Chapter 265
The night grew deeper.
The Death Shadow Squad members were resting soundly at the Wind-Shooting Sword Sect, preparing for the impending decisive battle.
Bu Eun-seol sat in the study of Pure Elegance Study, brush in hand, researching the Martial Emperor's Enlightenment Art and the Emotion Severing Secret Art.
Combining these two profound techniques—each representing the pinnacle of the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths—was a journey so distant that one could hardly guarantee it would be possible in a single lifetime.
That was why he devoted every spare moment to studying them.
After setting down his brush for a while, Bu Eun-seol turned his gaze toward the open window.
The bright moon hanging in the distant sky and the garden adorned with rare and delicate flowers exuded a subtle elegance.
"I should have asked for a bottle of wine."
Having sat quietly in the study for so long, his body felt stiff.
Stepping outside, Bu Eun-seol slowly strolled through the garden under the moonlight until he reached a small pavilion beside a lotus pond.
"Frost-touched leaves redder than spring blossoms..."
Engraved on the pillar in place of a signboard was a verse from Mountain Walk by the late Tang poet Du Mu.
The delicate yet bold verse stirred a strange exhilaration in Bu Eun-seol, as if he had just downed a strong drink.
"Eun-gong."
At that moment, a slender shadow emerged from the opposite path.
Clad in red robes and carrying a large basket, it was none other than Guyang Cheong-jeong.
"What brings you here at this late hour?"
At his question, she lowered her head slightly.
"I thought you might feel peckish at night, so I brought some light refreshments."
Had an ordinary woman brought wine to a man alone at such a late hour, it would have been an outrageously bold act.
But Bu Eun-seol and Guyang Cheong-jeong were both martial artists who paid little heed to trivial formalities.
"I'm not sure if it will suit your taste."
Guyang Cheong-jeong smiled shyly.
Inside the large basket she carried was a sizable wine bottle, rice cakes, and fruits.
"I was just thinking about having a drink."
When Bu Eun-seol nodded readily, Guyang Cheong-jeong brightened and set the basket down in the pavilion.
"Let me pour you a cup."
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol downed the wine she offered in one gulp.
His eyes widened instantly.
The bittersweet, potent liquid touched his tongue, and as it slid down his throat, an intoxicating fragrance tickled his nose.
Though he had drunk many wines before, none had been as uniquely strong as this.
"This is fine wine."
Bu Eun-seol exhaled in admiration as he examined the cup.
"What kind of wine is this? The aroma is quite distinctive."
"It's Green Fruit Wine, a specialty of Qinghai. I sometimes have a cup when I can't sleep at night."
Guyang Cheong-jeong's crescent-moon eyes curved as she smiled.
In truth, the wine she had brought was the Hundred-Year Green Fruit Wine from Cheonghyang Wine House, the most prestigious in Qinghai.
Its price was exorbitant, and with only a few bottles remaining, even high-ranking officials struggled to obtain it—a true jewel among fine wines.
Unaware of this, Bu Eun-seol drank it as if it were cool water.
"Truly excellent wine. You should have some too."
"It's alright. I drink it often enough."
Guyang Cheong-jeong lied smoothly to let him enjoy it freely, then picked up a piece of fruit.
"Sweet fruits pair well with Green Fruit Wine. Try some."
Her gesture was so natural that Bu Eun-seol nearly accepted it without thinking.
"I'll help myself."
"Of course."
She smiled gently before popping the fruit into her own mouth.
Then, sitting beside Bu Eun-seol, she watched with delight as he drank.
After downing cup after cup, Bu Eun-seol emptied the entire bottle of Hundred-Year Green Fruit Wine in less than eight minutes.
"That was satisfying."
"Yes."
Beaming, she gestured around the pavilion.
"Now that you've had your drink, would you like to take a stroll around Wind Grove Pavilion? The scenery here is beautiful under the moonlight, perfect for a walk when the full moon is out."
"Very well."
The strong wine settling in his stomach made him feel like walking a little.
Bu Eun-seol walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Guyang Cheong-jeong, circling the Wind Grove Pavilion.
Even as he admired the flowers scattered under the moonlight, his mind remained occupied with researching the secret arts.
"Young Master Bu."
Guyang Cheong-jeong, who had been gazing at the pond, cautiously spoke up.
"There's something I'm curious about—may I ask?"
Bu Eun-seol had already noticed the complicated expression lingering on Guyang Cheong-jeong's face.
Assuming she would ask about martial techniques or sword methods, he gave a slight nod.
"Ask me anything. I'll answer to the best of my knowledge."
