Chapter 14: Nightmare (1)

It’s dark all around.

It’s too strange to be night, yet contradictory to say it isn’t. I checked if the moon was out, but…

Nothing could be seen.

Clouds, the sky, things that should clearly be there.

Not a single one existed.

Where could this place be?

Every tree around was burnt to ashes, and where pavilions should have stood, only burnt embers remained.

My body moves slowly. It wasn’t my will. I tried to regain control of my body somehow, but it wouldn’t listen.

As I tried to take a step, I felt someone grab my ankle. Turning around, I saw a man covered in blood.

White clothes with a plum blossom pattern. It was the martial attire of a martial sect too well-known in the Central Plains.

Mount Hua Sect (華山派).

Right, this place is Mount Hua.

The flowers that should have bloomed brightly were all burnt, their original forms lost, but it was a prestigious sect that had stood for centuries, protecting Shaanxi.

All that history had now vanished.

Only then could I realize.

This is a dream.

And a terrible nightmare at that.

[Why did you do this…!]

The man spoke to me. The injustice and resentment etched on his face were palpable.

With his severed arm gone, he was desperately holding onto my ankle with his remaining left arm.

His eyes, bulging red with burst blood vessels, looked as if they were shedding tears of blood.

[What did we do wrong…!! Why are you doing this to us!!]

His voice screamed until his blood vessels threatened to burst. Around us lay the corpses of people wearing the same martial attire as the man.

From children to the elderly, without distinction, everyone had ceased breathing.

And in a gruesome state, as if mauled by beasts.

[Are you truly human…? How can you wear the guise of a human and do such things!]

My body, which had remained silent, opened its mouth. This, too, was not something I could stop with my will.

[The incessant noise has stopped.]

[What…?]

[It means the Plum Blossom Immortal (梅華仙), whom you revered with all your might, was killed by the Cult Leader.]

[Bullshit! Our Sect Leader… killed by some damned devil…!]

[Mount Hua, which you cherished so dearly, has turned to embers, and you still don’t understand?]

Shut up, please…. Just shut up.

[You couldn’t do anything. You are disgracefully pathetic, too much to be called a prestigious sect.]

Slowly, I bent my knees to bring my gaze closer to the man. I felt another emotion reflected in the man’s eyes.

It was undoubtedly fear.

[Look, the junior disciples you cherished so dearly died by my hand, and the senior disciples who cared for you also died by my hand.]

With hands dripping with blood, I caressed the man’s cheek. Hands stained with the blood of his fellow disciples.

Kkeudeudeuk.

I heard something break from the man’s mouth. He must have been grinding his teeth so hard they were shattering.

[Mount Hua burning, and you ending up like this, it’s all because you are weak and incompetent. Mount Hua, you, even the Plum Blossom Immortal.]

[Shut up, you devil…! Your name shouldn’t be uttered by the likes of you, who betrayed the righteous path and stabbed us in the back…!]

As if there was no more time for idle chatter, I grabbed the man’s neck and snapped it.

The last remaining disciple of Mount Hua met his end like that.

Chalbak.

Amidst the wide puddles of blood, I sensed a presence. I knelt towards the presence, offering a bow.

I didn’t dare meet their gaze.

His sheer presence made it feel as if space itself was distorting.

Mount Hua, which was like Mount Tai in Shaanxi, seemed to hide its presence just by him standing there.

Just being near him sent danger signals through all my senses.

Heavenly Demon (天魔).

He called himself that.

[Not bad.]

Even though I heard the sound, I couldn’t properly process it.

Was it a man’s voice? Or a woman’s voice?

It sounded deep, yet sometimes like a woman’s thin tone.

The Heavenly Demon casually tossed something in front of me.

An old man’s head, as if ripped off.

This was none other than the head of the Plum Blossom Immortal, said to be Mount Hua’s absolute master.

[It was far from enough to please me, but I could derive some shallow pleasure from it.]

A master considered equal to the Three Venerables of the Central Plains, yet he was killed so easily.

The Heavenly Demon, looking serene as if no battle had occurred, surveyed the surroundings before approaching me.

[It looks like beasts went on a rampage.]

He came right up close.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move an inch.

[In this situation, I won’t need to ponder a name to give you.]

I want to wake up. I want to escape this dream as quickly as possible. Why is this being shown to me?

[You are….]

I heard the Heavenly Demon say something, but I couldn’t hear it to the end.

“Ryeon-nim…!”

[…From now on.]

“Young Master!”

With Wi Seol-ah’s voice, my eyes opened.

---

I was on my way back to Gu Family after finishing the Gu-ryong Meeting.

“Uweeeek!”

As soon as I woke from the dream, I urgently stopped the carriage and rushed out.

I couldn’t bear the churning in my stomach. I collapsed onto the ground and vomited.

I hadn’t eaten anything today, yet it kept coming up endlessly from my stomach.

‘Fuck…. Fuck!’

