Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 451

451. Morning in the Qilian Mountains

The wide and grand main hall was shrouded in twilight.

With only a small lamp illuminating the darkness, the heavy energy pressing down on the hall seemed to stop even the flow of time.

That energy originated from a man sitting on a large chair carved with the image of a dragon.

Rustle.

At the quiet sound, the First Disciple Merchant, seated on the Dragon Throne, opened his eyes.

Even in the dim light, he could clearly see a woman approaching him.

Rustle, rustle.

The woman stopped a short distance from the First Disciple Merchant.

Dressed in a red silk dress deeply cut to reveal her chest and a light outer robe, her attire was reminiscent of the old Tang Dynasty [618-907 AD].

It was the kind of outfit one might see in a brothel these days, but her dazzling beauty made even such attire seem perfectly natural.

Swish.

The woman knelt on one knee and lowered her head.

Without regard for the cold floor of the main hall, she respectfully bowed to the First Disciple Merchant.

“My lord.”

The ornaments in her hair trembled, reflecting a faint light.

The First Disciple Merchant, leaning his chin on one hand, looked down at the woman.

Swoosh.

The woman raised her head.

Looking directly up at the First Disciple Merchant, the woman said,

“The garrison at Jade Gate Pass will no longer move.”

Her voice was bewitchingly seductive.

It was a voice that could stir the hearts of many men, yet her captivating and sensual face showed not a trace of emotion.

“You have done well, Dokyo.”

The First Disciple Merchant said quietly.

That was all, but the eyes of the woman called Dokyo trembled.

Swish.

Dokyo lowered her head.

“…Your words are too kind.”

Her voice trembled as if she couldn’t contain her emotions.

It was then.

“Tsk.”

Standing beside him, Intaesang clicked his tongue.

“What is the reason for this delay? The Martial Emperor has already reported that the matter in Gansu is finished.”

Intaesang frowned, his white eyebrows furrowed as he continued,

“It shouldn’t take this long to bribe the garrison at Jade Gate Pass. You must have been delayed by your life-force absorption!”

The short, stout Intaesang glared at Dokyo with a fierce look.

A murderous aura poured out, but Dokyo did not waver in the slightest.

“Whether they live or die, they were meaningless to my lord anyway. How can you be so angry just because I, in my pitiful state, took a little something from them?”

She said in her still seductive voice.

“Is this not because Intaesang hates me and wants to find fault, rather than being concerned about my lord’s great cause?”

“Hmph, did you think I would like you?”

Intaesang did not hide his discomfort towards her.

He said to Dokyo with a sneer,

“And what? Little girl? Wipe the blood from your lips before you say that, you wicked thing.”

“I already did.”

Dokyo did not flinch at Intaesang’s mockery.

“To the point where my flesh was torn and blood flowed.”

Dokyo looked straight at Intaesang and continued,

“Besides, the Martial Emperor returned early because he only neutralized the sect leader and the four great elders. If that’s the case, then rather…”

Swoosh.

The First Disciple Merchant lightly raised his hand.

Dokyo immediately shut her mouth and lowered her head deeply.

Glossy black hair flowed down like a waterfall, and her fair neck stood out starkly white in the dim light.

“…You may leave.”

The First Disciple Merchant said quietly.

Dokyo carefully opened her mouth, still bowing her head.

“I have one more thing to say.”

The First Disciple Merchant’s silence was a sign of permission.

Dokyo raised her head.

“The Hellblood Dragon of the Blood Cult failed to avenge his old grudge.”

Intaesang’s eyebrows twitched beside him.

However, the First Disciple Merchant looked down at Dokyo with the same expression.

“He lost thirty-six Blood Fiends and even lost an arm himself, which he has since regenerated. As a result, the Blood Cult’s forces will be unable to move for the time being, as they must now focus on awakening the other three Blood Demons.”

Gritting his teeth, Intaesang said,

“That foolish bastard. He acted all arrogant with his Blood Demons and whatnot…”

Frowning, Intaesang asked,

“Who was it that foiled him?”

