Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 202

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 202. The Sword Demon Awakes
Angyeong City sat in the southwest of Anhui Province, nestled against the northern bank of the lower Yangtze River.
To the east, it connected via the Yangtze’s tributaries to Tongling and beyond; to the north, an overland route linked it to the provincial capital of Hefei.
It touched Hubei Province to the west and Gangseong Province to the south—a critical crossroads of geography and power.
This was why the Hyeol Yeom Do Mun, having seized Seok Tae, considered the conquest of Angyeong City their most vital prize.
“This… this…!”
Hwa Yeon, the Red Flower Demon Woman and third elder of the Hyeol Yeom Do Mun, trembled with rage throughout her entire frame as she stood at the vanguard of the assault on Angyeong City.
At this moment, she and some hundred elite warriors of the Hyeol Yeom Do Mun had secretly infiltrated an island called Chui Juk Do, situated in the center of Bak Ho lake.
“Curse that Jegal woman!”
Hwa Yeon’s brow twisted into deep creases as she spat out her fury.
Her visit to Chui Juk Do in the dead of night had a singular purpose.
“Was the intelligence about her hiding here nothing but a fabrication?”
Hwa Yeon had learned from sources within Hao Mun that Jegal Ahyeon, the strategist of the Nakjeondan, had fled to Chui Juk Do, and she had come running at the news.
Most of all, the information’s credibility seemed high, having flowed through Hao Mun itself.
Yet when she arrived at Chui Juk Do, there was no sign of Jegal Ahyeon.
Instead, what existed was a false refuge—a trap.
“Ahhh! Die!”
“You bastard! Drop dead!”
“She’s over there—Jegal Ahyeon!”
Clang! Clang-clang!
Shriek! Crack-boom!
The warriors of the Hyeol Yeom Do Mun, their eyes bloodshot with fury, were slaughtering one another.
She wondered if this was sudden treachery, but as Hwa Yeon recognized the nature of her enemies, she grasped what had truly happened—some manner of formation array had been erected on this island.
“This is exactly why I despise the Jegal clan! Every last one of them lurks in shadows, conducting their filthy schemes!”
“Die! Jegal Ahyeon!”
Crash!
A Bak Do descended toward Hwa Yeon in her towering rage.
One of her subordinates, eyes glazed and consciousness snared by some bizarre phantom, had mistaken her for Jegal Ahyeon.
“Tch! These worms!”
Whoosh!
Hwa Yeon drew her Bi Yeon Do and released a burst of Hyeol Yeom Ki.
The saber, nimble and flexible as a swallow’s wing, rippled with crimson flame; with one stroke, she split open the subordinate’s skull.
Shriek! Whoosh!
Sparks scattered through the air like flower petals caught in the wind.
A single blow that proved why she was called the Red Flower Demon Woman.
“She must be close! Where are you hiding? Where do you stand watching me?”
Rage burning in her chest, Hwa Yeon turned her gaze this way and that across the island.
The whole island teemed with bamboo thickets so dense that observation from within them would be nearly impossible.
Then, as she cast her eyes toward the lake, a tiny speck caught her attention.
“A boat? There!”
Boom-boom-boom!
Hwa Yeon immediately employed the Red Flower Shadow Step.
Bang! Thump-thump-thump!
From her Yongcheon point, she released her inner force, demonstrating the art of Stepping on Duckweed Water as she dashed across the surface of the lake.
Though not as refined as Effortless Water Walking, which allows free movement across water itself, Stepping on Duckweed Water nonetheless demanded rigorous training in the Light Body Technique.
“Haha! I swear by my name—I’ll take your head and carry it with me!”
Whoooosh!
A blazing crimson Qi Blade erupted from Hwa Yeon’s Bi Yeon Do.
Proof that she was a master who had set her feet firmly upon the Transcendent Peak.
Crash! Whoosh-boom!
As Hwa Yeon bounded skyward from the water’s surface, two figures standing on a boat came into her sight.
One was a middle-aged man with thick, bold features and an air of directness; beside him stood a woman in white martial robes, her eyes a deep brown.
“Found you!”
Shriek!
Having spotted her target, Hwa Yeon plummeted toward Jegal Ahyeon like a falling meteor, employing the principles of the Thousand-Jin Hammer.
“Haha! You’re finished!”
Whoooosh!
Crash-crash-crash-boom!
As Hwa Yeon brought her Bi Yeon Do crashing down, a rain of fire descended upon the boat like the feathers of a phoenix scattered in torrents.
A single stroke of Hyeol Yeom Cheon Pok—the Thousand Explosion technique, wherein blood flame detonates a thousand times over.
