Chapter 41

Qing was always confident.

But this time, she felt she had made a fool of herself. It was the first blunder since stepping out into the Martial World.

“How diligently and genuinely have I lived?”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t entirely my fault this time either.

It was Taepyeong Sword Sect that messed up, especially when they acted like thugs right in front of me at a time when my mind was completely jumbled.

And then, there was that clueless martial artist who carelessly scratched someone afterwards.

No matter how you put it, this time was a bit excessive.

Yeah. I guess I have a tiny bit of blame myself.

My perfect morality was shattered.

For that reason, Qing felt blue.

In fact, Qing knew that feeling joy from hurting someone was not normal at all.

But what can I do?

It’s just really nice, and I can’t find a way to explain it.

So, I had to be careful about my actions.

Only bad guys enjoy tearing and shredding.

Qing was just slightly peculiar; in the end, she was just an ordinary person.

So her solution at times like this was also quite ordinary.

A city filled with only bad memories, it was time to leave.

Qing’s decisiveness was the best in the Central Plain.

After all, there was nowhere holding her back.

On her way, she stopped by Taepyeong Sword Sect.

When the warrior guarding the front gate asked her business, she handed over five precious swords with ease.

“What is this…?”

“Just a delivery.”

“……?”

What kind of delivery involves giving away swords? Five swords at that, from a sect.

The warrior momentarily blanked out, and by the time he reached out for her, Qing had already taken off.

“Young Lady? Where are you going?! Just a moment……!”

Stuck at the front gate, he couldn’t follow and could only call out pathetically to Qing.

But Qing was like the wind, impossible to catch.

After that, the question of where to go remained.

Qing thought.

First of all, it’s clear I don’t mesh well with water.

Somehow, I’ve never had good outcomes when tangled with rivers.

Not to mention the final boss that sprang out of nowhere.

There was likely some water-related misfortune in my fate.

It’s a shame to lose the benefits of traveling along the Yangtze River, but there’s no need to deny the wisdom from my ancestors that one shouldn’t go against their luck.

Besides, Qing never really had a luxurious history of traveling.

When did she ever go looking for places and riding in carriages?

Just then, as Qing prepared to set out on foot—

“Hey. Why are you following me?”

“No, I didn’t really follow you. I just had nowhere to go, and ended up here without even realizing it.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean there’s going to be a duel, right? And why do you have nowhere to go? Leaving a great home to go hungry sounds silly.”

“That’s the thing. I’m thinking of running away. If I go back like this, I might lose my life.”

It had been three days since the event occurred.

It was only natural that rumors would flow into the Namgoong clan, the real ruling family of Anhui.

And the current head, Sword King Namgoong Daero, was a strict man.

If rumors reached his ears that someone had harassed a woman in broad daylight, he would certainly take action.

Qing asked, puzzled.

“Well then, why are you following me?”

“Young Lady, is it really necessary to be so heartless? We’re both swordsmen. Those who pursue the path of the sword see everyone within the four seas as comrades.”

Qing frowned.

What’s with this comrade nonsense?

How do I get rid of this lug?

Then suddenly, a thought struck her.

Why should I feel the need to distance myself from this rich young master?

Then, enlightenment hit.

Ah! I’ve lost my initial intentions!

After all, Qing had rarely traveled with anyone. But whenever she did travel with someone, she had always enjoyed the benefits that came from it.

Speaking of which, I wonder how Sani is doing?

Well, he’s probably just busy showing off while surrounded by women.

Anyway, being with this rich young master had its value.

I had just become too bogged down by the annoyance of dueling.

So what if I have to play around a bit?

Let’s have a few exchanges and be done with it.

Of course, there was a prerequisite process.

Properly establishing the relationship.

The longer you’ve known someone, the clearer that relationship needs to be.

But this guy looks like he’s barely in his mid-twenties.

I can’t keep addressing him formally every time we meet.

Qing casually threw out a suggestion.

“If we’re comrades in pursuit of the sword, let’s be sword friends then.”

“Sword friends!”

Namgoong Shin-jae’s eyes widened.

“I’ve never heard such an emotional word in my life. Sword friend, sword friend…….”

“So are we going to be sword friends then?”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping for! Sword friend. Sounds great.”

“Then, while we train our swords together, can’t we drop the formalities?”

“Hmm….”

After a moment of consideration, Namgoong Shin-jae nodded.

“That seems fine. If you wish for it, then let it be so.”

What? That was easy?

Qing felt a bit disappointed in her ridiculous companion.

But the disappointment came too soon.

Namgoong Shin-jae was known as the Little Sword King and had another nickname. It was “Sword Madman.”

It meant he was a lunatic obsessed with swords.

Qing underestimated Namgoong Shin-jae too much.

“……So, swords can be said to be the most noble weapons in the world. The Nine Thousand Divine Maiden willingly descended to convey swords to the Kingdom of Yue, and the leader of the Eight Immortals, Ye Dongbin, also wields a sword. This proves that in the laws of the world, the only true weapon is the sword, don’t you think?”

“Uh. Right…”

“You often hear about ‘One Thousand Spear, One Thousand Sabre, and Ten Thousand Swords.’ Of course, if one were to hang around spear users or sabreurs, the ranks of the One Thousand and the One Thousand Spear could get mixed up, but no one would dare touch the Ten Thousand Sword rank since it’s too difficult to master. This reaffirms the superiority of swords, unlike those who can’t be regarded as true warriors, who wield other weapons, and should instead be called false warriors or representatives.”

