Chapter 71
—A Terrifying Newcomer Has Appeared!
When he defeated Yeong Ji-wi, one of the Great Righteous Experts, at the Martial Arts Tournament, the rumors had spread like this.
But when he sliced Yeop Hwa—known as the Wandering Chivalrous—cleanly in two with a single stroke, the rumors changed to this:
—A Once-in-a-Generation Killing Star Has Emerged!
Who was Yeop Hwa, the Wandering Chivalrous?
Though he was a wandering mercenary who sold his skills for money, he was also known as a philanthropist who helped pitiful children.
How could someone who performed virtuous deeds no less than the Renowned Heroes of the orthodox factions be so brutally murdered at the tournament without any reason?
—Just who is this Killing Star?!
A young killer previously unknown to the martial world. Why had he suddenly appeared at the tournament? Why had he slain Yeop Hwa, the Wandering Chivalrous?
Rumors about his identity spread like wildfire, each more elaborate than the last.
Eventually, the name that surfaced was Bu Eun-seol.
"Thank you."
At Gayang Tower, an upscale inn not far from the tournament grounds, Bu Eun-seol and Heuk-pyo sat facing each other. Heuk-pyo had sought him out after hearing the news that Bu Eun-seol had cut down Yeop Hwa at the tournament.
"You believed my words."
"I didn't believe your words."
Bu Eun-seol set down his wine cup slowly and spoke impassively.
"I simply trusted my own eyes."
Qi-Scattering Powder and Thirst Poison were Extreme Toxins even professional assassins hesitated to use.
Anyone who wielded such poisons without hesitation could hardly be called human.
"But I'm concerned. I never imagined this incident would cause such repercussions..."
Heuk-pyo glanced around the inn with an uneasy expression.
The place was filled with martial artists who appeared to belong to the orthodox factions, and they occasionally glared at Bu Eun-seol with palpable hostility.
"If only I had gathered evidence beforehand, this wouldn't have happened."
"Pay them no mind."
Bu Eun-seol tilted his wine cup indifferently.
"If he committed such atrocities for so long, the truth will come out eventually."
"I can only hope that day comes soon."
Heuk-pyo sighed and pulled out the wooden box from before.
"Your promised payment. Please accept it."
"I told you, I'm no mercenary."
Bu Eun-seol's expression turned stern.
"I didn't kill him because you asked me to."
"But... I won't feel right unless you take this at least."
Heuk-pyo knew.
The reason Bu Eun-seol had been able to slaughter Yeop Hwa so ruthlessly was because he had believed the rumors of his depravity.
"Please, take it."
When Heuk-pyo extended the wooden box again, Bu Eun-seol spoke.
"If you feel indebted, there are other ways to repay me."
"What is it? Just name it."
"Stay by my side for three years and act as my eyes and ears. If you do that, I'll consider the debt repaid."
"Stay as your eyes and ears... for three years?"
"Correct."
Though the Gong Twin Demons were gone, the Yueyang Branch of the Slaughter-Seeking Squad still thrived.
Bu Eun-seol, who knew all the Secret Language and intelligence-gathering methods used by the Slaughter-Seeking Squad, could collect information from all their branches if he wished.
"I have several reliable sources of information. Having you follow me and handle various tasks would be quite helpful."
After a moment of thought, Heuk-pyo picked up the wooden box.
"Three years for three thousand gold taels... That's far too cheap for my services."
Though young, Heuk-pyo was a recognized talent among the Wandering Drifters.
His specialty lay in infiltration and the Pickpocketing Art, so he primarily handled treasure theft and intelligence-gathering rather than direct combat.
"May I ask one thing?"
Taking a deep breath, Heuk-pyo looked at Bu Eun-seol and spoke in a low voice.
"I'd like to know which sect you belong to."
"Why do you ask?"
"Because following you... might require risking my life."
Bu Eun-seol let out a quiet laugh and sent a Voice Transmission.
