– Boom!!
Chaejin plunged the Moonlight Sword into the ground beside me. At the same time, she slid forward, and she and the straw hat guy collided not too far from me.
– Chaeaaaaaang!!
The sound of the help and swords clashing echoed. And guess who got shoved back? The straw hat dude.
But was that backlash part of his attack? He spun and swung his sword around.
What flew was a gray sword’s aura.
Chaejin blocked it with a quick move and swiftly drew her sword.
– Slash!!
It was short-lived. Only the black straw hat shattered, revealing his face. It was only after seeing that face that I realized who had attacked me.
One of the sharp blades of the Sapa.
Gyuseon.
A skilled swordsman known for the Single Strike Sword Technique, making a name for himself in the martial arts world.
“…Gyuseon?”
Chaejin, poised and spinning her sword, tilted her head.
Gyuseon, tossing aside the broken straw hat, pointed his sword at Chaejin.
“You have no affiliation, so whose request are you targeting the Innkeeper for?”
“….The martial artist speaks of nothing.”
“Ah, I see.”
Chaejin grinned, baring her teeth as she gathered her strength. Gyuseon, watching her, gripped his sword tight and began to concentrate his own energy.
Fights between strong opponents are decided in an instant. So I threw the dagger I’d kept hidden in my sleeve.
Of course, I didn’t think it would hit. It was just meant to be a distraction.
– Chaeeeng!!
The flying dagger clashed with Gyuseon’s sword, and at that moment, Chaejin vanished like she’d been covered up.
“Tsk.”
Gyuseon clicked his tongue at losing the initiative and swung his sword.
But since Chaejin had already made her move, his swordplay could only be defensive.
– Clang! Clang! Clang!!
After three consecutive strikes came a fierce blow. As he was pushed back from blocking Chaejin’s Moonlit Sword Technique, she pressed her attack.
A bright white moon appeared in the air. As the moon split, she managed to narrowly evade the resulting strike.
– Swish!!
Oh, the Twin Moon Slash.
One of the secret moves of the Moonlight Technique, executing the Moonlight Slash twice in a row.
I didn’t expect he would have mastered it already.
The second moon’s split strike left a deep wound on Gyuseon’s right arm before he could even whine in pain.
Chaejin’s sword flickered.
– Whoosh!!
Blood gushed from his severed right arm. As Gyuseon attempted to dodge this lethal blow, Chaejin didn’t let up.
As his body moved frantically to advance, Gyuseon swung his left arm. In his hand was a red talisman.
“Watch out!!”
As soon as I shouted, the talisman ignited and a massive fireball shot forth. But Chaejin didn’t dodge it.
She simply stretched out her left hand.
And then.
-Boom!!
She deflected it. Just like I had blocked Hwa-ho’s attack before.
No, Chaejin casually sent back an even stronger flame with just one hand.
If I manifested Yin and Yang with both hands, Chaejin had manifested Yin with one hand, transformed the incoming fire into Yang, balanced out the Yin and Yang, and sent it back.
Naturally, that’s a feat only possible if my skill was significantly higher than Taijiquan.
Perhaps not expecting her to pull off such a trick, Gyuseon’s eyes widened.
“Ahhk!!”
Gyuseon, hit squarely by the flames, let out a scream. Regardless, Chaejin had already made her way to his side, her blade was merciless.
-Swish!!
As the gleaming sword targeted the man engulfed in flames, Gyuseon slowly crumbled.
“Haah…”
With one arm severed, his body burned, and a deep wound on one leg, even a master wouldn’t be able to move with injuries like this.
Watching Gyuseon gasp for breath, Chaejin twirled her sword and lightly brought it down.
-Thunk!!
“Ugh!!”
What her sword pierced was his lower abdomen. Having destroyed his lower dantia, she said in a cold tone.
“Who sent you?”
“Gah… Ugh. Ruthless…”
“Come on. This isn’t that ruthless.”
She twirled her blade again. He was biting down on the pain so much that blood came out, yet he didn’t respond.
I approached Chaejin holding the black moon blade.
“Don’t come any closer. He might try a last-ditch effort.”
Is he implying that, as a dead man, he might burn his remaining life to take me down?
Then I shouldn’t get close.
“Gyuseon. Who sent you to bring me?”
There was no answer. So Chaejin twirled her blade again.
“If you want to die nicely, how about speaking quickly?”
“Ugh! Cough! Cough! I… I don’t… know. Just… a woman with red hair…!”
A woman with red hair.
I recalled the ones with red hair among those belonging to the Iron Blood Clan in Heavenly Bright Moon.
There were two with the Iron Blood Wood Stylist and three with the Iron Blood Flower Stylist.
“And who was next to that red-haired woman?”
