Episode 7 Gwangmyeong Library
We arrived at our destination only after the sun had set over the pass.
Even though it was late at night, there were still a lot of people bustling around.
The wide open space was filled with shops in the shape of the letter “田”, giving it a very crowded feel.
“Is this a night market?”
“Night market? No. Where is this place? Isn’t it Jeollamansan or Cheonsan? Well, I haven’t actually counted them, but there are ten peaks. Anyway, the believers live scattered across seven of those peaks… … .”
Yul-tak wiped away the sweat from his body as he continued his explanation, perhaps exhausted from coming all the way here.
“The place where Somyeonggung and Gwangmyeonggung are located is Ilbong (日峰), the largest peak, and behind it are Wolbong, Hwabong, Subong, Mokbong, Geumbong, and Tobong. Everything is there except what is not on Ilbong. Why? Because it is where the leader lives. But other places are not. That is why you have to come all the way to the market on Subong (水峰).”
“hmm…….”
“Then what if? Some people arrive at night, some arrive during the day. So it has to be open all the time. So it’s right to call it a night market.”
I never thought that believers living in the mountains would have such difficulties.
Someone has to carry the goods here, and those who need them have to carry them over the mountain.
If one has reached a certain level of martial arts prowess, then it might not be so difficult. But for ordinary believers, it must be a difficult life.
As Yul-tak started walking, I followed him and looked around.
From ordinary children to the elderly. There were so few of them that it was actually harder to find martial artists.
I suddenly became curious.
“Have you ever thought about coming down from the mountain and living there?”
“Yes? Where are you going down? To Cheonsan?”
“huh.”
“Ha, if I go down, the Jeongpa, Sapa, and the royal family will all clench their teeth and rush at me, so how can I go down?”
Yaryul-tak scolds him for asking something so obvious.
“That’s because the Demonic Cult indiscriminately harmed the Central Plains. Otherwise, wouldn’t that be the case?”
“No, did you do that because you wanted to call us that? The imperial family decided to turn us into demons and turned us into enemies. We fought so we wouldn’t die.”
That might be the case.
But there was a contradiction in Yaryul Tak’s words.
How many people lost their lives to the invasion of the Demonic Cult? What’s more, not even a single sack of rice was left behind in their wake.
It was as brutal as a swarm of locusts sweeping through.
“That’s an excuse. Don’t you think what you did was excessive to say it was for protection?”
At my reprimand, Yaryul-tak stopped walking and whispered in my ear as if he was dumbfounded.
“Little Leader. Don’t say things like that. You already have a bad reputation as a little ghost, and you’ve breached the Great Spring Gate. Whose side are you on now? Ah… … Let go.”
I kept my mouth shut at Yul-tak’s words.
As he said, I am not a member of the political party now. That is why the Demonic Cult must change even more.
“They’re all here. Here they are.”
A small house at the corner of an alley. The shabby sign had the words Gwangmyeong Bookstore written on it.
“Gwangmyeong Library?”
“Yes. It’s a famous place for those who are curious about what’s going on. According to sources, it’s no less famous than the Palace of Hwanhee.”
After Yul-tak finished speaking, he glanced around. Then he opened the door without hesitation and entered, shouting.
“Is there anything to see today?”
He was walking around with his back to his chest like a high official. Then the old man suddenly revealed his face and answered calmly.
“Where are you from?”
“There’s light, but… … it’s not strong. I’m going to lose my eyesight.”
“… … I wonder if there’s anything worth looking for.”
“I guess so? By the way, how’s the market these days?”
“There are more than one or two markets. Which ones are you talking about?”
“Where? Of course it’s here.”
“… … Please wait a moment.”
Their incoherent conversation must have felt like a secret language.
As expected, after a while the old man left us outside and locked the door of the west wing.
Bang, bang! Yaul-tak, who had been kicked out, knocked on the door and shouted.
“What? Why is the door suddenly locked? Don’t you see the little light? I told you we came from there.”
One old man pretended not to hear anything and just walked up to the window and locked it.
“First… … let’s wait.”
“Oh, no. This has never happened before… … . I’m sorry.”
“it’s okay.”
A strange feeling flowed through me. There was definitely something here.
* * *
The old man at Gwangmyeongseo-gwan covered the window with a cloth and removed the floorboards under the table. Then, a hidden staircase appeared.
There was endless darkness extending downwards, like a path leading to the abyss.
The old man went down the stairs without paying any attention.
After a while, when we reached the end that had been out of sight, a long hallway appeared.
It was truly amazing.
No one would imagine that such a space would be hidden in a mere west wing located in a marketplace.
Thud, thud.
The old man’s footsteps echoed through the hallway like a cave.
Snap. His steps finally stopped. A thick iron gate, as if it had been built with ageless iron, blocked the way.
“It seems to have come from the Somyeong Palace. What should I do?”
Wasn’t the old man the owner of the west wing? He asked politely, clasping both hands together, even though he couldn’t be seen because of the iron gate.
“… … Did you come in person?”
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Surprisingly, a calm tone flowed from inside the door. There was no doubt that he was the true owner of Gwangmyeongseo-gwan.
“He is wearing a black hat, but if you look at his beige color, you can tell. He is the Sogyoju.”
“Huh, what on earth happened in Cheonma-dong? As soon as you got back, you caused trouble at Myeongchun-ru, and then you came looking for me… …?”
It seemed like he knew the details of the incident at Myeongchunru that happened yesterday.
“Certainly… … The atmosphere seemed different than before… … But since he is such an unpredictable person, for a small person… … .”
“They are looking for me, not Sangjae Palace or Gwangmyeong Palace. What do they want?”
