Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 208

208. Unofficial Martial Arts Duel

“Aren’t you going to drink?”

Shin Seung’s eyes immediately narrowed at Woon-hyun’s hesitation.

Woon-hyun, realizing he might truly be displeasing him, quickly replied.

“I will drink.”

Woon-hyun gestured to Dokgo-rang.

It was an invitation to join him.

Thud, thud.

Woon-hyun took a seat across from Shin Seung.

Dokgo-rang stood guard beside Woon-hyun.

Meanwhile, Shin Seung filled his own teacup.

Slurp.

The way Shin Seung drank, making noise, was reminiscent of a reclining Buddha master of the Shaolin [referring to a relaxed and enlightened figure known for wisdom and serenity].

Woon-hyun carefully reached for his cup.

Dokgo-rang also held his teacup in hand.

“……You’ve suffered in the cold.”

Shin Seung said suddenly.

Woon-hyun’s heart swelled at those simple words.

“Thank you.”

After expressing his gratitude, Woon-hyun slowly drank the tea.

“Heh heh. How is it? Feeling a bit warmer?”

“Yes.”

Woon-hyun’s reply was sincere.

“Good, how was the Northern Sea?”

Shin Seung asked quietly.

Woon-hyun answered with a serious expression.

“The Northern Sea is……”

No, he was about to answer.

“Were the young ladies pretty? Didn’t you receive any elixirs? The Northern Sea is really famous for its seal penises.”

“Excuse me?”

Woon-hyun stopped speaking and involuntarily asked back.

He did receive something similar, but it wasn’t for Woon-hyun.

He returned it all to the Murim Alliance intact.

But isn’t this the wrong time to talk about that?

However, Shin Seung asked with a completely expressionless face.

“What about that girl? While you were there, why didn’t you just get the stamp and get permission from her parents? You went all the way to the Northern Sea, you should have done at least that much. If there’s a pretty maid, introduce her to me…….”

“M, Master!”

Woon-hyun almost dropped the teacup in his hand.

Shin Seung frowned.

“Why are you suddenly shouting? This old man’s ears aren’t deaf yet.”

Shin Seung grumbled, even digging at his ear.

Woon-hyun, who had suddenly committed an act of rudeness, said with a flustered expression.

“I’m sorry. That’s not it…….”

“Tsk, judging by your appearance, you didn’t bring anything. These days, young people don’t know how to respect their elders at all. No matter how much you give them, it’s all for nothing, I tell you?”

“No, that’s…….”

Woon-hyun, who had been flustered, tried to calmly continue speaking.

“Master. There’s something more important than that.”

Woon-hyun was serious.

But Shin Seung wasn’t.

“Important? How can you say it’s important when you don’t even know what’s important? Anyway, all those stories are written in the report, right?”

That was true.

Important information, such as letters from merchants, the Dark Heaven Demon Emperor, and the Ice Emperor of the Northern Sea, couldn’t be omitted from the official report.

“W, well, that’s true, but.”

“And what in the world is more important than the affairs of men and women? If that didn’t exist, the human race wouldn’t exist in the first place, so what could be more important than that?”

Woon-hyun had nothing to say.

If you put it that way, it was important.

“No, still…….”

“Tsk, you’re no fun. You come after a long time and all you do is……. Tsk tsk.”

Shin Seung spoke bluntly, as if he had completely lost interest.

“Go away if you’ve finished your tea. I’m busy too.”

Shin Seung, who didn’t look busy at all, said it, so it didn’t sound trustworthy at all.

Woon-hyun looked at him with suspicious eyes, but Shin Seung even waved his hand, urging Woon-hyun to leave.

In the end, Woon-hyun had to get up from his seat.

***

Woon-hyun, who came out of Waryongheon, tilted his head.

“What’s wrong?”

Dokgo-rang asked.

“No, that’s…….”

Woon-hyun said with a puzzled expression.

“Somehow, he didn’t seem to have much to say today.”

“Is that so?”

Dokgo-rang tilted his head.

“I thought he was a very noisy person. Like the Reclining Buddha Master.”

Woon-hyun gave a bitter smile.

“That’s true, but…….”

He talked a lot.

But most of it was a joke or just trying to tease Woon-hyun.

