Chapter 51: Escape (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 51: Escape (1)
Gapchan and the other men stared fixedly at the cave entrance, their hope dwindling with every passing second.
To be honest, they had half-given up.
Even if they couldn't use their internal energy, that monster was so powerful that only three out of seven grown men had made it out alive. They believed that no matter how skilled one was in martial arts, it would be impossible to handle.
However, that grim premonition was shattered.
Step, step!
At the sound echoing from the cave, they all scrambled to their feet.
'Could it be?'
Without a word, everyone ran toward the entrance.
A figure, drenched in moisture, emerged from the darkness.
Walking with his left eye closed and carrying the one-armed man in his arms, the man who stepped out with such dignity was none other than So Woon-hwi.
"Young Master So!"
"He—he actually did it!"
"You both made it back alive!"
In that moment, everyone was overcome with uncontrollable joy.
*
Three days passed.
It was the fourth day since they had begun crushing and boiling the herb known as the Evil Fire Herb for the patients to drink.
The herb was definitely effective.
The Evil Fire Herb was said to be a medicine that governed the heart.
On the first day, the faint spasms disappeared, and by the second day, the purple hue of the skin returned to a healthy flesh tone.
Despite this, my maternal grandfather, Flying Moon Swordsman Ha Seong-un, had yet to wake up.
Having recovered my internal energy and Innate True Qi, I periodically injected energy into Ha Seong-un, focusing on his recovery.
'You must survive.'
I prayed desperately for his life.
Aside from my younger sister, So Yeong-yeong, he was my only remaining blood relative. I couldn't let him die.
After double-checking that no one was around, I opened my Middle Dantian.
Immediately, a warm energy rose from my heart, and at the same time, my left eye began to itch.
-The more I see it, the more fascinating it is.
There was a reason the Lesser Conversation Sword said this.
It was because whenever I opened my Middle Dantian, my left pupil turned gold.
I had been quite flustered at first—so much so that I had to keep my left eye closed to hide it.
However, after sending everyone outside so I could inject my grandfather with Qi, I realized that the eye color returned to normal when I wasn't using that specific energy.
-Why is it like that?
I don't know.
I'm curious too. I could only guess it was related to the way the Golden-Eyed Man had cleared the blood points in my chest.
-What a bizarre eye. Can you really see the flow of energy with it?
At the Blood Demon Sword's question, I nodded slightly.
After discovering the change in my eye, I had spent a lot of time worrying about why it happened. Then, while opening my Middle Dantian to infuse my grandfather with Innate True Qi for his recovery, I realized the truth.
The world seen through my right eye and my left eye was different.
Through the left eye, I could accurately see the energy flowing through a person's body.
The energies took the form of light.
Internal energy was a white light.
Innate True Qi was a blue light.
Through this, I confirmed that even ordinary people possessed the Innate True Qi, often called vitality, near their hearts.
Innate True Qi existed in my grandfather's heart as well.
The difference from mine was that the amount was so minuscule it was barely a tiny dot.
Sshhh!
The Innate True Qi I injected through his back moved along his blood points.
My left eye could see it clearly.
-Incredible. That means you can see the energy circulation path of anyone with that eye, doesn't it?
That's right.
Now that I thought about it, it could be utilized that way.
-Woon-hwi! If you use this well, it'll be a magnificent ability!
The Namcheon Iron Sword spoke in an excited voice.
Just as it said, knowing an opponent's energy circulation path meant it would be possible to predict which martial form they were about to use.
Of course, I would have to test it to see if it was actually feasible.
-You can just go out and check.
'......I don't know if I can use it freely.'
-Why?
Why else? It was something I had to be even more cautious about than the Blood Demon Transformation.
If I carelessly revealed the Golden Eye, I might end up getting entangled with that man.
-Ah!
Though it was kept a secret, it was said that high-ranking officials of the Martial Alliance, at the Elder level or above, knew of the Golden-Eyed Man. In such a situation, what kind of disaster would strike if I revealed a Golden Eye?
It was an ability that could not be shown recklessly.
-That's a predicament. So you'll have to keep one eye closed whenever you use your Middle Dantian?
It seems that's the way it has to be.
-Tsk, tsk. How ridiculous. Having power but having to hide it.
The Blood Demon Sword clicked its tongue.
It was mocking me, but neither the Middle Dantian nor the Blood Demon Transformation were powers I could reveal lightly.
The one silver lining was that when I was trapped in that stone chamber, something similar to Bone Forging and Marrow Cleansing occurred, causing my internal energy to advance even more than my Innate True Qi.
Now, the internal energy in my Lower Dantian had reached the beginning stages of the Supreme Peak Realm.