“I have been requesting a list of names.”
“The roster? Are you talking about the Murim Alliance’s ranking list? Or the Sadoyeon?”
“Neither.”
“no?”
“… …It seems like I’m looking for the list of the prestigious schools.”
“Huh… … . Then I don’t understand even more. The leader of the Demonic Cult is looking for the Demonic Cult’s Book of Records. Is that even possible?”
The more I listened, the less I understood.
“What should we do?”
“Interesting. Let me go and meet him in person.”
“Is this the master’s speech?”
Gwangmyeong Library. From the outside, it may look like a place that sells old books, but inside, it is by no means a place to be ignored.
Even in Myeonggyo, only a very small number of people knew that there was a real owner of Gwangmyeong Library.
It is truly unusual for someone like him to want to meet the cult leader in person.
“One… … Is that okay? Inside… … .”
“Isn’t that the little cult leader called Mangjong? If you can’t recognize him even with your eyes, then he’s useless.”
“But if he finds out… … .”
“Wouldn’t that be even better? If I weren’t a scapegoat, I might be more beneficial to you now.”
“……All right.”
Step, step. As the old man climbed the stairs again, a voice full of questions came from inside.
“A cult leader… … . Is he a rotten rope lowered from the edge of a cliff, or… … .”
* * *
Creak. The door to the west wing finally opened.
“Follow me.”
The old man who appeared again said only one word and led us straight to a hidden place. He did not respond to Yal-tak’s complaints.
“This is… … .”
“Wow, this is my first time here too? You hid something like this?”
The circular staircase was deeper than I thought.
It was amazing that such a space was hidden beneath such a shabby house.
After going down a long corridor, an iron door with only a tiny breathing hole blocked my way.
“A guest has arrived.”
“… … Please come in.”
Clank. The door opened and a luminous globe illuminated the dark hallway.
The old man gestured for me to come in and then went back up the stairs.
As I entered, a spacious space opened up, unlike the cramped outside hallway.
“What, what is all this?”
Yul-tak asked with his mouth wide open. I was curious too.
The walls were densely packed with portraits. There seemed to be hundreds of them.
“It’s just an old man’s pastime. I’ll meet the young sect leader.”
As we turned our heads, an old man with long white hair tied up in a ponytail and holding a black-dyed paintbrush greeted us.
Although he looked shabby, his eyes felt like a long-sharpened sword.
“I didn’t say anything… … but you recognized me right away.”
“As time goes by, there are things you learn even if you don’t necessarily hear them.”
Although it was clear that no internal energy was felt, an indescribable spirit was emanating from it.
There is something more to this person than just being judged as an ordinary person.
“I see. But my body… … .”
What caught my eye was that he was sitting on a large wooden chair with two wheels.
Judging by the fact that both legs were covered with a blanket, he seemed to be a cripple.
“As you can see, my body is so ugly that I can’t even stand on my own. Please forgive me for having to sit down and greet you.”
“It’s okay. Is that… … something you made yourself?”
A rolling chair? That’s amazing.
“It’s called a wheel chair. It’s something made with humble skills, so it’s not surprising.”
“Well. I thought it was just a simple office, but there was this kind of note coiled underneath, and how could I not be surprised when the owner, who is not ordinary enough to be considered a swindler, greets us?”
His eyebrows twitched.
I nodded and walked along the wall, examining the portraits around me.
If the first impression was one of surprise, it soon turned into admiration.
He is truly a great artist. Each and every character is so alive that it feels like we are actually meeting each other.
And then the admiration turned into shock. A chill ran through my head.
‘This is… … a list! This is definitely the list of the Central Plains martial arts world. From the Sado League to the Martial Arts Alliance and the Imperial Family. It records all the masters who have surpassed the pinnacle. How on earth? Who is this guy?!’
I couldn’t believe it even after seeing it again. But it was true.
That’s because the portrait drawn right in front of me showed the masters of the Murim Alliance, whom I was familiar with, gathered in groups of three or five and looking down.
The Shaolin monks, the Seven Heroes of the Shaolin War, the Nine Cloud Dragons of the Covenant… … and at the end, the sword master father.
How on earth does someone who can’t even walk on two legs get this much information?
“It seems like you found someone you know. I think that one contains the Murim Alliance… … .”
I thought, “Oh no.”
I revealed too much without realizing it.
He coughed a couple of times and then turned his gaze to the old man.
And asked.
“The weight of the things contained in this one library is by no means light… … . Who are you?”
Even though I asked the question, the man on the wheel looked at me for a long time without saying anything. Then he slightly raised the corners of his mouth and said.
“Well, I’m just a country bumpkin who collects and sells rumors.”
“Isn’t this something that a villager can handle? If you go outside, there’ll be a bloodbath.”
This is a portrait of the famous masters of the Central Plains, recorded in detail. To those who do not know, it may be nothing more than a piece of paper, but its hidden value is unimaginable.
“That’s why I’m staying here in hiding.”
“Just because it’s covered by a roof doesn’t mean there’s no sun. It’s not like you’re just saving it for your own satisfaction. If those who need it are bad guys, would you still turn away with that kind of talk?”
“The young leader of the Myunggyo religion is worried about the Central Plains… … He will become a Myungjun.”
It’s sarcasm. The corners of the owner’s mouth curl up. At this, Yaryul-tak frowned and stepped forward.
“Hey, old man. Do you want to die here? Who are you talking to like that? Huh?”
“Hehe, would you be so concerned about your life while holding these things in your arms? However, if the old man dies here, no one will be able to come out.”
Boom! As soon as he finished speaking, the iron door closed tightly.