If you had to be picky, it was the same as not saying anything other than saying he had worked hard.

“Was he worried about something?”

Shin Seung always threw meaningful words at Woon-hyun when he saw him, or he would throw problems at him.

But today, there was nothing special.

That fact somehow bothered Woon-hyun.

Could something serious have happened to Shin Seung Bulyeong?

‘……Well, he’ll be fine.’

He’s Shin Seung Bulyeong, not someone else.

If he can’t do it, no one in the world can, so Woon-hyun’s worry might actually be unfounded.

“Are you going back to the lodgings?”

Dokgo-rang suddenly asked.

“I’m going to go to the Secretariat. There’s something I need to find out.”

Woon-hyun’s expression was quite serious.

Dokgo-rang could easily guess what Woon-hyun was trying to find out.

“Is it about the bandit gangs you mentioned earlier?”

Woon-hyun let out a hollow laugh.

As expected, he couldn’t deceive or hide anything from Dokgo-rang.

“That’s right.”

Woon-hyun nodded.

“Oh, right, and I’ll tell the Jigaekdang [a department within the Murim Alliance responsible for guest accommodations] to prepare a lodging for you, so wait without leaving the Murim Alliance.”

Dokgo-rang bowed his head and accepted Woon-hyun’s will.

There was nothing better than being able to stay within the Murim Alliance.

He would be able to protect Woon-hyun in case of an emergency.

“Ah, and.”

Woon-hyun, who was about to move, spoke again.

“I heard that the preliminary rounds of the World Martial Arts Tournament have already started, so why don’t you take a look?”

That was Woon-hyun’s consideration for Dokgo-rang.

If he didn’t do this, Dokgo-rang would obviously be waiting for Woon-hyun all day outside the Secretariat building.

“I…….”

“Go. Let me know if there’s an interesting martial arts duel.”

Woon-hyun smiled and interrupted Dokgo-rang’s words.

Dokgo-rang hesitated for a moment, but soon nodded.

“I understand.”

“Then I’ll see you later in front of the Secretariat building.”

Woon-hyun waved his hand and left the spot.

Dokgo-rang didn’t move until his back disappeared between the halls.

And long after Woon-hyun had completely left, Dokgo-rang slowly turned his body.

‘Martial arts duel, huh.’

The solitary guest who was once obsessed with martial arts duels was no more.

However, there was no martial artist whose heart didn’t flutter at that word.

Thud.

The light in Dokgo-rang’s eyes was already flashing as he moved his steps.

***

The place Dokgo-rang arrived at was a large building that looked like a restaurant.

The reason why it ‘looked like a restaurant’ was because the building itself was temporarily built, and the wide interior was extremely dirty and complicated.

It was hard to imagine that there was such a place within the Murim Alliance.

“Where are you from, brother?”

Suddenly, someone spoke.

When Dokgo-rang turned his head, he saw a middle-aged man sitting under a tree.

The man, wearing old martial arts clothes and looking dirty, even held a bottle of alcohol in one hand.

“Well, seeing you come here, I can roughly guess without you saying anything. Heh heh heh.”

This restaurant was opened by the Murim Alliance for the World Martial Arts Tournament.

However, in reality, the large aristocratic families and famous sects don’t use this place.

They ate at high-end restaurants or inns in Hangzhou.

Therefore, being here meant that you were a wanderer, or from a mediocre small sect or martial arts school.

Naturally, the Murim Alliance’s management was bound to become negligent, so it was left in such a dirty state.

Thanks to this, quarrels and fights were frequent.

It was something that would normally be impossible, but it was a kind of blind spot created thanks to the fact that the Murim Alliance people were all frantically busy.

Swish.

The solitary guest turned his head again without saying anything.

In the middle-aged man’s bleary eyes, a different light flashed at that sight.

“That’s a very tight-lipped fellow.”

The middle-aged man showed interest in Dokgo-rang, who exuded an extraordinary aura that anyone could see.

Dokgo-rang, who was looking at the dirty restaurant, or rather, the martial artists in it, suddenly asked.

“Do you know a place where I can have a martial arts duel?”

“Martial arts duel…….”

The middle-aged man stroked his chin and smiled.

