Chapter 68
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Request for Aid (1)
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“Argh!”
Gu Jahong screamed as he dodged the flying sword.
But another sword shot toward him.
“Ugh!”
Gu Jahong blocked the attack, but unable to withstand the force, he was thrown backward.
And as he lay on the ground, the cold, sharp tip of a sword appeared before his eyes.
“You lost.”
“Haa. You’re truly useless.”
Jinmyeong let out a small sigh as he withdrew the sword pointed at Gu Jahong.
As if his pride was stung by the word “useless,” Gu Jahong’s eyebrow twitched.
“Just two swords. No need to use any more.”
Two controlled swords were more than enough to handle Gu Jahong.
“Should I try with one next time?”
“What!”
Gu Jahong’s face crumpled when he heard Jinmyeong’s muttering.
To be told he would be fought with just one sword, not even two, was a blow to his pride.
He had never heard of Jinmyeong fighting anyone with only a single controlled sword.
“Or maybe not? The Asura Sword Forms alone might be enough.”
“Young Master Jin!”
Gu Jahong shouted.
His face flushed red as he glared at Jinmyeong, seething.
“What is it?”
“Do you have to disrespect me like this?”
Gu Jahong knew what kind of martial art the Asura Sword Forms were.
A sword art that every martial artist in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had given up on.
A sword art that couldn't even be considered a basic technique of the cult.
“Did you say you’d use your body?”
Besides, Jinmyeong’s body, incapable of performing martial arts, was famous throughout the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“I think it’ll be enough.”
“…This is truly humiliating.”
Leaping to his feet, Gu Jahong pointed his sword at Jinmyeong.
“Let’s do it, Young Master. I don’t think I can possibly lose to you if you don’t use your controlled swords.”
“Oh? You’re confident?”
“…I am.”
“Then we should make a bet.”
At Jinmyeong’s confident tone, Gu Jahong wondered if he had made a mistake.
‘No, this is still wrong.’
But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't imagine losing to a Jinmyeong who didn't use his controlled swords.
Of course, if it had been Shin Yehyang, he wouldn't have even entertained such a thought.
“Fine, a bet! What shall we bet?”
“Hmm. Let’s see. There’s nothing I particularly want…”
He had suggested a bet, but there was nothing he really wanted from Gu Jahong.
‘This guy doesn’t seem very useful.’
He had taken Gu Jahong under his wing to draw in the Great Elder, Sword Demon, but he had also considered making this man a Great Elder himself to secure his loyalty.
But looking at Gu Jahong now, it seemed difficult to mold him into a master of Sword Demon’s caliber.
Thus, Jinmyeong had given up on him. The only reason he was training Gu Jahong now was to keep his promise to Sword Demon.
‘My promise was to fix this guy’s mindset.’
It didn’t matter if Gu Jahong failed to become stronger.
As long as he quit drinking and showed an interest in martial arts, the promise to Sword Demon would be fulfilled.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s nothing.”
Gu Jahong also noticed the change in Jinmyeong’s attitude.
Before, Jinmyeong had pushed him to learn martial arts and train, but recently, he had stopped pressuring him.
Even his sparring matches with Shin Yehyang had ceased.
He still sparred with Jinmyeong like this occasionally, but it felt more like a formality than before.
“The bet is simple: the winner can order the loser to do one thing, anything.”
“…Within reason, of course.”
He didn’t want anything right now, but something might come up later.
“Then let’s begin.”
Jinmyeong and Gu Jahong stood facing each other.
“Here I come.”
Gu Jahong immediately charged at Jinmyeong.
*Swish!*
Even though it was a real sword, Gu Jahong didn’t hesitate to thrust it at Jinmyeong’s neck, but Jinmyeong simply dodged by pulling his left foot back and turning his body.
Then he immediately swung his sword at Gu Jahong.
“Kugh!”
Gu Jahong scowled as he blocked Jinmyeong’s attack, then thrust his sword out again.
“Too simple.”
“It’s a swift sword style, what can I do?”
“That’s true.”
Swift sword styles were designed to kill the enemy as quickly as possible.
That was why most swift sword styles consisted entirely of thrusting at the opponent’s vital points.
“But while the attacks of a swift sword style are simple, the sword forms themselves aren’t, are they?”
It was true that the goal was to strike the shortest distance in the fastest way.
But thrusting wasn't the only part of the sword art.
Because the attacks themselves were simple, swift sword styles inevitably had complex footwork.
Yet, Gu Jahong was simply charging straight at Jinmyeong.
Naturally, his movements were easy for Jinmyeong to predict.
“The Flash Sword Style’s footwork is also swift, for quickly approaching the opponent. Even you wouldn’t know the intricacies, Young Master.”
“Is that so? I heard otherwise.”
As Gu Jahong said, the footwork of the Flash Sword Style was the Flash Footwork, which was similar to the swift sword style itself in its speed of approach.
But the Flash Footwork wasn't the first technique one learned.
“What about the Scattering Form Footwork?”
“How do you know about that…”
Gu Jahong was shocked that Jinmyeong mentioned his family’s most basic footwork.
“Unlike the Flash Footwork, it might just look chaotic.”
Despite its name suggesting a body-scattering technique, it wasn't a particularly remarkable form of footwork.
However, its erratic movements in various directions could deceive an opponent’s eyes.
“It moves haphazardly, but the freedom to change direction makes it good for confusing an opponent.”
Since you couldn't predict where it would move, you couldn't take your eyes off it for even a moment.
“But the Flash Sword Style…”
“You think the Flash Footwork, which is all about approaching quickly, is the best fit?”
Gu Jahong gave a small nod.
Indeed, while the Scattering Form Footwork was the first technique learned, it was also one that was abandoned once the Flash Footwork was mastered.
