Five horses galloped vigorously.
It was around noon when they finally reached their destination after crossing mountains, fields, and rivers.
“Where do you come from?”
The young man at the front smiled at the tense question from the Jin Family gate guard. His crooked upturned lips couldn’t hide the underlying hostility.
“Hengshan.”
Jin Wi-gyeong summoned the family elders after the first watch.
***
Hyeok Mujin was versatile. I just had to picture him in my mind. Spear, sword, saber, bow… Sometimes I won, sometimes I lost, but one thing was certain.
“I’ve got the hang of it now.”
The martial arts have become second nature. At first, I focused on executing everything from start to finish in sequence, but now it’s different.
The forms change according to the situation.
Martial arts aren’t just about connecting forms in strict order.
I’ve reached a level where I can link martial arts by skipping between forms.
Just like this.
Swaaak!
By the time the wind sound was heard, it was already too late.
Hyeok Mujin, his abdomen pierced, sighed.
- Your skills are improving quickly.
“I’ve been fucking around with spears for seven years, you bastard.”
Opening my eyes after closing them, I see the empty training hall. The system notification chimes as if congratulating my victory.
Ding.
- [Jin Family’s Spear Arts] has risen to 4-star!
- [Jin Family’s Footwork Arts] has risen to 4-star!
- Forms become more precise and destructive power increases
- Level Up!
“Level 14 now, huh?”
Three levels in four days.
Pretty steep progress for being holed up in the training hall for three days.
Plus Jin Family’s Cultivation Arts reached 3-star, while Movement and Spear Arts hit 4-star.
“Open status window.”
After distributing the remaining points, my nose tingles for some reason.
[Lv.14 Jin Tae-kyung]
- Class: Second-rate Martial Artist
- Fame: 10
- Titles: 3 (Title effects active)
- Strength: 51
- Stamina: 61
- Agility: 61
- Intelligence: 10
- Charisma: 10
- Inner Force: 10 years
Remaining Points: 0
- Scion of a Noble House (All abilities +5, Fame +50)
- Family Disgrace (All abilities -5, Fame -50)
- Novice Practitioner (Training speed +10%)
“Beautiful. Just beautiful.”
Look at these balanced stats.
This is what you call combat stats of combat, by combat, for combat.
And the martial arts on top…
I’m not who I was before. Hyeok Mujin? I’m confident I could beat him now.
The F-rank hunter who didn’t know shit about martial arts is dead. Now I’m a martial artist who’s mastered peak-level inner arts and two first-rate martial arts.
Today’s where it begins.
All preparations are complete. Once I leave the training hall today, I’ll gather the items I’ve planned for and slip out of the Jin Family compound.
Jin Wi-gyeong might help me too.
Just dealing with amateur bandits like Thousand Strength could get me to my target quickly. Two days at most. After that, I can return to my family’s warm embrace.
Mom, Hayeon. I miss you.
Just as my eyes were about to turn red, that’s when it happened.
Grrrung-
“Oh, OHHH!”
The moment I’ve been waiting for. The iron door blocking the training hall entrance was opening. That dark, heavy chunk of metal looked as beautiful as heaven’s gates.
“Finally! I’m getting out!”
I ran toward the heavenly entrance with an ecstatic face.
The angel who would release me from this place appeared behind the door.
“Third Young Master. It’s been three days.”
Not exactly a welcome face, but right now I’m just happy.
“You’re here to let me out, right? Right?”
Wi-peng, the angel who looks like a desert fox, answered with an ambiguous tone.
“Yes. For now.”
“You will leave. But there’s somewhere we need to stop by first.”
“Stop by?”
A chill runs down my spine. Some kind of survival instinct raises its head.
“Where are we going?”
“The main assembly hall. The Lesser Family Head is waiting there too.” Wi-peng added:
“The family elders and envoys from the Hengshan Sword Sect are there as well.”
“Hengshan Sword Sect? Why the hell are they here?”
Wol-hwa said it at the Crimson Flower Pavilion. The Jin Family and Hengshan Sword Sect are sworn enemies. So why are those bastards here?
Things are going wrong.
This is bad. Really bad. I need to find a way out somehow.
“Could I at least change clothes in my quarters first?”
“No.”
“It seems like an important meeting, I shouldn’t smell bad…”
“Are you planning to run away?”
Looks like a desert fox but sharp as a meerkat. Before I could say anything, Wi-peng’s hand pressed down on my shoulder.
“Third Young Master. Please answer my questions truthfully from now on. Understood?”
His voice is dry and his eyes are cold. The pressure emanating from him left me speechless. All I could do was nod.
Jin Tae-kyung.
Those three syllables flashed through my mind.
I was certain. It must’ve been this fucker. He must have pulled some shit I don’t even know about.
And…
“Is it true that you attempted to violate a daughter of the Hengshan Sword Sect?”
That shit was bigger than I could have imagined.
On the way to the assembly hall following Wi-peng, my mind was completely blank.
Attempted sexual assault?
Though it was only an attempt, it’s a sex crime deserving worse than death.
I remembered how I used to say habitually, as a human being and as a brother with a younger sister, that sex offenders should be executed.
What kind of sick fuck…
My palms are damp with cold sweat.
I spoke for what must have been the umpteenth time:
“I really didn’t do it. Please believe me.”
Wi-peng answered without even looking back.
“Has your memory returned?”