“It’s supposed to be the World Martial Arts Tournament, but there’s no way swordsmen would quietly wait their turn.”

The middle-aged man got up from his seat.

“Follow me.”

He staggered away with the bottle of alcohol in his hand.

Dokgo-rang silently followed him.

“Tahaaa!”

A scream that seemed to tear the ears burst out.

However, it seemed that there was not that much spirit in his sword, and he soon had to drop his sword with a miserable groan.

Clang.

“Ugh……. I, I lost.”

“Kehehe. To dare to challenge this Gangnam Daeho Guui Station Daehyeop [a self-proclaimed title combining regional fame with ‘great hero’] with only that much skill, you’re still a hundred years too early. Kehehehe.”

Guui Station laughed at the loser with an arrogant attitude, but it seemed that the opponent was not easy for him either, as blood was seeping out here and there.

“Kueugh.”

The defeated man picked up his sword and hurriedly left the martial arts arena.

Guui Station, left alone, spread his arms and shouted provocatively at the surroundings.

“Come on, is there anyone who will challenge this Gangnam Daeho Guui Station!”

It was a confident spirit befitting a winner, but none of those surrounding the martial arts arena were intimidated.

Rather, challenging gazes and occasional sneers flew towards him.

“You don’t know how high the sky is.”

At the outburst, people’s gazes turned to the owner of the voice.

A burly man, carrying a large ring sword with dangling rings, strode towards the martial arts arena and shouted heartily.

“I, Tangsan Daehyeop Lee Ho-seon, will give you a lesson!”

“Kehelhel. I don’t know if you’re a beggar kid from somewhere, but know that you’ve met your match today.”

Even in the rough words, each other’s eyes were carefully searching the opponent.

A new tension began to flow on the martial arts arena where the two stood.

The middle-aged man who had guided the solitary guest watched the scene and sneered.

“Some worthless guys are occupying the martial arts arena again.”

He turned to the solitary guest and said.

“If you wait a little, some people worth watching will come out. There are always guys who show off like that, taking advantage of the gaps when there are no people.”

The solitary guest slowly looked around the martial arts arena and the people around it.

The martial arts arena was better prepared than he thought.

This was clear not only from the size of the martial arts arena, but also from the fact that several tents with curtains were set up to accommodate people.

“Well, the Murim Alliance hasn’t officially recognized it, so I guess you’d have to call it an unofficial arena. But this kind of thing is surprisingly fun. You don’t need any qualifications to participate, and it doesn’t matter what sect or affiliation you have.”

The middle-aged man shrugged his shoulders and said.

“You just jump out as you please, and if you’re lucky, you win, or you just get embarrassed once.”

“The victory or defeat?”

At the solitary guest’s question, the man shrugged.

“Isn’t the guy who falls the loser?”

“Interesting.”

A faint smile crossed the solitary guest’s lips.

There are no rules, no judges, and no observers.

Perhaps the most practical martial arts duel was unfolding right here.

Clang, clang

“You bastard, where are you going!”

In the meantime, the victory or defeat was being decided on the martial arts arena.

Lee Ho-seon, who had stepped out with great spirit, was losing his breath and being driven into a corner by Guui Station’s flashy moves.

“Keuak!”

A scream leaked from Lee Ho-seon.

Lee Ho-seon held his right arm with his left hand and crouched down.

Blood flowed between his fingers, and his sleeves were quickly dyed red.

“Hehe, how is it? Are you still going to challenge me?”

“Y, you bastard. I’ll see you next time.”

“Hmph. Do you think you’re the only one who says ‘I’ll see you next time’? You’d better make a reservation before you come. Kehehehe.”

Lee Ho-seon bit his lip and came down from the martial arts arena, and Guui Station stood in the middle of the martial arts arena, catching his breath.

“I am Gangnam Daeho Guui Station! Gangnam Daeho Guui Station! Do you understand? Kehahaha.”

Unlike his hearty voice, he seemed to have a hard time enduring the continuous martial arts duels, and he came down from the martial arts arena as it was.

Although exhausted, he wore a confident smile as the victor of the martial arts duel.

“Now the martial arts arena is empty.”

The middle-aged man slyly said to Dokgo-rang.