Chapter 054
"I heard that swords made at the Yueshan Forge are being offered as prizes at this Dragon Gate Gathering."
"Oh, you mean that Yueshan Forge from Sichuan?"
"That's right. And there's talk that Master Sugyeong will be attending this Dragon Gate Gathering..."
"Ohhh!"
"Plus, it seems someone important from the imperial court will be coming too."
"Wow, the Dragon Gate Li Clan must be having quite a headache."
"What's there to worry about? We just hear these things and forget about them."
"That's true!"
Though the weather has been cold for some time, people always show great interest in gatherings of Murim practitioners. Just as gossips love to wag their tongues, those who aren't martial artists tend to be fascinated by the conflicts between Murim practitioners.
The Dragon Gate Gathering, managed by the Dragon Gate Li Clan—the foremost family in Luoyang—was arguably the largest Murim assembly in the Luoyang area, and indeed throughout Henan.
"Speaking of which, I heard the White Cat Fairy from Mount Funiu is coming to this Dragon Gate Gathering."
"You mean the disciple of the Thousand Sword Heroine?"
"That's right! And they say the Iron Lion from Shaolin is coming down personally!"
"What? Really?"
"That's what I heard!"
"Iron Lion? Who's that? Isn't it the Incapable Monk?"
"Incapable Monk? Don't ever mention that nickname in public! If someone connected to Shaolin heard you, they'd be shocked!"
The conversation included talk about Muwon, who was called the Incapable Monk because he showed no interest in martial arts and lived like a wastrel.
"I heard the Cloud Plum Sword, the genius from Mount Hua, is coming too."
"Along with the Azure Willow Blade from Qingcheng, they're counted among the Thirteen Elites as late-blooming talents."
"Are all the stars gathering?"
"It'll be interesting to see faces that have never appeared at the Dragon Gate Gathering before."
Stories about the geniuses from Mount Hua and Qingcheng Sect were mixed in. Occasionally, there was talk about the Thirteen Elites—the thirteen most famous young talents in the current martial world.
"It's unusual that so many people are planning to attend the Dragon Gate Gathering."
"Indeed. The Dragon Gate Li Clan is famous for being close to the government, but don't many Murim practitioners resent that?"
"They do. How many sects among the Eight Great Clans and Nine Major Sects don't view the Dragon Gate Li Clan with suspicion due to their close ties with the imperial court?"
"Yet they're sending people to this Dragon Gate Gathering."
"It must be because Master Sugyeong is staying in Luoyang."
"That must be it. I wish we could see the master's face too."
"Even a divine dragon in the clouds would be less mysterious than Master Sugyeong."
The chatter among people walking the streets showed no signs of stopping.
Many sects and clans were displeased with the fact that the Dragon Gate Li Clan was hosting the gathering. For whatever reason, there was a widespread perception that there was little point in attending a martial arts tournament hosted by a clan like the Dragon Gate Li Clan. The Dragon Gate Li Clan leaned more toward the "official" side of the official-martial divide.
But this time was different.
Not only were late-blooming talents from the Nine Major Sects participating—sects that had never joined the Dragon Gate Gathering before—but even the Eight Great Clans, who viewed the Dragon Gate Li Clan with suspicion, were sending representatives.
That alone made the scale enormously larger.
It was being said that it might rival the Heavenly Martial Gathering held by the Murim Alliance every four years, or the Great Martial Mount Hua Gathering held at Mount Hua to honor the heroes of the Old Murim era.
"It's just a rumor, but I heard the daughter of the Night Emperor is participating in the Dragon Gate Gathering."
"They say Lady Namgung, the Jade Sword Flower, is coming too."
"Wow, what a grand occasion this winter. We'll feast our eyes before the year ends!"
When famous young talents of the martial world gather, it means there will be plenty to see.
While the Dragon Gate Gathering was quite a large event, it had been somewhat shunned by the Nine Major Sects and Eight Great Clans, giving it the reputation of being more of a stepping stone for smaller factions.
But looking at this year's participants, it was an entirely different story.
"I heard the Poison Flower from the Tang Clan is coming too."
"Not just the Tang Clan—the Clear Wind Sword from Wudang is coming as well."
"What? Is Master Cheongmyeong really coming?"
"They say even the Zhongnan Sect, which has never shown its face at the Dragon Gate Gathering, is sending someone."
"How strange."
"Since Master Sugyeong is staying in Luoyang, could that be the reason?"
"Is that really such a big deal?"
In response to the people's questions, the man who had mentioned Baek Sugyeong puffed out his chest proudly.
"Don't you all know how the Wudang Sword Hero is regarded by Murim practitioners?"
"Ah!"
"There's only one reason why martial artists from the Nine Major Sects, the Eight Great Clans, and even smaller factions are flocking to the Dragon Gate Gathering."
"To seek teachings from Master Sugyeong?"
"Exactly that!"
If Baek Sugyeong had heard this, he would have laughed until he collapsed from the absurdity.
Such conversations were taking place throughout the streets of Luoyang.
...
Namgung Somin was somewhat troubled.
It was because of the questions she had about Baek Sugyeong.
'I can't sense any inner power or energy from the teacher. But the prowess he showed at Shaolin clearly surpassed that of a master.'
Of course, she had wondered if he had simply been too careless when he was kidnapped by the assassin.
But something didn't add up.
Most of what Baek Sugyeong showed seemed too far removed from someone who was hiding something.
Of course, she couldn't rule out the possibility that he was a recluse from the Old Murim era.
'What if he was such a high-level master that his skills were beyond her ability to sense?'
