Are You the Blue-Eyed Lion? (1)
“Not even a month in the martial world and you’ve already earned a title… impressive, Sir William.”
Mu-gwang’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
You actually care about things besides swords, huh? The same guy who spent the entire wagon ride talking about sword paths and techniques. Probably because Baek Elder keeps scolding him.
“You’ll get one soon enough.”
“I hope so, but titles are strange, aren’t they? Hard to obtain when you want them, yet they appear when you don’t.”
“Then stop bothering Sir William and focus on your sword training.”
“Yes, Master.”
After Baek Elder’s rebuke, Mu-gwang scratched his head and resumed swinging his sword. I watched him for a moment before turning back toward the campsite.
Hye-ryeong sat alone by the crackling fire, staring blankly into the flames.
“Did you come back, Uncle Lion?”
“What kind of nickname is that?”
“You’re the Blue-Eyed Lion, so I shortened it to Uncle Lion!”
An odd nickname. It didn’t feel like something that belonged in a proper wuxia story. Maybe Hye-ryeong was a transmigrator too. Or a reincarnator. Her mannerisms were so unlike those of a medieval Central Plains native that I scratched my head and sat down beside her. Where had Ha-jin gone?
“Where’s Ha-jin?”
“He said he was going hunting and wandered off for a bit! I’m watching the fire.”
“You didn’t go with him?”
“I’m really bad at hunting… I can’t see well below me.”
Hye-ryeong lowered her head. It almost looked like she was staring at her own chest.
She had a point. Even with bandages, those massive breasts would make chasing prey difficult. No matter how skilled a martial artist was, ligaments didn’t get trained like that. I’d noticed before how seasoning would fall onto her chest while eating, making her uncomfortable. For Hye-ryeong, that chest must be genuinely inconvenient.
“Don’t look so glum. You’re good at other things.”
“I am?”
“Well… you’re good at talking?”
“Hehe.”
I’d just blurted out the first thing that came to mind, but she seemed pleased. If she liked it, that was what mattered. I chuckled and drew my longsword.
I hadn’t taken it out except to loosen up. My beloved blade shimmered with a sunset glow, wrapped in the warm light of the fire. I oiled it every day, but when would I actually get to use it? I tried to avoid fights whenever possible, but eventually I’d have to draw it. If we could find a decent blacksmith near the Wuxia Alliance, I should commission another weapon. A gladius specialized for swordsmanship or a reliable arming sword wouldn’t be bad either. I’d learned plenty of techniques, and having more options in real combat was always an advantage. The longsword was versatile, but sometimes a weapon specialized in a particular style was more effective.
While lost in thought, I stared at the campfire until Ha-jin emerged from the bushes holding a neatly dressed rabbit. He brushed leaves from his clothes, washed the rabbit with the water he carried, skewered it on a wooden spit, and set it over the fire.
“You’ve done this before?”
“A few years ago I had business at the Wuxia Alliance. I learned then.”
“The Wuxia Alliance… We’ll reach Changsha in half a day, so we should arrive in Hubei Province soon.”
We were currently in the mountains just south of Changsha, so that made sense. We could simply run there, but there was no need to hurry, so we were taking it easy. By now, news of the Demonic Sect’s attack on the Hainan Sword Sect and the appearance of the Thunder Bomb should have spread throughout the Wuxia Alliance in Hubei. They’d probably be preparing countermeasures by the time we arrived.
…They were preparing, right? I hoped they weren’t just wasting time with pointless meetings. I’d been furious enough watching the allied forces do that back when I was a knight in the West. In war, you had to execute the political schemers first before anything could move forward. We couldn’t do that, and our entire order was wiped out.
“Hubei, huh…”
“Senior Brother, will we see Dongting Lake on the way?”
“We should be able to catch a glimpse from afar.”
“Haha, Dongting Lake. A truly dreamlike place. A lake that looks like it could house immortals.”
“Come on, immortals? It’s just full of drunkards passed out after drinking!”
“Ha-gyeong.”
“Ah, got it.”
The eldest was dignified, but the second was so reckless he looked like he’d get stabbed somewhere. I tore my gaze from the cheeky Ha-gyeong and watched the rabbit roast to a golden brown over the fire. Seven people would find the portion a bit small, but we could eat lightly and supplement with food bought from the next village.
