Chapter 20

20. So, my name is Zaha.

While feeling afraid of the twin saber wielder, Chae Sung-tae continued to loiter around the area, muttering to himself.

“Hey, baldy. Watch your back. I’m joining in. Do you know what my nickname is? You’ll only find out after I stab you. It’s fine if you don’t know now. Alright, keep acting tough.”

In reality, Chae Sung-tae took a few steps forward as if he was about to charge with his straight sword, then stopped.

To anyone watching, it was a show of bravado, but not to the twin saber wielder.

I found Chae Sung-tae’s actions amusing and smirked while wielding my whip.

“Crazy kid.”

Chae Sung-tae, with his straight sword raised, chuckled and continued to intimidate the twin saber wielder.

“Alright, I’m joining in. Let’s have a fair one-on-one fight. I’m coming. Baldy, I’m going to split you open first. It’s a surprise attack!”

While wielding two sabers, Wi Seon-woo swung his saber backward as the whip was retracted.

Whoosh!

The sword wind cutting through the rain rushed toward Chae Sung-tae.

Startled, Chae Sung-tae screamed and swung his straight sword.

Thud! Chae Sung-tae, who blocked the sword wind, rolled on the ground several times and lay still as if he had fainted.

Chae Sung-tae was pretending to have fainted to observe the situation and plan a surprise attack.

While blocking the twin saber wielder’s attack, I said to Chae Sung-tae,

“It’s not working, so get up.”

Chae Sung-tae quickly lifted his head.

“Oh, really?”

Wi Seon-woo, who was focusing on me, didn’t expend much power. It was merely a warning that he would kill if I continued to act recklessly. However, this caused the twin saber wielder to lose concentration, which could be credited to Chae Sung-tae.

* * *

The rain viewed by Geum Cheol-yong and Jang Deok-su was quite picturesque. Geum Cheol-yong, while thinking of a weapon to gift me, and Jang Deok-su, while listening to our conversation, were both appreciating the rain.

I, on the other hand, was contemplating a life that had taken a different turn from my previous one while looking at the rain.

Perhaps we were all lost in thought because we were all looking at the rain together.

However, the rain now had a different meaning.

The rain, which I had once viewed with a peaceful heart, had become a part of a battle where someone must die. I knew that someone would die in this rain.

Of course, it wouldn’t be me.

The twin saber wielder, even when they weren’t young, had already died by my hand.

Anyway...

Why is fighting so interesting?

A bolt of lightning and a thunderclap illuminated our faces for a moment.

Wi Seon-woo and Goo Yang-su realized I was still smiling.

Goo Yang-su said,

“Start with the whip.”

A brief command to either cut or take it away and render it useless. Wi Seon-woo replied,

“Also, the sword on the waist.”

In the ensuing fight, Goo Yang-su used his two sabers to entangle my whip, and Wi Seon-woo, charging forward, cut the middle of the whip with a blade infused with inner energy. If it had been a battle of inner energy, the whip wouldn’t have been cut, but with two opponents, I had to retreat.

The whip, now significantly shorter, led to a stalemate.

I showed the broken whip to Geum Cheol-yong and said,

“An unbreakable belief... this isn’t it.”

Geum Cheol-yong, who had been watching from inside the Chunyang Inn, would have clearly heard my words. If the weapon made by the Dragonhead Iron Workshop had been so easily cut, Geum Cheol-yong’s blood would boil.

I threw the shortened whip and drew the Black Dragon Sword from my waist.

As I drew the sword, the two opponents paused.

“You’re in big trouble now. I’m better with a sword than a whip.”

Chae Sung-tae interjected,

“Then why didn’t you use the sword first? Why...”

“The last shred of conscience, I guess.”

Chae Sung-tae swallowed his anger.

‘What nonsense.’

I briefly thought about the harsh fate of having to kill the same people again.

There’s nothing I can do about it now. I have to kill them again.

After some deliberation,

I stood the sword vertically, and the Flame Spirit wrapped around the blade.

The sword glowed red.

Each time raindrops fell, they sizzled and evaporated.

The twin saber wielder, as well as Chae Sung-tae, showed clear signs of surprise.

Honestly, the martial arts I displayed, which were far beyond a common waiter, made me a bit uncomfortable.

I needed an explanation.

“See? My sword...”

Chae Sung-tae responded in a dazed tone,

“I see. It’s glowing red...”

I nodded and explained,

“That’s why my name is Zaha (紫霞, Purple Afterglow).”

The sword was indeed glowing red like a sunset, and the raindrops that hit the blade turned into a strange smoke, spreading like an afterglow.

Even I, who was lying, wondered if this was why my name was Zaha.

Anyway, I am Zaha, the Purple Afterglow.

“It’s time to die, you bastards.”

The curse served as the signal for the battle to begin. The twin saber wielder and I charged at each other. The sabers they wielded, classified as large swords, had a wide range of motion.

This one-on-one fight wasn’t entirely disadvantageous for me.

Because of the wide range of motion, their sabers could potentially injure each other based on my movements.

This was possible because I understood their sword techniques.

Swinging the red-glowing sword, I released bursts of sword wind, infused with the Flame Spirit, in front of them.

Sword wind is essentially wind, but it carries heat from inner energy.

When the concentration of energy in the sword wind becomes more compressed,

it becomes sword qi.

While sword qi is a higher form of martial arts, there are times when sword wind is more effective.

Sometimes, a single use of sword qi, which consumes more inner energy, is more effective, and at other times, it’s better not to use either and just swing the sword.

Of course, there are many higher forms of sword qi, and each sect has its unique characteristics.

