Chapter 560: I am…

The morning, a day after five days had passed.

People were gathered around, accompanied by murmuring sounds.

Most of them, clad in the light blue ceremonial robes symbolizing the shamans, were forming a circle as if to confirm something.

Surprisingly, what they were surrounding was someone’s corpse.

The corpse belonged to a promising prospect who would lead the shamans in the future.

It was the corpse of Ui-ryong-geom Ji-cheol.

Bi-seong-geom Woo-baek was silently gazing down at Ji-cheol’s body, which had grown cold.

Ji-cheol’s body was dead, a sword having pierced straight through his neck.

As blood stained the floor.

Beside him, a letter, seemingly a suicide note, was left behind.

The content read that he felt guilty about the shamans’ narrow-minded actions and could no longer bear it.

That was the content.

Ppudeudeuk.

Woo-baek, upon confirming this, clenched his fist tightly.

Then.

Huwoook-!

A massive aura erupted from Woo-baek’s body.

Unlike his aged, wrinkled body and withered frame.

Just as his reputation as one of the Hundred Great Masters of the Central Plains suggested, Woo-baek’s power was immense.

So much so that the surrounding objects trembled slightly.

“Kkeu……”

“Heoeok….”

The Taoists of the shaman sect staggered, clutching their chests.

Amidst this, Woo-baek opened his mouth with a fierce gaze.

“When did you find him?”

“A little past Insi (the hour of the tiger). Elder-nim.”

“…Insi.”

It wasn’t long after the time I had ordered the task to proceed.

Padeudeuk.

Recalling this, Woo-baek bit his teeth hard.

Was it because of Ji-cheol, who committed suicide out of disappointment with the shamans? No, it wasn’t.

‘Whose doing is this?’

Woo-baek did not believe Ji-cheol had committed suicide.

It was absolutely impossible.

It had to be this way.

‘The shaman sect’s treasure has disappeared.’

Because the shaman sect’s treasure had disappeared.

Seeing this, the third-generation disciples and some second-generation disciples thought the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand had handled the matter, but…

Woo-baek was not.

Furthermore, the first-generation disciples, including Woo-baek, and the elder-level figures were not viewing it that way.

In the first place.

‘Since the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand doesn’t exist.’

Because the very Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand that claimed to appear was a fabrication.

In such a situation, Ji-cheol suddenly died.

And it was Ji-cheol, who was supposed to play the role of the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand during the night.

This meant it was someone’s doing.

‘Who is it.’

Woo-baek thought, his eyes turning cold.

Who is it?

Who dared to commit such an act within the shaman sect?

And so cleanly, without leaving any trace.

‘Not only the handwriting on the letter, but there isn’t even a trace of anyone’s hand having touched it.’

It was so clean it seemed as if Ji-cheol had truly written it himself and then cut his own throat.

It was unbelievable.

Who could possibly commit an act like this?

Perhaps…

‘Could it really be the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand?’

The thought flashed through his mind for a moment, but Woo-baek erased it.

That was also because it was impossible.

It had already been decades.

The probability of a person who hadn’t appeared even once in all that time suddenly showing up for something like this was extremely low.

Moreover, the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand had never killed a single person, even while stealing.

Therefore, they had to be excluded from the list of suspects.

‘Then who on earth could it be.’

Woo-baek recalled, exhaling a rough aura.

Although he pondered repeatedly.

It wasn’t something to ponder for long.

If it wasn’t the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand, there weren’t many options left.

‘If it’s something that happened within the shaman sect, and not by someone from the shaman sect.’

Anyway, the options were one, or at most two.

“…I suppose I should go see the guests.”

Woo-baek said so, ordered the body to be taken care of, and turned his back.

It was chillingly cold.

The eyes of the old man, now cold, seemed as if they could snow.

However.

At least in those eyes.

There was no sign of sorrow for the death of a warrior of the shaman sect.

Not even a little bit.

******************

Amidst the bustling atmosphere, I was drinking tea in my quarters.

“Hmm.”

I took a sip and savored it sweetly.

