Oh, So You Know the Taoist
The petals that had blossomed in midair and danced were shredded apart by the surging current of the Taegeuk, like buildings swept away and smashed to pieces by a tidal wave. Even the finely minced fragments of crimson light failed to escape the flow of the Taegeuk and were swallowed whole.
Namgung Yerin stared at the sight and murmured blankly.
"The Taegeuk Wisdom Sword..."
She recalled a single moment from her childhood: the image of snow-white fingertips tracing a circle, and the Taegeuk drawn along that circle swallowing everything around it. The sky that the Namgung Clan Head had unfolded had crumbled helplessly before that vast current of the Taegeuk.
It was what she had witnessed when the Taegeuk Sword Empress, Yeon Sohee, crossed blades with her father in a duel. Namgung Yerin's exceptional memory held every instant of that scene, without missing so much as a heartbeat of it.
And that was why she shuddered.
"How..."
Even reaching back into memory yielded nothing of Yeon Sohee's sword. The enlightenment woven into it stood so high that Namgung Yerin could not so much as comprehend it. And yet the Taegeuk Wisdom Sword unfolding from Baek Sihyeok's hands handed her a gift of pure despair.
Everyone around her was utterly mediocre. Even if they were stronger than her now, even if their realm was higher, she had the confidence that time would carry her past every last one of them.
Everyone except the Taegeuk Sword Empress Yeon Sohee — and the man standing before her now.
"No... no, that's not..."
Namgung Yerin clutched at her own hair and shook her head desperately. I can do this. I don't know about anything else, but I cannot lose to men. She was a genius blessed with both effort and talent, while men were worthless creatures with no talent who were lazy on top of it. Discriminating against women was their daily routine, and treating them as objects rather than people was practically the norm — at least, every man she had ever seen. She had swung her sword, and swung it again, endlessly, for the sole purpose of crushing the arrogance of men like that.
If Namgung Yerin lost here, it would be a denial of everything she had ever worked for.
With that thought, she raised her broken sword.
Baek Sihyeok was watching the two women, the Taegeuk spinning furiously at his back.
"Shall we continue?"
"..."
"..."
The two women raised their swords against him — Namgung Yerin unable to contain her boiling emotions, and Jin Sowol determined to protect her friend.
The storm of petals, the azure sword qi, and the current of the Taegeuk collided head-on.
"...What the hell is even going on here?"
"That kid breaks every rule of common sense..."
"Benefactor..."
Three familiar voices drifted over from behind. When I turned around, three people stood there, panting as though they'd sprinted the whole way.
"Oh, you made it."
Their eyes swept over the scene that had unfolded in the middle of the forest where we stood: the wreckage of shattered trees scattered in every direction, the earth torn up and overturned, and two people lying sprawled on the ground, beaten to a pulp.
"I took it easy on them."
At that, Chwigeolgae stared at me in disbelief for a moment before forcing out an awkward laugh.
"You turned the rising stars of the Nine Great Sects... into dumplings."
"They weren't anything special."
"How in the world are they not anything special?"
"Benefactors, please, collect yourselves..."
Tuning out Cheon Seolhyeon's exasperated reaction, Beop Yun pressed his palms together and hurried over to the fallen women. Namgung Yerin carefully lifted her head — and slapped away the hand Beop Yun extended to help her up.
"Don't touch me."
"..."
The two fallen women pulled each other upright, and, caked head to toe in dust, brushed the dirt from each other's hair.
Cheon Seolhyeon's finger jabbed me in the ribs.
"...How hard exactly did you go? These are comrades you're supposed to share life and death with."
"Not that hard."
I had simply, at minimum, made them willing to listen to me. I wasn't particularly fond of playing leader, but the person who wants something most is supposed to be the one who takes the lead.
And I wanted that elixir. Desperately.
"As long as you don't drag your feet, that's plenty."
"..."
"Old man. You know the way, right? Take point and guide us."
"...Fine."
Wearing an expression of complete resignation, Chwigeolgae fell in at the very front of the group, and with that, he set off along the trail at a run. I pulled up alongside him and asked,
"So how long to Sichuan?"
"Well, if you ran there alone at full speed, a day. If we all travel together at the same pace... I'd say about four days."
"Really? Closer than I expected."
"I see you have no intention of going on ahead."
"Five's better than one."
Of course, in my heart of hearts I wanted to ditch these useless deadweights and go alone. But I hadn't finished copying their martial arts yet. The arts of the great sects are broad and deep — unless someone deliberately demonstrates everything, they're hard to copy. So together it had to be.
And besides, what if something happened to these idiots while I was off gallivanting on my own? I might never get the elixir I'm owed.
At that thought, I couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"...Still, we've got five Peak-realm fighters. Nothing's going to happen, right?"
"At least not before we set foot in Sichuan."
"So something could happen once we do."
"The Dang Clan drove out most of the people operating in Sichuan. With their range of activity squeezed down, the information we can gather has become limited."
"...And the real powerhouses of the Orthodox Sects are just watching all this happen?"
