Return
“I raised him as my disciple so I could use him at times like this.”
I drained the rest of my wine as I skimmed the situation unfolding below from my room. Samgu, waiting nearby, unleashed his qi in full and silenced the commotion in an instant.
“Wh—who are you?”
One of the escort warriors, a burly fellow who looked to wield considerable strength, bowed respectfully and asked Samgu.
“Peng Clan?”
There was none of Peng Yuwol’s usual imposing bearing, but I could feel their energy in every stride. On closer inspection, all the warriors appeared to be disciples of the Peng Clan.
‘They should be in Hebei—or at least guarding Peng Yuwol. Or could they just be ronin who learned Peng Clan martial arts?’
I wondered why such men were guarding someone like Chu Sogwang here, but thanks to their skill, Samgu could assess the entire situation at a glance, making it easy to sort things out.
‘Of course. They’re Peng Yuwol’s escorts. Whether one serves an envoy or a bodyguard, it all comes down to power.’
But money can buy courtesans and escorts, not the world’s greatest beauty or the world’s greatest warrior.
Money has its limits.
No matter how many Peng Clan techniques they mastered, they couldn’t defeat my Samgu.
“You bastard. You really shouldn’t touch a woman someone else has already taken.”
Chu Sogwang trembled in place. The wine’s effects had long since been driven off by Samgu’s murderous aura, and he began to eye Samgu warily.
“O—oh, the woman you were embracing just now…”
“Silence.”
Chu Sogwang hastily adopted a formal posture. True to the pattern of strong-weak-weak-strong, he realized he was outmatched, and, glancing at Samgu, babbled fiercely.
“Th—that woman is a courtesan I bought! I paid a fortune to… to make her my concubine!”
“A concubine?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
I hadn’t heard a word of it. I was too absorbed in Hongryeon’s moans to notice Chu Sogwang’s antics below. I’d assumed it was just a drunk’s antics and was too busy pleasuring myself on her breasts.
“Explain.”
“W—well…”
The courtesan, lips stained with rouge, showered Samgu with kisses before prostrating herself before me.
“Chu Sogwang bought Hongryeon, sister. He threw down a hundred silver taels and said he’d make her his concubine…”
“Oh-ho. That’s quite the tangled mess.”
I could picture it. A courtesan throwing herself into the arms of a brothel patron to gain freedom was rare.
Becoming the concubine of the envoy’s heir would be a great success for a courtesan, but even so, if he was a vulgar brute, she’d naturally feel disgusted.
“What a fucking mess. Why didn’t he just say so?”
“W—well…”
“It’s obvious. He tried to fleece both sides of the deal. He was determined to ruin a promising young man’s life. Tsk.”
If I milled it the wrong way, she’d be tied to the envoy’s heir and her life would be screwed.
“He thinks he’s the tragic heroine of some cheap street drama.”
I’d only come to drain the water from the brothel’s foundation, but Hongryeon was writing a melodrama worthy of a marketplace.
“Ugh. I understand his motive of clinging to me…but—”
I felt both pity and annoyance.
If I rescued Hongryeon here, I’d have to take responsibility for her, and I’d turn everyone in the Chu Escort Bureau against me. Turning the local elite hostile over a one-night fling? Not wise.
“So… my apologies, Lord Chu. I had no idea of such circumstances. I offer you my deepest apologies.”
“My lord, no apology is necessary! I’m simply grateful for your generous understanding! Ha-ha.”
‘Might as well gift Samgu that Millennium He Shou Wu I stashed away.’
I bowed and apologized in his stead, selling my pride short.
No matter how much of a retainer he was, I couldn’t bear to watch another man bow on my behalf.
This brothel had been the only place that would receive me when I was shunned at the door for my appearance. I’d come to help, and now I was in danger of having to flee.
“This pisses me off.”
I only came to drain water—why was I tangled up in this mess?
Orthodox solution: apologies exchanged with smiles, everyone bows out, grudges remain.
