Cheongmyeong
“Hmph. I didn’t expect to end up traveling with that Jin Family brat. Or should I say… Cheon Sojin now? I can’t believe some useless bastard like you crawled out of nowhere....”
The moment I finished hearing the details of the mission and stepped out of Raeji’s room, Cheongmyeong muttered it under his breath.
He was obviously saying it so I’d hear.
…
When I turned my head, he was staring at me with that obnoxious smile plastered across his face.
I let out a long sigh from deep inside.
He was practically radiating the reason he still hadn’t graduated.
I have to go on a mission with this bastard? ...
And he talked enough for the both of us, rambling on all by himself with that irritating little buzz of excitement.
My head was starting to pound.
To think I had to travel with this idiot.
My mouth turned bitter.
“The only thing you’re good for is menial chores, Cheon Sojin, leader of the Jincheon Unit. I’m not interested in taking a fool like you with me.”
…
What was I supposed to use this guy for?
“Still, if I think about the villagers waiting for us… I suppose I have no choice. I’ll have to bring along an idiot.”
…
By the energy he gave off, it was clear he was one of the most talented juniors in the martial world, but his mannerisms and behavior were unbelievably stupid.
In that case, there was a way to deal with him.
“Did you maybe slip Raeji a bribe or something? Sneaking someone like you into an Level Two mission and all. Well… as long as you meet the requirements, I don’t really care, but it’s disgusting all the same. I mean, you might go your whole life without ever getting assigned a Level Two mission even onc—”
“Shut up.”
This bastard was not someone I could reason with.
Raeji might have thrown up both hands and feet with me, but I wasn’t him.
This was the point where he needed a complete reeducation.
I had originally planned to teach him with the rod of love anyway.
And for a brat like him, the rod worked especially well.
“What did you just say…?”
Cheongmyeong’s eyes flew wide as he stopped walking.
The slight tremor in his hands and feet told me he’d definitely heard me.
He said he wanted to hear it again, so I might as well give him another taste.
“Are you deaf? I said stop yapping and shut your mouth.”
“You bastard…! Do you think I asked because I didn’t hear you? I was giving you a chance to apologize…”
“Quit whining. What am I, your mother?”
Even as I said it, I crooked a finger at him.
“You…! You miserable little punk! You dare insult me like this? I’ll teach you a lesson as your senior! You’d better be prepared—”
From the way he flew into such a rage over a few words, he looked less like a famed Wudang disciple and more like a Namgung Jin Mk.2 with some actual martial skill.
Or maybe it was just that Cheon Sojin had such a worthless reputation that any dog or cow felt like taking a bite.
“You little brat, how dare you show me such disrespect—!”
Flash!
Cheongmyeong stomped the ground and shot toward me like a bolt of lightning.
A direct disciple of the Wudang Sect Leader and an exceptional junior had attacked me.
“Take this!!”
The instant I felt the surge of his charge through my senses, one thought rose in my mind.
Slow.
He wasn’t slow at all, objectively speaking. His movement was excellent, and he was performing Wudang’s proud Jeunwongeung perfectly, but that was all it was.
Is he looking down on me?
Whether because of his ridiculous pride or something else, he was thrusting in with the forms of the Cheonggeum Sword Art instead of the Taeeong Sword Art.
Sharp as it was, a thrust like that wasn’t worth much in real combat.
If it didn’t land, it meant nothing.
I still hadn’t reached the tenth flower, but I stepped through the best footwork I could manage.
Then I succeeded in stepping into the positions of Heaven and Earth, though I couldn’t quite reach Man.
That was enough.
With the instant acceleration of Pungsinbo, I slipped into Cheongmyeong’s embrace and—
“W-what!”
As his shocked voice rang out and he hesitated,
whoosh—
I grabbed him by the collar and hurled him in a wide arc.
“Ugh! This—!”
As expected of a direct disciple, his name wasn’t just for show. He tried to steady himself, but—
Full of openings.
Instead of trying to deal damage, I drove a strike into Cheongmyeong’s waist, just enough to wreck his posture.
Thwack!!
A pleasant recoil ran through my body, and—
“K-kraaaah!”
He let out a shriek and collapsed in a disgraceful heap.
“Y-you cowardly bastard…!”
Ah, cowardly, was it?
Which one of us had attacked first?
The fool who let his guard down was the idiot.
He thrashed desperately, trying to wriggle free, but there was no way I’d let him.
“Kkgh…”
I stepped on the head of the Cheongmyeong sprawled at my feet.
How does that feel?
It was a kind of performance.
Crack!!
I kicked away the hand he had thrust out to grab my leg, then leaped backward to open distance.
Tough.
He must have already refined his Taeeongganggi to a high level, because he was protecting his body with internal energy.
There was no doubt he was a genius with skill far beyond what his age should have allowed.
“I-is this really happening…!”
Lacking real combat experience, Cheongmyeong had been one-sidedly beaten, but if I wanted to completely subdue him with the limited sun-and-moon energy I had now, I’d have to exert myself a bit. That made him annoying to deal with.
“Want to keep going?”
Cheongmyeong stared at me in disbelief and stammered, “T-this is impossible... I am a disciple of the great Wudang Sect...”
“I didn’t even draw my sword. If you want more, I won’t stop you.”
Drawing my sword would definitely make me stronger, but he hadn’t exhausted himself yet either, so I couldn’t guarantee the outcome.
Still, the threat seemed to work. When I folded my arms and looked down at him, Cheongmyeong flinched and averted his gaze.
Unlike before, he was now openly wary of me.
