Chapter 92
I tilted my head and stopped right there for the moment.
I hopped off my horse, tied it to a nearby tree, and then slowly began walking toward the sound. The closer I got, the louder the clashing of weapons became. It seemed a fierce battle was taking place. Soon, a spacious clearing came into view.
Clang, clang!
“You little brats!”
Sure enough, there were several people in the clearing. More precisely, there were ten, just as I had predicted, divided into two groups of eight and two.
It was obvious at a glance which side the bandits were on. The larger group, of course. The eight men all differed in appearance and age, but every one of them had a distinctly rough and menacing air.
They were attacking two martial artists while surrounding them in a circle.
I turned my eyes toward the martial artists. The two were quite young. One wielded a great saber, while the other held a judge’s brush. From their faces to their clothing, they looked like young masters who had grown up without ever experiencing a single hardship.
‘Children of a prestigious martial family? Out on a chivalrous excursion?’
As I stared at them in bewilderment, the young master holding the judge’s brush hurriedly shouted,
“Wait! Stop attacking for a moment. Let’s talk this out. There’s no reason for us to fight in the first place!”
At his words, one of the bandits snorted and shouted,
“What kind of bullshit is that! You were the ones who attacked first. You trespassed into our territory and drew your weapons first, so what else could that mean except that you wanted a fight?”
“No, that was because Brother Peng was startled…”
Then the young master called Brother Peng, the one wielding the great saber, shouted furiously,
“That’s because you bastards kept cursing at us and telling us to get the hell out of here first! Is this Yuntai Mountain yours? Did you buy the mountain, you damned bandits?!”
“What, you little shit. Are you done talking?!”
“Good grief, Brother Peng! You shouldn’t say things like that. We didn’t come here to fight!”
Just as the subdued atmosphere was about to flare up again, the young master with the judge’s brush hurriedly stepped forward as everyone raised their weapons.
“I apologize for drawing our weapons first. But we came to Yongcheok Stronghold not to fight. We have something to ask of you!”
“Something to ask?”
Then came words I hadn’t expected at all.
“Take us to the chief of Yongcheok Stronghold! There is something we wish to ask the chief. Once we receive an answer to our question, we will leave quietly, so please guide us to Yongcheok Stronghold!”
‘The chief of Yongcheok Stronghold? Why?’
Did you guys come to see the beauty too?
I tilted my head in confusion, while the bandits looked at them strangely before sneering.
“Hah. Do you think the chief of our great Yongcheok Stronghold is someone you little brats can simply meet because you want to?”
“But…”
“Not a chance! The chief is busy preparing for his wedding right now. Having one nuisance in the form of Flower-Glutton is more than enough. Do you really think we’ll let you righteous-sect bastards interfere as well? If you don’t want to die here, you’d better get lost!”
“We’re not trying to interfere…!”
“Enough.”
The young master wielding the great saber spoke.
“If they’re going to react like this even after we’ve explained ourselves this much, there’s no point saying anything more. We’ll have to force the truth out of them.”
The atmosphere instantly turned cold.
Both groups readjusted their grips on their weapons. It was a hair-trigger situation that looked ready to explode at the slightest movement. Without realizing it, I clenched both fists tightly and swallowed dryly when… One of the bandits suddenly whipped his head toward me and shouted,
“Who the hell are you?!”
All the gazes in the clearing turned toward me.
Ah, crap. Was I being a little too obvious about watching?
“Me? I’m…”
I was about to answer playfully as usual, but then I stopped.
‘Wait, I shouldn’t tell them, should I?’
Thinking about it, I wasn’t Flower-Glutton right now. I was dressed like an ordinary scholar. And if I revealed that I was Flower-Glutton here, the bandits’ blades would immediately turn toward me instead. Their current top priority was me, after all.
And I was going to reveal myself here?
There was a high chance I’d only make things troublesome for myself. In fact, as far as I was concerned, I wouldn’t really lose anything no matter which side won…
“I’m… I don’t know anything.”
“What?”
“I–I didn’t see anything! Somebody help me!”
I chose to play dumb. As if that weren’t enough, I flailed my arms around like some hopeless idiot and hid behind a tree. I could feel incredulous gazes boring into my back. But that lasted only a moment.
“Now! Attack!”
While the bandits were distracted, the young master wielding the great saber charged straight at them.
“W-What? This bastard…”
“Oh, Brother Peng!”
The fight unfolded in an instant. I hid behind the tree and watched their battle with great interest.
‘So they really are children of prestigious martial families.’
The movements of the two martial artists were on an entirely different level from those of the other bandits.
