WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Order
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◈ The Heaven-Slaying Sword ◈
Chapter 8: Chapter Two - First Foray into the Jianghu, and the Demoness (2)
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Gyeonghwa Pavilion was regarded as the finest pleasure house in Suyang County.
On its top floor, a woman sat cross-legged with her eyes closed.
She was beautiful.
Her black hair gleamed and flowed like silk, her red lips parting slightly with each breath, and the crimson light combat garb draped over her body.
Everything about her possessed such vivid beauty that it sent a sharp thrill through anyone who saw her.
“Young Miss.”
A voice drifted from somewhere.
The woman opened her eyes.
Her proud eyes, sharply upturned yet not lacking in elegance, faced forward.
“What is it?”
“Someone is investigating you, Young Miss.”
“...What?”
“They are a martial artist no one has seen around here before.”
“Illyun Society?”
“I do not believe so. Their methods are far too clumsy to be from the Illyun Society, and their clothes and weapons are equally shabby.”
The woman furrowed her brow.
“Have you learned their purpose?”
“It is unclear.”
“What about their martial arts?”
“...I estimate they have at least surpassed first-rate. Their qi aura was extremely refined.”
“At least first-rate...”
The woman repeated the words, then let out a hollow laugh.
“What dog bastard caught my scent and came sniffing around this time?”
“Shall I deal with them?”
“Hyang, your loyalty is commendable, but you should not take on matters beyond your ability. I do not wish to send you to a futile death.”
The woman unfolded her legs and rose.
She straightened her back and looked out the window.
From there, all of Suyang County lay spread out below.
Bitterness crossed her face.
Since when had it been like this?
From the moment she had abandoned her surname and fled, enemies seeking her life had always surrounded her.
Tiresome shadows that pursued her whenever she thought life might finally become bearable, then followed again whenever she fled in search of a way to survive.
At last, the woman let out a sigh tinged with lament.
“Do they never tire? Once again, they show signs of coming.”
“We still cannot be certain they are the ones.”
“If not them, where else would such a master suddenly come from?”
The voice fell silent.
Hyang was likely fidgeting atop the ceiling right now, unsure how to answer.
The woman could picture it clearly and gave a small snort.
“Where is the guest?”
“Ah, on the second floor of the pavilion.”
“I see. What approach are they taking this time? Are they making a fuss and demanding that I be brought to them? Or are they shouting their clan’s name and intimidating the girls?”
Silence filled the room for a moment.
The woman tilted her head and pressed for an answer.
“Hyang?”
“Um...”
The voice called Hyang hesitated.
The woman’s suspicion deepened.
“...They are being entertained. They have shrunk right into themselves.”
At those words, the woman’s expression turned strange.
* * *
“Sweetheart, you’re so cute. Hmm? Look over here.”
“P-Please stop...!”
“Ahh! He said, ‘Please stop’! He’s so cuuute!”
A guest room in a corner of Gyeonghwa Pavilion’s second floor was in an uproar.
A pleasure house being noisy was only natural, but even considering that, something about this commotion was odd.
Was it not normally the guests who laughed and enjoyed themselves, while the courtesans fawned over them with gentle smiles?
Yet here, the complete opposite scene was unfolding. The courtesans laughed loudly while the guest blushed shyly.
There was no need to say who that guest was.
It was Mok Ri-won.
“H-How can women be dressed so scantily...! This is improper! You should not behave this way!”
Ri-won squeezed his eyes shut and spoke in a trembling voice.
At the same time, his hands busily pulled together the collar of a courtesan whose shoulders were entirely exposed.
Needless to say, the courtesans squealed all over again at the sight.
“Goodness, he’s considerate too!”
Ae-wol, the courtesan seated beside him, laughed loudly and patted Ri-won on the shoulder.
One might ask how she could treat a guest like this, but that would only mean they did not understand the situation.
‘He’s an easy mark.’
There were different kinds of guests.
Those with plenty of money who were accustomed to this sort of thing.
Those without money who acted like tyrants whenever they came.
And those who valued etiquette and complained to the establishment whenever it was breached.
Among courtesans, those were called the three great nuisances.
There was also an opposite sort of guest, people like Mok Ri-won.
An innocent who knew nothing of women.
Someone dressed so poorly that even if treated roughly, he did not seem likely to cause trouble later.
They were commonly called easy marks, the sort who could be served carelessly. Yet Ae-wol was not doing that today.
“Sweetheart, you’re eighteen?”
“Y-Yes...”
A young, handsome man who looked downright delicious.
He had practically rolled in on his own and was sitting here all curled up. A little service was hardly too much to offer.
“Oh my. If you get a taste for this already, you’ll be in trouble later.”
At Ae-wol’s teasing words, Ri-won went scarlet and hunched his shoulders.
‘T-This isn’t why I came!’
The sweet scent of the wine cup held before him and the powdery fragrance of the woman linking arms with him were far too stimulating.
The peals of laughter around him also carried a quality he had never heard before, somehow making his cheeks burn.
Ri-won felt as though he might die of embarrassment.
‘I need to ask about the demoness...!’
He had to ask.
He had to pry information from them about the demoness who was said to be on this pleasure house’s top floor!
“Excuse me... about that demoness...”
“Oh my, are you saying you want to play with another woman while I’m sitting right in front of you?”
...No matter what he said, he only received teasing replies like that.
“That isn’t it...!”
Ri-won shut his eyes tightly and tried to explain.
The courtesans positioned in front of him, behind him, and at his sides only laughed harder.
The dizzying situation went on for quite some time before, thankfully, a helping hand reached out to Ri-won.
Creak.
The door opened.
A small masked figure, wrapped from head to toe, entered the room.
“Stop.”
At the thin voice, the courtesans startled and sprang away from Ri-won.
