True Primordial Qi
For a moment, it felt as though the world had come to a stop, and silence settled between the two of them.
They had clearly only met today, and yet this man was suddenly calling himself her father.
She had no idea what kind of deranged nonsense this was supposed to be.
And yet, just as Cheongwol looked up at Namgung Cheon with trembling eyes and parted lips, a voice called her name in urgent anguish.
"Cheongwol!"
Startled, she turned her head—and saw Seomun Hwi rushing toward her with his teeth clenched.
Though the distance between them was not great, he was already panting, sweat-soaked, as if he were pouring every last bit of his inner energy into reaching her.
With the clan leaders of the Sichuan Tang Clan and the Namgung Clan in pursuit, he should have hesitated. He should have faltered.
But whether what bound him to her was friendship or love, Seomun Hwi ran to her without the slightest trace of hesitation, and a hot surge of emotion rose in her chest.
The only problem—however small—was that he had a sword in his hand.
"Wai—"
Whoosh!
Before she could stop him, Seomun Hwi’s sword cleaved through the air and swept toward Namgung Cheon.
He must have gathered every shred of his remaining inner energy, because the force behind that strike was terrifying, and Cheongwol shut her eyes tightly.
She had already heard that relations between the two clans were poor; if Seomun Hwi had drawn steel against Namgung Cheon, this would surely erupt into a major conflict.
And it would be because of her—of all people.
Clang!
But when a sharp ring of metal rang in her ears, she opened her eyes to see Seomun Hwi staggering as he struggled to regain his balance.
Seeing a hidden blade embedded not far away, it seemed he had twisted his body just in time to deflect the attack Dang Hyeongeuk had launched.
"...Kgh."
The sword blade was shaking violently, proof of how great the impact had been, but Seomun Hwi still raised his trembling arm and pointed the sword at Namgung Cheon again.
"Huff... pant... at once... hoo... step away."
And he could barely even speak properly.
Cheongwol bit lightly at her lower lip.
Even if the water had already been spilled, should he not at least show an effort to mop some of it back up?
"Hwi, it's all right now, so—"
She twisted slightly as if to reach him, trying to stretch her hand a little closer, but—
"So it was you, Seomun Clan's young clan leader."
A low, cold voice came from Namgung Cheon’s mouth.
Unlike the warmth he had shown her, his expression was calm, but his eyes were sharp enough to carve Seomun Hwi open on the spot.
At that sight, Cheongwol unconsciously withdrew the hand she had been reaching out with and clutched at Namgung Cheon’s sleeve.
He seemed to know she was connected to the Im family; she knew this was useless, even as she did it.
Still, for the sake of her precious friend, she grasped at a straw and pleaded desperately.
"Elder, that wretched fool was only deceived by me."
At Cheongwol’s words, Namgung Cheon and Seomun Hwi both turned to look at her at once.
In the meantime, Dang Hyeongeuk and Hong Chilsong approached from the side, and then the Tang siblings and Ak Seo-ah also appeared.
While the heavy atmosphere kept everyone from speaking easily, Cheongwol hurriedly blurted out a made-up explanation.
"He's the sort who can't keep himself in check around women, so it was quite simple. The very first night we slept together, he was so absurd—throwing things at me, saying he'd take me in as a concubine."
Namgung Cheon’s face froze over, and Dang Hyeongeuk’s brow gradually furrowed.
Hong Chilsong and Dang Gangjin quickly backed away from Seomun Hwi, and disgust filled Dang Sohye’s and Ak Seo-ah’s eyes.
Seeing that her clumsy improvisation seemed to be working, Cheongwol glared even harder at Seomun Hwi, hoping to make it sound more convincing.
"Even after that, whenever he needed me, I let him have my body, so he came to think I was his beloved. That’s why he’s running about like that, unable to tell right from wrong."
She thought that should be enough and turned her gaze back to Namgung Cheon.
"...?"
What was this, then?
Instead of buying her excuse, a numbing, murderous aura was beginning to pour from Namgung Cheon’s entire body.
"So it was true."
Namgung Cheon gently lowered Cheongwol, who had been cradled in his arms, to the ground and rose to his feet.
His back seemed to lift like a mountain range coming alive, and for a moment she caught her breath before forcing herself back to her senses.
"W-wait! Elder! I’m telling you, that bastard has nothing to do with it!"
She tried to scramble up, but once again an invisible force gently pressed down on her shoulder.
"You needn’t say any more. You must have had a terribly hard time all this while, alone."
