The wooden sword cut through the air, making a whooshing sound. Using my footwork, I followed the young master's retreating steps and unleashed a flurry of continuous strikes. It was a continuous strike from the Heavenly Steel Saber Technique, one I favored for being the most powerful and exhilarating of its secret arts.
Though it was a wooden sword, lacking the sharpness of a real blade, the ferocity of the assault, like a raging gale, was nothing to be taken lightly. If he blocked it improperly, his skull could be crushed or his bones broken in a single blow.
The beauty of a continuous strike was its ability to instantly turn the tide when cornered, or to force the opponent onto the defensive and seize the flow of the battle. If he kept retreating like this, he would be swept up in the flow of my saber technique, forced to desperately defend.
After three steps, Baek Seok-hun noticed this, and the look in his eyes changed. He widened his stance to firmly plant his lower body and swung his wooden sword horizontally, deflecting my saber strike.
Clack! Clack!
His wooden sword exquisitely exploited an opening in my form. I pressed my right arm to my body, stepped left with my footwork, and twisted my body to throw off his wooden sword. For a moment, Baek Seok-hun lost his balance and lurched forward.
Not missing the opportunity, I thrust my right foot out and kicked his thigh. At the same time, I brought my long blade down vertically from above my head in a semi-circle. Baek Seok-hun raised his wooden sword to block my kick and retreated backward to dodge the long blade.
He seemed to have considerable real-world experience; his judgment in reading my movements and his own actions were quite nimble. As my attack missed, his wooden sword flew up from below. Even without using inner energy, the movement of his sword tip was dazzling.
It was aimed at my abdomen, but it was simultaneously targeting my head and legs. It wasn't a mix of feints and real attacks; rather, depending on the situation, any of them could become a real attack. Is this the Phantom Sword of the Mount Hua Sect?
It couldn't match the Plum Blossom Sword Technique I saw the Plum Blossom Swordsman use, but the method of shaking the sword tip to create afterimages seemed the same. When I slashed with a secret art of the Heavenly Steel Saber Technique, his wooden sword ducked under my blade and aimed for my wrist.
It was an incomparably swift variation, flowing like water. As I used my footwork to move to his blind spot and let the sword strike slide past, Baek Seok-hun thrust his sword out long as if he had been waiting for it.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Once I was caught in the exquisitely timed, dizzying flurry of sword strikes, the offense was reversed, and it was not easy to escape. The young master's sword technique was considerable. Among the swordsmen I had faced so far, there were many who were stronger than Baek Seok-hun.
In terms of pure martial ability, Won Seo-gang was likely a few levels above Baek Seok-hun. However, in the power of exquisitely structured forms that could swallow an opponent whole, Baek Seok-hun was far superior. This wasn't some insidious sword technique that simply engaged in a fierce battle of wits and struck with improvisation.
Even for a lay disciple sect, this is the martial lineage of the Mount Hua Sect, I see. It was not one of the Nine Great Sects that had endured for hundreds of years for nothing. Baek Seok-hun was equally impressed with his opponent's martial ability.
He wore a dazed expression, as if he couldn't believe he had pushed me this hard yet failed to land a single blow. His shocked face soon burned with a blazing fighting spirit. I, too, did not suppress my own boiling fighting spirit and threw myself into the contest.
Was it because the atmosphere had become overheated? I felt my energy core stir without my knowing, and inner energy flowing into my forms. A chill ran down my spine.
Startled, I quickly threw my wooden sword aside and leaped backward.
Fwoosh!
"Let's stop here.” As I lowered my wooden sword, Baek Seok-hun, who was about to charge, also steadied his breathing and withdrew his wooden sword. I let out a sigh of relief without realizing it. That was dangerous. If that last form had truly been imbued with inner energy, the young master would have suffered a fatal injury, even if it was just a wooden sword. Baek Seok-hun closed his eyes, savoring the exchange for a long moment before speaking. “Incredible. I haven't fought many saber wielders, but this is the first time I've met one with such skill."
"You've truly mastered the saber technique. Jeong Dae-cheon, was it? Do you perhaps have a title?"
“I do not." Baek Seok-hun chuckled as if he found that surprising. "In a world where even the ruffians in the marketplace go around with boastful titles plastered on them, to be without a title with this level of martial ability… If I could, I'd like to give you one, but it is truly a shame as I am in the same position.”
“Just to have witnessed the sword of Mount Hua is enough for me.”
At my sincere reply, Baek Seok-hun burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha, the sword of Mount Hua? Don't be ridiculous. This is merely a development of the Six Harmonies Sword Technique and the Falling Shadow Sword Technique, which have been passed down through our lay disciple sect for generations………"
The atmosphere was quite amicable. Though it was with wooden swords, a bond that can only be felt between martial artists who have crossed blades had formed. Suddenly, I felt a sharp presence.
