Chapter 23 – Big Bro Is Here

Chapter 23 – Big Bro Is Here

“Phew… They just keep coming without getting tired.”

Namgung Yeon adjusted his grip on the sword hilt and sighed deeply.

Although he wore an indifferent expression, it was only natural that fatigue had accumulated from the clash that had already lasted for several hours.

Namgung Yeon glared with sharp eyes at the dozen or so men in black surrounding him.

‘Just how long will this go on…’

It was then.

“To think you walked in on your own two feet just because we took a single kid hostage… I wonder if the brats of the Orthodox sects have no fear, or if they are just throwing away their one and only life, captivated by that empty sense of righteousness.”

“…”

The leader of the Red Blood Gang, the Ghost Hand Sword Soul, who had been smiling with satisfaction after cornering him, revealed himself.

“I thought it was strange that you were using third-rate swordplay. But if you are a brat of the Namgung family, it makes sense. It seems you were hiding your true skills, weren't you?”

‘That bastard…’

Namgung Yeon, whose clothes were already torn in various places as he breathed heavily, grit his teeth.

“…What is your purpose in calling me here?”

Would this many people really risk themselves and show their faces again just to catch him alone? Namgung Yeon asked, certain that they had another purpose.

At that cold voice, the Ghost Hand Sword Soul replied with a sinister sneer.

“I have a bit of a grudge against those poisoners. It was highly unpleasant of them to treat us like trash, claiming they were cleaning up Chengdu before the assembly.”

“…………”

Cleaning up the nearby underworld and strengthening security before the assembly started was a routine occurrence. It had been the same when the assembly was held in Anhui a few years ago.

The reason was simple: once the assembly began, they had to focus on welcoming guests and their internal schedule, making it difficult to actively intervene and respond to accidents outside.

“Therefore, I prepared a small play with fire, but because the two of you beat eight of our members to a pulp, things got a bit tangled… so I intend to change my plan slightly. You will become a part of that plan.”

“…Playing with fire?”

“Yes. You must know that once the assembly starts, the Orthodox fellows gathered in Sichuan will all assemble at the Tang Clan Castle. That is the moment I have been waiting for. Aren't you curious about how quickly those Orthodox fellows will move from inside those high walls?”

Namgung Yeon's eyes widened at the words flowing from the mad Ghost Hand Sword Soul's mouth.

‘Were they targeting the Tang Clan from the very beginning?’

The Ghost Hand Sword Soul's plan was as follows.

They would hide to avoid the Tang Clan's martial artists until the assembly, and once the Orthodox martial artists gathered inside the Tang Clan Castle, they would plunder and set fire to villages far from Chengdu. Then, they would escape Sichuan before the Tang Clan's martial artists could arrive.

Normally, it would not be something they could easily attempt, but they had instead used this assembly as an opportunity.

‘If this plan succeeds…’

Not only would there be immense damage to the commoners, but the Tang Clan would also not be able to escape the blame and responsibility.

Biting his lip, Namgung Yeon spoke in a cold voice.

“…Are you fearless? Are you doing this because you do not know who the guests attending the assembly are?”

“I know, I know very well! Aren't they the noble family bastards who think their own families are more precious than anything else in the world? Do you think they would step forward for mere commoners in Sichuan, which isn't even their territory? No way! Unless the Tang Clan Castle itself is set on fire, those bastards won't make a move. The responsibility will fall entirely on those poisoners.”

“Even so, besides the Tang Clan, there are two more great sects in Sichuan…”

“What? H-Hahaha! Hahahahat!”

The laughter that cut off Namgung Yeon's words subsided, and the Ghost Hand Sword Soul's sinister voice followed.

“How naive, how naive. Emei? Qingcheng? Are you talking about those cowards? What could those guys, shut up in the mountains practicing the Dao, possibly do? Let me tell you, Sichuan is a place where having three sects is actually a disaster. Do you understand?”

Three great sects were located in Sichuan.

The Emei Sect, a sect consisting solely of Buddhist nuns; the Qingcheng Sect, a holy land of Taoism and the birthplace of the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice; and finally, the Sichuan Tang Clan, renowned as the progenitor of poisons and hidden weapons.

Having not just one, but three powerful forces that dominated the Jianghu made Sichuan seem like a 'safe zone' at first glance.

However, the reality was not so.

Since the lines were not drawn like a knife, the responsibility for one's own territory became blurred, and if an incident occurred, it would lead to a pattern of passing the blame.

Particularly, it was obvious that the responsibility for underworld plundering targeting the assembly like this would all fall back on the Tang Clan.

Knowing this fact, the Ghost Hand Sword Soul sneered at Namgung Yeon's naive thoughts.

“Since you interfered with my business… I'll have to cut off your wrist, throw it to the Tang Clan, and dump your corpse to the Namgung Clan, who will arrive soon. If the two families start a war, things will become even simpler.”

Namgung Yeon tightened his grip on his sword hilt and regulated his breathing.

He was already exhausted, but there was no other choice.

If something happened to him, a direct descendant of the Namgung Clan, and if the Tang Clan got entangled in that incident as that bastard said… something truly uncontrollable might break out. Namgung Yeon did not want that at all.

“…I cannot let that happen.”

Blue sword qi bloomed once again from the straight sword.

His eyes, filled with a freezing blue light, wavered. The sharp sword rushed forward like lightning, aiming for the Ghost Hand Sword Soul's throat.

*Swoosh!*

“Tsk, tsk. Are you still charging at me?”

The Ghost Hand Sword Soul clicked his tongue and shrugged.

From both sides of the Ghost Hand Sword Soul, who had dodged, two men in black leaped out and returned the attack several times.

*Clang! Clang! Claaang!*

The number of enemies was too high.

