Chapter 9: Sword and Magic Sword (8)

Mencius once said that humans are inherently born with a good nature.

Is that true?

I’ve never studied deeply, so I don’t know the exact meaning or context of those words.

But I can’t help but question it.

Are all humans truly born good?

Then how do I explain the man before me?

I looked at the thug, mercilessly beating and cursing me, a powerless girl covered in bruises and wounds.

His contorted face resembled a beast, not a human, and his fists held no trace of compassion or pity.

How can I explain this man?

Was he born good but corrupted by a harsh, cruel world?

Or is he simply a beast in human form, incapable of goodness?

Honestly, I hope it’s the latter.

That way, I can hate him fiercely without guilt.

Either way, I had to escape.

To save my life from this beast.

Thwack

Kicked in the stomach, I flew back, struggling to rise despite the searing pain.

“Argh! P-Please, save me!”

I pleaded for help, but no one stepped forward.

I was furious, yet I understood.

Who would dare stand against this violent beast?

Still, I didn’t give up. I kept fleeing, heading toward a crowded place.

Surely, someone would be there.

A human with a good heart amidst these beasts.

I fled through a forest of violence and cruelty, searching for a human.

But no matter how far I ran, the forest’s end never appeared.

All around were beasts, too terrified to meet the eyes of the predator chasing me.

Bitten and fleeing repeatedly, I finally reached the inn at the village’s edge.

Crash! Thud!

Kicked in the back, I slammed into the inn’s door and tumbled across the floor.

Countless eyes turned to me and the thug.

Please, someone… even a little help…!

I desperately scanned the crowd, but everyone avoided my gaze.

They were all scared, unwilling to act.

Ha… haha…

I wanted to ask.

Which one of them was born with a good heart?

Thwack! Thwack!

“You btch! You’re doing this on purpose, huh? Trying to screw me over!”

I raised my hands to resist, but it was futile.

All I could do was wait for someone’s mercy.

But deep down, I knew.

Such hope was a luxury I couldn’t afford.

I’d ignored others, too.

When my friends fled from beasts, I’d looked away.

Now, I was the prey.

So I shouldn’t hope for rescue.

Then—

“You… today, I’ll—”

“Shut up.”

A refined yet chillingly cold male voice silenced the beast.

Stunned, I looked toward the source with disbelief.

There stood a man in a black robe, his bamboo hat with translucent veils pulled low.

On his back was something wrapped in cloth—likely a weapon.

I wasn’t the only one staring.

Everyone in the inn, including the Red Ox thug beating me, turned to him.

“Hey, buddy. What’d you say?”

“Sorry for interrupting. I’ll leave, so carry on.”

Of course. No one would help me.

But the Red Ox thug wasn’t about to let it go.

“No, no. That won’t do. I need to hear what you said to me.”

The thug approached the black-robed man with a cocky attitude.

As they faced each other, tension filled the room.

While the thug grew increasingly aggressive, the black-robed man remained utterly calm.

Then, the thug crossed the line.

“Hey! You deaf—gah!”

Crack

The thug swatted the man’s hat, only to have his neck seized.

“Three times.”

The man’s icy voice was enough to oppress the room.

“G-Gah! You… do you know who I—”

“That’s how many chances you missed.”

His emotionless eyes stared down at the thug, devoid of human feelings like pity or compassion.

“You had three chances to live. Sadly, you’re out of chances now.”

What followed was swift.

Boom!

The thug was lifted by his neck and slammed headfirst into the wooden floor.

“Argh!”

The floor caved in, wood shards flying everywhere.

The black-robed man didn’t stop, slamming the thug down repeatedly to ensure the job was done.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Only after the thug’s face was utterly crushed did he stop.

Trembling and embedded in the floor, the thug was a wreck. The man glanced at him, dusted his hands, and spoke.

“Let’s go.”

His reaction was curt and casual for someone who’d just obliterated a man, as if he’d done it countless times.

He brushed off his fallen hat, pulled it low, and walked out of the inn, followed by a similarly dressed woman.

After the perpetrators left, silence lingered in the room.

I stared at the broken thug.

He’d been a terrifying, untouchable presence to me, yet he couldn’t even fight back against that man.

