The Plum Blossoms Draw Their Swords
Ju Seung-gyeong grumbled as she packed her belongings.
“What the hell is this? All because of you…”
She had been happily touring the Mount Hua Sect with Mong Yeo-rin, but now her face was twisted with irritation as she scolded me. She complained that I had wasted a perfect chance to explore the sect.
“Wait. Let me think.”
I stood up. I couldn’t give up like this. The sect leader had to declare a sealing of the gates before the Mahwang Squad would truly begin to move. Their trigger wasn’t the plague—it was the Mount Hua Sect’s closure.
When a sect seals its gates, all lines of communication are cut. No visitors are accepted, and naturally the number of disciples dwindles. Some will even leave, declaring the sect finished. That was only natural. Once Mount Hua’s strength weakened, the Mahwang Squad would start their operations. The plague had simply arrived at the perfect moment. The Mahwang Squad had…
‘They’ve already planted something inside Mount Hua.’
They must have been steadily preparing to crush the sect’s forces.
‘Even if the gates are sealed now, there’s no guarantee the Mahwang Squad will move.’
That was right. This was a pure gamble. There was even a chance they would notice something was off and retreat deeper into the shadows.
‘In the end, I’ll have to cause trouble.’
My lips curled upward. When it came to causing trouble, who else but me? I suppressed my presence and headed straight for the main grounds of the Mount Hua Sect.
* * *
The Mount Hua Sect was thrown into chaos.
I chose the Okcheong Palace, which was relatively easy to infiltrate. It housed the third-generation disciples. What did I do there?
“Sorry.”
“Mmph! Mmph!”
I kidnapped them. I quietly sealed their blood points, knocked them out, and contacted the Black King Sect to move them outside the mountain gate. One, two… In just one shichen, I had relocated ten of them. I had the Black King Sect reassure the kidnapped third-generation disciples. They might even be happy about it—after all, they would get to eat all the meat they couldn’t have here.
The sect only erupted into full panic after I had taken nearly thirty third-generation disciples in total.
Clang! Clang!
With the frantic ringing of bells, swordsmen poured out from every corner of the Mount Hua Sect.
‘As expected.’
I nodded as I watched them. There weren’t many people left in Mount Hua right now. Not only the first-generation disciples, but even the Plum Blossom Sword Guards—except for the eldest senior brother, Byeok Ryu—were all outside the sect. I observed from a distance. The disciples appeared, and finally the sect leader, Musang Jin-in, showed himself.
“The third-generation disciples have disappeared?”
At Musang Jin-in’s words, Maeryang rushed over in a panic.
“Yes, Sect Leader. When I went to their quarters for the evening roll call…”
“They’re gone? How many?”
“Twenty-eight in total.”
“Have they ever left their quarters without permission before?”
“No. Never.”
Maeryang’s face had gone deathly pale. His hands trembled violently, and his legs shook so badly he could barely stand.
‘Sorry about this.’
I squeezed my eyes shut as I watched him. I was sorry, but if I wanted to create a problem for the Mount Hua Sect, this extreme method was the only way. I had to force a large enough hole in Musang Jin-in’s defenses.
“Have you checked the mountain shrines as well?”
“Yes. We searched the shrines and even the cliffs of each peak, just in case.”
Cliffs were extremely dangerous for third-generation disciples whose martial arts were still immature, though second-generation disciples and above who had learned lightness skills had nothing to fear.
“And still nothing?”
At that point, Musang Jin-in’s expression changed as well.
“All disciples are to descend the mountain immediately and search the nearby villages thoroughly! If the disciples ran away, there must be a reason, and if they’ve been harmed in any way—”
The very air around Musang Jin-in warped. An imposing, overwhelming aura swallowed the surroundings.
“Make them understand why the plum blossom leaves of Mount Hua are red!”
“We receive the Sect Leader’s command!”
First- and second-generation disciples alike shot toward the mountain gate like arrows.
And at that moment—
“There’s no need for that.”
I stepped forward. I cut through the crowd and slowly approached Musang Jin-in. The disciples’ footsteps halted as they all turned to look at me.
“You… You still haven’t left…”
“I kidnapped them. The disciples of Mount Hua.”
Everyone froze at my words.
“Haha, perhaps my ears have gone bad lately. I keep hearing nonsense…”
“It’s not nonsense, Sect Leader.”
I took something out of my robe and showed it to Musang Jin-in. It was a wooden plaque engraved with a title—the kind carried by official Mount Hua disciples. Specifically, the plaques of the third-generation disciples, bearing their names and titles.
“You… You…!”
Musang Jin-in’s face flushed red. What on earth was I doing?
“Seize that brat and lock him up at once!”
The first-generation disciples rushed toward me. Bound and restrained, I was thrown straight into the Mount Hua Sect’s prison.
* * *
I had already seen everything when I entered the Mount Hua Sect. The buildings hanging from the cliffs, fitted with iron bars… or rather, the prisons. This place was unique—the cells were exposed to the outside. Of course, that didn’t mean escape was possible. The Mount Hua prison was located on the highest peak, so to escape one would have to either pass through the sect itself or simply jump off the cliff. I had no intention of running away anyway.
“Where are they? What were you thinking, kidnapping Mount Hua’s disciples?”
“You wouldn’t listen to me.”
“How dare you! I’ll send word to your family head at once…”
“Declare the sealing of the gates. You have to.”
“What nonsense! Do you truly wish to make an enemy of Mount Hua?”
