The Heaven-Slaying Sword - Chapter 22

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ The Heaven-Slaying Sword ◈

Chapter 22: Chapter Four - Anhui (3)

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Strange Dragon Jegal San.

He was one of the Martial World’s rising young talents, known by anyone who lived in it.

As the rightful heir of the Jegal Noble Clan, he had drawn the Martial World’s attention with conduct so bizarre that his sobriquet suited him perfectly.

What had he done to earn the title Strange Dragon?

There were several tales so famous that anyone could stop a passerby and get the answer.

He had borrowed a beggar’s clothes and begged in the streets.

He had entered a local notable’s estate as a servant and swum through the cesspit.

He had even proposed to the wife of the leader of the Black Origin Society, one of the Black Path’s strongest factions.

He was a man whose mad behavior lay far beyond the understanding of ordinary people.

Of course, to Mok Ri-won, who knew none of that, Jegal San meant only one thing.

“I didn’t expect to be found out so quickly... Well, now that it’s come to this, let me introduce myself again. I am Jegal San. Is Brother Mok truly the great hero known as the Ink Sword?”

“Je, Je, Jegal...!”

The rightful heir of the Jegal Noble Clan.

The son of the Formation King, called the brain of the Martial Alliance.

Admiration and excitement filled Mok Ri-won’s face.

“That’s right! I am the Ink Sword! It is an honor to meet a chivalrous hero of the Jegal family!”

Mok Ri-won offered a cupped-fist salute with exaggerated movements.

Dang Hwa-seo let out a long sigh at his behavior, while Jegal San burst into laughter.

“Young Hero, please sit. There’s no need to be so formal.”

“My, Elder Sister, you’re so cold. Let’s see... Hasn’t it been nearly six years since we last met?”

“I don’t recall us being close enough for you to miss me. What, do I need to stuff poison down your throat again before you’ll shut up?”

Jegal San pretended to be terrified.

Only then did Mok Ri-won begin to understand the situation, recalling Dang Hwa-seo’s background.

‘Ah! Miss is also from one of the Five Great Noble Clans!’

The Sichuan Tang Clan was undeniably one of the Five Great Noble Clans.

Naturally, the two of them would know each other.

As Dang Hwa-seo suddenly felt distant to him, Mok Ri-won hesitated. She grabbed his arm and pulled him into a chair.

“Yes, this must be confusing. I have met that man a few times in the past, but that is all. He is not someone Young Hero needs to concern yourself with.”

It was meant to reassure him.

To Jegal San, though, the sight came as an unfamiliar shock.

‘Oh...’

Had the Poison Phoenix ever treated anyone so warmly?

She had always been proud and sharp-edged, never allowing anyone near her.

A thrill rose inside Jegal San.

It came from the eccentricity known to the whole world: his curiosity.

Jegal San was at least as curious as Mok Ri-won.

No, considering how desperately he tried to satisfy every curiosity that arose within him, he could be called even worse.

After all, weren’t his bizarre exploits easily explained if he had done them all to answer questions that had caught his interest?

This was no different.

A new side to Dang Hwa-seo, whom he had known since childhood for over ten years, was more than enough to stir his curiosity.

“Only met a few times? Elder Sister and I have had several heated encounters...”

“We met at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering a few times and sparred. I remember beating him because his mouth was far too loose.”

Dang Hwa-seo’s face was full of irritation.

Mok Ri-won’s eyes darted around as he tried to read the mood.

‘Miss truly does not like Young Master Jegal.’

To be honest, Mok Ri-won could not understand why.

He did not know much about Jegal San yet, but Jegal San had treated him amicably even after he had thrown chopsticks between his eyebrows. Nor did he resent Dang Hwa-seo for treating him with such contempt.

Was that not enough to make him a good person?

‘Hm, perhaps Miss is keeping me away from Young Master Jegal because she is worried about me.’