Dang, I really didn’t want to be a part of this.

Next to her, the incessant bragging about the sword showed no signs of stopping.

Being called the sword friend had truly struck a chord with Namgoong Shin-jae.

He thought he had finally found someone who understood his feelings and couldn’t hold back his emotional thoughts about swords.

Man, what a chatterbox.

Moreover, Namgoong Shin-jae’s praise of swords raised significant issues for Qing.

It wasn’t just I love swords because they’re so great; it went deeper than that.

According to him, swords were the only true weapon in the world and everything else was worthless.

Thus, true warriors are those who wield swords, while anyone who uses other weapons are just similar to warriors and should be referred to as “semi-warriors.”

That was roughly the argument he was making.

“Ah. Did I talk too much about myself? What about you, Young Lady? I bet you have your own deep philosophy about swords.”

“Uh. Well, to be honest, they’re just convenient, right?”

“Exactly! That overwhelming convenience cannot be overlooked. Whereas a spear merely kills, and a dagger is nothing more than a secondary weapon that only cuts, their intrigue is shallow and trivial. Furthermore, the sabre fails to embody the will of a weapon nor the purpose of enduring an enemy; it’s inherently flawed…”

Qing decided to cut him off.

“Alright. We both know swords are great, and the heavens and earth know it too, so let’s shelve that for now. Is there anywhere worth visiting?”

“Hmm.”

Namgoong Shin-jae rubbed his chin, thinking.

Then suddenly snapped his fingers.

“How about Hwasan?”

“Hwasan?”

“I’ve been to the Jeolgeumbyeok of Hwasan before. There’s no other way to describe it but simply magnificent. If we know the Divine Maiden Sect, then the Hwasan Sect is sure to share the Jeolgeumbyeok as well.”

“Will they welcome outsiders who aren’t part of the sect?”

“Even if not, your status should be fine. It was the same when I went.”

“Oh.”

Hwasan, I want to see it!

When will I ever have a chance to see Hwasan with my own eyes?

I worry it might be a bit dangerous, but he went there and came back safe.

Besides, if it’s the Hwasan faction, it’s been brought up multiple times by my master; it seems to be a well-known sect. I guess if it’s established enough, it should be relatively safe.

How could anyone withstand the mighty lava stronger than fire?

—-

Qing’s ability to take action was unquestionable, and Namgoong Shin-jae, who needed to escape Anhui immediately, had no time to hesitate.

Using Namgoong Shin-jae’s money, they rented a carriage and hired a coachman.

They also bought plenty of snacks.

And also plenty of wooden swords for dueling—

Qing frowned.

“Why are you buying so many wooden swords? Are you going to sell them off or something? Is this a specialty here? Are they known for wooden swords?”

“Oh, dear. Young Lady Seomun still doesn’t know. A few duels and a wooden sword can break easily. It’s better to prepare more than to lack them.”

That seemed like quite a lot to me…….

But since he wanted to buy them with his own money, I didn’t feel the need to stop him. Qing just let it be.

Dueling was undoubtedly a hassle.

However, thinking about sitting in the carriage with my butt hurting and listening to him grill me about swords made me want to knock him around a bit.

So, I guess I should then.

Originally, dueling is where the difference in skill becomes even more evident.

No underhanded tactics allowed.

Aiming for dangerous vital points is also banned.

And any other dangerous techniques require prior notice.

So even if it’s called a duel, the outcome was pretty much a given.

After all, the opponent was just a rookie at the early stages with barely any skill.

To be honest, it was closer to practicing guidance for him than a duel.

In that sense, dueling with Namgoong Shin-jae was both pointless and yet strangely valuable.

It was the first duel.

Qing picked two attacks from five sword strikes coming at her and flicked them away.

After the two legitimate attacks were deflected, the residual attacks lost their momentum and disappeared.

Qing pretended to step forward while executing a feint, then kicked Namgoong Shin-jae’s ankle lightly.

With a grunt, he instinctively leaned forward.

Ah! Now’s the moment!

Qing’s left hand formed a fist that lightly sprung forward.

Master, I promise I’ll finally accomplish something!

Please watch over me from above.

Crack!

In that moment, Qing felt an immense satisfaction rising from within.

So this is the joy my Master had always experienced alone.

The duel had concluded, but Namgoong Shin-jae refused to concede.

“Young Lady, that was very petty! That’s cheating!”

Namgoong Shin-jae shouted in indignation.

“Huh? Me? What did I do?”

Qing asked, genuinely clueless.

“How can one attack differently when wielding a sword?!”

A bizarre response came back.

It was as if kicking and shots to vital points were prohibited.

“……? I don’t quite understand what you mean….”

“In a sword duel, only the sword should be utilized. Didn’t you know that?”

Qing blinked in disbelief.

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“……? Isn’t speaking originally just a way to chew grass?”

“Forget it.”

Qing earnestly protested.

“In real combat, aren’t you allowed to use whatever method necessary?”

“In real situations, you don’t have much choice. My skills are lacking, so I have to resort to other means. But this is a duel, right? We’re practicing purely to raise our swordsmanship, hence we must only use swords.”

“Hmm?”

Does it even sound… convincing? It seems like it could be.

Or is it just some nonsense?

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