Chapter 35
Hot sunlight slipped through the window and fell across the bed. The warmth brushed my face, and my eyes opened on their own.
I sat up, opened the door to my room, and started walking.
After passing through a long corridor, I came upon a training yard that was neither too large nor too small.
There was no one there but me, so not a sound could be heard.
“That damned old man. Why did he have to go and give me such a troublesome title?”
The estate was far too spacious for one person to use alone. It belonged to Namgung Cheon, the leader of the Murim Alliance, and was his private residence.
The reason he had given it to me was simple.
I was the first martial artist to receive a personal title from Namgung Cheon.
Think about it. A young martial artist given the first title ever bestowed by the Murim Alliance leader of the age. How could people not gossip about that?
People who heard my title usually fell into one of two camps.
“I heard the Murim Alliance leader recently gave the young martial artist Baek Mugeuk the title Bright Destroying Sword. He must be quite promising.”
“The rise of a promising young man is surely a blessing for the righteous martial world, is it not?”
“Indeed it is. Hahaha.”
That was the typical reaction from people who weren’t martial artists.
“Bright Destroying Sword? Who’s that?”
“Some young martial artist from the Baek Clan in Jiangxi, I hear.”
“Jiangxi? The Baek Clan? Where the hell is that?”
“Supposedly a fairly well-known house in Jiangxi.”
“I’ve never even heard there was a promising family in Jiangxi. I have no idea why the leader would bestow such a title on him.”
“Maybe it’s because he drove the demonic sect bastards out of Zhejiang and captured the culprit in the third Thunder Prison this time, so the leader gave him the title?”
“Drove them out? Don’t make me laugh. The Namgung were there, weren’t they? And the constables and wardens from Thunder Prison probably helped too.”
That was the reaction from martial artists.
Martial artists always started by doubting any rumor floating around the Central Plains. The problem was that, having refused to believe the rumor, they then turned their annoying stares on me.
They wanted to see my skill for themselves. Or they wanted to exchange a few moves with me. Those bothersome fools began popping up one after another.
Even on the day I first came to the Murim Alliance, I had crossed hands with their martial artists, but that had merely been a way for me to get into Thunder Prison. Back then, the number of people was limited to the martial artists of the Murim Alliance. Now, though, not only the Alliance’s own martial artists but everyone who had heard the rumors was coming to find me.
Haa... even living quietly would be hard enough. Now I’ve gone and drawn everyone’s attention for no reason.
Of course, in my past life, I had plenty of titles too.
At first it had been Sword Dragon, the peak of the younger generation, and after that, the nicknames bestowed on the great masters of the age had been attached to me one by one.
Sword Hero, Sword King, Sword God, and finally the Greatest Under Heaven.
Tiresome, old-fashioned titles, the sort that could exist in any era.
My titles in my past life had made the Central Plains buzz, too, but to me this life’s title was even more annoying.
In my past life, those titles had not been bestowed on me by any single person. They had arisen because the entire Central Plains acknowledged me.
For a martial artist, gaining a title and becoming the center of rumor ought to be something to enjoy. It meant you were promising.
But I didn’t find it all that welcome.
The more rumors there were about me, the higher the chance those bastards would notice me.
I didn’t know about the Treasury of the Divine Thief, but I was certain the third Thunder Prison had some connection to them. On top of that, both incidents were the starting point of events that would one day plunge the martial world into chaos.
It was only natural that attention would gather around them.
“Well, it’s not like I didn’t expect this much. For now, I should do what I can.”
I exhaled lightly and drew the Bright Destroying Sword.
“Something’s strange.”
No red lines were appearing on the blade anymore. On top of that, the sword no longer hummed, and I couldn’t hear any sound in my head either.
It was just a sword that cut well now. Nothing more.
I went through the basic forms of the Baek Family Seven Sword Arts in order, from the first sword to the seventh, and sent a faint stream of sword qi at the wall with the final strike.
With a sharp whoosh, the wind split, and at the same instant, I heard the sound of sword qi slicing the wall.
“What on earth is the secret behind this sword?”
Song Wol had gone mad because of this sword. And Song Wol had used Namgung’s method of opening the meridians. How had he learned it?
Was it possible that Song Wol had already known the Namgung sword arts? As if.
