Book 20 Chapter 6

Night Fishing

—Hood or Handcuffs?

"Who's there?"

Gongson Jeolhwi asked in a sharp tone mixed with wariness.

"Just a common angler. Came to catch bait before catching the big one."

Namgung Sang's words, if heard differently, could be an insult that greatly devalued Gongson Jeolhwi's worth.

"Are you saying I'm nothing more than bait right now?"

He retorted with an enraged voice. It was as expected. A young man like him, who had never tasted frustration, would flare up like a wildfire with just a spark of his meager pride. He himself had been like that once. It was another sign of immaturity, yet they would never admit that fact.

'Good, I've lit the fire for now…'

So far, it was as intended.

'Easy. I've improved a lot too.'

The plan was proceeding with a disheartening smoothness. That's why it was so simple and easily deciphered.

It seemed that experiencing much led to learning naturally.

'Shall I move on to the next step then?'

Namgung Sang loosened the joints of his fingers and recalled the conversations he had with Biryuyeon through the rusty bars before coming here.

"Today?"

"Yes, he will definitely appear. We'll go out of the school together, and I'll do the patrol alone. They'll surely be targeting us."

"A truly foolish person would do that."

"But you think he will, don't you?"

"Indeed."

"Right? Moving in the same way for five days deserves to be called thoughtless. But since he acted the same way for the past four days, it's hard to expect him to make an exception today."

"That's good timing. Try testing 'that' this time."

"What? 'That'? But…"

"Why?"

"It's not finished yet."

Biryuyeon let out a hollow laugh as if flabbergasted by the hesitant answer.

"Are you an idiot? It needs to be tested precisely because it's unfinished. If it were already complete, why would I bother with such an experiment?"

Listening to it, there was some truth to it.

"Th-that's also true."

"It is."

"But… is it okay to be this relaxed?"

Still not reassured, Namgung Sang asked again.

"Relaxed? You'd better be prepared to die if you fail. That's probably the truth."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

Although the last words were very unreliable, Namgung Sang had realized something from Biryuyeon's words. A rehearsal for verification was needed before the actual combat.

'Shall I give it a try?'

Namgung Sang fiddled with the hilt of his sword, quietly repeating to himself what he was about to do, to further solidify his resolve. The desire to have more confidence in oneself before a major duel was a natural aspiration that any martial artist possessed. If he fought and won against his opponent in this battle, he would gain the great gift of confidence, and that gift would become a shield to firmly protect his mind.

'Perhaps he started this for the same reason.'

Now that they were in a somewhat similar position, he could finally understand the opponent's psychology, even if only partially. The other side also had someone to defeat. They had a goal. The man was sharpening his sword towards that goal. Namgung Sang was startled when his thoughts reached that point.

'Is this karma, or reaping what you sow? Could the Grand Senior Brother have calculated that far?'

Not wanting to admit it, Namgung Sang shook his head vigorously.

'No, it must be a coincidence…'

It was more comfortable to think that way. It would be very troublesome if he became any more formidable than this. Therefore, he decided to briefly turn his attention away from reality.

"Hey, you! May I give you some advice?"

There was the perfect subject right in front of him to distract his attention.

"Speak."

The man replied in a gruff voice.

"How about taking off that hood? It doesn't suit you!"

As Namgung Sang said, the man was wearing a hood over his face. Of course, it was because he was wary of revealing his identity.

"No need!"

He wasn't going to take it off. It was the expected answer, but he had no intention of just accepting it.

'Just because we disagree doesn't mean I can give up!'

To abandon prematurely and then go through a process of adjusting opinions to find common ground would be the right course of action. Fortunately, he had a great tool hanging from his waist for adjusting opinions in case of emergency.

"That's difficult. I can't stand things that bother my eyes. And this is actually for your own good. That dark accessory really doesn't suit you. How about looking for a different accessory this time? Hmm, for example… like a black, hard, and heavy bracelet. Some people ungracefully call them handcuffs or shackles, but they look quite impressive when done! How about it?"

Namgung Sang's taunting, which was improving day by day, had now reached a considerable level.

