Chapter 41 - The Inn Disturbance (4)
Seok Geum-ryong was only a thirteen-year-old boy in appearance, but within that small body dwelled a middle-aged man who had weathered every storm the world could throw at him in his previous life.
So he had not needed long to reach the right conclusion.
That Blood Ghost Sect young master will probably come back before long.
To avoid dragging innocent bystanders into the matter, he deliberately led the group into the sparsely traveled Golden Stone Valley, then informed the others of what was coming.
At that, Yeo Gwang-rae, Shin Dan-woo, Im So-gun, and Wol-papa all thought the same thing: if the fools insisted on attacking, it would at least be entertaining to strike first.
And sure enough, what happened next?
Not a single thing ever goes beyond what I expect.
With that thought, Seok Geum-ryong drove his sword forward without hesitation.
Heaven-Shattering Seven Stars Sword Technique: Second Form, Great Gate!
It had been a long time since he last unleashed a form of the Heaven-Shattering Seven Stars Sword Technique.
For Seok Geum-ryong to use the martial arts of the Seven Stars rather than some other school was proof enough that he intended to put his opponent firmly in his place.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
With Seok Geum-ryong’s formidable inner energy pouring into it, the Silver Echo Sword trembled violently in his hand.
A moment later, with the strange sensation of a massive gate swinging wide open, fierce sword wind burst forth like a torrential rain.
“Aaaagh!”
Blood Ghost Scholar Gun Gyeong-mun, who stood at the very front, was thrown into utter disarray by the overwhelming skill and martial might on display.
To be honest, he had already dismissed Seok Geum-ryong and everyone traveling with him.
The moment he heard that the fifth heir of Seokga Manor had been struggling in his own home, he had assumed there could not possibly be anything worth fearing among his escorts.
But what was this?
Slash!
The madly surging sword energy from Seok Geum-ryong cut into the Blood Ghost Sect’s lower-ranking fighters, and even Gun Gyeong-mun himself suffered a deep gash and had to swallow the pain as blood welled out.
What shocked him even more was Seok Geum-ryong’s skill.
“Th-this is impossible. How can a child’s sword be this... this fast and strong?”
Gun Gyeong-mun was also a swordsman who pursued the path of the blade, so he could recognize exactly how extraordinary Seok Geum-ryong’s swordsmanship and level truly were.
Even by a rough estimate, that skill was at least first-class, if not beyond.
That brat who still has a runny nose is a first-class expert? I can’t believe it!
Gun Gyeong-mun could not believe it.
No, he did not want to believe it.
Even he, who was known in the evil side of the martial world as someone with considerable martial talent, had not broken into the first-class rank until after he was twenty.
And to reach such a level in one’s early teens? That kind of thing belonged to the main disciples of the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Clans.
“Kill them! Tear them apart! Show them no mercy!”
His panic quickly turned into violent rage.
Gun Gyeong-mun shouted hard, urging on his shaken subordinates.
“Waah!”
At his furious cry, the men under him rushed forward the instant Seok Geum-ryong’s attack ended, as if they had been waiting for exactly that moment.
No matter how fierce a master’s assault might be, it would always come to an end eventually.
Just as spring came after a brutal winter, an attack, no matter how savage, had to stop sooner or later.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Scores of Blood Ghost Sect fighters seized the moment Seok Geum-ryong’s offense ended and threw themselves into a counterattack, pouring everything they had into turning the tide.
At first glance, it almost looked as though they might succeed, but that was a ridiculous notion.
Moon Spirit Sword Peak!
By Seok Geum-ryong’s side stood Im So-gun, one of the Four Honored Guests and a super peak expert so rare that one could hardly find her equal even in the Jianghu.
As it happened, she had not forgotten Gun Gyeong-mun, who had lusted after Hancheolma and spoken insolently to her.
Crack-crack-crack!
Perhaps because of that?
Her swordsmanship today was sharper than ever.
Especially under the faint moonlight, the transparent sword qi that spread from her blade was enough to make one’s skin crawl.
“K-kaaah!”
