Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 24

024. Misguided Prediction

The storyteller chuckled and said,

“The honor of a prestigious family with a long tradition was insulted, so they couldn’t just sit idly by. In the end, the Lord of the Murong Clan, Murong Dancheon, agreed to the Iron Family’s martial arts contest.”

“So, the two families didn’t start a full-scale war?”

The new storyteller shook his head at Yunhyun’s question.

“If they just clashed whenever things went wrong, that would be like a demonic sect. Besides, isn’t Henan Province right next to the Shaolin Temple?”

The storyteller elaborated.

“Although the Shaolin Temple doesn’t directly intervene in power struggles, they don’t allow full-scale wars between martial arts families. After all, the Shaolin Temple is the beacon of the martial world.”

Yunhyun nodded at his explanation.

“Anyway, the two families ended up competing in a martial arts tournament. First, there was a competition between nine disciples selected from each family.”

The storyteller paused and subtly glanced at Yunhyun.

“Do I have to tell the whole story?”

Yunhyun shook his head.

“No, it’s okay. I can hear about that later, so let’s continue with the main story.”

A smile spread across the storyteller’s face.

“You really know how to appreciate a good story. Then, I’ll skip the minor details and get to the point. Ahem, ahem.”

The storyteller cleared his throat, and Yunhyun slid the cup next to him.

“Here’s some tea.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Gulp.

The storyteller, having quenched his thirst, continued with a glint in his eyes.

“In the end, the decision is made in the martial arts contest between the heads of the families. The Lord of the Iron Family, Iron Moo-woong, with his ‘One Sword Severance’ [a powerful saber technique], and the Lord of the Murong Clan, Murong Dancheon, with his ‘View of the Sun Sword’ [a renowned sword style], stepped onto the stage.”

Yunhyun nodded.

“The situation was unfavorable for the Murong Clan. Not only had their chief disciple, Murong Jin, been unexpectedly defeated in the previous contest, but they also had to face Iron Moo-woong’s saber, which was gaining momentum. As expected, Iron Moo-woong confidently launched an offensive.”

As the story began, the scene of the martial arts contest unfolded before Yunhyun’s eyes like a painting.

Whoosh.

Iron Moo-woong’s saber was fierce.

As if proving that he was gaining momentum, Iron Moo-woong drove Murong Dancheon back with daring attacks.

Clang, clang.

However, the strength of a prestigious family did not easily surrender victory.

Murong Dancheon nullified Iron Moo-woong’s unconventional attacks with calm swordsmanship, and he also attempted sharp counterattacks, aiming for the opponent’s openings.

However, he could not regain the upper hand in the fight.

Despite Murong Dancheon’s advantage in terms of martial arts experience and family swordsmanship, the fact that he was not gaining the upper hand showed how important the momentum of the fight was.

Whoosh, bang.

Now, the martial arts contest had gone beyond a simple clash of swords and sabers, escalating into a collision of their full power.

The movements of their respective footwork intertwined chaotically, and they narrowly avoided moments of crisis by a hair’s breadth.

Thus, the two men’s martial arts contest was racing towards its conclusion.

“Ah!”

Yunhyun’s sudden exclamation cut off the storyteller’s voice, which had been filled with enthusiasm.

Interrupted, he looked at Yunhyun with a displeased expression.

Silently ignoring his protest, Yunhyun cautiously asked,

“The Lord of the Murong Clan must have won, right?”

“Huh?”

The storyteller’s expression twisted.

However, a smile was on Yunhyun’s face.

The storyteller’s reaction to having the outcome predicted was always one of two things:

Either their eyes widened in surprise, or they couldn’t bring themselves to get angry and their face twisted.

In times like these, it is necessary to soothe the other person’s feelings.

Yunhyun smiled gently and said softly,

“No, I just said that because it seemed like it.”

The storyteller’s expression relaxed at Yunhyun’s words. He nodded slightly and said,

“Ah, I see. I thought…….”

The storyteller continued.

“Anyway, the martial arts contest ended with the defeat of Murong Dancheon…….”

“Eek?”

The storyteller was startled by the sudden, strange cry.

“Oh my, you scared me. Why are you suddenly doing that?”

The storyteller stared at Yunhyun with wide eyes.

However, it was Yunhyun who was surprised.

“The Lord of the Murong Clan lost?”

Yunhyun looked at the storyteller in disbelief.

The storyteller nodded.

“Yes, he lost. With this, the Murong Clan virtually lost its hegemony in Henan Province…….”

He tried to continue the interrupted story.

However, Yunhyun’s interest was not in the rest of the story right now.

“No, wait a minute!”

Yunhyun raised his hand to stop the storyteller.

“There’s no way the Lord of the Murong Clan could lose? Are you sure you don’t know something?”

The storyteller’s face twisted again.

Even though this was the Forbidden City, there were things that the storyteller could never concede.

“Know something wrong? I saw the martial arts contest with my own two eyes. But why do you keep doing this when you haven’t even seen it…….”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

Thud.

Hurriedly, Yunhyun rose from his seat. He held the brush like a sword and stretched it out forward.

“In the end, did the Lord of the Murong Clan perhaps do this…….”

Yunhyun drew a curve in the air with the brush as if wielding a sword.

“Oh my, sir! The ink is splattering!”

The terrified storyteller backed away, and the imperial guards next to him frowned.

However, Yunhyun didn’t care about that.

“Didn’t he use this kind of swordsmanship?”

Yunhyun looked at the storyteller with an earnest expression, as if trying to grasp at even a shred of hope.

However, the storyteller shook his head.

“I don’t know what kind of swordsmanship that is, but Murong Dancheon never used that kind of swordsmanship.”

