, the bookstore owner, Lee Do-moon, emerged, locked the door, and headed off.

Hwa-rin followed Lee Do-moon, soon confirming that he had entered his house.

The low fence offered a clear view inside. As Lee Do-moon entered, the lights flicked on.

“So, this is his hideout.”

Hiding in the darkness, Hwa-rin watched for a moment, ensuring no one else was around before attempting to enter. But he paused.

“His energy has changed.”

In that brief moment of observation, the energy signature had shifted.

Hwa-rin hesitated briefly before entering the house. He vanished into the darkness and reappeared inside the room.

“Huh, who… Keuk!”

With a swift move, Hwa-rin subdued the man, checking his face.

The face was indeed Lee Do-moon’s, but the man was an ordinary person, devoid of any internal energy [qi or chi, the vital energy in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts].

Hwa-rin touched the fallen man’s face, confirming it wasn’t a human skin mask.

“Then, it’s highly likely that the real Lee Do-moon is wearing a human skin mask.”

Hwa-rin activated his dantian [energy center in the body, often located in the abdomen] and searched for the vanished Lee Do-moon within the room.

The energy scan revealed a passage behind the folding screen against the wall.

Hwa-rin moved the screen and pushed the wall, revealing a hidden passage just wide enough for one person as the wall slid inward.

“The bookstore was empty underneath as well… It seems they used the underground to connect Deoksu Hall, the bookstore, and this place, just like those Shaman Clan bastards.”

Hwa-rin briefly recalled memories of the Fierce Tiger Death Squad.

South of Yunnan Province in the Central Plains lies the frontier region of Myogang, bordering the Bekong Kingdom.

At that time, the Shaman Clan of the Bekong Kingdom, wielding considerable power, occupied Wolnam Fortress and expanded their influence by subjugating the surrounding territories.

Their power grew so great that the king of the Bekong Kingdom requested aid from the emperor of the Central Plains, who readily agreed and dispatched the Heungchin Imperial Guard to help fight the Shaman Clan. Meanwhile, the Fierce Tiger Death Squad infiltrated Wolnam Fortress, their base, to assassinate the Shaman Clan’s leadership.

The Fierce Tiger Death Squad barely managed to defeat the Shaman Clan’s leadership, but the battle was so fierce that two hundred and sixty out of three hundred members perished.

In terms of raw power, the Fierce Tiger Death Squad was stronger, but beneath Wolnam Fortress lay interconnected caves resembling an ant colony. The Shaman Clan’s leadership lured the Fierce Tiger Death Squad members into these caves, attempting to defeat them individually. The Shaman Clan’s plan seemed to be working, but Hwa-rin and a few other squad members possessed martial arts far more advanced than anticipated.

Ultimately, the leadership was wiped out in the ant colony, shattering the Shaman Clan’s ambitions.

As Hwa-rin recalled those memories, he felt a surge of annoyance and strode into the cave.

Descending the stairs for a long time, he reached the bottom and walked a little further to find a wide-open space.

In the open space, four more caves branched off from the one Hwa-rin had emerged from.

‘To dig this many caves in the heart of the city must have taken a considerable amount of time.’

He wondered if Salmak Valley had a longer history than he initially thought.

“One leads to the bookstore, one is connected to Deoksu Hall, another will be an emergency exit, and the last one?”

Hwa-rin chose one of the caves and entered.

‘It’s different from the ant colony in Wolnam Fortress. It’s just a passage connecting residences, or a cave for escape.’

As Hwa-rin surmised, one led to Deoksu Hall, one to the bookstore, and one was a secret passage.

And in the last cave he entered, Hwa-rin sensed the presence of many people – assassins belonging to Salmak Valley.

Hwa-rin melted into the darkness and approached them, hiding in the shadow of a person standing at the back.

Dark Shadow Hidden Form!

It was an assassination stealth technique that concealed traces within shadows.

Hwa-rin hid in the shadow, yet not a single one of the lined-up assassins sensed his presence.

“Recently, the movements in the Murim [martial arts world] have been unusual. The Demonic Cult and the Blood Oath Alliance are indiscriminately absorbing surrounding forces to increase their size.”

A man was speaking in front of them – Lee Do-moon.

‘It’s a human skin mask after all.’

He possessed the same energy as the bookstore owner, but his face was different.

Hidden in the shadow, Hwa-rin listened to Lee Do-moon’s explanation of the Murim situation and assessed the abilities of the Salmak Valley assassins.

