Yellow Dragon Lord, Genius Swordsman
Episode 41
“Ugh!”
The field sighed and the document dragon raised its body.
Soon, extreme regret came over him, and every muscle and joint in his body screamed as he hastily raised his upper body.
“Euuuuuuu!”
“You’re the type of person who suffers by buying things, aren’t you?”
“What about you?”
“I am the person you were looking for.”
The document dragon, who had been blankly nodding his head at Nosong’s answer, flinched as if he had just remembered something.
“Where is he?”
“Why? Are you going to go and get revenge?”
How could that be?
It was a document dragon that made my teeth chatter just thinking about it.
Nosong saw his expression and smiled bitterly to calm him down.
“Dan Sa-hyeok has already returned to Hwangryongseong a long time ago. And he doesn’t have any ill feelings toward you, so don’t worry too much.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. In fact, why would you have any ill feelings towards him? You didn’t even do him any harm.”
The document dragon bowed his head deeply at Nosong’s soft but sharp words.
“That’s true, I guess. To him, I was just a typical puppy who didn’t know how to be afraid of a tiger.”
“You’re quite objective when it comes to self-evaluation, sir.”
“… … But I have no regrets. Because I experienced with my whole body the skills of the swordsman who is closest to the best in the world.”
“Well, I couldn’t even let him hold the hilt of the knife.”
“… … .”
“Oh, I’m sorry about that. When I see friends like you, I just want to tease you.”
Nosong, who was smiling in vain, held out a piece of paper in front of Document Dragon.
“I know very well why you came looking for this old man. Normally, I would have no obligation or duty to grant your request, but this time, I will let it slide.”
“Is it because I am a disciple of the volcano?”
“Huh? No, do you think I would pay attention to the volcano’s mood? It’s just that Dan Sa-hyeok seems to like you.”
“yes?”
It was a truly unexpected answer for Document Dragon.
“He, Dan Sa-hyeok, me… …?”
“That’s right. To quote him directly, in this day and age, people like you are rare.”
“Ugh… … .”
“I agree with that. Hehe, in this day and age, it’s hard to find someone foolish enough to risk their life simply because they want to fight against the strong.”
“I just did what my heart told me to do, Elder Cheonan-gae.”
“Yes. People like that may be criticized by others as being foolish, but they don’t easily betray others or break trust. That’s probably why Dan Sa-hyeok spared you.”
The expression on Nosong’s face hardened slightly.
“So you’re saying he could have killed me? Of course, considering his status, he could have easily done that… … .”
“Think about it. If Dan Sa-hyeok sends you back as a bloody scapegoat, will you just sit there and do nothing?”
“Umm… … .”
“Even if the Hwasan faction stays still, what about the subordinate factions under them? People are more foolish than you think, and there will definitely be some among them who make the foolish decision to take revenge on Dan Sa-hyeok in order to look good to the Hwasan faction.”
“Certainly… … that might be the case.”
“If that happens, Dan Sa-hyeok will also become annoyed. In the end, the most certain way to eliminate the aftereffects and annoyance is to make sure nothing is known.”
“You mean by getting rid of me?”
“Yes. And looking at the personality of Dan Sa-hyeok that I have observed, it would not be strange for him to make such a decision.”
At Nosong’s words, Document Dragon became gloomy.
“Then why did you keep me alive? As you guessed, I might tell the monks about this.”
“It’s one of two things. Either I trust you to keep your mouth shut, or I’m confident that you’ll be able to handle it if you end up telling the truth.”
“… … .”
“The choice is yours. But let me tell you one thing for sure: Dan Sa-hyeok will not give you a second chance.”
“All right.”
The document dragon answered with a stern expression and picked up the paper lying on the floor.
There were several names listed in rough handwriting, and that was exactly what the document dragon was looking for.
“It’s the interest. They are the ones who are behind the scenes taunting the priests and the fools and making up empty promises.”
“That’s right. They’re the ones who came forward to establish a new martial arts alliance with babies.”
“I need to do some research right away… … but my physical condition might be a little dangerous.”
“Are you looking for help? I’m sorry, but our division is severely short on combat specialists.”
“But wouldn’t it be possible to find a suitable expert with your connections and information network?”
“Well, even so, it seems like it’ll take quite some time. It’s not like it can’t be done, but I’m worried that your priest and the reckless ones might cause trouble in the meantime.”
“I think so too.”
After thinking about it for a moment, Document Dragon finally opened his mouth.
“If that’s the case… … .”
* * *
“Whew, I’m really going to die.”
Nam Jae-il, covered in sweat, muttered while panting.
The third training ground of the Yellow Dragon Castle.
There were seven combined training grounds within the castle, and among them, the third training ground was the largest.
Since it is a place that can easily accommodate thousands of people, it is so lonely and eerie to practice alone.
The reason Nam Jae-il deliberately visited such a place was because he did not want others to see his rehabilitation training.
But then, an unexpected person happened to enter the place.
“Huh.”
“you are…….”
It was Jang Woo-cheol.
He also came here to practice without telling others.
The two people whose eyes met looked away awkwardly.
“Are you feeling better?”
“It wasn’t a serious injury from the start. Wounds of this magnitude are common on the battlefield.”
“I see. Well, then take care.”
