WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ The Heaven-Slaying Sword ◈

Chapter 54: Chapter Six - Escort Journey, Fateful Encounter (4)

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Gwak Chil was a third-rate martial artist.

From the day he first picked up a wooden sword as a very young child until now, he had remained a third-rate martial artist.

He simply had no talent.

Though he admired the chivalrous heroes who roamed the Martial World, he had been cursed with the sort of talent that would never allow him to become one of them.

Even so, Gwak Chil admired chivalrous heroes.

He was a man utterly captivated by the romance of those two ideals: martial valor and Chivalry.

Fortunately, he did possess a talent through which he could express his own Chivalric righteousness.

Gwak Chil was a gifted storyteller.

He also had an excellent command of the written word.

Unable to proclaim Chivalry with a sword, he wanted to practice it with a brush.

That was how the trivial book Tales of Martial Heroes came to be.

Of course, though it was called a trivial book, it was by no means worthless.

How could it be?

It contained the essence of the Chivalry one man had admired his entire life.

"With this book, I'll let the whole world know the Chivalry I believe in!"

In his youth, Gwak Chil set out into a Martial World of his own under the pen name Gwak Chil-pyo.

He wrote all manner of splendid tales about chivalrous heroes, stories such as the Sword Hero and the Benevolent Hero, and his name rose high.

In time, he earned a byname.

Gwak Chil-pyo, the Pen Hero.

It was a byname steeped in the romance of practicing Chivalry through a brush.

Perhaps that was what stirred Gwak Chil's ambition.

He wanted to proclaim an even more romantic Chivalry, one that would move people's hearts even more deeply.

The Demon Hero, the greatest mistake of Gwak Chil's life, came into the world for that reason.

Gwak Chil only wanted to say this.

That Chivalry lived and breathed in every person's heart, and that status, position, and the life one had lived did not matter in the slightest.

It had been a truly pure dream, and that was why reality crushed it.

Reality was a little crueler than Gwak Chil had imagined.

"Gwak Chil is defending Demonic practitioners!"

Gwak Chil did not know where the rumor came from.

He did not know how it spread, either.

What was certain was that, once the rumor spread, the reputation of Tales of Martial Heroes, the work he had staked his life on, plunged into the abyss.

Gwak Chil was afraid.

He was afraid that the people who had always supported him had turned their backs on him. He was afraid the Martial Alliance would arrest him. He was afraid of being condemned.

So he hid.

He chose to break the brush he had held his entire life and live in silence.

It had not been an easy choice.

Even so, it had been one he had to make.

Time was fair and generous. Thankfully, it dulled Gwak Chil's heart a little.

Of course, his passion had dulled as well. That could not be helped.

That was how twenty years passed.

"I-I'm sorry!"

Mok Ri-won shouted as he dropped to his knees.

His face was so full of panic that it made those watching feel sorry for him instead.

Even as Gwak Chil sobbed, he smiled.

"No. I'm not crying because of you, Great Hero Ink Dragon."

The old man's tears were unsightly, yet no one truly thought them ugly.

The smile that blossomed amid his tears was so pitiful and bittersweet that those watching could only look on with sympathy.

"I was reminded of the past."

Gwak Chil roughly wiped at his eyes.

"...Yes, I was reminded of the past. Sitting together and chatting like this made me think of my childhood."

"A-are you all right?"

"I'm all right. Yes, more than all right."

Gwak Chil laughed as his shoulders shook.

Only now had the old man realized that he was not a sinner. Filled with relief and a deep ache, he laughed and cried at once.

"I'm sorry you had to see me make a fool of myself. Could you tell me a little more about it?"

"About what...?"

"The Demon Hero's story. I'd like to hear more of your thoughts, Great Hero Ink Dragon."

Gwak Chil still lacked the courage to say that he was Gwak Chil-pyo.

How could an author who had fled without finishing his story be proud of himself?

Yet he still wanted comfort.

Mok Ri-won's words carried such warmth that Gwak Chil shamelessly made his request.

Mok Ri-won beamed.

"Of course! I could talk about it all night!"

"You needn't stay up all night. We have to travel again tomorrow."

"Ah!"

At Mok Ri-won's cry, everyone present burst into laughter.

Looking embarrassed, Mok Ri-won scratched the back of his head before slowly beginning to speak.

The tale of Chivalry that continued through the long night as they sat around the campfire held the admiration of a boy who had yet to become an adult.

* * *

Dang Hwa-seo had watched Mok Ri-won from afar.

That was why she had no choice but to ask him.

"Why did you make that escort guard cry?"

"I didn't make him cry!"

Mok Ri-won said in horror.

What followed was another lengthy explanation.

Fortunately, Jegal San was there to support his explanation this time, and the story itself made a fair amount of sense, so Dang Hwa-seo accepted it.

"It sounds like you had a pleasant time. I'm glad."

"It was an incredibly pleasant time!"

Mok Ri-won said, then continued chattering away.

He told her that he and Gwak Chil had much in common.

He told her that they had promised to drink and talk again tomorrow evening, and that he had even told the others they would set up their own tent from now on.

Dang Hwa-seo chuckled at that.

And so they enjoyed the rest of the night together.

It was the second day of the escort journey.

* * *

At a mountain pass along the range connecting Anhui and Wuhan stood a mountain stronghold of considerable size.

It was a hideout for bandits.

