Don't Let Appearances Fool You — I'm a Pacifist

Muhwa hurried after Sun Wukong.

Even someone as sharp as she was couldn't easily make sense of how any of this was unfolding. A request for help from the Cheonghyeop Guild? Something's not right. When two hostile Orthodox factions asked each other for cooperation, it almost always came down to one thing. It's the Unorthodox bastards!

Her head was spinning. A sudden raid on the Cheonghyeop Guild. Is it Uncheol? If the Unorthodox faction had launched a surprise attack targeting Uncheol, that would certainly make sense. They'd dare show their faces in Anhui Province? The entire martial world knew what had become of the Sama Order, and how the Namgung Clan's warriors reacted at the mere mention of the word "Unorthodox."

Muhwa's gaze fell on Sun Wukong. He moved with a boldness that suggested he'd seen this coming all along — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠charging straight for the Cheonghyeop Guild without so much as assessing the situation. Most of the Namgung Clan's people were occupied with their own duties; only a handful could move right now. Muhwa issued orders to assemble every available hand as quickly as possible, then headed for the Cheonghyeop Guild's manor alongside Sun Wukong.

The Cheonghyeop Guild's manor. It couldn't compare to the Namgung Clan Estate in scale, but it was the most imposing compound in the area. A forest of tiled roofs and high walls spoke of its power.

Was this how Luoyang had looked when Dong Zhuo put it to the torch? All that grandeur was going up in flames, collapsing as if its prestige had never been more than a fleeting thing.

Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes.

"Damn. That's a whole lot of ugly-looking bastards."

Ojeong was panting for breath. A group of men stood at the crumbling manor gates.

Muhwa, arriving a step behind Sun Wukong, went wide-eyed.

"Those are Black Path?"

"Black Path, huh..."

Sun Wukong thought for a moment, then nodded. Sa Hyeol-cheol-gwi had the Black Path searching for fragments of the Seven Star Sword, too. There was a connection here. Whether these people were using the Black Path, or whether they were the same faction, he didn't know yet. Either way, whoever had taken his bait belonged to the same shadow forces as Sa Hyeol-cheol-gwi.

A middle-aged man standing at the entrance shot Sun Wukong a sideways glare. Sun Wukong furrowed his brow.

"What's with the look? Creepy as hell."

The middle-aged man's face flushed crimson.

"How dare you..."

He raised his blade and took a step forward — and Muhwa smoothly slid in from the side.

"That's the master of the Black Lotus Martial Hall. He's Black Path by origin. Temperament, associations — he's classified as Black Path."

The moment Muhwa appeared and offered that brief explanation, the Black Lotus Hall Master hesitated, and the Black Path men behind him began to murmur. It was too dark to see clearly, but through the crackling flames they had spotted Muhwa's martial robes and the sword scabbard marked with white stripes on a blue field — and recognized the Namgung Clan.

"The Namgung Clan?"

Tension swept across the Black Path faces all at once. Muhwa looked them over and was privately startled. Why are all the Black Path faction leaders gathered here?

Every leader of Anhui's Black Path was present. The Black Lotus Martial Hall, the Black Dragon Guild, the Unya Guild, Hoga Manor...

The oldest among them, Hoga Jangju, looked at Muhwa and sneered.

"So the Cheonghyeop Guild's Uncheol was a Namgung scheme after all? Have you no shame, as a renowned Orthodox clan?"

Sun Wukong snorted.

"What, and you lot aren't ashamed of being Black Path? That's some nerve."

Hoga Jangju's eyes turned murderous.

"You're the shit-haired bastard who crippled Imbo of the Cheonghyeop Guild."

"You're first."

"First at what?"

"The dying order."

"......!"

Hoga Jangju's face went scarlet at the insult. He clenched his teeth and held it in, then made a point of ignoring Sun Wukong and gauged Muhwa's reaction instead.

"We have no intention of fighting the Namgung Clan."

"The Cheonghyeop Guild belongs to the Orthodox faction. Isn't it the Black Path that picked this fight?"

