That’s Not How You Use Martial Arts

Chapter 14
Entering the Jianghu (3)

『 Translator – Divinity 』

“…There’s no way a mere deputy leader would be carrying this around secretly. It must have been prepared by the Fortress Lord.”

As Hwa-ryeon spoke with conviction, Master nodded in agreement.

“We still don’t know how he got his hands on this wicked thing, but his intentions are clear. He intends to use it as justification to purge those who oppose him.”

With a grave expression, the Merchant Leader continued after Master,

“Since he brought it here, he must have intended to frame us as Demonic Cult collaborators as well.”

With those words, silence fell over the room.

Everyone was confused and speechless in this hopeless situation, when—

Bang!

Hwa-ryeon abruptly stood up.

All eyes focused on her.

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

“Young Mistress? What do you mean…?”

“Paecheon Fortress is an organization my father dedicated half his life to build. It was created to control those with power in the murim and to monitor the Demonic Cult’s activities.”

Hwa-ryeon looked at everyone.

And finally, her gaze landed on me.

“In other words, it was created to maintain peace. I can’t tolerate him using Paecheon Fortress for his own selfish desires.”

“…Young Mistress, I understand how you feel, but we have no means to oppose Paecheon Fortress. What do you intend to do?”

At the Merchant Leader’s question, Hwa-ryeon answered resolutely,

“If we don’t have the means, we’ll create them. The means to stop Paecheon Fortress.”

“How? Most of the vassal families have already been wiped out, and we need to leave this village as soon as possible.”

Master stepped in to remind her of their reality.

But Hwa-ryeon’s spirit wasn’t broken.

“There are still those who remain. Those who dislike Paecheon Fortress and are frustrated with the current state of affairs.”

“Y-Young Mistress…! Don’t tell me…?”

Master stood up with a surprised look, as if he had realized Hwa-ryeon’s intentions.

And as if confirming his guess, Hwa-ryeon nodded.

“Yes. The Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans. I intend to borrow their strength.”

Everyone in the room, including myself, was surprised by Hwa-ryeon’s words.

To think she would suggest borrowing the strength of those fifteen factions.

The Merchant Leader, in particular, immediately objected.

“That’s absurd! They are the ones who loathe the Fortress Lord as much as Ju Do-han does. They will never help us.”

“We have a common enemy. So, at the very least, we should be able to cooperate as much as the people of Wu and Yue in the same boat.”

Wu and Yue in the same boat.

It meant that even bitter enemies could cooperate if their interests aligned.

Right now, Hwa-ryeon was saying she would cooperate with the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans to fight against the ‘enemy’ that was Paecheon Fortress.

Master, who couldn’t have missed her meaning, cautiously asked,

“…Are you sure? Even if it has fallen into Ju Do-han’s hands, Paecheon Fortress is still the one that the Fortress Lord…”

“Even my father wouldn’t stop me if he saw the current state of Paecheon Fortress.”

Saying that, Hwa-ryeon looked at the Blood Explosion Technique manual on the table with disgust.

“A Paecheon Fortress that uses such despicable methods to persecute innocent people is better off gone.”

“Young Mistress….”

“Young Mistress.”

“Miss.”

Hwa-ryeon looked at everyone sitting around the table.

“I know what you want to say. It’s certainly reckless, a foolish and dangerous choice. But I won’t run or hide anymore.”

Her eyes were filled with unwavering determination.

The eyes of someone who had made a life-changing decision.

“If I turn a blind eye to this situation just to save my own life, I won’t be able to face my father in the afterlife. I don’t want that, not that.”

“Hmm…”

“I won’t force you to follow me. You can leave if you want. I’ll do it alone if I have to.”

After Hwa-ryeon finished speaking, silence fell over the room again.

But the silence didn’t last long.

Thud!

Seol-i was the first.

“I will follow you, Miss. As you said, I can’t tolerate Paecheon Fortress stooping to such lows!”

Seol-i, her eyes burning with passion, looked at Master.

“Master will join us too, right?”

“…This girl.”

Master, who had been staring at Seol-i with a dumbfounded expression, stood up.

“Well, where else would I go now? I don’t want to be a cowardly master who turns a blind eye to his disciples walking a thorny path.”

Following him, Merchant Leader Bang also stood up.

“From the day the Fortress Lord saved my life, I vowed to dedicate my life to his family. That vow will not change until I die. I will follow you until the end, Young Mistress. No, My Lord.”

“…Thank you.”

Hwa-ryeon expressed her gratitude in a low voice.

