The Price of Insult (3)
The next day.
“Hah!”
Moyong Yeonhwa bolted upright with a sharp gasp, panting heavily.
“...What the hell?”
At that moment, the door swung open.
“Ah! Young lady! You’re awake!”
“Red Wind Squad Leader?”
The man who burst in was Cheon Il-sang, the leader of the Red Wind Squad that had accompanied Moyong Yeonhwa.
“Are you alright?”
“Ah... Y-yeah, I’m fine.”
Moyong Yeonhwa glanced around the room.
Where am I?
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot up from her thigh.
“Ugh!”
“Young lady?”
“...It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
The stabbing pain vividly revived memories of the previous night.
Yeon Hojeong!
Moyong Yeonhwa ground her teeth without realizing it.
She demanded without mincing words, “Where is that bastard?”
“Pardon? Wh-who do you mean?”
“Yeon Hojeong!”
In that instant, Moyong Yeonhwa caught it—the flicker of unease shadowing Cheon Il-sang’s face.
“Yeon Hojeong... the eldest son of the Yeon family, right?”
“What happened?”
“W-well...”
Cheon Il-sang stammered.
“I heard there was a clash with the Yeon family’s eldest son...”
“And?”
“The situation’s a bit... peculiar.”
Moyong Yeonhwa narrowed her eyes.
“Stop beating around the bush. Get to the point.”
“Did you... send an assassin after someone from the Yeon family, young lady?”
“...What?!”
Cheon Il-sang let out a heavy sigh.
“After hearing about the clash with the Yeon family’s eldest son, we brought you to the infirmary, and then I went to confront him directly.”
“A-and?”
“Word’s already spreading like wildfire. They say that at the top floor of Hoseon Daehi House, not only did you insult someone from the Yeon family in front of the merchant alliance heirs, but you even sent an assassin after them...”
Bam!
Moyong Yeonhwa’s fist cratered the wall.
“What nonsense is that?!”
Cheon Il-sang squeezed his eyes shut.
“I agree, it doesn’t make sense. But the rumors are spreading as if it’s established fact. And the merchant alliance heirs...”
An inexplicable anxiety crept over Moyong Yeonhwa like mist.
“They’ve admitted to it as truth and already headed back to their trade alliance headquarters first.”
Moyong Yeonhwa’s face flushed red.
Those sons of bitches!
It felt like a blow to the back of her head.
Now it was clear—he’d deliberately knocked her out. Kept her from responding to the rumors, then roped in the merchant alliance heirs with a few words.
I’ll kill them all.
She was furious at Yeon Hojeong, but even more so at the merchant heirs.
How dare they!
She’d reached out to them precisely to dominate Zhejiang’s trade in the future. Without that, they’d have been less than the grime under her nails.
And those scum had stabbed her in the back. Pouring oil on her wounded pride and setting it ablaze.
“Let’s go.”
“Y-young lady! Meeting Yeon Hojeong right now might be...”
“Not Yeon Hojeong. My uncle.”
Moyong Yeonhwa bit her lip.
“It’s too late to catch up with them now anyway. I need to see my uncle and crush those bastards completely. We’ll clear the truth after that.”
* * *
“You up?”
“Ugh...”
Muk Bi staggered repeatedly.
Yeon Hojeong clicked his tongue.
“You chugged it like that yesterday. Was your first real bender that intoxicating?”
“Don’t talk to me. My head’s pounding.”
“What a riot. Just circulate your internal energy to flush out the alcohol fumes.”
“...Huh?”
“Flush out the booze with your energy, dummy. What’re you saving it for?”
Muk Bi stared blankly.
“That works?”
“If you can expel impurities from your body, you can handle booze fumes.”
Woooong.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than faint heat waves rose from Muk Bi’s body. The stench of stale liquor wafted with it.
“Oh? It works.”
“Like I’d tell you to do something impossible.”
Yeon Hojeong eyed her curiously.
“Your energy circulation’s unique, though. Mostly moving techniques?”
In her days as the leader of the Five Divine Generals, Muk Bi had mastered seated meditation, moving arts, and standing forms.
Because Yeon Hojeong had passed down parts of his own martial arts to her.
But not anymore.
Muk Bi had never once refined her energy through seated meditation. She was always in motion, honing her body through vigorous energy flow.
“Living Bow Steel String Method...”
Muk Bi’s eyes widened.
“You know the Living Bow Steel String Method?”
“Huh? Oh, more or less.”
Of course he knew it.
The Living Bow Steel String Method was the divine art that earned her the moniker Divine Bow, excelling across all archery weapons.
But...
It needed refinement.
The Living Bow Steel String Method unleashed unmatched power in the world.
Yet the deeper one delved, the more it damaged the body.
Of course, reaching that point required complete mastery.
“How do you know the Living Bow Steel String Method?”
“Oh, that? Well...”
“Did your brother tell you?”
“...Something like that.”
“I see.”
Muk Bi’s face darkened slightly.
Even after all this time, the thought of Baek Gung-cheon brought her sorrow.
Yeon Hojeong smacked his lips.
“Hey.”
“What.”
“I’m planning to rest today. Wanna learn a martial art from me?”
“You’re resting but teaching martial arts? That’s not resting.”
“You improve during rest. Don’t you wanna get stronger at all?”
“Of course I do.”
Muk Bi shook her head.
