Chapter 76

Bukgung Yeong-noh approached Lotus Pavilion with heavy, measured steps.

Unlike the Fifth Young Master, who arrived flanked by the Eight Guardian Flowers, and the Fourth Young Master, who came with the Black-Gold Troops, he had come to Flying Swallow Manor alone.

If fewer guards meant greater skill, then what did it mean that the heir of the world’s foremost family traveled without any at all?

“Still the same.” Yeon Mujin felt a faint satisfaction.

The three other brothers rose from their seats and watched the approaching Second Young Master.

“Huh? What the—why is everyone gathered here?” he asked as he climbed the pavilion.

“We pay respects to the Heavenly Martial Manor Lord.” The three heirs bowed in unison.

It was a stark contrast to the Fourth and Fifth Young Masters, who had barely acknowledged each other.

The Second Young Master—Heavenly Martial Manor Lord Bukgung Yeong-noh—was someone all his brothers feared.

Bukgung Yeong-noh half-acknowledged their greetings as he ascended the pavilion and scanned the crowd.

Eight Guardian Flowers of the Drunken Flower Manor, Black-Gold Troops of the Ten-Thousand-Gold Manor, and even the External Protection Troops of Flying Swallow Manor. The martial artists who met his gaze bowed and paid respects.

Bukgung Yeong-noh spoke. “This is messy. All the riffraff, leave.”

“…Yes?” Bukgung Mok-min stammered.

In the next moment Bukgung Yeong-noh vanished in a step and lunged at the Eight Guardian Flowers.

Caught off guard, they could not respond. Who would draw a weapon against the Second Young Master of the Bukgung Family? His target was Yuk-hwa of the Drunken Flower Manor, who stood closest. She raised both arms instead of a weapon to guard against his palm strike.

Thud!

“Kyaaa!”

She couldn’t fully stop it. Yuk-hwa absorbed the Second Young Master’s straight palm and was lifted, flying out of the pavilion.

Splash!

She fell into the pond and a high spray leapt up.

Amid the confusion the Second Young Master shouted again. “Can’t you hear me? All of you, get out.”

Having taken full control of Lotus Pavilion, he repeated, “All of you, leave.” Eight Guardian Flowers and the Black-Gold Troops glanced to the two young masters; guards cannot leave without their lord’s orders.

“…Go down.” Only then did the guards begin to withdraw. The deputy commanders of the External Protection Troops also received Bukgung Yoon’s permission and stepped away from Lotus Pavilion.

After everyone drained away like an ebb tide, only five people remained on the pavilion.

“Finally it’s a bit clearer… Who are you?” Bukgung Yeong-noh asked the lone person left besides his brothers.

It was Yeon Mujin.

“You did tell the riffraff to get out, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“So I didn’t leave. I’m not riffraff.”

“…What?”

The Fourth and Fifth Young Masters stared at Yeon Mujin with ashen faces. Had he lost his mind? How dare he banter in front of the Second Young Master of the Bukgung Family?

Bukgung Yeong-noh blinked and looked at Yeon Mujin.

“…Ha!” He shook off a laugh. “So it’s you.”

“It’s me.”

“Do you know who I’m talking about?”

“Who are you looking for?”

“I heard there’s an odd one here at Flying Swallow Manor.”

“Then it’s not me.”

“But I think it might be you.”

“I’m a special sort, not a peculiar sort.”

Bukgung Yeong-noh snorted. The exchange was almost refreshing—how long had it been since anyone dared trade jests with the Heavenly Martial Manor Lord?

“Do you know how many people have died here with their mouths torn open for chattering at me?”

“Probably none.”

“What?”

“Who would dare run their mouth so brazenly against the Heavenly Martial Manor Lord?”

Bukgung Yeong-noh let out a low note of admiration. “This is the first time I’ve heard such flattering talk come this way.”

“I won my position from the manor lord of Flying Swallow Manor with a single compliment.”

Bukgung Yeong-noh nodded. “So it’s you indeed. The External Protection Troop captain of Flying Swallow Manor. I’ve heard you’re a very strange fellow, but I guess the rumors were incomplete.”

“Have rumors of me reached the Bukgung Family?”