But he still didn’t stop running his mouth.
“Y-you think you can get away with this? I am a disciple of the great Wudang Sect—”
“Keep barking.”
The moment I lifted my hand, Cheongmyeong jumped and twisted away.
He tried to run, but—
Thud!!!!!
My fist, carrying the subtle trick of a counterattack hidden inside a follow-up strike, slammed into him.
“Aaaagh!!!!”
With a bizarre shriek, he rolled across the ground.
What a dramatic little bastard. He was shielding himself with ki, and yet he still acted like he was made of paper.
“You’ve got to bark a little if you want to hide how weak you are, don’t you?”
“Kkgh… ughhh.”
“Let’s do this the easy way. Got it?”
“……”
If he still wouldn’t listen, maybe I should think about whether I wasn’t beating him enough.
Cheongmyeong had an odd talent for inviting punishment.
If that was a talent, then it was a talent indeed.
“Hey, isn’t that Cheongmyeong senior?”
“Why is he lying on the ground? That’s Cheon Sojin, isn’t it? What’s going on? Did they fight?”
“No way, Cheongmyeong?”
Hearing the commotion, people were gathering one by one.
“Why aren’t you answering? You can wait until the others get here if you want.”
The one who lost time here was Cheongmyeong.
“Kkgh…”
Unable to meet my eyes, he gave a tiny nod.
Yeah, that would’ve been better from the start.
*
*
*
Clatter—
Clatter—
Hiiiiiigh—
I heard the coachman’s voice.
“From here on, this is Gansu.”
After getting off the carriage and looking around, all I could see were mountains and trees.
What the hell.
This was the final point the carriage could reach.
No—there wasn’t even anything here that could properly be called a road.
Something felt off right away.
This isn’t quite what Master said.
No matter how much black-path bastards liked living only for a day at a time, they wouldn’t come all the way out to some deep mountain valley just to cause trouble.
Most of them moved wherever the profit was, so unless they were part of a very special faction, they tended to settle in cities or large villages where trade was active.
Master had said this was a poor, backwater place, but one used as a resting point for caravans. It was hard to imagine having to climb all the way up here from the main road far below.
No matter how I looked at it…
I should check the village first.
I walked toward the group that had gathered without me.
There were six of them in total, including Cheongmyeong.
Interestingly enough, they were an all-Wudang unit.
“Cheongmyeong, are you feeling unwell? You’ve been unusually quiet today….”
“Yeah. Is something wrong?”
Even with the others speaking to him, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
He gave me a sidelong glance.
How was he supposed to say he’d been beaten quiet by some useless young master?
“Cheongmyeong, my friend.”
“What is it, bastard.”
I only called him casually, but he answered with a wary voice and a hand already resting on his sword.
Don’t be so scared.
“Are you sure we didn’t come to the wrong place?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? This is the right place. You didn’t forget already, did you?”
Cheongmyeong looked around with a clueless expression.
If this was definitely the place…
Did this bastard not notice anything strange?
He must have received the same explanation from Raeji, and yet he didn’t seem to be thinking about anything at all.
I know talent is the most important thing, but…
Wouldn’t it be a disaster if someone like this became sect leader?
My head was starting to throb again.
“What should we do now?”
“Let’s find the village first and take a look around its surroundings. If we rush in blindly, it’ll be a disaster.”
As I addressed the members of the unit, they all nodded.
“That sounds best. It seems like it’s a long way in from here.”
“I’m worried about how much the villagers must be suffering… Let’s hurry!”
The unit members followed me up the mountain path.
More than anything else, they were worried about the common people.
Seeing that made me wonder if the righteous martial world might still have some hope after all.
“H-hey, wait! I’m the leader here! You can’t just move on your own—!”
When I looked back, Cheongmyeong was running after us with a flustered face.
“We’re supposed to travel together, so what does it matter? Or are you not coming?”
“Th-that’s not it, but….”
“Then stop complaining and follow me.”
“……”
*
“What is this? Didn’t they say the place had been taken over by black-path bastards?”
“It doesn’t look like anything’s happened.”
“Still, the village is pretty small.”
“Well, it is a backwater place, isn’t it?”
We walked a full circle around the village, inspecting the area.
“I still don’t see any black-path bastards.”
From the outside, it looked peaceful as could be.
Something feels bad.
There were too many suspicious things, one after another.
The state of the village itself didn’t match the information from Master at all.
It was obvious they were hiding somewhere.
“Let’s keep searching until evening.”
“That sounds good.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
I wanted some kind of special movement, anything that would give them away…
Then—
“Just how long are you planning to stand around and watch?”
Cheongmyeong, who had been wearing an increasingly displeased expression, shouted out.
“What?”
“Hmph! Scared already? Coward. When you carry out the way of righteousness, you’re supposed to fear nothing. Go ahead and stand there watching for the rest of your life!”
This bastard, could it be?
I moved to seize his wrist in a hurry, but Cheongmyeong used Jeunwongeung and shot forward in an instant.
“W-wait! Senior Cheongmyeong, you can’t go alone—!”
“Hey, what are you doing? Hurry up and follow him!! Move it!!”
As the leader Cheongmyeong ran ahead, the rest of the unit members rushed after him.
I didn’t think he was this stupid…
Well.
All the better.
He’d make a fine piece of bait.
Anyway, all I needed was to wipe out the black-path bastards and take the Blood Sect pill.
But my silent encouragement was pointless, because the instant we entered the village, we were surrounded by the bastards hiding there.
…
Yeah, I knew it.
##