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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: To Thousand Hands Hundred Lotuses Temple
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I doubted my ears.
Disciple.
Moyong Taese continued.
"Do you understand your current situation? How far have you pieced it together?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but..."
At this point, what was there to hesitate over?
I gritted my teeth.
"Having come this far, I at least know that the Moyong Family's main house finds my existence uncomfortable."
"That's quite arrogant. Do you truly believe yourself significant enough to make the Moyong Family uneasy?"
"Yes. And there are two reasons for that."
"Two reasons?"
Once the words were out, they flowed freely.
"First, publicizing my existence could tarnish the family's honor. Second, with a new patriarch selection looming to fill the seat vacant for a decade, openly ignoring me in this turbulent time would make me an unwelcome variable."
I caught my breath.
"So, the moment one of them pinpointed my location, they sent assassins despite the years that had passed. And not to be outdone, even you, Eighth Elder, dispatched your own people."
Flutter. The candle between us flickered.
It was a long while before Moyong Taese spoke.
"Quite perceptive."
A chill autumn wind slipped through the open window.
"Listen well. I'll say this only once. Moyong Bi."
Moyong Bi.
After fleeing to the countryside with Mother, no one had called me by my full name. To hide my identity, I'd always gone by just Bi, dropping the Moyong.
To me, it wasn't a nickname—it was my true name.
Now, being called Moyong Bi once more, whole and complete, ever so slightly soothed my tattered heart.
"To the Moyong Family, you are nothing more than a mongrel bastard with tainted blood—a stone that rolled in from nowhere. You can't help but be angry, but there's no changing it. The foolish rage against the insult and demand it be undone, but the wise accept the harsh reality, analyze it, and act to overcome it."
"I know."
"A shameful blemish left by the previous patriarch, one the family wants hidden. That's your position right now."
I listened without a flicker of expression.
Watching my demeanor, Moyong Taese's face softened into a faint smile.
"Your composure runs deep. Even with the slightly insulting words I just used, your face didn't change. If you're hurt, I apologize."
Moyong Taese pressed on.
"The Moyong Family will soon select its next heir. Three sons of the current patriarch are vying for it. Including you, that makes four. The other three will see you as a thorn in their side. You've surely felt it already."
Three candidates from the Moyong Family patriarch.
And though I'm utterly lowly, not even worth the dirt under their feet, on the surface, that now makes four legitimate heirs.
"I pity your sacrifices in the family's power struggles so far. I won't kill you here. But separately, I have no desire to take sides recklessly."
Fatigue with the situation seeped into the Eighth Elder's tone.
"I'll send you to Thousand Hands Hundred Lotuses Temple, the training ground run by the Nine Great Sects and One Gang. It's gone rotten lately, too."
Moyong Taese trailed off bitterly.
"It won't be perfectly safe, but for an unaffiliated wanderer like you, fully exposed as you are now, it's the best option. It's the one place in the Martial World, beyond factions—righteous, demonic, or blood sects—where even family influence doesn't reach. It's the official gathering spot for the next generation, acknowledged by all, where experts are forged."
"...Thousand Hands Hundred Lotuses Temple?"
Moyong Taese nodded.
"Even as a trainee there, the young masters won't be able to send swarms of assassins like this time, treating you like a stray dog on a hunt."
I recalled the red-clad assassins swarming like bees to kill me alone.
My body shuddered.
They hadn't cared about prying eyes.
To them, killing a rootless wanderer like me was no riskier than beheading a peasant.
Moyong Taese continued.
"Secure your safety there first and build your strength. I've already sent a letter in my name, so entry won't be an issue."
Even a fool like me could see it.
Though he spoke coldly, as if casting me out, the Eighth Elder Moyong Taese was essentially declaring he'd officially back me.
"I have a question."
"Ask."
Truth be told, I'd hesitated until the end whether to voice this.
But without asking, I couldn't trust him.
"As you said, Eighth Elder, I'm just a bastard with tainted blood."
"And?"
"Why risk your life for a bastard you've only just met?"
Saving me now was clear defiance against the Moyong Family's power holders.
It was a blatant pretext for retaliation, a mark that could doom him anytime.
"Hah, with your own life on the line, you're worrying about me now?"
"Elder."
"That's my business, not yours. I'm not taking your side or any young master's. Simply... if even half Moyong blood flows in your veins."
After a brief silence, Moyong Taese added.
"I believe this choice will one day turn into a great current that revives our crumbling Moyong Family."
I rose slowly.
Then slammed my forehead against the floor.
Thud, thud, thud.
I bowed so fiercely that blood trickled from my brow.
The Nine Bows of Gratitude.
There was no room left to doubt him.
I'd had no choice to begin with.
"Stop."
Suddenly, Moyong Taese raised a hand, halting my Nine Bows midway.
"Not yet. Not the Nine Bows."
"Pardon?"
Had he changed his mind?
As I paused in bewilderment, he smiled faintly.
