Break the Socheonggeom
Chapter 017: Smash the So-Cheong Sword.
The first thing that crossed my mind after hearing the old man's words wasn't how I could possibly pull it off.
Setting aside the feasibility, what mattered most here was the justification.
A justification to smash the So-Cheong Sword.
It was highly unlikely to work if I just walked up to Namgoong Seong out of the blue and asked, 'I need to smash you up a bit, so would you mind giving me permission?'
Saying I wanted to spar because I was curious about his skills? Would the So-Cheong Sword actually agree to that?
Not a chance. And the reason for that was simple.
'People who have a lot to lose are always cowards.'
Namgoong Seong. His very surname belonged to one of the Five Great Noble Families that formed the Murim Alliance.
Given his family background and his hard-earned moniker, the So-Cheong Sword, he occupied a position where losing a fight meant losing a great deal.
Under such circumstances, would the So-Cheong Sword willingly fight me?
'Against someone whose full power hasn't even been gauged?'
If his kind were completely obsessed with martial arts, it might be a different story, but unfortunately, Namgoong Seong was a far cry from that type.
If anything, he was probably closer to my own personality.
A fight with little profit in victory and nothing but loss in defeat—there was a slim chance Namgoong Seong would ever accept it.
That was why I approached it differently.
'Instead of worrying about how to make him accept it, I have to force his hand so he has no choice but to accept.'
I needed to set the stage so thoroughly that he wouldn't even dare hesitate... and right on cue, all sorts of convenient pieces had fallen into place.
'Thanks to that, the job was easy.'
If there's something to entangle, you just have to tie it together.
If it's a lie, you can add to it to make it the truth, and you can always manipulate the situation to fit.
This stage was created exactly that way.
[When on earth did you gather a crowd like this...]
The old man spoke as if it were a marvelous sight, but I couldn't answer him. Namgoong Seong was right in front of me, and a first-class martial artist or higher possessed incredibly sharp hearing.
'When was it... probably right before Namgoong Seong arrived.'
I had leaked the word in advance.
I went to the squad members and told them, acting as if they were the only ones who should know, that I would likely be having a friendly sparring match with the So-Cheong Sword in a little while.
'Keep this to yourselves.'
There was no phrase less trustworthy than that.
They were absolutely not going to keep it to themselves.
And in reality.
'It turned out like this.'
Spectators completely lined the perimeter of the sparring arena.
Feeling the numerous gazes watching with intense curiosity, I secretly took a deep breath.
It wasn't easy. Having this many eyes fixed on me.
It really wasn't an easy thing to deal with.
'Tsk.'
What a pathetic sight. Honestly... life is truly unpredictable.
I had intended to make a decent amount of money and retire to a quiet life, yet here I was, entangled in such a bizarre mess.
'That phantom didn't just possess Namgoong Seong. It definitely possessed me too.'
If that thing isn't a phantom, then what is?
That cursed old geezer.
[Your eyes look as if you are cursing me out inside your head.]
'...'
The phantom was sharp, too.
Holding back a sigh, I shook my head.
*Tap.*
I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword and stared straight ahead.
Before me stood the So-Cheong Sword. He possessed an exceptionally handsome face and a tall stature to boot.
Even while glaring at me as if he wanted to kill me, he quickly managed his facial expressions over and over.
Shifting from a chilling impression to a expression more gentle than anyone else's.
'Wow.'
Now that was a skill actually worth learning.
I should make a mental note of it.
Right around the time I was observing the So-Cheong Sword with that thought in mind.
"I did not realize so many people would gather here."
Namgoong Seong suddenly spoke up while looking at the crowd.
"We merely intended to lightly share some friendly camaraderie among ourselves..."
Listening to his words, I stifled a sneer.
'Look at this punk laying the groundwork.'
His words were packed with hidden meanings.
'I did not realize so many people would gather here.'
- I wasn't the one who spread the word.
'We merely intended to lightly share some friendly camaraderie among ourselves...'
- This is just a light scuffle. I have no intention of showing my true serious skills.
'Tsk.'
As if he truly had a lot to lose, he tried all sorts of wordplay while pretending to maintain his manners.
It didn't matter.
I had already anticipated he would act that way anyway.
