Chapter 15: Glimmer of Hope in the Darkness (4)
Even though Il-gwang stood with a slightly slouched upper body, he was still a full head taller than Hyeon-jeong. The sight resembled a massive bear confronting a hunter.
“We shall see if you can keep barking that mouth of yours in a moment,” Hyeon-jeong sneered.
Drawing her sword back over her shoulder, she assumed a starting stance, ready to strike.
In response, Il-gwang began to lightly bounce on his feet, shifting his weight continuously. It was his signature prep movement, allowing him to spring in any direction at a split second’s notice.
Hyeon-jeong frowned at his noisy, unorthodox movements, believing he was mocking him.
After a brief tense silence, Hyeon-jeong lunged forward. Her movements were far swifter than Baek-hee’s, bringing her before Il-gwang in the blink of an eye. The plum blossom sword pulled over her shoulder cut a curved arc toward Il-gwang’s chest.
It was the sixth form of the Falling Petal Sword Technique, a basic sword style taught to second-generation disciples of Mount Hua: Falling Shadow Flying Flower.
Hyeon-jeong’s rapid strike looked poised to slice Il-gwang diagonally from his right shoulder down to his waist. However, a savage grin appeared on Il-gwang’s face. Compared to the lightning-fast strikes he faced from So-mu during their daily sparring, her sword was incredibly slow and predictable.
Il-gwang ducked low, twisting his body to the left. Hyeon-jeong’s sword grazed past his nose, hitting empty air. The moment her swing missed, countless glaring openings were exposed across her body. Il-gwang was not about to miss such a chance. Pulling his right fist back, he twisted his waist and swung upward.
It was an uppercut packed with his full, terrifying strength, rising like an ascending dragon. The fist smashed squarely into Hyeon-jeong’s fully exposed face.
BOOM—!
A deafening impact, like a heavy wooden door being shattered by a battering ram, shook the tavern. The force of the blow lifted Hyeon-jeong off her feet, sending her flying twenty feet across the room before she crashed violently into the outer wall.
Everyone’s eyes locked onto the fallen disciple. A stunned silence descended upon the tavern, and the onlookers stood with their mouths agape, unable to utter a word. Hyeon-jeong lay motionless, her eyes rolled back into her head, and white foam began to seep from her mouth.
The remaining Mount Hua disciples stood frozen like ice statues, completely paralyzed by shock. The recruits of Group 16 quickly crowded around the fallen woman to check her condition.
“Oh no. Her teeth are all smashed.”
“Is she alive?”
“I think she’s still breathing.”
Ultimately, the disaster So-mu had feared had occurred.
“Move aside,” So-mu ordered, pushing his way through the recruits.
He grabbed Hyeon-jeong’s wrist to check her pulse. It was faint and her qi was highly erratic. Her life force was rapidly fading.
Nothing good would come of a rumor spreading that a disciple of the prominent Mount Hua Sect had been killed by a Hanzhong foot soldier. So-mu secretly channeled his true energy into Hyeon-jeong’s body. His profound, steady energy circulated through her meridians, rapidly stabilizing her chaotic qi and blood flow.
“I warned you to choose a different opponent,” So-mu muttered.
Of course, the unconscious Hyeon-jeong could not hear him. So-mu was simply buying time for his body to stabilize. Before long, her pale, cold face began to regain its natural color and warmth.
“This was a fair duel agreed upon by both sides, so do not blame us,” So-mu said to the other disciples.
As he spoke, Hyeon-jeong’s pulse returned to a steady rhythm, and the color fully returned to her cheeks. So-mu had done all he could for emergency treatment. Now that the immediate danger had passed, she would easily recover with basic medical care.
“Cheoldu!” So-mu called out.
Cheoldu, the local recruit, stepped forward. “Yes, Leader.”
“Is there a doctor nearby?”
“Yes, there’s a pharmacy right next door that I know of.”
“Good. Go fetch the physician. We must save her first.”
So-mu turned around and saw Il-gwang scratching his head sheepishly. Even Il-gwang seemed to realize he had gone a bit too far.