“That might be true. But you should only use it against opponents it works on.”
Jinmyeong closed in on Gu Jahong and swung his sword.
And Gu Jahong began to continuously block the swords Jinmyeong swung.
“How is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“My swordsmanship right now.”
“…It’s hard to block.”
“And?”
Gu Jahong moved his sword to block Jinmyeong’s attacks while slowly observing.
It was fast and heavy, making it difficult to block. But looking at Jinmyeong’s swordsmanship, it didn't feel special at all.
“It’s not incredibly fast like a swift sword, nor is it overwhelmingly heavy like a greatsword.”
“True enough.”
It was fast and heavy, but it didn't feel like it leaned toward either extreme.
To put it nicely, it was well-balanced, but ultimately, it could be called a mediocre swift sword or a mediocre greatsword.
“And it’s simple, right?”
“……”
That was what Gu Jahong had been hesitant to say.
Jinmyeong’s swordsmanship was simply thrusting and cutting. There were no flashy variations.
It was the most basic form of swordsmanship.
“Are you also going to tell me that the basics are important, Young Master?”
“The basics are important, but if that was all it took, everyone would have become strong with just basic swordsmanship.”
A good martial art was ultimately stronger.
There was a reason everyone tried to learn good martial arts.
“What I’m trying to say is that even something basic can be effective if you use it well. I’m telling you to apply it. Don’t just move exactly as you were taught.”
Jinmyeong swung his sword forcefully, knocking Gu Jahong’s sword away.
“Keuk!”
The blow was so powerful that Gu Jahong lost his grip on his sword.
“And your sword, it’s not good enough to be called a swift sword.”
Perhaps because Gu Jahong’s skill was low, but compared to Sword Demon, it didn't even feel like a swift sword style.
“They say that with the Flash Sword Style, no matter how many times you thrust, it should look like a single flash. I don’t think you can manage that.”
That was the ultimate goal of the Flash Sword Style.
A swift sword so fast that even ten thrusts looked like a single one.
“Kugh.”
“In the end, it’s my victory. To be worse than me, a person who can’t even use his body properly, you must truly have no talent.”
As Sword Demon’s grandson, he couldn’t be talentless.
He just had no interest in martial arts, so he never thought to train on his own.
And Jinmyeong considered even that to be a matter of talent.
“No talent!”
Never having been told he lacked talent before, Gu Jahong’s pride was wounded.
“It might be better for you to just give up on martial arts.”
Jinmyeong sheathed his sword and left the training ground.
“You’ve returned?”
When he got back to the Myeonghwa-ru, Yang Jeon approached him as if he had been waiting.
“Is something else the matter?”
“Yes, there is. A guest has arrived.”
“A guest? Is it someone important?”
“Not particularly important, but they seemed to be in a bit of a hurry.”
Jinmyeong followed Yang Jeon.
“A pleasure to meet you. I am Gi Cheolhwan, the head of the Unjeong Escort Agency, the Hunan branch.”
“Hunan branch? Wasn’t the Hunan branch the Namga Merchants?”
“The Unjeong Escort Agency is also a branch in Hunan. It’s not easy to manage this wide region from a single place.”
At the agency head’s words, Jinmyeong looked at Yang Jeon.
“That’s correct. Strictly speaking, their roles are different.”
The Namga Merchants, being a trading company, focused more on making money in Hunan and sending it to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
In contrast, the Unjeong Escort Agency handled escort jobs, traveling around and gathering information.
“So? What brings you here?”
“Please help us.”
The agency head cut right to the chase.
“Help you? With what?”
“The agency has received an important request. The Namga Merchants are also involved.”
If the Namga Merchants were involved, it was likely a very profitable job.
“And?”
“It’s a bit embarrassing, but we’ve been failing quite a few requests lately.”
“Failing requests?”
While not all of the agency's escorts could be members of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, it wasn't as if there were none at all.
“This is embarrassing.”
“…I have no excuse.”
The agency head didn't try to make excuses.
“The job is to transport goods to Sichuan.”
“And?”
“I would like to request that you, Young Master, escort those goods.”
“The payment?”
The agency head flinched at the word “payment.”
“But isn’t this a matter for the cult?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Jinmyeong was demanding payment for a cult matter, but the agency head couldn't say a word.
“Payment, what is it that you desire?”
“Well. You’ll have to bring me something good, won’t you?”
“Understood. One thousand taels of silver, how does that sound?”
“A thousand taels?”
A thousand taels was a considerable sum.
No, it was an amount so large that “considerable” couldn’t even begin to describe it.
“You won’t even get a thousand taels for completing this job, will you? You must be quite desperate.”
The agency head was willing to take a loss to ensure this request succeeded.
“When do I need to be there?”
“In five days.”
“Isn’t that a bit short? I have preparations to make too.”
“We will prepare everything you need.”
Meaning Jinmyeong only needed to show up.
“Then I’ll be there in five days.”
“Thank you!”
The agency head’s voice was much lighter, but his expression was still tinged with worry.
“…A thousand taels is a large sum.”
As soon as the agency head left, Yang Jeon spoke, his eyes narrowed.
He was likely chiding Jinmyeong for demanding payment for a cult matter.
“It’s not about the money.”
“It’s not?”
Yang Jeon, who believed Jinmyeong had no loyalty to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, looked puzzled.
‘It should be about time to head over there.’
The payment was larger than expected, but it was also because of the fortuitous opportunity in the Green Forest Mountain.
He planned to visit Sichuan, another region, and obtain the opportunity from the Green Forest Mountain on his way back.
“Well then, shall we start preparing?”
Watching Jinmyeong, who even seemed strangely excited, Yang Jeon shook his head.