“This tastes damn awful….”

And then I just put it down.

As expected, I don’t know what the appeal of tea is.

Keung, I snorted and pushed the tea away.

Seong-yul was drinking tea silently in front of me.

Seeing that, I let out a smirk.

“Is it good?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Right.”

He had a look of genuine cluelessness.

Seeing that expression, I said.

“Speak.”

“…Yes?”

Seong-yul looked puzzled by the sudden remark.

Seeing that, I continued.

“You have something you want to ask.”

“How…?”

“Your eyes say so.”

“…”

His eyes clearly showed he had a lot he wanted to ask.

Since it was bothersome watching him struggle, I asked first.

“…Well.”

Then Seong-yul opened his mouth, hesitation in his eyes.

“Before, when I sparred with Geom-ryong So-hyup… there’s a part I don’t understand.”

“Back then? What about it?”

“How… did you block it?”

I tilted my head at Seong-yul’s words.

Wondering what I had blocked.

“My, my killing intent. You blocked it, didn’t you?”

“Ah.”

So that’s what he was talking about.

He was asking about the time I controlled Seong-yul’s killing intent when he couldn’t stop Cheonsalseong and tried to kill Yeong-pung.

Seong-yul’s eyes showed particular interest, perhaps because he was so curious.

No, rather than interest.

‘Is it hope?’

I got that feeling.

‘Even if you ask how I did it.’

There wasn’t really a way to explain it.

“I just told you to stop.”

“…”

That was truly it.

Telling him not to do it. That was all I did to Seong-yul.

However.

‘It’s just difficult to explain, but it’s not like there’s no method.’

I just used a special method.

This isn’t martial arts.

Nor was it the use of internal energy or demonic energy.

I simply gave a ‘command’.

It’s just that the command was a bit special.

What this means is.

‘The benefit gained after shedding the mortal coil.’

Physical growth and changes in the dantian.

Including the expansion of my capacity. It was another change embedded within my body.

This was sometimes referred to by the Dark King (Am-wang) as the authority possessed by a dragon.

‘Authority, you say.’

Just the word sounds quite impressive.

And it truly was amazing.

At least, the authority the Dark King explained to me held such value.

The Dark King, cursed with dragon blood, didn’t possess the same power as a true dragon, but…

He had an immortal body that couldn’t die by his own will and the authority used by dragons.

Authority, in this context, meant…

I heard it wasn’t about using specific energies, but rather a power only dragons could wield simply because they were dragons.

‘The darkness the Dark King used, that was the authority, he said.’

Creating unknown black barriers.

Or the power to trap someone in darkness, making them revive no matter how many times they died.

It was a power that perfectly suited the Dark King.

‘Perhaps that’s why he was called the Dark King.’

Regardless, the authority of a dragon is indeed exceptional.

It’s a power possessed simply because one is such a being.

Isn’t that truly a biased and absurd power?

Such absurd power.

Also existed within me, who had become a dragon.

The problem was.

‘…If it’s such a great power, I don’t understand why mine is so pathetic.’

Playing with darkness.

The Dark King’s authority, obtained after being cursed and becoming a half-dragon, was so cool and outstanding, but…

My own authority, in comparison, was utterly pathetic.

‘What is Dragon Speech (Yong-eon)? What is Dragon Speech?’

That was precisely my authority.

Simply speaking.

Making what was spoken heard a little better.

That was the power of Dragon Speech as I understood it.

It was truly ridiculous.

“…At least I won’t lose arguments. “

“Huh?”

“No. Nothing.”

It’s funny enough to possess something like this and call it authority.

And it wasn’t like it always worked, either.

It didn’t work on people of a certain high caliber, making it awkward to use.

Even worse.

In the first place, when demonic energy was present, the power of Dragon Speech was meaningless.

If you turn them into demonic thralls, they obey anyway, so what’s the point of this?

‘It’s no different from something meant to alleviate my guilt.’

The guilt felt when corrupting others.

It could be considered authority meant to lessen that.

