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Chapter 42. Twin Swords of the Wind and Clouds (17)

Xiahou Jinxuan’s breath caught in his throat.

BOOM!

“Ugh!”

It was hard to believe that such an explosion could be produced by the collision of two human limbs made of flesh. With a resounding boom, Xiahou Jinxuan was flung backward and rolled helplessly across the ground.

Spurt!

Blood flowed from his mouth, hinting at an internal injury. Xiahou Jinxuan could no longer move, and he just lay on the ground with his eyes closed.

“It looks like he’s passed out.”

“Amazing! Uh...I mean...how troublesome! Aren’t we the ones who have to carry him?”

Even though their captain had been dealt such a terrible blow, Mu Bi and Peng Tianhao were very calm. No...if anything, their expressions showed that they were barely holding back their delight.

Woo-Moon then looked over toward them.

“Huh? No, no, no. We don’t want to fight you. Well, we’ll see you later then, dear hyung,” Mu Bi said as he lifted Xiahou Jinxuan and put him on his back.

Peng Tianhao looked over at Woo-Moon with a cold gaze, but the subtle curl in his lips betrayed his actual feelings.

“You’re really my kind of person. I apologize for assuming you were inferior. When we meet again someday, I would like to have a bout with you.”

After the two Wind Squadrons members said their pieces, they turned and left the Inksmoke Gang stronghold.

"Hmm."

Woo-Moon scratched his forehead, after which he suddenly turned back and looked over at Yu-Yeon, who was still sitting on the wall.

“Hello. I apologize. I heard you were the only close friend my younger brother had. How rude of me to take this long to greet you. My name is Song Woo-Moon.”

Bi Yeo-Jeong, whom Woo-Gang had feelings for, had been Woo-Gang’s close friend until just recently. Unfortunately, that was no longer the case now, so Woo-Moon’s words weren’t wrong.

“Hmpf!”

However, the only response he got in return was a cold snort.

‘Huh? Did I do something wrong?’

No, Woo-Moon was sure of it. He hadn’t done anything of the sort. Even when she had tailed him, he had just let it slide, and even now, he smiled as brightly as he could while he greeted her.

However, for Yu-Yeon, who had misunderstood Woo-Moon’s intentions, that smile of his was just hateful.

‘You bastard! You dared to tease me like that, and now you just smile like nothing\'s wrong?’

Yu-Yeon swiftly jerked her head to the side and refused to look at Woo-Moon.

‘Is she saying that she doesn’t even want to talk to me? Tsk, whatever.’

As she was his brother’s friend, he had been polite to her. However, she seemed not to want to talk to him even though he had put his pride aside. Thus, he simply ignored Yu-Yeon and turned back, walking toward Unhan.

‘W-what?! Is he just returning without even apologizing? Isn’t he supposed to say “I’m so sorry for putting you in a troublesome spot”?’

Of course, that entire scenario had been something Yu-Yeon had created in her mind, and thus, Woo-Moon had no way of knowing. She didn’t care about that, though; her cheeks puffed out as she got herself angrier by the second.

‘You damn bastard!’

She clenched her tiny little fists and cursed Woo-Moon in her mind. However, without even realizing it, she started following him once more.

Of course, Woo-Moon sensed her doing that.

‘What is up with her?’

He had just been walking at first, but he dashed forward using the Northern Wind Steps as soon as he had passed the city and arrived at the main road.

“Huh? W-wait! HEY!”

Yu-Yeon had no way to keep up with Woo-Moon if Woo-Moon were to use his movement technique, and before she knew it, his figure had turned into the slightest of dots before disappearing.

“Hey, you mean bastard!”

The people around her, who had never seen such a beautiful girl before in their lives, were startled by the crude language that spat out from her mouth.

After she had cried out in anger, Yu-Yeon suddenly became aware of the gazes of the people around her and glared at them menacingly.

“What are you looking at?”

Cough, cough.

The passers-by who saw the sword hanging from Yu-Yeon’s waist realized that she was a martial artist and quickly turned their gazes elsewhere.

“Ah, damn it! Song Woo-Moon, you dog bastard!”

*

Five days had passed by quickly as Song Dae-Woong and Baek Jin-Jin sold off almost all of their assets, including the inn.

The Iron Sword Baek Family was located in the Anhui Province. It was a very long distance from Guangdong Province, so far that it was unfeasible for them to pack up all their belongings in order to move there.