Therefore, during a battle, there are many decisions to make, and these decisions determine the outcome, which is why practical experience is as important as training.

While deflecting the four sabers wielded by the twin saber wielder, I planned accordingly.

At this moment, Chae Sung-tae, with his sword in hand, took a stance as if he was about to charge. This time, he had a determined look and was filled with killing intent.

“...”

He was planning a real surprise attack.

The twin saber wielder didn’t know Chae Sung-tae’s capabilities.

Wi Seon-woo, with a distorted expression, took a step back and swung his saber at Chae Sung-tae.

I immediately realized why Wi Seon-woo was retreating while blocking Goo Yang-su’s sword and used the recoil to swing my sword.

As Wi Seon-woo’s saber released a sword wind toward Chae Sung-tae, my sword, which had extended simultaneously, cut through his forearm.

Thud!

Chae Sung-tae, with his straight sword lowered, splashed rainwater as he charged fiercely. His momentum clearly aimed to finish off the armless Wi Seon-woo, so I engaged Goo Yang-su in a one-on-one fight.

Wi Seon-woo, with one arm cut off, faced Chae Sung-tae.

I deflected Goo Yang-su’s dual swords and gathered the Flame Spirit in my left hand, then released it with the Finger Flicking Technique.

When Goo Yang-su deflected the Flame Spirit with his saber, not only the saber but also his arm trembled.

I feigned thrusts, focusing only on thrusting while my arm was relaxed, aiming for his neck and arm.

The Illusionary Sword, a technique found in most sects, involves intentionally leaving a faint trail of energy on the blade, creating afterimages. When these afterimages increase to three or four, they are often referred to as the Illusionary Three Swords. Naturally, the faster the sword, the more afterimages.

Thus, the Illusionary Sword is a technique that can be seen in most sects.

In the rain, I created nine afterimages, three at a time, and accurately stabbed Goo Yang-su’s neck with the Black Dragon Sword.

Thud!

The dual swords, arriving half a beat later, stopped near my chest and fell to the ground.

As I pulled out the bloodied sword, the sky flashed.

Turning my head, I saw Chae Sung-tae stabbing the fallen body of Wi Seon-woo.

Seeing Wi Seon-woo die by Chae Sung-tae’s sword rather than mine gave me a strange feeling. It made me realize more clearly that Chae Sung-tae’s fate, as well as mine, would change significantly.

Until just now, I thought the twin saber wielder would die by my hand.

Chae Sung-tae, pointing to the corpse with his sword, asked,

“Who is this guy?”

“Black Fox Sect members.”

“Black Fox Sect...”

Chae Sung-tae sighed and ordered the onlookers,

“Why did you bring these guys here? Do you want to die?”

As Chae Sung-tae, with his bloodied sword, approached, the onlookers stepped back. One of them defended himself,

“We were threatened, so we brought them. If we hadn’t, we would have been killed first.”

Chae Sung-tae looked at me.

“You’re going to run the Haomen with these guys? Is that possible?”

I snorted.

“Why are you asking me?”

“Huh? You’re the leader of the city.”

“Reform the ones who need it. You’re the leader of the Living Gate. Seong-tae, this guy. Are you not educating your subordinates properly? Do you want to die?”

Chae Sung-tae opened his mouth.

“Oh...”

After nodding a few times, Chae Sung-tae bowed slightly and said,

“I’ll take care of it. Let’s talk. It seems Mr. Geum is in the inn.”

“Good job.”

“Thank you.”

While Chae Sung-tae gathered the onlookers to clean up the bodies, I entered the Chunyang Inn.

Jang Deok-su and Geum Cheol-yong, who had been watching comfortably inside, greeted me.

“Welcome back. You did well.”

Geum Cheol-yong gave a thumbs up.

“Leader, your skills were impressive. Not only your fighting skills but also the way you revealed the enemy’s accomplice was excellent. How did you know there was an accomplice nearby?”

I tilted my head.

‘Why is he so analytical?’

I answered vaguely,

“I just had a feeling.”

“Amazing.”

I was drenched. As water dripped from my clothes, I said to Geum Cheol-yong,

“Mr. Geum.”

“Speak.”

“I’ll wait for Guangren. If anything happens, contact Chae Sung-tae or me.”

Geum Cheol-yong nodded.

“Understood.”

I looked down at my wet body and bid farewell to the two.

“I’m going to wash off some blood.”

Jang Deok-su tilted his head, as there was no blood on me. I had said it without much thought.

* * *

As I returned to Plum Tower, I suddenly remembered the map that the twin saber wielder had coveted. Although I no longer had the map, I hadn’t forgotten the location marked on it.

However, since the location was quite far from here, I needed to think more about the timing to retrieve it. Since I had taken this action much later in my previous life, visiting it anytime wouldn’t be a big issue.

The forces I needed to deal with immediately had increased to the Black Cat Sect and the Black Fox Sect, but I wasn’t overly worried. Compared to the suffering I endured in the Heavenly Net of the Devil Sect, this was just a warm-up.

I opened the main gate of Plum Tower and turned to look at the rain-soaked scenery of Ilyang County.

The entire county, not just me, seemed drenched in the rain.

The streets were deserted due to the late hour and the reduced number of lights.

It was a cold scene, as if the deaths of the two martial artists swinging sabers in the rain had gone unnoticed.

Martial artists, after all, often kill and die among themselves.

This incident, which often occurs, just happened to take place on a rainy day.

I stood at the main gate of Plum Tower for a moment, watching the heavy rain.

Returning stronger, everything seemed beautiful.

I suddenly wondered,

Am I a half-mad man, as I was in my previous life, or am I returning to normal after being mad?

I couldn’t tell right now.