Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 15: Clear Flowing Sword (1)

It didn’t take long to choose a sword.

With plenty of money and knowing the fair price, they quickly made the purchase and then wandered the streets as they pleased.

“Oh, hey, that looks cool.”

Along the way, they bought a pair of bamboo hats. If you’re wondering what a bamboo hat is, think of a conical straw hat.

Chunbong’s hair color was already a striking black and white two-tone, so there was no reason not to buy bamboo hats to cover the eye-catching hair color while also fulfilling his martial arts fantasy.

“How do I look?”

Black martial arts attire, bamboo hat, and a sword at the waist. As he struck a pose like a martial arts master, Chunbong clicked her tongue.

“You look like a kid playing hero.”

“What?”

Guess there was no helping that he still looked young. He clicked his tongue, biting into a tanghulu along with Chunbong.

This was tanghulu bought with their own money. Now that they were rich, they could afford to buy such things.

“Hehe...”

Seeing Chunbong excited like a carefree child made him feel good. Yeah, this is what money should be spent on.

“Hey! Geum Chunbong! It’s my treat today!”

“Huh?! A-Aren’t you spending too much?”

“Nope, we’re rich now!”

They headed straight to an inn. There was a brief moment of panic when he realized he didn’t know the names of the dishes, but Geum Chunbong, the rich kid, easily placed the order.

“Wow, this is nice.”

After eating through most of the dishes spread across the table, he felt like his stomach might burst.

How long had it been since he had eaten such a good meal? Chunbong seemed to be enjoying the food too, licking it clean off her fingers.

“You like it?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good then.”

He leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. Judging by the slowly reddening sky, it was almost evening.

Should we get going soon?

He planned to visit the red-light district before night fell. He wondered what had become of the woman he met on his first day. While he didn’t want to worry excessively, he couldn’t help but be curious.

“Let’s get going... wait, what’s that?”

At the entrance of the inn, several men in the same blue clothes were looking around. They had swords at their waists, and he could faintly sense their qi.

Martial artists?

As he observed them closely, one thing became clear.

They definitely feel different from the Black Path guys.

Their aura was different, and so was the feeling of their qi. Though not as pure as what he sensed from Chunbong, it was still a relatively clean and clear qi. These must be the so-called Orthodox Sect members.

They asked the server something, then turned their heads this way.

One of the men who made eye contact gestured to his companions, pointing in this direction.

Soon, the men who had been whispering among themselves started approaching.

“Chunbong.”

“Mmm?”

Chunbong’s eyes were half-closed, seemingly drowsy from the full meal. While gently scratching her chin, he gestured with his chin towards the men.

“Who are those guys?”

“Yawn... Who knows? Aren’t they those guys? You know... those guys.”

“Those guys? Oh, those guys?”

“Yeah yeah, the cloth shop guys.”

He remembered the cloth shop owner mentioning paying protection money to some Clear... something sect, and wondered if he had tattled on them already.

I let him off easy, and he goes and makes trouble.

Seojun sighed and picked up the bamboo hat he had taken off.

“Excuse me. You two over there.”

The man in the lead approached and called out. Seojun infused his qi into the bamboo hat and flicked his wrist, sending it flying.

Thud—

The bamboo hat embedded itself deeply at their feet. The men’s expressions hardened.

“A Master...”

“So that rumor was true...?”

As the group faltered, one quickly collected himself and barked out an order.

“Enough! Compose yourselves. We are disciples of the Clear River Sect. There is no cause for alarm.”

Then that man approached Seojun. Though he stiffened when Seojun frowned, he quickly regained his composure and made a fist-palm salute in greeting.

“I am Cheongwoon of the Clear River Sect. Your skill is impressive, yet you appear quite youthful. Should you not show proper manners?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

When Seojun just nodded slightly, a vein popped on Cheongwoon’s temple.

“...If I may be so bold, might I inquire as to which sect you belong?”

At that question, he looked at Chunbong. She shook her head.

Though he wasn’t sure what it meant, he figured it meant no, so he mentioned a sect he knew.

“The Black Tiger Sect.”

“So you’re a filthy Black Path scum!”

Shing!

He drew his sword. A blue qi enveloped the blade. Judging by his appearance, he looked over thirty, but his skill seemed rather poor for his age.

“Now, now, brother. Why don’t you put that away?”

“As a disciple of the Clear River Sect, I cannot forgive evil! Draw your sword!”

Shing—

He drew it since he was told to. Cheongwoon looked slightly flustered and narrowed his eyes.

“D-Do you truly believe you can cause trouble in the territory of the Clear River Sect and leave alive?”

“Oh no.”

As he pretended to be surprised out of courtesy and looked at Chungbong, she sluggishly raised her body and said.

“Don’t kill him. Yawn... I’m so sleepy.”

At those words, the man suddenly looked triumphant. What’s with this bastard? Not sure what to make of it, Seojun just swung his sword.

“Whoa...!”

Clang clang clang!

Sparks flew as their swords clashed rapidly. Cheongwoon quickly retreated and took a stance, suppressing his surprise.

“I will not forgive you!”

The blue sword qi flickering on his sword began to take on a unique flow.

Waves? No, a river?

As he watched carefully, Cheongwoon stepped forward and brought his sword down.

The blue sword qi poured down like a rapidly flowing river.

