A Medieval Knight in a Martial Arts Novel

“…We’re not there yet.”

“If he breaks through one more time, he’ll reach the pinnacle, but being this strong already is quite impressive.”

I’ve rapidly ascended in skill as well, but seeing how Mok-kyeong reached the edge of mastery in just two or three months shows that being the protagonist isn’t for nothing.

Perhaps if I give her a bit more practical combat experience during this mission, she’ll reach my level soon.

I want to widen the gap between us before then, but that’s not something I can control. Frankly, it’d be easier to train Hye-ryeong into a master-level fighter. For a while, I’ll have to focus on Hye-ryeong.

Because there isn’t much meaning in me just growing stronger alone.

“Is the thing on your back something from the Secret Pavilion?”

“Yes. Just a few secret manuals, a sword, a seal, and some sword traces engraved on the wall, but…”

“To have prepared in advance for a situation like this seems deliberate.”

Almost as if knowing the family would be wiped out.

Suddenly struck by a pressing question, I scratched my chin while looking at Mok-kyeong, sitting across from me. Mok-kyeong was brushing the dust off her clothes and hair, keeping her eyes fixed on the bonfire.

“My father must have hidden the Yunnam Dan Family’s secret manuals and the symbolic sword, preparing for the family’s possible assault.”

“He was a thorough man.”

“… Father always said that you must prepare for everything.”

Preparing for everything.

“With the inheritance found, let’s prepare to attack Saheol Faction after you’ve rested.”

“Will the three of us do it?”

“Having too many people will only complicate things. We just need to capture the leader of Saheol Faction.”

Though it would be easier to just storm the Saheol Faction and take them all down, there’s no need to make the choice to kill more people.

If there’s a way to keep blood off your hands, only killers would choose to shed more blood.

Unless one is a Heaven-Killer, you shouldn’t make that choice.

And the memories of fighting in the battlefield lately keep coming back…

It’s not a good sign.

“… Could you not give me the chance to kill that guy?”

“Of course. Killing him will be your responsibility. I’ll simply provide the opportunity.”

“Thank you… Eun-gong.”

“That was the condition I set, after all.”

“… I’m really glad I met you. Although our first meeting was a bit awkward…”

Our first meeting was indeed strange. I randomly asked if she was Dan Mok-kyeong, which must have been awkward from her perspective.

“Meetings always happen unexpectedly.”

If they aren’t planned, all encounters are by chance.

“Ajerissii…”

Why is he smiling and muttering in his sleep like that? As Hye-ryeong almost fell backward, I instinctively caught her around her waist after shifting my body.

…Is she sleeping or pretending to while subtly clinging to me?

“…Miss Hye-ryeong has a charm that captures the attention of men.”

“That’s true.”

Actually, she captures women’s attention too.

I didn’t miss the look Mok-kyeong was giving near Hye-ryeong’s chest.

“…inda.”

“What did you say?”

“It’s nothing.”

I couldn’t hear properly because it was too quiet. What was she muttering?

As I looked at her curiously, Mok-kyeong awkwardly looked down, avoiding my gaze. An uncomfortable atmosphere settled between us until I got up, still holding Hye-ryeong in my arms.

“Let’s sleep. We’ll be busy from tomorrow morning.”

“…Yes, Eun-gong. Good night.”

I took out a blanket, spread it on the ground, and placed Hye-ryeong on top. She fell sound asleep on the blanket, turning around unconsciously.

“Ugh…Uncle…you’re being evil…”

What kind of dream is she having?

Before I realize it, my gaze goes to Mok-kyeong. She seems to have heard Hye-ryeong’s sleep-talk, smiling uncomfortably at me.

“…Sleep well.”

“Eun-gong, good night.”

Using the night sky as our blanket, we lay down on the gravel.

———————————————–

“Well? You’ve become much more skillful now, right?”

“It’s much better than the first time.”

“Hehe.”

It’s worth all the effort I’ve put into teaching her. At first, she’d chop vegetables as well as the cutting board, wasting a lot of ingredients, but now she has learned to manage the ingredients properly and even cook.

…Even if I taught her a rather unorthodox cooking method, it seems enough for her to take over the cooking duties instead of me.

“You’ve become highly skilled in cooking.”

“I practiced hard! I practiced even in my dreams!”

A martial realm person practicing cooking even in dreams. I’m unsure whether to compliment or criticize her for that. I chuckled softly at Hye-ryeong’s cute expression and threw the makeshift chopsticks I had just made into the bonfire.

