Chapter 47
Lee Baekwoon’s scattered inner power and killing intent filled every corner of the room. And the moment he stood right in front of me, someone caught his shoulder.
“Senior Brother. Tomorrow is the Hwa-Jong Banquet. Sect Leader said not to cause trouble.”
“Who said it was okay for anyone to lay a hand on me? Hwang Yeong?”
Lee Baekwoon turned his head slightly. The killing intent that had been aimed at me flowed over to Hwang Yeong instead.
“There isn’t much time left before the eve banquet. If you’re late, Sect Leader will have words with you...”
Smack.
Lee Baekwoon’s hand flew into Hwang Yeong’s cheek.
Hwang Yeong grimaced and bit his lip with the tip of his teeth. For an instant, a faint tremor passed through his body, but his gaze never wavered.
“You think you can lecture me, you insolent brat?”
“No, Senior Brother. I only said it because Sect Leader is worried.”
Lee Baekwoon glared at Hwang Yeong sharply. Little by little, the pressure coming off him began to die down.
“Who are you?”
“I’m the young lady’s guard.”
“A mere guard dares...” Lee Baekwoon sneered. “Let me give you one warning. You’d better leave this place before the Hwa-Jong Banquet is over. If you don’t, I’ll be the one to kill you.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Lee Baekwoon bared his teeth. It was as if he were carving my face into his memory.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
Lee Baekwoon and the Jongnam Taoists left the weapon shop. The moment they were gone, the shopkeeper’s legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor.
Then Dang Hye turned those sharp eyes on me.
“What exactly are you doing right now?”
“What do you mean? I just bought a dagger.”
I gestured toward the dagger embedded in the wall.
“This should be good enough to use for a while.”
“You picked a fight with someone without even knowing who he was?”
“Who was he?”
“Lee Baekwoon, the top prodigy of Jongnam!”
I smiled faintly and looked at Dang Hye.
“If that idiot is Jongnam’s top prodigy, then Jongnam has no future.”
“Ha...”
At my words, Dang Hye pressed her temple. Did I really need to care about some brat, regardless of whether he was Jongnam’s top prodigy or the emperor himself?
“Shopkeeper. I’ll take the daggers.”
“Ah... yes. You said one hundred, correct?”
The shopkeeper opened a drawer with both hands trembling. The daggers clinked together with a sharp, ringing sound. He hurriedly straightened up and handed them over, his eyes practically saying, Please, just leave quickly.
The tavern was already packed. No doubt the crowds had swelled because of the Hwa-Jong Banquet. Thankfully, there were still rooms available. After paying for two rooms, Dang Hye vanished almost immediately.
“I suppose she feels that uncomfortable.”
I, too, resumed my bath, changed my clothes, and left a note in Dang Hye’s room saying I’d stepped out for a while. Then I walked out of the tavern.
“Might as well go see the eve banquet.”
I leaped onto the roof of the tallest pleasure house in the area.
The instant I landed there, the whole town spread out before me at a glance.
Two buildings in particular stood out unmistakably.
The Mount Hwa pavilion, dyed red like a blooming plum blossom,
and, in contrast, Jongnam’s pavilion, plain and white.
The two pavilions built for the Hwa-Jong Banquet reflected the philosophies of their respective sects exactly as they were.
The eve banquet of the Hwa-Jong Banquet.
It had an elegant name on the surface, but in truth it was nothing more than a meal shared by the leaders of the two sects.
And that gathering was always held in the pavilion of whichever sect had won the previous round.
“Since last time’s victory went to Mount Hwa...”
I sprang toward the Mount Hwa pavilion.
* * *
Mount Hwa’s pavilion.
Inside and out, the pavilion was embroidered with red plum blossoms, just as you’d expect from Mount Hwa. But despite all that splendor, the atmosphere in the banquet hall was cold.
The twelve martial artists taking part in this Hwa-Jong Banquet sat on the lowest tier, above them the elders of each sect, and on the highest tier the two sect leaders themselves.
Despite being called an eve banquet, the pressure they gave off made the place feel downright icy.
And the voice that cut through that silence belonged to Jongnam’s sect leader, Hyeonil Jin-in.
“Sect Leader Hwang has been well, I trust?”
“As for me, what reason would I have not to be?”
Since both sects were Daoist, both leaders wore kindly smiles. But what lay beneath those smiles was completely different.