"Though you bear the Moyong blood, as a bastard, many in the main house don't even know you exist. Taking you as my formal disciple now would thrust you into the political spotlight, beyond just learning martial arts. The backlash would be beyond imagination. It's too soon."
I hadn't considered that.
"You'll enter as my formal disciple after you've grown at Thousand Hands Hundred Lotuses Temple and return."
"Understood, Elder."
"Then, before that."
Moyong Taese smiled and rose, opening the door.
"Shall we see what our young master is capable of?"
"...Pardon?"
When I came to, I stood in an empty courtyard, wooden sword in hand, facing Moyong Taese.
"What is this...?"
"Haha, no need to worry, Moyong Bi."
The elder approached with steady steps.
A wooden sword gleamed menacingly in his grip.
"I know you have scarcely any internal energy. But I sense traces of trained martial arts in your body. Who knows? Perhaps the patriarch, seeing you as his blood after all, secretly taught you his arts in your youth."
"Ah, that's..."
Cold sweat beaded.
That was a gaze brimming with expectation.
"Let's see if your vast potential matches your skill."
"I, well, I haven't properly learned any martial arts yet."
"No matter. Your refined body must be the patriarch's handiwork. And my strength might overwhelm you, but worry not. Though an elder of one of the Five Great Families, I'm more scholar than warrior, strictly speaking. Add my age—old and frail. Come at me without restraint."
Was that meant to reassure me?
My mind reeled.
The elder was thoroughly mistaken about something.
So that's why he'd taken me as disciple so readily.
He saw me as a carefully nurtured sapling, secretly cultivated by the patriarch as his own bloodline.
"What are you waiting for? Show me."
Moyong Taese's white brows twitched.
I felt like dying.
I absolutely couldn't show the Huashan Sect's Plum Blossom Spinning Dagger I'd copied.
It was stolen from another sect by a bastard like me.
Explaining that would lead to revealing the Heavenly Demon's treasure.
Layering more lies might trip me up later.
I'd lose this fragile trust from Moyong Taese.
Then I'd be done for.
'Damn it, only one option left.'
In the end, I had to show what I'd actually learned.
And it was mortifyingly embarrassing—worse than death.
All I knew was crude street-fighting swordplay from lowlife thugs at the markets.
That's how I'd scraped by, but showing it before an expert from one of the Five Great Families? Like parading naked through the village.
"Tsk, excessive humility is poison. Fine. I'll come first—defend yourself."
"No, I'll show you now."
No choice now.
Grimacing inwardly, I took the opening stance of the Six Harmonies Sword Technique—the one sword art I'd scraped to five stars proficiency out of sheer necessity in my life.
"...Hm?"
...I wanted to die of shame.
I knew he'd react like that.
Moyong Taese's brows twitched.
"What are you doing? No, perhaps it's something this old man doesn't know. Ho. A natural genius, indeed."
At this point, I wanted to ask if he planned to mock me to death.
Cold sweat poured like a waterfall.
I wanted to crawl into a rat hole.
Moyong Taese's gaze was deadly serious.
He truly believed this was some innovative genius stance beyond his ken.
His probing eyes scanned my feet, hands, and grip.
"I can't fathom it. Well, sparring will reveal it."
"Elder, wait—that stance is actually!"
"Then I'll know if you're mocking me with an improper form or if there's intent behind it. Haha, I'm looking forward to it."
I'd become the world's rudest punk insulting an elder to his face in an instant.
'I'm screwed.'
My soaked robes weren't from pre-spar nerves.
Why was it so hard to just say, I know nothing. This is all I've got?
But seeing Moyong Taese poised to charge, I realized hesitating further spelled disaster.
I could admit my lack of skill.
I had justification, after all.
'Damn it, to be grateful for being a bastard someday.'
As I squeezed my eyes shut to confess—
⚙ SYSTEM ALERT ⚙ [Host.]
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
The calm, resonant, utterly inhuman voice piercing my mind like thunder was Nameless.
⚙ SYSTEM ALERT ⚙ [Stop. This is not the time.]
"This presence."
At the same time, Moyong Taese's face hardened.
Nameless's shout roared through my head like thunder.
⚠️ DANGER APPROACHING ⚠️ [Run. Right now.]
It was the first time I'd heard such urgency from him.
⚠️ DANGER APPROACHING ⚠️ [They're coming.]
"What? Who's coming?"
Moyong Taese stared at me in shock.
But I couldn't spare him a thought amid Nameless's frantic barrage.
⚠️ DANGER APPROACHING ⚠️ [Twenty zhang out. Multiple killers approaching.]
Nameless's words flooded my mind.
⚠️ DANGER APPROACHING ⚠️ [Ten zhang. Assassins. Fast. This feeling... I've felt it before. Nine zhang. Eight zhang. Ah, this presence.]
"What?"
⚠️ DANGER APPROACHING ⚠️ [The ones who killed the host...]
Nameless cut off sharply, like a period slammed down.
⚠️ CRITICAL WARNING ⚠️
[They're here. No escape now.]