Chapter 58
Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Verbal Sword Spar
A sudden drinking party had broken out.
Ordering some Yeoahong wine had certainly loosened the mood a bit, but it was still nowhere near enough to charm the Sword Phoenix.
'Hmm, how should I play this.'
Truth be told, I hadn't expected Moyong Hui to show up, so I had no specific plan in mind.
I started fretting over what to talk about and how to build up some favor with her.
But I couldn't just keep yapping about Yeoahong forever.
I racked my brain, recalling the info on the Sword Phoenix I'd gotten from the Shadow Gate Sect, and tried to dredge up a topic she'd like.
"Lady Moyong, what do you think a sword master is?"
"A sword master?"
Moyong Hui looked a touch flustered by the abrupt question.
But her eyes soon sparkled as she launched into her answer.
"Most people would say it's just any warrior who wields a sword. But since you're not asking something that basic, Young Master Mok, let's dive deeper. The sword is the weapon used by the most warriors out there. So if we approach it from why so many choose the sword..."
As expected from someone with a passion, she started chattering away nonstop.
From the unasked-for history of the sword to the mindset of those who wield it, Moyong Hui spun out story after story without pause.
I just smiled, nodding along with exclamations like "Oh?" and "Yeah, that makes sense."
'This is plenty.'
How many times had I prowled the pleasure quarters? How many courtesan-types—not actual pros—had I reeled in?
At a drinking party, this was more than enough to rack up favor with a woman.
What did I care if I knew squat about sword masters?
In my head, they were nothing more or less than what she'd said earlier: "warriors who use swords."
But right now, I was hanging on her every word.
'Pretend to listen intently, act fascinated.'
And whenever her story seemed to wind down,
"...so I believe a sword master is someone who doesn't swing their blade recklessly and holds to firm convictions."
"In that case, Lady Moyong, what convictions guide your sword?"
All it took was tossing in a line like that.
And off she'd go again, monologuing for ages.
"There's that saying: cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, pacify the world. To me, the sword is about self-cultivation—polishing body and mind—so next comes regulating the family, right? So my convictions start with my family and clan members right away, and extend to everyone here in the Yonyeong region..."
No surprise from a kid raised in a house that breeds martial artists—she was awfully stuffy.
Or maybe it was just how orthodox sect folk turned out.
'Well, that's part of the charm.'
A woman who puts family first, only to gradually fall for me and shove clan duties aside?
Irresistible.
After playing along like this for a good while, the effect showed—Moyong Hui beamed, her voice turning friendly.
"Young Master Mok, you're so easy to talk to."
"Tell me about it. I'm shocked myself at how well we click, Lady Moyong."
Easy to talk to, my ass.
She'd been spouting her opinions nonstop while I just nodded.
'No guy could pull this off.'
If Cheon Woojin had tried yapping like this in front of me?
I'd have smacked his head with my scabbard and told him to shut it.
But who was I talking to now?
The Sword Phoenix herself.
'Serious talk can wait till I've had her.'
If anything bugged me, I could ease her out of it later, once we'd gotten intimate.
For now, the priority was pretending we clicked and building favor.
Cheon Woojin looked awkward as hell at my act, sporting a bewildered expression the whole time.
Like he was thinking, You could do this too?
Moyong Hui caught it late and turned to him.
"Why the face, Warrior Cheon? Did something I said rub you the wrong way?"
I was "Young Master Mok," he was "Warrior Cheon."
Those titles proved the favor I'd stacked up at this table.
'Of course, introducing him as my guard helped.'
Anyway, being singled out felt pretty damn good.
"Oh, no. This Yeoahong's so good—first time trying it—and I guess I've just been like this without realizing."
Cheon Woojin caught my eye and hastily cut himself off.
Moyong Hui nodded lightly and turned to me.
"Speaking of, I heard you came all the way from Shanxi Province just to meet me, Young Master Mok. What brings you?"
She'd clearly enjoyed our chat so much that only now did she get around to asking my business.
'Business? Seducing you, obviously...'
Saying that outright would tank all the goodwill I'd built.
Good thing Cheon Woojin had handed me a perfect excuse earlier.
"You're famed as the Sword Phoenix, Lady Moyong—the finest sword master among the younger generation. As a swordsman myself, I traveled this far to cross blades with you."
"Ah...! Then have you met the Sword Dragon too?"
Sword Dragon?
One of the dragons in the Five Dragons and Five Phoenixes?
'Why would I know about some guy?'
Didn't even know his name, let alone his sect or family.
But showing ignorance here would blow my cover.
I smoothly played along like I knew.
"Not yet... Have you met the Sword Dragon, Lady Moyong?"
"Yes. We met once at the Murim Alliance."
"Oh? Did you ever cross swords?"
"Yeah. Brother Chan had such a deep grasp of the sword—it was fun back then..."
I cut in before I could stop myself.
"Brother Chan?"
"Ah! We got close that time."
She made an embarrassed excuse, her face sheepish.
But it wasn't the familiarity that bugged me.
'Chan? Namgung Chan? That guy's the Sword Dragon?'
Namgung Chan.
Later one of the Ten Strongest Under Heaven's Four Kings, the Sword King...
'The guy I killed.'
He'd died by my hand before my regression.
I didn't hate the guy or anything.
He was just in the Lecherous Demon Purge Squad, and I had to cut him down to survive.
Why had a family head of the Namgung Clan joined that squad?
Simple: I'd raped his daughter.
Nothing fancy.
'His daughter Namgung Cheong was pretty great too...'
Back then, teetering at the edge of the Flower Realm, he'd earned the Sword King title—felt overblown, probably thanks to his clan head gig.
This Cheon Woojin in front of me was stronger, after all.
But the fool ignored his station as one of the Ten Strongest and charged me, losing his life.
I didn't last much longer after that, mind you.
Anyway, hearing the name of a guy I'd killed pop from her mouth startled me.
Couldn't exactly blurt that out, though.
I kept my cool and carried on naturally.
"So, who won?"
"Total defeat for me. I'd never heard I couldn't hold my own in a sword debate anywhere, but Brother Chan was just so good..."
"...Huh? Sword debate?"
Where'd verbal sparring come from all of a sudden?
But Moyong Hui shrugged like what was the issue.
"We can't just duel for real—that'd be too dangerous. What if someone got hurt?"
Verbal sword sparring.
Instead of a risky real match, you hashed it out with words.
Basically, a battle of mouths.
'It helps, sure...'
Some dismissed it as hot air, but you had to ground it in reality.
So yeah, there were lessons to learn.
Most called experts those with high realms.
But that was imprecise.
'Experts are those with superior techniques.'
What makes techniques superior?
Skill ().
If two fighters matched realms, bodies, and inner energy, would it end in a draw?
No way.
Real fights are massive clashes of techniques—that's why even against the same foe, you win some, lose some.
In short, verbal sparring stripped everything equal and judged pure technique.
Yeah.
It was just a "game."
'I used to do it plenty with Jeong Mutae.'
Back when we haunted pleasure houses, our go-tos were tabletop debates and verbal spars.
Hard to beat the fun of boozing and bullshitting.
'Even did it sometimes on Red Serpent Sect duty.'
But after grasping the true essence of the Blissful Creation Art? Never again.
I'd found something way more important and fun.
'Taking down one woman beats a hundred debates.'
Last time was maybe a decade ago.
Still remembered all the tricks, though.
"Come to think of it, you came to cross swords with me, Young Master Mok. Want to try a light verbal spar?"
"You sure that's okay?"
No matter how long it'd been, my verbal sparring chops weren't gone.
Seemed like a fine chance to show off.