I turned to see Sect Leader Baek Cha-hyeon at the end of the training ground, glaring at his son with a cold face. I didn't know when he had arrived. “Is your martial ability, which couldn't even defeat a single wandering swordsman, something to be so proud of?”
When his father appeared, the young master stiffened and bowed his head. In an instant, the talented, hot-blooded young martial artist who dreamed of roaming the world was reduced to an inadequate successor, intimidated by his strict father. Just from that, I could easily guess what their father-son relationship was usually like.
Secretly watching another's sparring session without permission was a taboo in the martial world. Mocking someone as a wandering swordsman to their face was also a rude act. Even for a sect leader, his actions crossed the line, but Baek Cha-hyeon didn't seem to care at all.
Even if the other party acted without courtesy, I could not do the same. Even if the sect was in decline, he was still the master of this family. Without a word, I held the wooden sword upside down and cupped my fist.
Baek Cha-hyeon didn't even acknowledge the greeting and waved his hand dismissively. He seemed thoroughly displeased that I was associating with the young master. "You may leave now.
That child needs to train more.”
Baek Cha-hyeon issued the order to leave and turned away coldly. Baek Seok-hun, with an awkward expression, cupped his fist to me on the sect leader's behalf.
“The sect leader is naturally a strict person, he often acts that way even with me, so please understand." "It's nothing. I'm fine, so please don't mind it.”
“How long will you be staying at our sword school?”
“I think I will be here for about a month.”
“A month......
May I request another sparring session?"
“I would like that, but I'm not sure how the sect leader will feel about it.”
“Huuu, I will get permission from my father, so don't worry." He must have really enjoyed our match just now, seeing as he's thinking of fighting again even if it means confronting his father. Then again, one's martial ability doesn't just improve by holing up inside a sect for secluded training.
Baek Cha-hyeon couldn't be ignorant of that, but I had no idea what he was thinking. After bidding farewell to the young master and stepping outside the residence, I found Baek Cha-hyeon waiting with his hands clasped behind his back. As I approached, the smell of alcohol hit my nose, even though the sun had not yet set.
He must have a high tolerance, as he showed no signs of being drunk. Baek Cha-hyeon asked something completely unexpected. “Have the companions you came with left?”
"They went to the Zhongnan Sect on business.”
“Is that so?" Baek Cha-hyeon's eyes flashed sharply. For some reason, he seemed relieved.
“I don't know what their business is, but those big-nosed Daoist bastards are not a trustworthy lot."
"They act like lofty Daoists on the outside, but they're scoundrels with sly snakes coiling in their bellies."
Not only the Zhongnan Sect, but the Mount Hua Sect was also, by name, a Daoist sect. His talk of big-nosed Daoists sounded as if he was lumping in the Mount Hua Sect with his criticism. “It should take about a month, give or take.
When they return, take Soso and her child and leave." My ears perked up. It was what I had been hoping for anyway.
But Sister Soso didn't want to leave.
“I would like to do that, but her desire for revenge against the assassin is so great that I doubt she'll budge.”
Sister Soso had said she wouldn't leave the sword school until she had avenged her husband, the head instructor and her child's father. The other four disciples felt the same. Since the topic came up, I hoped the sect leader might call my sister and tell her to leave.
“Tell her to do as she pleases.”
Baek Cha-hyeon shook his head as if he didn't want to bother with it anymore and turned away. I stared blankly at his slowly retreating back. Amidst the dissipating smell of alcohol, a faint, cool fragrance touched the tip of my nose.
Suddenly, I thought of Tang Hye-seo. This must be the smell of grass she had detected. * “Western Village has changed that much?"
The talk about our hometown, which began at dinner, continued for a long time over tea.
“It's all changed. In the middle of the village, dozens of buildings have been built along the road, turning it into a full-fledged town." "It's so prosperous that customers keep coming even at night. There's an escort agency and even an eight-story brothel." "If I didn't tell you it was Western Village, you probably wouldn't recognize it.”
“A brothel? Good heavens……………
So that's what it's become. It's only been seven years…" Sister Soso had a dazed expression, like a displaced person.
Although she had settled down and was living in a foreign land, it seemed that she, like me, had wanted to go back someday. To the Western Village that remained just as it was in our childhood. Ju-gyeong, who had been diligently eating pancakes and sweets beside her, suddenly jumped into the conversation.
“Mom, where is Western Village?” Sister Soso chuckled and gently stroked Ju-gyeong's head. "It's where Mommy and your Uncle Dae-cheon are from.
We were born and raised there.”
"Is it very far from here?"
