“Isn't that a question I should be asking? Where did an opium merchant like you learn an inner cultivation method?”
Resting the long blade on my shoulder like some street thug, I calmly retorted. Inwardly, I swallowed a quiet sigh of relief. I almost ended up as feed for the mountain beasts.
Pyo Hol-deuk was skilled enough to fight on par with Bok Ha-gyu and land a blow. Of course, a real battle is not a sparring session. Victory and defeat are not decided by skill alone.
All sorts of tricks and dirty tactics run rampant, and sometimes, absurd misfortune and blind luck lead to the strange result of a master being defeated by a lesser opponent. Since mastering all of the latter eighteen forms of the Heavenly Steel Saber Technique, I had made considerable progress.
After carefully observing Pyo Hol-deuk's sword technique, I judged that I wouldn't lose. If things got desperate, I was prepared to use my inner energy. Pyo Hol-deuk was fleeing alone, and I was chasing him alone.
There was no one to see. Though my inner energy was precious as blood, this wasn't a situation to conserve it if it meant I could meet Jeok Chu-yeong. I never imagined Pyo Hol-deuk would also know how to use inner energy.
Seeing as he didn't run far and was waiting for me in a clearing on the mountainside, it seemed Pyo Hol-deuk had the same idea. His plan must have been to use his inner energy to kill me, then return and ambush Bok Ha-gyu's group. Having come this far for the opium, he wasn't about to give up so easily.
“For a master capable of using inner energy to be an opium merchant… I don't know what school you're from, but it's pathetic.”
I didn't say it expecting an answer. I was just talking nonsense to buy time to increase the amount of inner energy I was circulating. My clumsy provocation seemed to work, as Pyo Hol-deuk's face twitched.
“I am of the martial lineage of the Heavenly Mountains. It's not something a mere swordsman like you can belittle.”
“…A demonic sect warrior?”
I was dumbfounded by this unexpected identity. Thinking about it, it finally made sense. No wonder all three of them were so strong.
“You know nothing of the Heavenly Mountains either. Then again, all you Central Plains folk are the same.”
Pyo Hol-deuk raised his sword and lowered his stance.
“Wait. Is the Explosive Flame Demon still alive?”
“Go ask in hell.”
Pyo Hol-deuk’s eyes flashed as he charged at me. He was as agile as a tiger or a leopard. Circulating inner energy doesn't just improve speed and strength.
As my body grew faster, my eyes grew sharper. I followed Pyo Hol-deuk's movements and the path of his sword with my eyes, then raised my long blade above my head. I drew a semicircle, putting my weight into a long, horizontal slash.
Just before my blade could cut through his upward thrust, Pyo Hol-deuk lowered one knee and twisted his wrist. The tip of his sword turned sideways, and my long blade cut through empty air. Without stopping, I used my footwork to move to Pyo Hol-deuk's left flank and spun my body around once.
In an instant, I occupied his blind spot and thrust my long blade. Pyo Hol-deuk did not retreat. He leaned his upper body back and parried the tip of my blade with his sword, disrupting my form as he counterattacked.
The battle, with both of us using inner energy, was incredibly fast. The power behind the weapons was heavy, and the clang of steel rang out loudly each time our blades met. I wondered how this fight would look to martial artists who didn't know how to use inner energy.
Wouldn't their jaws drop at a battle so fierce it was hard to follow with the naked eye? This must be why martial artists go crazy at the mere mention of inner cultivation methods. Using inner energy put us on equal footing, but Pyo Hol-deuk was still a formidable opponent.
This was the man who killed an inspector with a single stab from behind. He hadn't been pushed back at all in his fight with Bok Ha-gyu. I’ve had my share of life-and-death struggles living by the sword, but I couldn't understand how this bastard had been trained in the Heavenly Mountains for his blade to be so filthy.
Won Seo-gang's sword technique was also tricky, but this demonic bastard's sword was so trashy it would make even the Buddha see red. He pressed his attack so relentlessly that I couldn't find even a small opening to land a punch or a kick. With each fierce clash, a chunk of my inner energy vanished.
