By then, Hyeol-u had already heard every word of Jegal Su-ran's party calling him a servant-born bastard and treating Namgung Seong like a house servant.
"How childish. Getting a pastry stolen by a creature and then chasing its tail — the Jegal Clan's martial arts uniform has never looked more unbecoming."
"Wh-what?"
Jegal Su-ran's eyes blazed with twin fury.
"Say that again. Chasing its tail? And what about my uniform?"
Her hand flew to the sword at her hip and ripped it free.
SHING—!
FLASH.
Though bathed in late-summer noon sunlight, the blade pulsed with a chill of sword qi.
'She dares channel inner arts into her sword......?'
No matter how pampered she had been raised as the clan princess, her pride bloated beyond measure—
He had never imagined she would draw a blade so recklessly.
With the Namgung Clan's own elder and Second Young Master present, did she act this way simply because she trusted the young aristocrats traveling with her?
'I can't let this slide.'
Hyeol-u stood and brushed the dust from his backside.
Several hundred onlookers surged forward at once.
Nothing cured boredom like a fight.
"A fight, a fight!"
"Quiet — that woman's already drawn her sword......!"
Hyeol-u deliberately pressed a sliver of force into the dark cane.
At once, a piercing surge of fighting spirit came not from Jegal Su-ran, but from somewhere within the crowd.
'I knew it!'
To project killing intent intangibly required a pinnacle-level martial artist.
And it had not come from just one — at least two had released it simultaneously.
Hyeol-u swept his gaze across the crowd.
And his eyes found them: two figures wearing wide-brimmed sedge hats.
One was fat. The other thin as bamboo.
'So that's what she was counting on.'
Just then, Seventh Elder Namgung Pil-su approached them at a measured pace.
"Pardon me, Young Lady. Judging by your attire, you appear to be of the Jegal Clan. Am I mistaken?"
No matter the differences between clans, she could not ignore an elder before this many eyes.
"Ah, greetings. I'm Su-ran of the Jegal Clan."
Jegal Su-ran lowered the drawn sword and spoke.
"Haha, this old man is Pil-su, Seventh Elder of the Namgung Clan. Is the clan head in good health?"
"Ah, yes. Grandfather has so much energy that the servants still can't keep up with him."
Pleasantries, at least, were exchanged with proper courtesy.
But the instant they ended, she thrust her hand toward Hyeol-u.
"You heard all that, yes? Now hand over the chick that stole my pastry. Otherwise, you'll get a taste of something bitter."
"Something bitter?"
Fury bloomed on Namgung Pil-su's face.
No matter how diminished the Namgung Clan's standing, to be humiliated like this by a girl—
"Grrrr......"
That was when the Second Young Master Namgung Byeok began to seethe.
Hyeol-u gave the situation a quiet nudge.
"Well, here we are — the Namgung Clan on its grand march, and already swallowing insults. Yet the Second Young Master doesn't seem the least bit upset?"
Namgung Byeok's face twisted as though he had bitten into a worm.
He desperately wanted to step forward.
But at their gathering of the Five Great Clans' young heirs years ago, Jegal Su-ran's martial prowess had clearly been a cut above his own.
Jegal Su-ran broke into a coquettish laugh and addressed him.
"Oh? Hohoho! It is Master Namgung Byeok, isn't it? It's been a while — three years since we first met? You must have recognized me, yet you were so late in greeting me. I wonder why......"
Artfully needling a man's pride.
In Jegal Su-ran's eyes, the easiest mark in the room was Namgung Byeok.
"Second Young Master, surely you don't need a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken?"
Golden Swordhand So Se-gi stepped forward.
"What? A chicken?"
Now the clash between the two clans was all but inevitable.
"No, I'll do it."
Even a butcher's cleaver would be fine if it could land the cut.
A bitter smile spread across Namgung Byeok's face.
"I look forward to a good match."
Namgung Byeok offered a courteous clasped hands greeting. Jegal Su-ran gave only a perfunctory nod, set her sword in middle guard, and immediately began weaving her feet in subtle patterns, circling him once.
The Jegal Clan's Celestial Mystery Vanishing Step — a technique for probing an opponent's reactions.
In response, Namgung Byeok's feet kicked up clouds of dust as they moved busily.
Infinite Step.
