Chapter 11: A Talent That Draws Attention (2)
The man and woman who had encountered Namgung Rim were watching the events unfolding inside the inn with interest.
The long-haired man was Jin Museong of the Shandong Jin Family, and the woman was Jin Arin.
Jin Arin looked at Namgung Rim with eyes full of curiosity.
The current jianghu was truly an era of the Nine Sects and Five Great Families. So it was only natural that Namgung Rim striding in despite an order from the Hebei Luo Family—one of the Five Great Families—piqued her interest.
“Who is that young man, to walk right in even after hearing ‘Hebei Luo Family’?”
Jin Museong assessed Namgung Rim’s attire.
“Light sky-blue with golden embroidery. If someone in Anhui is dressed like that, he must be from the Namgung Family.”
“The Namgung Family? The one recently expelled from the Five Great Families?”
“That’s right.”
Jin Arin looked back toward the interior of the inn with a surprised gaze.
“But what is he thinking, acting like that? If you’ve been expelled from the Five Great Families, you should be even more cautious.”
Even as the two watched, Namgung Rim’s actions showed no hesitation, his bearing utterly unshakable.
“Do you have a room?”
When Namgung Rim asked, the innkeeper answered, flustered.
“W-well, we do, but…”
At that moment, the innkeeper directed his gaze behind Namgung Rim.
“Did I not tell you to leave?”
It was the voice of the Hebei Luo Family guard.
The guard slowly turned and locked eyes with the turning Namgung Rim.
He flinched.
The guard had involuntarily taken a step back. He hadn’t sensed the aura of a master, nor had his opponent released any killing intent.
Yet simply meeting his eyes had made the guard flinch.
Eyes like an unfathomable ocean. That gaze evoked a supreme, unattainable existence.
Though he had flinched for but an instant, awareness that he was a man of the Hebei Luo Family allowed the guard to open his mouth with effort.
“I-I told you earlier. I said to leave…”
But without realizing it, he had instinctively raised his speech to a respectful level. Somehow, his opponent felt like someone he ought to speak to that way.
Namgung Rim faced him with a calm gaze and asked.
“Why? From the looks of it, it’s not as if you’ve rented the entire inn.”
“The Second Young Master of the Hebei Luo Family is here.”
“Hebei Luo Family.”
A faint smile rose to Namgung Rim’s lips.
“And yet you threaten others like this. So much for a prestigious family that is a member of the Five Great Families.”
“…!”
But Namgung Rim did not stop there.
“The prestige of the Orthodox Faction has fallen to the ground as well.”
Just as the guard was about to open his mouth in bewilderment, someone’s voice rang out.
“That is enough.”
It was the man who had been drinking in the inn.
The man with the sharp eyes kept his gaze on his wine cup as he continued.
“Namgung Family?”
Namgung Rim answered.
“That is correct.”
“Everything you said is true.”
Soon, the man looked at Namgung Rim and spoke again.
“I apologize for failing to properly demonstrate the prestige of the Orthodox Faction, and of a prestigious family. Song Baek.”
The guard answered.
“Y-yes.”
“Since this gentleman is correct, do not bar the guests. I wish to rest quietly.”
“Understood.”
And so the man quietly raised his wine cup once more, paying no heed to anything around him, as though he alone existed in this inn.
With matters settled thus, the innkeeper cautiously asked Namgung Rim.
“Th-then, shall I show you to your room?”
Namgung Rim looked at the innkeeper and answered with a gentle smile.
“Of course.”
Once Namgung Rim had gone into his quarters, the two people watching this scene from outside were quite surprised.
“He’s incredible. That young man, acting like that before the Five Great Families.”
At Jin Arin’s words, Jin Museong nodded.
“He is a man of mettle.”
“Could he still be deluding himself into thinking he’s one of the Five Great Families? You know the type—those who are intoxicated by past glory and cannot move on.”
“That is not the case. Did you not see that guard’s reaction just now?”
“He flinched and stepped back for no reason.”
“Exactly. He was startled by the man’s gaze itself. Meaning he is no ordinary person. And have you heard the rumors about the Mount Hua Sword Immortal?”
“I heard that too. The rumor that the Mount Hua Sword Immortal came to Anhui to execute the Lone Ghost Yin Flute, but suddenly turned back. And that it happened right after visiting the Namgung Family!”
“Precisely. Since he has come here, he is clearly after the Lone Ghost Yin Flute as well. It would be good to join forces with him.”
Jin Arin looked at Jin Museong in surprise.
