Chapter 29
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Sword Fiend Nam Jong (2)
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Go I-hyeon gave the Sword Fiend, Nam Jong, a grand welcome when he arrived at the Yangcheong Escort Agency.
He allowed him free use of the agency's resources, served him lavish meals, and even set aside the thousand-year-old snow ginseng he had prepared as an offering for the Qingcheng Sect's leader.
“The Sword King is in Sichuan, you say? Just trust me and wait, Grandmaster!”
Go I-hyeon pounded his chest with confidence.
He deployed everyone—escort leaders and guards out on missions, carrier pigeons, even members on break—to track the Sword King's movements.
There was only one reason he supported the Sword Fiend so fervently.
‘Jin Je-yong, you may be skilled, but can you handle the might of the Qingcheng Sect?’
Go I-hyeon was well aware of the Sword Fiend's eccentric personality, but he also knew just how high a realm his martial arts had reached.
A pinnacle he could never reach, even if he trained until death.
The Sword Fiend was a monster who had shattered that level at the mere age of forty to become the Qingcheng Sect's greatest master.
‘The Sword Fiend may not be one of the Twenty-Two Masters Under Heaven, but it's not for a lack of skill.’
While Go I-hyeon was busy clinging to the Sword Fiend and providing him with every form of support, the man himself disappeared without his knowledge.
Realizing this belatedly, Go I-hyeon hurriedly searched the escort agency for him.
He finally found him at the agency's rear gate.
“Grandma…”
Go I-hyeon was about to call out to the Sword Fiend when he saw him bickering with a young man in his early twenties and held his tongue.
The young man's face looked familiar, making him wonder if he was from the Qingcheng Sect. However, his robes were not those of Qingcheng, and seeing his shabby attire, he figured the free-spirited Sword Fiend had simply made a new friend.
“Grandmaster!”
“Yes? Have you found him?”
The Sword Fiend, who had been chuckling and squabbling with the young man, turned to look at Go I-hyeon.
When he asked about the Sword King's whereabouts, Go I-hyeon first bowed his head.
But he had his own urgent business. He had just received an urgent report that Jin Je-yong's party had already entered the village.
“No, not yet. I apologize, Grandmaster. It’s not that, I have a favor to ask of you…”
As he was about to make his request, Go I-hyeon's eyes fell on the young man's face.
A swarthy complexion with a nose full of freckles—an impression he’d never seen before, yet felt strangely familiar.
“Jin Je-yong!”
It was the man who had defeated the titans of Sichuan's assassin world and come to the village.
Startled by his appearance, Go I-hyeon was nearly knocked senseless by the Sword Fiend's next words.
“Yes, this is my newest disciple.”
“What?!”
‘What in the world is this nonsense?!’
Go I-hyeon, stunned by the Sword Fiend's words, looked at Jin Je-yong.
The thought occurred to him that Jin Je-yong might be the hidden disciple of the Qingcheng Sect's Sword Fiend.
If that were the case, it would explain the coincidence of the Sword Fiend's visit to the Yangcheong Escort Agency and the overnight disappearance of Sichuan's famous assassin groups.
‘Is the Sword Fiend targeting me?!’
Go I-hyeon felt his blood run cold.
But that sense of despair vanished with Jin Je-yong's next words.
“What are you talking about, you crazy old man?”
“Haha! I-hyeon! It seems the lad doesn't know. Why don't you tell him how great this master of his is!”
Jin Je-yong's attitude was not that of a disciple addressing his master.
Go I-hyeon breathed a sigh of relief and collected himself.
“You brat! How dare you be so rude to Grandmaster Nam Jong, the greatest master of Qingcheng!”
“Rude? Your grandmaster was the rude one.”
Jin Je-yong spoke without un-knitting his still-furrowed brow.
For any martial artist, any swordsman worth their salt, being accepted as the Sword Fiend's disciple was an honor they should accept with a deep bow.
Go I-hyeon couldn't fathom what gave him the nerve to display such a defiant attitude.
‘In any case, this is good for me.’
His plan was to use the Sword Fiend to deal with Jin Je-yong.
If Jin Je-yong continued to provoke the Sword Fiend, there would be no need for any groundwork.
“Tsk! You greenhorn who knows nothing of the world.”
