Wudang Sacred Scriptures

After a brief silence, Jin Cheongha opened her mouth.

“The rebellion in our Ghost Night Castle also happened because of that great evil art.”

“I suspected as much.”

At Kwak Yeon’s immediate answer, Jin Cheongha nodded and continued.

“More than ten years ago, when my father was devoting himself to rebuilding Ghost Night Castle, something unexpectedly welcome happened. At the time, we had no idea that it was the beginning of our misfortune.”

“......?”

“The previous elders of Ghost Night Castle, who had been imprisoned in the Martial Alliance’s Great Demon Prison, broke out and returned.”

At the words Great Demon Prison of the Martial Alliance, Kwak Yeon focused even more intently.

He had heard from Hu Gae that the Great Demon Prison was where the Martial Alliance had confined the demon heads of the Demonic Eight Divisions captured during the Eight Desolations Upheaval, and that the Demonic Eight Divisions had begun to rise again after that Great Demon Prison was breached.

Yet Jin Cheongha was beginning her story of the great evil art from the Great Demon Prison, which made it all the more compelling.

“The previous elders also brought news that my grandfather, the Supreme Castle Lord, had died inside the Great Demon Prison.”

“That must have been truly painful news.”

Being of the demonic path did not mean one lacked blood ties and affection. No, if anything, people of the demonic path clung even more fiercely to blood.

Though Kwak Yeon showed sincere mourning, Jin Cheongha continued without any response to it.

“In any case, with the previous elders’ return, the reconstruction of Ghost Night Castle sped up, and it soon settled properly onto its course. It was around then that I was able to leave Reed-Blossom Gate and return to Ghost Night Castle.”

Jin Cheongha’s expression began to stiffen.

“Not long after I returned to Ghost Night Castle, my father learned that unusual things were happening inside the castle.”

“That great evil art, then?”

“Yes.”

Jin Cheongha answered plainly and continued.

“My father discovered that the great evil art was being practiced in secret inside and outside Ghost Night Castle, centered around the previous elders who had returned from the Great Demon Prison. But by then, they had already drawn most of Ghost Night Castle’s forces to their side.”

“......!”

“My father understood how dangerous that great evil art was and tried to remove the elders somehow, but instead, they struck first. I barely managed to escape thanks to the Chief Protector’s protection, but......”

Seeing Jin Cheongha’s eyes redden, Kwak Yeon could guess the rest of the story she could not bring herself to say.

What words could possibly console the grief of having the sky collapse and the earth split beneath one’s feet?

Instead, Kwak Yeon cut away the bud of grief threatening to grow boundlessly inside her with a ruthless question.

“So, Young Castle Lord, do you know what that great evil art is?”

Jin Cheongha recovered her expression and answered,

“Other than what you already know, Taoist Kwak—that it is an evil art that strengthens inner power and turns people into madmen at the final moment—I do not know the details either.”

A trace of disappointment flickered in Kwak Yeon’s eyes.

“There must have been someone presiding over that evil art inside Ghost Night Castle.”

“I only know that those who preside over it are called Servitors.”

“Servitors......?”

It meant someone’s errand runners.

“I do not know where the Servitors came from or what their identities are.”

“Then naturally, you do not know their purpose either.”

“No.”

Jin Cheongha continued with an apologetic look.

“I only know that those Servitors were the ones who helped the previous elders escape from the Martial Alliance’s Great Demon Prison.”

Kwak Yeon briefly recalled the Blood-Chant Demon Monk at Huayang Temple saying he had been confined in the hidden chamber for ten years, then said,

“So unidentified Servitors helped figures of the Demonic Eight Divisions escape from the Great Demon Prison, and with the power gained by performing that great evil art, they made them seize control of the Demonic Eight Divisions.”

Jin Cheongha answered with dark eyes,

“The situation in the other Demonic Eight Divisions is likely not much different from our Ghost Night Castle, so yes, that is probably true.”

Kwak Yeon became even more certain that these Servitors presiding over the evil art were part of the evil aura that had descended upon the world.

