It all happened in an instant, and no one had time to react.
No one except me.
But there were plenty of people here who would leap into action the moment they recovered their wits and grasped the situation.
“Urgh!”
I let out a groan as though his strength had forced me back, and Commander Geum Yeon-hwa and several others rushed in once they realized what was happening.
Swoosh! Thud!
They struck without hesitation and subdued him in an instant.
“What in the world just happened?”
“So that man attacked the Gale Fairy before she was even ready?”
“And the Handsome Young Hero stopped him?”
The stands erupted into chaos.
Meanwhile, Cousin Hyang-ok came over and held out her hand.
“Are you all right?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine. Are you all right, Cousin?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? You kept me safe.”
I took her hand and rose to my feet.
“Thank you. You saved my life.”
“It was nothing. Even without me, I’m sure you would’ve handled it.”
Cousin Hyang-ok shook her head.
“No. Without you, I’d be dead – or seriously injured at the very least.”
She turned and stared coldly at the unconscious man pinned to the ground.
Meanwhile, the Seomun Clan members stood frozen, unsure what to do.
Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that a member of the Seomun Clan would do something like this.
I approached the man.
I could sense Unorthodox Qi coming from him.
The others hadn’t noticed because he was imitating Young Lord Seomun Il-shin’s Qi.
I carefully examined the area around his face, and before long, I noticed something.
Just as I thought!
I called Commander Geum Yeon-hwa over.
“Commander, doesn’t something look strange here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at his neck. Don’t you see how the skin tone changes slightly along this line?”
Commander Geum Yeon-hwa quickly understood what I meant and scratched the spot with her fingernail.
A thin layer began to peel away.
Riiip!
Without hesitation, she tore the false skin from his face, revealing his true features.
As expected, it was a Human-Skin Mask!
The moment his real face was exposed, Cousin Hyang-ok recognized him.
“That’s the Two-Faced Lust Demon!”
“You’re right! It’s the Two-Faced Lust Demon!”
“Wasn’t he supposed to be dead?”
The epithet Two-Faced Lust Demon referred to a lustful fiend who wore two faces. Most of the time, he impersonated an upright and honorable member of an Orthodox Sect, but whenever he found a woman he desired, he revealed his true nature as a member of the Unorthodox Factions.
He had eluded capture for years before the Emei Sect supposedly brought him to justice.
Slap!
The Seomun Clan Lord struck the man across the face with a furious expression.
“Guh!”
The Two-Faced Lust Demon groaned and opened his eyes. The moment he realized his plan had failed, he cursed in frustration.
“Damn it! I was so close to getting my revenge! And now I’ve failed!”
One of the Emei Sect disciples shouted at him.
“You were definitely dead! I cut off your head myself!”
The Two-Faced Lust Demon laughed.
“Heh heh heh. The man you killed wasn’t me. He was one of my subordinates wearing one of my Human-Skin Masks!”
“You deceived us!”
The Two-Faced Lust Demon had avoided capture for so long partly because he was a Peak expert, but his greatest advantages were his exceptional skill at crafting Human-Skin Masks and his talent for acting.
He could perfectly reproduce another person’s face, then imitate their mannerisms, voice, and even Qi well enough to deceive their own family.
Why would anyone waste such remarkable talents on something so worthless?
“So you used a member of the Seomun Clan to take revenge on the Emei Sect?”
Despite being completely subdued, the Two-Faced Lust Demon answered the Seomun Clan Lord’s question with infuriating nonchalance. He seemed to have given up on everything.
“More or less.”
“Then where is Il-shin?”
“Heh heh heh. You’ll have to figure that out yourselves.”
At that answer, the Seomun Clan Lord drew his sword and stabbed the man through the leg.
“Aaaagh!”
The Two-Faced Lust Demon screamed from the pain.
As I watched, I thought back to my previous life.
Had anything like this happened back then?
I didn’t remember Father or my brothers ever mentioning such an incident. If something like this had happened, they surely would’ve told me.
In fact, the Emei Sect had never even captured the Two-Faced Lust Demon in my previous life.
The North Sea Ice Palace had eventually given him a gruesome death.
I had no idea what had caused events to diverge from the previous life I remembered, but this was hardly the time to dwell on it.
“Tell us immediately!”
“Ugh! I – I don’t know! I threw him into the river!”
“What?”
“I already told you. Go find him yourselves. Heh heh heh.”
Then he tried to bite down on the Poison Pill hidden inside his mouth.
Thud!
Someone kicked him in the face, sending the Poison Pill flying from his mouth and rolling across the ground.
Crunch!
A foot crushed the Poison Pill beneath it.
At last, the Alliance Leader had acted.
The Alliance Leader stepped onto the martial stage and called for someone.
“Fierce Eagle Division Commander!”
“Yes!”
“Find Young Lord Seomun Il-shin immediately!”
“As you command!”
