Provocation, and the Gun
The Jeomchang Sect was a time-honored Taoist school rooted in the Cang Mountains of Yunnan.
As one corner of the Nine Sects and One Gang, it had never once claimed the title of the greatest sword school under heaven—yet whenever talk turned to the greatest swift sword, the honor inevitably fell either to Jeomchang or to the Hainan Sect of Hainan. That was how deep their mastery of the fast blade ran.
That was the general image most martial artists held of the Jeomchang Sect. Hui-yeom, however, had dug further, finishing a thorough analysis of their political and economic footing as well.
And the conclusion of that analysis could be summed up in a single sentence:
Jeomchang is one step away from being completely screwed.
Yes—Jeomchang was in a very tight spot.
To understand why, one first needed to grasp the special status the sect held in Yunnan Province, along with the structure of its revenue.
Before heading to Jeomchang, while explaining to Dang Su-jeong that they needed to seek a path of mutual survival with the sect, Hui-yeom and Dang Su-jeong had shared a conversation like this:
"Do you know what Jeomchang’s revenue structure actually is?"
"Beats me. They’re a Taoist temple, so donations?"
"No. Most of their income comes from tea. Roughly half the tea produced in Yunnan either belongs to Jeomchang itself or comes from tea gardens and tea fields established by their lay disciples."
"Wait—so Jeomchang sells tea?"
"No. They don’t sell it directly. They lease the fields to tea merchants or collect sharecropping fees. After all, it would look pretty undignified for Taoists who go around preaching non-possession and natural non-action to haggle tea prices face-to-face with merchants."
"Then there’s no real problem, is there? They don’t even have to negotiate tea prices with us. They just collect rent and sharecropping fees on the fields."
"For Jeomchang themselves, sure, no problem. But the Yunnan tea merchants who can no longer price-fix because of the monopoly rights we obtained? They have a problem. And where do you think those gentlemen will go looking for a solution? The Provincial Administration that granted the monopoly? Or the Jeomchang Sect—a member of the Nine Sects and One Gang on par with the Sichuan Dang Family, and essentially the pillar of Yunnan’s local society?"
"…They’ll go to Jeomchang."
"Of course Jeomchang could wash their hands of it since they take no direct losses. But they fly the banner of the orthodox path, and they’ve spent years building a reputation as Yunnan’s pillar. If they just sit on their hands and say, ‘The Provincial Administration did it—what can we do?’ then not only will their relationships with the tea merchants collapse, they’ll also lose their influence over Yunnan’s commercial sphere."
Like it or not, the great sects of the martial world wielded powerful regional influence and effectively enjoyed the status of local magnates. The people of Yunnan were subjects of the Son of Heaven and of the Yunnan Provincial Administration—but they were also people the Jeomchang Sect had to look after.
Same as if the people of Sichuan were eating dirt and the Dang Family just sat there with their hands folded—they’d be cursed for it.
Therefore Jeomchang had no choice but to move. That was why Hui-yeom, when he sent the letter to the Jeomchang Sect, fully expected them to come calling before long.
But that expectation of Hui-yeom’s was about to go spectacularly off the rails.
"The Sect Leader requests your presence. Come with us."
Even when faced with a tone and expression less like an invitation to a guest and more like a detective pressuring a suspicious character caught red-handed—"Kindly accompany us to the station"—Hui-yeom had taken it in stride. Their house was on fire, and someone had stolen the deed before they could even put the flames out. Perfectly understandable.
But when, on the road toward the Cang Mountains, with the farmhouses falling behind and nothing but empty mountain path around them, the men suddenly turned and started barking "Let’s settle this with a match!", he was so dumbfounded he almost doubted his own hearing.
"You want to settle it with a duel?"
"Exactly!"
The hook-nosed man who introduced himself as Il-hyeon, a second-generation disciple of the Jeomchang Sect, glared at Dang Su-jeong with burning eyes.
"The Dang Family has committed the crime of using Jeomchang’s crisis to steal Jeomchang’s property. Worse still, they shamelessly dragged the authorities into a martial-world matter—a despicable act if ever there was one. Jeomchang and the Dang Family are both sects of the martial world! Therefore it is only natural that everything be decided by the logic of the martial world!"
He tapped the sword at his hip.
"If I win this duel, you will go to the Provincial Administration, wipe the Yunnan tea monopoly clean, and leave Yunnan."
What kind of worthless nonsense is this?