Yet unlike what one might expect from a bandit hideout, the sight there was strange.

It was too desolate and foul-smelling to be called a bandit hideout.

The wooden palisades had all collapsed.

Every building that had once served as a house was crumbling somewhere, and red blood dripped throughout the grounds.

The smell was no different.

Instead of the musty stench of unwashed men or the odor spilling from a latrine, the stronghold carried only the scent of blood and rotting corpses.

Several people had made themselves at home there.

"Unit Leader. They've arrived."

A man in black martial clothes bowed deeply.

The man receiving the bow raised his head.

His appearance was strange as well.

He wore the same black martial clothes as the man who had just bowed, but unlike him, he was filthy beyond belief.

His tangled hair flew wildly in every direction. The whites of his eyes were shot through with red, and his patchy beard made him look every bit the madman.

"Ink Dragon. What a laughable name."

The man laughed.

"A demon pretending to be a dragon. How could that not be laughable?"

His yellow teeth showed as his lips moved.

The neatly dressed man's head lowered even further.

"You are correct."

"Yes, isn't it unfair? Even someone like that can become a dragon, so why must only we be called demons?"

The man's smile deepened.

His words were full of grievance, but he looked truly delighted.

"I want to become the Fist Dragon too, not the Fist Demon."

The man rose to his feet.

"So I must settle this injustice."

The red in the whites of his eyes grew darker.

Pae Ung-chu, the Fist Demon.

With a breath thick with pleasure, he looked toward the main road.

* * *

The escort journey entered its fifth day.

As the escort work continued without any particular danger that day either, the escort guards had gradually begun to relax.

Mok Ri-won walked along with an especially cheerful look on his face.

"Miss, did you know?"

"Know what?"

"Night-luminous pearls are actually made by breaking up a giant piece of jade into uniform sizes before selling them! I thought they were all naturally the same size from the start!"

"If you've never seen a large night-luminous pearl, I suppose you could think that."

"Have you seen a large night-luminous pearl before?"

Mok Ri-won's eyes widened.

Dang Hwa-seo chuckled.

"Despite appearances, I grew up in a wealthy household."

Her birth family held nothing but bad memories for her, but the Sichuan Tang Clan was among the foremost in wealth and status within the Martial World.

As such, Dang Hwa-seo had seen nearly every kind of treasure.

Only then did Mok Ri-won nod in realization.

"I see... I thought it might be a story that would surprise you. What a shame."

"Was that something Gwak Chil told you as well?"

"Yes. Truly Great Person Gwak knows so many things."

"That must be wisdom gained through the years. He must have seen a great deal over the course of his life."

This had been their usual conversation over the past few days.

Once the sun set, Mok Ri-won would run off to Gwak Chil to hear all manner of stories about the Martial World, then tell them to Dang Hwa-seo during the day.

Some were tales Dang Hwa-seo already knew, while others surprised even her, so their conversations had become quite varied.

"Even so, Gwak Chil truly seems to know a great deal. It was my first time hearing about the fox spirit creature in Hebei whose tail alone was pure white."

"Hm! That story was truly interesting! Why don't you come listen with me today? Truly Great Person Gwak is an excellent storyteller, so you'll be much more absorbed than if you hear it from me."

"It's all right. I quite like this as well."

This, too, was an invitation and refusal that had continued for the past few days.

The leisurely journey continued in a peaceful atmosphere, and it had become something precious to Dang Hwa-seo as well.

Five more days, and the journey would come to an end.

Just as she felt a strange sense of regret at that thought...

"...Enemies."

Mok Ri-won murmured.

His expression rapidly turned cold.

Dang Hwa-seo quickly expanded her Qi Sense as well.

'...They're here.'

A group had entered the range of her Qi Waves.

The moment she realized it, Dang Hwa-seo shouted.

"Enemies!"

The procession stopped.

The escort guards looked confused at first, but when they saw the nearby brush begin to shake, they started drawing their weapons.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Drums sounded.

"Enemies!"

"Guard yourselves! Take defensive positions!"

The escort guards' shouts filled the road.

Amid it all, someone rushed out ahead of everyone else.

It was Mok Ri-won.

Shing!

Mok Ri-won drew his sword and raced toward the front of the escort.

Ink-black Qi Waves already streamed from his body.

'Killing Intent.'

This was Killing Intent, the densest Killing Intent Mok Ri-won had ever felt in his life.

His heart pounded wildly.

His breathing quickened beyond normal, while his thoughts narrowed to a single point.

'This is different.'

It felt strange to call it nothing more than Killing Intent.

Along with the danger, he felt a dense, stifling sensation.

If he had to name it, it was comfort.

Mok Ri-won headed for the front, puzzled.

Then, guided by instinct, he thrust out his sword with all his strength.

Kwaaang!

At that moment, blood-red Qi Waves burst forth, targeting the head of the procession.

Mok Ri-won's Qi Waves drove them back.

Then an unknown assailant burst from the brush.

"Nice to meet youuu!"

The assailant appeared with tangled hair flying wildly and hurled a clenched fist at Mok Ri-won.

Mok Ri-won deflected it with the flat of his blade.

The instant the distance between them closed, the instant their eyes met...

Mok Ri-won felt his heart sink.

'...A demon.'

His instincts told him.

This was the aura of a demon.

At noon on the fifth day of the escort journey, Mok Ri-won met a Demonic practitioner for the first time in his life.

Footnotes:

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