Chapter 11 : Tell the Head to Come Out!
Chapter 11 : Tell the Head to Come Out!
Cheon Mubaeck suddenly recalled the past.
That is, the very beginning of his past lives, those numerous past lives.
A time when iron was precious.
Before martial arts and internal energy were established, before the dawn of the martial world.
Cheon Mubaeck held a sword to survive.
From the numerous barbarians, ferocious beasts, and bandits who were after him.
'Thinking about it now, it's hard to even call it a sword.'
Should I say it was a blunt lump of iron?
It was not a weapon for cutting beasts or people.
'It was a club. A club.'
It was just a club made of iron. It wasn't for cutting. Crushing the enemy by beating them was the limit of the era and technology at that time.
But Cheon Mubaeck did not do that for just one lifetime.
'You can gain enlightenment just by swinging a sword for decades.'
Moreover, Cheon Mubaeck had swung a sword through several past lives.
As a result, he came to a realization.
He had to cut the enemy even with a blunt blade.
Then he had to cut accurately, concentrating his strength to cut in a single stroke.
He had to end the opponent's life in a single sword strike.
He had to create destructive power with a high level of mental strength and concentration, and perfect distribution and concentration of power.
Cheon Mubaeck completed one form at a time while living for decades in one life.
Naturally, he made them thinking that that life would be his last, so the completeness of each one was high.
Decades of research, effort, and experience were melted into just one form.
No matter how blunt the sword, even if it was a dead sword without a blade, a single form that could cut the opponent.
Cheon Mubaeck completed and established it as three forms over three past lives.
At that time, for the first time, Cheon Mubaeck felt an endless sense of elation while holding a sword. A club that couldn't even cut an enemy when held in someone else's hand, when held in his own hand, it cut down the opponent in a single breath as if it had become a legendary sword of the era.
Numerous common people gathered by Cheon Mubaeck's side to escape the barbarians.
Someone among the people under Cheon Mubaeck's protection asked.
"What is that divine swordsmanship? All the enemies in the world bleed profusely from a single sword strike."
"The swords we use cannot cut the enemy so cleanly."
Cheon Mubaeck thought carefully.
It was a time when the word 'martial arts' itself had not yet been created.
A time when martial arts, internal energy, and all those things were not established.
An era of barbarism where people wore clothes made of animal skins, lived in huts, and barely made a living by farming.
Cheon Mubaeck had looked at his sword.
It was not a divine swordsmanship.
A sword that he had constantly strived to cut the opponent.
He had to cut the opponent within three strikes to be safe, so he had only researched three forms.
Cutting from left to right, from top to bottom.
A sword art that burst the heart with a single thrust.
Cheon Mubaeck thought for a long time and then answered.
"I have to subdue the opponent within three forms, so it's the Samjae Sword."
The birth of the Samjae Sword, and the appearance of the legendary martial artist who announced the dawn of the martial world, who was called the Samjae Sword Saint.
* * *
Sometimes, when faced with something incomprehensible, people have a tendency to forcibly rationalize it with a small piece of evidence.
Heo Seong was the same.
'Was the Young Master a descendant of the Samjae Sword Saint?'
The legend of the Samjae Sword Saint is famous in the martial world.
It's not called a legend for nothing.
Because he was a martial artist who appeared at the dawn of the martial world.
Of course, evaluating it now, the current consensus is that the Samjae Sword Saint was actually a martial artist who did not even reach the peak, as there was no concept of internal energy at that time.
But even so, the legend of the Samjae Sword Saint was constantly repeated in the martial world.
'There was also a story that the Sword Demon, who was driven as a public enemy of the martial world, also used the Samjae Sword of the Samjae Sword Saint.'
It wasn't just the Sword Demon.
200 years ago, 400 years ago, 500 years ago.
Among the numerous masters who appeared in the history of the martial world, there were those who used the powerful Samjae Sword of the Samjae Sword Saint.
They were all masters who had made the martial world tremble.
'There was a suspicion that they were all descendants of the Samjae Sword Saint.'
And there was another common point.
'Their personalities were a bit of a mess.'
Rather than just being ferocious.
There is a saying that they were a bit unpredictable.
Sometimes they would burn like fire, and sometimes they would be colder than the ice of the North Sea Ice Palace.
Anyway, they were famous for their eccentric personalities, but they all used the destructive Samjae Sword of the Samjae Sword Saint, unlike the ordinary Samjae Sword.
So...
'Could it be that the Young Master is really a descendant of the Samjae Sword Saint?'
What if Cheon Mubaeck had inherited the Samjae Sword of the Samjae Sword Saint, which had been passed down since the dawn of the martial world?
