Chapter 71. The Cold Glint of a Well-Polished Sword (18)
Ma-Ra and Eun-Ah’s staredown continued for so long that Woo-Moon eventually couldn’t stay awake anymore and fell asleep.
Mew...
Eun-Ah had glared for so long that she had strained herself and was finally forced to blink with tears in her eyes. Eventually, she slowly descended to the floor, avoiding Ma-Ra’s gaze. She then crawled into the dark space under the bed, getting ready for the night just like she would when she was in the Baek Estate.
Ma-Ra, face as expressionless as ever, lay down on the bed. A moment later, she said softly, “Come here.”
Eun-Ah pricked up her ears at Ma-Ra’s call.
Mew!
She had been ready to spend her night in the desolate cold and darkness, so she didn't waste a single second. She quickly emerged from under the bed and climbed into the soft sheets.
“Sleep.”
Touched by the victorious Ma-Ra's generosity, the baby tiger snuggled into her arms, and the two fell asleep together.
***
The next day, Woo-Moon could feel stinging glares from the moment he stretched and emerged from the room.
‘Yeah, that’s right. Good morning to you, too, losers.’
Even someone as thick-headed as him could tell that everyone had misunderstood his relationship with Ma-Ra. However, he couldn't care less.
‘Are we going to have problems later, then? Well, whatever. Ma-Ra doesn’t want to leave anyway. I just have to make sure I keep myself honest.’
Behind Woo-Moon, who was looking rather disheveled due to having slept on the floor, Ma-Ra came out of the room with her hair slightly flattened on one side. Maybe it was because she was also very neatly dressed and emitted an aura of sharpness, but this side of her looked incredibly cute.
There was a look of sadness in the gazes of the young men.
“Alright, let’s go wash up.”
Ma-Ra nodded in agreement, completely oblivious to the connotations of Woo-Moon’s statement.
The young and naive younger generation talents had all struggled to get a good night's sleep from the shock of the blatant behavior of the unmarried “couple.” Now, as soon as the sun rose, they were shocked again.
After some time, the youngsters finished their preparations and joined the troops, who had stayed at other inns, and they left Wuhu for Mount Ma’an. They were likely to arrive before nightfall and would have to decide whether to attack or camp before the mountain.
Woo-Moon spurred his horse forward. He found that, for some reason, he was in fact strangely enjoying the gazes filled with contempt, jealousy, and awe that these youngsters were throwing at him.
Suddenly, he perked up. “There is someone ahead.”
Ma-Ra nodded. Even though her cultivation was not as high as Woo-Moon’s, her senses were very much on par.
“One.”
“Pardon? What are you talking about?” asked Yong Hwa-Pyeong, whose eyes were puffy as if he had stayed up all night. There was no one before them. But when Woo-Moon and Ma-Ra suddenly both confirmed someone’s presence, he couldn’t help but wonder if they actually felt something.
“Just wait; you’ll see in a moment.”
The commander of the Lion Fang Squadron and his troops overheard the conversation between the two men, and they looked over at Woo-Moon and Ma-Ra with undisguised contempt.
‘You laughable little brats. Someone would think you were Absolute Masters with the words you just throw around. How could someone like you sense the presence of someone when even I haven’t noticed anyone?’
However, it didn’t take long for the Lion Fang commander to gape in shock, as someone really did appear before them as they walked along the road. The man seemed middle-aged and had a long beard. He was wearing a black robe with long sleeves and he was holding a go board. The strange contrast between his black beard and powdered white face gave him an eerie look.
A warrior of the Namgoong Family, who had been walking at the front, drew his sword and shouted at the man, “Hey, you, step aside if you don’t want to get trampled!”
“What do you think about betting your life with me on a game of go?” the man in the black robes responded, his voice grating on the ears like nails on a slate.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Take your go board and get—”
The warrior of the Namgoong family was unable to complete his sentence, as before he knew it, a white go piece had lodged itself into his forehead.
“There’s no need for some bastard who doesn’t know feng shui to get involved!”
With a cry that sounded like scraping metal, the man in the black robe swung the heavy go board in his hand, smashing open the head of the already dead warrior.
“It’s the enemy!”
The three nearest warriors of the Namgoong Family leaped forward to attack, but within moments, he was
“He’s the Life and Death Go Monster!”
As he shouted the name of the man in the black robes, Do-Gun drew his sword and leaped forward.
