A Thrilling Duel in the Moonlit Training Grounds
Pang Mu-gwang’s cheeks puffed out without a shred of dignity as he listened to Gwak Yeon’s words.
“Absolutely! Before that, how much help can we provide?”
“Ughhh!”
“We can’t stay long.”
Gwak Yeon spoke with the weight of a nail driven straight into place.
“We have schedules that require us to return to the family.”
“Ugh… Is that so!”
Pang Chi-ung set the wine bottle down on the stage and furrowed his brow in deep thought, counting on his fingers.
What Gwak Yeon had said was only natural.
In two months, he would have to reach the secret auction house in Hangzhou.
To find the man called Strange Candle.
‘……It is clearly connected.’
Seeing the Blood Cult’s operatives flash through Gwak Yeon’s mind when he unfolded his demonic energy left no room for doubt.
There had to be a link between this vampire and the gang.
To locate it, he must arrive in Hangzhou within two months, even if it meant traveling as fast as possible.
Of course, the return journey would be swift.
With samples made from the scales of the giant bone fish safely delivered to the Pang Family, and the large-scale deal already confirmed, the situation was ideal.
“Indeed! We plan to stop at the Beijing branch, report our business, and be back within a few days.”
“Understood.”
“What of Young Master Pang?”
“We may stay a little longer with the Pang Family.”
“In that case, the return journey will take longer.”
“That is correct.”
The reason to escort the Cheonhae Merchant Group had vanished.
With Gwak Yeon, Cheon Gang, Heoksijo, and Gwak Ho-shin, they calculated the time needed to reach Hangzhou.
“Even if we allow a generous margin, it will take about two weeks. With luck, we could arrive within ten days.”
Time had opened up to stay with the Pang Family.
Clearly more than a month.
Enough time to spare before reaching Hangzhou for the Seven Great Families assembly.
“……A week!”
Pang Chi-ung threw his head back and asked with a cheerful grin.
“Can you compete with Mu-gwang at that level?”
“A week… is that what you mean?”
“Hah! Just look at this friend! They’re recommending me as a candidate for the Seven Great Families, and you can’t even last a week?”
“No.”
Seeing Gwak Yeon’s slight start, Pang Mu-gwang interpreted it differently.
When he heard the disappointment in his question, he spoke with clear resentment.
“Will only a week of help be enough to contribute to the Pang Family’s grand plan?”
“What?!”
“Ten days!”
“Heh!”
“Since we’ve already agreed to stay, let’s fill three more days and help Young Master Pang train cleanly for ten days!”
“Hah━! This is it━.”
Pang Chi-ung could not continue his sentence.
Pointing at Gwak Yeon with his fingers, he stretched both corners of his mouth wide and laughed.
“……It turns out the words of the late Mo Yong, who once said I was too young for the Jianghu, were true! So refreshing! Wonderful! If that is how you wish to help, then at the Seven Great Families gathering, I will tell Mo Yong to join me! We will raise the Seoho Gwak Family to the ranks of the Seven Great Families candidates!”
“Thank you.”
“Wahaha! It feels so good! Now, may I speak freely… Mr. Gwak?”
“Of course.”
Pang Chi-ung laughed boisterously.
The happiness radiating from him seemed to touch his skin.
A straightforward, Hebei Pang Family look.
Honestly, Gwak Yeon still could not be one hundred percent certain the Pang Family had no ties to the Blood Cult.
But.
‘……Ten days will likely be enough.’
During these ten days of training alongside Pang Mu-gwang and helping the Pang Family’s grand plan, if they searched like tonight, the result would appear.
Of course, he would have to stay alert.
‘A moment ago… it was dangerous.’
Just as he had withdrawn his vampire’s sharp senses, the Pang Family’s head had appeared from his blind spot.
He would take care not to let such incidents happen again.
Suddenly, a question came to mind.
“Oh, by the way, when exactly does the Cheongun Assembly begin?”
“I heard it will take several months.”
“Ah.”
Gwak Yeon casually changed the subject.
“But if Young Master Pang has to train that much, is there someone at the Cheongun Assembly who can match that level?”
“Hmm?”
“The Hubei Pang Family is renowned as the strongest saber in the Jianghu. No family in the world could follow their bravery and skill, no matter how many they gathered together.”
