Return of the Heavenly Sword

Chapter 7. It's Nothing So Grand (3)

Immediately after bursting into a refreshing laugh, a drowsy and languid sensation washed over Jin Yuseong's entire body.

Unfortunately, the eyes that had momentarily opened slammed shut again as soon as he had beheaded the Quick Blade Gang's leader.

For a short while, he blankly entrusted his body to that drowsy sensation.

“D-do you think you can get away with th-this?”

One of the three men whose limbs were not yet broken said so, his face pale.

“The, the Iron Dragon Sect will not stand by idly!”

“Iron Dragon Sect? You don't mean the Iron Dragon Sect of Immortal Spirit?”

At Jin Yuseong's reaction, which seemed to recognize the Iron Dragon Sect, the ruffian shouted confidently.

“Ye, yes!”

However, at Jin Yuseong's reaction, the man belatedly realized something was wrong.

“Hahaha. So the Iron Dragon Sect was still around now. Of course.”

Jin Yuseong said so with a smile full of joy.

The Iron Blood Gang in his hometown of Heavenly Sun Village when he returned after ten years of training in his past life.

The name of the organization that used the Iron Blood Gang as its collection agency was the Steel Sinew Sect.

The name was taken from the phrase Close Kin of Steel Sinews, meaning unorthodox bastards who were as close as family.

It was truly a dog-like name.

In any case, the Steel Sinew Sect was scheduled to take control not only of Heavenly Sun Village but also all the villages in this vicinity. In a few years.

And one of the forces that would become a pillar of the Steel Sinew Sect was none other than the Iron Dragon Sect.

The reason Jin Yuseong had chosen this path among the many routes to Wondrous Ridge Mountain was to stop by Immortal Spirit in the first place.

To check if the Iron Dragon Sect bastards existed even in this era. And if they did, to clean them up in advance.

But now that he had heard the news that the Iron Dragon Sect was still around, how could he not be happy?

At the predator's smile, having found its next prey, the man who had mentioned the Iron Dragon Sect wore a grim expression.

‘S-still around now? Wh-what does that mean?’

The man realized something strange in the boy's words.

However, that thought did not last long.

Fwoosh.

The boy, who had been laughing refreshingly, preemptively lunged forward and swung his scabbard at the man's leg.

Crack.

“Kuaaaaaak!!”

Seeing the leg of the man who had uttered the threat break, the other two men hastily knelt.

Thud.

“P-please spare us!!”

At their shouts, Jin Yuseong asked with a languid expression.

“When did I say I was going to kill you?”

“N-no, young master!”

“Th-thank you for sparing us!”

While shouting so, the two who knelt surreptitiously rolled their eyes. Their gazes shifted between the blood splattered on Jin Yuseong's face and the corpse of the beheaded Quick Blade Gang leader.

Jin Yuseong, who paid no mind to their gazes, issued a command.

“From now on, search the Quick Blade Gang high and low, and bring all the wealth they have gathered so far.”

Having said that, Jin Yuseong, as if remembering something, raised the corners of his mouth slightly and added.

“Anyone who wants to run can run to the Iron Dragon Sect. If you want to go to the Yellow Springs with them.”

“We, we will absolutely not run away!”

The two shouted hastily and began to search the Quick Blade Gang in a flurry.

“Tsk.”

As Jin Yuseong clicked his tongue as if disappointed that they weren't running away, the movements of the two men searching the Quick Blade Gang became noticeably faster.

Before long, the two had completely cleaned out the Quick Blade Gang's wealth.

Perhaps because the village was small, or perhaps because the period of harassing the residents was not long, there wasn't much wealth.

“Carry it and follow me.”

After saying so, Jin Yuseong returned to the inn with the two men who were panting under the weight of the wealth.

The father and daughter looked startled.

It was strange not to be surprised when the boy who had left the inn just a little while ago returned covered in blood, and behind him, two black dao men from the Quick Blade Gang appeared carrying wealth.

Jin Yuseong gathered his languid mind and politely spoke to the innkeeper.

“These are the assets the leader of the Quick Blade Gang gathered by exploiting the villagers until now. Since you, the owner, have lived here for a long time and know well, please distribute them appropriately and return them to the residents.”