Hui-yeom was about to open his mouth with a scornful laugh.
What authority do you have to speak for Jeomchang? If the Dang Family washes its hands of this, how exactly do you plan to stop the people of Yunnan from starving to death?
He had any number of verbal thrashings ready. Unfortunately, before he could get a single word out, Dang Su-jeong’s temper detonated.
"You dare call our house the ‘Dang Family’ like some street thugs, and on top of that you insult us by saying we stole like cowards? In front of me—Poison Phoenix Dang Su-jeong?"
"I’ve heard time and again how fierce the Blood Phoenix’s temper is. Seems you’ve never met a proper match yet. Today I’ll show you just how high the swords of Jeomchang stand."
"You don’t even know your place…!"
"Hah. The only reason this Falling Star Sword Arrow is less known in the martial world than the Blood Phoenix is because I don’t go around picking pointless fights. I have never once considered myself inferior in martial skill."
"Uh, Auntie—"
"Don’t stop me, Yeom-ah."
Dang Su-jeong ground her teeth.
"When the family has been insulted, quietly backing down is not an option."
"Mmm…"
Hui-yeom glanced briefly at the inside of Dang Su-jeong’s sleeve, then whispered softly.
"…You can’t kill him, all right? It’ll just splash filth all over the negotiations."
"I’ll leave him half-dead."
"That much I’ll allow."
"Do you dare look down on me? On Falling Star Sword Arrow Il-hyeon?"
The Jeomchang Sect claimed as its founder the archer Yi who was said to have shot down the suns, and even their supreme sword art, the Four Suns Sword Art, was a thrusting-oriented style heavily influenced by the principles of the bow. The moniker "Falling Star Sword Arrow" meant "swords rain down like a shower and drop the stars," and he clearly wanted it to announce that his martial skill was no joke.
"Still just a bow at the end of the day. Want a taste of bullets?"
"Hm?"
"Nothing."
Hui-yeom smiled.
"Finish it quick."
"I will."
Once Hui-yeom stepped back as well, the mountain path was suddenly lined with Jeomchang martial artists and Dokwadae fighters staring each other down. Between them, Il-hyeon and Dang Su-jeong took positions about ten paces apart.
Il-hyeon first offered Dang Su-jeong a clasped-fist salute.
"Il-hyeon of Jeomchang. The comrades of the rivers and lakes call me Falling Star Sword Arrow. Blood Phoenix—there is no personal grudge between us, so do not resent it even if your wings are broken today."
Dang Su-jeong let out an irritated sigh, then returned the salute with an attitude that screamed this is utterly beneath me but etiquette is etiquette so I have no choice.
"Dang Su-jeong, Poison Phoenix of the Nine Dragons and Seven Phoenixes. Falling Star Sword God or Falling-on-the-Ground or whatever you are—you keep calling me Blood Phoenix, Blood Phoenix, like you don’t even know other people’s monikers. I’ll make sure your body understands exactly why I’m called Poison Phoenix or Blood Phoenix."
Il-hyeon gave a short laugh.
"Spirited, I see. A woman of the martial world ought to be."
"Not a woman—a martial artist."
Dang Su-jeong, a martial artist of renown across the rivers and lakes, answered coldly at being treated like some delicate lady, but Il-hyeon only snorted.
"As the one who requested the duel, and as a man, I will yield three exchanges. Come."
Il-hyeon puffed out his chest as he spoke. In his own mind it was a magnanimous, manly display—but that foolish posturing was precisely his decisive blunder.
A vein bulged at Dang Su-jeong’s temple.
"Ho. Ho. Ho. Then allow me one piece of advice. The Sichuan Dang Family is the ancestral home of poison and hidden weapons. Just as an arrow already loosed cannot be recalled, once a Dang Family poison or hidden weapon leaves the hand it cannot be stopped like a sword. I won’t aim for vitals—but don’t blame me if you get hurt, all right?"
Il-hyeon smirked at the warning she squeezed out with the last of her patience.
"What kind of man gets wounded by a woman’s weapons? Put your worries to rest."
Il-hyeon’s provocations—belittling Dang Su-jeong for being a woman—were excessive even by ordinary standards, yet his true thoughts were rather complicated.
The Nine Dragons and Seven Phoenixes… and among the Seven Phoenixes, Poison Phoenix ranks near the top. Absolutely no soft opponent. But I’ve ignored and provoked her this thoroughly—she’s bound to get riled up and her form will break. The moment she shows even a single opening, Jeomchang’s swift sword can shatter her completely.
