Chapter 214: Chapter 214

“What does that mean?”

At Eun-ho’s question, Murong Jae-hwa answered while trembling.

“I-I will die if Grandfather catches me……. Y-yeah! I will definitely die.”

Watching Murong Jae-hwa curl up and hide on the rooftop while covering even his head with both hands, Eun-ho was dumbfounded.

No matter what, dying to his grandfather? What kind of grandfather in the world would…….

Ah! This kid’s grandfather was Wind Earl Sword-Breaker!

“Because you picked up a bow instead of a sword?”

“Y-yes!”

Eun-ho tilted his head.

“But you chose the bow knowing you would be scolded, didn’t you?”

“I-I know……. I know, but. I guess I am not mentally prepared yet……. No, I mean I am not prepared to be beaten yet…….”

Eun-ho was speechless.

He had chosen that path anyway despite expecting to be this afraid.

His paradoxically brave friend seemed amazing.

“Is he that scary? To the point that you need to prepare to be beaten?”

“Th-the truth is, I was planning to train in outer arts separately. O-of course, even if I trained in outer arts, I would still be beaten with internal-external heavy-hand techniques, but at least the bruises would be less visible…….”

When he heard that Murong Jae-hwa had even thought about learning outer arts, Eun-ho swallowed dryly too.

That was because he thought he should not guess this as some ordinary grandfather’s level of corporal punishment.

How much had the kid been beaten for him to act this anxious…….

“Haa……. But how did your grandfather, who should be at your main house, know about your situation and come here? Did other people tell him?”

Murong Jae-hwa shook his head so hard it seemed his neck would come loose.

“There is no way. I made sure everyone kept their mouths shut. But the thing I suspect is……”

Murong Jae-hwa blankly stared at the promissory note in his hand.

“…….”

“…….”

Eun-ho let out a long sigh in shame.

‘Eldest Senior Brother! Eldest Senior Brother! Eldest Senior Brother! Just how much more shame do you intend to make me feel?!’

Seeing the promissory note, the rough picture came together.

Jin So-un had been the only one showing confidence when everyone else was uneasy about the “Distinguished Guest Invitation.”

As far as Eun-ho knew, Eldest Senior Brother had very few connections to speak of, so he had wondered who Jin So-un was thinking of inviting to be so confident.

No matter how reckless Eldest Senior Brother was, there was no way he would invite Old Man Go from the blacksmith’s to the “Distinguished Guest Invitation.”

‘But that person was Lord Wind Earl Sword-Breaker…….’

It was clear that he had sent a letter to Murong Gang because he knew that once Murong Gang learned of Murong Jae-hwa’s deviation, he would fly to the academy at once.

After Murong Gang finished venting his anger on Murong Jae-hwa, Jin So-un would have planned to ask him to attend the “Distinguished Guest Invitation” event since he had come all the way here.

It was obvious even without seeing it.

“Haa…….”

In the end, the victim of all this would be the pitiful Murong Jae-hwa.

‘No wonder that money ghost opened his coin pouch so obediently.’

Seeing Murong Jae-hwa trembling with his face gone deathly pale, Eun-ho felt so sorry he could not raise his head.

“…….”

Still, how could a good person like Murong Jae-hwa suffer because of a madman?

Had he not called Eun-ho right away, saying he wanted to take care of his friend first as soon as he received money?

Evil causes bring evil results. As a rule, the person who caused the trouble had to clean it up.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

Murong Jae-hwa asked as he watched Eun-ho take out the Four Treasures of the Study from his bosom.

Eun-ho spread out the paper broadly, dipped his brush in ink, and answered as he moved it.

“Enacting justice.”

“Mm?”

His eyes held a more resolute will than ever before.

***

To think someone dared to let out such a loud Lion’s Roar inside the sacred Murim Academy, and one loud enough to reach even the Academy Head’s office.

The Academy Head and Training Masters came rushing over to punish that outrageous intruder.

However.

“……H-how did you get here…….”

After confirming the face of that “intruder,” they turned pale in shock.

Among the Training Masters, some retreated with ashen faces as though recalling bad memories, then quickly ran away.

The intruder stroked his beard and said,

“The bearing of the Three Pure Ones Peerless Sword is frightening indeed. You do not even greet your senior when you see him.”

At the “intruder’s” words, the hair on the back of Buk Won-pyeong’s head stood on end, and he hurriedly clasped his hands.

“I-I greet Elder Murong Gang! Have you been well all this time?”

The people standing around him hurriedly followed and bowed.

“We greet you!”

Murong Gang.

Murong Gang!

That eccentric, teeth-chattering name resounded throughout the academy.

Even as they greeted him, the Training Masters’ hands were trembling.

It was not only because of his strength.

What was truly frightening was his unpredictable, eccentric personality.

“Seeing you all come out as a group, you must have come to punish me. Come at me!!!”

It was because of things like this.