Muhwa's voice was sharp. Hostile or not, the Cheonghyeop Guild still sat inside the greater fold of the Orthodox path — and they were under attack by none other than the Black Path.

Hoga Jangju let out a hollow laugh.

"By that logic, the Namgung Clan's little scheme to snatch their interests out from under the Cheonghyeop Guild wasn't exactly righteous either, was it?"

"......"

"We don't intend to swallow the Cheonghyeop Guild whole. If they collapse like this, we're willing to split the interests with your clan."

"You'll hand over the interests in exchange for us looking the other way while you attack them?"

"Yangha Ironworks, Hoseong Pavilion, Seoha Inn, the Seoha Escort Agency — we'll give you all of them. We'll take only what's left."

Muhwa's brow twitched.

The four business rights he was offering were the very interests the Namgung Clan had sold off cheap to the Cheonghyeop Guild during the Great War. Every one of them was a prize. Recovering even a single one would plump the clan's withered coffers.

The terms were too good. Which was precisely why Muhwa had no choice but to be coldly suspicious. Four of Anhui's Black Path factions banded together... and they attacked the Cheonghyeop Guild just to take whatever's left after handing over the real prizes?

This was an Orthodox sect, plain and simple. If word got out that the Black Path had united to strike an Orthodox faction, the surrounding powers wouldn't sit still. No amount of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠negotiation could paper over a risk that large. And if what they stood to gain was so small, what was the point?

Don't tell me they're after Uncheol — the one who disappeared?

Uncheol wasn't something you could divide up and share. Given the Black Path's nature, it would make far more sense for them to covet the mountain of business rights instead.

By now the oddities were piling up. The Black Lotus Martial Hall, the Black Dragon Guild, the Unya Guild, Hoga Manor — every Black Path faction leader was standing at the gate. It looked almost like they were doormen, keeping anyone from going inside.

Muhwa's eyes flickered. Sun Wukong drove the spike into her thoughts.

"Their target isn't the Cheonghyeop Guild."

"......"

"More precisely — the one above them isn't after the Cheonghyeop Guild."

His gaze turned toward the manor beyond the walls, engulfed in flame. Muhwa nodded. She sharpened her hearing and drew up her energy sense. Faint screams, groans, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clash of steel — and ripples of qi spreading outward.

"Good heavens. Someone unified Anhui's Black Path and sits above them all..."

Then her eyes found Sun Wukong again. He didn't look the least bit surprised, as if he'd known all along. He said he was going to rescue the Cheonghyeop Guild like he'd been waiting for it. Could it be that the Uncheol bait was never a pretext to lure the Cheonghyeop Guild in the first place? Had this been the real target all along?

Sun Wukong walked straight toward where the Black Path leaders stood.

"Halt."

Hoga Jangju shouted. Sun Wukong didn't so much as glance at him. He kept walking.

At the complete dismissal, the Black Path leaders seized their sword hilts as one. They'd all heard that this man had crippled Imbo, a First-class warrior of the Cheonghyeop Guild. But they were leaders of Black Path factions, every one of them. They weren't the sort to cower before some freak who'd popped up out of nowhere.

A vicious killing intent settled over the surroundings like a net. Sun Wukong walked right through it, murmuring as if the words were just drifting out of him. His finger pointed at the aging Hoga Jangju.

"This isn't by age."

"......"

The indicated Hoga Jangju frowned.

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about. If you withdraw now—"

Killing intent flickered in Sun Wukong's eyes before the man could finish.

"I'm not saying you die first because you're old. I'm saying you die first because I just don't like your face."

"What kind of bullshit is this—!"

The instant the Black Path leaders drew their swords, Sun Wukong's form had already arrived — like a ghost, before anyone could register it.

"Hhk!"

A wave of gold bloomed right in front of Hoga Jangju's nose. He startled and stamped into a movement technique, drawing his sword — but Sun Wukong's hand moved first. The drawn blade met those fingertips and stopped.

