Chapter 104: Black Silk Celestial Silkworm (3)

At Yong Hwarin’s question, Gak Woo opened his mouth.

He too had admittedly harbored some disregard upon seeing the young Yong Hwarin. But after witnessing his martial prowess and wisdom, he let go of such thoughts.

‘Had we worked together with Young Master Yong, we wouldn’t have ended up in this mess. Trying to handle things ourselves only led us to fall into the enemy’s trap.’

Only now did Master Gak Woo realize just how naïve they had been.

“Our four senior brothers came out of the temple to retrieve a sacred item that had been stolen from the main sect. Along the way, we encountered the benefactors present here. To prepare for a situation like this, the item stolen from the temple had been imbued with a special scent. We followed that scent all the way to East Moon Pavilion. However, as the scent began to fade, we intended to resume the pursuit. Unfortunately, we ended up eating food at East Moon Pavilion without realizing it had been poisoned. It’s shameful to admit, but we were captured by the enemy. Had Benefactor Yong not rescued us, we cannot imagine what would have happened.”

The four Arhat monks bowed deeply once again toward Yong Hwarin and chanted a solemn Buddhist verse.

“In our haste, we failed to express our gratitude to Benefactor Yong. We shall never forget your grace.”

As the Shaolin monks arranged seats for them, Yong Hwarin finally spoke.

In truth, he had been hesitating, unsure of where to begin.

“There are also a few things I’ve yet to mention due to the chaotic circumstances. While rescuing Master Gak Woo and his brothers, I fought a woman. That woman used a black silk belt as a weapon. Thinking back on it now, I wondered if that might be the item you all were searching for.”

Yong Hwarin took out the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm and handed it to Jeong Minji.

“Ah!”

The three sisters of the Jeong Family House, stunned to unexpectedly recover the sacred item, fell speechless and stared at the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm in Yong Hwarin’s hand.

“It’s true. This is definitely our family’s Black Silk Celestial Silkworm.”

Yong Hwarin felt a flicker of doubt about whether he was doing the right thing.

‘These sacred items clearly have a purpose, yet I’m handing it over before even figuring out what that is. It feels like I’m giving something away that could be important. But if the Three Killing Three Heroes find out I have it, they’ll see me as a thief. No point clinging to something when I don’t even know how to use it.’

Yong Hwarin knew when to be greedy and when not to be. Unaware of his inner conflict, the three sisters of the Jeong Family House accepted the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm with emotional eyes.

“We don’t know how to thank you. If not for you, Young Master Yong…”

Jeong Minji was overcome with emotion, recalling the struggles they had endured searching for the item.

To them, the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm was not merely a sacred artifact.

Not only for her, but for the entire Jeong Family House, it was a relic of their clan.

Their house existed, in essence, to protect this Black Silk Celestial Silkworm.

And if the rightful owner of this artifact appeared, it was their fate to serve him as master.

Having had such a treasure stolen, they had pursued the Black Silken Sword with the resolve to die.

‘When will the true master of the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm appear to free us from this burden?’

The three sisters stared at the artifact endlessly.

“Now we just have to retrieve the temple’s sacred item,” said Master Gak Woo.

To this, Yong Hwarin responded.

“My family possesses a special technique that allows us to view a person’s memories. Using that technique, we saw that the one called the Black Silken Sword handed the item stolen from Shaolin to someone referred to as the Third Young Master.”

Gak Yoo let out a cry of realization.

“Ah! Now it makes sense. We, the monks, overheard some courtesans at East Moon Pavilion mention the Third Young Master. He seemed to be the one behind them. They also mentioned that a few dancing women were being sent to a celebration in Nampyeong County, where a secular disciple of Mount Hua was opening a martial arts hall. Could the Third Young Master be there? Benefactor Yong, do you know what he looks like?”

“I’ve only heard about him—I don’t actually know what he looks like.”

To recover the White Tiger Subduing Demon Sword, they had to find the man called the Third Young Master again. Master Gak Woo sighed heavily, feeling the difficulty of the task.

Master Gak Yoo thought for a moment, then added,

“Right, they also mentioned that sect leaders from the Dabie Sect and Heavenly Central Sect would be attending the event.”

