Plum Blossoms Fall (1)
"Hmmm."
In one corner of a room thick with the scent of plum blossoms, several figures sat deep in thought.
The one letting out that heavy sigh was none other than Mae Hwapung-un Jang Unhwi, leader of the Hwasan Sect and a man who vied with Wudang's Seonjong Jin-in, the Taeguk Singeom, for the title of the world's greatest swordsman—one of the Heaven's Five Venerables.
The reason for his prolonged deliberation was simple.
He had received a letter from Seok Mujin.
—Kill the Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon for me.
If you grant my request, the Seok Family shall pledge full support to the Hwasan Sect.
That brief missive had plunged Jang Unhwi—the man closest to claiming the title of supreme swordsman under heaven—into turmoil.
"What will you do, Sect Leader?"
Asking from where he pondered alongside in the sect leader's chamber was Jo Hanpyeong, the Blue Crane Scholar, Hwasan Sect's mastermind and Jang Unhwi's most trusted advisor.
"There's no real need to agonize over it. To gain the Seok Family's unwavering backing in exchange for the head of some Sapa upstart? What could be more profitable?"
Jang Unhwi stroked his neatly trimmed beard with flair as he spoke.
As he said, with the Seok Family's support, they could break free from the Murim Alliance's influence and expand their power even further.
"Yet why the hesitation?"
"The Beggars' Sect's Dorong Geosa Hong In-gyeol died by his hand."
Indeed.
That was the sole reason this man, who despised Sapa riffraff, now wavered: the death of Hong In-gyeol.
"Unless the Demon Sword Ghost Elder Cheon Baeksang, that confirmed corpse, has risen from the grave, no one that young could have slain the Doryeong Old Man."
Jang Unhwi had always taken immense pride in his own prowess.
Especially as the youngest among the Heaven's Five Venerables, he had no doubt that time would crown him the supreme swordsman—and supreme master—under heaven.
Yet the existence of this mere youth, Hyeon Yucheon, struck him as an absurd, impossible anomaly.
"Haha! You can't seriously believe that? Hong In-gyeol's death seems certain, but no one witnessed Hyeon Yucheon fighting him."
Jo Hanpyeong laughed as if it were a trivial worry.
In truth, most orthodox Murim folk refused to believe it.
Many assumed the Beggars' Sect's closed gates bore Hong In-gyeol's influence.
This disbelief stemmed from orthodox arrogance, compounded by the Beggars' Sect—their prime source of vivid intel—sealing itself off, leaving a void in information.
"True enough. Those claiming the Demon Sword Young Master's victory are all Sapa Murim types."
"Precisely. The Beggars' Sect eventually acknowledged it officially, but the Demon Sword Sect lurked behind them. We can't rule out coercion."
The two Hwasan pillars began convincing themselves of what they wished to believe.
"Still, they say he inherited everything from the Demon Sword Ghost Elder?"
"Even so, he's not even twenty. A mere fledgling. No matter how strong, you can crush him with sheer skill, Sect Leader."
Jo Hanpyeong, meant to offer sound counsel, fed Jang Unhwi only the words he craved.
His motive was simple.
Armchair speculation.
Though a warrior by trade, Jo Hanpyeong had long prioritized sect gains over personal cultivation, dulling his instincts.
Unaware of the dire consequences this lax mindset might bring Hwasan.
"We'll grant Seok Mujin's request. But... any clever way to lure Hyeon Yucheon discreetly?"
At Jang Unhwi's query, Jo Hanpyeong racked his supposedly sharp brain.
"Must we handle the Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon in secret?"
"What?"
Jo Hanpyeong's retort struck home.
"Defeating him before a crowd would elevate your prestige, Sect Leader, and boost Hwasan morale, no?"
"Ho! Indeed."
It was a tantalizing proposal.
For Seok Mujin, secrecy was ideal. But for Hwasan, publicly executing Hyeon Yucheon amid witnesses would monopolize Murim's acclaim and cheers.
Lately, everywhere I go, it's all Demon Sword Sect this, Demon Sword Young Master that.
For Jang Unhwi, who yearned to stand at Murim's center of attention, this grated deeply.
He resolved to seize the chance and dispose of Hyeon Yucheon properly.
"The Seok Family will rejoice so long as he dies."
With his mind made up, no more hesitation.
"Send an official challenge to the Demon Sword Sect... and spread the news across the Central Plains."
A few days later, the Central Plains was in an uproar once more.
How frantic must the Demon Sword Sect have been, hearing the rumors before even receiving the formal challenge?
Jo Hanpyeong's intent was to unsettle Hyeon Yucheon's nerves with advance gossip—but far from it.