Meanwhile, the remaining Mount Hua disciples huddled together, trembling in fear. They no longer cared about Cheong-hae. They were utterly terrified by Il-gwang’s monstrous strength and the near-fatal state of their senior sister.
“Don’t just stand there trembling. Help clear some tables so she can lie down,” So-mu instructed.
Snapped back to their senses, the disciples hastily pushed some tables together to create a makeshift bed. The recruits lifted Hyeon-jeong onto the tables, and shortly after, Cheoldu returned with the physician.
“Doctor, over here!” Cheoldu called.
The physician, wearing a white robe with rolled-up sleeves, rushed to Hyeon-jeong’s side and checked her pulse.
“Fortunately, her internal organs and meridians are undamaged. She should wake up shortly.”
The physician retrieved a jar of Golden Sore Salve from his wooden medicine chest. It was a healing ointment made from crushed herbs. After spreading it evenly over Hyeon-jeong’s bruised and swollen face, he inserted a few acupuncture needles into key pressure points.
“The swelling should go down by tomorrow.”
Fifteen minutes after the physician began his treatment, Hyeon-jeong’s eyes slowly fluttered open.
She felt a burning, throbbing pain across her face. Looking up, she saw the faces of the numerous soldiers surrounding her. Yet, she saw no anger or hostility in their eyes. Instead, they looked genuinely worried about her. Even Cheong-hae was among them.
Her pride was utterly shattered. The humiliation of the situation left her feeling completely hollow.
Hyeon-jeong lay still for a long time. It wasn’t that she lacked the strength to get up, but rather that her entire world, and everything she had built her pride upon, had collapsed in a single moment.
Perhaps a wealthy merchant who lost his entire fortune in a split second would wear a similar expression. Hyeon-jeong’s eyes were filled with nothing but empty despair. She wished she could simply vanish or die.
Only after a long silence did she slowly push herself up.
‘After all, what pride do I have left to protect?’
“Senior Brother Hyeon-jeong…”
“Are you alright?” The other disciples asked.
Ignoring her companions, Hyeon-jeong got off the table and knelt on the floor before the soldiers.
The onlookers gasped in surprise. No one had expected her to concede defeat so meekly.
Just as her knees were about to touch the floor, So-mu’s left hand caught her shoulder, stopping her.
“That is enough. If a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, a pillar of the righteous path, kneels before foot soldiers, it will bring shame to your sect.”
Hyeon-jeong’s face remained blank, but it was clear a profound shift had occurred in her heart.
It was then that Baek-hee stepped forward, glaring at So-mu with a venomous expression.
“Do you think you’ll get away with this?! Once I return to Mount Hua—”
Before she could finish her threat, Hyeon-jeong’s hand whipped out like lightning, slapping Baek-hee hard across the face.
Slap!
“Ah!”
Clutching her stinging cheek, Baek-hee shut her mouth, tears welling in her eyes.
Hyeon-jeong had reached her limit. It was no exaggeration to say that Baek-hee was the sole cause of this entire disaster.
In a quiet voice devoid of any emotion, Hyeon-jeong asked So-mu, “May we leave?”
So-mu nodded without hesitation. Hyeon-jeong raised her hands and offered a respectful fist-and-palm salute. The other disciples quickly followed her lead.
Pleased by her honorable concession, So-mu returned the salute. Seeing this, the recruits of Group 16 also raised their hands, returning the gesture. Among them were Il-gwang and Cheong-hae.
No further words were spoken. The soldiers watched in silence as Hyeon-jeong led her companions out of the tavern, her slumped shoulders carrying a pitiful air.
Watching them leave, So-mu’s eyes grew pensive.
‘They have only ever met people who bowed to them, so it’s natural they grew arrogant. I myself cannot claim to be without peers in this vast world, so how could they assume they were invincible just by carrying the name of Mount Hua? Still, this defeat will help them grow, so they need not despair.’
Once the Mount Hua disciples had vanished from sight, Il-gwang broke the silence with a hearty shout.