“No, that’s not it. I’m telling you I really didn’t do it. Do I look like that kind of person? Someone who’d go around doing such garbage things?”
“Yes.”
Fuck, this bastard.
Answering without even taking a breath.
“Hey, let me hit the bathroom—I mean the outhouse real quick.”
“No.”
“Come on, you gotta let a man take care of business!”
“Just soil yourself.”
This fucking dog. I gave up and immediately started running. Concentrated all my internal energy into my feet and—
Grab.
“Third Young Master.”
Caught in three steps. Wi-peng, gripping my nape, looked down at me with cold eyes.
“If you continue like this… I might become discourteous.”
Resistance is futile. Wi-peng is a master whose level can’t even be detected by [Qi Sense].
No choice.
After walking for who knows how long with a devastated heart, a towering pavilion came into view.
Several warriors stood guard in front, and while the Jin Family’s characteristic navy uniforms were familiar, some wore unfamiliar red clothing.
Those must be the Hengshan Sword Sect people.
Given the usual relationship between the two sects, they should be like cats and dogs, but right now they’re united in glaring at me.
“Fuck…” Hearing my muttering, Wi-peng turned his head.
“The Lesser Family Head believes in you. Don’t forget that fact.”
Right. There’s Jin Wi-gyeong. My greatest hope and shield.
Just as I was reminding myself of this, Wi-peng threw open the assembly hall doors.
“I’ve brought the Third Young Master.”
Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the pavilion. Inside, I kept repeating to myself:
Stay calm even when caught by a tiger and you’ll survive. Stay calm even when caught by a tiger and…
As I entered the assembly hall, the low murmuring voices cut off abruptly.
About a dozen men, young and old, lined up on both sides, with Jin Wi-gyeong seated at the head position.
And in the center, one young man.
“It’s been a while, Young Master Jin.”
The moment I faced that unsettling smile.
Ding.
- [Killing Intent] detected!
Maybe use your turn signal before entering, asshole.
Killing intent.
Familiar. Monsters are literally beings made of pure malice and killing intent. I’ve felt it countless times and thought I was used to it. But this guy…
Different.
It’s on a different level from what I’ve experienced.
If I had to compare, it’s like the difference between low-rank and mid-rank monsters. Much more refined, subtle, and chilling.
“I believe we briefly crossed paths in the marketplace before. Though you might not remember.”
Each word Lee Sogun bites out has a system window floating above his head.
[Lv.30 Lee Sogun]
His level, which I read with [Qi Sense] as soon as the killing intent was detected.
More than twice my level.
This is fucking insane.
What’s even more depressing is the looks from everyone else.
My knees go weak at the sight of dozens of hostile gazes from both young and old staring me down.
In that atmosphere, Lee Sogun opened his mouth.
“What a shame. If you’d come a bit earlier, we could have had a deeper conversation. We were just having an interesting discussion.”
“…Is that so?”
“Aren’t you curious what we were talking about?”
“I-I’m good.”
I just hope it wasn’t a debate about whether to cut off my head or my balls. And if this unfortunate guess was true, I hoped they’d choose the balls over the head.
If I play my cards right, I might be able to recover with a level up… why am I even thinking about this.
It’s just pathetic. Lee Sogun, who had been staring intently at my expression, spoke:
“I heard you returned to the family a few days ago. Where were you?”
“Crimson Flower Pavilion.”
“And before Crimson Flower Pavilion, where were you?”
In a goshiwon, you fucker.
I want to come clean about everything.
That day I got fired from the guild, had drinks with the goshiwon supervisor, then went to sleep in the capsule. When I opened my eyes I was at Crimson Flower Pavilion, and I’ve been working hard trying to log out. Something like that.
I’ll be lucky if they don’t draw swords.
While I was hesitating to answer, Lee Sogun pulled something from his chest.
I thought he was really going to draw a sword, but it was a stack of papers.
“Since you seem to have no memory, I’ll tell you. The night before going to Crimson Flower Pavilion, you visited Radiant Moon Pavilion. You headed to the premium room you had reserved in advance.”
“Radiant Moon Pavilion?”
“The pleasure house you used to frequent? Don’t try to pretend you’ve never heard of it. Here are the testimonies and signatures of people who witnessed you there that night.”
In other words, it’s a list of testimonies. I skimmed through the papers with a mind to at least read them.
And found something strange.
“What’s this?”
“You still don’t understand after seeing it yourself?”
This bastard’s getting casual with his speech.
“I’m saying it because I saw it. There’s not a single proper testimony here.”
I read through dozens of testimonies thoroughly, but there was no decisive evidence anywhere.
The statements were all similar. Jin Tae-kyung was heavily drunk and entered the wrong room, and the room’s occupant was a daughter of the Hengshan Sword Sect. And there was a scream.
“The shamelessness of someone who tried to rip my sister’s clothes off and violate her is truly remarkable. Just as the rumors say.”
“Listen, that’s not—”
“You bastard!”
Whoosh!
“Ah.”
The thrown paper wad scattered across the floor. Lee Sogun spat phlegm on top of it.
Look at this fucking guy.
It’s not even annoyance. Just suspicion.
How should I put it, this whole series of events.
Especially regarding the testimonies, it feels extremely artificial.
But I didn’t have time to dwell on the suspicion.
“Follow me, I’ll make you pay the price for what you’ve done!”
The moment Lee Sogun shouted.
Ding.
- [Martial Challenge] quest has been generated.
What now?