HSA 25

Ak Mujin, unsure of what was happening, looked at Jin Geum-ryeon, who sighed and gazed at the sky as if he found the situation bothersome.

Men in white uniforms swarmed towards them. Among them, a man who seemed to be the eldest, yet still had a youthful face, shouted.

“What poison did you use on our Junior Brother! He still can’t get out of bed!”

Ak Mujin also wondered what was going on and looked at the Hwasan Sect Disciples. They all looked extremely angry.

“It’s nothing much of a poison, really.”

“What!”

“You could call it a non-poison.”

Jin Geum-ryeon smiled brightly after saying that. The Hwasan Sect Disciples, who hadn’t understood Jin Geum-ryeon’s words until then, murmured among themselves as if they had realized something.

“What? No poison?”

“He didn’t use poison?”

As a commotion arose, the Jongnam Sect also began to watch them from behind.

“Th-then why can’t Junior Brother get up again!”

The Hwasan Sect Leader said.

“What else could it be but shame for losing to me, using poison as an excuse to be sick in bed.”

Jin Geum-ryeon gave a cool smile.

The Hwasan Sect Disciples, having learned the truth, lost their words with blank faces and stared at the distant mountains. Jin Geum-ryeon brushed past them and said to the Jongnam Sect,

“There are three of you and two of us, wouldn’t you like to share a ride?”

“Huh?”

“Hey!”

The Hwasan Sect Leader, who had come to his senses, shouted and chased after Jin Geum-ryeon.

“Not only did you make a fool of us, but now you’re trying to steal our boat?”

“Make a fool of you? You were the ones who disrespected my teacher first, so I just played a little prank. Besides, now that you know you don’t need an antidote, your Junior Brother won’t be in critical condition even if you arrive a little late, right?”

As Jin Geum-ryeon spoke gently, the Hwasan Sect Leader’s face turned bright red. He seemed to be panting, then looked at the Junior Brothers standing behind him and shouted.

“I challenge you to a duel! Whoever wins gets the boat!”

“We never agreed to that, though?”

The Jongnam Sect Leader said.

“St-still….”

“It’s better to leave first than wait for a duel. Boatman, take us to the other side of the river.”

“A-are you sure that’s alright?”

The Boatman, glancing at the group of martial artists, asked the Jongnam Sect Leader. Then, the Hwasan Disciple Leader eventually nodded and let the Jongnam Sect go first.

Ak Mujin, who was watching the hesitating Boatman hurriedly row away from the riverbank, approached Jin Geum-ryeon and spoke to him through telepathy.

‘Why did you suddenly pick a fight? We can just take another boat.’

‘They started the fight first. And take a look around. See if there are any other boats.’

Ak Mujin turned his back to the people and slightly lifted his myeokri. Just what kind of place was this that there was only one ferry and only one ferry boat that had just left?

“Jin Geum-ryeon! I, Lee Ho-jeong of the Hwasan Sect, formally challenge you to a duel!”

Jin Geum-ryeon seemed to look at the departing boat with regret, but eventually sighed at the words of the Hwasan Leader.

“Brother Lee. Brother Mun already lost to me once, what more humiliation are you trying to suffer?”

“Hmph, Brother Mun is my Senior Brother! If I can’t avenge him and suffer humiliation at your hands, I’d rather die!”

Lee Ho-jeong immediately drew his sword.

As a pacifist and a person of common sense, Ak Mujin couldn’t stand by and watch a fight break out, so he stepped forward and said quietly.

“Look here. Still, to draw swords over such a matter….”

“Yin Person, don’t interfere!”

Lee Ho-jeong seemed to have lost his mind because Jin Geum-ryeon had made a fool of them, and he couldn’t see anything else. Ak Mujin, who had been trying to stop him, somehow changed his mind upon hearing those words.

‘Go, Jin Geum-ryeon!’

Jin Geum-ryeon, as if he had heard Ak Mujin’s thoughts, took a step forward with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Senior Brother Lee! Teach him a lesson!”

The Hwasan Sect Disciples surrounded them and began to cheer for their Senior Brother. Jin Geum-ryeon looked at them and glanced at Ak Mujin.

What? You want me to cheer too?

Honestly, Ak Mujin wanted to cheer for the Hwasan Sect. How many times would he have the chance to actually see the Hwasan sword techniques in his life! If he ended up trapped in the Martial Alliance, it would probably be a sight he would never see again.

“Lee, win. Lee, win.”

Ak Mujin shook his fist a little with an insincere, small voice. Jin Geum-ryeon shook his head from side to side, then looked at Lee Ho-jeong and drew his sword.

In a duel between righteous sects, it was common to exchange a few initial moves and pay respects to each other. But Lee Ho-jeong, who was clearly angry, immediately unleashed his killing intent and swung his sword at Jin Geum-ryeon.

Ak Mujin watched the duel with a fascinated expression. This was a very interesting moment for him, as a martial arts novelist. That was because he had only been holed up in Heavenly Mountain all this time and had never had the chance to see the Martial Arts of a large sect.

Aren’t action scenes where swords clash the flower of martial arts!

Ak Mujin was very excited and widened his eyes to not miss a single movement of Lee Ho-jeong, who was moving beyond the myeokri.

That’s the Plum Blossom Sword Technique!

Clang, clang, clang—!

Uh….

Ak Mujin suddenly averted his gaze.