“That… hmmm.”
“I felt it earlier. If it had not been the sword dance limited by the rhythm, Ho-shin would have been defeated. The residual inner energy from the divine power shown at the end was far beyond my estimation.”
“……To hear you say so is grateful, but.”
Gwak Yeon’s words, which cast a shadow on the Hubei Pang Family’s reputation, made Pang Chi-ung frown even as he secretly enjoyed them.
With an irritated expression, he opened his mouth.
“This Cheongun Assembly is being held in Huizhou.”
“Huh?”
“Among the Namgung Clan.”
“Ah!”
Gwak Yeon understood at once.
The Namgung Family had been famous in his previous life as an arrogant, high-and-mighty clan.
They also possessed martial arts strong enough to claim the emperor’s sword for themselves.
Pang Chi-ung’s reaction suggested the same was true now.
‘……That is good news.’
For Gwak Yeon, it was fortunate news.
Among the current Seven Great Families, the Namgung Family was the closest to Hangzhou.
Their ancestral lands lay only a few days outside Zhejiang.
‘If the Pang Family is confirmed to have absolutely no connection to the Blood Cult……’
He would have the opportunity to naturally meet people from the Namgung Family at the secret auction house in Hangzhou and search for clues.
With such thoughts, Gwak Yeon burned with enthusiasm.
“Tsk.”
Pang Chi-ung clicked his tongue with obvious displeasure.
He wore an expression that seemed to hold some bad feeling toward the Namgung Family, now tied to the Seven Great Families.
Shaking his head left and right, he snatched the two jars of poison wine from the stage and strode toward the fighting arena.
“Anyway, come over here.”
“Yes!”
Following his lead, Gwak Yeon walked toward Pang Mu-gwang, who was training in a daze beyond the arena.
“……Mu-gwang! Here comes Mr. Gwak!”
Under the faint moonlight, among countless Pang Family warriors, the staggering Pang Mu-gwang was approached by heavy footsteps.
Pat, pat━.
Pang Chi-ung, holding two jars of wine in both hands, walked forward with perfect composure.
Gwak Yeon, walking alongside him, suddenly frowned.
An overwhelming scent of alcohol.
When they were farther away, the smell had already pierced his nose alongside the faint blood odor.
Now, as they drew closer, his sensitive vampire senses were being brutally assaulted by the alcohol.
‘How much did he drink?!’
Even a small sip would be enough to intoxicate him.
Quickly dispersing the vampire’s heightened senses, Gwak Yeon felt the alcohol scent spread through his head like a splitting headache.
Stumble.
Among the warriors who stepped aside to bow their heads toward Pang Chi-ung, Pang Mu-gwang, face flushed from drunkenness, looked this way.
“Big brother!”
Blood smeared across his face and torso.
Not only his nose, but his shoulders and arms were cut and scratched, blood still flowing.
“Ugh? Pang Mu-gwang!”
Seeing Gwak Yeon, Pang Mu-gwang grinned.
Still heavily intoxicated, he raised his large mace and opened his mouth.
“What… brings you here?”
“Young Master Pang.”
“Wahaha! Mu-gwang! This is Mr. Gwak! He is going to help with your training!”
“Huh?! A duel?!”
“Almost exactly as it was!”
At that moment, Pang Mu-gwang’s eyes widened at the mention of a duel.
He glanced back and forth between Gwak Yeon and Pang Chi-ung.
Then he took a deep breath.
“Huuuup!”
Immediately expelling the breath, a faint white mist spread in all directions.
The alcohol was being blown away.
Like the breath of a large beast shaking off raindrops, the mist of intoxication drifted to the ground before it could even touch the ground.
“Is that… really true?!”
Drunkenness vanishing at once, Pang Mu-gwang asked.
His eyes sparkled.
Unlike ordinary Jianghu experts, he quickly swept away the intoxication filling his body and spoke to Gwak Yeon with a cheerful tone.
“Are you all right?”
“I happened to be walking when I found you training without sleep and came all this way.”
“Ooh!”
“Before that, I want to spar right now. What do you say?”
“Of course!”
Pang Mu-gwang shouted enthusiastically.
