The Fierce Tiger and the Sword Ghost

KWA-GWANG!

The explosion shook the very air of the Black Tiger Sect.

"What in blazes is going on!"

Grand Captain Maengho came racing down into the inner courtyard. He was a true Jianghu veteran who had stood beside the Lord of the Black Tiger Sect since before the man ever set foot in this manor — the sect's second-strongest hand, if you set its lord aside.

"W-Wait! Grand Captain! Grand Captain Maengho!"

At that moment, the Young Lord Yeop Gun-pyeong came scrambling after him, screaming.

"Where do you think you're going?! You said you'd protect me!"

"Young Lord, this is not the time."

"Is what I'm saying a joke to you?!"

Yeop Gun-pyeong shrieked like a man in his death throes, clawing at the Grand Captain's collar.

"You told them to do the fighting and told you to protect me!"

Unable to bear it a moment longer, Grand Captain Maengho knocked the hand away with a sharp smack and snapped, cold as ice.

"Stop acting like a child. Are you that frightened?"

"Wh-Who's frightened?! Who said anything about being scared?!"

"Stop getting in my way and fall back. Report, now! What happened!"

One of the sect warriors stepped forward, bowed his head, and reported calmly.

"An explosion rang out from the outer compound, my lord. It appears gunpowder went off."

"A mere accident? Or an attack?"

"It looks like an attack, my lord."

"So the tiger walked into its own den with its own two feet. Everyone, prepare for battle—!"

Grand Captain Maengho stopped mid-sentence and turned his head.

"I don't recognize your face."

"……"

"You…… who are you?"

Silence fell.

A fine bead of cold sweat crept down the man's temple and traced along his jaw. After a long moment, the warrior who had just delivered the report slowly lifted his head.

"Busted."

At that lukewarm little voice, Grand Captain Maengho's eyes went wide.

The very next instant, the man seized Yeop Gun-pyeong by the throat with his left hand, dragged him in close, and with his other hand drew his blade in a flash of lightning.

ZZEEEOOOONG!

Steel met steel, and sparks burst across the air like a string of firecrackers.

"Gahk!"

Skidding back across the packed earth, Grand Captain Maengho twisted around and shouted over his shoulder.

"Are you all right, my lord?!"

"I-I'm f-fine……."

Sprawled on the ground, Yeop Gun-pyeong was still too dazed to do anything but blink stupidly at the sky.

"Run! Quickly!"

Having shouted that, Grand Captain Maengho turned back — and froze solid.

Gone.

The man was nowhere to be seen.

It had lasted less than the blink of an eye, and yet the enemy who should have been right in front of his nose had vanished like a phantom.

FWOOSH!

In that instant, Grand Captain Maengho saw it — a single black line slashing across the empty air. The paper-thin line widened and widened until, before he knew it, it was flying straight at his face.

Up close, it was a blade honed to a killing edge.

"……!!"

KA-CHANG! CHANG! CHANG!

Without so much as a breath to spare, Grand Captain Maengho swung his saber like a madman. True to the Black Path's saber arts, it was fast and ferocious — but just as true to the Black Path, it lacked all refinement.

KWANG!

Grand Captain Maengho shot into the air and came crashing down flat on the ground.

"Grrghh……."

His bones rang and his vision spun. Blood streaming from his mouth and nose, he managed nothing more than a panicked lift of his head.

"Wh-What in the……"

KWANG!

A short, dull thud. Grand Captain Maengho crumpled where he lay, cracking his skull against the dirt, and knew no more.

That was when it happened.

"There he is!"

"Enemy intrusion!"

The Black Tiger warriors came pouring into the inner courtyard in a flood. Jin Cheong-un swept his gaze across them from left to right — and found Yeop Gun-pyeong cowering behind a pillar far off to the side. Their eyes met in midair.

Jin Cheong-un spoke.

"You burn down another man's house, you pay the price."

"……!!"

Thud.

Then Jin Cheong-un lifted his foot lightly in that direction.

Thud. Thud.

A leisurely, lazy gait — like a layabout strolling out for a morning ramble.

Thud. Ta-dak. TADADADADAK!

But his stride stretched longer and longer, and in a heartbeat he had picked up to a full charge, barreling straight into the Black Tiger warriors.

Yeop Gun-pyeong screamed in desperation.

"Bl-Block him!"

SHA-ZAZAZAK!

A dozen blades came surging in with murderous force. But there was nothing there. The weapons merely tangled together in the empty air.

Where did he go?

In that very moment, they felt a shadow fall over their heads. Before they could even look up, the blade dropped like a thunderbolt.

BWAAAAAANG!

A roar like a leather drum splitting apart rolled across the courtyard.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-BOOM!