Only then able to breathe a little easier, Ri-won blinked at the masked figure before him.
Internal Energy clearly emanated from the masked figure, whose visible eyes gleamed sharply.
‘A martial artist?’
Ri-won’s gaze cooled slightly.
‘Early first-rate. Their martial arts are... likely a type of fast sword art. No, hidden-weapon arts?’
The analysis came automatically, one of the things the Beggar King had trained into him while he lived in the mountain valley.
The courtesans hiccupped at the suddenly sharpened atmosphere.
The masked figure swallowed nervously at Ri-won’s abrupt change in demeanor.
“...The pavilion proprietor wishes to see you.”
Pavilion proprietor.
Ri-won’s eyes lit up at the word.
‘The demoness...!’
That was certainly what he had heard.
The original pavilion proprietor had listened to her performance on the day she arrived, been deeply impressed, and handed Gyeonghwa Pavilion over to her.
That had been the demoness’s first move.
“Perfect timing. I came here to find this pavilion proprietor.”
Ri-won rose from his seat as he spoke.
He lowered his voice, squared his shoulders, and delivered the line.
The masked figure only gave a hollow laugh.
So Hyang, the pavilion proprietor’s closest attendant, looked back and forth between Ri-won and the courtesans around him.
She knew perfectly well that he had been laughing and playing around in here moments ago. Now he was saying something like that, and it rubbed her the wrong way.
Ri-won had nothing to say in his defense either.
“Ahem...!”
He cleared his throat for no reason and looked away from her.
* * *
Gyeonghwa Pavilion was a massive structure with five floors.
Following the masked figure, Mok Ri-won spread his Qi Sense wide.
‘Seven assassins are hiding nearby. All are genuine martial artists at second-rate.’
The guards stationed throughout the building also ranged from early second-rate to those who had only just reached first-rate.
‘All martial artists?’
Something smelled suspicious.
Ri-won shed his easygoing manner and prepared himself to draw his sword at any moment.
“Go inside.”
At last, they reached the door to the top floor.
Ri-won glanced at the masked figure stepping aside, then walked to the door.
‘I can sense eight presences.’
The one seated in the middle of the room was likely the pavilion proprietor, while the ones clinging to the ceiling were guards.
They were all early first-rate.
For the pavilion proprietor of a pleasure house, the security seemed excessive.
Thinking that, Ri-won opened the door.
Creak.
Then his body jolted to a halt.
“Welcome.”
The room was large.
It was spacious enough to seat dozens of people with room to spare.
There was little furniture inside, so it should naturally have felt desolate.
Yet the instant the door opened, Ri-won thought the room was far too small.
‘Beaut...’
Beautiful.
A beauty filled his vision and left him with no thought but that one.
She filled his vision so completely that he could see nothing but her.
That was why his field of vision felt too narrow.
Thump.
Ri-won felt as though his heart had dropped.
* * *
When Hwa Seo saw Mok Ri-won, the first emotion that came to mind was nothing else.
‘Young?’
Shock.
That was what it was.
‘Hyang said he was at least first-rate.’
Yet the young man did not look older than his early twenties, even if she judged generously.
She did not even consider the possibility that he had undergone a bodily transformation.
If he had attained such a realm, he would have concealed his Inner power completely, and So Hyang would not have noticed him in the first place.
‘From a Noble Clan?’
That possibility became clearer.
If he had grown up consuming every kind of spiritual medicine a Noble Clan could offer, his realm made enough sense. His neat appearance also plainly spoke of a privileged upbringing.
‘If he is from a Noble Clan, I must kill him here, no matter the price.’
The thought rose suddenly, but Hwa Seo steadied herself.
‘...No. No, it is too early to decide.’
Suppressing the urge to swallow dryly, Hwa Seo forced her expression into composure and lowered her head.
“I am Yeon-hwa, pavilion proprietor of Gyeonghwa Pavilion. May I ask your honored name, sir?”
Information came first.
She had to learn his background and determine whether he was a threat or someone she could recruit as an ally.
Hwa Seo quickly organized her thoughts and waited for his answer.
Several dozen seconds passed.
When no response came, she furrowed her brow and raised her head.
What Hwa Seo saw was this.
“Uh, uhh...”
Ri-won had a foolish look on his face, his cheeks flushed deep red as he stammered incoherently.
And his eyes spun in circles.
Hwa Seo scoffed inwardly.
‘Is he trying to make me lower my guard?’
He was likely putting on a clueless act to make her let down her guard.
After all, any first-rate master or higher would naturally have cultivated enough mental composure to remain unshaken through force of will.
“Great Hero?”
She spoke to warn him not to play foolish tricks.
At that, Mok Ri-won jerked as if struck and revealed his shock.
‘G-Great Hero...?’
Great Hero.
That one term made Ri-won’s heart pound even harder than it had when he first saw her.
Someone calling him a Great Hero was the sort of moment he had only dreamed about, and he could not bring himself under control.
As Ri-won’s heart thundered in his chest and heat surged into his face, he startled at the fever rising to his head and braced himself.
Shing!
Then he drew his sword.
“W-What wicked sorcery is this!”
His shout rang through the entire room.
Hwa Seo stiffened, and the guards above drew their daggers. Then Ri-won continued.
“You have bewitched me with Seduction Arts! But Mok Ri-won will not be undone by something of this level! Wicked demoness! Reveal your true nature at once!”
Ri-won thought it had to be vicious Seduction Arts.
Otherwise, there was no explanation for his racing heart.
Nor was there any explanation for his mind growing blank the more he looked at her.
Ri-won’s shout echoed long through the room.
Listening to him, Hwa Seo finally understood what his utterly absurd words meant and stared blankly.
‘What the hell is this bastard doing?’
Where had this lunatic come from?
...That was what she thought.
Footnotes:
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