‘How funny, since I don’t even use them as demonic thralls unless they deserve death anyway.’

Unless they are someone who deserves to die, I don’t turn them into demonic thralls.

That was the principle I lived by.

‘Still, it doesn’t feel entirely useless either.’

Thinking so, I looked at Seong-yul in front of me.

‘It worked. Definitely back then.’

Seong-yul, who unleashed Cheonsalseong and tried to kill Yeong-pung.

I used Dragon Speech on him then.

When I spoke with power, Seong-yul momentarily released his killing intent.

Seeing that.

‘Can Dragon Speech control Cheonsalseong?’

I thought maybe it could.

That’s the reason I haven’t turned Seong-yul into a demonic thrall.

Because of that question, I’m keeping him around for now.

‘I need to confirm it for sure.’

I’ll confirm definitively whether it works or not.

If I determine it doesn’t work, then I’ll corrupt him into a demonic thrall.

That was my thought process.

‘If it were originally the case, I would have done it by now, but.’

While there’s the experiment of whether Cheonsalseong can be controlled or not.

There was another reason why I was reluctant to turn Seong-yul into a demonic thrall.

‘If that guy didn’t have a connection with Cheonghae Il-geom.’

If he hadn’t been connected to that deceased fellow, I would have turned him into a demonic thrall long ago.

It was a slightly bothersome situation.

-May you find peace.

The face of the old man who worried about my peace comes to mind.

That is the sole reason I hesitate when looking at Seong-yul.

Whether he knew that or not, Seong-yul looked at me and asked.

“Um… So-hyup.”

“Why.”

“May I ask one more thing?”

“What is it?”

What else is there?

Well, he does have a lot to ask.

‘What I’ll do with him. Where we’ll go now. What we’ll do, etc.’

It was rather strange that Seong-yul was following me without asking any questions.

Just as I thought he’d start asking about those things soon.

“I wanted to ask why the shaman sect claimed to be the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand.”

“…!”

At the completely unexpected question, I widened my eyes looking at Seong-yul.

Seeing me look at him with a flustered expression, Seong-yul stared back, his characteristic golden eyes showing.

“You… How did you know?”

How on earth did he know? I asked, filled with surprise and wonder.

“I…”

To my question, Seong-yul replied without changing his expression.

“I can sense the other person’s lies.”

“What?”

This was another strange answer.

You can sense lies?

I was about to ask for a detailed explanation, but Seong-yul spoke first.

“Yesterday, around the time I faced Bi-seong-geom. I sensed falsehood from him.”

The letter stating the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand appeared. The words about it.

Most of it was lies.

“Oh….”

As I listened, my eyes lit up.

Because if what he said was true, it was a quite useful ability.

‘Did Sword Demon (Geom-ma) have this kind of ability?’

Indeed.

In my past life, he often uttered a certain phrase.

[Heh heh…. I hate lies. That’s why you die.]

The words he always spat out when killing opponents.

‘Come to think of it, wasn’t that guy the torturer?’

I also recalled that Sword Demon was mostly the one who tortured the captured individuals.

Thinking about that.

Seong-yul’s words seemed credible.

“That’s amazing. Was something like that possible?”

At my surprised words, Seong-yul’s eyes widened this time.

“…You believe me?”

“You said so. So it must be like that.”

Honestly, I accepted it because I had the experience from my past life.

Who would easily believe such a thing?

“That’s why I’m even more curious. Why are you telling me this?”

“…”

It wasn’t something one could easily say.

Being able to know the lies of others.

This was highly dangerous information.

Moreover, Seong-yul is Cheonsalseong.

Even without this, there were plenty of reasons to kill him; it was strange that he was handing over justification like this.

“…I am expressing it to So-hyup.”

“Expressing?”

“That I have such an ability. I am demonstrating it. It’s one of the useful skills I possess.”

“Why?”

As I asked with doubt.

Seong-yul looked at me and calmly spoke.

“I must let you know that I am at least a little useful, so that So-hyup won’t abandon me.”

“…”

For words spoken calmly, they were quite chilling.

