Chapter 12. Rescue (3)

Tadadat!

Lee Byeok moved his feet.

He ran up the steep mountain path.

It might already be too late.

Or even if it wasn't, there was nothing he could do against the tiger. But.

“……”

Hyeop, who had been his blood brother, stabbed him in the back, while Hyuk Dae-woong, who had no relation to him at all, had risked his life to create an escape route.

He had to know the reason.

—Big Brother, are you really asking because you don't know? You are foolish to the very end.

The memory flashed by again.

Eudeuk. Lee Byeok bit his lip.

“Heok, heok.”

His breathing soon began to falter.

A body without inner energy quickly screamed its limits just from running a short distance up a mountain path. It was pathetically weak.

Lee Byeok was enraged by that fact.

He ran, ignoring his body's signals.

Taaang!

Just then, a heavy crash echoed from somewhere ahead. A fire was rising again on the other side of the forest.

Lee Byeok ran. And he saw.

As if time had slowed down, the scene slowly came into view.

Hyuk Dae-woong’s spear shaft, struck by the tiger’s paw, broke, and its claws dug into his chest.

Hyuk Dae-woong fell backward.

He bled as he was trampled by the tiger.

“…No.”

Lee Byeok gritted his teeth.

Tat, hwoook!

And at the moment of crisis, Lee Byeok’s body leaped through space as if by a lie.

His form was as ethereal as a flowing river.

Azure River Flowing Leaf Body Art.

He knew what he had to do.

And Lee Byeok’s hand went to his sword.

[ Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style: Sword-Drawing Second Form: Fast Sword. ]

Flash!

A single streak of light.

And in the next moment, Lee Byeok’s sword had already diagonally pierced the tiger’s back.

It pierced through the hide and carved a long gash.

Kraaaaaaah!

The tiger thrashed and retreated.

Thud. Hyuk Dae-woong fell to the ground.

He had clearly sensed death, but he wasn't dead yet. Hyuk Dae-woong blinked with a dazed face and then looked to the side.

He assessed the situation.

“Lee… Byeok?”

“……”

He found his junior brother standing before him.

“…You cut the tiger? Keuk, ho-how did you do it?”

“…I’m not sure.”

Grrrrrr, grrrk!

The crouching tiger let out a low growl.

Even though Lee Byeok’s sword had inflicted a long wound, instead of running away, its eyes were bloodshot as if filled with rage.

“No, more importantly… why did you come?”

“Something came up that I wanted to ask.”

“Heh.”

Hyuk Dae-woong let out a hollow laugh.

Then he frowned sharply.

It felt like his chest was being torn apart.

“Is that, keuk! something to say right now. Now we’re both going to die for nothing. You, you frustrating junior brother.”

“…No, we won’t die.”

Woong!

Lee Byeok felt the inner energy flowing inside his body. His rough breathing quickly subsided.

He wasn't sure how it happened, the reason wasn't clear. But he felt it instinctively.

This was… power squeezed out at the cost of his life.

And it was being consumed moment by moment.

Even that wouldn't last long.

“…Huh? You, you don’t mean, your inner energy…?”

“……”

Leaving the fallen Hyuk Dae-woong behind, Lee Byeok took a step forward. He faced the tiger once again.

Simultaneously, he thought quickly.

Given the remaining inner energy, he could no longer use the Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style. In that case… only the Azure River Sword Style was left.

Tat!

Time was not on his side.

Lee Byeok charged immediately.

Keoheoheong!

The enraged tiger charged to meet him.

Hwoong!

And just before the collision, the tiger’s paw swung with terrifying force.

If he took that head-on, his whole body would be crushed. But… he had no inner energy to spare for defense.

Hwook!

Lee Byeok’s sword moved.

He unfolded the Sword-Withdrawal Form of the Azure River Sword Style.

Seuk, seueuk!

The sword, embodying the subtlety of Yielding, withdrew and gently wrapped around the tiger’s paw.

It twisted the power contained within.

Taaang!

“Keok.”

The tiger’s paw was flung upward.

But he couldn't completely deflect all the force within it. The remaining impact traveled through the sword and pierced Lee Byeok’s qi and blood.

Just that alone made his whole body convulse.

But he couldn't miss this opening.

Forcibly holding onto his arms that felt like they would burst, Lee Byeok extended the withdrawn sword again.

Sword-Drawing Form, the subtlety of Straight.

The sword extended in a straight line.

Pook. It dug into the tiger’s chest.

Keoheong!

For a moment, the tiger’s body stiffened.

Lee Byeok gritted his teeth. The hide was tough and the ribs were as hard as stone. But if he just kept pushing, it would be over. If he squeezed out his inner energy, somehow—

Wulkeok!

