Chapter 2
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Sword Saint of a Rural School
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That day, I was scrubbing the floor of the training hall with a dry rag.
I planned to leave the school, so I wanted to make it as clean as possible.
After finally managing to remove a stubborn stain, I smiled with satisfaction.
“So, it’s been twenty-five years.”
I muttered, looking around the small training hall.
To say I had many memories here would be an understatement; I had spent a long time at the Sinnae Sword School.
After finishing the cleaning, I boarded up the windows and nailed them shut. I also reinforced a cracked wall.
Since I wouldn't be visiting the school for a while, I worked meticulously.
“Sigh, I’m more of a carpenter than a swordsman.”
Sinnae Village was a rural town with just over ten households.
I heard there were about fifty families when I was born, but the number had dwindled as people left for other villages in search of work.
Those who remained were mostly elders of my master’s generation or older.
In a place like this, a martial arts school was practically an orphanage for the local children, and the instructors often handled the village’s odd jobs.
My skillful master always stepped up to help with village chores, and since I adored him, I followed him and learned the trades.
“Alright! All done!”
After finishing the repairs on the training hall, I placed a sign by the door.
-The Head of the School is away. If you have business, please inform Gyeong-ae next door.
Gyeong-ae was a gruff woman ten years my senior.
She was the only young woman in the village and also the head of the youth association.
“Now, all that’s left is to leave, right?”
I slung the bundle I had placed in front of the training hall over my shoulder.
It contained nothing more than some light clothes and undergarments.
“Leaving already? You have a visitor. What should I do? Just send them away?”
Gyeong-ae emerged from her house, letting out a long yawn.
With her well-defined shoulders and a sturdy build, she leaned against the wall of the training hall.
“Hm? A visitor? Why didn’t they come to the school?”
“How should I know? But he was really handsome.”
Gyeong-ae said, her cheeks flushing.
Seeing her blush like a young girl brought a bitter smile to my face.
“I’ll meet them before I go, then. It might be a guest of my master.”
With that, I headed toward Gyeong-ae’s house.
Smoke was curling up from the chimney of her house, just a short walk away.
The savory smell of cooking rice suggested she had started a meal for the visitor.
“Oh my goodness! I completely forgot! The rice is going to burn! Hurry and go to the guest room. They’re in there. I’ll go check on the rice!”
“Okay. Thanks, Gyeong-ae.”
Leaving Gyeong-ae to rush to the kitchen, I walked toward the guest room.
“Who could it be? An acquaintance of my master?”
After my master passed away, I sent word to the school’s disciples.
Most of them had left for distant cities to find work and couldn’t come.
Some were even hard to contact, so there was no telling when they might visit.
I also reached out to those my master had been indebted to in the martial world, but it had been so long that I received no reply.
Inside the guest room, a young man sat in a posture as perfect as a painting.
His smooth skin and lustrous black hair immediately caught my eye.
Then, the young man’s round eyes met mine.
‘I see why she was acting like a girl.’
The young man was so beautiful he could make a man's heart flutter.
He parted his pink lips.
“Who are you?”
If you’re asking who I am.
“I am Jin Je-yong, disciple of the Divine Sword, Master Jin Sang-ho.”
I always answered this way.
“Ah… what?”
The beautiful young man asked again with a dumbfounded look.
***
The beautiful young man, Yi Geum-yeong, carefully observed Jin Je-yong as he sat at the dining table.
A mixture of excitement and tension from her first mission stirred within her.
‘I’ve finally found the root of A-mun.’
Yi Geum-yeong had come to Sinnae Village, a rural town in northeastern Sichuan, solely because of A-mun, the head of the Eastern Depot's Inner Academy.
Having distinguished himself at a young age, he had gained the emperor's favor and entered the Eastern Depot.
Now, a decade later, he was recognized as a talent who would lead the Eastern Depot, placing him at the center of the imperial court.
Wary of A-mun, the Embroidered Guard had dispatched Geum-yeong, the daughter of a great general.
Thus, thoroughly disguised as a man, Yi Geum-yeong had sought out the Sinnae Sword School, A-mun's martial home, hoping to uncover his weakness.
‘But is it really true that A-mun came from a place like this?’
At the imperial court, A-mun was known as a cold-blooded man, devoid of blood or tears—someone who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
Yet, at the Sinnae Sword School she had finally found, an absurd young man appeared, claiming to be a disciple of the Divine Sword.
The man, in his mid-twenties, had tanned skin, delicate features, and a smile that suited him well.
Other than that, he was utterly ordinary.
No, the words coming out of his mouth suggested he was a bit slow.
‘What is this dimwit?’
But contrary to her thoughts, Yi Geum-yeong stood up and offered a martial artist's salute.
“I am Yi Geum-yeong, of the Righteous Alliance’s intelligence division.”
Yi Geum-yeong, a member of the Embroidered Guard, was posing as an agent of the Righteous Alliance.