“I don’t know the details. But wouldn’t it be related to a person named Cheon Il-geom, Neung Se-yeong? The Hellblood Dragon went to avenge a grudge against her.”

Intaesang bit his lip.

If the Hellblood Dragon lost his Blood Fiends and returned defeated, it was not a matter to be taken lightly.

“My lord. This matter…”

Intaesang said to the First Disciple Merchant.

However, the First Disciple Merchant’s voice cut him off.

“Leave the Blood Cult’s affairs to the Blood Cult.”

The First Disciple Merchant continued in a calm voice,

“I have already permitted them to do so.”

No one could go against the First Disciple Merchant’s decision.

Intaesang immediately lowered his head.

Dokyo also bowed her head in respect.

“Yes, my lord.”

Two completely different voices answered at the same time.

Intaesang frowned, but that was all.

Dokyo slowly rose to her feet.

Swish.

Standing up, Dokyo looked at the First Disciple Merchant with a somewhat mournful gaze.

However, the First Disciple Merchant had already closed his eyes.

Whether he was lost in thought or dreaming of another world, no one could know.

Not even Intaesang.

Swoosh.

Dokyo bowed her head in respect.

She did not care that the First Disciple Merchant had his eyes closed.

This was her true heart.

“Tsk.”

Intaesang clicked his tongue openly as he looked at Dokyo.

He did not like Dokyo.

Her shallow intentions to highlight her own usefulness by finding out the Blood Cult’s movements without being asked, as she did today, were nothing more than a cute trick.

Intaesang also disliked Dokyo’s fanatical obsession with the First Disciple Merchant and her excessive jealousy towards others.

Most of all, what he didn’t like was the fact that she was helpful to the First Disciple Merchant.

Now that the King Mun had died and the Heavenly Martial Decree had been taken, Dokyo, who was skilled in bribery, intimidation, and all sorts of tricks and seduction, was an indispensable talent for the Soul Calming Order.

Both Intaesang and Dokyo knew this well.

Intaesang said to Dokyo, who was still standing,

“What are you doing? Hurry up and leave.”

Dokyo, who had been looking at the First Disciple Merchant with his eyes closed, glared sharply at Intaesang.

Intaesang’s eyebrows twitched, but Dokyo soon turned her head.

Swish.

Turning her body, Dokyo slowly left the main hall.

Intaesang frowned and glared at her retreating figure.

Rustle. Rustle.

No matter how much Intaesang disliked Dokyo, the First Disciple Merchant would condone her actions.

The First Disciple Merchant was one who looked down on all things from that high place, observing the flow of all creation.

So, in a sense, Dokyo was right when she said that ‘whether they live or die, they are meaningless to my lord’.

Even Dokyo herself was like that to the First Disciple Merchant.

Clang.

Dokyo left, and the door closed.

A heavy silence returned to the main hall.

The First Disciple Merchant, sitting on the large Dragon Throne, remained silent.

Step, step.

Dokyo walked along the long, ornate corridor.

Her beautiful face showed no expression, but her sharp eyes told that she was not in a good mood.

‘Hmm?’

Dokyo suddenly stopped walking.

It was because another woman had entered her sight.

Rustle, rustle.

A slender woman in white martial attire was walking towards her from the opposite side, her long black hair swaying gently.

Dokyo frowned.

‘Bireon.’

The woman opposite her was Bireon.

‘One of the three that my lord personally took in, along with the Martial Emperor and King Mun, right?’

If King Mun inherited the First Disciple Merchant’s bloodline, then the Dark Sky Martial Emperor inherited the First Disciple Merchant’s martial arts.

However, even though Bireon was personally taken in by the First Disciple Merchant, she acted like a shadow of the Dark Sky Martial Emperor.

As if she had no presence or even her own will.

Swish, swish.

Dokyo glared sharply at Bireon as she approached.

But Bireon did not even turn her gaze towards Dokyo.

Swoosh.

Bireon passed by Dokyo.

Dokyo said quietly,

“Martial Emperor.”

Rustle.

As expected, Bireon’s footsteps stopped.

