Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Child of Mount Hua Opened His Eyes
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The bandits froze, staring at one another with faces drained of color.
The mocking jeers they'd spewed moments ago seemed to have hardened into lumps in their throats.
Some stumbled backward, while others groped for their fallen sword hilts, only to swing trembling hands through empty air.
A fishy stench of blood rode the wind, brushing past my nose.
Senior Disciple didn't retreat a single step.
Her sword tip dipped ever so slightly, aiming at the survivors.
Her gaze was so cold it stung.
The man who seemed to be their leader raised a quivering hand, lips fluttering.
He bent at the waist until his knees hit the dirt, spilling out desperate excuses.
"F-Female hero...! No, great hero...! We had our reasons... Please, just forgive us this once!"
"It's obvious they'll harm more people if left alive. How could I just let them go? Better to end them here."
"Even a disciple of the Great Mount Hua Sect can't take on the rest without a scratch! Just spare us...! We'll really leave this town and live honest lives!"
At his groveling plea, the surrounding bandits nodded vigorously in agreement.
Begging cries for mercy scattered on fearful breaths.
But Senior Disciple's narrowed eyelids didn't even twitch.
She clearly didn't believe a word they said.
The sword advanced again, and a heavy killing intent pressed down on the air.
This could turn into a full-blown fight.
I didn't doubt Senior Disciple's skill.
But there was no need to court danger.
"Senior Disciple."
I stepped forward.
She turned her head.
Her halted sword tip felt sharper in stillness than in motion.
"Yi Yi, step aside."
"No."
I shook my head.
My lips were parched, but I met her cool gaze without flinching.
"...I know. I know their words can't be trusted. But if you cut them down here... all that's left will be blood."
Senior Disciple's eyes quivered, just a fraction.
I didn't miss that fleeting hesitation.
"If Senior Disciple gets hurt..."
I couldn't finish, swallowing hard.
Instead, I clutched the hem of her robe tightly.
I poured all my desperation into that small gesture.
"I... I don't want to see you hurt."
A short, heavy silence fell.
Senior Disciple stared at me for a long time.
The eyes that had coldly judged life and death moments ago slowly traced the white knuckles gripping her robe, then my trembling shoulders.
"Then you take responsibility."
"Yes. I will."
She shifted her gaze back to the terrified bandits.
"Drop your weapons right now. Cough up everything you stole, and head to the yamen."
"Y-Yes... Understood."
The bandits gasped and flinched.
I could plainly see their eyes darting about like cornered rats, searching for an escape.
In that instant, Senior Disciple casually flicked her wrist.
Swish—.
A deep gash appeared on the thick tree trunk before us.
Shattered bark exploded into the air, pattering down at their feet.
Before that overwhelming display of prowess, the bandits froze solid once more.
"What are you waiting for? Get moving."
Her single command crumbled their flimsy schemes like sandcastles.
The leader was first to drop his sword.
Clang—the sharp ring of metal striking stone shattered the mountain path's silence.
"...Understood. Understood."
With shaking hands, they began pulling out weapons and piling them on the ground.
Even the daggers hidden deep in their belts came out one by one—a pitiful sight.
Only then did I exhale the breath I'd been holding.
My rigidly tense shoulders slumped with aching relief.
As the tension drained, my legs turned to jelly.
The bandit leader slammed his forehead to the dirt before me.
"Great hero... Thank you for sparing us. I'll never forget this grace."
I had nothing to say.
Grace?
I'd just hated the sight of blood.
I gave an awkward nod.
Senior Disciple slowly sheathed her sword with a click as the tip met the scabbard.
Her gaze lingered on the tops of their heads until the very end.
Then came a voice so soft and low, meant only for my ears.
"Yi Yi. I spared them because you wanted it."
After a brief silence, she added in a strange tone.
"So you take responsibility to the end."
I didn't grasp the weight of those words.
I could only swallow dryly, staring at her cool profile.
We turned back toward Chang'an.
The taut tension from climbing the path and the odd air between Senior Disciple and me were gone.
In their place droned the bandits' ragged breaths and the scraping of their feet, bound and dragged in a line.
Disarmed and roped by the wrists, they stumbled along.
One muttered endlessly, "I'll really live right," while another glanced around slyly and shut his mouth.
I pressed my lips tight, watching their backs.
A heavy weight like a stone sat in my chest.
At the yamen gates, a grizzled gatekeeper eyed us wearily through half-lidded eyes.
The white plum blossom robes, the string of bandits like dried fish.
His face flashed not awe or surprise, but utter exhaustion.
"What brings you here?"
"We caught some bandits."
I answered curtly.
But the gatekeeper sighed as if the earth had caved in.
Instead of thanks, he muttered, "More hassle."
We were shown inside, but the yamen's mood differed sharply from the outside world.
Dim and musty.
I cleared my throat and stepped forward.
My back straightened without thinking.
Pride swelled in my chest—as a Mount Hua Sect disciple, I'd upheld justice boldly.
"These men were preying on travelers on a nearby mountain path. We subdued them on the spot and recovered all the stolen goods—"
"Got it, got it."
The official waved dismissively, cutting me off.
He nodded perfunctorily, wetting his brush tip with his tongue, barely glancing our way.
No vigilance toward criminals, no respect for heroic swordsmen.
Just a bureaucrat's boredom, waiting for quitting time.
"We'll investigate. By the book."
"By the book...?"
I blinked in confusion.
The official rolled his brush between fingers and tossed out casually.
"Whether they're really bandits, or if you Taoists picked the fight first, any witnesses... Procedures must be followed, right?"
His words sounded proper, but his face screamed, "Hurry up and leave."
"This is... clear-cut, caught in the act..."
Irritation flared; I nearly raised my voice but clamped my mouth shut.
Yelling here would only tarnish Mount Hua Sect's name.
Senior Disciple watched the official's dry scribbling in silence, as if she'd expected this all along.
"Anyway, you've handed them over. The yamen will handle it."
He shooed us like pesky flies.
Junior clerks dragged the bandits deeper inside.
A few sighed in relief as they went.
One turned, smirking at me.
That slimy sneer clawed at my gut.
"Wait. If they get released and start looting again—"
The official stifled a yawn, twisting his lips crookedly.
"Then catch them again. Chang'an's swamped these days—should we stake our lives on every petty crook? You heroes moderate yourselves and be off."
His indifference struck my head like a blunt club.
I stood there, mouth agape, speechless.
A chill seeped into my stomach.
Shooed out like dogs, Chang'an's clamor hit us anew.
Laughter, hawkers' cries, cart wheels rumbling.
That everyday din felt cruel now.
The world flowed on indifferently, as if nothing had happened.
I stood rooted at the yamen steps.
My clenched fists stayed white-knuckled, refusing to relax.
"...Senior Disciple."
My voice trembled faintly.
"They're so... apathetic. If that's how it is, then they..."
Senior Disciple finally moved, standing close beside me.
Close enough our sleeves brushed.
Plum blossom scent wafted from her robe on the breeze.
"They won't face harsh punishment."
She said it flatly.
"Why? They're bandits. They threatened people, stole..."
"Chang'an's vast, the yamen's busy. And... bandits sprout back like weeds no matter how many you cut."
Her words were brutally cold.
Yet that chill hammered home the unyielding truth.
"A few days in jail, then back to the hills. Next time, more cautious, more vicious. If luck's bad... they might use the lives we spared to take someone else's."
"...Then what I did..."
Strength drained from my body.