Chapter 84. Because I’m a Man 2

Back when I was a tavern waiter, I thought martial artists of the jianghu fought fair and square, one on one. I had assumed that only riffraff who had never properly learned martial arts would swarm in and turn a fight into a chaotic brawl.

But once I actually stepped into the jianghu, I found that not only the Black Path, but also the White Path and the Demonic Path all mixed every scheme, stratagem, plot, and petty trick they could muster into group battles, all for the sake of winning somehow.

There were surprisingly few manly martial artists of the sort I had imagined.

Meanwhile, the experts who traveled without forces of their own, pretending to be aloof and noble, were often outnumbered and died in vain.

I had always disliked that.

A fight is best when it is one on one.

Because that is the cleanest, the surest, and the most primal, fundamental form of fighting.

As we all left the main hall and headed to a spacious area, Nam Yeonpung restricted the spectators to the officers, and at a single command, every person wandering around the open grounds vanished.

Nam Garak took his place in the clearing, arms folded, and asked me.

“Sect Leader, what shall we use?”

I answered as if ordering a side dish with drinks at an inn.

“Anything.”

“Choose.”

I folded my arms like Nam Garak and replied.

“You choose. I learned all sorts of things to begin with. Use whatever you’re confident in.”

Nam Garak seemed to fall into thought, so I helped him with his choice.

“Looking at your face makes me feel like hitting it a little. You’ve been the head of the Nammyeong Association, so you haven’t been beaten much, have you? Rather than weapons, bare hands should be better for now. I think your subordinates would enjoy it if I smacked that unlucky-looking face a bit. How about it?”

Nam Garak let out a hollow laugh, looking dumbfounded.

“Crazy bastard. You’re out of your mind.”

“If you’re scared, use a weapon. If you’re confident, come at me barehanded.”

While Nam Garak was still thinking, I threw the Heukmyoa at my waist down to the ground. Nam Garak unfolded his arms and approached me without a word.

We were about the same height.

Nam Garak closed the distance and asked.

“Ready to get beaten?”

When I gave a faint laugh, Nam Garak thrust out his fist.

Whoosh!

As I tried to seize his wrist with a locking-hand technique, Nam Garak withdrew his hand and swept his left foot out as if skimming the ground.

I dodged the low kick with a single step back.

Nam Garak drove a palm strike toward my face.

To gauge the force of his palm, I supported both legs with internal energy and met it with my fist.

With a dull thud, Nam Garak’s shoulder was pushed back, and this time a double palm strike came pressing in.

In that instant, I saw through the double palm strike as a feint, and to confirm Nam Garak’s technique, I pushed off the ground from where I stood and opened a distance of about three zhang (about nine meters) in an instant, glaring at him.

Only now did Nam Garak’s expression become serious.

If I had beaten Nam Garak down the moment I charged in with raw power, everyone would have been displeased, but now it was different.

I was not trying to recruit Nam Garak as a talent. I needed to win over the entire Nammyeong Association, so I intended to fight properly.

Suddenly, this thought occurred to me.

If I did not give it my all, Nam Garak might notice later and take offense. I changed my mind about facing him moderately and glared at him.

In an instant, I drew up the power of the Fighting Rooster throughout my body and wrapped the energy of the Flame Realm around both hands. Only then did the watching officers realize that something about the situation was strange, and they let out remarks.

“Huh?”

“Mm.”

Feeling my whole body grow hot from the energy of the Fighting Rooster, I warned Nam Garak.

“Association Leader Nam, be careful.”

I stamped the ground with a stomp, closed the distance to Nam Garak in an instant, and thrust out both palms.

Nam Garak’s eyes widened at once, and he also responded with both palms.

I wrapped the Great Flame-Realm Hand Seal around both hands.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

Nam Garak’s body flew backward like a corpse lying flat. At the same time, I leaped into the air, raised my right hand high, and wrapped it in Flame Fragrance, preparing to cleave him in two without a blade.

As I brought down the knife-hand strike, a red blade fell toward the head of Nam Garak, who had sprung to his feet.

Nam Garak’s face twisted fiercely, and he crossed both hands, wrapping defensive palm force around them.

