WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

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◈ Murim in my Hometown ◈

Chapter 49: One Battle

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Clang! Clang! Clang!

Bok Hagyu and Pyo Holdeuk clashed fiercely.

A fight between swordsmen was clearly different from a contest between saber wielders.

They moved endlessly to seize each other’s blind spots, confusing their vision with dazzling feints before sharply stabbing at openings.

There was none of the boldness of saber techniques. Instead, swordsmanship’s uniquely sinister battle of wits unfolded in a chaotic blur.

When Bok Hagyu and I fought at the Wandering Swordsman Inn before, neither of us had truly intended to kill the other.

We had only wanted to gauge each other’s skill and subdue the other if necessary, so neither of us had fought at full strength.

Now, every move burned with killing intent and the will to destroy the other.

The fake Pyo Holdeuk was not being pushed back at all.

The aura he gave off had not seemed particularly impressive, but watching him use his sword sent a chill down my spine.

I had been wrong.

That bastard was undoubtedly a master, one who knew how to conceal his aura and deceive his opponent, like a beast hiding its claws.

The two opium merchants wearing Martial Alliance uniforms were also highly skilled.

The four Black Night Gang men were not crude Black Path thugs who made their living through threats and brutality.

Perhaps Bok Hagyu had chosen them carefully. Their blade work and movement were quite decent.

They even had two more men.

Despite that, they could not gain any advantage in the fight. They were barely managing to block their opponents’ attacks.

“Those bastards are too strong. They’re not ordinary opium merchants.”

Geuk Hwan agreed.

“They’re from proper sword sects. No wonder the inspector’s group and the Kongtong Sect martial artists were defeated.”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Argh!”

One Black Night Gang man was struck by a blade and fell, breaking the balance of the close battle.

It had been evenly matched even with four of them, but once one man fell, the Black Night Gang men began to be driven back. Blood slowly stained their hands and bodies in several places.

Bok Hagyu glanced at his subordinates and bit his lip.

He must not have expected them to be this strong. He had charged in boldly, but at this rate, the Black Night Gang men would be wiped out.

If all his subordinates fell and the two opium merchants joined Pyo Holdeuk to attack him together, Bok Hagyu would have no chance either.

Whoooosh!!

Bok Hagyu swung his sword widely to drive Pyo Holdeuk back, then launched himself toward his subordinates.

He seemed to intend to deal with the two men first, then surround Pyo Holdeuk alongside his subordinates.

It was the best decision in the current situation.

Perhaps Pyo Holdeuk had read his plan. With a cold smile, he boldly bent back only his upper body to let the sword strike pass, then kicked off the ground.

There was distance between them, and Bok Hagyu had moved first, but Pyo Holdeuk reacted far too quickly.

Before Bok Hagyu could take several steps, his enemy’s sword flew toward his back.

Sensing it, Bok Hagyu hurriedly turned and swung his sword.

Clang!!

He barely blocked the strike with an almost animalistic reaction, but his center of balance tilted backward. He lost his balance for an instant, and his steps slowed.

Pyo Holdeuk did not miss the opportunity. After unleashing killing moves at Bok Hagyu’s face, he slipped into his left blind spot and sliced across Bok Hagyu’s thigh as he passed.

“You bastard!!”

Bok Hagyu roared and rained sword strikes down wildly. Pyo Holdeuk hurriedly blocked them and retreated far away.

Bok Hagyu advanced about ten steps before stopping.

Blood running down his thigh left a trail on the dirt.

Judging from his movements, the cut was not deep. He only needed to wrap it with a bandage or cloth to stop the bleeding.

Of course, Pyo Holdeuk would never allow that. He would cling to Bok Hagyu relentlessly and keep driving his sword into him.

Until excessive blood loss weighed his body down and blurred his vision, until he eventually suffered a fatal wound and collapsed.

The outcome was practically decided.

Watching this made my thoughts complicated.

I did not care whether the others lived or died, but Bok Hagyu was different.

If that man died here, I would have no way to meet Jeok Chuyeong.

I had made a deal with Bok Hagyu. I did not even know the faces of the other two members of the Black Night Gang’s trio.

It would be different if I led a large organization or had powerful backing, but I was only a martial artist who had one foot in the Hao clan and worked for them.

Even if I went looking for them, they would not meet me.

There would be trouble even if Bok Hagyu survived.

Now that the Martial Alliance inspector had been exposed as a fake, I had effectively deceived him.

He would claim our deal was invalid, refuse to keep his promise, and perhaps try to take revenge on me for making a fool of him.