“Of course.”

“Damn it! My dream was to live quietly.”

“Wahaha!” The Second Young Master laughed loudly. “I must admit, you have a way with words. You’re an interesting one.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Bukgung Yeong-noh regarded Yeon Mujin with a pleased smile. Since coming up to Lotus Pavilion, the one who drew his interest was not his brothers but Yeon Mujin.

“Do you know why I came here?”

“Yes.”

Bukgung Yoon and the young masters flinched and looked at Yeon Mujin. They hadn’t expected the Second Young Master to come—and yet Yeon Mujin claimed to know why.

Bukgung Yeong-noh, amused, countered, “Why did I come?”

“You must have come because you desire something.”

“So what is that desire?”

“How should I know that? I’m no fortune-teller.”

“Hey, odd fellow.” Bukgung Yeong-noh stared intently. His mouth smiled but his eyes did not. “I’m not one for jokes by nature. Long speeches annoy me.”

Yeon Mujin showed no sign of intimidation. “If long talk annoys you, don’t beat around the bush—say what you want. Do you think I have time to ramble nonsense?”

Even Bukgung Yoon felt uneasy at that remark. The Second Young Master she knew was not patient.

“Fine. State your purpose.” Bukgung Yeong-noh raised a finger and pointed at Yeon Mujin.

“Come under my command.”

“…!”

“I refuse.”

“…!!”

The brothers’ gazes flickered between those two words. Bukgung Yeong-noh’s offer was not light—this was Heavenly Martial Hall, where renowned warriors from across the land gathered; a proposal coming directly from its Manor Lord. Yet Yeon Mujin dismissed it as if it weren’t worth considering.

“What?” Bukgung Yeong-noh hadn’t expected such an easy refusal.

“What’s your reason? You’re not going to spout some nonsense about already serving a lord, are you?” he asked, flustered and uncharacteristically petty.

Yeon Mujin’s answer was concise. “I do not serve anyone weaker than myself.”

“…”

Bukgung Yeong-noh fell silent.

The Fourth and Fifth Young Masters doubted they’d heard correctly.

Bukgung Yoon looked at Yeon Mujin as if he were mad. “What did you just say…?”

Someone’s hollow exclamation echoed what everyone was thinking. He refuses to serve because the Heavenly Martial Manor Lord is weak—and he says that to the Manor Lord’s face?

In people’s minds Yeon Mujin’s image plunged from boastful loudmouth to someone who had truly lost his senses. Or perhaps it was an upgrade. Either way, it was clear this wasn’t a normal situation.

Bukgung Yeong-noh was not one to let such words pass unchallenged. He slowly spread his presence. “Then let’s test you.”

As he set his stance, Yeon Mujin spoke. “No. Your choice of opponent is wrong.”

“What did you say?”

“Does it make sense for the Heavenly Martial Manor Lord of the Bukgung Family to contend with a low-level underling like me? You should defeat our Manor Lord, not me. My possession belongs to our Manor Lord, and the right to hand me over lies with my lord—what would you gain by felling me?”

Bukgung Yeong-noh retorted in disbelief. “Are you telling me to scuffle with my younger sister?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…” Yeon Mujin clicked his tongue. “Men are something else. Our Manor Lord is the legitimate successor acknowledged by the Bukgung Family Lord. What does being a woman matter, or being a younger sibling at that?”

Contrary to Yeon Mujin’s dismissive tone, Bukgung Yoon’s face had gone pale. Ignoring Bukgung Yoon’s merciless elbow jabs to her side, Yeon Mujin continued. “Surely the Heavenly Martial Manor Lord of the Bukgung Family wouldn’t step down out of lack of confidence?”

“…Ha!”

An unprecedented and blatant provocation. Another brother might not have taken such a low blow—who orders a fight for subordinates against his own sister?

But Bukgung Yeong-noh was no ordinary man. He was also somewhat mad. If it piqued his interest, slapping his sister around was nothing to him. “Alright!” he said. “But you’ll pay dearly for testing me, you brat.”

