Chapter 23: Why is he venturing out again…? (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 23: Why is he venturing out again…? (3)
The foundations of Gu Yangcheon’s residence trembled violently under the onslaught of the Sword Venerable’s raging Qi.
Sensing the imminent destruction, the Second Elder swiftly erected a protective Qi barrier around the entire mansion.
The old saying is true… dragons truly do grow more formidable with age.
A single bead of sweat traced a path down the Second Elder’s face, dripped from his chin, and splattered onto the ground. The Sword Venerable had lost control for just a moment, unleashing a mere fraction of his power, and the result was the near-total annihilation of their surroundings.
Such was the might of one of the ‘Three Venerables’.
“You overstep your bounds, Gu Ryoon.”
“No. You understood my meaning perfectly.”
The perception of a top-tier martial artist was vast. Had the Second Elder poured all of his Qi into his senses, he could have scrutinized half the members of the Gu clan. While he couldn’t peer into the depths of figures like the Clan Lord or the Sword Venerable, the rest were within his reach. A master could even perceive the very essence of a person’s existence.
And that was how the Second Elder had made his discovery.
“You already know. Why play the fool?”
As he spoke, the Second Elder’s thoughts turned to Wi Seol-Ah. To his senses, her beauty was otherworldly, but also unnatural. She felt… hollow. The things that should reside within a human—common sense, fear, emotion—were absent. In their place was a void filled with something else, a presence so profound that even the Second Elder could not discern its nature, whether it was light or darkness.
But if he could not, surely the Sword Venerable could?
“That girl… what is she?”
“My granddaughter is human, Gu Ryoon!”
The Sword Venerable’s palm slammed down, reducing the table to splinters. But the physical destruction was secondary; his Qi erupted outwards simultaneously. The Second Elder, already channeling his energy to stabilize the mansion, was forced to bear the full, undefended brunt of the Sword Venerable’s power.
He did not cry out. Clamping his jaw shut to stifle even a groan, he swallowed the blood that rose in his throat and pressed on.
“Even if you find the Immortal Healer, do you believe you can fill that child’s emptiness?”
The Immortal Healer was rumored to be a divine physician, but could even such a being accomplish that? The void within Wi Seol-Ah was vaster than the influence of the ‘Dark King’ and his ‘Night Reapers’. What baffled the Second Elder most was the nature of what filled that void. It was distinct from ordinary human Qi.
What could it possibly be?
He had sensed fear within her, but it was a strange, alien fear, unlike anything he knew. He was curious, but his instincts screamed at him to look no further. Inside that girl was a vault that must never be opened.
“Is that why you hide from the world? Because you fear what others might see in her?”
How would other masters react if they perceived Wi Seol-Ah as he had? True, few possessed the requisite skill. But ‘few’ did not mean ‘none’. If such an encounter occurred, how would they describe the nothingness within a seemingly normal girl?
Judging by the Sword Venerable’s expression, this was not his only reason for seclusion, but the Second Elder knew his questioning had reached its limit. He could feel them—invisible blades aimed at him from every direction. Though the Sword Venerable’s hands were empty, the Second Elder knew with absolute certainty the source of this lethal intent.
Is this the ‘Mind Sword,’ the ultimate technique of a blade master?
He did not know, for he was not a swordsman.
And so,
“If I ask more, you will cut me down without a second thought.”
“…You are still breathing, Gu Ryoon, precisely because you understand that. Do not lament it.”
“I do not know your thoughts, nor your reasons for journeying with that child. To be frank, I do not care.” The Second Elder had no energy to spare on the affairs of others; managing his own life was struggle enough.
“The man you once were wouldn’t have given this a second thought.”
To the Second Elder, the Sword Venerable seemed like a man fleeing. He had once seen him as an unyielding, un-rusting blade. Now, the pillar of the Orthodox Faction, the ‘Boundless Sky’ he had once revered, appeared to have a fissure running through it.
The Second Elder continued, his eyes locked on the Sword Venerable. “If you say the girl is human, I will accept it and treat her as such. If you choose to watch over her, then do so. However,” He rose to his feet, turning his back on the shattered table. He had a mission from the Clan Lord to fulfill in Namgung.
“Do not come to regret the choices you make now. There is nothing more pathetic. I am sure you, of all people, know this.”
After the Second Elder departed, the Sword Venerable’s raging Qi slowly subsided. As he withdrew the sharp energy that had filled the room, he wearily rubbed his face.
That child… is she even human?
The Second Elder’s words echoed in his mind. Was she human? Yes. She was.
He had found Wi Seol-Ah in the Demon Realm, though he had sealed away those memories. The moment they met, the first time she spoke his name, their walks hand-in-hand—all of it confirmed her humanity to him.
