Chapter 375
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**Chapter 375: Goodwill and Good Deeds**
*Swoosh-*
Lee Hwa hastily retreated as her opponent’s sword swept towards her waist.
However, Wind Sword No Ho-bang didn’t let her escape so easily.
His sword wind followed her like a shadow, wielding his sword three times.
*Clang clang clang-*
With the final strike, Lee Hwa’s sword was deflected backward.
The sword wind bared its white teeth and suddenly lunged towards her.
Then, with all his might, he struck down with his sword upon her exposed shoulder.
He had no intention of killing her.
He only wanted to wound her in one spot to prevent her from engaging in another fight.
Lee Hwa held her breath and stared at the sword descending towards her shoulder.
*Clang-*
Something struck Wind Sword’s blade, deflecting it backward.
Crisis and opportunity arrived simultaneously.
Lee Hwa extended her arm, which had been pushed back by the force.
The tip of her sword pierced Wind Sword’s shoulder.
“Ugh!”
A deep groan escaped Wind Sword’s mouth.
Lee Hwa quickly looked around as Wind Sword dropped his sword and retreated.
Seol Ji-young was being attacked by two of No Ho-bang’s swordsmen, and the situation seemed precarious.
Just as Lee Hwa tried to rush to Seol Ji-young, a seven-foot-tall man stood in her way.
It was Cheon Hwa-yeop, No Ho-bang’s second-in-command.
“Lee Hwa! I knew you were good with poetry, but I didn’t expect you to be so skilled with a sword as well.”
“……”
Lee Hwa didn’t dare to respond and only blinked nervously.
She couldn’t understand why No Ho-bang’s second-in-command was provoking her.
Cheon Hwa-yeop was such a powerful master that even Oh Wol-rak would have difficulty facing him.
She didn’t understand why someone like that would appear before her, who had no reputation whatsoever.
Regardless of whether she understood or not, Cheon Hwa-yeop brandished his greatsword.
*Whoosh boom-*
The sound of the air being cut was different from the start.
Lee Hwa dodged lightly like a butterfly, moving nimbly back and forth.
She didn’t even dream of counterattacking.
However, since both sides were fighting in the harbor, it was difficult to avoid conflict.
In a short time, her clothes were soaked with sweat.
She was short of breath, and her knees trembled.
“Pant! Pant!”
Lee Hwa, panting, turned to Cheon Hwa-yeop.
She no longer had the strength to flee, so now she had to face him head-on, whether she lived or died.
Cheon Hwa-yeop’s gaze, which had been pursuing her, was filled with ferocity.
“Die!”
Cheon Hwa-yeop’s greatsword fell directly from above.
*Swoosh-*
Lee Hwa raised her sword above her head.
It was an almost instinctive action, but anyone could see that both her sword and her body would be cut in two.
The moment the greatsword and Lee Hwa’s sword met.
*Clang-*
With a sound like a block of ice shattering, the greatsword spun sharply.
Cheon Hwa-yeop, completely surprised, hastily retreated.
In an instant, a powerful invisible force struck the greatsword, causing it to spin half a turn.
“Pant! Is Lee Hwa of the Three Virtues Sect so powerful?”
He couldn’t believe it.
If she were that powerful, she would have been famous a long time ago.
Cheon Hwa-yeop, who had been silently controlling his breathing, furtively looked at his greatsword.
“Pant!”
There was a hole the thickness of a chopstick in the center of the blade.
“It wasn’t Lee Hwa’s sword that did this!”
A chill ran down his body.
It wasn’t easy to make such a hole in his greatsword, which fell like a thunderbolt.
“This is something that transcends the mortal.”
He didn’t know who it was, but it was clear that an absolute master was aiding the Three Virtues Sect.
Cheon Hwa-yeop immediately sheathed his greatsword and took a step back.
“Miss! Let’s stop here.”
Lee Hwa nodded as Cheon Hwa-yeop, who had been acting like a furious tiger, showed intentions to cease the fight.
Honestly, she also lacked the confidence to fight him.
