Chapter 4: Sword Demon’s Suspicion

When he turned around,
a man in his 30s wearing fancy clothes made of white silk with gold embroidery stood there.

‘Who is this pig?’

Hoyun said in his mind.

The man was so fat that it looked like he had three chins.

Anyone could see he was a rich guy who ate well and lived well.

And behind him were two bodyguards. That made it almost certain.

“Baek… Gongja-nim.”

“Hoho, you are still beautiful.”

Namgung Sang-ah’s face froze the moment she saw the man.

But the man, who was called Baek Gongja, looked at her from head to toe with a dirty smile.

“Hmm? Is that your little sister next to you?”

‘What did this jerk say?’

Hoyun frowned.

Namgung Sang-ah quickly stood in front of Hoyun and said,

“This is my younger brother. He is not healthy, so he cannot move around much. I hope for your understanding, Baek Gongja.”

She grabbed Hoyun’s hand and tried to leave.

But then the man spoke,

“Then let me ask directly. When will you give me an answer about my proposal?”

“……”

“As Baek Won-ui, the heir of Baekun Merchant Group, I can give a generous wedding gift. I will also pay off the Namgung family’s debt.”

Crunch!

As Baek Won-ui kept talking, Hoyun could feel Namgung Sang-ah’s hand gripping tighter.

‘What is going on? Some nobody pig is trying to marry the daughter of the great Namgung family?’

Hoyun was speechless.

He didn’t know anything about the Baekun Merchant Group. He’d never heard of it 300 years ago.

But Namgung family? They ruled Hapbi for a long time and were leaders of justice.

To Hoyun, this situation made no sense.

And what was even weirder…

‘Why is she being so humble?’

It was Namgung Sang-ah’s attitude.

“I’ll… think about it a little more.”

“It’s already been months. Are you trying to kill me with heartbreak?”

“…Baek Gongja, don’t you already have a good wife?”

“Haha, but she’s not as great as you. A hero can have many wives. But if I have you, I’ll stop with others.”

‘He’s crazy.’

This pig, at least 10 years older, was trying to make Namgung Sang-ah his second wife, not even the main one.

‘Am I the weird one? Or is this world broken?’

Hoyun frowned at this strange logic.

Then Namgung Sang-ah quietly bit her lip and said,

“I still… haven’t given up on becoming a martial artist.”

“Ha! Women just need to manage the house. Why bother with martial arts? You might hurt your pretty hands.”

Baek Won-ui gave a sad look and glanced at his guards.

“If you need swords, just hire people. In Hapbi, gold is more important than swords.”

“……”

“I saw you liked that butterfly hairpin. I’ll buy it for you.”

“That’s not nec—”

Namgung Sang-ah tried to stop him, but he walked to the street vendor and asked,

“How much for that butterfly pin?”

“For you, Gongja-nim, I’ll give it for 20 silver coins.”

“Hmm? Wasn’t it 10?”

“Hehe, gift prices should match the heart. The more you pay, the happier the receiver will be.”

‘What kind of nonsense is that?’

Hoyun tilted his head at the words, but Baek Won-ui looked interested.

“Oh?”

“Your eyes are lucky. You already have lots of money luck. Now you just need people luck.”

“Wahaha! That’s right! Ten or twenty coins doesn’t matter to me. I’ll pay thirty!”

Hoyun couldn’t believe it.

‘What an idiot.’

If he had that much money, he should’ve donated it instead.

“Haha, here’s the mon— hmm?”

Baek Won-ui checked his clothes to take out his pouch… but he couldn’t find it.

“Huh? Huh?”

“……”

The vendor’s smile disappeared, and Baek Won-ui’s face turned red.

“Ha, haha. I must’ve left my pouch in my room.”

“Is that so? Then it seems this butterfly pin is not meant for you.”

“Hem, hem.”

Baek Won-ui coughed and looked at Sang-ah.

Then he said,

“I’ll buy you something better next time. Bye now.”

He left quickly with his guards.

Namgung Sang-ah let out a quiet sigh.

“Haa, Hoyun. Let’s watch the performances later. I’m… tired.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go home.”

She had been full of life a moment ago, but now she looked drained.

Hoyun looked at her back, then pulled out a gold pouch from his sleeve.

Whizz! Catch!

He tossed it in the air and caught it again.

He had used light movement skill to steal Baek Won-ui’s pouch.

Then he walked to the vendor and asked,

“Hey, shopkeeper.”

“Yes?”

“How much is that butterfly pin for me?”

The vendor carefully looked at Hoyun, who looked about 15 years old.

Then his eyes went wide.

In the setting sun, the boy’s smile was creepy.

Especially the red glow in his clear eyes…

It felt like seeing the ghost of life and death.

“I-I won’t take money from you…”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, please take this for free.”

The vendor handed the pin to Hoyun with shaking hands.

Hoyun nodded, took the pin, and gave him the whole pouch.

“Shopkeeper, may you live long.”

“……”

“You said gold is more important than the sword? What a joke.”

“……”

“Anyway, good luck with business.”

Step, step, step.

Hoyun walked away.

The vendor, frozen for a while, finally let out a sigh.

“Whew… I met a god of death today…”

He quickly packed up his stall.

 

No more selling today.

A few days later, Hoyeon headed toward Muaedang (無涯堂), located deep within the Namgung family estate.

There was a clear reason for his visit.

He had heard that Muaedang contained a training room reserved exclusively for direct descendants of the family.

“Whew, just staying cooped up in a room makes me feel stiff. I should loosen up a bit.”

Hoyeon rotated his neck from side to side.

Back when he was the Sword Demon, he never missed a day of swinging his sword.

But ever since becoming Namgung Hoyeon, he had mostly been lying around in his bedroom.

Though he had been diligently training in spiritual energy, he hadn’t trained his body much, and now it felt itchy and restless.

‘Still, this body is quite well-trained.’

Hoyeon nodded as he assessed his physical condition.

Considering that rigorous training from too young an age can hinder growth, his current body was actually well-balanced and appropriately developed for his age.

‘I need to learn new sword techniques too. I can’t use the Ghost Sword (幽魂劍) or the Death-Stealing Sword (奪命劍) here.’

As part of an orthodox clan, using sword techniques as bloodthirsty as those of the Sword Demon could lead to him being shunned.

Though he couldn’t use the techniques he was most familiar with, Hoyeon wasn’t worried at all.

‘The Namgung clan’s sword techniques are vast and varied: Great Heaven Sword Art, Sky Palace Sword Art, Iron Ten Forms, Celestial Wind Sword Art, Sky Palace Flying Swallow Sword Art, and more.’

After all, what was the Namgung clan?

The undisputed top sword clan, reigning over the martial world with the sword alone.

Finding a sword technique that suited him here would be the least of his problems.

It was then, just as Hoyeon arrived at the training room in Muaedang—

“Huff! Huff…”

—he found someone already there.

A shirtless man stood at the center of the room, holding a sword with his eyes closed.

Steam was rising from his well-toned body, evidence that he had been swinging his sword for quite some time.

‘So it’s true someone basically lives in this training room.’

That man was none other than Namgung Cheonggang, the heir to the clan and Hoyeon’s older brother.

Zzt zzt zzt!

Just then, a blue sword aura surged from Cheonggang’s blade.

The aura was strikingly clear, pure to the point it was almost painful to look at.

‘Oh? Not bad.’

Hoyeon’s eyes gleamed as he recognized the distinct energy of the Sky Palace Great Divine Art.

Such a finely controlled sword aura could only be released by someone at the peak of first-class level or higher.

‘He’s twenty-five, right? Already nearing the pinnacle… He’s a genius.’

As Hoyeon nodded in approval, Cheonggang slowly began to move his sword.

‘That stance… Sky Palace Infinite Sword Art?’

Just as Hoyeon suspected, Cheonggang had begun executing the Sky Palace Infinite Sword Art.

In fact, Cheonggang had noticed Hoyeon peeking into the room from the very beginning.

‘Hehe, even with memory loss, his habits are the same. You always used to stand right there and watch me train.’

Feeling his younger brother’s gaze on him, Cheonggang instinctively tensed his muscles.

‘Watch closely! Witness your big brother’s Sky Palace style!’

Swish!

The sword shot sideways as the Sky Palace Infinite Sword Art unfolded in full force.

From the opening move Heaven High, Clouds Part (天高雲行), where the sky rose and clouds cleared, to the next slash Azure Sky Washes the Sun (蒼天濯日), a series of strikes followed one after another.

Boom! Boom!

Then, using the technique Infinite Pressure (無涯重壓), he slammed down a powerful blow as if pressing down on the world.

Followed by Cloud Sea Strikes Heaven (雲海擊天), he tore through the air with a heavy upward strike like ripping clouds apart.

“Hmph! Haah!”

Swiiish!

The technique Sky Rends Apart (蒼空裂破) sent a fierce sword slash soaring like a dragon ascending.

“Haaaa!”

Thrust! Thrust!

With the continuous stabbing move Beyond Heaven, Another Heaven (天外有天), he turned his imaginary enemy into a pincushion.

“Hup!”

Zzzzing!

Finally, when Cheonggang poured all his internal energy into the blade, the sword let out a resonant hum, tinting the entire space blue.

Sky Palace Infinite (蒼穹無涯)!

Fwoooosh!

Named for the endlessness of the blue sky, the explosive surge of sword energy dyed the entire training room azure.

Swish! Swish!

A powerful crisscrossing slash tore the air into four quarters.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

Though his energy core was now drained and exhaustion hit him, Cheonggang grinned broadly.

‘What do you think? Your big brother’s Sky Palace style! Impressive, right? Aren’t you in awe?’

As always, Cheonggang expected his younger brother to clap and cheer.

But no matter how long he waited, there was no applause.

‘Heh, did I leave him speechless? Well, it’s probably the first time he’s ever seen the Sky Palace Infinite Sword Art, since he lost his memories.’

Shiiing. Tap!

With a flourish, Cheonggang sheathed his sword as handsomely as possible, then turned to Hoyeon with a dramatic expression.

“Hoyeon, you’re—huh?”

But Cheonggang stopped mid-sentence when he saw his younger brother’s expression.

The cute little brother was not showing admiration, nor was there a sparkle of awe in his eyes.

Instead—

‘…Disappointment?!’

Boom!

It was as if thunder had struck inside Cheonggang’s head.

And as he stared into Cheonggang’s dimming eyes, Hoyeon muttered to himself.

‘What the hell was that? It’s completely different from the Sky Palace Infinite Sword Art that old Sword Master showed me…’

---

Step, step, step.

Hoyeon walked stiffly through the inner courtyard, his face stony.

‘Something’s off. Seriously off.’

His recent doubts had only been growing:

First, why did Namgung Sang-ah not slit the throat of the heir to the Baekun Merchant Guild after being humiliated by him?

Second, why had Namgung Cheonggang turned the Sky Palace Infinite Sword Art into such a bizarre mess and still acted proud about it?

To answer all these questions, Hoyeon went in search of one man.

Slide. Clack!

“Oh! Hoyeon, you’ve come!”

A middle-aged man with rugged, bold features stood up from his seat to greet him.

The head of the Namgung clan.

The father of this body.

Namgung Baek.