“I, I will do so.”

While the innkeeper replied with a surprised expression, the two black dao men grunted as they set down the wealth they had brought on the inn floor.

“Phew.”

“Then we shall be on our way.”

The way they wiped the beads of sweat flowing on their foreheads made them look like diligent porters working at some escort agency.

“Wait.”

However, Jin Yuseong had not forgotten their true nature.

“If you guys leave unharmed, how unfair would that be to your crippled Quick Blade Gang comrades. Right?”

“Yes…?”

“What kind of dog-shit…?”

The two, who were staring at Jin Yuseong with dumbfounded expressions, belatedly realized he was serious.

“Damn it!”

“Die!!”

They spat out curses and swung their daos, but their skills were all shabby.

Crack!

After breaking one man's arm or leg with a single strike each, Jin Yuseong asked.

“By the way, where did the food go?”

At that question, the owner said with a start.

“I-it seemed it would be tasteless if it got cold, so I was keeping it warm. I-I will bring it again.”

“Oh my. You don't need to go to such trouble. Hahaha.”

As Jin Yuseong expressed his gratitude and willingly bowed, the innkeeper bowed even deeper than Jin Yuseong and hurried to the kitchen.

Soon after, the owner returned with chicken from which steam was rising.

As if he had no interest in the men who were lying on the floor groaning in pain, Jin Yuseong began to tear into the chicken.

The girl, who had been observing him for a while, perhaps because of her young age, couldn't contain her curiosity and approached him.

“Did you really take care of the entire Quick Blade Gang?”

Jin Yuseong, who was eating the chicken combatively, nodded his head.

Imagining the romantic picture she had only heard in rumors and stories, the girl asked.

“Then by any chance, are you a chivalrous hero?”

At that question, Jin Yuseong, who had taken his eyes off the chicken, swallowed what was in his mouth and replied.

“It's nothing so grand. It's just because I have a disease.”

“A disease…?”

When the girl asked back, Jin Yuseong nodded.

“That's right. I have a disease where I can't stand trash-like bastards. I suppose it's a form of mysophobia.”

“……”

The girl couldn't say a word and looked at Jin Yuseong with a complicated expression.

From a beggar's appearance with caked-on dirt, now his face and clothes were splattered with blood, and his mouth was glistening with bits of chicken and grease.

Far from having mysophobia, his appearance was one that even other beggars would call ‘big brother.’

While the girl was at a loss for words, Jin Yuseong once again devoured the chicken like a madman.

After finishing his meal in an instant, Jin Yuseong stood up and placed a sword on the table.

The girl swallowed dryly.

‘A ch-chivalrous hero, my foot! He, he was the same kind of person as them!’

Thinking he was threatening her with that sword, she mustered her courage.

“Wh-why are you putting that sword there? A-are you trying to threaten us?”

She was scared of the boy, but she didn't want to lose the inn to someone just like the Quick Blade Gang.

At the girl's shout, the innkeeper exclaimed in surprise.

“I-it’s alright, young master! You, you took care of the Quick Blade Gang bastards, so we, we won’t take any payment.”

At the shouts of the girl and the owner in turn, Jin Yuseong tilted his head and replied.

“This sword is just for the meal. It's not a high-quality sword, but iron is iron, so you can just sell it to a smithy or melt it down to make a kitchen knife, right? Or you can just use it for self-defense.”

Only then did the girl and the owner realize their misunderstanding and blush.

He didn't know about the areas around Henan where the imperial palace was located, but in this vicinity, bartering was commonplace.

At least silver and gold taels were used as currency here, but those two were too expensive.

Therefore, when exchanging cheap goods, rice, cloth, low-quality iron, or copper were also used as a kind of currency.

The reason Jin Yuseong had packed an extra sword when leaving Heavenly Sun Village was the same. It was partly to prepare for the case of his sword breaking, but the bigger reason was to use it as money like this.

“I-I'm sorry!”

The girl hastily bowed her head and shouted, but the boy seemed uninterested.

“Then I will be on my way.”

Jin Yuseong turned to leave the inn.

Now that he had confirmed the Iron Dragon Sect was in Immortal Spirit, there was no reason to waste time here.

