Daoist Yin-Yang Manual (3)

I approached Jin Myeong-woo. I wanted a closer look at Seol-hee's figure. I normally had no chance to see her up close.

"Little brother. How about we spar? It's been a while."

"Ah... Big brother... About that spar... Maybe..."

The defeat last time must have shocked him, because he avoided sparring. The way he kept glancing at Seol-hee made it clear he didn't want her to see him lose.

"What a coward. Can you still call yourself a son of the Jin family?"

After I thundered at him, Seol-hee, who had been listening silently, stepped forward with a huff.

"Young master. Young Master Myeong-woo isn't a coward. Please apologize."

For a mere servant, she was unbelievably insolent. I twisted the corner of my mouth and looked at Seol-hee.

'She's even prettier up close.'

I liked her appearance even more up close. Skin white as porcelain, red lips, and even softly trembling eyelashes. If a secondary heroine was this beautiful, I could look forward even more to the main heroines who would appear later.

Seeing the beauty before me glare at me only excited me further. Her cold gaze and haughty attitude stirred my desire to conquer her.

"B-Big brother. Seol-hee, stop..."

Jin Myeong-woo fidgeted between Seol-hee and me, trying to mediate. He seemed uncomfortable seeing his older brother confronting the woman he liked.

‘Heh heh, wicked thoughts are creeping up on me.’

I secretly enjoyed seeing the anxiety on Jin Myeong-woo's face. I wanted to see the look on my dispirited younger brother's face when the woman he liked was taken from him.

"Young master. The family head is calling for you."

A servant hurried toward us as we faced off. Both Jin Myeong-woo and Seol-hee looked visibly flustered by the sudden summons.

Then the servant added:

"He's looking for the eldest young master."

The tense atmosphere shattered in an instant. The expressions of Jin Myeong-woo and Seol-hee shifted to relief.

'What a shame. I thought things were just getting interesting.'

I flashed Seol-hee a meaningful smile, then followed the servant.

When I entered the family head's quarters, a burly man with a build like a bear was sitting there.

"You're here.“

"Yes."

Without even looking at me, he continued looking over the documents. I stood there without saying a word.

Only after thirty minutes did he raise his head and slowly look me over.

"I hear you've come to your senses lately and have devoted yourself to training. Your skills have improved more than I expected."

"Thank you."

"Take this."

I looked at what the family head held out and asked:

"What is this?"

"I hear there have been bandits in the vicinity lately. Go deal with them and return. I'll provide you with twenty of the family's soldiers."

"Understood."

I left the family head's quarters.

'Bandits from Black Wind Stronghold...'

It was a name from Daoist Yin-Yang Manual. They were the bandits Jin Myeong-woo dealt with in the original story. After being driven out by another bandit group, the survivors had settled here.

‘Hmm, the timing seems a little early. I suppose it doesn't matter.’

This mission was actually a good opportunity for me. I would be handling the incident in which Jin Myeong-woo had earned merit.

'Twenty soldiers... That's fewer than Jin Myeong-woo took with him.'

In the original story, Jin Myeong-woo had led fifty troops. The family head had given me less than half as many. It might have been a test.

'This should be fun.'

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. It seemed like a good opportunity to gain real combat experience.

I led my men toward the place believed to be the bandits' base. It wasn't far.

The smoke gradually came into clearer view. It was the bandits' base halfway up the mountain.

"We'll move carefully from here on."

We advanced one by one, keeping watch on our surroundings. In the original story, Black Wind Stronghold was a branch of the unorthodox faction. It looked like an ordinary bandit group on the outside, but martial artists were hiding within.

‘They may only be third-rate, but a martial artist is still a martial artist.’

We heard laughter from where the smoke was rising. Two bandits were drunk, laughing and talking at the entrance to the stronghold.

"Everyone ready?"

At my words, the twenty soldiers nodded. Their eyes were serious. They were probably soldiers carefully selected by the family head.

"Everyone wait for my signal."

I quietly surveyed the surroundings. There had to be bandits hiding in addition to the two at the entrance.

Just then, a woman's scream rang out from inside the stronghold. They were the screams of women kidnapped from nearby villages.

'We'll deal with those two first.'

I signaled the soldiers with my hands. I singled out two soldiers skilled with bows and had them aim at the bandits at the entrance.

The arrows flew, piercing the bandits' throats. The two bandits collapsed almost simultaneously, their bodies rolling across the ground.

I drew my sword.

"Half of you follow me. The rest surround the area and catch anyone who tries to escape."

I led ten soldiers into the stronghold. The real fight was about to begin.

"Attack!"

The battle began at my command. Arrows shot by the bandits flew toward us, but I easily knocked them aside with my sword.