Even without the power of the Middle Dantian, I was now capable of displaying strength similar to what I had before entering this place.
-Even so, without proper enlightenment, that will be your limit.
The Blood Demon Sword poked at my sore spot.
As it said, though my internal energy and Innate True Qi had advanced through a fortuitous encounter, it wasn't achieved through enlightenment. Perhaps that was why, even with the Blood Demon Transformation, I couldn't draw out the same level of power I had displayed back on the ship.
It felt as if I had hit a wall.
It seemed that the higher one climbed in the world of martial arts, the more difficult and vast it became.
It was just as I finished infusing my grandfather with Qi.
-By the way, Woon-hwi. I'm curious about something.
'Yeah?'
-That Golden-Eyed Man grew his hand back in an instant, right?
'You don't mean...'
-Even if you only have a half-baked Golden Eye, if you've gained the same constitution as that man, why not give it a test? It might work.
'.......Are you telling me to cut off my hand or something?'
-It would be a problem if it failed, wouldn't it?
It's easy for you to say such terrifying things when it's not your hand.
As I was feeling dumbfounded, the Blood Demon Sword spoke again.
-Can't you tell just by making a light scratch?
A light scratch...
I didn't particularly enjoy inflicting wounds on my own body.
-Are you chicken?
'No, I'm not.'
-Coward.
It really had a knack for teasing.
After a moment of hesitation, I drew the Lesser Conversation Sword and made a slight cut on my palm.
My palm stung.
The Golden-Eyed Man had rapid recovery abilities; would I be capable of the same?
I was staring intently at my palm.
'Oh?'
I felt a tickling sensation, like ants crawling on my palm, and soon the blood vessels began to wriggle and connect.
The wound was healing right before my eyes.
'......Unbelievable.'
To be honest, I had been skeptical. I didn't expect the wound to heal this quickly.
-It seems slower than that man, though.
-Mm. It looks that way to me too, human.
Just as they said, the healing was clearly visible, but it wasn't at the level of the Golden-Eyed Man.
That man healed at a speed that could only be described as monstrous, while I was recovering at a more gradual pace.
-Even this is monstrous enough, Woon-hwi.
As the Namcheon Iron Sword said, compared to a normal person, this was certainly a miraculous recovery speed that could be called monstrous.
Between the Blood Demon Transformation and this recovery speed, I felt like I was gradually drifting away from being human.
'I wish I could give my recovery speed to these two.'
I looked at the one-armed man lying across from Ha Seong-un.
He had lost consciousness from exhaustion as soon as we escaped the hollow. He hadn't woken up since.
I had been disinfecting his wounds with hot water and applying the other herbs he had brought, which was how he had lasted this long, but his condition was critical.
'Can he hold on?'
-It looks difficult unless he receives proper treatment.
It was a truly frustrating situation.
After recovering my martial arts, I had tried to scour the cave for an exit. However, there was no way out.
In a moment of desperation, I had even secured myself with Silver Smoke Thread and thrown myself into the torrent. But I only found myself being pulled into an endless abyss.
The Blood Demon Sword said to me:
-Human. Since you can circulate your Qi now, can't you make it out if you control your breathing and endure?
'......Only I can endure it.'
It was impossible for both my grandfather and the one-armed man. Their Dantians had been destroyed in the first place, so they couldn't circulate Qi.
No matter how strong one's martial arts became, humans were ultimately fragile beings in the face of extreme natural environments.
'Damn it. What should I do?'
He was a man who had risked his life for my grandfather. I couldn't just wait for Sama Chak for a month; there was no telling when he might draw his last breath.
It was while I was feeling stifled by the situation.
"Child."
A hoarse voice reached me.
Turning my head, I saw my maternal grandfather, Ha Seong-un, looking at me with half-open eyes.
"Grandfather!"
I rushed over to him. I had been waiting anxiously for him to wake up, and he had finally regained consciousness.
"Are you alright?"
"Cough, cough. I don't know what's happened. To think this old man is still alive?"
He was the one who had collapsed from the shock of hearing the news of my mother's death. Naturally, he had no way of knowing what had happened afterward.
I briefly explained the events of that time and what had transpired in the hollow where the herbs were found.
After some thought, I kept the fact that one of my eyes had turned gold a secret.
"Kang Bu... that foolish fellow."
My grandfather lifted his head and looked bitterly at the one-armed man lying nearby.
It seemed his name was Kang Bu.
Ha Seong-un turned his gaze back to me and spoke.
"Both Kang Bu and you... why did you do something so dangerous?"
"How could I weigh the danger when it comes to saving my own blood?"