“…Wow.”

I thought he was just a crazy guy, oblivious to the world and suffering from madness.

Surprisingly, Seong-yul’s eyes were sharp.

‘Pretending to be naive. Was he seeing everything?’

That I was considering something regarding Seong-yul.

It seemed he had seen it all.

Though it wasn’t about judging whether Seong-yul was useful or not.

‘Even if not for that, he is useful.’

At an age not yet established, he remains at the peak of mastery.

He possesses the talent to become Sword Demon in the future.

That alone made Seong-yul quite valuable.

“What if I use that information to abandon or kill you?”

“I thought it was valuable information for So-hyup. As for being killed… I don’t mind…”

Being killed doesn’t matter.

But being abandoned is a problem.

That statement was subtle.

“That’s a strange thing to say. Why are you afraid of being abandoned by me?”

It hasn’t even been a month since we met.

Neither of us has developed any affection or anything.

From Seong-yul’s perspective, it’s natural for him to resent being dragged around so abruptly, but…

Instead, he reveals information to avoid abandonment.

I couldn’t understand it.

And.

“I don’t know either.”

Seong-yul indicated the same.

“Therefore, I wish to take the time to understand the reason.”

“You’re quite the lunatic, aren’t you?”

“…”

That meant he intended to follow me.

I looked at Seong-yul with an incredulous expression and sighed.

“You can figure that out yourself.”

I’m in a position where I have to drag him around anyway.

It wasn’t a matter of abandoning him or not.

At least for now.

Thinking so, I brought up another topic.

“You asked about the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand, didn’t you?”

That was the question Seong-yul asked earlier.

Why the shaman sect had uttered lies about the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand.

“It’s just… political maneuvering.”

Political maneuvering.

That’s exactly what it was.

“The Mu-dang Sword Sage (Mu-dang Geom-seon) who just became the Alliance Leader, and the Mu-dang sect growing because of it.”

It was a time when countless stories were emerging, riding the wave of the era.

The Alliance Leader was deploying sword masters here and there, increasing stability and boosting approval ratings.

Thanks to that, the Mu-dang sect’s standing was also growing day by day.

Within that context.

‘If rumors spread that the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand targeted the Mu-dang sect.’

The attention focused on it would grow even larger.

The sect chosen by the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand upon their return.

Something along those lines.

‘Furthermore.’

I recalled Ji-cheol from last night.

‘And swallowing the Mount Hua sect’s treasure as well.’

The incident where that guy tried to barge in while Sword Empress (Geom-hu) was gone.

I wondered why he would attempt such a thing, even under orders, when his arm was injured.

‘It must be because the circumstances were certain.’

The guy with the injured arm.

He must have been confined to the medical quarters for treatment, so the possibility of being framed as the culprit was nonexistent.

‘Perhaps the guards on duty were all in on it too.’

The probability that arrangements were made long ago was high.

No, I’m certain.

Originally, the treasure would have been stolen by Ji-cheol, who claimed to be the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand.

If that happened, the Mount Hua sect would hold the Mu-dang sect responsible for failing to protect it properly.

‘Public sentiment becomes a factor.’

-It’s an item stolen by the Wind-Cloud Ghostly Hand, not someone else.

-Is it fair to blame only the Mu-dang sect for that?

Such words are likely to arise.

Public sentiment was naturally like that.

‘Perhaps, the story has already reached this point.’

I don’t wish for it, but there was also a possibility that arrangements had already been made with the Kaebang faction.

If that happened, it would become difficult for the Mount Hua sect to easily hold them responsible, and thus, the Mu-dang sect…

‘They could secure both treasures.’

It means the Mu-dang sect could gain the attention they desired and the treasure, while also acquiring the treasure they had lost.

Even if the Mount Hua sect ignored this and demanded responsibility.

‘They had already gained attention, and they could diminish the standing of Mount Hua, which wasn’t allied with the Martial Alliance despite being a righteous sect.’

It meant that no matter what, the Mu-dang sect benefited.

It’s a damn shitty situation.

