Chapter 7
****
Cho Janyeo sighed and adjusted his posture. He continued, as if thoroughly disgusted.
"I thought the conversation was dragging on, so this was your trick?"
The light of the night-luminescent pearl illuminated his face.
Beneath the black hat, his expression was smooth and impassive.
"I suspected something from the moment you asked me to meet at the shrine. Did you orchestrate this? No, Jo Il-geon must be involved. Knowing his personality…"
Wu Se-hyeon let out a short, pale laugh.
"Involved?"
Cho Janyeo stared at him intently, then furrowed his brow and sighed.
"So, you led this, you idiot…"
Then he suddenly reached out.
He swiftly drew his sword with the hand resting on the armrest of his chair and swung it.
Simultaneously, Wu Se-hyeon raised his folding fan and clapped it shut with a sharp 'crack'.
Hidden weapons shot out from behind the folding screen, and a figure in black emerged.
The weapons were aimed at Cho Janyeo's neck and stomach.
"Cho Janyeo!"
Wu Se-hyeon roared in fury.
"Even though you're violent, I thought you at least understood basic principles! The Biha Palace Master saved your life, and yet you…"
Cho Janyeo's sword sliced through the folding screen, cutting down the figure in black.
The hidden weapons shattered against an invisible sword qi.
Smoke billowed from Wu Se-hyeon's fan.
As a glint flashed in Cho Janyeo's eyes, a sword and a saber descended simultaneously from above the shrine's door and pillar. Wu Se-hyeon rose from his seat and extended his left hand.
Cho Janyeo deflected the sword of the man who had rushed out from behind the shrine door, grabbed the staggering man by the neck, and swung him around.
He used Jo Il-geon's body to block the sword of Wu Se-hyeon's subordinate.
Jo Il-geon's eyes narrowed sharply.
"How dare you!"
Without hesitation, he sliced off the arm of Wu Se-hyeon's subordinate who was blocking him.
This action made rage flicker across Wu Se-hyeon's face.
Backstabbing an ally in the middle of a fight?
He hadn't even been in mortal danger, yet he'd severed an arm for the sake of gaining an advantage!
Naturally, Wu Se-hyeon couldn't contain his fury.
"Jo Il-geon, what is the meaning of this? You dare attack my man?!"
Cho Janyeo had been channeling his internal energy into his palm.
Those who had been internally divided quickly changed their expressions and almost simultaneously raised their hands towards Cho Janyeo.
KABOOM!
A violent explosion roared.
Jo Il-geon stumbled from the blast, and Wu Se-hyeon clashed with Cho Janyeo palm-to-palm, but he slightly faltered, seemingly losing the internal energy struggle.
Just then, the figure in black, who had been cut down by Cho Janyeo, emerged from behind the screen and fluidly pulled Wu Se-hyeon away.
Jo Il-geon and the now one-armed subordinate of Wu Se-hyeon also joined forces to attack Cho Janyeo.
They intervened at a crucial moment.
'Were they not fatally wounded but had withdrawn from the fight to wait for the right moment?'
The figure in black behind the screen must have been the subordinate cherished by Jo Il-geon's granduncle.
I took a deep breath.
This was the turning point.
The chaotic fight was spilling outside the shrine.
Watching the unpredictable chaos unfold, I prayed for the fight to intensify.
'Just a little more, just a little…'
A glint flashed in Wu Se-hyeon's eyes.
Seeing his subordinate in danger, he immediately dashed out of the shrine and roared.
"You brought this upon yourself! Cho Janyeo! I'll show you how futile it is to be a lone wolf without any allies."
Cho Janyeo didn't flinch at the threat.
Instead, he scoffed and swung his hand again. Wu Se-hyeon gritted his teeth and said forcefully,
"…I'll make you just like your mother and younger brother."
Another explosion followed.
Cho Janyeo attacked Wu Se-hyeon with a palm strike infused with internal energy, seemingly trying to prevent a detailed exchange of blows.
KABOOM!
People staggered back from the resounding explosion.
As a gap appeared in the tight encirclement, I finally made my move.
I had been waiting for this moment.