If people capable of performing such a great evil art were nothing but errand runners, then how formidable was the true source of the evil aura itself?

Kwak Yeon suddenly understood why Unseon Taoist had worried that the world was filled with evil aura.

The Demonic Eight Divisions, too, were nothing more than tools for those people. The demons of the Demonic Eight Divisions, who bore grudges against the orthodox martial world, had accepted the great evil art for the sake of revenge.

Kwak Yeon abruptly realized that he still had not heard the story he truly wanted from Jin Cheongha, and he asked,

“What is your purpose in coming to the Martial Alliance, Young Castle Lord?”

“.......”

Seeing Jin Cheongha bite her lip instead of answering, Kwak Yeon continued asking,

“You cannot mean to borrow the Martial Alliance’s strength to deal with the rebels of Ghost Night Castle, can you? If you did that, Ghost Night Castle as a whole would be subjected to the Martial Alliance’s indiscriminate attack and disappear without a trace.”

“That is right.”

Jin Cheongha nodded readily.

“Not all of Ghost Night Castle has become the Servitors’ slaves. As Young Castle Lord, I cannot abandon them.”

Kwak Yeon thought that calling those who had received the great evil art “slaves” was quite apt.

“I came to the Martial Alliance as the Young Castle Lord of Ghost Night Castle in order to restore Ghost Night Castle to its proper form.”

“You mean that method is here in the Martial Alliance?”

“If it is, would you help me?”

At Jin Cheongha’s sudden question in return, Kwak Yeon could not answer for a moment.

He knew that she had asked back instead of refusing to answer his question.

But Kwak Yeon’s nature was so plain and direct that he took it seriously.

“Honestly, I cannot promise that.”

Seeing Kwak Yeon’s solemn expression, a faint smile appeared and vanished at the corners of Jin Cheongha’s mouth.

“In truth, I did not say it because I hoped for that.”

“......!”

“In any case, the method itself is not in the Martial Alliance. But it is true that the clue to finding that method is here in the Martial Alliance.”

When Kwak Yeon looked at her with genuinely curious eyes, Jin Cheongha shook her head.

“I cannot tell you more than that. It is not because I do not trust you, Taoist Kwak...... It is because this is something I must do entirely on my own.”

It was something only she, as Young Castle Lord, could do.

It was also the only thread-thin possibility of restoring Ghost Night Castle to its proper form.

With even the slightest carelessness, that thread would snap.

“You must regret bringing me here now, Taoist Kwak.”

Jin Cheongha thought he must be deeply disappointed. After all the effort Kwak Yeon had made to give her his trust, he had still failed to receive an answer from her.

And yet......

“If your purpose is to restore Ghost Night Castle to its proper form, why would I regret anything?”

“......!”

“My late teacher said that the Tao and the demonic path within a person’s heart are merely a difference in direction. Whether one looks only to oneself, or to all within the four seas. Ah, listen to this resident Taoist saying things far beyond his place.”

Kwak Yeon gave a bitter smile and continued.

“In any case, my thought is that if it is a proper demonic path, there is no particular reason to deny its existence.”

“......Thank you, Taoist Kwak.”

“What is there to thank me for? Each of us is simply doing what we must......”

Kwak Yeon shook his head and continued calmly.

“In any case, thank you for honestly revealing the affairs of Ghost Night Castle to me. It has been a great help.”

“......!”

At Kwak Yeon’s sincere words of thanks, Jin Cheongha’s chest grew tight.

“And...... please do not forget that I am waiting, whenever it may be.”

Jin Cheongha was suddenly overcome and lowered her head.

If she did not, she felt as if the tears she had been holding back all this time would spill over.

A heavy silence flowed through the main hall of the guest residence.

“Brother Kwak! Your elder brother is here.”

CREAK!

Hu Gae flung open the door to the main hall and strode in, forcing Jin Cheongha to lower her head even deeper.

“Huh?”

Hu Gae’s round eyes widened, then immediately narrowed into sharp triangles.

“Brother Kwak, you...... why did you make Sister Jin cry again?”