“It is. It takes a month by carriage.”
“If we take a boat down from Gaehyeon, we can cut the travel time by about ten days.”
I quickly added that, worried she might hesitate to leave because of the long journey.
“A boat? Wow, Uncle, have you been on a boat before?”
"Of course. It's no ordinary boat. It's a huge merchant ship. It can carry several carriages whole."
“Really?"
Ju-gyeong's eyes widened. “Is Western Village very cold?" “It's less cold than here.
Because it's in the south." “I want to go there.....?" Ju-gyeong's eyes, with crumbs of sweets around her mouth, became dreamy.
My nephew was completely won over, but Sister Soso was not yet.
“The house we used to live in is still there.”
"·House? Ah, that house. I wonder who's living there now.."
Seeing the wistful look on my sister's face, I played my hidden trump card.
“I bought it."
“Huh? The house?
Where did you get the money?” "I earned it." When I told her we had a house, my sister's face brightened up.
If the sword school were still thriving and my sister were living happily, I wouldn't have been able to so easily suggest returning to Western Village. But now, this was the only way for my sister and nephew to survive. The sword school they depended on was ruined, and there was no one in Red Wave Village to help them.
The remaining disciples were busy fending for themselves. If we went to Western Village, I had connections with the Underworld Information Clan and the Black Night Gang, so making a living would not be a problem. My sister's wavering gaze turned to her son sitting beside her.
"·Let's wait just a little longer. It's not easy to travel in the dead of winter anyway, is it? If we leave like this, we'll never be able to come back here, so we need to finish things.”
The mother's eyes, looking at her son, grew deep with a knot of resolve. Her expression suggested that if she couldn't find and punish the assassin, she would be tormented by the thought of her miserably deceased husband every time she looked at her son for the rest of her life.
It was bitter, but Sister Soso was now a proper martial artist. As a fellow martial artist, I understood that feeling better than anyone, so I couldn't press her to return home any further. The sect leader had said he would close the sect's doors before this winter ended, so the wait wouldn't be too long.
After the sun set, we chatted for a while longer before I returned to the guest quarters. I lit a fire in the brazier and placed two moderately sized pebbles inside. I took out a fur hat, put it on my head, and covered my neck.
I put the heated pebbles in my pocket and climbed onto the roof. From the roof of the guest quarters, I had a direct view of the sect leader's residence. It was the perfect spot for secret surveillance.
With my hands in my pockets, I fiddled with the pebbles and recalled the grassy smell I had detected on the sect leader earlier. If what I sensed was correct, it was the scent of a processed spiritual herb. The sect leader definitely has something going on.
He isn't just sitting by and doing nothing, waiting to have his sect's buildings taken by creditors and be thrown out onto the streets in the dead of winter. If he was secretly cultivating inner energy, then the circumstances so far would roughly fit together. About an hour later, the sect leader quietly pushed open the door to his residence.
He went straight across the garden, stepped on a garden stone, and nimbly leaped over the wall. I raised my inner energy a bit more and came down from the roof. I jumped onto the wall, which was just under ten feet tall, and looked down both sides of the alley.
The sect leader, dressed in black night clothes and wearing a straw hat, was heading not toward the bustling streets but toward the mountain. I silently dropped into the alley and followed him from a suitable distance. It was a bright moonlit night, so the mountain path was not too dark.
Still, just in case, I circulated a minimal amount of inner energy to enhance my vision. The depths of the night brightened. The place the sect leader sought was an abandoned shrine on the mountainside.
As the sect leader passed through the broken main gate and entered the walled compound, a black-robed figure who had been waiting stood up. Baek Cha-hyeon stopped, keeping a moderate distance.
“You're late.”
“The item?"
At the black-robed figure's gesture, a subordinate placed a small box in front of Baek Cha-hyeon. The sect leader opened the lid without delay. What he took out of the box was a wine bottle.
Baek Cha-hyeon unsealed the stopper and brought the bottle to his nose to smell it. “This seems to be of lower quality than the last one?" “Do you think processing a spiritual herb with alcohol is an easy task?
It's on a different level from making medicinal wine."
"It's twice as difficult as making it into pills, and the failure rate is higher. Because of that, it's absorbed faster and is more effective, so the price is more than five times higher."
"Have you finished the spiritual wine you took last time?"
Baek Cha-hyeon didn't answer and brought the bottle to his lips.
“My, you're in a hurry. Settle the bill before you drink. I hear your sect has gone broke paying for your wine. You did bring the money for sure, right?”
“Keeeuh."
After taking a few swigs, Baek Cha-hyeon placed the bottle down on one side of the wall. He turned around and drew his sword on the black-robed figure. The black-robed figure clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Anyway, these so-called famous righteous sects are all black-bellied on the inside. You gain a little inner energy and think you've become the best in the world?
