Chapter 17
Looking into the woman’s eyes, I couldn’t help but think:
Is this chick really gonna charge at me with a knife?
I seriously had no idea what I did wrong. Sure, I might have caught her in the face with my knee, but is that enough to warrant this kind of reaction?
“Excuse me.”
“………”
“Did I do something wrong? We were both victims here, so what’s with the attitude?”
“Wrong? Ha! Wrong?! Is that even a question?!”
Her fierce gaze pierced into me like a dagger. She clutched her collar and yanked it down, revealing her fair skin. But then my eyes caught sight of the bruises—blue and red marks littering her body.
That was clearly the aftermath of a beating. This was no mere scuffle—if she’d taken one more hit like that, she’d probably be pushing daisies by now!
“You messed up my face…! My tendons are severed, and I’m stuck with customers who wouldn’t even look twice at a piece of trash! I’m all bruised and smashed! If it weren’t for you…! If my face had just been fine, I wouldn’t be in this state!”
This was obviously true. In this back-alley life, beauty was everything.
If you had a pretty face, you’d get treated differently, even amongst courtesans.
Just take Maewol, touted as the most beautiful dame in the district. She still had her tendons intact, only had to deal with a bit more scrutiny.
For them, it was better to annoy their subordinates than to damage a prime asset like Maewol.
But that scrutiny wasn’t always a bad thing. If gorgeous courtesans got into a rough spot, the guards would swoop in to save the day.
That was the opposite of this woman’s situation. Her tendons were shot; she could barely walk, and when unruly customers came knocking, instead of stopping them, she was cashing in extra fees!
And the money she actually pocketed? Barely enough to scrape by; left unchecked, she’d just be another corpse on the street.
“So what? You’re asking if I did something wrong?”
Under that glare which could slice through steel, I scratched my head awkwardly.
“Well, I didn’t hit you that hard…”
Okay, so maybe saying I ‘smashed’ her was a bit much. Yeah, her face was probably a little swollen.
“Honestly, your face wasn’t all that great to begin with! If you had been a real beauty, they would’ve waited for your face to heal!”
“…What?”
Silence hung in the air. Maewol, who was standing a bit away and eavesdropping, blinked in astonishment, her mouth agape.
“Seriously, if you’re gonna be mad at someone, direct that anger at your pals from the Black Tiger Gang! I’m the one getting my guts spilled here.”
“You… you just said that out loud?!”
“Yep.”
I nodded, and her face turned beet red. It was already bruised; now it looked like a ripe tomato about to burst.
As she glared at me with her wide, furious eyes, Chun-bong stepped right in front of her.
“Enough. Don’t misplace your anger.”
“Ha, ha… What’s this? A new player on the scene?”
The woman’s eyes were glimmering in the most unsettling way. Seriously, it felt like a knife fight was just around the corner.
But Chun-bong was fearless. She drew her sword and pointed it right at the woman’s throat, close enough that the blade drew droplets of blood.
“Know your place. This person is not someone you can disrespect. You can’t just shift the blame.”
“What the….”
Drip—
With the sword pressing deeper, blood flowed. Chun-bong’s eyes were sharp as daggers. I was taken aback by her intensity.
“Hey, hey, it’s cool. I really don’t care.”
I hadn’t come looking for the woman out of guilt; I was just curious about what happened.
Whether she resented me or not, it was all good. If she tried to swing at me, I had my sword ready.
“Our Chun-bong is so nice, isn’t she?”
“…This guy is a handful even when he’s on my side.”
Chun-bong huffed, putting her sword away. I patted her head and turned to Maewol, who had been standing quietly behind us.
“We’ll see you again, okay?”
“Oh? Hehe, I’ll treat you like royalty next time.”
Her flirtatious demeanor was a bit much. I gently nudged Chun-bong in front of me, creating some distance.
“Yup, sounds good.”
As we walked away, the bruised woman shot daggers at our backs, as if she wanted to kill us.
*
On the way home, I forced Chun-bong onto my back as a way to lighten her mood, which was a bit sour.
“Come on! Stop it already!”
I knew she was secretly enjoying it.
Triumphantly, I carried Chun-bong all the way back home and put her down in the room.
“Oh my, our Chun-bong has gotten quite heavy.”
“…I’m going to kill you.”
“Oops, my bad.”
Waving my hands defensively, I sat down on the floor, staring at her.
In response, Chun-bong shot me a fiery gaze, staring back, unyielding.
What started as a sudden staring contest culminated in my victory.
“Ugh… cheat! Using your internal energy during a staring contest?”
“If you’re upset, maybe try using yours?”
I chuckled as I applied a layer of golden internal energy over my palm. It was a signature move of the Yellow Cloud Divine Art.
I hadn’t seen that many martial arts yet, but I could already tell that the Yellow Cloud Divine Art had its quirks.
“So, going back to our previous discussion, you’re saying that simply stealing someone else’s martial arts and showcasing it is not a good idea.”
“But.”
“Yeah? But can I use Yellow Cloud Divine Art?”
It might’ve sounded absurd, but Chun-bong understood immediately, shaking her head with a bitter smile.
“That’s not allowed. Not outside.”
“Outside? You mean like the alleys?”
