Chapter 93
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Did You Get Hit in the Head with a Dart?
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Thanks to this sudden interloper, the annoying attacks coming at me from both sides hesitated for a moment, and I immediately caught my breath.
Snakes, fighting dogs, foxes—talk about a damn zoo.
I let out a wry chuckle and locked eyes with those fox-like peepers, their corners curving slyly.
“I even got to see the rare sight of a Mount Hua Sect senior being pushed back. Thanks for the show?”
Of all people, the one who showed up in this situation was someone I couldn’t call friendly even as a joke—hell, he was downright hostile.
Great, now it’s shaping up to be three against one. Damn it.
I shot a wary glance at Baek Yun, who stood there cockily with his sword slung over his shoulder, and he sauntered over to stand nearby.
“What, keep going.”
I glared at his smirking mug, and that’s when the darts came flying in fast again. Now the fox should be attacking from the side or behind…
“What the hell? Why are you butting in?”
Dodging the darts, I whipped around toward the irritated voice. There was Baek Yun blocking Yeo Hyeon’s sword.
The unexpected sight short-circuited my brain for a second.
Why the hell is that Baek Yun guy blocking his sword? Did he mix me up with Yeo Hyeon?
“Hey, I’m right here…?”
The bewildered words slipped from my throat, and Baek Yun shot me a look like I was the world’s biggest idiot.
“I’m not mistaking anyone, so watch your front.”
He flicked away the incoming darts with his sword and urgently asked me.
“Did you eat something bad? Or is it a face mask? Reverse sorcery?”
“Even when I’m helping, you’re still a pain in the ass.”
“Why are you helping me? Unless you’re teaming up with those guys for a three-on-one beatdown. Wait… do you actually like me…?”
“Oh, did you already take a dart to the head, Biyeon Dojang? Should I really just join the other side…?”
His voice dripped with annoyance and disgust—pure sincerity—and I let out a sigh of relief. Though honestly, I should be the one asking if he got hit in the head. There’s no way this guy would side with me otherwise.
Yeo Hyeon seemed thrown off by our clearly unfriendly dynamic and just kept glancing back and forth between us instead of resuming his attack.
Baek Yun tilted his chin up arrogantly and scanned Yeo Hyeon up and down with his signature condescending gaze before opening his mouth.
“Even among the Nine Great Sects, there’s a hierarchy.”
The true originator of verbal swordplay. His martial arts might be below mine, but I’ll give him that—he’s a cut above in trash talk.
“Pushing two-on-one and then deluding yourself that Jongnam is on the same level as Wudang? It’s making me nauseous.”
“Birds of a feather.”
Yeo Hyeon’s eyes instantly chilled, and he launched into a fierce technique with sharp momentum.
“Hey! Take that back! I’m way better than that guy!”
He swung his sword at Dang Haeun while jumping up and down in rage, and a dart whistled dangerously past my ear. I smirked at Dang Haeun, who glared at me with a twisted face as he slotted more darts between his fingers.
Yeah, better take this guy out first. No way Baek Yun beats the Jongnam punk, and I’m not dealing with two-on-one again.
“You… you think I’m a joke?”
“Yeah, obviously. After struggling against your sister, you think facing you isn’t funny?”
“My sister’s pretty damn good, but that’s not the point! I’ll beat you here and prove your win over her was just luck!”
He nodded proudly before backpedaling in a panic, then slipped his hand back into his sleeve.
His sleeve fluttered, unleashing a black poisonous mist that clouded my vision.
Dang Haeun’s poison arts still couldn’t match Dang Ha-gyeong’s. Hell, even she had resorted to spraying poison when she got desperate.
But I already knew how to counter it, and I wasn’t about to roll over for a knockoff.
I channeled qi into my sword and swept through the misty poison. Without stopping, I charged forward and slipped behind the startled Dang Haeun in a flash.
“Luck my ass. It was skill, you punk.”
Bam! I smashed the hilt into the pressure point on the back of his neck, and he crumpled unconscious to the ground.
I hurriedly circulated my qi to burn out the lingering poison in my body, then spun around and lunged at Yeo Hyeon, who was still tangling with Baek Yun. Boom! The clash of our swords rang out louder than expected.
Beyond the upright blade, I saw eyes as cold and sharp as the sword itself.
“Two-on-one isn’t a bit unfair?”
“Says you?”
Baek Yun, who’d been barely holding his own against Yeo Hyeon before I jumped in, brightened up and slipped back.