Actually, it was so far that it was a given that they would have to ride horses to get there. However, surprisingly, it turned out that Woo-Moon was the only one who didn’t know how to ride a horse.

While it may have made sense for the others, whose pasts he knew nothing of, Woo-Moon felt betrayed when he came to know that even his father, who had lived in the village since he was young, knew how to ride a horse.

‘Cough, cough! What. Why are you staring at me like that? Did you think that this father of yours couldn’t even ride a horse?’

Apparently, Dae-Woong had bought a horse when he was younger to carry the loads of wood. However, he had sold it because there was no increase in profit—as it turned out, he could carry more wood by himself than the horse could.

In the process, however, he had accidentally learned horseback riding.

Regardless, Woo-Moon eventually learned how to ride a horse, courtesy of Baek Sang-Woon, and although he had been a little lost at first, he soon figured out how to ride a horse quite well.

“Let’s go!”

Everyone else mounted their horses and set off while Woo-Moon looked back at the inn that he had been so fond of with an indescribable look in his eyes. Then, he belatedly chased after the others.

Once they had left Unhan, Woo-Gang said his farewells.

“I’ll be heading off now. Please be safe on your long journey.”

Because of how long he had been away, Woo-Gang now had to return to his sect.

“Don’t go around getting beat up, and make sure you stay strong until we see each other again. Understood?”

“Yes, hyung.”

“Good, go now.”

After saying his farewells one last time, Woo-Gang left for the Mount Hua Sect with Yu-Yeon, who was waiting in the distance.

“Hmpf!”

Of course, Yu-Yeon didn’t forget to give Woo-Moon a snort when she caught sight of him.

‘What on earth is with that strange woman?’

Woo-Moon was just dumbfounded.

As the group parted ways with Woo-Gang and traveled somewhat further, Woo-Moon was able to spot a familiar face waiting for them under a tree in the distance.

“Huh?”

“Hello.”

Standing under a tree were Yeon Si-Hyeon and Jo Mu-Jae.

“You’ve arrived.”

At Sang-Woon’s greeting, Si-Hyeon bowed her head politely and replied, “Yes, Master.”

“HUH?”

Woo-Moon, blindsided by those words, looked over at his grandfather.

“Master?”

“Yeah. Why, is there something wrong? I took Si-Hyeon as my disciple. Do you have something to say?”

“N-no, it’s nothing. Well...I mean....”

Jin-Jin frowned and spoke from the side.

“Why did you act so thoughtlessly again, father? If you do things like this, how do you expect the hierarchy to go?”

Si-Hyeon was two years younger than Woo-Moon. However, because she had become a disciple of Sang-Woon, she was now considered one generation higher than Woo-Moon—in other words, the same as Woo-Moon’s parents, Dae-Woong and Jin-Jin.

As Jin-Jin had also been placed in a similarly awkward position in the Iron Sword Baek Family, she couldn’t help but be sensitive to these things. She had been considered a member of an older generation compared to her peers when she was in the Iron Sword Baek Family, a position that caused her to be ostracized.

“Well, what does it matter? Although those brats in the family might be so old-fashioned that they pick on things like that, why do we have to do that among ourselves? Hmm, let’s just say that instead of my disciple, Si-Hyeon will just be my grand disciple, then. Si-Hyeon, just call me Grandpa from now on then.”

Basically, Sang-Woon was implying that they should just leave the middle generation empty and skip the hierarchy to correct the discrepancy.

“Really, how have you not changed at all for such a long time? Fine, do whatever it is that you want. Really, whatever you want!” Jin-Jin said, looking offended.

“Then, I should call Young Hero Song my elder disciple-brother... And, it should be okay to call his parents aunt and uncle, right, Grandfather?”

“Oh, ho! Indeed, indeed, that should work. See? If we do things like this, we should be fine.”

While Si-Hyeon was equally as perplexed as the others by the situation, she kept silent about her confusion as she adhered to the commands of Sang-Woon, her new grandmaster.

In truth, not only had Si-Hyeon never learned martial arts, but she had also reached eighteen years of age, which meant she had already passed the golden age to learn martial arts.

Moreover, as turbid qi had already accumulated in her qi pathways, leading to obstructions, she was unable to build up even the most basic level of qi in her dantian. Therefore, even if she were to cultivate her qi and train hard from this point on, it would still be difficult for her to achieve any modicum of success.

Or at least, that would have been the case based on the general understanding of cultivation within the murim

However, the Palm Martial Emperor had easily been able to overcome this issue, personally removing the turbid qi accumulated in her qi pathways, and he had begun to teach her martial arts.