The youngest of the Three Peak Monsters, the Life and Death Go Monster, chuckled.
“Good, good. A little brat of the Iron Sword Baek Family, I see. You should be a fun challenge.”
The Life and Death Go Monster was an opponent that couldn’t be underestimated. Do-Gun focused and attacked the Life and Death Go Monster, unleashing the Thirteen Stances of the Iron Sword, which he was close to perfecting.
“Hmm. They’re just about evenly matched,” Woo-Moon said, watching the clash.
The Lion Fang commander and his troops, who had already been proven wrong regarding Woo-Moon’s senses earlier, scoffed once more as they heard Woo-Moon’s words.
‘This kid gets a lucky shot in the dark once, and suddenly the bullshit that comes out of his mouth gets worse. How could some low-life scum like the dead go beast or whatever be anywhere near the level of Young Master Do-Gun? That scum is probably at the pinnacle of First Class at most.’
On the other hand, Do-Gun and Ye-Ye had both reached the first stage of the Peak realm. Thus, the commander couldn’t believe that the Life and Death Go Monster could be evenly matched with Do-Gun, the greatest of the young talents of the prestigious Iron Sword Baek Family.
However, just like before, Woo-Moon’s prediction turned out to be correct.
Even after nearly three minutes, Do-Gun was unable to defeat the Life and Death Go Monster. In fact, he was even being pushed back. He felt chills go down his back as go pieces flew by him periodically throughout their battle.
‘How can this be? Just how...?!’
As the fight dragged on, one of the talents of the Namgoong Family joined the battle.
“Evildoer! How dare you kill a warrior of our family!”
“Kekeke, As expected, Righteous Faction bastards really like to gang up on people!”
With a short cry, the Life and Death Go Monster drew three gray go pieces from his go board and threw them on the ground.
Poof!
Smoke enveloped his body as he disappeared.
“Damn it, he fled!” Do-Gun shouted, chewing his lip in irritation.
Just like he said, the Life and Death Go Monster had already disappeared when the smoke cleared.
“Let’s hurry. Everything will be solved if we just chase him and take him down,” Namgoong Sung said. He wanted the group to keep moving so that Do-Gun wouldn’t have time to dwell on his defeat and take psychological damage.
Do-Gun had been biting his lip so hard that blood was oozing out from the shock that the Life and Death Go Monster was more than a match for him in skill. However, he immediately came to his senses at Namgoong Sung’s words.
“I understand.”
The group hurried on their way again as Woo-Moon looked at Namgoong Sung and muttered in appreciation, “He’s pretty impressive.”
On the other hand, those around Woo-Moon actually looked at him with admiration—the warriors of the Lion Fang Squadron and Yong Hwa-Pyeong.
‘Just how did he know that?’
Of course, everybody in the Baek family knew that Woo-Moon had beaten Baek Heon-Won; that was why he was here now. It had been the most exciting thing recently. However, if they were to assess the skills of the two people just by looking at their battle for a split second, it would mean that Woo-Moon’s strength greatly surpassed both Do-Gun and the Life and Death Go Monster.
‘No, there’s no way.’
After all, there were cases where one’s senses or insight were particularly outstanding. Just like there were some cases where one’s mastery of movement techniques was incredible, but their mastery of sword techniques was lacking.
‘That has to be the case, right?’ one of the warriors of the Lion Fang Squadron thought. However, in the end, he was unable to hold back his curiosity and actually went to ask Woo-Moon.
“Young Master Song.”
“Yes?”
“You said earlier during the fight between Young Master Do-Gun and the Life and Death Go Monster that they were just about evenly matched before even three seconds had passed. How did you figure that out?”
“Oh, that’s—”
“I’m really curious, too. What is your reason?” spoke Do-Gun in a chilly voice.
He had clearly heard the conversation between the two and he was already on the edge, so he couldn’t hold himself back.
Everyone’s attention focused on Woo-Moon, to the extent that the group actually slowed down so everyone could hear what was going on.
“Oh, that? It's simple. Although our dear little nephew Baek. Do. Gun’s extremely impressive Thirteen Stances of the Iron Sword may show incredible power in spars between members of our Righteous Faction, his skills don’t match up quite as well against opponents of the Black Hand like the Life and Death Go Monster, who have built their skills through actual combat. Even if, objectively speaking, our dear little nephew Baek. Do. Gun’s cultivation was higher than the enemy’s, the result that we saw was inevitable during a real battle. Moreover, you said that the Life and Death Go Monster is only at the pinnacle of First Class. You’re wrong. Our enemy has already reached the Peak realm.”