「Langya Pavilion.」
"Lang—"
Heuk-pyo shot to his feet and instinctively clapped a hand over his mouth.
'One of the Demonic Path Ten Gates... Langya Pavilion!'
Though people dismissed them as a declining sect or a vanished faction, that was only in comparison to the other pillars of the Demonic Path—the Demonic Path Ten Gates.
Langya Pavilion, where warriors who pursued the Martial Way alone like wolves, each capable of facing a hundred—no, a thousand—men, gathered in droves.
That the young man before him was a Master from such a place!
'This is worth staking my life on.'
Taking a deep breath, Heuk-pyo pulled out a sheet of paper from his sleeve.
"Then, could you sign this for me?"
"What is it?"
"A contract."
Heuk-pyo grinned sheepishly and scratched his head.
"To leave the Wandering Drifters, I need an official contract bearing the employer's thumbprint."
Borrowing brush and ink from an attendant, Heuk-pyo swiftly wrote out the contract.
Then he produced red ink and said to Bu Eun-seol,
"Just stamp it here with your thumbprint."
Once Bu Eun-seol pressed his thumbprint, Heuk-pyo beamed.
"As of today, the contract is sealed. I look forward to working with you."
"Take this."
Bu Eun-seol pulled out a small manual from his sleeve.
"What's this?"
"A Movement Technique to compensate for your sloppy footwork."
"A Movement Technique?"
"To handle my affairs, you'll need to be faster and more discreet than anyone else."
Opening the manual, Heuk-pyo found the principles of the Light Body Technique and footwork methods inscribed inside.
The ink was still fresh—it had clearly been written just last night.
"You'd already planned to hire me, Young Master?"
When Heuk-pyo grinned, Bu Eun-seol replied flatly,
"I merely prepared for contingencies."
"Heh. Then I'll gratefully accept."
Delighted, Heuk-pyo tucked the manual into his sleeve and added,
"But Young Master, I think it's best you avoid the inn until the tournament ends."
The martial artists' gazes, which had been noticeable earlier, had now turned openly hostile.
"This doesn't seem like it'll end peacefully."
The tension reached a breaking point, and Heuk-pyo's eyes flashed.
"I'll handle things here. You should go ahead."
"There's no need for you to concern yourself."
"This is the Wandering Drifters' territory. I'm one of their drifters too."
Bu Eun-seol rose from his seat without a care.
At that, several martial artists stood up as well, following his lead.
Among them was a middle-aged man with cheeks glowing like apricots and a well-groomed beard, who pointed at Bu Eun-seol and spoke.
"Bu Eun-seol."
"Who are you?"
"I am the Steel-Faced Guest, Go Il-ryong."
The Steel-Faced Guest, Go Il-ryong.
A chivalrous hero of the Righteous Path, known for his fiery temper and intolerance of injustice—a man who would personally deal with villains when he saw them.
But Bu Eun-seol remained indifferent, as if watching an old peddler trying to lure customers.
"And?"
"'And'? How dare you so cruelly murder the innocent Yeop Hwa!"
"Since when has the martial world been a place where people are killed based on guilt or innocence?"
"You call that an argument?"
Bu Eun-seol smirked—uncharacteristically.
"If you insist on discussing guilt, then fine. He was guilty."
"Guilty? Of what?"
Bu Eun-seol's gaze was icy as he replied.
"He roamed the martial world, secretly committing depraved acts. And he used vile poisons to assassinate his targets."
"Nonsense!"
Go Il-ryong roared.
"The dead cannot defend themselves! Are you trying to tarnish even his posthumous reputation?"
"The dead can defend themselves."
"What?"
Bu Eun-seol's voice was frigid.
"Sometimes, only in death do certain people receive their true judgment. Some leave behind a fragrant name, while others reek even after death."
Those who wielded power and authority in life could only be properly judged in death.
As an undertaker, Bu Eun-seol had faced this truth countless times.
"Wait and see."
