The Ambush and the Eavesdropper
Gale Continuous Sword.
The third form, Wild Dance.
Slashslashslashslash!
The storm of blades that shot out without warning swallowed the bandits whole.
"Aaargh!"
"Ugh!"
The men who had surrounded me without the slightest guard dropped dead with screams.
Four bandits fell in an instant.
At the sight, every face froze in shock.
None of them had imagined I would attack without so much as a word.
"Y-you insane bastard! How dare you!"
Was that why he was the leader?
Red Blood Axe was the only one who had managed to block my attack, and now his face twisted with fury.
It was the face of a man dying to kill me.
I grinned at him.
I wanted to wear down his composure as much as possible.
"I'll kill you!"
"Then you won't get the ransom money. Take it easy."
Bang!
I met the downward chop of his axe with Heavenly Revolution.
My wrist tingled, but it was bearable.
The energy of the Vajrayaksha Divine Art, surging through my body, had hardened and reinforced me.
Judging from the shock I felt, his realm was roughly somewhere between early and mid Peak Realm.
"Escort Sagong!"
"Yes!"
"While I hold this one down, deal with the rest!"
"Your command is received!"
I had more than enough of a chance to win, so there was no reason to avoid the fight.
I cut down two lackeys rushing at me and kicked them away.
At the same time, Red Blood Axe charged me.
I raised my sword and blocked the powerful blow he brought crashing down.
Bang!
"Big Brother! We'll help too!"
At that moment, Cheon Hwi and Im Ho-gyeong joined in after Sagong Cheon.
The two of them really were skilled.
Skilled enough that I couldn't understand why they'd tried to run instead of fight.
Most likely, they simply hadn't grasped the enemy's strength properly.
There had only been one Peak Realm master among them—the leader—but they had panicked at the numbers alone.
"Do you think you'll get away with this?"
"You make it sound like you're the one who was attacked for no reason."
I shot back in disbelief and shoved Red Blood Axe's weapon away.
He swung the massive axe again.
I tracked its arc with my eyes and blocked his attacks again and again.
Clang! Kaaang! Clang!
"I'll split your skull open!"
"Your breath stinks. Don't open your mouth so close to me."
With that sneer, I stepped into Overlord's Footwork.
Slip.
I drifted backward like a ghost and evaded the strike.
Red Blood Axe seemed flustered when his axe sliced through empty air.
In that instant, I drove my energy with all my might into the area around the Yongcheon point in the sole of my foot.
Bang!
My body, launched from the ground, accelerated at terrifying speed.
What followed was the form of Gale Strike.
Realizing he couldn't block it, Red Blood Axe immediately threw himself to the ground.
A shameless, ungainly move that cared nothing for dignity.
But it saved his life.
If he had tried to defend, my strike would have pierced straight through his heart.
"So you do know how to fight. I suppose you are a Peak Realm master after all."
"You little—!"
He spat curses, trying not to lose face, but I could see the tremor in his eyes.
My strength had far surpassed what he had expected, and it had shaken him.
Even so, I had no intention of letting him off.
Wrapping my body in Vajra Yaksha Qi, I charged him once more.
Gale Slash.
Bang!
Red Blood Axe's body slid back two steps as he blocked the attack.
Even while being pushed back, he swung his axe, trying to counterattack.
I twisted aside, evaded the strike, and swung Gale Slash again.
Kwaaang!
If it landed on bare flesh, it was powerful enough to hack a body to pieces on the spot.
Crack.
I saw a fracture spread across the axe in Red Blood Axe's hands.
As expected of a penniless Green Forest bandit, he didn't seem to be using anything particularly fine.
Time to end this.
"Hup."
I drew in a breath and sank power into my lower body.
Explosive force rose from the sole of my firmly planted foot, running up through my thighs.
That power passed through my waist and upper body, then finally flowed into my sword.
Gale Chain Slash.
Slashslashslashslashslash!
A barrage of strikes similar to Wild Dance, yet vastly more powerful, erupted forth.
It was a continuous succession of Gale Slash—a strike strong enough to cut down a small tree in a single blow—used to shatter the enemy's defense outright.
For the first few attacks, he seemed to hold out...
Crack!
"N-no... impossible!"
In the end, his axe broke apart.
At nearly the same moment, a fountain of blood burst up.
Shhhhk!
His entire body torn to ribbons, Red Blood Axe stared at me in utter disbelief.
I didn't even give him the chance for last words.
Slice!
His head flew into the air.
I had finished him completely.
"Whew."
As I steadied my breathing, the others approached.
The lackeys had already been dealt with.
Most were dead. A few had fled.
But there was no real need to chase them.
"Big Brother. What... what exactly was that just now...?"
Cheon Hwi stared at me as if he couldn't believe what he'd seen.
Im Ho-gyeong looked no different.
They had taken me for someone who was, at best, around the level of a First-Class martial artist, so this display of power had clearly stunned them.
I gave them a faint grin.
Sometimes, one action spoke more clearly than a hundred words.
How did I become this strong? They can think on that themselves.
Instead, I told them the one thing that mattered.
"Cheon Hwi. Did you notice?"