"What? Is that true?"
Hyeon Yucheon clenched his fists in delight.
I was just agonizing over how to handle the remaining four of Heaven's Five Venerables.
For Mae Hwapung-un Jang Unhwi to lay out the stage himself? Pure joy.
Moreover, Hwasan—most popular of the Nine Great Sects lately—boasted elegant, mighty swords and the lofty scent of plum blossoms. Hwasan talk dominated everywhere.
This marked their golden age, their forces deemed too strong for Hyeon Yucheon to approach.
"Still, be cautious. Mae Hwapung-un acts the great hero on the surface, but he's a petty villain at heart."
So Jaun, Haomen leader and now a fixture beside Hyeon Yucheon since his Seok Family feud, shared the intel.
Jeong Se-in had grumbled at the sight.
—She's practically the lady of the house now, huh?
Though tempted to yank her hair, So Jaun's info network proved invaluable to the Demon Sword Sect.
"Of course I know."
Hyeon Yucheon smiled.
With Cheon Baeksang's memories and experience, he knew the old master's assessment of Jang Unhwi well.
—Talented in martial arts, sturdy frame, handsome looks—but fatally shallow in spirit. He'll crash hard someday, plummeting without a net.
That was Cheon Baeksang's true verdict. Despite innate gifts, Jang Unhwi's arrogance, haughty pride, and refusal to acknowledge others gnawed at him.
"And not neutral ground, but a duel at Hwasan headquarters? Isn't it too obvious?"
So Jaun tilted her head, displeased.
It was tantamount to fighting in the enemy's lair.
"If they want it, we go. I was pondering safe passage to Hwasan's heart—now they've invited us outright..."
Hyeon Yucheon grinned.
Time to claim not four-to-five odds, but two-to-five.
"I'll give 'em the spectacle they crave."
On the first day of the new month, Hwasan brimmed with unprecedented pilgrims, turning the gates into a bustling market.
Never in Hwasan history had so many—thousands—flocked from dawn across the Central Plains.
For one reason.
—To witness Mae Hwapung-un Jang Unhwi vs. Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon!
No mere duel between warriors, this pitted orthodox Murim's rising star against Sapa's new overlord—brimming with symbolism.
Jang Unhwi, though seasoned and sect leader, was young among the Five Venerables.
"Thank you all for coming."
As the crowd swelled, Jang Unhwi stepped forward with a courteous clasp of hands.
His usual arrogance vanished, replaced by a handsome, refined gentlemanly air that fooled and awed many.
Ooooh!
"It's Mae Hwapung-un Jang Unhwi, sect leader!"
"So dashing, the epitome of a great hero."
"Absolutely. One of the world's most righteous souls."
They lavished praise on his facade, hyped up.
Eighty percent orthodox Murim folk, after all.
Sapa types, hard-pressed to enter famed Hwasan openly, cheered Hyeon Yucheon silently.
"The Demon Sword Young Master is late. Probably panicked, fire at his feet."
True nature slips through.
Buoyed by the crowd's adoration, Jang Unhwi preened in his signature smugness; the masses took it as jest, laughing along.
Then—
"Whew~ Quite the crowd."
Parting the throng came Hyeon Yucheon at the center, flanked by Demon Sword Sect disciples and supporters—all elite masters, fitting for enemy turf.
Woooaaah!
The arena ignited as the awaited Hyeon Yucheon arrived.
"Tough journey, I imagine."
Jang Unhwi eyed him up and down.
Impressive enough, a cut above.
Still, he'd lag one or two levels behind him.
"No trouble at all. Warriors go wherever there's a duel."
Hyeon Yucheon's impudent banter made Jang Unhwi's brow twitch.
"Heh, a greenhorn Murim fledgling dares speak casually."
"Murim fledgling? I'm here as Demon Sword Sect Lord; you're here as Hwasan Sect Leader. We're equals, no? And..."
Hyeon Yucheon never yielded in verbal spars.
"Doesn't Sect Leader Jang view Sapa folk as inferiors?"
It pierced the core.
Jang Unhwi's career largely involved "purging evil demons," slaughtering countless Sapa factions and claiming their treasures as spoils—a known secret among insiders.
Grind!
The barb struck deep; Jang Unhwi ground his teeth.
"You equate yourself with me? How can famed orthodox Hwasan match some Sapa rabble like the Demon Sword Sect?"
One's true character endures.
It peeks through despite concealment.
As with Jang Unhwi now.
"Of course not. Our Demon Sword Sect's arts outclass yours. So you coveted Master Cheon Baeksang's techniques and ambushed him like a coward, right?"