The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 92

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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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92
Woo Geom-san Competes for Hegemony
Im So-ryeong leaned against the railing and looked at the two women standing on the opposite side of the deck.
An old woman who radiated an aura that made it suffocating just to look at her, and a Country-destroying Beauty.
They were none other than Leng Tianxiang and Leng Shuiyue.
Not only Im So-ryeong, but every sailor on the ship was staring at them.
To be precise, they were staring blankly at Leng Shuiyue’s face, completely entranced.
Im So-ryeong pouted her lips.
“Men, seriously…”
They were a breed that lost their minds the moment they saw a slightly pretty woman.
However, it was understandable to some extent.
Even to her as a woman, Leng Shuiyue was so breathtakingly beautiful that it left her gasped.
As the woman leaned her back against the railing and stared blankly at the sky, there was even a sense of innocent charm to her.
Even that look was maddeningly beautiful, so the men could not bring themselves to take their eyes off her.
“She is a true Youwu. It’s no wonder the Young Master So of the Huajin Sect fell for her.”
Although it could not be compared to the Man-sang Alliance, the Huajin Sect also possessed wealth that ranked among the top in Under Heaven. It was saying enough that it was understandable for the successor of such a Huajin Sect to be floundering, completely infatuated with a mere woman.
It was at that moment.
Suddenly, Leng Tianxiang and Leng Shuiyue approached Im So-ryeong.
Leng Tianxiang scanned Im So-ryeong’s entire body and spoke.
“Are you the one in charge of this ship?”
“The person in charge of this ship is that man over there.”
Im So-ryeong pointed at Zhang Wangchu, but Leng Tianxiang did not even spare him a glance and said.
“He told me that you are the one in charge?”
In an instant, Im So-ryeong’s expression distorted heavily.
‘That man…’
The person in charge of this ship was definitely Zhang Wangchu.
Although the authority of the Investigation Hall Chief was powerful, the opinion of the Captain or the Six Rivers Squadron Leader took precedence on a ship.
There was no way Zhang Wangchu did not know a fact that even she knew.
Even so, saying that Im So-ryeong was the person in charge was an intention to dump a troublesome matter onto her.
Leng Tianxiang’s frosty gaze pierced into Im So-ryeong’s face.
“Speak clearly. I dislike tedious things.”
“I am… the one in charge. Why are you asking that?”
“We wish to change the Cabin assigned to us.”
“Do you not like the Cabin? The state of the other cabins is exactly the same, though?”
“I do not like the location.”
“The location? It’s the innermost one, so it should be the quietest?”
“I want the Cabin near the entrance.”
“That is…”
Im So-ryeong showed a troubled expression.
It was because the Cabin near the entrance was occupied by Woo Geom-san.
“If it is a matter of money, I will give you as much more as you want. Change the Cabin for us.”
“That Cabin already has an owner.”
“An owner?”
“Young Master Woo is already using it.”
“Then, tell him to yield it.”
“Please speak to him yourself. Our ship assigns cabins in the order of boarding. This is the principle of our Punglim Fort.”
“What?”
Leng Tianxiang’s eyebrows shot up toward the sky.
As the old woman, who already had a chilling atmosphere, scowled, the temperature of the area seemed to cool down freezing cold.
“Do you know who I am to speak like that?”
“Are you not the Blood Rakshasa, Leng Tianxiang? I have long heard of your grand reputation.”
From the moment So Jin-seo came to reserve the ship, she knew that Leng Tianxiang and her disciple were accompanying him.
It was because she had already obtained information that Leng Tianxiang had recently entrusted herself to the Huajin Sect.
The reason Im So-ryeong allowed So Jin-seo’s group on board the ship was also because of Leng Tianxiang.
It was a widely known fact in the Jianghu that Geangeak had been virtually destroyed in the war against the Cheonmyeong Association.
Toward the last Sect Leader of a sect that had fallen so drastically while fighting for the greater good that it was difficult to even continue its lineage, she possessed a shred of sympathy.
That was why, as soon as she received So Jin-seo’s request, she had allowed them on board without much deliberation.
On the other hand, she also had the intention of gathering information while observing Leng Tianxiang and her disciple from up close.
Having met her in person like this, Leng Tianxiang was more eccentric and more self-willed than the rumors suggested.
A sharp voice, as if scratching a porcelain bowl with a fingernail, pierced Im So-ryeong’s eardrums.
“You say that kind of nonsense even while knowing? Is it because you are a ship-wench that you have no manners?”
“…….”
At the verbal abuse that exceeded her expectations, Im So-ryeong’s face turned rock hard.