“Wh-what do you mean? W-we only came because we wondered if something had happened within the academy……”

Had he not freely unleashed a Lion’s Roar so thunderous that the entire academy rang?

Among the servants, some had collapsed while retching, and among the academy students, some had come out with their swords in hand, thinking a war had broken out.

Naturally, it was only right for the Academy Head, who was responsible, and the Training Masters to come out and see what was going on.

But Murong Gang used that as a pretext and was saying some nonsense about challenging him.

“If that is so, you should greet me and guide me. Is it right to leave me standing in the street like this?”

“Th-then I will escort you to the Academy Head’s office…… no, the guest room.”

“I refuse!”

“…….”

Ah, seriously! He was not a child!

When people grew old, their eccentric personalities were supposed to calm down.

Why was his temperament rampaging more and more along with his martial arts?

Even though anger that made his stomach churn rose within him, Buk Won-pyeong did not erase the smile from his lips as he said,

“Th-then may I ask what brings you here?”

“I did not permit you to ask me a question!”

Buk Won-pyeong’s lips twitched violently.

Still, he had to endure.

At his age, he did not want to become the subject of rumors that he had been beaten until his legs broke.

Even if the other person was the Sword-Breaker under Heaven.

To avoid offending Murong Gang, Buk Won-pyeong bowed his head even deeper and asked again.

“……Then may I ask whether I may ask?”

“……Hmm? Fine, ask.”

This old man, honestly……!

“Ahem, may I ask what brings you to the academy…….”

“I heard my grandson laid his hands on a bow?”

“……!”

Buk Won-pyeong’s eyes shook violently.

Murong Gang’s face turned chilling.

“……Gulp.”

“So you knew.”

No, whether an academy student chose a sword or a bow as his main weapon was not an area the Academy Head could force, was it?

“Th-that is……”

Just as Buk Won-pyeong tried to come up with some excuse,

“In any case, you know it was clearly wrong not to inform me, do you not?”

“…….”

“That is why you are so nervous before me, is it not?”

That persistent gaze seemed to see through everything.

Most people with eccentric temperaments were simple.

If one soothed, coaxed, and…… though it was strange to say this about an absolute master, pampered them a little, they would usually put on airs and save face on their own.

But Murong Gang was extraordinarily good at grasping the opponent’s schemes and tormenting them with that.

And he enjoyed it.

More than anyone else.

If he had not been the head of the Murong Clan, he would have long since become a public enemy of the murim and then some.

Buk Won-pyeong desperately racked his brain.

How could he escape this situation?

Being beaten by Murong Gang could not be helped, but at this point, now that he had become an important figure of the murim, should he not avoid being beaten in front of people?

Moreover, considering Murong Gang’s personality, it did not seem as though a few words would simply calm his anger.

“N-no! If I had known, I would have informed you long ago……”

In Buk Won-pyeong’s gaze, he saw several Training Masters trembling.

They were the ones who had recently joined hands with the Orthodox Path Association and created a fake representative delegation.

As if that were not enough, they were the outrageous ones who had insisted on disciplining Jin So-un, the Chief Disciple of his lay-affiliated sect, over Ak Ju-pyeong’s matter.

Buk Won-pyeong’s eyes flashed.

“It is all because of the Training Masters!”

“Pardon??”

“Originally, that duty was under the Training Masters’ jurisdiction, but because they did not report it to me in time……”

The Training Masters’ gazes shot toward Buk Won-pyeong as though asking what in the world he was talking about, and Murong Gang’s gaze moved from Buk Won-pyeong to the Training Masters.

“So that is how it is?”

Crack.

“S-Sword-Breaker, sir, that is not……!”

Before the Training Masters could make any excuses, Murong Gang’s divine might blurred like smoke.

“B-Body-Shift Transposition?”

They had witnessed an incredible divine might, one that could raise the horizon of one’s martial arts and was not easy to encounter.

……The problem was that they were the targets of that attack.

“Ueok!”

“Kek!”

“Keuk!”

The Training Masters who had been standing suddenly let out pained screams one after another as a group and rolled across the ground.

Buk Won-pyeong swallowed thickly and wiped away cold sweat at Murong Gang’s divine might, which did not even show his figure.

After causing a round of chaos, Murong Gang asked Buk Won-pyeong with a much more refreshed face,

“Where is Murong Jae-hwa?”

“H-he is probably in the dormitory. Today is a day off……”

“Where is that?”

For an instant, Buk Won-pyeong became blank-faced without realizing it.

“……You came without knowing?”

So he had simply gotten angry and shouted the moment he came in?

Was this person really an Orthodox Path warrior?

When Murong Gang’s eyes were about to sharpen, Buk Won-pyeong hurriedly bowed his head.

“I will guide you immediately.”

They searched the four-person dormitory like that, but there was no trace of Murong Jae-hwa.

The academy students only said that he had left without revealing his destination.

Seeing Murong Gang’s expression crumple because he could not vent his anger, Buk Won-pyeong did not know what he should do.

Then.