"I am quite embarrassed... but since it was never meant to be a secret encounter, I hope everyone will comfortably enjoy watching it in good spirits."
- You peasants, listen closely once more. This is just a half-hearted spar.
He packed a hidden meaning into every single syllable.
Whether people understood it or not, they would unconsciously come to think that way.
Such was his eloquence.
Since it was a trivial thought, I brushed it aside quickly. Then I glanced slightly to the side.
The old man was beside me, and that was a signal. A signal to stop spectating and get on with what needed to be done.
The stage was fully set, so now it was the old man's turn.
"I, however, do not think of this as such a light spar."
For starters, I continued the conversation as if addressing Namgoong Seong directly.
"Young Master Bang...?"
At my words, Namgoong Seong's expression grimaced for an instant, but just like before, he quickly changed his look.
"Haha. I did not mean that I viewed it lightly."
"No, didn't you just say we were lightly sharing friendly camaraderie?"
I seized upon the tail end of Namgoong Seong's words and dragged it out.
"I have no intention of taking this lightly. Please do it with absolute seriousness."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Namgoong Seong fell silent for a brief moment.
"...I apologize if my words caused a misunderstanding, Young Master Bang."
He replied with a smile despite the confrontational remark. It was truly impressive how he managed to put on a bitter expression even amidst all this.
I mean, the fact that he was still pulling off that stunt even at a time like this.
"Yes. You are correct. One must always approach a spar with absolute seriousness."
For some unknown reason, cold sweat trickled down my back. Without realizing it, I looked at Namgoong Seong and furrowed my brows.
Would it be okay to back out now and tell him never mind?
Even if it looked a bit pathetic, that actually seemed like a better option.
*Shhhk.*
Before I could even utter a word, the So-Cheong Sword drew his weapon.
It wasn't a real blade, but a wooden sword.
However.
'...Oh boy.'
The air felt heavy. That was the impression I felt in an instant.
The moment the So-Cheong Sword gripped his weapon and aimed it at me, I could feel the surrounding atmosphere abruptly shift.
It almost made my skin prickle.
I recalled the bloodlust he had radiated earlier.
It was different from back then. It was far more dense and profound.
'Is it because he gripped a sword?'
Could such a massive transformation really come from that simple difference?
*Gulp.*
I secretly swallowed hard.
[Haha. That Byeok-Ryeok-Geom fellow. At any rate, his luck with bloodlines is spectacularly good.]
It was an intuitive assessment passed down by the old man regarding the So-Cheong Sword.
He was merely holding a sword. Yet, just from that alone, his momentum was fierce.
If it had been the original me, I would have taken off running long ago. No, original me or not, honestly, I still wanted to do exactly that right now.
'The problem is that I can't.'
Such is life.
Suppressing a feeling that made me want to cry, I lightly wiped a hand down my face.
[Now, draw yours slowly. I need to get ready.]
Whether the old geezer knew my current state or not, he casually gave the command with complete composure.
Was it really possible to bring down a martial artist like that using my pathetic body?
Though I voiced my doubts, there was no alternative anyway.
'Whew.'
Just like Namgoong Seong, I drew my wooden sword.
Even if I complained about not believing it, nothing was going to change anyway.
If I was going to do it, I just had to believe.
[Now, let us begin.]
With the old man's casual tone marking the end, at that exact moment, the strength drained completely from my body.
* * *
So-Cheong Sword Namgoong Seong.
Age 23.
A direct blood descendant of the family head, born into the Namgoong Clan.
He was known to possess an appearance and talent that closely resembled his father, the Geom-Wang, and due to that talent, he was a widely renowned and promising figure among the younger generation.
He was famous for being kind-hearted and taking excellent care of those around him.
Once he ascended to the position of family head in the future, the Namgoong Clan would surely shine even brighter.
Countless individuals judged him to be so.
In reality, however, Namgoong Seong was a somewhat different person from the rumors.
There were so many differences that it was difficult to point out just one. If one were to name the greatest discrepancy, it could be described as his hidden deviation.
Namgoong Seong took pleasure in women screaming.
In his childhood, starting from the moment he witnessed a servant agonizing over a burn from boiling water, he began to feel sexual desire toward screaming women.
