I was caught off guard for a moment by Commander Tang Dae-jeong’s question.
Had he really just asked whether I was entering the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering? Here and now?
I could tell the Commander was in the Peak Realm, already edging toward the Profound Realm. So he must have sensed my cultivation and asked because of that.
I gave a sheepish smile and answered.
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I’m not participating in the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering.”
“Why not? You’re not even thirty yet—you should be eligible.”
“Commander, I’m a merchant.”
“…”
“A merchant doesn’t chase fame in the Murim. We chase profit. That’s why I’m not entering the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering. Does that answer you?”
At my firm reply, Commander Tang Dae-jeong clicked his tongue in disappointment.
“If that’s what you say, there’s nothing to be done… but it’s still a shame…”
Hearing him, Lady Tang Su-bin turned to Commander Tang Dae-jeong.
“Commander, you’re embarrassing yourself.”
“Em… Embarrassing…”
“Yes. Embarrassing. So please stop pestering someone who already said no.”
Commander Tang Dae-jeong scratched the back of his neck, visibly awkward, and spoke to me.
“I apologize.”
“It’s quite alright.”
I answered gently, and Lady Tang Su-bin spoke to me again.
“Still, I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
“Ah… At every Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering, the merchant group opens a temporary shop in the commercial district. I came for that work.”
“I see.”
“When will you be in the preliminaries?”
“Oh, I’m not fighting in the preliminaries. I placed within the top one hundred and eight in the last Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering.”
“Ah, is that so?”
So Lady Tang had competed last time as well.
There are two kinds of finalists in the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering.
Those who reached the finals in the previous gathering, and those who survive the new preliminaries.
Together, they make up the final one hundred and eight.
But for various reasons, fewer past finalists were returning than I’d expected.
From what I’d heard, only about ten people were advancing straight to the finals this time.
That meant just under a hundred spots would be filled through these preliminaries.
And skipping preliminaries for past finalists is perfectly reasonable.
It gives the preliminary fighters a chance to get real experience first.
If they ran into a finalist right away, most of them would be knocked out instantly.
Tang Jo-ung grinned and said,
“I’m entering the preliminaries this time.”
“But your age is still…”
I couldn’t help voicing my worry, but Tang Jo-ung replied with calm confidence.
“I’ll be fourteen once my birthday passes. I know I’m young. But being young doesn’t mean being weak.”
He was right, so I nodded.
After all, I’d reached the Peak Realm before I was twenty myself.
“And Commander Tang Dae-jeong encouraged me to enter too.”
Commander Tang Dae-jeong added, smiling proudly.
“He’s already far beyond what anyone his age should be capable of.”
True enough—his talent was genuinely extraordinary.
In my previous life, he reached the Peak Realm even though he’d been unable to train for several years.
If he hadn’t died so young, he would have broken through into the Profound Realm.
I met Tang Jo-ung’s gaze and said,
“I’ll be cheering for you.”
“Thank you. Great Hero.”
Ugh, I told him not to call me Great Hero… and he has already forgotten.
“Since we met like this, it must be fate. Would you join us for dinner?”
It was a kind invitation, but I declined gently.
“Thank you, but I’m on my way back from dinner. If I eat more, my stomach might actually burst.”
“That won’t do, then. I’ll invite you again when the time is right.”
“Thank you. I’ll look forward to your message.”
After exchanging courtesies, I bowed to Lady Tang Su-bin and Tang Jo-ung as well.
“May good fortune follow you in your matches.”
We parted ways, and I headed back to the inn.
Honestly, how many people I know are competing this time…
On the way, I glanced at the participant list for tomorrow’s preliminaries posted on the wall.
Oh… Cousin Hyang-ok is fighting tomorrow.
.
.
.
The next day, I went to the martial arts arena with my mother.
“To think Hyang-ok is competing today! I can’t wait to see what kind of skill she shows.”
At my mother’s excitement, I nodded.
“Yes. I’m looking forward to it too.”
“Still, I hope she doesn’t push herself too hard… I want her to do well, but I also don’t want her overdoing it. My heart can’t decide which it wants more!”
At that, the Gwangjun Merchant Lord’s wife said with a small smile.
“It can’t be helped. She’s your niece, after all.”
