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Chapter 6 …
Yang Jian
As Zhuge Jun walked into the center of the training ground, the martial artists of the Zhuge Family silently stepped back, widening the distance between themselves and him.
Judging by their expressions, this was far from the first time something like this had happened. There was an unmistakable uneasiness on every face watching.
Zhuge Jun turned around, rested the wooden sword on his shoulder, and tapped it twice.
“Now then, this is the Outer Hall’s training ground.”
I merely glanced around before replying formally.
“It is indeed worthy of the Zhuge Family.”
“Isn’t it? But tell me, does it make any sense for nothing more than a dog to set foot in such a magnificent place?”
“…”
His voice was low enough that no one else could hear.
Instead of answering, I remained silent.
Perhaps believing he had gained the upper hand, Zhuge Jun raised his voice.
“A world where a stray dog picked up off the streets bears the Zhuge surname! Does that make any sense at all?”
“He’d been quiet for a while, and now he’s starting again.”
“At least he held himself back for quite some time.”
“Held himself back? Didn’t he shatter an Outer Hall guard’s leg just the other day?”
“Shh. He’ll hear you.”
Quiet murmurs spread throughout the crowd.
Pleased by the atmosphere, Zhuge Jun looked down at me with satisfaction.
“If you crawl out through that gate on all fours right now, I might just let this slide.”
The tip of his wooden sword pointed toward the Outer Hall’s entrance.
In other words, he was telling me to leave the family of my own accord.
Beyond that gate lay the outside world.
Freedom did not seem particularly difficult to obtain.
“As your younger brother, how could I do such a thing? Opportunities to witness Elder Brother’s martial arts are not so common.”
“…”
This time, it was Zhuge Jun who fell silent.
Clearly, it wasn’t the reaction he had wanted.
“Have you ever learned martial arts?”
“I learned the Three Talents.”
“What? The Three Talents!? Hahahahaha!”
His loud laughter echoed across the training ground.
The martial artists who followed him laughed as well.
After laughing for quite a while, Zhuge Jun finally calmed himself, covering his mouth with his sleeve.
“The Three Talents? You mean that dance beggars perform in the marketplace while asking for alms?”
“Yes. I’ve learned the Three Talents Mental Method, Footwork, and Sword Art.”
“Heh. So you really are nothing but a mutt.”
The Three Talents Sword Art (Samjae Sword Art).
A basic sword technique based upon the principles of Heaven, Earth, and Man, repeating three simple movements—thrusting, slashing, and sweeping.
It was the lowest-level martial art that wandering swordsmen learned before truly taking up the sword.
In truth, it was almost embarrassing to even call it a martial art.
Considering that, Zhuge Jun’s reaction was only natural.
The nurtured assassins were different from ordinary assassins.
They began at the very bottom of a noble family or sect, eventually earning recognition as one of its members.
Arriving with nothing was only natural.
Of course…
That excluded everything carved into my body in my previous life.
Meanwhile, Hyun Ah clasped both hands tightly, cold sweat dripping down her forehead.
“Young Master… I have to inform the Chief Steward…”
Several martial artists had already blocked the entrance to the training ground.
Everything had been arranged by the Second Young Master.
“Hah… Forgive me. Such ugly words slipped out before I realized.”
“It’s all right, Elder Brother.”
At that instant, Zhuge Jun’s gaze turned ice cold.
“How long do you intend to keep calling me ‘Elder Brother’? It’s starting to grate on my ears.”
Without avoiding his eyes, I looked directly at him.
“We’ll be seeing each other often from now on. You’ll have to get used to it.”
“You little—!”
He shouted before taking a deep breath.
With his foot, he kicked a wooden sword toward me.
I stared at it for a long moment before slowly taking it into my hand.
“I disliked you from the very beginning.”
“…”
Zhuge Jun slowly lowered his stance into a sword posture.
“Those dull, lifeless eyes of yours.”
The corners of my lips curled upward.
“My eyes?”
“That’s right. Those eyes without a single spark of light! Those arrogant eyes that look as though they can see through everything!”
Perhaps because he was still young…
He wasn’t very good at hiding his emotions.
He wouldn’t have survived even a single day in Shihyeol Valley like this.
He had exactly the sort of face that invited a knife between the ribs.
Then…
What would happen if I provoked him one more time?
The thought crossed my mind, and my lips moved before I realized it.
Without making a sound, I mouthed two words.