I wonder if this is what righteous sects are supposed to do.

‘They should just stay put and practice martial arts, instead of engaging in this political maneuvering.’

They’ll get beaten up later in the Blood Calamity.

They couldn’t be anything but idiots.

Ah, of course.

‘Thanks to that, handling things became easier.’

Thanks to several coincidences.

Handling things became somewhat easier for me.

All thanks to the Mu-dang sect being rotten to the core.

And that.

Was the same for the situation that was about to unfold.

Seueu.

I turned my attention to the presence felt from outside.

[Are you there.]

It seemed someone had come looking for my quarters.

At that, I got up and went outside.

Outside, several figures from the Mu-dang sect had arrived.

At the center stood Bi-seong-geom Woo-baek, an elder of the Mu-dang sect.

Woo-baek looked at me and said with a slight smile.

“You must be resting. I apologize for visiting like this.”

“Not at all. Why have you come, Elder-nim? You must be very busy.”

This was a reference to Ji-cheol’s death and the stolen treasure.

At this, Woo-baek’s eye twitched slightly.

“…You must have heard. Things have become somewhat complicated.”

“I was worried anyway. Are you alright?”

“…Haha. Thank you for your concern.”

Woo-baek said to me, his concern utterly devoid of genuine feeling.

“Originally, it shouldn’t be like this… but since it happened within our sect, I had no choice but to come seeking your understanding regarding a certain matter.”

“What is it?”

“Would it be alright if I searched your quarters for a moment?”

“…!”

At those words, I immediately frowned.

“Elder-nim, are you perhaps suspecting me?”

“I apologize to Gu So-hyup, but it is merely a confirmation.”

“Ha.”

I had to let out a breath of disbelief at his words.

Then I showed my wrist.

The wrist wearing the Yeon-ui bracelet that Woo-baek had told me to wear yesterday.

“After going so far as to attach this for surveillance… and now, when things have blown up, you want to search? What kind of nonsensical situation is this…!”

“…I apologize. However, it is for the sake of definite confirmation, so please grant your understanding.”

Padeudeuk.

I had to grind my teeth.

And then, with heavy footsteps, I stepped out of my quarters.

“…This is absurd. Do as you wish. However, I will not forget this disrespect shown by the Mu-dang sect.”

“…”

As I spat that out like a growl and stepped aside, Woo-baek nodded.

Immediately, warriors of the Mu-dang sect stormed into the quarters.

They then began searching as if they wouldn’t leave a speck of dust behind.

Not long after that.

“Here, Elder-nim!”

A Taoist brought something to Woo-baek with a startled voice.

“I… I found it.”

The item, found in my drawer and carefully brought over, was a jade bracelet with a bluish hue.

Yes, that was the item the Mu-dang sect intended to exchange.

Seeing it, Woo-baek looked at me with surprised eyes.

“What is the meaning of this, So-hyup?”

His voice was clearly laced with coldness.

I stammered in response to Woo-baek’s question.

“Th-th-this… why is this in my drawer…! I… I don’t know anything about it!”

“…”

I tried hard to deny it, but Woo-baek’s eyes had already darkened considerably.

“Immediately.”

Whether that was a sign of anger, Woo-baek’s voice trembled with rage.

“Subdue that person. And lock them in prison. The ‘Alliance Leader’ will personally decide their fate.”

Woo-baek uttered the words in a voice that seemed ready to kill at any moment.

At Woo-baek’s words, Taoists approached as if to subdue me.

I trembled as if terrified by the sight, but…

Inwardly, I had to wear a wide smile.

‘This will burn nicely.’

Dry, rotten firewood.

They were excellent materials that, once lit, would burn endlessly.

Seeing the Mu-dang sect’s current state, it was exactly like that.

While being subdued obediently, I quietly conveyed a message inwardly.

‘Ddol-ddol-ah.’

To that worm playing somewhere deep in the forest.

‘It’s ready. Bring it.’

Immediately.

Pudeudeudeuk-!

A vibration echoed from somewhere deep in the forest.