Episode 221

Guesthouse, Blue Willow Room.

There was an inverted U-shaped pavilion built facing the garden, not serving as the main hall.

A hanging scroll on one wall exuded an old-fashioned charm, while luxurious orchids adorned the drawers along the back wall.

The front of the pavilion opened up to the garden, offering an unobstructed view of the far wall at a glance.

There was a deliberate reason behind its construction.

The pavilion, besides symbolizing distance, was intentionally left empty, aligning with its symbolic purpose.

Sipping tea that warmed my body, I felt at ease.

“Great Sir.”

“……”

A neatly dressed woman approached Jinmu, who was seated on the floor gazing at the garden.

“Would you like a drink brought in? Or shall we prepare a meal?”

“A meal would be nice. Also, let’s have musicians come in to liven things up.”

“I will make the arrangements.”

The woman acknowledged Jinmu’s request and withdrew.

And so it begins.

By now, guests at the guesthouse might be growing curious about Jinmu.

An unconventional young warrior.

With a lavish sword that contrasted his plain black robe, the readiness to produce a gold sycee without hesitation, and even a preference for a tidy room.

The more one tries to avoid attention, the more interest they attract.

Gathering information about newcomers is akin to a valuable commodity for them.

Unbeknownst to them, the young boy who received the silver sycee and the woman who attended to him might be assuming Jinmu’s wealth defines him.

This man in the immaculate room.

An hour had elapsed since my arrival at the guesthouse.

Rumors spread swiftly, akin to arrows, and with the force of the Yellow River’s raging waters, so tales of Jinmu might already be circulating among the locals.

But mere groundwork wasn’t sufficient.

It was time to cast the bait to reel in the fish.

Jinmu gazed at the door connecting the room to the garden wall.

As in other places around here, a well-dressed man stood guard at the entrance.

A protector for security and surveillance.

To ensure that visitors to the Blue Willow Room can enjoy the place peacefully, they queue up to prevent intoxicated visitors from taking the wrong path.

Jinmu felt regretful about it.

Sad. I don’t harbor ill feelings, but I must cause a commotion and lure them.

“Hey! You there!”

“……”

As Jinmu nervously shouted, the guard outside turned his head.

“Hey, you!”

“…?”

This innocent guard approached with a puzzled expression.

“Why do you keep looking inside?”

“…Sorry?”

You don’t need to turn your head.

This is just an argument. Unreasonable and sudden.

“I have never done that…”

“Where did this rascal act up!”

He deliberately shouted to attract the attention of others.

A part of his heart ached seeing the guard clearly embarrassed.

But what can you do?

If you have to make a sacrifice today.

Think of it as a bad day and brush it off, you’ll understand, right?

“Respected Sir, I truly….”

“You scoundrel, making excuses!”

Jinmu’s qi, containing evil qi in his dantian by using the Dual Internal Qi technique, burst out.

His eyes gleamed with intense killing intent, and his body turned pitch black.

Ah, it’s a bit awkward since it’s been a while since I did this.

Full body qi is the origin of all qi, and darkness precedes refinement.

The beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning. Order emerges from chaos, and it’s Elemental Assimilation Arts.

Grrrrr.

A thick black qi swirled down his arm and condensed in his hand, creating the illusion that Jinmu’s hand was turning black.

Shadow Dragon Elemental Assimilation Arts, Black Hand.

This was the stage just before summoning the Shadow Dragon’s strength.

“Y-you!”

The guards trembled and fell silent as killing intent pervaded the air in an instant.

“You scoundrel! How dare you!”

Woong!

A strong wave emitted from his hand.

The black qi that had flown erupted violently, resembling a dragon in action.

Woah! Kwang!

The qi flying through the air hit the wall and exploded.

The warrior felt a shiver down his spine as the qi lightly brushed his ear, causing him to collapse.

“Spare me.”

A natural response.

He is a warrior simply fulfilling his duty.

Now, with skills that may or may not be sufficient, he couldn’t even muster a strong gaze towards the individual capable of toppling more than a single wall with qi from their body.

“Spare you? Then you shouldn’t have looked!”

“Oh my. Whatever it was, I was mistaken. Please forgive me.”

The warrior lying face down pitifully clasped his hands together and prayed.

The scene was pitiful and heart-wrenching, yet there was more to it.

Warriors now began converging from all directions.

And.

“You scoundrel.”

Jinmu repeatedly apologized in his mind as he lifted the fallen warrior by the back.

“Kuak.”

As he was pulled by the collar, it felt like a strangulation, causing the warrior to struggle for breath.

But. It was a gentle pressure.

He would never harm an innocent person.

Just one blow.

I promise. Your descendants will be grateful despite the current challenges.

If you wish, I can find you a better place as well.

Tak!

He then swung his fist, devoid of qi, very lightly.

However, the reason the warrior, upon being struck in the face, flew only a short distance and fell roughly to the ground was because Jinmu had pushed him back.

“Euk!”

“……”

The warrior oddly clutched his face.

Shouldn’t his back hurt more?

Is fear dominating the pain? What an unusual man.

“Enough!”

The guards of the guesthouse, aware of the situation, quickly rushed over and prevented Jinmu from approaching the warrior.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

One of the warriors stepped forward, his eyebrows furrowed and eyes wide.

“We are the guards in charge of guarding the guesthouse. How can a nobleman from the Blue Willow Room cause such a disturbance here?”

“……”

This man in an amazing blue robe and with a sharp sword.