She hadn't even shown her identification token, yet this naive country youth showed not a hint of suspicion.
“The Righteous Alliance? Ah! A pleasure to meet you. But why would the Righteous Alliance come all the way to a rural village like this…”
The Righteous Alliance, a coalition of various orthodox sects, was once a mere collection of minor and mid-sized factions.
However, after the War of Righteousness and Evil some twenty years ago, its influence had grown to become a pillar of the orthodox martial world.
“The reputation of the Sinnae Sword School has been quite formidable recently. I’ve come to investigate the matter.”
Yi Geum-yeong twisted the truth slightly.
At the news of his fellow disciples’ success, Jin Je-yong’s face lit up.
“Really? Who could it be? It wouldn’t be Jeok-sam, who only shows up once in a while. Ah! Could it be Ju-yeong? Master always said he was incredibly talented.”
Seeing Jin Je-yong’s pure joy, Yi Geum-yeong gave a bitter smile.
She simply couldn't believe that a monster like A-mun could have come from a school attended by such a simple young man.
‘Was there ever a time when A-mun was like this young man?’
Looking at this simple country youth, Yi Geum-yeong pictured A-mun’s pale face.
“It is neither Jeok-sam nor Ju-yeong.”
“Then who is it?”
“That is classified…”
Meeting Jin Je-yong was a great disappointment for Yi Geum-yeong.
This simple young man exuded none of the unique presence characteristic of a master.
His body looked trained, but his movements were ordinary. His temples bulged slightly, but not enough to be noticeable.
If anything, the owner of the house, the woman named Gyeong-ae, seemed far stronger.
‘Still, an investigation is an investigation.’
This was the place that had produced the monster A-mun.
A sloppy investigation would surely tarnish the reputation of the Embroidered Guard.
She had to uncover A-mun’s secret, his weakness.
“I heard the Sinnae Sword School has closed its doors.”
“Yes, for a while. I’m going to meet with the disciples. I need to deliver the news of our master’s passing as well.”
“The disciples? Young Master Jin, does that mean you are…”
“Yes, I am the sword instructor of the Sinnae Sword School.”
***
‘Is this man really A-mun’s instructor?’
Yi Geum-yeong looked at the young instructor and shook her head.
A-mun was one of the top masters within the Eastern Depot. He was not someone a rural instructor could teach.
Besides, their ages didn't line up. Jin Je-yong was in his mid-to-late twenties at best. He could even pass for his early twenties.
It was hard to believe that he had taught the forty-year-old A-mun.
‘Could it be that the deceased Divine Sword taught him?’
If so, that meant the young instructor before her would have been taught alongside him, but Jin Je-yong's martial skill was so pathetic it was difficult to believe they shared the same master.
Hadn't his chopsticks just been blocked by a country woman?
‘Still, he said he’s going to meet the disciples, which should eventually lead to A-mun.’
Unaware of Yi Geum-yeong's complicated thoughts, Jin Je-yong offered a simple smile.
She worried that she might have to protect this naive country instructor on their journey, but she had no choice.
For now, following him was her only lead on A-mun.
“You’re going to find the disciples? If it’s alright, I would like to accompany you.”
Jin Je-yong’s eyes widened.
“You, a warrior? I wouldn’t mind the company on a lonely journey, but…”
Then, Jin Je-yong glanced at Gyeong-ae.
At the news that Yi Geum-yeong would be joining him, Gyeong-ae’s face fell with great disappointment.
***
“Hmm, I’ve got a travel companion.”
Before leaving the village, I visited the training hall one last time.
I had been an instructor at the school since I was ten.
Even back then, none of the disciples could beat me, except for my master.
Of course, the adult disciples were stronger, but the sword is not a tool wielded by strength alone.
The disciples didn’t understand that.
“Well, most of them didn’t even understand our master’s Three Talents Sword Art.”
A common misconception among the less discerning disciples was that the master’s Three Talents Sword Art was just a basic sword style one could find in any marketplace.
How could a basic sword art cleave the heavens and split the earth? That was something only a god could do.
‘Though I still have a long way to go.’
I couldn't yet cut through time or space.
Excited by the story of a disciple who had left the village and found success, Jin Je-yong drew his sword.
It was about 140 centimeters long.
Its width was about three fingers wide.
The blade tapered toward the end, culminating in a single point.
‘In the end, it’s all about piercing and cutting.’
Master’s Three Talents Sword Art is simple. It is the martial art of piercing and cutting.
And for that reason, it was perfect.
If you willed it to cut, you could cut anything in the world. If you willed it to pierce, you could pierce through anything.
Therefore, when the sword resides in the heart, one can be victorious without a blade.
“Heh~ To think all of this came from my master. How could one not call him the Divine Sword?”
Feeling pleased, I sheathed my sword.
As if in response, the weeds growing around the training hall were silently cut down.