Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 313

313. I Think I’ll Change the World a Little

“Let’s get down to business now.”

Dang Seol-yeon said with a cold gaze.

“Yes, very well.”

Yun-hyun looked at her with a serious expression.

“My proposal is very simple.”

Dang Seol-yeon continued.

“If you give me what I want, I will give you what you want.”

Yun-hyun smiled.

“Do you know what I want?”

“No, I don’t know.”

Dang Seol-yeon replied calmly.

“But I’m sure. What you want is definitely something I can give.”

A faint smile appeared on her face.

“Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come all the way here.”

“That’s right.”

Yun-hyun affirmed.

“But being able to do something and actually doing it are very different matters. It’s like how everyone knows what is good, but very few people do good.”

Dang Seol-yeon smiled faintly.

“So, you mean it’s theoretically possible, but I won’t actually do it?”

“Perhaps.”

“Heh.”

Dang Seol-yeon said, toying with her teacup.

“You speak as if you know me better than I know myself. Do you know what the position of the Grand Military Advisor for External Affairs of the Taepyung Alliance [Great Peace Alliance] is? What are the limits of its authority and responsibilities? Do you know what the Taepyung Alliance means in the Jianghu [martial arts world] martial world? No, in the first place…….”

Dang Seol-yeon gritted her teeth.

“Do you even know me?”

“I don’t.”

Yun-hyun said calmly.

“But still, people live together. Even if the branches stretch out in different directions, if they are on the same tree, they are originally one.”

Dang Seol-yeon frowned.

“I hate such ambiguous words. But I understand what you’re saying.”

Leaning back in her chair, Dang Seol-yeon said.

“In short, you want me to be on your side?”

“I mean, let’s become the same tree. Even if the directions are different.”

“That sounds good.”

Dang Seol-yeon smiled brightly.

“How about we become intertwined like a love knot, becoming one? You, as the proxy with full authority, and me, as the Grand Military Advisor for External Affairs of the Taepyung Alliance, the two of us.”

A love knot is when two different branches touch and become one. It was one of the well-known expressions representing the affection or marital relationship between a man and a woman.

Yun-hyun smiled gently.

“But don’t you already have someone in your heart, Miss?”

Dang Seol-yeon flinched.

Yun-hyun raised his teacup and said.

“You seem to have forgotten, but I was with Miss and Great Hero Yeong Ho-jun’s investigation team. I saw the two of you up close for many months.”

“So?”

Dang Seol-yeon gave a relaxed smile.

“Just because I have someone in my heart doesn’t mean I can’t become one with another man.”

“That’s true.”

Yun-hyun let out a soft sigh.

“Because reality doesn’t always go as we wish.”

Clink.

Setting down his teacup, Yun-hyun said.

“The Divine Monk wished for peace and established the Murim Alliance [Martial Arts Alliance], but in the end, the Murim Alliance collapsed. And the Jianghu martial world was reorganized into the Hero Alliance and the Taepyung Alliance.”

Yun-hyun looked straight at Dang Seol-yeon.

“And this is exactly as intended by the Blood Prince, Mun-Wang, or rather, Il-daesang.”

The smile disappeared from Dang Seol-yeon’s lips.

“What do you mean?”

“Mun-Wang offered the position of Murim Alliance Leader to Iron-Blooded Evil King, Yeom Jung-bu, and the title of the Greatest Clan Under Heaven to Old Man Dokseon. Ah, do you know about this?”

“I know.”

“I see. I thought you might not know since Old Man told you after you left…….”

Yun-hyun stroked his chin slightly with one hand, as if recalling a memory.

“As a result, the Murim Alliance collapsed, and Yeom Jung-bu became the leader of the Hero Alliance. But there’s one strange thing. Old Man Dokseon clearly rejected Mun-Wang’s offer, but now the Dang Clan has become the Greatest Clan Under Heaven under the name of the Taepyung Alliance, hasn’t it?”

“So.”

Dang Seol-yeon said in a cold voice.

“You’re saying that just like the Blood Prince Mun-Wang is behind the Hero Alliance, Mun-Wang is also behind the Taepyung Alliance?”

“Not necessarily. Considering the power struggles that occurred within the Murim Alliance, the establishment of the Taepyung Alliance could be seen as something that would have happened anyway.”