Following Woo-Moon’s words, the gazes of the Baek Family’s representatives turned serious, while the talents of the Namgoong Family looked over at Woo-Moon with half-amused, half-bored gazes.
“Uncle, are you insulting the Family’s sword art? I can’t just sit back and let this slide, even if you are of an older generation.”
Woo-Moon chuckled at this ridiculous statement. He shook his head, then looked at his “nephew” with a light smile on his face.
“When did I ever say something about Baek Family’s Thirteen Stances of the Iron Sword? I was talking about your Thirteen Stances of the Iron Sword, dear nephew. The original is an incredible sword art. It may lack a refined appearance, but it’s a strong and practical sword art that truly deserves to be called one of the best in the entire gangho. However, not everyone’s version of the art is the same as everyone else’s. You modified that practical sword art to your own liking because you became intoxicated with superficial appearances and you train only in the pursuit of pretentiousness. That’s why your Thirteen Stances of the Iron Sword is weak.”
Do-Gun grit his teeth at Woo-Moon’s harsh assessment. In truth, he had actually realized that Woo-Moon’s analysis was objective. However, what was more important to him at this very moment was the humiliation he suffered in front of so many people.
‘To think that I, the Extreme Sword Iron Flower Baek Do-Gun, would be insulted by some no-name village buffoon just because of a technicality in hierarchy?!’
Do-Gun lifted his scabbard with his left hand and placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword.
“I can’t understand or trust your words, Uncle. I would like to request that you spar with me here and now. Please prove your words with your skills.”
Ye-Ye hurriedly stepped forward and interfered.
“Stop! What do you think you’re doing? No matter what, Uncle is our leader. What do you think would happen to military order if you act like this right now??”
However, Woo-Moon wasn’t the type of person to sit still and be insulted by others. Not only did he have to respond in kind, he had to give back ten times what he received.
“You audacious brat. You seem to think that good and evil are determined solely by strength, huh? But, if that’s the case, then what makes you any different from those from the Demonic Path? If we do things your way, it means that if I’m stronger, then what I say is right, and if you’re stronger, then what I say is wrong! Also, don’t try to beat around the bush pretending to be polite; just speak your mind openly. You’re just upset that I called you weak and you want to beat me up, don’t you? As a man, don’t you think you should be more straightforward and confident?”
Woo-Moon even had a sneer on his face as he finished his sentence.
“Uncle!” Ye-Ye shouted sharply. She couldn’t believe how Woo-Moon was pouring oil onto the flames, even as she tried to stop Do-Gun.
Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Namgoong Sung moved swiftly to a position where he could stop the two of them.
“We’re in front of the enemy. Please control yourselves.”
However, Do-Gun had already reached the point of no return—no, he had already passed it.
“Move! Military Order? Baek Ye-Ye, don’t make me laugh. Just who the hell is the leader, and who the hell is the follower? Have you forgotten who my mother is?!”
This time, Ye-Ye’s gaze grew cold.
How could she not know what Do-Gun was referring to? Her father, Baek Mu-Hoon, was the powerless patriarch of the family and he was not only ignored by Do-Gun’s mother, but even manipulated like a puppet.
That was why Baek Ye-Ye, the flower of an Ancient Family, had to endure everything, even though she suffered from heart demons, even when tears flowed down her face!
Eventually, she, too, grabbed the hilt of her sword.
“...Fine. I guess I can’t endure it any longer, either.”
Festering wounds in an Ancient Family were more likely to burst among the hot-blooded and fiery younger generations than among the old-timers!
“I mean it, don’t you dare try to stop me!” Do-Gun shouted as he ran forward to attack Ye-Ye and Woo-Moon with his sword drawn.
Suddenly, Woo-Moon’s shoulder twitched forward, and a wisp of golden sword qi flew out.
‘What?’
Before Do-Gun could react or even think, the wisp of sword qi was right in front of him.
‘It’s going to hit me!’
Right at the moment Do-Gun thought he was going to die, he caught sight of another light, this time a white beam, flashing before his eyes. The golden sword qi had been aimed at where the white beam of light would have hit his forehead.
Bang!
The translucent disc that had appeared out of nowhere and nearly ended Do-Gun’s life on the spot split in half, and the two half-moons narrowly missed both of Do-Gun’s temples.