The Assassin and the Golden Mask
Uncheon spat the blood pooling in his mouth and forced himself upright, straightening his aching back with effort.
"Close. I almost took his head."
He had landed a solid blow, yet the man's protective aura had flung the black-hatted figure clear.
The hat had come off, revealing the face beneath. Long silver hair streamed free, catching what little light there was even in the dark. Against that pale, almost white skin, the features looked all the more otherworldly.
The black-hatted man muttered in irritation.
"Unbelievable. Surviving the Crimson Qi Flame..."
"I'm tougher than I look. Where did you come from?"
"..."
Uncheon's eyes locked with his.
"Do you really think I'll answer that?"
"I was hoping to learn who hired the Shadow Killing Hall."
The black-hatted man scowled and glared at Uncheon. There was no reason for it, yet he felt the boy's gaze peeling him apart from head to toe.
"Little brat... I'll give you this much—those eyes of yours are something else. It's like you're reading my thoughts. Unpleasant."
"Thanks, though you make it sound as if I'm some kind of god."
The black-hatted man kept staring, suspicion thick in his gaze.
"Hmph. Wasted words."
He glanced left and right, taking stock of the others. Yaweol Sect Leader Gong Hwaseon and the Inbyeoksalgaek Chae Eunjang, both freed from his grasp, seemed able to draw their inner energy without trouble.
"It's been a while since I had a real fight. Come at me together or one by one—suit yourselves."
Chae Eunjang stepped forward first.
"Who are you? Now that we've seen your face, you can at least give a name."
"Fair enough, under the circumstances. I am called Mun Gu, the Doheolsaja—the Blood Blade Assassin. Not a name you've heard before, I take it?"
No one in the Central Plains martial world had ever spoken of a Doheolsaja. Mun Gu watched their puzzled faces and let the corner of his mouth curl.
"No need to rack your brains, Inbyeoksalgaek. We've never once set foot in the Central Plains."
"A secret sect, then?"
"Perhaps."
"You're after Wolyeonggwangheun because of the Cheonhwangdo Map, aren't you?"
"I don't have to answer that. If you want to live, walk away. This is your last chance. My business is only with that one."
"I think not. I still haven't properly measured your skill, and I'd like a closer look."
A thunderous roar split the air—
Chae Eunjang's White Tiger Thunder Qi erupted. A colossal white tiger blotted out the sky, jaws wide in a sky-shaking roar.
Mun Gu watched the tiger's qi bear down on him without a trace of fear.
"Hmph. Cute as ever."
Inner energy gathered in his palm and shaped itself into a formless blade. The crimson, invisible blade-body flashed once—and cleaved the plummeting white tiger qi cleanly in two.
"Gah—!"
Chae Eunjang coughed blood across his chest. One of the Yaweol Sect's three great assassins had been brushed aside as easily as a child.
Gong Hwaseon caught his staggering form.
"Are you badly hurt?"
"Sect Leader, I'm fine."
He tried to sound steady, but the blood from his chest would not stop. Gong Hwaseon's mind reeled. She had never faced a situation like this. She had studied every contingency—yet she had never imagined meeting someone who outclassed the Inbyeoksalgaek from the very first exchange.
In her moment of panic, Uncheon tossed her a packet of ointment.
"Don't freeze. Stop the bleeding first, then apply the salve."
"Ah... yes."
She pressed the acupoints until the flow eased, then quickly smeared the ointment over the wound.
"Huu..."
Uncheon raised the Cheongeungeom before him and drew up his inner energy. The searing pain in his heart where Mun Gu had struck him began to ease, little by little.
"Where do you belong?"
"..."
Mun Gu frowned at the question.
Blood Refining Divine Cult?
Uncheon caught the thought in an instant and let no sign show on his face. He had never heard of any force called the Blood Refining Divine Cult in the present martial world. He knew only of the Blood Cult that had been destroyed a hundred years ago.
"I see. You can't afford to have your origins known."
"Hmph. Trying to goad me, are you? I heard the Namgung don't play the Zhuge family's little mind games. Apparently I heard wrong."
"I'd rather you call it cleverness than trickery."
"Heh. Still cracking jokes in a situation like this—you're a real oddity."
"I'm not that strange."
"Mouthy little brat. This time I'll tear that tongue out so you can't spout nonsense again."
Mun Gu's lips curved slowly upward as crimson light flooded out from his formless blade.
A fierce wind howled from the mere pressure of his released energy. Uncheon's robes snapped and whipped in the oncoming gale.
Here it comes.