"Mind your own business. If you really want to change someone's attire so badly, why not try with skill instead of words?"

"You mean try with force? That's good."

Namgung Sang had a faint smile on his lips at those words.

"It seems we agree on that part. There's no need to refuse. I was planning to do it anyway!"

Since meeting Biryuyeon, he had long ago thrown away the delusion that the world would smoothly go according to his wishes into the trash can.

One move was better than a hundred words or a thousand prayers, was Biryuyeon's constant refrain.

"Then I'll go take it off."

With a polite warning, Namgung Sang walked towards the man with a relaxed gait.

"Uh, uh…"

The man was quite taken aback by his casual demeanor. He had expected him to come, but he hadn't expected him to come so leisurely. He had expected a fierce attack like a storm, and he felt his entire body's tension was about to release.

'What trick is this?'

He pulled the loosening thread of tension taut again. It was impossible that the opponent would politely come to remove his hood. He also started walking towards Namgung Sang.

The relative space between the two people grew shorter with the movements of the two beings. And finally, when his right shoulder and Namgung Sang's right shoulder were in a straight line, the tension intensified in inverse proportion to the reduced distance. As space disappeared, time seemed to disappear as well.

The steps he took next seemed to approach incredibly slowly. In the frozen time, hundreds of attack forms and the same number of defense forms corresponding to them flashed like lightning in both their minds.

Dong!

Both of their left feet landed on the ground simultaneously. Time was still flowing slowly. Namgung Sang could count every single fine hair on the back of his hand as it moved towards the sword hilt. Only after he counted about two hundred and fifty hairs did his hand finally reach the hilt.

Namgung Sang turned around very slowly. The opponent's sword was approaching before his eyes. It was a splendid treasure sword forged under the power of fire and the vigorous tempering of a master craftsman. The polished blade, emitting a blue chill, and its ornamentation were impeccable. It was undoubtedly a famous treasured sword.

'Such a treasure sword must be a family heirloom of a prestigious family. In our Namgung Clan, there is only one sword I know of that can rival such a fine sword! Then…'

It was easy to guess that he was the descendant of a very reputable family.

'Is it one of the Eight Great Families? But to use such a precious item for such a trivial matter! It seems he's truly an immature young master, just as the Grand Senior Brother deduced.'

With a little time left even after thinking about these trivial matters, Namgung Sang remembered something he had forgotten.

'Ah, the sword was flying towards me!'

The sword, which had struggled hard through the tedious time, was now almost touching his Adam's apple at the tip. Being a top-tier treasure sword, even a graze could result in a deep wound.

'I should avoid it first.'

Namgung Sang moved his body slowly, thinking slowly. In any case, the stabbing sword was approaching at an incredibly slow speed. However, his body didn't move as fast as he thought.

'Huh? What's happening?'

His movements were as sluggish as the slow speed of the approaching sword. He suddenly realized that he might not be able to make it in time.

Fortunately, Namgung Sang slowly dodged the sword by a mere inch.

The man's eyes, peeking out from above his hood, widened in shock. His eyes widened to the point where one could count the number of his eyelashes. He seemed quite surprised. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Namgung Sang clicked his tongue. The flaw, which was as small as a grain of rice, suddenly grew into a deep pit.

'Tsk tsk, you shouldn't lose your composure. It shows on your face!'

Namgung Sang clicked his tongue and thrust out his sword. The sword dug under the hood. Huh, can it get even bigger from there? The man's wide-open eyes were now almost tearing.

He had ample opportunity to end his life.

'Don't worry. I have no intention of killing you.'

A dead bait has no value as bait. Such a situation must be avoided. Otherwise, his death would be in vain, wouldn't it?

The sword that dug under the hood emerged from the man's cheek. With a slight twist of his wrist, the hood split diagonally, revealing his face. A quite handsome face. Still young. More young than youthful. Around nineteen or twenty? He must be an applicant for the academy. With this level of skill, he wouldn't have to resort to this. It was clear that the young man's goal was not just to enter Cheonmu Academy.

Just as he was thinking this, the young man, surprised by his identity being revealed, was preparing for a second strike, drawing his sword back towards his body. A dark killing intent, as deep as the night, shimmered from the tip of the expensive sword.

