The Legend of the Northern Blade

Chapter 147: Death Is Never Fair (2)

As the tension rose, all eyes turned to Il Won with suspicion. Even the disciples from Mount Hua Sect gave him wary looks.

Trapped and desperate, Il Won scrambled to clear his name. “Junior Uncle, Senior Brothers, do you really believe what he’s saying? I swear I’m innocent!”

“Then what about the smell of alcohol on you?”

“That’s…”

“Answer me!” the Seven Star Sage bellowed, his voice booming across the deck and making bystanders clap their hands over their ears and reel.

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“Damn it!” Il Won grimaced in frustration, before suddenly running to the edge of the deck.

Caught off guard, the Mount Hua Sect disciples belatedly dashed after him, but Il Won was already next to the railings, eying the river below. If he jumped, the Mount Hua Sect wouldn’t be able to follow him.

However, just then, a figure materialized before him.

“Argh!” Il Won growled, clenching his teeth. Standing in his way was Jin Mu-Won, the man who had exposed his murder of Chang Woon and branded him a traitor.

With a flash, he drew his sword with his left hand, just as Jin Mu-Won had foreseen, and thrust at Jin Mu-Won’s throat.

CLANG!

Jin Mu-Won, just inches away, coolly parried with his scabbard, sending Il Won staggering with the force of the block, then brutally kicked Il Won in the stomach.

“Ugh!” Il Won’s scream echoed throughout the boat as he tumbled back onto the deck, his body convulsing.

The Mount Hua disciples quickly surrounded him, and the Seven Star Sage stepped forward, his voice heavy with sorrow. Although he and Il Won weren’t well acquainted, he knew Il Won to be a gentle spirit, seemingly incapable of violence. Just what was his motive for poisoning Chang Woon?

“Why did you do it? Why kill Chang Woon?” he asked.

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Overcome with emotion, Il Won struggled to speak, but eventually, he propped himself up and met the Sage’s eyes. “Elder, I’m sorry,” he apologized.

“Why? What were you missing?”

“I wanted to die a disciple of Mount Hua. Please remember that,” Il Won confessed, his voice breaking.

“Il Won…” the Seven Star Sage murmured, his voice thick with grief.

Just then, Il Won’s cheeks reddened.

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“Stop him!” Jin Mu-Won shouted, leaping toward the young Taoist.

“What are you doing?” the Seven Star Sage yelled, slashing at Jin Mu-Won.

Jin Mu-Won tried to circle around him, too pressed for time to strike back, but the other disciples formed a barrier and stood in his path.

That was their mistake.

BOOM!

Il Won shook violently, then collapsed, having reversed his own qi to destroy his heart.

“Il Won, what have you done?” the Seven Star Sage wept bitterly. The double loss was a blow too deep for words, filling him with unspeakable grief.

“I’m sorry… Elder…” Il Won gasped, his final breath slipping away.

Jin Mu-Won sighed. Had it not been for the interference, he might have stopped Il Won’s suicide. Still, he couldn’t fault the Mount Hua disciples; they too were deeply affected by the tragedy.

The Seven Star Sage stood in silence, gazing at Il Won’s motionless body, his mind swirling with dreadful thoughts and overwhelming sorrow. “Just who or what drove this boy to such madness?” he whispered.

He didn’t believe that Il Won was acting alone, of his own free will.

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Having been orphaned, Il Won had joined Mount Hua at the age of ten and had never left it since. There was no sense in him murdering his Junior Uncle, Chang Woon, on his first ever outing.

The Seven Star Sage’s eyes fixed on Jin Mu-Won, bristling with rage. It’s because of him. It all began when Chang Woon met this man.

“What did you tell Chang Woon? Why did he have to die?”

“Sage?”

“Out with it! What did you discuss? Why did he have to die?”

“We talked about life, nothing more.”

“Don’t lie!” The Seven Star Sage’s voice, heavy with inner qi, resonated powerfully, striking fear into those around him without inner strength.