Although I knew my efficiency was poor due to my short training period, the consumption of inner energy was so fast it sent a chill down my spine. It was on a completely different level from simply practicing my saber technique while channeling inner energy into the forms. I could understand why Pyo Hol-deuk was attacking so desperately.
I, too, wanted to end this quickly, if only to conserve my inner energy.
“Haaap!”
Pyo Hol-deuk let out a shout and unleashed a furious series of stabs. The amount of inner energy he poured into them made their speed and power terrifying. It was a storm of sword strikes, so fierce that I struggled just to parry and defend, let alone counterattack.
As I desperately swung my long blade and retreated, a burning sensation flared on my left shoulder. Seeing blood, Pyo Hol-deuk's momentum soared as he pressed his attack. Pyo Hol-deuk was older than me, so he had likely trained in inner energy for longer.
That meant I had to assume that the density and depth of his inner energy, as well as his efficiency in wielding it, were a level above mine. I felt a sense of urgency, but I couldn't draw out any more inner energy. I was already circulating it at my maximum normal capacity.
If I pushed it too hard and my qi and blood were to flow backward, it would be the end. I calmly parried his sword strikes, enduring them while looking for a chance to counter. Fortunately, just as a downpour weakens after it passes, Pyo Hol-deuk's momentum began to wane.
I tilted my head, feeling his sword tip had grown dull.
Slow.
Both his reaction speed and his movements. When I realized what this meant, a shiver ran up to the top of my head. His inner energy has run out… after only about thirty clashes.
That incredible series of attacks just now must have been a final gamble, pouring out all his remaining inner energy. I had also used a lot of inner energy, but I still had about half left. Pyo Hol-deuk hadn't used inner energy when he was down below.
He had already landed a blow on Bok Ha-gyu, so there was no reason to waste it. Once inner energy is used, it’s gone. To replenish it, you need to find precious spiritual herbs.
It was best not to use it unless absolutely necessary. Even after Geuk-hwan and I intervened and cornered him, he chose to flee rather than use his inner energy. Now I thought I knew why.
It was because the amount of inner energy he possessed was small. It would have been fine if he could have killed his opponent in a single strike using inner energy. But if even one of us, either Geuk-hwan or me, knew how to use it, the fight would have dragged on like this.
And once his inner energy ran out, he would have been defenseless. Judging that he couldn't take that risk, he had retreated to the mountain. I took a deep breath, my eyes wide as I stared at Pyo Hol-deuk.
Now, it's my turn. I kicked off the ground and charged forward boldly. Pyo Hol-deuk’s face, his teeth clenched, was colored with despair.
I unleashed a lightning-fast strike to end it. Pyo Hol-deuk retreated, desperately trying to press the tip of his sword against my blade to deflect it. It was an exquisite form, but lacking speed and power, it failed to produce its proper effect.
I brushed off his sword strike and swung in a wide arc from left to right. Pyo Hol-deuk threw himself aside to barely dodge it, then aimed for my lower body. I kicked off the ground, leaped up, and brought my long blade down from above.
Terrified, Pyo Hol-deuk rolled on the ground. A moment ago, when Pyo Hol-deuk used his inner energy, I had been cornered. Now, it was the complete opposite.
Pyo Hol-deuk couldn't keep up with my movements and was outmatched in strength. My confidence grew, and I relentlessly rained down various variations of the Heavenly Steel Saber Technique's secret arts. With every upward slash, thrust, and swing, Pyo Hol-deuk's vital points drew slightly closer to my blade.
His sword, unable to hold on any longer, was sent flying, and his upper body was left exposed. Without a moment's hesitation, I moved into his blind spot and swung my long blade.
Swish!
The familiar resistance I felt through the blade was enough to know it was over. In case of a possible counterattack, I spun around, swinging my long blade. The headless corpse was slowly falling backward.
Pyo Hol-deuk's head had flown into the bushes nearby.
Thud.
The corpse sprawled onto the ground. I steadied my breathing and flicked my long blade to shake off the blood. As I approached, I frowned.
The fingers of the corpse's hand, still clutching the sword, were twitching. It was a sight that would make a first-timer piss his pants in terror. He wasn't alive.
This sometimes happens with the recently dead. Some of them move their feet, or their chests rise and fall as if they're breathing. I'd even seen a case where a whistling sound, like a breath, escaped from the hole in the cross-section of a severed neck as blood poured out.
