Chapter 212: A Tale From Long Ago
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 212: A Tale From Long Ago
This is a story from a bygone era.
A legend few remember, a fairy tale from a distant past that has faded from memory.
It was a time when martial might and factional alliances were all that mattered, an age when the existence of the Demonic Realm was yet unknown. In an era where only the strongest survived, there lived a man who yearned for a different world.
This man, an outsider who did not originate from this land, desired nothing more than to return to the home he had left behind. For a very long time, he clung to this hope. Unable to endure the passage of time any longer, he sought to forge a path back by burning his very life force—a pathway leading to his origin.
After what felt like an eternity, the man finally discovered a method to tear open that path. It was similar to the way he had arrived, yet fundamentally different. Overjoyed, he could not contain his elation. He made no attempt to hide the hope that he might finally return.
In the end, he succeeded in opening the path. But the moment he saw what lay beyond it, despair crushed him. The dimensional rift he had torn open was not the passage he had hoped for.
Furthermore… it brought calamity.
The man collapsed to the ground as he watched disaster spill forth from the crack he had created. Not only was he unable to return to the world he so desired, but his selfish act had also burdened this world with a cataclysm.
Future generations would give this rift a name… The crack that ripped space asunder and spewed forth monsters…
They called it the Gate of Demons.
This was the great twist of fate that brought the most profound change to the world—a calamity that remained unresolved even centuries later. The sins committed by the man known as the Fire Dokkaebi were passed down to his descendants, who would bear the burden of his actions.
* * *
A few hours later.
Having passed through the Misty Mountains, I was on my way back to the Gu Clan.
Not all matters at the Black Palace had been settled. However, since the Gu Clan was affiliated with the Orthodox Faction, the remaining cleanup would fall to the Murim Alliance once they arrived. Our priority was to escort Gu Huibi back to the clan safely. After leaving key members behind to handle the aftermath, the rest of us began our return journey.
And now, I found myself in a profoundly awkward situation.
Noticing my struggle, Namgung Bi-ah asked, “…Is this difficult…?”
“Yeah, very.”
“Then… should I hold you…?”
“No, please don’t. I’m embarrassed enough as it is.”
Setting aside my headache, I rubbed my face. The stares from those around us were a significant reason my ears were burning red.
…Damn it.
The source of my embarrassment?
Namgung Bi-ah was currently carrying me on her back.
It was… soft. And every time the wind blew, her hair would brush against my nose.
…Why does it have to smell so good?
The faint floral scent that wafted from her was distracting. Did she put on some kind of perfume? As my instincts zeroed in on the fragrance, Elder Shin’s sour voice echoed in my mind.
[You seem to be enjoying yourself.]
…Does it really look that way?
[Obviously. Wouldn’t it be stranger if it didn’t?]
I let out a fake cough at his grumbling and looked away. There was nothing to see but fog in the other direction, but I couldn’t bear to look straight ahead any longer.
Hm?
As I turned, I felt an intense gaze from a short distance behind me. The source was Gu Huibi, who was also being carried on someone’s back.
The difference was that while Namgung Bi-ah was carrying me, Father was carrying Gu Huibi. It was an incredibly awkward sight. The fact that Father was carrying anyone on his back was surprising enough, but for it to be Gu Huibi of all people…
Why is she looking at me like that?
Seemingly unbothered by the awkwardness, she was glaring in my direction. No, there was no doubt—she was glaring directly at me. Given her naturally fierce eyes, Gu Huibi’s stare was downright terrifying.
[Now you understand. That’s exactly how you look when you glare at people, you little shit.]
…Why the sudden insult?
Ignoring Elder Shin, who never missed a chance to mock me, I wondered why Gu Huibi was making that face.
Why is she acting like this when she’s the one who refused?
She had insisted she would rather die than be carried by Namgung Bi-ah, which was why Father had ended up carrying her. So why was she staring daggers at me?
Does she think I want to be carried like this?
Gu Huibi was in a state where she couldn’t move recklessly due to the Demonic Qi raging inside her. As for me, the recoil I’d suffered made it difficult to harness my Qi properly. Judging by the feeling, this would last for several more hours.
Hence, Namgung Bi-ah had decided I needed support and promptly slung me over her back. As a peak-realm martial artist, my weight was nothing to her, but the situation was deeply uncomfortable for me.