It did not matter what lay within her. It did not matter if she was destined to be the epicenter of a world-ending calamity. If destiny itself sought to harm her, he would simply cut it down. That was the reason he wielded his sword. That was the oath he had sworn to his blade.
Whatever Wi Seol-Ah was, whatever disaster followed in her wake, the Sword Venerable would sacrifice everything for his granddaughter without hesitation.
He began slowly, carefully gathering the pieces of the broken table.
“I am sorry…”
Lately, despite his long life, he found his control over his emotions slipping far too easily. So what if Wi Seol-Ah was not entirely human? All he had to do was fill her with something representing humanity. If necessary, he would give his life to accomplish it. He was prepared.
And yet, the Sword Venerable remained utterly unaware that Wi Seol-Ah had already vanished from the clan.
* * *
Some time after our carriage departed, a dull ache began to settle in my backside. A glance outside confirmed the sun had set; soon, we would need to stop for the night as we entered a wooded area.
The carriage eventually halted near a small lake, a decent spot to make camp. My body felt stiff from a day of sitting. For some reason, Muyeon wore a distant expression, and after a while, he simply announced he was going to find a place to train and disappeared with his sword. He said he’d return before his night watch shift, so I supposed it was fine.
How much longer to Sichuan?
At least a few more days. Travel across this absurdly vast land was always slow. It was no wonder the Murim Alliance of the past had tried to tame flying demons. Of course, they failed, just as they had with the Green-horned Hounds. Their ultimate conclusion was that taming demons was impossible.
…The only exception is the Heavenly Demon.
The irony was bitter. The entire martial world had researched the matter for years with no success, yet the Heavenly Demon accomplished it with ease. Demons bowed to its breath alone. A beast capable of swallowing a whole clan was like a docile sheep to that entity. In my past life, when demons invaded Mount Hua, the Heavenly Demon had arrived riding one of the colossal fiends.
How does taming a demon even make sense?
“Can a being that does that truly be called human?”
The thought sent a shiver down my spine. I needed to focus on more immediate concerns. Pushing the useless thoughts aside, I began to circulate my Qi. Despite my recent training, my reserves were still pathetically small, and progress felt agonizingly slow. Reaching the Third Star of the Gu Flame Wheel Art felt like a distant dream.
The main issue, starkly revealed during my fight with Gu Jeolyub, was my lack of Qi. Knowledge alone was useless without the power to execute it. In a real fight, that deficiency could be fatal.
I stepped forward with my left foot and punched the air.
Pow!
The air cracked with the force of my strike. Just that much left me feeling drained, but I pushed through, repeating the movements—arms, legs, arms again. My stiff body refused the fluidity I sought, but I had to persist. Martial skills were only mastered when the body internalized their sensation through relentless, hellish training.
After countless repetitions, a faint tingling in my lower dantian signaled my Qi was depleted.
“Whew…”
I exhaled my last bit of energy like a final, desperate push. I’d only trained for a short while, but sweat soaked my robes. My lack of Qi was a severe bottleneck. My mind inevitably drifted to the Demonic Absorption Art. It was the fastest, most comfortable path to increasing my power. Without it, I knew of no other method to rapidly expand my reserves.
However,
“I just escaped that shithole. I’m not going back.”
It was still a skill of the Heavenly Demon, regardless of whether I absorbed Demonic Qi or not. The fact that using two demonic stones hadn't corrupted me wasn't enough to prove it safe. My desire to never be involved with that world again was a major factor.
Now is not the time… Not yet.
If regression was a blessing, this knowledge was a curse. I had to be certain it was safe before I even considered using it.
How long has it been? About an hour?
When I stopped circulating my Fire Qi, the night air felt bitingly cold. The sweat made it worse. I returned to the campsite, fetched a change of clothes, and headed for the lake. As much as I wanted to collapse after eating, I had to maintain some semblance of discipline as a scion of a royal clan.
Just as I was about to step into the water—
-Kyaa!
A shrill scream ripped through the night from the direction of the carriages. I spun around and sprinted back. Had a bandit group ambushed us? I thought most of them had disappeared after the demon gates appeared.
When I arrived, a servant stood trembling, staring at one of the carriages. Muyeon and other escorts were already there.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Uh… I saw something move inside the carriage,” the servant stammered, voice shaking.
“Inside?” Had some animal snuck in, attracted by the food? I hoped it was something we could cook.
An escort quickly brought a torch to illuminate the carriage's interior. Something inside shifted. It didn’t look like a beast, prompting the escort to draw his sword.
And what was inside the carriage was…
“Hmm… Huh…?”
It was Wi Seol-Ah, a carrot dangling from her mouth.
I was rendered completely speechless.
…What suddenly brings you here, again?
…Sigh, my life.
This bizarre, fucked-up turn of events gave me my first headache in a very long time.