Chapter 27. The Sword Demon Meets Yul

“M-Msorry!”

The boy thrust his dagger high into the air with all his might.

At the tip of the dagger was a mysterious cat with silvery-gray fur and deep blue eyes.

The cat, nestled in the boy’s arms, was leisurely swishing its tail.

“Ugh!”

Shhkk!

Just as the boy, eyes tightly shut, plunged the dagger toward the cat—

Grab!

“…Huh?”

“As an animal lover, I couldn’t just stand by and watch that.”

The boy saw the man who had grabbed his wrist.

He wore a grumpy expression, but he was handsome enough to make one’s eyes widen in surprise.

‘What? A foreigner? No… he must be mixed-race.’

As the boy panicked, Hoyeon raised an eyebrow.

Through the boy’s messy hair peeked eyes as brilliantly blue as precious azure jade.

‘A maid’s child, perhaps?’

People of foreign descent from Arasa typically worked labor jobs at the port, and it seemed one such maid had fallen for someone and given birth to this boy.

Judging by his grubby appearance and worn clothes, he likely helped his mother with chores here.

“…Let go.”

“Before that, answer one thing. Why do you hate cats? Is that some tradition from Arasa?”

Hoyeon’s question made the boy ruffle his hair to hide his blue eyes.

Then he answered in a small voice.

“I don’t… hate cats. I’ve never even been to Arasa…”

“Then why try to kill this one?”

“Wolmyo is… my only friend.”

“Huh?”

When Hoyeon looked confused, the boy clenched his teeth and shouted.

“By killing the one I love most with my own hands… I harden my resolve to survive! So let me go!”

“….”

Hoyeon silently released the boy’s wrist and said,

“Well, it’s your cat. Do as you will. However…”

Snatch!

Hoyeon grabbed the cat, Wolmyo, by the scruff of the neck from the boy’s arms and continued.

“If you’re going to kill it, don’t stab blindly. Aim right here.”

“…Huh?”

“If you pierce the spot between the seventh vertebra from the top and bottom, you end its life instantly. That’s the life gate.”

“….”

“This spot is like the lumbar spine. Sever it, and the nervous system is cut off. Human or beast, death is instant.”

“….”

As Hoyeon spoke calmly, the boy stared blankly at him and then murmured,

“You’re… cruel…”

“What?”

Hoyeon frowned in disbelief.

“You’re the cruel one! If you’re going to kill, make it swift. Actually, give it here. I’ll do it.”

“N-no, please don’t!”

“What the—this brat?”

“Eek!”

The boy recoiled and hid the dagger, suddenly making Hoyeon look like the attacker. He frowned.

“Meow!”

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The cat swatted its tiny paw at Hoyeon as if to protect the boy.

“What the—this cheeky furball? You want me to make you poop blood, huh?”

“Hiss!”

Wolmyo hissed and flailed in defiance at Hoyeon’s threat.

“S-stop it! Don’t hurt Wolmyo!”

“…Are you insane? Weren’t you just trying to kill it yourself?”

“Waaah! Waaaah!”

The boy began sobbing big, ugly tears at Hoyeon’s scolding.

“Sniff… W-Wolmyo’s going to die anyway!”

“What? Why?”

“Because… I’m a thorn in their side… Sniff… Wolmyo is going to die because of me…”

As the boy sobbed, Hoyeon scratched his head and thought.

‘Hmm. Is he being bullied by the other servants? Because he’s a mixed-blood foreigner?’

The boy’s striking blue eyes certainly stood out.

If Jegal Ahyeon’s dark eyes gave an exotic impression, this boy’s vivid sky-blue eyes were outright alien.

‘Back when Arasa’s people first arrived in Zhongyuan, they were mistaken for goblins.’

Being different meant being exposed to prejudice and hatred.

Hoyeon understood that all too well.

So he felt sympathy for the boy.

“…Tch. I’ll take care of him.”

“…Huh?”

“This rice cake, I mean.”

Hoyeon cradled the dangling Wolmyo, still held by the scruff of the neck.

The cat blinked, confused, looking back and forth between the boy and Hoyeon.

Pat! Pat! Pat!

As Hoyeon roughly patted Wolmyo’s head, he muttered gruffly,

“I’m an animal lover, after all. While I’m here, I’ll protect it.”

“…Who are you?”

“Namgung Hoyeon.”

“Namgung… Hoyeon.”

The boy mumbled the name, staring blankly.

Embarrassed, Hoyeon turned around and cleared his throat.

Ahem! “I’m doing this because I want to. No thanks necessary.”

“Um…!”

“Don’t let anyone bring you down. Your eyes are as beautiful as the blue heavens. That’s the highest praise a Namgung can give.”

“…!”

Step. Step. Step.

As Hoyeon walked away, the boy’s blue eyes trembled like waves in a storm.

Evening, the next day.

The Baekga Sword Meeting officially began.

The pavilion where the first gathering was held, Sword Cloud Pavilion (劍雲亭), was packed with late-stage martial prodigies.

But on closer look, they were split into three distinct groups.

“Wahaha! Raise your glasses, everyone! A toast from me, Moryong Hu!”

A tall, muscular man in his mid-thirties, with the build of a war god, laughed heartily as he raised a wine bottle.

“Ooh! Me first!”

“Pour mine!”

“Wahaha! Stay seated, no need to fuss. I, Moryong Hu, will do the honors.”

The first prince, Moryong Hu, waved off the crowd.

Despite his words, he didn’t rise from his seat.

Instead, he closed his eyes as if focusing on something.

Then—

Clink!

“Ohhh!”

“My heavens!”

“He’s drawing from the void!”

The clear liquor in his bottle rose like a dragon, floating mid-air.

Pour, pour, pour!

The floating dragon evenly poured wine into each person’s cup before vanishing.

The prodigies were stunned.

‘Drawing from the void? Moryong Hu has reached peak extremity?!’

‘A miracle technique that manipulates energy by harmonizing your qi with the object’s qi…’

‘It demands immense inner strength, extreme focus, and profound understanding of qi. Even one lacking makes it impossible.’

Even if Moryong Hu was the oldest among them at 35…

This wasn’t just a trick.

‘Drawing from the void is the first step toward sword control through qi.’

‘It’s not something you can do just because you have strong internal energy.’

‘If he reaches the supreme level and achieves sword-spirit unity…’

‘He may someday wield qi-blades like the Sword Emperor himself!’

‘Truly, the Flashing Dragon!’

Their eyes now glittered with awe.

A rising star from the Yongbong Gathering nine years ago, who earned the title “Flashing Dragon”—Moryong Hu, the next lord of the Moryong Clan.

“Pfft, he’s not a street performer…”

The second prince, Moryong Cheol, muttered with a sneer.

One sycophantic prodigy quickly chimed in.

“Haha! Truly amazing! But surely, Young Master Moryong Cheol can also do that trick?”

“No.”

“…Eh?”

The prodigy’s face turned pale at the flat reply.

Moryong Cheol chuckled.

“To kill, one clean strike is enough. No need for flashy illusions.”

“R-right! Unless you’re a legendary Sword Demon, tricks like that are meaningless!”

The prodigy scrambled to agree, but Moryong Cheol had already looked away.

Another tried to change the subject.

“Haha, Moryong Gongja, what a perfect couple you make.”

“Yes! Like a dragon meeting a phoenix!”

“I agree!”

The sincerity in their words wasn’t entirely fake.

Moryong Hu was indeed handsome in a rugged way.

But more so, the woman in white seated beside him—Jegal Ahyeon—had an ethereal beauty unmatched in all of Zhongyuan.

“Hoho, thank you.”

“….”

Moryong Cheol beamed with pride, but Jegal Ahyeon only lowered her head silently.

He frowned and asked quietly.

“Why the face? Are you unwell?”

“I’m fine. Perhaps just travel fatigue.”

“Hoho, I know medicine. Let me check your pulse—”

Slide.

As he reached out, Jegal Ahyeon gently slapped his hand away with an awkward smile.

“I’m fine. I know my body well.”

“….”

Moryong Cheol’s eyes darkened.

He had hoped to appear intimate with Jegal Ahyeon to show the Jegal Clan’s support.

But her refusal ruined that—and possibly backfired.

Some prodigies were now glancing between the two of them, puzzled.

‘…What’s she playing at? Trying to raise her worth now?’

Moryong Cheol gave her a chilling stare.

But Jegal Ahyeon wasn’t in any condition to notice.

Because—

Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

‘Ugh… my head… it hurts so much…!’

Her psychic sensitivity had activated, and she was being bombarded by the Pavilion’s sea of desires and emotions.

Colors flickered before her eyes, and her brow throbbed as if her head might split open.

‘Hoyeon… help me…!’

She had lived like a normal girl during their month together.

But now, as her psychic powers raged again, she was about to collapse.

Then—

Creak…

The door opened, and a man in a blue martial robe entered.

“Oh my!”

“Who’s that?”

“Whoa…!”

The women gasped first.

The man’s jade-like face was more than enough to draw attention.

“That blue robe—he’s from the Namgung clan.”

“Then that must be Namgung Hoyeon.”

“Is it true he beheaded the Mad Demon of Heaven’s Peak?”

The men recognized him too, noting his attire.

He was the youngest son of the fallen great clan, Namgung.

Namgung Hoyeon.

“Hmm? What’s that on his shoulder?”

“A… cat?”

“…Why?”

Confusion spread.

A gray cat was hanging off Namgung Hoyeon’s right shoulder like laundry.

“Yaaawn. What? Did I come too early?”

Hoyeon yawned.

The others stared.

The banquet had started over a half-hour ago. “Too early”?

Aside from the Tang prince who’d bowed out, Hoyeon was the last to arrive.

‘Tch. I tried to arrive just in time for the team assignments, but… guess I was too diligent.’

Hoyeon really thought he’d arrived early.

He’d purposely come late to avoid the annoying preening of these self-important brats, but apparently, not late enough.

‘I’ll just hang around the corner and grab a snack—huh?’

Just then, something caught his eye.

“…Ah!”

A boy shot up from his seat.

He wore a clean white martial robe embroidered with golden chrysanthemums.

But with his messy hair covering his forehead and eyes, he still looked disheveled.

“Huh?”

It was the same cat-killer kid from yesterday.

As Hoyeon tilted his head in curiosity—

The boy’s eyes suddenly flashed with a brilliant blue light.