[If that’s the case, you should have just asked someone else to carry you.]
…I agree.
Why was I only realizing this now? Maybe my mind was too preoccupied with other thoughts to function properly.
[That’s just an excuse!]
…Could you please be quiet for a moment?
[Hmph.]*
Elder Shin seemed to be in a worse mood than usual today. I might have teased him last time, but I sensed there was another reason for his irritability. What a nasty personality. Shouldn’t a Taoist be more understanding?
Putting aside Elder Shin’s comments and my current undignified position, I couldn’t afford to focus on such trivialities. My mind was already filled with more pressing matters.
The Lord of the Black Palace and the Heavenly Demon…
Just thinking about those two was headache-inducing.
Why did the Palace Lord have the Heavenly Demon by his side? And why did the Heavenly Demon appear alongside him in such a form? I needed to figure this out.
As the Heavenly Demon itself had stated, it originated from the Demonic Realm. Yet, it already existed in this world in a childlike form. Furthermore, what were their goals? Everything was different from the history I knew from my past life. How could it not be complicated?
…The Black Palace was destroyed by the Murim Alliance a few years from now.
That was supposed to be a certainty. But after what I had witnessed, I began to have doubts.
…Perhaps.
What if they weren’t truly destroyed by the Alliance? What if they had only pretended to be annihilated?
If that’s the case, what happened to the Palace Lord?
If the Black Palace wasn’t destroyed but went into hiding, did the Lord of the Black Palace actually die in my past life?
The Black Palace is the root of the Demonic Cult.
Having confirmed that key members of the Black Palace were the ones who joined the Demonic Cult, I was now certain that the cult, created and led by the Heavenly Demon, originated from the Black Palace.
What do they want?
I couldn’t understand. The Heavenly Demon had claimed its reason for attacking the world was to prove its absolute supremacy and to cleanse a tainted land.
Did those words hold a different meaning?
At this point, everything was suspect. The realization that the Heavenly Demon wasn’t some mysterious external entity, but one that had already existed within this world, only deepened the mystery.
Moreover.
Its face was nearly identical to Wi Seol-Ah’s.
In my past life, the resemblance wasn’t this striking. Differences in aura and energy made them feel distinct. But now, it wasn’t just their faces. Their physiques were similar, and if I ignored its emaciated appearance, they looked almost like twins.
How could this be a coincidence?
…Is the Heavenly Demon related to Wi Seol-Ah?
Or perhaps, Wi Seol-Ah was related to the Heavenly Demon. If that was the case, I had to reconsider the Sword Venerable’s role. He treated Wi Seol-Ah like his own granddaughter, but there might have been more to that statement. No, I was already convinced the Sword Venerable was hiding something.
Damn it.
Everything I thought I knew had twisted into a tangled mess. I didn’t even know where to begin unraveling it.
If there was one thing I was absolutely sure of in all this…
It was that the current Heavenly Demon had a problem.
That was it.
My certainty stemmed from the information Gu Huibi had given me, and from the moment I faced the Heavenly Demon. Gu Huibi said the Palace Lord captured her so the Heavenly Demon could absorb something from her, but she told me it was no longer possible for the demon to do so.
She said… it couldn’t be done anymore.
To be precise, she said it couldn’t “eat” it anymore.
Also, there were the words the Heavenly Demon had whispered while staring intently at me.
-Mine.
That was what it had clearly said. It was possible it was referring to the Demonic Qi inside my body…
But I doubt that was the case.
My intuition told me otherwise.
I thought inwardly, rubbing my stomach. About the Demonic Art that was deeply ingrained within me. It was the Demonic Art the Heavenly Demon had bestowed upon me in my past life—a cursed power that had stubbornly followed me even through regression.
Demonic Absorption.
I used to think this power simply involved absorbing Demonic Qi from Demonic Stones to make it my own. But now, it absorbed all forms of energy, not limited to Qi. It even harmonized the different energies within my body, allowing them to flow together peacefully.
I thought the Demonic Art might have changed after my regression…
But it didn’t seem that simple. I didn’t know how it happened, but the reason the Heavenly Demon could no longer perform its former function was likely because its power had been transferred to me. That was the only explanation I could conceive of at the moment.