The Fierce Eagle Division Commander offered a cupped-fist salute and immediately departed.
The Alliance Leader turned toward the Emei Sect Leader.
“Although the Emei Sect was deceived by this man’s scheme, your sect spared no effort in hunting him down. I see no reason to hold the Emei Sect responsible for this.”
“Thank you.”
The Emei Sect Leader bowed in gratitude.
“To think that he would commit such an atrocity for revenge without showing the slightest remorse for his past crimes!”
The Alliance Leader’s voice thundered through the arena, and under the crushing force of his Qi, the Two-Faced Lust Demon could barely breathe.
The Alliance Leader continued with an order as cold and absolute as winter.
“Sever the meridians in all four of his limbs, imprison him in the Underground Prison, and make him suffer for the rest of his life!”
“By your command!”
“Also, postpone the match between Warrior Hyang-ok and Young Lord Seomun Il-shin for now. Proceed with the later matches first.”
“By your command.”
“And Young Lord Eun Seo-ho.”
“Yes.”
“How were you able to react to that man’s attack so quickly?”
I knew he was going to ask me that.
I gave the answer I had prepared in advance.
“Actually, Hyang-ok is my cousin. Since she is a close relative, I was watching her especially carefully, and I noticed that man looking at her with a strange expression.”
“Was that alone enough to make you realize something was wrong?”
“Yes. Young Lord Seomun Il-shin is a martial artist who fully embodies the Seomun Clan’s proud spirit. I watched all of his matches until now, and when someone who would never behave that way suddenly reacted so strangely, my body moved before I could think.”
“Ah, I see.”
The Alliance Leader nodded in admiration.
“Thanks to you, this friendly martial gathering was spared from being stained with blood. First the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering, and now this! I hardly know how I could possibly express my gratitude.”
“Your praise is more than I deserve. I only did what needed to be done.”
“You deserve a reward, but we are still in the middle of the matches, and a man remains missing. It would be best to postpone that discussion until later.”
“I agree.”
While we spoke, the Two-Faced Lust Demon was dragged away to the Underground Prison, and the martial stage was cleared.
Commander Geum Yeon-hwa stepped onto the stage.
“An unfortunate incident occurred, but thanks to everyone’s help, the situation has been resolved. We have faced countless hardships over the years, but each time, we joined forces, overcame the crisis, and built the prosperous martial world we know today.”
The crowd quietly listened to her speech.
“And we will continue to do so! No matter how many trials await us, we will stand together and continue marching toward peace in the martial world!”
“Waaaaaah!”
The entire crowd erupted into cheers at once.
Just like that, what had happened only moments ago seemed to vanish from everyone’s minds.
Not bad, Commander Geum Yeon-hwa.
That must have been one reason they had chosen her to serve as both host and referee for the friendly martial gathering.
“Then we will begin the next match. The Eunhae Merchant Group’s Handsome Young Hero, Eun Seo-ho!”
“Waaaaaah!”
“And facing him, the Pungha Sect warrior, Indomitable Blood Hero So An!”
“Waaaaaah!”
The man who climbed onto the martial stage amid the crowd’s roaring cheers was the same warrior who had fought a bloody battle against a member of the rival Bigyeok Sect in the first round.
Severe blood loss had put his life in danger at the time, forcing Commander Geum Yeon-hwa to use her authority as referee to stop the match.
Even after the match resumed, he continued fighting through another brutal exchange and ultimately emerged victorious, earning himself the impressive epithet Indomitable Blood Hero.
Damn it. Why was I still stuck with Handsome Young Hero?
He had originally been scheduled to face Cousin Hyang-ok, but the previous change in match order had shifted the bracket as well, leaving him to face me instead.
Well, that sort of unpredictability was part of a friendly martial gathering’s charm.
In any case, the Pungha Sect disciple had defeated his opponent in the second round as well, advancing all the way to the third.
We each fastened seven plaques to our clothes and stood facing one another.
I offered him a cupped-fist salute.
“Something unfortunate happened during the previous match, but I don’t believe that gives us a reason not to have ours. I hope we can have a good match.”
He returned my salute with a meaningful smile.
What was that smile supposed to mean…?
Warrior So An opened his mouth.
“I appreciate your words, but I cannot accept them. I witnessed Great Hero’s prowess only moments ago, and I concluded that I have no chance of defeating you.”
No… Surely not. Please don’t tell me…
“Therefore, with all due humility, I intend to withdraw from this match. My condition is already poor after pushing myself so hard in the previous rounds. In this state, I have no confidence that I could withstand Great Hero’s might. Please understand.”
He turned toward the stands and shouted.
“I forfeit!”
The Pungha Sect Leader calmly nodded, apparently having already discussed the matter with him.
“Uh… W – wait…”
But my outstretched hand merely grasped at empty air.
Commander Geum Yeon-hwa stepped onto the martial stage and made her declaration.
