STVS 35

Chapter 35

This tea was originally brewed by me, and no one had ever touched it.

If there had been any poison in it from the start, wouldn’t something have happened by now? But no matter how much the young lady drank before the Master of the House arrived, nothing occurred.

“Then… what on earth…?”

Seeing my confused expression, the Master of the House let out a sinister smile and spoke.

“Curious, are you? Well, since you’re going to die anyway, it’s only fitting that I personally show you how brilliant I am as a strategist.”

“…….”

“I applied the poison to my finger.”

To his finger?

“Yes. I rubbed it on the spout of the teapot in advance. So when the tea was poured, the poison would naturally mix in.”

“……!”

“Of course, to avoid suspicion, I had to pretend to drink the tea myself. Indeed, Master barely took a sip after I pretended to drink several times. That much I must commend.”

“…….”

“But you, young master, overlooked one thing.”

The Master of the House licked his finger, smirking mischievously.

“That poison doesn’t work on me.”

I realized too late what he meant.

He had taken the antidote beforehand!

While I froze, unsure what to do, the Master of the House threw his head back and laughed uproariously at his own joke.

“Now you understand? My greatness, my genius strategy! So do not fear, young master. Surely I make an excellent husband, don’t I?”

“This is… insane…”

“Now, shall we see the face of the woman who will be my wife?”

In an instant, his hand shot forward like lightning and grabbed the veil the young lady was wearing. Before I could intervene, he tore it apart.

I shouted desperately toward her.

“No! Young lady… huh?”

But I paused.

Beyond the torn veil, what I saw was not a delicate, lovely face, but gauze.

Wait—there was gauze under the veil?

“My goodness, our young lady.”

How many layers of defense had she set up?

Could it be that even this gauze wasn’t the only layer? I silently marveled at her foresight. But the Master of the House, seeing the gauze as well, was furious.

“Damn it! What is she made of to fight like this? It’s useless anyway. You’ll be mine sooner or later!”

As he reached forward again—

BANG!

“Argh!”

The teapot I threw unexpectedly hit his face. He screamed and covered it, and blood trickled from his nose.

Seeing the blood on his own hand, the Master’s face flushed red with rage.

“You insolent wretch! How dare a lowly thing like you…!”

He pulled something out from his chest.

Swish—

A dagger.

A sharp, blue steel dagger gleamed in his hand.

Seeing it, my face turned pale.

‘No, a knife is cheating!’

Regardless, he raised the dagger and aimed it at me. His red eyes looked completely unhinged.

“You little fool! I intended to kill the young master with one strike, but if that’s what you want, I’ll tear your limbs apart and feed them to beasts!”

I rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding his rush.

Thud! A mark appeared where I had been. I broke into a cold sweat and quickly left the pavilion. I needed to put some distance between him and the young lady.

The enraged Master of the House followed, still hurling teacups from his hand.

“Stand still, will you!”

Clang!

I skillfully dodged a flying teacup, smirking.

‘Hah, I’ve dodged hundreds of these before.’

But the dagger was a bigger problem. Outside of sparring with the young lady or training under Master Namgung, I had never faced a real attack like this.

Surprisingly, though, his movements were clumsy.

Not as fast as the objects the young lady threw, nor as precise as Namgung’s demonstrations. I could track the dagger’s trajectory with my eyes.

‘Judging by the twist of his shoulder and the dagger’s direction, he’s aiming to slash my head horizontally. In that case, I…!’

I ducked quickly, and as expected, the dagger brushed past my head.

Sweat ran down my nose, and I felt exhilarated.

‘I dodged it!’

Once, twice, thrice.

With each dodge, my fear gradually melted away.

Eventually, I was looking the dagger straight in the eye. I stayed calm, watched its path, and moved opposite to its direction.

Meanwhile, the Master of the House grew increasingly frustrated.

“Why… why won’t it hit? You little rat, worthless wretch…!”

‘So this is why Master Namgung emphasized composure in real combat.’

Unlike me, his dagger shook uncontrollably from losing calm.

Then it hit me.

Now’s the time.

It was time to use the technique Namgung had taught me.

“Hyah!”

For the first time, I didn’t retreat—I charged straight at him. I could almost hear Namgung’s voice in my ear:

“This technique assumes you are caught by the enemy. If you feel you can’t withstand it, let yourself be caught. That’s your best chance.”

Feigning confusion, I flailed my hands and rushed forward. The Master of the House dodged, and I stumbled as if tripping over my own feet.

Seizing the moment, he grabbed the back of my neck with his Golden Hands. I pretended to be surprised but smiled inwardly.

‘Yes, just like that.’

“When grabbed from behind, immediately grasp the opponent’s armpit—Kyukcheon Point. Press it and the enemy can’t hold on. At the same time, strike the elbow’s Sohae Point—it’s even better.”

I grabbed the middle of his armpit as instructed. His grip loosened, and I broke free. I struck the inner elbow with the edge of my hand.

But he staggered instead of falling; clearly, I had missed the exact spot. I moved to the next step without hesitation.

“However, unless you are an expert, striking both points together is difficult. Then roll between the opponent’s legs. Quickly move behind them and strike the Weizhong Point behind the knee with your fist.”

Dodging his grasp, I rolled between his legs. He couldn’t stab me with the dagger and froze.

I moved behind him and clenched my fist, striking the back of his knee.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

His legs buckled as if electrocuted, and he fell to his knees, his neck directly in front of me.

“When your enemy kneels before you, that’s the opportunity. Grab their back and strike the Tianzhu Point at the back of the neck with your foot…”

There was a problem, though.

The Master’s height made it hard to strike accurately.

What should I do? Just try the strike and hope? If I fail…? I couldn’t waste this chance.

‘I can’t.’

I saw a tree behind me. No time to hesitate. I pushed off it and leapt into the air.

He turned to face me. I spun and slammed my heel downward toward the center of his forehead, the Yintang Point.

Time seemed to slow as my heel made contact.

BANG!

“Aaah!”

I smiled broadly.

The One Life-Saving Move, variation!

“Ugh!”

The recoil from kicking sent me tumbling across the ground, but I quickly regained my senses.

I looked back, thinking,

‘Did I finish him?’

I shouldn’t have said that.

He was moaning on the ground but not unconscious. Was I too weak? Or had I misjudged the position?

If wrong, I could try again. While he wasn’t fully alert… attack!

Thunk, clang—!

At that moment, a teacup flew like lightning and struck his head.

It hit with such force the cup shattered, and his head snapped back, eyes rolling, as he collapsed.

Thud.

I stared blankly at the fallen Master.

Then I turned toward where the teacup had come from and shouted:

“Young lady…!”

That final strike is cheating!