An old martial arts adage(?) suddenly came to mind.

'Kill to silence (殺人滅口)?'

Nah, surely not? While he was briefly in doubt, the second strike was unleashed. It was a much fiercer and more ferocious blow than the first.

'Has his reason been paralyzed by shock? Anyway, I can't die.'

Ah, of course, he had to die, but not like this. So he again twisted the sword hilt and disrupted the tip of the man's sword. The sword that slipped along Namgung Sang's blade lost its direction and drifted.

Pababat!

The deflected sword vibrated. Soon, the sword's image blurred, and the number of swords began to multiply. One, two, three, four, five. Among them, the two feints, the one on the upper left and the one on the lower right, seemed unnecessary to worry about.

'They're feints anyway…'

Namgung Sang moved his sword nimbly and faced the branching swords one by one. Since his opponent wasn't slow either, any waste in movement was unforgivable. He drew the shortest straight line towards the three swords. And he envisioned the shortest and most efficient path for his movement. If the distance was insufficient, he could cover the lacking distance by moving his body.

'Space is relative anyway! Absolute space doesn't exist!'

That was probably what the Grand Senior Brother said.

'One!'

Clang!

He blocked the first sword approaching his heart.

'Two!'

The second was to block the sword strike aimed at his belly.

'Three, I'll pass!'

You don't have to block with a sword to neutralize an attack. The point is just not to get hit by the body.

'Then the story is easy!'

As Namgung Sang slowly stepped back with his left leg, his body drew a semicircle backward. The sword blade narrowly missed his belly.

'Just as calculated!'

With a single movement, the distance to the opponent's sword rapidly shortened. Satisfied, Namgung Sang extended his sword slightly. He felt the sword power transmitted to the tip completely dissipate. Here, Namgung Sang hesitated for a moment. He was very conflicted about where to strike, his head, shoulder, knee, or foot. For a brief moment, although he shouldn't have understood the Grand Senior Brother's usual troubles, he felt like he could. He decided to choose a standard move (定石) rather than a brilliant move (妙手). The place he chose was between the knee and the foot, usually called the shin.

"Always give your best effort in everything."

'Father! Don't worry!'

Recalling his father's words that always remained in his heart, Namgung Sang kicked the man's shin with all his might.

Thwack!

The man's mouth opened very slowly, but as wide as a whale's. Namgung Sang was momentarily captivated by the illusion that he was stepping into the dark depths of a deep, vast cave. He could even see the number of teeth inside and the texture of his tongue. He felt like he could even measure the depth of his throat, but decided against it.

It seemed he was screaming. But he couldn't hear it well. Therefore, he didn't feel much guilt about the fact that he had elicited an inhuman sound from a human mouth. It was only then that Namgung Sang came to his senses, feeling as if he were waking from a languid and dreamlike sleep. Then he thought.

'Huh? What just happened?'

It was a useless thought. He had gone to so much trouble. Namgung Sang also felt like he had dreamed something.

'Huh?'

No matter how much he tried to recall it, he couldn't remember. He couldn't reproduce that hazy, dreamlike, yet somehow languid and slightly boring sensation. All the memories had already evaporated from his mind. Now, only his body remembered that sensation.

"Will I be able to reproduce that someday?"

An unknown thirst consumed his throat.

One thing was certain: he had, without his knowledge, visited an unknown realm.

'Perhaps… is this what is meant by an opened vision?'

He knew well that what he was seeing and what peak experts were seeing were entirely different. However, at this point, he had only managed to taste that world for a moment. His eye level was still not aligned.

"Raise your eye level. Otherwise, you're finished."

These were Biryuyeon's words to him during his special training for the duel with Ami Sinnyeo.

'Was the Grand Senior Brother also seeing that world just now?'

"It is impossible for you to maintain such a vision for a long time. That world consumes immense mental energy. It's still too much for you. However, it's not entirely impossible. While a long time is out of the question, a brief moment might not be. The problem is whether you can enter that world by your own will at the time you desire. You must strive to possess that vision, even momentarily. The only way you can defeat her is through that path."