To outsiders, he was a wanderer without even a sect of origin. Perhaps she feared that a young master from a prestigious family might harm him.

Why wouldn’t she?

In Chapter Four of Tales of Martial Heroes, the Benevolent Hero had been targeted by spoiled children of noble families because of his lowly birth.

‘Miss worries over nothing!’

Mok Ri-won wanted to prove to Dang Hwa-seo that he was not so soft-hearted that such a thing would wound him.

“It is a pleasure! What unexpected fortune, to meet an old acquaintance of yours! I, Mok Ri-won, am deeply hon...”

“Stop talking nonsense. We’re leaving.”

“Uaaah?”

Dang Hwa-seo rose at once and dragged Mok Ri-won away.

With a bewildered look, Mok Ri-won glanced back and forth between Dang Hwa-seo and Jegal San, who remained behind.

Jegal San grinned and waved at him.

* * *

“...That is the sort of man he is. You understand now, do you not? If you get close to him, Young Hero may pick up bad habits as well.”

“Th-that...”

After leaving the inn and returning to their lodging, Mok Ri-won was horrified by the tales of Jegal San’s strange behavior that Dang Hwa-seo told him.

“H-how could he propose to a married woman...?”

That was the most shocking part.

Pretending to be a beggar, swimming through a cesspit, and running naked through the streets only meant he was a strange man. But this was against all decency.

“W-what a terrible person...!”

A disapproving expression appeared on Mok Ri-won’s face.

Only then did Dang Hwa-seo breathe a sigh of relief.

Truthfully, she had little interest in Jegal San.

Whatever bizarre things he did elsewhere, she did not care as long as she was not involved.

But it was different if Mok Ri-won was caught up with him.

‘He is such a blank slate. He might learn bad things from him.’

Dang Hwa-seo did not want such a kind Mok Ri-won to be corrupted by Jegal San.

“That man can be persistent, so he may come looking for Young Hero again. If that happens, run away from him and tell me at once. Understood?”

“I understand! I will certainly do so!”

Mok Ri-won answered resolutely.

Sadly, his determination never had a chance to shine.

* * *

While Dang Hwa-seo had gone off to take care of some personal business, Mok Ri-won squeezed his eyes shut and gulped down Bamboo Leaf Green.

“Hero Mok, it hurts my feelings when you ignore me so completely.”

Across from him sat Jegal San, who had somehow found him the moment Dang Hwa-seo left.

With an obviously artificial look of sorrow, he spoke to Mok Ri-won.

“Th-the thin noodles are excellent!”

“That aside, how did you meet Elder Sister?”

“The Bamboo Leaf Green is sweet as well! Perhaps I’ll become drunk today!”

“Hm? I would also like to hear how you defeated the Illyun Society all by yourself.”

“Ah, ah...! Have I become too absorbed in drink? My head is spinning, and I can’t hear a thing!”

Mok Ri-won’s unconvincing performance made it difficult for Jegal San to hold back his laughter.

‘What an amusing man.’

He had wondered what charm had melted Dang Hwa-seo’s heart. Sure enough, Mok Ri-won was far more entertaining than the storytellers in the streets.

He could not lie, and he even felt guilty about ignoring Jegal San like this. It made Jegal San want to tease him all the more.

‘I have a rough idea of what kind of man he is...’

He was easy to understand.

Which meant he was quite an entertaining plaything.

Jegal San swallowed the laughter rising to his throat and spoke again.

“Ah... How sorrowful. I finally meet a master who has shaken the Martial World, only for the excitement in my heart to turn cold. I thought I had found a friend with whom to spend the night discussing the ways of the Martial World...”

“Ugh...!”

Mok Ri-won let out a pained groan.

‘The ways of the Martial World...!’

What a stirring phrase.

What an irresistible phrase.

He wanted to open his eyes at once.

He wanted to have a passionate discussion with the heir of the Jegal family about what Chivalry truly was.

‘But Miss told me...’