‘What level of assassins are these? Higher than the Black Snake Gang or the Red Tiger Clan leaders.’

He couldn’t discern their specific martial arts, but he could roughly gauge their level from the energy they possessed. Each of these assassins seemed stronger than the leader of a third-rate clan.

“They are at the second-rate level, but including the Salmak Valley Lord, there are first-rate assassins…”

Hwa-rin recalled what Mi-ok had said and wondered if Salmak Valley was a clan that quietly engaged in assassination without revealing their true power.

‘If they don’t have any ulterior motives, that might be the secret to their longevity.’

As the saying goes in Murim, one can live a long life if one doesn’t become greedy. These Salmak Valley assassins seemed to be content living as a second-rate assassin clan, concealing their identities without grand ambitions.

Observing their behavior, Hwa-rin thought he might be able to discover who commissioned his assassination more easily than expected.

“This year is the last year of the hundred-year wait promised by our Salmak Valley’s ancestor. Next year, we will lift the restrictions and engage in Murim activities…”

‘They’re not just not greedy, but there’s some kind of restriction?’

“Thanks to your hard work, we’ve been able to earn quite a bit of money, and with that money, I bought Nine Divine Pills that will help you. Come forward one by one to receive them.”

The Nine Divine Pill was a spiritual medicine that increased one’s internal energy by one year’s worth, easily obtainable through dark channels in Murim for those with sufficient funds.

However, it was known that the Nine Divine Pill was only effective upon first consumption, having no effect thereafter.

The assassins went forward one by one to Lee Do-moon and received the Nine Divine Pills. The owner of the shadow in which Hwa-rin was hiding also approached Lee Do-moon.

As he stood before Lee Do-moon, Hwa-rin moved into Lee Do-moon’s shadow while they exchanged the pill.

Lee Do-moon offered a few more words to his subordinates and then assigned them their commissioned tasks.

“These are not difficult tasks, so handle them without mistakes!”

The commissions they undertook were mostly from ordinary people with grudges rather than Murim figures, ranging from murder to assault and intimidation.

In that sense, they were similar to street thugs, but their commissions primarily involved grudges against high-ranking officials, administrators, scholars, and other so-called intellectuals or ruling classes.

After all the subordinates had left, Lee Do-moon also rose to depart.

“Amazing.”

As the voice echoed in the cave, Lee Do-moon flinched and looked around.

“They say you’re a second-rate assassin clan, but now that I see it, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

As the voice echoed again, he was convinced he hadn’t misheard and turned sharply, scanning for blind spots, but found no one.

“You don’t need to look so hard. At first, I was just going to find out one thing…”

“Who are you?”

Lee Do-moon shouted, drawing upon the internal energy of his dantian. Ready to strike at any moment, he waited for his opponent to appear.

“There’s no need to be so on edge. If you answer a few questions, I won’t say anything about what I saw and heard today.”

“Show yourself.”

“It wouldn’t be wise to see my face. Aren’t you going to try to stab me? Then one of us has to die, but looking at the current situation, it seems like you’re the one who’s going to die, not me.”

“Hmm…”

“Relax. I know your martial arts are high, but the fact that you can’t find me means that I’m at least a little stronger than you.”

Lee Do-moon pondered Hwa-rin’s words and released his internal energy.

“What are you curious about?”

“I don’t know much about assassins, but I’m also someone who has gained a fortuitous encounter and learned assassin martial arts. Your abilities and the abilities of the assassins under you are not ordinary, so why are you doing this? If you came to the forefront, you could at least enter the top ten assassin clans in the Central Plains.”

“I don’t know how much you’ve heard, but we are bound by restrictions.”

“That hundred-year wait?”

“That’s right.”

“Who are you waiting for?”

Lee Do-moon seemed resigned and answered Hwa-rin’s question.

“We are waiting for the descendant of Assassin Emperor Seo Mun-yeop.”

“Assassin Emperor Seo Mun-yeop?”

It was the first time he had heard that name.

“He was the only assassin who reached the ranks of the Ten Great Masters of Murim at the time, and he was so outstanding that even Cheonma [Demon King, a powerful figure in Murim], had to yield to him.”

“Why didn’t such a person leave any descendants?”

“I don’t know. I only heard it from my grandfather, who was the Valley Lord at the time.”

They had been waiting for Assassin Emperor Seo Mun-yeop for three generations.