But what came next was an utterly unexpected question.
"Young Master... why did you save us—people you'd never met before—at the risk of your own life?"
A faint glimmer of hope flickered in Guyang Cheong-jeong's eyes.
Back then, she had stubbornly acted rudely toward Bu Eun-seol, who had rented out the entire annex of the guest inn.
Yet not only had he overlooked her discourtesy, but he had also saved her in that moment of crisis.
—Could it be... that the Young Master holds some affection for me?
Ever since that day, this thought had lingered in her mind.
Could Bu Eun-seol have been captivated by her youthful beauty?
Was it because he felt even the slightest fondness that he had helped her? Such was the hope she harbored.
"It was merely a whim."
But the answer that returned shattered her heart with its indifference.
"A... whim?"
"Indeed. At the time, it was my first encounter with the young prodigies of the Demonic Path."
Bu Eun-seol spoke candidly of his thoughts at the time.
"I had been secretly seeking out the Great Righteous Experts who had yet to reveal themselves in the Martial World, testing my skills against them. Along the way, I crossed paths with many figures... but that was the first time I had ever seen the rising talents of the Demonic Path."
Then, with a hint of awkwardness, he gazed at the distant sky.
"Simply because they belonged to the Demonic Path, I felt an inexplicable kinship. That was why I aided you."
Bathed in moonlight, Bu Eun-seol's face seemed to hold a faint glow.
The pupils nestled within his deep, long eyes were clear and beautiful, as if they could pierce through one's soul...
Yet they remained untouched by any emotion—utterly indifferent.
Unable to bear looking at him any longer, Guyang Cheong-jeong lowered her head.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Just... everything."
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.
She was only now realizing, painfully, that Bu Eun-seol was an unreachable sky—someone she could never hope to ascend to.
"Then... rest well."
With that, she turned and disappeared into the darkness.
As he watched her retreating figure, no emotion surfaced in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
Had anyone witnessed that moment, they might have wondered:
Does he truly feel nothing? Or is it that, having devoted everything to the Martial Way, he cannot perceive the affection of others?
Unless one could peer into his mind, no one would ever know the answer.
"Hm."
Turning his head to gaze at the distant sky, Bu Eun-seol spoke in a stern, low voice.
"Come out now."
But there was no response.
Then, faint points of light began to rise from his entire body.
"I won't say it twice."
Swish.
Only then did shadows begin to emerge one by one from the darkness behind the pavilion.
Myo Cheon-u, Wi Cheon-gyeong, Jo Nam-cheon, Won Se-mun... and even Yu Un-ryong.
They appeared strung together like freshly dug sweet potatoes.
"So, all the squad leaders have gathered."
Bu Eun-seol fixed them with an icy stare.
"Were you holding a meeting here?"
A silence as heavy as death settled around the pavilion.
Finally, Jo Nam-cheon, who had been nervously gauging the mood, scratched his head.
"Well, uh... we heard there was something interesting to see—"
"Something interesting?"
Bu Eun-seol's eyes, previously steeped in solemnity, flashed in the darkness.
"So now I've become an amusing spectacle for you all?"
An overwhelming force—one that could topple mountains and upheave the earth—radiated from his entire being.
It seemed his fury had been stoked by the fact that, in the midst of wartime, they had secretly hidden in the front courtyard of the Wind-Shooting Sword Sect to spy on him.
"N-No, Great Leader!"
Unable to endure the suffocating atmosphere, Jo Nam-cheon hastily spoke up.
"It's just—Myo-Elder Brother said there was something fun to watch!"
In an instant, Myo Cheon-u's face turned ashen.
"Who told you to follow me?!"
"If you say there's something fun to see, how could we not go? All that's left now is bloodshed ahead."
Under Bu Eun-seol's stern gaze, Wi Cheon-gyeong and Won Se-mun also nodded.
"That's right."
"We just followed Myo-Elder Brother."
"You traitorous bastards!"
Seeing his fellow squad leaders throw him under the cart, Myo Cheon-u exploded with rage.
"My mistake was trusting scum like you as comrades!"
Pointing an accusing finger, he shouted indignantly, his expression twisted with resentment.
"If anything fun happens again, just wait and see if I call you! You backstabbing rats!"
With another explosive shout, Myo Cheon-u vanished into the darkness with a whoosh.
Just like that, he had made a hasty escape.
—That kind of method...
The remaining squad leaders gaped.
Myo Cheon-u's smooth exit was so flawless that even Won Se-mun—infamous as a reckless ruffian—could only click his tongue in admiration.
As silence briefly settled, Jo Nam-cheon suddenly raised his voice.