Leng Tianxiang stared intently at Im So-ryeong’s face and let out a cold smile.
“Why can’t you speak?”
“I was a bit surprised. For someone like you, Senior Leng, to utter such vulgar words. It is my first time seeing someone whose mouth is rougher than a lowly ship-wench like me.”
“It seems you want that mouth of yours torn apart. Will you quiet down a bit if I rip it all the way to below your ears?”
“No way. Then I’d probably chatter with even more excitement. Since my mouth would be torn to below my ears, how freely would it move?”
Im So-ryeong replied with a bright smile.
Even against Leng Tianxiang’s verbal abuse, she was not disheartened at all.
If measured solely by Jianghu seniority, she was naturally several steps below Leng Tianxiang. However, the Jianghu was not a place that always operated purely on seniority.
While Leng Tianxiang had only one disciple named Leng Shuiyue, Im So-ryeong had the backing of Punglim Fort.
Although they did not reach the level of the Ten Pillars, Punglim Fort was also a massive power renowned in the Jianghu.
Particularly in their territory, the Yangtze River, they did not fear any power. Much less would the threat of the last Sect Leader of an already fallen sect work on them.
Leng Tianxiang snorted.
“Hmph! You are quite a spunky wench. But I have met many wenches like you. Those who glare with their eyes at first as if they are fierce, but possess a fragile bottom that cannot endure even a little pain and vomits out everything.”
“I have also seen many people similar to you, Senior Leng. Old people who cannot forget their past glory and live inside their memories. The world is bound to be pushed away like the waves of the Yangtze River, and I have seen too many cases where the heroes of the past become the ugly spectacles of the present. Ah, I’m not saying this to you, Senior Leng. Hoho!”
Im So-ryeong’s words pierced into Leng Tianxiang’s heart like a dagger.
Even though Im So-ryeong had let them on board out of a sense of respect in her own way, the old woman poured out curses out of nowhere, so she had blurted out harsh words in anger.
At that exact moment when Leng Tianxiang’s expression turned rock hard like a stone, Leng Shuiyue, who had been quiet until now, stepped forward.
Leng Shuiyue spoke with a smile that had bewitched countless men.
“I am sorry. My master’s emotions became too intense, so she only said words she didn’t mean. I hope you don’t take it to heart too much.”
“I am also sorry. My emotions became intense, and I ended up saying words I didn’t mean. I sincerely apologize.”
Although she did not feel like it, since the other party apologized first, Im So-ryeong had no choice but to apologize as well.
Leng Shuiyue showed an even more radiant smile as she looked at Im So-ryeong.
“As a token of my apology, I will give you a gift.”
“No, there is no need for that.”
“Only then will my heart be at ease. Please accept it.”
Leng Shuiyue forcefully shoved something into Im So-ryeong’s hand and then returned to their original spot along with Leng Tianxiang.
“Haa!”
Im So-ryeong let out a sigh and looked down at the gift Leng Shuiyue had shoved into her hand.
The item inside her palm was a pair of necklaces.
The necklace made of red gems closely resembled a Red Lantern Necklace.
It was crafted so exquisitely that it felt as if a real red lantern was shedding light.
In that instant, Im So-ryeong’s face flushed crimson with shame.
“That wench…”
Crunch!
The necklace was crushed in her hand and turned to powder.
A red lantern was the symbol of the red-light district.
The red-light district was a place where women sold their bodies.
By using the necklace that resembled a red lantern as a metaphor, Leng Shuiyue was indirectly calling Im So-ryeong a woman who sold her body.
***
“Hwaam!”
Woo Geom-san stretched and came out onto the deck.
Because he had been continuously reading the Bojebang in the dark interior, his eyes felt dim.
Although he was an expert who practiced martial arts and had sharp night vision, reading books while relying on a dim lamp for a long period seemed to have put quite a burden on his eyes.
Just by leaning against the railing and feeling the river wind, his hazy mind cleared up.
Right then, Leng Tianxiang, who was nearby, approached Woo Geom-san.
Watching that scene from afar, Im So-ryeong clicked her tongue and shook her head side to side.
Leng Tianxiang spoke to him bluntly.
“Have you hidden a jar of honey in your Cabin? What are you two male brats doing that you’re stuck in your cabin and won’t come out?”
“I was reading books, though?”
“Books?”
“It is because there are Books that I have been deeply absorbed in lately. But why do you ask that?”
The sight of Woo Geom-san speaking calmly without making a single unpleasant expression strangely fueled Leng Tianxiang’s anger.
“It seems you are quite idle. To be reading books at a time when it wouldn’t even be enough to devote yourself to cultivation training. I do not know whose disciple you are, but your master must have many worries.”