We engaged the bandits in close combat. Most were mere underlings who had barely learned any martial arts. Their swordsmanship was clumsy, and they wore shabby clothes and wielded rusty weapons.

'If this is all...'

My sword began to move. Thrusting, slashing, parrying... the basic techniques perfected by the Advanced Swordsmanship trait shone brightly.

"Aaargh!"

When I cut the first bandit's throat, I vividly felt flesh and bone being cleaved apart. Blood spurted like a fountain.

'So this is what it feels like.'

It was the first time I had ever cut down a person. The sensation of slicing through resisting muscle and bone, even the temperature of the droplets of blood splashing against me... everything was new.

"Kill that bastard!"

Two bandits who had learned martial arts attacked me from both sides. But their skills were only at the early third-rate level—far too lacking to stop my swordsmanship.

The bandit on the left swung his sword. His stance was disordered, accompanied by a sloppy battle cry. I knocked his sword aside and split open his chest. The bandit on the right lost his head before my sword had even finished withdrawing.

The surrounding bandits took a step back, terror in their eyes.

'How boring.'

They were too easy. They weren't even opponents.

"Treat the wounded and collect the loot."

Everything was over. For my first real battle, it had gone satisfactorily.

When it was over, bandit corpses lay scattered across the battlefield. We had only one person wounded, while the bandits had been almost wiped out.

'This was easier than expected.'

The Jin family's soldiers and guards looked at me in astonishment. No one could have expected the wastrel young master to display martial arts skills like this.

"Your swordsmanship was dazzling, Young Master."

One of the guards spoke respectfully. His voice held genuine sincerity.

'A guard assigned by the family head... He'll definitely report this.'

I slowly wiped the blood from my sword and smiled. My first real battle had been a success.

'Still, I did gain a feel for combat.'

On the way back, I reviewed the battle. Thanks to Advanced Swordsmanship, I had been able to wield my sword without wavering even in actual combat.

The sensation of slicing through the flesh and blood of a living person, the feeling of severing bone, even the look in their eyes at the moment their life faded... these were experiences that couldn't be gained through training.

Around sunset, we arrived at the Jin family's estate.

"I'll report to Father."

I sent the guards away and headed to my room. I needed to change out of my blood-soaked clothes.

On the way to my room, I ran into Jang Seo-yeong. The stench of blood and aura of killing intent clinging to me made her pause.

"……"

Her gaze had changed. It was no longer the dismissive look she had given me, but one that seemed wary.

'She must think I'm aiming for the succession.'

I passed her and went to my room. I could feel her cold gaze on my back.

When I entered my room and looked in the mirror, I saw myself covered in blood. The bloodstains splattered across my face and clothes were still vivid. It was my first time killing someone, but contrary to what I had expected, I felt nothing special. I changed into clean clothes and headed to the family head's quarters.

"I'll come in."

When I opened the door, the family head was sitting and looking over documents. His bear-like build still radiated an oppressive presence.

I calmly began my report. I described every detail—the entire campaign against the bandits, our kills, our casualties... It was a systematic report that the usual 'Jin Seo-yoon' would never have been capable of giving.

"Hmm..."

The Jin family head's expression changed subtly. He probably hadn't expected the son who had only ever brought him disappointment to give such a calm and accurate report.

"I've heard enough. You may leave now."

There was no praise. In the avatar's memories, the family head had always been that kind of man—someone who had never once properly praised his children.

"Yes."

I answered briefly and left the room. Outwardly, his attitude was still cold, but his eyes were different. They were no longer filled with disappointment as he looked at his wastrel son. Instead, they seemed to be calculating, evaluating me.

Back in my room, I lay on my bed and reflected on what had happened today.

I had experienced slaughter in Dungeon Conquest as well, but back then, I had absorbed too much of the fragments of a god and wasn't in my right mind. My mind had partially returned while I was sealed, but even then, I had been in a state like being high on drugs.

Perhaps it was because I had tasted blood while fully sober for the first time, but my suppressed lust surged.

Seol-hee's figure came to mind. The white skin showing beneath her skirt, the faint scent of her body whenever we brushed against each other... My lower body heated up just thinking about it.

'Should I visit a brothel...'

I wanted nothing more than to rape Jin So-hee or Jang Seo-yeong, but I couldn't do that yet.

'Damn, I want to have sex soon...'

My desire became difficult to control. It was especially severe, perhaps because I had seen blood while fully sober today.

'Should I just sneak into the servants' quarters and rape Seol-hee?'

As I struggled to suppress my desire and considered what to do, I heard footsteps in the hallway. It was a familiar gait.

I quietly opened the door and peered outside. It was Seol-hee. At this late hour, I could see her quietly making her way toward Jin Myeong-woo's quarters.