The large clans wanted to seize power within the Murim Alliance.

Even to the point of officially declaring a break with the Divine Monk.

If so, it’s not strange that they established a new alliance after the Murim Alliance collapsed.

“Yes. Of course, it wouldn’t have been possible without the Dang Clan. As you said, without our Dang Clan, worthy of being called the Greatest Clan Under Heaven.”

An alliance cannot be formed just by hanging up a sign.

The organizational power and influence of the Dang Clan, which had formed a coalition of the Seven Great Families, were truly remarkable.

“Yes, that’s right. But considering Miss’s actions, the Dang Clan’s movements during the Hangzhou Bloodshed, and the fact that Mun-Wang contacted Old Man Dokseon…….”

Yun-hyun smiled gently.

“I can’t help but think that there was already some kind of consensus formed between Mun-Wang and the Dang Clan. For example, regarding the establishment of the Taepyung Alliance after the Murim Alliance.”

“Hmph.”

Dang Seol-yeon shook her head.

“It’s surprising that you can see it that way.”

Dang Seol-yeon calmly raised her teacup.

“But that’s just a biased conclusion based on speculation and assumptions. And…….”

Closing her eyes slightly and savoring the tea, Dang Seol-yeon put down her teacup and looked straight at Yun-hyun.

“Even if that were the case, what difference does it make? Now it’s already the world of the Taepyung Alliance and the Hero Alliance.”

“That’s right. Now it’s the world of the Taepyung Alliance and the Hero Alliance.”

Yun-hyun also picked up his teacup.

“So…….”

With the teacup in his hand, Yun-hyun smiled gently.

“I think I’ll change the world a little.”

Dang Seol-yeon’s eyes widened.

She wondered if she had misheard something, but Yun-hyun’s expression as he savored the tea was relaxed.

“……What did you say?”

Clink.

“I said I would change the world.”

“You?”

“Yes.”

Dang Seol-yeon was momentarily speechless.

But it wasn’t because she had nothing to say.

“Ha!”

Dang Seol-yeon let out a hollow laugh as if she was dumbfounded.

“Do you know what you’re saying right now?”

“Of course, I know.”

Yun-hyun said quietly.

“I will change the current Jianghu martial world that Il-daesang has created. I will sever what he has connected, and I will scatter what he has gathered. If that happens, even Il-daesang will have no choice but to reveal himself.”

Smiling gently, Yun-hyun continued.

“As the saying goes, if you hit a dog, the owner will come out.”

“It depends on the dog.”

Dang Seol-yeon said in a rather sharp voice.

“Can you handle the Hwangcheon Corps [Yellow Springs Corps] that sealed off the Namgung Clan? Can you defeat the Black Spear Cavalry and the Short Bow Unit that burned down the Gongsun Clan and drove the Black Demon Society to annihilation?”

Dang Seol-yeon poured out her words relentlessly.

“Ah, of course, if you mobilize a million imperial troops, it wouldn’t be a difficult task at all. Not even against the Dark Heaven Demon Emperor, the Iron-Blooded Evil King Yeom Jung-bu, the Three Great Scholars, and the Blood Prince Mun-Wang. But what about after that?”

With a sharp glint in her eyes, Dang Seol-yeon continued.

“What are you going to do with the Hero Alliance that fills the Yangtze River? What about the Water Bandit Camps and the Green Forest Bandits [mountain bandits]? Are you going to mobilize the imperial troops and burn them all down too? The world will be covered in chaos. Don’t you think?”

Thump.

Dang Seol-yeon placed her hand on the table.

“You can’t do it. Because the imperial court would never want that.”

Her insight was accurate.

The imperial court does not want chaos.

Unless there is a clear justification and conviction, a million imperial troops will not move.

No matter how much Yun-hyun is the proxy with full authority of Eunuch Park.

“Listen.”

Letting out a soft sigh, Dang Seol-yeon said.

“No matter how much of an absolute master you are, you can’t do anything alone. The Jianghu martial world is a place ruled by power. And that power comes from forces, not individuals. Those who wander alone will eventually end up as eccentrics or madmen.”

With a gleam in her eyes, she said.

“So, join hands with me. With me, you can definitely build a great force within five years, no, three years. Then who would dare to laugh even if you change the world? No, they would rather bow their heads to your will.”

