Justice Served With a Scabbard
Creak.
“Oh? Master, you’re back. Where have you been?”
As I opened the door to the training hall and stepped inside, Baek Seolah, who had been swinging her sword, greeted me. Her skin was flushed red, covered in sweat from her diligent training.
“I just had something to take care of.”
“Oh… So you had errands to run?”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“You’ve always stayed inside the training hall. I’ve seen you lounging under the tree shade every single time.”
When I looked dumbfounded, she let out a light laugh, clearly amused by my reaction.
“Teasing you really is the most fun, Master.”
“W-what is this…”
“It’s all because your reactions are so entertaining.”
Baek Seolah, who had been laughing as though it were the funniest thing in the world, soon composed herself and spoke again.
“By the way, Master. Could you please take a look at my martial arts?”
“Your martial arts?”
“Yes. I’m curious how they look right now.”
She gripped the sword with both hands and gazed into my eyes. The bright smile was an added bonus.
“Alright. Go ahead and show me.”
“Yes!”
Baek Seolah walked to the center of the training ground with her sword. She gripped it with both hands and settled into her stance.
“Hoo…”
With a light exhale, she raised the blade.
Whoosh!
Her demonstration began with a clean vertical cut. Ohh… A seamless flow of attacks and defenses, as natural as water. Every swing and retraction sent her clothes fluttering in the breeze. The movements were elegant yet somehow carried an unmistakable sense of power.
After swinging her sword for a long while, Baek Seolah finally stopped. The demonstration was over.
“Haa… Haa…”
The large motions had left her breathing ragged. She had controlled it perfectly during the form, but now that it was finished, her exhaustion showed clearly.
“How was it?”
Baek Seolah looked at me with a faint smile, her face filled with expectation.
“I don’t see anything that needs fixing right now.”
It was the truth. Nothing major stood out as a problem. There were a few minor details, but they weren’t things that could be corrected immediately, nor were they serious issues.
“R-really?”
“Yeah. It’s true. Just keep training like this.”
“Wow…”
She unconsciously dropped her sword and covered her mouth with both hands, deeply moved.
“Th-thank you.”
“Thank me? You earned it with your own hard work.”
“Ah…”
Her face turned bright red. It seemed receiving praise made her shy.
“Oh, right. I almost forgot.”
“…?”
A question flickered across her face. I pulled a thick ledger from my robe and handed it to her. It was the account book I had taken from the Five Dragons Association’s stronghold.
“This ledger records the money those Five Dragons Association thugs extorted from the merchants.”
“…!”
“Take some money from the dojo’s storage and return it to the merchants. Throw in a little extra.”
“Huh? What?”
“And do it secretly. Make sure they don’t know it was you.”
I had donated all the money taken from the thugs to beggars on the way back because it felt cumbersome. Judging by the knots at their waists, they were likely from the Beggars’ Sect. There was no harm in making a good impression on them. Besides, the amount left behind by the Five Dragons Association wasn’t that significant anyway. Using the dojo’s storage to cover it wouldn’t be a burden.
“Y-you’re entrusting such an important task to me…?”
“Who else would I give it to?”
“……”
Baek Seolah’s expression gradually shifted into one of profound emotion. Why was she reacting like this? I had only given her a simple errand.
“I will carry this out with absolute certainty, exactly as much as Master trusts me!”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m counting on you.”
I patted her head roughly and headed for the study. The moment I arrived, I threw myself into the soft chair.
“……”
Black Wind Bandit Camp. On the way back, I had gathered some information about them as well. When I casually asked the beggars while making my donation, the details flowed out effortlessly.
One of the Green Forest 72 Camps. Its scale wasn’t large—it seemed to barely hold a low-ranking position within the alliance.
I wondered if that thug’s claim about having the Black Wind Bandit Camp behind them was true. If it was, things would become quite troublesome. Even after dealing with those guys, the camp could still exact harsher revenge on the merchants.
Since I had already crushed the Five Dragons Association, failing to handle the Black Wind Bandit Camp as well would only amount to half-hearted help. In my previous life and this one, I had seen too many cases where half-measures led to even greater harm.
In short, if you weren’t going to help properly, it was best not to get involved at all.
I had threatened the Five Dragons Association thugs not to come here again, but that alone wasn’t enough to put my mind at ease.
“Haa… This is annoying.”
Of course, there was a chance it was all just empty boasting on their part. Still, I didn’t want to gamble with the merchants’ livelihoods. I couldn’t stand seeing the people around me suffer.
In the end, dealing with the Black Wind Bandit Camp somehow really is the only option…
It was an incredibly bothersome solution, but there seemed to be only one answer.
The next afternoon.
“No matter how you look at it, even for bandits, why does it have to be this deep in the mountains?”
In a forest not far from the dojo, I perched atop the tallest tree and looked down at the landscape. I had spread my senses quite far, yet I could only faintly detect what seemed to be dozens of people gathered a few miles away. And I had already come quite deep.
“Sigh… Let’s finish this quickly and head back.”
The moment I moved to take another step—
“…?”
Something registered through my senses. Roughly a dozen people. It was strange how far they were from what appeared to be the bandit camp.
I closed my eyes and focused my senses on that spot. Soon, the situation there unfolded hazily before me.
Two men holding swords and twelve men holding blades. They seem to be in a standoff.
It looked like travelers had run into a bandit group. The destination camp isn’t too far from here. I should check it out.
Having decided, I opened my eyes and slowly crouched. Then—
Bang!
With the sound of exploding air, my body shot forward in a straight line. The distance was easily ten miles, yet it took almost no time to arrive.
Once close, I hid behind a tree and quietly observed the situation.