I shrugged at his words. I knew it was rude, but I knew how to make people impatient. Besides, I held the winning hand right now—the third-generation disciples of Mount Hua. The future pillars of the sect. If they couldn’t be found, Mount Hua’s reputation would be shattered.
“This won’t do.”
In the end, Musang Jin-in gave up on getting me to talk and stood up. He intended to send word to the Ju Family and summon the family head directly. Once he was gone, I slowly untied the ropes binding my hands. I had already known I would end up in this prison, so I had hidden a signal flare behind my waist. I slowly pulled it out and tore off the seal on the cap. Then I grabbed the fuse with both hands, yanked it out, and tossed it out the window. My posture was a bit awkward, but it worked.
Boom! Bang!
With a bright flash, the signal flare exploded. The Ju Family warriors who recognized the signal would come charging in. Of course, they wouldn’t be arriving through normal means. I had already coordinated everything with them.
* * *
In Shaanxi, near Huayin County—the closest village to the Mount Hua Sect and one of the largest cities in the area. Ju Yu-ran and the Jeokryongdae were waiting there.
“He really is crazier than I am.”
She recalled Woo-jin’s message delivered through the Black King Sect earlier that day, her face flushing with excitement. When the signal flare went off, they were to disguise themselves and invade the Mount Hua Sect. They were only to subdue the disciples, never harm them. That last part was a little disappointing, but she was still satisfied. When else would she get to fight the Mount Hua swordsmen to her heart’s content?
Bang! Boom!
Yu-ran’s eyes lit up as the red explosives she had been waiting for finally burst across the sky.
“Let’s go!”
She immediately led fifty members of the Jeokryongdae and raced toward Mount Hua like the wind. I had only been able to come up with this plan because of the empty gaps in Mount Hua’s defenses. Their main forces were absent. Of course, that didn’t mean we could ignore the sect’s strength entirely. The fifty members of the Jeokryongdae and Yu-ran would be subdued in an instant. Still, that didn’t matter. As long as they didn’t fight with their full strength, they could escape without dying. My goal was simply to remind Musang Jin-in of the danger. Even if he didn’t seal the gates, wouldn’t he at least consider listening to me now?
That was what I had been thinking when—
Step. Step.
Someone approached me. I looked up to see an unexpected face.
“Senior Brother?”
“……”
Byeok Ryu Dojang. The eldest senior brother of Mount Hua and a first-generation disciple stood before me. His expression was grave, not smiling.
“Why did you do it?”
“What?”
“I’m asking why you did this.”
“Of course, to get the Sect Leader to…”
“No. That was a mistake.”
Byeok Ryu bit his lip hard.
“They’re moving. We can’t stop them.”
“…What?”
“You must have noticed too. Those people…”
Byeok Ryu reached through the bars and grabbed my bindings.
Slash!
In an instant, the ropes were cut. I freed my wrists and spoke again.
“I asked the Sect Leader to seal the gates. To make the enemies hiding inside Mount Hua move.”
“It was foolish. They noticed instead.”
Byeok Ryu let out a small sigh. Just then, the prison door opened and several figures entered.
“Who—”
I hurriedly gathered my energy, but Byeok Ryu raised a hand to stop me.
“They’re my junior brothers.”
“……!”
Byeok Ryu’s junior brothers. In other words, the Plum Blossom Sword Guards—the first-generation disciples and Mount Hua’s greatest fighting force. They had all entered the prison.
“Mount Hua is no fool, young master of the Ju Family.”
Byeok Ryu smiled faintly. Beneath that bright smile lay a terrifying killing intent.
“We’ve been preparing and preparing for a long time, waiting for the right moment to strike.”
“……”
“But that moment came too soon. So from now on—”
He turned around. His junior brothers spread out in formation, drawing their swords.
“We will revive the withered plum blossoms.”
“Yes, Eldest Senior Brother!”
Byeok Ryu walked out. The trembling at the tip of his sword had stopped. It felt ominous. Just like when I had entered the Mount Hua Sect and gone to the wall-facing training cave. It felt far too ominous.
‘Ah.’
Come to think of it, when the Mount Hua Sect had been destroyed in my previous life, I had never found any trace of the Plum Blossom Sword Guards. Why was that? What had happened to them? There had been no records, no rumors, no traces of them fighting the demonic practitioners. Only Byeok Gong had remained.
“Don’t tell me…”
My heart sank. Had my guess been wrong?
“If…”
That ominous feeling pointed to everything.
“If Musang Jin-in was the one who made the Mahwang Squad move…”
If he and the elders were all traitors? Then Mount Hua would be destroyed.
“Damn it.”
I couldn’t stop it. I had made the Plum Blossom Sword Guards draw their swords too soon. In the end, just like in my previous life, they would die at the hands of the Sect Leader and the elders. No—at the hands of the Mahwang Squad disguised as them! Because of me! Because of my ignorance! Because of my haste!
Bang!
I kicked open the prison door and ran. The Plum Blossom Sword Guards were already gone. The place they were heading was…
“Jaha Palace.”
The place where the Sect Leader, Musang Jin-in, resided. Even knowing they stood no chance, they had no choice but to move.
“They’ve moved.”
The Mahwang Squad must have begun to move. They had started operating openly! The Plum Blossom Sword Guards, who inherited the unyielding spirit of the plum blossoms that protected Mount Hua, would all die today.
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
My heart pounded as if it would burst. My head grew cold, and it felt as though all the blood in my body had stopped flowing.
“I’ll save them.”
I would save them. I would save the Plum Blossom Sword Guards. I couldn’t bear to watch the plum blossoms wither again, even if it killed me.