Then the current situation could be understood to some extent.
'He was cooped up in his room, concentrating on arts and music. In fact, we don't know what the Young Master really did in his room, do we?'
For 16 years.
No. He had been cooped up in his room since he could speak, so it's almost 10 years.
He might have been learning the martial arts of the Samjae Sword Saint during that time.
Of course, it was unknown how he had contacted his master, but if he was a descendant of the Samjae Sword Saint, it would be nothing to hide in his room, avoiding the eyes of the escort warriors.
When his thoughts reached that point, Heo Seong's body trembled.
'Then the tone and atmosphere of his eyes just now can be understood to some extent.'
The masters who were suspected of being descendants of the Samjae Sword Saint were all famous for their eccentric personalities.
Then the violent appearance that Cheon Mubaeck had shown at the medicinal herb merchant could be understood to some extent.
'Then his saying that he would learn martial arts from Chief Instructor Jang means that he will no longer hide and reveal himself.'
Heo Seong recalled Cheon Mubaeck's age of sixteen.
Come to think of it.
'Wait. The Sword Demon, who was suspected of being a descendant of the Samjae Sword Saint, also suddenly appeared in the martial world like a comet at the age of sixteen and held that famous martial arts tournament!'
Was it just the Sword Demon?
'The Sword Hero of Shandong, Wi Cheon-ak! He also conquered Shandong with a single sword at the age of sixteen! He was also suspected of being a descendant of the Samjae Sword Saint!'
Heo Seong shuddered.
The hypothesis that he had been half-believing and half-doubting was fitting together in his head.
If Cheon Mubaeck had read Heo Seong's mind right now, he would have been quite surprised.
In fact, the Samjae Sword Saint, the Sword Demon, the Sword Hero of Shandong.
They were all one of Cheon Mubaeck's numerous past lives.
Although there was a deep misunderstanding, Heo Seong had surprisingly hit the core of the truth.
Anyway, with this, Heo Seong understood all of Cheon Mubaeck's actions.
And he erased his suspicion towards Cheon Mubaeck.
A descendant of the Samjae Sword Saint.
Although he was just an escort warrior, wasn't he also a man who had once aspired to be a martial arts master?
"Let's go in, Escort Warrior Heo."
"I will follow your command! My lord!"
"...My lord?"
Leaving Cheon Mubaeck's dumbfounded voice behind, Heo Seong entered the gisaeng house more confidently than anyone else.
* * *
'It's not bad to have a subordinate or two.'
The original Cheon Mubaeck's personality did not match that of Cheon Mubaeck, who had lived through numerous past lives.
Wasn't it a peculiar personality that was extremely introverted and only engrossed in arts and music?
So no matter how carefully Cheon Mubaeck acted, he couldn't help but give a slight sense of incongruity to other people.
But in order for Cheon Mubaeck to reach the Sword Kiuk, he had to jump into the storms of the martial world.
Then it would be difficult with the original Cheon Mubaeck's personality.
A child who was introverted and only interested in arts and music suddenly jumps into the martial world?
How would people accept that?
Unknowingly, Cheon Mubaeck was trying to show a gradually changing appearance.
Cheon Mubaeck had secretly revealed his original personality in front of his body servant, Jeombak. Things like his tone and atmosphere. Jeombak was gradually getting used to that side of Cheon Mubaeck.
'Now he's a guy who would believe me even if I said I made meju with red beans.'
From the moment he treated his ankle, Jeombak had become more than just a body servant, he was more than a confidant.
Someone to whom he could show everything without any problems.
So he had acted as he pleased at the medicinal herb merchant.
'The only thing that bothers me is this Escort Warrior Heo.'
In fact, he had intended to threaten him if necessary.
To not go around blabbering about what had happened.
But he had entered the gisaeng house on his own, calling him 'my lord' and what not, and was cutting down the bastards who were picking a fight, wasn't he?
As he went through several past lives, his eye for people naturally developed.
A person who does not speak nonsense and is devoted to the person he is loyal to. He felt it by intuition and could be sure of it.
'That's not urgent right now, so let's leave it for now. He seems useful for now. If he shows any sign of being a liability, I can just deal with him right away.'
It was convenient for Cheon Mubaeck to have someone he could use as a subordinate.
Cheon Mubaeck tilted his head as he watched Heo Seong cutting down the pimps of the gisaeng house who were attacking with great momentum.
'It is the Blood Demon Sect.'
The Blood Demon Sect.
It was a heretical cult that had caused a disaster in the martial world about 400 years ago.
They were strange bastards who worshiped snakes as gods.
'I don't think they were this weak.'
The pimps were not just thugs.
