The Youngest Member Chapter 54

"Hah..."

Even as he let out a ragged breath, Jin Yun did not lower the sword aid at the horse bandits. Beside him lay Seok Dobyeok, who had collapsed from the poison.

'If I die, young hero Seok dies too...'

Was that all? It was obvious that the villagers who had asked for his help would also be massacred.

Even as his stomach churned and his vision swam, Jin Yun circulated his internal energy and slowly pushed out the poison.

"It's hard, isn't it? It would be. You drank a poison that could put a bull to sleep with just one drop."

"Kekeke, why did you have to interfere with soone else's business?"

The horse bandits sneered at the staggering Jin Yun.

Jin Yun couldn't even hear their words properly. All he could think was that he could not die. For young hero Seok and the villagers, for the Huashan sect that had to spread its wings once again.

Thump. Thump-thump.

Raindrops fell on the back of Jin Yun's hand, which was gripping the sword. The cold rainwater was helping to wake him up, even if just a little.

Suddenly, soone said.

"Well, it's a perfect day to die."

"..."

The martial artists looked at the man. The man let out an embarrassed cough and then shouted to divert their attention.

"Kill him!"

At the sa ti, the three martial artists at the front rushed forward.

For a mont, Jin Yun's contracted pupils moved slightly from side to side.

Although his judgnt was clouded by the poison, the training he had accumulated his entire life had not disappeared.

Jin Yun's sword moved slightly. It wasn't very fast because he couldn't put much strength into it.

Clang-!

He parried the sickle that ca rushing from the front. Jin Yun's body staggered greatly, and it seed as if he would fall backward.

The martial artists felt a strange sense of pleasure. What kind of existence was the Plum Blossom Swordsman of the Huashan sect in the martial world? Although it had declined compared to before, its fa had not completely disappeared.

And they, re horse bandits, were overwhelming such a master. Although they had used poison, they felt no sha. The world they lived in was originally such a place.

"Hahaha!"

One of them burst into a mad laugh and swung a club at the staggering Jin Yun. He intended to smash his head. If he beat the Plum Blossom Swordsman to death with a club, it would be a story to tell over drinks until he died.

Since Jin Yun's body was already leaning far back, it seed there was no way he could block it.

However, right before the club smashed his head, Jin Yun turned his head to the side. The club hit his shoulder instead of his head.

Thwack-!

Jin Yun bit his teeth hard. He almost dropped his sword because of the tingling pain in his shoulder.

However, Jin Yun instead raised his left hand and grabbed the club. Thanks to that, his body did not completely fall, and the man put strength into it so as not to be pulled.

At the sa ti, Jin Yun released the hand he was holding. The man who was putting strength behind him to resist staggered instead.

Even though he was poisoned, his understanding of the Plum Blossom Swordsman's martial arts was not sothing that could be compared to a re horse bandit.

The man was montarily taken aback, but the silver sword blade had already rushed to his eyes.

A very short mont.

'...The scent of plum blossoms.'

He felt the scent of plum blossoms that had lightly brushed past the tip of his nose.

That was the last thing.

Slice-!

His two eyes were deeply cut. He writhed in pain, threw away the club, and brought his hands to his eyes.

It was a aningless action.

Thump-!

The sword was successively plunged into the man's chest. He collapsed in vain, and Jin Yun supported his body on the sword stuck in the man's corpse and let out a ragged breath.

"Heok, heok..."

The raindrops, which had been falling one or two at a ti, were now pouring down like poles. The white breath that Jin Yun exhaled t the rainwater and shattered.

Suddenly, he saw the hero's scarf, which had fallen at so point, rolling in the muddy water. The plum blossom pattern was not completely visible, and the stained and dirty appearance felt like his own and Huashan's situation.

"Vicious. Vicious."

The horse bandits looked at their dead comrade and Jin Yun and clicked their tongues. There was not a hint of sadness at their comrade's death. In the first place, there was no such thing as camaraderie among those who had gathered just to plunder other people's property.

