Return of the Heavenly Sword

Chapter 19. Young Master Ghost Sword (5)

The bandits snorted at the boy’s continuous nonsense.

“Leader. It seems that’s the guy.”

“You mean that madman they said was possessed by a ghost?”

“He supposedly went down the cliff, but he managed to climb back up alive, just as a possessed bastard would.”

“Hahahaha.”

Unlike during the previous battle, the bandits laughed quite cockily.

At that moment, the merchant leader, who had been trembling in fear, hurriedly shouted.

“H-hey, you. Run away, quickly!”

The bandits, who were in the middle of laughing, let out a chuckle.

“Can’t let that happen.”

“Of course. No matter how crazy he is, it's the day our Great Tiger Fortress started its first business. We can't just let him go.”

At the bandits’ words, the boy smiled brightly.

“I had a feeling, but it seems you guys are indeed the Great Tiger Fortress.”

Even though they had just started their business today, the boy acted as if he had heard the name Great Tiger Fortress before.

But the bandits didn't pay it much mind.

It was, after all, the words of a possessed madman.

And that madman suddenly charged towards the bandits.

With a smile that said he was overjoyed to death, he performed a movement art that was uncharacteristically fast for a madman.

Even as they were startled, the bandits displayed a concise spearmanship unbecoming of bandits.

One of the escorts urgently shouted.

“Be careful!!”

But that shout was truly meaningless.

Whoosh.

The boy, as if he could see the trajectory of the spear, simply dodged it with a concise movement.

Fwip.

Taking another step, the boy finally closed in on the nearest bandit.

Swish.

With a gruesome sound, the bandit’s head was severed.

While the bandits were flustered by the series of unexpected events, the boy had already moved and swung his sword again at the bandit next to him.

The escorts stared at the scene as if they had seen a ghost.

“……”

On the other hand, the remaining bandits finally retreated hastily and thrust their spears.

But the boy dodged their spears without difficulty and once again closed in on one of them and swung his sword.

Swish.

As three men died and fell in an instant, a gruesome silence fell over the area.

‘W-what is this?’

The merchant leader felt as if he himself had been possessed by a ghost.

“Stand back!”

Only then did the Great Tiger Fortress leader shout and step forward, and the two bandits who were lucky enough to survive quickly moved away from the boy.

“Now I see, you must be that Young Master Ghost Sword.”

“Young Master Ghost Sword?”

At the Great Tiger Fortress leader’s words, Jin Yuseong tilted his head.

It was the first time he had heard his own alias, which had just begun to spread among the public.

But it didn't really matter what he was called, so Jin Yuseong soon smiled brightly.

The important thing was the fact that he could kill these guys.

Fwip!

Jin Yuseong boldly rushed towards the Great Tiger Fortress leader.

The Great Tiger Fortress leader, who was in a ready stance, swung his saber the moment Jin Yuseong entered the range of his blade.

As expected, just like the other bandits, it was a concise technique unbecoming of a bandit.

Jin Yuseong used his movement art to narrowly dodge the strike.

Unlike when he was dealing with the previous bandits, he was unable to close in further and had to dodge the saber several times.

Jin Yuseong let out a deep sigh.

“Haa.”

“Hahaha. The brat is finally getting scared!”

“You’re so pathetic, my eyes won’t open.”

“……Eyes?”

The thought of 'what kind of bullshit is this' crossed the Great Tiger Fortress leader's mind.

Even so, the Great Tiger Fortress leader faithfully swung his saber, and Jin Yuseong dodged the successive attacks as if he were out for a neighborhood stroll, constantly muttering to himself.

“Sigh. Still, he seems to be better than that Byeok Cheollyong bastard……. Getting stronger quickly is also a problem. At this rate, it will become increasingly difficult to open my eyes.”

At the sight of the boy spouting crazy nonsense even while fighting him, the Great Tiger Fortress leader shouted.

“How dare you look down on me, you son of a bitch!”

Following that, the Great Tiger Fortress leader's movements became faster and rougher, as if he had drawn out more internal energy.

At this, a faint smile appeared on the boy's lips.

“A good attitude. Of course. Since my eyes have closed because of you bastards, you have to take responsibility.”

“What nonsense have you been spouting since earlier!”

After dodging the saber swung by the enraged Great Tiger Fortress leader, or clashing with it by infusing his sword with internal energy several times.

“Haa.”

The boy’s expression darkened again.

“I was an idiot for expecting anything from trash less than morons, who, not content with deserting the army, could only think of banditry as a way to make a living.”

The movement of the Great Tiger Fortress leader, who was in the middle of swinging his saber, faltered.

“H-how do you know that?”

The Great Tiger Fortress leader and the bandits were former government soldiers.

