Chapter 259: Advent of the Divine Dragon (15)

Why grasp and swing a sword?

Qing asked back.

“Hmm. Is it not okay to do it to survive?”

“That might be the case when your skills were poor, but aren’t you already a disciple who can be called a master? Now that you’ve attained the skill to survive if you just want to live, wouldn’t a sword for survival lose its edge and become dull?”

“Ah.”

In fact, that was true.

By the late stage of the Peak Realm, you have the skill to live being served for life even if you go to a neighborhood martial arts school.

Of course, masters keep popping up.

But recently, has there really been a time when I worried about survival?

It was like that when dealing with those Blood Cult bastards this time too.

I relied on my constitution that’s immune to poison and charged in.

Moreover, what did I think while doing so?

That I could just run away if things went wrong.

Since my qinggong is at a level that could be called the world’s best, I was overflowing with confidence in my ability to escape.

I never worried about myself in the first place.

I only worried about the vagabonds or Murong Juhui who was gradually becoming hateful, I didn’t think I could be in danger.

Is that why it’s not okay? Because I can make a living?

“I don’t really know.”

At this, Ximen Surin stroked Qing’s head and answered:

“The sword held in your heart can change at any time. It’s not an immutable law that you have to keep once you’ve decided. And since there’s no right answer, the answer is whatever you decide. So don’t feel burdened and think about it freely.”

“Hmm.”

To Qing, martial arts are just a convenient tool.

In fact, should I say I still can’t really feel it, or that I can’t believe it? Or maybe I don’t feel any sense of reality at all.

Because, what on earth is inner force?

A versatile resource that works anywhere in the body, accumulated by concentrating your mind and breathing well to receive the energy of the universe?

There are no such superhuman abilities in Qing’s homeland.

If there were, they would have systematically educated and managed it, designating it as a basic subject in schools to martialize the entire population, and thus complete ten billion absolute masters. Hmm. Complete them and then what?

They’d be helpless under nuclear weapons anyway.

If ten billion masters perfected the Solar Yang Palm, they could boil water to turn turbines.

That’s environmentally friendly, right?

Or ten billion masters could refine ice arts to stop global warming.

That’s environmentally friendly again.

So if inner force existed in that modern world too, the Earth wouldn’t have been so sick?

Isn’t the conclusion a bit strange…

Qing’s serious contemplation was racing towards stupid delusions.

Ximen Surin sighed deeply at Qing’s “that expression”, which seemed to have a bunch of question marks, an object that doesn’t exist in the Central Plains, floating around.

“Haah. It’s hopeless. Why can’t you focus?”

However, it wasn’t that she couldn’t focus, but more accurately, she was unconsciously avoiding it.

She was instinctively blocking thoughts that might spread to doubting the world if she made a mistake.

So she pushed potentially dangerous ideas off on a tangent, pulling the boat to a high mountain, to that vast cluster of stars in space.

“Umm. I don’t really know.”

Qing’s shoulders drooped.

At this, Ximen Surin stroked Qing’s head firmly again.

“It’s originally harder to find the true heart inside yourself than distant objects. Hmm. So rather, no. That won’t do.”

“Ah. Master. If you start saying something and then stop, your disciple won’t be able to sleep out of curiosity?”

At this, Ximen Surin snorted.

“Then don’t sleep and practice instead. It’s turned out well.”

The reason Murong Juhui was burying her head between her legs at the Wucheon Pavilion training ground was simpler than expected.

Just, to sleep.

As a woman, she couldn’t just lie down flat in the open outdoors in broad daylight.

So she just took a posture good for closing her eyes and tried to sleep.

The reason she tried so hard to sleep was also very simple.

Because she couldn’t sleep at night.

When left alone in pitch darkness, she was so anxious she couldn’t sleep, let alone hide under the bed, cover her mouth, and focus on hiding herself.

Only after such endlessly long nights passed, only when day broke, and only when she heard the noise of people around her could she feel at ease.

Among them, there was a particularly reassuring voice.

