Jewon Baek Family
To abandon one's own family's inner cultivation method and learn another one?
The first thought that sprang to Tang Mujin's mind was, "That just shows how inferior Jewon Baek Family's martial arts must be."
But the very next moment, a far darker suspicion flashed across his mind.
Aren't Baek choo-seo's eyes set on Baek Hyang-a's yin energy?
A horrifying thought.
Tang Mujin frowned deeply.
"No… it must just be a coincidence. That couldn't possibly be the case."
"Why not?"
"There's such a thing as the natural order, isn't there?"
Goiyi twisted his lips into a crooked smile.
"Well, you've been far too lucky until now. There's no way you could understand the way martial artists think."
"And why not?"
"You left home knowing nothing of martial arts, yet you've already seized first-rate achievement. There may be those more talented than you, but none who climbed realms as quickly as you have. Medical knowledge, rare elixirs, and the best masters combined into one result."
Strange as his words sounded, they weren't wrong.
While others practiced martial arts blindly and haphazardly, Tang Mujin had sharpened his skills systematically, using the medical knowledge of his household.
He had taken elixirs most would never even smell once in their entire lives—twice.
Others considered themselves lucky if a first-rate master trained them, but Tang Mujin had learned under the direct guidance of a supreme expert. He even had a suitable sparring partner.
"You grew too fast and too easily. You've never once tasted the inner torment that ordinary martial artists must face. This world is full of people who only become second-rate after swinging a sword for ten or twenty years, and many who devote their entire lives to reaching first-rate."
Among the external disciples of the Sichuan Chengdu Branch, many were such people, and even around his home, small-clan martial artists were filled with such cases.
But Tang Mujin had never once stalled, never once floundered in hesitation or despair.
That's why he had never looked at himself through their eyes. Since beginning his journey, he had been too busy racing forward.
Still, this was not something he could easily accept.
"Even so…"
"When you stormed into Zhang Xiangchai's place in Chongqing and saved those children, remember what the beggars said? That there were demonic scum who would drain children's vital essence just to cultivate their inner strength."
"That's different. Those children and the demonic scum were total strangers. That was sheer depravity."
"But Lord Baek doesn't intend to take Baek Lady's life, does he? And besides, she's not some six-year-old child. Comparing which act is filthier is meaningless."
Tang Mujin shook his head. His mind could grasp the logic, but his heart rejected it. And it always would.
"When a martial artist hits a wall, the torment can drive them to consider insane methods like that. They may swing their sword for months, for years, just to overcome a single wall—with no guarantee of progress. For a few months, they can grit their teeth. But after years? Slowly, without realizing it, they go mad."
Tang Mujin recalled Cheongbok, the inheritor of the Evil Gu Legacy.
Even as a Shaolin monk who cultivated for decades, when his martial progress stalled, his mind twisted. How much worse must it be for ordinary men who face such pain?
"…Still, others don't resort to such means."
"Others can always quit if they can't endure. But Lord Baek is different. What do you think would happen if the head of a martial clan abandoned martial arts? Whether he wills it or not, he must keep striving, keep challenging, until death. He is fated to die leaning against that wall."
Goiyi's voice sank low.
"Think from his eyes. Every time people looked at Lord Baek, they thought of the great Sword King. At every moment, they compared the talentless Lord Baek to the Sword King. And he had to watch, day by day, as the clan his father built crumbled in his hands."
"…"
"The only answer is to improve his martial ability. Yet after decades of cultivation, he cannot escape the first-rate realm. Eventually he realizes: no matter how long he swings his sword, he'll never break even the wall of peak realm, let alone touch the transcendent level. Outwardly he may seem fine—but inside, he's already broken."
Goiyi's words were vivid and grounded. How many similar people had he seen in his wanderings?
For an ordinary man to crave extraordinary achievement, he must choose extraordinary means. That is the truth of the world.
Still, Tang Mujin denied Goiyi's words.
"But what if it's not like that? What if it really is just a marriage alliance with the Sama Family, and learning Yeolyanggong is coincidence?"
"That would be best. I'll make a quick trip to the Sama Family. You rest."
***
Two evenings later, Goiyi returned from Luoyang.
"There was no marriage talk between Sama Family and Jewon Baek Family."
Even though Tang Mujin had half-expected it, his chest felt stifled.
For the past two nights, he had secretly climbed over Jewon Baek Family's walls to watch the clan lord train. He did not once touch a sword—only trained in circulation and cultivation exercises.
And from those exercises radiated a faint heat. Circumstantial evidence now neared certainty.
"What will you do?"
"We'll have to give the medicine you made to Lady Baek. Once her severed meridians are cured, everything will be solved."
Tang Mujin pressed between his brows, then forced a bright smile to change the subject.
"For all your talk of probabilities, I see even you don't like violating the natural order, Elder."
"What nonsense? That has nothing to do with it. The reason I oppose Lord Baek is purely a matter of odds."
"Huh?"
"If she takes the medicine soon, there's an eighty percent chance of recovery. But with Baek choo-seo's current skill, practicing a half-baked Yeolyanggong won't give him much chance of saving Lady Baek with that dual cultivation method."
In the strangest of ways, Goiyi could be nauseating. Tang Mujin sighed.
"Let's just say it's because of the natural order."
"Think as you like. Shall we go protect it then?"
Goiyi pulled out two sets of jet-black night clothes, masks included.
Tang Mujin and Goiyi changed.
They melted into the darkness and leapt over Jewon Baek Family's walls.