“Everyone in the front line got their throats cut!”
“S-save us!”
Several men died in the blink of an eye, and even the hard-bitten warriors of the Blood Ghost Sect could do nothing but waver.
What made it even worse was how their heads kept dropping as though some invisible force had possessed them. The sight alone was enough to chill the blood.
Shuddering uncontrollably, Gun Gyeong-mun, who rarely regretted his choices, found his knees knocking together so violently he could hardly stand.
Only then did he understand.
“Su-super peak experts!”
He felt as though he might faint on the spot.
Super peak experts were a level of mastery his Blood Ghost Sect did not even possess in any meaningful number.
And that was not all.
Given the nature of Shanxi martial circles, where the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans were absent, super peak experts were exceedingly rare. To reach that realm was to be among the contenders for the title of number one in Shanxi.
In other words, Im So-gun, a super peak expert, was practically a walking army by herself.
“Damn it! Circle around from behind! We still outnumber them... ignore that monster of a woman and go after the others!”
Gun Gyeong-mun was enduring the worst night of his life, and the more he was pressed back, the more fiercely he forced his focus.
Now that he had confirmed the strength of Seok Geum-ryong and Im So-gun, he decided to avoid them as much as possible and target the easier-looking members of the group instead.
The old women first!
Thus it was that the sword of Gun Gyeong-mun swung toward Wol-papa, who stood behind Im So-gun with a calm, kindly expression.
Unfortunately for him, that choice turned out to be the worst one possible.
Heaven-Returning Golden Needle Technique!
Wol-papa flicked her fingers in an odd motion and unleashed a surge of inner force utterly unlike her small frame.
Carrying a powerful cold qi, her finger technique shot forward like a barrage of arrows, piercing through the hearts of several experts in one stroke.
Swish-swish-swish!
It was so fierce and merciless that Gun Gyeong-mun went pale and stumbled back in terror.
That desperate retreat saved his life.
What is that monster now?
For the second time, he felt as though he had been haunted by something from beyond the grave.
Seok Geum-ryong and Im So-gun had already left him reeling by being far stronger than their age suggested, but who would have imagined that even an old woman could be this formidable?
“Idiot. You dare lay a hand on Lady Wol-papa?”
Watching the Blood Ghost Sect men make one disastrous choice after another, Scholar in Blue Gong Sang-pil clicked his tongue.
Wol-papa looked gentle and benevolent at first glance, but that was only after she had retired from the Moon Lady Sect.
Back when she had been serving as an elder of the sect, no one would have dared to ignore her name.
“Indeed.”
Even Shin Dan-woo, the bodyguard who seemed unusually idle today, clicked his tongue in agreement.
To be honest, even he had no confidence that he could beat Wol-papa.
And yet some ignorant brat from the evil side thought he could lay hands on her. That was no different from a pup baring its teeth at a tiger’s nose.
Heaven-Returning Golden Needle Technique!
While Gun Gyeong-mun was being thoroughly inconvenienced by his clash with Wol-papa, his subordinates were attacking the other kindly-looking elder and being annihilated without mercy.
Fwoosh-shu-shu-shu!
The brilliant display of golden needles continued as they pierced the brows of the wicked one after another.
At least today, he was not a physician who healed the sick, but a righteous martial artist punishing evil.
Who would have guessed that the mild-looking doctor was actually Yeo Gwang-rae, the Golden Needle Venerable?
“Here too! There’s a monster here too!”
Every time they targeted someone, they somehow managed to pick the biggest experts in the group, and the vast number of Blood Ghost Sect fighters were rapidly being reduced to half their original strength, then beyond that, and then toward total annihilation.
“This... this is a lie! It’s a nightmare!”
Blood Ghost Scholar Gun Gyeong-mun had already lost every subordinate he could still use because of one moment of bad judgment, and now even his own life was in danger.
He felt as though he were trapped in a nightmare beyond anything bearable.
Before long, nearly all of his men were dead or so badly injured they could no longer stand.
The only one left with all his limbs intact was Gun Gyeong-mun himself.