They had accumulated a fair amount of internal energy. But at most, they were at the second-rate level, so Heo Seong could handle them sufficiently.
The situation changed next. A one-eyed man popped out from behind the pimps who were rushing in.
"What's going on!"
In an instant, the surroundings became quiet.
"I am Neung-heo, the general manager of the Lotus Pavilion."
"Neung-heo?"
"Yes. The original general manager went missing, and that man took over as the general manager of the Lotus Pavilion."
"I see."
At Escort Warrior Heo's explanation, Cheon Mubaeck nodded his head.
Thanks to Heo Seong, who knew the inside of the gisaeng house thoroughly from frequenting it, he was able to enter the core part quickly.
"What's this. You. Aren't you that escort warrior from the Azure Star Escort Agency? And the brat behind you is that immature youngest child?"
Neung-heo said as if he was dumbfounded.
"Escort Warrior Heo! Did you come here to die today?"
In an instant, a terrifying momentum poured out from around Neung-heo.
One of his eyes was torn, so his impression was very dirty, and as he set the mood with that face and revealed his internal energy without reservation, the dignified Heo Seong flinched for a moment.
It couldn't be helped.
'Huh. This is the Blood Demon Sect. The end of the first-rate? No. He's on the verge of the peak.'
His level seemed to be similar to Heo Seong's. But his momentum was different.
Cheon Mubaeck stepped forward.
"I didn't come here to die, I came here to kill."
"Huh. This damn lady must have suddenly hit puberty."
"Lady?"
"Your face is pretty and your waist is thin, so how about working as a gisaeng in our gisaeng house? I heard you play instruments well too? It's perfect for being a gisaeng."
"Wow. This is new."
Ha, I can't believe it. I can't believe it.
It's a genuinely new feeling.
"I've lived my whole life, but I've never heard anyone call me a lady or tell me to be a gisaeng. Wow. It's really unfair to live a long life."
"Live a long life? You've been sickly, so have you lost your mind?"
At that moment, Cheon Mubaeck flicked his finger.
The internal energy that burst from his upper dantian gathered at his fingertips. Cheon Mubaeck flew a finger wind without hesitation.
Ssaek!
Neung-heo was startled and drew his sword. But the finger wind had already struck Neung-heo's wrist as he was about to draw his sword.
Puak!
"Keuk!"
Neung-heo screamed and grabbed his right hand, which was bleeding profusely. Half of his wrist was gone.
Cheon Mubaeck flicked his finger and looked around.
"Alright. From now on, any bastard who takes even one step will have his head fly off, not his wrist."
"...!"
The pimps around him froze and couldn't move.
'It worked.'
In fact, it would be troublesome for Cheon Mubaeck if the fight dragged on.
He had just now connected his muscle meridians and started accumulating internal energy. If he overdid it, it would be no problem to subdue everyone here. It would be very easy. The problem was the fact that if he 'overdid it', it could really put a great strain on his body.
So he quickly flew a finger wind and blew off Neung-heo's right hand with minimal internal energy.
Looking at the position of the sword at his waist, the position of his feet, and the movement of his waist, the bastard was right-handed.
'Then this guy won't be able to attack recklessly now.'
The pimps who had watched this terrifying scene were also terrified of Cheon Mubaeck's martial prowess and did not dare to attack recklessly.
Cheon Mubaeck, who had overwhelmed his surroundings with a single judgment and action, looked at Neung-heo, who was drawing his sword with his left hand.
Seureung!
"Neung-heo, now that you can't hold a sword with your right hand, how about you put on some powder and be a gisaeng? Your face is like a rice cake, so you probably can't do that either, but if you dance with a sword, you might be able to make a living as a gisaeng, right?"
"Eek!"
"Sigh, you bastard. What's the point of a right-handed person holding a sword with his left hand? You bastard. If you're a guy who begs for food from the Blood Demon Sect, you should at least be good at grasping the situation."
Neung-heo's face turned pale.
To think that he had even noticed his identity.
"W-What do you want!"
"Are you the head here?"
"What?"
"This, this."
Cheon Mubaeck flicked his thumb.
Neung-heo's face contorted strangely.
"There's nothing to get from asking a small fry. You have to hit the head for things like this. Tell the head to come out."
"...!"
When Neung-heo stood stiffly and said nothing, Cheon Mubaeck shouted at the pimps around him.
"Alright. You guys have two choices now. Either bring your head who's hiding somewhere. Or stand here blankly and watch this bastard Neung-heo die as his limbs are cut off one by one."
At those words, Neung-heo shouted like a scream.
"Bring the Master of the House right now!"
(End of Chapter)
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