Heterodox solution: beat them to a pulp and leave.
Chu Sogwang would lie bloodied for weeks, but the brothel and courtesan would be ruined unless I took them under my wing.
“Fuck it—kill them all?”
Demonic Sect solution: kill them all.
It’s the cleanest, simplest way.
They’d investigate under the name , but if no martial traces were left, they’d write it off as a vendetta feud.
“Kill or spare… kill or spare…”
As I weighed my options, a bright flower entered the brothel’s tense atmosphere. A woman’s presence, redolent of fresh blossoms rather than incense, snapped me to attention.
“Seeing you twice in one day—could this be fate?”
At the open brothel entrance stood Peng Yuwol, exuding a chilling aura.
“What is the meaning of this disturbance?”
At Peng Yuwol’s ice-cold voice, Chu Sogwang and her guards scowled.
Chu Sogwang, for shamelessly disgracing himself before his bride-to-be; the guards, for being forced into this absurd situation.
“Why are my family’s warriors here, Lord Chu?”
“Hmph…! Once you become part of our clan, they too will be our clan’s warriors! What difference does it make that I preemptively hired them?”
Chu Sogwang retorted, his chin high. There was no hint of shame in his posture.
“Huh? What’s going on here?”
Samgu scanned the scene and looked back at me. He might have learned martial arts at lightning speed, but he had no sense of tact when it came to lecturing his master.
[Can’t you tell? Peng Yewol is the woman he’s to marry, and Hongryeon just happens to look like her. Judging by her cold reception, he must have come for Hongryeon’s favors, thinking he could toy with her before the wedding.]
At my silent cue, Samgu nodded gravely. Even I was astonished by my own analysis.
‘Damn, I thought the same thing? I almost chilled to the bone.’
“I should have taken Peng Yewol instead of messing with Hongryeon, you bastard.”
My anger was justified. Hearing their argument below inflamed me further.
‘So he couldn’t wait for the wedding night and came for Hongryeon instead, and I’m stuck drinking alone? Unforgivable.’
I couldn’t let this slide. Consequences would be sorted later; right now, I needed to exhaust this boiling rage.
[Samgu. Get us out of here.]
I sent Samgu a thought message and pocketed my silver.
I’d planned to pay only half a day’s fee and pocket the rest, but my disgust made me loathe even a single tael. I channeled qi into a chopstick, sharpening it into a wicked blade.
“Eat shit, you unlucky bastard.”
Leaving all my silver behind, I leapt from the brothel and dashed to the opposite building for a clear view.
“Hmph. I’ve lost interest. I’ll be leaving now.”
“What? W-wait…?”
“Get back safely.”
Hongryeon, quick on the uptake, bid Samgu farewell. Though he’d never embraced her, she acted as if he had, allowing him to slip away unscathed.
Samgu slunk into an alley, pausing to recuperate his qi, then vaulted rooftops to land beside me.
“Ouch, that was close.”
“Well done, Samgu. Now, what shall we do to him?”
“…Sigh, Master. I told you not to go into brothels.”
He complained the moment he reached my side. I restrained the urge to smack him, out of a shred of decency.
“You knew? That Hongryeon tricked me?”
“I tried to tell you, but you went straight for his skull.”
“I have no objections. Next time, I’ll wait a moment before I strike.”
Even a master must admit his mistakes. I rose as the noise below died down.
‘Time to set the mood.’
It was almost time to send Samgu on his way.
“Samgu, what star level is your Gwangcheon Asura Sword at now?”
“…I’ve reached Five Stars.”
“And your inner strength?”
“Thanks to your grace, I’ve surpassed One Jiazi.* ”
“Good. Then you won’t die horribly out there. You may descend the mountain.”
“What? Master, what do you mean?”
Samgu sprang up in alarm. Just moments ago, he had overpowered Peng Clan warriors by wager; now he looked at me desperately, like a repentant supplicant before a lady.
“You’re abandoning me?!”