Their transitions between offense and defense were natural. Every movement, from the way they planted their feet to the way they swung their weapons, was free of unnecessary motion, and they knew how to appropriately control the strength of each technique.
It was obvious at a glance that they had been taught by highly skilled masters. And those masters were probably elders of their families. Only then did I think I understood the backgrounds of the two.
‘Judging from his techniques, that man using the great saber practices the Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber. He’s probably from the Hebei Peng Family. And the one using the judge’s brush… Little Heavenly Star Finger! That’s a finger technique of the Zhuge Family.’
The Peng young master’s Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber was impressive. Consisting of a total of sixty-four techniques, the Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber had been modeled after the way five tigers pounced upon their prey, making every technique swift and fierce. Combined with the Peng Family’s characteristic tremendous strength, it unleashed vicious saber techniques.
And what about the Zhuge young master’s Little Heavenly Star Finger?
His movements were elegant, as though he were writing poetry with a brush, but within that elegance lay sharpness. Every time he drew a single character, every single stroke, he precisely targeted the opponent’s vital acupoints and drove inward. Yet his movements remained full of refined grace, while his finger strokes possessed force. I couldn’t help but admire him. I genuinely marveled at them.
‘So this is orthodox martial arts!’
However… something was lacking. Of course, the martial arts of each family were excellent. The problem was the people wielding them.
As expected, they were still young successors. They were strangely awkward. Their movements were precise, as though they had been properly trained, but they were too straightforward and lacked any tricks.
‘Look at that, look at that. There, instead of bringing the saber down so honestly, he should feint and slip away before striking at the opening. If you just move according to the technique exactly as taught, it’s easy to respond to. Good grief, the bandits actually have better instincts.’
I could understand why they had been struggling against the bandits until now.
They were holding out through the subtlety of their techniques, but that wouldn’t last much longer. Since they were fighting against a larger number of opponents, they would quickly tire, and once that happened, their openings would appear.
Well, I didn’t really care if they lost. No, actually, it would be better. Thanks to them, the bandits would be worn down, making them easier for me to subdue.
That was true, but…
‘…Should I help them a little?’
It would be rather undignified for Flower-Glutton to put his spoon into someone else’s meal.
I quietly picked up some pebbles from the ground. They were small enough that I wouldn’t be noticed even if I threw them secretly. I picked up several pebbles smaller than my pinky fingernail and filled one hand with them.
Then, while gauging the flow of the battle, I brought my thumb and index finger together and lightly flicked a pebble. At that moment, a bandit was bringing his saber down.
Whoosh–tap.
“You bastard! This is the end… huh?”
Suddenly, the tip of the bandit’s saber wavered. The pebble I had flicked had struck his wrist.
The bandit’s hand went numb, causing him to bring his saber down diagonally instead of in its original direction. Naturally, his stance was thrown off, leaving his side completely exposed.
“Brother Peng, your side is open!”
“I know, you idiot!”
Slash!
“Argh!”
Peng did not miss the opening and swung his saber. The bandit, whose side had been deeply cut, screamed and was sent sprawling.
I nodded in satisfaction.
‘Good, good.’
I flicked a few more stones. This time, I aimed them at the bandits who were thrusting their weapons simultaneously toward the Zhuge young master.
One was struck on his right foot, and another on his left at the same time. Their feet tangled, causing their bodies to tilt toward each other instead of toward the Zhuge young master.
The two men’s weapons collided.
Clang!
“W-What? Why did you swing at me?”
“What? No, that’s not it! My feet suddenly got tangled… You swung at me too!”
“My feet got tangled too… Aaargh!”
The Zhuge young master did not miss the moment and thrust his judge’s brush forward like a bolt of lightning. The two bandits, their acupoints struck in an instant, collapsed onto the ground.
The Zhuge young master grinned broadly and shouted,
“I took down two more!”
‘That’s it!’
Excited, I flicked more stones.
Whenever the bandits were about to bring down their weapons, I subtly interfered. And since it would be boring if things became too easy, I only made the weapons veer slightly off course. And the young masters did not miss those tiny cracks.
Even though they were young masters of prestigious families, whenever their opponents exposed an opening, they exploited it with astonishing precision. The great saber and judge’s brush darted among the bandits like fish swimming freely in water.
Before long, three more bandits had fallen, leaving only two……
‘Huh?’
No, wait. There’s one left?
Then where did the other one go…?
Rustle.
Suddenly, I heard a presence behind me.
I turned around. At that exact moment, my eyes met those of a bandit who had been secretly approaching me from behind.
“Uh…”
“……”
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
I slowly raised one hand. Then I gave the bandit an awkward smile and said,
“Hello?”
The bandit charged at me.
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