Unlike himself, who was struggling to block the swords flying from all directions, the Ghost Hand Sword Soul, who alone remained relaxed amidst this chaos, spoke in a low voice.

“Brat of the Namgung family, shall I give you a piece of advice?”

With a sinister sneer, the Ghost Hand Sword Soul's figure kicked off the ground and thrust his blade right up to Namgung Yeon's neck in an instant.

*Claaang!*

Namgung Yeon hastily raised his sword to block the path of the blade, but the downward pressure from the crossed swords grew stronger and stronger.

“Hmph!”

No matter how skilled a swordsman of the Namgung family he was, Namgung Yeon was still only at the age of fifteen.

He could not match the internal energy and meanness of the Ghost Hand Sword Soul, who had rolled around the Jianghu to his heart's content.

He was an opponent against whom victory was difficult to guarantee even in a one-on-one fight.

Yet, with a dozen or so swords pouring down on him on top of that, he was out of breath just from blocking.

“I admit that a young kid like you knows how to handle a sword quite well. But there are a dozen or so people aiming for your neck. If you stay quiet as a final mercy, I will end it with just a single wrist.”

*Griiind!*

He felt a chilly sensation from the blade drawing closer and closer. Just one more inch, and his own neck would be cut by his own sword.

*Claaang!*

Namgung Yeon poured his internal energy into his sword with all his might. With a loud sound of tearing air, the Ghost Hand Sword Soul's sword was pushed back.

‘There is no chance of winning if it turns into a battle against many. I must find another way…!’

Namgung Yeon quickly scanned his surroundings.

But at that moment.

‘…Damn it.’

Seeing the men in black closing in and aiming at him with their sword tips, Namgung Yeon had no choice but to bite his lip once again.

There was nowhere to escape.

Driven into a corner, Namgung Yeon looked at the men in black tightening the noose around him like a rabbit caught in a trap. He was at a disadvantage. However, he could not give up.

‘An opening… I will strike the right side first.’

Namgung Yeon's sword thrust out at a man in black whose sword tip wavered, targeting a gap.

*Clang! Claaang!*

However, the number of enemies was over a dozen. No matter where he extended his sword, he could not avoid all the sword strikes stabbing from all directions.

“Ugh…!”

Along with a terrifying burning sensation, red blood trickled down Namgung Yeon's forearm and flank.

“Stop this foolishness.”

Looking at Namgung Yeon, who was breathing heavily, the Ghost Hand Sword Soul clicked his tongue.

Namgung Yeon's light blue clothing was already in tatters, and the red blood seeping underneath swelled and expanded its area. The tedious exchanges of blows that had already occurred several times before the Ghost Hand Sword Soul revealed himself had carved deep and shallow wounds on his body.

“If there are those aiming at your back on the battlefield, there are only two choices. If you won't surrender… well, shall I cut off your neck?”

Grit his teeth, Namgung Yeon gripped the sword hilt with both hands and spoke.

“For a swordsman of the Blue Sky Namgung… there is no surrender.”

To a swordsman, his wrist was the same as his life. With nowhere left to retreat, Namgung Yeon focused his blurry vision and glared fiercely at the Ghost Hand Sword Soul.

‘…I should have at least said goodbye to Brother before coming.’

Trying his best to ignore the rising despair, Namgung Yeon adjusted his grip on the sweat-slicked sword.

The Ghost Hand Sword Soul, with an expression that said he knew it would be so, raised his hand.

As his hand came down, the swords of the men in black, who were ready to charge at Namgung Yeon, bared their edges.

A silence brought on by a tension so tight that not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

“Kill him.”

Finally, the Ghost Hand Sword Soul's hand pointed downward.

However.

What broke the silence was not the sharp metallic sound of clashing swords or a cry of pain.

*Thud. Thud!*

A strange sound was heard in succession.

“……?”

As if it were not a sound heard only by their own ears, the men in black, who had been leaning forward, also turned their heads toward where the sound came from.

*Thud! Thud!*

“W-What is it! What's happening?!”

The strange sound grew closer in an instant.

*Thud!*

Finally, even the man in black who had been standing next to the Ghost Hand Sword Soul, constantly seeking an opening in Namgung Yeon's defenses, collapsed forward with a loud noise.

“………!!”

It happened in a split second.

It was an extremely brief instant that no one could have anticipated or even prepared for.

In that split second, eight men in black rolled on the ground like kites with their strings cut. Almost simultaneously, at that.

“What on earth is this…!!”

“G-Gang Leader!”

They had not felt even a trace of a presence. When half of their forces vanished before they knew it, an unhideable confusion spread across the faces of the remaining men.

Was the opponent a ghost? The presence that still could not be seen or felt was bizarre.

“Gasp…!!”

Not everyone was like that.

Yuk-seo, the only one among them who had experienced this spine-chilling terror, covered his mouth with trembling hands. He would die. They would die. That young brat was going to kill everyone here!

*Thud!*

Eventually, even the man in black who was guarding the Ghost Hand Sword Soul's left fell to the ground without even being able to scream.

“Who is it! Show yourself!”

Gwi Yeong-ja's scream-like shout echoed in the air.

“Ha, do they think they're the Green Forest or something…”

At the same time, a familiar voice was heard.

“You were hiding pretty deep in there. I've been looking for you for a while.”

At that voice, Namgung Yeon's eyes, which had sunk under a tangle of despair, anger, and fear, gradually regained their bright color.

The place from which the voice had come.

“………Brother!”

The figure who had laid the nine members of the Red Blood Gang—who had been persistently tormenting Namgung Yeon—flat on the ground in an instant finally revealed himself.

“Yeah, Yeon. Big Brother is here.”