Chapter 9: A Trance

Yoo Somyeong led her sword and moved forward.

“Graaaaaa-!!”

At that moment, Wi Yongmyeong seemed to be in a rampage, his entire body covered in demonic qi, and his body was also deforming unevenly.

The process seemed painful as he tore at his own hair and let out a scream.

No matter how you looked at it, he seemed to have lost his sanity.

He was in so much pain that he didn’t even look this way, giving her a moment to catch her breath.

“……”

Shiver.

Her body trembled. She was scared.

Although it was less now, the pain that had crushed her insides earlier seemed like it would come back at any moment.

Nevertheless, she held her sword and stepped forward to face him.

There were several reasons, the first being a sense of responsibility.

Wi Yongmyeong, regardless of what he had become, was once part of the Shanxi Yoo Family. It was only natural that she, a blood relative of the Shanxi Yoo Family, should deal with him.

And the second reason… the words that mountain bandit had said earlier.

‘If today’s events end like this, it will be hard for you to hold a sword again.’

Even now, her hand holding the sword trembled with fear.

If she closed her eyes to what happened today and left the responsibility to someone else… she would not be able to overcome today’s memories and would never be able to hold a sword again.

‘No…’

She was a proud member of the Shanxi Yoo Family. She even had the ambition to become the best in the world.

“I want Young Lady Yoo to become a swordmaster known throughout the world, beyond Shanxi.”

Although it was the words of a despicable and vile person, it somehow felt a bit encouraging.

Yoo Somyeong decided to steel her resolve…

“Huuu…”

After taking a deep breath, she shouted at Wi Yongmyeong.

“You traitor-!!”

“Grrr…?”

At Yoo Somyeong’s shout, Wi Yongmyeong, though in pain, raised his head.

“Fight me again! This time, I will surely defeat you.”

“You… daughter of the Shanxi Yoo Family… Yoo Somyeong…!”

For a moment, his eyes gleamed. The dark red demonic qi also grew even blacker and rose from his body.

“You lucky wench-!! If I were you…! If I were you-!!”

“What…?”

“If I were as young as you… If I were born in the Shanxi Yoo Family… If I could have focused solely on martial arts without worrying about making a living…!!”

Wi Yongmyeong’s body was no longer human, and his mind was not intact either.

Raw hatred and resentment poured from his mouth.

“I could have reached a higher realm-!! But what about you?! You were born with too many privileges…! Foolish bastards…! What a waste… If I were born in the Shanxi Yoo Family, I could have been greater…!!”

His words, which had long lost their meaning, were filled only with curses. It was enough to make anyone who heard them feel disgusted, but…

“How pathetic…”

“What…?”

“The Elder Wi I knew was not like this.”

Yoo Somyeong’s heart calmed down, and the fear subsided a little.

‘Miss, the night wind is cold. Always be careful not to catch a cold.’

Wi Yongmyeong, whether it was a facade or not, had been a kind person. Yoo Somyeong recalled his gentle demeanor and leaped with her sword.

‘I will save you from the hellish shackles of the demonic cult.’

She didn’t know it, but the moment she steeled her heart and raised her sword, the wall that had been blocking her path began to crack.

**

Clang-! Clang, clang-!!

“Ugh…”

Wi Yongmyeong, having lost his sanity, attacked like a beast.

Yoo Somyeong thought she could continue the fight more easily than before, but…

Bang-!

“Ugh…”

That was a mistake.

Although Wi Yongmyeong had lost his sanity, the price was an enormous increase in physical abilities.

She was originally quick, but as she clashed her sword and fist, her stamina began to wane…

“Graaaa-!!”

…Wi Yongmyeong, on the other hand, seemed tireless and even grew faster.

This naturally became a burden for Yoo Somyeong.

She also increased her speed and swung her sword diligently, but the Quick Sword was useless against an opponent faster than herself.

‘I need to come up with another method…’

Several other sword techniques came to Yoo Somyeong’s mind, but her proficiency in them was lower compared to the ancestral martial art, the Willow Flower Sword Technique.

‘In the end, it’s the Willow Flower Sword Technique…’

She couldn’t beat Wi Yongmyeong with speed. The Willow Flower Sword Technique was a quick sword, so how could she counter him?

As her mind began to fill with worry, the words of the mountain bandit she had heard earlier came to mind.

‘The Willow Flower Sword Technique is not just about the essence of speed. If you’re not sure, look around and recall what I said earlier. Then you’ll see the path.’

Having trained in the Willow Flower Sword Technique for over ten years, she knew it better than anyone. The Willow Flower Sword Technique was a quick sword.

‘What does an outsider know to say such things…’

However, if not for the bandit’s advice, there was no way out of the current situation. Yoo Somyeong, in her haste, looked around as he had suggested.