Just then, blood surged up.

Lee Byeok quickly swallowed it back down. But for a moment, all the strength left his body, and an opening appeared at the tip of his sword.

Keoheoheong!

The tiger took that opportunity and roared.

Jjeok. Its jaws opened. The tiger's teeth, stained with blood and flesh, were thrust towards Lee Byeok’s face.

A moment of life and death.

Lee Byeok thought. If he rammed it like this, would a mutual destruction be possible? No, the chances of that were slim.

The beast’s body was like cast iron.

He would be the only one to die.

Hook. Lee Byeok’s sword was withdrawn.

The Sword-Withdrawal Form, the subtlety of Variation, unfolded, chaotically embroidering the area around the tiger’s body. It left gashes on its hide.

Tat!

And Lee Byeok took a large step back.

“……”

Lee Byeok and the tiger faced each other.

A brief lull passed.

With the previous Sword-Withdrawal Form, Lee Byeok felt his inner energy completely fade. And.

“Keoheok.”

Lee Byeok coughed up blood.

He couldn't even bluff anymore.

Puk. He supported himself with the tip of his sword on the ground. He barely kept his body from collapsing. But that was it.

Grrrrrr. The low growling tiger.

It was as if it were laughing at him. As if it had noticed that Lee Byeok had no strength left, it slowly began to approach.

Cheok.

“…This is absurd, really.”

Just then, a massive shadow blocked Lee Byeok’s path.

“…Hyuk Dae-woong.”

“I was hoping for something… but it’s no use after all, you punk. It's fine, so run away again, quickly.”

Hyuk Dae-woong gripped the spear, broken in half, tightly in a short grip.

Honestly, even standing was difficult.

Wulkeok, wulkeok. Every time he moved, blood welled up from his chest. But there was no need for both of them to die.

More than anything, considering the move Lee Byeok had just shown… he had to send him back alive for the sake of the Sect Leader and Senior Sister.

“…No. You go.”

But Lee Byeok shook his head.

He managed to raise his sword again.

“Ah, I said go.”

“No.”

Hyuk Dae-woong took a step forward.

Then Lee Byeok also took a step forward.

“You really don’t listen, do you.”

Hyuk Dae-woong let out a small sigh. For some reason, he felt like he could understand a little of his senior sister’s feelings.

Keoheoheong!

Tat. The tiger kicked off the ground.

It was too late to retreat now. Without saying who went first, the two of them simultaneously extended their weapons.

Sword and spear.

But against the enraged tiger’s claws, neither offered any hope. It was a powerless attack that looked like it would break with a simple tap.

Seogeok!

But the next moment.

The tiger’s entire front paw was severed.

“Oh my, I almost cooked porridge for the dog to eat~ How dare a mutt touch the disciples I worked so hard to gather?”

***

“Heave-ho.”

Lee Jincheon carefully placed the figure he was carrying on his back onto a wide patch of grass. It was Jaegal Somi, her face pale.

“S-Senior Sister?!”

“Don’t worry. She just collapsed from exhaustion. It seems she ran herself to death all the way down the mountain, worried you lacking junior brothers would die.”

Ssaek, ssaek. She let out ragged breaths.

Hyuk Dae-woong, clutching his chest, staggered over. He collapsed in front of Jaegal Somi.

“Well, we were saved thanks to her. Right?”

Then, Lee Jincheon’s gaze turned to Lee Byeok. He grinned. His face was carefree as if the tiger was of no concern.

“……”

In Lee Jincheon’s hand was a familiar short sword. It seemed he had borrowed Jaegal Somi’s weapon.

Woong!

A faint halo of light began to form from the palm-sized blade.

The light that had spread out in all directions was gathered back into the sword.

It formed a distinct shape.

Sword flux. The purest crystallization of inner energy.

Grrrrrrrr!

The tiger, having lost a paw, crouched low. But it could neither charge forward nor turn to flee.

As a beast that moved on instinct, it could feel all the more clearly that this was not an opponent it could dare to face.

Jeobeok!

“Sorry, but I can’t let you live.”

Lee Jincheon took a step.

“Look here. It seems it’s going to cost a lot of money to nurse our kids you messed up back to health, you see? So I’ll have to take your bones, flesh, and hide.”

Keoheoheong!

The tiger roared.

As a being that had reigned as the king of the mountain for a long time, it kicked off the ground with its last cry of defiance.

Lee Jincheon walked to meet it.

He looked as if he was out for a casual stroll.

And the moment the charging tiger passed by, seuk, he drew a line in the air with his blade. It wasn't even a proper technique.

A trajectory of a white line was drawn.

Puhwak!

Blood erupted from below the tiger’s nape. That was the end of it. Teok. The tiger fell to the ground.

