SWNOVELXO Chapter 39
Before heading to the Mo Yong Family’s domain, most travelers along the main road tend to stop by a certain city.
Beijing.
The capital of the nation.
Generally speaking, martial artists rarely stay in Beijing, which is part of the Imperial Palace territory.
Even the Hebei Paeng Family, located near Beijing, build their estate on the outskirts of the extensive city rather than blatantly encroaching upon the area directly classified as ‘official’—that is, the Imperial Palace.
However, recently, many martial artists have been coming and going around Beijing, causing an heightened anxiety in the city.
Wasn’t it just the other day that the Martial World Alliance Leader passed through here?
If gathering martial artists requires the state to pay attention for various reasons—
In fact, there was something that the royal family, as well as the entirety of ‘Beijing’, was particularly concerned about.
The hero of the martial world—no, the ‘hero of the nation’, Mo Yongcheon.
His life was rapidly nearing its end, and the entire populace mourned. The royal palace expressed its condolences with utmost respect.
In truth, Beijing was preparing for war.
Not a war against foreign tribes or rebels, but a war against martial artists—a war that wasn’t really a war.
-If the Sword Saint loses his daughter, then the Sword Saint must be secured within the palace!
-If he wishes to retreat from the mundane world into the mountains, it would greatly destabilize the martial world, causing chaos that we must be prepared for!
Responding to the large-scale turmoil that the martial world might cause.
It was akin to preparing for a national war.
It was unavoidable.
Until the Heavenly Demon fell twenty years ago, even the slightest disturbance in the martial world could split mountains, turn rivers upside down, and wreak havoc on roads, causing significant administrative disruptions or paralyzed conditions.
Especially those known as ‘Green Forest’ types were particularly troublesome.
Martial artists who hid in places beyond the reach of the imperial influence created hideouts, and incidents involving robbery against passing ‘martial artists’ were constant.
It’s somewhat dubious to ask what the imperial court was doing—after all, they were indeed driving out rogues, bandits, and so on.
-KAAAACK! Impervious Law!! Impervious Law!!
When the bandits cried out for “Impervious Law,” those with immeasurable martial skills in the court stepped in and broke the bandits’ arms, even executing them.
Still, despite the overwhelming banditry throughout the Central Plains—both due to the vastness of the land and the sheer number of bandits—the biggest reason was that the bandits knew the rules of “Impervious Law” and thus did not cross the line.
Those who pay taxes are the common folk.
And the bandits began to pay taxes.
It might sound crazy, but the bandits carved paths into the mountains and collected tolls, paying taxes in the process.
-Then why don’t you eliminate the bandits on those mountain roads?
-Well, it was the Green Forest types who broke the mountain paths with their fists.
-Ah.
-It’s a toll road that the court hasn’t developed, so of course, there’s a toll to pay.
-Well, if that’s the case…
They even collected tolls and travelling fees from the general merchants and residents, and sometimes they would hire bearers to swiftly transport them using light foot techniques.
Paths opened all over the mountains, and the court didn’t intervene unless there were significantly serious casualties involved.
The taxes and backhanded money paid by Green Forest thugs through provincial officials were pretty lucrative too.
Thus, the court managed to coexist with the martial faction somewhat amicably.
This wasn’t merely because the court couldn’t control the martial artists, but rather because the taxes paid by notable martial artists who had their own titles were tremendous.
If a well-known figure with a title is labeled a ‘tax evader’?
That would be a massive disgrace, so even the regular righteous martial artists paid taxes comparable to those of general merchant or noble families, maintaining their sects and families.
It’s not that the court couldn’t control the martial artists.
With either capital strength, military force, or even martial prowess, the court could have subdued them.
It’s just that when factoring in the waste of unnecessary budgets and manpower, as well as the recovery costs after a full-blown confrontation with the martial world, they simply chose to leave things be.
If there are those beyond the court’s capabilities to control, there’s only one.
The nation’s hero, Sword Saint Mo Yongcheon.
Should he arrive in Beijing, then all the soldiers of Beijing must be summoned to welcome him with a grand parade.
That must be done.
It’s the only way to maintain at least a semblance of human control over the existence of a Sword Saint.
Thus, the royal family has kept a close watch over the martial world’s movements.
Not just because, decades ago, a martial faction within the palace rebelled and aligned with the Demon Cult, but also because the stability of the martial world was absolutely necessary for a moderate governance of the state.
So now, one of the royal family’s martial powers stands at the southern gate of Beijing, gazing long into the distance outside the city.