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Immediately, Tang Mi-Ryeo and Nam Soo-Ryun stepped up to protect Tang Gi-Mun and Ha Jin-Wol from his wrath.

“Speak! What did Chang Woon say? Why did he have to die?”

“I too would like to know. Though our meeting was brief, I saw in Taoist Chang Woon a man of greater integrity than most. I am curious why Taoist Il Won would assassinate him.”

“So you claim no involvement in Chang Woon’s death?”

“That is correct.”

“I don’t believe you!”

The Seven Star Sage’s energy surged across the deck, violently rocking the boat in a stunning display of power by an elder of the Mount Hua Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects.

“Hold your senses, Seven Star! He’s not your enemy!” Tang Gi-Mun shouted, but his words were lost on the Sage.

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Ha Jin-Wol tugged at Tang Gi-Mun’s sleeve, his eyes wide. “It’s pointless. He’s looking for a scapegoat,” he said, then mumbled to himself, “His mind has been consumed by his own inner demons.”

“AHHHHH!” The Seven Star Sage’s roar tore through the air as he charged at Jin Mu-Won.

His disciples shouted after him, but he was deaf to their desperate cries, his attention fixed solely on Jin Mu-Won.

SWOOSH!

The Sage’s sword lashed out at Jin Mu-Won, but this time, Jin Mu-Won didn’t dodge.

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CLANG! CLANG!

Sparks scattered as Jin Mu-Won’s scabbard clashed with the Sage’s blade. Wielding the 36-Strike Plum Blossom Sword Technique, the sage created illusions of plum blossoms with each swing of his sword. Although he could only manifest eighteen blossoms in total, it was enough to endanger everyone on the deck, especially the untrained bystanders.

Jin Mu-Won swiftly drew Snow Flower and unleashed his own aura.

“Ugh!” The disciples of Mount Hua Sect reeled back, overwhelmed, but it was the sight that followed which truly shocked them.

With the grace of a dancer, Jin Mu-Won’s sword traced elegant arcs in the air, scattering the plum blossoms one after another.

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“What? How?!” The Mount Hua disciples exclaimed, unable to believe their eyes.

Jin Mu-Won was effortlessly countering the famed 36-Strike Plum Blossom Sword Technique, a feat thought nearly impossible given its complexity and the sect’s centuries-old mastery.

Yet, besieged by his inner demons, the Seven Star Sage continued his relentless assault, unleashing one powerful attack after another. In an instant, the Plum Blossom Fragrance and Unmoving Plum Blossom techniques surged toward Jin Mu-Won.

Jin Mu-Won narrowed his eyes. The 36-Strike Plum Blossom Sword Technique was the pinnacle of the Mount Hua Sect’s martial arts. Executing even twelve blossoms brought considerable prestige, and fifteen or more garnered immense respect.

This made the Sage’s achievement of summoning eighteen blossoms even more remarkable, especially considering he managed it amidst his inner turmoil and unbridled rage.

Gripping Snow Flower firmly, Jin Mu-Won dove into the Sage’s plum blossom domain. A gust of wind rushed toward him, and he sliced through it effortlessly. Another flurry of blossoms followed, but each one wilted under his deft slashes.

Amidst the clash of sparks and the whirl of sword winds, it was Jin Mu-Won’s overwhelming control alone that averted catastrophe on the deck while the Seven Star Sage wildly brandished his sword, depleting his energy with reckless fury.

The duel wore on until, at last, the Seven Star Sage, exhausted of his inner qi, fell unconscious. Jin Mu-Won had precisely gauged the Sage’s energy, skillfully neutralizing him without causing harm to him or anyone else.

“Junior Uncle!”

“Elder!”

The Mount Hua Sect disciples, initially hesitant, rushed to their fallen leader. As Chang Gong supported the Seven Star Sage, he cast an apologetic glance at Jin Mu-Won and offered a slight bow—the deepest respect he could muster—as a silent acknowledgment of the young man’s role in saving both the civilians and his senior.

No one had imagined that a martial artist of the Seven Star Sage’s caliber could be subdued without injury, but Jin Mu-Won proved all of them wrong.