Cheonghyeon Jin-in, who had won the last Hwa-Jong Banquet, wore a genuinely relaxed expression, while Hyeonil Jin-in of the defeated Jongnam sect smiled with obvious bitterness.
“It seems your disciples have made some progress. That pleases me as well. Still, you ought to keep your guard up. We’ve prepared thoroughly this time too.”
“Hmph, I’m looking forward to it. But why should I be on guard? In the end, it will be the disciples who show us what they can do.”
A faint crease formed around Hyeonil Jin-in’s eyes.
“Mount Hwa seems to still be drunk on the afterglow of victory.”
Cheonghyeon Jin-in merely lifted the corners of his eyes slightly in response.
“Jongnam still hasn’t shaken off the bitterness of defeat, it seems.”
Their gazes met. It had been only a brief moment, but the tension between the two sect leaders had already spread through the entire banquet hall.
Glug.
Cheonghyeon Jin-in lifted his tea and drank. Then he slowly curled the corner of his mouth.
“Whatever the case, I hope the banquet ends smoothly and none of the disciples from either sect are hurt. Mu-ryang-su-bul.”
“I feel the same. The Hwa-Jong Banquet is, after all, a place for the disciples of both sects to grow through one another. Mu-ryang-su-bul.”
Unlike their words, the pressure between the two factions only intensified. And the moment it felt as though that pressure had reached its peak.
Thud!
The doors opened.
At once, every gaze and every thread of pressure in the room turned toward that doorway.
Step.
A man walked in under those converging stares and that suffocating aura.
It was Baek Mugeuk.
“Damn, that stings.”
The moment his words echoed through the banquet hall, Lee Baekwoon rose from the Jongnam seats.
“You? The guard of Dang Hye? And you dare barge in here?”
“I heard there was an eve banquet, so I came. Did I come to the wrong place?”
“What are the people outside doing? Get this fool out of here, now!”
Lee Baekwoon’s voice filled the pavilion, but no one stepped forward to stop him.
“Why are you so worked up about a good seat?”
Baek Mugeuk didn’t stop walking. Lee Baekwoon moved to block him.
“Baekwoon. Who is that man?”
At Hyeonil Jin-in’s voice, Lee Baekwoon turned slightly. Hyeonil Jin-in and Cheonghyeon Jin-in were looking down at Baek Mugeuk from the top tier.
“He’s the guard of the Dang Family’s young lady.”
“And how did he end up here?”
“I’ll throw him out.”
“No. Let us hear him. Let him explain how he came here, and why he thought he could come here at all.”
At Hyeonil Jin-in’s words, Lee Baekwoon sat back down in his place. His face was full of displeasure. But he could not defy his sect leader.
I warned this bastard to keep himself out of sight.
Lee Baekwoon’s sharp pressure swept toward Baek Mugeuk. But Baek Mugeuk looked at him as if he were adorable and gave him a faint smile.
“And who might you be?”
At Hyeonil Jin-in’s question, Baek Mugeuk clasped his hands and bowed his head.
“I am Baek Mugeuk of the Baek Clan! I’ve come at the request of the Martial Alliance Leader to meet the two sect leaders!”
“Oh? So you’re the so-called Flickering Sword?”
At Baek Mugeuk’s answer, Hyeonil Jin-in looked at him with interest. Then his pressure rose and came bearing down on Baek Mugeuk.
What Baek Mugeuk felt from Hyeonil Jin-in in that moment was heaviness. It felt as though a mountain were pressing down on him.
As expected of Jongnam, he’s disgustingly heavy.
But before long, the scent of plum blossoms spread through the air, and that oppressive weight vanished.
“You. It’s been a long time.”
It was Cheonghyeon Jin-in who pushed back Hyeonil Jin-in’s pressure. He looked at Baek Mugeuk with a dissatisfied expression.
“Sect Leader Hwang knows this man?”
“I do.”
“How?”
“He was once a child attached to Mount Hwa.”
“At Mount Hwa?”
Hyeonil Jin-in wanted to ask more about Baek Mugeuk. But he didn’t get the chance. It was because Baek Mugeuk lifted his head and spoke.
“I, Baek Mugeuk, request a private audience with both sect leaders.”
“...”
Normally, this would have been the moment for the disciples of both sects to erupt in anger. After all, an uninvited outsider, one who had not even gone through the proper channels, was asking to meet the sect leaders.