“I cannot do that.”

Yun-hyun’s answer was without a moment’s hesitation.

“You can’t even endure three years?”

“That is not endurance.”

Yun-hyun said in a quiet voice.

“It is merely an escape.”

Dang Seol-yeon was momentarily speechless.

Yun-hyun continued calmly.

“Furthermore, it is the same as living in harmony with this world that Il-daesang has created. I will never do that. And I will never stop.”

The resolve shining in his eyes was unwavering.

“I would rather like to say to Miss.”

Looking straight at Dang Seol-yeon, Yun-hyun said.

“Choose me. Just as Old Man Dokseon did, stand on my side, not Mun-Wang or Il-daesang. Then I will gladly join hands with you and the Taepyung Alliance.”

A moment of silence passed.

Dang Seol-yeon and Yun-hyun stared straight at each other without a word.

“That’s a shame.”

Dang Seol-yeon said softly.

“I thought I could have a pretty good relationship with you.”

Contrary to her words, her voice was quite clear.

“The possibility is still open.”

“That’s right.”

Dang Seol-yeon smiled gently.

“The relationship between men and women is very mysterious, so it’s possible to become allies in an instant, no matter how hostile the relationship is. It’s really incomprehensible, isn’t it?”

Yun-hyun was a little taken aback.

“Uh, well……. That’s not what I meant.”

“Three days later.”

Dang Seol-yeon continued in a clear voice.

“There will be a final private banquet. Until then, you can come to me anytime. But once the banquet is over.”

A cold aura began to settle on her smile.

“I will never reach out to you.”

It was a cold and enchanting smile, perfectly befitting the name Snowflower of the Dang Clan.

Yun-hyun wore a gentle smile.

“Thank you. I will keep that in mind.”

With that, the two’s private meeting came to an end.

The Mongjeong Hwang-ah [type of tea] in the teacup had already turned cold.

***

While Sichuan Province was bustling with the Taepyung Alliance, a tournament of Hero Alliance branches was taking place along the long Yangtze River.

However, the Yangtze River was not bustling with the Hero Alliance’s tournament.

The Hero Alliance branches’ tournament was inevitably a horrific scene of plunder, murder, and arson.

And among them was the Jeong Family Manor, a historic clan near Wuhan.

Clang, Claaang.

“Defend!”

“Quickly evacuate the family members!”

In the middle of the night, the Jeong Family Manor was unexpectedly attacked.

It was none other than the pirates of the Taepyung Alliance’s Wuhan branch.

The disciples of the Jeong Family Manor desperately resisted, but they could not stand against the Hero Alliance.

The moment they knew their opponent was the Hero Alliance, their morale also plummeted.

So, the Jeong Family Manor had no choice but to be helpless.

“Good! Kill that bastard first!”

Lee Mu-shim, on horseback, watched the scene and shouted.

He was already quite drunk.

“Yes! Kill him quickly! Hahaha.”

“Lord Taeju [chieftain].”

“What?”

Lee Mu-shim frowned and turned around.

The position of the Supreme Chief of the Water Bandit Alliance had become nominal, and the title of Iron Masked Ruthless had faded from people’s memories.

Now, Lee Mu-shim was merely a puppet called Taeju of the Hero Alliance, a title that sounded plausible but had no real power.

“It would be a little difficult if you do this to the Jeong Family Manor. What if the Alliance holds you accountable…….”

He was Jang Sam-chae, the Deputy Branch Leader of the Hero Alliance’s Wuhan branch.

Due to his past relationship as Lee Mu-shim’s subordinate, he could not mistreat Lee Mu-shim, who occasionally visited.

“Tsk, don’t worry about unnecessary things.”

Lee Mu-shim frowned and said.

“We don’t have to report it anyway, do we? Besides, this is a matter unrelated to the Alliance. I heard that the Jeong Family Manor has a lot of complaints about the Alliance’s actions, so our chivalrous heroes of the Yangtze River voluntarily stepped forward.”

‘Ugh.’

Jang Sam-chae groaned inwardly.

It was true that the Jeong Family Manor had many complaints.

But which clan doesn’t have complaints about the Hero Alliance’s actions?

Especially if it’s a place like the Jeong Family Manor that has been rooted in Wuhan for a long time.