Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: The Mad Plum Blossom Divine Lord
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His bones were completely crushed.
Baekhyang gasped for breath. What the hell was this?
He had reinforced his body with internal energy. And that wasn't all-he had even coated his famed sword with sword aura.
His opponent's sword should have shattered the moment they clashed...
But the exact opposite had happened.
The surroundings fell silent. He could feel the onlookers, who had been watching with curiosity, go quiet.
Baekhyang staggered to his feet. The man standing before him spoke calmly.
"I'll at least give you a chance to grab your sword."
"Ah... ah..."
External martial arts.
Didn't he say it was just simple external arts...?
Baekhyang frantically examined his opponent. No matter how many times he looked, he couldn't sense any flow of qi.
So, literally...
He had shattered my sword aura with nothing but pure external strength?
"Th-that's... impossible...?"
"I'll count to three."
Red Cloud.
Inspector of the Murim Alliance.
He muttered calmly.
"One."
"W-wait a moment...! I-I surrender!"
His arm was already ruined. He couldn't even lift his sword anymore.
But his opponent didn't stop. He continued counting as if it were the most natural thing.
"Two."
"I said I surrender!"
Even adding polite speech in his panic didn't change the man's eyes.
A heavy, unyielding expression stared straight at him. Lurking behind it was...
A resolute determination to honor his word once given.
"Three."
Ah, no.
I'm going to die...
"Red Hero!"
His senior brother, always one step ahead of him, blocked the way. With that, Baekhyang's legs gave out, and he collapsed in place.
---Thud.
He knew he looked pathetic. But even trying to stand, his body wouldn't obey.
If his senior brother hadn't intervened just now...
He really would have died.
That man was the type to follow through.
"Ah... aaah..."
As the tension drained away, his pants darkened with urine.
Along with the stench.
...
"Red Hero! Please, even for my sake, show mercy! Mount Hua will make amends for this somehow!"
Baekhyeon desperately tried to stop me. I glanced past him at Baekhyang.
He had pissed himself. I could see his white pants turning black.
Terrified. Of my killing intent.
Of course, I had no real intention of killing him. But I had planned to at least break half of him.
One more leg, at least...
Lucky bastard.
Since I'd been stopped, it was best to end it here. Going too far would only breed resentment toward Mount Hua.
Besides, this was warning enough.
I spun my sword and sheathed it. I averted my gaze from Baekhyang, who was being helped away.
Baekhyeon followed, bowing his head repeatedly.
"Th-thank you, Red Hero."
"I'll let it slide this once, but not twice. Baekhyeon Swordmaster. If anyone picks a fight again, I'll take it as a challenge to the Murim Alliance."
"Of course! I'll drill it into the kids down there. For now, please rest at your lodgings."
Sua came running over with pattering steps. She naturally hugged me.
"Daddy."
Come to think of it, this was the first time Sua had seen me like this.
I lifted her up and tapped her nose.
"Were you scared?"
"No. You were cool!"
"...?"
"It was such a cool sword! Super cool!"
Genius kids really are different from normal ones, huh.
I nodded. Sua stuck her tongue out at Baekhyang, who was staggering away.
She rubbed her cheek against mine.
"Daddy. Were you mad because of me?"
"Because he said something you shouldn't say."
"...Heehee. I love you, Daddy."
Her expressions of affection had increased lately. I stroked Sua's head and headed to the lodgings.
Despite the incident, no real repercussions came my way. Baekhyeon must have explained it well in between.
Number One, who had gone out, returned.
"I found them."
"The disciple of the Plum Blossom Divine Lord?"
"Yes. Not far from here. They're from the same Mount Hua, but living in rather rugged terrain."
"Is the Plum Blossom Divine Lord there too?"
Number One nodded. I checked outside into the deepening night.
First things first: assess his condition and that of his disciple.
Sua naturally grabbed her sword.
"Sua. This is..."
"Daddy. It's more dangerous without you."
"...Let's go together."
We slipped out under the cover of Mount Hua's night. It was a bit rude to visit so late, but it couldn't be helped.
---Tap.
The place we arrived was enveloped in the fragrance of flowers.
No plum blossoms, the symbol of Mount Hua. Just a riot of colorful flowers. Sua let out a small gasp of admiration.
But I couldn't fully appreciate it. In the midst of the blooming flower field sat a figure.
"......"
Platinum hair. Beautiful platinum hair.
A striking appearance that would stick in your memory even in passing. And the air of elegance emanating from her was no ordinary thing.
Stunning beauty. But something else caught my attention even more.
Her features were perfectly sculpted, yet carried a slightly alien aura...
A colorblind person...?
She opened her eyes and stared at me blankly. Our gazes met, but she quickly turned her head away.
Her mumbling voice was very soft.