“But what I have now is already more than enough. I don’t plan to learn anything else.”
“What if there’s no bow?”
“Huh?”
“Say you run into enemies without a bow. You gonna grab chopsticks and fling them like yesterday? Or just kick with those footwork-honed legs?”
“Hmm...”
“A true warrior must unleash their full prowess anytime, anywhere. The jianghu is treacherous. You never know what’s coming, so be prepared.”
“I-is that so?”
If not for yesterday’s events, she’d have refused outright.
But now was different.
What if those guys had wielded martial arts too overwhelming for her? If they’d truly meant harm? Even she couldn’t have won.
Her footwork was superior for escape, but she couldn’t run forever.
“All martial arts begin barehanded. You need to learn fists.”
“...Alright.”
Yeon Hojeong grinned.
“Good. Let’s swing our limbs with spirit in the rear garden today.”
“O-okay.”
“I’ll teach you a stable heart method too. It compensates for the Living Bow Steel String Method’s flaws and excels at generating energy.”
“Flaws in the Living Bow Steel String Method?”
“Yeah, it has them. I heard about it from Baek Gung-cheon, so don’t look at me suspiciously.”
“...I guess so.”
Muk Bi nodded.
“I’ll learn it for now.”
Meaning she’d discard it if it proved useless.
Yeon Hojeong liked that attitude.
Those who knew their limits rarely made wrong choices.
Fill your vessel before trying to shatter it.
In that sense, Muk Bi might be naive in worldly matters, but she grasped the essence.
As a warrior, and as a person.
“Eat and we’ll start.”
“Okay.”
After a light meal, the two headed to the woods beside the rear garden.
“Pretty spacious. This’ll do.”
Yeon Hojeong set down his Gwang Yong Bu and stretched lightly.
“Let’s see your skills first.”
“My skills?”
That was when it happened.
Whoosh!
Yeon Hojeong’s body shot forward to Muk Bi in an instant.
Muk Bi flinched in shock.
No presence, and he was already right in front of her.
No time to scream.
She swiftly retreated.
Thud!
Her form shot backward at high speed.
I knew it.
Then, red fiery energy blazed from Yeon Hojeong’s body.
Flash!
Muk Bi’s eyes widened.
That footwork!
The air heated up, and in the next moment, Yeon Hojeong closed in from her rear flank.
Dizzyingly fast.
Even Muk Bi, a footwork master, lost sight of him for a split second.
Yeon Hojeong’s fist targeted her side.
Bam!
Muk Bi spun like a top, deflecting the strike.
Impressive reflexes.
Without Taiji fist arts like Four Liang Unleashing a Thousand Catties or Pear Blossom Grafting Wood, she still redirected the attack.
Admirable, but useless against Yeon Hojeong.
He loaded weight into the glancing fist and spun his body.
The follow-up was an axe-like downward kick.
Axe Blade Kick.
Muk Bi’s expression changed.
The vertical chop held ferocious power.
Too strong to deflect or block.
Dodge!
Thud!
She twisted desperately.
Boom!
Yeon Hojeong’s heel slammed the ground.
But the assault continued.
Axe Blade meant great axe and hatchet—having evaded the great axe, the hatchet followed.
His pivot leg shifted; the right leg whipped like lightning.
Thwack!
“Kuh!”
Muk Bi staggered back.
It hurts!
She barely crossed her arms to block.
Not a stomping kick, but a whipping one.
Her blocking arms became vital points, pain blurring her vision.
“Just gonna dodge?”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Yeon Hojeong zigzagged in.
No time to recover.
Muk Bi leaped back to track his movements.
Whoosh!
Leaving the enemy track you was foolish.
Yeon Hojeong’s erratic motion straightened into a line.
Gasp!
A straight central thrust, blazing with fiery momentum.
Not this time.
Thump!
Muk Bi braced against the incoming attack.
Mere dodging couldn’t counter Yeon Hojeong’s swift arts.
He closed to arm’s length.
As tense Muk Bi set her stance—
Kaboom!
The forest shook from the massive advance.
Whoooosh!
Fiery energy waves carried white wind.
The hot, murderous aura shifted to majestic, combative force.
Muk Bi’s eyes bulged.
Yeon Hojeong’s fist thrust with mountain-crushing power.
Kaboom!
“Gah!”
Beyond imagination.
Struck by the overwhelming fist force, Muk Bi flew and crashed into a tree.
“Cough! Cough!”
No internal injuries, but her vision spun and breath came ragged.
Her eyes shook like an earthquake.
Incredible!
Dodge, and he blocked her retreat; deflect softly, and he overwhelmed with speed.
And more.
She’d braced with momentum to endure the flurry, only for him to blast her with unstoppable force.
He read me from start to finish.
Adapting to her changes.
Sensual close combat alien to a cautious archer.
No fancy techniques, yet she couldn’t last a few exchanges.
“See your weaknesses now?”
Muk Bi looked up at Yeon Hojeong with trembling eyes.
Backlit by sunlight filtering through leaves, he loomed gigantic.
“To be cautious up close, you need arts to withstand any attack. You lack that foundation.”
“...!”
“Master beast-like, sensitive body techniques, and you’ll gain the power to annihilate foes with monstrous chain shots.”
Yeon Hojeong smiled brightly.
“Count yourself lucky. You won’t find this anywhere else.”