There was something related to the Namgung Family hidden inside this sword. I took out the book tucked in my robe. The untitled manuscript from the chamber of mechanisms.
Namgung Myeongwol...
The Namgung Family’s first head and the first leader of the Murim Alliance. The book he had left behind. The one I had never been able to read past because of Song Wol’s massacre.
Even without Song Wol’s slaughter, I still wouldn’t have been able to read the rest. The pages behind it had all been smeared over in black ink.
I feel like I’m circling the core of it and still missing it.
It was irritating. I felt like I was constantly overlooking something crucial. But what could I do? The book was already ruined.
“I’ll have to look into Namgung Myeongwol.”
I tucked the book back into my robes.
Creak.
At that moment, the main gate opened, and martial artists from the Black Tortoise Guard in black uniforms entered.
“Looks like the commander is a good fit for you.”
“The commander... isn’t it. I’m just acting commander.”
At my words, Jang Wolsu, who stood at the front, gave an awkward smile. Then he clasped his fists and bowed deeply.
“Speaking on behalf of the Black Tortoise Guard, I’d like to say something. Thank you for saving our lives.”
“Saving your lives?”
“Pardon?”
At my reply, Jang Wolsu raised his head slightly, looking taken aback. I watched him for a moment, then went on.
“I only did what I had to do. I didn’t act to save your lives.”
“Even so...”
Jang Wolsu glanced at me, then lowered his head again.
“The Bright Destroying Sword did, in fact, save our lives. I wanted to thank you.”
Along with Jang Wolsu’s words, the martial artists standing behind him also bowed.
Their eyes now were completely different from the ones they had shown me when I first arrived at the Murim Alliance.
How should I put it? It was the difference between a look given to a third-rate martial artist and a look given to the Greatest Under Heaven. Their gratitude was genuine.
They had gone this far, so ignoring them would have been impolite. I gave them a light clasped-fist salute in return, albeit reluctantly. They lifted their heads and smiled brightly.
“Putting that aside, why did you come here? It doesn’t seem like you all came just to greet me.”
“Ah! Actually, this evening is the leader’s birthday celebration.”
“So?”
“The leader asked that the Bright Destroying Sword attend the celebration.”
“Tonight is the event, and you’re inviting me now?”
“Yes.”
As my expression darkened, Jang Wolsu looked flustered.
Inviting someone on the same day you wanted them to attend was, of course, rude. Still, if I thought about it, the leader hadn’t prepared for his birthday in just a day or two, and I had shown up in the middle of the preparations, so I must not have been on the invitation list.
“May I take that as a yes?”
“...It’s the leader’s celebration, so of course I should attend.”
“Yes. I’ll tell him so. Ah! And the leader asked me to pass along one more thing.”
“...?”
“Come fully prepared. There’ll be something interesting.”
“Something interesting? What is it?”
“I’m not sure. He only told me to say it like that.”
Jang Wolsu finished speaking, bowed again, and turned around.
“He really is an odd old man.”
It had already been three days since I met the leader. During those three days, he had sent no message at all. Then, all of a sudden, he invited me to his own birthday celebration.
“He was acting like he’d start a riot at any moment, and now this? Something interesting, too?”
I hated troublesome gatherings, but there was no way I could refuse an invitation sent directly by the Murim Alliance leader.
I washed up, changed into a white martial robe, and headed toward the Murim Alliance.
The distance from the estate to the Murim Alliance was not that great. Still, I walked more slowly than usual, watching my surroundings.
The atmosphere felt unfamiliar.
As I drew closer to the Murim Alliance, the crowds grew denser. Most of them seemed to be people who had gathered in Henan to celebrate the Murim Alliance leader’s birthday.
The leader’s birthday. It was truly a festival.
Even if they never saw the Murim Alliance leader in person, they still came to Henan to celebrate his birthday.
In my past life, I had never once taken part in anyone’s birthday or festival.
Near the end of that life, I fought like a madman to oppose Tiger Mask, and before that, I simply didn’t.
Because it was a bother. So this atmosphere, where everyone was enjoying themselves, felt strange.
It’s not bad.
Children running around excitedly with tanghulu in their hands. People drinking together and laughing. Merchants moving briskly through the streets.
Was this what peace looked like? It was unfamiliar, but not unpleasant.
