Chapter v9c14

The flickering light of a blazing oil lamp slid down the cold blade of the sword. The edge of the blade, chillingly sharp, shone upon the villainous face. A sinister premonition sparkled all over the blade. It was his beloved sword ‘Ghost Soul’ , which had earned him the nickname “Ghost Slayer” It had been his comrade-in-arms, sharing life and death with him for decades. How much blood, sorrow, and torment had washed over this sword?

The villain, Goyakhan, held the scabbard in his left hand and a piece of plain white cloth in his right, slowly and deliberately wiping his blade with a stern face. The murderous aura from the sword seemed to thicken in response to his own feelings.

“Hwanmadong…”

For Goyakhan, it was a decision that seemed quite unexpected.

“Does opening Hwanmadong mean that the enemy is strong enough that we have no other choice?”

It was unlikely that Majinga had made such a decision without thought. He was not someone who lived in this world without consideration! It must have been a conclusion reached after much deliberation.

“Will they be able to survive?”

The light reflecting on the blade felt as though it were red like blood.

“Huhu, I’m looking forward to it…”

A demonic gateway that tests mind and body like never before! It is said that if one is not careful, their mind and body could be devastated, and they might even go mad. The gate of the dead, which had been sealed due to its extreme danger, was about to be opened again.

“A place where many casualties occur, you say?”

“Even if it means death, it’s merely an accident… How can one win in battle without overcoming even that?”

To gain something, one must pay a corresponding price.

“The world dislikes freebies…”

While the world can be capricious, it also tends to be surprisingly fair at times. Carefully putting down the cloth he was using to clean his sword, Goyakhan sheathed his Ghost Soul back into its scabbard.

Click!

The sound of the sword and scabbard fitting together signaled that Ghost Soul was once again ensconced within.

Goyakhan had a sudden feeling that from tomorrow, things would become even busier.

“Have you been thinking of doing something lately, or not?”

“I’m sorry!”

“What I need is someone who’s usefull, not a walking corpse.”

Goyakhan’s command thundered down like a bolt of lightning.

“Hyo-ryong!”

“Yes!”

“Are your eyes open? Your recent approach to training is too slack. Even if you maintained your spirit as sharp as a well-honed blade, it would still be insufficient, let alone with such a weak spirit. At this rate, you’d be perfect prey for a silent death! If you get hit by a blade flying at your back while you’re daydreaming, you’ll have no excuse.”

“Why is that guy acting like that lately?”

Bi Ryu-yeon tilted his head in confusion. To stumble over such a simple sword move? It was uncharacteristic of him.

Lately, he seemed like a soulless human, full of mistakes and unable to do anything right, earning the scorn of those around him.

“Is that really the cause?”

Bi Ryu-yeon was somewhat worried. Since the incident at Mount Wudang, it seemed impossible to find any trace of vitality or motivation in Hyo-ryong’s life.

“Do you now understand where you must go from here?”

As they all answered that they did not know, a cold smile appeared on Goyakhan’s lips. Indeed, what expressions would the children wear? The mere thought was thrilling.

Tears

Night visits all, whether they desire it or not, always equitably. The calm darkness that wraps around the world at night has the power to provoke a multitude of thoughts in people. Mo Yong-hwi was the type of person whose thoughts multiplied at night. He regarded this as a lack of discipline, yet he did not try to forcibly stop the flow of his consciousness.

“Should I give it up? My position as a bodyguard…”

Mo Yong-hwi was currently in a dilemma. No matter how much he thought about it, the bodyguard work seemed ill-suited for him. Moreover, spending more time with Bi Ryu-yeon seemed to be influencing him, making him feel as if he was losing his usual self, a strangely thrilling feeling. His emotions were in turmoil.

And then…

“Yong Cheon Myeong!”

He had heard the name so often it was as if it were hammered into his ears, but it was the first time he was face to face with it. And that was the biggest reason he wanted to get out of his bodyguard role.

Among his peers, there were only a few whom he genuinely admired. Among them, Yong Cheon Myeong’s skill was exceptionally outstanding. He never wanted to lose to that person. For the first time in a while, a fighting instinct was boiling inside his chest.

“I can’t go on like this!”

If he continued to focus on his bodyguard duties, he felt he would fall further behind Yong Cheon Myeong. He now wanted to cut off all distractions and dedicate himself to training. The biggest obstacle to that was his current role as a bodyguard.

“I must quit, after all…”

However, ‘how?’ was the problem. He wasn’t confident in conveying his intentions in a gentle manner.

Yet, he was also aware that he must speak up, a contradiction in himself. This was the first time he had encountered someone he wanted to defeat so badly that he considered shirking the responsibility that had been entrusted to him. He had admiration during the time with Cheong-heun, but he had never felt this way before. The feeling was definitely different from those days.

So, Mo Yong-hwi decided to take action first.

It was the time when all things took their rest under the cozy curtain of night, under the faint moonlight and the black night sky studded with stars like jewels, as the night deepened, the time deepened. However, there was someone who could not sleep, even at midnight, intoxicated by the moon, stars, and night.

In a pavilion at Cheonmu Academy called Yun Hyang Jeong – a place where Na Yerin had her first kiss with Bi Ryu-yeon – it seemed that Yun Hyang Jeong favored beauties. Even now, there was a woman there, with lonely eyes, gazing at the moon that reflected her heart like a mirror.

She was once betrothed to a man, and now she was a small bird without a mate, having bet her life on and lost her betrothed. The moonlight reflecting her heart felt pitiful and lonely. Her name was Eun Seol-ran.

“What am I doing here?”

Sitting on the railings of the pavilion bathed in moonlight, she sighed deeply, but it did little to dispel her worries.

It had been a month since she came to Cheonmu Academy.

Yet, she had found no clues or leads regarding the incident at Mount Wudang and the death of Gal Hyobong. She had already braced herself for difficulties and had no intention of fleeing from the hardships she faced, but a dark wall of obscurity still lay before her.

Of course, she hadn’t naively expected cooperation. She was well aware that it was realistically impossible. However, as time passed since she started her investigation and there was no progress, she began to feel anxious.

Their attitude was clear.

It was a different sense from hiding something. It wasn’t a feeling of abetting the concealment of the truth. They seemed genuinely ignorant, unjustly so.

There was only one lead.

A rumor that Cheonji Samsal had appeared there. That was all.

Cheonji Samsal , once called the terror of the martial arts world by the demonic sect, were martial arts experts and cruel murderers! Why were they at Mount Wudang at that time?

The idea that they were on a special mission was too far-fetched. There were inconsistencies in the story that they, who were almost confined to securing the escaped Hyobong, had been deployed.

Thus, there was only one conclusion! It could only be seen as an unauthorized action.

Otherwise…

She didn’t want to think about it, but she couldn’t exclude another hypothesis.

“Could they have been under orders from another chain of command…?”

If that were the case, it would be a very troublesome matter. Rebellion and insubordination had always been problematic, irrespective of the era.

“Who would dare challenge the authority of the Dark Heaven Alliance?”

No power in the current martial world would dare to brazenly challenge the authority of Dark Heaven Alliance. It was a practical impossibility, no matter how much one struggled.

She found herself falling deeper into a labyrinth. The moonlight cast an even bluer glow. Eun Seol-ran’s heart ached. On lonely nights, whenever she felt the solitude, the pale face of one person always overlapped with the blue moon.

She cried out in her heart without sound, but now it was a person who could never answer again. That person no longer existed in this world…