A fierce howl burst from Namgung Cheon’s sword, and the world around them slowly began to take on a silvery, galaxy-like hue.
For a moment she was startled that everything had gone dim even in broad daylight, but then a sword imbued with starlight drew a full moon across the night sky.
It was an exquisite single stroke, enough to make any martial artist stare in rapt silence, but Cheongwol let out a scream that was almost a shriek of despair.
"No!"
The instant Namgung Cheon’s sword flew toward her throat, Seomun Hwi felt as though everything around him had suddenly slowed.
He did not understand what was happening and was just about to blink when the stories he had once heard about martial artists who had fought life-or-death battles flashed through his mind.
The details varied somewhat, but the survivors had all said the same thing.
“For a moment, it seemed the world had stopped, but soon I realized it wasn’t stopped at all. It was only moving very, very slowly.”
At the time, he had laughed it off as ridiculous boasting, but now that he faced such a situation himself, deep regret washed through him.
If he had known, he should have at least asked what they had done next.
He was afraid of death, but as a martial artist, he was prepared to accept it with humility.
It was a decision he had partly made the moment he raised his sword against Namgung Cheon.
But if he died here like this, who in this place would be able to help Cheongwol?
It did not matter why Dang Hyeongeuk and Namgung Cheon were pursuing Cheongwol.
What mattered was only that they were tormenting the one precious to him.
And because of that, there was no hesitation.
Thud.
With the sound of a levee collapsing, red veins spread across Seomun Hwi’s eyes.
Past the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger that had repeatedly been blocked, even the little finger that had always refused to open was flooded at once with inner energy.
And then, at the moment the vast wall of his right-hand little finger—never before opened—finally appeared before him, every blood point in his body swelled as though it would burst, and behind his inner energy another force crashed in with overwhelming violence.
In that instant, a tiny opening tore through the wall.
The fifth sword force of the Six Meridian Divine Sword.
Sochung Sword shot forward without restraint from one end to the other, to pierce the moon and split the night sky.
It was, quite literally, the ultimate technique Seomun Hwi had polished with the sacrifice of his short life.
Thus, the swords of two men who would protect one person flew toward each other.
---
A deafening crash like the heavens collapsing reverberated through the inner hall.
The sound was so tremendous that not only the Tang Clan, but even passersby in the surrounding area had to stop and look up at the sky.
The sky was so clear and blue—so what on earth was that thunder?
"Looks like someone did something worthy of death. Lightning falling from a cloudless sky, and all."
At one person’s casual remark, the others nodded in agreement and continued on their way.
But contrary to their assumptions, the one struck by lightning was an innocent man.
From Namgung Cheon’s perspective, however, he was a wretch who had laid hands on his child more than once and still deserved to be torn to pieces.
"...Hmm."
As the dust slowly cleared, Hong Chilsong was the first to come into view, his face twisted in pain.
There was a deep gash in his palm, and had it been any deeper, the hand itself would have been severed clean off.
"...The Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms. I’ve heard only the gang leader and the successor know it, since there hasn’t been a proper heir worthy of being taught."
At Namgung Cheon’s words, Hong Chilsong let out a dry laugh.
"I thought you’d shut your ears and closed your eyes for the last twenty years. So you’ve been paying attention to other people’s affairs after all?"
"Even if you block the gate so no one may pass, words will still leap over the wall."
"Then I’ll have to tell the youngsters to answer the same way if they catch me."
While the two men withdrew the violent force they had unleashed, Dang Hyeongeuk hastily rummaged through his robes and lowered his stance.
"This is bad. Looking at his condition, it seems he’s forced out even his true primordial qi."
When words that should never have been spoken came from his mouth, Cheongwol, coughing in the dust, went pale.
No way.
The thought alone drained all strength from her legs, and she could not get back up.
"Hwi."
She called his name, hoping for an answer.
Because the others were gathered around him, she could not see clearly, but surely he would not be in any truly serious condition.
Surely the righteous faction, and especially those of the Six Great Clans, would not draw their swords with murder in mind against one another.
The words about using true primordial qi must have been something she had misheard.
Thinking that, she dragged her body forward as though groping along the ground.
"Lay him flat. For now, we need to at least seal the meridians and hold in the energy that’s leaking out."
Over Dang Hyeongeuk’s hurried words, Cheongwol carefully shifted her gaze.
There lay Seomun Hwi, his eyes closed, his face unnaturally still.
Unlike usual, he was bleeding from all over his body.
---