Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Book 7. Fist Demon and Sword King Collide (1)
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“Phew! Feels like I’m alive.”
Cho Yeon-un drew in a deep lungful of the chilly wind and let out a sigh. He was riding up the Yangtze on a massive boat.
In high spirits, Cho Yeon-un grinned and declared loudly.
“Those who truly know me are few, and that makes me all the more precious.”
“There he goes again, acting all scholarly.”
“Old habit of spouting quotes whenever he’s got time on his hands.”
The dozen or so warriors around him erupted in a cacophony of jeers. Cho Yeon-un’s face twisted in annoyance.
“Shut it, you lot!”
“Whoa, look at that scowl.”
“That glare alone could kill. Personality’s gotten even worse since we last saw you.”
“It was bad before, but now it’s the worst.”
Cho Yeon-un had said just one thing, but dozens of retorts flew back at him.
Amid the marketplace-like clamor, he scowled even harder. But the warriors around him only laughed and bantered louder at the sight.
“Damn it! This is hopeless. Shouldn’t have stuck around with these idiots.”
Cho Yeon-un shook his head.
The warriors around him were all disciples of the Hundred Battles Sect.
Some of those who had joined the Martial Alliance with Jang Il-san had linked up with Cho Yeon-un.
“You think we like hanging with you, senior brother? Don’t say that.”
“Exactly! Of all people, why’d it have to be with you?”
Having traveled together for so long, they knew each other better than anyone. That’s why they traded jokes without reservation.
Sure, some words scraped at the nerves, but this much was easy enough to shrug off.
Cho Yeon-un glanced sideways. Across from him sat a woman cradling a single sword, her hair fluttering like a waterfall in the river breeze—a striking beauty.
‘Hae So-wol.’
She was none other than the young leader of the Haenam Sect.
Around Hae So-wol were a dozen Haenam Sect warriors posted up.
Cho Yeon-un rose and walked over to her.
“Ooh!”
“Got some guts.”
The Hundred Battles Sect warriors let out a collective cheer.
Cho Yeon-un’s face twisted once more.
“It’s not like that, you animals.”
“Ha ha ha!”
The Hundred Battles Sect warriors burst into laughter.
Cho Yeon-un shook his head in exasperation and kept walking.
“Lady Hae.”
“Yes, Young Hero Cho.”
Hae So-wol straightened from the railing and replied.
“I hear you and the Haenam Sect have been assigned to Shanxi as well. Is that right?”
“Yes. Specifically, the northern region of Shanxi.”
“My juniors and I have the southern region, so we’ll probably cross paths often.”
“Seems that way.”
Hae So-wol answered calmly.
After the Cheonhwa Palace in Yunnan was wiped out by the Demonic Cult, the Martial Alliance had gone on high alert.
Their own headquarters was out in the open, while everything about the Demonic Cult remained shrouded in secrecy.
They knew nothing—not the cult’s forces, not even the location of their main base. This left the Martial Alliance struggling to counter them.
The Alliance threw everything into locating the enemy base. They mobilized the Hao Clan and sent young warriors to scour the jianghu.
Cho Yeon-un and Hae So-wol had received the same mission.
They were to lead their Hundred Battles Sect and Haenam Sect brothers and comb through Shanxi.
The two groups exuded starkly different vibes. The Hundred Battles Sect warriors were rowdy and free-spirited, while the Haenam Sect ones carried a disciplined air.
While the Hundred Battles Sect freely teased their senior brother Cho Yeon-un and laughed, the Haenam Sect warriors remained silent like Hae So-wol.
Cho Yeon-un asked cautiously.
“Just in case, how about we share emergency contact networks?”
“Sure.”
Hae So-wol agreed readily.
“There’s a place called the Im Family Inn in Taiyuan, Shanxi. It’s run by a retired Hundred Battles Sect disciple. If you ever need our help, send word there, and we’ll come running. Same goes the other way—keep an eye on the Im Family Inn.”
“Got it.”
“But...”
Cho Yeon-un’s voice suddenly dropped. Hae So-wol eyed him suspiciously.
“Any word on that guy?”
Cho Yeon-un didn’t name him outright, but Hae So-wol knew exactly who he meant.
“Nothing.”
“I see. I heard he entered Anhui, but nothing since.”
“......”
“Hope nothing’s happened...”
Even as he spoke, he wasn’t confident. The man Cho Yeon-un knew never backed down.
Hae So-wol gazed out at the river.
‘Dam Ho.’
A tangle of emotions flickered in her eyes.
Right now, Dam Ho’s infamy in the jianghu was at its peak.
The moniker Fist Demon struck fear rivaling the Demonic Cult itself. To those living in the jianghu, at least, Dam Ho was an object of terror.
Naturally, countless people harbored hostility toward him. Her own Haenam Sect was no exception—from Elder Baek Kyung Geom Guest O Gun down to the lowliest disciples, many feared and hated Dam Ho.
Dam Ho was strong.
Strong enough that even the Nine Dragons, hailed as the jianghu’s top late-stage talents, couldn’t compare.
He had already ascended beyond late-stage prodigy to the ranks of the jianghu’s absolute top tiers. He should have been an object of envy, yet he was feared instead.