It was thinking befitting a Blood Flame Disciple—cast her footing away with a wide-area strike, toy with Jegal Ahyeon as she flailed in the water, and kill her for sport.
But then.
“Step back.”
“Yes, Lord Clan Master.”
The man and woman aboard the boat showed not a trace of tension.
Shing!
The man drew his sword quietly.
At the same moment, a Heavenly Wind swept forth.
Crash—!
“Ugh! What—what is this—!”
The flames of the Hyeol Yeom Cheon Pok were swept up in the gale and extinguished in an instant.
Hwa Yeon’s eyes flew open, and an impossible sight filled her gaze.
Thrum-thrum-thrum!
From the middle-aged man’s dull-black blade, a vivid blue Qi Blade surged forth, beginning to push back the darkness itself.
“A Realm-Breaker…?!”
“Emperor’s Extreme Rule.”
Whoosh—!
The decree of the emperor was proclaimed, and Hwa Yeon’s attempt to twist away and flee came to nothing.
“No—could it be the Cheongeom Master?!”
“Heavenly Emperor’s Single Command.”
Following the profound principle of driving force, Hwa Yeon was swept toward him like a fallen leaf into the range of the Emperor’s Sword.
An order as absolute as an abstract concept fell upon her along with the blade’s wind.
“Ahhh!”
Crack—!
For all her desperate gathering of Qi, Hwa Yeon’s Qi Blade shattered to pieces.
Rip!
Her body split cleanly in half along the rectus abdominis, and with that, Bak Ho fell silent once more.
Shing. Click.
Watching Namgung Baek sheathe his sword, Jegal Ahyeon breathed in wonder.
“Truly, the power of the Thousand Absolute Hundred Eight Saints is formidable.”
“Hah, don’t flatter me too much.”
“I speak in earnest. Our Jegal line has not a single Realm-Breaker among us.”
“That girl…”
At Jegal Ahyeon’s words, Namgung Baek smiled and gazed toward Chui Juk Do.
“But you impressed me more. You called it the Illusion Delusion Array, yes?”
“Yes, it’s a type of illusion formation—it gathers the Yin Qi of the lake to create false visions.”
“Extraordinary. Formation arrays are a divine art requiring mastery of Heaven and Earth’s flow, of nature’s principles. Your scholarship is truly remarkable. There must have been bone-deep effort behind it. I genuinely admire you.”
At Namgung Baek’s sincere praise, a smile bloomed on Jegal Ahyeon’s lips.
Here was a clan master, and she was merely the promised bride of his son—still an outsider to them. Yet he used the word “admire” for her?
And to such a young woman, when he had twice her years?
‘So this is the Cheongeom Master Namgung Baek. Truly a man worthy of respect.’
Those who didn’t simply dismiss genius with that one shallow word, but instead recognized the labor beneath it—she hadn’t met many like him in a long while.
It was no wonder the Cheongeom Master commanded the absolute loyalty of all the families.
“Now that Angyeong is restored, it won’t be long before we reach Seok Tae.”
“It’s all thanks to your support, Lord Clan Master.”
“Come now. You’re allowed to be a little proud of yourself.”
“How could I be? You and everyone around you are so formidable.”
“Indeed. Because of Ho Yeon, I can’t even rest easy. The thought that he might suddenly appear one day having reached the Realm-Breaker stage… it gives me chills.”
“Having such a talented son is its own problem, then?”
“Very much so.”
As Namgung Baek and Jegal Ahyeon chatted quietly between themselves,
the commotion from Chui Juk Do’s direction began to fade.
“It seems to be over. Come, let’s go back.”
“Yes, Lord Clan Master.”
“If I return empty-handed, my wife will be disappointed. We should buy her a gift.”
“Then Cheon Ju Cha would be perfect. It’s the finest tea of Angyeong, cultivated only on Cheon Ju Mountain.”
“Ah? Excellent. That’s what we’ll bring.”
Whoosh.
The boat carrying Namgung Baek and Jegal Ahyeon glided across the surface of Bak Ho.
* * *
At the same moment.
Whoosh!
The ice boat, shaped like a gourd, scraped against the shore.
“Ugh!”
Tap!
Mu Ga Yak climbed down from the Bing Seon, cradling the unconscious Ho Yeon in his arms.
“Phew, an uninhabited island, it seems.”
Mu Ga Yak, who had been scanning their surroundings for danger, exhaled in relief and lowered Ho Yeon carefully to the ground.
“Sigh, what a ferocious person. So the rumors about him being a calamity spirit were true after all?”