Shweeek—

The sound of air being cut tickled Buk Won-pyeong’s ears.

‘Wh-what is this? A surprise attack?’

It was clearly an artificial sound, yet even when he looked around, he could not see any incoming object.

“What is this?”

With an indifferent remark, Murong Gang stretched out his hand.

Then an arrow falling vertically from the sky was easily caught in Murong Gang’s hand.

‘A high-arc shot?’

Buk Won-pyeong could not hide his shock.

Murong Gang catching an arrow shot in a high arc so easily was surprising enough, but the fact that Buk Won-pyeong had not been able to see it meant it had truly been shot vertically.

Meanwhile, Murong Gang’s interest had turned elsewhere.

“A letter?”

He unfolded the paper tied to the end of the arrowhead and slowly read the densely written words.

Just what kind of letter was it?

While Buk Won-pyeong could not even dare to ask,

Murong Gang’s face, after reading the letter, had already turned like that of an evil spirit.

Buk Won-pyeong felt as though he could not breathe.

‘Wh-what is this? Was his clan attacked or something?’

An unprecedented pressure spread in every direction from Murong Gang.

It was a pressure that even Buk Won-pyeong could not easily withstand.

Soon, the name of the person who had provided the cause of his anger burst from Murong Gang’s mouth.

“Jin So-un!!! That bastard I will chew to pieces!!”

Huh?

Buk Won-pyeong could not hide his bewilderment.

Why was that bastard’s name coming out here?

***

One Arrow against a Thousand.

That was the alias given to Murong Jae-hwa, who had protected the academy students with a single bow.

It was an extraordinary alias for a mere academy student who had not even joined the Alliance yet.

To the disciples of Shaolin and Diancang, who had been dazed under witchcraft, Murong Jae-hwa’s divine might had been shocking beyond words.

And it was only natural that his origin as a direct descendant of the Murong Clan, a famed house of the sword, stimulated people’s curiosity.

It was not only Murong Jae-hwa.

The Gold-Silver-Copper Brothers, who had stopped Kunlun’s Thirty-Six Swords Cold Plum Sword Formation with only three people, were given a new alias: Iron Wall Three Dragons.

‘Fuck, then why am I still the Black Flame Dragon?’

For some reason, the three Gold-Silver-Copper Brothers expressed regret that their alias, Black-Blood Three Dragons, had disappeared.

At any rate, it was perhaps only natural that the story of our party going to Sichuan to save the academy students spread as a rumor.

Did the structure of the story not make people crave alcohol?

Moreover, there was the conduct of the Murim Alliance, which was still fumbling around in Sichuan and dragging out the war without using the strategy I had written in detail.

The atmosphere of war was intensifying.

The endlessly soaring prices of daily necessities and iron ore were making people increasingly anxious.

And they needed a story that would dispel their unease.

Among those stories, was One Arrow against a Thousand not the best by far?

“Of course……. This is…… unavoidable. Absolutely.”

Judging by how quickly the rumors were spreading, it was clear that the details would be known to the Murong Clan before long.

And in the first place, since Murong Jae-hwa had been born as a direct descendant of a famed house of the sword and chosen a bow, he would eventually have to go through this difficulty at least once.

“Moreover, a beating he would originally have had to take for free has now become a beating he is getting paid for. What profitable business could be better than this?”

Hmm, the scent of the tea was good.

Just as I was calmly sensing the fragrance of the Seven-Colored Flower while praying for Murong Jae-hwa’s soul,

Kyaaaak!

Kkeok!

Keuheok!

Screams rang out from the corridor.

‘What is this? An attack?’

I immediately tossed the Seven-Colored Flower into my mouth and placed my hand on the Black Dragon Sword as I prepared for the attacker.

‘Ak Ju-pyeong? Jegal Gi-pyo? Whoever it is, I will break their arm at once!’

All the fights had already ended, yet to still refuse to acknowledge their defeat and make a show of force like this.

It was unbelievably unsightly.

As someone who loved justice and obeyed the law, I absolutely could not forgive such an act.

Ah, it was definitely not because they interrupted my precious tea time.

I drew up the Taeul True Scripture and prepared for the enemy’s intrusion.

And a moment later.

CRASH!

With a huge explosion, the office door shattered into pieces.

Huh? This was a little intense.

A figure walked in through the thick dust.

An unhesitating attitude, confident steps.

It was definitely the gait of someone who existed in my memories.

‘What is this? Why is he here…….’

The one who entered through the dust with a face thickly smeared in spite was someone who should have been somewhere else right now.

Yes, someone who definitely should have been somewhere else…….

“Jin So-un…….”

Crrrack.

Why was Elder Murong Gang, the Wind Earl Sword-Breaker, here at this hour?

He, who should have been beating the living daylights out of his grandson who had stepped onto the path of deviation, had appeared here.

“You dared to cut off the line of the Murong Clan?!”

With the momentum of someone who intended to beat me to death instead of his grandson.

Fuck…… What the hell happened?