As she turned her head, Dokyo turned towards Bireon.

“Do you have any intention of carrying out my lord’s Soul Calming Order?”

Bireon in her white martial attire looked at Dokyo with eyes that showed no emotion.

Dokyo’s face also had not a trace of expression, but her gaze towards Bireon was extremely sharp.

“My lord told you to destroy the Common Faction. But you only neutralized the sect leader and the four great elders, and even then, you didn’t kill them or cripple their martial arts…”

Swoosh.

Raising her head and looking down at Bireon, Dokyo said,

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

Bireon stared blankly at Dokyo.

Her bloodless lips twitched.

“…That’s none of your business. And it’s certainly not a matter for you to judge.”

Bireon’s dry voice echoed in the corridor.

Bireon’s gaze towards Dokyo was extremely indifferent.

“If that’s all you have to say.”

Swoosh.

Bireon turned her head.

“The person my lord needs.”

Dokyo’s seductive voice pierced Bireon’s ears.

Dokyo said in a sticky voice,

“Is me. Not you. To my lord, you are just a lingering attachment to the past.”

Shining her eyes, Dokyo continued,

“Just like King Mun was.”

Dokyo’s eyes were provocative.

But Bireon said nothing.

She didn’t even turn to look at Dokyo.

Rustle.

Bireon moved her feet and walked away. Without stopping, without looking back.

“Hmph.”

Dokyo, left alone, glared at Bireon’s retreating figure as if to pierce through it.

Moving her red lips, Dokyo said,

“I wish you would all die.”

Bireon’s figure had already disappeared into the other side of the corridor, but Dokyo’s sharp gaze emitted an even more eerie light.

“You, the Martial Emperor, the Three Great Dignitaries, and this world, all of you.”

An expression finally spread across her face.

It was a dry and eerie smile, twisted and distorted, like that of a doll.

But no one saw that smile.

Swish.

Turning her body, Dokyo started walking again as if nothing had happened.

The only sound in the long and ornate corridor was the sound of her own footsteps.

***

Neung Se-yeong opened her eyes.

What she saw was the ceiling of a familiar bed.

After blinking for a moment, Neung Se-yeong suddenly felt something heavy pressing down on her.

Turning her head without thinking, Neung Se-yeong saw Geum Hwa-yeong sleeping.

She had been sitting next to the bed and had fallen asleep, using Neung Se-yeong’s chest as a pillow.

Neung Se-yeong frowned without realizing it.

But Neung Se-yeong’s annoyance quickly disappeared.

It was because tears were welling up in the sleeping Geum Hwa-yeong’s eyes.

‘……Even though you’re all grown up.’

Neung Se-yeong sighed.

‘Are you having a nightmare like when you were little?’

Suddenly, Neung Se-yeong remembered when Geum Hwa-yeong was young.

Geum Hwa-yeong, who was only four years old, continued to suffer from nightmares even after Neung Se-yeong brought her in.

It was only natural that she would have nightmares since her village had burned down and her parents had died.

In the end, Neung Se-yeong had to hold the young Geum Hwa-yeong in her arms and sleep with her.

The warmth of that small and warm Geum Hwa-yeong was a great comfort to Neung Se-yeong, who had been injured by cutting down Blood Fiends and fighting Blood Demons.

Only then did both Geum Hwa-yeong and Neung Se-yeong escape from their nightmares.

Swoosh.

Neung Se-yeong raised her other arm and gently wiped away Geum Hwa-yeong’s tears.

‘……You must be happy.’

Looking at Geum Hwa-yeong, Neung Se-yeong smiled softly.

‘Because you made me happy.’

The image of Geum Hwa-yeong when she was young, small, and round, was vividly clear in Neung Se-yeong’s eyes.

Her face when she was crying, with tears streaming down like chicken droppings, and her bright smile that bloomed like a flower.

Neung Se-yeong looked at Geum Hwa-yeong.

Smiling, Neung Se-yeong felt sleepiness coming over her again.

‘Hmm……’

It seemed like there was something important, but it didn’t matter.