It’s okay. Miss Murong did nothing wrong. It will gradually get better. It just hurts a lot now, but I believe it will improve.

Those kind words whispered in her ear.

When she heard that voice, it really seemed like it would be so. It seemed like that was the truth.

So she just slept outside.

But now that routine is over too.

Bad woman. She said she wouldn’t abandon me…

But Murong Juhui also agreed with Qing’s words. Because when she sees Qing, painful memories vividly come to mind.

Because resentment and indignation with nowhere to go burst out without her knowing.

Right. It’s understandable to be abandoned.

Someone like me. Who.

Still, I can endure. I have to endure.

Because I have a home to return to. For the clan too.

What should I do? Should I tell my family?

Actually, I want to confide everything and just receive comfort in the warm embrace of family.

But that’s also scary and shameful.

The fact that a direct daughter of one of the Five Great Clans was kidnapped by the Blood Cult is itself a great disgrace to the clan.

Moreover, I stupidly ran away alone in the middle of the night after dismissing my guards, didn’t I?

Above all, I didn’t want to worry everyone in the clan just because I was in pain.

Like when mom, mother was sick, not like that.

Just pretend it never happened, it will all be okay with time.

Like she said, it’s okay, it will be okay.

The guest quarters assigned to the Murong clan looked the same as usual.

“Ah, young miss. You’ve returned?”

“Yes. Um. Where’s father? And Jun?”

“The clan leader is inside, and the young master went out to play. He never stays still, does he?”

“Well…”

Murong Juhui trailed off.

Though she didn’t expect any grand welcome, her chest ached at the casual attitude as if nothing had happened.

I was in so much pain. When I was in pain, everyone just didn’t know anything, just. Like that.

Murong Seongik was the same.

“What, daughter. You’re back? Didn’t you say you were going home? Why did you come back?”

“That.”

Murong Juhui couldn’t continue speaking.

Her throat was burning, feeling like she would burst into tears at any moment.

This won’t do, this won’t do.

I have to speak. Otherwise I won’t be able to endure. Because the memories are too painful to just pretend they never happened. Because I want to be comforted.

Murong Juhui gathered her courage like that.

But.

“It’s fine to go out, but don’t dismiss your guards. Those evil Blood Cult bastards seem to be stretching their limbs, so even though I know my daughter’s skills, you still need to be careful.”

Murong Juhui’s heart sank.

“Blood Cult, what do you mean Blood Cult…?”

“Keep this to yourself. Those Blood Cult bastards had properly set up base in Kaifeng. Even in the Murim Alliance, three spies addicted to parasites were found.”

Two among the Murim Alliance warriors, and one whose family suffered a loss. In the Kaifeng government office there were five funerals, and even in the military office the commander suffered a loss, so there were sudden consecutive funerals.

This was because the offspring scattered by the master of the blood parasites all self-destructed at once when he died.

“It’s fortunate we stopped it early, or how great a disaster could have happened? My goodness, to think a military commander was a Blood Cult spy, 30,000 soldiers could have been played in the Blood Cult’s hands. Well, the Murim Alliance is in no position to talk either, since even a senior secretary was like that.”

Murong Juhui’s eyes trembled.

She said she wouldn’t tell.

She said she’d make sure no one knew…

“How, who, who told you that?”

“They say the Assistant Deputy Chief found out on her own by running around? Well. How could that be. The Chief Military Official must have given her the credit.”

Murong Juhui was relieved for now.

It seemed Qing hadn’t deceived her or completely abandoned her. It seemed she hadn’t broken her promise to keep it secret.

Assistant Deputy Chief, is that the Wise Flower bitch?

Then, what about my story?

Did everything about my capture get found out too?

“Don’t go telling anyone. If others find out, it’s something to be pointed at. Ha. I’m so ashamed, really.”

Judging by Murong Seongik’s attitude, it seemed the information about her hadn’t been revealed.

Then, maybe it turned out well.

Now I could naturally say I was captured too-

But Murong Seongik’s lament stopped Murong Juhui’s mouth.