“Today, we head to Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan. Even if it’s a capital of a collapsed region, there’s no better place to obtain useful information.”

Although going straight to the main branch of Saheol Faction in Wanjiang isn’t a bad idea, it doesn’t seem like a good choice to go to Wanjiang without any preparation.

The Saheol Faction is currently a major faction boasting great influence. Could they not dominate a city?

We don’t know if the Haowen Sect’s Wanjiang branch is intact, nor can we assure there are no spies embedded in the Haowen Sect’s branch by Saheol Faction.

Considering such situations, it’s wise not to rush to Wanjiang without any thought.

I might be safe enough, but it could be dangerous for Mok-kyeong and Hye-ryeong.

“Will we visit the Haowen Sect’s branch in Kunming?”

“Right. We’ll go to the Haowen Sect’s branch in Kunming first and gather more information on the Saheol Faction. As the Haowen branch in the provincial capital would likely be the largest in Yunnan, there should be something useful.”

Other branches had only superficial information, but there might be better information at the Kunming branch.

“If we go to the Kunming branch, we can then proceed to the location of the Saheol Faction’s leader.”

“Correct.”

“This time too, it’ll entail a lot of traveling, but it feels like my lightness skill has improved immensely.”

“…From Hubei to Hebei, and then again from Hubei to Yunnan. We might have covered over a thousand li.”

After running such a distance, it’s impossible for the lightness skill not to improve. My lightness skill has also been refined, and now I can move with a more efficient use of internal energy.

“After the efforts today, it’ll pay off, so let’s practice our lightness skill as if the soles of our feet are on fire.”

Without a word, we all started our lightness skills. At the edges of my vision, long streaks of residual images danced, thanks to our increased speed.

Though still far from skills like Water Walking or Shadow Leaping, it’s impressive for someone who’s never learned lightness techniques in their life.

The issue now is whether it can be performed with armor.

Attempting to use lightness skill with around fifty jin worth of armor hasn’t been tried yet.

Since bare-bodied swordsmanship is different from armored swordsmanship, attempting lightness skills in armor might require additional effort.

For half the day, inspired by this new challenge, we practiced our lightness skills. We eventually reached Kaiyuan, the city nearest to Wenshan, where we booked three rooms and rested.

Obviously, three rooms.

Considering that Mok-kyeong is a female, it’s natural that we won’t be sharing the same room.

Hye-ryeong said she could share with Mok-kyeong, but at Mok-kyeong’s request for some private thinking time, I complied with her wish.

It was a rare occasion when Mok-kyeong asked for something.

“Ajerissii, when will we go to the Haowen Sect’s branch?”

“Let’s go now.”

“Safe travels~”

“Safe travels.”

With the farewell from the two girls, I left the room, pulling my wide-brimmed hat low over my face. To avoid drawing too much attention to my distinct appearance, the best option was to cover my face with the hat.

Even so, my tall height made it hard to stay inconspicuous.

“Where’s the branch of Haowen Sect here?”

Passing through the bustling market, I entered a narrow alley. The dusky alley was heavy with a damp and unpleasant atmosphere. Without hesitation, I ventured deep into the alley.

It’s better to enter the dark areas to look for a branch of the Haowen Sect.

After walking for some time,

I arrived at a street where rough-looking men in tattered clothing, each with swords, were gathered. They were probably wandering knights.

Judging from their gathering here, there must be a brokerage somewhere near for accepting commissions.

While ignoring the curious gazes directed towards me, after walking for a while longer, I discovered a pavilion that looked like a brokerage. Without hesitation, I walked towards a middle-aged man who was propped up on his desk with a tobacco pipe in his mouth.

“Excuse me.”

“Hey, what…?!”

What’s so surprising? Is it your first time seeing a colored-eyed person?

To snap the man out of his daze from dropping his tobacco pipe, I tapped the desk three times with my finger.

“Is the Lion Sword Hero here…?”

“Haowen Sect. Do you know where?”

“Go out and turn left, there’s a place called Huangjia Tavern. Make contact there.”

“Thank you.”

I subtly placed a silver ingot on the desk before turning around.

“…Is that the Lion Sword Hero?”

“He’s as tall as the rumors say.”

“Do all colored-eyed people look like that?”

Ignoring their mutterings, I headed towards the Huangjia Tavern. Luckily, the tavern wasn’t far.

I quickly entered and found a man bowing to me right at the entrance.

“I’ve been waiting for you. Please follow me.”

They already knew I was coming.

Following the man, I moved deeper into the inn.

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