“I see. So, what are his characteristics?”

“I don’t know. I only recognize his martial arts.”

“So, even if he appears, you wouldn’t know unless he reveals his martial arts.”

“That’s right. We can’t know unless he comes to us.”

“I see. Then, what I really want to know.”

“What you really want to know?”

“Who is the bastard who told you to kill me?”

Lee Do-moon flinched, wondering if he had misheard.

“Kill who?”

“Me. Someone must have commissioned you to kill me, so you sent assassins.”

Lee Do-moon was angry, as if he was being toyed with, but realizing there was nothing he could do, he suppressed his anger and asked.

“Who the hell are you?”

“The Lord of Gu Long Manor!”

Hwa-rin revealed his identity and emerged from the shadows.

“Heot!”

At that moment, Lee Do-moon was surprised and took a step back. Seeing that, Hwa-rin chuckled.

“Who is it, the bastard who commissioned you to kill me?”

Instead of answering, Lee Do-moon stared intently at Hwa-rin.

“It’s better not to have other thoughts.”

“It’s not that… were you just hiding in my shadow?”

“It’s called Dark Shadow Hidden Form. It’s one of the assassin martial arts I’ve learned.”

Lee Do-moon’s eyes widened.

“Dark Shadow Hidden Form… Do you perhaps know Dark Shadow Silent Charcoal River?”

His tone changed.

“Of course.”

This time, Lee Do-moon’s body trembled slightly.

“Then, do you also know Dark Shadow Nine Stream Flying Soul Sword?”

Hwa-rin narrowed his eyes at Lee Do-moon’s question. Then he opened his mouth.

“Seeing that you know Dark Shadow Three Skills, it seems that the assassin martial arts I’ve learned and the Assassin Emperor you mentioned are related?”

Lee Do-moon didn’t answer.

“Not only Dark Shadow Three Skills, but also Thunderclap Three Skills…”

As Hwa-rin spoke, he made a dot in the air with his finger.

A small space was created in the air, and when Hwa-rin put his hand in and took it out, he held salt that was generally black but faintly reddish.

“I have this too.”

“Ass… Assassin Emperor Dark Blood Salt!”

Lee Do-moon recognized the salt at once and knelt down before Hwa-rin.

“I greet the successor of Assassin Emperor Seo Mun-yeop.”

Hwa-rin was flustered by Lee Do-moon’s actions and spoke.

“So, what I said was right.”

“Yes, Successor.”

“That person was that great.”

In the Imperial Palace report, the diary was classified as a supreme martial art, so he thought he was an assassin who had gained some fame in Murim, but it was the martial art of the Assassin Emperor, who even Cheonma had to yield to. He was dumbfounded.

‘I’ve been neglecting such martial arts all this time? Then how great are all the martial arts I’ve learned?’

In the Imperial Palace report, Hwa-rin had learned ninety-nine supreme martial arts, and one of them was the martial art of someone powerful enough to be among the Ten Great Masters, so he couldn’t even guess what the other martial arts were like.

‘Even thinking objectively, there are more than fifty martial arts that I’ve learned that are superior to the Assassin Emperor’s martial arts.’

In terms of martial arts alone, there were many martial arts that were superior to the Assassin Emperor’s martial arts, but there were no martial arts in Murim that were more efficient and superior to the Assassin Emperor’s martial arts when it came to killing people.

If Hwa-rin fully understood the Assassin Emperor’s diary and mastered all the methods of killing according to the changes in time, place, and situation, and could skillfully apply them, he could be confident that there would be no one he couldn’t kill in the Central Plains, as he was unparalleled in killing.

“Judging from your actions now, I am the person you’ve been waiting for, and now that I’ve appeared, the Salmak Valley’s restrictions will be lifted from today.”

“That is correct.”

“Is there anything that connects the lifting of the restrictions with your relationship with me?”

“This valley is the vassal family of Assassin Emperor Seo Mun-yeop and will follow Joo Hwa-rin, the successor of the Assassin Emperor.”

He came to find out who had commissioned his assassination and unexpectedly gained an assassin clan.

“So, that means I have more mouths to feed.”

“We will take care of our own livelihood.”

“Okay. Whether you follow me or not, it’s up to the Valley Lord’s heart, so do as you please. What about the answer to the question I asked a little while ago?”

“What…”

“I’m talking about the bastard who commissioned you to kill me.”