Just as Kwak Yeon was about to furrow his brow, Jin Cheongha suddenly raised her head and said,

“Sub-Branch Master, I am not crying!”

“If you were not being scolded, why was your head down? And why are your eyes so red?”

“This is...... because something got in my eye, and I was trying to get it out. In any case, Taoist Kwak did nothing wrong.”

After finishing those words, Jin Cheongha hurriedly rose from her seat and went into the inner room.

THUD!

Hu Gae watched Jin Cheongha’s back with a baffled expression. Once the door to the inner room closed, he quickly turned his gaze to Kwak Yeon.

“Something happened between you two, didn’t it?”

Kwak Yeon furrowed his brow.

“Brother, restrain yourself. If you tease a Taoist, you will receive punishment from the Immortal’s Whip.”

“Damn it, now you act like a Taoist? In any case......”

“More importantly, Brother, you said you would be very late, so why have you returned so quickly? Has Elder Begs-for-All returned?”

“No.”

“Then......?”

“If you dump an entire barrel of oil onto a burning house, how could things possibly stay quiet?”

“......?”

“The Alliance Leader wants to hear it in person.”

“That is something you alone could go for, is it not?”

“They say the Alliance Leader also wants to see Brother Kwak, so he told us to come together.”

*****

The Alliance Leader’s Office, the center of the Martial Alliance, stood atop a massive stone outcrop that rose high in the middle of Dragon-Quelling Hill.

The smooth granite outcrop, more than ten jang tall, was itself an enormous fortress wall.

Perhaps because of that, when Kwak Yeon passed the Strategists’ Office and came face-to-face with the Alliance Leader’s Office, one word came to his mind.

Impregnable.

He could understand why people said the Martial Alliance had withstood every invasion and calamity for hundreds of years without falling thanks to the solidity of this Alliance Leader’s Office.

After they climbed the steps carved into the granite, a grand gate tower blocked their path.

The gate stood wide open, and a familiar face was waiting before it, which lessened the pressure somewhat.

“Hey there! We meet again, Unit Lord Myung.”

Hocheon Unit Lord Myung Jincheon gave a courteous sword salute toward Hu Gae, who greeted him with delight.

“Welcome, Hu Gae. I ask your understanding that I cannot lay down my sword while on duty.”

Kwak Yeon no longer found that emotionless voice as uncomfortable as before.

“It is good to see you again, Unit Lord Myung.”

“It is good to see you as well, Taoist Kwak.”

Hocheon Unit Lord Myung Jincheon gave Kwak Yeon a sword salute, then said to Hu Gae,

“Hu Gae, you will have to wait here for a while. The senior leaders’ council is taking longer than expected.”

“Well, can’t be helped. The heads of the great sects and great families are in a meeting.”

Hu Gae, who had missed a meal because he had hurried over, nodded with a regretful expression and continued.

“Unit Lord Myung, this beggar cannot very well block the castle gate, so I would appreciate some shade somewhere. Is there not a saying that a face burned beneath autumn sunlight stays dark for more than three years?”

For a beggar to avoid sunlight was nonsense. What he meant was that Myung Jincheon should guide them to a waiting room and bring them a cup of tea—though liquor would be even better, of course.

“Hu Gae, there are prior guests, so there is no suitable place to receive you inside the hall. If you truly need shade, go up to the gate tower. You can see the entirety of Dragon-Quelling Hill from there, so you will not be bored while waiting.”

At Hocheon Unit Lord Myung Jincheon’s words, Hu Gae had no choice but to grumble as he climbed the gate tower.

“Damn it. I went asking for shade for nothing, and now I’ve only made my two legs suffer more.”

But after climbing the gate tower, he completely forgot the hardship of those two legs.

“Hey! Brother Kwak, this was worth climbing up for, even if it was a dog’s labor!”

At the magnificent view of the entire Martial Alliance—and even Wuhan Prefectural City across the Yangtze River—spread out as clearly as if it were within reach, Hu Gae let out exclamations again and again.

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