While Pang Chi-ung, fearing Gwak Yeon might change his mind, continued explaining in his stead.
Gwak Yeon nodded and answered.
“Very well.”
“You should rest more if you want to recover your strength━━”
“Did I not say earlier? Because I got into the habit of taking night watches during the business trip, sometimes I stay awake even at dawn.”
“Then…… you are all right?”
“Haha, so Young Master Pang must have clinked glasses many times during the banquet.”
“Last time I drank so much without holding back…… hehe.”
“Wahaha! Sorry, Mr. Gwak!”
Pang Chi-ung burst into laughter beside the embarrassed-looking Pang Mu-gwang.
“This guy, once he forgets himself and starts drinking, sometimes forgets everything no matter what you say…… so much so that I believe every meeting with Mr. Gwak is so pleasant that he doesn’t even want to shake off the drunkenness! Hahah!”
For a moment, Gwak Yeon’s eyes sparkled.
Even when he could shake off intoxication at any time, he sometimes forgot stories he had heard when feeling happy and drunk.
‘He is just like that old friend of mine.’
The image of his old friend from his previous life.
At that thought, he realized an easy way to remove his last doubt about whether the Pang Family was related to the Blood Cult.
So simple.
When he thought he could obtain information.
Smirking.
Gwak Yeon nodded at Pang Mu-gwang.
“Very well.”
From now on.
“Let us begin the duel we could not finish earlier. Let us enjoy a refreshing one right here.”
With the duel now started, Gwak Yeon and Pang Mu-gwang stood facing each other, each wielding weapons they knew by heart.
Whoosh━!
The heat of the arena was swept away by the fresh night breeze at just the right moment.
Thump!
Gwak Yeon heard the heartbeat of the opponent facing him.
Releasing the vampire’s senses again, every danger signal sent by Pang Mu-gwang’s body in preparation for the duel was caught without fail.
“……”
“……”
Gwak Yeon facing the smiling man thought.
‘……He is a true expert.’
Even looking at the ranking record of the Jianghu, the truth was obvious.
Relatively small stature, yet broad shoulders.
In the Hubei Pang Family, known for their grand physiques, the intense training required to become the young master with such a build was clearly visible.
“Hup!”
Pang Mu-gwang moved with a roar like thunder.
He kicked the ground with his foot.
Thud.
Pang Mu-gwang suddenly appeared before Gwak Yeon’s eyes.
Fast!
As his eyes flashed, the vision filled with a giant blade glinting under moonlight.
Slash━!
In an instant, the large blade in his hand stabbed forward.
His face distorted, the blade twisted in the air to create a whistling sound and sliced under Gwak Yeon’s shoulder.
Pat.
Like it had already predicted Gwak Yeon’s backward leap, Pang Mu-gwang spun around his rear foot as a pivot, having already passed in front of him.
The rotational force kicked up dust as it moved.
When the massive blade in his hand was thrown spinning, the opposite hand holding the blade followed.
The hand that gathered inner energy to create counter-force slammed into it at high speed, and the shock was transmitted to the handle of the spinning blade.
Shing.
The blade’s name rang out in the air.
Gwak Yeon leaned his entire body and swung his sword to meet the fierce momentum.
BOOM━!
Upon impact, Gwak Yeon flew upward into the sky.
‘……Crazy.’
In that instant of being sent flying backward, the shock spread through every part of his body like a splitting headache.
‘Is the family’s accumulated strength so monstrous?’
The power was so great it made the hand gripping the sword tremble.
It was only possible with the immense strength required to wield the heavy blade with one hand and the explosive inner energy released at that moment.
Thud.
Pang Mu-gwang, eyes flashing like a tiger’s, opened his mouth toward the Gwak Yeon who had landed in mid-air after spinning.
“……Are you all right?”
After exchanging just one move, his question sounded as if he wanted to hear Gwak Yeon’s impression of the attack.
Gwak Yeon answered honestly.
“Strong.”
Compared to his previous life, the martial art felt unfamiliar, like one belonging to the Pang Family.
“But…… that is all.”
“……!?!?!”
Gwak Yeon drew his sword and shot his body forward.
To awaken the martial arts of the Pang Family that had been forgotten by his old friend’s distant descendants.
Flash━!