Thanks to his intervention, Si-Hyeon was able to mitigate the issues caused by her late introduction to the gangho and would not fall behind due to her age.

“Ha... you really do live your life so carefree, grandfather. When on earth did you have the time to meet with the deputy guild master and make her your disciple?”

As Woo-Moon shook his head as he commented wryly, Si-Hyeon moved over toward him.

“No, you shouldn’t call me the deputy guild master any further. From now on, please call me disciple-sister Yeon!”

Si-Hyeon smiled brightly, looking stunning without her veil.

Intoxicated by her beauty, Woo-Moon stared blankly back at her.

As Si-Hyeon’s face turned slightly red, Woo-Moon, who belatedly realized his mistake, quickly cleared his throat.

“A-ah, is that right? Ha, ha, ha. Then, I’ll call you little sister from now on.”

“Wait a moment! Please speak informally, as well. Where in the world would you ever find an elder disciple-brother speaking formally to a younger disciple-sister?”[1]

“Ah... y-yes.”

‘Okay, disciple-sister.’

Woo-Moon tried to say what he thought out loud, but nothing came out of his mouth. In the end, he just scratched his head and sheepishly said, “It looks like I’m not quite used to doing that just yet, disciple-sister. I’ll start speaking informally.”

“Hm... Understood, then. Still, elder disciple-brother! You have to drop the honorifics as soon as possible, okay?”

“Yes! I’ll try!”

Dae-Woong and Jin-Jin also welcome Si-Hyeon warmly.

However, Jin-Jin, who was smiling at Si-Hyeon at one moment, glanced over at Sang-Woon at another, a chilly frost emanating from her gaze. Irked, she rode forward on her horse, while Dae-Woong followed quickly behind, trying to comfort his wife.

Sang-Woon then rode forward, whistling without a care in the world. Behind him, Woo-Moon and Si-Hyeon traveled side by side, with Mu-Jae escorting Si-Hyeon from a distance.

Si-Hyeon then took out a veil from within her bosom and tied it around her face.

When Woo-Moon looked over at what she was doing, Si-Hyeon smiled playfully. “This face is so unsightly that people are often shocked whenever they see it. So, it’s become a habit to wear a veil whenever I go outside.”

Woo-Moon chuckled at her words.

“If that’s the case, then other women should never leave their homes without their faces covered, lest they give people heart attacks from just a glance at their ugly mugs.”

Si-Hyeon muffled a chuckle at Woo-Moon’s witty response. Woo-Moon, in the meantime, thought to himself that he was glad his trip wouldn’t be boring with a new disciple-sister in tow.

“Ah, but what about the Leebi Merchant Guild, disciple-sister? Are they following us?”

“Do you think the Leebi Merchant Guild still exists? I sold the manor and gave half of what we received to the last remaining members. As for me and Jo Mu-Jae, we decided to follow Grandfather to the Iron Sword Baek Family in Hefei, in the Anhui Province. Though, I haven’t heard anything from Grandfather about what he plans for us once we arrive."

As he felt the movement of the horse underneath him, Woo-Moon glanced over at Si-Hyeon’s figure.

‘It’s a relief. At least it looks like she’s been able to overcome the sadness of losing her father. Well, just enough where it isn’t apparent on the outside, at least.’

“Aha! Well, what do you say we try going a little faster?” the Palm Martial Emperor shouted as he suddenly rode away.

“What are you doing?!”

As Sang-Woon quickly rode to the front, Jin-Jin had no choice but to ride forward as well.

Soon, everyone else also started to ride quickly, following Sang-Woon.

Woo-Moon relished in the feeling of the wind blowing across his face as he continued to urge his horse forward, overtaking Si-Hyeon, his parents, and then threatening to take the lead ahead of Sang-Woon.

“Huh? You cheeky little brat! Fine, it’s a bet on who will reach the next village first!”

“Great!”

At first they were neck and neck, but as Woo-Moon began to inch forward, Sang-Woon seemed to gradually fall behind.

However, seeing that, Sang-Woon imbued his horse with his inner qi, changing the situation entirely.

“Are you serious?! You’re cheating, grandfather! Are you happy with yourself, cheating to beat your grandson?!”

1. Woo-Moon’s speech in Korean sounds a lot more formal, as befitting of two people in the same generation who are not in a close relationship, but it’s a nuance simply impossible to render in English. Their relationship now warrants a more casual manner of speaking. ☜