Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Pabababak!
Hwangbo Nyeong’s fist strikes flew fast yet heavy, leaving Yu Doseok no room to counterattack.
Yu Doseok was also a master-level expert, so he sent a punch imbued with clear Fist Strike toward Hwangbo Nyeong, but with minimal movement she deflected every attack.
The Fist Strike emanating from Hwangbo Nyeong, far clearer than Yu Doseok’s, was nothing short of a calamity.
Thud—!
When Hwangbo Nyeong’s fist finally buried itself into Yu Doseok’s abdomen, his body movement form collapsed and crumpled away.
Struggling desperately to keep his consciousness, Yu Doseok spoke.
“Y-Your name! Please tell me your name!”
At those words, Hwangbo Nyeong gave a faint smirk and replied.
“Hwangbo Nyeong of the Hwangbo Clan.”
“Hwang…bo Nyeong!”
Yu Doseok widened his eyes as if engraving her name into his mind, then soon lost consciousness. Thinking him a fairly decent opponent, Hwangbo Nyeong was just about to sling him over her back and return to the inn.
“Why is the Hwangbo Clan here?”
At the voice coming from directly behind her, Hwangbo Nyeong hurriedly turned and swung her fist.
Pa-ang!
When her Fist Strike smashed into empty air, her eyes widened in disbelief.
‘Where is he?’
Hwangbo Nyeong slowly set Yu Doseok down.
The opponent was someone who had twisted her senses and slipped in. At the very least, he was her equal—or stronger.
As Hwangbo Nyeong urgently heightened her senses, the voice sounded once more from behind her.
“You shouldn’t start throwing punches the moment someone asks you a question.”
At the voice reaching her again, Hwangbo Nyeong clenched her teeth, lifted her leg, and thrust it straight toward the source like a spear.
Ssaeak!
Naturally, Youngho evaded the attack with ease, letting out a hollow chuckle as if dumbfounded.
“No, I’m saying let’s talk. If I’d wanted to kill you, you’d have been dead long ago.”
As if she hadn’t heard him, Hwangbo Nyeong unleashed countless fist strikes toward his body. Their overwhelming might was like a barrage of artillery shells, yet Youngho merely smirked.
Moving only his upper body, Youngho avoided every single attack. At that divine technique-like movement, Hwangbo Nyeong could not hide her shock and hurriedly widened the distance between them.
He was a spine-chilling opponent. Just what level did one have to reach to evade her attacks by moving only the upper body?
Moreover, his youthful face, not even seeming to have reached coming-of-age, made her wonder if he was a master who had undergone rejuvenation.
Realizing at last that Youngho harbored no hostility, Hwangbo Nyeong slowly relaxed her stance and spoke.
“Who might you be, Great Hero?”
Despite her extreme tension, Hwangbo Nyeong did not lose her composure.
She was certain he had heard her earlier conversation with Yu Doseok. He must have heard clearly that she was Hwangbo Nyeong of the Hwangbo Clan.
At her question, Youngho replied as if utterly dumbfounded.
“Don’t people usually introduce themselves first?”
Thinking his words made sense, Hwangbo Nyeong nodded.
“My apologies. I had just finished a sparring match, so my excitement had yet to settle……. I am Hwangbo Nyeong of the Hwangbo Clan. And who might you be, Great Hero?”
She deliberately emphasized the words Hwangbo Clan. Realizing it was meant as a warning, Youngho’s expression stiffened slightly as he spoke.
“Do you, by any chance, have a problem with compulsive lying?”
“What did you say?!”
“If I killed you right now, what do you think would happen?”
“The Hwangbo Clan would seek revenge.”
“Nonsense. If there’s no one who knows who killed you, how would they get revenge?”
It was a valid point. No matter that she was a daughter of the Hwangbo Clan, this was territory of the Unorthodox Alliance.
Even the Beggars’ Sect would not be so thoroughly informed about the situation here. Yet seeing her act so boldly, it seemed she did not fully grasp her own circumstances.
At the perfectly reasonable argument, Hwangbo Nyeong’s pupils trembled as if struck by an earthquake.
