Chapter 91. Moonlight Three Returns
The five Dosanrim assassins who had barged into Cheongsu Gate arrived at the rear garden in front of Cheongsu Cave in the blink of an eye.
A massive artificial mountain piled with bizarre rocks and stones looked poetic under the faint light of the crescent moon. The stone gate at its base stood wide open, with no guards in sight.
Yang Gwan came to a halt. This couldn't be right. If Hwa Cheon-baek was in secluded training, the place should be heavily guarded. Moreover, they'd sensed ambush squads hiding here and there on the way, yet no one had tried to stop them.
Yang Gwan glared at the open stone gate. The dark tunnel inside made his feet hesitate. It was as if it was tempting them to enter.
A trap? Did they know we were coming?
They'd sent out scouts, seized the opportunity, and moved in immediately. Were they deliberately showing an opening?
Hmm...
If so, Yang Gwan and Hwa Cheon-un would burst in soon.
Yang Gwan sent a mental message to the group.
-Looks like they've set a trap. Let's pull back for now.
His instincts screamed danger.
As the assassins stealthily retreated, a booming voice suddenly echoed from atop the artificial mountain.
"You came in easily enough, but leaving in one piece won't be so simple!"
The assassins looked toward the voice. A man sat cross-legged on the peak rock.
Under the soft moonlight, the middle-aged man in azure robes cut a rather elegant figure. A long sword rested across his seated legs.
Yang Gwan shouted.
"Are you Hwa Cheon-baek?"
"Hmph! You're not worthy to ask."
Yang Gwan scowled.
"Looks like playing boss in this backwater's made your guts hang out your ass!"
He flicked his eyes toward Yin Dao as a signal.
The target was right there—take him out quick. Yin Dao nodded.
Yang Gwan sent a mental message to the Three Mountain Brothers.
-Block the rear.
The moment he finished, he charged forward. At the same time, Yin Dao leaped into the air.
The two closed in on the base of the mountain and launched themselves upward.
Whoosh!
They could have reached the top in one bound, but they descended midway. Rebounding from there would allow a far more powerful strike than going straight up.
But...
The spots where their feet landed caved in with a squelch, revealing a dark pit yawning open.
Shick!
Iron arrows flew from the pit's maw.
"Hmph!"
Yang Gwan snorted coldly and glanced at Yin Dao. They'd coordinated for years—they knew each other's thoughts without words.
Yang Gwan and Yin Dao unleashed palm strikes at each other.
Boom!
Their palms clashed, sending both reeling back three zhang.
But the traps didn't end there. Iron bars shot up from the rock where Yang Gwan had aimed to land, and an iron net dropped from the tree Yin Dao had targeted for rebound.
It was a double trap that would snare any ordinary person, but Dosanrim's elites were a cut above.
Yang Gwan whipped his saber like lightning, batting the bars aside and soaring up like a spring. Yin Dao rolled across the ground, escaping the net's reach.
Riiip!
The hem of Yin Dao's robe tore on the net. Now he saw the barbs attached to it.
"You vicious bastards?"
Humiliated by rolling on the dirt, Yin Dao gnashed his teeth and kicked off the ground—only for iron arrows to rain down like a storm.
A triple trap?
Placed cleverly to account for their evasion paths.
"As if!"
Yang Gwan and Yin Dao shouted in unison, swinging their sabers in sweeping arcs.
Clang clang clang!
They deflected the arrow storm and landed midway up the mountain's rocks.
"Impressive, Dosanrim!"
Hwa Cheon-baek exclaimed in admiration. He'd expected the triple trap his third brother Hwa Cheon-un had set to at least injure them... but they'd only torn their clothes.
Killing intent blazed in Yin-Yang Twin Sabers' eyes. To outsiders, it looked effortless, but they'd poured everything into surviving.
They'd nearly become kebabs without even a proper fight in Cheongsu Gate—how could they not rage?
"You cowardly scum!"
"Die!"
They leaped again in unison.
Then, a fierce sword qi erupted from behind Hwa Cheon-baek. At the same moment, Hwa Cheon-baek thrust his sword at Yin Dao.
Yang Gwan hurriedly swung his saber to deflect the incoming sword qi.
Clang!
Sword qi and saber qi collided in a burst of energy.
Hwa Cheon-gang?
The one who'd burst from behind Hwa Cheon-baek was Hwa Cheon-gang.
These bastards prepared thoroughly!
Yang Gwan grew anxious but had no time to think. Hwa Cheon-gang closed the gap instantly and swung his sword.
Yang Gwan deployed Thousand Catties Drop to land on the mountain rock—then spotted the sharp iron nails embedded there.
He twisted midair and rolled on the ground. Hwa Cheon-gang's sword qi swept overhead.
Splat splat splat!
Yang Gwan rebounded upward, unleashing his life-saving absolute art, Heaven Piercing Ten Thousand Miles.
Clang clang clang!
The oncoming sword qi ricocheted away.
"Fine saber art!"
Hwa Cheon-gang praised even as his sword onslaught continued.
You son of a bitch! A top Hundred Great Master ambushing me...
Yang Gwan realized after two clashes that Hwa Cheon-gang matched him—a true elite, not some run-of-the-mill Hundred Great Master.
Having lost initiative, he was too busy blocking the relentless sword qi.
Meanwhile, Yin Dao handled Hwa Cheon-baek with relative ease. The man had been in long seclusion to open his Conception and Governor Vessels, dulling his edge compared to before. Still, Hwa Cheon-baek used the mechanisms scattered around to hold his own.
