Book 5 Chapter 3

Chords of Midnight

The beautiful sound of a jade cow sings in the evening breeze.

It echoed softly in the moonlight, as if it were playing.

It was a beautiful sound that struck a chord with the listener.

However, the middle-aged man currently approaching the sound of the jade cow, the man the Saeans had dubbed the Volcanic Contingency, was well aware that the sound was quite different than usual. The usually calm and quiet sounded unusually urgent and unsteady today, and Moon Diary had a pretty good idea why.

Upon reaching the source of the sound, Moon soon found his target. It was here. He praised himself again and again for his keen judgment.

Her face, bathed in the light of the moon, was so beautiful that one could not help but admire it. Who could find any trace of her forty years of age in her youthful appearance and call her a lady, and if there were, I would run to her and break her legs.

Moon Ilgi stood and listened quietly, not wanting to disturb her performance. She was releasing her anger and frustration through the jade bow, through the notes. It would be very rude to interrupt here, and it would not do him any favors to provoke someone who was harboring such anger. In times like these, it was wise to simply observe.

Her notes grew fiercer and more ferocious, a sound he'd never heard before, a sign that her mind was racing as well. He knew, even though he was no musician, that the notes spoke to her heart.

For a time, the notes were ferocious, like a carved ship in a storm, but soon the storm passed and calmness returned, like a gentle wave. Finally, the sound subsided and she quietly removed the jade cow from her mouth. Moon Diary, who had been mesmerized by the sound of her music, was only able to come to his senses when she finished.

"You are indeed a man who is in the vein of Yin!

It's always an impressive note to hear.

Sensing his interest, she turned her head to look at him, her fair face frowning slightly at his not-so-welcoming gesture. With a face like hers, how could anyone dare to say she was a woman in her forties. If you don't want to get your snout crushed…….

The first to speak was Moon Diary.

"You're out of tune. Is there something wrong with you? It's been a long time since I've seen a Zen master blowing the jade cow so wildly and unruly; it's like five years since I've seen one."

"You must be feeling better, did you have that much fun, of course I did, and did I look good, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the snowball fight!"

She squealed nervously like a poisoned ewe. Earlier in the day, she had been shy and reluctant to meet people. So she had found a place where no one was looking and was blowing on a jade cow to calm her nerves. And then this man had bravely come to her. But she wasn't in the mood for conversation yet.

"Heh, heh, heh, you must be really upset about this. Well, aren't oxen used for hitting and stabbing too! I don't see any reason to be so upset over something like that. Take it easy and let it out."

Moon Ilgi said with a wry smile.

"I'm calming down now! How can you look at such a disaster and tell me to put up with it?"

Hong Lan, who had been listening to what he was saying, though he doubted it was comforting, suddenly shouted out.

"I'm going to lose my liver."

Moon Diary gave me a stern look and said something. But judging by the color of his face, he didn't seem too surprised.

"If it's going to fall, let it fall, because who gives a shit about your drunken, ineffectual liver?"

Hong Lan retorted like a poisoned salsa. He was clearly offended. This was indeed a difficult situation for the forty-eight wings of the Shaolin Forty-Eight Pavilion in the mountains of espionage.

"This is too much! It's still a precious organ (臟器) for me. Don't you think too much about the affairs of that child, Bi Ryuyeon?"

Regardless of what she said, Moon was in a position to appease her somehow.

"What do you mean, too much? Just this one morning, the reputation of Yin Gate and my name were plunged to the ground, and I'm supposed to stand still? Alas~, the seven hundred year old historian of Yin Moon……. How dare I look at the faces of the inquisitors in shame……."

The words spilled out of her smooth mouth in a torrent of vitriol that didn't belong there. Even she couldn't figure out why she felt so terrible. This was all because of him.

It was impossible for the words of the Moon Diary to reach the ears of Hong Lan, who firmly believed that the name of Yin Moon, which had been so dear to her heart, had fallen to the ground today because of Bi Ryuyeon. The thought of that made her even more angry and her face reddened.

Moon's comforting words backfired. Her face began to change hue in and out of color. It wasn't because of Moon Ilgi. It was because the sight of Moon's smirk reminded her of that day, that time.

The image of that face flashed through my mind, and I couldn't help but feel my temper flare up once again.

How can I forget that day, when I felt like the whole place was a laughingstock…! How can I forget that day, when the whole place was a laughingstock, in broad daylight, in front of hundreds of people!

"Well, at least you won, and that's better than losing!"

In fact, Moon didn't really care if Bi Ryuyeon lost or won. In fact, he felt that she deserved to lose, judging by the way she had been acting in class. But he could only say this because his attention wasn't on her right now.

He was halfway through his forties and still had no wife. Hong Lan was also over forty and still had no husband. To put it mildly, she was the world's oldest virgin. This was probably due to the influence of the monks.

If we can say that it is the natural order of things for an old bachelor to be interested in an old virgin, then Moon's arrival here was also an act of nature.

"I…, I could never approve of that way of fighting!"

Hong Lan said, shuddering.

"I'd rather lose clean and tidy; such a fight, such a victory, I'll never admit; I'm no match for a master of the written word."

Her words were firm, as if she'd rather bite the bullet and kill herself than admit to such a troublesome fight.

Today, Bi Ryuyeon had not only made a mockery of herself, but of the entire Yin Clan. It didn't matter at all whether he belonged to the Yin Clan or not.

If you were to name the least literate faction in the Murim lineage, the first one would be the Yin Moon. However, while its power was weak, the Yin Moon was more ancient, more proud, and more connected than any other. But to fight like that with a musical instrument representing the Yin Moon. I would rather take a jade sword and swing it like a sword and not say a word……………………………………………………………

But…, but…….

When I think back to that day, I can't help but sigh inwardly.

How can anyone forget that day, when only one's own face was on the line, and the entire Yin Gate was turned into a laughingstock and a target for ridicule? It was a terrifying event that could not be forgotten even if a bag of dirt fell into one's eyes.

That day, in fact, was earlier today, and since then she's been unable to stand in front of people without blushing so hard she can barely look up.

He was resentful of the fact that he was not the last disciple to pass on the secret path, but he was undeniably a disciple who had passed through his hands.

I should have done whatever it took to stop it when it first appeared, but I couldn't help but think that it was one of those things that would haunt me for the rest of my life! Even if I regretted it now, it would be a posthumous apothecary's visit, and there was no way to stop it in reality, but the human heart is so strange that it can't be easily resigned to reality. I was filled with regret.

The beginning of the incident was quite ordinary.