They broke.

It was less a matter of being pushed back or knocked down than simply coming apart.

Yeop Gun-pyeong couldn't trust his own eyes.

Wh-What am I looking at right now?

The front rank collapsed in the space of a breath, and the formation became so much scrap. Every time the man's silhouette moved, the blade-wielding warriors toppled like stalks going over a haystack — flip, flip, one after another.

"Huh? What the—?"

"Where did he— gahk!"

The warriors swung their weapons blindly, failing to notice Jin Cheong-un standing right beside them, and got cut down for their trouble. From a distance it made no sense whatsoever. All they had to do was roll their eyeballs a fraction and they would have seen him — and missing that was what got them killed.

Is he moving through the blind spots, punching holes straight through the gaps?

That…… that was not how warriors fought. He had never once in his life seen anyone fight like that.

Huh?

In that instant, Yeop Gun-pyeong nearly jumped out of his skin.

When did he get this close?

The man had been all the way across the courtyard just moments ago. Only then did he realize, far too late: plenty of warriors were still left standing in the courtyard, but every one of them was too terrified to step forward. And that a clean path to him had opened without anyone noticing.

"Gahk!"

He spun on his heel and bolted.

No one dared move recklessly — except for one man, who had appeared soundlessly at Jin Cheong-un's side.

SHWAAAAK!

A vicious saber traced a great arc, slicing through the air a hair's breadth before Jin Cheong-un's face. Kicking off the ground several times to open the distance, Jin Cheong-un dabbed at his cheek. A thread of blood ran down it.

"Fa-Father!"

Yeop Ji-chang flicked the blood from his saber and snarled.

"I'm done listening to that word out of your mouth, so shut it."

"……What?"

"Who started all this in the first place? Not only did you get in the Grand Captain's way, you abandoned the men and ran? And you call yourself the son of this Yeop Ji-chang?"

"B-But, Father—"

"Silence! Get out of my sight this instant!"

At that tiger's roar, Yeop Gun-pyeong opened his mouth as if to protest — then whirled around and fled for his life.

At that point Jin Cheong-un, who had been watching quietly, remarked:

"Taking it out on the weakest one around. How convenient for you."

"What did you say?"

"Weren't you the one standing far off, observing the fight the whole time your men went down?"

Yeop Ji-chang stiffened.

"Like father, like son, I suppose. You came out because you thought you could win, so what's with all the shouting?"

"You……!"

The man looked one breath away from lunging, but after forcing down a single steadying breath, he spoke.

"So the deflection trick again. You've changed a great deal, haven't you."

"……?"

"Have you forgotten me?"

Yeop Ji-chang slowly leveled his blade.

"Of all the places to flee to — to run into you here, in Yichang. Yes…… I always knew we'd meet again someday. I steeled myself for it."

A murderous light flashed in Yeop Ji-chang's eyes.

"Sword Ghost!"

The whole courtyard fell silent in an instant. Two masters squared off, and the air between them thinned to a sheet of ice — no Jianghu veteran alive could have missed what was unfolding.

The karma of the Jianghu — its emptiness and its splendor, all of it in one. On a narrow bridge, two old enemies had come face to face at last.

"Ever since the humiliation of that day, I have kept my ear to every whisper of your movements."

"……"

"Not for a single moment have I forgotten. I carved it into my bones. I chewed my own gall over it, and I waited — waited only for the day I would have my revenge!"

Yeop Ji-chang held both dread and expectation in his breast. This was the moment he had replayed even in his dreams. What would the man say? Would he flinch? Panic? Or would he look down at him with that same arrogance as on that day?

But Jin Cheong-un's answer was unlike anything he had imagined.

"Who are you, again?"

Silence. Yeop Ji-chang stared at him blankly for a long moment — then began to shake, grinding his teeth with a rattle.

"You intend to toy with me to the very end with that pathetic little deflection trick?!"

"Wait — were we acquainted?"

"You insolent wretch! You mean to tell me you've forgotten Yeop Ji-chang? Guard captain to the leader of the Heavenly Earth Society! The Fierce Tiger Saber, Yeop Ji-chang!"

Jin Cheong-un frowned.

Not even the target himself — just the man's guard captain, some nobody at the bottom of the ladder. As if I'd remember him.

The Heavenly Earth Society — so this was a grudge left over from his Black Dragon Unit days. And how many such tangled threads had he left behind him? If his head had been good enough to recall them all, he'd have been posted to the staff division, not assigned as a covert shadow guard.

But none of that was the point.

"So you burned down my estate to get revenge on me?"

Yeop Ji-chang's face twisted. He had realized Jin Cheong-un was laboring under some misunderstanding.

