Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: A Man of the Martial World
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It was a night from long ago—over ten years ago, to be precise.
Heuk Do-san had lost all his gambling money and was stumbling back to the academy drunk.
There must have been something wrong with the pork he'd eaten as a side dish. Suddenly, his gut started bubbling fiercely.
"Those bastards sold me rotten meat knowing I was wasted? I'll go find them tomorrow and beat them to death. Ngh."
Worried someone might see him on the road, he clutched his belly and plunged deep into the woods. Just then, a small waterfall appeared, and not far from it, he dropped his pants and squatted.
That's when a strange noise came from somewhere. It sounded like a cat yowling, or maybe a child whimpering.
He craned his neck and peered toward the sound.
Not far away, beneath the waterfall, a man was sprawled just like him, bare-assed white cheeks and all.
Pinned underneath was a woman, groaning in agony every time the bastard's ass twitched.
'Kuugh, lucky timing. Jealous, kid.'
No.
That wasn't it.
Heuk Do-san spotted two more shadows sitting in the forest at the waterfall's edge.
They weren't hiding like him—they were just sitting there blankly, watching the man and woman fuck.
One of them spat out casually.
"Wrap it up already. A woman's supposed to be fun because she clings tight. If you drain her dry from the start, what's in it for us?"
'Those filthy sons of bitches!'
It was clearly a rape.
Heuk Do-san's eyes rolled back in rage.
He was drunk too. He saw nothing else. Not even their sturdy builds or the three swords lying unsheathed under the pine tree.
He haphazardly pulled up his pants and grabbed two hefty rocks. Throwing from here wouldn't hit, and even if it did, no guarantee it'd take them down.
He'd sneak down the waterfall, approach from behind, and smash their skulls. Then, the moment the naked bastard turned his head, kick him square in the jaw and stomp his face flat.
As he started to rise stealthily, the standing men drew their swords like lightning and shouted.
"Who goes there!"
Heuk Do-san's senses snapped alert. Not because of their swift moves or the gleaming blades. He'd clearly seen their faces as they turned.
Shockingly, the two were murim juniors who visited the White Deer Academy annex every winter for years.
'Those chewable bastards...!'
How could dogs like them commit such atrocities unless they'd learned Confucius and Mencius through their assholes?
Blood surged reverse through his veins.
"Who goes there, I said!"
But behind the blazing fury came terror. They'd spotted someone hiding and watching. No way they'd let him live after witnessing murim juniors abduct and rape a woman.
'Too late to run. Might as well fight to the end and die. At least I can curse them out good.'
Heuk Do-san was about to charge out spewing obscenities when a white shadow flew in from the air. He landed lightly at the waterfall's base, stepping down as if from a doorstep.
A ghostly lightness skill.
The juniors' faces, swords drawn and shouting "Who goes there!", froze like ice.
"Young Master Seop Dae-gang...!"
The white shadow was Seop Dae-gang.
Ki cultivation methods weren't exclusive to Buddhism or Daoism. Though not full-fledged martial arts, Confucianism had excellent health-preserving breathing techniques passed down.
Regaining his wits, Heuk Do-san held his breath. Seop Dae-gang was the top expert among the annex residents. He hid his presence with all his might.
Fortunately, the waterfall's roar helped mask him.
With Seop Dae-gang's arrival, even the man mid-coitus scrambled up and fumbled for his pants.
Seop Dae-gang shed his own outer robe to cover the trembling woman. Then he swept his gaze over the three men.
"Young Master Seop, it's not... "
Flames shot from Seop Dae-gang's eyes. The men flinched, too scared to make excuses.
"Who's the woman?"
"We don't know. Just some village wife drawing water at the well. As you see, her beauty was so exceptional that in our drunken haze, we... "
Heuk Do-san turned to peer at the woman again through the grass.
'That woman...'
He didn't know her name, but he knew who she was.
Deep dimples and a sly eye-smile that mysteriously stirred lust. Plenty of men secretly admired her, losing reason to her allure.
But she was a married woman with a husband. The problem was the husband was a gambling addict who couldn't fulfill his duties.
"You shameless scum. Are you martial artists—disciples of prestigious sects, no less—expecting to live after conspiring to rape an innocent villager?"
Seop Dae-gang's icy shout erupted. Chills ran down spines just hearing it.
"Pretend you saw nothing, just once. Please, we'll do anything you ask... "
"You fools. Even if I stayed silent, she knows, and you three know. Think this secret holds till the grave?"
"We'll compensate her plenty. As parties involved, we'll naturally keep quiet. If you just hold your tongue, Young Master Seop, no harm done."
"Shut up!"
The men's faces drained of color at Seop Dae-gang's razor-sharp command.
Heuk Do-san felt a thrill of satisfaction. He secretly admired Seop Dae-gang too.
He'd seen plenty of these murim juniors lounging at the annex, neglecting studies to roam hills and fields. He'd sneered at the ignorant brutes.
But seeing Seop Dae-gang now, he realized reciting classics and pondering sages wasn't all there was to learning.
'Only with power can you right wrongs. Compared to him, how useless am I? Shame on the days I scorned them for knowing a few characters.'
Then one man dropped to his knees. Hong Gongtak, famed for the Sky-Suppressing Sword of the Shanxi Hong Family.
"What are you doing?"