‘What could be around…’

Other martial artists still engaged in skirmishes, the training ground in disarray, the slightly cracked wall, the pavilion where she had lived.

Having lived here since birth, nothing around her seemed particularly special.

‘What on earth… Ah…’

Then her eyes caught sight of the large willow tree planted in front of the family head’s pavilion beyond the wall.

Unlike other willows, this one was said to have been planted by the founder of the Shanxi Yoo Family hundreds of years ago.

It was the symbol of the Shanxi Yoo Family and the Willow Flower Sword Technique.

Of course, it was important to the Shanxi Yoo Family, but in the current situation, it didn’t seem to have much meaning…

Wait.

‘The Willow Flower Sword Technique is derived from the form of the willow tree… a quick sword…’

For the first time, doubt arose in Yoo Somyeong’s mind.

And then… from a forgotten childhood memory… her father’s words began to resurface.

**

‘Somyeong… did you know? The Willow Flower Sword Technique you are learning now is different from the one the founder originally created.’

‘Really? Why?’

‘In the past, the Shanxi Yoo Family was not as powerful as it is now. After going through many hardships, the original Willow Flower Sword Technique was unfortunately lost.’

‘Then the current Willow Flower Sword Technique…’

When young Yoo Somyeong asked with a worried look, her father, Yoo Haseong, the current family head of the Shanxi Yoo Family, gently patted her head and said kindly.

‘Don’t worry. The fifth family head, who was as skilled in swordsmanship as the founder, recreated the Willow Flower Sword Technique.’

‘The fifth family head…’

‘Yes, the one who revived the Shanxi Yoo Family. The Willow Flower Sword Technique he created, embodying the essence of speed, is one of the best in the world.’

‘Wow, that’s a relief!’

Young Yoo Somyeong smiled brightly, and her father patted her head.

But she saw it.

The wistful, bittersweet smile on her father’s face. And…

‘But I would like to see the original Willow Flower Sword Technique with my own eyes…’

…the small voice of her father murmuring to himself.

Why was that past memory surfacing now?

‘The Willow Flower Sword Technique is not just about the essence of speed. If you’re not sure, look around and recall what I said earlier. Then you’ll see the path.’

Yes, the form of the willow tree had nothing to do with the essence of speed. Then…

At that moment.

Whooosh-.

A strong wind blew, enough to make her hair flutter. And… while glancing at the willow tree during the battle, Yoo Somyeong saw it.

The branches of the willow tree, swaying in the wind but never breaking…

‘Miss Yoo. Look, with the essence of deflection, when an opponent’s fist comes at you, deflect it to the side like this. Those who use fists love this.’

Ah.

“Graaaa-!! Die-!!”

Thud-!

Distracted by her thoughts during the battle, Yoo Somyeong failed to properly defend against Wi Yongmyeong’s attack.

But…

“The Essence of Deflection…”

Like a scholar who had found an answer, she felt her eyes open.

“Graaaa-!!”

Yoo Somyeong watched Wi Yongmyeong charging at her and organized her thoughts.

The Willow Flower Sword Technique was derived from the form of the willow tree.

Having lived with it almost her entire life, Yoo Somyeong knew and loved the willow tree well.

She loved the subtle fragrance of the willow flowers when they bloomed.

She loved the branches of the willow tree that waved at her in the wind.

Gentleness and softness.

That was the essence of the Shanxi Yoo Family and the foundation of the Willow Flower Sword Technique.

“If I apply the Essence of Deflection here…”

Whooosh-!!

A fist, faster than before, flew towards Yoo Somyeong.

In her current state of exhaustion, she would have struggled to block or even dodge the attack, but…

Swoosh-.

Yoo Somyeong did not dodge but instead took a stance.

And then…

Clang-!!

Wi Yongmyeong’s attack reached Yoo Somyeong but was deflected to the side.

She successfully defended in a manner similar to what the mountain bandit had shown earlier. And then…

Swoosh-.

Yoo Somyeong’s sword naturally curved and…

Slash-!

…left a long gash on Wi Yongmyeong’s outstretched arm.

“…!”

Although Wi Yongmyeong had lost his sanity, he instinctively sensed that something was wrong.

“Gentleness, softness, the Essence of Deflection…”

Muttering as if in a trance, there was not a trace of killing intent from her, but Wi Yongmyeong was overwhelmed by an inexplicable force.

Eventually… her sword rose…

Flash-!

As she slowly leaped, her eyes, which had been losing focus, completely lost their light.

“Indeed, the heroine of a novel is different… she understood it in less than an hour…”

With the incomprehensible muttering of someone, Yoo Somyeong’s consciousness completely drifted away.

She had entered a trance.