All he could trust was his own ability. Uncheon kept his eyes wide open and fixed them on his opponent's.
A streak of red light punched through the wind. Razor-edged formless blade qi scythed in from every direction.
The thigh.
Among the countless feints he found the true stroke.
The Cheongeungeom moved to meet the formless blade qi racing for his thigh.
The Namgung sword was the Boundless Sword. Boundless meant free of every obstruction of space, unhindered by any barrier, moving with the effortless grace of wind.
The Namgung sword is the Boundless Sword that follows the Way of the Heavy Sword.
A clear, ringing clash rang out as boundless qi surged forth, batting Mun Gu's formless blade qi aside and driving it back.
The Namgung Family possessed many sword arts, yet only those who grasped the principle of the Boundless could draw forth the true power of their higher techniques.
Uncheon's eyes widened.
This is the first time...!
He had been performing the Great Evolution Sword Art, yet the intent of the Boundless had woven itself into every movement. To Uncheon, Great Evolution was Boundless, and Boundless was Great Evolution.
Mun Gu watched him parry and gave a short laugh.
"Not bad. You deserve the name Cheongryu Geomhyang. I'll take this seriously now. Ready?"
Uncheon clenched his teeth.
"If I say no, will you stop?"
"Hahaha! You're an entertaining one. This time it's truly the end."
Mun Gu poured inner energy into both hands. Within a ten-zhang radius the air itself compressed, and a massive crimson blade rose above his head.
"If you can stop this, I'll withdraw for today."
Uncheon knew the man had thrown everything into the strike.
How can anyone wield power like this...?
The only comparable force he knew belonged to the heads of the great families.
A meteor-like blade of qi plummeted toward him. Uncheon raised the Cheongeungeom to meet it and silently pleaded with the sword.
Please hold.
A form from the Boundless Sword Art he had only ever memorized, never once executed perfectly—Boundless Four Streams.
For a heartbeat Mun Gu and Uncheon seemed frozen in place. Then, in the next instant, a violent current of force erupted where they met, and the world itself seemed to tear.
An explosion of air swallowed everything, leaving sudden silence in its wake.
"..."
The formless blade qi that had hung above Mun Gu's head was gone. He looked down with cold eyes at Uncheon sprawled on the ground. Uncheon lay in ruins, still gripping the Cheongeungeom, staring up at the sky. The impact had tangled every meridian in his body.
Dokjeonhwa rushed to his side and checked him over.
"Young Master Namgung... are you all right?"
"Cough... he's really strong..."
"Can you stand?"
"I don't know... I can't move."
Dokjeonhwa understood the boy's condition. He wanted to help, yet there was nothing he himself could do.
Mun Gu glanced at his left shoulder. Where the Cheongeungeom had passed, a deep wound gaped.
Even for a scion of the Namgung... for a boy this young to unleash such a technique is astonishing.
Not even twenty years old. Even Namgung martial arts should not produce strength like this so early.
If I leave him alive he'll be nothing but trouble later.
Mun Gu stepped forward to finish him. At that moment Dokjeonhwa planted himself in front of Uncheon and dropped to his knees.
"I will go with you. Spare Young Master Namgung."
"You're hardly in a position to bargain."
"..."
"Step aside or you'll get hurt."
"I cannot. I don't know why you want me, but if you refuse to spare Young Master Namgung, you will never take me alive."
Dokjeonhwa snatched up the Cheongeungeom and set the edge against his own throat.
"Ha. What a ridiculous stunt. Planning to kill yourself?"
"Spare everyone here and I will follow you."
"No. That won't do. I only need you alive—limbs optional."
Mun Gu's hand moved; formless blade qi streaked toward the hand that held the Cheongeungeom.
In that instant a brilliant flash erupted, and Mun Gu's formless blade qi rebounded away.
"Who's there?!"
Mun Gu barked, eyes snapping upward.
A figure drifted slowly down through the air—the man in the golden mask Dokjeonhwa had been waiting for.
The appearance of the golden-masked man changed everything once more.
"Dokjeonhwa, things have gotten far too tangled."
"Forgive me. This servant's incompetence..."
"It couldn't be helped. In any case, we've made enough noise in the Central Plains. Time to clean this up and leave."
"Yes, understood."
Dokjeonhwa bowed low.
Mun Gu watched the exchange, a fine tremor running through his body.
Who in the world is this? My inner energy is vibrating. No place in the Central Plains should be able to influence a Martial Sovereign's power. And if such a place does exist...
"...Could you be—?"
Mun Gu's eyes went wide. He thought he knew.