I didn't know the reason. I just figured that because they lived such wretched lives, they couldn't even die peacefully. The fingers soon stopped moving.
I was about to wipe the remaining blood on the man's clothes with my long blade but paused. The inspector's uniform Pyo Hol-deuk was wearing was something I needed to trade with Bok Ha-gyu. I stuck my long blade into the ground, took off the uniform, and rolled it up.
I wiped the blood-stained blade on the cotton clothes he wore underneath before sheathing it. I put the inspector's identification token and seal into my robes. I also took the pouch containing his money and various belongings.
The sword also looked usable, but the corpse was gripping it tightly. As if to say, not this. Was that why his fingers were twitching earlier?
This Pyo Hol-deuk fellow must have been a martial artist to the bone. Still, I couldn't just leave an expensive sword behind. I pried open his fingers one by one and picked up the sword.
As the excitement subsided, the sword wound on my left shoulder began to throb. I put my fingers through the torn clothes to check the wound. It was shallow, barely a scratch.
To have ended up with just this against such a master was truly a stroke of luck. I took out a small bamboo tube containing wound salve from my robes. I applied the medicine to the wound and wrapped it with a bandage.
Awoooo.
Wolves howled not far away, perhaps having caught the scent of blood. As my body cooled, a spooky chill washed over me. The mountain, with its unmelted frost dried white, was as cold as the dead of winter.
The sun sets quickly in the mountains. If I wanted to get down before dark, I had to hurry. Carrying my spoils, I retraced my steps.
After passing through a thicket of bushes, I climbed onto a rock. The surrounding scenery was different from what I remembered. I went back up the path and headed down in a different direction.
This time, I came to a steep cliff. I had no idea where I was. It seemed I had forgotten the way back in the heat of the fight.
The sky was covered with clouds, so I couldn't see the sun. I couldn't get my bearings. As I walked, examining the shape of the mountain and the terrain, I sensed something following me from behind.
I muffled my footsteps and hid behind a rock. I peeked out my face and my eyes met with a wolf crouching in the distance. Its fur was patchy, its belly stuck to its ribs.
It was an old wolf, either kicked out or abandoned by its pack. The wolf stared at me intently, the whites of its eyes flashing. Saliva gathered at the corners of its mouth and dripped down.
Being old and weak, it didn't attack rashly. It would probably just follow me persistently, drooling. Until I collapsed from exhaustion.
Pyo Hol-deuk’s headless body, left abandoned, was probably now occupied by wolves as well.
“Get lost!”
After shouting once, I started climbing the mountain path again. Just as I was thinking of finding a cave to start a fire and warm myself up, something moving caught my eye. It was just over a nearby ridge.
When I cleared my vision by raising my inner energy, I saw the way out of the mountain. Two large carriages were moving slowly along the main road. I set my course in that direction.
Following the mountain path down, I had to take a long detour to reach the main road. The old wolf did not leave the mountain. It must have survived this long precisely because it never left the forest, no matter how hungry it was.
“Huuuu.”
My tension drained away, and a languid fatigue washed over me. It had been a day of great gains and many things to review. I didn't know how much time had passed, but I had found the road, and that was enough.
Even if night fell on the way, I would soon be home. As I walked along the main road, a carriage appeared from behind. I moved to the side of the road to avoid being hit by the horses.
The carriage, which had passed by with a gust of wind, suddenly stopped. Someone opened the window and stuck their head out. It was a woman of mysterious age.
“Long time no see. What happened to you? Did you go rolling around with bandits again?”
The voice was familiar. Perhaps because I was tired from fighting my way through the mountains, I felt a strange sense of nostalgia and emptiness, and I muttered without thinking.
“... Sister?”
The woman furrowed her brow as if in disbelief.
“You've gotten awfully shameless since I last saw you. Who are you calling sister? Your face looks much older than mine. Do you have a thing for older women?”
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and looked again. A cold beauty, flaunting a beauty that had ripened as if she had met her season, was glaring at me with clear eyes. A member of the Tang Clan who had come to the Western Village a few months ago in pursuit of a traitor before returning to Sichuan.
It was Tang Hye-seo.