Book 18 Chapter 18

Amy Shin-nyeo and Bi Ryuyeon

-Namgung Sang, who plays with fate at the hands of others.

"Wait!"

As Namgungsang was contemplating whether or not to draw his sword, Bi Ryuyeon interrupted.

"Who are you?"

Qin Shaolin asked the saboteur who had suddenly appeared.

"It's called Bi Ryuyeon."

Bi Ryuyeon replied with a slight smile. To her surprise, Qin Xiaoling knew the name.

"Bi Ryuyeon? The same Bi Ryuyeon who you said won the Volcano Competition?"

It was only recently that Qin Shaolin had heard the name, and the rumors that were swirling around it. The story was that some unknown young man had been declared the winner of the much-talked-about Volcano Conference, but everyone was tight-lipped about how and why he was chosen.

"I don't know why it's labeled as a clue, but it's a clue."

He didn't seem too bothered by what was being said about him. He knew that it didn't change the fact that he was who he was, no matter what they said about him. Rumors are the kind of thing that can be manipulated and inflated at will, so it's not worth paying attention to them, he said.

"So, what do you have to say?"

Qin Xiaoling asked again.

"It's not fair."

"Unfair?"

"Yeah, that's not fair."

"What's unfair?"

"There's a lot of disparity between the two of you when you compare your positions in the powerhouse, your ages, and your reputations. Plus, you're the aunt of his beloved, so there's a lot to be said for that, you know."

"So?"

"So if you make things one-sided like that, you're a wimp and you can't do anything but cry and eat mustard even though the odds are stacked against you, so if that's not unfair, I don't know what is, is it?"

Qin Shaolin was not angry. Bi Ryuyeon's words had sounded plausible. She didn't want to be criticized for forcing an unwanted secret mission.

"You have a point."

After a moment's thought, Qin Xiaoling replied.

"Of course it makes sense."

In a confident tone, Bi Ryuyeon said.

"So how do we make it fair?"

It was the question I'd been waiting for.

"You're the one who asked for non-compliance, so shouldn't you be able to decide how to do it?"

Ryu-yeon unveiled her thoughts, which she had been secretly preparing since she joined the conversation.

"That makes sense. That's a good idea. Let's do that."

Qin Xiaoling replied that it didn't matter; a master of her caliber didn't care about the little things. All to the cash register.

"What do you think?"

Here, you need to give him a convincing answer. You can't persuade him by force.

"I've heard through the grapevine that there's a secret sword technique of Amifa's called the Flying Lotus."

Bi Ryuyeon lightly rhymes, and Qin Xiaoling is slightly surprised.

"Oh, yeah. There's definitely a season for that."

Her surprise was evident in her tone. She hadn't realized that she was even aware of it. Then it was a success. The rumor, in fact, was something she'd heard from a spirit.

"I hear it's one of those feasts that no one but the Army has mastered in the last fifty years?"

"Right."

Qin Xiaolong conceded. It was just not well known, but it was nothing to hide.

"But I hear you've been working on that unseasonal thing, is that true?"

"Oh, Miss?"

Liu Lan, who had been standing quietly in the background, was almost angered by Bi Ryuyeon's audacity in calling Qin Xiaoling a lady. Qin Xiaoling was unperturbed.

"It's nothing to hide, it's true. But what does that have to do with Beemu?"

"Of course it's related."

"If you don't want me to use that herbivore in my bimu, I can. I don't plan on using that much technology anyway."

But he was wrong.

"No, it's the other way around, I'm asking you to use that herb and no other herbs, so why don't we make it a win for you if you break that non-seasonal, and a win for them if you fail?"

"Are you serious?"

Qin Shaolin was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected anyone to make such a suggestion.

"Are you saying that because you know what kind of chi it is?"

"A little bit."

In a calm voice, Bi Ryuyeon replied.

"And yet you're willing to go toe-to-toe with him?"

"You're the one who's doing that head-to-head, not me."

With that, she pointed to the statue of the Southern Palace with both hands.

I'm pretty sure that if the spirit had been there, it would have freaked out and screamed, "No!" and tried to tear it apart. She would have tried to rip it off at all costs. She was from Amifa, so she knew better than anyone how terrifying the technology was.

And she must have been bitterly resentful, for at the time she had thought that Bi Ryuyeon had asked to seal the highest feast of Qin Shaolin. But she had momentarily forgotten that her brother's evil schemes always take unpredictable turns.

"Isn't it much more advantageous to not let them use it?"