“Yes… that must be why.”
The bitterness my mother had worn last night was nowhere to be seen.
Now she was simply buzzing with anticipation, waiting for Cousin Hyang-ok’s turn.
Whether she’d accepted things or just set her worries aside for the moment.
Before long, the announcer came out, the preliminaries began, and time passed quickly until it was Cousin Hyang-ok’s match.
Her bout was the third match after lunch.
“…Our next participant is Mount Emei’s disciple, Hyang-ok! Opposing her is Su Jin-uk of the Dongmae Sect!”
“Waaaaah!”
The moment Sister stepped onto the stage, Mother shouted herself hoarse.
“Hyang-ok! You’ve got this!”
Whether she saw us or not, Cousin Hyang-ok flashed us a grin.
Doong-!
With the drumbeat, the spar began.
After a brief exchange of probing strikes, their swords collided in earnest.
But then…
“Oh my! That shameless bastard!”
Mother’s face twisted in fury.
“That jerk—he’s doing it on purpose!”
The Gwangjun Merchant Lord’s wife burst out angrily as well.
And it was because of Su Jin-uk, Cousin Hyang-ok’s opponent.
Just as it’s an unwritten rule not to strike a man’s vital points in a spar, no one targets a woman’s chest in a match.
Do that, and you’re treated no differently from a molester.
But right now… Su Jin-uk’s sword was blatantly aiming at my cousin’s chest.
“Oops! My apologies. My sword slipped.”
“Hahaha. Missed again.”
With him apologizing every time, it was hard to accuse him outright.
But one look at Su Jin-uk’s eyes told me everything.
This wasn’t an accident. He was doing it deliberately.
Is he insane? Pulling that in front of this many spectators?
The crowd started to catch on, the murmurs swelling.
“Was that really a mistake?”
“Hem hem…”
“Hmph!”
These people have lived with blades at their throats. They know the difference between a slip and intent.
Divine Nun Haechung of Mount Emei looked ready to storm the stage any second.
So that’s why Cousin Hyang-ok had been holding back that venomous tongue of hers.
Back then, I’d only heard the opponent had behaved rudely.
Even I would have been furious.
Suddenly, I flinched. Cousin Hyang-ok’s eyes had changed.
“Oh dear…”
Mother clicked her tongue.
“She’s angry.”
I offered a silent prayer for Warrior Su Jin-uk.
A cold, razor-sharp Qi began to spill from Cousin Hyang-ok’s sword.
At that moment!
I saw a glimpse of the legend that said she’d once made the tigers of Mount Emei bow their heads.
“Haaap!”
Her sword shot forward like a pouncing tiger and crashed down onto Su Jin-uk’s blade.
Clang-!
Su Jin-uk’s sword snapped cleanly in two.
Wow. To break a warrior of his level’s sword in a single blow… Sister must be nearing the Peak Realm herself.
Sister raised her chin and spoke coolly.
“If your sword keeps slipping, you should cut it off.”
“…”
“And to think you entered the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering with skill too poor to manage your own blade. I truly applaud your courage.”
“Are you insulting me right now?”
“My. Insulting you? If that’s how it sounded… then at least you’ve got functioning ears.”
“Do you know where you are, to speak so arroga—”
“You were the one acting arrogantly with your hands. Is there some rule that says I have to stand still and take it?”
Sister’s venomous tongue poured out without pause.
“This is the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering arena. You came here with skill so pathetic I’m not sure you could even peel an apple properly. What do you think this gathering is? Your behavior insults the Murim Alliance who hosts this, every participant here, and everyone watching. And the master who sent someone like you has no business calling himself a master!”
The spectators nodded along.
“That’s right!”
“Wow! That was satisfying!”
“Indeed, indeed! Absolutely!”
Under the roar of approval, Su Jin-uk’s face reddened with humiliation.
Still, pride made him lash back.
“Do not insult my sect and my master!”
“Then are you claiming you have real skill?”
“Of course! I’m a Second-rate warrior!”
“If that were true, then aiming at my chest wasn’t a mistake. A Second-rate warrior doesn’t ‘slip’ twelve times in a row…”
“Th-That is…”
“And who, exactly, judged you Second-rate? Ah, I suppose you did it yourself.”