“My master actually prefers it when I read books.”
“It seems your master is just as idle as you are.”
A deep furrow formed between Woo Geom-san’s brows.
While he could endure being insulted himself as much as needed, it was difficult to endure his grandfather, Baek Ho-yang, being insulted.
Even so, because of Baek Ho-yang’s request, he suppressed his emotions to the best of his ability.
On the other hand, he also felt a sense of pity.
Leng Tianxiang’s mind was completely twisted.
Even if someone spoke the truth, she took it twistedly, thought about everything in a self-centered manner, and acted as if everyone besides herself and her disciple was an enemy.
Because of that, she said words that wounded the other party without hesitation, and she did not even recognize the fact that it was wrong.
It seemed only she herself did not know that such behavior was an act that degraded her own reputation.
Woo Geom-san let out a faint sigh and said.
“To have strength without wisdom makes one merely a foolish person, and if there is no enlightenment within the heart, even tiger-like strength becomes vain in the end.”
“What?”
“If one is strong but lacks wisdom, they are merely a foolish person, and if there is no wisdom in the depths of their mind, they vainly embrace a tiger or wolf’s body. These are the words that my master and grandfather have emphasized to me repeatedly. I am merely faithfully implementing those teachings.”
In an instant, Leng Tianxiang’s face flushed crimson.
It was because she realized that Woo Geom-san was indirectly saying she was a brainless tiger.
She desperately held back her anger. This was because if she got angry at this point, it would be tantamount to admitting that her head was empty.
“Your mouth is quite something.”
“I am merely faithful to my grandfather’s teachings. But you still haven’t told me your business?”
“Fine. I shall speak bluntly. Hand over that Cabin you are staying in to us.”
“Are you telling me to switch cabins? Is there perhaps a special reason?”
“I dislike going deep into a hallway.”
At Leng Tianxiang’s answer, Woo Geom-san knitted his brows.
It was because it was an answer that did not make sense.
He wanted an understandable answer, but Leng Tianxiang crossed her arms and turned her head away, avoiding Woo Geom-san’s gaze.
She was expressing with her entire body that she refused any further response.
Right then, Leng Shuiyue, who had been quiet until now, stepped forward.
“By any chance, does Young Master Woo know why Geangeak was so vainly annihilated in the war against the Cheonmyeong Association?”
“How would I know even that?”
“It is precisely because they fell into a trap that they dug. They deployed numerous mechanisms and formations in the pathway leading into the Cheonmyeong Association. Because of the dark and cramped pathway, there was no place to take cover, and many people died there. Because of the memories of that time, Master still avoids deep places inside buildings or long hallways even now.”
“…….”
The corners of Woo Geom-san’s eyes trembled finely.
The other party was a senior of the Jianghu who had lost everything in the war against the Cheonmyeong Association.
Although she was a Sect Leader in name only after losing both her sect and fellow disciples, the fact that she had fought a desperate battle to uphold the greater good did not change.
Even though she was not welcomed anywhere due to her eccentric personality, the reputation she possessed could absolutely not be ignored.
That was the reason why many martial artists yielded a step even to her obstinacy.
If he hadn’t heard the reason why she wanted to switch rooms, it would be one thing, but if he didn’t switch it even after hearing it, Woo Geom-san alone would become a bad person.
“I will vacate the room immediately.”
“Thank you. Young Master Woo!”
“I pray that you escape from the bad memories quickly.”
“I will not forget Young Master Woo’s kindness.”
Leng Shuiyue smiled with her eyes as she looked at Woo Geom-san.
Whether she was smiling with her eyes intentionally or out of habit, it was true that it was incredibly captivating.
Seeing Leng Shuiyue’s eye-smile, a light of anger surfaced on So Jin-seo’s face. He was enraged by the fact that her eye-smile was directed toward Woo Geom-san and not himself.
In his heart, he wanted to finish Woo Geom-san off right this instant, but because he knew that he would be no match even if he attacked, he forced his anger down.
It was not only So Jin-seo who was bewildered by her eye-smile. The sailors who were nearby also lost their senses and stared at Leng Shuiyue blankly.
Among everyone here, the only one maintaining his composure was Woo Geom-san.
To him, who had cultivated the martial arts of Taoism for a long time, Leng Shuiyue’s beauty did not strike him heavily.
It was because he knew that the important thing was the essence, not the appearance.
Woo Geom-san shook his head slightly and murmured.
“I did not believe the phrase ‘Country-destroying Beauty’, but it actually exists. Because of that woman, the storms in the Jianghu will not cease.”
He should feel good after conversing with a beautiful woman, but his head only throbbed painfully.

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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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