“Yeah, yeah, totally unfair. So I’ll sit this one out.”
With that annoying obstacle Dang Haeun gone, facing Yeo Hyeon one-on-one was a breeze.
His skill was about on par with Namgung Seheon’s, and I’d beaten Namgung Seheon yesterday. No reason I couldn’t win a straight duel today.
Still, Baek Yun jumping in at just the right moment was a godsend. I’d almost had to break out my signature ultimate move, ‘that technique.’ Would’ve been a hassle if anyone saw it.
“Why even bother when you couldn’t break even?”
“Damn it, urk!”
Yeo Hyeon dropped his sword, staggered from a strike to his pressure point, and crashed to the ground alongside it. The rematch we’d left unfinished last time was finally settled.
Normally I’d let him go gracefully, but ganging up two-on-one pissed me off so much I knocked him out.
I grinned down at the two sprawled on the ground. Hope someone finds them and wakes them up before they come to on their own.
That way, word would spread without me saying a thing.
Unless someone was hiding and watching, today’s events probably wouldn’t leak out.
Dang Haeun, knocked out by a pressure point strike from me, would keep his mouth shut. Baek Yun, nearly beaten by the Jongnam guy, and Yeo Hyeon, defeated by me, would do the same. And I had no interest in bragging about getting pushed back for a moment.
As I sheathed my sword, Baek Yun strolled over casually and nudged Yeo Hyeon’s limp form with his toe.
“Jongnam has a guy like this?”
“Our Sect Leader said a genius popped up in Jongnam.”
“Why didn’t you say so sooner? I would’ve just watched instead of butting in.”
“Yeah, must sting that you nearly lost to someone below your level. I get it.”
I patted his back sympathetically, and he grumbled curses under his breath before striding off.
“Sigh, too bad. Can’t even brag about today’s entertaining show.”
I fell in step beside him, and he turned to me with an exaggerated sigh. I read the meaning in his eyes and smirked. Just as I figured—he’d keep quiet too.
“You tailing me or something?”
“I happened to be heading back to my quarters when I spotted the guy who gave you that perfect nickname ‘Mount Hua Mad Dog’—and the punk who got wrecked by you—stalking your trail. Felt like something fun was about to go down, so I followed.”
“Then why not make it three-on-one instead of two-on-two?”
“We’ve got a bit of camaraderie going, right? A temporary alliance is no big deal.”
I racked my brain trying to read his intentions as he shrugged, and before I knew it, we’d reached the quarters.
The Wudang Sect and Mount Hua Sect lodgings were right next to each other—just two rooms apart.
“You owe me one now.”
He grabbed the door handle to the Mount Hua quarters, which were on the outer side, and smirked. That was his real point.
“Dunno. You saved me from eating dirt to that Jongnam punk, so I’d say we’re square.”
His smirk twisted instantly at my words.
“Jongnam punk…?”
My heart jumped as Bi Hoon poked his head out the already-open door.
“Senior Brother, did you throw down with that bastard? Where is he now?”
His eyes bulged, and he leaned forward like he’d bolt out any second. I grabbed his nape to hold him back.
“Fight him fair and square later, man. What’s the satisfaction in beating an unconscious guy?”
“It’d feel great. I’d make him kneel and stomp him till he’s half-dead.”
His brows furrowed deeply as that humiliating defeat flashed in his mind, spitting the words like they were rotten.
Anyone overhearing would think he had a grudge from kneeling before the guy. As if—he didn’t even kneel, thanks to me.
“There’s a guy who suits ‘Mount Hua Mad Dog’ even better.”
Baek Yun shook his head with a weary tongue-click and turned away, waving dismissively.
“Anyway, I’m out. Let’s keep today’s fun under wraps, yeah?”
I snorted in response instead of answering and pulled open the door.
“Under wraps? You didn’t lose, right, Senior Brother?”
“Like hell I did.”
I replied indifferently and glanced toward the Namgung Family quarters.
Two days until departure, and that Namgung Seheon punk’s still holing up in his room. Going to see him would look weird, so probably just a quick face-to-face on the way out.
Unless he’s dead set on avoiding me.
‘…Was that first loss such a shock?’
Scratching my head, I stepped inside. Priority one: circulate qi and fully purge the remaining poison I hadn’t cleared.
I tried to recall the sharp sting of that first defeat, now dulled by time, but only one thing came to mind. The moment my sword flew away—Namgung Seheon’s arrogant, smug grin.
What the hell, is that the only thing that stuck?