The Six Hundred Duelists
Master. From the midpoint of the road to Wugeuk Castle, a steady drizzle began to fall. I could not be bothered to repel the raindrops, so I simply ran through them. The cold droplets tracing down my temples seemed to cool, if only slightly, the inner demon rising within me. Baek might be dead. The thought still felt unreal. Though I had not met many people in my life, I had never encountered anyone as composed as Baek in all circumstances. Even if trapped in a burning house or with a blade at his throat, I could easily imagine him not so much as blinking. Those who tremble in fear before death deserve to die, but would the same hold for the composed? Baek never seemed like someone who could die, no matter the time or manner. Yet people did not always die because they deserved to.
I stamped hard on the rain-soaked earth, sending mud flying everywhere. A cold sensation touched my cheek where a speck had landed. If Baek had died, what was I to do? If he had been swept up in malice or selfishness and killed unjustly, then there ought to be punishment for that death. But if he had died because he deserved it, or through some understandable noble cause, or simply through unfortunate misunderstanding and accident—what then? The answer was obvious, yet I could not bring myself to think it. As if fleeing the question, I kicked off the ground with all my strength. In the distance, between the mountains, layer upon layer of towers came into view. Wugeuk Castle.
It had taken exactly half a day of running from east of Wuhan.
The main compound of Wugeuk Castle was, as its name suggested, encircled by tall, thick walls and watchtowers. When I stood before the gate, several guards on the gate tower asked my name. I answered briefly.
"I am Yuyu. I have come to retrieve my abducted disciple."
After a brief exchange above, a great bell tolled and the gates opened. One man walked ahead as if to guide me, and strangely, the other guards who had been on watch did not remain at their posts but followed behind. I had no particular desire to comment on it, so I simply followed the one leading the way.
The path passed several towers and training grounds before entering a massive stone fortress standing at the heart of the main compound. As I walked the quiet stone corridor, I heard the sound of dripping water. It came from my own hair. After a full day in the rain, my hair and the front of my robes were soaked through as if I had fallen into water, and my trousers were caked in mud. My back had been spared the rain, but the wet hair covering it had left it damp as well.
The man ahead suddenly stopped and turned to look at me.
"Would you like a towel?"
Only then did I notice his eyes were closed. He appeared to be blind, yet his muscles and frame were solid, and a long sword hung at his waist—a rare blind warrior. I answered,
"No. It is fine."
He did not press the offer and simply turned his head forward again to continue walking. After a few more steps, he asked,
"You are not angry."
"It would be pointless," I replied at once. My steps did not falter. We walked a few more paces before he spoke again.
"Yet it would have been the easier path. You are remarkable."
After that, only the sound of footsteps echoed. We walked perhaps another quarter of an hour before he let out a long breath and spoke with difficulty.
"Is Baek alive?"
"Yes. At least until one hour ago, he was alive. He did not seem likely to die, either."
"That is a relief. Do you know if Baek did anything wrong?"
"He did nothing wrong. It was merely his master's greed."
After hearing those words, I slowly closed my eyes and opened them again. A day's worth of dust was wiped from my eyelids, and my vision cleared somewhat. We walked a little farther, passing one alley, and at the end of the corridor a wide courtyard appeared, along with a large bronze gate. The blind youth stopped before it.
"Your master has shown excessive desire."
"You can sense it?"
"When the eyes are blind, the ears grow sharp. What cannot be seen is sometimes clearer."
"What should I do?"
"I can only hope for your mercy."
It was a truly cowardly thing to say. Just as I was about to add some remark, the blind youth had already thrown the gates open.
When the doors parted, an even larger courtyard was revealed. A long straight path stretched from the entrance to a high, wide platform at the center. Along the edges of the courtyard walls ran a two-story gallery from which the platform could be viewed from all sides. Hundreds of people already filled the gallery, and those who had entered with me soon joined them. Meanwhile, the blind youth approached the platform and found his place.
Beneath the platform stood five men and women of formidable presence, surrounding it. Atop the platform, a single man stood alone and met my gaze.
"Are you the Heavenly Demon?" the man asked.
Though he did not raise his voice, the qi-infused words resonated through the entire courtyard. Every gaze in the space turned toward me.
"No."