The Flower-realm masters scattered one or two apiece among the great sects. The Mystic-realm Alliance Leader of the Murim. Why were they all sitting on their hands?
The answer was simpler than I expected.
"The Flower realm must hold their ground. If they carelessly leave their sects, those sects fall into grave danger. The Celestial Family taught everyone that lesson, and it's been branded into every mind since."
Now that he mentioned it, apparently after a Flower-realm clan head died suddenly, the Four Black Lotuses had swept in as if they'd been lying in wait. That was how Cheon Seolhyeon's family had been annihilated.
Nothing more than burglars kicking in an empty house.
"Then what about the Transcendent Peaks?"
"There aren't many of them either, so they can't be deployed carelessly."
"I see..."
"Aren't you yourself a force comparable to a Transcendent Peak?"
"I am. But hearing all that, it still feels like walking into a tiger's den no matter how I look at it."
"The Dang Clan head cannot rashly raise a hand against you either. That would mean instant war."
"Hmm... as long as I don't have to fight any monsters, I'll manage."
But no matter how I looked at it, it felt like something was coming that I'd have to fight for my life.
A shiver of foreboding ran down my spine. I fidgeted with the small wooden case tucked in my robe and sprinted down the mountain path. Countless trees flashed past us, and the sun sank fast. By the time darkness had swallowed everything and nothing could be seen, we followed the lights at the foot of the mountain down into the village.
Our group split the rooms — one for the men, one for the women. Perhaps it was the nonstop running, but everyone except me dropped into sleep the moment their heads touched the pillow.
I tilted my head quietly and watched Chwigeolgae, dead asleep, scratching his belly.
"..."
I slipped carefully out of the room and climbed the mountain. Riding the Heaven-Empress Taegeuk Steps, I tore toward the spot I had scouted earlier at breakneck speed. An afterimage of dark blue lightning plunged into the depths of the mountain.
Before me stood rows of sturdy wooden palisades, their tops sharpened into points. A single careless kick, and the stockades literally burst apart.
BOOM-!
Stepping through the wreckage, I bellowed at the top of my lungs.
"INTRUDER!!!"
The place I had come crashing into was a bandit stronghold. My shout, packed full of internal energy, roused the sleeping bandits, and one by one they came crawling sluggishly out of their dens. And the moment they laid eyes on me, they recoiled in horror, pointing at my chest.
"The Taegeuk...? A Taoist...!"
"Ah, so you know the Taoist, do you?"
Then do you know this too?
Strength gathered in the hand gripping the sword hilt. A single flash of light — the draw — and the blade flooded with dark blue sword qi. And then...
The sword tip trembled, scattering blade-light in every direction like flower petals.
Tenth Stance — Plum Blossoms in Full Bloom
Sword qi filled the air from horizon to horizon, dancing with all the grace of cherry blossoms caught in the wind. The hulking bandits, tigerskins draped over bulging muscle, briefly lost themselves in the beauty of it.
And the next moment—
SHRAKRAKRAKRAKRACK—
The dark blue petals of sword qi tore ruthlessly through the bandits' bodies.
"GAAAAAAGH!"
"What... what is this... why is a Taoist—!"
Screams erupted from every direction. I looked down at the fallen men and murmured,
"Just think of it as bad luck."
"Urgh..."
"S-spare me..."
The reason I had come to a bandit stronghold alone in the dead of night was simple: to train the Mount Hua and Namgung arts I had copied. For that, I needed somewhere to hide from prying eyes. Practicing against real people made the techniques sink in faster than swinging at empty air, too...
And while I was at it, why not copy a few of the bandits' arts as a bonus? That was why the only ones felled by my opening strike numbered barely a dozen.
The presence I sensed throughout this sprawling stronghold was at least a hundred strong.
Shall I take my time draining their reserves, then?
It was just as the thought crossed my mind.
"Benefactor..."
"Hm?"
Beop Yun, who should have been fast asleep back at the inn, stood before me with his palms pressed together, gazing at me. Then he turned a look of profound compassion upon the bandits.
How very monk-like of him — brimming with mercy. A man with the Buddha's own heart, ready to embrace even sinners who had committed countless crimes through their banditry?
Dozens of bandits began clinging to him.
"P-please spare us, Master Monk!"
"We were wrong! We'll live honest lives from now on, so please...!"
A glimmer of hope lit the bandits' eyes. And Beop Yun, receiving those hope-filled gazes, smiled with boundless benevolence.
"May you be reborn as immortals in your next life."
"...Huh?"
"...Pardon?"
"...Eh?"
Beop Yun's body flooded with golden light. The next instant, golden fist energy swept across the bandits.
BOOOOM—!
"GAAAAAAH!"
"HUAAAAAH!"
The bandits screamed as they were hurled skyward, then came raining back down to earth like leaves in an autumn gale.
"..."
His fist still extended, he had not lost his smile. I stared into those clear, deep eyes and thought:
This guy's not ordinary crazy either, is he.