In that instant, with a thunderous boom like a great drum bursting all at once, Nam Garak’s body was hurled three zhang (about nine meters). As he rolled across the ground with his whole body, Nam Garak tore off his utterly shredded long robe with one hand and sprang up.

Nam Garak’s expression had already transformed into that of a beast. In my eyes, however, he looked like an ill-tempered inn cat.

‘That’s a good expression.’

For now, I planned to overwhelm him with all my strength and then decide how to handle things. Without giving him a moment to breathe, I closed the distance, wrapped Flame Fragrance around my hand and struck down with a knife-hand, unleashed a Wood-Realm straight punch, and mixed kicks, the Great Flame-Realm Hand Seal, finger techniques, and palm techniques as I rained attacks one-sidedly upon Nam Garak.

Each time Nam Garak blocked an attack, he retreated, his entire face trembling, and though he bounded here and there like a startled cat, he somehow maintained his fighting spirit. In the meantime, I unleashed the Great Star-Absorbing Art with my left palm, and poured the Fighting Rooster Palm into Nam Garak’s body as he was dragged toward me.

Nam Garak was pulled in with his chin raised, then thrust out both palms to meet the Fighting Rooster Palm.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang!

The moment Nam Garak blocked the Fighting Rooster Palm, he spat out a handful of blood and tumbled three or four times after slamming into the ground. If I had only maintained the power of the Flame Realm, the two of us would have clashed in a manner that looked fairly impressive even to his subordinates’ eyes, but the Fighting Rooster was different.

It was only natural that he would vomit blood or roll across the ground every time he received my attacks.

Because the realm of my Fighting Rooster was higher than Nam Garak’s skill to begin with.

Meaning to make him come to his senses, I rose into the air and stamped my foot down at Nam Garak’s face.

Thud!

Nam Garak barely avoided it by rolling across the ground, then sprang up using the recoil from striking the ground with his right hand. In the meantime, while I was airborne, I took Nam Garak’s reaction speed into account and, while rising at an angle, kicked out with both feet together.

Thwack!

The reason I attacked with such a strange movement was to give him time to block.

Nam Garak crossed his arms to block the kick, then grimaced and staggered backward. I moved quickly as if concealing my form, swung my right arm like a whip, and slashed at Nam Garak’s neck with a knife-hand.

Perhaps thinking it was an opportunity, Nam Garak blocked my arm with his left hand and thrust out a straight punch with his right. I forcibly injected power to change the trajectory, then seized Nam Garak by the collar. With my left hand, I pulled the wrist he had thrust out, then hurled him into the air.

Bwoooooooong!

Nam Garak spun as he flew into the air like a scarecrow.

In the meantime, I kicked off the ground and swiftly moved to the spot where Nam Garak would fall.

Nam Garak shouted from the air.

“Draw your sword!”

After declaring his intent, Nam Garak drew his sword first while still in midair, then swung it wildly to buy time.

Having landed safely on the ground, Nam Garak was trembling all over. Pointing his quivering sword toward me, he said.

“Sect Leader, bring your sword.”

Nam Garak’s breathing was terribly ragged. His eyes were bloodshot, his face flushed entirely red. More than any other emotion, pride had taken complete hold of Nam Garak.

“I said bring me a sword!”

I watched Nam Garak seethe and grinned broadly. Intending to give him time to rest, I spoke at leisure.

“Let’s do that.”

I stretched out my left hand and pulled Heukmyoa, which lay a fair distance away, with the Absorbing Star Great Art. Heukmyoa, which had swayed and shifted slightly, suddenly shot forward as if wrapped in a gale and arrived in my hand.

Tak!

Without even saying we should begin, I drew Heukmyoa and infused it with Yeomgye. The blade revealed itself wreathed in crimson light. After spinning it once near my head, I held it upright and this time wrapped it in Yeomhwahyang.

Whoosh!

Red haze began to flutter wildly along the blade.

As I poured external strength and inner force into my right hand and shifted into Tugye, the red haze aligned itself as if forming ranks, and the blade grew calm. In exchange, Heukmyoa’s edge had turned purple, as though steeped in blood.

I moved the upright blade slightly to the right, then met Nam Garak’s eyes.