"But if that's the case..."
Why did Baek Sugyeong start writing instead of practicing martial arts?
That was the unsolved question.
Of course, masters are often described as eccentric, but even so, it remained incomprehensible.
"This is difficult..."
The disparity between Baek Sugyeong's usual behavior and the idea that he was concealing his martial arts was too great.
So was Baek Sugyeong truly ignorant of martial arts?
'Either he has compelling reasons not to reveal his martial arts, or...'
Perhaps he had lost his martial arts and couldn't respond properly.
The latter would make sense, and even the former wouldn't be particularly strange.
If Baek Sugyeong didn't know martial arts, everything would make sense.
Even if he had lost his martial arts, things would still fit together reasonably well.
It would explain why he couldn't react when he was kidnapped by the Wanderer of Mystic Sound.
She suddenly recalled what Monk Ogong had said when evaluating Baek Sugyeong.
"A master who infuses the principles of martial arts into his writing... perhaps he did lose his martial arts."
But Baek Sugyeong himself showed no signs of trying to recover his martial arts.
Perhaps he had grown tired of the martial world and its grudges.
Namgung Somin thought that maybe he hadn't lost his martial arts but had abandoned them willingly, and thus had no desire to regain them.
"Even so..."
Namgung Somin's duty remained the same.
Nothing would change.
Protecting Baek Sugyeong.
Keeping him safe from danger.
That was all.
Come to think of it, she who had taken up the sword at others' behest didn't really have any dreams of her own.
In her recent conversation with Baek Sugyeong, her dream was simple.
She wanted to protect Baek Sugyeong forever.
"For that to happen, I need to make sure there aren't more competitors..."
The problem was that Baek Sugyeong kept spreading his charm everywhere.
Despite his ordinary appearance, every woman he met seemed to be enchanted.
"Let's not add any more."
Namgung Somin rose to her feet, thinking that the current three women by his side were quite enough.
...
"What am I really doing..."
Gal Yerung was sighing, shut away in her quarters.
Far from negotiating with the Night Emperor and carrying out Yanoe's orders to use Baek Sugyeong to bring the Hao Sect into the light, she was just stagnating by his side.
It was frustrating.
She felt slightly self-loathing when she saw herself engaged in a battle of nerves with the two foxes—she had grown accustomed to calling them foxes—over Baek Sugyeong.
"I can't proceed with the plan like this..."
Gal Yerung, with her head buried in her folded arms, let out a sigh and lifted her head slightly.
Would things have been different if she had stayed by his side as the Left Commander of the Hao Sect rather than as the daughter of the Night Emperor?
That was unknown.
Although Baek Sugyeong seemed unconcerned despite being attacked by the Dark Mist Society, that too was uncertain.
Reading "Wudang Sword Hero," one could sense a strange hostility toward unorthodox factions, which made her uncomfortable.
"If it weren't for those idiots from the Dark Mist Society."
Gal Yerung's complaints were ultimately directed at the Dark Mist Society.
If they hadn't targeted Baek Sugyeong but had simply created a distraction and extracted their contact, Baek Sugyeong wouldn't have developed hostility toward unorthodox factions.
Of course, Gal Yerung deliberately ignored the fact that the root cause lay with the Hao Sect.
No, she tried to ignore it.
"Sigh... since the root cause is with us, we've dug our own grave."
With her face resting on her arms, Gal Yerung pressed and rubbed her index finger on the table.
She was troubled.
Come to think of it, she remembered hearing that the assassin sent by the Dark Mist Society was the Wanderer of Mystic Sound, said to be the strongest among human assassins.
"Because that guy messed up so badly, everything got complicated."
It's true that the Dark Mist Society has exceptionally strong forces among assassination guilds.
It's also true that they're weak in direct confrontation because they're assassins.
Someone of the Wanderer of Mystic Sound's caliber could infiltrate past the Murim Alliance's security and cause such an incident, but an ordinary assassin probably couldn't have done so.
"Seeing how those who never make mistakes made one, perhaps Master Baek is blessed by the universe's energy."
A question suddenly arose in Gal Yerung's mind.
"It's strange that Master Baek, who must be a martial arts master, was so easily kidnapped by the Wanderer of Mystic Sound. Could he have lost his martial arts?"
This thought invalidated Gal Yerung's own assumption that Baek Sugyeong was a master.
It was a thought based on what she had felt while staying by his side.
It was also a question she had while gathering information about him and the events in Xuchang.
She, like Namgung Somin, had been questioning Baek Sugyeong.
"Perhaps it was just speculation."
The high level of understanding of martial arts that seemed impossible without being a master.
The prejudice that a person who incorporated this into novels must be a martial arts master.
Gal Yerung thought that this might have happened because of a kind of preconception that arose from her and Namgung Somin being martial artists.
"Whether he lost his martial arts or never knew them in the first place... I suppose it doesn't really matter."
What's important is Baek Sugyeong himself, not whether he has learned martial arts.
Baek Sugyeong's existence has already had a huge impact on the martial world.
He has elevated the Auspicious Cloud Trading Company to its current position in an instant and caused people to flock to Shaolin and Wudang.
Wherever he goes, something changes.
As if connections gather where Baek Sugyeong stays.
Therefore.
"I absolutely cannot let him go."
She has no intention of letting go of Baek Sugyeong.
Nor does she intend to lose him to Namgung Somin or So Ssanga.
Even before the Hao Sect, she had already fallen for Baek Sugyeong without realizing it.
"...Absolutely not."
As Gal Yerung made this pledge, her red hair swayed slightly in the breeze coming through the window.