It would have been fine if he had merely felt the desire, but Namgoong Seong failed to control it and ended up committing an atrocity in the year he turned fifteen.
Namgoong Seong had violated his own servant.
He inflicted pain to make her scream, and watching such a woman brought Namgoong Seong immense ecstasy.
And at the very end, he strangled her to death.
Five years had passed since then.
By the time he reached adulthood, Namgoong Seong had violated several more women after his first victim, and he had carried on as if nothing had ever happened by erasing all evidence. However.
'How on earth did he find out?'
A bastard who discovered Namgoong Seong's secret had appeared.
[Fair skin. A mole on the bridge of the nose. Hair falling roughly to the shoulders in a short cut. Age around nineteen.]
That was the first line written in the letter he had opened after receiving it.
He had been so incredibly shocked upon reading it.
Even if he couldn't recall the women who came afterward very well, he could never forget her.
The first woman he had violated. It was the exact appearance of the woman who had been his servant.
'How?'
It was an event that had already occurred eight years ago.
The corpse had long since rotted away beneath the ground, and a microscopic number of people within the clan knew about it. No, he had assumed that absolutely no one knew.
Because.
'I disposed of the bastards who knew the secret.'
Both the witness and the accomplice had already lost their lives by his own hand.
Therefore, he had lived his life believing it to be a perfect crime.
'Just what is that guy.'
How did he manage to uncover his secret?
Namgoong Seong stared at his opponent with narrowed eyes.
A young man stood before him. A rather small build with a somewhat thin body.
A face closer to a boy than a young man. Bang Seong-yeon, the successor of the Geom-Seong.
That bastard knew his secret.
'What is his identity?'
The investigation was already complete. A guy who came up from some rural corner from a ruined family.
He supposedly brought a letter of recommendation, but it was obvious he had likely scraped together every last bit of his family's assets to do so.
Ordinarily, he was a being who wouldn't even be able to make eye contact with him.
'And a guy like that is the successor of the Geom-Seong?'
Just because the name of the Geom-Seong was attached to him, everything had turned upside down.
How could a fellow like that become the successor of the Geom-Seong? Namgoong Seong simply couldn't bring himself to believe it.
'Could it be that a place called Yo-Ryeong-Bang-Ga holds some kind of secret?'
The ruined family that was Bang Seong-yeon's clan—did some kind of secret exist there?
He was driven to the point of harboring such suspicions.
'Dammit.'
Namgoong Seong spat out a curse internally. Whether it was the Yo-Ryeong-Bang-Ga or Bang Seong-yeon, this entire spar itself was the problem in the first place.
'...I must take action quickly.'
He needed to finish this spar swiftly and handle the situation. He had to find out how that bastard had uncovered his secret.
And he had to reclaim the Cheong-Ryong-Gu once again. If he could just manage that.
'I will eliminate him.'
He would get rid of Bang Seong-yeon. No matter what that bastard knew, he was clearly a troublesome thorn in his side.
He had to be eliminated. No matter what it took.
*Tighten.*
Namgoong Seong pointed the tip of his wooden sword toward Bang Seong-yeon. At the same time, he scrutinized Bang Seong-yeon up and down.
An indiscernible emotion leaked from the corners of his eyes. His expression seemed somewhat frightened, and he appeared anxious somewhere.
'Did this guy seriously kill the San-Cheon-Gwi-In?'
The more he looked, the less he could believe it.
A skilled expert capable of killing an absolute peak master. No matter how much he looked, he didn't seem to be at that level at all.
Judging strictly by his momentum, he was a second-class martial artist at best.
He was a young man possessing exactly that level of metric.
One could tell just by looking at his stance.
There was no strength in the hand gripping the sword, and his waist, which should hold his center of gravity, was empty of tension.
Because the positioning of his shoulders was completely misaligned, he was riddled with openings.
A single strike.
Namgoong Seong deduced that he could subdue Bang Seong-yeon in a mere single exchange.
That was how completely full of openings he was.
'...'
Namgoong Seong recalled the conversation they had shared.
Remembering it, he put strength into his eyes.
If that guy were truly a nobody, he wouldn't have carried out that kind of conversation, at the very least.
There was something. Perhaps, even that stance was a ploy to induce carelessness on his part.