“Sect Leader, are you ready to die?”

“…….”

The officers who had been watching with him spoke to Nam Garak.

“Association Leader?”

Somehow, the words carried the tone of, “Let’s stop here.”

Nam Garak was staring fixedly at my purple-stained blade. Nam Garak knew as well that if he fought any further here, he would suffer an even greater disgrace than when we had fought barehanded earlier.

It was a situation that demanded composure from Nam Garak rather than pride.

Nam Garak’s lips twitched, and then he spoke to me in a calm tone.

“It seems there’s no need to check your saber art as well. I lost.”

Nam Garak, who had calmed his heart in an instant, let out a long breath and put away his sword.

I glared at Nam Garak as I slowly reduced the inner force I had poured into Heukmyoa. Then the blade, which had been shining purple, gradually turned white, as if withdrawing its anger. After sheathing Heukmyoa, I said to Nam Garak,

“A cool-headed mindset is also part of one’s skill. You ended it appropriately.”

I know well the hearts of men with strong pride. Nam Garak would need time. At times like this, even comfort from his subordinates was unnecessary. All they had to do was leave him alone. He was a man of great pride, but he was also a man with just as great a sense of responsibility, so he would return to being the Nam Garak he truly was.

Like someone with no lingering attachment, I looked over the full view of Nammyeonghoe, then said to Nam Garak and his subordinates,

“See you again.”

I asked for nothing, did not mock all of Nammyeonghoe, and simply turned around.

Only after I had taken three or four steps did Nam Garak ask in a subdued tone,

“Sect Leader, have a cup of tea before you go.”

“Let’s do that next time.”

I suddenly stopped walking and looked up at the sky. It had rained just a couple days ago, and today the weather was brilliantly clear again.

“The clouds…….”

Perhaps it was bothering him a little, for Nam Garak asked me from behind.

“What happens from here on?”

I answered while looking at the drifting clouds.

“Something will happen one way or another. Haomun is Haomun, and Nammyeonghoe is Nammyeonghoe. If we get the chance, let’s spar again. If the officers of Nammyeonghoe want to face me too, tell me later. If you’re as forthright as your Association Leader, you’re welcome anytime.”

Only then did I turn around and look at Nammyeonghoe. All of Nammyeonghoe was looking at me. After choosing my words, I said to them,

“If Paegeomhoe or Namcheollyeon harasses you, contact Haomun.”

Nam Garak answered,

“And if we contact you?”

I lightly gripped Heukmyoa with my left hand and replied,

“……It’s war.”

I could have added more, but I did not.

The choice was Nam Garak’s.

Would he remain as Nammyeonghoe and die as he had in my previous life, or would he join Haomun and change his fate? I did not want to forcibly change something upon which the fate of people and a sect depended.

But if Nam Garak’s heart changed, then his fate would change as well.

‘Surely the heavens will forgive a change in fate of that much.’

After parting from Nammyeonghoe, I had all sorts of thoughts while returning to Heukmyobang.

What was certain was this.

To change one’s fate, one had no choice but to change one’s heart first.

That applied not only to Nam Garak, but to me as well.

Because we were both men, changing our hearts was truly not easy. But how could changing fate ever be so easy?

It was difficult from the start.

Nam Garak was probably gathering himself by now with his pride wounded, but the same was true for me. Having acted from start to finish like a normal person of the martial world instead of making a madman’s scene left my head somewhat confused.

Still, hadn’t I handled it well enough?

Throughout the fight, Murong Bai’s voice lingered by my ear.

‘What if you tried to guide that madness so it only appears when you meet someone strong?’

Every time I thought of grabbing Nam Garak by the collar and smashing his face in with my fist, I chewed over Murong Bai’s words.

From runaway madness to cold, clear madness, I needed to temper and train my heart. Just as, beneath a river, fish large and small may bite and tear at one another, yet the surface remains calm.

Peace like a river within me—that was what I needed now. As I walked down the road, I hummed as the neighborhood errand boys did when sweeping with brooms.

“Peace like a river within me, peace like a river within me, madness like the sea within me, madness springing up within me…….”

.

.

.

It overflows.