The man frowned. I continued,
"I am Yuyu. I have no epithet. I hold no position or duty in any faction. I have lived alone in the mountains for a long time, possess some modest skill with the sword, and am Yu Baek's master."
There had already been enough misunderstandings. I spoke honestly.
"I have come to retrieve my disciple."
After a brief silence, the man spoke.
"So you are not the Heavenly Demon? Well, it does not matter. If you are that fellow's master, your skill should be sufficient."
"Now I have a question."
"What is it? Speak."
I met his eyes directly. Nothing reveals a person's heart better than the eyes. Though I had no talent for reading others' expressions, meeting someone's gaze like this helped foster honesty between us.
"What grudge does Yu Baek hold?"
"I wondered what you would ask. There is none." The man snorted. "If he has any sin, it is having you as his master. Wugeuk Castle—and I—abducted your disciple as bait because we wished to cross swords with you."
"Why do you wish to cross swords with me?"
"To pursue the ultimate martial arts at the end of a life-and-death duel."
"What is the ultimate martial arts?"
The man answered with a scowl.
"It is the realm of invincible supremacy where one stands alone above all. Are we finished with the riddles? If not, shorten them. I dislike wasting time."
I did not reply. Taking my silence as an end to the conversation, the man continued.
"If you wish to take your disciple, you must defeat the six hundred people gathered here on this dueling platform."
I surveyed the entire courtyard. Indeed, the number in the gallery seemed to match.
"I will give you twelve days. You may decide how many to face at once, but you must choose from the lowest ranks upward. In other words, you may face the six hundredth through the five hundredth ranks together, but you cannot skip the five hundredth and call out the four hundred ninety-ninth."
"Does this place also use a ranking system like the Demonic Cult?"
"Would we use the orthodox fools' talk of Peak and Transcendent Peak? If something is good, there is no need to ask whose it is. That is how one walks the path to the ultimate."
"Are you the first rank?"
The man smiled faintly.
"Yes. You must defeat me last before you can take your disciple."
"Hmm..."
Six hundred was a large number, but if I fought them one by one from the six hundredth, it would merely be a matter of stamina. Since they had given twelve days rather than one or two, it did not seem impossible for someone confident in their skill.
"What about food and injuries?"
"Meals will be brought here each time, and physicians are waiting over there." Following the man's gesture, I saw several people not in martial robes sitting beside carts laden with what appeared to be medicine chests. The man erased his smile and spoke.
"Do you think we are doing all this merely to torment or kill you? Our sole purpose is the ultimate. We, too, will not leave this place until all the duels are finished, except for unavoidable matters. From the beginning, there is no fool in Wugeuk Castle who would throw away the chance to witness an Absolute Master's skill."
In other words, it was necessity, not goodwill. Even for his own sake in fighting me fiercely, he preferred I defeat five hundred ninety-nine opponents while still whole rather than collapse while recklessly challenging an impossible goal. I had been about to ask why he bothered with this troublesome arrangement instead of settling it in a single duel from the start, but it seemed unnecessary, so I let it go. Instead, I held up two fingers.
"Very well. But you must grant me two conditions."
"Conditions?"
The man's expression twisted in displeasure for a moment, but after brief thought he answered. He had likely decided there was no need to ruin things now that matters had come this far.
"Fine. Speak."
"Show me my disciple. I have no way to believe he is alive."
"There is no reason I cannot. Bring him here!"
At those words, the physicians on one side moved busily. Soon a cart carrying a bed was brought into the courtyard. Baek lay upon it, his entire body splinted and bandaged. There was not a single unharmed spot on him, yet his chest rose and fell, so he was clearly still breathing. I asked without thinking,
"Did you have to go this far?"
"He begged me to beat him to a pulp. Said he would not go otherwise, so I granted his wish."
"..."
Even I sometimes found it difficult to understand what Yu Baek was thinking. No—quite often, in truth.
"Do not worry. I was careful not to damage his nerves or meridians when I crushed him. He showed considerable potential; it would be a waste to ruin him."
"You even concern yourself with that."
"In twenty years or so he might become my opponent. Enough talk—state your second condition. What is it?"
The man urged me on, as if impatient for the coming fight. I tore my gaze from Yu Baek and met the man's eyes once more.
"Before we fight, let us speak briefly of martial arts."