Even though their comrade had died, they were not nervous. Jin Yun was in a state where it would not be strange if he collapsed right away. They did not think for a mont that they would lose.

"Go and kill him."

Soone said. However, no one stepped forward. They didn't think they would lose, but for so reason, they thought they might be hit by a stray sword and die if they stepped forward first.

The horse bandits looked at each other and then shook their heads. They knew better than anyone else that their caliber was only this much.

"Sigh, that's enough."

Among them, a man with high martial might clicked his tongue and stepped forward. In his hand, unlike the others, there was a sword. He was one of the few proper swordsn among them.

"I am Jang Il-su. What is your na? Since you're a Taoist, you must have a Taoist title or na."

The swordsman who had introduced himself as Jang Il-su asked.

Jin Yun looked at the man with his blurring vision and said.

"...It's not a na so light as to be told to a horse bandit."

"Hoh. The Nine Sects are different."

Jang Il-su let out an exclamation. Although he was with horse bandits now, he was also a man who had once road the martial world. It was rare to see a person with that much spirit even among martial artists.

"Good. I'll kill you without pain."

Jang Il-su, who said so, raised his sword high. A faint energy lingered on his sword blade.

Jin Yun's pupils, who saw this, shook slightly.

'Sword energy. Why is a martial artist of that level...'

If his body were in a normal state, it would be a different story, but as it was now, he had no chance of winning. Jin Yun gripped his sword again. If he couldn't kill him, he would take his right arm.

'...Young hero Seok. I'm sorry.'

Jin Yun, who was prepared for mutual destruction, apologized to Seok Dobyeok in his heart. Because he knew that if he died, Seok Dobyeok would also never be able to live.

However, there was no other way.

Jin Yun's head quickly cooled down.

Soon, Jang Il-su stomped his foot. The rainwater in the spot where he was soared. After instantly closing the distance, he thrust his sword.

He didn't have the skill to emit sword energy yet. However, cutting the neck of a guy who was about to die was a trivial matter.

Clang-!

The two sword blades collided head-on. Jin Yun's grip was torn and blood flowed, but Jang Il-su seed to be fine.

Jang Il-su's sword rushed in successively without rest.

Jin Yun tried to swallow the sll of blood that was coming up his throat and continued to move his body.

Clang-clang-clang-clang-!

In an instant, a dozen or so exchanges passed. Jang Il-su couldn't help but be amazed. The guy seed to be on the verge of collapsing, but he was miraculously receiving the sword.

Jang Il-su's mood suddenly sank. As a person who had once road the martial world, it was not a pleasant thing to watch the struggle of such a man.

'I have to kill him.'

He was no longer in the mood to exchange swords. Jang Il-su's montum changed in one go. The sword energy on his sword shone even more clearly.

"Wow, that's amazing."

Jin Yun and Jang Il-su. It was unknown to whom he was speaking, but soone said so.

Jin Yun realized that Jang Il-su was trying to kill him with this one move. Jin Yun was also waiting for it.

Jang Il-su's sword drew a large trajectory, unlike before, and rushed in.

On the other hand, Jin Yun, as he had done so far, squeezed out his strength again and brought his sword to bear. No, he made it look that way.

'It's the end.'

Jang Il-su thought so. The mont the swords collided, the Taoist guy's grip would either be completely torn or the sword would break. However, the situation that unfolded next was different from his expectation.

The Taoist's sword blade, made of iron, moved in a strange trajectory, like a living snake.

Plum Blossom Falling Flow. It was a technique created by imitating the shape of a falling plum blossom. It was also a technique that suited the Huashan sect, which was once called the freest Taoist sect.

Jang Il-su had expected the swords to collide, but suddenly, a picture of them rushing towards each other's bodies unfolded.

'Foolish...'