Having reached this conclusion, I regretted letting them escape even more.
I really shouldn’t have let them go…
If I had realized this sooner, or been better prepared, the outcome might have been different.
“…What’s wrong?” Namgung Bi-ah asked, her tone worried, likely having heard me grinding my teeth.
Meeting her blue eyes, I shook my head. “It’s nothing.”
I masked my emotions as I looked at her. There was nothing I could do about it now. Returning to the Gu Clan was the top priority.
* * *
A few days later, we emerged from the Misty Mountains and arrived in Shanxi. The distance wasn’t great, and we had pushed ourselves to return to the clan as quickly as possible. In any case, we had made it back to Shanxi safely, and that was what mattered.
As I stepped onto the familiar streets of Shanxi, a voice called out from behind me.
“Brother.”
I turned my head slightly at the sound of Gu Huibi’s voice and was met with her face. Of course, that was natural, since she was currently on my back.
As expected, I had regained control of my body after a few hours. Once I could walk on my own, I no longer needed to be carried by Namgung Bi-ah. She had looked slightly disappointed when she let me down, but I had no desire to prolong my embarrassment.
However, a new problem arose immediately afterward.
-Since you’re fine now, you should carry me, right?
That was Gu Huibi, who had been comfortably transported by Father, now ordering me to carry her. I obviously wanted to refuse with a scowl, but…
-Carry her.
Father’s stern command left me with no choice but to comply.
…This damn household.
I thought I had become somewhat strong, but I was still far too weak to argue with Father.
[It’ll be a while before you can talk back to your father.]
I nodded in agreement with Elder Shin’s words. I was aware of Father’s strength. Furthermore, I knew he concealed his true power while residing in the clan.
But seeing it with my own eyes… he’s still the same as ever.
He had turned the sky red with heat and gathered Qi into his palm, displaying an overwhelming presence. That level of power was far too absurd to be considered merely on par with the Hundred Masters of the World.
I still have a long way to go.
It was a moment that reminded me how much I needed to improve. Frowning at the thought, I listened as Gu Huibi, who had called out to me, continued speaking.
“Isn’t it strange?”
“…What is?”
Since the incident with the Marble of Celestial Captivation, Gu Huibi hadn’t commented on me using informal speech with her. Instead, she seemed to change the subject, worried I might bring up the marbles. Of course, I had no intention of letting it slide and planned to confront her about it once we were back at the clan.
“The people… the atmosphere feels strange.”
“The atmosphere?”
Following her comment, I glanced around the street. This was the same street I had first seen after my regression, the place where I had first met Wi Seol-Ah.
Strange, she says?
The atmosphere seemed fairly normal to me. “What part feels strange to you?”
“Hmm… maybe it’s just my imagination?” Gu Huibi dismissed it casually, then rested her chin on my shoulder to get more comfortable.
“Why don’t you walk on your own now that we’ve come all this way?”
“Brother, your sister is a patient. How could I possibly walk up that scary hill on my own?”
As I stared at her speechlessly, Namgung Bi-ah, walking beside us, spoke up. “…Then… Do you want me… to carry you…?”
Gu Huibi immediately frowned, clearly disliking the suggestion. “You little… How dare you interrupt a conversation between family members?”
Hearing her sharp tone, I interjected, “Why are you yelling at someone who’s trying to help you?”
“Brother… whose side are you on? Are you really acting like this just because you’re engaged to her now?”
Staring at Gu Huibi’s shocked expression, I thought to myself, What is wrong with her…?
I had a strong urge to toss her to the ground right then and there, but I restrained myself since Father was present. Calming my mind, I looked around again. Gu Huibi’s words had stuck with me.
…A strange atmosphere, huh.
Now that she mentioned it, the street did feel a little different from usual. But I couldn’t pinpoint why.
However… I would learn the reason soon enough.
“…Huh?”
When we arrived back at the clan, the person who greeted us wasn’t Wi Seol-Ah, Tang Soyeol, or the Second Elder.
“Hello, Young Master Gu.”
She had long black hair, pale skin, and sky-blue eyes that seemed as cold as ice. She was a beautiful woman with a slight smile in her eyes and light red lips that carried an alluring aura.
“We meet again.”
It was the Snow Phoenix, Moyong Hi-ah.
For some reason, she was here at the Gu Clan.