Chapter 28

Chapter 28. The Youngsters of the Martial Alliance

“Branch Leader, please wait a moment!”

The people who dropped down from the bridge were young men whose faces still carried traces of youth.

However, their status was anything but insignificant.

They were important enough that even Magae greeted them with a fist-and-palm salute.

“How can you reveal such important information to just anyone?”

The young man who stepped forward to criticize Magae was Namgung Cheol (南宮哲) of the Namgung Family, the foremost among the Five Great Families.

Namgung Cheol wore a hero’s headband adorned with a red jade.

With his handsome but strangely slick-looking face, no one could complain if someone called him prettier than a courtesan.

One might have expected him to have a soft, gentle voice because of his appearance, but surprisingly, his voice was a deep and masculine one.

Magae immediately adopted a somewhat servile posture.

It was completely different from the attitude he had shown toward the Eccentric Doctor and Jaha.

“Ah, that’s not what happened. This gentleman here is the Eccentric Doctor himself.”

But the gloomy-looking young man standing beside Namgung Cheol replied,

“So?”

The Eccentric Doctor turned his gaze toward the young man.

Not only did the youth have a gloomy appearance, but there was also something sinister about his presence.

His eyes shone with a faint green hue, giving him an almost mysterious aura.

“Haha. Young Master Dang, I’m talking about Elder Uk Gyeom, the Eccentric Doctor.”

Magae assumed the young man had failed to understand, so he explained once again.

The gloomy-looking young man was Dang Jong (唐鐘), known as a genius of the Dang Family.

“So, is that physician a member of the Martial Alliance?”

This time, the young man beside Dang Jong glared at Magae as he spoke.

The person who had casually dismissed the Eccentric Doctor as nothing more than an ordinary physician was Paeng U-myeong (彭佑命), the young heir of the Paeng Family.

He was a large young man carrying a great saber on his back and was regarded as a pillar who would one day lead the Paeng Family into the future.

Standing very close beside Paeng U-myeong was a young woman.

She was Jegal Yuyeon (諸葛柔然) of the Jegal Family, who had recently become engaged to Paeng U-myeong.

With the young heirs of several of the Five Great Families suddenly appearing all at once, Magae felt his head spinning.

To make matters worse, every single one of them had apparently eaten their manners along with their breakfast.

They possessed almost no courtesy whatsoever.

The heirs of the great families had grown up knowing little fear of the world.

Unless someone possessed a background or reputation greater than the Five Great Families, they had a tendency to look down on them.

No matter how much etiquette they were taught, their sense of privilege had already seeped deep into their bones.

Because of that, even renowned seniors of the martial world like the Eccentric Doctor were occasionally treated with disrespect.

In truth, they already knew who the Eccentric Doctor was.

They simply disliked him.

Since he stood somewhere between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions, they deliberately ignored him.

“He may not belong to the Martial Alliance, but he is well acquainted with many of the Alliance’s elders.”

Magae hurriedly changed the subject before the situation worsened.

“By the way, Young Masters, what brings all of you here?”

As expected of someone who had spent many years surviving in the martial world, Magae had no trouble diverting the attention of these youngsters.

“We were on our way to the Shandong Ak Family to discuss matters concerning the upcoming Seokji Martial Tournament.”

“Ah. Now that you mention it, the Seokji Martial Tournament is not far away.”

These young heirs of the great families had been traveling toward the Shandong Ak Family.

They were going there to discuss the Seokji Martial Tournament (世玉之武), a martial competition organized by the Five Great Families and centered around the prestigious martial clans.

There were three famous martial competitions in the martial world.

Each was hosted by the Martial Alliance, the Five Great Families, and the Demonic Path respectively.

The martial competition hosted by the Martial Alliance was called the Yongbong Martial Tournament (龍鳳之武).

The one hosted by the Demonic Path was known as the Star of the Dark Heaven (暗天之星).

Along with the Seokji Martial Tournament, these three were known as the Three Great Martial Competitions.

Countless young martial artists dreamed of participating in them.