Yong Hwarin jumped at those words.

“Is that true?”

Since the Black Silken Sword wasn’t present, he couldn’t verify it, which made it even more frustrating. But he recalled the images from the Black Silken Sword’s memories.

‘I didn’t realize it back then, but those images in his memory showed people from the Dabie Sect and a newly built martial arts hall. That explains it. Father didn’t attend the celebration in Imyeong County because he went there instead. But what was that eagle emblem? That must be related somehow, too.’

Originally, his father had never interacted much with local government officials.

Even when a new county magistrate was assigned to Haeun County, he would not attend the welcoming celebration.

That often led to him falling out of favor and suffering consequences.

‘And yet, whenever a martial arts hall opened, Father always made a point of attending. As a fellow martial artist, he believed in offering support to improve local security and martial arts development.’

Suddenly, a realization struck Yong Hwarin.

‘Could it be? They must have known that Father would attend the opening ceremony of the new martial arts hall—’

“My god!”

Yong Hwarin broke off his thoughts with a cry of horror.

Then he began pacing like a madman, deeply unsettled.

‘No… this is bad. That time too—Father had been returning from a martial arts hall’s opening. The timing’s different, but the situation is the same. Father’s in danger!’

And once more, Yong Hwarin trembled all over.

“Uwaaaah!”

Suddenly screaming, Yong Hwarin shook in fear as the clues all snapped into place.

“You stupid fool!”

Yong Hwarin screamed and began berating himself, prompting the others to look at him with wide eyes.

‘The eagle emblem was the symbol of Iron Hawk Gate.’

At last, a memory from his previous life resurfaced in Yong Hwarin’s mind.

It was a story he had heard in passing and hadn’t paid much attention to at the time.

‘The one opening the new martial arts hall was a secular disciple of Mount Hua. That man was Bongdu Sword Baltong. He killed the third son of the Iron Hawk Gate’s leader after a quarrel. Iron Hawk Gate couldn’t kill him in Shaanxi due to Mount Hua’s influence, so they waited. When he later moved to Henan and opened a martial arts hall, they massacred the trainees and Baltong, triggering a bloodbath. Over a hundred trainees were killed, and it nearly sparked a war between the Northern Justice League and Amyeong Valley.’

With the memory recovered, he could now infer a few things from the images he had seen in the Black Silken Sword’s mind.

‘These bastards informed Iron Hawk Gate once Bongdu Sword Baltong opened his hall. That’s why the eagle emblem appeared in the Black Silken Sword’s memory. When I overheard Masah and Deung Hwaun whispering, I should’ve paid attention to their mention of Taewol County. And when I heard Iron Hawk Gate had entered Henan at the inn, I should’ve connected the dots. I missed all the clues.’

Taewol County was where Iron Hawk Gate was based.

And now, he realized one more twisted thread in the future.

‘Damn… originally, Jegal Cheongyeong was supposed to stop by Mount Hua and get permission to form the Inner Lotus Alliance, and on her return, she’d encounter the Black Silken Sword. At that time, she was accompanied by Cheong Geonmin and Jeok Gwang. But because Jeok Gwang was injured by me and needed rest, that event changed. As a result, the Black Silken Sword never encountered Jegal Cheongyeong. Since he loses control if he doesn’t assault anyone for a long time, he entered Henan and recklessly tried to attack Mae Yeongyeong. In my past life, they had no point of contact, but that’s how they ended up meeting this time.’

The Shaolin Arhat monks and the Three Killing Three Heroes watched with concern as Yong Hwarin, like a dog drenched in the rain, wandered around in a daze.

Stopping mid-pace, Yong Hwarin looked at them and spoke.

“I’ll speak honestly. Please help me.”

“What is it? If it’s Benefactor Yong’s request, this humble monk will do all he can.”

When Gak Woo responded, Jeong Minji followed up.

“Please allow us the chance to repay your kindness, Young Master Yong.”

With their agreement, Yong Hwarin spoke candidly.

“I didn’t realize this at first, but while examining the Black Silken Sword’s memories, I discovered that my own family also possesses one of the sacred artifacts they’re after.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s why they’ve gathered in Haeun County. The Crimson Blood Demon also came here because of that.”