“With that young man?”
“He is from Anhui, so he will be far more familiar with the surrounding area than we are. It will be helpful if we move together.”
“I suppose so. Ah, but I wanted our Shandong Jin Family to take all the credit for catching the Lone Ghost Yin Flute!”
Jin Museong smiled faintly.
“Do not worry about that. His martial arts do not seem likely to measure up to ours.”
Only then did Jin Arin nod in relief.
“Well, with such a large sword, there’s no way he could properly execute sword techniques.”
Jin Museong looked at the inn Namgung Rim had entered. It was already curious enough that the Mount Hua Sword Immortal had turned back, and now a member of the Namgung Family had appeared.
‘Many young rising martial artists have gathered here to catch the Lone Ghost Yin Flute and make a name for themselves, but a member of the Namgung Family is unexpected.’
* * *
I arrived with Jin Museong and Jin Arin at a place where Socha Mountain soon came into view. The path was gradually growing rugged. We decided to tie up our horses and proceed on foot.
Jin Arin was a talkative person. Even though I had given her a cold rebuke while tending the horses, she had kept talking to me without end.
‘Still, at least she isn’t the type to judge people like Nak Ilgun.’
At the very least, she was not someone who pitied or looked down on me just because I was from a family expelled from the Five Great Families.
After chatting about this and that for a while, she asked me.
“But I suppose you came here for the reward too, Young Master Namgung?”
“What reward do you mean?”
“The favor of the Wolha Sect.”
“That is the first I’ve heard of it.”
Jin Arin was surprised.
“You came here without even knowing that? The Lone Ghost Yin Flute kidnapped a woman from the Wolha Sect. That’s how he became even more infamous. Because the Wolha Sect offered a huge reward.”
The Wolha Sect.
A mysterious martial sect composed solely of women.
They rarely involved themselves in jianghu affairs, so they were not counted among the Nine Sects, but in terms of martial prowess alone, they were in no way inferior.
I had known of the Wolha Sect, but the news that the Lone Ghost Yin Flute had kidnapped one of their women was new to me.
‘With bad news piling up and my focus on training, I hadn’t paid attention.’
“Do you know what the reward is?”
“I don’t know exactly, but wouldn’t it be something tremendous? It is the Wolha Sect, after all, the one connected to the Mount Hua Sword Immortal.”
The story of the Mount Hua Sword Immortal and the Wolha Sect was famously told throughout the jianghu.
The Mount Hua Sword Immortal had loved a woman of the Wolha Sect, who was the next sect leader. Because the Wolha Sect’s leader could not marry, she had chosen not to accept the Mount Hua Sword Immortal’s heart.
Having loved her his whole life, the Mount Hua Sword Immortal invited her to Mount Hua alone the night before imparting his famous teaching. And they shared a brief meeting at Lotus Peak.
No one knew what happened there, but afterward, the Wolha Sect’s sword arts grew immensely stronger, leading to speculation that he had taught them some martial arts.
Jin Arin said with an excited face.
“Perhaps it might even be part of the Mount Hua Sword Immortal’s sword arts!”
The Mount Hua Sword Immortal’s sword arts.
“Then it is a reward I have no need for.”
“Huh? What do you mean…”
I left the surprised girl behind and picked up speed.
To me, a life-or-death battle was more important than such a reward anyway.
As I earnestly engaged in tracking the Lone Ghost Yin Flute, Jin Museong approached and spoke.
“All the trackers must have flocked here. The Lone Ghost Yin Flute’s final movements were reported in this area.”
If many masters had gathered, a net must have formed unintentionally.
‘Then the Lone Ghost Yin Flute must not have been able to escape this mountain either. But.’
I looked around Socha Mountain. It was vast—far too vast.
‘Finding him somewhere here is imposs—hm?’
Suddenly, a strange energy was felt.
And I could immediately identify the nature of that energy.
‘Evil qi.’
An energy felt from impure evil arts or demonic arts.
That energy was faintly sensed by me.
As though it were showing me the location of the prey I must kill.
In that instant, memories of my past life that I had recently awakened to surfaced.
[So you were the one going around killing the experts of our cult lately. I don’t know how you find us so easily, but your rampage ends today.]
After awakening to my past life, it was the first act of chivalry I had carried out.
In other words, an unprecedented experience.
Yet without panic, I instinctively intuited that it was the Dohwang sense capable of locating those trained in fiendish martial arts.
Judgment was instant.
I wasted no time and propelled my body forward.