The Man in the Black Hat
The New Moon Assassin’s killing intent poured out with his murderous aura, clamping down on Dokjeonhwa until he could not so much as twitch.
Khh…!
The meridians he had only just managed to stabilize convulsed again as his inner energy surged and boiled in every direction.
Damn it… if only I hadn’t taken that wound to the shoulder…!
His chest felt so tight he could barely draw breath.
Thud!!
Gah!
The New Moon Assassin’s kick slammed into Dokjeonhwa’s chest. He collapsed onto the ground and spat up black blood. His body felt utterly ruined.
If I force any more inner energy out of myself, I’ll come apart. If I just had a little more room to breathe…
The New Moon Assassin’s voice slithered out, cold and venomous.
“Wolyeonggwangheun. I’d love nothing more than to kill you, but my orders are to bring you back alive, so I won’t finish you just yet. Still—you’ve been a nuisance. I don’t think anyone will mind if I take one of your limbs.”
His hand rose.
Killing light flared from the misshapen half-moon blade.
Dokjeonhwa closed his eyes. With the strength he had left he could neither fight nor flee. Better to have his head taken cleanly and be done with it.
“Heh-heh-heh. Yes… closing your eyes is wise. Better not to watch.”
Shhhhk—!!
A keen whistle cut the air and raced toward him. Dokjeonhwa held his breath and waited for the half-moon blade to pass.
…?
Suddenly the world around him fell silent. His body—which should have been missing a limb, drowning in pain and blood—felt nothing at all.
He opened his eyes. The misshapen half-moon blade was trembling violently, frozen in the air inches from his left arm.
“New Moon Assassin, was it? You’d do well to put that oddly shaped blade away.”
A man in a black hat stood behind the assassin. The thick, deathly aura rolling off him locked the New Moon Assassin in place.
Dokjeonhwa froze solid.
Demonic qi? No… this is…
It was nothing like the energy of the unorthodox paths. It felt alien, as if the man belonged to an entirely different plane of existence. He gave off the same impression as the man in the golden mask.
The New Moon Assassin remained motionless, mind racing. He had never sensed the man’s approach, not even when the stranger was this close. The slightest movement, he knew, would cost him his head.
“…If I put the blade away, will you spare my life?”
The other man gave a short, dry laugh.
“Are you trying to bargain with me?”
“…”
The contempt in the black-hatted man’s voice rankled, but the assassin dared not show it.
“I will count to three. Withdraw. Otherwise you die.”
The New Moon Assassin’s eyes darted. Then, in a single fluid motion, he spun in place and launched himself diagonally away.
Paat!!
For an assassin, striking first was the path to victory.
“Die!”
With a shout he thrust the half-moon blade toward the black-hatted man and unleashed his technique.
A crescent of lethal blade-qi hidden within the wind itself, flashing like moonlight as it scythes for the throat.
“Foolish.”
The black-hatted man did not dodge. Moonlight flared above his head; the blade-qi concealed in the wind grazed past his neck and vanished. The New Moon Assassin stared in stunned disbelief.
“I cut his throat—how…!”
The man who should have been dead stood perfectly still, unmoved.
“Is that all? Did you truly believe that much power could kill me?”
It was impossible. The sensation at the assassin’s fingertips had been perfect.
“Tch!”
With a sharp click the New Moon Assassin locked the two half-moon blades together into a single full-moon wheel and hurled it at the black-hatted man’s throat.
Shhhheeeek—
The wheel’s blade-qi swelled as it streaked toward him.
Ziiing—
The full-moon wheel struck the black-hatted man’s neck and met fierce resistance, spinning in place with a harsh metallic scream.
Yet—
“Quite the curious toy you have.”
The black-hatted man simply closed his hand around the wheel that was trying to burrow into his throat.
Pssshhh—
He drew up his inner energy and crushed it into fine sand.
The New Moon Assassin watched, horror-struck, as the full-moon wheel vanished like dust on the wind.
“H-how…?”
A monster who had reduced the full-moon wheel to powder. He had never heard of such a martial art, never seen anything like it.
“Who… just who are you?”
Despair settled over him. The moment he realized he was no match for the man in the black hat, formal speech slipped out of its own accord.
“You lot have no need to know who I am.”
“…”
“If you want to live, answer me properly. Whose contract did the Night Moon Gate accept to capture that man?”
An assassin’s greatest rule was to keep the client’s identity secret. The New Moon Assassin knew, however, that silence meant death.
“I-I’m sorry. I… I don’t know. I only received the gate master’s order to bring Wolyeonggwangheun back.”
The black-hatted man’s piercing gaze bored straight through the assassin’s eyes.
“I see. You truly don’t know.”
The New Moon Assassin exhaled in relief. For a fleeting instant he dared to hope the man would simply leave. Then the black-hatted figure slowly surveyed the surrounding assassins and the New Moon Assassin himself.
“I’d prefer to spare you, but now that you know of my existence, I have no choice. You’ll have to die.”
Paaaaat!!!!
Scarlet light erupted from the black-hatted man’s body and flooded outward in every direction, blooming like a deadly flower of pure killing force.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—!!!
“Keugh!”
“Aaaagh!!”
The moment the crimson light pierced their hearts, the underlings crumpled like autumn leaves, vomiting blood.
There is a martial art like this in the Central Plains?
His entire body trembled before the unbelievable, catastrophic power. Even the peerless masters of the martial world would not reach this level. It far surpassed the arts of any expert ranked among the top hundred under heaven. This man possessed an inner force utterly unlike that of ordinary martial artists.
The black-hatted man stepped forward and looked down at the New Moon Assassin, whose chest had been punched through and who was now drenched in blood.
“You blocked the Crimson Qi Flower. Not bad.”