The Great Tiger Fortress leader, in particular, was a man who had started as a common soldier and rose to the rank of Centurion solely through merit and skill.

The only problem was that he had caused an incident and deserted with his subordinates.

‘Could it be, a man sent by the government?’

Such a thought crossed the Great Tiger Fortress leader’s mind, but it didn't make sense in many ways.

‘Did he just guess by looking at my martial arts?’

The practical, concise, and simple martial arts unique to the military. If one had experience with the military's martial arts, there was a good chance they could tell just by looking at the martial arts of the leader or the bandits.

At that moment, the boy, who had been frowning as if he had realized something, let out a faint exclamation of admiration.

“Ah. There was such a simple solution.”

Following that, a huge smile spread across the boy's lips.

“I just have to find stronger trash.”

Realizing that there was no need to waste time with this guy trying to open his eyes, Jin Yuseong moved decisively.

The internal energy, which had grown incomparably larger than it was until yesterday, raced through his blood vessels and gathered at the Surging Fountain acupoint.

Boom!

The ground exploded, and Jin Yuseong’s body shot forward like an arrow.

“!?”

At the boy’s explosive movement, which was different from before, the Great Tiger Fortress leader hurriedly swung his saber.

Despite the hasty movement, the Great Tiger Fortress leader's saber flew precisely towards Jin Yuseong's neck.

Observing the movement of the saber, Jin Yuseong took another step.

The immense internal energy spread throughout his body, stimulating various blood vessels.

Using the principles of movement arts, he sharply shifted his center of gravity to the left and twisted his body.

As a result, Jin Yuseong's body twisted sharply, and the Great Tiger Fortress leader's saber, which had been aimed at his neck, cut through the empty air in vain.

At the same time, Jin Yuseong's posture twisted again according to the flow of internal energy.

Thwack.

Before he knew it, Jin Yuseong's sword had pierced the Great Tiger Fortress leader's heart.

It was a movement that the Jin Yuseong of a few days ago could have imagined but not realized.

Soon after, the Great Tiger Fortress leader, with his heart pierced, let out a choked groan.

“Keok……”

Whether a groan was heard from above his head or not, Jin Yuseong muttered a brief reflection.

“It was worth wasting nearly ten days to find the He Shou Wu.”

It wasn't because he had become rapidly stronger thanks to the Ten-Thousand Year He Shou Wu.

If he had obtained the spiritual medicine in just one day, he would have left Wondrous Ridge Mountain just like that.

Then, these pieces of trash might have set up camp on Wondrous Ridge Mountain in the future.

“Ah. There are still two left.”

Realizing that he still had work to do, Jin Yuseong pulled out the sword that had been embedded in the Great Tiger Fortress leader's heart.

At that, blood gushed out from his heart and splattered Jin Yuseong’s face.

Ignoring it, Jin Yuseong grinned and approached the remaining two bandits.

At his innocent smile, made with a face drenched in blood, goosebumps naturally rose on the skin of the escorts and the merchant leader who were watching the fight.

‘A-a monster worse than the bandits has appeared.’

While they were trembling in fear, the two remaining bandits also dropped their spears with terrified faces and fell to their knees.

“P-please, spare our lives!”

“T-today was our first time being bandits. P-please, just this once!”

“B-banditry, we… we will never do it again!”

At the sight of the two begging for forgiveness, rubbing their hands until the skin peeled off, Jin Yuseong nodded.

“Well, you weren't here until yesterday, so I guess today is your first time.”

“Y-yes, that’s right!”

“I-I will truly live a good life from now on!”

The two bandits, feeling a hope that they could survive, desperately rubbed their hands and shouted.

Jin Yuseong, who was watching them, said nonchalantly.

“But, you have to pay for the sins you committed before that, right?”

“Pardon?”

Swish.

Before they could ask anything more, a gruesome sound echoed, and the necks of the two remaining bandits were severed.

Soon after, as blood spurted out like a fountain from the necks of the two bandits, Jin Yuseong muttered softly.

“I have to resolve the grudges of the women you bastards harassed, don’t I?”

A few years later, it would be revealed that this was the past of these bastards, after they became famous as one of the Seventy-Two Fortresses of the Green Forest.

These bastards were men who had repeatedly raped and harassed women living near the border, and had deserted after accidentally messing with the daughter of a wealthy family.

Whether they committed banditry or not, they were guys who should have been killed in the first place. From Jin Yuseong’s perspective.

Of course, this was only from his perspective, who knew the future.

‘Wh-where are the women here for him to make such an excuse?’

From the perspective of those watching from nearby, their heads couldn't help but spin.

At that moment, the boy, who had gone from being in rags to a blood-soaked mess, suddenly turned and walked towards them.

The merchant leader, the escorts, and the porters behind them felt like their legs would give out and they would collapse right then and there.