“It’s almost done.”
Ha-jin, acting as the responsible one, carved the meat and distributed portions to everyone. After finishing our simple meal, we spread out the blankets we’d brought and lay down. Eating and then lying down immediately wasn’t ideal, but the martial world rose early, so sleeping soon was wise. There were no smartphones here, and no nightlife to enjoy either.
“Uncle…”
As I lay with my eyes closed, Hye-ryeong called to me in a voice so soft I could barely hear it. I answered quietly.
“What?”
“Good night.”
“…Right. You too.”
A soft giggle reached my ears. With that sound, my consciousness slipped into darkness.
“So that’s Changsha.”
“I’ve seen it before, but the sight still overwhelms me every time.”
As Ha-jin said, Changsha’s scenery had something that overpowered the viewer. Perhaps because it was an unusually large city for this era. Or because the buildings were so tall they made it hard to tell whether this was the medieval age or the modern one. Maybe both.
I kept walking while my eyes remained fixed on Changsha. Looking at it made me realize all over again that I had truly arrived in the Central Plains. Western villages were so small they seemed like nothing compared to this. Only a fief with a castle felt like a place where people actually lived. I understood why jokes about a country being the size of Dobong District while Dongjak District was king existed.
“Haha, Changsha has many sights, but if you travel upstream, you’ll see Dongting Lake, one of Hunan’s most famous scenic spots. If things go well, it wouldn’t hurt to stop by.”
“That would be nice.”
“A short detour should be fine, Elder.”
“Don’t we have many things to do? We still need to finish discussing the Demonic Sect, build connections at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, and there’s a martial competition coming up soon. Shouldn’t we achieve something there as well?”
We really did have a lot to do. But if the Demonic Sect was active, shouldn’t everything else be put on hold?
“The Demonic Sect has made a move, yet the events are still proceeding?”
“They will. At first glance it may seem like they’re underestimating the Demonic Sect, but holding the events as planned is also a declaration that ‘we won’t cancel because of the likes of the Demonic Sect.’”
They were showing off their momentum. It wasn’t a bad strategy, though it risked a surprise attack from behind. The main topic of the anti-Demonic Sect conference would likely be how to detect and counter the Demonic Sect’s schemes. Of course, I wouldn’t be entering the conference room, so I’d only hear the conclusion from Baek Elder. If things followed the original story, the Demonic Sect wouldn’t cause trouble, so it should proceed smoothly. But what if variables appeared on their side too? What if failing to destroy the Hainan Sword Sect caused the snowball to roll in an unexpected direction? Where would that snowball go, and how?
I swallowed my unease and nodded at Baek Elder’s words.
“Who’s participating in the martial competition?”
“Ha-gyeong and Mu-gwang will enter.”
“I’ll crush all those arrogant bastards and return, so just leave it to me, Senior Brother!”
“I’ll do my best.”
“I’m planning to participate in the Phoenix Martial Competition too!”
There was a separate competition for female martial artists. Hye-ryeong declared with an enthusiastic face that she would definitely earn a splendid title.
“You’ll cheer for me, right?”
“Of course.”
“Hehe.”
“I heard the prize this time is a precious elixir. I’m looking forward to it. Hye-ryeong, show the people of the Central Plains how fierce the Hainan Sword Sect’s swordsmanship is.”
“Yes!”
The protagonist would win that and consume it. Then again, this was a separate event, so it didn’t matter. The dangerous one was Ha-gyeong. I silently wished Ha-gyeong luck in being eliminated by the protagonist.
“By the way, Sir William, won’t you participate in the martial competition?”
“Me?”
“Yes. You should be able to enter as a wandering martial artist.”
Participate… But I already knew the protagonist would sweep everything, so I didn’t feel the need. When I shook my head, Ha-jin spoke with a disappointed expression.
“I was hoping to see a match…”
“We can do that whenever we have time. More importantly, let’s think about which inn in Changsha we’ll stay at.”
“Haha, leave that to this old man. I know a good inn.”
We’re not going to get dragged into trouble again, are we?
Carrying a hint of anxiety, we arrived in Changsha.