The Sichuan Dang Family, Hebei Paeng Family, Anhui Namgung Family, and Hubei Jegal Family had entered Shanxi while traveling toward the Shandong Ak Family, which was the farthest destination among them.

While there, they heard news about Deung Hwahong and immediately sought out Magae, the southern Shanxi Branch Leader of the Beggars’ Union.

They knew better than anyone that the Beggars’ Union possessed the finest information network in the martial world.

They had decided that this was a perfect opportunity to spread their heroic names throughout the martial world.

“While traveling, we heard that an important person valued by the Martial Alliance was kidnapped by Hwancheonma while heading toward Mount Hua Sect. Then the Western Gorge Gang stole that person away from him and placed them in even greater danger.”

The young man continued proudly,

“That is why we came here personally to protect this important person.”

“I see.”

Magae put on an expression as though he were deeply impressed by their passionate declaration.

Then he asked,

“Did the young masters bring many escort warriors with you?”

They were, after all, heirs of the great families.

There was no way they normally traveled without guards.

Magae asked with a little hope.

“None. It is only the four of us.”

“What?”

Magae had assumed that even if these arrogant youngsters themselves were unreliable, their escort warriors would be a great help.

Yet they had brought none?

“The four of us are more than enough for this journey, so we did not bring any guards.”

“Oh dear. That makes things troublesome…”

Magae accidentally voiced his true feelings.

If these young heirs tried to protect Deung Hwahong, ended up fighting Hwancheonma and the Western Gorge Gang, and something happened to them…

Forget about being promoted to the Beggars’ Union headquarters.

He might not even survive.

If the Eccentric Doctor or some young man from a countryside martial school died, the Beggars’ Union could probably smooth things over somehow.

The Eccentric Doctor belonged neither fully to the Orthodox nor Unorthodox faction, and he had no real faction or organization behind him.

There would be no one powerful enough to demand answers if he died.

As for the young man from some rural martial school, his background was so insignificant that Magae could deal with the consequences himself.

But these promising heirs of the Five Great Families were on an entirely different level of importance.

“What do you mean by that? Are you saying you don’t trust our abilities?”

Paeng U-myeong asked while glancing toward the Eccentric Doctor and Jaha.

His meaning was obvious.

He was subtly showing Magae that their abilities were superior to those two.

“Heh… Good grief.”

Magae was so dumbfounded that a hollow laugh escaped him.

He wore an awkward expression.

Seeing that, the Eccentric Doctor spoke.

“Magae, what does it matter? These young masters possess such admirable chivalrous spirits. Whatever happens, they will surely take responsibility for themselves. So why not just tell them everything?”

Magae already knew these youngsters would never back down simply because he refused them.

That was exactly why he had been troubled.

If things start looking dangerous later, I can just send them somewhere else. For now, I should simply keep them satisfied.

After organizing his thoughts, Magae spoke.

“Since the young masters insist, there is nothing else I can do. Very well. Follow me.”

Magae took the lead.

The Eccentric Doctor and Jaha followed him.

Dang Jong frowned.

“Branch Leader, are those two coming with us as well?”

Magae nodded.

“Yes. Right now, Hwancheonma and Ma Gi, the leader of the Western Gorge Gang, are desperately searching everywhere for the person we are trying to protect.”

He continued,

“We need every expert we can get. And that young man is also the one who brought the important person here, so he is essential to us.”

After saying that, Magae immediately sped forward as though making it clear that he would answer no more questions.

The Eccentric Doctor and Jaha simply followed behind him.

Dang Jong, Paeng U-myeong, Namgung Cheol, and Jegal Yuyeon looked displeased.

However, since they had nothing to argue against, they followed as well.

While running, Namgung Cheol glanced sideways at Jaha.

They had already been traveling with lightness techniques for roughly thirty minutes.

Normally, unknown nobodies like Jaha would have exhausted their true qi and fallen behind by now.

Yet Jaha continued following without showing the slightest sign of fatigue.

That stirred Namgung Cheol’s competitive spirit.

From the moment they met, Namgung Cheol had disliked both the Eccentric Doctor and Jaha.