While Celestial Mystery Vanishing Step created confusion to make the direction of attack unpredictable, the Namgung Clan's Infinite Step was built on sheer unpredictability — capable of launching in any direction without warning.
Its drawback, however, was devastating energy consumption, befitting a footwork with no limits.
But Jegal Su-ran had no intention of dragging the bout out. She leaped straight into the attack.
"Crossing Path Sword Art!"
"Hmph!"
Namgung Byeok snorted.
He would not fall for the same trick twice.
The technique was also known as the "reverse-direction sword" — building momentum one way, then striking from the opposite direction.
Namgung Byeok had been thrown into confusion by this very technique years ago, unable to counter, and had lost.
"HIYAAH!"
Just as Namgung Byeok was about to deflect her blade—
Her sword tip quivered almost imperceptibly, and a piercing sonic wave struck his eardrums.
BOOM—!
"Ugh!"
The Iron String Sword Art!
Switching to a completely different technique mid-attack spoke to her extraordinary command of the sword.
A pain as though every nerve in his ears had been shredded — Namgung Byeok grimaced and staggered back.
"Hmph! Not even close."
At Jegal Su-ran's mocking laugh, her sword suddenly vanished.
Then came the illusion of stars raining down from the sky.
The Sheathless Sword Art into the Little Celestial Stars Sword Art — both signature techniques of the Jegal Clan.
"Gaaah......!"
Namgung Byeok clutched his head and crumpled on the spot.
FWEEE—!
A sound sharp as a crossbow bolt split the air.
CLANG—!
"Hnngh!"
Jegal Su-ran hastily blocked the object that had been aimed at her face, then whipped her body sideways to brace for a follow-up.
An impressively effective and precise reaction.
But when she looked at what had bounced to the ground, it was nothing more than a child's fist-sized stone.
"A stone......?"
Her sword hand was torn and burning, and the blade still shuddered from the impact.
Yet it had been a mere pebble?
'To hurl a stone packed with that much true force — this is a master!'
Her eyes darted toward Seventh Elder Namgung Pil-su.
But he stood with his brow slightly creased, hands apparently untouched.
'That can't be right. Then who......?'
As her confused gaze swept the crowd—
"What a shame. I was hoping to mash those impudent lips of yours."
Hyeol-u strolled toward her, twirling the dark cane.
"Namgung Seong...... you?"
"Is that all the tricks you've got? If there's more, let's see them — I'd love a show."
Her fair face flushed red as a ripe persimmon.
Blue sparks practically shot from her eyes.
"You...... lowborn wretch!"
Her hand dipped into her robes and emerged with leaf-shaped objects.
Several petals whirled through the air, obscuring his vision.
She had not had time to put her full strength behind them, but the petals themselves radiated a lethal edge.
A direct hit anywhere on his face would slash and crush flesh.
"Hoh!"
A triumphant smile graced her lips.
'I want to see your smug face after it's been mangled.'
And just as that thought crossed her mind—
A fist suddenly filled her vision, expanding before her eyes.
'Wh-what?'
Before she could think—
SMACK—!
A shockwave that threatened to shatter every bone in her face — cheekbones, eye sockets, all of it — pierced through her skin and rattled her entire brain.
THUMP.
"Su-ran......!"
The instant Jegal Su-ran toppled backward—
Two figures in sedge hats burst from the crowd and hurtled forward.
"Wait! Those people are...... the Jegal Twin Gods?"
"That's them. I saw them at the Jegal Clan head's seventieth-birthday banquet."
Even with sedge hats on, quite a few people recognized them.
"The very guardians who protect All-Knowing Patriarch Jegal Dae-hwi with their lives — what are they doing here?"
"Well, the Jegal Clan head is said to dote on his granddaughter more than himself."
'The Jegal Twin Gods......'
Pinnacle-class masters who had saved Jegal Dae-hwi during the Great Phoenix Mountain Bloodbath.
Also known as the guardian gods of the Jegal Clan, as their epithet suggested.
The two were twins.
According to the martial arts they had each mastered, the large, heavyset elder brother was called Heavenly Roc Divine Fist, and the small, gaunt younger brother was called Formless Divine Sword.
'This is perfect. A chance to test how much of my martial prowess I've recovered.'
