Raised by a Ruthless Swordsman - Chapter 23

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

◈ Raised by a Ruthless Swordsman ◈

Chapter 23: Strengths and Weaknesses

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Du Gi's sword was far faster than I had expected.

Whenever his straight thrust was blocked, it did not clash head-on. Instead, it slid along the opposing blade and swept toward another opening.

He thrust again from there, and when that was blocked, he veered away and pressed in from another angle. His sword never remained in one place. The intervals between strikes never broke, and the strikes grew faster with every exchange.

His opponent became too busy blocking to keep up. Du Gi's sword slid past without quite touching, then slipped into another opening before they knew it.

When it was blocked, it flowed. As it flowed, it quickened. As though trapped in a raging wind, the opponent's feet were gradually pushed back.

No matter how I looked at it, Du Gi was not the sort of person who should have been working as an escort. Questions arose, but they could wait.

Several exchanges passed in an instant.

As I steadied my breathing and followed the two swords, I finally began to understand why I had been driven back.

Until now, I had thought only of my own Sword Path. I should have read where the opponent's sword would flow beforehand and connected my own sword accordingly, but instead I had been too busy reacting late and blocking wherever it came.

For ten years, Hyeonam had been the only opponent I had crossed swords with in the mountains. The same sword, the same path. It was such a familiar sword that I could see the next move even with my eyes closed.

But things were different now.

The burning pain from my left shoulder reminded me of that fact. I had faced this opponent carelessly, relying on a body accustomed only to familiar swords, and had paid for it with flesh.

If I made the same mistake again, the next thing to fall would not be my shoulder, but my neck. If Du Gi had not been there, my chest would have nearly been pierced.

I carefully fixed the rhythm of the two swords in my mind once more. Not only the opponent's sword, but Du Gi's as well, just in case.

Before flower petals bloom, there is a moment when they gather tightly within the bud.

The opponent's sword was the same. Just before its branches scattered, their shoulder and wrist drew tight for an instant, like a bud gathering itself before it bloomed.

But not every gathering carried the same weight.

Some became light, fluttering strikes, while others had the opponent's full shoulder behind them and sought to cut deeply into flesh.

When facing it directly, feints and true strikes traded places and shifted constantly, making it difficult to tell which sword was real.

But once I observed calmly, I could feel the difference in the weight settling into their shoulder during that brief gathering.

I stopped following the scattered strikes and watched the weight behind that gathering instead.

Only then did I begin to vaguely recognize the true sword that would come next.

Du Gi's sword had the exact opposite nature.

If plum blossoms bloomed outward from a single point in all directions, Du Gi's sword gathered from all directions into one point.

It moved without weight, flowing like a gust of wind. It seemed impossible to predict where it was headed, yet at the end of that flow, one precise point was always chosen.

Within that lightness hid a single point of perfect accuracy.

I was following those two swords when it happened.

For an instant, the opponent's sword gathered deeply. Their shoulder turned and their wrist curled. It was a true strike meant to cut flesh. Du Gi seemed to read it the same way and drove his sword toward that single point to block it.

But at the last moment, the sword suddenly turned into a feint.

I saw the weight that had seemed to settle deeply slip lightly away at the wrist. But Du Gi did not seem to notice in time and continued his sword.

"It's a feint!"

I called out, but it was already too late.

One of the scattered light strikes briefly cut across Du Gi's exposed side. The cut must have been deep, because a handful of blood sprayed out.

Du Gi recoiled for the first time.

The opponent did not miss that step back. The sword they had drawn in bloomed outward in every direction again and descended on Du Gi. Du Gi's sword, which had been gathering into one point, was now too busy knocking aside each separate branch.

Once his flow was broken, Du Gi's footing tangled. He began to be pushed back.

If this continued, Du Gi would be cut down as well.

I searched my dantian. Barely five percent remained in that empty place. Perhaps enough for one thrust.

That was enough.

I stomped forward at the exact moment the opponent sent their sword blooming in every direction to overwhelm Du Gi. They noticed me too late and drew back their sword to block.

Clang.

The instant our swords collided, Du Gi's sword flew in from the side like wind once more. Its point, converging into one, precisely pinpointed the spot where the opponent's shoulder and wrist gathered.

The opponent quickly withdrew their sword. At the same time, they swept their sword in all directions behind their back, blocking Du Gi's blade. Once again, dazzling branches rose. Then they immediately flicked their sword toward me again.

But this time was different.

I let it flow in an unbroken circle.

Since I was no longer dragged about by the light strikes, I had time to close the circle. And because I could see beforehand where the next sword would gather, the circle's path could avoid it. Before the opponent's sword could seize the opening, my circle had already closed elsewhere.

At the end of that closed circle, Du Gi's sword came in from the side like wind and thrust at the opponent's chest. They hurriedly knocked it aside and tried to send their sword blooming again.

But I caught the instant their shoulder stiffened. My sword tip lightly grazed their side.

A thin stream of blood spurted up.

For the first time, the opponent's face hardened. Alarm entered their dry eyes.

The next instant, their body seemed to kindle Inner Energy and became faster in a flash.

Their sword shot straight toward me. I blocked it instinctively, but perhaps because I received it without Inner Energy, I was sent flying about ten feet to the side.

I rolled and hurriedly regained my footing.

By then, the opponent was already heading for Du Gi.

I saw Du Gi stiffen in surprise as well. Then he unleashed a speed unlike before.

Du Gi, too, was someone who could use Inner Energy.

Jin Song had clearly said that people who could use Inner Energy were rare. Yet now that I looked, were those who could not use it not the rare ones instead?

But there was no time to question it. The opponent's sword had already reached Du Gi.