“Abandoning? Wasn’t that our agreement? You would care for me until I reached adulthood. I don’t know who cared for you, though.”
With his prematurely aged face, Samgu had faithfully played my guardian in the world. Now that he had grown strong enough to bed women, it was time for us to part.
“Watching you intimidate warriors today, I realized you’re a true master. Now go out into the world and roam freely—you can aim for the pinnacle, or beyond. Remember when I first taught you martial arts? I asked what heights you could reach once Gwangcheon Asura Sword hit its peak.”
“…You said the world’s top hundred experts were basic, and you could even rival the world’s top ten.”
Gwangcheon Asura Sword—the very style of the Sword Sovereign, one of the ten greatest masters who tormented me in my past life. He was so formidable he was once considered for Wulin Alliance leadership, but he fell under the Blood Cult’s sway and became part of the Blood City.
Since his art was sealed in a hidden cave between cliffs, no one would ever suspect me of knowing it.
‘Time to set the mood again.’
“Samgu, go fulfill your destiny!”
“Master, are you just uncomfortable that I’m here with a woman?”
How did he know?
“If you know, shut up and leave. And don’t call me master anywhere out there. That’s an order.”
“…Yes, sir. I obey.”
Samgu hesitated, scratching his head dumbly. To give him a peaceful departure, I pointed toward the mountains where we first met.
“Do you remember where we first met?”
“Yes.”
“I buried some Millennium He Shou Wu there. I arranged it so you can unearth it once your Gwangcheon Asura Sword reaches Seven Stars. When the time comes, head there.”
“Master, may I ask one thing? What exactly are you?”
Samgu always asked that question.
I saw no need to reveal my nature. To him, I was just the protector who would shield him until he came of age.
“How do you know an art capable of reaching the world’s top ten, where to find all those rare elixirs, and what martial art I use?”
“That’s just one question?”
“Tell me. Even if you can’t reveal my name, can’t you at least declare my sect lineage?”
“Time spent talking is time wasted on sword thrusts… Fine, fine. You’d never leave if I didn’t say it.”
I turned and stood on the edge of the rooftop.
“Absorb Yin Nourish Yang.”
“…Pardon?”
“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear. Chaeum Boyang (Absorb Yin Nourish Yang).”
In the Blood City era, the reason I could absorb all those Blood Cult techniques was that I devoted myself wholeheartedly to a single art.
“I am one who grows strong by embracing women.”
By forcibly absorbing a woman’s yin energy and mixing it with violent blood rituals, I acquired their martial skills.
“Master, that’s… quite a joke.”
“Believe it or not. Now go your own way. This incident will bring you no harm.”
“Master, what are you plotting?”
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
Since I was interrupted while embracing a woman, Chu Sogwang deserves the same fate.
“Before Chu Sogwang can touch her, I’ll embrace Peng Yuwol once. He dared to steal my embrace—so I’ll take what he claims.”
“…Do you intend to commit a crime?”
“A crime? Heh. Tell them I lived like the wind and departed like the wind.”
I don’t plan on crimes. I simply match hearts with women.
“Who knows? Maybe Peng Yuwol will meet my gaze and abandon her clan for me.”
“…Very well. If you insist on sending me away, I shall follow your will.”
Samgu bowed deeply, then departed across the sky with golden inner strength. His departure showed techniques only learned at the Sixth Star of Gwangcheon Asura Sword—though he claimed Five Stars.
“Brag much.”
I settled on the rooftop, clutching a newly filled wine gourd.
“But I didn’t lie.”
“Chaeum Boyang is my true divine art.”
Had Samgu been a woman, I might still be intoxicated by him.
__________________________
TL Note:
* "Jiazi" - Definition: The first year in the traditional Chinese sexagenary (heavenly stems–earthly branches) cycle, comprising 60 distinct year-names.
Usage in context: When Samgu says he’s surpassed “one Jiazi,” it means his inner strength has reached the equivalent of sixty years’ worth of cultivation.