Even in a two-against-one fight, Hyeol-u was confident.
Some might call it reckless bravado.
But he had clashed with them before in his Hell Reaper days, and he still remembered their weaknesses — his confidence was built on solid ground.
'Phew, thank heavens.'
Heavenly Roc Divine Fist breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
The sound of the punch landing had been loud, but outwardly her face was merely swollen.
The internal injuries did not seem critical either.
He carried Jegal Su-ran to one side, fed her wound medicine, and lightly struck her Celestial Prominence point.
A gurgling sound followed as the medicine passed down her throat.
After studying Jegal Su-ran for a while, Formless Divine Sword turned a fearsome glare on Hyeol-u.
"Considering you held back, I will only take one of your arms. Count yourself fortunate."
SHING.
With the words, a blade as white as snow emerged.
The draw was swift and minimalist, matching his gaunt, rigid frame.
Hyeol-u chuckled with a grumble.
"I showed mercy, and instead of dropping to your knees in gratitude, you want to take my arm?"
A flicker of killing intent passed through Formless Divine Sword's eyes.
Heavenly Roc Divine Fist, who had been tending to Jegal Su-ran several paces away, rose slowly and approached.
"All calamity begins at the mouth, they say. Today, the words from that mouth of yours will see your limbs severed and your innards turned inside out. You will spend the rest of your life a cripple."
"Ha, truly terrifying. As if mere words could defeat the heavens. Decrepit old men who've spent their lives serving others — with resentment that deep, I suppose nothing short of actually severing someone's limbs could soothe it."
"Th-Third Young Master!"
Namgung Pil-su, alarmed by Namgung Seong's reckless mouth, shouted.
But Hyeol-u shook his head.
"I'll handle this. Seventh Elder, please rest."
What on earth gave him such confidence?
The Second Young Master, Namgung Byeok, was baffled.
Even granting the skill of stopping Jegal Su-ran's blade with a single stone and felling her with a single punch—
The opponents now were the Jegal Twin Gods — pinnacle-class masters.
"Indeed, a single mudfish muddies the entire stream."
Heavenly Roc Divine Fist sighed.
"The words pouring from that mouth are the very picture of irreverence — unbecoming of a scion of any prestigious house."
"Enough talk. Come at me together, both of you. I'll receive you personally."
***
Having been provoked to that extent, the two could hardly rush in.
They were, after all, the famed Jegal Twin Gods of a prestigious clan.
Into that awkward standoff stepped Jegal Su-ran, having just regained her senses.
"Urgh...... Grandfathers! There's no need to stoop to playing with children. I have a proposal."
She said this while staring Hyeol-u dead in the eye.
'And just like that, I'm the childish one. Fine — let's hear what she has to say.'
"For two prestigious orthodox clans to duel over something this trivial by the Ryeo River would be remembered as an unprecedented disgrace. Let's call today's events off — and instead......!"
Her eyes swept across Seventh Elder, Second Young Master, Golden Swordhand, So-i, Yang Gye-dong — even the shackled prisoners in the cage — before settling on Hyeol-u.
"I will...... join the Namgung Clan's escort."
"Wh-what......?"
She winked at Hyeol-u.
'How about it? You're satisfied too, aren't you?'
That seemed to be the message.
But the wink delivered from a face swollen like dough that had been doused in errant yeast — puffy, eyes squished — was nothing short of horrifying.
"Haha, a fine proposal — but the decision rests with the man in question, doesn't it?"
Seventh Elder Namgung Pil-su deftly pushed the choice onto Hyeol-u.
Every eye in the crowd fixed on him.
Normally, Namgung Seong would have turned beet red, broken into a cold sweat, and fumbled helplessly.
But the person inside this body was...... Hell Reaper Hyeol-u.
"You set conditions, so I'll set mine."
"What?!"
She yelped.
All she needed was a yes or no — and now he was tacking on his own conditions?
"That's unaccep—"
"First! No acting independently."
Jegal Su-ran's protest bounced off. Hyeol-u did not budge an inch as he listed his terms.
"Second, participation fees are paid in advance."
"Fees? Hmph, and...... is there more?"
"Third, the Namgung Clan bears no responsibility for death or injury incurred during participation."
"What? Th-that's......!"
Jegal Su-ran's body quivered.