She didn’t know why Cheon Hwa-yeop had suddenly twisted his torso and retreated.
When Cheon Hwa-yeop, the second-in-command leading the fight, stopped, the members of No Ho-bang also lowered their swords.
Then, Ju Chae-sim, the leader of the Three Virtues Sect, shouted:
“Cheon Hwa-yeop! The Nohagu harbor will be managed by the Sinju Chamber of Commerce! Do you agree?”
Cheon Hwa-yeop replied with a bitter expression.
“Understood. No Ho-bang will no longer interfere in the affairs of the Three Virtues Sect.”
The disciples of the Three Virtues Sect, who had been nervously watching, erupted in cheers.
Shortly after, Cheon Hwa-yeop led the No Ho-bang swordsmen out of the harbor.
Once the fight ended, Lee Hwa hurriedly searched for Seol Ji-young.
The last time she saw her, she was fighting against two of No Ho-bang’s swordsmen, and she was worried.
“Sister, are you alright?”
“Yes, and you? What happened with Cheon Hwa-yeop?”
Lee Hwa shrugged at Seol Ji-young’s question.
“I don’t know. He was acting like a madman and suddenly stopped. I thought I would die for sure. And you? I saw you fighting against two, weren’t you hurt?”
“Maybe they are faint-hearted, but at the crucial moment they hesitated, so I was able to counterattack and defeat them. One of them suddenly fled.”
As the two spoke with expressions of astonishment, Oh Wol-rak approached.
“Both of you fought well. Are you injured?”
“Yes.”
“I’m fine.”
Oh Wol-rak nodded at the two sisters’ responses and then looked at Lee Hwa.
“Cheon Hwa-yeop is No Ho-bang’s top master. I can’t believe you defeated him. Was there some divine intervention?”
“No, there was nothing. You know this well, elder brother.”
“Big brother, she says Cheon Hwa-yeop was acting crazy and then left. Maybe he has some other plan? He might be aiming for something more than the harbor.”
“Something more?”
Oh Wol-rak tilted his head.
He thought for a moment, but nothing came to mind that No Ho-bang might be planning.
Seol Ji-young pointed to Lee Hwa with a smile.
“Maybe he saw her up close today and fell in love at first sight. Who knows?”
“Oh, what nonsense!”
Lee Hwa waved her hands in denial.
Only then did Oh Wol-rak realize it was a joke and smiled.
“I don’t know why Cheon Hwa-yeop retreated today, but the Wolshan Chamber of Commerce won’t give up. Especially you, Lee Hwa, be careful until you understand Cheon Hwa-yeop’s intentions. He was humiliated in front of everyone today; he won’t let it go.”
“Yes, elder brother.”
Only after hearing Lee Hwa’s response did Oh Wol-rak leave.
Suddenly, Seol Ji-young said:
“Sister, wouldn’t it be because of the talisman that the secular disciple of Wudang gave us? He said it would help us overcome difficulties.”
“Really? Now that you mention it, in this fight only we came out unscathed.”
Lee Hwa looked at Seol Ji-young in surprise.
The leader, and even Oh Wol-rak, suffered minor injuries, but only they were unharmed.
The two took out the talismans they were carrying.
Although they were scribbled, now that they saw them as talismans, they seemed mysterious.
“The mystics of the Five Dragons Palace are truly powerful.”
“If I had known this, I would have taken more.”
“What for?”
“Talismans aren’t just for overcoming difficulties. There are also talismans for making money or finding a good man.”
Seol Ji-young carefully put away the talisman, with an expression of regret.
Lee Hwa also thought the same.
‘Was it Yeon Namcheon? I must thank him next time I see him.’
Jeom So-i approached and abruptly closed the open window.
“Customer, it’s cold, why are you opening the window? I can clean up, but what will you do with the broken noodle bowl?”
“How much is it?”
“You must pay thirty coins.”
“Nonsense. A beggar receives fifty coins a day, and a bowl costs thirty?”
Yeon Jeokha, who had learned the value of money thanks to So Jiwoong of the Geonwon Escort Agency, responded firmly.