Even that was because Seok Geum-ryong had magnanimously spared the tastiest cut for last.
“So, you’re the Blood Ghost Sect’s young master?”
Now that the situation in the yard had been more or less settled, Seok Geum-ryong strolled forward at an unhurried pace.
Wol-papa and Yeo Gwang-rae, who had finally been able to stretch their limbs after so long, were calmly finishing off the fallen men one by one.
“Y-yes, sir! That’s right. I am Gun Gyeong-mun, the Blood Ghost Scholar, young master of the Blood Ghost Sect!”
His attitude was now nothing like the one he had worn when he had sneered at Seok Geum-ryong and tried to kill him.
He had sensed that this was the only road left to survival.
“You seem to have grown up with no shortage of comfort... tsk. Then why did you go and covet another man’s property?”
Seok Geum-ryong clicked his tongue and raised the Silver Echo Sword with calm precision.
The meaning of that gesture was unmistakable.
He was about to bring everything to an end.
“Eek! N-no, wait! Spare me!”
The instant the Silver Echo Sword flashed, Gun Gyeong-mun nearly fainted from terror, sucking in his breath as though his soul were about to leave his body.
He had already lost all will to resist, and more importantly, behind Seok Geum-ryong stood Im So-gun, Wol-papa, and Yeo Gwang-rae, who were all more terrifying than the King of Hell himself. He did not dare so much as think of fighting back.
“If I spare you, won’t you just go back to coveting what belongs to others? Maybe someday you’d come storming back for revenge after targeting Hancheolma.”
“No! Absolutely not! I swear it won’t happen.”
Gun Gyeong-mun shook his head frantically, but Seok Geum-ryong knew exactly what kind of man he was.
Would a man who had struck once not strike again?
“Please, spare me!”
Gun Gyeong-mun begged again and again, waiting for the boy to change his mind.
“I’ll ask you one question.”
“Yes, sir.”
“In your entire life, tell me three good deeds you’ve done that truly set an example for others.”
Seok Geum-ryong asked with complete calm.
“W-what?”
Gun Gyeong-mun was so taken aback by the question that all four limbs began to tremble.
“I’m not joking. Tell me three good deeds you’ve done, and if I’m convinced, I’ll spare you.”
“I-I... right! My father! I greeted the Blood Ghost Sect master every single day and always practiced filial piety!”
“That was only you trying to secure your place as the Blood Ghost Sect’s heir. It’s hard to call that filial piety. Besides, your sect master is a filthy villain anyway, isn’t he? That’s not a good deed. It’s just something you did for your own benefit.”
“Th-that...”
Seok Geum-ryong’s logic was so airtight that Gun Gyeong-mun was already losing the ability to speak.
“Ah! I sent large offerings to the Shanxi governor, and those offerings helped support people suffering from plague and floods.”
“No. You sent offerings to the Shanxi governor so you could curry favor with the officials and the imperial court. If you truly wanted to help the poor and the miserable, there was no need to go through the Shanxi governor at all.”
“Ugh...”
Gun Gyeong-mun tried several more times to come up with reasons, but Seok Geum-ryong tore through each one with perfect counterarguments, leaving him with nowhere left to stand.
In the end, Gun Gyeong-mun’s fate was as good as sealed.
Crack!
Without hesitation, Seok Geum-ryong swept the Silver Echo Sword through Gun Gyeong-mun’s chest and turned away as if nothing had happened.
That was the Blood Ghost Sect young master’s horrific end, after he had rampaged through the western reaches of Shanxi martial circles like some lawless thug.
Don’t call me heartless.
Seok Geum-ryong had acted so decisively for only one reason.
If he were made to look easy to trample here, then even more people would come crawling out after Hancheolma.
So he had resolved to show them exactly what happened to anyone who looked down on him.
The effect was immediate and striking. After that, as the group crossed Shanxi, nothing happened at all. The journey remained peaceful and uneventful.
As a result, Seok Geum-ryong and the others were able to reach the Xi'an horse market in Shaanxi Province with complete ease.
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