Swoosh!

The figures of the two crossed.

Namgung Sang stopped walking after eight steps, even after passing by each other. Then he turned around and looked at Gongson Jeolhwi's astonished face.

"How is it?"

In his hand was the hood he had removed at some point without him realizing it.

"That looks much better."

"Hard to believe."

This was Jin Soryeong's first reaction as she listened to Namgung Sang's languid story with a dazed expression.

"It's true."

However, his words were claims based on unreliable memories.

"That's your assertion… and how do you know if it's true or not when you can't even remember?"

Yu Eunseong pointed out.

"It's a feeling!"

Namgung Sang replied shamelessly and confidently.

"The feeling of the world will be exhausted today. Hey, you. Is this friend telling the truth?"

Yu Eunseong, thinking it was futile to ask the person concerned, changed his mind and decided to ask Gongson Jeolhwi about the truth.

"I don't know."

Gongson Jeolhwi answered honestly.

"All I know is that I lost. Slow and steady? It was an exchange faster than the wind and as swift as lightning. I've never had a duel that made me yawn just by listening to it."

Gongson Jeolhwi glared at Namgung Sang with sharp eyes for a moment.

"How would I know what happened in that person's conscious world?"

"Indeed, that's true."

"However…"

Gongson Jeolhwi still had something to say.

"What I remember is that amidst the chaotic sword light, this person giggled several times for some reason."

"No, when did I…"

At that moment, Jin Soryeong raised her hand and stopped their argument. At her gesture, the two men simultaneously closed their mouths as if they had a pact. It clearly showed the current power structure and hierarchy.

"So, you're saying… that at your young age, you've already reached the realm of 'Mind's Eye (心眼)'?"

Jin Soryeong said something Namgung Sang hadn't even considered. This story, in its own way, was even less credible.

"What? Mind's Eye?"

Namgung Sang retorted with a bewildered voice.

Namgung Sang couldn't help but be flustered at the appearance of someone claiming to possess such an amazing ability without their knowledge.

"Then you don't even know where you reached?"

Jin Soryeong asked as if this was the most pathetic person she had ever seen.

"Then is that really…"

Namgung Sang asked with a stunned look. Jin Soryeong suddenly felt like sighing.

"That is definitely the realm of Mind's Eye."

When even Jin Soryeong admitted it, Namgung Sang was at a loss for what to do, flustered.

"But can it be said that you completely entered that realm with just that? It was just a brief experience, like a daydream, and you can't reproduce it again?"

Namgung Sang himself didn't seem to believe it.

"No, the fact that you could enter such a realm at a moment that wasn't even critical is surprising enough."

After a brief pause, Jin Soryeong continued.

"I must apologize to you."

"I don't think I've done anything to warrant an apology…"

Namgung Sang replied with an anxious voice. He had a bad feeling.

"No. I think I've underestimated your skills too much."

"You don't have to apologize for something like that…"

However, Jin Soryeong wasn't listening to him.

"In respect of your skills, I will go all out in this duel. I was complacent when I intended to go easy on you. I apologize."

"No, you really don't have to apologize…"

Namgung Sang wanted to cry. Why did his gut feeling feel so accurate today!

"Continue what you were saying. If I hear it all, I'll know if it's true or not."

"It's really not… you shouldn't do that…"

Namgung Sang felt utterly wronged.

* * *

"Finally, the bait is ready… and the atmosphere seems to be building up, so all we need is one more person to cast the net together."

Biryuyeon said, waving his chopsticks in the air.

"Who is that?"

Jang Hong, unable to contain his curiosity, quickly asked.

"There is. Someone who owes me several debts."

Biryuyeon replied briefly.

"Tsk tsk, to have someone like you as a debtor… whoever that friend is, their life must be truly unfortunate."

"Don't talk about others. You know him well too, old man."

"Uh? Who is it?"

"There is. A righteous young man, neat, clean, and handsome, perfect as a prospective bride."

He had a guess.

"Could it be Mo Yong-hwi?"

Biryuyeon replied with a chuckle.

"That's right! Who else could it be but him."