But before Jin Yuseong could leave the inn, the owner's voice caught his steps.

“P-please wait a moment, young master.”

“Young master? It's nothing so grand.”

“H-how can we receive a sword for just one chicken? We would be criticized for this. Besides, didn't you help us? The sky is already getting dark, so why don't you rest comfortably for a night before you go?”

At the owner's words, Jin Yuseong turned his head and looked outside. It was just as the owner said.

‘Was the distance from here to Immortal Spirit about half a day?’

If he left now, he would likely arrive at dawn.

Moreover, his body was screaming at him to rest, and his mental energy was depleted, leaving him in a daze.

Normally, he would have headed to Immortal Spirit regardless of whether his body broke down, but he suddenly remembered the elder's farewell.

‘Did he say that cooking with high heat in a hurry would ruin the food?’

It was beautiful advice imbued with the wisdom of life.

So much so that he wanted to smash the heads of all the Iron Dragon Sect members who were likely harassing the diligent residents of Immortal Spirit, just like the elder.

Just as another wave of anger surged and he felt the urge to head to Immortal Spirit, the innkeeper spoke with a worried expression.

“Your hands seem to be badly injured, so why don't you get some treatment? I'll stop by the pharmacy and get some ointment.”

Following the owner's gaze, he saw blood flowing from the palm of his right hand.

Having overexerted himself by swinging the sword too much, being only on his second day of learning martial arts, the blisters on his palm had not just formed but burst.

Looking down at his pathetic palm for a moment, Jin Yuseong let out a light sigh and replied.

“I have medicine, so it's fine. Then, I'll stay for just one day.”

For today, he decided to follow the elder's advice.

“Then, to wash off your wounds as well, I'll prepare a bath first.”

“A bath is fine. I didn't clean up the Quick Blade Gang for this.”

“The price of one sword includes the bath.”

At the owner's considerate words, a faint smile formed on Jin Yuseong's lips.

“Then, I shall wash up and sleep. Thank you.”

As Jin Yuseong expressed his gratitude with a clasped hands greeting, the owner hastily bowed his head.

Soon after, the waiter girl moved to prepare the bathwater, and after finishing the preparations, she called for Jin Yuseong.

As he submerged his body in the wooden tub filled with warm water, the muscles of his entire body, which had reached their limit, screamed. A throbbing pain rose from the palm where the blisters had burst.

Even as he felt pain throughout his body, he felt a languid sensation as if he would fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes. It seemed it was because his mental energy had also been squeezed to its limit.

A smile naturally formed on his lips.

It wasn't just because he liked this drowsy feeling.

“It's rewarding.”

He didn't go around punishing trash-like bastards to receive a reward from someone.

Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel a sense of reward when he was repaid like this.

***

Early the next morning.

He woke up from sleep with a much more refreshed body.

“It's good to be young.”

It might have been partly because he had washed his body with warm water the previous night, but the recovery speed was certainly incomparable to his previous body, which was fifty-four years old.

His hand was the same.

Perhaps because he had applied the medicine the elder gave him and slept, the wound that had formed when the blister burst was already healing.

He got up with a refreshed body and performed a short session of energy circulation.

After applying medicine to his hand again and wrapping it with a cloth, he packed his things and went down to the first floor, to find that the inn's father and daughter were already up and preparing for business.

He couldn't help but nod his head.

Such diligent people deserved to see the light.

On the other hand, thinking about how unorthodox bastards like the Quick Blade Gang or the Black Serpent Gang lived, a sigh escaped him on its own.

As expected, should I have killed them?

Just as that thought came to him, the innkeeper's voice was heard.

“Are you awake?”

“Yes. I was thinking of leaving now.”

“Oh my, at least have some breakfast before you go. I prepared a chicken, just in case.”

He hesitated for a moment, but soon nodded his head and took a seat at a table.

Since he had to train on the way, it seemed best to eat the meat in advance.

He had to quickly build up his external energy to handle more trash.

He was still a long way off, seeing as his limbs were trembling even when dealing with mere rural factions like the Quick Blade Gang or the Black Serpent Gang.

After stuffing the meat into his mouth as if inhaling it, he left the inn and headed towards Immortal Spirit.