And as if overwhelmed with emotion, she wrinkled her nose.

It was especially noticeable because she was someone who rarely showed her feelings.

No, that wasn’t it.

My senses were simply heightened, taking in everything in this room more intensely.

I placed my hand on my chest, which had started pounding uncontrollably.

Thump, thump

A corrupt and decadent power, and those determined to stop it.

Wasn’t this the start of a grand epic?

I had to struggle immensely to maintain my composure amidst the surge of emotions swirling within me.

As I tensed the muscles in my face, Hwa-ryeon’s voice calling my name reached my ears.

“Young Master Gun.”

“Uh, huh?”

I looked up, and everyone’s eyes were focused on me.

Th-this atmosphere, don’t tell me?

“M-me too?”

“I know there’s no reason for you to join us. But I implore you. Won’t you please join us?”

An earnest and weighty request.

But it was also a request that set my heart ablaze.

I wanted to accept immediately and say, “Let’s go together.”

The martial arts novels that were my only solace in the hospital room in my past life, the start of the adventures they depicted, had appeared before me.

How, how could I refuse this?

Of course, I would say I’d join them…

“I…!”

…But I couldn’t.

“…I’m sorry, but could you give me a moment?”

“……”

The atmosphere turned cold.

Perhaps they had truly hoped I would accept, as Hwa-ryeon, Master, and the Merchant Leader all looked at me with disappointed eyes.

Judging from their reactions, it seemed like I had flatly refused.

No, I hadn’t refused yet…

Seol-i’s face clearly showed her blatant disappointment.

I’m sorry, Seol-i. But I also have circumstances I can’t ignore…!

“…Could you tell us why?”

“Well, you see… there’s a trial I must overcome before I can leave the village.”

“…A trial?”

Naturally, Hwa-ryeon, not understanding what I meant, tilted her head.

Looking at her elegant face, I let out a deep sigh.

If I said I wanted to venture into the Jianghu, a lion’s roar would erupt, echoing throughout the house.

***

“Noooooooo—!!”

“…Oh my ears.”

My prediction was spot on.

It was dinner time after returning from the martial arts school.

As soon as I mentioned venturing into the Jianghu after the meal, a lion’s roar erupted right next to me.

Whoa, whoa… it pierced through even with my internal energy protecting me.

Did she learn the actual Lion’s Roar technique somewhere, this person?

Clutching my ears, I desperately avoided the fierce gaze of my eldest sister, who was sitting right next to me.

She then turned her gaze to our parents.

“No way. Venturing into the Jianghu! After what happened a week ago, absolutely not. No way, no how.”

My eldest sister vehemently opposed the idea.

My parents didn’t seem too keen on it either.

Especially Father.

“I agree with your sister. When I think about how our family was almost wiped out by those martial artists…”

Father shook his head, unable to continue his sentence.

But Mother’s reaction was different.

“Seong-ah.”

“…Yes, Mother.”

“May I ask? Why do you want to venture into the Jianghu?”

At Mother’s words, Father and my eldest sister simultaneously looked at her.

“M-Mother?”

“Dear?”

But Mother, unfazed by their gazes, looked only at me.

At Mother’s words, which felt like a ray of hope, I recalled the words I had prepared beforehand.

About how I wanted to strike first since those Paecheon Fortress bastards could attack again at any time, or how I couldn’t just stand by and watch the people from the school, with whom I had trained for ten years, walk into danger.

I had prepared quite a few solemn lines.

But just as I was about to speak, I met Mother’s eyes.

Looking into her clear gaze, which seemed to see right through me, the lines I had prepared vanished from my mind.

In the end, all that came out of my mouth was my unadorned, true feelings.

“…I’ve always wanted to go on a journey. I want to see the wider world. I don’t want to be trapped in Gun-gang County my whole life.”

It might sound like something a naive child would say.

But this answer was my genuine feeling, without a single lie.

However, even though it was my true feeling, it was far from enough to convince my family.

See, Father and my eldest sister were looking at me with utter disbelief.

“…Well, I understand.”

Mother didn’t say anything else besides that.

And so, dinner ended.

As soon as I stepped into the manor courtyard, I spotted a pair of clear eyes looking at me from beyond the wall.

“…Hwa-ryeon?”

“……”

Despite my call, Hwa-ryeon, the owner of those clear eyes, just stared at me without saying a word.

What? Just how long had she been there?

D-don’t tell me?

“…Did you hear?”

That lion’s roar? I hoped she would say no.

But what I got was Hwa-ryeon nodding her head up and down.

…Was there a mouse hole I could hide in?