“With So An’s withdrawal, Eun Seo-ho is the winner of this match!”
“Waaaaaah!”
“Handsome Young Hero! Handsome Young Hero!”
And so, amid the deafening cheers, I had no choice but to trudge off the martial stage.
“I’m back.”
“You did well.”
“I’m not sure this should count when I didn’t even swing my sword once.”
Father laughed at my words.
“They say it doesn’t matter which road you take as long as you reach Beijing. You won in the end, didn’t you?”
“Is that how it works?”
“Besides, that man didn’t forfeit without reason. He withdrew after seeing what you were capable of when you leaped in to save Hyang-ok. How could that possibly reflect poorly on you?”
“That’s true.”
With that, I had effectively advanced through three consecutive victories by forfeit.
Just then, the Fierce Eagle Division Commander hurried over to the Alliance Leader.
He quietly delivered his report, after which the Alliance Leader summoned Commander Geum Yeon-hwa.
Commander Geum Yeon-hwa nodded, then returned to the martial stage.
“Regarding the postponed match between Warrior Hyang-ok and Warrior Seomun Il-shin, regrettably, Warrior Seomun Il-shin is in no condition to compete. The victory will therefore be awarded to Warrior Hyang-ok.”
– Kui!
At that moment, Geumryeong returned and slipped inside my sleeve.
The instant I realized there was something suspicious about Young Lord Seomun Il-shin, I had asked Geumryeong to find the real one and help him.
– What happened? Is he alive?
– Kui!
Fortunately, he was alive.
If he had died, I would’ve felt responsible.
No matter how I looked at it, this incident had probably occurred because of the future I had changed.
Even so, I had no intention of burdening myself with guilt.
The future I had changed was unquestionably a better one, and I would continue walking toward it without wavering.
“Therefore, the Earth bracket’s champion will be decided after lunch through a match between the Emei Sect’s Gale Fairy, Hyang-ok, and the Eunhae Merchant Group’s Handsome Young Hero, Eun Seo-ho.”
Once the situation had been settled, I went to find Cousin Hyang-ok.
I needed to offer her at least a little comfort.
“Cousin Hyang-ok. Are you all right?”
Cousin Hyang-ok calmly nodded.
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“Things certainly took an unexpected turn.”
“They certainly did.”
Cousin Hyang-ok looked directly into my eyes.
“So, what are you planning to do?”
“About what?”
“Are you going to lose on purpose?”
“…”
I couldn’t answer her question. The truth was, I had planned to deliberately lose this time.
But… the situation had changed.
“I know you’re stronger than I am. But if you patronize me by holding back, I might take the humiliation badly enough to become a very twisted person.”
Cold sweat ran down my back at Cousin Hyang-ok’s words.
The thought of a bitter and twisted Cousin Hyang-ok was honestly rather terrifying.
“So think carefully.”
At that moment, Palgap appeared and called out to me.
“Young Master, sir. The Alliance Leader is asking for you.”
“All right. I understand.”
I turned to Cousin Hyang-ok.
“I should take my leave.”
I followed the Alliance Leader’s man into the Murim Alliance headquarters.
Getting involved with the Murim Alliance had always made me nervous, but ever since learning that the Murim Alliance had been responsible for destroying the Snow Wind Palace, the tension had grown far worse.
I could not afford to make a single mistake.
We arrived at the same place where my achievements and rewards had been discussed after I saved the people at the previous Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering.
The Murim Alliance’s senior figures sat along both sides of the chamber.
Some were people I knew well, some were merely familiar faces, and others were complete strangers to me.
I offered them a cupped-fist salute.
“This humble merchant, Eun Seo-ho, greets the Alliance Leader and the esteemed elders.”
“Come closer.”
At the Alliance Leader’s words, I straightened my posture and walked to the center of the meeting chamber.
“Once again, we avoided a great disaster thanks to you.”
“As I said earlier, I merely did what was right. If anything terrible had happened to my cousin, our entire family would’ve grieved.”
I cautiously continued.
“However, I haven’t heard any news about Young Lord Seomun. Is he all right?
The Seomun Clan Lord answered my question.
“Thank you for your concern. Fortunately, it seems someone rescued him after he fell into the river. We found him lying on the riverbank.”
“That is a relief.”
“But we have no idea who saved him…”
“I’m certain it was a good person. They probably concealed themselves because they didn’t want their good deed to become known.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because that is exactly how I feel right now.”
I continued speaking.
“Simply standing here before all of you has left me unsure what to do with myself.”
“Your humility goes too far. You have every right to stand here.”
“I’m honored.”
“Then tell me. What reward do you want?”
“That…”
“Ah! Asking to be excused from the matches is not an option.”
Tch! For a moment, I’d gotten my hopes up.
I thought for a moment before a clever idea came to me.
Yes. That would work.
–TL Notes–
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