Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: It's Not a Joke (1)
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“Haa, haa!”
Dokgo Ryong lay sprawled out flat on his back, ragged breaths spilling from his mouth.
Staring blankly at the leisurely drifting clouds for a good while, his heaving respiration finally steadied.
“How long do you plan to lie there like that?”
Even as the Dragon Sword Emperor Baek Muhyeon bellowed, Dokgo Ryong showed no particular reaction.
“You brat!”
Only when Baek Muhyeon shouted again did he finally turn his head slightly and speak.
“I'm reviewing the match, Master. Didn't you say that after a spar, nothing is more important than review? That I need to properly examine why I lost and why my attacks didn't land—that was you, Master.”
“I never said to do it in that ridiculous pose.”
“I gave it my all, so I don't even have the strength to twitch a finger.”
Dokgo Ryong replied calmly, then closed his eyes completely.
Baek Muhyeon started to bellow once more but shook his head and turned away instead.
Whatever the pose, he was reviewing the match, so Baek Muhyeon decided to trust him on that. The claim of giving his all wasn't a lie either. Whether he truly couldn't move a finger was debatable, though.
How much time passed like that? Along with light footsteps came Sima Jin, carrying a small bamboo basket.
“What are you doing, Senior Brother?”
Before Sima Jin's words even finished, Dokgo Ryong sprang up like he'd been launched.
“You're here, Junior Sister?”
His eyes curved into smiling crescents, mouth split in a goofy grin—he looked just like the village idiot every countryside had one of.
“Why were you lying there in such a state?”
Sima Jin furrowed her brow.
Dokgo Ryong's sweat-and-dirt-caked, filthy appearance clearly displeased her.
“I was reviewing my spar with Master. It left me with more regrets than usual today.”
“Is that so? For review, your snoring sure carried pretty far.”
At Sima Jin's teasing smile, Dokgo Ryong's eyes shook wildly.
“N-No way. I was training my mind so diligently. You must've misheard.”
“Sure, let's go with that. Anyway, go wash up. Dust yourself off too. You know dust falls from your hair every time you move? You're filthy.”
“A-Alright.”
Dokgo Ryong backed away awkwardly, embarrassment plain on his face.
Sima Jin couldn't help but chuckle at his comical antics before approaching Baek Muhyeon, who sat by the hut's entrance.
“I've come, Master.”
“Come in.”
A soft smile—impossible on Baek Muhyeon's usual stern face—spread across his features.
“I brought some fruit. Eat it while it's fresh.”
The basket Sima Jin set down brimmed with apples and pears.
“Good. I'll enjoy it.”
Baek Muhyeon rubbed an apple on his clothes and bit in.
“Sweet and tart. I worried with all the rain, but it turned out pretty good.”
“Right? The pears are bursting with juice too.”
Sima Jin peeled a pear, carving it into pretty shapes. Glancing toward the well behind the storehouse, she added,
“But you went a bit hard on him today, didn't you?”
“Who, your senior brother?”
“Yes. He was snoring on the ground—looked exhausted.”
“He came at me a bit more seriously than usual. He's got some drive now. Still a long way off, though.”
Baek Muhyeon shook his head, but his expression wasn't displeased. Dokgo Ryong's skills, stagnant for a while, had been advancing by leaps and bounds lately.
“His attitude has definitely changed recently. He used to be all jokes about everything—must be that spar record from the Sword Empress.”
“Probably. All bravado and no sense of his place.”
Recalling Dokgo Ryong's audacity in volunteering to spar the Sword Empress in his stead, Baek Muhyeon let out a hollow chuckle.
“Shame. If I'd met you a year earlier, I'd have seen you facing the Sword Empress instead of me.”
“No way. I'm still far behind Senior Brother.”
Sima Jin waved it off as absurd.
“You're lacking, sure. But how long do you think that'll last?”
“Well...”
“In my eyes, you'll catch up in half a year at most.”
“No chance.”
As Sima Jin expressed disbelief, Baek Muhyeon stated it firmly.
“When I first met you, I said it clearly: You've got heaven-sent talent. Peerless intellect, perfect constitution for martial arts, immense inner energy—if you harness it right, you could stand unrivaled in the world.”
Right then, Dokgo Ryong returned from his bath, shaking droplets from his hair as he strode over.
“That kid might seem sloppy, but he has no peers his age. Yet you nearly matched him in just a year. And crucially, you did it without claiming even half the potential in your body. Of course, skill isn't just deep inner energy, but it's the foundation. No absolute art shines without the power to back it.”
Dokgo Ryong flicked off the last water from his hair, grabbed an apple, and chomped down fiercely as he approached.
“So give me something like that Celestial Pure Jade Milk your junior sister took—no, I won't ask for that. Just a decent elixir, and I wouldn't be stuck unable to unleash your great arts properly due to my shallow inner energy!”
“Celestial Pure Jade Milk isn't some pet's name you can just fetch.”
“Then that Great Reversion Pill she took at the end...”
“You brat!”
Sensing Baek Muhyeon's sharpening glare, Dokgo Ryong slipped behind Sima Jin.
“Enough about inner energy already. It hurts this disciple's heart to hear.”
Sima Jin wedged herself between them, unable to stand it.
“Enough, Master. You too, Senior Brother.”
Her few words instantly cooled the heated exchange between the two.