Even to him, an outsider to Hwasan, the Plum Blossom Sword Technique that Lee Ho-jeong was using was flashy in its movements but so crude that it was embarrassing to cheer for him.

A sword technique that blooms flowers…! When you reach the pinnacle, the fragrance of plum blossoms is supposed to bloom profusely…!

“How is it!”

Jin Geum-ryeon silently parried Lee Ho-jeong’s sword. No, rather, he pretended to be pushed back by Lee Ho-jeong’s swinging sword and took small steps backward.

Thanks to that, Lee Ho-jeong, emboldened, shouted while wielding his clumsy sword technique.

“To be able to parry my Plum Blossom Sword to this extent. For someone who learned from an unknown martial artist, you’re quite excellent!”

Jin Geum-ryeon only twitched his eyebrows and didn’t respond. Instead, he deliberately pretended to be careless and showed an opening. Then, Lee Ho-jeong smiled and rushed into that gap.

The moment the tip of the sword was about to pierce Jin Geum-ryeon’s side, Jin Geum-ryeon twisted his body as if sliding, dodging the attack and instead counterattacking Lee Ho-jeong.

Cling—!

Ak Mujin couldn’t help but admire Jin Geum-ryeon’s movements. He pretended to be on the defensive, but the swordsmanship he occasionally used to drive Lee Ho-jeong back was clearly that of an expert, even in Ak Mujin’s eyes. However, Lee Ho-jeong was still continuing his clumsy Plum Blossom Sword Technique, unaware of that fact.

Before they knew it, the number of exchanges they had made exceeded 50.

Jin Geum-ryeon hadn’t changed much compared to before the duel, but it was clear that Lee Ho-jeong was quite exhausted. Nevertheless, he couldn’t give up his desire to win against Jin Geum-ryeon, so he gasped for breath and once again swung his sword wildly.

At that moment,

His wrist twisted and he dropped his sword.

Lee Ho-jeong’s sword spun like a boomerang and flew in a direction away from Jin Geum-ryeon, into empty space.

Whir—

“Ju-Junior Brother!”

“……!”

Before Ak Mujin could even think, his body moved first. He knocked down Lee Ho-jeong’s Junior Brother, who had a sword blade in front of his eyes, with his myeokri fluttering in the wind.

As the cloth fluttered, Ak Mujin’s face was briefly revealed.

“Ugh…!”

“Are you alright?”

Ak Mujin removed himself from the man under him and hurriedly covered his face, saying. Fortunately, the sword had flown far away and fallen into the water.

The man who had narrowly avoided injury thanks to Ak Mujin was sitting there, blankly staring at Ak Mujin.

“Junior Brother Doo, are you alright?!”

“Yes? Yes… Yes. I-I’m alright, Senior Brother….”

He was still dazed and only staring at Ak Mujin, who was covering his face with the myeokri.

It was then.

“That was a good show, young brothers.”

A man wearing a sky-blue long robe walked smoothly from afar. He looked at the chaotic surroundings with a smile on his face, then looked at Ak Mujin, and then at Jin Geum-ryeon.

“Your swordsmanship skills are outstanding.”

His voice was full of affection and felt gentle, and it was low but soft, making it very pleasant to listen to.

“…Who are you, sir?”

Lee Ho-jeong helped his Junior Brother up and asked cautiously. Then, the man in the sky-blue long robe unfolded a fan and greeted them with a gentle smile.

“Ah, my name is Seo Moon-gwang. I came here to cross the river and happened to see your duel.”

Seo Moon-gwang!

Ak Mujin was startled and looked at his face again.

A slender figure and tall height hidden by the sky-blue long robe. His brown hair was half-tied up with a red coral hairpin, and his impression was as soft and gentle as his voice. His face, which became even kinder when he smiled, was one that anyone would call handsome.

Ak Mujin felt very strange to meet Seo Moon-gwang in a place like this.

He was a longtime friend of ‘Mae-yeong’ and had a kind and gentle personality. Although he didn’t measure up to Mae-yeong, he also possessed outstanding Martial Arts, and he was also Ahn Do-hyun’s ‘second favorite character’ who wrote <Namgung Clan Bastard Something>.

However, there was a slight problem with the way the world viewed him.

That was because he always appeared as a gwang…gong? Obsessive…gong? Anyway, some kind of psychopath who was hiding his true nature in secondary creations. Thanks to that, Ak Mujin had almost fainted every time because of Seo Moon-gwang’s character.

Seeing a beloved character sweep back his hair and say, ‘Damn it, I’m going crazy,’ was as shocking as seeing Jin Geum-ryeon’s teacher Mae-yeong say, ‘Ooh, strawberry.’ He even vaguely remembered that Seo Moon-gwang in a certain doujinshi had repeatedly proposed to Mae-yeong, and when it seemed impossible, he kidnapped him to a House of courtesans and threatened him to accept him, becoming a villain.

Thinking that far, Ak Mujin had to stand there dumbfounded, once again in great shock inside the myeokri. When he thought about it, Seo Moon-gwang had done that in a work that dealt with Mae-yeong’s <Ooh, strawberry>.

What was the title again?

Anyway, surely, this world isn’t that doujinshi, is it?

No, it can’t be.

If it were, why would Seo Moon-gwang suddenly appear here instead of wandering around Mae-yeong?

At that moment, Seo Moon-gwang gently moved his wrist to fan himself and quietly looked at Ak Mujin. The gaze seemed to penetrate even the myeokri, so Ak Mujin averted his eyes for no reason.