Go I-hyeon clicked his tongue and criticized Jin Je-yong.
Then he approached the Sword Fiend and opened his mouth.
“I believe you’ll have to show your skills, Grandmaster, for that dullard to understand the greatness of you and our Qingcheng Sect.”
“Right? Hmm, should I show him just a little?”
The Sword Fiend responded like a child, perhaps as a reward for all the material and emotional support Go I-hyeon had lavished upon him.
Go I-hyeon grinned and pointed a finger at Jin Je-yong.
“Yes, Grandmaster! Please teach that foolish swordsmanship instructor from the backwoods a lesson!”
“Swordsmanship instructor? You know me?”
Jin Je-yong tilted his head at Go I-hyeon's words.
Then, he broke into a grin.
“You must be Go I-hyeon.”
“That’s right! I am Go I-hyeon, a lay disciple of the great Qingcheng Sect!”
Go I-hyeon shouted thunderously as he subtly retreated behind the Sword Fiend.
Although he too had once been considered a promising talent in the Qingcheng Sect, he hadn't held a sword in a long time and lacked the confidence to face Jin Je-yong.
“Grandmaster, I’m counting on you.”
“Alright, I’ll show my disciple his master’s true skills.”
“...Fine. You said we wouldn’t settle this with words.”
Jin Je-yong’s smile vanished as he drew his sword.
“Come. As a courtesy to a senile old man, I'll grant you three moves.”
At his words, Go I-hyeon burst out laughing.
“Haha! This crazy bastard. Who's granting moves to whom? Do you know who stands before you... Grandmaster?”
Go I-hyeon trailed off, sensing something was wrong, and turned to look at the Sword Fiend.
The once-talkative Sword Fiend stood silently, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
As if facing a life-or-death enemy.
***
‘This is for the best.’
On I Geum-yeong's advice, I had come to check out the Yangcheong Escort Agency before storming it directly.
There, I met a crazy old man, and then my target, Go I-hyeon, showed up as well.
I had been wondering if I’d have to wreck the entire agency, so it was a good sign that Go I-hyeon had come out on his own.
‘It's not right for them to speak so carelessly of my master, though.’
The grandmaster and grand-disciple pair had both spoken words that grated on my nerves.
I had no intention of letting them off the hook anyway.
Without hesitation, I drew my sword.
‘I don't know if this old man is connected to the Soul Revival Pills, so I shouldn't kill him.’
Unnecessary killing was something my master had strictly forbidden.
While I believed he deserved death for insulting my master, if my master himself were here, he would have laughed it off despite his heaven-shaking prowess.
These people didn't know that my master had hidden his great skills from the world his entire life for the sake of his students at the school.
‘I, at least, must show them a fraction of my master's greatness in his stead.’
“Three moves… Not since I was a young man has anyone granted me moves.”
The Sword Fiend drew his sword in a flash and cut the air three times.
It resembled the swordsmanship Ham Jeong-eun had shown me.
“There! Three moves! Come! My disciple!”
“I won’t kill you… but I’ll have to rip that mouth of yours so you can’t spout any more nonsense.”
“Haha! What non… Hup!”
It was a pity he was senile, but I couldn't stand to listen to him babble on.
I put my blade in the Sword Fiend's mouth. The Sword Fiend recoiled in shock and retreated, but I followed him closely.
And I gave him a quiet warning.
“Do not insult my master and my school again.”
This should be enough to show the difference in our strength.
I withdrew my sword, flicked off the saliva, and repeated my warning.
The Sword Fiend touched his own mouth, his expression one of utter bewilderment.
Then, he burst into tears.
“Oh, Nam Jong! You foolish oaf! You've dragged the honor of the Qingcheng Sect through the mud!”
“G-Grandmaster.”
The Sword Fiend cursed himself as he wept profusely. Then, he readjusted his grip on his sword.
As he changed his stance, I felt a completely different aura from before.
“I will no longer speak of taking you as my disciple! But for the honor of my sect, please face me again! And I apologize for this old man's nonsense!”
He wiped away his tears and brandished his sword with sincerity.
A faint light swirled around the blade.
“Are you trying to say you were careless?”
“My eyes are useless; I failed to recognize a master on par with myself.”
“A master on par with you… Seems your eyesight is still poor.”
