The Terminally-Ill Side-Character Inside of a Martial Arts Novel

Henan Province, Luoyang*. (tl/n: Luoyang – ancient China’s capital; the capital of nine ruling dynasties)

As the saying goes,’If you want to know the rise and fall of Chinese history, look at Luoyang,’ Luoyang was a place that had made its name widely known as the capital of many countries throughout its long history.

Although Luoyang’s prestige declined as Hangzhou developed around Zhejiang and Anhui shortly after the Song dynasty was established, the Murim Alliance settled there and achieved much development.

It was also a place that many people chose as the best place to live due to its mild weather even in winter.

An old man was sitting alone in a pavilion built on top of a steeply curved cliff, wearing thin clothes and tilting a wine cup.

The Flash Sky Sword City. The Murim Alliance Leader, Namgoong Baek.

His hand, which had been leisurely tilting the wine cup using the sky as a roof and the cliff as a side dish, slowly stopped.

He put down the wine cup and turned his head to see a man carefully crossing the path along the cliff.

Namgoong Baek smiled faintly. He spoke leisurely to Namgoong Seolbyeok, who was kneeling right in front of him.

“Have you come to be a drinking companion for your master who is enjoying wine alone?”

“I wish that were so, but it’s not.”

“Tsk, what a pity. To think that no one visits with such a nice view. It’s lamentable that people don’t know that the origin of the world lies in the vast sky and the seemingly breaking cliff.”

Namgoong Seolbyeok blankly examined the pavilion where he was sitting. Who would sit and drink wine in a pavilion that looked like it would disappear down the cliff if the ground collapsed right now?

Looking back at his master who was doing something even a person with considerable courage couldn’t do, he opened his mouth.

“The participants for this martial arts competition have been confirmed.”

“Is that so.”

At the uninterested voice, Namgoong Seolbyeok smiled faintly. It was indeed difficult for the Murim Alliance Leader to pay attention to the annual martial arts competition.

There were so many more important events, so it wasn’t particularly strange for him to have such a lukewarm reaction.

“I wonder if there will be any useful fellows this time.”

His voice quietly brushed Namgoong Seolbyeok’s ear, expecting that since the Demon Cult was participating, they would send some decent people.

“I think you can look forward to it.”

“Hmm?”

His hand stopped as he was pouring wine into the cup.

“All four dragons and four flowers have expressed their intention to participate.”

“Oh, so all the dragons and flowers are gathering…”

Namgoong Baek looked up at the sky and slowly drained his wine cup.

The four dragons and four flowers.

It referred to the best late-blooming talents who would lead the Central Plains. The fact that they, who had already passed all verifications, would show up at the martial arts competition probably meant they were stimulated by the Demon Cult’s participation.

Namgoong Baek was slowly lowering his wine cup when something occurred to him and he turned his head.

“Come to think of it, isn’t Moyong Do of the Moyong clan also included in the four dragons?”

“That’s right. He’s evaluated as the first dragon among the four dragons. And… he’s also the older brother of Moyong Sowol who married Young Cult Leader Hyuk Dojin.”

“Haha, that’s interesting. Siblings who once lived under the same roof now meet as the rising star of the Righteous Sect and the sky of the Demon Cult. The ways of the world are unpredictable.”

He picked up the wine bottle to refill his cup. But the wine had long since run out.

Namgoong Baek licked his lips and shook the bottle, then turned his head.

“Did you say the Young Cult Leader is also participating?”

“There hasn’t been such news yet.”

“I see.”

He got up and approached the edge of the pavilion, stopping precariously. One step forward would be a thousand-li cliff.

Namgoong Baek put his hands behind his back and quietly looked up at the sky, then spoke slowly.

“There’s talk that the Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult has crossed the Transcendent Demonic Realm. What do you think?”

“No matter how abnormal the growth of demonic arts is, it’s impossible to cross the Transcendent Demonic Realm at such a young age. Even you, Master, who was called a genius, could only enter the threshold of the Flowering Realm after passing forty. It’s probably an exaggerated rumor.”

Namgoong Baek smiled faintly. The wall of the Flowering Realm, which he could only break through after the age of forty, was a source of pride for him.

