Chp 23: Swordmaster, Overwhelmed!

Schwiiing—

A sharp sound, piercing eardrums…

As if a thin slice of metal being swung, such sound pierced the air.

The elder, eyes still close, could not hide his shock;

Swordmaster?!

How is this possible!

As a sharp Qi came for his neck, his thought became clear. Setting aside his shock, he let go of the two shoes, his hands moved in a spiral direction, forming a vortex. One of the top four Tai Chi skills in the world –

The Great Equilibrium Vortex.

The move made this elder famous throughout the Shen nation.

Though the elder’s fourth Qi layer was considered high level in a large city, it was just so-so at the national level. However, Elder Fang’s skills were more than make up for it. With this signature move of his, he was respected even among the fifth and sixth Qi layers, the Peak Masters and Grandmasters.

Though he barely had a fraction of a second, the elder’s move…

Without even coming into contact with the incoming sharp Qi, he directed it to the side!

Shaa—

Shreekkk—

Ka! Ka, ka, ka…

That thin slice of Qi, completely cut through the tall tree he had stood upon just an hour ago. Along with it, several other smaller trees. Trunks falling down, leaves fluttering. The sound and sight of the tall tree sliding down, falling right into the lake, utterly shook everyone…

…!

The lake water splashed…

Yet the surroundings turned dead silent…

What the fook?!

Ho Lee Sheet!

Mamma mia!

Utter destruction!

Even the elder, eyes closed, could not believe what had happened. It cut through over ten meters in the air, passing through the trees. With his ears and Qi senses, he could tell how clean the cut she made on the poor trees… There was barely any resistance!

No, there was no tolerance for any!

How domineering!

‘This kind of clean-cut— isn’t an expert level anymore! This…’

Master-level!

A Sword-Qi, of a Master level…

A Swordmaster’s Sword-Qi…

Coming from a little girl, not even a first Qi-layer!

Moreover, the cut came from her hand!

If that was from a sword… what would happen?

Visibly shaken, he stood silently in place.

Am I dreaming? Have I gone senile?

Am I drunk? Who… am I?

Meanwhile, while the elder was taken completely in shock, Yun Zhi was in shock as well… for a different reason.

What the frick, elder!

You divert my attack like that, why didn’t you take it like a man!

The trees in the park, they’re public property, aren’t they?

You’re not gonna let me pay for that, right!

Wu wuu… I completely got scammed!

Now he’s so totally gonna make me work for it…

Seeing the destruction, and the elder turning all silent, Yun Zhi was not so foolish as to continue. She resigned her fate. She had no money now. Hopefully, the elder would not let her take the full burden of this debt… Ah, can she still make a run for it? Would the elder catch her?

Nah, that’s not gonna work…

Money, money, money…

I gotta make money!

Without money, too much hardship in this world, ah!

I couldn’t even sleep in peace…

Yun Zhi’s mind was all over the place, imagining herself the tragic victim of capitalist society.

Remembering the cringe-worthy K-drama she watched in her past life, she felt disappointed at how much people look down on others, just because they were poor. Where did all your kindness go? Take a vacation? Must you insult the poor?

They just didn’t know how to make money!

Don’t look down on poor people, else you’ll regret it!

Just when she was cursing some completely fictional characters, the elder spoke;

“Master level control… without, inner Qi…”

“Y-yes? Did you say something, elder?”

The dust surrounding them finally settled.

The elder opened his eyes, witnessing the destruction made by the cut, with his own eyes. Such a cut, as if a sharp laser beam cutting through the surrounding environment. The trees, completely innocent, became the victims… laying silent by the hill slope…

And partially, in the lake.

While the destruction was shocking, there was also something else that bothered the elder. Perhaps, without her even realizing it, there was a tinge of bloodlust on her Sword-Qi, making it all the more dreadful. Realizing this, he asked;

“Child… You release such a vicious Sword-Qi… What if you kill this old man?”

“Eh… Elder, must you tease little Yun? At best, this kind of attack… without a sword, will cut through two Qi layers. You have four protecting you… Hehe, don’t be such a tease…”

…!

What she said made him realize…

That she was completely aware, of how many Qi layers he had.

Was she a cult agent after all? Was he her target?

Such a vicious attack, also, bloodlust… There was no way a young girl would possess these!

“Tell me, how can you be so sure… I have four Qi layers?”

“Eh… One, two, three, four… You have four. I didn’t count wrong? Did you suppress some?”

“What—”

She counted them as if they were visible to naked eyes.

Shaking his head, the elder had too much shock for the day. He even suspected that he was somehow, drunk… There was no way a person not even in the first Qi layer could see the layers. Earlier Qi layer Murim people used their Qi sense to determine the approximate layer… To see the layers clearly? Such a feat could be done only by Grandmasters and above…

Ignoring that fact, he focused back on his earlier concern;

“Child, tell me honestly something else… I’m willing to hear your full story, but answer this in full truth…”

“Y-yes? Elder, why are you so serious all of a sudden…”

“You’ve killed humans before, am I right?”

“…!”

Such question.