Ha Seong-un's eyes welled with tears.
"You rascal. If something had happened to you, I wouldn't have been able to face your mother even in death."
I took his hand and spoke with conviction.
"I have no intention of leaving you behind and going first."
".......You've suffered so much because of this useless grandfather."
He was overcome with emotion.
"Don't say such things. You have to survive and stay strong so you can see your granddaughter, don't you?"
"Granddaughter?"
"I have a younger sister."
Though we had different biological fathers, she was still a granddaughter to him.
Ha Seong-un frowned and asked.
"Did... did Ryeong remarry?"
'Ah......'
From my grandfather's perspective, this must be quite a shock.
The Flying Moon Hero Sect had been purged from Peerless Fortress. Since his daughter, who had fled, had another child, he seemed very curious about how she had lived.
"Re... marry, I suppose you could call it that."
I told him everything I knew about my mother's story—what kind of life she had lived during that time.
As he listened, my grandfather's expression went beyond dark, turning into one of profound misery.
"Sigh. To think that child lived and died like that... I have no face to show you siblings. All of this is my karma."
"Please don't say that."
I hadn't told him this so he would blame himself and be sad. I could have made it sound like my mother had lived a happy life to spare his feelings, but I didn't want to hide the truth about her child from the only elder I had left.
With a heavy face, my grandfather, Ha Seong-un, gripped my hand tightly.
"No. It is the fault of the adults. I can see clearly now what kind of life you must have led to end up here."
Ha Seong-un struggled to push his upper body up.
"Grandfather, please stay lying down—"
Before I could finish, Ha Seong-un pulled me into an embrace.
Then, in a choked voice, he said:
"When I think of you children, growing up without even knowing a mother's love, my heart is torn to pieces. It feels as if it's being hollowed out."
"Grandfather....."
A lump rose in my throat.
My grandfather, who had been hugging me tightly, pulled back, held my arms, and asked:
"Poor child. How did you end up falling into this place?"
At his question, I hesitated on how to explain. Telling my own story was even more complicated than telling my mother's.
When I hesitated, my grandfather spoke.
"If it's uncomfortable to talk about, you don't have to. If you were brought down here by the hands of that wicked man, the Moon Evil Sword, it couldn't have been for any good reason."
'Uh... well.'
There seemed to be a slight misunderstanding.
Come to think of it, the people in the cave only knew that I had been captured by Moon Evil Sword Sama Chak and imprisoned here. My grandfather seemed to believe the same.
I decided I should tell him the truth.
But before I could open my mouth, Ha Seong-un spoke first.
"If your father had known about you, you would never have ended up in a place like this. It's truly a pity."
"My father?"
At those words, my grandfather let out a sigh and replied.
"I suppose you grew up not knowing who your biological father was."
I had been curious about who my biological father was ever since I learned my mother was from the Flying Moon Hero Sect.
My grandfather said regretfully:
"If your father had held the firm position he has now back then, neither your mother nor you would have had to endure such harsh years."
I didn't understand what he meant. Did that mean he didn't have a firm position when the Flying Moon Hero Sect was purged from Peerless Fortress?
I had already guessed he was a member of Peerless Fortress.
"Grandfather....... Is my biological father also a member of Peerless Fortress?"
"That's right."
"Can you tell me who he is?"
My voice trembled despite myself.
To be honest, after learning my mother was of the Flying Moon Hero Sect, I had felt some resentment toward the man who was my father. If he was a member of Peerless Fortress, I thought he should have protected her until the end.
As if reading my mind, my grandfather shook his head and said:
"I understand how you feel. However, your father couldn't help it at the time either. Our sect had already been branded as descendants of the Blood Cult, so no one could protect us."
"......Even so, I can't help but feel resentful."
"I fully understand that sentiment."
My grandfather patted my shoulder. Then, in a serious voice, he said:
"Still, how can you not know about your own father? Your father's name is Jin Seong-baek. He is the current Sect Leader of the Wind Shadow Eight Streams Sect."
'!!!'
In an instant, I was struck dumb.
-What's wrong?
I couldn't answer the Lesser Conversation Sword's question immediately.
I had predicted my father would be a member of Peerless Fortress. But the Sect Leader of the Wind Shadow Eight Streams Sect?
-This is frustrating. Who on earth is he that you're so shocked?
'Merciless Wind God Jin Seong-baek..... He is one of the Eight Great Masters.'
-What!
That wasn't the only reason to be shocked.
The problem was the future of the Merciless Wind God, Jin Seong-baek.
He was one of the Eight Great Masters who was destined to die and be replaced in the near future.