“Then, only ten coins.”
Yeon Jeokha stood up.
The fight at the harbor was over; there was no reason to stay longer.
“How much for the noodles?”
“Twenty coins.”
Yeon Jeokha took twenty-five coins from his pouch and placed them on the table.
Jeom So-i, upon seeing the money, frowned.
“Five coins are missing.”
“A used bowl costs ten coins? Five is enough.”
“Tch!”
Jeom So-i grumbled, but didn’t argue.
Ten coins for a used bowl was a bit excessive.
Yeon Jeokha shouldered his bamboo backpack and went out.
No one from the Three Virtues Sect was visible at the harbor.
As he walked down the road, he muttered:
“Damn it, I wanted to see the effect of the talisman.”
At the critical moment, he threw a chopstick.
Lee Hwa and Seol Ji-young were unharmed, but could that be considered an effect of the talisman?
“Still, I did a good deed, maybe I accumulated some mystical power.”
He had never intentionally done a good deed, so it felt strange.
But over time, he doubted whether it had truly been a good deed.
In reality, it was only good for the Three Virtues Sect, but it was a bad deed for No Ho-bang!
“Ah, never mind.”
He decided to be satisfied with having given the talisman with good intentions.
Thinking about everything else was too much for his current level.
***
Day 5 of the month.
Henan.
Kaifeng.
Around noon.
A disheveled-looking man entered the city of Kaifeng.
By his Taoist clothing, he was clearly a Taoist, but by not wearing the Taoist hat, he was an ambiguous young man, Yeon Jeokha.
He was hungry, but he suppressed his appetite and directed his steps northward.
He had arrived in Kaifeng, so he would first visit the Namyeon Inn in Hwasang Village.
Without using quick movement techniques, he walked for half an hour until he finally saw the sign for Hwasang Village.
Upon entering Hwasang Village, his pace quickened.
After walking a little further, he saw the Namyeon Inn beside the Yellow River.
Just as he was hurrying with joy.
*Bang!* The sound of a door breaking and a person being thrown out of the inn.
“Pant!”
It seemed there was trouble at the Namyeon Inn.
A fight at an inn where he was a co-owner, and where Shim Tong, the Nine Heavens Old Dao, and Tang Unmang were staying?
As he watched dumbfounded, the man who had fallen into the street got up and brushed himself off.
It was Tang Unmang.
Despite his condition, he limped back into the inn.
“Ugh!”
Shim Tong, in front of the counter, doubled over and vomited the contents of his stomach.
Tang Unmang, with bruises around his eyes, looked at him and shouted:
“Bastard! For the next three days you’ll vomit from your mouth, and the following three days from your rear. Be grateful I left you alive. If it weren’t for Mr. Yeon, you’d be dead.”
Suddenly, Shim Tong launched his body towards Tang Unmang with a sound of “Ugh!”
Then, a bluish blade fell like a thunderbolt onto Tang Unmang’s head.
*Slash-*
Some of Tang Unmang’s scalp hair was cut and flew into the air.
But the blade, which seemed capable of splitting Tang Unmang in two, stopped at his crown.
“Damn bastard! Son of a b*tch! Bloody scum! Aaargh!”
So frustrated was he that Shim Tong’s eyes shone with a pale light.
If it weren’t for Yeon Jeokha’s antidote, he would have already killed him.
He hadn’t liked him from the beginning, and each passing day he detested him more.
Perhaps from the exertion, something came up from his stomach.
He didn’t know what kind of poison it was, but it seemed he would suffer for six days.
As Shim Tong hatefully stared at Tang Unmang’s sour scalp, the inn door burst open with a bang, and a strangely-looking man entered.
Sang-do, who was cleaning up the vomit with a tired expression, dropped the rag and ran towards him.
“Customer, welcome.”
Yeon Jeokha passed by Sang-do and approached Shim Tong and Tang Unmang.
Tang Unmang, who had been acting arrogantly, turned his gaze to the newcomer.
“Eh? Young Master Yeon? Didn’t you find Medicine Buddha Baek Il-un?”