“Still, don’t worry. I don’t particularly intend to harm you.”
“Is that truly so?”
“Yeah. I was just curious about something, so I spoke to you. Normally I wouldn’t have even said a word, but there’s a reason.”
“What about me are you curious about?”
“Nothing special. Were you here on the Yangtze River to catch water bandits? Or maybe to board a ship, catch a few, and build your reputation.”
Isn’t that basically the same thing? Hwangbo Nyeong hurriedly concealed her fluster and replied.
“No. I was merely traveling through Jianghu. I had no intention of crossing the Yangtze River.”
“Why are you lying?”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve lived long enough to see lies at your level countless times. Speak properly. Otherwise…….”
Chill—!
At the slight martial presence Youngho let slip, cold sweat trickled down from Hwangbo Nyeong’s temples.
This feeling, as if a sword were pressed to her throat, was something no one could understand without experiencing it firsthand.
It was as if ice-cold water had been poured over her body, her blood chilling until she felt truly dead.
“Were you planning to cross the Yangtze River or not?”
“…I was.”
“Alright. Then were you planning to catch water bandits or not?”
“I was not.”
Youngho looked at her with surprise. What she had just said was the truth.
From countless experiences, the intuition unique to Youngho told him so. Hwangbo Nyeong was speaking honestly.
“Then what were you planning to do?”
“I intended to stir up a bit of trouble in the territory of the Unorthodox Alliance.”
“Ah…….”
Only then did Youngho nod, finally understanding.
Hwangbo Nyeong had one story she told until it wore thin whenever she got drunk.
When she was young and knew nothing, she had caused a major incident in Unorthodox Alliance territory and ended up playing a life-or-death game of tag with Unorthodox members.
He had thought she came here to raise her reputation by catching water bandits, but…….
‘Guess not. Still, this is the first I’ve heard it wasn’t a mistake but something she did on purpose.’
She really was crazy.
Thinking back, every so-called absolute master had something off about them. Youngho considered himself far from normal as well, but…….
‘At least I’m better than people like this.’
Nodding, Youngho said,
“Alright. I’m saying this out of concern, but don’t go catching water bandits. Your half-baked chivalry ends up getting other people hurt.”
“I know. I’ve experienced that before.”
“Then that’s enough. As long as you know.”
Youngho turned his back, about to head back to the inn.
“P-Please wait a moment!”
At the extremely urgent voice, Youngho frowned and turned back again.
“What?”
“P-Please spar with me!”
“Spar?”
Youngho, having already read Hwangbo Nyeong’s intention, let out a faint chuckle.
“Forget it. You won’t gain anything from it.”
“That is something I won’t know unless I try.”
At present, Hwangbo Nyeong intended to elevate her realization to an even more exalted realm through a sparring match with Youngho.
But there was no need to spar right now. Hwangbo Nyeong, too, would one day break through the wall and become a Fist Empress.
Besides…
‘An achievement attained by one’s own strength is the most valuable of all.’
“No. I’m leaving.”
After expressing his refusal firmly, Youngho disappeared at once. Even though she had been concentrating this time, Hwangbo Nyeong once again lost track of his movement.
For a while, she stared blankly at the spot where he had stood.
‘Incredible.’
Inside her mind, Youngho’s movements—evading all her attacks moments ago—were replaying over and over.
If she could grasp even a clue to that mysterious movement, she felt as though she could break through the wall.
‘Will he be at the inn?’
She wasn’t certain, but night was already approaching. Normally, one did not move around at such a late hour.
He would likely stay at the inn for at least one night.
‘He’ll depart tomorrow.’
In that case, it would be better to sleep now, wake early, and wait.
Without forgetting Yu Doseok, Hwangbo Nyeong returned to the inn with him.
Youngho spoke while tearing into a chicken leg.
“We’re leaving a bit early tomorrow, so don’t train after eating. Just go to sleep.”
At his words, Kang Chowon puffed out her lips.
“You’re going to train anyway, Young Master.”
“Then grow tall like me. You have to sleep early if you want to grow.”