Mu Ga Yak shook his head as he looked down at Ho Yeon.
Beautiful as jade on the surface, yet possessed the temperament of a savage beast underneath.
“……But thanks to him, I’m alive. This time, it’s my turn to help.”
Mu Ga Yak rose to his feet and gathered scraps of wood.
He meant to build a fire to warm Ho Yeon’s body, whose core temperature had dropped.
“He’ll be… all right, won’t he?”
Mu Ga Yak watched Ho Yeon, who lay motionless, with growing concern.
Though he had administered all his Internal Injury Medicine, Namgung Ho Yeon showed no sign of regaining consciousness.
Gulp.
Mu Ga Yak swallowed hard and bent his face toward Ho Yeon’s.
Yingpapa once said that patients who struggle to draw breath on their own take longer to recover.
In such cases, it’s necessary to force air into their lungs through Mouth-to-Mouth Breathing.
‘I have to save him. Once he’s awake, I can ask him about Manyeol.’
Determination blazed in Mu Ga Yak’s eyes.
Namgung Ho Yeon had conjured the Full Moon Strong Qi, jade-clear and spherical.
He must have deciphered the secret of the Moon King Nine Heaven Sword.
‘For the sake of the clan……!’
Slowly.
Just before Mu Ga Yak’s lips touched Ho Yeon’s.
Bang!
“Huh?!”
“……What are you doing.”
Ho Yeon, consciousness restored, sat up abruptly while blocking Mu Ga Yak’s mouth with his hand.
“Ugh, I had the strangest dream. My head’s splitting…….”
“Uh! Uhhh!”
Ho Yeon, who had risen with a furrowed brow, removed his hand from Mu Ga Yak’s mouth and spoke.
“Hey, I’m already taken, you know.”
“P-pah! What, what……!”
“Did you grow fond of me? I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can return those feelings.”
“Th-that! This was just treatment, I swear! I didn’t mean anything improper……!”
“Right, let’s think of it that way.”
“……What?”
Mu Ga Yak, suddenly rejected, stared at him as though utterly bewildered.
But Ho Yeon regarded her with a look of understanding and nodded.
“First love never works out anyway. Hang in there.”
“Sh-shut it!”
“By the way, where’s Baek Seol O?”
Pat! Pat!
Ho Yeon, patting his robes in search, realized the beast was gone and asked.
Mu Ga Yak, trembling all over, pointed toward the Bing Seon and spoke.
“……That squirrel is over there.”
“Hmm?”
“Chirp! Chirp chirp!”
When Ho Yeon turned to look, Baek Seol O stood on the bow of the ice boat, craning its neck and crying insistently toward the lake.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“Who knows. Hmph, her mind’s gone strange, I think. Just like her master.”
“What?”
Ho Yeon’s eyebrows twitched as he fixed her with a look.
She glared back at him with an air of grievance.
At that, Ho Yeon spoke with a note of pity.
“Tsk, so if you can’t have something, you’ll destroy it? That’s not constructive thinking. Just look at Do Wang and you’ll see.”
“Ugh, seriously! Just drop dead!”
“Ahem. I do regret having dampened the young lady’s affections.”
“Don’t you dare relax your guard! Be careful out there at night!”
It was then that Ho Yeon and Mu Ga Yak were still bickering.
Creak-creak! Splash! Creak-creak! Splash!
A boat was rapidly approaching.
“Huh?!”
“Hmm?”
Mu Ga Yak quickly shifted into a defensive stance, and Ho Yeon’s eyes narrowed.
Then, a moment later.
A familiar voice called out.
“Young Master, I’ve come to escort you.”
“Po Seom?”
The boatman was Po Seom, the branch leader of the Seonmun in Do Chang County.
Thud!
He leaped from the boat and smiled, his gaze shifting between Ho Yeon and Mu Ga Yak.
“The others are already en route to the designated meeting point. If we row quickly, we should be able to catch up with them.”
“How did you know we were here?”
“The Lord informed me.”
“Mo Yong Yul did? Ah….”
Ho Yeon nodded, as if he’d grasped something.
Patter-patter-pat!
“Squeak!”
“Ah, so it was you. The guide.”
“Squeak! Squeak!”
Baek Seol O scampered up Ho Yeon’s leg and nuzzled against his cheek with concern.
Ho Yeon chuckled softly and stroked Baek Seol O, murmuring to himself.
“You little troublemaker. Once we’re back in Anhui, I’ll give you what’s coming.”
“Squeak!”
It was time to leave Gangseong Province behind.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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