Bukgung Yoon felt wronged. Was this what it felt like to have your nose cut off before your eyes? The situation had slipped beyond her control. She could feel her second brother’s gaze fixed on her—broad shoulders, monstrous muscles flashing now and then, a smile of assured victory and greed.

So now…

‘You want me to beat that guy?’

“Wait!” she shouted.

“This is absurd!” Yeon Mujin had shouted for her.

“If the Heavenly Martial Manor Lord wins he’ll take me, but if our Manor Lord wins, what reward will there be? Are you telling her to take hits for free?”

“…what?”

“Captain Yeon, that sounds like I’m about to get hit. Is that what’s meant?” someone muttered.

And by the scariest brother, no less.

“Hmph. Yoon, if you win I’ll grant any wish you have,” Bukgung Yeong-noh said lightly—because such a thing would never happen.

“Even if you merely evade, block, or deflect my attack, I’ll count it as your victory. I’m not stingy. One move. Let’s decide it in a single bout.”

Even if the world split in two, it wouldn’t happen.

Even if the world split in two… could it really not happen?

—The Manor Lord should at least learn one way to protect her own body.

Perhaps.

—Perhaps a new path could open at Flying Swallow Manor.

Maybe it could be.

…The one way that could split the world in two.

Bukgung Yoon slowly turned her head and looked at Yeon Mujin. He watched the situation with an unruffled demeanor, as if everything was unfolding according to his plan.

‘Could it be.’ He’d aimed for this from the start?

Flying Swallow Manor faced two choices: follow the Fourth Young Master or the Fifth Young Master. But neither option was perfect. If the Drunken Flower Manor and the Ten-Thousand-Gold Hall were whales, Flying Swallow Manor was a shrimp—a shrimp whose back would inevitably be crushed in a whales’ fight.

But what if a dragon appeared instead of a whale? What if they mounted the back of a dragon that could turn whales into shrimps?

Smack!

Bukgung Yeong-noh moved without warning. His speed was far slower than when he had struck Yuk-hwa earlier; it seemed he spared some shred of conscience. That was fortunate for Bukgung Yoon. She couldn’t seize an attack she couldn’t even see.

Shtick.

Bukgung Yoon spread her legs and set her stance—not a hundred or a thousand times, but a posture honed through countless falls and adaptations.

‘Easy Shift of Hand.’

The dragon approached her—its smile complacent, its gesture arrogant. The stance Bukgung Yeong-noh took was oddly identical to the one Yeon Mujin had used countless times to slam her.

—The moment the opponent drives forward, let the force pass and shift your center.

‘I know that too, Lord Yeon.’

—Rotate the wrist angle while transferring weight. The stronger the opponent’s force, the greater the weight difference, the more linear the technique—the easier it becomes.

—The toes trace a circle as you rotate, the body naturally turning once around the circle’s axis.

Bukgung Yoon’s body was smaller than Yeon Mujin’s, so her footwork described an ellipse rather than a perfect circle. It wasn’t conscious; it was a reflex honed by repeated pain and resentment.

—Thus, use the opponent’s force against them, breaking their balance.

—As a result,

“Like… this!”

Bukgung Yoon’s world spun—not top to bottom but front to back. The gaze that had been fixed on Bukgung Yeong-noh swung toward the pond behind the pavilion.

And then Bukgung Yeong-noh’s world spun as well.

“…!”

He felt his youngest sibling seize his wrist. It wasn’t beginner’s luck; Bukgung Yoon gripped him with clear intention—a basic grappling technique every martial artist learns. It was already too late by the time he noticed.

In the blink of an ‘oh?’ he lost his balance. In the blink of a ‘what?’ his body floated up. What followed was inevitable.

Crash!

Bukgung Yeong-noh’s massive body smashed through the railing of Lotus Pavilion and flew off. Neatly arranged beneath him he saw the pond. Doubting the reality before his eyes, he turned his head and saw four faces with opposing expressions: one bewildered, one incredulous, one surprised, and one triumphant.

‘…Smiling?’

Before plunging into the pond, Bukgung Yeong-noh saw the face of that madman, Yeon Mujin, smiling as if delighted.

‘You bastard…’

Plunk!

A massive column of water burst up, far greater than when Yuk-hwa had fallen.