He wanted to humiliate them.

More than anything else, he disliked the fact that Jaha had not looked at them with admiration.

Whenever they revealed their identities elsewhere, people almost always stared at them in awe.

Men or women, young or old—it made no difference.

There were almost no exceptions.

The Eccentric Doctor could be excused because everyone knew how eccentric he was.

But this fellow who looked like little more than the Eccentric Doctor’s attendant kept glancing at them as though their words were ridiculous.

That gaze irritated Namgung Cheol like a thorn stuck in his throat.

So he decided to humiliate Jaha along the way.

And judging from the meaningful smiles exchanged between the three young men, Namgung Cheol was not alone in thinking that way.

Jegal Yuyeon, who was running shoulder to shoulder beside Paeng U-myeong, noticed their expressions.

They really are still nothing more than children. Why are they wasting their attention on that young man?

Jegal Yuyeon had chosen Paeng U-myeong as the fiancé arranged for her by her family.

However, whenever he behaved this childishly, she felt her affection for him fading.

Jegal Yuyeon was known as one of the brilliant young women of the Jegal Family.

She possessed an exceptionally sharp mind.

From her perspective, these men were far too immature.

That was why she rarely spoke whenever she was with them.

She had no desire to provoke them unnecessarily.

Nor did she particularly enjoy lowering herself to hold conversations with people she considered childish.

Within her family, she actually had a cheerful personality.

But because she barely spoke around these people, they mistakenly believed that Jegal Yuyeon was naturally quiet.

The reason Jegal Yuyeon had become engaged to the Paeng Family’s young heir, Paeng U-myeong, was entirely because of her beauty.

There were many women in the Jegal Family who were more talented than her.

But there was no woman more beautiful.

Therefore, when Paeng U-myeong entered into a political marriage agreement with the Jegal Family, he selected Jegal Yuyeon, the most beautiful woman in the clan.

Because of that, Jegal Yuyeon had been unable to express her own wishes to the family.

An engagement with Paeng U-myeong, the young heir of the Paeng Family, was one of the Jegal Family’s most important political matters.

From the Jegal Family’s perspective, they were in a position where they would have had to accept whichever woman Paeng U-myeong chose.

Although the Jegal Family was counted among the Five Great Families, the reality was that its power was considerably weaker than the other four.

One method they used to overcome that weakness was strengthening their position through marriages with the other great families.

That was also why women from the Jegal Family had married into each of the other great clans.

Paeng U-myeong, on the other hand, treasured Jegal Yuyeon greatly.

Not only was she beautiful, but her brilliant intelligence amazed him.

In Paeng U-myeong’s entire life, Jegal Yuyeon was the only woman he had ever met who possessed both outstanding beauty and intelligence.

Just then, Dang Jong pulled something from his sleeve.

It was one of his favorite hidden weapons.

A Golden Coin Dart (金錢鏢).

Namgung Cheol and Paeng U-myeong smiled when they saw the dart in Dang Jong’s hand.

They could already guess what he intended to do.

Dang Jong placed the Golden Coin Dart on his thumb and prepared to flick it toward Jaha’s heel.

At that exact moment, Jaha suddenly changed direction around a tree.

“Hmm!”

Dang Jong grinned when he saw Jaha change direction at such perfect timing.

The group had now entered a densely wooded area.

In a place like this, no one would notice even if he fired the Golden Coin Dart.

Dang Jong once again prepared to flick his thumb.

Just as he was about to release the dart, Jaha changed direction again.

Once might have been coincidence.

But twice in a row made Dang Jong frown.

There’s no way he knows I’m trying to fire a hidden weapon without even looking behind him…

Once they entered thicker bushes, Dang Jong stopped aiming for Jaha’s heel.

This time, he aimed directly at Jaha’s shoulder.

Just as he was about to release the dart—

Jaha stepped into a puddle.

Splash!

Muddy water exploded upward and blocked Dang Jong’s view.

The timing was almost absurdly perfect.

Even so, Dang Jong still wore a faint smile.