Qin Xiaoling replied, his tone expressing confidence that he could live with such restrictions. He wanted to say that it was a very good idea, but Bi Ryuyeon's answer was the opposite of what he expected.

"Huh? That would be cowardly, wouldn't it?"

Without changing her expression, Bi Ryuyeon said so. At the word cowardice, Namgungsang's face instantly turned pale. His mind was paralyzed. Since when had his godbrother become such an upstanding figure? Suddenly, the world seemed like a joke.

"It's only meaningful if we go toe-to-toe and break it, so she'll be convinced, and even then, if we don't let her use all of it, and she wins, she'll still be labeled a patsy, and she'll have to live with that forever."

"You're definitely right, I should have thought of that. I almost did something to that guy that I shouldn't have."

Qin Xiaoling nodded, admiring Bi Ryuyeon's seemingly impartial demeanor. Currently, she was completely persuaded by Bi Ryuyeon's words.

"I apologize, Southern Palace Society."

"Oh, no, I don't want an apology."

The Prince of the Southern Palace threw up his hands in dismay. How could he continue to cling miserably to her skirts when these words of apology were coming out of Qin Shaolin's mouth. He realized that he had been cornered.

"Well, it doesn't really break it, it just stops it. If you don't get hit by it, you win, if you do, you win. How about that?"

"A special move is a technique that is intended to kill an opponent. If it fails to kill the enemy, the technique is already broken."

It was a very strict, no, radical, standard.

"You're really getting it."

Bi Ryuyeon nodded in agreement, as if she understood this way of thinking very well.

"But if we don't stop this technology, you could die, and for the record, I don't intend to do it in moderation. I consider it an insult to my opponent."

Suddenly, I realized that it might be a good idea to desecrate the Namgung statue once in a while, and I barely escaped.

"Well, that's up to you."

She was the kind of person who would intervene in the fate of others at will, and then suddenly pass the buck to them.

"That, that……."

Namgungsang was frustrated, but right now he was too powerless to shape his own destiny. Cruel fate was dancing a wild dance that would blow him out of his power.

"So when would be a good time? Pick a date."

"How about three days later?"

The next thing you know, the main event of the Ascension Matsuri will start, and they both agree that they're going to be busy.

"Good."

"I'll let you know the location then."

"No complaints."

"Where are you staying right now?"

"I'm indebted to the Nanchang Branch of the Zhongyang Mark Bureau."

At the mention of a familiar place, Bi Ryuyeon raised her head for a moment to stare at her.

"That's another surprise."

He hadn't realized it had anything to do with the Zhongyang seal.

"I'm familiar with that place, so I'll get in touch with them."

"I'll see you in a couple of weeks, then."

"In three days."

Ryuyeon Bi replied.

"What a great aunt you are. No wonder Qin Lie is fussing."

Looking in the direction where Qin Shaolin and Yulan had disappeared with the children, Bi Ryuyeon spoke up. The Southern Palace was still reeling from the overwhelming reality that had suddenly hit them.

"What am I supposed to do?"

Or, rather, the bewilderment on his face. A fate he did not choose. He wasn't sure what to do.

"Tsk, tsk, this is your destiny, and don't think I chose it for you, because that's a big mistake. I'm just a facilitator to help you seize your own destiny."

He wondered when offering to help became the same as breaking the board. And as far back as he could remember, he couldn't remember choosing this fate.

But when he rebelled, "This fate, I don't think I chose it," all he got was honey chestnuts. He wondered if fate was a monster that could not be controlled by human hands, but he could only see the monster in a human shell, with a more pronounced appearance.

"You're in control of your own destiny. Shall we go?"

Bi Ryuyeon said, stretching.

"Where are you talking about?"

"For a lesson!"

It was to go do that.

"Are we doing that again? We're already done?"

I was relieved to have finally escaped that hell, but to be dragged back into it again? That was the last thing I wanted to do.

"Huh? That was a warm-up, wasn't it? For the real thing! That's not enough to stop him, do you want to die before you get married?"

"No, you have to listen to the wedding."

"Don't worry! I won't let you die. Just trust me, and besides, it's only a short class, just a half term!"

She seemed so happy. The thought that his misery was bringing her joy made him even more depressed.

"What about the Zhongyang Mark Bureau?"

A few things happened along the way, but their original destination was the Nanchang Branch of the Zhongyang Post Office, but Bi Ryuyeon had already lost interest in it.

"I have more important things to do, I'll go later. Do you really want to go there now, and besides, you said that your sister-in-law is staying there, so it's not like we can go before the bimu is over."

It was enough to know that we had arrived safely. It's never too late to learn more about a situation after the fact.

With that, Bi Ryuyeon turned and walked back to the Heavenly Martial Hall, accompanied by Namgung Sang.

* * *

Shhhhh!

A flash of silver spiraled across the center of the forest with the grace of a swimmer. It was a pure white sword, slicing through the wind as freely as a bird with a will of its own.

If a normal person had seen this, they would have freaked out and exclaimed, "Oh my God!

"Eek, it's a possessed knife!"

Although it's actually a sword.

But that's because ignorance got in the way of correct perception, not the other way around.

On the other hand, if the person who saw this was a strong man who had any skill in martial arts, he would have been astonished in a different sense after exclaiming

"Yi, Yi Yi Swordsmanship!"

The mysterious ability to levitate a sword out of thin air and wield it freely without touching it. It's a fantasy that every swordsman can only dream of achieving (we're biased).

There was no invisible thread hanging from it. It wasn't a trick of the eye, and yet it was there, suspended in midair, moving like a single carp swimming on its silver fins.

Blood!

The sword danced with the wind, and in an instant it rose into the sky and became a single point. It pierced the heavens and rose to reach the moon, and then, like a lie, it stopped.

For a split second, the universe was enveloped in silence.

Sigh!

The next moment, the sword's pole slowly dropped on its hilt, and soon it was parallel to the ground, and did not stop falling. When the sword pole had completed its reversal, the tip of the sword that had been pointed at the sky was now pointed at the ground.

Phew!

The sword, still in the middle of the sky, fell with terrifying speed.

Namgungsang's closed eyes snapped open at the sharp flesh shooting toward his white gray blood. He had yet to experience an attack that fell vertically from above his head.

"Eight!"

Unable to help himself, Namgungsang stumbled backward.

But the sword didn't stop. It plummeted to the ground like a white lightning bolt. Pausing just before it struck the ground, the tip of the sword began to probe the direction in which his missing target had fled. He hadn't gone far yet, and the odds were in his favor.

Phew!

Once again, the sword became a white flash and shot toward the South Palace. There were not many humans who could wield this sword so freely. Who is the wielder of this sword, and why is he so relentless in his pursuit?

The sword was named Bing Bai, and its owner was Bing Bai Guanxue, a sword master who was one of the five great swordsmen of the Heavenly River, and was not unknown in Jianghu.

"Could I do it now?

Namgungsang turned around and drew his sword. The sword flew straight at him. It was fast, but not unblockable. It seemed to have a chance. But he was wrong.

The frosty white naked body of the sword flying toward him shook for a moment, forming two images.

"Uh, echolocation!"

Namgung Sang's jaw dropped: this was foul play.

It was the ultimate ascension rite, literally the alter ego of the Yi Yi sword. It was the highest level of skill, a far cry from the mere slashing of the Yi Yi sword. The average swordsman would never even get a glimpse of it in his entire life, so few were able to master it. It was a rare skill.

Piyun! Piyun!

Splitting in two, the swordsman split to the left and right without a moment's rest, flying relentlessly toward the Southern Palace. An unpredictable left and right combined attack.

"It's inevitable!

Namgungsang narrowed his eyes.

"Gah!"

A pitiful scream erupted from Qin Lie's mouth at the sight.

* * *

It had been a day since his unexpected meeting with Qin Shaolin, and he had finally worked up the courage to ask Bi Ryuyeon a question.

"Big brother!"

"Why?"

"That… what kind of qi is that unleavened herb, and why did you choose that herb?"

Ever since he heard the name of the plant yesterday, Namgungsang had always wondered about it. Then he finally got up the courage to ask. …….

"Huh? Didn't you know?"

He said that he thought he would know. But Namgungsang had no idea.

"Yeah, I didn't realize that."

"Isn't that the Amifa sword technique? Didn't Qin Lie teach you that?"

"I thought they didn't teach you that?"

Namgungsang is a little hurt.

"He says it's more of a discipline than a herbivore."

"Sir?"

"Yeah, that's just fishbowling in a nutshell."

"Excuse me? What now?"

For a moment, Namgungsang wondered if his ears were wrong, but Bi Ryuyeon quickly dispelled those hopes.

"Yi Yi swordsmanship, that untrained herbivore."

The answer sent Gongsang's mind into a brief panic.

"Come on, you know that thing about using a sword without touching it with chi. Don't you know?"

I don't know, this wasn't that kind of problem.

"So you're asking me to beat you to the sword?"

"No!"

Bi Ryuyeon replied firmly, which caused a slight flush of color to appear on Nan Gongsheng's face.

"It's not a dance, it's not a dance, it's not a dance unless you break it."

Boom!

His heart pounded in his chest, a sound like the dropping of a steel weight. His head suddenly became dizzy. The gravity of having to face the Yi Yi Sword Technique at its peak, performed by the highest ranked swordsman in the Army and a master of the Heavenly Hao Sword Technique, was crushing his mind and body in one fell swoop.

"Don't worry!"

Doesn't look like you're worried.

"I'm ready to go."

Preparation is bullshit.

Bam!

"Come out!"

Bi Ryuyeon clapped her hands together twice, and a figure stepped out from behind the bushes.

Suddenly, Namgungsang felt a chill run down his spine. It wasn't because they were deep in the mountains. It wasn't because he had a cold. It was because he was facing an opponent who could chase away the spirit of spring once and for all. It was because he was about to cross swords with such a person.

"Master Ice Sword!"

The man who showed up was, surprisingly, Binggum Kwanchul.

"It's been a while."

I've been so busy since the volcano meeting that I haven't seen much of you, and Bingum has been busy cleaning up afterward. When he finally had some time to spare, this is what he looked like. It wasn't a pleasant sight, even for Binggum.

"Say hello, this is the man who will be quenching your thirst for the next three days."

Bi Ryuyeon smirked.

"After all, practice is the best practice, and you'll only get a feel for how to fight in a short amount of time if you're up against someone of your caliber. So……."

Bi Ryuyeon looked at the ice sword and said.

"Don't ever look at me!"

Binggum really didn't care.

* * *

"…Huh?"

Namgungsang opened his tightly closed eyes slightly. Then, in silence, he moved his right hand to touch his brow. It was smooth. Fortunately, there was no gaping hole. He was still alive. Just a little disgraced. Luckily, he didn't have to wash his pants. That was a godsend. I didn't want to look ugly anymore.

"Are you comfortable?"

The voice came from out of nowhere, and Namgung replied unconsciously.

"Yes."

"So you want to keep lying down?"

"Can I do that?"

A brilliant blue sky came into his view. He had never been so happy to see the sky above his head, and it seemed to have a different depth than the usual blue. He was happy. Happy, though it would be short-lived.

"Sure. What's the harm in letting me have a bed for a few months?"

Bam!

Reflexively, Namgungsang's body rose to his feet with a crunch of grass, and he turned to face the figure who had questioned him all this time.

"Great, great……."

"Why? You said you wanted to stay in bed."

"Oh, no, I've still got a lot of training to do, and I'm not going to be able to stretch myself to the nines, no way."

"Really? That's a shame."

Dusting off her curled right fist, Bi Ryuyeon said in a passing tutu. I didn't want to ask or imagine what she was missing.

"What are you pecking at, Gung Sang, are you so afraid of that herbivore?"

"Of course. It's called the Yi Yi Sword Technique, complete with fish sword spinning. It's one of the highest levels of swordsmanship, one that any swordsman can only dream of. How can you not be afraid when you have to face such supreme qi?"

Bam!

The stars flashed. It seemed that Bi Ryuyeon now had the ability to manipulate the stars in the sky.

"What's the point of having eyes, don't you think the head is just there to hold the center of gravity, and what's the point of having eyes that can't even look straight at you, just click!"

When Bi Ryuyeon formed her fingers into scissors and made a stabbing motion, Namgung Sang flinched and covered her eyes with her hands.

"Tsk, tsk, you play into the fantasies of others and get scared before you can look them in the eye? Why the hell did you train for this? Why does it come into play when you're fighting weaker kids, but disappears when you're facing off against someone stronger than you? You lost before you even started. Not to Iaijutsu, but to a fantasy monster called 'stereotypes' created by the collective consciousness."

"Anger, fantasy?"

"Yeah, fantasy."

"It's all an illusion, an illusion. It's an illusion inflated by people's mouths and the air they breathe. It might work against a low or mid-level adept-if there is such a thing-but it's hardly an effective attack at any level above that."

"Is that true?"

Namgungsang's eyes narrowed.

Bi Ryuyeon nodded, trying to put on an expression that would best convey how pathetic she thought these guys were.

"You know what's scary about the Iguana Sword, have you ever thought about it?"

"No."

Namgungsang replied in a muffled voice, and as it turned out, there wasn't much that was scary about it other than the fact that it hovered in the air. Just because it was flying around untouched didn't mean it was threatening.

"That's what unexpectedness is."

"Unexpected?"

That was another first for me.

"Yeah. Imagine if a technology you've only ever heard about appeared in front of your eyes. Wouldn't people be amazed, especially when it's a technology that's been rolling around on the tongues of tastemakers and has become almost legendary?"

Namgungsang listened to the story.

"But the truth is that this technique, the Iguana Sword, isn't very effective. It's not as intimidating as you might imagine. It's actually a very inefficient technique. It's very wasteful, and it's not as powerful as it should be. But I do have one powerful weapon."

"What is that?"

"That's the unexpectedness I was talking about, and the lie I've been building up to. Because even though it's a lie, it's still the truth unless you recognize it. That's why you're scared shitless. What if. And what does that do to you? It weakens your spirit. You get weak. You become rigid. Like a frog before a snake. Nuh-uh-uh. Then, of course, there are loopholes. Slower to react, slower to respond. I can't stop it, I can't stop it, I can't stop it, I can't stop it. When your mind is filled with negativity, everything becomes negative. A negative mindset shuts down your entire body's potential. It's about giving up on possibilities, and you know what it means to give up on possibilities?"

Namgungsang shook his head.

"That's giving up on the future."

She paused for a moment, perhaps to give herself time to savor, or perhaps simply because her tongue was tired. But she wasn't done yet.

"It's only idiots who think that the Yi Yi Sword is powerful. It may look amazing, but its speed is not equal to using the full strength of your entire body, and as your speed drops, the power it carries drops. If you can fly a sword with just your qi, wouldn't you fly faster if you added the strength of your muscles to it? Simple math should be enough to figure it out."

Namgungsang has become an idiot, unable to add.

"Well, it's not without its drawbacks. The advantage of a gyre sword is its ease of maneuverability, and you can use it to create surprise. You can thrust it from an unfamiliar angle, but if you're prepared for it? It'll work against a child, but a master can defend against its speed. But I'm not sure it's worth the effort to use such a large technique against a child. Big technology creates big loopholes. So against an opponent who needs to use such a big skill, this Iggy Sword skill will be useless, and against lesser minions, it won't be worth the effort. But you think it's okay to use it because it makes you look like a child, and that's what I'm aiming for."

"Thinking Hearth……."

Namgung Sang muttered.

"Yes, holes in your thinking. The Iguana Swordsmanship taps into those holes in the mind, which is why it's so strong."

Bi Ryuyeon looked directly into the eyes of the Southern Palace Master, his eyes still reflecting the confusion in his mind. It's always difficult to break the old stereotypes that one has accumulated over the years, and one will inevitably feel confused. But if he can't break them, he can't overcome himself and experience the new world. In the end, it is only one's own beak that breaks the egg called the world.

"Do not forget. The horrors born of your mind will grab you by the ankles and lead you to the gates of hell. It's your heart that stabs you, not the greatness of the Iguana Sword, and that's the true terror of the Iguana Sword. But then again, there are plenty of people in history who have been killed by the overconfidence of having just gotten the hang of it."

Exact statistics are not available, but it's clear that the number is in the low teens.

"So don't be fooled by appearances. Herbivorous splendor is no proof of true strength, and that's a tired old thing in this world, so don't be intimidated. You can stop them if you stay focused, and that's where your strength lies."

"And my victory!

As she thought about how to attract people to this match and make it a big deal, Bi Ryuyeon spoke with a tone of confidence. Faced with her unwavering conviction, even Nan Gongsang felt that it might be possible. Ryuyeon didn't stop talking.

"Ikiru swordsmanship is a very dangerous skill, not for the victim, but for the caster, especially when there is more than one enemy. It's called chi, but it requires a great deal of mental strength. The point is, it requires mental focus, which naturally dulls the physical side. So if there's more than one enemy, it's easy to take them out if one of them attacks the caster the moment the sword catches their eye, though that's not to say there aren't countermeasures."

After a moment's pause, Bi Ryuyeon poked her index finger into Nam Gung Sang's forehead and spoke again.

"The problem is that neither you nor your friends have experienced this before, and because they haven't, it's new to them. Humans are bound to spend some time adjusting to a new environment, especially in the middle of a battle. Why else would I have brought that slimy old man along?"

It was Namgungsang's true intention not to know, but the tragedy of the situation was that he was forced to find out.

"……."

Bi Ryuyeon spoke in a gravelly voice, as if she were imprinting it on the soul of the Southern Palace.

"I'm asking you to experience it. The fight of a true master. The depth of it. Its terror. And what it's like to wield the Ikiru sword in your hands!"

<Continued from "Reliability" Volume 19