"I was bewitched by her beauty and committed a heaven-defying crime. I should've stopped it, but I thought no one would know... "
"So if no one finds out, such depravity is fine? Hong Gongtak, I thought better of you—turns out your vessel's this small?"
"I'll offer my right arm and retreat to the deep mountains, never to emerge. Please don't tell my family. I fear not losing my martial arts, but I can't let filth stain the clan. I beg you."
Hong Gongtak kowtowed till blood flowed. The other two knelt and banged their heads too.
But Seop Dae-gang's face remained stone-cold to the end.
"Shameless to the last."
Shring!
A clear metallic ring as Seop Dae-gang drew his sword. Moonlight glinted coldly off the blue edge. Blood fled the men's faces.
"I'll give you a chance. Kill me here and now to seal my lips. Fail, and I'll end you for your crimes. Draw."
"Young Master Seop... "
"Now!"
Seop Dae-gang meant business. Once decided, he never turned back.
The two, knowing his iron will, exchanged glances and lunged like thunder.
Flash!
A gleam flickered.
The two collapsed spurting blood.
Cause of death: sword cuts across throats.
No clash of blades.
In a single exchange, he'd beheaded two famed murim juniors staking their lives.
Heuk Do-san's hair stood on end.
'That's human skill... '
Impressive as the martial arts were, Seop Dae-gang's ruthlessness in felling longtime comrades stunned more.
"Why not draw?"
Seop Dae-gang pressed his sword to the still-kneeling Hong Gongtak's nape.
"......"
"Scared of my blade?"
"End it cleanly."
Hong Gongtak closed his eyes quietly.
"Feeling shame only after being caught? That's no shame at all."
Seop Dae-gang raised his sword high. As his brow twitched, the blade vanished.
But why did the flash come from behind?
Heuk Do-san gaped.
A long gash wept blood on the woman's throat. Her face chilled in disbelief as she stared down.
She toppled slowly backward. Her head plunged into the pool with a splash. Crimson spread belatedly.
'......!'
Heuk Do-san's shock was indescribable. Why her, not Hong Gongtak?
Hong Gongtak opened his eyes and looked up at Seop Dae-gang. Sheathing his sword, Seop Dae-gang spoke coldly.
"If I grant you new life, what will you give me?"
Snapping to, Hong Gongtak crawled forward on knees and prostrated deeply. Then he began kowtowing with utmost reverence.
But it didn't end at one. Word had it martial artists' master-disciple rite, the "besa jerye," involved nine bows.
Serving a lord was "baju jerye," ten bows.
Hong Gongtak bowed exactly ten times. Then he said.
"On the fifth day of the fourth month, Bing-sin year, third son Hong Gongtak of the Shanxi Hong Family swears before heaven, earth, and gods to serve Mount Hua's seventeenth-generation disciple Seop Dae-gang as lifelong lord. If I betray him, strike me with lightning."
"Your life is mine now. Take today's events to the grave. And keep our lord-vassal bond secret from the world. Understand?"
"I will engrave it on my heart."
"Dispose of the bodies."
Hong Gongtak rose hastily and buried the woman and dead comrades. A perfect cleanup.
Done, the two vanished like ghosts.
Only then did Heuk Do-san exhale the breath he'd held. His heart still pounded.
Seop Dae-gang had butchered an unknown woman and two comrades to enslave the Shanxi Hong third son.
Now Hong Gongtak would serve as Seop Dae-gang's limb forever. If he ousted his brothers to become family head, Seop Dae-gang would swallow the whole Shanxi Hong.
He might even back Hong Gongtak for the seat. No, he definitely would.
A monumental event.
Heuk Do-san could barely contain his excitement. Who knew the upright Seop Dae-gang harbored such venomous ambition.
'This is the martial world... '
His master had once said: intrigue and plots infest anywhere people live. But in the martial world, blades mix in too.
'I must tell Master and drive them out now. Can't let them flee—notify the authorities first?'
Heuk Do-san turned to stand.
But he flopped back down on his ass. Seop Dae-gang stood before him—mere steps away, though he hadn't noticed his arrival.
'When did he... '
"Bad habit."
"Uh, since when did you know?"
"From the start."
"B-but why pretend not to... ?"
"If I'd acknowledged you then, I'd have killed you. Fewer who know, the better."
"You mean... you'll let me live?"
"Depends on you."
"I'm a disciple of Confucius and Mencius. Ignore watching a sword-wielding martial artist murder an innocent commoner?"
"Doesn't slaying two suffice?"
"Those mongrels deserved death. Without you, I'd have done it myself."
"With those rocks?"
"Think I couldn't?"
"Ever heard of 'one debt, ten repayments'? A martial world adage: incur a debt, repay tenfold."
"......?"
Shring.
Seop Dae-gang drew. He pressed the blade to a thick pine trunk nearby—not swinging, just nudging lightly.
Incredibly, the sword slid smoothly into the wood, as if melting in.
Soon it pierced through. The pine stood oblivious, unaware it'd been severed.
Even martial-ignorant Heuk Do-san sensed this was transcendent swordsmanship.
"Never meddle in martial world affairs, now or ever, if you value your life. Farewell."
Seop Dae-gang performed the sheathed-sword salute—sword reversed at brow height—then vanished.
Heuk Do-san felt possessed.
Seop Dae-gang's final words echoed.
One debt, ten repayments.
He'd warned: speak, and he'd slaughter ten at White Deer Academy.