In short, he had deliberately provoked her in order to force a mistake.
But the world has a saying: everything in moderation. He had belittled the family she took pride in, mocked her moniker, and insulted her for being a woman.
Watching her profile from the side, Hui-yeom clicked his tongue when he saw her pretty smile while the corners of her mouth twitched.
That’s the exact face she makes right before Dang Unhwa’s nonsense blows her lid. Tsk tsk. That guy is so screwed.
Hui-yeom simply hoped Dang Su-jeong would keep it moderate. If she wrecked the man too thoroughly, it might put them at a disadvantage in the negotiations for no good reason.
Dang Su-jeong raised both hands and crossed her sleeves in front of her chest. For a swordsman, it was the posture of resting a hand on the hilt just before drawing.
She spoke.
"I don’t want to win and then be called underhanded, so I’ll say this first. I’m going to attack your legs and arms with the hidden weapons inside these sleeves."
"Haha. By all means, try."
"All right then. I’m going. I clearly warned you."
The moment Dang Su-jeong said that, Il-hyeon drew every scrap of his internal energy and focused it into his eyes.
No matter how much she hides them in those baggy sleeves, she can’t conceal the shoulder movement right before throwing a hidden weapon. Throw them—I’ll dodge or deflect all three and counter right then and there!
He stared so hard at Dang Su-jeong’s shoulders and sleeves that veins stood out in his eyes.
But Dang Su-jeong’s shoulders never moved.
—Bang bang bang!!
"Guaaagh?!!!"
Dang Su-jeong, gripping the Hagyeongchong inside her sleeve, never even drew it out. She simply aimed through the fabric and fired into both of Il-hyeon’s thighs and his right shoulder.
She had fired a gun from inside the very wide sleeves meant to hide the hand that threw hidden weapons and to conceal those weapons themselves. Naturally, Il-hyeon—who had been watching for a hand to emerge from the sleeve so something could be thrown—had his expectations completely blindsided.
Lead bullets punched into both thighs; against his will, Il-hyeon’s knees hit the ground. Blood streamed from both legs and his shoulder as he knelt, face blank with shock, still not understanding what had just happened.
"Th-this… what kind of sorcery…!"
"Oh my~ A grown man with knees this soft? I guess the Jeomchang Sect teaches you to drop to your knees whenever you feel like it~ Well, if you’re going to run your mouth without even measuring the difference in skill, you do need nice bendy legs to survive in this heartless martial world~."
The verbal damage is insane, seriously.
Dang Su-jeong smiled sweetly while calmly grinding Il-hyeon under her heel. Her words were every bit as provocative as anything Il-hyeon had thrown out before the duel; his face flushed scarlet.
The watching Jeomchang disciples hurriedly supported him.
"Senior Brother!"
"Khh—using sorcery like a coward!"
"This duel is invalid!"
Unable to accept their senior brother’s defeat, the Jeomchang disciples hurled accusations of "cowardly sorcery," but the more they shouted the uglier they looked.
Dang Su-jeong snorted.
"Hmph! It’s common knowledge that the Sichuan Dang Family is famous for its hidden weapons. I told you to your face I would attack with hidden weapons, and I even kindly warned you exactly where I would aim—and when you fail to block it because you’re not good enough, suddenly it’s sorcery? What next? Shaolin’s Diamond Body is sorcery because blades can’t pierce flesh, and Wudang’s Taiji Fist is sorcery because it borrows the opponent’s force? That’s hilarious. And after going on and on about ‘women this’ and ‘women that’—what does that make Young Master Il-hyeon, who just got thoroughly beaten and forced to his knees by one of those women? Maybe you should snip off your peanuts and little earthworm and start living as a girl from today?"
Whoa…
The verbal destruction was so thorough even Hui-yeom’s mind went blank. Everyone stood open-mouthed listening to her venom.
Then the Jeomchang disciples recovered and their faces flushed crimson with rage.
"I can’t take any more of this!"
"We tried to treat you as guests, and you dare insult Jeomchang in Yunnan?!"
The Jeomchang disciples drew their weapons; the Dokwadae fighters seized their own as well.
A hair-trigger situation.
This is bad.
Just as Hui-yeom gathered his internal energy, about to settle the scene with a lion’s roar—
A lion’s roar that shook the mountains and rivers slammed into everyone’s eardrums.