“You too.”
Only two simple words.
But they carried my true meaning.
The moment Zhuge Jun understood them, veins bulged across his forehead.
“Y-You insolent bastard! I was willing to let this go!”
Keeping eye contact, I didn’t even change my breathing.
Unable to endure it any longer, he kicked off the ground.
His wooden sword rose as though it would pierce straight through my eye.
“Shouldn’t someone stop him!?”
“Surely he isn’t actually going to strike!”
“Wait! That’s a move from the Socheon Sword Art!”
Young though he was, he was still the son of one of the greatest martial families.
Using the family’s basic swordsmanship and the footwork imbued with its principles, he crossed the distance in an instant.
There wasn’t even time to intervene.
Zhuge Jun’s eyes had turned bloodshot.
“A dog doesn’t need two eyes.”
The wooden sword cut through the air as it descended.
I widened my eyes and watched it carefully.
There was no need to dodge.
Its trajectory was perfectly clear before my eyes.
“Block it!”
“Second Young Master, stop!”
“Aah!”
The urgent shouts of the martial artists, now realizing the seriousness of the situation, mixed with Hyun Ah’s scream.
BOOOOOOM!
The pressure of the strike exploded outward.
A violent gust swept across the training ground.
My hair was blown backward, and my clothes whipped wildly.
Crunch.
The wooden sword had been thrust forward with the technique executed perfectly.
Its sharp tip stopped directly in front of my eye.
Yet I had not moved even the slightest bit.
I merely stared at the sword’s tip.
“Huff… Huff…”
Zhuge Jun exhaled the breath he had been holding.
Or rather…
Only then did he realize that his sword had stopped.
“How is this possible…?”
His eyes trembled.
His gaze slowly dropped toward the tip of the wooden sword.
My hand was gripping its very tip.
Zhuge Jun frowned deeply.
“I don’t know what trick you used, but it won’t work again!”
He leapt backward.
A pale aura rose from his body.
For someone so young, his internal energy was impressive.
“As expected of the heir of a great martial family. Your internal energy is excellent.”
“You dare judge me!?”
Unable to contain his anger, Zhuge Jun’s cheeks trembled violently as he shouted and kicked off the ground once more.
At that very instant…
A black figure stepped between us.
“Second Young Master, just what do you think you’re doing in the training ground?”
A heavy voice settled over the entire arena.
Startled, Zhuge Jun instinctively stopped.
His gaze slowly rose.
Standing there was a man dressed in black martial robes.
“Captain of the Flying Swallow Unit… I… that is…”
The Flying Swallow Unit (Biyeondae) was the Zhuge Family’s elite force.
If he’s the Captain of the Flying Swallow Unit… then that must be Zhuge Ho, the Family Head’s younger brother.
That made him my uncle.
Back when I had served in the Martial Alliance, I had crossed paths with him several times.
His face was familiar.
He’s aged quite a bit.
Though older in appearance, the physique he had forged through external cultivation looked even stronger than it had seven years ago.
Zhuge Ho turned toward me.
“Are you injured anywhere?”
“I’m fine, Uncle.”
At the word ‘Uncle,’ his brow twitched ever so slightly.
It seemed he, too, had not fully accepted me as a member of the Zhuge Family.
“That’s good. But Second Young Master, you will explain exactly what happened here.”
“Well… Uncle… I was merely trying to teach Third Brother some martial arts…”
“So you used a sword technique against someone who hasn’t even properly learned martial arts? And you even used internal energy!?”
His thunderous roar shook the training ground.
His voice carried internal energy.
It rang painfully inside everyone’s ears.
The killing intent Zhuge Jun had shown only moments ago disappeared completely.
His eyes now looked as though tears might spill out at any moment.
So he really was just a child.
Zhuge Ho snatched the wooden sword away from him.
“Since this happened during training, it will be judged according to the rules of this place. You’d best prepare yourself.”
“No… that’s not it! He was spying on the training ground first—”
“Zhuge Jun! Are you going to keep making excuses!?”
“…”
His mouth finally shut.
Zhuge Ho then turned to me.
“It is also improper to spy on a martial artist’s training. You bear responsibility for today’s events as well. Return to your quarters and reflect upon your actions.”
“Understood, Uncle. Then I’ll take my leave.”
I quietly lowered my head.
Together with Hyun Ah, I left the training ground.
Even after I turned away, Zhuge Ho’s gaze remained fixed upon my back for quite some time.