Master Gak Woo nodded slowly.

“The Black Silk Celestial Silkworm of the Jeong Family House, the White Tiger Subduing Demon Sword of Shaolin, and the Vermilion Bird Blood Grail kept by my family are the artifacts they’re after. I’ve never seen the Vermilion Bird Blood Grail myself. They easily stole the items from the Jeong Family House and Shaolin, but when they couldn’t find it at my family, they assumed we’d hidden it and planned to abduct my father, the Sect Leader.”

“Amitabha!”

“Then this is dire! Isn’t the Sect Leader attending the martial arts hall’s opening ceremony?”

Gak Pung was in the middle of speaking when he caught Yong Hwarin’s expression and stopped. Yong Hwarin realized that the changes in the future were also shifting the order of events.

‘I have to go ahead and stop them quickly. Father doesn’t know anything, so he’s vulnerable to the assassins. They intend to kill him and then immediately use Iron Hawk Gate to strike our home. They’re more meticulous than I thought. No doubt because Masah is leading the plan.’

Having come into contact with Masah’s soul, Yong Hwarin knew how dangerous the man truly was.

“There’s one more thing. This is even more urgent.”

Yong Hwarin’s trembling voice turned everyone serious.

“Not long ago, I heard that over a hundred elite members of Iron Hawk Gate entered Henan.”

“Aren’t they a sect affiliated with Amyeong Valley?”

The Shaolin monks knew enough about their neighboring demonic sects.

“The reason they entered Henan is…”

Yong Hwarin explained his theory and added that the martial arts hall opened by Baltong was in danger.

“Amitabha. Then this isn’t something a few people can handle. We must request aid from nearby sects.”

“Exactly. But we don’t have time. If we’re too late, everyone at the hall might be dead. Even if we request help now, the only nearby major sects are the Dabie Sect and my family. The rest are just minor halls. By the time someone alerts them and returns, it’ll take at least a day. By then, it’ll all be over. Right now, our best option is to get to the hall before Iron Hawk Gate and alert them to evacuate.”

“Benefactor Yong is right.”

With Master Gak Woo agreeing, there was no more argument.

They understood that Yong Hwarin was so agitated because the Sect Leader of Heavenly Central Sect would also be in attendance.

“Let’s leave immediately.”

Jeong Suji glanced at the hesitating Shaolin monks and spoke.

“Daji, go bring the horses.”

While Jeong Daji went to retrieve their horses from East Moon Pavilion, Jeong Suji asked the Shaolin monks,

“Do the masters have no horses?”

“Amitabha. We do not ride horses. We shall run using lightness technique, so do not worry.”

Everyone was impressed that the Shaolin monks would cover such a distance with nothing but their light footwork. No one else would even consider it.

Soon, Jeong Daji returned with the horses they had left before going to East Moon Pavilion. She even brought Yong Hwarin’s horse, and he clasped his fist to her in gratitude.

“In truth, I wasn’t planning on bringing your horse, Young Master.”

“Why not?”

When he asked casually, Jeong Daji smiled playfully.

“Wouldn’t that mean you’d have to ride with one of us?”

Yong Hwarin smiled softly at her boldness.

The third daughter of the Jeong Family House never faltered in any situation.

She was the brightest of the three and often joked around.

“Then shall I offer this horse to the masters?”

Yong Hwarin responded to her with a jest, and Jeong Daji laughed.

“Heehee, Young Master Yong really is different from others. Most men would be too flustered to joke like that.”

Yong Hwarin mounted his horse and said,

“Let’s hope the horse collapses on the way. Hyaah!”

As Yong Hwarin galloped ahead, the three sisters of the Jeong Family House followed after him. The Shaolin monks ran alongside them like the wind.

‘So that’s the famed Buddhist Shadow Immortal Mist Step of Shaolin.’

It looked as though they were walking, but they were keeping pace with galloping horses.

That was because their strides extended two to three zhang with each step. Even Jeong Suji, who often scoffed at them, was left speechless by the monks’ incredible movement technique.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep