Chapter Title: Phoenix Heaven Manor
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Including the young lady of the Fish Gold Family, four survivors from the family.
Including me, eleven rogue warriors left.
Our pathetic procession had dwindled to a mere fifteen.
Excluding Sa Daegi, Ju Okga, and Mak Daechil, everyone bore wounds great and small.
White Hair Silver Spear Du Chuwon led the vanguard.
The carriage was guarded in the middle by me and Blood Flower Yi Boreong.
Flash Blade Wi Yeon brought up the rear.
That said...
Ah!
Thinking about it again still pisses me off!
I'm so furious I could go mad.
Every now and then, the rage surges up. Just you wait, if I let this slide...
That swindler from the World's Best Armory.
Daring to scam me?
The moment I get back to Chang'an, I'll grab him by the collar and beat his face black and blue.
Of course, I'll get every one of those 25 taels of silver back, too.
I'd better keep this from the neighbor uncle.
The instant I tell him my sword shattered, he'll mock me endlessly.
Damn it!
A sword weaker than a sickle.
I'm the crazy bastard who paid 25 taels for that junk. Sigh!
"Last time... sorry."
"Pardon?"
Blood Flower Yi Boreong, who hadn't uttered a word the entire half-day march.
Out of nowhere, while walking fine, she suddenly apologizes to me.
I'd thought her a quiet, scary woman, so her abrupt approach startled me more.
"For pointing my sword at you back at the Hundred-Li Clan... I'm sorry."
"Ah! No, no. If anything, I was the one who forgot the gravity of the situation, driven by my eagerness to get home... I was in the wrong."
Did I say something unnecessary?
Yi Boreong's sudden words caught me off guard, and I babbled insincere nonsense without thinking.
Then silence again.
She really doesn't talk much.
We had to travel another half-day like this... Huh?
She's talking again.
"You handled the inn well."
"The inn...?"
"A rogue warrior must prioritize the commission above all, no matter the situation. But when the assassins burst in, I got caught up fighting them and forgot the client for a moment."
"Ah... yeah. Anyone would in a panic."
"No. A rogue warrior can't afford that. Failing the commission even briefly shatters the client's trust, and once broken, it can never be mended."
"...Yeah. You're right."
"Young Hero Jin's actions—shouting to alert everyone of the enemy intrusion while rushing to protect the client..."
"...?"
"They were the perfect model for every rogue warrior to emulate."
Ah!
Why is this woman acting like this all of a sudden?
Praise should have limits.
It's even scarier now!
Stop it!
That said, Wi Yeon called me 'Young Hero Jin,' and now Yi Boreong uses the same title.
She even speaks politely.
It must mean she acknowledges me.
But this...
Feels so awkward and uncomfortable for a third-rate rogue like me, used to scraping by.
Do I have to get used to this, too?
"I heard your sword shattered?"
"Ah, yes. This one I'm holding now belongs to Ha Hu-tak, the rogue warrior, you know? The one who died blocking assassins at the inn... I'll use it just until this commission ends, then return it to his family when I get back to Chang'an."
"Mm, yes. You should."
A brief silence followed.
I wanted to vent about the scam's injustice, but Yi Boreong fell silent again, so I shut my mouth too... Jackpot!
"How did you end up using such a crappy sword? Someone of your caliber, Young Hero Jin, surely knows a rogue's sword is his life."
"Well, it's a long story..."
"We've got time. Tell me. How did you join a commission wielding junk like that?"
"So, a while back, I went to the weapon market..."
I poured out the full tale, laced with fury and grievance over the scam.
Yi Boreong just nodded along, listening to the whole thing.
"...So when I get back to Chang'an this time, I plan to grab that swindling old coot by the collar and smash his face without mercy."
"I'll go with you."
"Pardon? You'll come too, Lady Yi? The World's Best Armory is all talk—it's just a cheap spot for third-rate rogues to buy gear..."
"They're probably scamming more of our rogues right now. Ignorance is one thing, but now that I know, I can't sit idle. When we reach Chang'an, go there with me."
"Ah, yes. I'll escort you."
This... this scary woman, Blood Flower Yi Boreong.
She used to terrify me like no man ever could.
But now that she's on my side, she feels like an unbreakable shield.
That's why a smile creeps onto my face unbidden.
That said, Yi Boreong said nothing more after that exchange.
"Halt! Rest here!"
White Hair Silver Spear Du Chuwon called for a stop.
We'd left the inn at dawn and marched nonstop till sunset without a break.
At his order, everyone collapsed where they stood.
"Fill up on the jerky and water we prepared, then move out. As you know, we can't relax for a second, so we'll travel through the night until Hanzhong. Eat hearty now."
By luck, we'd salvaged jerky from the bloodbath at the inn that morning.
We'd packed it all, and now we could finally eat.
I, and everyone else, tore into it ravenously... Huh?
⚠️ POISON! ⚠️ "Ptoo! It's poisoned! Everyone, spit it out! Don't eat it!"
Flash Blade Wi Yeon.
Starving like the rest, he'd stuffed a huge bite into his mouth before spitting it out and shouting.
Poison?
"Ptoo!"
"Ptoo! Ptoo!"
"Urk! Urk!"
The moment Wi Yeon's words ended, everyone spat out their jerky.
But a few rogues who'd already swallowed some had to vomit it back up.