“What a pity. What a pity! I needed someone with whom to share the tale of the fortuitous encounter I had before coming here...!”

“A fortuitous encounter?!”

He could not resist a fortuitous encounter.

“Oh, you finally answer me.”

“A fortuitous encounter! What kind of fortuitous encounter was it?! A cliff? A reclusive master? Or did you perhaps discover a thousand-year-old fo-ti root while climbing a mountain?!”

Dang Hwa-seo’s warning had already vanished completely from Mok Ri-won’s mind.

Only one thing remained.

The fortuitous encounter Jegal San had experienced.

Jegal San grinned at Mok Ri-won’s sparkling eyes and moved to the seat beside him.

Thump!

Putting an arm around Mok Ri-won’s shoulders, he spoke.

“Now, before that, would you like to hear a story? It is about a widow in this village...”

Flinch.

Mok Ri-won shuddered.

The word widow had suddenly reminded him of Dang Hwa-seo’s story.

“That man proposed to the Black Origin Society leader’s wife. I heard he gathered a thousand wildflowers, made them into a huge bouquet, and gave it to her.”

Mok Ri-won jumped to his feet.

“W-what indecent talk is that...!”

“Is the word widow indecent? Surely... Hero Mok does not see women who have lost their husbands in such a way...!”

“N-no! I am not that kind of person!”

What a terrible thing to say.

Mok Ri-won felt his hostility toward Jegal San growing.

“Young Master Jegal! I did not take you for such a devious man! You are the one who harbored improper desires for a woman who already had a husband!”

The inn’s attention turned toward them.

Jegal San felt delight welling up within him and struggled to keep the corners of his lips from rising.

“Hm? I do not know what you mean.”

“Miss already told me everything! About how you proposed to a married woman!”

“The rumor was true!”

“Strange Dragon really proposed to a married woman? And a woman of the Black Path, at that?”

“How could he...?”

The inn’s guests whispered as they looked at Jegal San.

But Jegal San was not thin-skinned enough to be shaken by such remarks.

“Was it wrong?”

“Of course it was! It was deeply wrong!”

“How strange. I did it to save a suffering woman. Why do you say it was wrong?”

“Uh, hm?”

“Is that not right? Was the Black Origin Society leader’s cruelty ordinary? I happened to be passing nearby, and I only wished to help her, who was wasting away under his tyranny.”

Jegal San rose alongside Mok Ri-won.

Then he gripped Mok Ri-won’s shoulders and continued.

“Hero Mok, let me ask you. Is saving a fragile woman held hostage by an evil man and forced to suffer every day not an act of Chivalry? Even if it harmed my reputation, if the Black Origin Society leader no longer trusted his wife and cast her aside because of that incident, then I freed her. Was that not still the right thing to do?”

“Uh, uh...?”

“Can turning away from a grieving woman simply to avoid being called a rogue possibly be Chivalry?”

Mok Ri-won’s pupils trembled as though an earthquake had struck them.

‘N-now that I hear it...’

It almost sounded right.

Unlike when he had only heard the story, learning the details made Jegal San look like an extraordinary chivalrous hero instead.

‘D-did I misunderstand?!’

...No.

In truth, Jegal San had fabricated all of it.

Jegal San simply liked married women.

“Answer me. Is Hero Mok the sort of person who ignores the weak to protect his reputation, and judges others after hearing only one side of the story...?”

Disappointment appeared on Jegal San’s face.

“...A fake chivalrous hero?”

Thud!

Mok Ri-won felt as though his world had collapsed.

His hands shook, and tears welled in his eyes.

‘M-me...!’

Had his perspective been too narrow?

Had he been a scoundrel who fell into prejudice after hearing only another person’s story?

“N-no...”

Mok Ri-won’s entire body trembled.

Jegal San found it harder than ever to contain his laughter.

“Then say... Pfft, say it! Hero Mok, no, Brother Mok, what did you take me for...!”