But the one who thoroughly shattered that pride was Hyuk Muhyeol, who was the Young Cult Leader at the time.

Hyuk Muhyeol, who entered the Transcendent Demonic Realm, leaping over thirty years, shattered his pride with overwhelming power.

To think he was the son of such a man.

“I want to compete directly. I wonder how much of a monster the son of that monster is.”

A faint smile hung on his lips.

* * *

Fortunately, the snow that had been falling as if to cover Yueyang stopped, and the bright sun shone in the sky that had been full of dark clouds.

It was such good weather that our footsteps leaving on the road again were light, but the mood wasn’t particularly good.

“Haha! To think we’re heading to the same place like this. This must be fate. I was feeling lonely without a conversation partner as I was going with my disciples, but it’s fortunate to meet someone I can talk to.”

Everything would have been perfect if it weren’t for Cha Jinmok, who was chattering even more noisily than yesterday.

It was none other than Cha Jinmok who blocked us as we tried to quickly leave Yueyang after breakfast with Hyuk Dojin. He talked about yesterday’s events and moved along the same road we were going.

After all, this was the only road to the mountain path heading to Hubei. So whether we liked it or not, our direction had to be the same.

Hyuk Dojin gave lukewarm answers to Cha Jinmok, who was more talkative than a chatterbox, and rolled his eyes back to look at me.

Because of these people, I was following behind Hyuk Dojin without even being able to take off my bamboo hat.

[Shall we knock them out and run away?]

[…Our destinations are the same, and we might meet them again elsewhere. I think it’s better to cross this mountain first and then part ways vaguely.]

After quietly answering Hyuk Dojin, I turned my head. The disciples of the Mount Heng Sect following behind me were looking at me and whispering something among themselves.

It’s a stifling situation with no way out front or back. As I was sighing, Cha Jinmok’s noisy voice was heard again.

“Come to think of it, did your wife learn martial arts like you? Seeing how well she’s keeping up without falling behind on this mountain hike, she must have good stamina.”

Now the attention seems to be focused on me. I quietly answered while avoiding Cha Jinmok’s burdensome gaze looking at me.

“I learned a little for health benefits.”

“Huh, a wandering married couple. How interesting. Ah! Come to think of it, I didn’t hear your names when we introduced ourselves yesterday. What’s your name? We’re walking together, so let’s at least know each other’s names.”

“…It’s Dojin.”

“Hmm, Dojin. And your wife?”

“Sowol.”

Cha Jinmok nodded while rubbing his chin. He was smiling so broadly that his cheekbones were jutting out, for some reason very pleased.

After that, Cha Jinmok continued to talk to Hyuk Dojin, and Hyuk Dojin had to be his conversation partner.

Just when I was feeling a strange sensation as if I had suddenly become a widow with my husband stolen away, the mountain hike ended and a small village appeared.

As soon as he saw the village, Hyuk Dojin’s furrowed face brightened. I could feel how difficult it had been from his expression change that seemed even happier than when he met me.

I hurriedly approached Hyuk Dojin, grabbed his arm, and spoke quickly.

“We have somewhere to go here, so we’ll go ahead first.”

“Huh? Are you leaving?”

“Yes. We have things to prepare before crossing the Yangtze River, and my aunt lives in this area, so we’ll visit her and go.”

“Is that so? What a pity. I was glad that we seemed to be having a good conversation… But it can’t be helped. Well then, take care. I hope we can meet again if we have the chance.”

Cha Jinmok licked his lips with a very regretful face. He took his following disciples and left leisurely, receiving our send-off as we waved our hands.

I stared blankly at their retreating figures, then let out a long sigh.

“I’ve never seen someone so talkative. From now on, we should avoid people from Mount Heng as much as possible. If we run into them again, we might die from exhaustion.”

I had the same thought. Not only his mouth that didn’t stop for two hours, but the brilliantly changing conversation topics were also admirable.

To be able to continue a conversation like that. If that’s a skill, it’s certainly a skill.

“I’m exhausted, shall we eat lunch before going?”

I nodded at Hyuk Dojin’s suggestion. Since it was a small village, there weren’t many restaurants, so we found a decent place, took seats, ordered food, and slowly looked around the village. It was a quiet village exuding tranquility with few people.