My body trembled uncontrollably. Why did I suddenly have a dream like this?

It was something I had lived trying to pretend I’d forgotten. So much so that I wished I could tear the memories out if only I could.

I felt a touch on my back. I quickly turned and grabbed it.

Looking at it with trembling hands, it was Wi Seol-ah’s hand.

Wi Seol-ah looked at me with startled eyes. The violent shaking of his pupils overlapped with the fear the man in the dream had shown me.

What must my expression look like right now?

I could tell without seeing it myself. It must be a mess.

I couldn’t easily control my expression.

First, I slowly released the hand I was holding. Wi Seol-ah, hiding his frightened expression, instead calmly patted my back again.

Mu Yeon, who had been guarding the carriage, also rushed over.

“Young Master! Are you alright…? Get a doctor immediately…!”

“I’m fine, so calm down…. How can we find a doctor here?”

It was still a mountain village on the way back to the family estate. There was no way to find a doctor nearby.

I took ragged breaths, but I couldn’t calm down easily.

The memory of the day the Mount Hua Sect was annihilated by the Demonic Cult.

It was the day the Nine Orthodox Schools’ sword gates collapsed in just one day.

It was something I wanted to forget, yet facing it just in a dream turned me into this state.

‘…It didn’t happen, and it won’t happen anymore.’

These were words I repeated hundreds of times a day. Thoughts I repeated while walking, eating, even while breathing.

“….Fuck.”

They say humans are creatures of forgetting.

Why is it that sins cannot be forgotten even after dying once?

As time passed and I couldn’t calm down easily, I eventually circulated my internal energy to forcibly calm myself.

It was an inefficient action, but unavoidable if we were to depart quickly.

Circulating the Nine Fiery Wheels Technique warmed my body from the inside.

I barely had any internal energy to begin with, and now I was using it just to calm my body trembling from a nightmare.

It was an indescribable feeling.

“This feels like a real dog’s ass…”

Feeling slightly calmer, I got up. Wi Seol-ah tried to help me, but I insisted I was fine and gently pushed him away.

Why did I have a dream like this?

Is it because of the anxiety that even after returning to the past, things would end up the same way?

‘Let’s not worry about it, it’s just a nightmare.’

After vomiting a mouthful, my mind felt a bit clearer.

The upset stomach could be settled later with meditation techniques or by resting more.

Just then, my heightened senses, developed through internal energy, picked up something. A creepy sensation prickling my spine made me laugh hollowly.

‘How unlucky.’

My sleep was troubled, but perhaps this is a way to ward off misfortune?

I turned my body, which was about to get back into the carriage, and approached Mu Yeon.

I urgently spoke to the fidgeting Mu Yeon.

“Mu Yeon.”

“Yes, Young Master…! Should we look for a doctor after all?”

“Stop talking nonsense and quickly check the condition of the Demonic Thread Talisman (魔線符).”

Perhaps sensing a chill from my words, Mu Yeon quickly took out a talisman from his inner pocket.

The Demonic Thread Talisman was a charm developed by shamans in the past; when infused with internal energy, it would signal the appearance of nearby Demonic Gateways.

The talisman taken from his pocket showed no signal and was in perfect condition.

Mu Yeon sighed in relief, looking at the unharmed talisman.

“Phew…. Young Master, you startled me when you suddenly spoke so seriously. Fortunately, nothing’s….”

As Mu Yeon was speaking, the talisman suddenly glowed red and instantly burned away to nothing.

There was no hesitation. Mu Yeon immediately shouted to the guards surrounding them.

“Demonic Gateway detected! All personnel, prepare for combat!”

As soon as Mu Yeon shouted, the surrounding guards drew their swords. Tension overlaid the chaotic atmosphere.

Why did this have to happen on the way back? The talisman burning so quickly meant the Demonic Gateway was very close.

If it were just a little further away, we could have escaped.

It was my fault for stopping the carriage midway.

Mu Yeon urgently grabbed my shoulder.

“Young Master, it’s dangerous, you must go inside the carriage first.”

Following Mu Yeon’s words, I immediately pushed Wi Seol-ah and the other attendants into the carriage.

Then, I closed the door and stood beside Mu Yeon.

“Young Master, you should go inside quickly too. This is a truly dangerous situation right now….”

Normally, I would have just stayed hidden inside the carriage and waited for it to pass, but since it happened because of me, I couldn’t do that.

If I hadn’t caused trouble in the first place, maybe, but in this life, I decided to clean up the messes I make myself.

Only then will the same things that happened before not occur again.

“Young Mas…!”

“Mu Yeon, I’ll listen to your nagging later, just focus ahead. They’re coming.”

At my warning, Mu Yeon fixed his gaze forward, and as if waiting, the air distorted.

The air, distorting while emitting a green light, soon widened into a gap, creating a space.

“Green….”

Mu Yeon whispered softly.