But if I helped him here and saved his life, I could turn the situation around at once.

I did not know Bok Hagyu well. Still, based on what I had experienced so far, he was Black Path, but not a vile man who repaid kindness with enmity.

It was not a welcome situation, but if it allowed me to meet Jeok Chuyeong and learn where Soso and her family had gone, I was willing to bear it.

Having made up my mind, I drew my long saber from behind my waist.

“I must intervene.”

Geuk Hwan tried to stop me.

“That would be foolish.”

That was only natural from the Hao clan’s perspective. They had no reason to involve themselves in this fight.

They could simply wait until the Black Path men and the impostors had all obligingly become corpses together, then go down and collect the remaining opium.

“I have a deal with Bok Hagyu. If he dies here, everything will be for nothing. Does the Hao clan accept commissions from the Black Night Gang as well?”

“We do sell them information occasionally.”

“Then this works out well. Squad Leader Bok looks desperate. Why not make him owe us a debt while we have the chance?”

When they took over Choi Estate, the Hao clan and the Black Night Gang had worked together briefly.

Something similar might happen again in the future. If we helped now, we could make use of Bok Hagyu later.

We had already assessed Pyo Holdeuk and his subordinates’ abilities.

Geuk Hwan calmly examined the battle before nodding.

“Very well. Let’s do it.”

I left Hwanghae behind and rose.

Keeping low, we pushed through the brush between the trees and descended the slope.

The best option would be to catch them by surprise, but if we did not make things clear, Bok Hagyu might change his story later.

At the foot of the slope, Geuk Hwan and I exchanged a look before charging into the scene.

I headed for Pyo Holdeuk, while Geuk Hwan went toward the two opium merchants.

At the sudden intrusion of uninvited guests, Pyo Holdeuk stopped swinging his sword at Bok Hagyu and retreated far back.

The two opium merchants were also startled by Geuk Hwan’s sharp sword strikes and moved away from the Black Night Gang men.

For the moment, everyone stopped.

When the sound of weapons colliding ceased, the wolves that had been holding their breath began howling again.

Awooooo.

While Geuk Hwan kept the two opium merchants in check with his sword, the Black Night Gang men dragged their fallen companion back. They examined the wound and wrapped it with bandages.

Recognizing me, Bok Hagyu glared as if he wanted to kill me.

“You bastard, how dare you deceive me?”

“Calm down. I was deceived too.”

“Hmph. Did you come to help that inspector, your backer? Are you here to take my head?”

“I came to help Squad Leader Bok, along with the Hao clan. If we had wanted to kill you, we would have joined forces with that bastard and ambushed you immediately.”

When Bok Hagyu’s gaze turned toward him, Geuk Hwan spoke.

“The circumstances surrounding the man calling himself an inspector were suspicious, so we were following him. If Squad Leader Bok came after us, you must have seen the Hao clan carriage. Squad Leader Bok, would you like to request our assistance?”

Though the help was unexpected, Bok Hagyu did not refuse it.

“Fine. I’ll commission you. I need help.”

“How will you pay the price?”

“We can discuss that later. Kill those bastards first.”

Geuk Hwan readily agreed.

“Let’s do that. Squad Leader Bok isn’t one to be stingy with payment.”

The battle began again.

With Geuk Hwan and me joining, the tide turned completely.

I eagerly unleashed the fierce consecutive cuts of the Heavenly Steel Saber Method. Pyo Holdeuk, who tried to stab his sword in to break my saber strikes, hurriedly leaped aside.

Bok Hagyu’s sword, which had flown toward the back of Pyo Holdeuk’s head, cut only empty air.

Attacked from the front and back, Pyo Holdeuk’s hands and feet became frantically busy.

Geuk Hwan targeted the flanks of the opium merchants fighting the Black Night Gang men.

Just as I had felt when I first met him, he used light footwork and swift sword techniques so fast that the blade itself could not be seen.

He struck and withdrew so quickly that a hole was soon pierced through one opium merchant’s shoulder.

Pyo Holdeuk was also struck in the back.

The cut was very shallow, but Pyo Holdeuk was horrified. He swung his sword madly and hurriedly retreated.

After checking his wound, he gritted his teeth and glared at me.

He seemed to hesitate briefly over whether to try something, then turned and fled into the forest.

Bok Hagyu could not run because of his leg injury. I had no particular reason to pursue Pyo Holdeuk.

I had saved Bok Hagyu when it mattered. That was enough.

Out of nowhere, Geuk Hwan said he would pursue Pyo Holdeuk and asked me to take his place.