Seojun skillfully used Flowing Clouds over the Clear River to completely deflect the sword.

“Ugh...!”

As the forceful sword flowed in an unexpected direction, Cheongwoon lost his balance and collapsed.

“S-Senior Brother!”

“Help Senior Brother!”

The other men who had been hanging back rushed in.

Seojun tilted his head, pondering something, then suddenly looked up.

“I get it.”

“Wait!”

Chunbong tried to stop him with an expression like she had realized something, but it was useless. He couldn’t resist.

Whoosh—

The sound of flowing water could be heard from somewhere.

A flowing river. A golden sky.

The river was not serene, but violent.

Seojun’s golden sword qi began to flow like a river.

“Huh...?”

As the men’s jaws dropped, Seojun grinned and swung his sword.

“Martial arts is the easiest thing ever!”

Splash!

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

His word qi surged like overflowing river waters, sweeping over the men.

“Eek...!?”

Of course, he didn’t kill them. Instead, it swept past their waistbands, causing their pants to drop completely.

“Ahhh!”

“Y-You evil bastard...!”

The men clutched their waistbands, red-faced and grinding their teeth.

“Damn it, you fucker....”

And next to him was the sound of someone grinding their teeth. It was Chunbong, averting her eyes. Certainly, the men’s underwear was disgusting even to Seojun.

“Oops, soz.”

“Just shut up.”

Cheongwoon, who had been watching blankly, opened his mouth in disbelief.

“H-How did you use the Clear Flowing Sword...”

“Zip it.”

When Seojun threatened him with the sword, Cheongwoon shut his mouth tightly and stood up with an angry expression.

He glared at Seojun while wondering about something, but when Seojun scowled, he flinched and turned around.

“Let’s go!”

The men who had rushed in now rushed out just as quickly.

Looking around the now-empty inn, Seojun scratched his head.

“Was the strip show a bit too much?”

“There’s something even worse than that, you fool.”

Chunbong sighed and clicked her tongue.

“At this rate, don’t you think their sect leader’s gonna jump out of bed and come after you personally?”

“Hm... Is it that serious?”

“You used their martial art. Do you think they’ll just sit back and watch?”

“Come on, it’s not like their martial art is that great or anything.”

It was nothing special, that was why he could copy it after seeing it just once. Something like the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword would be impossible.

“A-Ahem! Of course, it’s nothing special.”

Chunbong, looking somewhat proud for some reason, stood up.

“Anyways, let’s go.”

“Hold on. There’s somewhere I want to stop by before going home.”

“Huh? Where?”

“The red light district.”

Chunbong’s expression suddenly crumpled.

“What the hell?”

“What?!”

“You bastard, you get a little money and suddenly what? The red-light district? Are you crazy?”

“I’m not going there to spend money!”

“Bullshit.”

As she clicked her tongue, she suddenly raised her eyebrows and tilted her head.

“Or maybe not? I guess a guy who beats up women who come onto him...”

“Miss Geum, please stop slandering me.”

“It’s not slander if it’s true.”

Sigh, Chunbong exhaled.

“Fine, whatever. Go ahead.”

“Huh? Why are you talking like that? Are you telling me to go alone?”

“What, you want me to go with you?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“...R-Really? Why?”

What do you mean why? It’s not easy to enter the red-light district alone. It kinda just feels a bit off.

As Seojun scratched his chin, Chunbong, who had been watching him, turned bright red.

“...You want me to watch you having sex?”

“Bitch, what...?”

Why is this kid so open?

Seojun’s mouth was hanging wide open in shock.

*After clearing up the misunderstanding, Seojun headed towards the red-light district while being lightly beaten by Chunbong.

“You! Should! Explain! Things! Properly!”

“Oh yeah, right there. Can you hit just a bit lower?”

“Eek...!”

Thwack! Chunbong kicked him hard in the shin.

Of course, since she didn’t use qi, it didn’t really hurt.

“But how are you going to find that woman?”

“How would I know? We’ll just go and see.”

As they got closer to the red-light district, the atmosphere changed.

The market street could be considered the light side, while the back alleys of the red-light district were the dark side.

The ambiance here was like a textbook example of what dark and damp air meant.

But today... it seemed different from usual.

“Attack! Kill them all!”

“You Black Tiger Sect bastards!”

“The Black Tiger Sect Leader is dead, this place is ours now!”

Seojun exchanged glances with Chunbong and smiled awkwardly.

“These guys sure live busy lives.”

“They’re only busy at times like this. Bunch of rats.”

“Oh my, what a way with words.”

“...Are you insane?”

Well, this works out nicely. Since things have progressed to this point, might as well unify the back alleys and fix up the parts I don’t like.

A life of being kidnapped, having tendons cut, and forced into prostitution? Isn’t that a bit too lacking in romance?

Of course, getting rid of courtesans entirely is impossible, and I know it’s not what they want either, but that’s none of my business.

I’ll just give them opportunities and lend a hand to those who reach out for help.

I don’t need to worry about what happens after that.

“Mm. That’s right.”

“Haah, do whatever you want. I don’t care anymore.”

“Okay~”

Seojun slung his sword, still in its scabbard, over his shoulder and walked towards the red-light district. Chunbong walked beside him.

Their shadows, cast by the reddish lantern light, stretched long and flickered.