"This—this won't do at all!"
Glaring furiously at the spot where Myo Cheon-u had disappeared, he shouted,
"No matter how strong his martial arts are, this is too much! A junior squad leader daring to rage at his senior like that? And right before a battle?"
Then, rolling up his sleeves with dramatic flair, he declared,
"We ought to reestablish the hierarchy right now!"
And with that, he too vanished whoosh into the darkness where Myo Cheon-u had gone.
Truly, the student had surpassed the master.
In mere moments, he had mastered Myo Cheon-u's crisis management technique.
Watching this unfold, Wi Cheon-gyeong and Won Se-mun—who had been carefully gauging Bu Eun-seol's reaction—exchanged deeply serious looks.
"This... seems like it'll lead to a huge fight. A real mess."
"Yeah, yeah. We'd better step in before things escalate."
And then, the two of them also disappeared with a whoosh.
Bu Eun-seol let out a weary sigh as he watched them go.
The coming fight would be fiercer than any battle they'd faced before.
Now, more than ever, they needed solid unity and cohesion.
But seeing how seamlessly they moved together—acting in perfect sync—it seemed Myo Cheon-u and the others had already blended well with the Death Shadow Squad leaders.
'They must've built strong bonds in that time.'
Just as he exhaled, Bu Eun-seol suddenly turned his head.
Because there, still awkwardly lingering, stood Yu Un-ryong.
"Why haven't you left?"
At Bu Eun-seol's question, Yu Un-ryong's face flushed red.
Unlike the others, he hadn't yet grown shameless enough to come up with a flimsy excuse.
"You—"
Under Bu Eun-seol's piercing gaze, Yu Un-ryong's face burned crimson before he suddenly bellowed,
"Why are you only picking on me?!"
With an explosive burst of anger, he spun on his heel and disappeared into the darkness.
"...He's learned well."
Shaking his head, Bu Eun-seol stared at the spot where Yu Un-ryong had vanished, his expression drained.
Several days later.
A figure clad in black rushed into the Pure Elegance Study where Bu Eun-seol resided, moving at a brisk pace.
It was Wi Cheon-gyeong.
Following Bu Eun-seol's orders, he had been leaving the Wind-Shooting Sword Sect at dawn each day to gather intelligence from nearby informant networks.
And today, he had returned like lightning, bearing urgent news.
"Great Lord!"
Drenched in sweat, Wi Cheon-gyeong strode straight into Bu Eun-seol's office where the latter sat working.
In a voice more urgent than ever before, he announced,
"It's begun!"
Catching his breath, he continued,
"As we speak, the main forces of the Blood Mist Corps are pushing deep into the heart of the Black Alliance!"
Bu Eun-seol's brush stilled mid-stroke.
All this time, he had been waiting at the Wind-Shooting Sword Sect for this very moment—the Blood Mist Corps' full-scale assault on the Black Alliance.
Only when the two factions clashed violently would he be able to infiltrate deep into the Black Alliance's stronghold via the Raging River.
"The time has come."
Rising from his seat, Bu Eun-seol spoke in a solemn voice.
"Gather all unit members."
The Raging River originated from the Tanggula Mountains in eastern Qinghai, flowing southeast.
Since most of its course cut through steep mountainous terrain, large vessels couldn't navigate it.
However, near the All Swords Plain, the waterway widened enough for small merchant ships to pass through.
The Black Alliance had blocked the entrance to the strait with chained-together boats, stationing several patrol vessels nearby.
This served both to defend their headquarters and to collect tolls from merchant ships passing through.
But even if one managed to slip past, the probability of a large force infiltrating the All Swords Plain was zero.
Because along its shores, the Black Alliance had layered highly trained troops and defensive mechanisms.
Whoosh—
Under the moonlight, a small merchant ship, riding favorable winds, cut smoothly through the water.
A gentle breeze fluttered the sails and the flag atop the mast—emblazoned with the character Wind.
This was a merchant vessel directly operated by the Wind-Shooting Sword Sect, one of the Seven Sword Gates of Qinghai.
Unlike the Righteous Faction, the Demonic Path was sustained by strength and wealth.
The Wind-Shooting Sword Sect had long profited immensely from salt smuggling via the Raging River.
In fact, the Seven Sword Gates of Qinghai had built their influence over generations precisely because of the vast fortunes amassed through smuggling.
Clank.
As they neared the All Swords Plain, the waterway abruptly narrowed.
At the same time, the chained-together blockade boats came into view.
And flanking the Wind-Shooting Sword Sect's vessel, two speedboats of Black Alliance began closing in on either side.