Green, cyan, red, white. It was the order of colors indicating the level of Demonic Gateways. Fortunately, green meant the Demonic Gateway with the lowest danger level.

-Krrrreureureung….

A low growl like a beast’s.

What appeared through the Demonic Gateway was a giant wild dog. More precisely, a monster in the shape of a wild dog.

It was a strange-looking monster with the appearance of a wild dog, but with a horn in the center of its forehead.

“Of all things, it had to be a slightly troublesome one.”

Green Horned Dog (綠角犬).

A monster with swift footwork and fangs capable of crushing rocks; it was also one that the Murim Alliance had once attempted to tame.

Of course, the attempt failed.

‘The number is a little over ten.’

Judging by the number of monsters emerging from the Demonic Gateway, it was neither more nor less than the average.

Monsters possess no intellect. Meaning they have no hesitation.

The Green Horned Dogs spotted us and immediately charged.

Mu Yeon leaped towards them as well. Dodging the claws, Mu Yeon’s sword severed the beast’s horn.

A single sword strike.

The sword energy shimmering around Mu Yeon’s blade proved he was a first-rate martial artist.

The Green Horned Dog, its horn severed, collapsed heavily. The horn was their weak point.

The other guards did the same, engaging the monsters.

Amidst those hunting the monsters around the carriage, I busily picked up dirt from the ground.

-Krrrrreureureu….

While Mu Yeon was dealing with another one, a beast targeting me approached.

It drooled, looking like it had found prey. It appeared younger and weaker than the others.

It was the perfect state for the beasts to target.

-Kwaaang!

The Green Horned Dog roared and charged. I spun the Nine Fiery Wheels Technique, which was circulating gently within my body, faster.

I felt a surge of heat throughout my body.

Thanks to that, my body moved faster than usual, and I dodged the beast’s claws by a hair’s breadth.

Then, turning back, I threw the dirt I was holding at the beast.

-Kwaaang!

I saw the blinded beast thrashing and threatening the empty air.

Since it was a large beast, even without sight, it was still intimidating.

I picked up a rock rolling on the ground and threw it near the beast. With a ‘Kung!’ sound, it reacted.

I concentrated the Nine Fiery Wheels Technique, circulating throughout my body, into my arms.

‘Hesitate and you die.’

Taking advantage of its focus shifting to the rock, I leaped briefly and thrust my arm into its flank.

-Puuk!

The Green Horned Dog’s weakness was its horn, but monsters shared another common weakness.

It was the Demon Stone (魔石) harbored within their bodies.

For those without hearts, the Demon Stone was their heart.

Since I wasn’t skilled with a sword and couldn’t break its horn with my current body, I thrust my reinforced arm into the beast’s body and grabbed its Demon Stone to pull it out.

There was a resistant texture, but my arm, fully imbued with internal energy, penetrated the flesh without issue to find and grasp the Demon Stone.

-Pyut!

As my hand pulled out, blue demonic blood, proof of its monstrous nature, spurted out.

-Kkeureureuk…!

Like the Green Horned Dog whose horn was cut earlier, this one collapsed.

Holding the Demon Stone in my hand, I turned around to see another Green Horned Dog charging at me.

-Kuaaang!

“Ah, this is a bit…!”

I tried to quickly circulate the Nine Fiery Wheels Technique, concentrated in my arm, back throughout my body, but there wasn’t enough time.

The moment its sharp teeth were about to sink into me, a flash of light grazed its horn. It was Mu Yeon’s sword.

“Young Master! Are you alrigh….”

Mu Yeon saw the Green Horned Dog lying dead before him, its side pierced, and fell silent.

“Thanks, I almost died showing off.”

“Yes…. That’s fortunate.”

I felt him looking at me with a strange gaze. It was the same look I felt on the first day I returned.

What kind of look is that anyway….

The time it took to hunt the monsters ended faster than I thought.

After all, they were guards escorting a direct descendant, so they wouldn’t be troubled by the lowest-grade Demonic Gateway.

Demonic Gateways were common encounters during escort missions for the Security Escort Agency.

In a world accustomed to the existence of Demonic Gateways, this level of incident was merely an unfortunate accident.

Once all the manifested monsters were killed, the Demonic Gateway vanished into thin air, but the corpses of the monsters remained.

“Then all that’s left is to send the Gu Family’s official letter….”

I stopped talking to Mu Yeon mid-sentence.

My palm felt a tingling sensation.

It was a familiar energy I had felt countless times in my past life. There was no way I could be mistaken.

“Young Master, what’s wrong?”

I looked at the hand holding the Demon Stone.

The green color of the Demon Stone gradually faded until it turned transparent.

Simultaneously, I felt a small but steady accumulation of internal energy within my body.

My lips trembled. I had experienced this phenomenon ad nauseam in my past life.

A martial art that extracts the power from Demon Stones and absorbs it into the body.

“Fuck, what the hell kind of fucked up thing is this…!”

This was undoubtedly the Heavenly Demon’s martial art.