An overwhelming difference in power.

Entranced, I replayed the scene in my mind.

I wasn’t the only one shocked.

Everyone in the inn was too stunned to speak, recalling the horrific event.

Soon, others rushed in, alerted by the commotion.

“What’s going on? What happened?!”

“Why’s the door smashed?”

They were all Red Ox Sect members.

“Hey, what’s this? His face is wrecked! Isn’t this one of ours?”

“What? This is the guy from Squad 3? Why’s he like this?”

“Squad 3? The ones running the brothels? Why’s he here? Hey, wake up! What happened?!”

“He’s been beaten to a pulp—almost dead! Get a doctor!”

The scene descended into chaos.

The Red Ox members grabbed bystanders, demanding answers, and soon, eyes turned to me.

Knowing I’d have no other chance, I bolted through the crowd, fleeing the inn.

“Huff… huff…!”

As I escaped, the Red Ox thugs, piecing things together, shouted after me.

“Hey, kid! Stop right there!”

“Grab that btch!”

My heart pounded, blood rushing hot through my veins.

I knew where I had to go.

“Huff! Huff…! S-Sir! Sir!”

Gasping, I shouted toward a distant figure.

The black-robed man who’d crushed the Red Ox thug.

Hearing me, he paused and slightly turned his head.

“Huff! P-Please, take me with you! I beg you!”

I reached out, my vision fading.

Thud, collapse

“Urgh!”

So close, yet I tripped on a rock and fell. My legs gave out, unable to rise.

“Just… a little further…”

In my darkening vision, I kept my eyes fixed ahead.

—

[Poor thing. If you leave her like that, she’ll die.]

Soul-Severing Blade spoke, observing the fallen girl.

Yunmyeong glanced at her, then turned away.

“I’ve already helped once. The rest is up to her.”

[Sure. Let her die at the hands of those men chasing her. You hate kids, so that’s what you want, right?]

“Getting involved further could jeopardize the mission. Stop spouting nonsense.”

Yunmyeong tried to justify himself, but the sword only mocked him more.

[Saving one girl would ruin your mission? Your skills must be pathetic. Truly a master too grand for me.]

“I know you’re trying to sabotage me. Stop your petty provocations.”

Yunmyeong believed the sword cared nothing for the girl’s life, only using her to disrupt him, as it did in the inn.

A malevolent sword bent on breaking human spirits wouldn’t care about a girl’s fate.

[Whatever my intent, you’re still leaving her to die.]

“Countless people die every day. I’ve killed countless myself to get here. You think one girl’s life matters to me?”

[Fine. Keep going. Add her body to the pile of corpses you’ve stepped over.]

The sword’s taunts halted Yunmyeong’s steps.

[Go on. Hurry. She’s as good as dead. Don’t look back—abandon her. Isn’t that how you’ve lived?]

Clenching his jaw, Yunmyeong turned and leaped toward the girl.

Damn it, why am I doing this…

He couldn’t understand his actions.

Normally, I wouldn’t care.

Swiftly, he hoisted the fallen girl onto his shoulder and vanished into the darkness.

Using Hidden Demon Step, a top-tier Heavenly Demon Cult stealth technique, even skilled masters would struggle to detect him.

To the pursuing thugs, he seemed to vanish.

“What?! Where’d they go?”

“They were right here… damn it!”

“No footprints either. It’s too dark to see—where’d they disappear to?”

The Red Ox thugs scoured the area but found nothing.

Carrying the girl, Yunmyeong fled, and Soul-Severing Blade mocked him.

[What’s this? Why the sudden whim to save her? Didn’t you say she’s just one of countless lives dying on the roadside?]

Yunmyeong stayed silent, then glanced away and muttered, “I saved her to ask for directions. No other reason.”

[That’s your excuse? Truly fitting for my lofty master.]

“Shut up! You kept provoking me, so I saved her to spite you! I’ll do the opposite of whatever you say!”

Yunmyeong was confused by his own actions.

His childish behavior and words, the inexplicable relief he felt saving her—it was all foreign.

The sword, in a softer tone, replied, [Not quite a rookie move. Among all you’ve shown me, this was the most mature.]