"In this situation…… the fate of some paltry estate is what matters to you now?"

"A paltry estate."

Jin Cheong-un repeated the words slowly, as if tasting them. Then he let out a short sigh.

"Yes, I suppose to men like you — men who make a living trampling other people's livelihoods — it's a paltry estate. But to someone else, it's a home that took a very hard decision to build at all."

Jin Cheong-un smiled quietly. It was an empty, half-self-mocking sort of smile.

"I was swindled into it, a random pair of siblings moved in, the girl turned out to be some senior acquaintance's daughter, it creaks everywhere, the walls smell of mold…… and it's still my home. The first home I ever earned with these two hands."

Yeop Ji-chang's face contorted savagely as he listened.

"And so? What of it? What am I supposed to do about that?"

For a moment, a gulf of silence opened between the two men.

Jin Cheong-un stared at Yeop Ji-chang with eyes so flat they were almost chillingly calm. Then, all at once, he said:

"You should have run."

"What?"

"If you never knew, fine. But once you knew who I was…… you should have run."

The next instant, Yeop Ji-chang's eyes went wide. A voice he had heard from far across the courtyard was suddenly speaking right at his ear. Jin Cheong-un's sword had crossed the gap between them faster than a blink.

ZZEEEOOONG!

He swung to meet it, and a thunderclap burst between the two men.

SHAAAAK!

Yeop Ji-chang skidded backward. Jin Cheong-un slid back by nearly the same distance.

"So the rumors were true!"

In that moment, Yeop Ji-chang screamed with a joy that shook his whole body.

"The rumors were true! They said you'd been wounded — that your skill had withered! BWAHAHAHA!"

They had met head-on and been thrown back at the same instant. What else could that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠possibly mean? He had grown weaker!

The man had been a shadow. A phantom with form but no substance, a shadow of the underworld that no amount of light could ever pierce. A monster who completed every mission, even pouring out his own blood, even bare-handed without a weapon or a spark of internal energy.

But the man before him now carried none of that presence. Yeop Ji-chang himself had not fully recovered his former arts either — yet this man had withered into something pitiful, beyond all recognition. The man before him was no longer the Black Asura. No longer the Sword Ghost. No longer the Blue-Eyed Yama!

"No one interferes! I will kill him with my own hands!"

Killing intent surged from Yeop Ji-chang's eyes.

ZZ-Z-Z-ZEONG!

Sparks flew in every direction in the blink of an eye. For an instant the two silhouettes crossed.

KWANG!

A short, dull crash. A spray of blood burst from Jin Cheong-un's forearm — while on Yeop Ji-chang, only the lapel of his robe had been torn open. What that meant was as clear as day.

"KAHAHA!"

Confidence blooming, Yeop Ji-chang burst into wild laughter.

CHANG! CHANG! ZEEONG!

Attack, attack, attack again. In a flash, Yeop Ji-chang's saber and Jin Cheong-un's sword locked together in the air.

"Your forms and your internal energy are pulling in different directions. Did you only just start learning your arts anew?"

Yeop Ji-chang grinned — then drove sudden power into both arms and shoved hard.

TEODEONG!

Jin Cheong-un, who had held firm until then, was shoved back a full three steps. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yeop Ji-chang pressed in, leaving him no room to breathe.

"……"

Jin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Cheong-un's brow creased with mild irritation. The man was right, in truth. His old sole-proprietor art, the Ten Verdicts of the Dark King, had drawn its strength from stealth and irregularity, and for a lifetime Jin Cheong-un had fought by leaning on exactly that strength.

But that Jin Cheong-un no longer existed. Against common sect warriors or the Grand Captain it hardly mattered — but against Yeop Ji-chang, an out-and-out peak master, the flaw had been read clean through.

SWAK! FLIP!

Blood sprayed from Jin Cheong-un's forearm, his evasion half a beat too slow.

Have to admit it, then. The arts I trained my whole life are gone.

Not that I feel like unleashing something I haven't fully learned yet.

He let out a short sigh — and in that very moment—

"Die now!"

Yeop Ji-chang unleashed the finest ultimate technique he possessed.

Jin Cheong-un, for all his trouble, simply stretched out one hand.

KWANG!

In that instant, Yeop Ji-chang's mind went blank with bewilderment. He had expected one of two outcomes: the sword snapping, or the arm coming off. Yet the blade had simply stopped against the open palm, without moving so much as an inch.

What—?

Then—

WOOOOOONG!

From Jin Cheong-un's body there welled a white glow, flickering like firelight just on the edge of visibility. The power of his internal energy swallowed Yeop Ji-chang's saber whole in an instant.

The secret manual of Palhwangmu read as follows: