Chapter v17c3

Even the Thousand Horses Fort, one of the Four Hegemons of the Jiangnan region, whose power had been rising recently, wouldn’t dare to touch her. She was a direct disciple of the Emei Sect, and her master was Hye-myeong, the current sect leader. No sect would stand idly by if their prized successor was killed. It was a matter of honor. But unfortunately, as the villain had said, this place wasn’t truly Emei territory yet. It was within the Emei Sect’s sphere of influence, but it wasn’t a place where their disciples’ safety was guaranteed.

As he had said, even if she fired a distress signal here, it wouldn’t reach the Emei Sect. The distance was too great, and the wind would scatter the smoke. The red lotus stem was too short to be a lifeline.

“Do you think you can get away with this?”

The answer came immediately.

“I don’t know! And I don’t care! All I know is that you’re my son’s killer!”

Oh Ma-kwang roared, his voice filled with killing intent.

*What happened? She doesn’t seem like the type to make enemies.*

The man in the straw hat wondered. But if it was revenge for his son’s death, then he had a legitimate reason.

“Hmph, a lecherous scoundrel like him deserved to die!”

Jin So-ryeong retorted, her spirit unbroken even in this desperate situation.

“Hmm, is that so?”

He could guess what had happened from her single sentence.

The story went like this:

After three months of secluded training, as ordered by her master, Jin So-ryeong was finally granted a long-awaited break.

She decided to travel with a few friends, including Yu Eun-seong, a disciple of the Mount Cang Sect, whom she had befriended. They chose Hangzhou as their destination. While they were enjoying themselves at the Golden Orchid Inn, a famous restaurant in Hangzhou, a sleazy scoundrel approached her, attracted by her beauty. Just thinking about his lecherous gaze and his drool-dripping lips made her shudder with disgust.

The bastard was clearly confident in his background. He refused to back down even after hearing the names of the Nine Great Sects and the Eight Great Clans. His father was the master of the Thousand Horses Fort, a powerful organization that controlled the underworld of Hangzhou. And he was the only son. The Thousand Horses Fort was ostensibly a horse trading business, but behind the scenes, it was a powerful force that ruled the city’s night. They had started as bandits, and old habits died hard.

His father doted on him, indulging his every whim. Parental love was said to be unconditional, but Oh Ma-kwang’s love for his son was not only unconditional, it was also excessive and unreasonable. It was said that parental love was as vast as the rivers and seas, but even the sky and the ocean couldn’t compare to Oh Ma-kwang’s love for his son.

When his son was seven years old and came home after breaking a few of his friends’ teeth and bloodying their foreheads, Oh Ma-kwang patted him on the head and praised him. When his son was ten years old and disrespected his teacher, Oh Ma-kwang broke the teacher’s legs to shut him up. When his son was fifteen years old, the age when Confucius supposedly began to take an interest in learning, and gang-raped five women, Oh Ma-kwang gave him a thumbs-up for his manliness and courage. And when his son was eighteen years old and told him that he needed to “take care of” a husband who was interfering with his affair with a married woman, Oh Ma-kwang didn’t punish him. Instead, he sent two of his most capable men to help him. He wouldn’t tolerate anything that stood in his son’s way. So how could his son, the recipient of such boundless love, develop any sense of responsibility or morality? It was only natural that he would grow up to be a spoiled brat.

This kind of excessive parenting, as always, had disastrous consequences. It produced another spoiled brat, another irredeemable scoundrel. His name was Oh Dae-kwang, and his nickname was the Raging Stallion. But even these misguided parents had one rule: no killing family members. But by this point, he had already learned everything he needed to know. He was just waiting for the right opportunity.

The fact that he had never been denied anything had made him delusional. He believed that he could get away with anything, that no one would dare to oppose him. The Thousand Horses Fort’s backing had always given him a sense of invincibility. This was probably the first time he had encountered someone who wasn’t intimidated by his name.

Jin So-ryeong and her friends, on the other hand, were unaware of the underworld’s workings. They had assumed that no one would dare to touch a disciple of a Nine Great Sect. This difference in perspective naturally led to conflict.

Oh Dae-kwang was too immersed in his identity as the only son of the Thousand Horses Fort’s master. But Jin So-ryeong and her friends also had powerful backgrounds. An argument broke out, and swords were drawn.

Jin So-ryeong was no pushover. She wouldn’t lose to a spoiled brat who was more interested in his father’s connections than his own skills.

Her sword, honed by three months of solitary training, flashed through the air, overwhelming him. He was constantly on the defensive, unable to catch his breath. Even his bodyguards, who had always been by his side, aiding and abetting his crimes, were helpless against Yu Eun-seong and his friends.

His background, his usual source of power, was useless. His true worth was revealed. He was a “ten-move opponent,” meaning he could be defeated in less than ten moves.

As predicted, the fight ended in less than ten seconds. The first three seconds were spent gauging his opponent’s strength, the next six were punishment for his rudeness, and the last second was the finishing blow. She hadn’t intended to kill him, but she had lost her temper when he struck her below the belt with a cowardly move. And her enraged blade showed no mercy. Thus, the lineage of the Thousand Horses Fort, a powerful evil sect, was severed by a single girl’s sword. It was clearly his own fault, but Oh Ma-kwang, the master of the Thousand Horses Fort, blinded by grief and rage, couldn’t see reason.

The chase began. Even a skilled disciple of a Nine Great Sect couldn’t withstand the combined assault of a hundred Thousand Horses Fort warriors. So they decided to retreat.

The nearest allied territory was the Emei Sect, Jin So-ryeong’s own sect, the very sect whose leader Oh Ma-kwang had threatened to skin alive and hang from a pole.

It was a perilous journey. The arrows embedded in their carriage were a testament to the dangers they had faced.

“Why don’t you reconsider?”

Jin So-ryeong spoke again.

“Do you think the Emei Sect will stand idly by if you kill me? Even a fool would know better than that. And Master Yu here is a renowned disciple of the Mount Cang Sect. I doubt there’s a sect in Sichuan that would dare to cross both the Emei and Mount Cang Sects. Unless you’re one of ‘his’ descendants.”

Her last words made the man in the straw hat flinch. It was a brief movement, and then he was still again. He had been silent since their arrival, observing the situation like a statue.

“Heh, who knows?”

Oh Ma-kwang said, a cruel smile on his lips.

“There won’t be any bones left! Don’t worry, I’ll grind your bones into powder and drink them! There won’t be any trace of you left in this world!”

It was a chilling threat.

“Heaven and earth are watching.”

Jin So-ryeong said, biting her lip.

“Heh, heaven and earth are blind!”

He had committed countless atrocities, but he had never been punished. He had slaughtered hundreds with his axes, and he was still alive. He was a symbol of heaven’s indifference.

“There must be witnesses.”

“I’ll kill them all!”

His answer was immediate, decisive, leaving no room for doubt. He was willing to do anything to erase the evidence.

“Yes, including you two lovebirds and that guy over there!”

He pointed at the man in the straw hat, who was sitting calmly by the roadside.

The man, suddenly thrust into the role of Witness A, scratched his head.

“That’s a bit inconvenient…”

He didn’t mind being a witness, but he didn’t want to be a target. He still had a long way to go.

“Eight Guardians of the Thousand Horses, step forward!”

“Yes, sir!”

Eight men dismounted and approached them, forming a semicircle.

“Bring that bitch to me alive! I’ll skin her alive and hang her from a pole to appease my son’s spirit!”

Jin So-ryeong shuddered. He was capable of such barbarity.

“Hmph, he’s probably already in hell. You’re wasting your time.”

She said loudly, trying to appear unafraid.

“Shut up! We’ll see if you can still talk after we strip you naked and have our way with you!”

His eyes glowed red with malice.

“Hmph, you won’t even get my corpse.”

She would rather die than be humiliated. And she didn’t expect those villains to treat her body with respect.

“Deploy the Eight Formations of the Thousand Horses!”

He spread his scarred right hand. The Eight Guardians moved in unison, fanning out.

The leader of the group seemed to be the man with the greatsword, his face covered in scars. He gave the order, and the other seven men surrounded them, forming a circle. They were called guardians, but they were the ones attacking.

Four of them wielded spears, the other four identical swords. It was difficult to use weapons of different lengths in a formation. Each weapon had its own characteristics, and it was challenging to harmonize them. If the formation was poorly designed, the weapons could clash during the movements. And even if they managed to create a formation that worked, it would be complex and require a high level of skill to execute.

The fact that they were using only two types of weapons suggested that their skills weren’t that high. But on the other hand, the fewer the weapons, the more cohesive and powerful the formation. They couldn’t be underestimated. They were confident in their numbers, slowly closing in.

Jin So-ryeong and Yu Eun-seong stood their ground, their swords raised, their bodies tense.

The man in the straw hat, watching from his front-row seat, frowned slightly.

“Excuse me, Miss. I don’t mean to lecture you, but I wouldn’t just stand there and wait for them to complete their encirclement. Wouldn’t it be advantageous to seize the initiative and secure a favorable position?”

Jin So-ryeong swayed, as if struck by lightning.

*He’s right. Why am I just standing here like an idiot?*

She was foolishly giving up the tactical advantage.

Relationships were relative. It was like interpersonal relationships in everyday life. Where should she position herself in relation to her opponent? What position would give her the upper hand? The same principle applied to combat. But a life-or-death duel wasn’t a game of Go. Her opponents wouldn’t wait for her to make her move. She needed a keen eye, quick judgment, and lightning-fast reflexes. She needed to adapt to her opponents’ movements, to change her own form accordingly. She had forgotten this crucial principle.

It was foolish to let her opponents dictate the flow of the battle. She didn’t need to participate in their elaborate preparations for her demise.

The best strategy was to strike first. Jin So-ryeong was quick-witted. She immediately signaled to Yu Eun-seong, and they charged forward, their swords flashing, tearing through the closing net of their enemies.

“Wh-What?”

The eight men were caught off guard.

*This isn’t right.*

Their usual tactic was to overwhelm their opponents with their numbers, to intimidate them into submission. They had never encountered such bold resistance. Even their combined intellect, which favored violence over reason, couldn’t recall such a situation.

Even a cornered rat would bite a cat. And these two were far more capable and courageous than rats.

Their hesitation created an opening.

Jin So-ryeong and Yu Eun-seong seized the opportunity, their swords thrusting forward. Blue sword lights erupted from their blades.

“The best way to break a formation is to prevent it from being formed in the first place. She’s still young, but she’s a quick learner. Or maybe it’s just her youthful spirit?”

The man in the straw hat nodded approvingly.

The fight was about to get interesting.