“for a moment.”
As Jang Woo-cheol was about to leave, Nam Jae-il called out to him.
“I heard that you were hired by our branch manager, I think it was Brother Jang.”
“That’s what my older brother said. I’m not a private investigator, I just learned some simple techniques.”
“Are you saying that you and the branch manager are already close enough to be friends? You’re a greater person than I thought, Brother Jang.”
“Oh, no. Not to that extent. By the way, I heard that my brother Nam fought against the infamous Gwang-an Salsu Dang-hwan.”
“It would be embarrassing to say that we were aiming for the sum. In reality, we couldn’t even touch the tip of that bastard’s hair.”
“But if you say Dang-Hwan, he is one of the strongest people in this world. You can have confidence.”
“Umm, thank you.”
The two quickly became close because they could communicate better than expected.
As we talked and talked about this and that, we found out that our age was roughly similar.
Eventually, we quickly abandoned our formalities and began to speak freely.
“What do you think, Woo-cheol? If it’s okay with you, I could look into your options and give you some advice.”
“Then I should be grateful! Let me ask you a favor, Jaeil.”
“Okay. Then show me the recipe you are most confident in.”
Jang Woo-cheol became embarrassed at Nam Jae-il’s words.
“How about this? It feels a bit awkward when I actually try to do it.”
“Wouldn’t it be better than hiding it tightly and dying screaming before the enemy can see it?”
“You also have a secretly sharp personality.”
“That’s what happens when you roll around like a dog in the frozen soil of Gansu Province. Anyway, don’t be shy and spread it out.”
“Hmm, okay. Okay.”
While the two were training together while bickering, somewhere else, Yehong and Odu Seok were having a conversation.
“I see. My brother is the best swordsman in Baekdo Murim, the Changcheon Sword King… … .”
“Well, even if you say it was a water level, it wouldn’t be comparable to the Blood Heavenly Horse.”
Looking at Yehong’s flushed face, Oh Du-seok spoke bluntly.
“To be honest, if the guys here were stronger than Cheon Mu-yeol, they would have killed him long ago.”
“Anyway, I’m glad things worked out well. Even so, if thousands of them had attacked at once, it would have been dangerous even for Brother Sa-hyeok.”
“Well. Regardless of whether they have the courage to do that, if they were Dan Sa-hyeok, they would have been able to run away even if they were attacked.”
“But the branch manager didn’t do anything?”
“Oh, I didn’t do anything. If I wasn’t here, Dan Sa-hyeok would have been in a lot of trouble.”
“Is that so? How did I help you, brother?”
“Ahem, now that I think about it, I forgot that we had a prior engagement.”
“The branch manager said that he had made a prior appointment with someone he knew here.”
“Well, there is something like that. Anyway, don’t just ask questions. You should do something too.”
“I’m doing enough work. At least more than the branch manager.”
Yehong responded by cutting up some washed vegetables.
It was she who helped Jin Suk-su on the day he arrived at Hwangryongseong, and she ended up helping him prepare meals until he found an assistant.
“If you don’t think you’ll be back by Yu-shi (酉時), then just eat outside and come back. I won’t leave any food behind.”
“Anyway, that bastard is still nagging.”
Oduseok walks away, shaking his head.
After parting ways with Yehong, he went straight outside Huanglong Castle and walked for a long time.
As I entered the inn near the castle gate, there was someone waving from a corner.
“Here it is.”
“hmm.”
Oduseok walked over to the man with brisk strides, sat down in front of him, and immediately picked up some dried anchovies on the table and ate them.
“I never dreamed that you would call me.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. We’re not close enough to have secret conversations like this in the first place, are we?”
At Odu Seok’s words, the other party, Jeolwoldo Bingwoocheon, smiled bitterly.
He was the last leader of the Black Tiger Corps, the executive branch of the Murim Alliance, or the inspection agency.
Originally, it was tasked with responding immediately when an incident occurred within or outside of the organization, but with the organization disappearing, its very existence was destroyed.
Of course, how many warriors belonging to the Murim Alliance are not like that?
“It seems you didn’t tell Dan Sa-hyeok Dae-hyeop.”
“I’m not that guy’s junior. Do you think I would even report such trivial things?”
“I was hoping that you would at least give me a heads up, if not a report.”
O Du-seok immediately understood the true meaning behind Bing Woo-cheon’s words.
“In short, are you telling Dan Sa-hyeok to hire you again?”
“To be honest, yes.”
“If that was the case, I don’t think the Murim Alliance would have been disbanded.”
“Strictly speaking, it is not true that the Dan Sa Hyeok Dae Hyeop disbanded the alliance.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Odu Seok grabbed the bowl of water from Bingwoocheon and drank it down in gulps.
“He only took the Hwangryongseong. As soon as that happened, the ones who ignored the aftermath and ran away were the higher-ups of the Murim Alliance.”
“Because of this, only the people below are suffering.”
Bingwoocheon looked down at the bowl of water in Oduseok’s hand.
His own hardened face was reflected.
“They are just ordinary warriors who have done nothing wrong other than dedicate their entire lives to the cause of Maeng and Gangho.”
“Hmm.”
“Is that really what Dan Sa-hyeok Dae-hyeop wants?”