I suppose I should buy a gift...
That thought suddenly occurred to me. If it was a birthday celebration, then of course a gift was necessary.
Old man. What should I give him?
I thought about it for a moment. What would the Murim Alliance leader need right now? The answer did not take long to come. I turned my steps toward the White Lotus Inn.
Creak.
When I opened the door to the White Lotus Inn, every seat was already filled. A serving boy rushed up to me and bowed his head.
“Customer, I’m terribly sorry, but we have no seats left today. Please come back another time.”
“Wrap up a bottle of bamboo leaf wine for me.”
“Pardon? One bottle of bamboo leaf wine?”
“Yes.”
The serving boy made a reluctant face, told me to wait a moment, and turned away.
I let my gaze drift over the people in the inn. Most of them were martial artists. Every conversation they had was about Namgung Cheon.
Mostly it was about the feats he had accomplished so far.
He had defeated this person here, defended the righteous faction there, and naturally he was the Greatest Under Heaven. That sort of talk.
Crash!
Just as everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves, the sound of a wine bottle shattering on the floor rang out.
All the laughter and chatter inside the inn died at once, and everyone’s gaze turned toward the direction where the bottle had broken.
“What kind of rudeness is it to buy someone a drink!”
“I thought you said you weren’t going to drink?”
“Then if you’re not drinking, all you have to do is not drink it. Why would you smash the wine? Do you even know who I am, acting like this?”
“I’m not interested in who you are.”
At the end of those gazes stood a man and a woman.
The man spoke with the air of a gentleman, but his face was already flushed from drink, and a sharp, aggressive energy was leaking out of him bit by bit.
“Not interested, is it? I’m the Gale Sword, Han Seokwol.”
The man introducing himself as the Gale Sword, Han Seokwol, made the people in the inn murmur in admiration.
He seemed to be a fairly well-known martial artist.
Not a name I knew, though.
“You’re the Gale Sword?”
“That’s right. I am that Gale Sword, miss.”
When the woman repeated Han Seokwol’s name, the corners of his mouth rose. He straightened his shoulders. But the woman only tilted her head slightly to the side.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard that title. Is it really worth being so proud of?”
“Pffft.”
I let out a laugh without meaning to. But the atmosphere around me was entirely different. Han Seokwol was starting to gather momentum.
Frowning, he moved closer to the woman.
“Would you like to see for yourself whether it’s worth being proud of?”
“That actually sounds kind of fun.”
“You brought this on yourself!”
Han Seokwol raised a fist charged with inner energy and thrust it toward the woman.
“What a hassle.”
I muttered under my breath and picked up the chopsticks from the table. Then I threw them straight at Han Seokwol.
Whoosh.
In the blink of an eye, the chopsticks shot through the air and struck his acupoint before his fist had fully extended.
It happened in a heartbeat.
Han Seokwol’s eyes snapped shut as the chopsticks hit his acupoint, and his body crumpled. Naturally, his fist veered aside and fell away beside the woman along with his collapsing body.
And I added one more line.
“Looks like he was too drunk. To the point he collapsed while talking.”
Starting with my remark, the people in the inn took up the thread.
“The Gale Sword? I heard he was a decent martial artist, but he can’t even hold his liquor.”
“Gale Sword? More like Staggering Sword.”
Just as the inn grew loud again, the serving boy brought me a wrapped bottle of bamboo leaf wine. I took it and stepped outside.
“There’s never a day that goes by quietly, is there.”
Wherever I went, there were always bastards like that. Men who couldn’t read the room and had to make a scene. If it had been any other day, I would never have gotten involved.
Because getting involved in things like that always brought trouble afterward.
“Hey. You there.”
...Just like this.
I shut my eyes tightly at the voice that called out to me.
That was only natural. The voice belonged to the woman from inside the inn.
“Who do you think you are, butting into my business without permission?”
“Because he looked dangerous.”
Even after hearing her, I kept walking. Then the woman grabbed my shoulder.
“Dangerous? Him?”
The grip on my shoulder tightened little by little. I brushed her hand away lightly and turned around.
“No. You looked dangerous. To him.”
I could see it.
The hand she had been about to send toward Han Seokwol.
And the faint demonic energy clinging to her.