To be asking a young girl, still in her teenage years… Some might question the elder’s sanity, but he knew he had to ask it. Yun Zhi, knowing that the elder probably guessed it from her Sword-Qi, decided to just out with it;

“Yes!”

“I see… why did,”

As he was about to ask her further, tears flowed down her eyes.

His question invoked her unpleasant memory. Those people, they were her first kills… People she never imagined she had to cut… People she previously had a good laugh with… People she entrusted her back with… They were the reason why she decided to bury her Sword techniques and adopt other, milder styles.

So the tears and watery eyes she had this time, were not scripted, not…

Not fake.

Far from it.

The elder, seeing the tear, visibly moved.

He might not be so good at detecting lies, but he still had his instinct. These tears… were not planned. They were genuine, done subconsciously. Her gloomy vibe made it obvious, that his question had triggered certain memory.

A memory she had buried deep within.

‘I thought, I’m over it by now…’

When she knew that her past life had killed millions, the guilt of killing a few seemed ridiculous. That was just logic. That was why, she thought she could just forget about it. But… Logic and emotion often did not agree with each other. Deep in her, it was not just about killing…

It was not about the amount, the numbers…

Betrayal…

She had to kill them, since they betrayed her. It was on her very first adventure in the outside world, too. She thought, she could trust them… And, from her ability to tell people apart, she knew they were not bad people. In fact, among the mercenaries, they had good reputation.

So why?

Did her eyes make a mistake?

Betrayal, for someone barely twelve, stung her heart more than being pierced by a sword. The injury lasted for more than a few years…

It lasted, till now.

“Child, forgive this old man… I still need to know who, and why…”

“Mercenaries… Five…”

Her voice was a bit hoarse, but weak.

She sniffed several times. For a while, her voice seemed void. Just where did it fly to, it was too heavy to kite it back… Finally, with all her might, she managed to utter;

“Betrayal,”

“Betrayal… no wonder,”

It was such a heavy word.

Different from her disgust when mentioning that so-called uncle of hers, who threw her in the middle of the park, this word was… heavy. Perhaps because she had no high expectation from that uncle of hers, but, considering her word, her killing them was likely, her very first time experiencing betrayal. And one’s first time, was usually the most memorable.

It explained everything then.

As to why her Sword-Qi had a tinge of bloodlust within, this was it. This was likely the skill she had used to cut them down. Due to such memory, it carried some bloodlust from that time. It was a vicious skill too, one which would not be used unless one had to. As for it to be used on the elder, he did not mind. As she had said, at best, it would only tear through two of his Qi layers… That was the truth, and she was not mistaken.

He did ask her to do her best, and she delivered.

The old man was more than satisfied. The spar was a success.

In fact, that was quite a feat!

He had been shocked thoroughly in just over an hour, he felt like he was becoming numb to it.

‘She’s a work of art… No, a masterpiece! This girl…!’

While he would like to ask more, Yun Zhi was a bit overwhelmed.

She was kneeling on the ground, and had hugged her legs with both arms. She buried her face into her own embrace, as if avoiding the world. It was a self-defense mechanism, making herself smaller to avoid being noticed. She suppressed her sniffling, barely…

Big sis Xue…

Why am I even here?

What mission? I can’t even take care of myself…

I'm useless...

Can’t I just go back, and sleep?

I don’t wanna do anything anymore…

Take me back…

Big sis…

Her mind turned upside down.

She tried to suppress such chaos, but this made it worse… She lost herself in her confusion, completely disregarding everyone around her… Tears streamed down her cheek, as if a dam, releasing excess rainwater…

“Child…”

Seeing her behavior, the elder knew…

He had pushed her to an edge… To a dark corner.

Never did he expect, such an extreme reaction.

Due to how amazing she was, he forgot her actual age, and her mental endurance. No matter how amazing she was… No matter if she had the potential of a Swordmaster… And doesn’t matter if she had Master-level Sword-Qi… Or the ability to trigger people’s potential…

‘She’s just a young girl…’

She seemed confident, able, and ready to take on the world…

Still, her psyche was not like an old veteran like him, far from it.

Her confidence was a bit like a flower vase. Knocking it lightly, it might seem hard. But, just from falling down a certain height, it would be…

Completely broken.

“Aii… Ah, all of you… Go down the hill, for now, leave us,”

“Y-yes, elder…”

Filled with guilt and not knowing what to do, he decided to give her some time. Gesturing to the school thugs to leave them be, he sat down to the side, allowing her to calm down on her own.

Mo Hong and Don bro, witnessing their young lady overwhelmed, knew they had to leave.

As bosses as well, both knew the reason. She wouldn’t like for her new goons to see her in a moment of weakness. It would be best to say that… they didn’t see anything!

Nuh-uh!

The dust entered our eyes!

And then, the elder told us to scram, so…

What happened?

Did he give you a bad time, young miss?

Don’t be sad… We’ll be stronger than him one day!

And then, we can kick his ass together!

So…

Don’t be sad, young miss!

Yup, that should be the scenario.

With that in mind, down the hill, both briefed their goons thoroughly.