Shortly after the distance had closed a bit.

Jin Yuseong and the merchant leader opened their mouths at the same time.

“I’m sorry for being late.”

“P-please, just spare our lives!”

“???”

“???”

The two stared at each other blankly, unable to easily understand what the other had said.

“L-late? Wh-what do you mean by that?”

The merchant leader asked, using extremely formal language to a boy who looked to be at least his son’s age, and Jin Yuseong slowly scanned his surroundings.

To be precise, he looked at the escorts and the head escort, who were covered in injuries.

The head escort’s face was pale as if he had suffered a severe internal injury, and all the escorts were injured.

In particular, the escorts whose arms and legs had been pierced could permanently lose a limb depending on the progress of their treatment.

“Ah……”

Their slacking attitude, the fact that they took a lot of money for their reputation, and how they were helplessly pushed back by the bandits.

They were not people he liked, but in any case, people were seriously injured, so it was not a laughing matter.

“Ahem. It’s not like you knew and were late. There’s no need to apologize.”

Somehow, seeing his attitude, which was much calmer than when he was fighting the bandits, the merchant leader cautiously used a more relaxed tone.

Following the merchant leader, the head escort also opened his mouth, enduring his nauseous stomach.

“Keuk. That’s right, chivalrous warrior. We are just grateful that you took care of the bandits.”

Had a sense of camaraderie formed? The merchant leader and the head escort looked at each other and smiled faintly.

Watching them, Jin Yuseong also smiled softly and asked back.

“Ah. By the way, what did you mean just now? When you asked me to please spare your life?”

The expressions of the merchant leader and the head escort, who were looking at each other, crumpled.

‘Why did you have to say something so unnecessary!’

‘You were thinking the same thing!!’

They simultaneously turned their heads and answered Jin Yuseong’s question.

“I-I meant thank you for saving our lives. Th-those bandit bastards st-startled me so much that my w-words came out wrong. Ha. Hahaha.”

“Th-the merchant leader is right. Ah! By-by the way, those bandits called the chivalrous warrior the Young Master Ghost Sword. I-is it true that you are that Young Master Ghost Sword?”

Hearing the alias again, Jin Yuseong tilted his head and asked the head escort.

“Have you heard the alias Young Master Ghost Sword?”

“Ahem. I also heard it recently. They say there is a Young Master in this area who never forgives any Black Path bastards. I heard he is called the Young Master Ghost Sword especially because his sword skills are so ghost-like.”

The head escort skillfully toned down the rumor in this urgent moment.

The rumor was that he slaughtered any Black Path members he came across, so his nature was also said to be like a ghost.

But if he were to spit out a rumor that treated the person to his face like a murderer, there was a risk of becoming a victim of that rumor.

Especially the image of him grinning after cutting off the necks of two men with an absurd excuse at the end would not erase from his mind.

‘R-rumors are bound to be exaggerated, but th-this rumor is far from enough.’

Both the merchant leader and the head escort were trying their best not to show their fear, even as they were terrified.

It was because after hearing the rumor about the Young Master Ghost Sword, the fearsome boy was frowning for some reason, as if deep in thought.

Soon after, the boy, who had finished his thoughts, opened his mouth.

“I have a request for all of you.”

“Yes! Yes, yes! Please speak, Young Master-nim.”

“Aigoo, a-a request from our savior? P-please, just say the word.”

“There’s no need to call me Young Master or savior. However, when you go down the mountain, could you please spread a rumor in every village you visit?”

“Wh-what kind of rumor?”

“That the Young Master Ghost Sword is a crazy murderer who, whether it’s the Black Path or bandits, cuts off their limbs and splits open their bellies on sight, then bathes in the innards and blood that spill out, so no one should ever commit any evil deeds in this area.”

The reason Jin Yuseong had been frowning.

It was because the rumor about himself was too mild.

Of course, it wasn't that he was hung up on aliases or reputation. He had long since passed that age.

It was simply to scare the villains.

He had only one body, so it was impossible for him to monitor everyone even in just this vicinity.

However, if the infamy of the Young Master Ghost Sword spread widely, mediocre ruffians wouldn't even dare to commit evil deeds in this area.

As for the Black Path masters or crazy bastards who had lost their fear and ran rampant without caring about such rumors, he needed to personally visit and kill them anyway.

Of course, this was just Jin Yuseong’s side of the story.

“……”

The merchant leader and the head escort were staring at Jin Yuseong with cold sweat running down their backs.

No, they were so afraid to make eye contact that they just turned their bodies towards him and slightly lowered their gaze.

‘A-as expected. H-he really was a madman.’

‘I-I’ve seen people who make up heroic tales, but th-this is the first time I’ve seen someone ask to spread such a heinous rumor.’