"Sorry? Notice what...?"
"What that Green Forest bandit said earlier. He clearly said someone had told them we were coming, didn't he?"
"...!"
Only then did it sink in, and Cheon Hwi's expression turned grave.
I spoke to him calmly.
"It seems there are people inside the clan who don't look kindly on us. People trying to keep us from reaching the Shanxi Yoo Family."
"B-but we can't say for certain it was someone from the clan, can we? It could have been another faction hostile to the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect..."
"That's possible, of course. But could outsiders really have known the exact day we were leaving? Even most of the clan retainers didn't know that information. Only those in higher positions did."
"...!"
"And even if someone else is behind it, it still means someone inside the clan is feeding them information. Of course, I don't know who."
Cheon Hwi wasn't a fool.
Even this much would be enough for him to piece together the rough shape of things.
And he would soon realize that the culprit was likely one of the senior figures who disliked me.
Sure enough, his expression darkened as if his thoughts had reached that point.
"Big Brother, this is..."
"Enough."
I cut him off gently.
"We've already dealt with it, so there's no need to dwell on it for now. Let's focus on what we came here to do at the Shanxi Yoo Family."
"Yes. You're right."
He looked like he had much more he wanted to say, but for the moment, he followed my lead.
I turned to Im Ho-gyeong.
"Escort Im. Would you mind continuing with the carriage? I'll relieve you in a little while."
"No, there's no need for that. I can keep driving the carriage. Please, get some rest."
His tone was more respectful than before.
It seemed what he'd seen today had changed his opinion of me.
I smiled my thanks and headed back to the carriage.
A short while later, the carriage started moving again.
Our destination was Gohyeon in Shanxi Province.
The place where the Shanxi Yoo Family resided.
Fortunately, nothing else happened before we arrived at the Shanxi Yoo Family.
I had wondered whether assassins might come after us, but it seemed even those who wanted me dead hadn't prepared that much.
Or had they simply thought bandits would be enough?
A foolish thought.
Of course, the people in the clan didn't know how much I had changed, so in that sense it was understandable...
Still, considering I had companions with me, they had clearly underestimated us badly.
"So this is the Shanxi Yoo Family."
Cheon Hwi gazed at the enormous manor in the distance with admiration.
In sheer size, it surpassed even the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect.
That place was the Shanxi Yoo Family.
People stood in long lines, waiting to have their pulse diagnosed by the physicians of the estate.
"You don't seem surprised, Big Brother. Have you been here before?"
"No. It's my first time too."
In truth, it wasn't.
The problem was that it hadn't happened in this life.
Back then, I had come here to gather allies against Black Night Castle.
The result had been... less than impressive.
The Shanxi Yoo Family and its head, the Medicine King, had no intention of joining hands with the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect after we had failed to protect their treasured family member.
He hadn't even properly listened to what I had to say before ordering me out.
I had been forced to leave without gaining anything.
That had been a memory from my first life.
This time, I won't let that happen.
First, I would successfully complete the escort mission.
Then I would build a good relationship with the Shanxi Yoo Family.
If that happened, I might be able to rely on their help later.
For the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect, there could be no better outcome.
No—I would make it happen.
With that thought, I approached the gate guards standing watch at the main entrance.
"Greetings. I am Jin Muyeol, the Young Lord of the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect. These are the people who came with me. Could you inform those inside that we've arrived?"
"Yes, sir. Please wait a moment."
Perhaps they had already been told to expect us, because the gate guard quickly disappeared inside.
After a short wait, a woman carrying a strong medicinal fragrance came out with her escort.
"I didn't expect the Young Lord of the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect to come in person. It's a pleasure. My name is Yu Cheong-ah. I'm overseeing this matter."
"So you're the Medicine King's granddaughter. A pleasure. I am Jin Muyeol."
We exchanged brief greetings and looked one another over.
Yu Cheong-ah.
In the original course of history, she was gravely wounded due to the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect's failure in escorting her and pushed to the brink of death.
But that would not happen this time.
"Shall we continue this inside?"
"Of course. I had a few questions myself."
We went inside and were led deep into the Shanxi Yoo Family estate.
Yu Cheong-ah guided us to a reception room and served us tea.
Once warm cups had been placed before everyone, she began to speak.
"As you know, we asked the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect for help because a certain faction has been threatening us."
"Who exactly is this faction, and what were their demands?"
"We still haven't identified them for certain. All they've done is send letters threatening us to stop producing the Medicine King Divine Pill."
"So you don't know exactly who's behind it, or why they're threatening you."
Of course, I knew the reason.
Through knowledge from the past, I had a fairly clear idea of both the culprit and the motive.
But I couldn't say that now.
If I did, all it would earn me was suspicion.
"Very well. In that case, we'll begin the escort mission at once. Though first, there are a few things we should discuss..."
I stopped mid-sentence and closed my mouth.
Puzzled by my sudden silence, Yu Cheong-ah asked,
"Young Lord, what is it?"
"Nothing serious."
I rose quietly from my seat and said,
"There's a rat listening in on our conversation."
"...!"