A ringing crack — and the sword ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shattered. His internal energy was broken in a single stroke, and the blade itself burst into fragments. The left hand that followed slammed into Hoga Jangju's chest. A wet crunch, ribs snapping, the caved-in hollow visible even to the eye.

The other Black Path leaders charged in at once as the situation turned desperate. The Black Lotus Hall Master's sword, the Black Dragon Guild Master's saber, the Unya Guild Master's spear — all thrust in together.

Sun Wukong's body moved with liquid ease. Attacks coming from every direction came to nothing in a single motion.

The leaders' faces went slack with shock. A master. A genuine master.Not every guest of the Namgung Clan is a martial artist — but the ones who are, they say, are all heavyweights...I think we made a mistake.

The three men's eyes met in midair. There was no time to exchange opinions. The moment the brawl erupted, Muhwa had drawn her blade and charged in from behind.

Clang-clang-clang!

The Unya Guild Master met Muhwa's assault — and was clearly being overpowered. Once he broke away, the remaining two leaders couldn't handle Sun Wukong. The Black Lotus Hall Master's blade-tip shattered blunt. The Black Dragon Guild Master's saber snapped with a crack. Against the Yoryeok compressed at Sun Wukong's fingertips, even steel was useless.

From the start, the leaders could do nothing — reduced to desperately blocking or dodging. Their subordinates couldn't even step in. Muhwa, who was leisurely driving the Unya Guild Master back, was cutting down every underling who came within reach. Ojeong, too, was putting his skills to decent use, subduing them one by one.

"Damn it — combine attacks!"

Hoga Jangju, his chest caved in, his face a bloodless blue, threw himself back into the fray — but his limits were obvious.

Sun Wukong giggled as if the whole spectacle amused him. A bright, cheerful laugh, utterly out of place in a fight of spraying blood and breaking bone. It was enough to send a strange, unnameable dread crawling through them.

But Black Path leaders were the ones who used fear best. That also made them better at overcoming it. They clenched their teeth and attacked. Two swords and a saber dropped toward Sun Wukong's shoulder, waist, and knee.

"Die!"

Surging sword qi, compressed internal energy, humming inner force. Three distinct energies howled in from three sides. Anyone caught between those vicious strikes would have been a heartbeat from death.

Sun Wukong didn't retreat. He swept a hand through the air and threw himself into the onrushing force instead.

A thunderous crack — and all three weapons were wrecked. The Black Dragon Guild Master's wrist was torn clean off. The Black Lotus Hall Master had flung his sword away at the last moment and kept his hand. The throbbing pain in that hand told him he'd never properly hold a sword again.

"What in the hell is this—!"

"Where did this monster come from!"

Dread seized their entire bodies. They stumbled backward. Anyone could see how the fight stood.

Muhwa, who had been toying with the Unya Guild Master, shouted urgently.

"Teacher Sun, you can't kill them all!"

"Why not?"

"We need to know the full story! Whose hands Anhui's Black Path has fallen into!"

Sun Wukong agreed with that. He needed to know more about the connection between the Black Path and the shadow forces that included Sa Hyeol-cheol-gwi. And right now, these Black Path men were the only remaining thread that could lead to those forces.

"Who do I spare?"

Muhwa didn't even hesitate.

"Hoga Jangju!"

The old man whose ribs Sun Wukong's fist had already pulverized — unfortunately, Sun Wukong didn't know titles or names.

"Who's that?"

"The oldest one!"

"Ah, I said that one dies first. Looks like I'm about to start respecting my elders. Not like me at all."

Sun Wukong clicked his tongue, sounding genuinely disappointed. The tone was almost funny. The Black Path leaders didn't smile. Looked at another way, it meant everyone except Hoga Jangju was fair game.

Sun Wukong seemed to catch that thought. He giggled.

"Relax. I'm not gonna kill you."

"......"

"I may not look it, but I'm a Buddha. I've got my own no-killing policy."

"......"

So he wouldn't kill them.