Thinking that there wouldn’t be any conflicts here, we were eating our food when two men carrying bundles on their backs came in and took seats.

As soon as they sat down, they ordered food and started chattering noisily.

Just when we were exhausted from Cha Jinmok’s chatter until a moment ago, now it’s the chatter of peddlers.

The voices piercing my ears made me feel like my nerves were on edge. The peaceful chopstick movements became dull and cracks appeared in my calm expression.

It wasn’t just me, but Hyuk Dojin was the same. No, he seemed even worse than me. After all, he was the one who had been directly listening to Cha Jinmok’s chatter beside him.

Finally, when Hyuk Dojin, whose patience had run out, put down his chopsticks and opened his mouth to say something-

We heard agitated voices.

“Ah! Come to think of it, I heard there was a bloodbath at the Yangtze River.”

“A bloodbath?”

“They say the Demon Cult suddenly attacked righteous sect masters who were moving to participate in the Murim Alliance’s martial arts competition, and dozens were killed and injured.”

“We know the Demon Cult bastards are dirty and ignorant, but why did they suddenly attack?”

“Who knows! But because of that, they say the Yangtze River area is brutal now. They’re in an uproar trying to find the culprits. They say if anyone seems related to the Demon Cult, they’re caught and tortured first.”

At their conversation, Hyuk Dojin’s mouth, which was about to open, slowly closed.

He looked at the peddlers over my shoulder, then turned his gaze to me.

[Did you hear anything?]

[No. And I gave instructions to move as quietly as possible in small numbers without causing problems. If we had moved first and attacked the Righteous Sect, even the smallest thing would have reached my ears, but it’s not the case.]

[Then is the story about attacking the Righteous Sect a lie?]

I agreed with his words. I also wanted to avoid unnecessary fights now.

[…]

Instead of answering, Hyuk Dojin shook his head. In the meantime, the peddlers had left their seats. Hyuk Dojin spoke quietly with narrowed brows.

“I’ll tell them to investigate this matter separately. You don’t need to worry. More importantly, we’re the problem. It seems we keep getting involved in strange incidents, so I think it’s best to lay low as much as possible until we cross the Yangtze River.”

After finishing our meal and leaving the inn, we moved in a different direction from where Cha Jinmok had headed.

It wasn’t a very long distance to the ferry where there was a boat crossing the Yangtze River.

Around noon the next day, we were able to arrive at the village with the ferry.

It was considerably larger than the previous village and the buildings were taller. Normally we would sightsee here and spend time eating food, but we immediately moved to find a boat, worried that we might get involved in another strange incident if we did so.

There weren’t many boats crossing the Yangtze River. Especially in winter, weak boats couldn’t cross the river because it was frozen. Because of that, only two or three large ships were docked.

“How much to cross the river?”

Hyuk Dojin approached the man dealing with people trying to cross by boat and asked.

He alternately examined me and Hyuk Dojin, then replied gruffly.

“Five taels of silver.”

What a scammer…! You can buy a sack of rice with one tael of silver, and he’s asking for five?

In the moment I was frozen in disbelief, Hyuk Dojin calmly took out money and handed it to him.

The man checked the money, then jerked his chin to point at the boat behind him. I hurriedly followed Hyuk Dojin as he passed by the man and spoke urgently.

“It’s too expensive!”

“I know. But I just gave it to avoid drawing attention by haggling over the price.”

“But…”

I hesitated and looked back. Meanwhile, an argument had broken out over the boat fare behind us, and eventually people gathered to watch, and then a man who looked like a martial artist dragged him away somewhere.

At that sight, I silently turned my head and closed my mouth tightly.

Indeed, it was wise. But it was instantly regrettable that Hyuk Dojin, who had only looked one step ahead, didn’t have the foresight to look two moves ahead.

“Oh? We meet again here? Hahaha! This really must be fate!”

Even heaven is heartless. The person waving his hand at us cheerfully with a loud voice was Cha Jinmok, whom we had so desperately wanted to avoid.

“…Damn it.”

And for the first time, I could hear a curse coming out of Hyuk Dojin’s mouth.