For someone running the guesthouse, he had a sharp mind.

His face exuded confidence, as if he knew my capabilities.

“A disturbance? Ha, look at all of you. How dare you come in numbers to intimidate me?”

“……”

Geum Ahn-pyo’s eyes narrowed at Jinmu’s words.

It seemed like he could assess the situation with just one glance.

Who started this mess? Are you talking about blackmail?

Geum Ahn-pyo quickly realized that Jinmu was provoking them for no reason.

This young troublemaker.

“It appears you don’t belong in our guesthouse. We won’t charge you for your stay, so please leave.”

His voice was calm, but it carried a clear threat.

“Leave? What do you expect me to do? I only know how to move forward. Don’t waste my time.”

“……”

“If that’s what you think, feel free to try and throw me out yourself.”

“Very well. In that case, I will no longer treat you as a guest.”

As Geum Ahn-pyo raised his hand casually, the warriors behind him moved to surround Jinmu from both sides, like spreading wings.

A total of nine warriors.

Fine, then.

If that guy is willing to make sacrifices, so should we.

Jinmu smiled resolutely, his pure white teeth visible between his lips.

“Remove that guest!”

With Geum Ahn-pyo’s command, the warriors who had encircled Jinmu closed in on him, brandishing wooden poles.

Geum Ahn-pyo’s power was only at the peak of Enhanced qi, so why worry about his subordinates?

His mastery of the Shadow Dragon Elemental Assimilation Arts had reached its peak.

Alright.

Time to deal with these troublemakers.

Grrrr-grrr…

As Jinmu lightly stretched his feet and stepped onto the floor, the fierce fighting spirit dulled, and black qi began swirling from the tips of his feet, enveloping his body in a whirlwind-like illusion.

“Shadow Dragon Elemental Assimilation Arts, Fighting Man’s Body.”

The most effective technique for handling multiple foes.

When the body is infused with martial energy, muscles relax, becoming supple and flexible, with the Shadow Dragon’s qi imbued in every movement, inflicting damage upon contact.

“What are you doing? Scanning for something?”

Simultaneously, wooden poles were hurled, converging on Jinmu from various angles.

Swish, swish!

An attack designed to restrict the opponent’s mobility.

Arms, legs, shoulders.

It was almost boring.

You should have attacked with lethal intent.

Whack!

As Jinmu slowly pivoted, the wooden sticks missed their mark and clattered to the ground.

Thunk.

The target eluded them, but suddenly, five poles were lodged under each of Jinmu’s armpits.

It was the escort guards who found themselves overpowered.

Thud!

With a slight pressure on his arm, the wooden poles snapped like a twig.

Thwack!

Jinmu’s body glided effortlessly to a new position.

“Eek!”

A swift jab to the warrior’s chin with a cold stare.

Thud!

As the warrior’s foot rose, Jinmu smoothly dodged, pivoting at an acute angle and planting a firm step on the ground.

“Eek!”

A wide palm strike landed on another warrior’s midsection, sending them tumbling.

Swoosh! Thud!

Subsequently, kicks struck from both sides, causing two warriors to collapse.

In a swift move, Jinmu leaned back, slipping between two warriors. Crossing his arms over his chest, he thrust a punch out, connecting with both warriors’ waists.

Knock! Knock!

No technique, no combo.

Puak! Puak!

The panicked warriors were confused and didn’t know what to do. They were hit by a fist that they were unaware as to where it was coming from and fell down.

All eight of them. There was just one left.

Clench!

Jinmu’s feet kicked off the ground and soared high, jumping over the head of the last remaining warrior. His feet rose high and then fell into a curve.

Kwak!

With a strong impactful sound, the last of the nine who were trampled fell down with their heads on the ground.

“…!”

Geum Ahn-pyo had a blank expression for a moment, unable to understand the situation that was unfolding in front of him.

In the blink of an eye, all nine warriors had collapsed.

He didn’t even know exactly how many breaths they took. No, they couldn’t see anything.

What happened?

After that black qi surged, all they heard was crackling sounds.

“Ehh!”

It was Jinmu who brought Geum Ahn-pyo to his senses.

“Is this the end? Should we bring in more people or step up ourselves?”

“……”

Geum Ahn-pyo realized that the opponent in front of him was an incomparable warrior.

But he didn’t forget his identity.

There were still dozens of subordinates, but what matters? That would only increase the damage.

He is the guard captain of this guesthouse.

A person who worked for money wouldn’t do bad things. No matter how strong the monster in front of him was, he had to carry out his duty first.

Srng.

In the end, Geum Ahn-pyo drew his sword.

“I didn’t know you were a warrior. Please understand that I have committed a horrible crime and will pay the price for this.”

This guy is so weird. He draws the sword and he apologizes too.

Is he of the Justice Faction?

That is actually a behavior which suits the Taoists.

Still, I like it.

If he had seen what he had seen, he should have been scared and ran, but he didn’t give in and was trying to do the best in his role.

The guard captain.

To amplify this rumor, I planned to make at least one person bedridden for over a month, if not sick.

“You… I will be good to you. I won’t be so harsh.”

Gulp.

Jinmu looked at Geum Ahn-pyo and then clenched his fist.

Slash!

The sword extended straight and curved at the same time as Jinmu assumed his stance.

“Good force.”

Tak!

The raised palm struck the sword body, and the Shadow Dragon stretched out like a whirlwind along the twisted fist.

Bang!