His expression was solemn.
"If Yeop Hwa truly lived a clean and righteous life, his posthumous judgment will reflect that."
"What kind of absurd sophistry is this?"
Go Il-ryong glared at him in disbelief.
"By your logic, everyone should die before they can be properly judged."
"I said sometimes."
"You've got a sharp tongue. But you're missing one crucial fact."
Go Il-ryong let out a low, derisive laugh.
"In the martial world, a sharp sword is far more persuasive than a smooth tongue."
"'A sword is more persuasive than a tongue'... I couldn't agree more."
The corners of Bu Eun-seol's lips curled up, and a fierce light erupted from his eyes.
"Then let's begin the persuasion."
CRASH!
The entire wall of Gayang Tower's second-floor guest hall was obliterated.
Not long after, a middle-aged man in white robes and his companions tumbled down in an undignified heap.
It was the Steel-Faced Guest, Go Il-ryong, and his comrades.
'Twice as strong as I expected.'
Heuk-pyo, standing behind Bu Eun-seol, was speechless at the sheer martial prowess that defied imagination.
Go Il-ryong was a master who had roamed the martial world for decades. And yet, in an instant, he and his men had been reduced to bloody wrecks.
"Ugh..."
Lying on the ground below the inn, Go Il-ryong—his face now a gruesome mask of blood—looked anything but "steel-faced."
His companions' weapons lay shattered around them.
"Does the persuasion need to continue?"
Bu Eun-seol descended from the inn, his pupils crackling with blue lightning.
The Steel-Faced Guest bit his lip.
"You...!"
"It seems more persuasion is necessary."
As Bu Eun-seol clenched his fist, Go Il-ryong's expression changed.
"Wait!"
His pride stung by his own desperate reaction, he lowered his head.
"That's... enough."
Bu Eun-seol stared at him for a long moment before turning away, his voice low.
"Lucky for you."
THUD!
After slamming a wad of banknotes into the inn's doorframe, Bu Eun-seol called out to Gayang Tower's chief steward, who had come running in a panic.
"Use this for repairs."
"...Wasn't that excessive?"
Heuk-pyo, walking beside Bu Eun-seol as they left the inn, wore a troubled expression.
"The Steel-Faced Guest has connections with many masters of the Righteous Path. You turned him into a bloody mess without mercy... There'll be endless repercussions."
"The opposite."
"Huh?"
"You should never deal half-heartedly with people who meddle in others' affairs."
Bu Eun-seol's face was expressionless.
"Crush them so thoroughly they never dare challenge you again. That's the martial world's nature."
"'Crush them so they don't challenge you'?"
"If you handle them lightly, the provocations never stop. The Righteous Path's old men are always lined up, eager to 'teach lessons' to up-and-coming talents."
For a moment, Heuk-pyo pictured a crowd of nagging old men from the Righteous Path huddled together.
"Pfft."
He nearly burst out laughing.
But the sheer coldness radiating from Bu Eun-seol's profile stifled his mirth.
"But after this, they'll learn. To challenge me, they must stake both their pride and their lives."
"...I see."
Though Heuk-pyo had lived as a drifter since childhood, his understanding of the martial world's ways was still unformed.
Yet Bu Eun-seol carried his own philosophy, as if he had spent decades navigating the Rivers and Lakes.
"But if you keep going like this, won't you just accumulate enemies on all sides?"
"Even better."
"Huh?"
"More enemies mean more opportunities to refine my martial arts."
At those words, Heuk-pyo suddenly realized something.
'The Young Master intends to overturn the entire martial world.'
He didn't know why.
But as he looked at Bu Eun-seol's profile, his heart pounded.
'Staying by his side... is going to be interesting.'
The jobs that come into the Wandering Drifters are mostly repetitions of reckless gambles with danger.
But Heuk-pyo instinctively knew—if he traveled the martial world with Bu Eun-seol, he would see a far broader world than anything he'd experienced until now.