Chapter 167
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: Anxiety Will Breed Distrust (2)
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Righteous Sword Brigade.
The name evoked the feel of a blade of justice, plain and simple.
"There's just something fishy about it."
"...Sometimes when I look at you, I think you're more unorthodox than I am."
"Bandit boss, what kind of nonsense is that... Ack!"
It had been nearly decades since the last UFC-level showdown between the righteous and demonic factions.
So, shouldn't all the swordsmen who shone back then have died from the backlash of their reverse scales? Or had their necks personally chopped off by Chicken Granny.
Yet the ones who arrived today were in their forties and fifties.
Their sturdy bodies, forged solely through marrow cleansing and transcendence, and faces bearing the clear marks of time proved they hadn't yet reached the Harmony Realm.
Such groups often saw people driven by vengeance for lost family continuing the fight generation after generation, so it wasn't entirely out of place if viewed that way.
In other words.
They were dispatching people burning with revenge for slain kin as the welcoming party for the enemy?
Did that make any sense?
"If I die, in my will, Seo Dohee..."
"Now you're calling your master by name like it's nothing. Should I excommunicate you while I'm at it? Wanna try calling me 'bro'?"
"Ouch! Ack!"
A slip of the tongue from the lingering buzz in my skull from the knife hilt led to a few extra whacks I could've dodged.
Could life really be this harsh and barren? I thought, stealing a quick glance at Chicken Granny's still-pale, plump, high-protein, low-fat assets.
"Hmph."
Well...
A little looking couldn't hurt.
"So, does our dear Master Seo Dohee have any guesses?"
"If I did, would I be stuck running the family like this? I'd have snagged a nice spot in the Martial Alliance ages ago."
"Ah."
She wasn't wrong.
Come to think of it, I had zero connections in the Martial Alliance.
The Alliance Leader was kinda awkward anyway.
Every time we met, she dared call me a scrub, for one.
And she was that old.
Her speech and actions were that arrogant.
Surviving the age of barbarism with that puny frame?
Two possibilities.
Peerless expert, or a crafty old fox.
Judging by her actions, I leaned toward the latter.
So while her words praised me, trusting her? Eh.
There was the perfect hypothesis that she simply never grew up despite her age, but that'd make the future of righteous martial arts downright pathetic.
A counterfeit crop past its expiration, now senile.
This was hell...
"So, when do we head out?"
"We're leaving tomorrow. So today, we're just taking it easy as usual."
"Hm."
Chicken Granny's hand brushed my hair, then touched my cheek.
"I trust your instincts. Take care of yourself—no injuries, not even a scratch."
Was this a master's affection?
My chest swelled...
"No worries there."
"Don't make me turn the entire Green Forest Gang into a wasteland by rushing to the Martial Alliance if something happens."
"Pardon?"
"That's it for today. Swing by before you leave tomorrow."
Hm...
Did she just...
Grant me the authority for a Green Forest Buster Call?
My chest swelled...
The Buster Call of the world's weakest faction...
Righteous Sword Brigade...?
Ah... Yeah, those guys... existed.
I killed most of them though.
Along with the testimony from my utterly pathetic master, the unmistakable demonic cult assassin Tteolbu-nim—who only sharpened up for specific phrases—I scraped together every scrap of info on the Righteous Sword Brigade.
The result?
The Righteous Sword Brigade was...
An organization that shouldn't exist.
More precisely, it was absolutely not one worthy of showing its face on the road to greet the Demonic Cult Leader.
My deductions were mostly spot-on, with the addition that the Brigade operated almost independently of the Martial Alliance's decisions as an armed unit.
They'd come at the request of some "Four Demons" Grand Marshal or whatever, not on orders.
"It's a shame a fine senior like you doesn't get more glory..."
"Haha, picking only the sweet words— you've got real sycophant talent."
"Villain in chaos, able minister in peace, right? Even before I trained in martial arts, I'd heard your esteemed name, Senior Wi. They say your Demon Subduing Sword just might rival the Supreme Under Heaven."
"You're too kind. Though I've long left the Kongtong..."
Info straight from the horse's mouth is always the most accurate.
I called out the least intimidating of the three for a chat.
The other two...
had faces that rubbed me wrong from the start.
Righteous Sword Brigade Leader. Lee Jong-su. Rat tail hair. Sneaky-looking.
Righteous Sword Brigade Member. Hwang Dong-seong. Massive build. Dumb-looking.
This guy in front of me was the best of the bunch.
Righteous Sword Brigade Member. Wi Seongdae. Average Joe face.