“Oh, right—the appointment with the Sword Empress got delayed a bit.”
Unlike Dokgo Ryong, who'd already heard, Sima Jin's eyes widened in surprise.
“A messenger from the Zhuge Clan came this morning. Said the Sword Empress's travel is postponed for unavoidable reasons. I told them it's fine. Not going anywhere for a while anyway.”
“What happened?”
“From the hints, seems she's handing a spar record to someone else en route. Don't know details, so no need to dwell. Anyway, you'll know it's postponed.”
“Understood.”
“By the way, Junior Sister.”
Dokgo Ryong asked, pear juice smeared around his mouth.
“Didn't you say you'd visit home? See your brothers?”
Sima Jin's face darkened slightly.
“Not sure. I exchanged letters with my little brothers at the Hahou Clan, but Big Brother hasn't returned yet.”
“No idea when?”
Sima Jin gave a feeble smile and shook her head.
“He'll come back safe. Don't worry too much. From the rumors, they're no joke—really strong, right?”
“Yes. Incredibly so.”
Pride filled Sima Jin's voice.
It had been vague before, but now training in martial arts herself, she truly grasped how amazing the skills Sima Geon, Cheol Woo, and the others had shown were.
“Hearing you say that makes me really curious. When I meet them, I should learn a move or two. It'll be a great match.”
Dokgo Ryong boasted lightly.
“More nonsense. Quit the empty talk and focus on training.”
Unlike Baek Muhyeon, who scolded him assuming it was mere curiosity or rivalry, Sima Jin's expression turned deadly serious.
“A great match? Big Brother might be fine, but if you tangle with Cheol Woo, you could die. So don't even say that.”
“Aw, you're exaggerating.”
“...”
Dokgo Ryong swallowed hard at Sima Jin's blank face.
“It's not a joke, is it?”
“No. You'd really die.”
Sima Jin's tone was so resolute it almost sounded aggrieved.
Learning that Twin Sword Heavenly Formation had secluded himself in his hometown of Yulin, the Sword Empress's group decided to head north straight from Musan.
With Sima Geon opting to travel with them, Cheol Woo had no choice but to quickly sell the boat. Rushing the sale, he got only a third of the original purchase price.
He'd spent a fair sum buying the boat and hiring captain and crew, but felt no regret. He even shared some of the proceeds with them generously.
From Musan to Yulin was over four hundred li; even hurrying, it took more than ten days. The middle stretch, linking Great Wave Mountains to the Musan Range, was treacherously rugged.
“Damn it, after all that hell at Split Rock Guest Ravine, I swore off mountains for a while.”
Cheol Woo grumbled, and Noe Jeon nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. Didn't expect to wander mountain paths for over ten days.”
“This is mild, though. Compared to the passes into Sichuan, it's nothing.”
At Manchu's words, So Surin shot Cheol Woo and Noe Jeon dissatisfied looks.
“You've gotten fat and lazy after a few comfy days.”
“Anyway, we're almost out of the mountains—just hang in there.”
True to Manchu's words, the group escaped the trails in less than half a shichen.
The first village they reached upon leaving the mountains was Yulin.
“What a pretty village.”
So Surin couldn't contain her admiration for the picturesque scene.
Warm sunlight bathed fields of ripening grain, where birds pecked at crops and clumsy scarecrows brought broad smiles to all. In the stream crossing the fields, schools of fish swam, while children dashed about with nets trying to catch them.
Yi Sogun cautiously approached the kids and asked a few questions.
The children wouldn't know the name Twin Sword Heavenly Formation, but from their answers, she deduced an old man matching that description lived beyond the northern hill.
“Cussin' gramps?”
Neung So-hwa asked with a laugh.
“Yes. The kids say he swears a lot. But they didn't seem to dislike him. He makes them fun gadgets and teaches neat tricks.”
“Neat tricks?”
“Probably basic martial arts.”
Yi Sogun hadn't missed some kids mentioning breathing techniques.
“Wonder if coming here was right. He retired from the martial world—seems to be enjoying a peaceful old age.”
At Neung So-hwa's concern, Danri Hwa offered gentle counsel.
“Receiving the Sword Empress's spar record is an honor for any warrior. This match could be his grand retirement.”
Neung So-hwa and the Sword Pavilion warriors all nodded at Danri Hwa's words, but Sima Geon's group, overhearing unintentionally, saw it differently.
“An honor?”
Cheol Woo tilted his head.
“A great one.”
Gwa Yu and Manchu replied together.
“What about you, Boss?”
“Eh.”
Sima Geon dodged with an awkward smile, prompting Cheol Woo to snort.
“Forget it. What do you two think?”
So Surin and Noe Jeon's answers starkly differed from Gwa Yu and Manchu's.
“Dunno.”
“Sounds annoying. What about you, Deputy?”
“Me? I'd be pissed. You ditch everything to retire, and they chase you to this backwater to bother you? Nothing but irritation.”
Gwa Yu and Manchu still looked baffled, but Noe Jeon nodded vigorously. So Surin and the leading Sima Geon seemed to share Cheol Woo's view, if silently.
As they bantered, they neared the hill the kids mentioned. Suddenly, the hitherto docile Black Wolf bared its fangs and growled.
“What's wrong?”
Before Noe Jeon's question ended, Black Wolf bolted like lightning.
It vanished beyond the hill in an instant, and with the wind came a thick scent of blood.