“N-No! My master…”
He couldn’t continue.
The more he spoke, the deeper he dragged his master into disgrace.
So why did he pull something like this… Tsk.
“And I’m telling you it really was a mistake.”
“Is that so? Then…”
Sister’s eyes turned icy.
“You haven’t shouted surrender yet, have you? Then I’ll cut off the hand that keeps ‘making mistakes.’”
“Hu—”
He didn’t even get the chance to finish breathing. Sister’s fist was already buried in his face.
Smack!
“Keuhuk!”
Wow. Cousin Hyang-ok is absolutely fierce.
The crowd erupted.
“Waaaaah!”
“Cool! Hyang-ok!”
But she wasn’t done. She drove her knee into his abdomen.
“K-Kugh!”
After several brutal bare-handed strikes, Su Jin-uk collapsed onto the stage floor.
Sister strode up with her sword and planted her foot firmly on his arm.
“Aaaagh!”
She reversed her grip, raising the blade to stab down toward his hand—
“W-Wait! Please listen to me for a moment!”
What now?
He blurted out, face twisted in desperation.
“A-Actually… there were people who ordered me to humiliate you.”
What?
The crowd stirred at his words.
“Who?”
“Who told him to do that?”
“T-Those people over there!”
He pointed. In the direction of his trembling finger stood four hulking men.
Huh? They look familiar…
Ah. They were the ones who’d hurled vulgar insults at Cousin Hyang-ok’s group in line the other day.
So that’s the full story.
The other Mount Emei disciples recognized them too, leaping up and shouting.
“Huh? Those men are—”
“They’re the ones who harassed us before!”
“They even signed a pledge saying they’d never do it again…”
The giants panicked and waved their hands.
“W-What are you talking about—”
“When did we ever—”
As they denied it, Su Jin-uk roared in fury.
“Then you’re calling me a liar? I have proof—there’s a contract!”
He yanked a paper from inside his robe and thrust it out.
Cousin Hyang-ok snatched it and read. Her mouth curled.
“So it’s a contract saying you’d pay him ten silver taels if he humiliated me. And the names here match the names on the pledge you wrote the other day…”
With that, the giants were caught red-handed.
“Those bast—!”
Divine Nun Haechung didn’t even have to speak. The spectators exploded first.
“Those scum deserve to be beaten to death!”
“What are people like that doing at the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering!”
“Trash like that should be expelled from the Murim!”
The men tried to bolt, but Divine Nun Haechung was already blocking their escape.
And then…
“Please come with us for a moment.”
A patrol squad seized them and dragged them away.
With that mess settled, only the match’s outcome remained.
“Then…”
Cousin Hyang-ok looked down at Su Jin-uk.
“I’ll cut that hand after all.”
“Surrender! I surrender!”
He shouted desperately, and the match ended with Cousin Hyang-ok’s victory.
Su Jin-uk, too, was hauled away by the patrol squad.
Cousin Hyang-ok stepped off the stage, and we hurried to her.
“Hyang-ok!”
“Ah, Aunt!”
“Congratulations on your win. You went through quite a nasty ordeal.”
“It’s nothing. Running into bastards like that isn’t exactly rare in life.”
I realized this probably wasn’t the first time she’d crushed a would-be molester without mercy.
That evening.
To celebrate Cousin Hyang-ok’s victory, Mother invited the Mount Emei group to our inn once more.
I went to the inn where my cousin was staying, gathered them up, and started back with them to ours.
That was when—
Someone passing on the street recognized her and spoke.
“Huh? Isn’t that her?”
“Isn’t that the Tongue-Sword Heroine, the one who beat up that shameless bastard?”
“Oh! You’re right.”
Tongue-Sword Heroine (舌劍女俠).
A heroine whose tongue is as sharp as a sword.
To think I’d hear that title again.
“Tongue-Sword Heroine? Seo-ho? Is that… a title for me?”
“It seems so.”
Ah, right—Hyang-ok hated that nickname.
No wonder she’d said cleaning up after the incident was a pain…
Grab!
I quickly caught the hem of Hyang-ok’s clothes.
“Cousin! You must not cause trouble!”
–TL Notes–
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