It collapsed softly as if falling into a deep sleep.

“Thanks for not dying, kids.”

***

The party returned to Flower Pavilion Village.

The exhausted Lee Byeok, the unconscious Jaegal Somi, and the severely injured Hyuk Dae-woong—Lee Jincheon carried, supported, and led all three of them.

He couldn't even clearly remember how they had made their way back through the dark mountain path.

In any case, upon entering the Falling Sword Sect’s quarters, Lee Byeok collapsed on the spot. He fell asleep as if dead.

And he had a dream.

Seonwoo Byeok was at the clan.

In the wide, well-organized training ground, warriors were swinging their swords in unison to the commander’s shouts.

Most of the clan members were, to some extent, blood relatives who shared the blood of the Seonwoo clan.

However, the hierarchy was strict.

The Seonwoo Clan was not a place that treated those without martial talent highly, even if they were close blood relatives.

The competition was fierce.

Seonwoo Byeok was born as the first son of the clan head, Seonwoo Gak, but his mother was a maid, and he became a descendant of a collateral branch.

It was only after he defeated all the disciples of his generation with the Azure River Sword Style that he was acknowledged as a direct descendant.

It was quite strange to be acknowledged as his own father’s son only after he had passed the age of ten.

In any case, Seonwoo Byeok immersed himself in the sword.

There were plenty of things to be cut down within his own heart. The more he swung the sword, the simpler and stronger Seonwoo Byeok became.

—Big Brother, what's wrong with me?

On the other hand, Hyeop was always weighed down.

It wasn't that he lacked martial talent. The problem was that he couldn't easily become simple.

However, Hyeop eventually achieved growth in his own way. As time passed, he relied on me less and less.

At some point, Seonwoo Byeok could no longer guess Hyeop’s thoughts, but he thought that was fine too.

Wookssin. The pain flashed again.

“……”

It was a memory that had already passed.

He thought he had forgotten, but it seemed memories engraved with pain were not so easily forgotten.

But that was all there was to it.

To move forward, he had to shake it off. Seonwoo Byeok closed his eyes. And Lee Byeok opened his eyes.

The Falling Sword Sect’s quarters.

Clear sunlight shone through the window. The sound of a bird chirping could be heard from somewhere.

And… suddenly, the smell of roasting meat wafted in.

Deureuk!

Lee Byeok opened the door.

And he looked outside.

“Heung heung~ Heung~”

In the middle of the training ground, firewood was burning. Lee Jincheon was crouching and grilling a lot of meat on skewers.

On one side, a well-skinned tiger hide was hung on a clothesline. Next to it, the picked-clean bones were piled up white.

In that case.

The identity of the meat being grilled was…….

“……”

For some reason, Lee Byeok broke out in a cold sweat.

“Ehyu, it smells so good~ To think I have to feed this good stuff to brats who don't know the first thing about elegance~ Oh my, what a waste~”

Seuk. Lee Jincheon picked up a skewer. As he was chewing on it, his eyes met Lee Byeok’s. Umjjil. He was startled.

“…Oh, you’re awahk?”

Umul umul, gulp. He hastily swallowed.

“Th-This is our little secret….”

Tadadat, chalssak!

“Ah, seriously! I told you to stop stuffing your face!”

Just then, Jaegal Somi, who had run from somewhere, slapped Lee Jincheon on the back. And she snatched the skewer from his hand.

“What have you done to deserve eating so much! Where in the world is a sect leader who steals food meant for his injured disciples!”

“B-But I’m the one who caught it….”

“Shut up! In the first place, if you hadn’t gone down to the village to drink and flirt with courtesans, no one would have gotten hurt!”

At a loss for words, Lee Jincheon became sullen. Jaegal Somi stuck the skewer back by the fire.

Suddenly, her eyes met Lee Byeok’s.

“…Heum, heum.”

Jaegal Somi cleared her throat.

Jeobeok, jeobeok. She walked over to Lee Byeok. After staring at him silently for a while, seuk, Jaegal Somi’s hand moved.

“Good job, little one. I’ll praise you.”

Flinch. Lee Byeok reflexively took a defensive stance. But there was neither a blade nor a brush in Jaegal Somi’s hand.

“…What is it this time?”

“What do you mean? It’s praise.”

Tak. Jaegal Somi’s hand rested on top of Lee Byeok’s head. Seuk, seuk. She stroked his hair.

“We’re safe thanks to you. The village chief, Seok-du, and our house griz. Well, he’s stretched out with his chest a ragged mess, but still.”

“……”

An awkward atmosphere.

Lee Byeok looked at Jaegal Somi.

“Ehyu, whatever. This senior sister will specially grill some meat for you today, so rest quietly.”

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