“Hero Jeong, I’ll follow that man. Handle these men.”

“Wait! Chief Geuk, help us here!”

Bok Hagyu stopped Geuk Hwan and turned to me.

“You chase that bastard! Bring back the items I mentioned earlier. Then I won’t hold you accountable for deceiving me and the Black Night Gang with a fake inspector backing you. I’ll also pay the price I promised.”

What Bok Hagyu had demanded from Pyo Holdeuk was the inspector’s official uniform, identity plaque, and seal.

I did not know what he intended to use them for, but he seemed to have followed and attacked Pyo Holdeuk because of those items.

Even if Geuk Hwan got them by pursuing Pyo Holdeuk, he would never hand them over to the Black Night Gang. If it became known that the Hao clan had sold a Martial Alliance official’s identity plaque and seal to the Black Path, they would face serious trouble.

I was different.

I had a desperate reason to meet Jeok Chuyeong, and for now, there was no other way besides having Bok Hagyu arrange it.

Even in this urgent situation, Bok Hagyu had thought that far ahead and assigned me, not Geuk Hwan, to pursue Pyo Holdeuk.

I had thought he was a straightforward martial artist with little guile, but he was rather capable of using his head.

“Fine. Let’s do that.”

I sheathed my long saber and ran up the mountain slope after Pyo Holdeuk.

Amid the blood-boiling clamor of metal as Geuk Hwan and the Black Night Gang men fought the remaining two opium merchants, Bok Hagyu shouted.

“Do not return to Seochon empty-handed! I will chop you to pieces myself!”

His voice was sharp with anger, but it could not hide the desperation at its end.

* * *

If someone was determined to hide in the mountains, they were not easy to find.

I had no idea where Pyo Holdeuk had gone either.

The frost that had fallen at dawn had not melted, so every time I stepped on grass, it made a crunching sound. Still, it was not enough to leave footprints.

After crossing small mountains and valleys, I fortunately spotted Pyo Holdeuk sitting in a clearing halfway up the mountain.

Perhaps he was tired, or perhaps something was wrong with his sword wound. Even when he saw me, he did not move from his spot.

Knowing he was alone, I approached without worrying about an ambush.

When I appeared, Pyo Holdeuk rose from the rock and drew his sword.

“You are like a hunting dog. Do you not know that if you blindly chase after something without even knowing what you are pursuing, a boiling cauldron will be waiting for you?”

“Sounds like that’s exactly your situation.”

At my indifferent reply, Pyo Holdeuk’s expression hardened as if I had struck a nerve. He glared at me with a terrifyingly twisted face.

“I will cut off your arms and legs and throw you alive to the wolves.”

Pyo Holdeuk gripped his sword in both hands and slowly took up a guard stance. In that instant, his aura became grim.

A bad feeling flashed through my mind. Before I could even realize what it was, Pyo Holdeuk rushed at me like lightning.

I raised my long saber and braced myself, but that was not enough.

Before I could blink several times, Pyo Holdeuk was right before me.

I lost track of his movement for an instant. His speed was absurd.

He had fought so fiercely just now and crossed the mountain afterward. There was no way he could have this much stamina left.

No, this was not a matter of stamina. He had not been this fast down there.

Seeing me half stunned, Pyo Holdeuk thrust his sword with a cruel smile.

It was too late to block. I threw myself aside.

The sword barely passed over my chest as I tilted away.

The moment I hit the ground, I kept rolling forward without stopping.

His following sword strikes stabbed into every spot I rolled through at terrifying speed.

Only after reaching a rock did I kick off the ground, leap up, and regain my stance.

Pyo Holdeuk grinned as if he were having fun and spun his sword around.

Keeping him in check with my long saber, I drew up internal energy from my dantian. I circulated it through my body along the qi-circulation pathway.

As the internal energy spreading through my limbs wrapped around my face, my vision cleared slightly.

Pyo Holdeuk kicked off the ground again. His speed was still unbelievable, but unlike before, I could clearly see his movements.

This time, I did not dodge. I planted both feet firmly and struck his sword attack with an ultimate technique from the Heavenly Steel Saber Method.

Clang!!!!

With internal energy supporting the technique, my saber did not lose to Pyo Holdeuk’s sword in either speed or power.

I tilted the saber blade back to deflect his sword, then spun my wrist and aimed for the back of his head.

His attack was blocked and immediately countered. Pyo Holdeuk hurriedly lowered his body to avoid my blade, then hopped backward several times.

His body trembled with shock and disbelief as he glared at me.

“How can someone like you possess internal energy...”

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