Hae So-wol still couldn’t fathom Dam Ho’s path.
‘Maybe I never will...’
Dam Ho had stripped off his upper garments and stepped into the stream.
He washed away the blood and grime with the icy water. Each time it touched his wounds, excruciating pain flared.
Dam Ho didn’t flinch once, just poured the water over himself. His honed muscles rippled with every motion.
“Whew!”
Finishing his bath, Dam Ho exhaled.
The blood was gone, but a thick metallic tang still clung to his body.
He’d lost count of how many he’d killed. Yet the blood of those he’d slain was etched into his flesh, unerasable.
It was karma he’d carry for life.
Dam Ho stepped out of the stream.
That’s when Jong Ri-yeon emerged from the nearby brush.
“Cold water’s no good for you. Well, you’re already done, so no helping it.”
In her hand were several medicinal herbs she’d gathered from the woods while he bathed.
Jong Ri-yeon ground them finely on a flat rock.
“I’ll apply this to your wounds. It’ll help with the external injuries, at least.”
Without waiting for permission, she slathered the paste over his wounds.
The herbs burned like fire on his injuries—a pain far worse than the cold water. But Dam Ho didn’t so much as groan.
Jong Ri-yeon stared straight at his face.
“Just as I thought.”
“What?”
“You’re so numb to your own pain, no wonder you’re numb to others’.”
“......”
“I don’t know what drives you to push yourself this far, but you should give yourself a break. There, all done.”
Smack!
She finished by slapping the last spot and dusting off her hands. Dam Ho furrowed his brow slightly and looked at her, but Jong Ri-yeon just beamed innocently.
“Now, let’s get going. Can’t stay here forever.”
“You coming along?”
“Oh? You’d leave a lady behind like this?”
“Nothing good comes from traveling with me.”
“Because you’re a target of the Nangong family?”
“......”
“Same here. As you can see, I refused their request, so I can’t stay in Anhui. I don’t ask for much—just escort me out of Anhui.”
“You got a destination?”
“There’s a patient waiting for me in Runan, Henan.”
“Another patient?”
“I’m a physician. If someone’s waiting, I go wherever they are.”
“Then why not go to the Nangong family?”
“They have plenty of fine physicians already. But for Yeon-i, I’m the only one.”
“Even if it means making enemies of the Nangong family?”
“No choice.”
Jong Ri-yeon shrugged it off casually.
As she started walking, she continued.
“When you practice medicine, temptations come from all sides. The powerful crave longevity most of all, and they think money and power can buy anything. If you bow to them, you can’t help those who truly need it.”
“Not afraid of them?”
“You? Fist Demon, you’ve killed countless people and become a public enemy of the jianghu. How about you?”
“Don’t care.”
“Same here. I don’t care.”
Jong Ri-yeon flashed a bright smile.
Dam Ho eyed her for a moment.
Runan in Henan was right on the way back to Mount Hua anyway. No detour, no wasted time.
“Could be dangerous.”
“Maybe.”
“Still want to come?”
“Better than a woman traveling alone.”
“Is it?”
“Yes. The jianghu’s too dangerous for a woman by herself. Especially a pretty one like me.”
Jong Ri-yeon smiled.
Dam Ho turned wordlessly. Jong Ri-yeon hurried after him in a fluster.
“What? Am I not pretty? I hear that all the time.”
“......”
“It’s true.”
Jong Ri-yeon stuck close to Dam Ho’s side, grinning nonstop.
“Hup.”
Dam Ho hoisted her onto Black Ghost.
Jong Ri-yeon mounted without protest. Dam Ho went to mount up too—but froze mid-motion.
“What’s wrong?”
Jong Ri-yeon looked at him puzzled.
“Get on Black Ghost and ride far from here. Now.”
“Huh?”
“We have company.”
“Company?”
Jong Ri-yeon’s face stiffened.
The air turned frigid, goosebumps rising on her skin.
“What is this?”
“.........”
Dam Ho didn’t answer.
A razor-sharp aura scraped at his nerves, while a overwhelming pressure dominated the area.
Just one opponent.
But no pushover.
What kind of ordinary warrior could fill the entire area with their presence alone?
Dam Ho turned.
There stood a colossal tree, towering hundreds of feet high. Its treetop swayed dizzyingly in the wind.
Perched on a branch thin as a switch was a figure.
An elderly man in his early to mid-fifties, sword at his chest.
The moment Jong Ri-yeon saw him, it felt like an invisible blade was slashing her chest. Her face paled.
“Th-the Sword King?”
The words slipped out unbidden. And her guess was spot on.
The old man atop the giant tree was none other than Nangong Cheon.
Patriarch of the Nangong family and an absolute swordsman who had reached the pinnacle of the blade—he had appeared here.
“At last, we meet, Fist Demon!”
He kicked off the slender branch. It bent like a bow and launched him forward.
Nangong Cheon leaped dozens of feet in an instant, but hundreds more separated him from Dam Ho.
As his body began to plummet, a sword shot from his robes straight at Dam Ho.
Tap!
Using the Footrest Lightness Skill, Nangong Cheon kicked off his left heel with his right foot and mounted the flying sword.
Jong Ri-yeon’s scream-like cry rang out.
“Sw-Sword Flight Technique?”