But no one in the hall could speak lightly. All eyes simply turned toward the two leaders.
“Come up.”
Cheonghyeon Jin-in’s low voice filled the space.
Step. Step.
There was no sound except for Baek Mugeuk’s footsteps.
When he reached the top tier, the two sect leaders remained seated in their respective places.
Then Baek Mugeuk spread his qi barrier. At that instant, Hyeonil Jin-in’s eyes widened.
He can deploy a qi barrier at that age?
Hyeonil Jin-in was genuinely surprised. When he had first heard the rumors about the Flickering Sword, he had thought them exaggerated.
He had assumed this was merely a martial artist the Martial Alliance Leader was deliberately promoting.
But that did not seem to be the case.
Meanwhile, Cheonghyeon Jin-in looked at Baek Mugeuk without wavering and asked,
“Do you understand how terribly rude you’re being right now?”
“Yes. I do.”
“Then you’d best have a proper reason. Otherwise...”
Cheonghyeon Jin-in’s words were not completed, but what came next was obvious enough. Since he had insulted the two powers of the Nine Great Sects, he would receive a punishment worthy of that offense.
“I believe both of you received a letter from the Martial Alliance Leader.”
At my words, Cheonghyeon Jin-in spoke.
“Indeed. Not only us, but the entire Nine Great Sects, if I’m not mistaken.”
“Then you’ve heard everything that happened at the Martial Alliance as well.”
“We have.”
“I have new information.”
At Baek Mugeuk’s words, both sect leaders frowned. Then they motioned for him to continue.
“Many people will die at this banquet.”
“...”
“...”
Neither sect leader said a word. They only stared at Baek Mugeuk. He reached into his robe and pulled out a sheet of paper.
Written on it were characters whose meaning could not be understood at a glance.
“What is this?”
“It’s a cipher. A message saying they intend to eliminate everyone attending the Hwa-Jong Banquet.”
“Who dares...”
The two sect leaders let their anger show openly, and the building itself began to tremble.
“I was rude to tell you this information.”
Baek Mugeuk lowered his head slightly. Then he continued.
“Please cancel this year’s Hwa-Jong Banquet.”
“We cannot do that.”
Hyeonil Jin-in rejected Baek Mugeuk’s request without the slightest hesitation. Then Cheonghyeon Jin-in added his own words.
“Nor can I accept that request of yours.”
“Why not?”
“Who do you think we are?”
“Mount Hwa and Jongnam.”
“Correct. We are the Nine Great Sects. We cannot easily bow to that sort of pathetic threat.”
“And they won’t be able to force us to bow, either.”
“Is that so?”
Baek Mugeuk nodded. Then he rose to his feet and gave them a deep bow with clasped hands.
“In that case, there’s nothing else to be done. I hope your sects’ event proceeds without incident.”
The moment he finished bowing, Baek Mugeuk dispelled the qi barrier and came down. And when he reached the door, he turned back.
“Ah! I have one question for the sect leaders.”
“Speak.”
“May I take part in the Hwa-Jong Banquet too?”
“As you know, the Hwa-Jong Banquet is an event only for Jongnam and Mount Hwa.”
“Is that so? What a pity. I was going to teach you a thing or two while I was here.”
When he finished speaking, Baek Mugeuk smiled brightly. It was a blatant provocation. At the same moment, every martial artist in the hall rose and rested a hand on their swords.
“Hahaha. That spirit of yours is exactly the same as ever.”
Low laughter rolled through the pillars and ceiling of the pavilion.
And then, above the third-floor railing.
The moment a man stepped forward, an invisible path spread across the air.
As though stairs had appeared in midair, he descended slowly, yet with crushing authority.
With each step, the entire pavilion’s energy trembled.
The martial artists present swallowed hard without realizing it, their eyes fixed on him.
It was Cheonghyeon Jin-in. The leader of Mount Hwa, and the peerless swordsman known as the Sword Immortal.
“Elder Sect Leader. What say you to letting the winner of this Hwa-Jong Banquet teach this young friend a proper lesson?”
“I have no objections.”
“Baek Mugeuk. See you at the dueling platform tomorrow.”
At Cheonghyeon Jin-in’s words, Baek Mugeuk turned and walked out.
“I’m looking forward to it. Let’s see how great the Nine Great Sects really are.”
His words lingered through the banquet hall.