He had only barely escaped instant death. Even so, he could not die so pointlessly. His subordinates were already gone, and Dokjeonhwa lay collapsed to one side.
If we cannot complete the contract, no one else will be allowed to either.
The thought had barely formed when the New Moon Assassin lunged—not at the black-hatted man, but at Dokjeonhwa.
“Hnh. Trying to take him with you in a mutual destruction? Do you really think you’ll get your way?”
Seeing it, the black-hatted man let out a strange cry and shot forward. In that same instant the New Moon Assassin spun as if he had been waiting for exactly this, pressed himself against the approaching figure, and roared.
“You bastard! We die together!!”
His face flushed scarlet and began to swell. He had activated the self-destruction art that every assassin used when a mission failed—taking his own life to ensure the enemy fell with him.
“You vicious little—!”
It was already too late to stop the detonation. The black-hatted man wrenched his inner energy upward and formed a protective barrier of true qi.
Boooooom—!!
Psssssshh—
In that moment the New Moon Assassin’s entire body melted with a wet hiss, and the poison began to eat even through the black-hatted man’s protective aura.
Poison!
He poured out more energy and layered the barrier again, but white fumes filled his vision and rose in a choking cloud. Trapped inside the toxic mist, the black-hatted man held his breath and waited for it to clear.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the fog dissipated and his sight returned. A short, amused snort escaped him.
“Quick little rat, aren’t you?”
The figure of Dokjeonhwa, who had been lying crumpled to one side, was gone.
“Interesting. You still had the strength left to run?”
He had been certain the man could not take a single step, yet Dokjeonhwa had vanished without a trace.
“Hah. Damn bastard… Next time I lay eyes on you I’ll cut your legs off so you can’t run anywhere.”
Whoosh!
The black-hatted man’s form vanished from the spot.
Who is this?
Someone was racing through the darkness with Dokjeonhwa slung across his back. The speed and the night made it impossible to identify the carrier.
“Hold on just a little longer.”
“…!”
At the familiar voice Dokjeonhwa flinched.
“It can’t be…”
“Yes. It’s me.”
“Young Master… Namgung?”
“Yes. We’ll keep moving a while yet.”
Half a shichen earlier.
Uncheon had been settling in for a night under the open sky on a remote mountain path.
…I was far too optimistic.
He had wanted to try camping, but not quite like this. The road he had assumed was proper had twisted without warning into a mountain track. By the time he realized it, it was too late to turn back. Fortunately he had found a cave and decided to spend the night there.
Then he heard the strange noises.
People fighting?
The sounds were faint with distance, yet unmistakably human. Uncheon moved carefully toward them—and there he saw a face he recognized.
Wolyeonggwangheun…? What’s he doing here?
Uncheon quickly scanned the surroundings. Dokjeonhwa was surrounded by assassins.
Not the Shadow Assassins.
Their attire was different from the killers he had met during the escort mission. In particular, the one wielding that bizarre weapon was terrifying enough that Uncheon felt no confidence he could win in a direct fight.
While he was still debating whether or not to try rescuing the captured Dokjeonhwa, another figure appeared among them—someone even more frightening. With a single movement the newcomer killed every assassin. Even the strongest-looking one had trembled in fear.
There seemed no chance to intervene, yet luck was with him: the moment the white poison mist billowed out, an opening appeared. Uncheon silenced his presence completely and ran, searching for a place to hide.
That should do.
A nearly collapsed shrine. Uncheon slipped inside and looked around for a spot to conceal Dokjeonhwa.
The darkest place is right under the lamp.
The great crossbeam supporting the shrine’s roof was lost in shadow when viewed from below.
“Bear with this a moment.”
Uncheon sealed Dokjeonhwa’s pressure points until the man’s body was completely rigid, then laid him carefully atop the beam. After that he spread out a simple bedroll and stretched out comfortably.
Snnnrrrk—
Within moments the sound of snoring filled the shrine.
Not long afterward the black-hatted man stepped out of the darkness and entered.
A young one.
Tap. Tap.
He nudged Uncheon’s leg lightly with his foot.
“Mmngh…? Who’s there?!”
Uncheon’s eyes flew open in half-sleep. Spotting the black-hatted figure standing in the dark, he started as if terrified and yanked his sword free. The man took a single step back and studied him.
Barely a single jiazi of inner energy.
He checked carefully for any attempt to conceal true strength and found none.
“If you’re a ghost, be gone!”
Uncheon shouted and swung the blade.
“Who are you?”
“H-have I… are you a person? You nearly scared me to death… I took a wrong turn and decided to spend the night here.”
Uncheon stopped waving the sword and answered. The black-hatted man’s sharp gaze raked over him. The silk robe suggested a young master from a wealthy house.
“Where are you from?”
“I am Namgung Uncheon of the Namgung Family.”
The black-hatted man gave a barely perceptible start and drew up his energy. The name was completely unexpected.
“You are the Blue Stream Sword Fragrance?”
“You’ve heard of me? I was fortunate enough to pick up a nickname in the martial world.”
“…There is no such thing as luck in the martial world. Skill is everything.”
Whoosh!
He closed the distance and reached out. For the first time Uncheon looked straight into the black-hatted man’s eyes.
He’s trying to check my inner energy.
In that brief instant Uncheon weighed his options, then pretended to dodge and allowed himself to be caught.
“Ah—!”
Through the seized arm the man’s energy flooded into Uncheon’s body and measured his cultivation.
This brat… defeated the Venomous Light Viper?
The black-hatted man’s brows twitched as he examined the flow. It made no sense. The boy’s inner energy truly was only about one jiazi. He searched for anything he might have missed, but there was nothing.
He released Uncheon’s hand and gave a quiet snort of laughter.
Venomous Light Viper, you careless fool. You let your guard down.