“No, of course, but…….”

The storyteller had already explained Murong Dancheon’s famous swordsmanship.

And Yunhyun knew that the swordsmanship he had just demonstrated was not among them.

But this is not that kind of problem.

“Still, if you think about the flow of the Murong Clan’s swordsmanship that he uses…….”

Yunhyun thought that there must be such a sword style in the Murong Clan’s swordsmanship, even if the storyteller didn’t know it.

This is because it is an inevitable conclusion that must come out when you look at the flow of the Murong Clan’s swordsmanship.

‘There’s no way……. A martial arts contest that he could definitely win…….’

Yunhyun muttered with an expression of disbelief.

“Why did he lose?”

“He lost because his skills were inferior to Iron Moo-woong. As the old saying goes, the waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves [meaning the new generation surpasses the old]…….”

The storyteller gave a clear answer to Yunhyun’s question, but Yunhyun could not accept it.

‘The Lord of the Murong Clan is inferior to Iron Moo-woong? How could he possibly do that with such amazing swordsmanship…….’

Yunhyun couldn’t understand at all.

Iron Moo-woong’s skills were great, but he didn’t seem like an overwhelming opponent.

With the Murong Clan’s swordsmanship, he should have definitely won.

He had to.

‘Did he lose on purpose?’

That doesn’t make sense.

How could he deliberately lose in a martial arts contest that would determine the honor and fate of his family?

The head of the family, no less.

Yunhyun glared at the storyteller and strengthened his gaze.

“Are you sure the Lord of the Murong Clan lost?”

“Yes, he lost.”

The storyteller looked back at Yunhyun without a moment’s hesitation.

Yunhyun glared and asked again.

“Really?”

“Really!”

The storyteller gritted his teeth.

His eyes contained a strong will that he could never back down.

But that was the same for Yunhyun.

“Really, really?”

Finally, the storyteller got angry.

“Sir!”

He shouted, jumping up from his seat.

“If you keep doing this, I’m leaving!”

***

“Hmm, really…….”

Yunhyun tilted his head and climbed the stairs of Munyeon Hall [a library or hall of records].

“Why did he lose?”

Even as he habitually greeted the Munyeon Hall manager and passed through the bookshelves, Yunhyun was only thinking about the Lord of the Murong Clan’s martial arts contest.

Thud.

Yunhyun sat down and opened the book he had recorded.

Then, he carefully read through the martial arts contest of Murong Dancheon.

“Hmm.”

Rustle.

Yunhyun calmly reviewed it from the beginning.

However, the recorded letters did not change.

Murong Dancheon, defeat.

The scene of Murong Dancheon winning with the final swordsmanship was so vivid in his eyes, but the martial arts contest record said that Yunhyun was wrong.

Yunhyun let out a groan without realizing it.

“Ugh.”

It was something he couldn’t understand at all. Yunhyun frowned.

“What on earth is going on?”

“Hello, Scholar Yunhyun.”

As if answering Yunhyun’s muttering, a familiar voice was heard from behind.

Yunhyun turned his head.

“Ah! Eunuch Park.”

The owner of the voice was Eunuch Park Gyu. Eunuch Park bowed and greeted him.

Yunhyun also bowed slightly in response to Eunuch Park’s greeting.

“Did you come to get a book today?”

Eunuch Park smiled slightly at Yunhyun’s question.

“Yes, I thought I heard the scholar’s voice on the way…….”

Eunuch Park cautiously spoke, glancing at Yunhyun and looking a little worried.

“I know you must be very worried, but don’t worry too much. Yes.”

“Huh? Ah, no, that was just…….”

Yunhyun smiled awkwardly. However, Yunhyun’s explanation was not continued.

“You are so close to Instructor Dojin of Ilchun Hall, so I’m sure you’re worried, but the higher-ups must have deep thoughts in what they do…….”

Yunhyun’s face hardened at Eunuch Park’s unexpected words.

“What do you mean, Eunuch Park?”

The stern face of Instructor Dojin that he had seen a few days ago suddenly flashed through his mind.

With an uneasy premonition, Yunhyun’s heart began to pound.

“Has something happened to Instructor Dojin of Ilchun Hall?”

Eunuch Park’s eyes widened as Yunhyun’s voice grew louder.

“Don’t tell me, you haven’t heard yet?”

***

“Is that really true?”

Yunhyun frowned and asked, and Eunuch Park nodded.

“Yes. How would we know what the higher-ups are doing, but this time, it seems like…….”

“This is ridiculous…….”

Yunhyun distorted his face and muttered to himself without realizing it.

According to Eunuch Park, one of the imperial guards who had just been assigned to the position had made a mistake and offended a high-ranking official.

It was just a simple mistake, but the situation unfolded absurdly.

It escalated into a full-scale clash between the two factions, who were growling at each other, looking for excuses.

The imperial guard who was the person involved was immediately imprisoned, and the blame game spread like wildfire.

If things went wrong, the roots of one faction would be uprooted because of this incident.

The faction that was attacked tried to prevent the situation from spreading at all costs.

The problem was that the person who would be held responsible was likely to be Instructor Ilchun Hyun.

“You haven’t heard anything at all?”

Eunuch Park cautiously asked, watching Yunhyun’s expression.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”

“Ah, I see.”

Eunuch Park trailed off.

Neither the taciturn manager of Changryong Hall, Sa Ilcheon, nor the stubborn military officer, Instructor Ilchun Hyun, would spread such stories.

But it had already been several days since the incident happened, and he didn’t know anything. Changryong Hall was indeed like a remote island in the Forbidden City.

And the resident of that isolated island was now unable to hide his embarrassment and dismay in front of Eunuch Park.