“Anyway, the state of the Murim Alliance is really going well. Tsk tsk. Three spies were found, and before that too, right, they gave that Yan clan’s child an independent patrol position saying she was smart, and handed over such an important position to a Blood Cult agent. They made a big fuss then saying they’d redo personnel verification, and now spies appear again.”

“Isn’t, isn’t that a bit different? Once blood parasites enter, their lives are at stake. Those people had no choice, right?”

“So they sold out their comrades to save themselves. They should have just died instead.”

Murong Juhui’s breath caught.

Because of the pain that felt like her insides were twisting, turning upside down, tangling and cramping.

“The Murim Alliance is in an uproar now. I hear the whole department is in chaos trying to figure out how much information was leaked.”

“That.”

“Really. You know what happened to the Jin Prefecture Yan clan? One Blood Cult spy annihilated an entire clan that had entered the Ten Great Clans. It would be fortunate if they were just annihilated, but they turned all those family members into jiangshi, so it’s worse than death.”

The blood drained from Murong Juhui’s face.

It’s fortunate she was sitting, if she had been standing her legs would have given out and she would have collapsed.

But her state of mind had already collapsed.

“Daughter? What’s wrong?”

“But, but still. Those people being captured by the Blood Cult, that’s not their fault, right? They probably didn’t think they would be captured either.”

“Shouldn’t a martial artist have resisted and died? If a martial artist doesn’t die and is captured, that’s already an unspeakably shameful thing. If they knew they were addicted to blood parasites, they should have killed a few even at the cost of their lives to die together, or at least informed the Alliance. They must have begged for their lives to survive. Ha. Trash.”

“Urp.”

“Daughter?”

Uurgh, weeaak, finally, unable to endure her churning insides, Murong Juhui brought out what was inside.

“Why, why are you like this? Are you sick? A doctor, we need a doctor, right, the Tang clan, someone, no, just hold on a bit, your father will call someone right away-“

“No! No, it’s not that.”

Murong Juhui made a sound like a scream.

Not the Tang clan. Not the Tang clan…

“I just ate something to try to relieve indigestion, now, now I feel better.”

“Oh my. You ate something to relieve indigestion? How foolish.”

“Uh, he, hehe…”

Murong Juhui forced a smile.

At this, Murong Seongik couldn’t erase his worried expression as he firmly instructed:

“If you’re sick anywhere, don’t hide it and tell me. If I see your mother like that again, this father will really go to the underworld. Understand? Daughter?”

“Of, of course.”

Murong Juhui tried, really desperately tried to smile.

While just swallowing her screams inside.

As the major events of the Murim Conference came to an end one by one, the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Competition finals was the biggest event decorating its finale.

It was said to be a martial arts competition with many unexpected events in various ways.

However, people’s hearts are different when going to the outhouse and coming out, so now they had completely changed their words as if forgetting the past.

Qing defeated Wolbong through an undeniably great match that anyone could see, and revealed her beauty in the process. Moreover, she was revealed to be the disciple of the greatest woman under heaven in the subsequent introduction.

After that, those who had been talking about the Ugly Veiled Sword Woman, saying ugly women should at least be good at martial arts, all nodded with solemn expressions.

Somehow she overflowed with a strange noble aura from the start. Moreover, such divine presence at such a young age! Truly befitting the disciple of the greatest woman under heaven.

Ha. After betting against her every time and losing everything, now you’re pretending you didn’t?

What? This bastard…!

For some unknown reason, frequent large and small fights broke out unusually often in Kaifeng city after the semi-final match.

Not just physical fights, but verbal fights too.

People raised their voices and bulged their veins arguing in every restaurant, bar, eatery and teahouse in Kaifeng.

Usually when such trends spread, it’s a phenomenon that occurs when there’s a topic of argument that naturally interests everyone, so everyone competes to speak their opinions first.

And so the topic that raised voices wherever people gathered was this:

What alias would suit Ximen Qing, disciple of the greatest woman under heaven from the Divine Maiden Sect?