“Well, we’re already here, so we might as well enjoy the liquor! Let’s drink!”
***
Meanwhile, in the military conference room of Hanzhong.
General Jang-yang and his senior commanders had gathered in a hurry. Critical intelligence had just arrived: the Hui forces stationed at Chang’an Fortress had marched out. Their destination was obvious.
“Commander Kwak Cheol, what is the size and route of the enemy forces?” Jang-yang asked.
“An army of twenty thousand is marching west toward us through Meixian. Another force of fifteen thousand is bypassing Shiquan to the east, heading south. Both columns consist primarily of infantry. The remaining enemy forces are still stationed at Chang’an Fortress.”
The two Hui generals leading the columns seemed to be competing against each other, marching from different directions. Their decision to minimize cavalry and rely mostly on infantry indicated they were confident Hanzhong would hide behind its walls and fight a siege.
“How long do we have before they arrive?”
“The column from the west is moving faster and will arrive in about seven days.”
Frowning deeply at the map, General Jang-yang remained silent for a long time. Only after fifteen minutes did he speak.
“We must march out and engage the force coming from Meixian first.”
His adjutant, Yang Yeon-jeong, asked in disbelief, “A field battle? Their forces outnumber us four to one, and our recruits haven’t even finished their training.”
Facing an army four times their size in an open field with raw recruits was a suicidal proposal.
Even if they had trained the recruits in basic martial arts, how much of a difference could a few weeks make? Abandoning the fortress walls for a pitch battle seemed entirely hopeless. The other commanders nodded in agreement with Yang Yeon-jeong.
However, Jang-yang was resolute.
“If Hanzhong is surrounded from both the east and west, how can we hope to defend it with a mere five thousand men?”
Jang-yang was right. Chang’an Fortress, which possessed far stronger defenses and a larger garrison than Hanzhong, had fallen to the Hui army in less than half a day. A passive siege would only lead to their slaughter.
Yet, a field battle was an equally daunting prospect.
“Do you have a plan, General?”
“Since the enemy expects us to stay in the fortress, they will be careless. A night raid would be ideal, but it is impossible to execute a complex night raid with raw recruits. However, an ambush is a different story. Where would be the best location?”
The commanders fell into deep thought.
The two Hui generals, blinded by the desire for glory, were marching recklessly toward Hanzhong. An ambush had a very high chance of succeeding.
However, even if the ambush succeeded, overcoming a four-to-one numerical disadvantage was a monumental task. Furthermore, even if they won, they would have to immediately march back to Hanzhong to face the fifteen thousand troops coming from Shiquan. It was an almost impossible plan.
Nevertheless, if there was even a sliver of hope, they had to try.
Commander Kwak Cheol, the intelligence officer, spoke up.
“The enemy must march along the main road at the foot of Mount Jeonggun. Why don’t we set our ambush there? The high terrain of Mount Jeonggun will allow us to monitor their movements, and the rugged terrain offers plenty of hiding spots.”
Jang-yang studied the map carefully. Even after looking at it for a long time, he could not find a better location than the one Kwak Cheol suggested.
“Very well. Commander Yang Yeon-jeong, you will lead fifteen hundred spearmen and set up an ambush on Mount Jeonggun.”
Jang-yang pointed to a spot on the map and continued, “The rest of our forces will camp here and confront them head-on. Once the battle begins, you will wait for the opportune moment and strike them from the rear. No matter how numerous they are, being struck from both front and back will shatter their formation and crush their morale.”
“Understood, General,” Yang Yeon-jeong replied.
Jang-yang nodded, his expression solemn.
“The reason the citizens of Hanzhong did not flee and chose to stay is because they trust us. If we give up now, they will be brutally slaughtered. If we can protect them with our lives, what could be more honorable than that?”
Tears welled in the general’s eyes. Clearing his throat to find his voice, he managed to speak his final words.
“I believe in my soldiers, and I believe in all of you. If we fight to the death, we will surely find a glimmer of hope…”