By the ti he realized that the opponent was trying for mutual destruction, it was already too late. If he withdrew his sword now, only he would be injured.

Jang Il-su, thinking that he had stepped forward for no reason, pushed his sword even deeper.

Thump-!

Jin Yun's sword first deeply cut Jang Il-su's shoulder. He put strength into it as if he would not stop there.

Jang Il-su's sword was rushing to cut his neck, but it didn't matter. He was already prepared for mutual destruction.

Because of the pouring rain, his long hair was wet and his vision was not clear.

'So this is the end.'

Jin Yun closed his eyes and put strength into his hand. Soon, he felt the guy's bone being cut completely, and at the sa ti, the guy's blade touched his neck.

He was not afraid of death. He was just sorry to young hero Seok, the villagers, and the comrades of Huashan.

"Kkeueueuk..."

The groan of Jang Il-su, whose arm had fallen, was heard.

Jin Yun was puzzled. His sword that had touched his neck had stopped. The sound of the rain was still heard, but the rainwater falling on his head had subsided.

'Am I dead?'

Thinking so, he opened his eyes.

Soone was standing behind him. He had reached out his hand and was holding Jang Il-su's blade. A master who could hold a sword with sword energy with his bare hands. Even within the Huashan sect, such a master was rare.

Jin Yun turned his head and confird the owner of the hand. Jin Yun's pupils widened.

"...Young hero Cheon?"

It was Cheon Woojin.

Surprisingly, the energy he was emitting was evaporating the rainwater falling around him. It seed he had already had a battle, as his clothes were stained with blood.

Cheon Woojin looked at Jin Yun with a dry gaze and said.

"You said you have to face the rain when it cos?"

"..."

It was what Jin Yun had said to Cheon Woojin before.

Cheon Woojin was still looking at Jin Yun with his unique calm eyes. He didn't seem to care at all that there were dozens of horse bandits in front of him.

"If there's a place to avoid it, it's not a bad choice to avoid it for a while, and if there's soone to block it, it's not a bad choice to stand behind them. There's no need to get soaked."

Jin Yun couldn't say anything. He didn't have the strength to open his mouth, and Cheon Woojin's thoughts ca as a shock.

His White Master, Cheon Woojin's master, had also said sothing like 'you have to face the rain when it cos'. However, Cheon Woojin was a man who had been deeply influenced not only by the White Master but also by the Black Master.

Cheon Woojin, who was still holding Jang Il-su's blade, took out the Crane Feather Fan from his bosom with his other hand.

Soon, a gentle breeze began to gather at the end of the Crane Feather Fan, just like when he had suppressed the fire before.

"W-what?"

The horse bandits exchanged glances. They were also quick-witted guys who had survived in the harsh martial world. Soon, as if they had agreed, the horse bandits began to turn their steps.

"Hey, you sons of bitches!"

Jang Il-su let out a curse. However, the horse bandits' escape was a aningless action.

The gentle breeze that had started from the end of the Crane Feather Fan, as always, swallowed the rainwater and turned into a gust of wind.

There is one thing that those who do not know the White Flower Sword Saint well overlook. When facing a villain, the White Master was by no ans more gentle than the Black Master.

What more could be said of a man who had obtained the nickna of Sword Saint even while using a fan, because the wind he created was said to be sharper than a decent divine sword?

"K-kuaaak!"

Soon, a scream erupted from the place where the gust of wind had swept. Blood and flesh mixed with the rainwater and poured down. It was as if hundreds of blades had mangled their entire bodies.

Jin Yun, even as his eyes were closing from exhaustion, stared at the scene blankly.

'Is this really...'

The scene unfolding before his eyes was so unrealistic that it felt like a dream.

Thinking so, Jin Yun's eyes slowly closed.

Cheon Woojin laid the collapsed Jin Yun next to Seok Dobyeok and said in a low voice.

"It's so heavy. When your clothes get all wet from the rain."

(End of Chapter)