As the battle intensified, sword and saber qi blanketed the mountain. Their movements were so swift the four figures blurred together.
Eldest of the Three Mountain Brothers, Dae-san, tried to climb the mountain the moment Hwa Cheon-gang appeared.
But arrows whistled from somewhere.
Shick!
Dae-san swatted it down with his saber and scanned around.
Figures emerged from the moonlit shadows.
To the left, Hwa U-cheon and Hwa Yeo-wol led Cheongsu Gate warriors armed with crossbows and bows. To the right, Byeok Gyo-un approached with two Geom Yak Jong swordsmen.
Dead ahead, Chief Steward Seok Sung blocked the way with dozens of warriors forming a human wall—all armed with crossbows and bows.
We've been properly snared.
Dae-san frowned. They said Cheongsu Gate's third lord was a fox... and he'd fallen for it nicely. But they still had room to maneuver.
No sign of Yang Gwan or Hwa Cheon-un. A sudden thought struck him.
Maybe those two had gone to kill Cheon Il-hae.
That'd be trouble if Cheon Il-hae dies.
All this hassle was for money... and the dead don't just keep quiet—they don't honor deals either.
The Three Mountain Brothers glared murderously at the surrounding Cheongsu Gate fighters with fierce eyes. The foes cleverly held at ten zhang, watching without advancing.
Even when Jung-san stepped forward, they retreated a step.
What the—?
Dae-san realized their intent. Keep the Three Mountain Brothers from joining the mountaintop fight—just harass from afar.
Dae-san charged toward the mountain. This time, iron arrows flew from the dark stone tunnel. He swept them aside with his saber.
Deflecting distant arrows wasn't hard, but it couldn't be ignored. With his path blocked repeatedly amid growing urgency, irritation boiled.
-Take out these bastards first!
Dae-san messaged Jung-san and Mi-san mentally. They exchanged glances and rushed toward Hwa U-cheon and Hwa Yeo-wol.
The Cheongsu Gate warriors fired crossbows in unison.
Clang clang clang!
After madly batting them away, Hwa U-cheon and Hwa Yeo-wol had retreated over ten zhang.
Hwa Cheon-un had ordered them to avoid direct combat while digging this trap. Facing Dosanrim elites meant massacre, so harass from range with crossbows, flee if they charged—and Hwa U-cheon and Hwa Yeo-wol followed faithfully.
As the Three Mountain Brothers left the mountain base toward Hwa U-cheon, Seok Sung and Byeok Gyo-un closed in from the other side.
"You cowards! Is this how a martial sect acts?!"
Mi-san bellowed in fury. Their lightness skills were swift, but plowing through bolts to catch them was tough—especially with arrows from both front and rear, narrowing their room to maneuver.
Then Byeok Gyo-un stepped forward.
"Who’s Dae-san?"
He eyed Dae-san knowingly yet asked politely. Dae-san scowled.
"You Sect Leader Geom Yak Jong's disciple?"
"So you're Dae-san. Mouth as foul as your looks."
Byeok Gyo-un scolded mildly.
"What?"
"Allow this young master to teach you a lesson."
"The hell...?"
Dae-san was dumbfounded. Geom Yak Jong disciple or not... calling Dosanrim's famed Three Mountain Brothers' eldest a nobody?
As Byeok Gyo-un advanced, Hwa U-cheon furrowed his brow.
They'd maintained the ranged encirclement perfectly, yet now this guy wanted a one-on-one, risking the formation.
Even Yang Gwan's disciples looked surprised at Byeok Gyo-un.
Under all eyes, Byeok Gyo-un stepped forward gracefully, elegantly.
He'd watched Yin-Yang Twin Sabers fight atop the mountain and the Three Mountain Brothers deflect arrows. One-on-one, he judged he could handle it.
Recently, he'd learned the absolute art Moonlight Three Returns from his master. No full moon was a pity, but a crescent beat nothing. Under moonlight, Moonlight Three Returns would dazzle hypnotically—the foe wouldn't even notice death coming.
Byeok Gyo-un's gaze flicked to Hwa Yeo-wol.
His sudden move wasn't from Mi-san's taunt. He craved to show off his skills to Hwa Yeo-wol.
But Hwa Yeo-wol inwardly cursed him.
Our mission's to buy time till Elder Yang and Father arrive... Geom Yak Jong disciple or not, too damn reckless.
Meeting her glare, Byeok Gyo-un smiled suavely.
Don't worry, junior sister.
Are you insane?
Their eyes clashed in silent argument as Byeok Gyo-un stood before Dae-san.
"I am Byeok Gyo-un."
He let his right-hand sword hang naturally, left hand forming a sword seal behind his back.
Reckless, yes—but his sword stance was real. Perfect posture, calm breath.
Dae-san glared briefly.
"Come at me."
Byeok Gyo-un murmured lowly. Dae-san's eyebrow twitched up.
Come at him?
"You little shit!"
Dae-san exploded forward, slashing down with his great saber.
Kwaaaa!
Fueled by power, the saber cleaved air, whipping up a vortex from the pressure.
Byeok Gyo-un sidestepped lightly, drawing his sword upward. It vanished midway at waist height.
Shhhh!
Like moonlight gliding over grass?
Faint silver light spread everywhere, flowing into the massive saber wind.
Boom!
Dae-san's saber wind struck ground like lightning. Byeok Gyo-un floated lightly, whirling his sword.
Shhhh!
The faint silver erupted brilliantly, shining like a full moon.
Onlookers gasped.
Geom Yak Jong indeed!
Geom Yak Jong's secret ultimate art unfolded in that instant.