“Yeah. Honestly, it’s fine around here. The Divine Sword Golden Family hasn’t had too many outings, so the chances of someone recognizing it are slim. But once we left this area and hit the major cities, that would change. Anyone who’s seen our family could figure it out in an instant.”
“Got it…”
I fell into deep thought.
The reason it was a problem if someone identified my use of Yellow Cloud Divine Art was simple: I had no clue who wiped out the Divine Sword Golden Family.
If they spotted a survivor, who knew how they’d react? It was better to play it safe.
Watching me contemplate, Chun-bong spoke up.
“Some say the ones who wiped out the Divine Sword Golden Family might be the righteous faction, but that’s not entirely true.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I sensed an aura of deceit. More likely it was someone from the shady side.”
Our eyes met. While she claimed it was the shady faction, there remained a lingering suspicion in her gaze.
Having caught on to her tension, I could tell there was more she wanted to say.
“So?”
I pulled her closer, sitting her on my lap. No resistance from her; she seemed drained of energy.
I felt a twinge of sympathy and rubbed her soft cheeks, prompting her to continue.
“Well, the righteous faction seems suspicious too. Those shady guys… they seemed to know an awful lot about the Divine Sword Golden Family. Plus, when it was time for them to lend a hand, not a single one showed up.”
“Wait, so there might be a mole?”
“Seems likely. Whether inside the Divine Sword Golden Family or within the Martial Alliance, who knows? Or maybe they were just annoyed by our family.”
A mix of bubbling rage and resignation filled the air around us like picky thorns, prickling my heart.
I leaned forward, resting my chin on the top of her head. She grumbled about how it was heavy, but I could tell she didn’t really mind.
Strangely enough, ever since we first met, Chun-bong had always followed me around quite readily. Perhaps fate had thrown us together when we were both feeling low.
“That’s why I can’t stand those guys. The Martial Alliance might’ve just delayed their communications, but the other sects nearby had to have known. They acted like they’d spill their guts for you when things were good, but when it really mattered, they just turned a blind eye. Damn hypocrites. They flaunt their virtuous image, but all they care about is their own gain.”
“Those bastards.”
“Exactly! Those scumbags just need to be wiped off the map!”
“Hey, you want me to take care of it?”
“Forget it. I’ll be the one putting a blade to their throats.”
She smiled playfully, leaning back against me. I couldn’t help but find her endearing.
Raising my chin and lowering it again like a little puppy, she reminded me of a feisty chihuahua. All looks, just like a hamster!
“So, tomorrow should we swing by the Clear Flow Sect?” (Seo-jun)
“The Clear Flow Sect? I thought it was the Qinghua Sect?” (Chun-bong)
“Oh right, the Qinghua Sect.” (Seo-jun)
The Clear Flow thing was just a sword technique!
(TN: Qinghua means Clear Blossom or Azure Blossom. The Clear Flow Sword Technique is a sword technique that Seojun copies from the Qinghua Sect in Chapter 15.)
“Why go? It’s gonna end in a fight.”
“Got some things I wanna discuss.”
Ah, thinking about it, I remembered something I’d pushed to the back of my mind. With everything happening, it just slipped my memory.
“Nope. Let’s swing by the Black Tiger Gang first.”
“Why over there?”
“Time to relocate.”
“Over there? What about the bodies? Plus, it’s way too big!”
“Hey, I’ve got this all mapped out.”
Bodies? Easy. Just send in the Black Tiger Gang, and we’d handle manpower.
Besides, I had some things I wanted to try out.
“Alright, Chun-bong, time for bed, huh?”
“…Can you not say it like that? It sounds creepy.”
“Okay, I’m just gonna snuggle up with you then.”
“Too hot. No thanks.”
Such a heartless person.
*
When I woke up, Chun-bong was snuggled up against me.
Curled up like a little squirrel, she fit me perfectly. When I tried to get up, she whined sleepily, so I pulled her close again, continuing the thoughts I had before dozing off.
‘Martial arts to replace the Yellow Cloud Divine Art.’
Chun-bong was right when she said it was okay here, but you never know. Being prepared never hurts.
And just because I didn’t use the Yellow Cloud Divine Art didn’t mean the insights I gained from practicing it would vanish. Not a total loss.
‘First, I’ll use Yellow Cloud Divine Art as the base…’
Then I’ll mix in the Clear Sky Divine Art. Since the state of being will rise, weaving Yin and Yang together makes it all the more fluid. Yellow Cloud Divine Art and Clear Sky Divine Art are practically twin arts. Combining them shouldn’t be too challenging.
‘Maybe I can borrow some concepts from the Green Flow Sword Style…’
The Green Flow Sword is surprisingly powerful. It resembles a raging torrent more than it does the soft stream of a brook.
A torrent of strong water, continuously shifting between the light and darkness of the sky.
Even though I missed some marks, I was starting to connect the dots.
‘Anyway, I can always check out other arts later. Mixing elements that look promising should yield something of value.’
Normally, this type of obsession might seem crazy, but I had confidence.
No matter what the martial art, when it comes to energy manipulation, I can make it happen.
Time flew by as I envisioned a unique martial art that someday would be complete. It might still be too early in the game, but if I had to come up with a name…
‘How about the Primordial Unity Art?’
That name felt just right.
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