I sprang back to my feet and charged at them.

Plum blossoms bloomed around Du Gi in every direction. Amid the lightly scattered strikes, one sword bearing weight in the shoulder thrust deeply forward.

Just as Du Gi tried to block that single point, the sword turned into a feint again.

Du Gi immediately found the true strike and moved to follow it, but when force settled on his left side, his body flinched. In that opening, the opponent's sword shot in.

It cut deeply across Du Gi's right shoulder.

Du Gi gritted his teeth and swung his sword, barely knocking aside the light strikes that followed. Then he took a large step back. Blood running from his shoulder quickly soaked the hem of his clothes.

In the meantime, my sword had already reached the opponent's back.

They seemed to sense my presence and immediately spun around, swinging their sword. The very blade that had cut Du Gi rode its flow and came straight down at my chest.

I barely raised my sword to receive it. The weight carried by Inner Energy made my wrist ache sharply, and despite being prepared, both my feet skidded back across the dirt.

The opponent pressed in while sending their sword blooming again.

As I barely blocked and redirected it, I stole a glance at Du Gi.

Du Gi was pressing one hand to his shoulder, his sword hanging at an angle. Blood ran between his fingers and wet the back of his hand. He might be able to lift his sword again, but it did not look like his sword could gather into one point again.

At least for this exchange, he would have difficulty joining in any further.

I made my calculation quickly.

I searched my dantian and drew up the remaining five percent at once. With the sensation of emptiness, weight settled into my sword.

I had to settle this in one blow. There was nothing left after this.

The opponent's next sword came down. It was a true strike, with deep weight behind the shoulder.

I did not block it. I twisted my body aside and let the sword tip slide past my side. My clothes split open lengthwise and my flesh was lightly cut, but it was only a shallow wound.

Into that empty space, I curved my sword around.

Its tip headed for the opponent's wrist.

Their eyes widened for an instant. The next moment, they swiftly drew the hand holding their sword inward and tried to step back.

It would have been ideal to sever the wrist, but that was too much to hope for with a single thrust. With their skill, they would know how to pull a wrist away quickly enough.

What I had aimed for was what came after.

If they withdrew their hand and stepped back, their shoulder had no choice but to follow.

Rather than chasing the wrist, my sword flowed along the direction of that retreat.

There was no energy left to put into my feet. I simply forced the weight of my rushing body forward in one unbroken step, until the retreating shoulder came within reach of my sword tip.

At last, my sword plunged deep into their left shoulder.

Thud.

A dull sensation ran up the hilt and into my hand.

The opponent let out a brief groan. I saw the right hand holding their sword tremble.

I immediately twisted my sword and pulled it out as though cutting upward. Blood sprayed out in a long stream along the blade.

Their left arm hung limp. The right hand holding the sword was unharmed, but with their left shoulder ruined, their stance tilted to one side.

Their sword had originally bloomed by shifting weight from shoulder to shoulder. With one shoulder crippled, its momentum would die with it.

The opponent hurried back several steps. They raised the sword in their right hand, but its tip trembled faintly.

For several breaths, an awkward standoff continued. Even if they could use Inner Energy, I could still take them on with their shoulder injured.

It was then, as I readjusted my grip on my sword.

Bang.

A dull sound erupted some distance away. I turned in surprise and saw the carriage shaking violently. Munhwi was springing out in front of it like a flying arrow.

With his sword held upright, he charged straight at the Plum Blossom Sword Chief.

The Plum Blossom Sword Chief recoiled and tried to receive his sword, but the chief steward, whose clothes had been reduced to rags, did not miss the opening. Their sword clung stubbornly to the Plum Blossom Sword Chief, slowing his response.

The black-clad martial artists rushed in to stop him, but they were too late as well.

Munhwi's sword cut deeply into the Plum Blossom Sword Chief's left thigh.

Blood sprayed in a long stream along the blade.

"You Nangong dog bastards!"

The Plum Blossom Sword Chief's roar shook the mountain. Bloodshot veins stood out against his pale face.

The Plum Blossom Sword Chief's sword rushed wildly at Munhwi. I saw Munhwi block it frantically.

As though that had been the signal, the agency head rushed toward them with his sword in hand. The escort captain and surviving escorts followed. They collided with the black-clad martial artists, and everything beyond them became chaos in an instant.

When I looked ahead again, the opponent facing me was staring in that direction as well. Their expression had hardened further.

Perhaps this could end without seeing it through to the end.

"Shouldn't you go over there?"

I casually tested the waters. They could not simply remain still while their leader was being wounded.

The opponent slowly looked over Du Gi and me in turn. Coldness filled their dry eyes again.

"Wudang and the Mount Qingcheng Sect will be held accountable."

What did I care whether Wudang was held accountable or not? And what was the Mount Qingcheng Sect? Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with me.

"Do as you please."

The opponent glared at me once more, then immediately turned and ran toward the chaos. Even with their left arm hanging limp, their feet remained swift.

After watching their back for a moment, I turned to Du Gi.

"Are you all right?"

Du Gi silently nodded once, one hand still pressed to his shoulder.

I glanced toward the carriage again. Blood, swords, and shouts were tangled together, making it difficult even to tell who was cutting whom.

My mind raced.

No matter which side won this fight, I could no longer travel with this protection convoy.

There was something rotten behind the escort agency. I did not know what, but that much was certain.

Then even if the escort agency survived, would I be safe? There was no guarantee they would not put a sword to my throat to silence me.

Jin Song and Gwak Seok suddenly came to mind, but it was impossible to get them out from that mess.

I turned to Du Gi again.

"Brother Du. I'm going to run. What will you do?"

Du Gi looked at me for a moment. Then he asked briefly,