***
Though night had fully fallen, Lord Baek was still engrossed in training. Goiyi studied him for a long while before muttering with conviction,
"Again, it's undoubtedly the Flame Fist Method."
"He trains until the dead of night, sometimes until dawn. He won't be entering the main hall anytime soon."
"And in just two days, you've become quite the gentleman, sneaking around unnoticed."
"As if I enjoyed it."
After carefully surveying their surroundings, the two slipped into the main hall. Only from Lady Baek's chamber came the faint trace of life.
They entered. Baek Hyang-a was fast asleep.
Tang Mujin hesitated, unsure how to proceed. Goiyi, however, did not.
He abruptly pressed Baek Hyang-a's mute acupoint. She woke with a start, eyes wide in terror, but unable to scream. She shrank into a corner, trembling.
"We mean you no harm. Be at ease."
Goiyi waited calmly.
After a short while, her trembling eased somewhat. Fear remained, but she was steadier.
"Lady Baek. Have you ever heard of any marriage talks concerning you?"
She shook her head. That confirmed it.
Marriage talks could proceed without her consent, but not without her knowledge once decided.
Goiyi asked again.
"Lady Baek. Do you know what the Severed Meridian Syndrome is?"
She nodded.
"Then, do you know what dual cultivation means?"
She nodded again, though with smaller movement this time, embarrassed by the term.
"Do you know that if one who practices Yeolyanggong engages in dual cultivation, they can cure severed meridians and increase their inner strength?"
At Goiyi's words, Baek Hyang-a's shoulders shook violently.
A stranger from the martial world suddenly barged in, talking of dual cultivation and enhancing inner strength—her reaction was only natural.
Goiyi raised both hands and said,
"We haven't practiced Yeolyanggong, so there's no need to worry."
Tang Mujin fell into brief thought.
From here on, the story was so shocking that he wasn't sure how to explain it.
But Goiyi was not the sort of man to care about such minor details.
Gesturing beyond the wall, Goiyi spoke.
"But outside, Lord Baek is diligently training in Yeolyanggong."
Baek Hyang-a's eyes flew wide. The shock was so great that though she couldn't speak, her lips opened and closed soundlessly.
Tang Mujin quickly cut in.
"But there is one way. If you take this medicine, the symptoms of Severed Meridian Syndrome will lessen, and Lord Baek will have no reason to defy the natural order."
He pulled out a pitch-black pill. Its pungent scent filled the room.
Tang Mujin held it out. Baek Hyang-a stretched forward a trembling hand—then suddenly drew it back with a small shake of her head.
Tang Mujin gave an awkward smile, though hidden by his mask.
"The smell may be strong, but its effects are certain."
But Baek Hyang-a still shook her head. She clearly had her reasons, though they were difficult to guess.
When Tang Mujin glanced at him, Goiyi reluctantly approached her.
"Know this—if you scream, it will only bring trouble upon us all."
As he released her mute acupoint, Baek Hyang-a made a trembling sound, ah… ahh…, testing her voice.
Even that brief cry was full of quivers.
After a long hesitation, she seemed to gather her resolve and spoke.
"I will not take the medicine."
"Then what, you would rather die of Severed Meridian?"
She shook her head.
Tang Mujin felt a faint dizziness. If she would not take the medicine, and she would not die of Severed Meridian, then only one path remained.
"Are you out of your mind?"
"I have watched my father up close my entire life. More than anyone, I know how much he suffers."
"Come to your senses. Do you hear what you're saying? This goes against the natural order, against the bonds of Heaven. It will harm not only you, Lady Baek, but Lord Baek as well."
Perhaps because of the sincerity in Tang Mujin's voice, Baek Hyang-a hesitated.
But her conclusion did not change. Her voice firmed.
"My father and I will steel our hearts and endure."
Her trembling gradually faded as she spoke.
In that brief moment, Baek Hyang-a had solidified her resolve.
Both Tang Mujin and Goiyi realized too late that her values could not be the same as an ordinary person's.
Clan Lord Baek choo-seo lived a life where Jewon Baek Family was everything. But Baek Hyang-a's world was even narrower.
The only people she knew were her father and a handful of household retainers. She had lived her whole life inside the walls, and for the past few years, she hadn't even left the clan's main hall.
For her, Lord Baek was the only pillar she could lean on. How vast must his meaning be to her? Tang Mujin couldn't begin to imagine.
"Please. Return now, forget all of this. I will never speak a word of your visit."
"Think again. If you take the medicine, you have eight chances in ten to live. But if you take that path, nine times out of ten you will die. Severed Meridian Syndrome cannot be endured by a few short years of Yeolyanggong."
Instead of replying, Baek Hyang-a leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.
A clear rejection—an order to leave.
She had chosen her father's martial pursuit and the clan's fate over her own life and the natural order.
The unexpected decision left Tang Mujin's mind reeling. What should he do?
Should he try once more to persuade her with the medicine? Or should he truly respect her wish and leave in silence?
But even the most tangled problem becomes clear in the hands of a madman.
Goiyi clamped his left hand over Baek Hyang-a's mouth and, without hesitation, struck her fainting acupoint with his right.
She struggled briefly, then slumped like a puppet with its strings cut.
Goiyi hefted the unconscious Baek Hyang-a onto his back.
She must have been shocked—but so was Tang Mujin.
"What in the world are you doing?"
"Didn't I tell you before? I treat every patient, regardless of what those around them think. Do you remember?"
It was a conversation they'd had at a nearby inn, about whom to treat and whom not to treat.
"…I remember."
When Tang Mujin replied, Goiyi smirked.
"I don't even care about the patient's own wishes."