The moment when no one would pay attention to me.
Hidden in the side room, I had been watching the scene unfold. As soon as the explosion subsided, I immediately slipped out.
The battle had already moved outside the shrine. No one noticed me.
Amidst the bloody conflict, before anyone could detect my presence, I quickly placed incense in the burner and bowed twice.
Nothing happened.
The dust slowly settled.
I quickly stood up and looked at the painting in front of me.
It wasn't just the Sword Saint depicted in the shrine.
There was a child playing, holding onto the sash of a handsome man.
I bowed twice again, and a 'click' echoed.
I slowly raised my head and looked straight ahead. A small handle had emerged from the floor of the shrine.
For a brief moment, it felt as if a needle had pierced my brain.
I inhaled sharply and stood up.
The Sword Saint's master was an expert who had achieved rejuvenation.
***
People often mistakenly believed that the Sword Saint's martial arts had fallen from the heavens.
They assumed that because the Sword Saint came from a humble background and didn't belong to any sect, he must have created his martial arts himself.
There was some basis for this belief.
The Sword Saint never revealed his master.
He also remained silent when asked about his mentor's fate.
Furthermore, because he displayed such extraordinary talent, unmatched by anyone in history, people believed that his unique sword art, the Dancheon Sword Art, was his own creation.
However, he did have a master.
The woman known as the Musan Goddess, who had lived long in the Musan Mountains, was the one who found and raised the Sword Saint from infancy.
She was already over two hundred years old when she found him, and she had never appeared in the martial world before.
That was why she was unknown to history.
The Musan Goddess was unassuming and unconcerned with worldly affairs.
She was often lazy and indolent, and the Sword Saint nearly died several times because of her negligence.
However, despite her careless nature, the Musan Goddess was the strongest character in the story.
Unlike Muk Cheon-woo, who was called the supreme expert in the latter part of the story, the Musan Goddess was in a league of her own, considered among the greatest of all time.
She stood shoulder to shoulder with legendary figures like the Heavenly Demon, Bodhidharma, and Zhang Sanfeng.
'The Sword Saint was a lonely man.'
Focused solely on the path of the sword, he was akin to a monk, suppressing other desires and avoiding deep connections with others.
The only person with whom he shared a deep, human bond was the Musan Goddess.
His mother, his master, and his companion in swordsmanship!
The Sword Saint deeply respected the Musan Goddess, and as he neared death, he placed a painting depicting their time together in the Musan Mountains within his shrine.
The secret of the Sword Saint's Tomb lay within this painting.
'The Sword Saint wanted people to show respect to the Musan Goddess. Many had offered incense and bowed at the Sword Saint's shrine before.'
Wasn't this a wuxia novel cliché?
Bowing before a withered skeleton or a tomb, showing respect, and then obtaining secret manuals.
However, nothing happened when people bowed at this shrine.
So, they assumed there were no secrets hidden within the Sword Saint's shrine.
This was because the shrine was dilapidated, shabby, and unremarkable.
They thought the secret might lie in the east of the Sword Saint's Tomb, where the caves were located…
But the Sword Saint's legacy was within this shrine.
He, being an old-fashioned man, and because the Great Self Divine Art directly influenced a person's nature, was very particular about the successor's character.
He considered bowing and showing respect to one's elders as a fundamental human principle, and he desired this respect not only for himself but also for the Musan Goddess.
This was because the Sword Saint's swordsmanship originated from the Musan Goddess.
Why else would he include her in the painting?
Those who bowed here assumed the child playing with the Sword Saint's sash was his daughter and didn't offer separate respects, but the painting held a hidden clue.
In the painting, the Musan Goddess was actually holding onto his sash and teaching him footwork.
Her expression was serious, not playful, and the Sword Saint was solemnly following her lead.
The painting depicted not play, but a master and disciple training.
People thought their solemn expressions were simply due to the painting being placed in a shrine, but the Sword Saint had subtly tried to convey that the Musan Goddess was his master through this painting.
Sadly, no one had noticed.
'Of course not! It would be unconscionable to expect anyone to figure it out from that.'
****
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