Some might think it’s a watch, while others may believe she’s observing distant enemies. The woman, clad in black martial attire embroidered with gold, [Sword Mistress] Yeocheong, watches the myriad of carriages heading toward the Mo Yong family along the southern main road of Beijing.
“Another day of watching for carriages heading to Mo Yong, is it, Royal Sword of the Emperor?”
“…Duke Taehwan.”
The elderly man, known as Duke Taehwan, stood beside Yeocheong. Though an old man, he appeared surprisingly spry, yet his garb bore the attire of a court eunuch.
“Enough peering about—come in and rest. By now, it hardly matters who heads to Mo Yong.”
“…….”
“In the end, what matters are three individuals. The Sword Saint. The Sword Saint’s daughter. And the physician who treated the Sword Saint’s daughter. If we could just bring these three into Beijing, the royal family’s prestige will soar even higher.”
“Are you planning to draw martial artists to the royal palace? Officially?”
“What’s stopping us? Both you and I have trained in martial arts, and if we shed our court garments and become commoners, we too become martial artists.”
Duke Taehwan pulled out a white fan from his robes and opened it wide.
“In the end, the only difference between being a martial artist or not is for whom you live. If you live for others, you are living as a part of the state organization receiving a salary; that’s what can be called a ‘government official’.”
“Sounds like you’re saying those who live freely outside formalities are martial artists, Duke Taehwan.”
“Power and freedom are proportional. Look at the Sword Saint. Wherever he stays becomes the center of the Central Plains, and once he wields his sword, he becomes an enemy to both the government and the martial world.”
“…….”
“So, this old man hopes to see the Sword Saint enter the palace.”
“I think I would prefer the opposite.”
“Hmm?”
“Instead of targeting the Sword Saint, we should aim for his daughter…no, his son-in-law.”
“Targeting the physician?”
Duke Taehwan tilted his head in surprise.
“Why?”
“What moves the Sword Saint is his daughter, and what moves her in turn is ultimately her son-in-law.”
“The one who holds loneliness in his heart, capable of igniting at any moment, is he to become a threat to the royal family?”
“If controlled well, he won’t explode. Even if he does, we’ll strike down before he turns Beijing into a sea of flames.”
Yeocheong pointed back and forth between herself and Duke Taehwan.
“Physician Seok Muwol. Absorbing him would be the easiest and quickest way for the royal family to gain an overwhelming position against martial forces, effectively quelling any unrest they may stir.”
“I see. So that’s why you’ve been advocating for bringing in Physician Seok.”
“Yes.”
“I understand. Then I shan’t press you further. But….”
“But?”
“Don’t get your hopes too high. You’re still young enough; trying to be younger doesn’t hold much meaning.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, but that’s not the point.”
As Yeocheong replied sternly, Duke Taehwan shrugged with his hands raised.
“Let’s just do it that way. I thought you might be thinking you could suddenly charge into the Mo Yong family, claiming you could reverse aging and treat like that Sword Mistress does.”
“Do you think you’re different, Duke Taehwan?”
“Me? Ha, my good fellow! What reason would I have to act recklessly like the Sword Mistress? I am satisfied with my age. I live well as an elder.”
“If someone could reverse aging and restore their youth, then you’d probably be at the gates of the Mo Yong family right now, not in Beijing.”
“Well…”
Duke Taehwan looked up to the sky and smiled faintly.
“That’s impossible.”
“…….”
“How can something that has already been lost be returned? While Sickness of Absolute Meridians can be treated, something lost decades ago cannot simply be restored. It’s not an illness. It’s just…gone.”
Duke Taehwan’s eyes began to glisten with moisture.
“No matter how much we desire it, lingering on what cannot be achieved is what we call delusion.”
“…….”
“And that delusion…is a vain imagination. Thoughts that can never come to be.”
After wiping his eyes with his sleeve, Duke Taehwan shook his head resolutely.
“The power of love might heal a loved one’s Absolute Meridians, but it cannot restore what’s lost.”
* * *
And here.
Hebei Paeng Family.
In the deepest part lies the residence of the Patriarch, Do Hwang.
“You claim you can help me retrieve what’s lost?”
Do Hwang grasped the letter conveyed to him through a messenger tightly.
“This person dares to deceive me!!”
What’s lost does not return.
“Not only treating me like a bald man, but claiming he can heal me? Ridiculous!!”
That is common sense.
When it is overturned, it becomes a miracle.
And miracles do not happen to just anyone.