That was when it happened!
The mood turned murderous in an instant.
Flash Blade Wi Yeon glared at White Hair Silver Spear Du Chuwon, radiating killing intent.
Even more shocking were the reactions from Du Chuwon and the two first-rate Fish Gold Family experts.
They hadn't touched the jerky at all.
They smirked at the enraged Wi Yeon.
And then!
Ah, damn it!
New arrivals.
No less than forty of them.
Two at the lead.
Both wielding spears.
No—all forty-odd carried spears, not swords.
One of the leaders strolled up casually and called out to White Hair Silver Spear Du Chuwon.
"Hey, big bro! Good work getting here!"
"What, coming out to greet us? Haha!"
"Did those fools chow down on the jerky alright?"
"Tch! Gotta be quicker on the uptake. Some ate it, some didn't. Especially that bastard Flash Blade Wi Yeon—he spat it right out."
"Eh, die eating or die plain—dead's dead. No difference! Haha!"
"Right? Haha!"
Ah!
What the hell is going on?
Why would White Hair Silver Spear Du Chuwon, the Fish Gold Family's top expert...?
Why...?
🔵 TELEPATHY 🔵 -Listen well, Young Hero Jin.
It's Yi Boreong.
Keeping watch on the enemies, she suddenly sent me a transmission.
Ah!
I don't even know how to transmit yet.
I nodded frantically.
-Those two at the front: Wind Thunder Silver Spear Jang Gak. Night Moon White Spear Jin Ya. Famous experts from Phoenix Heaven Manor. But they're also known to have been sworn brothers with White Hair Silver Spear Du Chuwon since their youth.
I nodded like mad.
-Things look bad. Seems White Hair Silver Spear betrayed the Fish Gold Family and joined Phoenix Heaven Manor.
Tears welled up as I nodded frantically!
"Du Chuwon."
Flash Blade Wi Yeon.
He called out to White Hair Silver Spear with cold eyes.
Du Chuwon, mid-cheerful greeting with his sworn brothers, finally turned to Wi Yeon.
His face still wore that infuriating smirk.
"Betraying the Fish Gold Family?"
"Betrayal? Heh heh heh. That stingy Fish Gold patriarch made me this way. Phoenix Heaven Manor promised me a sweet deal. Haha!"
Wi Yeon and Du Chuwon, plus the two new sworn brothers.
Their brief exchange laid it all bare.
The Fish Gold Family had already handed over massive sums and trade rights to Phoenix Heaven Manor.
As dowry.
But Phoenix Heaven Manor's eldest son refused marriage to the ugly Fish Gold daughter, even on pain of death.
So they'd disguised bandits and demons to wipe them all out.
At the heart of this filthy plot lurked White Hair Silver Spear Du Chuwon's betrayal.
I glanced at our side.
Wi Yeon, Yi Boreong.
Two first-rate rogues, three second-rate, three third-rate excluding me.
Minus Wi Yeon and Yi Boreong, everyone seemed poisoned.
Seeing no symptoms in Ju Okga, Sa Daegi, and Mak Daechil...
Probably a qi-scattering poison.
So only those who could really fight were...
Wi Yeon, Yi Boreong, me, and... Ha!
Can't expect much from those third-rates.
The fight hadn't even started, and their faces were pale, bodies trembling.
"Hey! Hey!"
I quietly called Sa Daegi, Ju Okga, and Mak Daechil.
So terrified, they didn't even hear me.
I had to approach and smack their thick skulls... Thwack!
Only then did they somewhat snap out of it.
"Go guard the carriage. Stake your lives on it."
"You... you're ordering us...?"
"It's Lady Blood Flower Yi Boreong's command. Fail to guard it, and she'll tear you to shreds."
"Gah!"
The three.
At 'Blood Flower Yi Boreong,' they freaked and bolted to the carriage... Ah!
It's starting!
Clang clang clang!
Clang clang!
Boom boom boom!
The enemy struck first.
While Wi Yeon talked with White Hair Silver Spear, Wind Thunder Silver Spear, and Night Moon White Spear...
The Phoenix Heaven Manor goons swarmed our qi-poisoned first- and second-rate rogues.
Unable to use qi, they fell in seconds.
Ah!
Ju Okga, Sa Daegi, Mak Daechil.
If I hadn't just sent them to the carriage, they'd be goners too.
These guys are luckier than anyone.
"You bastards!"
Boom boom boom boom!
Wi Yeon exploded in rage, swinging at White Hair Silver Spear, Wind Thunder Silver Spear, and Night Moon White Spear.
His fury made his blade erupt in massive blasts on clash with their spears.
White Hair Silver Spear, Wind Thunder Silver Spear, and Night Moon White Spear counterattacked at once.
Yi Boreong joined in right after.
Then me too... Huh?
"Where you going, punk? Cowards stick with cowards."
Phoenix Heaven Manor warriors thrust spears at me en masse.
Back then, maybe.
Just one or two months ago.
I'd have trembled like Sa Daegi, Ju Okga, and Mak Daechil, awaiting death.
But not now.
Even with forty charging me at once.
Strangely, I felt no fear.
And then, suddenly, the neighbor uncle popped into my head.
That sight of him slicing ten bundles of barley in one go.
All lingering tension vanished.
I gripped my sword straight and said,
"Come on. I'll cut you down ten at a time."
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