The ones with swords were a young man who clearly looked like the son of a wealthy family and a middle-aged man who appeared to be his guard. Opposite them, twelve bandits wielding blades were threatening the pair.
“Get out of the way right now!”
The rich kid shouted as if trying to intimidate them, but his voice shook with fear and carried no weight. The bandits watched him with mocking amusement.
“Come on, young master. Just pay the toll and we’ll let you pass safely.”
“I cannot! As a warrior of the righteous sects, I cannot give money to bandit scum…”
“Anyone can tell you’re from a rich family. You’ve got plenty, right? Think of it as charity and hand some over.”
Bandits typically collected tolls like this to make money. It wasn’t pleasant for those being robbed, but most paid to avoid conflict. Even the largest merchant groups paid the toll without complaint—if you knew anything about the Central Plains, you understood that.
Yet this rich kid didn’t seem to know even that basic fact. In other words, he was a complete newcomer to the murim world. Acting out in that state was a sure way to get stabbed.
The guard beside him clearly knew the danger; his expression said it all.
“Young master, it would be best to simply pay the toll…”
“Shut up! Born a son of the Namgung Clan, I cannot pay tribute to the likes of these bastards!”
Oh? The Namgung Clan? But why was he so weak? At best, he was first-class. With that level of internal energy and sword stance, he should have been able to handle ten ordinary bandits without trouble. He wasn’t weak by any means, but for someone from the Namgung Clan, he wasn’t particularly strong either.
A guy like that has zero flexibility and decides to do this to bandits…
The guard beside him, on the other hand, seemed far more skilled. At least at the Peak realm.
Thanks to that guard, they probably won’t lose to the bandits.
Of course, not losing didn’t mean there would be no damage. Given the spoiled brat’s attitude, even victory would come at a heavy cost. Looked like I would have to step in.
I planned to save the decent people and, while I was at it, capture the bandits to serve as guides.
The moment I moved to appear before them—
“Come at me! Uaaaaah!”
The Namgung Clan kid suddenly raised his sword and charged at the bandits with a roar.
“Young master! N-no, you mustn’t!”
The guard tried to stop him, but it was already too late.
Clang!
His sword collided fiercely with a bandit’s blade. Still, as expected of a Namgung Clan descendant, a faint layer of sword qi wrapped his weapon.
“This crazy bastard?”
Startled, I threw myself between them. As a result, every eye turned toward me.
“Who the hell are you?”
One of the bandits spoke to me. Even if it had been casual, the words would have been annoying, but pointing a blade at me while saying it made my blood boil.
“Let me ask you one thing.”
“What? You suddenly show up and now you’re asking—”
“Are you from the Black Wind Bandit Camp?”
“…?”
The question was so unexpected that the bandit’s head tilted sideways.
“Yeah. We’re from Black Wind. So what? What are you going to do about it?”
“Perfect. I found the right ones. Then we’re good.”
At my answer, the bandits’ faces twisted as if they were looking at a madman.
“What kind of lunatic…”
Perhaps my words had struck a nerve. The bandit’s face flushed red, and he strode toward me, tapping his shoulder with his blade in a clear threat.
“This bastard, what does he take me for? One look at that scrawny body and a single hit would—”
I had no time to waste on the likes of him. I grabbed the approaching bandit’s face and slammed it straight into the ground.
Booom!
The earth split apart with a thunderous crash. He didn’t move an inch—clearly unconscious.
The atmosphere froze instantly, as though cold water had been dumped over everyone. Even the Namgung Clan son, who had been brimming with fighting spirit moments ago, looked flustered. He sheathed his sword and stared at me.
“U-um, who might you be, sir…?”
“Me? Just the director of an ordinary dojo.”
“…?”
“More importantly, can I borrow your sword?”
“Pardon?”
“Hand it over.”
“Ah, y-yes!”
He rushed over and offered the sword.
“Thanks. By the way, what’s your name?”
“M-my name is Namgung Hyun.”
“Alright, Hyun-ah. I’ll use it well and return it.”
I drew the sword from its scabbard and drove it into the ground. Only the scabbard remained in my hand.
“But why did you stick the sword in the ground…?”
“Killing them feels a bit much. So I’ll beat them with the scabbard.”
“Ah…”
My gaze shifted to the bandits. Having seen one of their own taken down so easily, their faces were now painted with terror.
“Not coming? You looked ready to kill me earlier.”
“……”
Nothing changed. They didn’t utter a word, only stared with trembling eyes.
“Sigh… Fine. Can’t be helped. If you won’t come to me, I’ll go to you.”
As I slowly approached with the scabbard in hand, the bandits began backing away.
“Uwaaa…”
“D-don’t come near us…!”
“Sigh. No matter what you do, you’re all getting beaten anyway.”
The moment I finished speaking, I charged at the bandits.
Thud! Crack!
“Kyaaak!”
“Keuk!”
After some time, the screams that had filled the forest finally died down. Only painful groans remained.
“Hey, you.”
I pointed at the only bandit still standing on two legs. I had left him alive to serve as a guide. Even he was barely standing; there was hardly an unharmed spot on his body. Bruises covered him, and various places were badly swollen.
“H-hiiik! Please, at least spare my life…”
He curled up and collapsed to the ground. The pain from being clubbed must have been unbearable.
“You said you were from Black Wind, right?”
“Y-yes, that’s correct!”
“Good. Guide me to your camp.”
“Pardon…?”
I had no intention of raiding the place. That would be exhausting in more ways than one. Instead, I would enter through the front gate using this guy, then meet their leader right away. A perfect plan.
“Not going to guide me?”
“I’m sorry! T-this way!”
The bandit kept bowing deeply as he led me forward. Tapping my shoulder with the scabbard, I followed his guidance.