“Ugh… Ugh… Hah… Hah…”
“Stop messing around.”
Gasping for air and mumbling something under her breath, Chaejin merely snorted and continued to channel her energy. Gyuseon, who was silently screaming once again, gritted their teeth.
“Just kill me…”
“Huh? Did you seriously think I’d let you live? I’ll kill you, but I have to get all the info out of you first.”
Chaejin snorted and continued her focus. Gyuseon, who had been groaning in pain, started to break out in a cold sweat. I looked at them and said, “If you just tell me that much, I’ll let you go peacefully. I promise on my name.”
“…Hoo… Hoo… I came alone. And…”
“And?”
“The fire… will burn everything… and… the right eye… is blue….”
“Chae Sojeo. That’s enough.”
If fire is mentioned, then it’s got to be related to the Iron Blood Clan. And if the right eye is blue, then I know exactly who it is. I nodded and Chaejin immediately drew her sword, decapitating them.
Chaejin walked over to me, her cold gaze lingering on the rolling head of Gyuseon. Just moments ago, she was a fearsome presence in battle, but now she looked at me with sparkling eyes, like a puppy seeking praise.
“Thank you.”
“Hehe. No need to mention it.”
I raised my hand, and her eyes followed it. Slowly, I patted Chaejin’s head, and she closed her eyes, looking pleased.
Then, we heard footsteps. I turned my gaze, and Chaejin pouted, looking disappointed.
“Are you okay?!”
It was the Murim Alliance warriors. It seemed they had come running after hearing the commotion. They gasped upon seeing Gyuseon’s lifeless body on the ground, alternating their looks between me and Chaejin.
“The Moonlight Sword master did this?”
“Indeed.”
“Whoa… I heard that Gyuseon was stronger than the Moonlight Sword master…”
That was true. In the Heavenly Bright Moon, Gyuseon was indeed one level above Chaejin.
However, unlike in the Heavenly Bright Moon, Chaejin was rapidly growing stronger here. Plus, after teaming up with me, her skills had been under wraps, with almost no activity in the Murim.
It made sense that the Murim Alliance warriors were surprised.
They probably thought sending only Gyuseon from the Iron Blood Clan would be enough to take down Chaejin and bring me in.
“First, I want to check the author’s belongings.”
“Ah. Yes.”
The Murim soldiers began to rummage through Gyuseon’s possessions. There wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy among the items.
There was nothing.
A few travel certificates, some golden and silver coins, and a few healing potions.
Lastly, there was a dagger adorned with mysterious patterns.
“Please take all of Gyuseon’s belongings as our spoils.”
“Ah. Yes, we should.”
I fought with my life on the line, so I couldn’t just hand everything over to the Murim Alliance. I accepted what Chaejin had brought.
“Well then, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Understood.”
As the Murim Alliance warriors handled Gyuseon’s corpse, Chaejin and I headed towards the local government office.
Chaejin, walking next to me, said with a serious expression, “By the way, Gyuseon isn’t someone who would go down easily… It must be the Iron Blood Clan who sent them, right?”
“That’s likely. And… the cost of this might be what we’re dealing with now.”
I showed her the dagger I had just acquired. Chaejin looked puzzled, but I knew what it was.
The Seven Star Dagger.
It was one of the key items to trace the shadows of Muwung Martial Arts.
“Huh? Really?”
“Indeed. I’ve done quite a bit of research on Muwung Martial Arts… Of course, this alone isn’t enough; there are more things I need to acquire.”
And most of those are already owned by someone else, and gathering them would mean negotiating or stealing from their owners. It would be better to just pass this on somewhere else rather than deal with that nonsense.
“Who do you plan to give it to?”
“Do you want it?”
I handed the dagger to Chaejin, but she shook her head.
“I’m not interested, and my father doesn’t have any special intentions for the Great Return Corps either.”
“Haha, I figured. I knew you’d refuse from Moonjeong. Anyway, this only brings trouble.”
“Well then…”
“We should inform those who had their belongings stolen by Muwung Martial Arts so they can negotiate among themselves and take it back.”
I tucked the dagger away.
“I’m not interested in coveting what has an owner.”
When we arrived at the local government office, met with Hyeonryeong to wrap things up, and returned to the inn, Doje and Hyunhwi were waiting for us.
They must have heard about the attack from Gyuseon.
“Have you not informed Hongseong yet?”
“Yes.”
“Good job.”
Not that anything major happened.
I said it nonchalantly, and Doje looked perplexed.
“Isn’t there a limit to being bold?”
“Haha, wouldn’t you agree this is the least I should do?”
Considering what I want to accomplish, this is nothing.
I smiled at the grinning Doje and said, “How about we have a drink today? My treat.”
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