"Keep your mouth shut. Guessing at things neither of us can confirm is unwise."
Mun Gu stared at the golden mask.
"...Was this whole affair your doing?"
"You could say so. More of the Central Plains' rabble showed up than I expected."
"..."
Mun Gu's expression hardened. Taking Wolyeonggwangheun should have been simple. An unforeseen variable had appeared.
If he's the man I think he is, I can't fight him properly while wounded.
With the shoulder injury Uncheon had given him, facing this opponent was impossible. He would have to leave the prize behind and withdraw—regrettable, but necessary.
Damn it... I'll catch hell when I get back.
The golden-masked man spoke as if he could read the thought, voice low.
"Thinking of running, are you?"
Mun Gu met his gaze squarely.
"If you refuse to let me go, one of us will have to die. Are you confident?"
"Lots of talk for a wounded man. Even at full strength I could crush you."
"..."
"I have no desire to advertise my presence just yet. Die here."
A golden flood-dragon erupted from the golden-masked man's body, enormous fangs bared as it lunged at Mun Gu.
Mun Gu made his decision in a heartbeat.
Last chance to pull out. I'll have to accept the risk that comes with it.
Crimson blood-blade light flared from Mun Gu's chest, forming a protective barrier.
The impact hurled his body backward; he vanished in an instant. The shoulder Uncheon had wounded collapsed completely, yet there was no time even to feel the pain.
The golden-masked man muttered, half in disbelief.
"Well now... that was an artistic escape."
He swept a glance over the remaining people, then stepped to Dokjeonhwa's side.
"You've been through quite a bit."
"Yes..."
"Do you know where your disciple is?"
"I have not confirmed whether the boy lives or dies."
"I see. We should go. First, though, we tidy up here."
Dokjeonhwa moved in front of Uncheon. He knew the man meant to kill the other three.
"Benefactor, spare Young Master Namgung."
"I cannot leave anyone who knows of my existence. Stand aside."
"B-Benefactor...!"
Dokjeonhwa's body lifted into the air and was flung aside. The golden-masked man looked down at Uncheon lying broken on the ground.
"The Namgung brat is rather impressive. I might have expected it of the Sword Emperor, but not this."
Uncheon could not move a muscle as he met the man's gaze.
"If you're going to kill me anyway, make it painless."
"Heh. Why don't you ask me to spare you?"
"Because you won't."
"You understand well."
"I'm in your hands."
"Very well. I'll make the end easy."
The golden-masked man's energy lifted Uncheon's body into the air. At that moment something slipped from Uncheon's waist and fell to the ground.
The man's eyes fixed on the white token.
"...Where did you get that?"
Uncheon forced his gaze downward with difficulty.
"Someone I know gave it to me."
"Who exactly? Speak precisely."
"...Uncle Po-ui. He said if I ever found myself at Myeongseon Palace, I should come looking for him."
The golden-masked man stepped closer. Their eyes met for a brief instant, and his thoughts flowed into Uncheon.
This one... he knows Uncle Po-ui.
The killing intent around the golden-masked man had already vanished. He set Uncheon gently back on the ground.
"You were not fated to die today."
"...If you're sparing me, I'm grateful."
"We will meet again someday. When that time comes, you'd better be strong enough that I don't kill you."
He took Dokjeonhwa by the arm.
"We're leaving."
"Thank you for sparing the young master, Benefactor."
Before departing, Dokjeonhwa locked eyes one last time with Uncheon, who had managed to sit up on the ground. Then he vanished with the golden-masked man.
Uncheon collapsed bonelessly. The tearing pain in his heart refused to fade, and forcing his energy had left every meridian a tangled ruin.
I don't even have the strength to move anymore.
Gong Hwaseon approached and knelt beside him.
"Um... are you all right?"
"Aside from not being able to move... are you both unhurt?"
"We're fine. Thank you for your help."
"I didn't exactly set out to help, so don't worry about it."
Gong Hwaseon examined the boy lying before her.
"Can you move at all?"
"Not yet. My meridians feel completely scrambled."
She looked up at Chae Eunjang standing nearby.
"Uncle Chae, may we take Young Master Namgung to our sect?"
"..."
"The Cheon-eum-su should help settle his disrupted meridians."
"If that is the Sect Leader's wish, I have no objection."
"Thank you. Please look after him."
Chae Eunjang lifted Uncheon and settled him onto his back. Gong Hwaseon spoke gently to the injured youth.
"Don't worry. Once we reach our sect, you'll be as healthy as before."
Their figures blurred into swift motion, carrying Uncheon away into the night.