* * *
By the time we reached the entrance to my residence within the Inner Hall…
Hyun Ah hurried over to me.
“Young Master, are you all right?”
I casually raised both hands.
“I’m perfectly fine.”
“Today could have ended in disaster. Why did you do that?”
She looked over my body anxiously.
Was this simply the unnecessary concern of my personal maid?
“It seems Elder Brother doesn’t like me very much.”
“Well, of course—”
She stopped herself mid-sentence before hurriedly correcting it.
“As you saw, the Second Young Master has a very fiery temper. You must be especially careful when speaking to him.”
“Fiery…”
“Not ‘fiery…’ Honestly. And when you’re speaking with the elders of the family, you mustn’t look them directly in the eyes like that.”
I’d merely played with Elder Brother for a little while.
Yet now came an endless stream of scolding.
Having gone years without receiving this sort of attention, it felt strangely unfamiliar.
“I understand.”
“Come inside and change your clothes first. Honestly… look at all this dust. Anyone would think you really had been picked up off the streets.”
As she practically pushed me inside, she spoke again.
“And there’s just one more thing I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
Quietly, almost under her breath, she said,
“Please lower your speech. No master speaks so respectfully to his maid.”
She looked completely serious.
It wasn’t a difficult request.
“I’ll do that.”
“And maybe do something about sounding like an old man in a child’s body… Never mind. Let’s just go inside.”
Together, we disappeared beyond the wooden walls of the residence.
* * *
After returning to my quarters, I looked down at my hand.
The hand that had caught the Second Young Master’s wooden sword was swollen and red.
“…Even though I could clearly see it coming, stopping it still left me like this.”
I had trained my body consistently in Shihyeol Valley.
But no matter what…
This was still the body of a child.
“It hurts like hell. I’ve got a long road ahead of me.”
No matter what…
Everything began with regaining my martial strength.
There was no need to rush.
“Along the way, I’ll also have to find a way to overcome the Blood Gu. A clash of qi and blood that forces obedience and submission…”
I’d never even heard of such a thing.
Where in the world had they obtained it?
The greatest reason I had never managed to escape Shihyeol Valley was precisely because of this Blood Gu.
Regardless…
I would remove it, find Heukmyeong, and make him pay for what he had done to the Jin Family.
And then…
“Zhuge Sang. I’ll eliminate that hypocrite who used the destruction of the Jin Family only to further his own ambitions.”
From what I could tell…
The destruction of the Jin Family had merely been an excuse.
Using that name as his banner, Zhuge Sang gathered the righteous martial artists and marched an army south of the Yangtze River.
Only after three sects and five associations belonging to the Evil Alliance (Sado Alliance), which ruled the Black Dao, had been reduced to ashes…
Did the long war between the Righteous and Evil factions finally come to an end.
Standing atop all that bloodshed…
Zhuge Sang was recorded in the history of the Central Plains martial world as a man who had achieved unparalleled merit.
“The quickest method would be to walk into the Family Head’s Hall and stab him openly with a weapon.”
Simple.
But also the first option to discard.
“The Family Head is, after all, a supreme master. Even if caught off guard, there’s no way someone like me, a mere child, could strike him down with a weapon.”
Then what about poison?
Slip poison into the food prepared for the Family Head.
That…
Was a realistic possibility.
I had already learned how to make poisons from medicinal herbs.
It would take several months.
Perhaps a ten percent chance of success.
As for escaping afterward… there would be little hope.
There was only one method with a higher chance of success.
Learn the Zhuge Family’s martial arts and cut him down head-on.
If I could accomplish that, escaping the family after the assassination would also be possible.
Several methods of ambush according to the situation came to mind.
If I can also combine them with the Jin Family’s martial arts, I’ll surpass even the level I reached in my previous life.
The biggest problem, however, was…
Today is only my fourth day in the family.
Since the first day, I haven’t even seen the Family Head’s face.
That was understandable.
He was arguably the busiest man in the entire Central Plains martial world.
Most likely, he never left either the Family Head’s Hall or the Council Hall.
“Hah… If I waste too much time, he may leave for the Martial Alliance.”
I’d expected as much.
Assassination would never be easy.
Still…
A gentleman’s revenge is not too late even after ten years.
Heukmyeong gave me ten years.
There is no need to hurry.
Just as I finished organizing my thoughts—
“What are you talking about!?”
A shout tore through the silence.
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