Do you think I've only seen one or two bastards like you in this business?" A dark, damp energy slowly rose from the black-robed figure's body. He was clearly raising his inner energy.
The black-robed figure licked his lips as if savoring a treat and smiled insidiously. “If I cut off your limbs and hand you over to a black inn merchant, I should be able to recover the principal and interest."
"You can live the rest of your life performing direct transmission of true energy for scoundrels and teaching them sword techniques. Get him!"
At the black-robed figure's command, two subordinates drew their swords and charged. Both of them moved with excessive agility. The amount of energy being circulated was small, but they were definitely using inner energy.
Swords flew in from both sides as fast as arrows shot simultaneously. Without even taking a stance, Baek Cha-hyeon lowered his sword toward the ground. Only when the enemies were within arm's reach did he finally glide backward.
It was an ethereal lightness art, infused with a considerable amount of inner energy. In the instant the flying swords pierced through his afterimage, Baek Cha-hyeon leaped forward again and slashed to the left and right simultaneously. A dazzling sword light flashed a few times in the moonlight, and the two subordinates collapsed, spraying blood.
Baek Cha-hyeon steadied his breath and flicked his sword to shake off the blood. As expected, the grassy smell from his body was the fragrance of a spiritual herb. Whenever I got a spiritual herb, I always processed it into pills to consume.
I never knew there was a method of consuming it by infusing it in wine instead of making pills. Neither Do Gwang-il nor Physician Sang had ever mentioned such a thing. When his two subordinates were butchered in an instant, flames sparked in the black-robed figure's eyes.
“You bastard!"
The black-robed figure kicked off the ground and charged. Even after seeing Baek Cha-hyeon's martial ability, the black-robed figure did not retreat, proving he was also a considerable master.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The black-robed figure pushed forward forcefully with domineering forms rarely seen in sword techniques. Baek Cha-hyeon dizzied his eyes with afterimages and nimbly deflected the sword strikes. The forms of the sword technique Baek Cha-hyeon was using looked familiar.
It was the same sword technique I saw when I sparred with the young master during the day. The Six Harmonies Sword Technique or the Falling Shadow Sword Technique. It had to be one of the two, and I could see why it was called that.
When inner energy was added to the forms I had seen during the day, the sword's movements became so fast and the afterimages so dazzling that only falling shadows could be seen. It responded in a strange way, as if lightning came first and thunder followed.
The sword tip flickered into several images, sometimes stabbing at the head and chest simultaneously. The linkage of the forms also changed colorfully, keeping in mind all the directions from which the opponent could respond. I knew his aura was unusual, but I didn't know Baek Cha-hyeon was such a master.
For a man of such skill, it was understandable that his son's achievements would not satisfy him. The black-robed figure was just as flustered. As his ferocious assault, which seemed capable of tearing his opponent apart in a single breath, came to nothing, his sword grew increasingly sluggish, as if caught in an invisible net.
Unable to overwhelm his opponent, Baek Cha-hyeon's sword actually picked up speed. Leaving behind phantom-like afterimages, it aimed for the vital points. The black-robed figure barely blocked and retreated, but his thigh was slashed.
Staggering, he deflected a fierce sword strike and thrust out with a blow that pierced the black-robed figure's chest.
"Keo-heok!"
The black-robed figure staggered and then fell backward. I was reminded of the saying that one should always hide thirty percent of one's skill. The true skill Baek Cha-hyeon had been hiding was slightly higher than what the black-robed figure had perceived.
That difference was what decided victory and defeat, life and death.
“Keeeeuh. You insidious bastard. Our headquarters will not stand idly by.”
“Don't worry. It will all be over before then." Puk! Baek Cha-hyeon mercilessly stabbed the black-robed figure in the throat. "Huu, huu......”
Baek Cha-hyeon, panting heavily, walked to the wall and picked up the wine bottle. After taking a few audible gulps, he set the bottle down on a stone step and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"Cough, cough."
As if his body was unwell, he covered his mouth with his hand and let out a violent cough that seemed to wring out his entire body. After catching his breath, he took his hand away from his mouth, and his palm was wet with a clot of blood.
As he clenched his fist tightly, blood trickled down between his fingers. He straightened his back and turned his head toward the patch of grass beyond the gate where I was hiding. His two eyes, bloodshot like a beast's, were aimed precisely at me.
As our eyes met in the darkness, he spoke in a cold tone. “If you've seen enough, come out. How long are you going to keep spying?"
Baek Cha-hyeon did not sheathe his sword. From the tip of his sword, which pointed toward the ground, sticky, fresh blood dripped down like red saliva.