So he thought. However, even if that were the case, it didn't matter to Namgoong Seong.
Looking at Bang Seong-yeon, he gradually raised his momentum.
'...Do not mistake yourself.'
Whether it was the San-Cheon-Gwi-In or the escorts of the Cheong-Wol-Mun.
Even if it was true that you killed an absolute peak master, do not think that I am the same as them.
No matter what your intentions were in challenging me to a spar, this is an act of looking down on me.
'How dare you.'
Did you judge that you could defeat me when you initiated this fight?
That ridiculous arrogance of yours will block your path ahead from now on.
Namgoong Seong steeled his heart in that manner.
*Rumbleee-!!*
An still pathetic appearance.
Watching that, Namgoong Seong was about to cautiously take a step forward.
*Shhhk.*
At that moment, Bang Seong-yeon move—
*Slash-*
'Uh?'
Sensing an abnormality, Namgoong Seong hesitated and clutched his neck.
His neck had just been cut. No, it felt exactly as if it had been cut.
He cupped his neck with startled eyes, but strangely enough, Namgoong Seong's neck was perfectly intact.
'What was that...?'
It was an incomprehensible occurrence. Was it an illusion? The very moment he thought so.
"You shouldn't let your mind wander in the middle of things."
A voice echoed from the front. Bang Seong-yeon had spoken to him while walking forward.
However.
"...!"
Namgoong Seong's eyes widened as he checked Bang Seong-yeon once more. Bang Seong-yeon was approaching with calm, measured steps.
He clearly looked exactly the same as before, yet Namgoong Seong found himself swallowing hard while looking at him.
It was different.
Something was drastically different.
'...He has no openings?'
The openings that had been present just a moment ago had completely vanished.
Even though he was actively walking forward, there was not a single opening.
Strength had infused his previously misaligned posture.
As Bang Seong-yeon took another step forward.
*Flinch.*
Without even realizing it, Namgoong Seong actually took a step backward.
"Hmm?"
Seeing this, Bang Seong-yeon tilted his head to the side.
"Scared?"
"...What did you say...?"
"I haven't even done anything yet, so why are you flinching out of fear?"
Namgoong Seong grimaced at the amused smile plastered on his face.
"Looking at you like this, you really do resemble him quite a bit. Should I praise you for actually having quick wits instead...?"
"What do you keep talking about."
"Since I'm already praising you, I might as well grant you a reward."
Bang Seong-yeon gestured with his hand, completely ignoring Namgoong Seong's words.
"Come at me first. I shall yield about two moves to you."
"..."
*Grit.*
Yield? He was going to go easy on him right now? Namgoong Seong's pride was utterly shredded by Bang Seong-yeon's words.
To think he would hear such words from a bastard like that.
'Fine.'
Let's see just how far you can go with that arrogance. Namgoong Seong lifted his sword, his face contorting with rage.
'Since you claim you will yield, I shall gladly accept it.'
He would utilize his full power to finish this in a single exchange.
By doing so, he would make him crawl along the floor no matter what.
Namgoong Seong slowly channeled his energy into the sword.
Intending to utilize this to unleash the ultimate technique of the Namgoong Clan...
*Swiffft-! BAM-!*
"Cough!?"
He attempted to execute it, but a sudden flying wooden sword struck Namgoong Seong squarely in the waist.
He was hit with such extreme force that his body looked on the verge of folding completely in half.
*Thud.*
"Gah... Cough... Heeegh."
Falling to his knees, Namgoong Seong drooled onto the floor of the sparring arena.
It was the price of taking a direct, clean hit.
"Haa... Haff... Haah."
Drooling heavily, Namgoong Seong raised his eyes. He glared at Bang Seong-yeon standing before him, his eyes practically demanding an answer.
Why did you strike me when I haven't even done anything yet? As he questioned him with eyes full of resentment.
"Ha."
Bang Seong-yeon spoke with a sneer playing on his lips.
"Dumbass. You actually believed that?"
"..."
"Seriously, kids these days are completely useless for this exact reason. Lowering your guard just because you believed your opponent's words... SIGH, tsk tsk."
"You...!"
Upon hearing those words, Namgoong Seong swore a solemn vow.
That no matter what method it took, he would murder this son of a bitch at all costs.