He had undergone brutal training so that he could use hidden weapons even under conditions far worse than this.

Don’t think such a cheap trick will stop me.

Dang Jong had begun to suspect that Jaha had somehow noticed his attempts to fire the hidden weapon and was deliberately interfering.

But humiliating someone like you is still easier than eating porridge.

Ping!

The Golden Coin Dart shot from Dang Jong’s thumb.

At that exact moment, a strange sound rang out.

Thwack!

The instant Dang Jong released the dart, a tree branch suddenly whipped toward him and struck him directly on the forehead.

“Urgh!”

Caught completely off guard, Dang Jong lost his balance and fell flat on his back.

His vision flashed yellow.

He desperately tried to stand.

But his body staggered from side to side.

“Pfft!”

Jegal Yuyeon struggled to suppress the laugh that escaped while watching him.

Paeng U-myeong worried that Dang Jong might notice her reaction.

Using his large body, he subtly stepped in front of Jegal Yuyeon and blocked her from Dang Jong’s view.

Dang Jong was famous for being extremely prideful.

Paeng U-myeong feared that he might take out his embarrassment on Jegal Yuyeon.

“Good grief. A so-called rising star of the Five Great Families gets hit by a tree branch and loses his senses? What in the world are the Five Great Families teaching their disciples these days?”

The Eccentric Doctor clicked his tongue at Dang Jong as though he had been waiting for exactly this opportunity.

His words even carried a hint of mockery, as though he were finally getting revenge for the humiliation he had suffered beneath the bridge earlier.

Because Dang Jong had fallen, the group was unintentionally forced to stop and rest for a moment.

Dang Jong’s face had turned bright red.

Never in his life had he suffered such humiliation.

Naturally, his furious gaze turned toward Jaha.

His eyes were filled with killing intent.

He believed everything had happened because of Jaha.

Namgung Cheol, however, stared at Jaha with faint surprise.

At first, he too had believed it was merely coincidence that Jaha cleverly changed direction each time Dang Jong tried to fire the Golden Coin Dart.

There was a good reason for that.

Even they would have difficulty sensing a hidden weapon fired from behind by Dang Jong.

Detecting one of Dang Jong’s concealed weapons while running at full speed with a lightness technique should have been impossible.

Wasn’t the Eccentric Doctor himself unaware of it?

So when Jaha changed direction twice precisely when Dang Jong was about to attack, Namgung Cheol had dismissed it as coincidence.

He had thought the same when Jaha deliberately stepped into the muddy puddle and blocked Dang Jong’s vision.

But then he noticed something else.

At the same moment Jaha stepped into the puddle, he had bent a tree branch forward.

Then he released it at the precise instant Dang Jong passed by.

Seeing that made Namgung Cheol begin to wonder if any of it had really been coincidence.

He used the muddy water to draw Dang Jong’s attention, then used the branch’s elasticity to strike his forehead.

Namgung Cheol narrowed his eyes.

But… how did he know?

He stared strangely at Jaha.

Jaha stood there calmly, meeting Dang Jong’s murderous gaze with the proud, indifferent look of someone staring down at a subordinate.

Paeng U-myeong had received an entirely different shock.

He had seen something neither Dang Jong nor Namgung Cheol had seen.

The Golden Coin Dart had been flying toward Jaha’s shoulder, about to strike one of his acupoints.

Then Jaha’s left arm suddenly twisted backward.

And he caught the Golden Coin Dart.

Neither Dang Jong nor Namgung Cheol had seen it because the trees blocked their view.

However, Paeng U-myeong had been running beside Jaha and had witnessed the entire thing clearly.

How could his arm bend backward like that? It looked as though the bones had broken.

More shocking than the strange movement itself was the fact that Jaha had caught the Golden Coin Dart without even looking at it.

Paeng U-myeong could not help but be impressed.

Even he was not confident he could do something like that.

For the first time, Paeng U-myeong began looking at Jaha differently.

He had assumed the young man was nothing more than the Eccentric Doctor’s attendant.

Now, however, he began to wonder if his judgment had been completely wrong.