I said with a smile.
Having already seen the Qingcheng Sect's swordsmanship through Ham Jeong-eun, I could see the path the Sword Fiend's blade would trace.
However, unlike Ham Jeong-eun's dozen or so paths, the Sword Fiend painted tens of thousands.
‘He may be senile, but perhaps he’s not a bad person?’
He had apologized sincerely, so he wasn't a wicked man.
In that case, it was only right to treat a swordsman as a swordsman.
“If you wish it, Elder, I am always willing to converse with the sword, but could you postpone it for a moment?”
“Converse? With the sword!”
At my words, the Sword Fiend's eyes widened.
Then he laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! What an interesting thing to say! A conversation with swords, you say! Excellent! Excellent! So, what is the matter?”
[Your grand-disciple is distributing a wicked drug called Soul Revival Pills in Sichuan. I have come here to stop it.]
I used telepathy to briefly explain the situation.
“A drug? Soul Revival Pills?”
The Sword Fiend's sword, along with his gaze, turned towards Go I-hyeon. In the next moment, the Sword Fiend's aura crashed down upon him.
Go I-hyeon flinched and stumbled backward.
“I-hyeon! I will ask you. Do you know of something called Soul Revival Pills?”
“G-Grandmaster! This is a false accusation made by that wicked country bumpkin!”
Thinking on his feet, Go I-hyeon immediately shouted that I was trying to drive a wedge between him and the Sword Fiend.
The commotion drew a crowd of murmuring people.
‘It wouldn't be good for my senior brother's foolish actions to become public knowledge.’
Rumors, true or not, spread like wildfire.
Since Senior Brother Je Yung-geon was indeed involved in the Soul Revival Pill scheme, the matter was even more sordid.
There was a real danger that the Sinnae Sword School and my master's reputation would be tarnished before it could even be known.
"Sword Fiend-eorishin, let's speak inside."
“Ahem! Yes, shall we?”
The Sword Fiend withdrew the pressure on Go I-hyeon and cleared his throat.
I nodded, and the Sword Fiend grabbed Go I-hyeon like a kitten and entered the agency.
I glanced around before following him inside.
***
I Geum-yeong had been suffering from a churning stomach lately.
She knew why. It was all because of Jin Je-yong.
Even though she knew his skill level now, back when she didn't, his personality of drawing his sword recklessly against any opponent had made her stomach clench.
And even now that she knew his capabilities, her stomach still churned.
Jin Je-yong might be a one-man army, but the rest of his party lacked such power.
‘After the Tang Clan… surely he wouldn't draw his sword against the Qingcheng Sect, too?’
She couldn't have dreamed that Jin Je-yong had just pressed his blade into the mouth of the Qingcheng Sect's Sword Fiend.
After settling into an inn with the rest of the group, she unpacked and waited for Jin Je-yong.
Everyone in the party was weary from dealing with the assassins.
“Great Hero Jin hasn't returned. I wonder where he went?”
Ha Hyeol-ran asked, looking for Jin Je-yong. Though unsaid, the others were just as worried about his delayed return.
“Do you think he can't find this place? Being from the countryside, he might be lost in the city.”
“Or he might have stormed the Yangcheong Escort Agency by himself.”
I Geum-yeong replied to Ha Hyeol-ran's comment.
Ha Hyeol-ran giggled and waved her hand dismissively.
“Hoho! Surely not. Great Hero Jin isn't a fool; he wouldn't go to the Yangcheong Escort Agency alone. It may be called an escort agency, but it’s practically the Yangcheong Sect.”
The Yangcheong Sect was a solid, mid-tier sect in the Sichuan martial world.
It was far larger in scale than the A-ro Sect, the Ichi Sect, or even the Gyeongmun and Jeunggyeong Sects that Jin Je-yong had previously faced.
“You’re right, aren’t you? Surely not.”
But there were three powers in Sichuan that were incomparable even to the Yangcheong Escort Agency.
They were the great sects of the so-called Nine Great Sects, One Union: the Qingcheng Sect, the Emei Sect, and the Sichuan Tang Clan.
And Jin Je-yong had drawn his sword against the Sichuan Tang Clan without a moment's hesitation.
‘Surely… it can't be.’
I Geum-yeong's stomach churned painfully.