"...Th-there's nothing here for you to take. Please leave..."
The voice was quiet, but the chill in her demeanor was palpable.
I asked her,
"Are you the disciple of the Plum Blossom Divine Lord?"
"...Didn't you come knowing that?"
"I'm Red Cloud, inspector of the Murim Alliance. I've come late at night with some questions."
She reacted to "Murim Alliance inspector."
"...Wh-what... do you want to know?"
"May I ask why you're not participating in the Mount Hua Martial Assembly?"
"Nothing to gain... so I'm not..."
"...Aren't you the sole successor to the Plum Blossom Divine Lord?"
"...Did they say that...? No way..."
The woman, Gu Hwarin, stammered.
"In-inspector, was it? I don't know why you're here, but please leave. I'm really... not interested in that position."
"......."
"All that's here is my weakened master and one swordsman uninterested in power... I gave up my chance at the assembly myself... so, please leave."
"I see."
I couldn't force someone who didn't want to participate.
I nodded. But then, a door in the middle of the clearing creaked open.
One person crawled out from the house. He looked around, then grinned at Gu Hwarin.
"Ugh... haha...! They're all going to die! All of them will die!"
Like a madman, he drew his sword and flailed at the air. There was no madness in his movements-only precision.
Gu Hwarin rushed out and subdued him. She pinned him to the ground, wrested the sword from his grip by force.
Disheveled hair and bold features. If not ruined, it would have been a refined face, but wild eyes had long devoured it.
That must be the Plum Blossom Divine Lord.
"...Give it back."
Gu Hwarin said, forcing calm.
"If you don't want to see worse..."
I nodded. I could see what her back was saying.
She didn't want to show her broken master to outsiders.
If it were me in her place, I'd do the same.
Having someone precious broken... is not something you want others to see.
...
Back at my lodgings, I shifted my thinking.
The Alliance Leader's wish was probably for Mount Hua's power to crumble. Among those vying for Mount Hua, members of the New Murim Alliance coalition were mixed in.
Pushing the Plum Blossom Divine Lord's disciple as sect leader to sow chaos was likely part of that.
But after seeing Mount Hua for myself, I couldn't find reason to act that way.
It was like with Shaolin. There was reason for it to fall, so I cooperated in bringing it down.
But Mount Hua?
No glaring issues. No obvious misdeeds.
Just their power. That was Mount Hua's only problem.
Mount Hua wasn't my enemy. It wasn't rotten; it was steadily fulfilling its duties as a sect.
So maybe for this place, just watching would suffice.
My thoughts leaned that way.
The Alliance Leader had given orders, but I didn't want to force it. Sending out someone unwilling and profiting from it...
One of the things I absolutely didn't want to do.
I chose to wait. Even if it led to one failure...
I didn't want to do what I didn't want.
Better to aim for the next chance. With the info already gained, my training might open new paths anyway.
If things went well there, no need to impress the Alliance Leader. My goal was just info, after all.
Still, just in case, I asked Number One to gather more intel. To verify my judgment.
"The frontrunner in the current Mount Hua Martial Assembly is Elder Un-gong of the Unyielding School. Excluding the Plum Blossom Divine Lord, he's Mount Hua's top martial artist... but his faction is the smallest."
"...As expected."
"Yes. The New Murim Alliance coalition, led by Elder Danri Jinsu, bolstered his lacking support. In return, he's promised Mount Hua's backing if he becomes sect leader."
A deal, then.
I pondered deeply.
"Do you think there'll be any upset, Number One?"
"No. His biggest weakness was always his base of support, and outsiders filled it. No one can catch Un-gong now."
"I see..."
Sua tugged at my arm.
"Daddy."
"Yeah?"
"You know how there's the Murim Alliance, and the opposing New Murim Alliance? And Daddy's... trying to stop the New Murim Alliance from taking over Mount Hua, right?"
"Right."
"Then can't you just make sure Mount Hua doesn't side with the New Murim Alliance?"
"...Huh?"
"That sister said she doesn't want to join the assembly."
Sua tilted her head.
"If that weird uncle's mind gets fixed... Mount Hua's leadership won't change... and everything's fine, right?"
"......"
"Can't you fix him like you did with Mountain Man?"
Number One glanced at me.
"...Miss Sua. Treating mania isn't that simple..."
"...Not wrong."
"Pardon?"
"No harm in trying, at least."
Heal Mount Hua's mad legend...
If that keeps Mount Hua out of the New Murim Alliance coalition, it achieves the Alliance Leader's goal in effect.
And... if I succeed in treating the legend, the Murim Alliance's prestige rises again.
"Good thinking."
"Ehehe. Pet me more, Daddy."
"Sure."
Time to visit again.
Aside from duties, healing the sick feels good in itself.