He reeked of misplaced trust and reliability.
Though average Joes betray as a matter of course...
And my prediction hit the mark.
"For the Brigade, this was our first external mission in ages. At first, I couldn't quite buy it, but they explained it as shaking off the past to move toward the future."
Wi Seongdae's expression hardened as he glanced around, confirmed no one was watching, and leaned into my ear.
"And there's a rumor the new Demonic Cult Leader is a stunning beauty. Wouldn't hurt to get a close look once."
Hm.
A pedo, huh.
I vowed to keep my distance from Wi Whatever from now on, forcing a smile as I refilled his cup.
.
.
.
"Take care on your way back, bro."
"You too, lil' bro!"
After sealing the deal with bro-tier camaraderie.
I bid farewell to Wi Whatever and hit the road home.
Strolling leisurely through the night streets, checking out the commerce, sniffing the sweet night market aromas, letting the faint brothel scents moisten my heart.
"Huh?"
Something weird caught my eye.
A man from Hundred Flowers Academy—no, from anywhere in the Central Plains—who least fit a brothel.
Baek Liyeon, the Virgin Gong practitioner, furtively glancing around before darting into the brothel.
What?
What did this imply?
Well...
Practicing Virgin Gong didn't legally bar brothels.
One slip, lose control, and a lifetime of purity goes poof.
Running a bit late.
Okay!!! I'll wait!
A bit sorry to Narang waiting at home.
Half curiosity, half worry welled up.
More than his S-rank comrade title.
After all our shared ordeals, he was the only reliable guy in Hundred Flowers Academy—solid, prickly, naggy junior who'd risen to that status.
Sure, his pettiness felt girly sometimes, but compared to Unhak or Moyong Taek, he was peak manhood.
So for our manly junior Baek Liyeon.
As his senior, I couldn't just let deviance slide.
Regrettably, it wasn't one of our battlefield brothels, so no busting in.
I stayed hidden, waiting for him to emerge.
It didn't take long.
If it was the real deed, I'd dub him "Rapid Draw Sword" for the brevity.
Baek Liyeon emerged, still glancing around warily like on entry.
Except.
He held a black bundle.
Suspicious as hell, like it'd spawn a demon if unwrapped.
As Student Council President, inspecting illicit goods from shady sources was par for the course.
Maintaining near-perfect stealth, I tailed him into a dim alley, confirmed no witnesses.
"Yo, junior. Fancy meeting you here."
"Euk...?"
His pupils shook as I revealed myself.
Suspicious indeed.
"Student Council President business—routine search. Cooperate, junior."
"No, a search? Wait, wait wait—"
Gone was his usual cool demeanor; he flailed in panic, the very picture of guilt.
Time for enforcement.
"La-la-la, la-la-la—"
Humming a spring waltz perfect for random box openings, I snatched and ripped open the bundle.
And inside...
"Sakura...?"
Fancy-patterned women's lingerie.
And even period products.
"You, you perverted lech...!"
Slap—!
Baek Liyeon's slap nailed my cheek with a fireworks sizzle.
...Clearly my fault, so I'd take the hit.
"A real man uses his fist, not his palm... Gahk!"
Followed by a brutal kick to the nuts.
This actually hurt...!
"Don't talk to me for a while."
Snatching the bundle back, Baek Liyeon melted into the night.
"Urk, urk, urk."
...It hurts...
The psychological pain outweighed the physical...
My proud junior.
My heir to top honors.
Collecting women's undies and products as a hobby...
"Hoo."
I calmed the pain, gathered my thoughts.
Scrap the firm resolve; for Baek Liyeon's upcoming birthday, a VTuber setup it was.
Vtuber corruption seemed healthier.
The next day, early morning.
Righteous Sword Brigade Leader Lee Jong-su gathered his men.
"What's our mission this time?"
"Escorting the Demonic Cult Leader."
"On vacation... no, escort and guard duty."
After glaring at Wi Seongdae for his drivel, Lee Jong-su revealed the journey's true purpose in a low voice.
"That's the surface. But there's a separate secret directive from the Society."
At "Society," Hwang Dong-seong and Wi Seongdae swallowed hard.
To them, there was only one: Azure Heaven Society.
"Once we reach northern Shaanxi, far from the Academy, kill Geum Sihyeon with demonic arts. That's the Society's order."
"Make the martial world great again."
"Make the martial world great again."
The men chanted the slogan, pledging obedience.
But.
Wi Seongdae's eyes wavered slightly.