“Fine. You’re really annoying.”
Youngho smirked.
“And I know you’re going to train behind my back. You too, Hosan.”
Suddenly singled out, Kang Hosan failed to control his expression and stared at Youngho as if asking how he knew.
“What do you mean how? Your thoughts are obvious.”
Watching the scene, Horyeung let out a hearty laugh.
‘Are there nothing but training addicts here?’
It seemed he might be the only one in the annex who would actually sleep properly tonight.
Thus the next day dawned, and Youngho’s group rose at the Hour of the Cat and immediately went to find a boat.
“They’re all merchant vessels. Can’t be helped—we’ll take this one.”
After paying the boatman, Youngho boarded. A woman with her face covered by black veil cloth likewise paid the boatman and boarded the boat.
Observing her closely, Horyeung transmitted his voice to Youngho.
—How long do you intend to let her follow?
—She won’t be able to follow for much longer anyway.
—There’s no guarantee she won’t.
—We’re going to kill the Chief Stronghold Leader of the Eighteen Strongholds of the Yangtze Waterways. Who would follow us?
—I have something to ask about that. How exactly do you plan to deal with that water bandit?
—What else? Assassination.
At Youngho’s bold answer, Horyeung smacked his forehead with his palm, dumbfounded.
This man lacked something essential for a martial artist. He did not desire fame, and as for wealth… he likely did, yet he did not covet it because of the Gold-Blood Hall.
At times, Horyeung found Youngho utterly perplexing. He did not know where Youngho had left a martial artist’s pride—perhaps in the Northern Sea—but even accounting for that, he was far too unusual.
As if having noticed Horyeung’s thoughts, Youngho spoke through voice transmission.
—Cheer up. Even if your lord is a bit unusual, he gets things done when it counts.
—I know that.
—And you chose me as your lord. Endure it through sheer will.
—…….
‘Everything’s fine except for that!’
While Horyeung was sighing deeply, the boat began to depart. More people than expected had boarded the merchant vessel.
Naturally, being a merchant vessel, there were martial artists aboard to serve as escorts. Fortunately, none of them appeared to be reckless youngsters likely to cause trouble.
There were times when people learned about chivalry only in theory and tried to put it into practice, only for innocent bystanders to get hurt.
Youngho disliked brats who made a mess and refused to take responsibility.
As he briefly recalled old memories, a presence was caught by Youngho’s Qi Sense.
Of course, he did not show it outwardly. If he bared his fangs too early, nothing good would come of it.
Horyeung, too, seemed to have sensed it and stared intently toward the source.
Perhaps because it was still dawn, thick fog had settled over the river. Soon, however, others also spotted the water bandits’ banner fluttering within the mist.
Seeing this, the boatman halted the vessel briefly and spoke.
“It seems we must show the appropriate respect to the Guardians of the Yangtze.”
Simply put, they had to pay a toll.
The passengers let out involuntary sighs, showing their displeasure—though directed at the boatman rather than the water bandits.
Before long, the water bandits’ boat approached right alongside them, and the passengers watched with tense expressions.
The boatman approached Youngho and said,
“To the Guardians of the Yangtze……”
“I know, I know. Here.”
He had assumed Youngho, who looked like a young master raised in a wealthy household and ignorant of worldly matters, would not hand over money so easily.
Yet Youngho placed the money into his hand as if accustomed to it, leaving the boatman slightly surprised.
As expected of someone who looked like a rich family’s son, he boldly gave one nyang of silver.
“Thank you.”
After collecting money from the veiled woman as well, the boatman immediately handed it over once a water bandit stepped aboard.
“Here it is.”
“Hmm, your attitude is good.”
The water bandit grinned as if in an excellent mood. Reassured, the boatman looked at him again.
He thought it would pass smoothly as usual. However, though the water bandit was smiling with his mouth, his eyes were not.
Noticing something amiss, the boatman felt a chill as the water bandit stared at him coldly and spoke.
“This won’t be enough.”
“Pardon?”
“We’ll need five more nyang of silver.”
At those words, the boatman’s face turned pale.